Seven-Month-Old Comics!: The April 24 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Dawnrunner #2:  The art in this series is beautiful except, ironically, for the battle sequences, which are almost impossible to follow.

The day after Dawnrunner's debut, Anita meets with her daughter, Annie, while wearing a Hazmat suit.  Eventually, other people in Hazmat suits approach and tell Anita that it's time for Annie to return to the "hypo-u," because they can't risk exposure anymore.  I initially thought they were protecting Annie from Anita, but then Anita leaves the facility without a Hazmat suit.  Outside, she finds Lestern in his car, and he offers her a ride to campus.  He asks about Annie, and Anita exposits that Annie has a disease that tricks her body into attacking itself and that it likely came from the Tetza.

But Anita sees through Lestern's fake concern and asks why he's there.  He tells her they lost contact with her for four minutes and eighteen seconds, and the world came close to losing its shit during that time.  In a flashback, Anita recalls that she was unable to control Dawnrunner while stuck in Ichiro's memories and the Tetza was winning.  Then Ichiro jumpstarted a car in his memories and, when the engine sparked, it awakened Anita and she brutally took down the Tetza.  But, when Lestern again prompts her to tell him what happened during the time they lost contact, she simply responds that it's his people's responsibility to find out what happened.

At the lab, Cat tells Anita that Lestern has managed to turn the debacle into a PR success, telling the people that Anita is so good she put on a bit of a show for everyone.  Anita tells Cat that she can't really remember anything, just flashes of "things, faces, images."  Then, Cat drops the bomb:  the Dawnrunner's innovation is that Cordonware has been preserving the brains of deceased combatants since the Tetza arrived and it used Ichiro's mind as Dawnrunner's processors, reducing the lag between the human pilot initiating an action and the IK undertaking it.  Anita asks if she can enter Dawnrunner again, just to connect to the neural link with Ichiro, and Cat rules out the possibility.

After Anita leaves, Murali chases her, telling her that he can connect her so long as he gets to download everything she senses, since it represents "untapped data on the Tetza from the contact event."  Anita agrees and finds herself engaged with Ichiro more seamlessly:  he recognizes she's there and they're able to talk to each other.  She follows him (so to speak) as he heads to the research facility to find his family.  In despair over the devastation he finds, Ichiro gives up hope, but Anita encourages him to keep looking.  Suddenly, his children emerge from under some rubble.

This issue definitely rights the ship quite a bit.  Other than the incomprehensible battle scenes, it's an intriguing story.  I'm still not sure I'd hang in there longer than five issues, but I'm happy to hang in there three more issues to see what happens.

Duke #5:  Oof, we are going places, people.

This mini-series seamlessly sets up the "Destro" one, as Duke accuses Destro of using a robot who transformed from a jet (i.e., Starscream) to kill Frost and thereby informs Destro of the Transformers' existence.  Destro offers Duke a place at his side, which I initially thought Duke was going to take thanks to great panel sequencing on Williamson's part.  But Duke refuses the offer by headbutting Destro, a somewhat futile move given Destro's helmet but one that underscores Duke's grit.

Destro leaves his HQ and orders his minion, Scrap-Iron, to burn it to the ground as he also leaves Duke to survive a fight with a Battle Action Trooper (B.A.T.).  Duke manages to defeat the B.A.T., displaying his combat genius as he improvises moves and weapons to stay in the fight.  As he recalls Frost's death, Duke amps up his ferocity and brutally destroys the B.A.T.

With the public thinking Duke dead (given his presence in the destroyed M.A.R.S. HQ), Hawk admits to Duke at his bedside that he manipulated him into going after Destro and M.A.R.S.  Before Duke can tell him to go fuck himself, Hawk brings him to the Pit, where Clutch is working on creating the installation that we all now know.  Hawk also shows Duke security footage of Optimus Prime and asks Duke to lead the team that he's assembling to get more information about the Transformers.  Duke agrees but modifies the mission to destroying them.

Again, this series was excellent in no small part because Williamson really centers Duke's determination and pain.  He isn't just some superhuman hero, but a man on a quest to avenge his friend.  I can't wait to see where we go from here.

Dungeons & Dragons:  Saturday Morning Adventures II #4:  This issue is better than the last one but, oof, it still isn't great.

The kids wait with Jarlaxle on the Luskan shore as a storm blows into the city.  Hank is concerned that Drizzt and Dungeon Master are late, but Jarlaxle cautions him against taking the Flyin' Maiden to find them.  Based on Hank's comment about "home," Jarlaxle asks Hank to explain their situation to him, which he does.  Jarlaxle wonders why someone as powerful as Dungeon Master can't just send them home and then comments, wryly, that "those with power rarely use it to help others without expecting something in return."  (He humorously notes Minsc and Boo are the exception.)

Diana encourages Sheila to stop wondering if Bobby is mad at her and actually talk with him, which she does.  It prompts a reconciliation, as Diana pledges to treat him more like an adult and Bobby acknowledges that she's going to worry about him no matter how old he is.  As the storm worsens, Bobby demands that they take the Maiden to find Dungeon Master, but Jarlaxle pulls a fast one, noting the Maiden is the price for his help.  Hank notes that he got all of Wrathun's treasure (did he?), but Jarlaxle is unmoved.  The gang gets ready to attack him.

Before Bobby can bodyslam Jarlaxle, Guenhwyvar tackles him for kisses and snuggles and Drizzt arrives.  Drizzt notes that the kids ridding Luskan's shores of Wrathun was a fair price for Jarlaxle's help, and Jarlaxle tells him he'd kill anyone who said that to him other than Drizzt.  Then, they shake like bros.  Yes, it's totally random.

Anyway, Dungeon Master is dying, and he's apparently sussed out Venger as the culprit.  "He has found a way to siphon my power to add to his own."  Does anyone explain that?  No.  Whatever.  Let's just ride this cart to the end.  

Of course, Venger appears, and Presto figures out Dungeon Master's riddle means that he can using Wrathun's healing staff to steal back Dungeon Master's power and Venger's power.   He then infuses both powers into Dungeon Master, who uses them to open the portal for the kids to return home.

[Sigh.  Prepare yourself, here.]  Venger informs the team that Dungeon Master and Venger will die if they enter the portal as the portal consumers magic.  (Given the endless number of spells that allow walking between worlds, this explanation makes no sense.)  Dungeon Master confirms Venger's assertion and says he's willing to sacrifice himself.  Eric — Eric — then says no because Dungeon Master is part of their team.  Fine.  Whatever.

Anyway, Jarlaxle takes Venger to a Luskan prison, Minsc and Boo go with Drizzt to Iceland Dale to battle ice trolls, and the kids agree to help some kid who suddenly appears asking for help to rid his village of ankheg.  

I wanted this series to do so well, but the random developments in issue #3 and this one were serious disappointments.  Oh, well.  I'll still probably buy a sequel.

If You Find This, I'm Already Dead #3:  Oof.  I didn't see where we were going here!

Robin informs us that the man at the center of all things is named Brand and that he's been on Terminus for five years.  You initially think she's learned that from her conversation with Brand, but it becomes clear later that Robin came to Terminus with that knowledge.

Brand exposits his origin story as they walk.  He was part of the expeditionary team that first arrived on Terminus.  The Skrulls, whom he calls "Dirt Eaters," captured him and then tortured and brainwashed him and his teammates.  Robin informs us that Brand lost his mind rather than submit to the brainwashing and killed his teammates.  In fact, it isn't even clear if the Dirt Eater really tried to brainwash him or if he simply snapped in the face of their "inhuman...customs."  That said, we do see in his memory the Dirt Eaters plucking an eye from his head, so it isn't hard to see why he lost his mind.  

Robin tries to draw out Brand's humanity, telling him that he was known for his intellect, that the military called him the "warrior-scientist."  Brand explains his background in genetics allowed him to create the Prongs (i.e., the Tuning Forks).  Since "all anyone wants is to feel superior to someone else," he used the Prongs as his own personal army.  

Robin tells us that Brand continued to ramble, including about making her his queen.  A Prong takes her to a cell, and she says something in alien.  She must've convinced the Prong of whatever she was saying, because he hits a button and she falls into an underground river.  She then reveals that the military asked her to find and kill Brand.  She refused but hypothesizes that the military gave everyone else on her team the same mission.  

Traveling through the sewers, she finds the creature who previously digested her in issue #2, who I initially thought was Terminus in that issue.  She somehow realizes that she should attempt to bond with it, and, in so doing, we see glimpses of her past:  for example, I'm pretty sure she became a war correspondent after losing her family in a bombing of some sort.  For her part, she realizes the creature is one of the gods originally sent to Terminus for battle.

Now bonded, she and the creature rise as one.  Brand sees the threat and enters the god that he himself created, and we get a good ol' fashioned kaiju battle.  But the battle awakens other gods, who join Robin in the fight.  After defeating Brand, the gods excess their gratitude for letting them fight one last time and open a portal for Robin to return home before resuming their sleep.

In the epilogue, Robin reveals that society fractured after she told her tale.  Knowing an alien race existed largely caused humanity to lose its faith in religion, at least as they existed at the time.  Some in society believe her; some don't.  Some want her dead; others see her as a messiah.  Robin reflects on the irony that she learned that gods do exist, but most of the ones she found are dead.

Overall, Kindt somehow told an incredibly complicated story over only three issues.  Usually in these situations, I'm left feeling like we needed more issues, but Kindt really nailed the pacing here.  I definitely recommend.

Star Wars:  Jango Fett #2:  This issue is fun because Jango is pretty evenly matched, making it unclear which bounty hunter — him, Aurra Sing, or Vigor Struk — is going to find the Hope of Glee Anselm first.

On Level 1313 of Coruscant, the "heart of the black market," Jango enters an office to find a group of Anselmi speaking with an information broker.  The Anselmi leader tells Jango that they're on a secret operation to recover the Hope and can't leave behind any witnesses.  Jango then thanks the Anselmi for standing so close together and uses the Whistling Bird to eliminate them.  

Jango tells the broker that he's been working over fences to get a lead (which we apparently saw in "Star Wars:  Revelations (2023)" #1 though I don't remember that), but he's got nothing.  The broker tells him that they picked up a recording of a ship leaving Jaloria after the heist, when the ports were shut.  Jango takes the recording and tells the broker to consider it a fair trade for sparing their life.  As Jango boards Slave 1, Aurra Sing tags him with a tracer after Judicial Huijari tells her not to kill Jango.

Fairok of the Nautolans contacts Jango while he's flying Slave 1 and tells him that he's calling off his contract, but Jango reminds him that only the Republic can do that.  He then cuts off Fairok to speak with Kligson (!), who identified the ship that left Jaloria as a garbage scow of the type only used on Hallitron-7 in the Jalor Sector.  

On Hallitron-7, Jango shakes down Renzoh Silliace, a guy who works in the junkyard for the Blood Oath Syndicate and who confirms that he was paid a lot to transport the thief and the Hope.  But Renzoh tells Jango it was a double-cross — whoever paid the thief planned on killing her.  Since the thief was just a kid, Renzoh decided to help her escape.  Before Renzoh can say more, Vigor Struk arrives.  Meanwhile, Aurra heads into Renzoh's office while Huijari heads to where Jango and Vigor are fighting.

Vigor is giving Jango a run for his money, and Renzoh flees the scene — only for Huijari, surprisingly, to kill him.  Jango calls Slave 1 to save him, and Aurra finds Huijari and tells him that the thief left Hallitron-7 on a commuter ship to Coruscant but the ship makes supply drops to the "remote mining colony of Roxuli," an excellent place to hide  On Slave 1, Jango is frustrated that he has no leads only for someone, presumably the thief, to send him a message to meet them on Roxuli.

Eight-Month-Old Comics!: The March 27 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Alan Scott:  Green Lantern #5:  Now we're getting somewhere.

The best part of this issue is Sheridan's ability to maintain the tension as we build to a shocking finale.  I wasn't expecting a series built on a quiet moment in a motel room to end with a Cold War battle between two superhero teams, but here we are.  I also didn't see the Crimson Host's introduction coming, even though I was aware Sheridan was planning something with all his allusions to the sunken Soviet sub.

But let's start at the beginning.  Alan is holding Vlad by the throat demanding to know why he's framing him for murder.  Vlad warns Alan that he can't maintain using the Crimson Flame's power because the Red Labs proved it only works for him.  He shakes off Alan's hypnosis and, when Alan tries to punch him, escapes from his grip.  Alan remains focused on Vlad's actions, hypothesizing that he's trying to frame him and replace him as New York's savior, taking down America from the inside.  Vlad responds, "Work is work," seemingly confirming Alan's theory.  (We never discuss it again so I guess it's as good as we're going to get in terms of a motive.)  Vlad does note, though, that all of "our...'friends'" looked "so very familiar."  He then says that "men like us, Alan" aren't innocent.  Telling, Vlad.

Meanwhile, Alan's manservant, Derby, is listening to the news about the abandoned Soviet sub when he hears about the Green Lantern appearing powerless during a fight.

Returning to the fight, Alan notes Vlad said, "men like us."  (Apparently Alan thought it was telling, too.)  Alan says Vlad knows that Alan could never do what Vlad did and asserts that the man he loved could never do what Vlad did without "powerful outside influence."  Vlad tells him Johnny was a lie, and Alan, movingly, responds, "Not to me."  Vlad then confesses that he has to work for the Soviets as the Crimson Flame is the only thing keeping him alive.

Vlad expresses concern over Alan's deteriorating state under the Crimson Flame's influence, but Alan makes him tell him the truth.  Vlad tells Alan that the Red Labs killed him over and over again and each time he resurrected more powerful.  Eventually, they found Vlad's connection to the Flame and severed it, leaving Vlad dead for weeks.  Alan asks what they did with the Flame, but Vlad says that he doesn't know — it's classified above his level.  But, at some point, the Flame called to him and resurrected him.

Meanwhile, Derby hears the Green Lantern speak to him, so he brings it to the roof, where it sends out a beam that hits Alan.  Suddenly, Alan's inside a train car with Jimmy, who's clearly the Emerald Flame, which Alan eventually realizes.  The Flame exposits his origin story at this point.  

"Eons ago," the Guardians gathered all the "ancient, wandering magic of their realm and, to keep it from falling into corrupt hands, bound it within the heart of a star."  Eventually, the magic — now dubbed the Starheart — became sentient.  It grew lonely and eventually expelled a portion of itself to travel the Universe to seek its destiny.  At the same time, a portion of its sentience "leached into the corona of its starry tomb."  Separated from the rest of itself, this part became even more intensely lonely, and its loneliness turned to sorrow and its sorrow turned to rage.  When it saw Starheart's essence rocket through the sky, it expelled itself as the Crimson Flame.

Eventually, the meteor became the metal that Billie used to create the Green Lantern.  Alan asks why the Emerald Flame chose him, and the Flame tells him that it's his will.  It was drawn to him at the moment he stared down the Crimson Flame.  The Emerald Flame reviews the various times Alan's helped others in the face of adversity — sacrificing the Crimson Flame to save his crew mates, staying at the Asylum to help free others, allegedly confronting Dekker (though I don't recall seeing that).  The Emerald Flame gave him its power because he makes the world a better place.  

Honestly, it's one of the least outrageous origin stories I've read.

The Emerald Flame then warns Alan that "they must be stopped" and returns him to consciousness.  As Vlad says, he returns "all spiffied up."  Vlad prepare for another round, but Alan warns him that they have a common enemy coming.  As crimson energy beams rain upon the city, Alan asks Vlad how well he trusts his government.  Vlad angrily grabs a paper from Alan's hands and learns of the missing sub.  Alan alludes to the time when Vlad died while the Soviets retained access to the Crimson Flame, and Vlad wonders why they would hide the truth from him.  Vlad's ring then "ftz"-es, something it's never down before, when suddenly they're both knocked on their asses.

They're now face-to-face with the Crimson Host!  Major Blaze informs Vlad that he's been relieved by him, Comrade Kostra, the Countess, Professor Molotov, and Proletari-ant!  Vlad watches in horror as Blaze destroys the Crimson Lantern as a miniaturized Proletari-ant (I missed this part the first time) tries to steal Alan's ring. Alan says they need backup, and Vlad asks about his friends.  As Alan mutters, "Friends?  I...I don't...", the Flash responds, from behind him, "Of course you do." as the Justice Society of America arrives.

That ending is a bad-ass moment, y'all, and I can't wait to see how Sheridan wraps up this story.

Duke #4:  This issue moves us pretty quickly from start to finish, as Duke impresses the Baroness by accurately laying out the stakes (i.e., the people who created the shitshow in which they find themselves are going to go scorched Earth to cover their tracks and she's going to get burned).  So they throw in their lot together to escape the Pit.  

With Rock 'n Roll and Stalker with them, the group makes its way into a sub-basement full of vehicles for Clutch to activate.  Meanwhile, outside, it turns out Bludd survived the Baroness' attack though lost an eye in the process.  The group bursts from the Pit as Bludd's men flee in the face of the Joes (and Baroness).  The Baroness takes one of Bludd's men's personal helicopters and escapes, while Duke flies a jet to where Burkhart's tracker leads.

Williamson then sets up Destro's role in the Energon Universe as his scientists inform him that the robots that they're creating need a more durable power source, making it clear that he'll join the hunt for Energon.  Meanwhile, he orders a minion, Scrap-Iron, to roll out the welcome wagon for Duke in the form of anti-aircraft missiles.  Duke crashes into the body of water outside Destro's headquarters but makes his way inside.  Thinking he's going to face Starscream, he's surprised when a different robot attacks him.

Williamson does a nice job here setting up the final issue.  Unlike most mini-series at this point, I feel like we don't have too many loose ends, so we may actually get some sense of satisfaction when this mini-series ends.  Crazy, right?

Dungeons and Dragons:  Saturday Morning Adventures II #3:  This issue makes not a lick of sense.

Minsc arrives in the pirates' hideout announcing that he bought Bobby's club off Bobby's former teammates, and Wrathun asks how exactly Minsc found the Hanged Man Crew's hide-out.  Bobby calls bullshit and tells Minsc that his sister would never sell his club, and Minsc confirms that he's there to create a diversion.  The team arrives and attacks.  Although Kambadais never shows this moment, the Crew obviously intimidates the team, because they surrender.

Wrathun exposits that they have a deal with the dragon turtle, but given they're low on treasure they'll feed the team to the turtle instead.  He decides to test Bobby's loyalty by having him choose which one of his former teammates will fight the turtle:  if the teammate wins, he'll free everyone; if they lose, he'll feed them all to the turtle.  (I don't get how choosing someone proves Bobby's loyalty to the Crew, since it isn't like he's condemning them to death, necessarily.  But, at this point, I have greater fish to fry.)  Bobby chooses himself though all the other teammates (except Eric, obviously) offer to fight the turtle, too.

Then we really go off the rails.  Bobby suddenly turns on Wrathun, demanding his wooden leg.  He exposits that he never intended to become a pirate; he overheard Wrathun telling his crew that his peg leg is a magical healing staff, which Bobby figured was the one Jarlaxle identified as able to help Dungeon Master.  (I *think* Bobby turned on Wrathun because he realized they were going to die against the turtle anyway, but I'm not 100% sure.)  The team then fights the turtle, and they're saved when Jarlaxle arrives with their Spelljammer.  (He doesn't explain at any point where he went or why they couldn't've just used the Spelljammer in the first place, instead of hitching a ride on the boat.  But again bigger fish.)

In the end, it's revealed Bobby swiped the staff from Wrathun in the chaos, though:  1) the staff looks nothing like Wrathun's peg leg and 2) you would've figured Wrathun would've realized it when someone stole his leg.

I saw on Comic Book Round-Up this issue got a low score and now I know why.  Oof.

Local Man:  Bad Girls Special #1:  This issue is fine, but I can't say it's really necessary.

Honestly, the issue's best part is Neon's summary of Inga's crimes.  It not only serves as the framing device for the fairy tale that Neon tells Inga (more on that later), but it confirms the story as I thought it was.  Namely, Inga made a deal with Camo Crusader to launder her "superpower laborer" business through her bakery and killed the 4th Gen recruits to make the business possible.  The only question mark for me is why Camo Crusader wanted to edge out Inga from the partnership, though it's totally possible Seeley and Fleecs covered that in the series and I just don't remember.

At any rate, it's a good reminder of how deftly Seeley and Fleecs handled the series' revelations, unlike most series, which would've dragged on the mystery too long and tied up all the loose ends at once.  (Given I said the same thing, essentially, about "Duke" #4, it's a good time to be a comic-book fan.)

As I said, Neon's conversation with Inga serves as a framing device for three stories that give us more background into this world.  

First, a super-villain named The Sixth (as in the sixth major extinction) eliminates all men to end humanity's ability to procreate.  When Seascape - in her form as a water sprite of sorts - encounters a female superhero, Lovebunny, she asks after the "sweet boys" who "came to my stream laughing and catching frogs" went.  Lovebunny tells her about The Sixth, and Seascape travels via a subterranean ocean to kill The Sixth at her lair in Canada.  Ending the story, Neon notes that she left Seascape in Farmington, where Inga then tried to process her for raw materials.  (I'm still not entirely sure why Seascape murdered the girl working for Inga, but at this point I'll just accept the authors gave us a reason.)

Second, in Inga's car, the pair listen to Frightside's audiobook, which recounts an encounter with Crossjack where the Fright tried to get his hands on him.  It's the weakest of the three stories.

 

Finally, Neon recounts her origin story, telling Inga that she was raised on a New Age commune in Texas.  A CIA agent viewed the commune as a threat and used an extraterrestrial power source to wipe out the group, their minds communing with the Universe as the "magenta fog" turned their bodies into liquid.  Neon survives the fog, which imbues her with powers.  Calling herself the Neon Demon, Neon went on a rampage against religion until Camo Crusader found her and directed her to the agent who ordered the hit.  When Second Gen was dissolved, Neon took a place on Camo Crusader's Third Gen.

The issue ends with Inga forced to reckon with all the people she hurt.  Neon asks Inga if she killed Jack's father or if his heart stopped beating of its own accord.  Before Inga can answer, Neon tells her that she believes "a girl deserves some contradiction every now and then."  But Neon tells her that if she steps "one toe out of line" she'll tell Jack where she is, the favor Camo Crusader did for her.

All in all, it's an excellent coda to the series' first story.  Without the mystery of Farmingham driving the story, I wonder where Jack and we go from here.

Seven-Month-Old Comics!: The February 28 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Duke #3:  Ah, the Baroness.

Before this issue, we were essentially watching boys playing with their toys.  It was fun, but it was also sort of ridiculous, the idea that Duke was going to play spy on Burkhart's behalf.  I mean, he isn't exactly the spy sort of guy, as Hawk mentions in issue #1.  

The Baroness, on the other hand — well, she's an entirely different kettle of fish.  Duke reviews her history here, which interestingly enough seems to surprise her.  It isn't really a shock that she was a rich kid who got bored and started engaging in black ops for an Eastern European intelligence agency to keep herself amused.  But Duke alludes to something made her go from spy to terrorist and exposits that they still don't what it was.

The Baroness doesn't reveal her cards, though.  Instead, she notes that she left the situation and observes, not incorrectly, that Duke remains committed to his system, even though it's locked him in the same prison as her.  Duke insists that he let himself be captured so he could make his case to the Powers That Be, but he doesn't seem so confident about it when he repeats it for the Baroness.

Before they can continue the discussion, Major Bludd and his Blood Hounds arrive.  Working for Destro, he's been tasked with killing Duke and finding Burkhart's device.  (Destro used Burkhart's tracker to reverse engineer where Duke was, leading Bludd to the Pit.)  Before Bludd can kill a defiant Duke, the Baroness shoots him between the eyes.  Looking at a stunned Duke, she notes the bounty on his head that Bludd mentioned.

All in all, the Baronness injects some much needed energy into this title, distracting me from the nagging questions about how this story and "Transformers" fit in the Energon Universe timeline.

Dungeons & Dragons:  Saturday Morning Adventures II #2:  This issue is interesting because Booher really addresses for the first time that the kids, notably Bobby, are aging.  

Jarlaxle learns that Bobby didn't run from the party; a pirate named Captain Wrathun captured him, for reasons that Booher doesn't reveal.  Jarlaxle hires Minsc and Boo (!) as mercenaries, and the party sets sail across the Trackless Sea for the island of Gundarlun, where Wrathun and the Hanged Man Crew have their hideout.  Sheila confides in Diana that she's struggling with the fact that Bobby is getting older, and Diana tells her that they need to assure Bobby that they'll be here for him as he does.

A dragon turtle takes out their boat, and the party (minus Jarlaxle) find themselves on Gundarlun just in time to find Bobby swearing fealty to the Hanged Man Crew, after Wrathun correctly surmised he wanted to be the warrior Sheila didn't want him to become.  Dun-dun-DUN!

Undiscovered Country #28:  Holy shit, I didn't see that coming.

In a flashback, Dr. Kellogg, Bounty's founder, tells his son, one of the Nephilim, that the other Zones have become dangerous, some of them evil.  He's at the end of his life, so he boards the train to destroy the bridge to Aurora and begs his son to keep up the lie that Bounty is feeding the other Zones so the Nephilim have something in which they believe.  But he also warns him that outsiders will come one day and he'll need to keep his family safe.

In the present, Chang gets Janet to shake off her grief, asserting that Aurora created and cured Sky to build up tension and then grant release, hopefully creating the scenario for the AEA and PAPZ to channel their newly excess energy into war with each other.  Janet realizes he's right, that the United States would then ride into the situation on a white horse, given the goodwill it created in curing Sky, which is why her and Chang's analogues in Zone History ordered the invasion of the United States.  She and Chang recommit to taking out Aurora.

As Ace and Valentina have sex for the first time, the locusts attack, and the team heads off the bridge.  Snyder and Soule are clever here:  I was wondering how the team was going to survive, and then we then see a naked Ace (whose hog is huge, per Chang) flying Buzz, with the rest of the crew hanging off Buzz.  Pavel uses his flaming arm to kill some of the locusts, and, for reasons that aren't totally clear, the locusts decide now to attack the Nephilim.  The crew makes its way back to Bounty only for the Nephilim's leader to blame the team for the locusts' attack and rip Chang in half to save his family!  

I'm assuming Chang survives here but, man, that had to hurt.

Seven-Month-Old Comics!: The January 24 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Blade Runner 2039 #9:  I don't have too much to say here.  

Johnson gives us a rare happy ending in this world when Ash learns from a fellow resident that Wojciech died naturally and peacefully.  He tells Ash that Wojciech confided in him about Ash and her mission and suggests the only way to get to Wallace is to bring him what he wants.  

Later that night, Rash visits Ash at a noodle stand, wanting to know more about her.  Of course, Ash expected Rash to follow her so leads her into a trap.  Captured, Rash tells Ash, Freysa, and Isobel that Wallace only knows that Cleo and Isobel were part of some sort of deal that Alexander made with Tyrell in 2019, which, she tells Isobel, is why he wants to "chop you both up now to find out."

Meanwhile, Luv gets in trouble at work for spending too much time on Wallace's cases but, that night, Wallace tells her not to concern herself with the LAPD, as they're only a necessary evil.  He tells her to focus on finding Rash.  

Hoping to find a way to Wallace, Ash visits a S&M club where she finds Cal Moreaux, of "Blade Runner:  Origins."

It's a rare meh issue for Johnson, but it's also clearly setting up the end, so I'm not complaining.  Who knows what he's going to make Ash and company endure in the next three issues.

Dungeons and Dragons:  Saturday Morning Adventures II #1:  I couldn't find this series for electronic download so I bought the TPB, and I'm glad I did.  Drizzt!  Spelljammers!

Booher really turns this series — and, retroactively, the cartoon —into a true Forgotten Realms tale here.  Whereas the Realms was the previous mini-series' setting, they're at the heart of this story here as the kids seek a cure to Dungeon Master's illness, which is slowly draining his powers.  

Their quest begins in Icewind Dale, where they're seeking a healing herb.  Not surprisingly, Drizzt is the guide Dungeon Master sent to meet the party and leads them to the herb.  Sheila arrives in the kids' Spelljammer (!), the Flyin' Maiden, which spooks some local barbarians since the kids have put out the rumor that the Maiden is haunted.  Dungeon Master is on board with Sheila and lets the kids know the herb will just slow, but not cure, his condition.  

Drizzt tells them to head to Luskan to meet his ally, since he's traveled far and wide in the Realms and may know of a cure.  Drizzt agrees to protect Dungeon Master, who'll stay in Icewind Dale with him, so the kids head to the pirates' den of Luskan.  Before they can land, ground-based ships attack the Maiden.  Although Sheila avoids the first round of cannonballs, one eventually takes down the ship.  On the ground, Jarlaxle meets the kids and tells them Drizzt put their lives in danger by sending them to Luskan, since they're at war (with whom I'm not sure).  

Suddenly, the kids realize Bobby is gone.  Sheila thinks he's run away, since she scolded him for mindlessly attacking ice trolls not once, but twice, in Icewind Dale.  But given Venger's commentary at the end, it's clear something else is afoot.

All in all, it's a great story.  Kambadais' art is fantastic, and Booher instills enough humor to keep the story light.  Most importantly, though, it feels like an old school Forgotten Realms novel, a feeling that the most recent "serious" comics — no matter how much I've liked them — haven't evoked.  I highly recommend this series for all Forgotten Realms fans.

Ghost Machine #1:  And away we go!  

After reading all the precursor series, I'm happy to report The Unnamed universe stories in this issue are a great jumping-on point.

If you've read the previous The Unnamed mini-series and one-shot, you understand why all the crime lords of Vegas have put a price on Geiger's head.  This information comes from a Nuclear Knight who tells Geiger that he'll help him find another "living nuclear reactor" who became human if Geiger helps him first.  Geiger rejects the offer, but the man tells him that many people are coming for him, like President Griffin, the Electrician (the first time we've seen that name, I think), and Redcoat.

On cue, we get Redcoat's origin — he was a British soldier shot in the head during the Revolutionary War who somehow survived and became immortal.  (We saw his origin from a different perspective in "Geiger:  80-Page Giant" #1.)  He meets a variety of historical figures throughout his long lifespan, the most interesting of whom is Benedict Arnold, the "only other immortal" still living.

In the epilogue for the Unnamed stories, the Nuclear Knight — who may or may not be Etter from the Redcoat story in "Geiger:  80-Page Giant" #1 who also may or may not be Hazmatt from "Geiger" — scrambles after Geiger.  Our narrator tells us:  "But the Nuclear Knight wasn't gonna let him go.  Geiger was to be his salvation.  'Course maybe it was the other way 'round."

Moving onto the rest of the issue, the Rook story is pretty fun.  I'll admit that it took me reading the title page twice before I understood Exodus' status quo.  Johns and Faibok really sell the dystopia that we see here, where the Better-World Corporation recruited Rook and his fellow farmers (i.e., Wardens) to grow food on its terraformed world (Exodus) in the Kepler system.  Of course, Better-World's engine (?) failed, prompting it to evacuate Exodus' civilian population with the promise of returning for its employees.  Guess what?  It didn't.

Three years later, Rook's efforts to cobble together an escape rocket to leave Exodus is coming into conflict with his nagging desire to fight to save it.  His friend, Swine, has decided to stay on Exodus and hopes Dire Wolf is right that they can form a community.  (We learn in the back matter that Dire Wolf was one of the scientists who created the masks that allow the Wardens to control the animals.)  But Johns makes it clear form the start that the wardens aren't monolithic, as we see another warden kill a doctor who helped Dire Wolf update her helmet.  "The War of the Wardens is at hand."

In terms of the other stories, I'd consider getting the "Rocketfellers" if I didn't have a 500+ issue backlog, but, otherwise, they were fine but not my cup of tea.