X-O Manowar Vol. 4: Homecoming

Aric has returned to earth after liberating the rest of the human slaves from Loam in the Planet Death storyline.  They have landed right in the middle of Eastern Europe where Dacia used to exist. Tensions are building throughout this book as this event is the inciting incident that sets up the new team book Unity.  The biggest reveal in this book is that Gilad the Eternal Warrior was there with Aric in the very beginning when the Visigoths were facing off against the Romans & there little exchange in the museum is very cool.  It just goes to show how compact & shared the Valiant Universe is.  Up to this point in the Valiant Universe X-O Manwar has now faced off with both Ninjak & the Eternal Warrior.  While the other books have also crossed over a little Archer & Armstrong crossing over with the Eternal Warrior & soon Bloodshot; meanwhile Harbinger has only crossed over with Bloodshot but will soon be connected to everything else through Unity.

DC Universe: Rebirth Deluxe Ed.

All hail Geoff Johns he is without a doubt the greatest writer DC Comics has at their disposal.  It is a shame that he doesn't have time to write more comics I hope that with all of the executive power DC has been throwing his way he is able to bring the DC Universe out of the dark ages that was the New 52.  This is an amazing one-shot that has been given the deluxe hardcover treatment.  It brings back the love & hope that has been missing since the inception of the New 52 it also seeds some of the things to come during the Rebirth initiative.  Like many of the DC Comics events over the last thirty years a speedster is at the center of the story.  This event is the sequel to Flashpoint like Infinite Crisis is the sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths.  Wally West is the main character of the event trying to find a way to come back out of the speed force & warn everyone about what has happened.  Wally doesn't know who is responsible for what has happened but that whoever it is exist outside of time & is more powerful than any villain the heroes have ever faced.  There are lots of hints that Dr. Manhattan of the Minutemen in Watchmen is behind this theft of ten years.  Time will tell who the villain really is from this event.  But one thing is for certain that the Post-Crisis Pre-New 52 DC Universe is back.

Harbinger Vol. 4: Perfect Day

The fourth volume of Harbinger follows what happens to the group after the Harbinger Wars event. The Harbinger kids have been captured by Toyo Harada along with the Generation Zero kids from Project Rising Spirit.  Monica Jim plays a pretty central role in this volume as one of the P.R.S. kids her unique power is amazing & hopefully will set up some cool stuff in the future.  From the beginning of this book we think that Peter & the gang are all out in L.A. relaxing & laying low after the events that took place in Las Vegas but everything is not what it seems.  Everybody is a prisoner of the Harbinger Foundation & put in a dream like state.  There are some great character moments in this book between Charlene, Kris, Torkelson & Faith.  Kris however steals the show because she is the first to kind of figure out that something is wrong.  Animalia aka Monica has her little creations break her out of the dream.  There is a nice coyote road runner adventure that she goes on which was a great laugh in the way it was executed.  In this book Toyo Harada comes close to death through his own pride & arrogance.  I am looking forward to where this goes next but one thing is for sure the Harbinger kids are ready for some payback.

Archer & Armstrong Vol. 4: Sect Civil War

Finally a return to the Valiant Universe with another grand tale of Archer & Armstrong.  In this volume for half the book Archer & Armstrong are separated & going on separate paths until something from Armstrong's past is needed to right the wrongs of the present.  Again this volume shows how well Valiant Comics is at blending historical facts with their complex universe.  We get some history in this volume as to how the sects came about & how they are connected to Project Rising Spirit.  The Vine is also apparently apart of these sects as well imagine what they could do if they ever became truly unified.  Archer has his own motives in this book which is nice to finally see him step up for what he wants.  Mary-Maria's story has taken a dark turn in this story as she has taken over one of the sects.  Interestingly the Sect Civil War has nothing to do with Archer & Armstrong but is orchestrated by other outside forces.  Overall a nice read to jump back into the Valiant Universe.

Uncanny Avengers Omnibus

Spinning out of the Avengers vs. X-Men event that saw the phoenix force split into five parts only to be reunited in Cyclops by the end of the story.  The event also saw the death of Professor X & the return of previously dormant mutants coming to light around the world.  The majority of this series takes place in the mainstream Marvel Universe but feels like it stays out of the main events.  A new Avengers team has formed calling itself the Unity Squad.  A team of Havok brother of Cyclops, first Avenger Captain America, Thor Odinson, Wolverine the best there is, Rogue former villain & X-Men leader, Scarlet Witch destroyer of Avengers & X-Men, Wonder Man former Avenger now a pacifist, Sunfire hero of Japan & finally a second founding Avenger in the Wasp.  I really like some of the characterization in this book but I think the use of Red Skull as a main villain for this Avengers Unity Squad is kind of blah especially after what he does at the end of the first issue I wish this book had tide into the Original Sin event because the several of the issues seemed to fit so beautifully into that concept.  Most of this book is one long story arc involving three main villains the first being the Red Skull due to the events the have transpired in the opening issues of this title.  The second is villain is actually two individuals together as one the Apocalypse Twins who are themselves fighting against the Red Skull & the third villain of the story.  The third villain is really the big bad of the whole book & that is Kang the Conqueror.  This book does require prior knowledge of two previous events & one major series.  The first event that is the most important to this series is Avengers vs. X-Men & the White Event from the Warren Ellis New Universe story.  This series is a sequel to Rick Remender's Uncanny X-Force in which a Wolverine lead black ops unit kills a child Apocalypse & brings about the Dark Angel Saga which is required to fully enjoy this series.  I really liked the character relationships that have been created in this series as a whole though Wolverine's friendship of Rogue & caring for her reminds me of how he believed in her all the way back in X-Men: From the Ashes.  Rogues sister like relationship with Scarlet Witch.  The budding romances between Havok & Wasp or Wonder Man & Scarlet Witch.  I also liked part of the concept that came out of the annual in which Ghost Rider goes up against the Avengers & holds his own I would love to see an event were all of the Ghost Riders are turned against the Marvel Universe.  This series ends with Avengers & X-Men: Axis.  There was a lot to like about this series but for every like there was definitely something to dislike.

Batman: Hush

Batman: Hush is one of the quintessential batman stories of the Post-Crisis DC Universe.  Not only does this story introduce one of the best new villains to be added to the Batman rogues gallery but it also mines the Batman mythos to core when it comes to the characters in this story.  The story touches on past story arcs from Batman: Year One, Batman: A Death in the Family & Batman: The Killing Joke.  This story also pushes the story forward on the Batman, Catwoman relationship & moves forward with that.  This book not only has a whose who of Batman's rogue gallery but also a complete guest star list of the Bat-Family's supporting cast; even Superman & Lois Lane are in this story.  Jeph Loeb has crafted a terrific story that has stood the test of time & the big reveal at the end & who the real master mind is just great.  Also this title paves the way for future Batman events such as Batman: Under the Hood.  The story is enhanced by superstar artist Jim Lee who is still one of the best artist in the business draws the whole story.

The Call of the Wild

Jack London is a legend among authors for his unique style & subject matter.  The Call of the Wild, centers around the life of a dog Buck.  Now since this book is rather short it can be read in one day & is very condensed to give just the most important of details.  Jack London excels at this simplifying the story to give the reader just the facts.  Another thing he excels at is placing man against nature or in this case dog against nature.  In some ways this is a tragic tale while in others it can be rather freeing that choice is left up to the reader.

Saga Vol. 6

One big happy family, is what Brian K. Vaughan has crafted in Saga volume six.  I absolutely love this series there is nothing bad I can say about this book I am a little upset that we didn't get to touch base with all of our characters in this volume but it is still amazing.  If you are a fan of The Will then this may be your least favorite collection to date but overall it is still great.  The time jump is great it really is nice to see Hazel interact on her own Brian K. Vaughan has given her a great voice now that she is older  It looks like Marko & Alana's family is going to get a little bigger after this volume with the big reveal at the end.  I hope there isn't another time jump for awhile because I am need to readjust to how everybody is older in this volume.

Teen Titans: Earth One Vol. 2

Now this feels like the Teen Titans.  Jeff Lemire has crafted a great volume to what I thought was the weakest of the Earth One series.  No longer Teen Titans: Earth One definitely deserves its place at the table.  I like how the rest of the team was assembled together in this volume.  Impulse, Wonder Girl & Kole who start out as enemies of the Teen Titans fill out the rest of the team.  Slade Wilson demonstrates a heroic turn in this story-arc.  Raven & Starfire return in the end uniting all of the Teen Titans members together for the first time.  Finally Cyborg comes into his own & is revealed in a really cool way.  There is a very minor cliff hanger of a potential threat on the way but for now the teens just get to bask in victory & being teenagers.  I know that other than sequel planned to the current titles within the Earth One stable there are plans for an Aquaman & a Flash title.  For those I am equally excited but I also think there are a great many of DC Comics current heroes who could work well within the Earth One format.  For instance I would like see a Green Arrow, a Green Lantern, as far as the single heroes go but in terms of other team books go a Justice League, a Justice Society, a Freedom Fighters or a Green Lantern Corps.  I am sure there are other heroes that people would love to see join the Earth One series.

Teen Titans: Earth One Vol. 1

This is the first team book to come out of the Earth One series so far.  Jeff Lemire has done an excellent job crafting an origin story for the Teen Titans however this doesn't feel like the Teen Titans to me because Robin is missing it feels more like Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan.  However that is part of the enjoyment in this story it seems fresh.  One of the old members the original days of the Teen Titans back when Marve Wolfman was writing the book is back in this re-imagining, Terra.  Having Terra back throws in a nice dynamic to the team I don't really understand who Joseph also known as Jericho is so I found him to be kind of confusing but still interesting.  I really liked the idea of having Cyborg in this story especially since in mainstream continuity of comics & movies Cyborg is a Justice League member.  He is the only character to make the jump from the minors to the big leagues,  I like that Jeff Lemire reversed the gender role from Elias Stone to Elinore Stone for Victor's scientist parent who is not only a top S.T.A.R. Labs scientist in the story but the big bad in the end.  My favorite character of this whole new series is Raven I love how they of made her a Navajo girl who has visions also her character design is very cool.  Overall the artwork is top notch Terry Dodson is an amazing artist but I did have some problems with some of art.  First off his panels don't seem to flow as nicely as Jeff Lemire's story but it is still beautiful to look at.  Next I found that some of his character designs just seem off for the character.  Victor Stone for example just seems a little scrawnier than I was expecting him to be & it bothered me throughout the story.  Deathstroke was another one I liked the overall character design for Slade Wilson but when he got into costume as Deathstroke that he just kinda looked goofy.  Finally the reveal of who has brought them all together, Starfire.  However there are still several questions left unanswered first & foremost who did this to them.