Zero Issue Previews! Action Comics, Animal Man, and Worlds' Finest

Cover to Action Comics #0 by Ben Oliver

 

Cover to Animal Man #0 by Steve Pugh

 

 

Cover to Worlds' Finest #0 by Kevin Maguire

 

 

 

Worlds' Finest #1 Review!

Worlds' Finest #1

Written by: Paul Levitz

Art by: George Perez, Kevin Maguire, & Scott Koblish

This series is one of DC’s “Second Wave” titles, focusing on the heroes from Earth-2 named Power Girl and Huntress that happen to be stuck on the main Earth. That’s pretty much all you need to know. The issue explains the rest of it. But I would recommend reading Earth-2 #1 first. Even if only just to see what happened to get them here and what happened just before.

Summary

The issue opens with Helena Wayne (aka Huntress) and Karen Starr (aka Power Girl) in a Japanese restaurant. They’re deciding which identity Helena should take on since her old one (Helena Bertinelli) died and the body was recovered and is now officially dead to the world. We hear that Karen is a rich ass lady with a bunch of money from Starr Enterprises, that she owns, I guess. She apparently bought some dirt-cheap lab in Japan and that’s why they’re there. They run off and to a burning building (apparently it’s the one she bought). And hear that there is only one reason she bought that building and it is because they had the equipment to finish a “Quantum Tunneler.” Karen goes running in to make sure it’s okay and Helena follows inside, changes into her Huntress outfit, and finds out that this fire wasn’t an accident. We get a reference to Michael Holt (aka Mister Terrific) so that pretty much confirms that Karen’s sightings in the beginning of the New 52 were actually her. Karen explains that this quantum-doohickey would have potentially been their ticket home. Helena has given up hope on trying to get home but Karen hasn’t. Apparently some of the radioactives stored there are missing. Then we cut back to five years ago on Earth-2. Karen & Robin go flying straight into the boom tube thing that took them to the main Earth. Then we see inside the tube. Karen and Hel are like knocked unconscious and go flying through the Multiverse. They open over an ocean, crash land, and Robin (Hel) takes Karen and drags her to shore. When Karen wakes up, apparently Hel has been doing some snooping around and figures out that the Kal of this world is young (while showing a picture of him in his Action Comics t-shirt and jeans outfit). Then we cut to “59 Months Ago.” Which would be…what? Still nearly 5 years ago? They’re talking about how they will take down Darkseid for killing their loved ones. Helena says they need “outfits.” Meaning new identities…? Okay. Well then we see Karen on the cover of Time magazine, and Hel bursts into...let's just say an "illegal transaction" going on and takes down the guys there. We cut back to the "now" and we see Karen pull out a outfit and saying that she'll become Power Girl as her new identity for the new world. They race to find the saboteur and, obviously, Karen does first and gets punched through a wall and then we meet Hakkou, the Irradiated Man as they get ready to battle, ending the issue.

Thoughts
This was really good, too! This whole Earth-2 thing is so much better than the New 52 started out. Can't believe they didn't set this up 9 months ago! This was all amazing. I loved the humor and fun that went along with the seriousness of them realizing they lost family and friends in Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman (seen in Earth-2). Nothing was really surprising or anything, but it was a really good issue. I can't wait for next month. But I'm not sure about this Hakkou guy. I mean, sure, they can't immediately jump into getting back to Earth-2 but I'd like to see them have a Multiverse-travelling storyline at some point as they try to get back. But it was good, nonetheless. 9.5/10

Earth-Two #1 Preview! And my hopes for Earth-Two and Worlds' Finest

My Hopes for Earth-Two (and Worlds’ Finest)

1.       Jay Garrick, Alan Scott, Al Pratt, & Ted Grant-(3/4) CONFIRMED!

The main heroes of Earth-Two have always been the Golden Age heroes known as the Flash, Green Lantern, the Atom, and Wildcat respectively. They have been mentors to almost every single hero in the DCU Universe. Well…before the New 52. I have realized that all of them will be new(er) heroes when the series starts, but I hope that maybe that can be as inspiring as they were pre-Relaunch.

2.       Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman aren’t the “stars of the show”-UNCONFIRMED

The only previews from the new series show Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman fighting off hordes of para-demons. Which is a shame. I don’t care if they run the series at the beginning, but hopefully they will hand it over to Jay, Alan, etc. While I’m really interested in knowing their backstories and how they became who they are, I am not so interested that I would want to read it month after month for a long time. DC could accomplish the same thing (and please more fans) by creating a “Trinity” series instead.

3.       The Quality Stays Consistent-CONFIRMED! For the first 3 issues…

James Robinson and Paul Levitz are both very good writers and this series promises not only good, strong writing, but humorous and human writing as well. On the art side of the books, we see Nicola Scott, George Perez, and Kevin Maguire on art duties for the books. Nicola Scott’s art reminds me of Ivan Reis’ art a lot and he happens to be putting out the best New 52 artwork right now. Hopefully she can keep up with him. George Perez & Kevin Maguire are doing the art for Worlds’ Finest and I can’t wait to see it. They’re both industry legends, and I can’t wait for it.

4.       Familiar Faces-UNCONFIRMED

Thus far, we’ve seen Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash (Jay Garrick, not Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Alan Scott, not Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, or Kyle Rayner), Supergirl (later Power Girl), and Robin (later Huntress). But we haven’t seen designs for characters like Al Pratt (a.k.a. Atom) or Ted Grant (a.k.a. Wildcat) who have been claimed to be in the series but no signs have been shown. At least until we crack open the first few issues of Earth-Two. It'd be nice to see other characters appear like Stargirl, Atom Smasher, Damage, etc.  As for Worlds’ Finest, we don’t know if the two girls will be introduced to other heroes from the New 52 Earth or not. I sure hope we are. I would love to see the two girls fight alongside the JLI (or just Booster Gold), New 52-Batman, etc. Plus if there are any Crisis’ while the girls are around, they will surely be involved.

Hopeful Cast:

·         Superman -CONFIRMED by image

·         Batman-CONFIRMED by image

·         Wonder Woman-CONFIRMED by image

·         Supergirl/Power Girl-CONFIRMED by image

·         Robin/Huntress-CONFIRMED by image

·         The Flash (Jay Garrick)-CONFIRMED by image

·         Green Lantern (Alan Scott)-CONFIRMED by image

·         Al Pratt (The Atom?)-CONFIRMED by James Robinson

·         Wally West-UNCONFIRMED

·         Wildcat (Ted Grant)-UNCONFIRMED

·         Stargirl-UNCONFIRMED

·         Red Tornado-UNCONFIRMED

·         Black Lightning-UNCONFIRMED

·         Lightning (Black Lightning’s daughter)-UNCONFIRMED

·         Psycho-Pirate-UNCONFIRMED

Well there are more I'd love to see, but I don't feel like listing them. So I'll post the preview and I'll see you all tomorrow with some reviews!!

Earth-2 & Worlds' Finest Solicits

Here's the official solicit:

EARTH TWO #1
Written by JAMES ROBINSON
Art by NICOLA SCOTT and TREVOR SCOTT
Cover by GREG CAPULLO
1:25 Variant cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
On sale MAY 2 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
• First issue of an ongoing series from writer JAMES ROBINSON and artist NICOLA SCOTT!
• Who are the heroes of EARTH 2 – and what befell them?
• Starring ALAN SCOTT, JAY GARRICK and many others!
• You may think you know Earth 2…but this is DC Comics – The New 52, where anything can happen!
• Don’t miss the extra-sized debut issue!

Here's the official solicit:

WORLDS’ FINEST #1
Written by PAUL LEVITZ
Art by GEORGE PEREZ, SCOTT KOBLISH and KEVIN MAGUIRE
Cover by GEORGE PEREZ
1:25 Variant cover by KEVIN MAGUIRE
On sale MAY 2 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• New ongoing series featuring POWER GIRL and HUNTRESS of Earth 2!
• PAUL LEVITZ teams with amazing artists GEORGE PEREZ and KEVIN MAGUIRE.
• Discover why these two heroes are stranded on our Earth – and what it means for the heroes of the DC Universe.

Upcoming Ongoings: Worlds' Finest & Earth-2

So, as it was recently announced by DC, a "Second Wave" of titles will be released in May, following six of the... "First Wave"(?) titles getting cancelled.

As I said, I'm very excited for at least two of the new series...specifically the ones focusing on Earth-2!

I can't wait for Power Girl to be returning to the position of a starring role in an ongoing series. I had been hoping to, before the relaunch, go out and get some new series and Power Girl was one of them.

Worlds Finest

Worlds Finest will be starring Power Girl and Huntress. This is also coming from the "Huntress" mini-series Paul Levitz did, which I believe is finishing up this month. Apparently it will show Karen and Helena meeting. I'm down with that. I might actually pick up the last issue just to see that, despite the fact that I'll probably be confused as fuck. Haha.

I can't wait for this series, though. Two displaced heroes (badass heroes, might I add?) and I'm hoping we see some kind of interaction with Earth-1's heroes. And eventually, they'll obviously end up on Earth-2 again. And maybe once they're back on Earth-2, they'll have brought Mr. Terrific and Hawkman back with them? I wouldn't mind that. Assuming there aren't already Earth-2 versions of the heroes. But I definitely have VERY high hopes for this series and expect to subscribe to it before I even read the first issue.

Earth-2

James Robinson and Nicola Scott are bringing back the JSA in, hopefully, an unexpected way. I'm hoping that we see Golden Age Superman, Batman, & Wonder Woman. Along with Dr. Fate, the Spectre, Sandman, the Atom (not Ray Palmer sadly) & so many other Golden Age characters. But most of all? I want the Golden Age Green Lantern, Flash, and Wildcat. That's right. The "Big Three" of the JSA.

I would like to see, as crazy as it sounds, Earth-2 be a $3.99 title. Maybe we toss in the "original" JSA back in WW2 as a second-feature. But in the "main" time we see the new iteration of the JSA fighting current threats. But most likely, we're going to get a mainstream story that costs $2.99 with most of the "normal" JSA on the line-up. Dr. Fate, Wildcat, Green Lantern, Flash, etc.


So are you looking forward to these two series? I certainly am. They should be very cool titles. I cannot wait.

Interview with "Worlds Finest" Writer Paul Levitz on CBR

About an hour ago, Comic Book Resources posted an interview with the writer of the upcoming title "Worlds' Finest", Paul Levitz.

Not much was revealed, but here's the interview if you're interested:

CBR News: "Worlds' Finest" is obviously a title that has, traditionally, been a Batman and Superman vehicle. Paul, what made you want to flip it over and tell stories with Huntress and Power Girl, specifically the Earth-2 versions of the characters?

Paul Levitz: That was a DC decision; I had been campaigning to do more with the Huntress, after the recent miniseries which I enjoyed doing, and the editors suggested connecting Power Girl to her old friend, and it grew organically from there. I think playing off the resonance to the two core characters they relate to is fun, and the wordplay of "Worlds' Finest" fits nicely.

You mentioned campaigning to do more with Huntress -- beyond your role in creating her, what is it about Helena that really fascinates you as a storyteller?

The combination of her strength as a character and the intriguing overlay of what it might have been like to be brought up by two people as interesting and complex as Batman and Catwoman.

Though Huntress and Power Girl are now from Earth-2, initially (at least) they are stuck on the New 52 Earth. What do you gain by having these two operating as fish out of water in New 52 Earth that you wouldn't have if the series covered stories about the pair set on Earth-2?

Ah, you'll need to read the stories for that. They had totally different identities on Earth-2 -- remember, this is a new DC Universe, so it's a new Earth-2. There wasn't a Huntress or Power Girl on this Earth-2, so it would have been a very different series!

In that case, are you getting a chance to define the new Earth-2 world as well in your series?

James [Robinson] is in the lead developing Earth-2, and I'm following his work. It's fun enough developing these two characters and their paths.

How closely will events in "Worlds' Finest" be tied to James Robinson's "Earth-2" series, also recently announced as a New 52 Second Wave title? Will there be any crossover in the future?

Hopefully, the two will be very closely related -- at least we're starting with coordinating how the women get to our Earth, and with ideas about [how] the stories can connect over time in some pretty ominous ways.

When you started working on "The Huntress" miniseries, was the plan always to roll that into "Worlds' Finest?" Will the end of the miniseries tie into "Worlds' Finest?"

By the time we finished the first issue the beginnings of the plan were beginning to come together, and gave us the opportunity to develop some of the clues that the readers have been enjoying and debating all along. The last scene brings the two together, and gently leads towards their next exploit.

Touching on the characters, how is this Helena Wayne different from the one you've written before?

[This Helena] had a very different life than the previous Helena on Earth-2 -- some of which will be revealed in the first story, more of which will be revealed over time. She's been hardened more, and as you can see in the miniseries, has more willingness to go to the limits for her goals.

Along those same lines, how different is this new Power Girl from the pre-relaunch version? Will this Karen Star be the same one who appeared in "Mister Terrific?"

I'm newer to writing the new Power Girl, so she's still evolving, but it's definitely the Karen Starr from "Mister Terrific," and I think she's got a much clearer sense of mission than any version of Power Girl we've seen before. The events that brought her here provide compelling reasons for her future destiny.

How would you describe Huntress and Power Girl's relationship dynamic in "Worlds' Finest?

Really good friends with seriously different ways of dealing with a traumatic life change, and some very different approaches to life.

On "Worlds' Finest" you're working with two artists, Kevin Maguire and George Perez. What has it been like getting to work with George and Kevin, both of whom go way back with you at DC?

[I'm] just starting -- I've done one story with George a few years ago, which was a delight, and this will be my first experience with Kevin. But it's exciting to describe scenes and visualize how such talented men will bring them to life.

Finally, how does the collaboration between the three of you work -- will the two of them take turns on the book, or will each one take a character and be the primary artist drawing things from their hero's perspective?

I think it'll probably vary. The first script has George on the 'current' events and Kevin on the 'how they got here' events -- and I suspect we'll have whole issues by each of them, or whole arcs, depending on how schedules and story structures come together.

DC Comics-The New 52 Second Wave

In April, several "New 52" series will be cancelled. Those titles are:
1. BLACKHAWKS
2. O.M.A.C. (Yay! Didio isn't writing an ongoing comic any more!)
3. HAWK AND DOVE
4. MEN OF WAR
5. MISTER TERRIFIC
6. STATIC SHOCK


These series are replaced by six "new" ongoing series, keeping the number at an equal 52. Most of these new series are actually pretty cool.
1. BATMAN INCORPORATED-Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham "The acclaimed ongoing writer of ACTION COMICS, Grant Morrison, presents a fresh take on BATMAN INCORPORATED, in which the Batman brand is franchised globally in preparation for a major international threat."

2. EARTH-2-James Robinson and Nicola Scott "The greatest heroes on a parallel Earth, the Justice Society combats threats that will set them on a collision course with other worlds."

3. WORLDS' FINEST-Paul Levitz w/ rotating story arcs for art by George Perez and Kevin Maguire "Stranded on our world from a parallel reality, Huntress and Power Girl struggle to find their way back to Earth 2. Perez and Maguire will be the artists on alternating story arcs."

4. THE RAVAGERS-Howard Mackie & Ian Churchill "Spinning off from TEEN TITANS and SUPERBOY, this series finds four superpowered teens on the run and fighting against the organization that wants to turn them into supervillains."

5. DIAL H (FOR HERO)-China Mieville & Mateus Santoluoco "The first ongoing series from acclaimed novelist China Miéville, this is a bold new take on a cult classic concept about the psychological effects on an everyman who accidentally gains powers to become a hero."

6. G.I. COMBAT-J.T. Krul & Ariel Olivetti "Featuring the return of a classic DC Comics series, THE WAR THAT TIME FORGOT, along with rotating back-up stories and creative teams - including THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER, with writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Dan Panosian; and THE HAUNTED TANK, with writer John Arcudi and artist Scott Kolins."

So here are my thoughts on each series:

BATMAN INCORPORATED:
I feel like this could be better than the series was before the relaunch. I know that most of my blogger buddies don't like Grant Morrison, but I've been okay with his work on Action Comics, and I like some of his other work with Batman so, depending on the ratings of the first issue or two, I might pick it up.

EARTH-2:
I've been wanting this series for MONTHS now. This series has so much potential, it's scary. I just hope that Robinson doesn't run it into the ground like he did with the Justice League during his run. But Nicola Scott has amazing skills, James Robinson has HAD a good story or two in the past, and maybe this is our chance to see Wally West, Ray Palmer (as the Atom), Donna Troy, and the other characters we've all been hoping to see! But this series should be good...as long as Alan Scott, Jay Garrick, and Ted Grant are there. I can't wait!

WORLDS FINEST:
Power Girl. Paul Levitz. George Perez. That is all you have to say, and I am on board.

THE RAVAGERS:
I feel like this series is going to star characters who, in the old Universe, were teenage heroes that were on Teen Titans at one time or another. Since its supposed to be six...I could see it being something like Static, Miss Martian, Ravager, (who leads the team), uhhhh maybe Beast Boy could fit in here? But yeah, I'm almost certain it'll be those first three at least. I'm 100% certain that Ravager will star and probably lead the team. I'm sure Red Robin and the rest of the TT will be in the series at one point or another.

DIAL H:
Not interested...at ALL.

G.I. COMBAT:
Ugh. A war story, to replace two war stories. YAY! ...not.

Well there you have it. My thoughts on the Second Wave of the New 52. 2 (or potentially 4) of the 6 new series look good. I'll take that. I'm pretty excited for May (when these new series come out)! See you later, readers.

Legion of Super-Heroes #3

Creative Team:

Paul Levitz (writer)
Francis Portela (artist)

Summary of Events Until Now

In the first two issues of "Legion," we see Dragonwing, Chemical Kid, Phantom Girl, Chameleon Boy, and Ultra Boy infiltrating a planet-base known as "Panotpes." We met a (new?) character named Renegade, who is a Daxamite...much like Mon-El. Mon-El then shows up on the scene and starts fighting alongside Ultra Boy against Renegade. In the end, the Dominators (!!!) show up with a huge fleet!

Meanwhile, Brainiac 5 and a couple others are doing some stuff that I dont quite understand the point of. If I happen to understand it, I'll explain it later.

Issue Summary

The issue opens with Chameleon Boy, Phantom Girl, Chemical Kid, & Dragonwing scrambling to handle the Dominators, whose fleet is directly overhead.

We then cut to Brainiac 5's lab, where he is testing Glorith's ability to create shields. Glorith asks if he should be watching the monitor to keep an eye on whats happening on Panoptes.

Back on Panoptes, Cham saves DW & Chem, while PG sneaks into one of the ships and destroys it.

We now see Lightning Lass, Cosmic Boy, Shrinking Violet, & Invisible Kid flying in a ship to Daxam. They land and are greeted by some friendly Daxamites (didn't know those existed...). Cos asks one of them what they know about Renegade.

Back on Panoptes, Renegade is easily fending off Ultra Boy, and Mon-El, when an extra squad of Legionnaires show up. The squad consists of: Element Lad, Polar Boy, Sun Boy, Shadow Lass, and Cosmic Queen. Element Lad looks really weird... And Polar Boy seems like a character I will come to hate.

Shadow Lass turns everything dark, which allows Mon-El to punch Renegade hard in the face. Shadow Lass keeps the shadows covering Mon-El and Renegade, while the others fly off to attack the Dominators.

Back on Daxam, Cos learns that Renegade was a student "pursuing off-world studies," but disappeared. Which is quite odd, considering that Daxamites can't leave Daxam due to their fatal allergy to lead and heavy metals. But then it is said that he was being taught via virtual reality, but they can't find any trace of him on Daxam.

We see the Legionnaires enjoying themselves while destroying the Dominator ships. Dragonwing flirts with Sun Boy. And the Dominators begin to retreat. They are not afraid of the Legion following them back to their home planet. Cham managed to get on board the ship before they left.

Element Lad and Brainy are having a discussion on how to stop Renegade, and then we see Mon-El and Ultra Boy had taken down Renegade. Therefore ending the issue.

Thoughts

I know I didn't write reviews (or even buy up until this past weekend) for the first two issues of Legion, but I really like it. I plan on picking it up regularly. Art is great. Story is fun and action-packed. Can't wait to see when Cham inevitably will get caught and be a captive. Glad to see that most of the Legion came together to take down Renegade and the Dominators in this issue. It was great.

8/10

Glorith: "Don't you need to monitor whats happening on Panoptes with Renegade?"
Brainiac 5: "Mon-El's there. ANd he gets annoyed when I impinge on his leadership prerogatives...even when I'm right."

Levitz & Batista To Continue "Month of the Mini's" Glory with Legion of Super-Heroes: Secret Origin

That's right. Superman did it. Hal Jordan did it. Now the Legion will be doing it this October when Legion of Super-Heroes: Secret Origin kicks off. The 6-issue mini-series, which continues the DCnU "Month of the Mini's," will tell the DCnU Legion of Super-Heroes origin story.

As you can see the turtle-neck-thing that Superman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and several other superheroes carries on to the 31st Century, as Cosmic Boy has a turtle-neck-thing on the cover of LSH: SO #1.

This, being officially announced on Newsarama earlier today, shows signs that the rest of DC's teenage superhero category "Young Justice" will be announced this afternoon.

I hope we might yet get my "Power Girl & Booster Gold" mini that I'm hoping for when the "Justice League" category is announced. I assume that tomorrow will be that category along with Superman. Or possibly both Superman & Young Justice today, with Justice League following tomorrow.

Maybe we will see a new mini about Krypton. And when I say Krypton, I mean the original Krypton. Not the New Krypton stuff.

Thoughts? Sound off below