Superman/Shazam #2 - Rated 7 - This series really seems to be taking it's time BUT it really gives a chance for characterization. I liked Cap and Supes "getting to know you" moments. In the end of the book we see the creation of Sabbac. I'm liking the read...

JSA #78 - Rated 8 - I can't wait for all these tie ins to end. The team goes into the 5th dimension to find Johnny and Akeem but find a world in a big war apparently lead by an evil Jakeem. Meanwhile, Nabu and some other JSAers get attacked by a newly released Mordru... whom I don't see why he is so happy cause Spectre will come for him sooner or later.

Wonder Woman #221 - Rated 7 - ANOTHER tie in. OMACs attack WW and she beats them EASILY. Too easy it seemed. And we get another taste of how invulnerable she is. This also ends where WW's killing of Max is outted to the world. Best part of this issue IMO is her "chat" with her goddess.

Outsiders #29 - Rated 7 - MORE TIE IN! The team has it's 1st spat and then go thier ways (till they are called for action). Meanwhile the Fearsome Five go to break out Mammoth out of jail. This is because Deathstroke gets Sabbac to join them in return for more magic power. While the jail break happens the the Outsiders try to stop it the Rock of Eternity explodes and Sabbac absorbs the 7 deadly sins and gets supercharged. I liked the stuff with Jade and Grace.

Rann/Thanagar War #6- I really really liked how they took care of Onimar Synn, but they're still in the middle of a ####storm!!!! This could get really nasty, considering we still don't know what the hell that void is. For all we know, it could be an opening for something nasty......like the Anti-Monitor! Or perhaps Onimar Synn is back......

Aquaman #35 An OMAC tie-in. Aquaman turns to Geist for help with Mera's condition, but things get sticky when one of the supporting cast is revealed to be an OMAC. Arthur throws down hard (I liked where he threw the bus at it), but ultimately falls. Enter Koryak, who isn't in the OMAC database, so gets the upper hand quickly and finishes what his dad started. Of course, being late to the party, Koryak doesn't realise there's a person inside and , well, looks like we're down a cast member. We get a glimpse of the fallout from the "Wonder Woman Broadcast", Black Manta gets his therapy and Arthur's two women meet under some stressful circumstances.

Rann-Thanagar War The war ends, but restarts again with new players almost immediately. Meanwhile this huge rip in Space Time appears in the Polaris system for no reason, but everyone's too caught up in the conflict to investigate (gee, think that's a mistake?). The pacing was better in this issue than before and partially redeemed the series, but I still felt last issues death added nothing to the overall story. Indeed, since Synn is gone now and Thanagar is wilfully engaging in the war, what side would Shayera have fought on? Wasted opportunity there.


JSA Champagne starts his stint as guest writer and does a decent job. We get a fairly major revelation about what happened just before Shazam fought Spectre in DOV (shouldn't this fact have been mentioned in the mini?) and get some interesting stuff with Fate's tower and the Fifth Dimension. Loved, loved, loved seeing Nabu back in control of Dr. Fate, but the plot point with Jakeem reminds me too much of the dreaded "Progenitor" plot form Legion Lost. Hope there's a better explanation next issue.

Maybe it's just me but I'm getting kinda losing interest in Infinite Crisis due to all the crossovers, tie ins, multiple series, special issues, special limitted series, etc, etc that are coming out. DC head haunchos are almost bragging about the fact that they are driving themselves nuts trying to keep everything in order with all the books they're putting out with it. Well if they're having a tough time of it then it's possible the readers will be running around like chickens with their heads cut off. I had been enjoying the OMAC series as well as Villians United until I kept seeing all the OMAC stuff that I was missing by not picking up every other series that DC puts out.

I was looking forward to the Infinite Crisis series but then all this talk about the 52 series and the OMAC, Villains United, Rann/Thannagar, Day of Vengance specials were announced and I'm expecting more crossovers, etc, etc. It almost seems like too much stuff to try to go through. So I'll pick up just Infinite Crisis and if it seems I need to read a whole bunch of other stuff I'll end up dropping it too.

And I'm hoping not to turn this into a Marvel vs DC discussion. Yes, I'm more of a Marvel fan and yes, I feel Marvel is doing the exact same thing with House of M. I only collected House of M (and didn't really feel like I was missing out on much with the other series) but I saw all the follow up books/series that tie into it and just let out a big sigh. Now I'll be glad when House of M is over and I can just pass over all the follow up stuff. And I'm really glad the House of M Hulk stuff is over with.

Or maybe it's just me.

And that's my rant for the day.

Return of Donna Try #4 - Good ending to a fair series. The first three issues were rather dense in thier history, and I'm pretty sure that most folks didn't really care about the Titans of Myth. Their motivations were better presented in this issue than any other. We learn some important stuff about Donna which fixes the horrible Byrnination she suffered, without totally invalidating it. It seems more like a beginning, though, than an ending, with obviouslly more to come. Very important revelation about the nature of the cosmos.

The Superman/Captain Marvel "getting to know you moment" made that book. I loved it..I though it made for good, realistic character development. Realistically if you are breaking into any business, and you get to work with the person who embodies everything that business is about, you atre going to be just as awestruck as Cap was. However, when that person reciprocates that feeling towards you, it really vaidates you and what you do. That's what I think Cap got out of that exchange. Great stuff!

Mordru is a bit different than the rest of the Magic-wielding folk that Spectre is targettting at the moment, because as he said, he is Magic. So it would be interesting to see if the Spectre took a crack at wiping out Mordru, or if he dismissed him since he was entombed in the Rock of Eternity.

Great stuff, I give Superman/Shazam! #2 a 9 and JSA #78 an 8.

See, I guess that's what I don't understand. It looks to me like there are several magic villians that are still running loose out there that Spectre hasn't done anything about......

Right, but up until the end of DOV the Spectre was heeding the advice of Eclispo. I'm sure s/he would have intentionally pushed the Spectre towards "good" targets first to eliminate the biggest threat to him/her. Eclipso certainly wasn't above sending Spectre after Black Adam to settle a personal score over in JSA.

She sent him after BA? I must have missed that. Isn't he still a player in VU, though?

It was in the Black Vengenance arc in JSA. Spectre and Eclipso invaded Khandaq to get revenge for Adam using Eclipso when he took control of the country. Atom Smasher sacrificed himself to save Adam and the country (Adam then rrevived him using the Shazam lightning). Afterwards, when Atom Smasher still chose to leave with the JSA, it cemented Adam's loyalty to the Society.

Can anyone tell me why Captain Marvel Jr. still has his powers?

Two possible reasons:

1 - The Outsiders story takes place before the end of DoV (or at least, most of the Outsiders story does). We don't really see CM Jr after the Rock is destroyed, IIRC.
2 - Shazam isn't really dead -- he's just resting (but I don't know how to reconcile that with Billy's predicament at the end of DoV)

I've seen a lot of people worrying about the Marvel Family losing their powers now that Shazam is dead. I don't get this. Doesn't anybody remember pre-Crisis? You know, back then, Shazam was killed off early on (in the same way, with a block of stone on a thread falling on his head). That didn't slow the Marvel Family down. Shazam came back as a ghost to advise the Marvel Family whenever a brazier in the cave was lit.

Based on the end of DoV, where Billy is falling and can't remember the word that will save his life, I think folks fears about the Marvel Family are not unexpected.

I'm with you, though. Shazam isn't dead, or if he is, he's not dead for long. Or he'll pull an Obi-Wan and come back stronger than before.

Phantom Stranger wouldn't say he was dead unless he were actually dead.