ND 05-2022

AQUAMAN #19
Plot by EXCITER
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art by JIM LEE
“THE WAR FOR ATLANTIS” part one “DROWNING IN PROPAGANDA”
Since Black Adam presented evidence that the throne of Atlantis rightfully passed to the founders of Kahndaq and, eventually, to him, his announced intention to “retake” the underwater city-states has been championed by allies of Vandal Savage’s “Light.”
Queen Bee of Bialya has pledged to give financial and military support to the campaign. Brion Markov of Markovia has been convinced to do the same. Many in the United States are also pressuring their leaders to support Kahndaq. Commodore “Technocrat” Murphy, youthful trillionaire behind “the Green Team,” has convinced millions to change their profile pic to the Kahndaq flag under the pretense that modern Atlanteans are oppressive aquatic occupiers. Meanwhile, King Orm, the “Ocean Master,” is demonized in the media as a merman-supremacist threat to the surface world and colloquially referred to as “Fish Hitler.” Atlantis has few allies… and even their own betray them!
Frenzylord Vulgaris of Bazilia, founded by the legendary shark-rider Bazil, is about to sign a treaty agreeing to be absorbed as part of Kahndaq. This would give Black Adam a foothold beneath the waves and a considerable Carcharodon cavalry. Can Mera and Crablad convince Bazilia not to abandon Atlantis… or will they become chum?
Meanwhile, Aquaman decides to act directly. He confronts Black Adam face-to-face to demand he cease hostilities before hot war breaks out. Yet last time they met, Arthur was the “Aquagod” and enjoyed the powers of Poseidon (see AQUAMAN #12). He’s since lost that divinity and doesn’t stand a chance against Black Adam as a mere mortal! However, Adam doesn’t know about his recent de-powering, and Aquaman’s life might just depend on keeping that secret…
32 PGs./Rated T+ …$2.99
BAT-WING #34
Writer: Malcolm Jones
Artist: Dexter Soy
Plotter: Marvell2100
THROUGH THE WIRE!
David is finally bringing his brother Isaac home with the help of Matu Ba, the therapist that helped Isaac at the Brahm Institute. There, David hopes to help him continue to recover from his ordeal as a child soldier who later became the serial killer Massacre! Did David make the right choice bringing his brother back or has he potentially brought one of the world's most dangerous killers back to Tinisha? And what does The Red Lion have in mind for Isaac as plays a mysterious game with the killer as his pawn?
Elsewhere, agents Kia Okura, Dakota Johnson and Rick Flagg continue their investigation into Lena Killian who they believe is responsible for the death of the dirty gov't agent Steve Trevor and for nearly killing Kia! But a woman as wealthy and powerful as Lena is not an easy target and her contacts inside the government of the DRC have been keeping her well aware of any investigation. So they can't go after her directly, instead they intend to hunt down the killer she hired, Ravager! Is Kia ready to face the woman who already nearly killed her once before?
32 PGS./Rated T+...$3.99
DEADLY HANDS OF CONNOR HAWKE #34
Plotter: MARVELL2100
Writer: JEFF LEMIRE
Artist: ANDREA SORRENTINO
MOTHER'S DAY!
Naomi and Jax have just barely survived a brutal beating at the hands of Kilroy and Kimodo. They were both left for dead but fortunately for them they were found by Alba Garcia (Black Orchid), who trailed them ever since they left the states. Garcia and Naomi have a long history together as they were trained by Michael Cray also known as Deathblow (This guy spends a lot of time teaching people how to kill!). Garcia tells Naomi that she has a job if she's interested but they don't need the dead weight she's been dragging around. Before Jax can say anything, Naomi asks her what the job is. Garcia tells her that there is a situation in the city of Tinisha in the DRC that someone wants taken care of!
Back in the U.S., Connor and Avila return home to San Francisco from their time spent in Hawaii reconnecting. They've both been through a lot, each of them nearly dying and Connor finding out a little more about his past. He feels free now after confronting The Guild and there leader Richard Dragon. There are questions that still remain but he feels things that things are going in the right direction for him and Avila. So you can imagine his surprise when they enter their apartment only to find The Magus sitting there with Tasha al Asghul the woman who who claims to be Connors' mother!
32 PGS./Rated T+...$3.99
THE FLASH #34
Plot by EXCITER
Written by ROBERT KIRKMAN
Art by FRANK CHO
“S’KIDD MARKS”
Barry continues his undercover operation as “John Broome: Marathon Man” in the World Organization for Advancement of Humanity’s SD-1 speedster division, seemingly gaining the trust of W.O.A.H.’s Director, Captain Atom. But, somehow, his alter-ego has also gained a group of alien worshippers…
Apparently, at some point in the future, the Flash used the Speed Force to travel back in time to save Savothian society from destruction. As a result, he’s become a messianic figure with many man-dog-horse Savothians dedicating their entire lives to being like him… hence, S'kidd-Flash! Although S’kidd doesn’t recognize a disguised Barry as his messiah, he’s still happy to spread the good, fast word!
S'kidds'kakoth was genetically engineered in the womb to be a speedster, a holy-scientific honor among his kind that made him a sort of “chosen one” on Savoth, where a precious few could tap into the revered Speed Force. But it also came with responsibilities…
The enemies that the great Flash helped defeat in the past were never fully eradicated. Away from the advanced cities of Savoth, in the wilderness, there still dwelled… the Cheetahs! These speedy, cat-like savages would occasionally launch raiding parties and sporadic attacks - and it was S'kidd-Flash’s job to stop them! But when they kidnapped the daughter of the Savothian Arch-Scientist, could S’kidd rescue her? Or would his attempt be a failure that he’d spend the rest of his life trying to atone for?
32 PGs./Rated T+ …$2.99
GREEN LANTERN #34
Plot by EXCITER
Written by MARK MILLAR
Art by JOE MADUREIRA
“PURE EVAL”
Jordan! My office, now!
Corpsman Hal Jordan went renegade… again. But god damn it, he gets results!
Doomsday was a seemingly unstoppable engine of destruction that bedeviled the entire universe since he was first unlawfully created on primordial Krypton all those millennia ago. He was all rage but utterly lacked the one thing that Green Lanterns have in abundance: will power. That is, until Hal bent the rules to find a way to give him some…. But, despite that, Hal still caused Earth to effectively revoke the Green Lantern Corp’s jurisdiction to operate on the planet after (inadvertently) introducing the Doomsday Virus to the world (which he contracted while saving Earth-2). He then escaped a secure detention center with a convicted space felon, Despero, who subsequently disappeared.
So, what is Ganthet, Hal’s direct supervisor and esteemed Guardian of the Universe, going to do? Do Hal's pros outweigh his cons? Hal will certainly need to have the ability to overcome great fear as he must endure the rigors of… a performance evaluation!
Plus, can the newly in-control Doomsday actually be a force for good? Kilowog thinks so… if the poozer can make it through basic training! But with Doomsday’s history, will others ever allow him the chance at redemption?
Meanwhile, with the Lanterns restricted from Earth… wheels begin moving without their knowledge. Wheels that may spin humanity into the universe’s dominant species. Wheels greased… by Vandal Savage!
32 PGs./Rated T+ …$2.99
JLAlien #5
Plot by NX01A
Written by AL EWING
Art by RYAN SOOK
'INTO THE DARK, THE DEPTHS, INTO EVIL'
•A parallel Earth where Super Nazis conquered the world, slaughtered most of its population, and now prepare to create a star-spanning ÜBERREICH? You're probably wondering how we got here, and so do MAXWELL LORD and his two dimension-lost companions.
•VOODOO. Benefactor. Transgressor. Exotic dancer. Cur. The Führer, overman ÜBER, is fascinated by her once she, Max, and BLACKFIRE are escorted from orbit to his Wolfsschanze in Washington DC. Voodoo doesn't need her telepathy to tell that KARL ELL sees more in her than just beauty.
•In the late 1940s, Atlantis sided with what remained of the Allies, providing vital technomagic like the arcanukes which obliterated much of Germany, Japan, Paraside Island, and many supporting countries across the planet. Überreich retribution came in the form of alien dinoflagellates which created a permanent red tide, killing all ocean life including the Atlanteans.
•FRÄULEIN FÜRST was newly decanted from the Amazon gene crèche by her mothers and placed in a cloaked craft destined for Olympus not long before the arcanukes obliterated their stronghold's mystic shields and their sapphic island paradise. Damaged by the explosions, the invisible jet never breached the dimensional barriers, ditching instead into the Mediterranean where Über himself recovered it and its precious cargo. In the years that followed, she was raised as part of Über's Wölfinnen der Schutzstaffel, eventually becoming alpha female of the She Wolves of the SS. Fräulein Fürst's race memory of Amazon eugenics became the central axis around which the Überreich's plans revolved, and the dimensional technology from her escape craft would take them beyond the stars!
•Voodoo understands now that Über isn't admiring her beauty; he's admiring the beautiful genetic potential in her human-Kherubim-Daemonite DNA!
•Wait... Max and his two companions? Someone's missing, and that someone (invisible and intangible MA'ALEFA'AK) will soon discover that family reunions can be murder!
32 PGs./ Rated M...$3.99
MAN OF BRONZE #9
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Philip Tan
Plotter: Marvell2100
COME OUT AND PLAY
All hell has broken loose in Gotham as assassins battle in the streets! Ben and his reluctant partner The Huntress are up against Nemesis and his protege' Proud Mary(daughter of Michael Cray-Deathblow). Mary originally came to Gotham to kill The Huntress in the first place to build her rep. Ben wants to wrap this up as quickly as possible before another Bat shows up and things really get out of hand! But he knows that his former teammate Nemesis is no easy target. So in one quick move, he grabs Mary and threatens to kill her if Nemesis doesn't back off. Nemesis laughs and tells Ben that if he kills Mary, he'll have to answer to Deathblow. But Ben asks Nemesis if Michael knows that his daughter is being trained to be a killer, if that's all he's doing, by someone he once called a brother? What does he think Michael will do once he finds out who put her on the path? Nemesis thinks long and hard and tells Ben that he will leave with Mary but that this isn't over by far.
After checking on the injured Mark Shaw, who appears to be okay, Ben grabs him and is getting ready to leave. But before he can go, The Huntress stops him dead in his tracks and wants to ask him a question. Ben tells her not to worry about Nemesis or Mary, there was a misunderstanding and that they won't come after her again. Nemesis knows that he shouldn't have come to Gotham in the first place. She tells Ben that wasn't the question that she wanted to ask. She wants to know if he would like to have dinner with her tomorrow night!
32 PGS./Rated T+...$3.99
UNCANNY G-MEN #2
Written by Kieron Gillen
Plot by H-E-D
Art by Valerio Schiti
A MANSION IN MOURNING
A pall has been cast over the newly reformed G-Men!
Victory over the Pacifiers was achieved – but at too high a cost!
The life of their compatriot, UNION!
But there’s only so much time to mourn the fallen New Zealander!
Why?
Don’t ask who, but somebody thought a good way to deal with grief was to set off a cathartic eye blast in the backyard…
And, in the process, accidental opened up a demonic cairn on the grounds of the mansion.
Yes, it was Basilisk. Yes, he feels really bad about it.
But feelings will have to wait. Now, they face a fierce ERET-HA demon!
32 PGs./Rated T+ …$2.99
DETECTIVE COMICS #25
Writers SEAN MCARDLE (Fuhrer and The Tramp) & STEPHANIE PHILLIPS (We Only Kill Each Other)
Artist ELSA CHARRETIER (November)
Plotter: CAPTCLEGHORN (nothing in particular)
“Batman Year Negative 64”
Bruce Wayne continues his analysis of his amazing and powerful family history. In February of 1939, the German American Bund held a rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Although 20,000 attended, it gathered almost no additional support for their pro-nazi platform. The actual nazis refused them permission to use the swastika.
Plan B was to have a second rally in Gotham City, on April 20, 1939, hitler’s 50th birthday. Three individuals took the lead in planning the event. Dr. Art Schival, an Austrian scientist trapped in a condition forcing him to live at extreme subzero temperatures. He was known as Mr, Freeze. A German psychiatrist named Hugo Strang, adjusting his name to Hugo Strange. And perhaps the most dangerous, a large, muscular Amazonian woman known only as Bruno.
Bruce’s Great-Grandfather Patrick Wayne was one of the family who arguably did the most to build the Wayne fortune. He also helped to support the city through the depression, and he would be damned if nazis were to succeed in Gotham after failing in NYC. But the NYC rally did not have super-villains planning and supporting a seeming legal, even if evil, event.
64 PGS./ Rated T for Teen Readers...$3.99
HAWKWOMAN AND HAWKMAN #12
Writer ED BRUBAKER
Artists ADAM and ANDY KUBERT
Plotter: CaptCleghorn
Cover by BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH
“END OF SHIFT” (season one conclusion)
Hawkwoman and Hawkman, aided by Christine St. Claire and Major Zastrow, find, corner, and subdue the villainous Shadow Thief Carl Sands. Unfortunately, that was the easy part. Charges need to be defined and jurisdiction is being firmly argued. Russia, being the location of capture takes the lead in demanding the prisoner.
Our heroes hope to be helpful in this discussion but with the disappearance of their supervisor Byth and the interference of CAW (Collective Assistance for Worlds), the Hawks’ tenure on Earth has gathered many questions and the two are being recalled to Thanagar for an indefinite period. The immediate departure leaves their daughter Chay-Ara behind.
Chay-Ara is currently involved in a case with Checkmate where she is working undercover to break up a Venom spiked fight club ring. The case is solved and Chay-Ara’s handler Carrie Kelley as well as Checkmate director Amanda “the Wall” Waller are satisfied enough to offer the Thanagarian adolescent a position within the organization. Will Chay accept?
32 PGS./ Rated T for Teen Readers...$3.99
THE QUESTION #34
Writer: MARK RUSSELL
Artist: BILL SIENKIEWICZ
Plotter: CaptCleghorn
“Where in the World is Charles Victor Szasz?”
Part 7: “How ‘Bout Them Sawx?”
Vic’s national tour has resumed, and the first east coast stop is Boston. However, since the Hub City fight with Charles Victor Zsasz, the variant of Vic from another dimension known as the Answer, ended with Zsasz escaping Vic is cautious and on the lookout.
On Vic’s Boston show, he tries to see how long it will take to get a bowl of Manhattan Clam Chowder to the studio. He also investigates the urban myth of a blue rock on Chappaquiddick Island marking the location of a hidden pirate treasure. The show ends awkwardly when he points out the Red Sox 86-year World Series drought fits snugly within the White Sox 88-year drought.
Then Vic has a heart attack.
32 PGS./ Rated M for Mature Readers...$3.99
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