Green Lantern #7

"The Secret of the Indigo Tribe" starts here. Things are getting interesting in this title once again, as Indigo-1 and her people come for Sinestro to give him the same "compassion" treatment Black Hand received at the end of "Blackest Night."  From the beginning, this arc has a horror element to it that makes it very different from the recurrent theme of the book, and is this deviation that returns the title its spark. Back on Oa, the guardians continue their plans to deploy the "Third Army" and get rid of the corps; this is shaping up to be a major storyline, but I hope that by the end of it we'll be done with the guardians, because their constant evilness is running thin. Carol Ferris has an intriguing moment that enforces the implied idea that the rings have an addicting effect on their wearer.  Doug Mahnke's pencils steal the show in this issue.

Huntress #6

This is the end. Capri serves as the stage for Helena's final hunt, and even with a huge price on her head, the masked heroine neither falters nor disappoints. Her treatment of Ibn Hassan forces one to question whether by the end of last issue she really did what she is being accused of; whatever the answer is, there will be consequences beyond the end of this mini. The art team of Marcus To, John Dell, and Andrew Dalhouse shined throughout the entire run; issue after issue they delivered a top notch product with nice visuals, clean lines, and bright colors.  Paul Levitz also did a great job building a Huntress that will keep new and long time readers happy.  The story ends on a high note with some humor, and of course, the much awaited connection to the world of Earth-2, which becomes the "Yeah!" moment of this month. This is only the beginning.

Uncanny X-Men #8

The final chapter of "Tabula Rasa" could not arrive too soon. As a concept, the arc would have been a great follow up to "The Dark Angel Saga," had it been properly executed; instead, the crisis quickly devolved into the backdrop to a series of interactions between pairs of X-Men that hardly passed for characterizations. Colossus is now a brute with no personality, Magik's purpose within the team remains undefined, Hope's flirtation with Namor was nothing but uncomfortable, and his unnecessary display of diplomatic relations was just the set up for a joke at the end of an issue that was beyond salvation. Speaking of, the only parts of the story with a shred of interest were those featuring Magneto and Psylocke; but her guilt and his knowing of X-Force's secret can only be played for so long.  Greg Land's pencils are the main reason to be glad the arc is over.

Batwing #7

On his way to Gotham, Batwing leans the terrible secret of Africa's prime meta human team. The Kingdom steals the show in this issue by Judd Winick, even though their story is told using flashbacks. The reason why things went the way they did and the choices they were forced to make, were written well within the realm of logic, and showed why a terrible thing was allowed to happen just to prevent one ten times worse. Between The Kingdom's backstory and the Bat-family's appearance in the book, there was not much Batwing to talk about; let's hope this does not become the norm -although some more Kingdom wouldn't be a bad thing. The one factor that was detrimental to the story was the artwork by Dustin Nguyen. It's already been announced that Ben Oliver is leaving the book, but this was the one issue that would have looked fantastic pencilled by him. Overall, great writing, below average art.

Red Lanterns #7

It's a match of red vs. green as Rankorr meets Guy Gardner for the first time. The battle provides a different point of view to explain what Jack Moore is going through now that he has become a Red Lantern; Guy had been in his place not long ago, and he is one of the few who understands what that feels like; this short appearance by Green Lantern moves Rankorr's character forward. There is also an intriguing development for some of the Sinestro Corps members who fled after the events in the main Green Lantern title, and it will be interesting to see what the fate of this group is. Someone who has not fared well is Atrocitus; he is being portrayed as a shadow of his former self; this might be an intentional change introduced by Milligan for story purposes, but it almost hurts to see the once unstoppable leader of the Red Lanterns be overtaken by fear and insecurity.

The Ray #3

The Ray gains his first super villain and gets beaten to a pulp in the third issue of his mini-series... welcome to the world of heroes, Lucien! Palmiotti and Gray had made it easy for this new Ray to learn how to use his powers and very quickly become a hero; but now he is being placed in a situation that soon spirals out of control and he realizes things are not as simple or fun as he first thought; great way to develop the character. The choice of villain for this mini may not have been the best. The Director is similar to the X-Men's nemesis Mojo, not only in his obsession with making movies, but also in the comical relief that surrounds him. I am not sure whether the Director was talking crazy when he was explaining his origin or not, but in any case, it connects the Ray's world to the rest of the DCU, which is a good thing. With one issue to go, I hope the character gets introduced to the bigger universe before the finale.

Firestorm #6

After the terrorist attack by the Firestorm from Qurac, Ronnie and Jason are left with an "Aftermath of Rage." While Ronnie's reaction to the heinous act is well written, it's Jason who once again is rendered as a total jerk.  It is not just the perceived indifference, but the words coming out of his mouth that also put the character in a really bad light. The scale of the attack from last issue is huge, and even in the world of comics, such an event would have had worldwide ramifications; so if the next issue does not address reactions from the rest of the DCU, then Van Sciver and Simone may have miscalculated the impact of their onslaught. Yildiray Cinar continues shining with his artwork, and Norm Rapmund's inks and Hi-Fi's colors just make it even better. As a whole, the issue is better than previous installments, but the next one has its work cut out for it.

The Dark Knight #6

Batman and Superman quickly make amends after their scuffle from last month, as the Dark Knight continues to solve the mystery behind the super powered villains and tries to catch the White Rabbit. Art and dialog have a weak start, led by the non-sense explanation of how the fear toxin works; but they improve vastly during the second half of the book. Coloring by Jeromy Cox is still A+. The identity of the true mastermind behind this new fear toxin would have been an actual surprise, had DC not revealed it three months ago during solicitations; this completely ruined the momentum of the story. There is, however, one piece of the plot that remains interesting and exciting: The White Rabbit. Subtle clues are thrown about her true nature, and I can't wait to see whether my suspicions about it are correct. Despite its flaws and spoilers, the issue is overall a fun read.

Welcome to Earth-Two

The second wave of "DC Comics - The New 52" titles is coming in May, and the most expected of them are undoubtedly "Earth 2" and "Worlds' Finest," featuring the heroes from a parallel universe where things took a completely different turn.  This week, DC Comics released the first set of character sketches designed by Jim Lee and Kevin Maguire:

    

Superman "Has endured the loss of his home world, and now the Last Son of Krypton must weather the death of his soul mate Lois Lane. Just how far can you bend the Man of Steel before he breaks?" - Editor Pat McCallum

Supergirl "Loves her adopted world with a passion, seeing how the people of Earth have adopted her and taken her to their hearts.  She is definitely the brightest light among this first group of Earth 2 heroes." - Writer James Robinson

    

The Batman of Earth 2 is "More ruthless, dangerous... the costume is familiar and yeah, there is a Wayne under the mask, but we’re looking at a man desperate to save the only family he has left. Earth 2 is about to become a very bad place to be a bad guy." - Editor Pat McCallum

Robin is “Assured as a detective, fighter, scientist, pilot and all around crime-fighter; she’s been groomed by Batman to be the perfect caped manhunter (or should we say manHuntress) when she grows up." - Writer James Robinson

Wonder Woman is "Already the last Amazon of this world and she is determined to avenge her sisters... at whatever cost." - Writer James Robinson