Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown

Jeff Lemire and Ibraim Roberson

"Weird War Tales:" So you read Frankenstein in school, right? Ok cool... here he is being found during World War II. Really not much history here.

Summary: So, I will just say this now: If you want an out there comic that isn't incredibly confusing, but just a lot of fun, this is it. World War II is going on and a batallion is being attacked by Nazis, when Frankenstein pops out of the ground and takes down the Nazis. Apparently, Frank has powers that sense evil, so that's going on. The Allies have been experimenting with some other monsters and they want to have an all monster squadron, featuring a female creature from the Black Lagoon, a teenaged Werewolf, and a former Allied traitor turned vampire. Cue Inglourious Bastards piece where the creatures attack a Nazi camp, that is home to Hitler. A superhuman Nazi soldier attacks Frankenstein and he finishes him in one blade swing. Frank gets to Hitler's bunker and decapitates him on the spot. A year later, the creatures are set to be healed and transformed back to normal when a man appears and announces that the project is shut down. Frank is tasered and put into storage with the rest. Cut to now, Frank wakes up and frees his fellow soldiers, who escape from where they were stored. It should be noted that there is a vault they pass as they walk, that has a giant gold Superman symbol, but it has been cracked in half. Realizing that they've been gone for 65 years, they flee to the ruins of Metropolis. We cut to the military building where Capt. Adams is calling a monster hunter to take them out for what they know. We then cut to Gotham as Man-Bat is flying through a cave and running from something. A sword pierces through him, killing him, and revealing some woman named Shrieve.

High Points: This is a fun title that just seems like it will be a good read. Its not great in any particular way... Its just good.

Low Points: Its a little choppy in some places with all of the events happening, but that's actually not too bad.

Verdict: A. Excellent jump-on point and a load of fun even with such a weird topic. So... weird geek dancing to close us out?

Flashpoint: Citizen Cold

Scott Kolins.

"Cold Hearted:" A longtime Flash villain, Leonard Snart aka Captain Cold, has led the Rogues from one crime to the next. Always priding themselves for their code of conduct as criminals, the Rogues have been always been a tight family. Now in this Flashpoint world, he no longer has his Rogue family, and Cold serves a new purpose: hero.

Summary: We open with Cold in wait for Mr. Freeze, who received a tip that the technology needed to save his dying wife was in STAR Labs. Cold jumps out and attacks him, as a news van holding Iris West and her nephew, Wally... who in regular world served as the Flash when Barry died. Cold quickly points out how different they are (this has a running gag in comics for years that one is always called the other and they hate it), pointing out that while, Freeze's gun is a tool of cryogenic medicine, Cold's guns are purely weapons, so in this case, cold>freeze. Freeze, despite having his body frozen, quickly leaves it as the head spider thing last seen in the Batman cartoon. Freeze freezes the news van with Iris and Wally, sending it heading for the water. Cold shoots the van and the water, freezing it, saving them. (Saving a reporter with a red haired sidekick... where have seen such super actions before?) Cold catches up to Freeze's head and informs him that his wife just died, thus alerting Freeze that Cold set him up, and Cold breaks the glass helmet, keeping Freeze cold, and murders the man. The public rushes Cold and applauds him and Iris and Wally appear at his side for an interview. Cold turns them down, but makes a date with Iris and takes off. He then tells us that he became a hero so that he could do whatever he wanted. Cutting to Iron Heights Prison, we see that Cold has his own freezing level of the prison for his enemies, all former Rogues. Weather Wizard is being escorted to his cell, beaten heavily. We also see that Trixter II, the teenager, is also there, and he tells us about the death of Mirror Master. The Weather Wizard here seems to be different from the standard one, and seems to still have a brother. We then see the Mirror Master, who is trapped in the mirror world thanks to Cold, unable to leave, or bring anyone in, but he has a plan for the Rogues to get revenge. Cutting back, Cold is now drinking and out on the town with a floozie. Returning home, we see that his abusive father, a cop, was murdered by Cold's sister. Given the amount of abuse and torture from her father, she is already planned to have a light sentence, but she will be held at Iron Heights. We then cut across the rooftops to a person taking pictures of Leonard Snart, who then relaizes that he's Cold. Realizing he's been seen, he races off and jumps in his car, and makes it to his garage, while calling Iris West. As the phone call goes out we zoom out to see the body of Wally frozen solid, and Cold standing over him.

High Points: I've never been a huge Flash fan, but his Rogues are some of the best characters around. I really like this alternate world's take as the characters themselves are unchanged... its just a world without the Flash. The characters here are spot on, even in this skewed world. The story is great and I think this will compete tightly with Knight of Vengeance as my favorite Flashpoint title.

Low Points: The art here is really subpar in spots, although this really is a gritty book, it just looks too rough... and the prison scene is just awful, artistically. Once again a case where the artist is also writing. And the art always loses in those cases.

Verdict: A. This is a great book, and if you like the Rogues, this is an awesome story. Its not the best jump-on point for new readers, but its pretty straightfoward. Highly recommended. Cool story requires cool picture:

Booster Gold #45

Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund

"Turbulence, Part 2:" He's the greatest hero that you've never heard of. A time traveller from the 25th century who stole equipment to become a superhero in the 20th century. After relaizing what it means to be a hero, Booster is then tasked with helping protect the time stream. Since he was in the time stream at the moment Flashpoint, he is lost in this new world. Now, he is hunted by the government believeing him to be a spy for the Atlanteans.

Summary: In this universe, Captain Atom never was, so Capt. Nathan Adams is still a high ranking military officer. He heads up the anti-Atlantean unit, and is in charge of something called Project 6. With no history of his boss Rip Hunter or his robot Skeets, Booster has no one to go to for information. We quickly discover that 6 is actually the monster that killed Superman, and severely injured Booster in one of his first outings as a hero. This Doomsday is actually controlled completely by Capt. Adams. After dodging attack after attack, Booster is finally knocked into an apartment building, scaring the woman inside, naturally. Unable to escape easily from Doomsday, but knowing that an innocent women would not be harmed, Booster grabbed the woman and flew off. Cutting back to the military base, it appears that Adams is working with Dr. John Henry Irons, better known as the hero, Steel. In some pretty weak foreshadowing, we find that the creature has been acting strangely and unresponsive to Adams. Finally landing at an abandoned cabin, Booster finally explains who he is to the woman, who quickly goes from trying to kill him to trusting him completely. Getting online, Booster is quickly updated on this new world, and we are treated to a brief intro to the other character storylines. Booster, immediately, says that Professor Zoom is behind all of this. Hacking the government's files, Booster goes in search of chronal anomalies (What?). He finds a line of events changed by Zoom, and flies off to Gotham City. The woman, now alone, glows yellow and flies off as well, talking about avenging her father who was murdered by Aquaman. Booster heads to Wayne Manor and is quickly attacked by Doomsday, still under Adam's control. The woman has followed Booster and upon seeing Doomsday drop from a plane, she attacks the plan, severing Adam's link to Doomsday. Now, it is free. No surprises there. Dramatic re-enactment of a Doomsday attack?

High Points: Booster is really well written here and is thoroughly enjoyable as his role just fits in really nicely. Although there are no surprises here, the pacing for the story works and the writing's pretty decent.

Low Points: I've never been a huge fan of Jurgens art. As a writier and main artist, I feel that anything that's not a splash page is just not good. Its a situation of spreading himself too thin perhaps.

Verdict: B. Overall, its an ok issue that has some high and low points. However, if you want to learn how to hack government software and check for chronal anomolies, this is a good start.

Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers #7

Ian Brill and Morgan Luthi

"Ask a Ninja (To Stop Chasing Me):" If you don't know who the Rescue Rangers are, I don't want to know you, so don't expect a "who are they" bit here. Currently, the gang is taking on a clan of ninja porcupines that have kidnapped a rich mouse. Zipper and Monty have been captured and Chip and Dale are undercover as ninjas.

Summary: Ninja porcupines are a brilliant concept, and I'd love to see this idea in some other medium. The reason it doesn't work here is because the ninja porcupines are drawn as hedgehogs. In a surprise to no one, Chip and Dale are exposed as spies, but manage to rescue Zipper in the process. However, after finally escaping the porcuhogs, it turns out that now Gadget has been kidnapped and placed in a glass case. Monty is completely ineffective in this issue, which is a shame since he's really been the standout of the series so far. Foxglove, the bat, appears to help Dale with a crisis: He's not a good leader and is only good for jokes. Foxglove gets him out of the funk, just as Chip is hit with a poison dart and passes out. We then cut to Gadget escaping her prison by using physics in a scene straight out of A Beautiful Mind. Gadget then meets her captors, the Danger Rangers- negative versions of our heroes.

High Points: The Dale/Foxglove relationship shines here as does Gadget's escape. Even Zipper is given a strong characterization. The art is straight out of the cartoon and the story seamlessly flows right out of it.

Low Points: Chip might as well be made out of cardboard, and Monty is wasted in the issue, thanks to some well placed cheese. The villains here are bothersome. Completely wrong animal being drawn is a big one, but am I the only one tired of seeing the negative versions of heroes serve as villains? Surely, you're with me, Angry Panda?

Verdict: B. Not the best the series has to offer but in the middle of a storyline, there's not much to complain about. I suggest picking up the first 4 issue story and if you really like it, continue on. For having ninja in the title, there was a surprising lack of them on the page... though they are ninjas...

World of Flashpoint #1

Rex Ogle, Eduardo Francisco, and Paulo Siqueira

"This is the World We Live In:" Not much history to go on here. Both in this reality, and the previous one, Traci 13 does magic and her father Dr. 13 is a scientist. Could there be tension? Duh.
Summary: We open up to 8 months ago in Paris where the 13 family is having dinner and discussing how magic can be misused. The mother gets a vision of something horrible and Traci, fearing the worst, tries to teleport them all out of their apartment, but only manages to take her dad. We then see that Paris is destroyed by massive floods. It is revealed that Traci remembers both versions of the world and has a difficult time distinguishing them. Jump to a bunker in the present, and Traci now has scars around her face and the number 13 seemingly tattooed onto her forehead. Her father and her do not get along in the least and he wants her to give up magic. She, being the rebellious teen teleports out and goes to the blind psychic Madame Xanadu.Based on her visions we get a little more flesh to this Flashpoint world. The Golden Age/Justice Society remains a staple, but there is no Flash on the team, and they lose... and then the Nazis get South America (What?). Superman's rocket didn't crash in Kansas, but downtown Metropolis, destroying the city on impact. Wonder Woman and Aquaman were to be married but her mother was stabbed by an Atlantean. Traci leaves the shop and teleports home, as Madame Xanadu's eyes begin to bleed all over her tarot cards. Upon her arrival, she sees a big map identical to the one I mentioned this week with all the areas dedicated to Flashpoint stories. Upon looking closer at some notes, she sees the ENDGAME PROTOCOL (Yeah, you better gasp collectively), where the world gets nuked and surviving people go live in Australia. We then meet this group making the decision. Of course, we have Dr. 13 leading the group, in addition to: August General in Iron from China's Great (10) 12, Red Star of Russia, Ra's Al Ghul (in the body of a ten year old), Kimyo Yoshi (Dr. Light) of Japan, Sheik from Saudi Arabia, Adeline Kane (Kate Kane's mother, I think) of Gotham, Captain Nazi of Germany, Impala of South Africa (no idea who he is...), and Osiris of Khandaq (still a douche, but with good reason this time- Atlanteans murdered his sister Isis). They all vote on the endgame with a tally of 6-4 in favor of blowing up the world. Traci is horrified by their actions and hits her father and Osiris beats her pretty viciously until she takes away his magic word, and he returns to his crippled human form. Her father knocks her out and triggers the nukes to fire.... in 12 hours. I think I know just the team for the job...

High Points: Getting the lay of the land so to speak is always nice, and I feel that this title will be the compass for the event on a whole. And for the first time this week I didn't have that stupid Super 8 story jammed in here.

Low Points: Its boring. Even with the loss of a family, there is no real emotion to anything in the issue, and it just falls flat.

Verdict: B-. Its not the worst that required reading for an event could be, but it's not nearly as good as it could be either. I think it is a decent read that, if you get a lot of the references, can be a good story given some time.

Secret Six #34

Gail Simone and J. Calafiore

"The Jagged End of the Chainsaw:" Originally formed as a villain team to counter the Secret Society of Supervillains during the Infinite Crisis, the Six's lineup has been ever-changing as members quit, are kicked off, and more often than not, killed. Currently, the team serve as guns-for-hire, and feature founding members Catman, Ragdoll, Scandal Savage, and Deadshot, as well as Bane, Jennette (a banshee), and interim member, King Shark.
Summary: Freshly returned from their trip into Hell, the Six, sans Ragdoll and King Shark have cornered the psychopath who is torturing Scandal's girlfriend for being unclean. After the revelation they found in Hell: They all are destined to end up in Hell when they die, much of the issue focuses on what is wrong, right, and what it means to be a "good" person. Challenging the psychopath that if he can get by them, he can go free. One by one, each member stops him, biting off his fingers, breaking his arm, shooting him in the knee, and stabbing him in the shoulder. Now unable to move much, Catman hands a knife over to Scandal's girlfriend and tells her that its her kill to make. She refuses to kill him and asks that Scandal promise not to kill him, just to leave him to the police. Scandal accepts and the girl is taken away by Jennette, quickly passing out. After seeing the girl fall out, Scandal shoves her hand blades through the man's head, killing him. She then cries into the arms of Bane and they all head to their home in the House of Secrets. Once there, Scandal approaches Ragdoll about his actions in Hell (He used Scandal's secret Get-Out-of-Hell-Free card to go get his friend Parademon from Hell, and betrayed the team by trying to kill them), and says she forgives him and that the Six are as close to friends and family as a group can be. Bane is then shown on a date at a carnival with a girl from a few issues back, where we see more of how the hardened Bane has trouble with everyday "fun" activities. The two ride a ferris wheel and Bane explains how he became the way that he is, and the girl discusses how she became a stripper. He is amazed at her hard life, and yet she is still a kind person. After winning his date a couple pandas from a game, the carnival barker sics some goons on the two of them, Bane beats them easily, and when one runs at the girl with a knife, Bane puts his hand in the way, sending the knife straight through his palm. This goon is promptly killed, and the couple walk home together, holding hands. Cue "mating."

High Points: The issue puts a fantastic cap on the Hell storyline and gives some great depth to characters like Bane and Scandal. The art is great in a few places as well. The writing here is top notch, and I'm anxious to see where things go from here.

Low Points: The art is ONLY good in a few places. Also, it wasn't until I reread the issue for the review that I saw that the girl rescued at the beginning might be the same girl that Bane goes on a date with. The girl has a completely different hairstyle from one scene to the next, and though we are given a time transition, it just says "Later..." A scene just feels like its missing.

Verdict: A. Secret Six is arguably the best series that DC is putting out right now. This issue is not a great jump-on point for readers, but I could not suggest a series more than I can suggest Secret Six. However, it has been announced that the book will not make the September reboot cut. How did you react to the news, James?

Wow... I thought you knew... You ok?

Well, some are going onto the Suicide Squad comic... what do you think of the new Harley costume?

Hack/Slash Meets Zombies Vs. Cheerleaders

Steven L. Frank and Benjamin Glendenning
Although the "supernatural vs. cheerleader" motif has been done to death in the last decade or so, Zombies vs. Cheerleaders has been a great series, usually featuring short stories within the issues.
Hack/Slash has been a brilliant series from the get-go. Cassie Hack's mother was a serial killer and after her mother came back as a supernatural "Slasher," Cassie chose to pursue these evil killers and kill them all over again. Teaming up with a sheltered, deformed man with a childlike mentality named Vlad after mistaking him for a Slasher, Cassie and her partner form Hack/Slash Inc. and traverse the country, hunting these killers.

Summary: The issue opens to a football player beginning to change into a zombie, as his coach walks in. We quickly cut to a Seatle coffeehouse where Cassie and Vlad are getting the scoop on a rash of unexplained disappearances at a local high school. After a great scene dealing with Vlad's love for coffee and how much Cassie hates everything, the two decide to go undercover as high school students. Vlad is enrolled in special eduaction, and is quickly snatched by the football coach to be on the team. Cassie is almost immediately sent to the principal's office for getting into a fight and is placed on the cheerleading squad as punishment, so that she can learn to be a team player. Cassie has bonded with the squad by the end of the day and Vlad has become an instant favorite for the football team. Sleeping in their van in the school's parking lot, the two witness the coach dragging a bodybag into the gym and attack him. The coach doesn't even notice that they are armed with weapons, and quickly shoos them away, revealing a tackling dummy inside the bag, and threatens to turn them in for attacking a teacher. The dummy is opened up to reveal the body of a student and the coach hacks the body up, throwing the pieces to the multiple zombies in the basement. Vlad goes tot eh coach to ask him honestly what was going on, and after drugging Vlad, the coach tearfully reveals what happened. After giving his son some experimental steroids for football, the son attacks his mother and brother, turning them into zombies. Cassie hears everything and attacks the coach, but he locks the two heroes up with the zombies, and gets away. They escape, but also free the zombies from their chains, and all head for the gym. The cheerleaders do not miss a step as they pickup the nearest weapons and quickly dispatch the zombies, using some great 4th wall destruction. The issue ends with Hack/Slash leaving, believing the school is in good hands.

High Points: The art in this issue is very cartoon-y and some of the more serious moments manage to still be lighthearted thanks to that. Cassie and Vlad are written extremely well, despite being handled by a writer who hasn't worked with them before.

Low Points: Unfortunately, no other character is given much depth. Even the cheerleaders, coach and the principal who all appear frequently are barely given any real characterization.

Verdict: A. The humor is brilliant, but a lot of it rests on knowing some basics of Hack/Slash, so I strongly suggest that series before reading, and in general, and I hope to review some of it down the line. If you're looking for a book to spend a few extra bucks on to try something new, you could do a lot worse than pick this up. Plus, its gone some very hot cartoon women, if that's anyone's thing...

Ok, that's just creepy Vanderbeek...