• Exiles #52
• Majestic #2
• WE3 #1

• Firestorm #5
• Justice League Unlimited #1
• Doom Patrol #3

Welcome back, Jim Calafiore! While I had begun to enjoy Mizuki Sakakibara’s work by the time his short stint on the book was over, I am really glad to see Calafiore back on the book. I really like Calafiore’s work, and McKenna’s inks accent him nicely. His design of the Avengers in this particular arc is stunning, especially Captain America. Add to this a much more mythical, Teutonic looking Thor, a female Iron Man (whose identity is not addressed, but whom I would guess might just be Pepper Potts) and a female version of Yellowjacket (Janet Van Dyne?) and this version of the Avengers is very different, not to mention very cool visually.

The Exiles mission this time out is to prevent the Earth from becoming a living, sentient planet. In order to do this they must stop the Avengers, who have enlisted the aid of this reality’s Dr. Doom, believing Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four are dead after disappearing without explanation some time ago. As it turns out, Ego, the Living Planet, infected Earth with a virus which will make it a sentient planet like Ego itself, and our heroes are trying to avert that event before it actually happens. It seems as though the Earth believes human beings to be an infestation, and if it becomes completely self-aware it will kill all of the people on the planet.

I have to say that I think it was a mistake adding Beak to the Exiles. He hasn’t really contributed much since being added, other than to stand around and whine about gloom and doom. Not to mention the fact that his only weapon is a baseball bat. I just feel that he doesn’t add anything to the team and could have been left in the Mainstream Marvel Universe (now often referred to as the “616” universe), and either Nocturne could have stayed with the Exiles or they could have added a more, well, useful character to the team.

Next issue: Ego the Living Planet comes to Earth, bringing his deadliest enemies to battle our heroes!-TMC-

Well, this book managed to hold my attention for a second look at it, and to finish the current two issue story arc. There’s a lot of different stuff packed into this book: Jason, the new Firestorm and star of the book, at home and at his job (where he walks around with a giant chicken suit on); scenes with his father and his cryptic, unrevealed agenda and activities; a guest appearance by two of the Big Seven (the JLA’s Superman and Flash); and a giant girl made out of marble who wants Firestorm dead. We also get another look at how the new Firestorm’s powers work. I think it’s an interesting twist that Jason can use literally anyone else within a certain distance to bond with him and create the Firestorm persona instead of only being able to bond with one person regularly. In my eyes this adds extra dimension to both the character and the book, because it’s always someone completely different inside his head with him which always provides a new and different point of view on both the powers and the process. This issue he bonds with a female police officer who is out jogging; she tries to help him out during the battle with strategy and trying to actually use his powers, but after the smoke has cleared she also points out that he’s not really a hero since he basically kidnaps whoever it is that he forms Firestorm with. She also tells him he’s addicted to the powers, which obviously will probably come into play somewhere further down the line.

Much as I hate to admit it, I think I could really like this take on this character. I miss the Ronnie Raymond version, and his fate will be revealed in the next issue (I’ll be reading that one for sure), but I think this new character, Jason, has a lot of potential. Jason, Firestorm and the supporting cast are all more interesting than I thought they would be, so hopefully this book will last long enough for us to learn more about all of them. I think I’ll most likely keep reading for the short term, and if the book continues to be as good as it has been I’ll probably add it to my permanent list.-TMC-

This issue we are shown a bit of the past of Majestros, otherwise known as our hero Majestic. In what I thought was a nice touch, not to mention an added bonus, we get to see a couple of other WildC.A.T.s characters during the flashback sequences as well. I felt that this little bit of extra story detail gives this series a solid grounding in both the Wildstorm and DC Universes, making it more appealing to fans of both.

Also this issue we learn more about Majestros’ quest to develop a “secret identity,” as recommended by Superman in the previous issue. He’s settled down in the suburbs of Metropolis, renting a room from a mother named Ellen and her precocious, suspicious young son Elijah (who’s too smart for his own good). His “civilian” name is now Jim McArest, and he’s taken a job as the groundskeeper at Elijah’s school, which puts him directly in Elijah’s line of sight. We bounce back and forth between the past and the present, with another scene advancing the Eradicator storyline thrown in for good measure.

All in all this is shaping up to be a great story. I’m glad I decided to pick this series up as it has been a really enjoyable read. I look forward to the next two issues, and I kind of hope that they don’t send Mr. Majestic back to the Wildstorm Universe at the end. The mainstream DCU can always use another Superman-class hero.-TMC-

Not a whole lot to say about this book, other than the fact that I enjoyed it immensely. I’ve only dabbled in the animated DCU-style books a little bit in the past, and I wish I would take time to do it more often. The stories in the animated books hearken back to the easy and innocent days of the ‘60’s and early 70’s, when single issue stories were the norm and multi issue arcs were a special happening.

I love the new show, and am glad that there will be a book dedicated to it. I may even pick it up on a regular basis. The stories are understandably simple and straightforward, and are geared more toward children than adults (but adults can certainly still enjoy them!).

The art, for the most part, is very close to the style of the show. Barberi and Wong do a wonderful job of staying true to the spirit of the source material while still managing to make it their own. I think the characterizations are spot on: from the Flash being a wise-guy that’s lucky somebody doesn’t smack him, to Superman’s frustration at having harmed innocents, to Batman’s single-mindedness, determination and suspicious nature, I felt like I could have been watching an episode rather than reading one.

Great job by the creative team on this one. I think I might really find this book enjoyable on a regular basis. It was a lot of fun to read.-TMC-