Who'd Like A Cocktail? #225

Let's keep it simple, folks.

Delayed Cocktail due to a weekend away with friends and family.

AQUAMAN #19 - Aquaman calls on his old friend Topo to help him find the Scavenger and his horde of Atlantean weapons while Murk and Tula plan to free Ocean Master from the surface world's prison, though Tula's a little reluctant. The Ice King, meanwhile, tries to get Mera to go with him but she ends up heading through the Bermuda Triangle (to Xebel?) where she meets her husband. Who's not pleased.

Topo gets a New 52 makeover and it looks like he's been working out. The rest of the issue's good, though, as the plot moves nicely and the surprise of Mera's husband is a good finish.

EARTH 2 #12 - Dr Fate's new host Khalid finally listens to the voice of Nabu, allowing him to tap into all sorts of magical spells in his fight with Wotan. Green Lantern, up till now investigating his lover's death in China with Hawkgirl, is called in to assist and the Flash runs interference when the World Army gets involved. Before they can return to Hawkgirl, though, they hear about Steppenwolf appearing in Dherain.

A cracking issue with Wotan being taken care of, sub plots on the move and the new Lee Travis making her first appearance. Can the Crimson Avenger be far behind?

THE MOVEMENT #1 - two corrupt cops are prevented from extorting sexual favours in exchange for freedom by members of the Movement, a new organisation in Coral City. While dealing with the hunt for a serial killer, Captain Meers encounters the group's leader, Virtue, who tells him some uncomfortable truths, leading to him planning to take them down.

Not a bad start to the new series; I picked it up on the off chance, simply because it's by Gail Simone so I'll certainly stick around for a few issues.

THE PHANTOM STRANGER #8 - the Stranger, pierced by the Spear of Destiny, is dumped on the doorstep of the House of Mystery, headquarters of Justice League Dark who, despite their best attempts, are unable to heal him. The Stranger, meanwhile, is being entertained by what at first appears to be a demon, but then reveals himself to be the spirit of Philip Stark, the man the Stranger has been masquerading as and who was killed by the Stranger when Satrk revealed his intentions to kill his own family. The JLD manage to bring the Stranger back along with a clue to the whereabouts of his family.

The mystery not only of where the Stranger's family have gone is revealed but also the reason the Stranger even has a family in the first place. Surprisingly good.

STORMWATCH #20 - Stormwatch land on an alien planet and immediately get tangled up in an interstellar war. They end up on the side of the reptilian Caimonites while siding (probably temporarily) with their enemies the Bruticus is a certain Lobo. The Bruticus are also the ones behind the recent realignment of time which wiped out earlier versions of Stormwatch (you know, the ones that appear in Demon Knights and All Star Western back-ups!)

It;s okay; a big war with religious and corporate overtones is something Starlin's all too familiar with so we'll see where this goes.

SWAMP THING #20 - As Metropolis is strangled by out of control plant growth, Superman attempts to help, freeing as many as he can before heading to the heart of the situation where he discovers a Scarecrow fear-gas induced Swamp Thing who is unaware of the damage he's causing. Once Superman revives him, they have a brief chat about great power and responsibility before Swampy returns to Louisiana where he finds someone waiting for him.

Not bad on the whole, though Superman sort of comes over as a bit arrogant. No offer to help Swamp Thing learn to control his powers, just "If you can't control them, you need to leave." Still, not bad.

WORLDS' FINEST #12 - While Power Girl and Huntress can see Desaad's real form, the rest of the crowd at the Las Vegas expo are just seeing Michael Holt so the pair of them get attacked while they try and take Desaad down. After getting away, PG finds her company's stock is falling and there's been another attack on one of her labs; as she and Huntress head out to that, it's revealed to be a distraction to allow Desaad to attack and destroy PG's island headwuarters.

Another good issue where the two strands, both past and present, are handled well, though the chop and change of artists is a little irritating. And while PG's back in her classic costume, there's no mention of why she's gone for that - she simply changes into it and she and Huntress are off.

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And what made me smile:

Few artists do the set up, pause, punchline as good as Kevin Maguire!