Who'd Like A Cocktail? #234

Captain K'Rot regrets his career choice

DAWN: THE SWORDMASTER'S DAUGHTER & OTHER STORIES - it's been a while since Linsner published any Dawn stories and it's nice to see him back on the horse as it were. The main story concerns Darrian Ashoka learning an important lesson; Samsara is a quick two-pager that wouldn't be out of place in a 2000AD Future Shock; and The White Phoenix serves as a prelude to Dawn: Always Darkest due out next year.

It's good stuff if you like Linsner's art and I'll be picking up the new series next year.

DEMON KNIGHTS #22 - Vandal Savage, not as dead as last issue would have lead you to believe, instructs the giants where the Demon Knights have taken the Grail: back to Al-Jabr's city of Al-Wadi. As the Knights regroup there before heading off to find Merlin again to work out what he wanted done with the Grail, the giants attack, accidentally releasing the Grail and causing a change in circumstances for the Horsewoman.

Another cracking issue, with both one liners and some splendid action amidst a good story. Shame this ends with next issue.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #22 - John Stewart returns to Oa in the aftermath of Larfleeze's attack and gives the new recruits something of a pep talk before being co-opted by Kilowog to head to a nearby planet with the recruits in order to help the natives. Thing is, the natives no longer trust the Guardians or the Corps and have hired the Khunds to be their protectors. Elsewhere, Fatality ends up captured by the Durlans and the Predator, the Love entity is recruited by the Life entity to find the White Lantern.

Not bad at all; John and the recruits are good together, and the plot rattles along nicely.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #22 - A mysterious girl goes to Madame Xanadu for help only to have the mystic realise the future's bleak for everyone thanks to the Justice Leagues. Supes and Wonder Woman are confronted by Pandora who wants Superman to use the power of Pandora's box to recapture the Seven Sins. Meanwhile, Shazam's headed into Khandaq to return Black Adam's ashes, prompting the League to fly in to retrieve him which, in turn, prompts the JLoA to fly in and stop them. Needless to say (this being Trinity War) there's a casualty at the hands of a surprising perpetrator and poor old Madame Xanadu doesn't fare too well either.

It's all big and brash with heroes fighting heroes; nothing surprising there as that's what we've been building too for some time, though it looks like the Society has more to do with the start of things than has been previously suspected. On the whole, though, it's not bad - Shazam gets couple of nice moments from trying to do the right thing to being the impressed schoolboy; and the JLoA put together by Waller to stop the first League, actually turn out to be the ones trying to keep the piece.

THRESHOLD #7 - Caul returns the Brainiac shrunk city to Tolerance and is surprised at the hero's welcome he receives. Elsewhere, T'morra still attempts to band together the Hunted who are still alive while Lonar betrays Blue Beetle in his quest to escape. Star Hawkins and Ilda get taken to meet the Legend, the first contestant who somehow still lives, only to find she's not who they would ever have expected.

One more issue to go; can't say I'm surprised it didn't last long, but it has been kinda fun while it's been going.

WORLDS' FINEST #14 - Huntress gets burned out of another safehouse by Desaad's agents before she and Power Girl head to Oxford when the Apokoliptian bad guy launches an attack against a Starr Industries lab to draw them out. The big fight ends with Huntress being kidnapped by a parademon and PG diving after her.

Much of a muchness, sad to say. It's not bad (though I'm still no fan of the art) but it's not doing anything special, either.

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And what made me smile:

That's love, folks!