Who'd Like A Cocktail? #242

Who said romance was dead?

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #202

Not something you read every day.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #185

Thankfully, my wife's never said that to me.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #181

You'd be amazed how often that describes my working day.

Who Was Who Is Who #5

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, and with DC's New 52 well under way (how long are they keeping that title do you think?) I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see who's made it over to the new DCU, who might make it and who hasn't got a Bolt's chance.

BLACK LIGHTNING - he got some love during Final Crisis and kicked around with the Justice League for a time but we haven't seen much of him lately. Will he be back before the end of 2012? Possibly, though it's sort of difficult to say where he'll turn up.

BLACK MANTA - when Aquaman surprised everybody by being the breakout character of Brightest Day, an ongoing series was sure to follow. In Brightest Day, his long time enemy Black Manta showed up and caused him some trouble along with being revealed as the father of the new Aqualad before being defeated by Aquaman and Mera. At the time of writing (early December 2011) there's been no hint that the storylines from Brightest Day will be carried over into the New 52 but I'd be really surprised if we don't see a version of Black Manta before the end of the year.

BLACK ORCHID - here's one where I find myself wondering if I've actually read something on the net or have just imagined it. Is Black Orchid appearing in Justice League Dark? The internet would make me believe not, but I'm sure I read something. Oh well, I'll put her down as a possible.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #116

Power Girl explains the problems of dating Kryptonians

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #101

You won't find Anna Fortune getting teary eyed with nostalgia

• THE BOYS #47 - aw, crap . . . Wee Hughie loses it with Starlight in a scene that had me cringing. You know you're emotionally invested in fictional characters when you just want to grab them and say "Stop f*****g things up!"
• BRIGHTEST DAY #11 - Firestorm throws down against his evil counterpart while Aquaman and Black Manta have a huge fight. Oh, and the Black Lantern version of the twelve resurrected characters reappear. Strangely, the best part of the issue for me was that last two page spread of a huge forest covering the surface of Mars.
• DOOM PATROL #15 - the Chief goes completely off the rails as the Kryptonian powers he's absorbed send him more than a little crazy. The fight between the Doom Patrol and the Chief is touching and sad though I somehow doubt that this is the end of Caulder. And who'd have thought a pelican could look so startled?
• FREEDOM FIGHTERS #2 - another solid issue as Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters go up against the renegade shamans from the past . . . and get their butts kicked. A little standard, plot wise - issue 1 introduces the threat, issue 2 the threat beats the heroes, issue 3 the heroes try but fail to beat them before realising/finding a key idea/item, issue 4 the heroes beat the threat - but no less enjoyable because of Palmiotti and Gray's cracking dialogue and the lovely art by Travis Moore. Once passed this story which is establishing the team for new readers, I've no doubt this series will really kick into gear.
• JSA-ALL STARS #11 - did Atom Smasher miss the meeting about giant-sized fights in the middle of a city? Can't help thinking that's not his brightest move. Elsewhere, Cyclone's back, Power Girl recuperates (how else is a solar powered hero going to recharge other than by sun-bathing!) and Atom Smasher and Anna Fortune start some serious flirting.
• Co feature LIBERTY BELLE AND HOURMAN - so this story that's been drawn out a little too long comes to an end. As I've said before, it's good - the characters are well written and the art's great - but it's just felt a bit stretched. But hey, a nice resolution.
• SECRET SIX #26 - if ever there was a place where Bane fitted in, it looks like it's Skataris. The two teams go head to head a lot sooner than I'd expected and that last page . . . not sure where that's going to go next issue.

And what made me smile:

Oh, Ambush Bug, you are a one.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #99

That's a president I'd vote for!

As I was away last weekend, you lucky people get a double sized edition of Who'd Like A Cocktail, the posts where I just babble away in bullet points about my comic books.

• BRIGHTEST DAY #10 - Firestorm gets some really bad news - he's the next Big Bang just waiting to happen. I wonder if Damage will be jealous when he hears about that. The new Aqualad makes his appearance culminating in a very tense stand-off between Aquaman and Black Manta that really makes me think Geoff Johns could carry off an Aquaman solo-series. All told, another good issue.
• DC UNIVERSE: LEGACIES #5 - they missed a great trick here, not having the original Crisis tie-in banner running across the cover! Of course, this being a post-Crisis depiction of Crisis on Infinite Earths, it isn't really a tie-in, but I'm nit-picking. Len Wein continues his stroll through the various ages of DC's history, stopping off at the big Crisis. This issue really is splendid, managing to focus on a normal family who observe some of the biggest DC events; sure it's been done before (Marvels is the obvious comparison) but that doesn't stop this being good. And hey, they got George Perez to do this issue as well!
• GREEN LANTERN CORPS #52 - the Alpha Lantern storyline comes to an end as Cyborg Superman is defeated once more (I'd like to say permanently this time, but we know that's not going to happen) and the Alpha's have their emotions restored.
• THE DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER: THE JOURNEY BEGINS #5 - And so the journey that began a couple of years ago has come to the end of the bit where the journey begins. Or something.
• GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD WARRIORS #2 - Guy Gardner starts his top-secret mission and, no surprise, his friends Arisia and Kilowog tag along for the ride. There's not a great deal that happens this issue, to be honest, as it seems to be setting things up, introducing Zardor of Kralok and his mental powers, along with bringing Red Lantern Bleez back into things.
• THE BOYS: HIGHLAND LADDIE #2 - I love it when I'm right! Back in Cocktail #95, I wrote: "May I predict a hugely oversized adversary for Hughie, employed by the drug smugglers, who will also be quite humourous either in name and/or appearance?" and in this issue we meet the gigantic Wee Sarah. Still, Ennis's predictability doesn't prevent this being another top issue.
• JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST #10 -Warning! The cover of this issue is not reflected in the contents at all! Warning! Don't get me wrong - it's another cool cover, but at no point does a Year One style Batman hang around a JL International embassy building. The faux-JLI continue their attempt to find and foil Max Lord's plans and, just when it looks like Batman's figured out something's wrong, Lord's global mind-wipe kicks in again.
• JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #49 - this seems like a done-in-one just to bridge the gap between the end of last issue and a big 50th issue celebration. Trust me - introduce a mind-manipulator in the first few pages and you can guarantee anything that happens after that is all in someone's mind. And since when did Donna Troy swear so much?!
• POWER GIRL #16 - here we see the start of the fight which is going to dominate #18 featuring Power Girl's new nemesis, Divine. The rest of the issue's background on why she ends up in the Arctic in the first place. Having bashed Winick on this blog on more than one occasion, I have to admit to still liking this title; he's keeping it relatively light and the art's nice and clean so hopefully it's not going to go down the pan at any stage soon.
• PROJECT SUPERPOWERS: CHAPTER TWO #12 - all the heroes get together to beat the crap out of the Claw while the Death Defying 'Devil is outed as being the Devil himself! Well, maybe. The next issue solicit says that Chapter Three, out next year, will be the last one. Surely Dynamite aren't just going to roll this series up and put it away?
• ZATANNA #5 - another cracking issue of magical superheroics; this series just keeps on getting better. It's almost as much fun as the old Power Girl series was, just with more demons!

And what made me smile:

I had no intention of picking up Knight And Squire but after seeing the preview in the back of Justice League of America #49, I think I may!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #97

Phantom Lady shows name-calling is a part of fighting villains

• THE BOYS #46 - Butcher shows his sensitive side . . . right before he shows he's still something of a bastard after all as he allows Wee Hughie to discover just what Starlight did to get accepted into the Seven. It's masterfully done by Ennis and throughout the entire issue you can't help but think Butcher's not such a bad sort after all. At least right up till that last page.
• BRIGHTEST DAY #9 - So the new Aqualad's Black Manta's son? Blimey. And Martian Manhunter's having a bit of a hard time as well. This series keeps romping along nicely.
• FREEDOM FIGHTERS #1 - I was really happy when this series was announced, having enjoy Palmiotti & Gray's earlier Uncle Sam and The Freedom Fighters series and this was no disappointment. Always nice to see Nazis taking a kicking and some nicely done introduction scenes for the main players before leaving the issue on a cliff hanger.
• JSA ALL-STARS #10 - In between the All-Stars kicking some divine butt down in Parador, King Chimera and Cyclone's tentative romance moves on apace, at least until her supersonic sneeze! Power Girl steals this issue, though, by effectively beating the crap out of the gods - until her own self-confidence lends them a hand in beating her.
• Co feature LIBERTY BELLE & HOURMAN - once again an enjoyable few pages but, really, the plots been a little thin since the start so while each episode has been fun, it hasn't really gelled for me.
• SECRET SIX #25 - despite feeling like I missed an issue somewhere along the line (last month's foray into the Wild West anyone?)  this is still one of the best titles out there. Looks like we're going to have two teams face off against each other in some weird alien / dinosaur dimension. Best thing, though, is the possibility that Gail Simone will get some payback for the death of the Atom by having Giganta stomp all over Dwarfstar.

And what made me smile:

New sword please!