New Year's Evil #1

For DC Comics, 2019 was the Year of the Villain.

The title of this holiday special is a throwback to a series of 1998 one-shots that were devoted to the villains. So I very much appreciated DC's throwback to that lineup of dastardly specials. True, the villainy of 21 years ago wasn't nowhere near as evil as the acts that has occurred throughout the Year of the Villain. But still, I'm a sucker for nostalgia. 

In this 80-page giant, fans will celebrate the holiday season with a number of bad guys including the calculating Calendar Man, the intoxicating Poison Ivy and the merry Prankster AND Toyman! (Sadly, those two didn't have a team-up story together! I would have paid an extra $1 just for that!)

Of course, this wouldn't be a special about antagonists without that Clown Prince Cover Boy, The Joker! His New Year Eve story about an impostor Joker terrorizing Gotham was probably the best story! ANDDDDDDD... it wouldn't be a DC holiday special without a story that features DC's other cash cow, Harley Quinn!

I'm not complaining about that. Her story that guest stars Renee Montoya was quite lighthearted and heartwarming. And I love Harley Quinn. I'm just saying that if you thought DC could overlook the Joker's Ex-girlfriend even though this is a holiday title devoted to villains and Harley is more of an anti-hero- well then you'd be wrong! 

You can't have villains without heroes. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman have prominent roles in this special that features 8 different stories. But that's about all for the champions. I don't recall appearances from The Flash, Green Lantern or anybody else. Yes- the villains really shine here!

This was the last holiday special I read for 2019. Being more set at New Year's than Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, I waited until after almost right at the turn of the year/decade to read this. 

You know now that I think about it, Hanukkah might have been mentioned but it was never observed in this special. Kwanzaa wasn't even thought about!  A couple of non-traditional holidays were part of some of the stories (and no- I am not counting the made-up holiday by an alien race in the Sinestro story), but I would have liked a story set at Diwali or a Krampus style adventure. 

I have no problem with other holidays than Christmas. And holiday comics are quite interesting when they look at how Winter is celebrated nationwide. Why, I'll even say Happy Holidays sometimes. But I will never deviate from calling December 25th anything but Christmas! So as long as DC never gets afraid to refer to Christmas as only X-Mas and only by that term, I'll have no problem with the House That Superman Built delving into international and non-Christian holiday waters! 

If any of the powers that be over at DC read this review- let's see some global flare next year! I really think it's needed to keep these festive reads, which I adore and look forward to so much,  relevant and fresh!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Flashpoint: Abin Sur-The Green Lantern #3

 Sinestro, seeing the control of Barry Allen as his chance for ruling the galaxy, has Abin Sur on the ropes. His hand severed and his power ring out of reach, can the Green Lantern of Sector 2814 ever find a way out of this deadly scenario? He’ll have to muster all of the willpower possible to overcome his former best friend and possibly save the universe.

   Another dynamic Flashpoint tie-in finale. This one really kept me guessing- but in a good way. I must say I’m slapping my forehead not figuring out the identity of the mysterious entity that the Guardians hid deep inside the earth’s core. But the finale was so awesome that I didn’t want it to end.

  Worth Consuming

  Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Flashpoint: Abin Sur- The Green Lantern #2

  After having crashed landed on earth, it looks like Abin Sur will spend the rest of his days under the microscope of scientists at the Superman Project. But seeing the alien as a new weapon against the Amazonian/ Atlantean threat, the President of the United States enlists Hal Jordan to act as a the Green Lantern's partner in conducting rescue and seek and destroy missions in war-torn Europe.

    But as Abin Sur assists in the war in Europe, the clock is ticking for the Green Lantern to complete the mission given to him by the Guardians: destroy the earth to prevent a dangerous weapon hidden in the planet's core from being used by an unknown alien force. Assigned to put him back on task, Sinestro intercepts Abin Sur. With Sinestro being at odds with the Guardians will he good against their orders or will Abin Sur have to fight his best friend and fellow Lantern to the death?

    Not my favorite chapter of the numerous Flashpoint tie-ins. There's so many flashbacks, that the action never gets a chance to get rolling. But, the pacing isn't my biggest reason for not liking this book- it's the length.

    After I finished this issue, I thought that it felt a little light. So, I went back and counted the number of pages that contained storyline. There was only 18-pages of story! I kid you not; every other page was an advertisement.

    In contrast, I looked back at some other tie-in issues. Knight of Vengeance #2 has 22 pages of story whereas Green Lantern Industries #1 had 29. Where's the consistency??? And if I had paid the full price of $2.99 for this issue, I'd be majorly pissed! Thankfully, I only paid a quarter, but still there's a standard of consistency and quality that just wasn't there in this issue. Bad form DC editors!
   
   Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Flashpoint: Abin Sur- The Green Lantern #1

  You would think that with a title like Abin Sur: The Green Lantern, that would mean that the Lantern who preceded Hal Jordan ( in the Pre-Flashpoint universe) is the only member of the Green Lantern Corps. Alas, this is not the case. Instead, due to inaction on the part of the Guardians, Abin Sur has become withdrawn from his fellow Corpsmen. Abin Sur blames the Guardians for the death of his beloved sister and has become a loose cannon, often making the rules up as he sees fit and just. Sinestro sees this and hopes to make Abin can ally when the conniving Thaal makes his move to overthrow the Guardians.

 Initially, Abin Sur rejects an alliance with Sinestro. But when the Guardians demand that Abin Sur destroy an entire planet in his sector, the gritty Green Lantern may finally side with the conspirators. For the Guardians have ordered Abin Sur to destroy the Earth!
There's a lot of questions that need to be answered in this Flashpoint miniseries tie-in. Why are the Guardians so weak to act in interplanetary conflicts, like the one that killed Abin Sur’s family, but willing to destroy an inhabited planet? Where are the other Corpsmen besides Kilowog and Sinestro? And most importantly where is Hal Jordan and how does he fit into all of this?

A very intriguing issue to a miniseries that hopefully will only get better.

  Worth Consuming

  Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.