The DC Bloodlines Podcast: Anima attacks the New Titans

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Sigh. It's time to deal with Courtney Mason, the heroine of The New Titans Annual #9 and her own sixteen issue series, Anima (we cover the first two issues.) Created by novelists Elizabeth Hand & Paul Witcover, Anima was one of the highest profile and powerful New Bloods, but also one of the most painful to actually read. Hope the riot grrrl soundtrack helps us get through this one. You can follow along with our reading of the annual at Scans Daily.

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Dragon*Con 2012 DC Cosplay Obscura Gallery by Shag Matthews

Click To Enlarge & Expand


The Irredeemable Shag did his usual bang-up up job taking snaps of all the costumed players at one of their biggest venues in the continental United States, Dragon*Con. This is evidenced by the hundreds and hundreds of pictures available in his flickr gallery, which he was kind enough to share with a host of his fellow bloggers. Aside from the Huntress seen above, and characters spotlighted at other blogs today, there weren't very many photographed who have been regularly featured here at DC Bloodlines. While Anj rends his garments and gnashes his teeth over the sorry Beowulf cosplay representation (told you ya should have covered Amethyst, bub,) I thought I'd offer up some odd commentary and feature a few of the least famous characters here.



One of the really keen changes this year was the increased visibility of African-American cosplayers. This convention is in Atlanta, after all, so it's awesome to see folks like Static, XS, Lightning, Vixen, Cyborg, Green Lantern John Stewart, and Aqualad on the scene. More than that though, after recent criticisms in the industry media about a lack of color-blindedness among cosplay critics, there were tons of black fans taking on white heroic roles here. Obviously, Jericho above was at most half-serious with that enormous blond Afro, but there were plenty of Batmen, Catwomen, Supermen, and Wonder Women of color owning the roles of the most powerful and popular characters in comics. Gender-bending and the differently-able also embraced nerd Halloween with gusto, regardless of a canon DC themselves have thrown out the window.



That said, DC Comics needs to give us Black Orion for real. I've long championed an African-American Captain Marvel, but Shazam! We got a little asshole white kid to replace the little nimrod white kid from the previous continuity, and the Big Red Cheese is still just Superman with static and a sleazy grin. Orion is the son of Darkseid, one of the most powerful entities in creation, and that suit is well complimented by the darker skin tone. I think fans would have a much easier time accepting a race change here than with many other characters, and a revived Fourth World would benefit from greater diversity than cringe-inducing '70s "progressive" notions.

Click To Enlarge & Expand


I fell hard for the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents after reading the short-lived Deluxe series, followed by back issues of the cheeky Tower Comics. The properties, like Milestone and Red Circle, seem to be partitioned from the universe proper while still interacting timidly with it. Like a taxi driving one man Church of Scientology, the late John Carbonaro claimed to own the franchise and sued away any dissenters (of which there were many in the mid-80s.) I wonder if DC bought the property the way Todd McFarlane bought Miracleman, because aside from reprints and a modest stab at their own take, you don't see these guys integrating into the New 52. I don't think anyone with deep enough pockets to stare down DC lawyers will bother with a property disputably in the public domain if DC never does boffo business with them, so it's almost like the Agents were purchased for storage like Marvel's Ultraverse. Anyhow, notice that Dynamo, NoMan, Lightning, Menthor, and the villainous Iron Maiden have their little team clique off to the side of the photo. Freudian?

Click To Enlarge & Expand


Finally, we have Bumblebee, who never did much for me as the Wasp of the Titans. I liked her as a more tragic figure in the Doom Patrol, but the main reason to close out with this pic is that the cosplayer is just so damned cute! Dig the specs! Not all the commentary has to be heavy. Thanks to Shag for the pics, and to the Superhero Costuming Forum for setting up these photo shoots every year!

Dragon*Con 2012 Cosplay Galleries by Shag Matthews

• DC Cosplay Obscura @ DC Bloodlines
• Aquaman @ The Aquaman Shrine
• The Atom @ Power of the Atom
• Black Canary @ Girls Gone Geek
• Booster Gold @ BOO$TERRIFIC
• Doctor Fate @ Tower of Fate
• Doom Patrol @ My Greatest Adventure #80
• Firestorm the Nuclear Man @ Firestorm Fan
• The Flash @ Speed Force
• Hawkman & Hawkgirl @ Being Carter Hall
• Martian Manhunter @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• The Vixen and Zatanna @ Justice League Detroit
• Wonder Woman @ Diana Prince

Comic Reader Résumé: March-May, 1983

ré·su·mé [rez-oo-mey, rez-oo-mey]
noun
1. a summing up; summary.
2. a brief written account of personal, educational, and professional qualifications and experience, as that prepared by an applicant for a job.

As I mentioned last time, March, 1983 was a bad month for continuing storylines. I failed to follow-up on cliffhangers in Captain America, Power Man and Iron Fist, and come to think of it, anything else. Maybe I'd tapped out my change tips from picking up packs of cigarettes for my grandmother at the 7-11? Times must have gotten tough, because I skipped April, as well.

The first book I bought after the slump was May, 1983's Alpha Flight #1. At a dollar, it was a big ticket purchase, although a bargain at its double length page count. Like most of the comic world, I loved John Byrne in his prime, and all those great looking Marvel heroes on the cover made it an easy sell. However, I soon realized that of those heroes, Alpha Flight were clearly the least. For instance, grouping Snowbird, Northstar and Aurora together made it clear that they barely had one costume color between them. Puck's defining character color is his own hairy flesh. The same was true of Marrina's jaundiced skin, her suit coming out of Namorita's closest. Sasquatch was a poor man's Beast, and Shaman seemed rejected by the Global Guardians. Guardian was the only well designed character in costume, but that costume was the sum total of his personality. The "Alphans" (blech) fought a bunch of giant muck monsters from Canadian Native folklore, which today I would find neat, but as a kid bored me. They reminded me of a movie called Shadow of the Hawk that tripped me out, but it was spooky because it was normal humans against an alien form of the supernatural. Brightly colored super-heroes following in the footsteps of Jan-Michael Vincent were considerably less impressive. For years, it was a book I'd toss through for Byrne, but not actually read.



I next bought All-Star Squadron #24, lured in by what amounted to Spider-Man versus the Justice Society. I had trouble wrapping my brain around heroes still fighting World War II in 1983, but to this day I think the redesigned Tarantula looks fantastic. I'm sure Ditko's version of Blue Beetle was a big influence, but the uncommon use of brown classed the Tarantula up. Chuck Dixon teased the character's return throughout his Nightwing run, only for Devin Grayson to pull a gender switch with necessary adjustments to the costume that ruined its gracefulness. The art by Jerry Ordway and Mike Machlan was lovely, but Roy Thomas has never been a favorite of mine, and the story's the thing. I might have given the book another try, but I specifically recall buying this off the spinner rack at Gemco, the only place I ever saw the title in my pre-comic shop days. Shopping trips there were momentous, but irregular.



The New Teen Titans Annual #2 was a huge book for me. It was the debut of a new Vigilante, who I recognized as a Punisher knock-off. However, Punisher appearances were few and far between back then, and I hadn't read any but a two-parter from 1977. The Hitman had kidnapped J. Jonah Jameson, so Spider-Man had to not only save his despised boss, but also keep Frank Castle from murdering anyone, all while fighting on the Statue of Liberty. While a cool action piece, the story was only slightly less silly than average.

The Titans were comparatively hardcore in "The Murder Machine," as they pushed the boundaries of heroism in their dogged pursuit of justice for a friend's family's murder by mobsters. Basically, it was my introduction to the type of "grim n' gritty" super-heroes that would dominate the '90s. Wolfman clearly relished getting nasty and playing around with the darkest tropes of old school gangster flicks (I especially loved the game of Ding-Dong Ditch.) Perez was at his most cinematic and detailed, finally inking himself in a tour de force.

Besides looking amazing and being lethal as hell, the comic finally offered me (and likely, a generation of haters) a version of Robin to cheer on. One of my favorite comic moments was when Robin plays at intimidation in a restaurant, kicking a bodyguard in the face with his little green bootie. The mobster's bimbo says something like, "I always thought he was a boy, but he's a man!" If only Nightwing had followed through on that promise. I loved the heck out of this book, and still have most of my original copy, although some of it is in pieces. This story insured a loyalty to the Titans that would make me a hardcore DC fan in the '90s, although DC shot itself in the foot by making it direct sales only at a time when the newsstand was my only regular source of new comics.



Finally, there's The Saga of Crystar, Crystal Warrior #3. I had wanted to try the first issue, but it was prohibitively expensive at $2.00. I liked the Crystar toys, and had inherited an interest in Dr. Strange from my uncle, so this standard issue got the nod instead. Nice cover, decent story, solid interior art, but nothing to inspire further reading. What makes my memory of the book fond was that for some reason, my grandmother decided to write my name under the indicia as a theft prevention device. It was the only time she ever did that, and while I have (mostly) lost and (occasionally) gained a great many comics through grift, I still have this one.

Amazing Heroes #202: Aborted Titans/Nightwing Plans (June, 1992)

Click to Enlarge


Comic Book Legends Revealed #195 discussed plans for the abortive 1992 Nightwing/Starfire mini-series by Art Thibert and Pamela Winesette, under the editorship of Jonathan Peterson, and with the full blessing of Marv Wolfman. The column also linked to a selection of articles at Titans Tower in which Thibert was interviewed about the proposed mini. I was a big fan of the changes Peterson made during his time editing the Titans books, and was very disappointed at the massive turnaround that occurred with his departure. I'm especially annoyed by how Nightwing was turned into a poor man's Daredevil by Chuck Dixon, Devin Grayson, and others.

I was struck however by discrepancies in these accounts when compared to a report in June 1992's "Newsline Extra: DC's 1992/1993 Projects" article from Amazing Heroes #202. Below is their coverage, as well as the above rare promotional image, which I've never seen anywhere else...




As a companion, I thought I'd include Art Thibert's copyrighted offerings to the 1993 The Creators Universe Dynamic Entertainment trading card set, "Starwing and Nightfire." Look familiar? Reminds me of Liefeld's work on Agent America/Fighting American and Smash!


Click to Enlarge

DC/WS DreamWar #6 (November, 2008)

Mr. Majestic relished almost being killed by a beast as "magnificent" as Doomsday. Superman kept being a "boy scout" while Apollo and Midnighter kept cursing, being homicidal, and ribbing the Man of Steel.

Chimera birthed a Sun-Eater within the moon, as detected by Green Lantern Hal Jordan and relayed telepathically by the Martian Manhunter. All the DC and Wildstorm heroes gathered in one room like you're supposed to for Crisis events to be badly drawn in cramped quarters before being deployed. There was arguing, reminders that there's a gay couple in the room, and that Grifter managed to shoot Dr. Fate to death with silly looking guns. Brainiac 5 was irritable and patronizing. Most everybody ended up on the moon.

The Doctor went onto the dream plain to try to convince Chimera to stop being a genocidal jerk, but he was a "petulant brat" who put his own hurt feelings above the welfare of billions.

Midnighter and Raven had a suspicion, and returning to the Larkin, Arkansas trailer, found it defended by the Shadow Thief (who made an unfortunate reference to rapey Dr. Light.) Defeating him, they learned the Atom's size-altering belt had been removed from his trampled body and used to conceal Chimera's sleeping nerdboy form. The Engineer was able to detect and reveal him. From the moon, Superman convinced Jenny Quarx to order Chimera to be woken up.

Everybody involved on the Wildstorm end woke up from "one bad damn dream."

The Doctor visited Morgana at the Athenaeum to return the DC book. It lifted light, as pages were still missing. At least Chimera would not be a problem, as the Doctor made it so that he could never sleep again.

DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar part six, "...Perchance to Dream" was by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott. It was an ugly, painful thing to endure, and to no real end besides a series of cover commissions pairing up two universes' characters for a fight.

DCnÜ Year's Wildstormin' Eve

• Captain Atom: Armageddon #9 (August, 2006) @ Power of the Atom
• Demon Knights #2 (December, 2011) @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Justice League #1 (October, 2011) @ Justice League Detroit

DC/Wildstorm DreamWar #1-5 (2008)

Like Captain Atom: Armageddon, this was a series I started covering earlier this year, only to abandon due to lack of interest from all parties (myself included.) I guess the main problem was all those tedious links involving poorly used characters, plus I was trying to concurrently write character-specific coverage of the same insipid stories for other blogs. Unlike Armageddon, I hadn't realized that I only needed to cover one more issue, which I had not yet written (whereas Armageddon has sat completed in the can since December of 2010,) plus I didn't even need a bunch of new scans (as I chose to do for Captain Atom.) It's been so long, and I want to link to the final two Captain Atom issues, so I decided to "reissue" coverage on this mini-series prior to the concluding chapter.

DC/WS DreamWar #1 (June, 2008)


Happy Harbor, Rhode Island was rocked by a tsunami. The Silver Age Justice League of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow and the Atom looked on from the cave entrance to their Secret Sanctuary.

The Carrier trawled "the edge of existence" known as The Bleed, a space that flowed between realities in the Wildstorm multiverse. Aboard, The Authority viewed a number of anomalous entries into their universe: a T-shaped tower on top of Riker's Island Prison... a rocket ship in Siberia ("as envisioned by a grade school kid.")

Mr. Majestic investigated the former, and was taken down by The New Teen Titans. He recovered just after Spartan came to his aid. A scuffle ensued, and the Titans escaped. That is, except for Cyborg, possession of whom came into dispute when the Authority hit on the scene.

In Tranquility, Oregon, Alan Scott, Jay Garrick and Ted Grant looked into a retirement home.

In Siberia, Stormwatch argued with local authorities over access to the crash site. Invisible Kid and Chameleon Boy spied on both parties.

In a Larkin, Arkansas trailer park, a fat man with a slit throat sat in a chair. A younger, heavyset man lay in bed. Superman looked in on him as he slept and smiled. "Kf... Never again."

DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar part one, "Chimera Rising," was by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott.

DC/WS DreamWar #2 (July, 2008)


In New York City, Wonder Girl and Starfire attacked Gen¹³.

Within their rocket ship headquarters, the Legion of Super-Heroes considered how they were going to move against their foes. "Chimera Lad wants us focused on Stormwatch. The Justice League will see to The Authority."

During an interrogation aboard The Carrier, Cyborg told members of The Authority and the WildC.A.T.s that the heroes of the DCU had come to bring down all the crumb bums of the Wildstorm Universe. To illustrate the point, the Justice League of America teleported onto the ship and started busting heads. Martian Manhunter and Green Arrow gravitated toward the Carrier's power source, while Green Lantern, the Flash, Superman and Batman addressed Cyborg's captors. Jenny Quarx, The Engineer and Jack Hawksmoor escaped the ship through a teleportational door, but most of their cohorts were taken down. However, Green Arrow was killed in the confrontation.

Meanwhile, the Justice Society of America began systematically destroying Tranquility, Oregon.

DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar part two, "First Strike," was by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott.

DC/WS DreamWar #3 (August, 2008)


In Siberia, Stormwatch and the Legion of Super-Heroes had a brutal confrontation.

The Amazons of Themyscira launched an attack on the vampire nation from Wetworks.

The Justice Society of America continued their assault on Tranquility, Oregon. Grifter gunned down Dr. Fate.

Batman, Superman and Green Lantern launched an attack on the WildC.A.T.s headquarters. After a lengthy battle with Zealot, the Dark Knight died by her sword. This shook Superman to the core, as he realized something was very wrong when Green Lantern never mourned the death of his own best friend, Green Arrow. Kal-El reached out to Martian Manhunter's telepathy, only to have the Alien Atlas again assert that Chimera wanted the Wildstorm heroes dead. "Tell me who Chimera is, J'Onn. J'Onn?"

DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar part three, "Mettle!" was by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott.

DC/WS DreamWar #4 (September, 2008)


Back at the Carrier, Superman helped the Justice League of America remember who they were, then began working with the Wildstorm protagonists to help wrangle the other murderous DC super-teams. The Doctor (with telepathic tag along Martian
Manhunter) metaphysically learned from his predecessors that Chimera was the trailer park kid from WS Earth that could add to reality from his imagination and a volume stolen from the "mother of all libraries," the Athenaeum.

Gen¹³ was attacked by Raven and Changeling from The New Teen Titans. The Atom was sent to rein them in, but was knocked out before he could reveal himself.

Deathblow, the WildC.A.T.s and Stormwatch fought a war with the Legion of Super-Heroes. Only Bouncing Boy seemed to recall the Legion's prohibitions against killing, and with the help of the Flash (and only after having been stabbed by Warblade,) honor finally prevailed.

The Doctor spoke with Chimera on another plane, learning his stepfather had killed his mother and made him do... "stuff." The kid murdered the man, and figured out a way to "piggy-back" so he could watch the s.o.b. go to Hell. En route, he found his way to the Athenaeum, and stole the DC Comics volume from the library. However, Chimera had used heroes to do the work of villains, which wouldn't stand once their realization in the Wildstorm reality was complete. After all, they were heroes. Chimera recognized his error.

Apollo and Midnighter were waiting outside of "Chimera's" trailer in Arkansas when Doomsday burst out of it. "I knew we shoulda wasted the little #&@% when we had the chance!

DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar part four, "Resurrection!" was by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott.

DC/WS DreamWar #5 (October, 2008)


Doomsday was rampaging, and Mr. Majestic vouched for the man this "Superman" was supposed to be, so the pair flew off to help Apollo and Midnighter.

In Tranquility, Oregon, a whole host of DC super-villains fought the assembled heroes. Among them were the Golden Age Cheetah, Mano, Blockbuster, Solomon Grundy, Captain Cold and the Royal Flush Gang. Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick convinced a skeptical and justifiably hostile Grifter that the assembled heroes needed a field commander with military experience. "We're outnumbered and on the defensive. That's how these things are lost... Tactics, son. Organization. Looks like you're just the man for the job..."

In Siberia, Stormwatch and the Legion of Super-Heroes battled Validus and the Thunderers of Qward.

Back in Larkin, Arkansas, Midnighter let the Superman tackle Doomsday while he ran into the trailer in hopes of gutting the sleeping Chimera and ending this mess. He was halted by an armed Joker. "Batman Lite, I presume."

WildC.A.T.s headquarters was being torn apart by Giganta, with help from Dr. Light, the Iron Age Cheetah, the Weather Wizard, Firefly, Charaxes, Dreamslayer and more. Martian Manhunter, Jack Hawksmoor and Zealot emerged from a door to help.

The Aegean was dominated by Starro the Conquerer, whose possession of various Amazons, Coda warriors and followers of Kobra troubled Wonder Woman and Wetworks. One had trouble with the term "Super-villains?! And said with a straight face?" Diana replied, "I'm glad you find this so amusing." The Amazing Amazon was just about to take the battle directly to Starro when it fell from the sky dead from indigestion related to a Wildstorm character.



The Carrier continued traveling the Bleed and observing the situations from afar. The Doctor explained to Jenny Quarx that Chimera hadn't recognized the intrinsic heroism of his first constructs, and was retaliating against their betrayal of his goals with the second batch. The Doctor could affect Chimera on his home turf, so other avenues had to be pursued.

In Tranquility, the Flash helped relay Grifter's orders to the troops. Vampires joined the other warriors in the Aegean, who easily routed Kobra to secure the Aegean. Siberia was still in play overnight, as the Legion refused to use lethal force, which gave Stormwatch fits. Cyborg managed to talk down the New Teen Titans and Gen¹³, but not before the Atom was confirmed as "squished." The Halo Corporate headquarters was wrecked, with casualties in the triple digits. Martian Manhunter was shown confronting Charaxes.

In Arkansas, Midnighter dodged gunfire until Apollo blasted the Clown Prince of Crime in half with eyebeams. Unfortunately, Superman prevented the killing of Chimera, giving him time to find an even more dangerous threat from out of his volume from the Athenaeum...

DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar part five, "Bad To The Bone" was by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott.

New 52's Day featuring Wildstorm

• Aquaman #3 (January, 2012) @ Justice League Detroit
• The Huntress #2 (January, 2011) @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
• Stormwatch #3 (January, 2012) @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Captain Atom: Armageddon #8 (July, 2006) @ Power of the Atom

DC/WS DreamWar #5 (October, 2008)

Doomsday was rampaging, and Mr. Majestic vouched for the man this "Superman" was supposed to be, so the pair flew off to help Apollo and Midnighter.

In Tranquility, Oregon, a whole host of DC super-villains fought the assembled heroes. Among them were the Golden Age Cheetah, Mano, Blockbuster, Solomon Grundy, Captain Cold and the Royal Flush Gang. Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick convinced a skeptical and justifiably hostile Grifter that the assembled heroes needed a field commander with military experience. "We're outnumbered and on the defensive. That's how these things are lost... Tactics, son. Organization. Looks like you're just the man for the job..."

In Siberia, Stormwatch and the Legion of Super-Heroes battled Validus and the Thunderers of Qward.

Back in Larkin, Arkansas, Midnighter let the Superman tackle Doomsday while he ran into the trailer in hopes of gutting the sleeping Chimera and ending this mess. He was halted by an armed Joker. "Batman Lite, I presume."

WildC.A.T.s headquarters was being torn apart by Giganta, with help from Dr. Light, the Iron Age Cheetah, the Weather Wizard, Firefly, Charaxes, Dreamslayer and more. Martian Manhunter, Jack Hawksmoor and Zealot emerged from a door to help.

The Aegean was dominated by Starro the Conquerer, whose possession of various Amazons, Coda warriors and followers of Kobra troubled Wonder Woman and Wetworks. One had trouble with the term "Super-villains?! And said with a straight face?" Diana replied, "I'm glad you find this so amusing." The Amazing Amazon was just about to take the battle directly to Starro when it fell from the sky dead from indigestion related to a Wildstorm character.



The Carrier continued traveling the Bleed and observing the situations from afar. The Doctor explained to Jenny Quarx that Chimera hadn't recognized the intrinsic heroism of his first constructs, and was retaliating against their betrayal of his goals with the second batch. The Doctor could affect Chimera on his home turf, so other avenues had to be pursued.

In Tranquility, the Flash helped relay Grifter's orders to the troops. Vampires joined the other warriors in the Aegean, who easily routed Kobra to secure the Aegean. Siberia was still in play overnight, as the Legion refused to use lethal force, which gave Stormwatch fits. Cyborg managed to talk down the New Teen Titans and Gen¹³, but not before the Atom was confirmed as "squished." The Halo Corporate headquarters was wrecked, with casualties in the triple digits. Martian Manhunter was shown confronting Charaxes.

In Arkansas, Midnighter dodged gunfire until Apollo blasted the Clown Prince of Crime in half with eyebeams. Unfortunately, Superman prevented the killing of Chimera, giving him time to find an even more dangerous threat from out of his volume from the Athenaeum...

DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar part five, "Bad To The Bone" was by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott.

ElseWednesday

• Bizarro Comics: "Wonder Girl vs. Wonder Tot" (2001) @ Diana Prince: Wonder Woman
• 2001 "Bizarro X-Ray Two" by John Kerschbaum @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Bizarro Comics: Aquaman in "Silence of the Fishes" (2001) @ Justice League Detroit
• Captain Atom: Armageddon #7 (June, 2006) @ Power of the Atom

DC/WS DreamWar #4 (September, 2008)

Back at the Carrier, Superman helped the Justice League of America remember who they were, then began working with the Wildstorm protagonists to help wrangle the other murderous DC super-teams. The Doctor (with telepathic tag along Martian
Manhunter) metaphysically learned from his predecessors that Chimera was the trailer park kid from WS Earth that could add to reality from his imagination and a volume stolen from the "mother of all libraries," the Athenaeum.

Gen¹³ was attacked by Raven and Changeling from The New Teen Titans. The Atom was sent to rein them in, but was knocked out before he could reveal himself.

Deathblow, the WildC.A.T.s and Stormwatch fought a war with the Legion of Super-Heroes. Only Bouncing Boy seemed to recall the Legion's prohibitions against killing, and with the help of the Flash (and only after having been stabbed by Warblade,) honor finally prevailed.

The Doctor spoke with Chimera on another plane, learning his stepfather had killed his mother and made him do... "stuff." The kid murdered the man, and figured out a way to "piggy-back" so he could watch the s.o.b. go to Hell. En route, he found his way to the Athenaeum, and stole the DC Comics volume from the library. However, Chimera had used heroes to do the work of villains, which wouldn't stand once their realization in the Wildstorm reality was complete. After all, they were heroes. Chimera recognized his error.

Apollo and Midnighter were waiting outside of "Chimera's" trailer in Arkansas when Doomsday burst out of it. "I knew we shoulda wasted the little #&@% when we had the chance!

DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar part four, "Resurrection!" was by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott.

ElseWednesday featuring Wildstorm!

• JLA/Cyberforce (2005) @ Diana Prince: Wonder Woman
• Flashpoint #3 (February, 2000) @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Captain Atom: Armageddon #4 (March, 2006) @ Power of the Atom

DC/WS DreamWar #3 (August, 2008)

In Siberia, Stormwatch and the Legion of Super-Heroes had a brutal confrontation.

The Amazons of Themyscira launched an attack on the vampire nation from Wetworks.

The Justice Society of America continued their assault on Tranquility, Oregon. Grifter gunned down Dr. Fate.

Batman, Superman and Green Lantern launched an attack on the WildC.A.T.s headquarters. After a lengthy battle with Zealot, the Dark Knight died by her sword. This shook Superman to the core, as he realized something was very wrong when Green Lantern never mourned the death of his own best friend, Green Arrow. Kal-El reached out to Martian Manhunter's telepathy, only to have the Alien Atlas again assert that Chimera wanted the Wildstorm heroes dead. "Tell me who Chimera is, J'Onn. J'Onn?"

DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar part three, "Mettle!" was by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott.

ElseWednesday featuring Wildstorm!

• Wonder Woman Annual #5 (1996) @ Diana Prince: Wonder Woman
• Flashpoint #2 (January, 2000) @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Captain Atom: Armageddon #3 (February, 2006) @ Power of the Atom

DC/WS DreamWar #2 (July, 2008)

In New York City, Wonder Girl and Starfire attacked Gen¹³.

Within their rocket ship headquarters, the Legion of Super-Heroes considered how they were going to move against their foes. "Chimera Lad wants us focused on Stormwatch. The Justice League will see to The Authority."

During an interrogation aboard The Carrier, Cyborg told members of The Authority and the WildC.A.T.s that the heroes of the DCU had come to bring down all the crumb bums of the Wildstorm Universe. To illustrate the point, the Justice League of America teleported onto the ship and started busting heads. Martian Manhunter and Green Arrow gravitated toward the Carrier's power source, while Green Lantern, the Flash, Superman and Batman addressed Cyborg's captors. Jenny Quarx, The Engineer and Jack Hawksmoor escaped the ship through a teleportational door, but most of their cohorts were taken down. However, Green Arrow was killed in the confrontation.

Meanwhile, the Justice Society of America began systematically destroying Tranquility, Oregon.

DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar part two, "First Strike," was by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott.

ElseWednesday featuring Wildstorm!

• JLA/WildC.A.T.S. "Crime Machine" (1997) @ Diana Prince: Wonder Woman
• Flashpoint #1 (December, 1999) @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Captain Atom: Armageddon #2 (January, 2006) @ Power of the Atom

DC/WS DreamWar #1 (June, 2008)

Happy Harbor, Rhode Island was rocked by a tsunami. The Silver Age Justice League of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow and the Atom looked on from the cave entrance to their Secret Sanctuary.

The Carrier trawled "the edge of existence" known as The Bleed, a space that flowed between realities in the Wildstorm multiverse. Aboard, The Authority viewed a number of anomalous entries into their universe: a T-shaped tower on top of Riker's Island Prison... a rocket ship in Siberia ("as envisioned by a grade school kid.")

Mr. Majestic investigated the former, and was taken down by The New Teen Titans. He recovered just after Spartan came to his aid. A scuffle ensued, and the Titans escaped. That is, except for Cyborg, possession of whom came into dispute when the Authority hit on the scene.

In Tranquility, Oregon, Alan Scott, Jay Garrick and Ted Grant looked into a retirement home.

In Siberia, Stormwatch argued with local authorities over access to the crash site. Invisible Kid and Chameleon Boy spied on both parties.

In a Larkin, Arkansas trailer park, a fat man with a slit throat sat in a chair. A younger, heavyset man lay in bed. Superman looked in on him as he slept and smiled. "Kf... Never again."

DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar part one, "Chimera Rising," was by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott.

Homage Studios Sunday

• Captain Atom: Armageddon #1 (December, 2005)
• JLA/Cyberforce (2005)