Hello again GEN readers! It’s Jill a.k.a. The Nerdy Bird back with another installment of DoubleDCoverage.  But wait!  What’s this #1 business all about? Well, the column has been going through some renovations recently and it seemed only fitting to play off a certain trend in comics. 

Sometimes a book runs it’s course but starts up again at a later date. Usually the numbering will pick up where it left off but sometimes, in the case of a major reboot, they’ll restart it at #1 to grab new readers.  That’s where DoubleDCoverage finds itself. Instead of a multiverse worth of reviews every two weeks you’ll be seeing two reviews once a week (I like Double too much!), plus a “star” rating (out of 5) for any other book I read that week. But wait! There’s more! I’ll also be listing which books I plan to pick up the following week and you get to help choose which two I review for the next installment!

Alright, enough talking, let’s get to it!

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #31

I opened this issue and thought two things. One, that Dinah looked an awful bit like Wonder Woman and two, that I missed four issues. The first was just a dialogue discrepancy (Dinah and Diana are pretty close) but why did I feel lost? This issue picks up with no one too concerned about what the Shadow Cabinet is up to and an editors note that all of this takes place after a JLA mini-series I hadn’t heard about and that won’t even be released until July. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me but the issue itself is chock full of melodrama.

Green Lantern Hal Jordan and Green Arrow have formed a splinter JLA group and Black Canary, as the chairwoman of the League, is rightfully pissed off.  She’s angrier at her husband obviously and refers to Hal as his “boyfriend,” which let’s face it, he is. Ollie feels he needs to do more before he’s too old to make a difference and is just being honest when he tells Dinah the JLA hasn’t done a whole lot under her rule. Part of me wants to tell him to shut up because technically it’s not Dinah’s fault, it’s DC’s fault for letting the book flounder in recent months. 

Dinah does some heavy thinking and finds herself consoling Roy over his breakup with Hawkgirl. There’s a slight nod to Final Crisis here as we learn her and Hawkman are very much alive, though she was in the hospital for a while. It’s then he informs her that he won’t be returning to the team either. Black Lightning’s gone to the Outsiders, Zatanna might be leaving and a quick visit to Wally let’s her know he’s too busy with Keystone City and his family to remain on the team either.  Wonder Woman and Superman take some precious time off to spar and reminisce about their fallen friend, Batman. They also tell Dinah they must quit due to other obligations. She finally decides to call in the remaining team members. They all seem to want to carry on with the team and are already brainstorming ideas when Dinah tells them she’s officially disbanding the team.

Overall this issue was incredibly depressing, not to mention confusing. I have no idea why they couldn’t just put the book on hold until this mini-series comes out instead of having every character talk about something that hasn’t happened yet for the reader. I love the Justice League so I hate to see it falling apart like this but if I had known what this issue was going to be like I wouldn’t have bothered picking it up. Then again, seeing Hal’s reaction to Dinah decking Ollie was pretty sweet.

SUPERMAN #686 

Superman is no longer on planet Earth and it’s Mon-El who’s being spotted high above Metropolis. However, Supes does appear in flashbacks charging certain people to look after his city while he’s gone. His first order of business is getting Mon on board, who’s now taken on a secret identity by the name of Jonathan Kent (Ma Kent named him last issue).  Next is John Henry Irons, aka Steel, who looked after Metropolis once before - when Superman died. Not only does he want him to fight crime but he also hopes he’ll look after Mon. He definitely needs it after spending years in the Phantom Zone.

Superman’s talk with Jimmy Olsen is the most poignant. Jimmy’s been through a lot lately and may have bitten off more than he can chew by snooping around Project 7734. Now that his best pal will be too far away to help him should he get into trouble he’s starting to freak out. Superman does a great job of reassuring him but does the smart thing by having Mon pop by with his own attuned signal watch. 

The most unexpected favor Superman had to ask was of the Guardian and Science Police. He asks they give Mon a secret identity and they allow him to begin work with the SP. In current time,  Atlas is still hanging around a diner in his hoodie and Rampage is terrorizing the city.  Mon takes care of her quickly but, as the Guardian points out, he wasn’t aware of his surroundings and could have hurt civilians.  

At Science Police HQ he’s heckled for being from “England” but makes a new friend named Billi Harper. For absolutely no reason at all she trusts him enough upon first meeting him to reveal the original Guardian was her Great Uncle and she’s there to get to know his clone, the current Guardian.  She also tells him Billi is her middle name, her first name is Jaimie. Jamie Harper. The Gotham Police Detective that was working with Robin recently. An editors note lets us know this takes place after Battle for the Cowl but I’m really intrigued as to what made her leave Gotham now. I really liked her there. I know a lot of people are annoyed Superman isn’t in his title for now but I’m looking forward to seeing Mon-El in action finally.

BATMAN: BATTLE FOR THE COWL – COMMISSIONER GORDON 

ORACLE: THE CURE #1 (OF 3)  For my thoughts on the “cure” check out my blog!

TRINITY #43 

WONDER WOMAN #30  

So, what did YOU think? What are you excited to be reading and what could you live without?

My pull list for next week:

BATMAN: BATTLE FOR THE COWL – MAN-BAT 
DEAD ROMEO #1 (OF 6) 
THE FLASH: REBIRTH #1 (OF 5) 
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #25 
THE MIGHTY #3 
TEEN TITANS #69 
TEEN TITANS ANNUAL 2009 
TRINITY #44 

Which two should I review? Heh, that rhymes.

Related Posts:

• DoubleDCoverage #27
• DoubleDCoverage #22
• DoubleDCoverage #20
• DoubleDCoverage #10
• DoubleDCoverage #33