*AS ALWAYS BE MINDFUL THAT THERE WILL BE SLIGHT SPOILERS, READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL!!**

Ok so technically this came out last week but since I was in the process of talking about the Trinity Wars, I thought I would add this in

Justice League Dark #22 (Trinity War 3 of 6)

So Trinity Wars continues and while the art direction in this book is coherent, the story is starting to become a little less so.  I think the only thing that I do like about the entire event is that it’s a little more coherent that AvX was a year ago but you still get that sense of why should I even care about what’s happening here?  And I think I found out the answer. In this event just like AvX, it’s a fanboy’s dream of “What Ifs” once you take a universe’s most powerful heroes and pit them against each other, which works fine for what DC has been trying to accomplish. So, in this book we delve deeper into what’s causing Superman’s psychosis and it also opens up more divisions amongst the JL, JLA and JL:D as they all scatter to try and figure out the mystery of both Pandora’s Box and its connection to both Shazam and Dr. Light.  The big problem I am starting to see here is after awhile, no one really wants to see A List (and some B List) heroes fighting each other. it’s great to have an event that can showcase many of the top characters in the DC Universe but me quiet frankly, would rather see them all taking on the forces of evil rather than fight each other.  We are starting to see the chips fall as allegiances are made as well as double crosses but this event needs some stability to balance the large number of characters here.

2 out of 5 stars

The Indestructible Hulk #11

In all honesty, I have been a take it or leave it person when it comes to the Hulk because I never felt that anyone can really get him “just right”. Greg Pak is one of few that’s done him justice.   Then Mark Waid starts writing him and to be honest, some of Waid’s run on this has been a bit up and down but for some odd reason, this issue made me take some notice.  Bruce banner is introduced to yet another secret wing of SHIELD that even Tony Stark knows nothing about:  T.I.M.E. and the basic idea is this group is trying to clean up the mess a bunch of anarchists have made and the Avengers are partly to blame especially with their Age of Ultron escapade. Not to mention the teleported X Men are also messing up the time stream. We are introduced to an old character who may provide answers to what’s happening and just when the book gets ramped up, it’s over and Hulk is facing down a dino in the wild west. WTF?  This may actually be more fun the AoU, somebody’s gotta clean up the mess, right?

3.5 out of 5 stars

X-men 3

Wood and Copiel finish up their 1st story arc in this issue with the showdown between Sublime and Arrika coming to a Borg-like head. And even though you feel like the end leaves a lot to be desired, it’s still amazing how Wood keeps the story moving in this book between 2 different set pieces. Actually 3 because Pixie gets a mini mission of her own but by the time you remember it, most of the book is done.  The scenes with Kitty trying to regain control of the Danger room reminds me so much of how much she has grown since Claremont’s run eons ago. In the meantime, Ororo’s and Rogue’s trying to figure out how to regain control of a hospital was a blast. I am still enjoying this and it’s fast becoming one of my favorite titles surpassing All New X-men so i think it’s ok to say, if you can, grab the entire first arc and jump in before it gets away from you.

4 out of 5 stars

Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox

Yeah yeah it’s not a comic but it must be mentioned this week because if you are on the fence about this book, then you need to get off. “Holy Crap” were my 1st 2 thoughts at the conclusion of this animation and this just shows that DC knows how to shine in that arena while Marvel still conquers in the live action side of things.  Basically, this movie is a near perfect retelling of the events that transpired that caused the reboot of the DC universe 2 years ago so no I won’t go into it completely short of saying that the Flash causes a butterfly effect that not only keeps his mom from dying but causes the world to go to hell when a war between the Amazons and Atlantis breaks out.  The biggest surprise of this movie is the level of violence that is seen here. This is a movie that I strongly caution parents about watching with kids because nobody is safe…people get shot with arrows, kids are killed and so on, and some of these are caused by our very own heroes. Heck, somebody gets their brains blown out and if you read the comic you know who but just the idea that it’s shown in grizzly detail even made my jaw drop.  Overall, the story in my opinion is a very good visual Cliffs Notes of the Flashpoint event and pretty well executed.  The voice acting was great and when it was over, it really made me want to go back and re-read the books just to see what I may have missed.  One of my complaints was was that the animation was a little to anime-ish for my taste and even to the point where I thought Aquaman was a little too bulky for a man who is built for life underwater. I think my only other complaint was that there were many cameos that were seen but not heard.  Aqualad and Black Manta made appearances but never spoke as well as a few others but again, an overall good flick.  DC is stepping up its game in the animation department knowing that it’s going to be awhile getting some new movies out so marvel needs to step their game up as well.

4 out of 5 stars.