Batman Beyond Unlimited #12, by J.T. Krul (writer), Howard Porter (pencils), Livesay (inks), Carrie Strachan (colors), Saida Temofonte (letterer) for "War Crimes"; Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen (writers), Fiona Staples (artist), Saida Temofonte (letterer) for "Beyond Origin: Micron"; Adam Beechen (writer), Norm Breyfogle (artist), Andrew Elder (colorist), Saida Temofonte (letterer) for "10,000 Clowns: No Future" - Is that supposed to be something wrapped around Lobo's arm? Or is it just a random scrap of fabric? I could see him wrapping part of a Green Lantern uniform around his arm, just to show off, but otherwise.Superman visits J'onn in his current civilian identity, and the Martian helps him remember why the Trillians want him dead. Then Lobo attacks, and the two heroes team-up to fight. Seems to be going well until the Trillians catch J'onn by surprise and Superman folds his tent. Really, he basically just gives up. He's captured, and brought to the Trillians' homeworld to be tried for what he did. Maybe I'm to infer Supes surrendered to protect J'onn. As far as this thing with the Trillians goes, I want to hear from the Mangals, the ones Superman freed. Or at least see what they're up to, because while I'm inclined to believe Superman, given the way things go in comics these days, it's possible he really did screw up. I doubt it. More likely he'll face a kangaroo court situation, but it's possible.
Over in Gotham, Terry narrowly avoids strangulation, and escapes, pondering what the hell he's doing this for as he passes out. Which leaves Dick Grayson to do a Frank Miller Batman impression as he squares off with the Joker King. And Max learns the truth about Undercloud, which is disappointing, but not surprising. It's like Payback said, you go up high enough, there's always one guy. I like how Breyfogle managed to draw Grayson in silhouette as he swung in so that his jacket looked like a short cape, ala his Robin costume.
There's also an origin for Micron, which was pretty good. I'm impressed his mother could afford to keep moving on a paramedic's salary, especially if his size-changing kept wrecking the places they were living. Not getting the security deposit back from that. It's nice she's his inspiration, and that using his powers to help people is how he found himself, without a bunch of missteps along the way.
Dial H #9, by China Mieville (writer), Alberto Ponticelli (penciler), Dan Green (inker), Tanay & Richard Horie (colorists), Steve Wands (letterer) - I saw that cover and just assumed it was some play on the Human Centipede's name and nature. That he was a predatory, insect-like mind. Either that, or the dial picked up on it when he used it. Wrong on both counts. As with most things, the correct answer was focus group testing.For some reason, the dial won't work for the Centipede. Which gives Roxie time to tase him and dial up a hero herself, allowing her and Nelson to escape. In the aftermath, we get a look at what the department Centipede works for looks like, what they know (a lot, and different stuff from Roxie), and the problems they're facing. Namely, their chosen dial user can't seem to retain control out in the field. Centipede has theories, but as we've seen, he has plans of his own and keeps mum. Making him wear that helmet didn't make him any more inclined to share, I imagine. Nelson dials up The Glimpse and sneaks into the headquarters in hopes of finding the Canadians' dial. He locates it, but Centipede suckers the user into dialing up to fight him, which is where it ends.
Is Ponticelli the new regular artist? That'd be fine, if he could make Roxie a little less weathered. I know she's supposed to be an older lady, and normally, no concerns. But there were a couple of panels where she started to resemble Aunt May at her most wrinkly, and I don't know if that's quite what Mieville's looking for. That may just be an aspect of Ponticelli's style I'll adjust to. It's not a big enough deal to detract from the rest. Somehow, he's able to draw a lady minotaur in such a way that it looks strange, but not absurd, but get across how ridiculous the Centipede looks with the bug head. Maybe that's the juxtaposition with his suit, but he looks as silly as I imagine he feels.
"Whiny Eagle" as the Canadian designation for the U.S. is great. It's interesting to me that Nelson and Roxie seem relatively able to function when they dial, but have a hard time getting a hero they feel will fit the task at hand. Personally, I think Cloud Herd would have worked fine, but they disagree. meanwhile, the Canadian soldier can't control himself in the field, but his dial brought up a hero perfectly suited for confronting The Glimpse on the first try. Is it just a sign of how imperfect all the dials are, that each is deficient in their own way?
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