NEWS: Oh thank heavens - the DCU will be ok...

...on the Xbox360 and PS3 that is.

To say I was worried about the lameness of the upcoming Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe when I heard about the 'no fatalities' rumour - would be an understatement.

Mortal Kombat without fatalities? That was just ludicrous. The possibility of having Catwoman go up against Sonja without a finishing move... Well it was like thinking about an ice cream sundae and being told that you have to eat dirt.

I couldn't stop thinking about it - but I just didn't like it.

Now - enter E3, and a brand new trailer...



Worried? Not anymore...!

NEWS: DC Universe Online!

So this month's UK issue of Edge (191) has an interesting cover story... DC Universe Online - a new MMO!

Edge's preview gives details of the new PS3 / PC game, detailing how users will be able to create their own superhero or supervillain (much akin to City Of Heroes / City of Villains), and have them interact with the DCU around them. Sadly, players are unable to pick any of the existing heroes out there (which is a damn shame - can you imagine being a Greent Lantern?!?), but the heavy hitters will be appearing throughout your 'missions'.

Most interestingly however, it appears that there might be plans for future DC crossovers (and individual storylines) to tie-in to the game.

Now if only someone would de-shelve the Marvel Universe Online project - everything would be right in the world...

REVIEW: Rann-Thanagar: Holy War - 1

DC of late, is consistently surprising me. In one hand, they're missing the mark totally, spitting out what I'll call 'utter garbage' like Countdown and promoting the hell out of them. In the other hand - they're pulling together great books like this one that are sadly not mainstream enough to grab the attention that they really deserve.

As you've probably guessed, I was mildly happy with this book. I've grown to seek out the team-up books between Starfire, Adam Strange and Animal Man, as of late they are rapidly becoming a 'seal of DC quality'.

***SPOILER ALERT***

In this respect - the first issue of Rann-Thanagar: Holy War is no different. The artwork from Ron Lim is wonderfully futuristic with some obvious manga influences, and the script from Jim Starlin is nice and punchy (although there are a couple of moments that don't quite sit right [Animal Man's comments when Adam Strange is requesting help, for example]).

Much of the storyline picks up from the conclusion of the recent 'Countdown to Adventure' mini-series, but the book also touches upon surfacing problems on Thanagar, and pulls in a couple of additional space faring characters along the way (such as the younger Captain Comet) to lay the groundwork for future issues.

I'm fairly sure I've said this before - but on the offchance I haven't - Starfire, Animal Man and Adam Strange need their own team book. DC - feel free to team them up with (almost) anyone - I will buy that book each and every month, if you strap on a pair and create it.

In the meantime - I'll be on the lookout for the next issue of the series, and any other books where there is consistent great writing.

Pete's Score: 4 out of 5
(needs its own series - but buy this book in the meantime) 

REVIEW: DC Universe - 0

Okay - so we already know that this is a promo comic for the upcoming 'Final Crisis', so expectations are fairly low, right?

Wrong...!

Surprisingly - this comic goes a long way towards undoing the bad work done by Countdown. Whereas I had a feeling of 'couldn't be bothered' after reading Countdown To Final Crisis - 1, with DC Universe 0 I have a feeling of 'about bloody time'...

If this book is an indication of comics to come - then I'll be picking up some more DC books in the near future... But enough of all that - what's actually in the comic?

***SPOILER ALERT***

An initially unknown voice acts as commentary throughout the book, weaving between battles in the 31st century (promo for Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds), a conversation between Batman and the Joker (promo for Batman: R.I.P.), a hint at things to come for the Amazons (promo for Wonder Woman: Whom The Gods Forsake), Hal Jordan and John Stewart analysing the remains of a strange explosion in Northern California (promo for Green Lantern: Blackest Night Prelude), a slanted view of The Spectre (promo for Final Crisis: Revelations), rouges uniting under a maniacal preacher (a promo for Final Crisis itself), and what might be the return of Captain Marvel...

All in all - a comic worth getting, so you know what you won't want to miss over the next few months...

Pete's Score: 4 out of 5

(tantalising, intriguing and well worth the ridiculously low cover price...)