The "Meanwhile..." feature this month mentions work continuing on new Batman project that isn't named but is clearly Dark Knight Returns. There's also discussion of a Matt Wagner project that is the forthcoming Demon limited series from the following year. Interestingly, there's also mention of a Jason's Quest revival that never came to fruition.
Detective Comics #552: Moench and Janson pick up the Black Mask story from this month's Batman. Black Mask recruits more members into his gang and takes more deadly reprisals against people he feels have wronged him, which are mostly newly installed Janus execs. He also has Circe, the model who jilted Sionis when his fortunes turned, kidnapped and subjects her to a diluted portion of the cosmetic. After that torture, he gives her an ultimatum: join him or get the full treatment. Circe accepts a mask without the tainted cosmetic in it. Batman figures out Sionis is Black Mask just as the False Face Society, but he can't find out where his hideout is or what his ultimate plans are.
Cavalieri and Moore/Patterson have Green Arrow and Black Canary facing a rash of tenement fires, arsons that Arrow believes were committed by the owners for the insurance and redevelopment. The meat of the story, though, is about what happens when Black Canary confronts a fire-throwing super-villain arsonist, Bonfire, and the Canary is strangely frozen with fear. After her rescue, she later tells Ollie that she had a strange episode of deja vu while in the blaze. Later, she's looking through her scrapbook at old pictures of her mother, the first Black Canary, and she's struck by a revelation.
Action Comics #570: The first story by Kupperberg and Schaffenberger/Hunt has a Superboy vibe, except that it has Jim Olsen as its focus instead of some random Smallville kid. A blast of cosmic energy splits off Jim's inflated ego into a super-villain who calls himself Alter Ego. The bit of mystery here isn't in Alter Ego's identity. Superman figures that out early on. Rather it's in how Jim got split and how to fix it.
The second story by Boldman and Bender/Marcos is more "humorous" than the first. One might say "silly," even. After saving a man's life, Superman accepts the guys invitation to dinner for beef bourguignon, but then stays and stays, making a complete annoyance of himself. This could have easily turned to horror as having a super-powered bore for a house guest might in real life, but once the man blows his top at the super-freeloader, Superman drops the act and reveals the truth: the man had been infected by some alien something or other in the initial incident and only making him angry could cure him.
I mention the "stuck in the past" nature of this era of Superman a lot but should also point out this isn't inertia or ossification. Superman was different at points in the 70s ("Kryptonite No More," and all that). Superman was different just a few years prior with stories by Wein and Starlin and Wolfman. This was a choice editorial made.
Ambush Bug #3: Giffen, Fleming, and Oksner deliver their funniest issue yet, provided you like silly, absurdist humor goofing on silly DC characters of the past. It's actually kind of clever, structurally, we get vignettes in text and comic form uncovering what happened to a lot of obscure and best forgotten in the estimation of Fleming and Giffen DC characters like Egg Fu, The Green Team, and Binky. It's also sneakily taking a swipe at Crisis on Infinite Earths and the rationale for it, as all of the segments point to a mysterious woman being involved in their disappearances or deaths. In the end, we find out who is responsible: Jonni DC, Continuity Cop. Just as she confesses, she's blasted by Darkseid for the recurring "next issue, a fight with Darkseid" gag.
Arion Lord of Atlantis #34: Kupperberg and Duursema get Arion and Chian back to the City of the Golden Gate and into the business of selecting a new king. In Atlantis, that's done by a council of wizards presided over by Arion. These days the wizards have only the barest magic except Arion, but still tradition. There's one scheming wizard up to no good, though, and he disrupts the proceedings and gets Arion trapped by shadow bat things. Meanwhile, Wyynde is reunited by Mara. He finally returns her affections in a leering sort of way which puts her off. Apparently, having a dog head for a while changes a guy! Who isn't put off by the new Wyynde is the princess and potential successor to the king, T'Galla. She and Wyynde get along quite well to the irritation of Mara.
All-Star Squadron #48: Mike Harris takes over as artist. This is his first work for the Big Two. He goes on to do a fair amount of work at Marvel in the '90s on grittier titles like The 'Nam, The Punisher, and Cops: The Job. Here, the All-Stars travel to the UK, meeting the Blackhawks on the way. Churchill wants them to find the Shining Knight who disappeared investigated something at the site of Camelot. The All-Stars find Shining Knight in the company of other Arthurian characters who turn out to robots. Our heroes are captured, and they learn that Dr. Fate's old enemy, Wotan, is behind it all.
World's Finest #318: Cavalieri and Delbo/Alcala bring back Sonik who had his debut and only appearance to date back in issue 310. Beyond that the issue is very much of its era. Lilanne Stern is now on RTV. There's a wealthy popstar named Marlon Monroe (a Michael Jackson stand-in) who is menaced by robots made by one of his staff, and a boy in a bubble with an immunodeficiency syndrome someone may be trying to kill. Superman and Batman are on the case though, and everything works out in the end.
Tales of the Legion #326: We start the reprint era this month, so I won't be reviewing this title anymore, but I wanted to note it.
V #7: Newell steps in as writer, and we an issue that focuses solely on Julie as she goes back to her now empty hometown, trying to get some time to herself to go to terms with everything that has happened. A mother and father get mentioned and the implication is that perhaps both are dead due to the Visitors, though based on the V wiki, this appears to be new material. Anyway, she's followed by an assassin that has the appearance of a high school friend, but when a Visitor patrol attacks them, the assassin seems to have a change of heart and saves her life. The issue is rather ambiguous on several points, which was perhaps Newell's intention.
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