Quarter Bin #43 "Brother's Blitz, Part 1"

Disclaimer: Comics featured in this column do not necessarily come from a quarter bin.  The ones in the "Brother's Blitz" series, however, in all likelihood were got for a good price.  The following are the contents of several boxes given to me as presents more than a decade ago, which I did not read until recently.

The A-Team #1 (Marvel)
From March 1984:
Better to watch the Joe Carnahan film than bother with this comic book, fool!

The Adventures of Superman #450 (DC)
From January 1989,
The Adventures of Superman #452
From March 1989:
From Jerry Ordway (#450) and Dan Jurgens (#452), two creators who defined Superman in the '90s had their start following the famous John Byrne Man of Steel reboot.  These were the comics that fans at the time of Superman's death in 1992 were familiar with, an exile from Earth that would lead to Mongul (well, you'll see).

Aquaman #2 of 4 (DC)
From March 1986:
In this attempt at making Aquaman relevant, he sports a blue version of the red costume Aqualad would sport years later as Tempest.  The writer is legend Neal Pozner.

Avengelyne #1 (Maximum Press)
From May 1995,
Avengelyne #2
From June 1995:
Some genuine '90s artifacts here, complete with a gimmick cover and a bad girl and one of Rob Liefeld's attempts to have his own comics publisher.  That's pretty much it.

Batman Chronicles: The Gauntlet (DC)
From 1997:
I remember this being one of the few comics I was excited to find in those boxes when I originally got them, because 1) it was something I would have gotten by my own druthers, and 2) it's a Robin story.  More importantly, it's a Year One Dick Grayson story, his initiation as the Boy Wonder.  It's one of those prestige format one-shots, which is another thing that was big in the '90s, something I wish DC was still doing.

Cable #39 (Marvel)
From January 1997,
Cable #44 (Marvel)
From June 1997:
I think one of the reasons that Cable is close to a nonentity these days is that he was so closely associated with the '90s X-Men.  If you were to look at the art for these issues, you'd know exactly what I'm talking about.  I don't know what the X-Men editors were thinking, but at least we got Age of Apocalypse, which lives again today.  That's worth remembering.  The actual X-Men books from the time, including Cable's adventures, aren't so much.

Conspiracy #2 (Marvel)
From February 1998:
If you use the "Conspiracy" tag you'll see what resulted from my second read of this issue.  You may remember that I loved this comic so much that I tracked down the first issue.  In some ways, I shouldn't have bothered.  This one's the money shot.  From Dan Abnett, who usually writes with Andy Lanning, comes a a fable about the interconnectedness of classic Marvel origin stories, something the Avengers film franchise has embraced in earnest, making this something of a lost treasure and ancestor text to one of the highest grossing movies in history.  I still wholeheartedly endorse this one.  Dig up the dirt for yourself.

Crimson Dawn - Pyslocke & Archangel #3 (Marvel)
From October 1997:
Uh-oh!  Another "classic" '90s X-Men story!

The Crow: Wild Justice #1 of 3 (Kitchen Sink)
From October 1996,
The Crow: Wild Justice #3 of 3 (Kitchen Sink)
From December 1996:
In pop culture, The Crow is better known from the Brandon Lee film than from the comics, but that's where the character came from.  It's a little surprising that although everyone and their mother attempted to exploit The Crow after the notoriety of the film (Lee infamously died on the set) through various screen spinoffs of increasingly dubious quality, the comics were mostly left in the dust.  This was one of the efforts, and is probably more interesting than all the movies and TV shows put together, reads like an exceptional indy comic from today, and even features art from Charlie Adlard, artist of The Walking Dead.  That makes two things about this entry that bears remembering.

Damned #1 (Homage)
From June 1997,
Damned #2
From July 1997:
Pretty generic for a '90s comic, indy or otherwise.  That's all you need to know.

Daydreamers #3 (Marvel)
From October 1997:
Features work from J.M. DeMatteis and Todd Dezago, but also starring such luminaries as Franklin Richards (the Fantastic son only recently developed past embarrassing by Jonathan Hickman) and Howard the Duck.  Akin to Impulse (Mark Waid's brilliant spinoff from The Flash featuring young Bart Allen, who would one day officially adopt Kid Flash as his moniker) in its final, uninspired days.

DV8 #11 (Image)
September 1997:
Remember when Gen13 was huge?  Well, there was a time when they were.  This was a spinoff, a darker version.

Elfquest: Blood of Ten Chiefs #2 (Warp Graphics)
From September 1993:
Elfquest was kind of a huge fantasy franchise.  It's not anymore.

The Flash #17 (DC)
From October 1988:
Before Mark Waid, Wally West languished for years.  This is nothing against William Messner-Loebs or Greg LaRocque, but anything before Waid's debut some forty issues later can be skipped.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #17 (Marvel)
From November 1983,
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #33
From March 1984,
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #44
From February 1985,
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #60
From June 1986,
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #64
From October 1986,
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #66
From December 1986,
G.I. Joe Yearbook #2
From March 1986,
G.I Joe: Special Missions #1
From October 1986:
So!  A whole bunch of G.I. Joe comics!  The most notable issue from this bunch is #33, which features young Billy's attempted assassination of his father, Cobra Commander, a pivotal moment in franchise lore.  Writer Larry Hama got to continue this series with IDW, but including these issues I've never really read a good G.I. Joe comic other than Action Force (which was a Canadian reprint series I guess I got all the good issues from), DDP's America's Elite, and IDW's Cobra.  Especially the last one.  Special Missions #1 was a special treat to find, though.  For years I only knew it from some G.I. Joe trading cards, so it was nice to finally see in person.  Reading, not so special.

Generation X #1 (Marvel)
From November 1994,
Generation X #3
From January 1995,
Generation X #4
From February 1995,
Generation X #6
From August 1995,
Generation X #30
From September 1997:
The forgotten X-Men legacy of the '90s is actually Generation X, a new class of mutants led by Jubilee (no doubt still riding the fame of the classic cartoon in which she was a prominent character) takes the lead.  The whole basis of my interest in Scott Lobdell's major inclusion in the New 52 was because of reading these issues.  It's truly good stuff, and his recent work on Red Hood and the Outlaws has been comparable.  I don't get why Marvel has since buried this stuff.  The last issue is actually written by James Robinson!

Genesis #3 (DC)
From October 1997:
One of DC's patented annual crossover events from the '90s, from John Byrne and heavily featuring Jack Kirby's Fourth World (the New Gods), which Byrne was handling on a monthly basis at the time (highly recommended for fans).  Some might consider it a poor substitute for its '80s predecessor, Legends, but I've always had a soft spot for it.  When done properly, the Fourth World has few equals.

Green Arrow #4 of 4 (DC)
From August 1983:
There was a time when Green Arrow didn't have a monthly series.  This was one of the steps that helped change that.  Otherwise not terribly notable.

Green Lantern #194 (DC)
From November 1985,
Green Lantern #195
From December 1985:
Current fans may be forgiven to believe that John Stewart, Guy Gardner, and Hal Jordan somehow always juggled representing Earth in the Green Lantern Corps.  These issues can help alleviate the confusion.  Jordan is on a break from the Corps, Stewart is the ringbearer, Crisis on Infinite Earths is happening, and Gardner is finagling his way back into the fold.  There's a bumpy ride from this point, too!  Green Lantern becomes Green Lantern Corps, is cancelled; Green Lantern is relaunched, Jordan returns; Gardner discovers his yellow ring, becomes Warrior; Stewart joins the Darkstars; Jordan goes crazy; Kyle Rayner becomes the last Green Lantern; Jordan redeems himself, comes back; Corps is reignited; all four humans become regular, simultaneous members!

Journey into Mystery #514 (Marvel)
From November 1997:
The series that launched Thor staged a comeback in the '90s (why not?), returned to its anthology roots.  This issue features Shang-Chi, Marvel's Bruce Lee.

Justice Society: America vs. the Justice Society #4 of 4 (DC)
From April 1985:
I don't know for certain (though I could easily look it up), but this is likely the last appearance of the venerated team before the '90s, featuring Roy Thomas explaining how the team came to an end (at the time), including the famed House Un-Americans Committee showdown.

Legends #1 of 6 (DC)
From November 1986,
Legends #2
From December 1986:
Ah!  Well remember Genesis from a few comics ago?  This is what I was referring to, and as it happens also the inspiration for the arc from Smallville's final season concerning Darkseid and various cronies attempting to discredit superheroes.  The all-star collaborators for this event included John Ostrander, Len Wein, John Byrne (surprise!), and Karl Kesel.

Legion of Super-Heroes #11 (DC)
From June 1985,
Legion of Super-Heroes #25
From August 1986,
Legionnaires #29
From September 1995:
The Legion has been a staple at DC for decades, partly because of its ties to Superboy (the version that was simply a young Superman), and also because along with New Teen Titans, it was a verifiable bestseller in the '80s.  Much of what fans know about the Legion today, however, was established in the '90s, when it supported two ongoing series, as it does today.  (Don't worry, I've got more Legion coming up!)

Machine Man #3 of 4 (Marvel)
From December 1984:
The character was pretty interesting in Earth X.  Not so much here.  Written by Tom DeFalco.

Ms Mystic #1 (Continuity)
From October 1987:
From legend Neal Adams, so pretty interesting.

The New Mutants #63 (Marvel)
From May 1988:
Generation X this is not.  Still, from Chris Claremont (who owned the X-Men franchise for years) and Louis Simonson (who owned Superman: The Man of Steel for years).

ROM #24 (Marvel)
From November 1981,
ROM #37
From December 1982:
Marvel has tried a long time to make its space-faring stories interesting.  This was one of those efforts.  Note I did not say "success."

Sensei #4 (First)
From December 1989:
Not much to look at here.  Move along.

Shi: Senryaku #1 of 3 (Crusade)
From August 1995:
Assuming you're still reading, you now get a huge reward!  The anti-bad girl created by William Tucci was only big during the...same time the bad girls were popular.  She's the star of this comic, naturally, but the true significance of this issue is that it inspired much of what I did with the manuscript for Yoshimi, my fourth completed manuscript.  Tucci includes the classic 36 Stratagems of war, which I subsequently incorporated into Yoshimi, much as he does here.  Yes, I stole from Bill Tucci.  I hoping he'll be flattered.  Yoshimi is not the only reason I would easily consider this one of the best comics I've ever read.  Score another point for the Brother's Blitz!

Shi #3 (Crusade)
From October 1997:
I've got nothing much to say about this one, however.

Silver Surfer #18 (Marvel)
From December 1988:
See my comments on ROM above.  Features art from Ron Lim!

Sovereign Seven #30 (DC)
From January 1998:
After a hot debut, interest in this series quickly cooled, though I was an avid fan all the way through.  Chris Claremont's great original creation, survivors of alien worlds band together and eventually add Power Girl to their ranks (in the interest of attempting to reclaim a mainstream audience, because otherwise it doesn't make too much sense).  Features art from Ron Lim!

Spectacular Spider-man #-1 (Marvel)
From July 1997:
Usually gimmick issues were a DC thing in the '90s, but this was a rare opportunity for Marvel to get in on the action, "Flashback" stories (hence the negative number count).  This one's written by J.M. DeMatteis (there he is again!) and features a young Peter Parker's struggles with "Flash" Thompson.  The reader gets to see the human side of a classic comics bully!

Star Trek #16 (DC)
From July 1985,
Star Trek #36
From March 1987:
That's an Andorian on the cover of #16!

Star Wars: A New Hope - The Special Edition #2 of 4 (Dark Horse)
From February 1997:
For the record, includes events from the destruction of Alderaan to the death of Ben Kenobi!  So yes, this is an adaptation of the first film, from the special edition released that year.  Some fans believe George Lucas tinkering with his own movies is blasphemous.  I find that reaction to be humorous.

Star Wars - X-Wing Rogue Squadron: Requiem for a Rogue #2 of 4 (Dark Horse)
From April 1997:
Rogue Squadron notably included Wedge Antilles.

Suicide Squad #17 (DC)
From September 1988:
When DC puts a team of villains together, there's no hiding the fact that they're villains.  Your move, Marvel.

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #241 (DC)
From July 1978,
Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #242
From August 1978:
By the way, there's more Legion to come!

Superman #32 (DC)
From June 1989:
Ah!  So remember when I said Mongul was coming up?  Yeah, well I did.  Superman's quest in space leads him to the big yellow world conqueror.  The writer this time is Roger Stern, another classic '90s Superman creator.  Mongul is best known for the classic Alan Moore story "For the Man Who Has Everything," plus aligning with Cyborg Superman and breaking Hal Jordan's arm (and the whole destruction-of-Coast-City that affected Jordan just a tad more).

Superman #129 (DC)
From November 1997:
Another time capsule from the '90s, this issue features Electric Superman.  I liked these stories.  I also liked Scorn, who came from this era's version of Kandor, the bottle city from Krypton.  He was one of those monster characters that populated a lot of '90s comics, and dawned a Superman outfit at one point.  A real sweat and charming fellow.  I'd love for him not to be forgotten.  From Dan Jurgens, by the way.

Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #346 (DC)
From April 1987,
Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #347
From May 1987:
More Legion!  Not all of these were written by Paul Levitz, but Levitz has easily written more Legion stories than anyone else.  He's doing it again in the New 52!

Turok, Dinosaur Hunter #1 (Valiant)
From July 1993:
Turok is one of those characters (along with Solar, Man of the Atom) who gets relaunched every few years from different publishers.  I think he got a video game in the '90s.

Tzu the Reaper #1 (Murim)
From September 1997:
Features work from Jae Lee.  But not the right Jae Lee.

V #5 (DC)
From June 1985,
V #6
From July 1985:
If you're still wondering why they rebooted V as a TV series a few years back, it's because it was popular back in the day.  It got its own comic.  Written by legend Cary Bates.

Vampirella/Dracula: The Centennial (Harris)
From October 1997,
Vengeance of Vampirella #4
From July 1994,
Vengeance of Vampirella #16'
From July 1995:
The poster girl of the '90s bad girls.  Basically wears red dental floss for a costume.  Centennial features work from Warren Ellis, Alan Moore, Gary Frank, and James Robinson, among others.  Vengeance is written by Tom Sniegoski, who's one of the few collaborators Jeff Smith has worked with in his Bone franchise.

Wheel of Worlds #0 (Tekno)
From July 1995:
Neil Gaiman subsequently distanced himself from the project, but this debut/preview has him written all over it, and the results are completely fascinating.  What was meant to become a whole Neil Gaiman franchise for the upstart publisher (which also worked on books with Leonard Nimoy, Gene Roddenberry's estate, and others), instead sort of washed out after a while, which as I've suggested is hugely unfortunate.  If you can get your hands on this issue, you'll see what I mean.  The third big find of the Blitz!

Who's Who #9 (DC)
From January 1986:
Featuring characters from Icicle to Jonni Thunder, as well as five heroes named Johnny, the Joker, the original I Vampire, Jade, and others.  DC doesn't really do this sort of thing anymore, though the New 52 could probably use one by next year.

X-Factor #36 (Marvel)
From January 1989,
X-Factor #137
From September 1997:
Peter David has basically been writing X-Factor since 2004.  So incredibly, neither of this issues were from him.  The first one's from Louis Simonson, though!

X-Man #30 (Marvel)
From September 1997:
Well, like I said, '90s X-Men.  This "X-Man" is an alternate version of Cable.  Figures.