Watching the Walmart Giants 3 "October 2019"

Now, the title of this feature is obviously becoming an anachronism (and it was from the moment I decided on it), since these giants are going to begin appearing in the direct market (comic book shops), but I will continue to pick them up at Walmart.  October's releases were late in my local store, and I guess the release schedule has changed, with apparently a bimonthly scheduled in effect, which means three titles I didn't see last month finally appeared this month, and the final installment of Superman Giant, and King & Kubert's arc.

So here's what I'm talking about:

Aquaman Giant #1

• Original story from Steve Orlando & Daniel Sampere featuring Aquaman battling Black Manta.  Somewhat standard material here, though Orlando introduces the "tether of Amphitrite," and possibly the concept of the mermazons, which alone was worth reading.
• Original story from Marv Wolfman & Pop Mhan featuring Aquaman battling an organization called Scorpio (unrelated to the pseudo Bond villain from The Simpsons, probably, and thus featuring far fewer hammocks).
• Prologue to "Throne of Atlantis" from Aquaman #14 by Geoff Johns.
• Mera: Queen of Atlantis #1.
• Teen Titans #14, featuring the new Aqualad.

DC Super Hero Girls Giant #1

• Original story from Amanda Deibert & Erich Owen.
• Original story from Amy Wolfram & Agnes Garbowska.
• Excerpts from Hits and Myths, Summer Olympus, and Past Times at Super Hero High.

I originally wasn't going to get this one, but I figured I could later give it to my niece. 

Superman Giant #16

• "Up in the Sky, Part 12" from Tom King and Andy Kubert, the conclusion, featuring Superman and the little girl on their eventual journey home, depicted as a conversation they have along the way.  It may not be the flashiest installment of the epic tale (which, as I think I've emphasized previously, has become another of King's many, many highlights for me), but it's a nice way to ground the Man of Steel, as the story has done all along, in his more human qualities, even as he's constantly asked to use his superhuman skills.  This is a far trickier task than it seems, and King has just provided a master class.
• Superman/Batman #50, featuring the improbably team-up of Jor-El and Thomas Wayne (it works, although I wish more of the story focused on them and less on the present-day and extraneous Justice League activities).
• A Superboy tale from Superman80-Page Giant 2011.
• The Terrifics Annual #1, featauring a Tom Strong tale but more importantly a Java flashback written by Mark Russell.  You may remember me talking about Russell's work in the September giants.  He seems to have effortlessly refuted me in advance, because this one's a wonderful narrative that somewhat knowingly takes a note from Russell's own Flintstones but imbues real poignancy in its observations.  It's the best thing I've read from him, personally, since my original impressions of him in Prez. 

This was also the final issue. 

Teen Titans Go! Giant #1

• Original story from Sholly Fish & Marcelo DiChiara featuring Tamaranian hiccups.
• Original story from Ivan Cohen & Sarah Leuver.
• Reprints from Teen Titans Go! and Teen Titans Go! Digital, featuring far more art from Jorge Corona (whom I previously encountered in the pages of We Are Robin) than I expected.

Reading Comics 236 "Marvel Comics #1000, The Vigilant Legacy"

Marvel Comics #1000 (Marvel)
(Review copied from Goodreads)

I'm not a Marvel guy. I'm a DC guy. Generally speaking, I think Marvel is what fans in general think of when they think of superhero comics, what they expect. DC tends to be where the more interesting things actually happen. I think it's true of the movies, too, by the way. But I'm not averse to enjoying Marvel when there's something really worth enjoying. Marvel Comics #1000 is one of those things.

Strictly speaking, this is a gimmick book that's playing off the legitimate, historic thousandth issues of Action Comics (last year) and Detective Comics (earlier this year). Marvel likes the do that sort of thing, sort of fake a milestone just because it's been good business at the competition. But this one is not just a gimmick. Marvel put real effort into it, and it's probably somewhat instantly one of the best things it ever did.

The main writer is Al Ewing, part of the more or less uncelebrated modern creative generation at Marvel. He weaves a sporadic narrative introducing the concept of the Eternity Mask, which goes all the way back to the beginning, linked to the debut of the original Human Torch (who along with Namor established Marvel's superhero credentials). Marvel's periodically mined its early years for new material, most famously when Captain America was defrosted in the '60s to help assemble the Avengers, but more recently in the underrated Twelve that was sort of half Captain America and half Watchmen. But this time I think the trick was really nailed in an ingenious way. Ewing weaves a secret history while bringing up a series of forgotten heroes, all while discussing the idea that it's the rebels who've forged American history, free from the tyranny of kings.

Every page revisits a milestone for all eighty years of Marvel lore, and each is a master class in creativity, from a host of famous writers and showcasing the stellar art the company is still capable of even in an era that has more often been derided on that score than celebrated (seriously; known and unknown artists alike combine to fill every page with works of technical achievement).

Since there are so many creators, each working a single page (with a few exceptions, including Ewing), I don't want to bog down the review referencing individual talent (though there are some surprises, such as Patrick Gleason, who until this celebration has long been associated with DC). Suffice to say, you won't be disappointed with the turnout.

The whole thing is a playful examination of the mounting legacy of the company, without leaning heavily on anything (which is something Marvel, or its fans, often can be guilty of), letting the characters speak for themselves. Maybe it's that very element that's lets a DC guy appreciate a Marvel comic, since as far as I'm concerned, Marvel doesn't stop and smell the roses nearly often enough, too busy throwing itself into another wild adventure to let things sink in a little, or conversely, taking itself too seriously (as I noted above; that's part of why I never got into Marvels and instead admired that other Alex Ross-painted epic, Kingdom Come).

This is a comic that'll be very easy to revisit in years to come, regardless of how significant the Eternity Mask thing becomes. It's also something that would be very easy to recommend to fans who really only know Marvel from the movies. Not only will they get an idea or two about what could come next to the big screen, they'll see just how much there has always been, and will be for a long time to come.

That's the end of the review as previously written.  Here I'll mention that I loved seeing Stuart Immonen (with wife Kathryn) showing up for one of the spotlights.  Jeff Lemire was another welcome sight (a full-blown Cable project would be fun; although I almost would want to see Matt Kindt's interpretation even more).  Loved Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale reprising their act in a lighthearted entry.

Also read:

The Vigilant Legacy #2 (Rebellion)
Simon Furman, although more specifically the various house ads concerning reprint material, leans pretty heavily on how this is a legacy comic, too, revisiting various British superheroes who are virtually unknown across the pond, creating a kind of integrated landscape and, eventually, a team, that reads like Valiant's best comics from recent years.  Glad I stumbled across it during a recent trip to Barnes & Noble, where it was the lone actual comic in the magazine section, nestled in with the genre stuff (the bookstore chain quit selling individual issues of comics, in general, several years back).  In today's age it can sometimes seem impossible to showcase new characters, or at least ones that can be presented as such, but it's things like this that prove what nonsense that really is.  All you need are competent creators willing to work with them, and each other, to pull it off.

Reading Comics 235 "Second Forbidden Geek Mystery Box"

I got my second Forbidden Geek mystery box, including a Supergirl statue, a copy of Justice League Vol. 2: The Villain's Journey (which was a very pleasant surprise; eventually I'll have the complete Johns collection), and the following comics:

All Star Batman #3 (DC)
Snyder once again in his nutshell, blowing everything up into possibly misguided epic proportions.  This time it's how Batman and Two-Face were actually childhood friends.  But, also features the KGBeast!  Alas, without his '90s Russian accent.

Captain Atom #7 (DC)
This is what I love about Forbidden Geek's mystery boxes, getting stuff I've always wanted to read but for whatever reason haven't gotten around to yet.  Captain Atom was one of those short-lived New 52 titles at launch.  I never had a clue what the series was like.  Now I finally do!  J.T. Krul, one of the dependable writers of that era who kind of disappeared without good reason, depicts his version of the character as Captain Atom has ever since DC gave in and acknowledged that Doctor Manhattan was based on him.  I first became acquainted with the character (whose main claim to fame is being but not really being the secret origin of Monarch in Armageddon 2001) in the pages of Justice League America and Extreme Justice, where he was depicted as more a Superman type, but a more aggressive version (just not to the degree that the original version of Supreme was, before Alan Moore made him a Silver Age Superman pastiche).  The art is from Freddie Williams II, who in recent years has come to be defined by the improbable Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics.  I've got plenty of experience with his work, which I often find too cartoonish but not cartoonish enough to be accepted as such.  Here he's got better line work, though he apparently has no idea what riding a bike looks like (the legs, particularly).  I would absolutely love to read a collected edition of this material.

Constantine #5 (DC)
The New 52 attempt to mainstream John Constantine (a concept begun in Brightest Day) may have been somewhat misguided (at any rate, DC has yet to figure it out) works pretty well in this issue, with John temporarily stealing Shazam's powers (for his own good!), thereby setting a template other tales would do well to follow.  You can't really have the guy (even if he pops up in other books and/or teams) attempting to replicate his Vertigo experiences without recontextualizing him properly.  Ideally, he needs a central story, the way Zatanna is forever associated with her father's career, which increasingly is itself irrelevant but nonetheless provides a springboard to ground her.  The writer, of course, is Ray Fawkes, another great writer in that era who somehow failed to garner due respect.

Deathstroke #20 (DC)
A late New 52 series still running in the early Rebirth era (one of several, including Earth 2: Society and Doctor Fate, given a chance to wind down naturally), Slade (the youthful Slade, sans white hair!) blows up a partnership with Ra's al Ghul to reclaim his children. 

Hinterkind #10 (Vertigo)
A vampire series.  That is all.

Justice League #18 (DC)
A trademark of League comics is the membership drive (something Snyder ignored in pushing a huge lineup with multiple titles right from the start, so that everyone and their mother is instantly included).  That's what happens this issue.  Some new characters (Goldrush is sort of a revision of Bulleteer; sadly neither character has had much of a shelf life to date) and even a tease for the Crime Syndicate saga called Forever Evil makes this a fine character piece in a series with far more character work than you'd think.

Justice League #32 (DC)
Element Woman (a riff on Metamorpho), also featured in the membership drive, and the Doom Patrol(with a vicious Chief whose rival is Lex Luthor), try to tackle Jessica Cruz in the aftermath of her obtaining the power ring of, ah, Power Ring, the Crime Syndicate's Green Lantern.  Cruz later flattened into a character who sort of hid away in her room for...reasons, but it seems Johns originally had a deeper portrait in mind. 

Legion of Super-Heroes #283 (DC)
The token Older Issue in the box, this is an early '80s Legion comic featuring the secret origin of Wildfire.  I actually became more interested in the potential of at least one of the recruits he was testing.  Did anything ever end up happening with Lamprey?   Some quick research says no.  If I ever do get to write comics, I will include her in my Legion!

The New 52: Futures End #39 (DC)
This and Batman Eternal seem destined to show up in mystery selections.  At least I don't seem to get duplicate copies of this one. 

Richard Dragon #12 (DC)
The Chuck Dixon/Scott McDaniel series that reprised their Nightwing act.  Somewhat handily, the final issue.  God, I still want to know why McDaniel ended up blackballed from any significant work following Static Shock.  The dude was a staple at DC for a decade in high profile projects, and then criminally overlooked material like The Great Ten.  He's a treasure.  I doubt he was that awful to handle creatively when given a chance to write as well as draw.  He still shows up randomly here and there.  But, someone, anyone, give him a significant new project.

Superman #5 (DC)
The Tomasi/Gleason Rebirth series (seriously; McDaniel is like Gleason before Gleason was finally recognized), featuring the Eradicator targeting Jon Kent as a human/Kryptonian "abomination."  I don't think Tomasi/Gleason quite nailed Superman the way they did Batman and Robin.  I just saw Gleason popped up in Marvel Comics #1000 (which I'll be reading this week and have thoughts on next weekend).  Give these two a new project together before either considers really jumping ship.