Pandemic Comics #9 “Ronin, and Team Sports!”

More comics from the Mile High mystery boxes! (Shocked myself when I realized there are only two more batches to go through after this one! Time flies!)

Outsiders #46
“Pay As You Go,” an arc I somewhat remember, at least certainly the title, apparently dealing with the fallout, at least as of this issue, of Black Lightning being a part of President Luthor’s cabinet, now locked up at Iron Heights and requiring extraction. This incarnation of the team included his daughter, so yeah, there are a few passionate advocates for getting that done, although some of them, being superheroes, think it’s a bad idea. Pretty sure this was the end of this particular incarnation. The Outsiders in general have a somewhat nebulous history, periodically reverting back to Batman’s Personal Team, as it was in the ‘80s. Otherwise no one’s really managed to nail down what exactly makes them relevant. Seldom actually composed of “outsiders,” though leaning into that would be...relevant?

Outsiders: Five of a Kind - Metamorpho and Aquaman
Didn’t notice when I was unpacking the boxes that this was written by G. Willow Wilson, who at this point in history was still known mostly for the graphic novel Cairo and Vertigo series Air, which only an obscure chap named Tony Laplume thought was brilliant. This one-shot leading to the next iteration of Outsiders allows Wilson, perhaps, to lean into her Muslim faith for the first time, although she needs a supporting character to do so, as neither Metamorpho nor this incarnation of Aquaman (who was quickly tossed to the scrap heap of history) can help out with that. I was reading these one-shots, and invested in that Aquaman, at the time, so there’s a chance this is a second read. But I experienced it as a first. This time more interested in Metamorpho, at any rate.

The Power Company #2
Kurt Busiek definitely wrote this more as a Marvel book than as a DC book, which might explain why it vanished so quickly (but as a rule, most modern new concepts go that way). Better appreciated, by me, for the Tom Grummett art. Grummett was a ‘90s Superman staple, but ended up being more closely associated with Superboy specifically, and in recent years has continued working with Superboy collaborator Karl Kesel, which I’m always happy to be reminded.

Robin #166
Sort of the awkward period where Tim Drake’s solo adventures had reached their zenith and no one wanted to admit it.

Ronin #1
Ah! One of the Frank Miller projects that used to be heavily touted! But eventually fell out of favor once Miller became best known for Daredevil, Dark Knight Returns, Sin City, 300, and fans hating him trying to do more with Dark Knight Returns! DC has long been very good at “evergreens,” keeping their celebrated and best work in print, probably something that sprang from ensuring Watchmen stayed in print. For the longest time Ronin was kept in print, too, and celebrated equally among Miller’s other achievements. I don’t know if it was the backlash alone to Miller’s later work that took it off the slate, or that it became harder to categorize, as it wasn’t part of the DC landscape nor connected to Vertigo nor a superhero tale in general, or DC just got caught up trying to redeem Miller’s reputation by fishing for a Dark Knight Returns sequel fans didn’t actively hate and legitimately forgot about Ronin, but forgot it was. And I never got around to reading it, nor getting any real idea of what it was.

Well, now I’ve read this first installment. As the title suggests, it’s heavily relevant to the Daredevil portions of Miller’s legacy, and the art style, since this began in 1983, looks more like his Daredevil than his later work (fans are always saying how his work degenerated over the years, but it was clearly always changing). And the story weaves between a past and a future, linked by a magic sword and two warriors locked in mortal combat (if this were a podcast I would be playing the theme song to a certain video game/movie right now). And it’s very interesting! And absolutely does not deserve to be forgotten. At some point I will read the rest of it. Miller’s a treasure through and through. The back cover includes praise from Klaus Jansen, Walt Simonson, and Will Eisner, all of whom champion Miller’s innovative instincts, an emerging master of the craft. That’s exactly how it began, folks. Eisner’s endorsement is probably the most significant, and out of everyone Miller probably came to see him in particular as his peer. And rightfully so. I later read a book of conversations between them. Priceless history and insight.

Seven Soldiers of Victory #1
The conclusion of Grant Morrison’s innovative modular team book, which in hindsight might even be considered a template of the MCU; both are composed of individual spotlights converging on limited team experiences. Morrison’s imagination can be overwhelming; it’s in full epic scale here, and I’m almost ashamed to admit I haven’t always been able to remember how great it is. I became a fan of Morrison only with JLA, and somehow found it easy to walk away from him as I did comics in general at the turn of the millennium. I knew all about the wild expectations for his New X-Men, which Marvel expected only to duplicate his JLA, but ended up being...more ambitious. The moment Morrison left Marvel gleefully deconstructed everything he’d accomplished. And I never felt overly compelled at the time to see what was happening. It wasn’t until Seven Soldiers happened that I became interested in Morrison again. A lot of fans were baffled by the whole thing. Morrison himself saw it as his take on Jack Kirby’s approach to the New Gods, multiple series presenting multiple viewpoints on the same general landscape. But Kirby’s New Gods famously got cut off before he could reach an ending, and creators (including Kirby himself at one point) have been chasing that ever since. In some respects Seven Soldiers was Morrison’s dry run at his own attempt, Final Crisis, safely obscured in the Mister Miracle material by the many other moving parts around it, but in hindsight it’s pretty obvious. But I don’t think Morrison has allowed himself to be this wild since, even with Multiversity, which is as much a shame as what happened to Kirby’s New Gods. But Morrison, at least, still has plenty of time and opportunity...

Shadowpact #2
Shadowpact #7
Funny how time can change things. I enjoyed reading this series at the time, but find now that it’s virtually impossible to get back into.