Here’s the last batch of Mile High mystery box comics:
The New Teen Titans #10
I think the ‘80s Titans has some shenanigans occurring with the title of their series, since this isn’t the beginning of the run; I suppose ordinary research would confirm, but the launch title seems to have become Tales of the Teen Titans...Anyway, Wolfman’s writing but the artist is Garcia Lopez (a great favorite among some partisans), rather than Perez (who in 1985 was no doubt deeply immersed in Crisis On Infinite Earths). This issue deals with a number of characters who sort of remained in that era, sort of pivoting around Jericho but not really being about him (Jericho was mute, so it figures, although he was used really well in the second season of Titans).
Titans #15
Not really featuring the team so much as a spotlight for Tempest (the erstwhile Aqualad), detailing his circumstances as they were circa Blackest Night.
Tomorrow Stories #2
An anthology series from Alan Moore’s America’s Best Comics. I get that there are a lot of Alan Moore partisans out there (he’s the guy who legitimized superheroes for the mainstream, after all), but I’m not really one of them, and it’s material like this that showcases what his base-level engagement in the medium is. The last tale features characters huddling in slums, braving the fallout of superhero nostalgia ruining everything. Most of what he says, thinks, and does is a product of Alan Moore’s nostalgia. He seems to honestly think only Alan Moore was capable of saying, thinking, or doing anything relevant, that he existed, in essence, in a post-superhero medium, and that it’s only misguided fans and/or creators who believe otherwise. Doctor Manhattan is the only superpowered hero in Watchmen mostly to represent ambivalence and futility in the modern world. Yay Alan Moore...
The Twilight Experiment #2
From Palmiotti & Gray.
Vigilante #2
This update of the character had a ton of potential, a superhero who talks with a psychiatrist, but Bruce Jones, at least in this issue, spends half the time taking it seriously and half as if he’s doing a parody. I was pretty invested in Jones as a creator. He took over Nightwing “One Year Later,” one of the few stories to feature interactions between Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, and before that he was writing Incredible Hulk in the vein of the TV series, something that caught on years later as Immortal Hulk, freeing the character from what Peter David had done for years, which was basically any and everything, the basic template creators at Image were riffing on in endless facsimiles. Anyway, this Vigilante, for context, is like the Daredevil who goes to confession. I like the idea of superheroes seeking outlets like that, it grounds them in ways that aren’t as forced as...the majority of Marvel’s hamfisted techniques. The psychiatrist is basically being held hostage by Vigilante, too, but you can see the potential in the scenario, how it could have led to a regular partnership. Even Batman never consulted psychiatrists, and he’s got the craziest villains in comics (except maybe Green Goblin).
Vixen: Return of the Lion #1
Seeing someone like G. Willow Wilson transition from something like Air to Ms. Marvel, I always wanted to understand how that was possible. This is another strong indication, as it turns out. Wilson’s Vixen was a member of the Meltzer-era Justice League, and at least as far as this issue is concerned, she treats her more famous teammates much as Kamala Khan does...anyone she meets in her early adventures: by geeking out. Vixen has an ethnic background, which she returns to, an African nation of some generic extraction, where the story quickly falls into the later New 52 trap of immediately introducing a villain who takes the hero by surprise (literally every first issue of a New 52 series ended this way). I really wish comic book writers (and blockbuster filmmakers) weren’t so consistently lazy about this: Hero gets defeated! Hero rallies!
World’s Finest #1-2
I was really hoping these were the only issues of the prestige format series, but of course there turned out to be three. Anyway, “World’s Finest” was the term, and title of the series, when Batman and Superman used to team up (now it’s...Superman/Batman, or the daring alternative...Batman/Superman), and this was a later tribute from comics masters Dave Gibbons and Steve Rude. For large swathes of the first issue, Gibbons allows Rude’s brilliant art do all the storytelling. Only a portion of it retells the origins, though Rude cleverly juxtaposes the bullet of the gun with the rocketing spaceship.
What’s better is that Gibbons seems to be the first and only writer to see how well Bruce Wayne could potentially clean up what ails Metropolis, and Clark Kent could do the same in Gotham. And that’s frankly astonishing, not only that someone figured that out but that no attempt has been made to even create surrogates. There’s no crusading journalist in Gotham (Vicki Vale doesn’t count, and certainly not Knox!). There’s no counterpoint to Lex Luthor. And these things really ought to exist!
This is a story set before they became the World’s Finest, and in these issues go well out of their way to avoid actively collaborating (i.e. fight together), and that’s another great feature. If I were DC this is another easy evergreen candidate. There are surprisingly few of the two together.
Young Justice: Sins of Youth - JLA Jr.
Read this recently from a back issue bargain bin, much as the kind all these mystery box comics likely came from. Thankfully I found a few really great reads in them.
Definitely worth the price of admission. Thanks again, Chuck & Mile High!
Showing posts with label Mile High Comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mile High Comics. Show all posts
Thursday, May 7, 2020
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Pandemic Comics #10 “Ichabod Snip/Howard Fleck Expedition in 2020!”
Penultimate reporting on the Mile High mystery box comics:
Infinite Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre #2
The Crispus Allen version of the Spectre had as dramatic an introduction as possible, Allen’s arc beginning in the pages of Gotham Central where he existed alongside another character named Jim Corrigan (no, not the boy genius!), which led many readers to believe they knew exactly what would eventually happen. But then Corrigan murdered Allen, and Allen became the new host of the Spectre. In hindsight, this angle might’ve had longer legs had Allen accompanied his other colleague from Gotham Central, Renee Montoya, into the pages of 52. But then a lot of other things might’ve turned out differently. So maybe Crispus Allen was always destined for the reboot turnover scrap heap...Then again, so was Montoya. Spirit of Vengeance, where art thou???
Star Trek #1
From 1984, in the wake of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, following that exact continuity, the way the old Star Wars comics at Marvel used to try and guess what was relevant to do between films. Here it’s imagined that in a world without Spock, Kirk just kind of continues on without him. Oh, sure, he struggles with the idea, but...Anyway, like those Star Wars comics, these are tales somewhat instantly negated by the next movie, as Search for Spock would make clear...Mike Barr, the writer, points out in an essay that this is technically the first time Star Trek actually happened without Spock. And while later there would be a lot of Star Trek without Spock, it never seemed to work out the way everyone imagined it in those early years. The TV reboot in the ‘70s that was going to end up repurposed as The Motion Picture, which of course heavily featured Spock. Even his death didn’t prevent Spock from soldiering on! Which is to say, Barr indeed wrote history.
Stormwatch: Team Achilles #9
Couldn’t manage to read more than a few panels, alas.
Action Comics #662
In hindsight it shouldn’t have been so surprising for the Superman writers concluding they literally had to kill the Man of Steel to prevent him from getting married too soon (in case you didn’t know, that was always their story for why Doomsday happened, because Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was just getting started on TV, although ironically everyone loved it until they got married) (then the wedding was ruined anyway)...This is the big issue where Superman finally reveals his secret identity to Lois (who had just gotten engaged to Clark)...and most of the issue is spent dithering over the Silver Banshee. Although also historically interesting as it deals with the aftermath of Lex Luthor’s death, setting up his heir, no doubt quickly revealed to be his “son,” who ended up being revealed as his clone. (Lex died as a result of Kryptonite poisoning, of all the delicious ironies.)
Adventures of Superman #500
Polybagged, and will remain so, even if it’s never worth anything again. This was both the beginning of “Reign of the Supermen,” and the road to Superman’s return, as he spends the issue in the afterlife, talking with Pa Kent, who’s had a heart attack. (I know it’s as traditional in continuity as the reverse, but I prefer Pa, and Ma, alive versus dead. It’s the Lois & Clark fan in me. I love those three-way phone calls!)
Action Comics #849
(Between #662 and this, we’re talking 1991 and 2007, by the way!) I’m just gonna ignore the issue itself, a somewhat misguided effort to talk about matters of faith in relation to Superman. The back page features Peter J. Tomasi announcing that he’s leaving editing duties behind and commencing a full-time career as a writer. Here we are in 2020, and it was a very good decision, Pete!
Superman Confidential #1
Darwyn Cooke & Tim Sale begin “Kryptonite,” a Year One Superman tale that’s really easy to see in the vein of Sale & Jeph Loeb’s collaborations, as of course it features Sale on art and Cooke very much writing the Loeb style. I’m frankly mystified that it’s not one of DC’s evergreens.
Swamp Thing #93
From 1990 and writer Doug Wheeler (in the letters column most of the readers are reacting to his recent acquisition of the job, and reflecting on his famous predecessors, like that chap Alan Moore). Anyway, this was a fun issue, and the source of the title to this post, the moops trying to expose the legendary “Swamp Man,” one of them wondering if the results won’t be famous in that fabled far-off future of 2020, which made it funny to read in 2020...Since, outside of the Charles Soule New 52 comics I’ve never really made a habit of reading Swamp Thing, it’s always nice to be reminded that things like Alec’s speaking pattern and even orange word bubbles have long been part of the mythos. And maybe I ought to read more of them.
Infinite Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre #2
The Crispus Allen version of the Spectre had as dramatic an introduction as possible, Allen’s arc beginning in the pages of Gotham Central where he existed alongside another character named Jim Corrigan (no, not the boy genius!), which led many readers to believe they knew exactly what would eventually happen. But then Corrigan murdered Allen, and Allen became the new host of the Spectre. In hindsight, this angle might’ve had longer legs had Allen accompanied his other colleague from Gotham Central, Renee Montoya, into the pages of 52. But then a lot of other things might’ve turned out differently. So maybe Crispus Allen was always destined for the reboot turnover scrap heap...Then again, so was Montoya. Spirit of Vengeance, where art thou???
Star Trek #1
From 1984, in the wake of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, following that exact continuity, the way the old Star Wars comics at Marvel used to try and guess what was relevant to do between films. Here it’s imagined that in a world without Spock, Kirk just kind of continues on without him. Oh, sure, he struggles with the idea, but...Anyway, like those Star Wars comics, these are tales somewhat instantly negated by the next movie, as Search for Spock would make clear...Mike Barr, the writer, points out in an essay that this is technically the first time Star Trek actually happened without Spock. And while later there would be a lot of Star Trek without Spock, it never seemed to work out the way everyone imagined it in those early years. The TV reboot in the ‘70s that was going to end up repurposed as The Motion Picture, which of course heavily featured Spock. Even his death didn’t prevent Spock from soldiering on! Which is to say, Barr indeed wrote history.
Stormwatch: Team Achilles #9
Couldn’t manage to read more than a few panels, alas.
Action Comics #662
In hindsight it shouldn’t have been so surprising for the Superman writers concluding they literally had to kill the Man of Steel to prevent him from getting married too soon (in case you didn’t know, that was always their story for why Doomsday happened, because Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was just getting started on TV, although ironically everyone loved it until they got married) (then the wedding was ruined anyway)...This is the big issue where Superman finally reveals his secret identity to Lois (who had just gotten engaged to Clark)...and most of the issue is spent dithering over the Silver Banshee. Although also historically interesting as it deals with the aftermath of Lex Luthor’s death, setting up his heir, no doubt quickly revealed to be his “son,” who ended up being revealed as his clone. (Lex died as a result of Kryptonite poisoning, of all the delicious ironies.)
Adventures of Superman #500
Polybagged, and will remain so, even if it’s never worth anything again. This was both the beginning of “Reign of the Supermen,” and the road to Superman’s return, as he spends the issue in the afterlife, talking with Pa Kent, who’s had a heart attack. (I know it’s as traditional in continuity as the reverse, but I prefer Pa, and Ma, alive versus dead. It’s the Lois & Clark fan in me. I love those three-way phone calls!)
Action Comics #849
(Between #662 and this, we’re talking 1991 and 2007, by the way!) I’m just gonna ignore the issue itself, a somewhat misguided effort to talk about matters of faith in relation to Superman. The back page features Peter J. Tomasi announcing that he’s leaving editing duties behind and commencing a full-time career as a writer. Here we are in 2020, and it was a very good decision, Pete!
Superman Confidential #1
Darwyn Cooke & Tim Sale begin “Kryptonite,” a Year One Superman tale that’s really easy to see in the vein of Sale & Jeph Loeb’s collaborations, as of course it features Sale on art and Cooke very much writing the Loeb style. I’m frankly mystified that it’s not one of DC’s evergreens.
Swamp Thing #93
From 1990 and writer Doug Wheeler (in the letters column most of the readers are reacting to his recent acquisition of the job, and reflecting on his famous predecessors, like that chap Alan Moore). Anyway, this was a fun issue, and the source of the title to this post, the moops trying to expose the legendary “Swamp Man,” one of them wondering if the results won’t be famous in that fabled far-off future of 2020, which made it funny to read in 2020...Since, outside of the Charles Soule New 52 comics I’ve never really made a habit of reading Swamp Thing, it’s always nice to be reminded that things like Alec’s speaking pattern and even orange word bubbles have long been part of the mythos. And maybe I ought to read more of them.
Saturday, May 2, 2020
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.
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.
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Pandemic Comics #8 “Mark Waid and the Khunds Appear In These, But Not Together”
More comics from the Mile High mystery boxes...
The Justice Society Returns: National Comics #1
Here’s Mark Waid writing the Flash. No, not Wally West, Jay Garrick! But Waid actually gives more focus to the original Mister Terrific, whom he characterizes as...great at everything. I don’t know if it’s only in comics, but it’s really funny how in comics the idea of the renaissance man is such a cartoon, that not only are these people better at one thing than has ever been humanly achieved before, they’re better at a wide range of things. I don’t think comic book writers understand how this works. They really don’t understand how Olympic athletes perform, for instance. They seem to assume that because someone has reached the Olympics they’re absolutely flawless. Anyone who has ever watched the Olympics knows even the winners often show flaws, and a lot of reaching the gold medal is that the vast majority of the field has flubbed horribly. This is not to say that just anyone could beat them. It takes real talent, but real talent does not mean it comes without flaws...Anyway.
The Kingdom: Son of the Bat #1
Here’s Mark Waid again (he’ll come up again!), expanding on the version of this character that isn’t Damian Wayne. In this case, reconciling competing legacies pretty much by default goes in Damian’s favor. This one (will not dignify his terrible name) doesn’t even care to carry on the Batman legacy, and the story is basically about how ineffective he is at outthinking the end of the world. Which is of course something Batman does, uh, every other day (and twice on Sunday).
L.E.G.I.O.N. #32
I think this whole team concept was basically doing a present-day Legion of Super-Heroes. Stupid name all the same. If you’re going to have an acronym in the title, make sure...Okay, just don’t do a series with an acronym in the title. Basically, only S.H.I.E.L.D. gets a free pass with this (and really only because of the TV show, and the movies, has it ever actually gotten one).
L.E.G.I.O.N. #44
Anyway, I’m not spelling out any acronyms again. Ever! Pain in the ass, aside from everything else...Anyway, these issues feature some of the Khunds of which I speak in the title line of this blog entry. The Khunds are kind of like the Klingons at DC, a badass warrior species.
Legion of Super-Heroes #310
Relationship drama. It’s hard to remember now, but the Legion was about as popular as the X-Men and the Teen Titans in the ‘80s. But they were building less real history, so there’s less to remember. Even “The Great Darkness Saga,” the team’s surprise Darkseid epic, seems to recede easily into the past. Er, future. Also: Khunds.
Lobo: Infanticide #4
Lobo battles his bastard kid! The artwork probably deliberately obscured the gruesome action. More importantly, I’m pretty sure this comic (cover-dated January 1993) is the first time I’ve seen ads heavily promoting the launch of the Vertigo line. I remember a TV spot from the general time period that promoted DC and Vertigo (took me years to have any clue what “Black Orchid” was about, and even now I’m not hugely sure; one of the big early Vertigo comics, but quickly got left behind).
Manhunter #33
This was the Starman of its era, but the acclaim didn’t stretch nearly as far, and it hasn’t received strong collection support. And this issue is perhaps too busy to let any if its material really land. But still impressive work.
Metamorpho #2
Honestly, I assumed some of the stuff I was reading in The Terrifics was created specifically for it, but apparently it’s all right there in these earlier Metamorpho adventures, so that was great to see. Rex Mason would be a much bigger deal, I think, if his superhero design weren’t so...weird. Also: Mark Waid wrote this, too!
The Next #1
At the time, DC seemed to have heavily invested in fantasy writer Tad Williams as a comics creator. Along with this he was also given Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis, and as it happened I read both and thoroughly enjoyed them. But Williams didn’t stick around long (unlike the epic lengths of his fantasy books), and I never did revisit his comics until now. What it read like this time was someone in the vein of Grant Morrison with far more interest in being weird, and no real grounding to support it. Which makes me glad the Tad Williams experiment didn’t pan out. And I only read one of his massive fantasy books, too. He’s someone else’s favorite writer, I guess.
The Justice Society Returns: National Comics #1
Here’s Mark Waid writing the Flash. No, not Wally West, Jay Garrick! But Waid actually gives more focus to the original Mister Terrific, whom he characterizes as...great at everything. I don’t know if it’s only in comics, but it’s really funny how in comics the idea of the renaissance man is such a cartoon, that not only are these people better at one thing than has ever been humanly achieved before, they’re better at a wide range of things. I don’t think comic book writers understand how this works. They really don’t understand how Olympic athletes perform, for instance. They seem to assume that because someone has reached the Olympics they’re absolutely flawless. Anyone who has ever watched the Olympics knows even the winners often show flaws, and a lot of reaching the gold medal is that the vast majority of the field has flubbed horribly. This is not to say that just anyone could beat them. It takes real talent, but real talent does not mean it comes without flaws...Anyway.
The Kingdom: Son of the Bat #1
Here’s Mark Waid again (he’ll come up again!), expanding on the version of this character that isn’t Damian Wayne. In this case, reconciling competing legacies pretty much by default goes in Damian’s favor. This one (will not dignify his terrible name) doesn’t even care to carry on the Batman legacy, and the story is basically about how ineffective he is at outthinking the end of the world. Which is of course something Batman does, uh, every other day (and twice on Sunday).
L.E.G.I.O.N. #32
I think this whole team concept was basically doing a present-day Legion of Super-Heroes. Stupid name all the same. If you’re going to have an acronym in the title, make sure...Okay, just don’t do a series with an acronym in the title. Basically, only S.H.I.E.L.D. gets a free pass with this (and really only because of the TV show, and the movies, has it ever actually gotten one).
L.E.G.I.O.N. #44
Anyway, I’m not spelling out any acronyms again. Ever! Pain in the ass, aside from everything else...Anyway, these issues feature some of the Khunds of which I speak in the title line of this blog entry. The Khunds are kind of like the Klingons at DC, a badass warrior species.
Legion of Super-Heroes #310
Relationship drama. It’s hard to remember now, but the Legion was about as popular as the X-Men and the Teen Titans in the ‘80s. But they were building less real history, so there’s less to remember. Even “The Great Darkness Saga,” the team’s surprise Darkseid epic, seems to recede easily into the past. Er, future. Also: Khunds.
Lobo: Infanticide #4
Lobo battles his bastard kid! The artwork probably deliberately obscured the gruesome action. More importantly, I’m pretty sure this comic (cover-dated January 1993) is the first time I’ve seen ads heavily promoting the launch of the Vertigo line. I remember a TV spot from the general time period that promoted DC and Vertigo (took me years to have any clue what “Black Orchid” was about, and even now I’m not hugely sure; one of the big early Vertigo comics, but quickly got left behind).
Manhunter #33
This was the Starman of its era, but the acclaim didn’t stretch nearly as far, and it hasn’t received strong collection support. And this issue is perhaps too busy to let any if its material really land. But still impressive work.
Metamorpho #2
Honestly, I assumed some of the stuff I was reading in The Terrifics was created specifically for it, but apparently it’s all right there in these earlier Metamorpho adventures, so that was great to see. Rex Mason would be a much bigger deal, I think, if his superhero design weren’t so...weird. Also: Mark Waid wrote this, too!
The Next #1
At the time, DC seemed to have heavily invested in fantasy writer Tad Williams as a comics creator. Along with this he was also given Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis, and as it happened I read both and thoroughly enjoyed them. But Williams didn’t stick around long (unlike the epic lengths of his fantasy books), and I never did revisit his comics until now. What it read like this time was someone in the vein of Grant Morrison with far more interest in being weird, and no real grounding to support it. Which makes me glad the Tad Williams experiment didn’t pan out. And I only read one of his massive fantasy books, too. He’s someone else’s favorite writer, I guess.
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Pandemic Comics #7 “Justice Leagues”
More comics from the Mile High mystery boxes! Apparently today is National Superhero Day? And apparently Marvel began it? Well, the comics I’ll be talking about, ah, were all published by DC. But the pandemic is teaching us the real superheroes probably have very different costumes than we previously imagined, and masks look very different, too.
Harley Quinn #1
Here’s the “newest comic in the mystery boxes,” from Rebirth, featuring the creative team from the previous series (Marvel’s Constant Reboot Engine sees this happen more frequently) offers a quick recap of relevant information, including Harley’s huge collection of sidekicks. And yet in the spotlight:Deadpool Red Tool. This was a shiny Mile High variant cover, by the way.
Hawkgirl #54
As far as I know, this is the only time Hawkgirl had her own book. Of course, it began as Hawkman (where it was written by Geoff Johns) and this issue features the return of Hawkman (probably?). But the good news is it’s from legends Walt Simonson and Howard Chaykin, which is a combination and a series that stood out for me back in 2006, but for some reason never actually read. So, another mystery box that finally addresses one of my comic book sins...
icandy #1
I think it’s the title. Yeah, the title. It’s a terrible title. The comic itself turns out to be pretty good (I mean, it’s written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, the geek gods of that period), a concept that folds video games into a playable concept. I’m frankly shocked this hasn’t been done more, or more successfully. The last time I saw it was Heroes Reborn, which naturally was four seasons after the series was actually popular.
Ion #7
A maxi-series starring Kyle Rayner post-Green Lantern: Rebirth (otherwise known as “Thanks, Torchbearer, you now get to join the Back-up Corps!), this is a fortuitous random issue, because it reunites Kyle with Radu, the coffee shop owner who was a signature element of Kyle’s early days as a Green Lantern. Ion was a concept they fobbed on Kyle as a consolation prize, before it was replaced by his becoming White Lantern, before he became, well, just another Green Lantern...At the time, I guess, I was still annoyed that “my Green Lantern” had been “kicked to the curb” (which happens to literally every Green Lantern not named Hal Jordan eventually), and so couldn’t properly appreciate Ion. Now it seems like correcting that amounts to another of my comic book sins...
Justice League America #61
The first appearance of Bloodwynd! And, ah, Dan Jurgens takes over the series! In hindsight, Weapons Master really doesn’t seem like that big a challenge. Prometheus was basically an upgraded version only a handful of years later, and even he quickly got turned into a chump. Lesson, villains? Don’t put all your eggs in a fancy gimmick giving you special weapons. Because the weapons can be, well, taken away...
Justice League Task Force #2
This particular Justice League series from the ‘90s will always be the most thankless. Literally its biggest claim to fame is an issue of “Knightfall: The Crusade,” with Crippled Bruce Wayne. This issue is kind of ironic in hindsight: Nightwing looks like a chump while desperately trying to prove he isn’t just a former Teen Titan and/or Batman’s sidekick. If Dan DiDio caught this issue, it might explain why he used to think Nightwing was superfluous...
JLA/WildC.A.T.s
This was a really nice surprise! From the Grant Morrison era, written by Morrison, and featuring Electric Superman (what a snapshot!), something I think I’ve read before, but I guess never really considered that significant. But it is a great little snapshot. But the name of Jim Lee’s big superhero team still sucks, at least as far as incorporating one of the most convoluted acronyms from a whole history of convoluted acronyms in comics...
JLA #79
It’s always great to remember just how long and varied Doug Mahnke’s history at DC alone is (dude’s also the co-creator of The Mask!), and he’s as easy a talent to revisit for that reason alone as there’s ever been. His art, at least during his DC tenure, has been remarkably consistent, though endlessly adaptable...Hopefully will get a spotlight collection at some point.
Harley Quinn #1
Here’s the “newest comic in the mystery boxes,” from Rebirth, featuring the creative team from the previous series (Marvel’s Constant Reboot Engine sees this happen more frequently) offers a quick recap of relevant information, including Harley’s huge collection of sidekicks. And yet in the spotlight:
Hawkgirl #54
As far as I know, this is the only time Hawkgirl had her own book. Of course, it began as Hawkman (where it was written by Geoff Johns) and this issue features the return of Hawkman (probably?). But the good news is it’s from legends Walt Simonson and Howard Chaykin, which is a combination and a series that stood out for me back in 2006, but for some reason never actually read. So, another mystery box that finally addresses one of my comic book sins...
icandy #1
I think it’s the title. Yeah, the title. It’s a terrible title. The comic itself turns out to be pretty good (I mean, it’s written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, the geek gods of that period), a concept that folds video games into a playable concept. I’m frankly shocked this hasn’t been done more, or more successfully. The last time I saw it was Heroes Reborn, which naturally was four seasons after the series was actually popular.
Ion #7
A maxi-series starring Kyle Rayner post-Green Lantern: Rebirth (otherwise known as “Thanks, Torchbearer, you now get to join the Back-up Corps!), this is a fortuitous random issue, because it reunites Kyle with Radu, the coffee shop owner who was a signature element of Kyle’s early days as a Green Lantern. Ion was a concept they fobbed on Kyle as a consolation prize, before it was replaced by his becoming White Lantern, before he became, well, just another Green Lantern...At the time, I guess, I was still annoyed that “my Green Lantern” had been “kicked to the curb” (which happens to literally every Green Lantern not named Hal Jordan eventually), and so couldn’t properly appreciate Ion. Now it seems like correcting that amounts to another of my comic book sins...
Justice League America #61
The first appearance of Bloodwynd! And, ah, Dan Jurgens takes over the series! In hindsight, Weapons Master really doesn’t seem like that big a challenge. Prometheus was basically an upgraded version only a handful of years later, and even he quickly got turned into a chump. Lesson, villains? Don’t put all your eggs in a fancy gimmick giving you special weapons. Because the weapons can be, well, taken away...
Justice League Task Force #2
This particular Justice League series from the ‘90s will always be the most thankless. Literally its biggest claim to fame is an issue of “Knightfall: The Crusade,” with Crippled Bruce Wayne. This issue is kind of ironic in hindsight: Nightwing looks like a chump while desperately trying to prove he isn’t just a former Teen Titan and/or Batman’s sidekick. If Dan DiDio caught this issue, it might explain why he used to think Nightwing was superfluous...
JLA/WildC.A.T.s
This was a really nice surprise! From the Grant Morrison era, written by Morrison, and featuring Electric Superman (what a snapshot!), something I think I’ve read before, but I guess never really considered that significant. But it is a great little snapshot. But the name of Jim Lee’s big superhero team still sucks, at least as far as incorporating one of the most convoluted acronyms from a whole history of convoluted acronyms in comics...
JLA #79
It’s always great to remember just how long and varied Doug Mahnke’s history at DC alone is (dude’s also the co-creator of The Mask!), and he’s as easy a talent to revisit for that reason alone as there’s ever been. His art, at least during his DC tenure, has been remarkably consistent, though endlessly adaptable...Hopefully will get a spotlight collection at some point.
Monday, April 27, 2020
Pandemic Comics #6 “Doc Savage to Green Arrow”
More comics from the Mile High mystery boxes...
Doc Savage #1
Here’s one of the Superman precursors (he even got a Fortress of Solitude first) in one of his later revivals (far as I know, still hasn’t had a movie). DC periodically trots him out (was last seen in the First Wave comics), but he seems particularly hard to translate for modern audiences. Technically, I guess, Alan Moore’s Tom Strong was a version of Doc Savage (though Tom Strong was also, technically, a version of Alan Moore’s Supreme, which was a version of Silver Age Superman...), so there’s that!
Doom Patrol #2
Here’s a concept DC trots out a little more frequently than Doc Savage, but never really seems to stick. The last time it did was Grant Morrison’s surreal take, although strangely later readers were only baffled that Young Animal’s revival thought it was a good act to reprise...This one’s from John Byrne, who’s magic to anything he touches. Which of course means the older he gets the less readers give a damn...
The Exinctuon Parade: War #1 (Avatar)
Here’s the Mile High variant cover comic thrown in as a bonus. Max Brooks, who wrote World War Z, is the son of Mel Brooks. Maybe you already knew that. Maybe I already knew that. But it’s a fact I was recently reminded of, and it’s still an interesting factoid. Anyway, this comic is ruined by Avatar’s typical hack artwork, alas, the kind someone hopes the coloring will obscure. But it never does.
Firestorm #27
Firestorm has always been a favorite of mine, but I never really read any Firestorm comics, much less enjoyed the hell out of them, until the brilliant post-Infinite Crisis run I hold up against the best of any superhero comics from that period. Would love some collection reprints.
The Flash #235
I think I finally figured out why Mark Waid’s attempted reprise was so disappointing. He seemed to forget that Wally West was an excellent protagonist, that he had made Wally West a compelling protagonists. And while expanding the family eventually had...interesting ramifications, Waid seemed to be phoning it in. Gone was the spark that made everything so gloriously personal. In fact, Waid seemed to go out of his way to make these comics as impersonal as possible. I still don’t get it...
Fraction #4
Part of the DC Focus imprint. That’s, uh, that’s all I’ve got to say about that.
Green Arrow #61
I think the letters column in this issue just about sums up everything that’s wrong today: “Every letter in the GREEN ARROW #55 letter column had to do with politics and answering another letter writer’s opinions...” wrote Charles D. Brown. You’d expect this in a Green Arrow comic (and this is another great argument for printing letters columns; the internet dies within days or maybe weeks of any given discussion). It becomes a problem when this is routine public discourse. This is relevant, compelling during, say, big historic eras like the American Revolution or the Civil War. Otherwise it’s a lot of counterproductive hot air...
Green Arrow #26
Here’s social crusader Oliver Queen confronting apparent President Luther stooge Jefferson Pierce, the once and future Black Lightning. They really need to collect major President Luther stories like this. It’s the major DC event of the first five years of the new millennium.
Doc Savage #1
Here’s one of the Superman precursors (he even got a Fortress of Solitude first) in one of his later revivals (far as I know, still hasn’t had a movie). DC periodically trots him out (was last seen in the First Wave comics), but he seems particularly hard to translate for modern audiences. Technically, I guess, Alan Moore’s Tom Strong was a version of Doc Savage (though Tom Strong was also, technically, a version of Alan Moore’s Supreme, which was a version of Silver Age Superman...), so there’s that!
Doom Patrol #2
Here’s a concept DC trots out a little more frequently than Doc Savage, but never really seems to stick. The last time it did was Grant Morrison’s surreal take, although strangely later readers were only baffled that Young Animal’s revival thought it was a good act to reprise...This one’s from John Byrne, who’s magic to anything he touches. Which of course means the older he gets the less readers give a damn...
The Exinctuon Parade: War #1 (Avatar)
Here’s the Mile High variant cover comic thrown in as a bonus. Max Brooks, who wrote World War Z, is the son of Mel Brooks. Maybe you already knew that. Maybe I already knew that. But it’s a fact I was recently reminded of, and it’s still an interesting factoid. Anyway, this comic is ruined by Avatar’s typical hack artwork, alas, the kind someone hopes the coloring will obscure. But it never does.
Firestorm #27
Firestorm has always been a favorite of mine, but I never really read any Firestorm comics, much less enjoyed the hell out of them, until the brilliant post-Infinite Crisis run I hold up against the best of any superhero comics from that period. Would love some collection reprints.
The Flash #235
I think I finally figured out why Mark Waid’s attempted reprise was so disappointing. He seemed to forget that Wally West was an excellent protagonist, that he had made Wally West a compelling protagonists. And while expanding the family eventually had...interesting ramifications, Waid seemed to be phoning it in. Gone was the spark that made everything so gloriously personal. In fact, Waid seemed to go out of his way to make these comics as impersonal as possible. I still don’t get it...
Fraction #4
Part of the DC Focus imprint. That’s, uh, that’s all I’ve got to say about that.
Green Arrow #61
I think the letters column in this issue just about sums up everything that’s wrong today: “Every letter in the GREEN ARROW #55 letter column had to do with politics and answering another letter writer’s opinions...” wrote Charles D. Brown. You’d expect this in a Green Arrow comic (and this is another great argument for printing letters columns; the internet dies within days or maybe weeks of any given discussion). It becomes a problem when this is routine public discourse. This is relevant, compelling during, say, big historic eras like the American Revolution or the Civil War. Otherwise it’s a lot of counterproductive hot air...
Green Arrow #26
Here’s social crusader Oliver Queen confronting apparent President Luther stooge Jefferson Pierce, the once and future Black Lightning. They really need to collect major President Luther stories like this. It’s the major DC event of the first five years of the new millennium.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Pandemic Comics #5 “DC Comics...Presents!”
Here’s another batch from the Mile High mystery boxes:
Birds of Prey #96
Wow! Had no idea the series lasted so many issues. But, I was never a regular reader, even when the concept launched in the ‘90s. Of course, it finally became a movie (after being a TV series), earlier this year (if there’s been anything this year besides pandemic) (beginning to doubt that). Written by Gail Simone, writing just as if literally all her logic comes strait from comics, and art to match, impossibly uniform women, even Black Alice, a tormented teenager whose only distinguishing physical feature is her hairstyle. Otherwise the “impossibly perfect body” of her mean girls rival...is exactly the same one she has...
Black Condor #4
You know, the concept of Black Condor rejecting the idea of being a superhero might have been more convincing...if he didn’t dress exactly like a superhero...Otherwise, he’s a lost character I still wish were found.
The Comet #8
DC’s Impact Comics line, which this was a part of, circled back around some twenty years later as Red Circle, and then ended up at Archie Comics, where they began some sixty years earlier. The object lesson here perhaps is that DC and Marvel endured because they were able to persist against all adversity, and didn’t treat superheroes as a fad. There were and have been plenty of other publishers over the years doing superhero lines, but none of them have the longevity. Even Image somewhat rapidly abandoned superheroes, in the grand scheme. Spawn has pushed past three hundred issues, but mostly because it wants to continue, not out of anywhere near the demand there was in its heyday. Anyway, Mark Waid, here in 1992, the same year he took on writing chores in the pages of The Flash, supplies the dialogue.
Connor Hawke: Dragon’s Blood #4
After Oliver Queen died (ah, temporarily), his bastard son Connor Hawke took over as the Emerald Archer, and like Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern, it seemed to be a permanent role at the time. So Connor had his own comic for years, and yet because Green Arrow isn’t near the sales force Green Lantern is, which isn’t near the sales force Batman is, Connor has never even sniffed at another ongoing series. This one’s a mini-series, of course, resuming the sidekick continuity of the ‘90s and featuring Connor teaming up with Shado, a character who better survived the transition to the New 52 than he did...
DC Comics Presents: The Atom #1
After legendary editor Julius Schwartz passed away in 2004, DC put out these one-shots in tribute to him, asking modern comic book creators to take cracks at covers Schwartz had dreamed up in the Silver Age to spur on the creative juices of his writers. The wonderful thing about this particular one has less to do with the Schwartz tribute (an obituary by Alan Moore appears in the back of these issues, with a copyright notice indicating Moore’s ownership) and more the historic art pairing between two ‘90s Superman legends: Dan Jurgens and Jon Bogdanove. Jurgens of course is the writer/artist of Superman #75, while Bogdanove was the longtime artist of Superman: The Man of Steel. Seeing Jurgens inked by Bogdanove is truly surreal. At times it’s distinctly Jurgens, and at others distinctly Bogdanove. One of the greatest comic book discoveries I’ve made, folks.
DC Comics Presents: Superman #1
With this issue the standout is the lead story, as it’s written by Stan Lee, at that time a few years removed from Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating...various DC heroes, and a relative few years away from regularly creating new comics at publishers other than Marvel, and of course thousands of cameos in Marvel movies.
DC Nation #0
Fun to read this again, and by “this” I mean “Your Big Day” from Tom King and Clay Mann, the Joker-waits-for-the-wedding-invitation story that’s among the many best things King has ever written...
Birds of Prey #96
Wow! Had no idea the series lasted so many issues. But, I was never a regular reader, even when the concept launched in the ‘90s. Of course, it finally became a movie (after being a TV series), earlier this year (if there’s been anything this year besides pandemic) (beginning to doubt that). Written by Gail Simone, writing just as if literally all her logic comes strait from comics, and art to match, impossibly uniform women, even Black Alice, a tormented teenager whose only distinguishing physical feature is her hairstyle. Otherwise the “impossibly perfect body” of her mean girls rival...is exactly the same one she has...
Black Condor #4
You know, the concept of Black Condor rejecting the idea of being a superhero might have been more convincing...if he didn’t dress exactly like a superhero...Otherwise, he’s a lost character I still wish were found.
The Comet #8
DC’s Impact Comics line, which this was a part of, circled back around some twenty years later as Red Circle, and then ended up at Archie Comics, where they began some sixty years earlier. The object lesson here perhaps is that DC and Marvel endured because they were able to persist against all adversity, and didn’t treat superheroes as a fad. There were and have been plenty of other publishers over the years doing superhero lines, but none of them have the longevity. Even Image somewhat rapidly abandoned superheroes, in the grand scheme. Spawn has pushed past three hundred issues, but mostly because it wants to continue, not out of anywhere near the demand there was in its heyday. Anyway, Mark Waid, here in 1992, the same year he took on writing chores in the pages of The Flash, supplies the dialogue.
Connor Hawke: Dragon’s Blood #4
After Oliver Queen died (ah, temporarily), his bastard son Connor Hawke took over as the Emerald Archer, and like Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern, it seemed to be a permanent role at the time. So Connor had his own comic for years, and yet because Green Arrow isn’t near the sales force Green Lantern is, which isn’t near the sales force Batman is, Connor has never even sniffed at another ongoing series. This one’s a mini-series, of course, resuming the sidekick continuity of the ‘90s and featuring Connor teaming up with Shado, a character who better survived the transition to the New 52 than he did...
DC Comics Presents: The Atom #1
After legendary editor Julius Schwartz passed away in 2004, DC put out these one-shots in tribute to him, asking modern comic book creators to take cracks at covers Schwartz had dreamed up in the Silver Age to spur on the creative juices of his writers. The wonderful thing about this particular one has less to do with the Schwartz tribute (an obituary by Alan Moore appears in the back of these issues, with a copyright notice indicating Moore’s ownership) and more the historic art pairing between two ‘90s Superman legends: Dan Jurgens and Jon Bogdanove. Jurgens of course is the writer/artist of Superman #75, while Bogdanove was the longtime artist of Superman: The Man of Steel. Seeing Jurgens inked by Bogdanove is truly surreal. At times it’s distinctly Jurgens, and at others distinctly Bogdanove. One of the greatest comic book discoveries I’ve made, folks.
DC Comics Presents: Superman #1
With this issue the standout is the lead story, as it’s written by Stan Lee, at that time a few years removed from Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating...various DC heroes, and a relative few years away from regularly creating new comics at publishers other than Marvel, and of course thousands of cameos in Marvel movies.
DC Nation #0
Fun to read this again, and by “this” I mean “Your Big Day” from Tom King and Clay Mann, the Joker-waits-for-the-wedding-invitation story that’s among the many best things King has ever written...
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Pandemic Comics #4 “Twice the Two-Face!”
Here’s the next batch of conics from the Mile High mystery boxes: the Batman edition!
Detective Comics #580
Did you know there was actually a second Two-Face? Literally the most appropriate development in comics history, right? (Not as fun: an issue, or two [ahhh!] of puns on the number two.) And even funnier: Paul Sloane was the second imposter. His origin is kind of like the criminal version of Wally West’s. An actor, Sloane is portraying Harvey Dent in a production that goes horribly wrong at exactly the worst, or best, possible moment when some mook throws acid in Sloane’s face...Eventually of course Sloane goes on a crime spree, just like Dent before him, having copied all of Two-Face’s quirks...Sloane doubles Dent in every regard, including a wife waiting for him to recover and return to a normal life, and the possibility of plastic surgery being able to do just the trick, which of course works twice...(I would absolutely keep the second Two-Face in continuity. Too perfect.)
Detective Comics #581
Naturally I got these in separate boxes, but it’s the complete story. Are you wondering if a story published in 1987 has anything to say about Jason Todd’s time as Robin? Of course it does! Jason’s dad was murdered by Two-Face, so he spends most of it recklessly trying to exact payback, and Batman keeps stopping him. It’s basically exactly Batman Forever (with, Jason rather than Dick Grayson). But Jason seems pretty redeemable, and the whole story seems like an early attempt to reconcile the character to how he had been modified post-Crisis (originally he was quite indistinguishable from Dick), before, y’know, giving readers the option of, oh, killing him off a few years later. What’s really bizarre is how these comics look like they came from the ‘70s rather than ‘80s. It’s proof that Batman’s continuity (other than Jason) remained mostly untouched after the Crisis reboot, just as it would for the New 52 (one of the many pointless fan complaints about the New 52, as far as Morrison’s Batman and Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern were concerned). Funny enough, the letters columns in these issues are full of praise for Mike Barr (who wrote them) and his “Year Two,” which some said was “better” than Miller’s “Year One,” calling Barr’s work “a lot more fun to read.” And...history doesn’t really care about that, now does it?
Batman #433
Batman #433
Yes, two copies, one from each box. I didn’t really mind. It’s the only time anything doubled up, and given the Two-Face story, seemed more than appropriate to have happen with a Batman comic. This is a silent issue, the first chapter in “The Many Deaths of Batman,” and it’s a solid success. Anyway, speaking of Jason Todd, this was published in 1989, and his death was still fresh in the minds of readers. One fan in the letter column writes simply, “I am very, very sad that you made Robin die. I have been crying for a whole day. Why did you make him die?...You don’t kill heroes, you save them! Please change your comic book!” (Letter writer was 8 at the time.)
Batman: Gotham Nights #4
A Batman comic from the point of view of ordinary citizens who seem on the edge of very bad decisions, eventually converging in a moment where Batman essentially saves them in an intervention he didn’t even know he was making. Anyway, the great irony here is a 1992 letter column being saved by an early version of an internet message board (I included “internet” as “message board” itself is now as archaic as regular letters columns). So there’s that! By the end of DC’s use of letters columns at the turn of the century, it had in fact switched from traditional letters to electronic ones, with physical addresses replaced by email addresses. And today, the internet basically complains about every comic made. Yay progress!
Batman #498
This is the issue in which Bruce Wayne formally taps Jean Paul Valley to replace him as Batman, or as he would become known by fans: Azbats. “Knightfall” concludes two issues later with Azbats using his fancy clawed gloves to defeat Bane.
Batman #505
Azbats is in the midst of deciding which of his predecessor’s methods are still useful (the letters columns are savvy enough to conclude that the whole point of Azbats is to prove that those methods are as relevant as ever, as is the man who employed them). He uses detective work to track down Abattoir, who becomes famous later by inadvertently dying at the hands (claws?) of Azbats.
Batman: Shadow of the Bat #26
I never really read Shadow of the Bat unless it was relevant to a crossover, which, like and since I followed the same policy with Legends of the Dark Knight, was probably my loss. This is a good issue, focusing on this era’s version of Clayface (which I had only read about previously, and Lady Clayface, and, apparently, Baby Clayface...! Tangled up in it somewhere is Abattoir, and a neat citizens-reaction to the events of the above issue.
Batman: Odyssey #2
One of the out-of-continuity mini-series Neal Adams has done in recent years (this one’s from a decade ago, and I believe marked his comeback). I had a chance to meet him at one of the area cons, but foolishly passed it up. But he’s as likely to be at another one, which if people are able to do mass events by the fall would make for an even more memorable occasion. This issue’s great. Adams has a casual, conversational familiarity with Batman that breezes through the issue, and his art, with modern coloring, has never looked better. I’ve seen some fans complaining that his sensibilities don’t belong in today’s comics, which is absurd. If you have a master of the medium still capable of delivering at this level, you cherish him. Period.
Detective Comics #580
Did you know there was actually a second Two-Face? Literally the most appropriate development in comics history, right? (Not as fun: an issue, or two [ahhh!] of puns on the number two.) And even funnier: Paul Sloane was the second imposter. His origin is kind of like the criminal version of Wally West’s. An actor, Sloane is portraying Harvey Dent in a production that goes horribly wrong at exactly the worst, or best, possible moment when some mook throws acid in Sloane’s face...Eventually of course Sloane goes on a crime spree, just like Dent before him, having copied all of Two-Face’s quirks...Sloane doubles Dent in every regard, including a wife waiting for him to recover and return to a normal life, and the possibility of plastic surgery being able to do just the trick, which of course works twice...(I would absolutely keep the second Two-Face in continuity. Too perfect.)
Detective Comics #581
Naturally I got these in separate boxes, but it’s the complete story. Are you wondering if a story published in 1987 has anything to say about Jason Todd’s time as Robin? Of course it does! Jason’s dad was murdered by Two-Face, so he spends most of it recklessly trying to exact payback, and Batman keeps stopping him. It’s basically exactly Batman Forever (with, Jason rather than Dick Grayson). But Jason seems pretty redeemable, and the whole story seems like an early attempt to reconcile the character to how he had been modified post-Crisis (originally he was quite indistinguishable from Dick), before, y’know, giving readers the option of, oh, killing him off a few years later. What’s really bizarre is how these comics look like they came from the ‘70s rather than ‘80s. It’s proof that Batman’s continuity (other than Jason) remained mostly untouched after the Crisis reboot, just as it would for the New 52 (one of the many pointless fan complaints about the New 52, as far as Morrison’s Batman and Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern were concerned). Funny enough, the letters columns in these issues are full of praise for Mike Barr (who wrote them) and his “Year Two,” which some said was “better” than Miller’s “Year One,” calling Barr’s work “a lot more fun to read.” And...history doesn’t really care about that, now does it?
Batman #433
Batman #433
Yes, two copies, one from each box. I didn’t really mind. It’s the only time anything doubled up, and given the Two-Face story, seemed more than appropriate to have happen with a Batman comic. This is a silent issue, the first chapter in “The Many Deaths of Batman,” and it’s a solid success. Anyway, speaking of Jason Todd, this was published in 1989, and his death was still fresh in the minds of readers. One fan in the letter column writes simply, “I am very, very sad that you made Robin die. I have been crying for a whole day. Why did you make him die?...You don’t kill heroes, you save them! Please change your comic book!” (Letter writer was 8 at the time.)
Batman: Gotham Nights #4
A Batman comic from the point of view of ordinary citizens who seem on the edge of very bad decisions, eventually converging in a moment where Batman essentially saves them in an intervention he didn’t even know he was making. Anyway, the great irony here is a 1992 letter column being saved by an early version of an internet message board (I included “internet” as “message board” itself is now as archaic as regular letters columns). So there’s that! By the end of DC’s use of letters columns at the turn of the century, it had in fact switched from traditional letters to electronic ones, with physical addresses replaced by email addresses. And today, the internet basically complains about every comic made. Yay progress!
Batman #498
This is the issue in which Bruce Wayne formally taps Jean Paul Valley to replace him as Batman, or as he would become known by fans: Azbats. “Knightfall” concludes two issues later with Azbats using his fancy clawed gloves to defeat Bane.
Batman #505
Azbats is in the midst of deciding which of his predecessor’s methods are still useful (the letters columns are savvy enough to conclude that the whole point of Azbats is to prove that those methods are as relevant as ever, as is the man who employed them). He uses detective work to track down Abattoir, who becomes famous later by inadvertently dying at the hands (claws?) of Azbats.
Batman: Shadow of the Bat #26
I never really read Shadow of the Bat unless it was relevant to a crossover, which, like and since I followed the same policy with Legends of the Dark Knight, was probably my loss. This is a good issue, focusing on this era’s version of Clayface (which I had only read about previously, and Lady Clayface, and, apparently, Baby Clayface...! Tangled up in it somewhere is Abattoir, and a neat citizens-reaction to the events of the above issue.
Batman: Odyssey #2
One of the out-of-continuity mini-series Neal Adams has done in recent years (this one’s from a decade ago, and I believe marked his comeback). I had a chance to meet him at one of the area cons, but foolishly passed it up. But he’s as likely to be at another one, which if people are able to do mass events by the fall would make for an even more memorable occasion. This issue’s great. Adams has a casual, conversational familiarity with Batman that breezes through the issue, and his art, with modern coloring, has never looked better. I’ve seen some fans complaining that his sensibilities don’t belong in today’s comics, which is absurd. If you have a master of the medium still capable of delivering at this level, you cherish him. Period.
Monday, April 20, 2020
Pandemic Comics #3 “Worlds Collide”
As stated previously, I bought two mystery boxes from the pandemic miracle that is Mile High Comics. Here’s the first reading results:
52 #32
Ralph Dibney reaches China! Significant for two things: Nanda Parbat, which will have greater significance for the Montoya/Question arc, and the Great Ten, a Chinese team of “super functionaries” that would later star in a...nine issue series I still think is criminally underrated.
52 #42
Ralph Dibney finally confronts Felix Faust! I like how getting two issues of this series (still my favorite comic of all-time, finally supplanting “The Return of Barry Allen”) ended up featuring Ralph’s arc in both, the way it ends (better) than how it began (still my least favorite part of the series).
World War III #4
I spent too much time undervaluing this 52 spinoff, but a reread in collection form finally began to turn that around. Martian Manhunter is firmly in the spotlight this issue, and it doesn’t hurt, him being one of my favorite undervalued characters in comics.
Adventure Comics #4/507
Superboy-Prime! The infamous indestructible lead antagonist of Infinite Crisis in his own Blackest Night tie-in!
DC/Marvel: All Access #3
Robin & Jubilee are star-crossed lovers! Still arguably the most amusing thing to come out of the three DC/Marvel crossover comics from the ‘90s (the third was Unlimited Access, though I guess it turned out to be otherwise, but lots of observers are arguing for another round to rally comics post-pandemic).
Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld #1
The character had a false-start revival during the New 52, but is staging another comeback as part of Wonder Comics. This was the ongoing series follow-up to her original mini-series, and annual. Honestly, I think if they named it anything but “Gemworld” the whole thing would work so much better. Maybe just give it an additional name?
Anima #0
At a previous point revisiting this series, I thought it was a lost gem (heh), and even tracked down a novel by one of the co-writers, but I found the results unreadable. Call it confirmation bias now, but I couldn’t get into this issue at all, this time.
Animal Man #42
Still weird to think it took so long to formally launch the Vertigo imprint, even though its formative titles were running for years already, including this one, famously begun by Grant Morrison. This issue: still branded “DC.” Also: follows the somewhat inexplicable trend, in my admitted small sampling, of not...really featuring...Animal Man? in his own series...
Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #49
The last issue before the Tad Williams run I read at the time. People seem to forget what a mess DC had made of Aquaman (not in terms of quality but...just letting the dude exist) before Flashpoint. When he was formally revived during Brightest Day, it was probably one of the signal internal events that suggested, at least for DC itself, the need for the New 52 reboot. As far as Aquaman is concerned, the New 52 was indeed a smashing success. A decade after several rounds of agonized storytelling to untangle the lines, as it were, he’s standing as strong in comics, and movie! lore as he ever has.
Assassins #1
From the original Amalgam releases, combining Daredevil with Deathstroke (as Dare) and Catwoman with Elektra (as Catsai), pitting them against the Big Question (please tell me you can extrapolate that one), with glorious art from Scott McDaniel. By the way, Dare & Catsai are both women, and this was technically Amalgam’s response to the ‘90s “bad girls” craze (which would be completely inexplicable to modern observers) (even though it continues to this day, on a far smaller scale).
Astro City: Local Heroes #2
Being the most famous superhero, Superman has been copied a lot. Within Astro City lore alone, Kurt Busiek apparently couldn’t get enough with Samaritan alone. This issue features Atomicus, a blatant pastiche of the Silver Age Superman (ah, much like Alan Moore’s version of Supreme), which riffs on Lois Lane’s obsessive quest to prove Clark Kent is Superman’s secret identity, but with a more tragic ending. Aside from the fact that “Atomicus” is a terrible name, and his origin mirrors Captain Atom/Doctor Manhattan (which raises the question if Busiek thought Moore was riffing on Superman, too, or merely made the connection himself, as does the later Doomsday Clock), a good lost gem in Astro City lore.
The All New Atom #9
Featuring Ryan Choi and writing by Gail Simone, which is more tolerable, for me, than average.
The Atom Special #1
Featuring Ray Palmer, and writing by Jeff Lemire, which is, for me, typically excellent.
The Authority #10
The team has literally taken over the US. And not being seen immediately as an evil coup d’etat. Yeah, not gonna buy that.
52 #32
Ralph Dibney reaches China! Significant for two things: Nanda Parbat, which will have greater significance for the Montoya/Question arc, and the Great Ten, a Chinese team of “super functionaries” that would later star in a...nine issue series I still think is criminally underrated.
52 #42
Ralph Dibney finally confronts Felix Faust! I like how getting two issues of this series (still my favorite comic of all-time, finally supplanting “The Return of Barry Allen”) ended up featuring Ralph’s arc in both, the way it ends (better) than how it began (still my least favorite part of the series).
World War III #4
I spent too much time undervaluing this 52 spinoff, but a reread in collection form finally began to turn that around. Martian Manhunter is firmly in the spotlight this issue, and it doesn’t hurt, him being one of my favorite undervalued characters in comics.
Adventure Comics #4/507
Superboy-Prime! The infamous indestructible lead antagonist of Infinite Crisis in his own Blackest Night tie-in!
DC/Marvel: All Access #3
Robin & Jubilee are star-crossed lovers! Still arguably the most amusing thing to come out of the three DC/Marvel crossover comics from the ‘90s (the third was Unlimited Access, though I guess it turned out to be otherwise, but lots of observers are arguing for another round to rally comics post-pandemic).
Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld #1
The character had a false-start revival during the New 52, but is staging another comeback as part of Wonder Comics. This was the ongoing series follow-up to her original mini-series, and annual. Honestly, I think if they named it anything but “Gemworld” the whole thing would work so much better. Maybe just give it an additional name?
Anima #0
At a previous point revisiting this series, I thought it was a lost gem (heh), and even tracked down a novel by one of the co-writers, but I found the results unreadable. Call it confirmation bias now, but I couldn’t get into this issue at all, this time.
Animal Man #42
Still weird to think it took so long to formally launch the Vertigo imprint, even though its formative titles were running for years already, including this one, famously begun by Grant Morrison. This issue: still branded “DC.” Also: follows the somewhat inexplicable trend, in my admitted small sampling, of not...really featuring...Animal Man? in his own series...
Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #49
The last issue before the Tad Williams run I read at the time. People seem to forget what a mess DC had made of Aquaman (not in terms of quality but...just letting the dude exist) before Flashpoint. When he was formally revived during Brightest Day, it was probably one of the signal internal events that suggested, at least for DC itself, the need for the New 52 reboot. As far as Aquaman is concerned, the New 52 was indeed a smashing success. A decade after several rounds of agonized storytelling to untangle the lines, as it were, he’s standing as strong in comics, and movie! lore as he ever has.
Assassins #1
From the original Amalgam releases, combining Daredevil with Deathstroke (as Dare) and Catwoman with Elektra (as Catsai), pitting them against the Big Question (please tell me you can extrapolate that one), with glorious art from Scott McDaniel. By the way, Dare & Catsai are both women, and this was technically Amalgam’s response to the ‘90s “bad girls” craze (which would be completely inexplicable to modern observers) (even though it continues to this day, on a far smaller scale).
Astro City: Local Heroes #2
Being the most famous superhero, Superman has been copied a lot. Within Astro City lore alone, Kurt Busiek apparently couldn’t get enough with Samaritan alone. This issue features Atomicus, a blatant pastiche of the Silver Age Superman (ah, much like Alan Moore’s version of Supreme), which riffs on Lois Lane’s obsessive quest to prove Clark Kent is Superman’s secret identity, but with a more tragic ending. Aside from the fact that “Atomicus” is a terrible name, and his origin mirrors Captain Atom/Doctor Manhattan (which raises the question if Busiek thought Moore was riffing on Superman, too, or merely made the connection himself, as does the later Doomsday Clock), a good lost gem in Astro City lore.
The All New Atom #9
Featuring Ryan Choi and writing by Gail Simone, which is more tolerable, for me, than average.
The Atom Special #1
Featuring Ray Palmer, and writing by Jeff Lemire, which is, for me, typically excellent.
The Authority #10
The team has literally taken over the US. And not being seen immediately as an evil coup d’etat. Yeah, not gonna buy that.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Pandemic Comics #2 “Mile High Comics”
The absolute legend to come out of the pandemic so far, for me, is Mile High Comics’ Chuck Rozanski. Chuck has been working nonstop, virtually alone, fulfilling mystery box orders for more than a month. He even worked Easter, saying since it was even quieter that day it made things easier. The mystery boxes are a variety of 5lb comics selections (Marvel, unsurprisingly, seems to be the most popular, with fancy swag to show for it, including free add-on collections, but I’m not a Marvel guy, so I can resist that sort of thing). I figured it was only right to order some of these, the DC assortments, and got them in yesterday. I’ll spend some of this quarantine time, in the coming days, reading them, and then blogging about them here.
I ended up getting eighty-odd comics. Here’s some of them:
I ended up getting eighty-odd comics. Here’s some of them:
- two issues of 52 (something I planned on rereading during this time anyway)
- DC/Marvel: All Access #3 (the follow-up to DC Versus Marvel)
- Assassins #1 (from the Amalgam Comics spin-off of DC Versus Marvel)
- two copies of Batman #433 (which is perfectly fine, I ordered two mystery boxes; a silent issue)
- DC Nation #0 (with the excellent Tom King/Clay Mann “Joker’s invitation to the wedding” story)
- The Extinction Parade:War #1 (which is the one title not published by DC; included because it features a Mile High variant cover)
- Harley Quinn #1 (from Rebirth; the newest comic in either set)
- Justice League America #61 (first issue of the Dan Jurgens run, which ought to also be the first appearance of Bloodwynd)
- JLA/WildC.A.T.s (not sure I’ve read this Grant Morrison-era JLA graphic novel yet, but either way another hugely welcome discovery in the selections)
- The Justice Society Returns! National Comics #1 (I don’t care if Mark Waid has seemingly turned his back on the Flash forever, he’ll always be the Flash guy to me; here he writes Jay Garrick)
- The Kingdom: Son of the Bat #1 (and the guy who wrote the masterpiece Kingdom Come, though Nightstar was infinitely better than the convoluted name he gave to the offspring of Bruce Wayne and Talia Head)
- Lobo: Infanticide #4 (Lobo was huge in the ‘90s! for a split second! and somehow has never had a significant resurgence. or a real attempt at one. bastiches!)
- The Next #1 (I was a big fan of this mini-series; will be interesting to revisit)
- Ronin #1 (this was the biggest get of the selections, something I’ve never read, a Frank Miller comic that used to be included in DC’s evergreens without fail)
- Seven Soldiers of Victory #1 (a significant Grant Morrison touchstone for me)
- Action Comics #662 (“At long last...the secret revealed!”)
- Adventures of Superman #500 (in the original polybag, of course...not gonna open this one)
- Superman Confidential #1 (the start of the classic Darwyn Cooke/Tim Sale Kryptonite arc)
- Vixen: Return of the Lion #1 (I always meant to read this G. Willow Wilson mini-series, back when I was one of her biggest fans thanks to Air)
- and many more!
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