More pleasant surprises to be found

Batman No. 250
DC Comics
Creators: Frank Robbins, Irv Novick, Dick Giordano, Elliot S. Maggin and Frank McLaughlin
Cover date: July 1973

Frequent visitors to this blog know I have purchased a number of back issues and trades throughout my comics collecting history that get tossed on a pile to read “sometime.” During times when my monthly collecting habits ebb, I manage to get more of those “sometime” books read, and this happens to be one of those times.

Most recently, I’ve been reading some older issues of Batman and Detective Comics, specifically ones from the 1970s. Several of these books have held promise of one form or another, be it an oft-seen, familiar cover for which I’m finally getting to read the story behind or a fondly remembered childhood read I’m re-experiencing. Of course, it is always best when the actual read lives up to the anticipation.

The main story in this issue, “The Deadly Numbers Game!” by Frank Robbins, Irv Novick and Dick Giordano, is a decent, entertaining tale about the Dark Knight that showcases his detective skills nicely. But I was surprised to find that this regular-sized comic included not one story but three.

The second story in this magazine is a quick six-page Robin story by Elliot S. Maggin, Irv Novick and Frank McLaughlin. I’m a huge Dick Grayson fan, so I was delighted to see a Robin solo story. But the plot of this story involves Dick’s pre-Robin life, as indicated by its title, “Return of the Flying Grayson.” The story begins with two young boys marveling at an old poster of the Flying Graysons circus act. The boys know Dick Grayson as the Hudson University student tutors one of them, but they doubt the tutor is any relation to the acrobats depicted on the poster. Dick overhears their comments as he is in the same store, staking it out, hoping to catch some art thieves. Then later, when Robin stops the fleeing art thieves, he must also save the two boys who happen to be nearby during the take-down.

As fun as the Robin story is, though, the gem of this issue is the six-page final one. The story, “The Batman Nobody Knows,” by Frank Robbins and Dick Giordano is a simple tale of philanthropist Bruce Wayne taking three inner-city youths camping. Sitting around the campfire, the boys see a bat flit by in the moonlight and begin to share their ideas of who or what the Batman is. If the story sounds familiar to more modern audiences, it is because it was adapted into an episode of “Batman: The Animated Series,” specifically “Legends of the Dark Knight,” episode 19 of the third season of the show. The framing sequence and the children’s tales differ in each version, but both stories involve Gotham City youth relating how they each see Batman.

I had no idea such a significant story was hiding in the back of this issue, or at least, I don’t recall knowing that when I bought it. So it was a very pleasant surprise indeed to “discover” it.

It’s a solid beginning

Mera: Tidebreaker
DC Ink
Creators: Danielle Paige and Stephen Byrne
Release date: March 2019

Let me preface my remarks on Mera: Tidebreaker by saying I’m not exactly the target audience for DC Ink, the new imprint focusing on young adult original graphic novels. I’m not a young adult. It’s been several decades since I was 16 like the title character in the debut title of this new line. My 7-year-old daughter is closer to 16 than I am.

I confess that I felt that age difference a bit when reading some of the dialogue in this book. There was a bit of eye-rolling on my part when it came to some of the drama that was created by these teenagers dealing with their problems in ways that teenagers would; their solutions only created more problems for themselves, but they were solutions or reactions teenagers would likely come up with.

I will also say that this story doesn’t fit perfectly into the established DC Comics continuity for these characters or with the movie continuity, although it more closely resembles the movie casting choices. There are contradictions. But then, no comics fan is a stranger to such contradictions when dealing with characters that have been around more than a few decades. Some elements in one story contradict elements in another when you pile story after story on for that long.

With all of those caveats, this is still a pretty solid read about characters that I very much enjoy. Aquaman is one of my all-time favorites, and I have had an appreciation for Mera and what she has to offer long before what many consider her full-fledged “superhero debut” in “Blackest Night,” “Brightest Day,” and other modern stories.

Princess Mera of Xebel, one of the smaller kingdoms under Atlantean rule, resents all things Atlantis like many of her people do. They see all Atlanteans as smug, cruel overlords who seek only to keep the lesser kingdoms subjugated unfairly. Mera’s father, King Ryus of Xebel, has made a pact with the people of the Trench, another lesser Atlantean kingdom. The Trench prince, Larken, is being sent to the surface to locate and kill the rumored Atlantean prince, Arthur Curry. Once that assassination takes place, Larken has been promised Mera’s hand in marriage, uniting the two lesser kingdoms, which will then revolt openly against the Atlantean queen, Atlanna.

Mera and Larken are childhood friends who care very much for each other, but Mera resents being told who she will marry and what she must do. Instead, she wants to prove to her father that she can be a ruler and a warrior in her own right, just like her late mother, so she decides to set off on her own for the surface world to locate and kill Arthur Curry herself. But once Mera locates the future ruler of Atlantis, she finds he is not the person she expected.

As I said, Danielle Paige’s story is engaging and full of realistic teenage reactions. It also includes a number of new characters alongside the ones more familiar to Aquaman fans. And Stephen Byrne’s art shows a deceptively simple economy of line and is quite engaging. He doesn’t muddy his panels with an excess of linework, but those panels still include plenty of detail when called for. His characters have distinctive faces making it clear who each is from panel to panel.

If you’re a fan of last year's “Aquaman” blockbuster film, give this book a try. As I said, things won’t line up perfectly between the two storylines, but both are truly engaging, enjoyable tales.

That was a letdown … or was it?

Green Arrow (2016) No. 50
DC Comics
Creators: Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Javier Fernandez and John Kalisz
Release date: March 2019

I generally avoid talking about comics that disappoint me. I’d rather tout the ones I’ve enjoyed than waste time dwelling on disappointment. Especially since someone may have liked said book even if I didn’t.

I’m making an exception with this latest issue of Green Arrow, the Rebirth series finale, because I care so much about the character, I dislike the way he has been treated in stories of late, and I hope a change is coming soon. This issue was touted as a huge “event.” Whether or not it truly was remains to be seen. But the story seems a huge disservice to the character whose name is on the book.

Oh, and there will be spoilers, so read on at your own risk.

Green Arrow annual No. 2, released almost a year ago, was a tie-in to the "No Justice" event. The book as a whole depicted Oliver Queen’s activities while much of the rest of the DC Universe dealt with the "No Justice" crisis: Oliver stayed on earth, not really knowing what the other heroes were doing off-planet, but still having to deal with repercussions from those events. The annual ended with the Martian Manhunter giving Oliver a box containing “the key to destroying the Justice League should the need arise” for safekeeping. The exact contents of the box were left a mystery.

Now comes issue No. 50 of the ongoing Rebirth Green Arrow title, an abrupt end to the series, and the contents of that box are revealed when the federal government comes looking for it. It seems the powers that be know Ollie has it, they want it, and they enlist Black Canary’s help in getting it.

Green Arrow goes through a lot to keep the box he was entrusted with from falling into government hands. Along the way, he thinks to himself that he doesn’t even know what is in the box. So he looks. And finds the box apparently empty. This leaves Oliver feeling duped and unappreciated by his peers.

That is a common theme of much of the Rebirth run of Green Arrow. That theme also dominated a lot of the New 52 version of the character. And it is part of why I stopped buying the book on a regular basis. Yes, Oliver can be off-putting and is known for challenging authority and the status quo. But that should not be his sole personality trait to the point that no other heroes like or respect him as a hero. Yet that seems to be how Green Arrow is most often characterized in the last decade.

I’m old enough that my personal “golden age” for the Justice League is the satellite era. The heroes of the DC Universe have strong personalities and may disagree or even fight with each other from time to time. But at the end of the day, these people all basically like and respect each other. They embrace their diversity, and that is what makes them the strongest force for good.

Along with the abrupt ending to the current Green Arrow series, it has been announced that a relaunch will shortly follow. I am hopeful that the relaunch will correct this mischaracterization of Green Arrow. Why? The final pages and the last panel of issue No. 50.

I don’t agree with everything Ollie says as he strips away his GA costume and changes to street clothes in the panels above. But maybe those statements signal a change in how the character will be portrayed going forward.

Even more, that very last panel of the book shows the “empty” box glowing from inside with a green light. My hope is that indicates the box is not empty. Perhaps some security measure conceals the contents from being visible most of the time. And if that is true, it signals that other heroes in the DCU do respect and like Ollie for what he brings to the table.

Please DC, let’s have more of that.

A very pleasant convention bonus

Wonder Squad No. 1
Machine Head Studio
Creator: Bradley R. Hyman

I recently attended the third annual Mulberry Comic Con in Mulberry, AR, as a dealer. This event benefits the Mulberry Public Library and is only about 45 minutes from my home, so I’ve been a dealer there for the past three years, selling some of my overflowing collection. Each year I’ve attended the event, I’ve met several other interesting dealers and many other colorful fans. This year was no exception.

Right next to my Steve’s Comics for Sale booth this year was the booth of a writer/artist from nearby Mountainburg, AR. His name is Bradley R. Hyman, and we visited throughout the day. He and I are about the same age, so we had some similar ideas about collecting and comics, although the samples and sketches he brought for his table proved Bradley has a lot more talent than I possess. Thankfully, I wasn’t there as an artist.

A lot of Bradley’s comic stories appear in YEET Presents, an anthology comic published by Cost of Paper Productions. Bradley also had photocopied mini comics versions of two of his creations — Amie Armageddon and Wonder Squad — both of which are normally serialized in YEET Presents and under Bradley’s own imprint, Machine Head Studio.

The Amie Armageddon issue introduces the post-apocalyptic world of Amie “Armageddon” Geddon, a bounty hunter in what used to be southern Missouri. She tracks down outlaws in the Upper Ozark Cold Zone for a government agency called the Home Guard, which often is just as untrustworthy as the outlaws themselves. The opening installment of this title left me wondering what was going to happen to Amie next, but the other title grabbed my imagination even more.

Wonder Squad was a group of second- and even third-string superheroes several years in the past. One of those former heroes, Fletcher “Dr. Spectral” Pollard, is now retired and runs a talent and training agency for new super-powered folks after being disgraced and falling out with most of his former teammates. The mini comic of the first chapter of Wonder Squad gives readers a little of the backstory along with enough to explain that Fletcher’s business is not doing well and neither is he.

Bradley has crafted a great story that immediately made me like Fletcher and care about his circumstances, and he did it without falling on the popular trope of making his independent characters all be analogs of the most popular Marvel and DC characters. Fletcher’s powers are telekinetic in nature, so he’s not really a Superman or Batman or Spider-man stand-in.

I’m very interested to see where the Wonder Squad story goes in future installments, and I wish Bradley continued success with his efforts. For more from Hyman, visit his Facebook page or check out this recent newspaper column written about Hyman by another friend of mine.