Those words are most likely familiar to fans of the Lone Ranger radio program, as well as to those of a more recent animated incarnation of “the masked rider of the plains.” And they seemed a fitting header for today’s post which leads off with a discussion of the most recent beginning for John Reid and his “faithful Indian companion, Tonto,” the newly-launched Dynamite Entertainment comic book.
Dynamite seems to be making a name for itself with the comebacks of a number of licensed properties from Red Sonja, Xena, Battlestar Galactica, Army of Darkness and others. Now, the Lone Ranger joins those ranks.
The Lone Ranger 1 (Dynamite Entertainment) — Overall, I’d have to say that this first issue, by Brett Matthews, Sergio Carriello and Dean White, is a solid start to what I hope will be a lengthy and spectacular run. I’ve always liked the Lone Ranger and Tonto, and while this isn’t a letter-perfect depiction of the character’s beginnings, it is a solid interpretation that is well worth a look.
Let me stress that I don’t profess to be an expert on the character or his history, but I have been a fan of the Lone Ranger for many years. I’ve heard recordings of some of the original radio broadcasts, I’ve seen most of the television incarnations, and many of the film adaptations. While the character’s brother, Dan Reid, has almost always been a part of the original story, I don’t remember any other incarnation making use of the boys’ father, also a fellow ranger here. But then, other characters have come and gone from time to time, including a nephew, Dan, on the radio shows and in some comic book versions. While new to the mythos, the boys’ father is a fine addition in this incarnation as he is used to show where young John Reid learns some of the early lessons that will later shape the ethics of the Lone Ranger.
Bryant’s Gap, the canyon where the six Texas Rangers are ambushed and left for dead, is not named in this tale, but again, that is nothing new, and an omission is not necessarily a mistake. Collins, the man who leads the rangers into the ambush, is also changed somewhat in this issue, but not in a way that changes the outcome. In most other versions of the tale, Collins was a tracker or a witness to crimes and escapes who leads, offers or is hired to lead the rangers to outlaws. Here, he is a thief himself being tracked by the rangers. But the essential part of the tale, that he leads the lawmen into a trap, remains intact.
And lastly, I have heard or read a very few re-tellings of this origin tale wherein the gang of outlaws, specifically their leader, remains unnamed, but in most all renditions, the outlaw gang is named for and led by Butch Cavendish. In this tale, the man seems to be named Julius Bartholomew, aka Black Bart. I’m not sure why this change, or if maybe their is precedent for the name, but for me, both these names are merely aliases for Cavendish.
Otherwise, as far as I can tell, this first issue is a solid re-telling of the tale of six Texas Rangers led into an ambush, all slaughtered except for one man, a man with an East Coast education as well as his Texas sense of justice, who manages to survive the attack through the timely intervention of a lone Indian who nurses him back to health. It’s a good story, well worth a look.
Another header considered for today’s post was “Everything Old Is New Again” as we have a number of first issue relaunches besides the Lone Ranger. So, moving along ...
Mystery In Space 1 (DC Comics) — I’ve never really followed the adventures of Captain Comet, the main star of this series. I remember seeing his cameos in the original Crisis, and he played a role in Infinite Crisis, as well, so I was curious. Still am after reading this first issue, which is what I assume Jim Starlin, Shane Davis, Matt Banning and Al Milgrom — the creators — had in mind. In the first of this eight-issue series, we see Captain Comet die and be reborn, along the way, rebooting another character, the Weird, from a previous DC event. I’m intrigued enough to stick with this series to see what is going on.
The Trials of Shazam! 1 (DC Comics) — This is another relaunch following Infinite Crisis and the Spectre’s destruction of all magic. Apparently magic still exists in the DC Universe, something we’re also learning about in the pages of 52, but the rules have changed. One such change is that Billy Batson is now the resident at the Rock of Eternity and the wizard, Shazam, is dead. I’m curious enough, and this issue was good enough to bring me back for more, but I don’t know much at all yet.
Agents of Atlas 2 (Marvel Comics) — Still liking the combination of superheroics and spy elements in this story bringing back a number of old Atlas characters by Jeff Parker, Leonard Kirk and Kris Justice. If the quality on this book keeps up, I’d like to see this as an ongoing.
Action Comics 842 (DC Comics) — Continuing the tale of intergalactic traders discovering several bit of merchandise on earth, attempting to acquire them, coming across superheroes for their trouble, and deciding to take possession of said heroes, too. Not a bad Superman tale by Kurt Busiek, Fabian Nicieza and Pete Woods, and the addition of several other heroes only adds to the appeal.
52 Week Eighteen (DC Comics) — I mentioned this series in the Shazam blurb. In this issue, the Croatoans (who the hell are they?!?) gather, as they do every so often, apparently, and discover that one of their number has been liquified after finding the helmet of Dr. Fate. Elongated Man, one of the Croatoans, believes the helmet is speaking to him, but the others don’t hear it. Is he still not quite right in the head, or is this more magic rebooted? And if the helmet IS talking to him about the reordering of magic, is this when and why Aquaman was changed? (That sure looks like him on page 16 sprouting tentacles.) Oh, and Montoya and the Question decide to join forces with Black Adam?!?
Nightwing 124 (DC Comics) — This was an odd tale, but then this whole arc by Bruce Jones has been odd. I can’t quite make up my mind about it as there were things that I hated (so many transitions seemed disjointed and jarring) and things I liked (the inclusion of Jason Todd — the idea if not the execution). I may have to let these issues sit a while, then re-read them to decide. The best thing I can say about this issue now is, next issue starts the Marv Wolfman/Dan Jurgens run. Yay!
The All-New Atom 3 (DC Comics) — I am hemorrhaging interest in this book fast. Not sure quite why. I love Gail Simone’s work on other titles. Just not really caring about these people or this town at all.
OMAC 3 (DC Comics) — Not too sure about this title right now. It’s a limited series, so I may stick with it since I started, but I’m not sure I care anymore about this one.
Detective Comics 823 (DC Comics) — Paul Dini does it again. The animated series proved that he “gets” the character of Batman. And there are subtle similarities between his writing on this series and the show. But these books are exploring themes a little darker than even the show did. With Poison Ivy’s portrayal over the years, it is clear she cares little for or about people. This issue takes that to the next level, and goes to town with the resulting concept. Wow!
Showing posts with label Atom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Atom. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Friday, September 01, 2006
Sometimes A Little Crazy Helps ... And Sometimes Not
Light reading week so far this week, but that’s OK as I’ve only got a little time for posting right now, too. So, here’s a few quick lightning reviews and a bit of a rant and then I’ll let you get back to your day.
52 Week Thirteen (DC Comics) — I’ve complained the last couple times about recent issues of this title focusing on some stories to the exclusion of others. I still maintain that there has to be something going on with the heroes we aren’t seeing each time, but I will agree with the recent online comments I have read where others cite this as a good thing, allowing the writers to give the readers a solid chunk of whatever story they follow this week.
And Week 13 is no exception to good storytelling. Ralph has been invited to the attempt to resurrect Sue by the Cult of Conner. He covertly brings along Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Metamorpho and Zauriel to help him determine if the ritual is a fraud. They convince him it must be and chaos ensues until the proxy Sue shows some small signs of life. I’m not sure if that little bit of drama was all in Ralph’s head or not, but he believes it was real, and seems to be so much the worse for that belief. Hasn’t this man suffered enough?
The All New Atom 2 (DC Comics) — Not much to say on this one. Maybe it’s just taking its time setting things up, but this one is moving slowly. That’s OK if the story and characters are building my interest, but this book hasn’t grabbed my interest like I thought it would. I’m not giving up yet, but this title is becoming iffy.
OMAC 2 (DC Comics) — I feel much the same way about OMAC, but since it’s a limited series with a definite ending, I have more patience in letting it grow. If this book lets me down, I may have to just face the facts that I don’t care for Bruce Jones’ writing. Note, I didn’t say he’s a bad writer; just that his writing isn’t in tune with what I like. That’s a distinction most fanboys miss when ranting about creators they don’t like.
Outsiders 39 (DC Comics) — I’m not sure what was worse, psychologically: the image of Monsieur Mallah and The Brain in bed together discussing philosophy or the fact that they seem to have collected enough superhero DNA from such a variety of sources that they’ve built a veritable super army (yet they still can’t clone Brain a new body?!?). This issue was just disturbing.
Fallen Angel 7 (IDW Publishing) — This was the best of this bunch of books. We are seeing Lee’s first adventure after her fall. Lee being the titular angel who has been cast out of Heaven for disobeying God. The previous arc showed us what her transgression was, confirming it was an act we could all relate to.
This book is both funny and tragic. I think writer Peter David has a bit more freedom since the title moved to IDW from DC, even though the events of the first run were not set in the DC Universe proper. But the publisher switch has only made the title better. If you aren’t reading this book, you should give it a try.
And finally, no Marvel Comics in this batch of reviews and very few of them in this most recent month’s shipment of comics. I usually order more DCs anyway, but most of the Marvel Comics I ordered for this month are tied up in the Civil War event, which Marvel recently announced was running late.
First let me say that the Civil War storyline has been pretty good so far and I’m willing to wait for it rather than have it be rushed and suffer in quality. I’m paying good money for these books, and I want that quality. Let me also say that I’m familiar with publishing, and there are a lot of things that can, and sometimes do, go wrong which are out of the creators’ control. But increasingly, we are seeing late books because creators can’t make a deadline, and that I have little sympathy for.
I work in an industry with a daily publishing deadline; most jobs have some form of deadlines; work has to be done by a specific point or problems result. Are the creators involved taking on too many projects? Are they missing deadlines because of commitments to other industries? I imagine there are many reasons in each and every instance. But whenever a creator misses a deadline consistently, it is a slap in the face to those who make their assigned deadlines month in and month out.
It was just announced that Wonder Woman is becoming a bi-monthly title — one issue every other month — because writer Allan Heinberg needs the extra time. The book he wrote before this, Young Avengers, was consistently late and is now on hiatus because of deadline problems. Not low sales, Heinberg just can’t meet the monthly deadline with all of his other comic and television commitments. He’s a great writer, and I will buy his wok when he can do it, but if he can’t meet a monthly deadline, find someone else who can for the monthly books. Or, if he wants to write a monthly book, commit to doing that, on-time, for a fixed timeframe and then go back to the other projects.
This is similar to Brad Meltzer’s arrangement on Justice League. He will be the writer for 12 issues — one year — then, no matter how popular his run, he will leave the title to write his next novel. That’s his next commitment, and he is doing what needs to be done to meet both. He can always come back after the novel and write more comics if he, the industry and the fans are agreeable. Most likely they will be.
I guess my point is this: Don’t agree to do what you are unable to do, and when you have agreed to do something, you had better be doing everything in your power to get it done as promised. Unfortunately, that ideal doesn’t seem to be quite so universal anymore.
52 Week Thirteen (DC Comics) — I’ve complained the last couple times about recent issues of this title focusing on some stories to the exclusion of others. I still maintain that there has to be something going on with the heroes we aren’t seeing each time, but I will agree with the recent online comments I have read where others cite this as a good thing, allowing the writers to give the readers a solid chunk of whatever story they follow this week.
And Week 13 is no exception to good storytelling. Ralph has been invited to the attempt to resurrect Sue by the Cult of Conner. He covertly brings along Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Metamorpho and Zauriel to help him determine if the ritual is a fraud. They convince him it must be and chaos ensues until the proxy Sue shows some small signs of life. I’m not sure if that little bit of drama was all in Ralph’s head or not, but he believes it was real, and seems to be so much the worse for that belief. Hasn’t this man suffered enough?
The All New Atom 2 (DC Comics) — Not much to say on this one. Maybe it’s just taking its time setting things up, but this one is moving slowly. That’s OK if the story and characters are building my interest, but this book hasn’t grabbed my interest like I thought it would. I’m not giving up yet, but this title is becoming iffy.
OMAC 2 (DC Comics) — I feel much the same way about OMAC, but since it’s a limited series with a definite ending, I have more patience in letting it grow. If this book lets me down, I may have to just face the facts that I don’t care for Bruce Jones’ writing. Note, I didn’t say he’s a bad writer; just that his writing isn’t in tune with what I like. That’s a distinction most fanboys miss when ranting about creators they don’t like.
Outsiders 39 (DC Comics) — I’m not sure what was worse, psychologically: the image of Monsieur Mallah and The Brain in bed together discussing philosophy or the fact that they seem to have collected enough superhero DNA from such a variety of sources that they’ve built a veritable super army (yet they still can’t clone Brain a new body?!?). This issue was just disturbing.
Fallen Angel 7 (IDW Publishing) — This was the best of this bunch of books. We are seeing Lee’s first adventure after her fall. Lee being the titular angel who has been cast out of Heaven for disobeying God. The previous arc showed us what her transgression was, confirming it was an act we could all relate to.
This book is both funny and tragic. I think writer Peter David has a bit more freedom since the title moved to IDW from DC, even though the events of the first run were not set in the DC Universe proper. But the publisher switch has only made the title better. If you aren’t reading this book, you should give it a try.
And finally, no Marvel Comics in this batch of reviews and very few of them in this most recent month’s shipment of comics. I usually order more DCs anyway, but most of the Marvel Comics I ordered for this month are tied up in the Civil War event, which Marvel recently announced was running late.
First let me say that the Civil War storyline has been pretty good so far and I’m willing to wait for it rather than have it be rushed and suffer in quality. I’m paying good money for these books, and I want that quality. Let me also say that I’m familiar with publishing, and there are a lot of things that can, and sometimes do, go wrong which are out of the creators’ control. But increasingly, we are seeing late books because creators can’t make a deadline, and that I have little sympathy for.
I work in an industry with a daily publishing deadline; most jobs have some form of deadlines; work has to be done by a specific point or problems result. Are the creators involved taking on too many projects? Are they missing deadlines because of commitments to other industries? I imagine there are many reasons in each and every instance. But whenever a creator misses a deadline consistently, it is a slap in the face to those who make their assigned deadlines month in and month out.
It was just announced that Wonder Woman is becoming a bi-monthly title — one issue every other month — because writer Allan Heinberg needs the extra time. The book he wrote before this, Young Avengers, was consistently late and is now on hiatus because of deadline problems. Not low sales, Heinberg just can’t meet the monthly deadline with all of his other comic and television commitments. He’s a great writer, and I will buy his wok when he can do it, but if he can’t meet a monthly deadline, find someone else who can for the monthly books. Or, if he wants to write a monthly book, commit to doing that, on-time, for a fixed timeframe and then go back to the other projects.
This is similar to Brad Meltzer’s arrangement on Justice League. He will be the writer for 12 issues — one year — then, no matter how popular his run, he will leave the title to write his next novel. That’s his next commitment, and he is doing what needs to be done to meet both. He can always come back after the novel and write more comics if he, the industry and the fans are agreeable. Most likely they will be.
I guess my point is this: Don’t agree to do what you are unable to do, and when you have agreed to do something, you had better be doing everything in your power to get it done as promised. Unfortunately, that ideal doesn’t seem to be quite so universal anymore.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
A Week Of The Unusual
Only a few reviews again today. Haven’t had as much time to read again this week, partially because of some recent back issue purchases. I think I mentioned previously (but I’m too lazy to check) about trading for a complete run of DC Comics’ original Checkmate series from the late ’80s. I didn’t know it until they arrived, but smack in the middle of this 33-issue run is a crossover story with Suicide Squad and a couple other books. The crossover is called “The Janus Directive.” Well, I went on a hunt for the other chapters in this crossover so that when I read the arc, I can assess it based on the whole. That led to a number of other finds and impulse buys which have recently arrived.
I was also able to snag copies of the three-issue miniseries , The P.I.s: Michael Mauser and Ms. Tree, by First Comics. Trade ads for this series looked good in the mid-1980s issues of Jon Sable, Freelance. I don’t know Michael Mauser, but I’ve read some Ms. Tree before. She’s a classic, hard-boiled private investigator from the old school except she’s a dame, not a guy. I was also able to pick up the complete 24-issue run of DNAgents from Eclipse Comics at a nice price. Don’t know much about this series either, except it was supposed to be good, was written by Mark Evanier and was compared to Marv Wolfman’s New Teen Titans, which I love. And I also picked up Incredible Hulk #s 210-222 from the late ’70s. I remember reading these issues at a friend's house at the time and liking them, but that’s about it. I dunno if this is a complete arc or several arcs; I don’t remember. But I’ve checked on buying them in the last few years and always found them a little pricey. A few weeks ago, when I found them on sale, I snagged them.
It may be a while before I get a chance to read some of these finds. Back issue buys like the Checkmate series, which started in 1988, can be read and filed when I come to the appropriate dates as I go back through my collection. Older stuff, though, like DNAgents and the Hulk issues, I’ve already passed those respective dates. So they get added to a stack of out-of-continuity trades and such that I have vowed not to touch and read through until I finish the massive undertaking that is making it back through all of those chronological back issues. The stack is getting kinda big.
Enough of that. On to some quick reviews:
Outsiders 38 (DC Comics) — More questions than answers in this book. I want to like it, but it’s teetering on the edge of being dropped right now. How does the grim and brooding Nightwing in this book justify with the more laid-back personality he has in his own book now? DC online has said they will address that, but when? How do the Brain and Monsieur Mallah’s actions in this title jibe with their appearances in Teen Titans? On the fence with this one.
The All New Atom 1 (DC Comics) — This story started out slower than we were promised in Brave New World. I thought that book was the intro and that the new series would pick up from there. Apparently not. If that’s the case, since Brave New World did nothing to change my already-conceived notions aboiut these new titles, was it a waste of my money?
OMAC 1 (DC Comics) — Same thing here. The issue starts out before what we saw in Brave New World. It doesn’t even catch up to BNW by the end of the issue.
Marvel Westerns featuring Kid Colt and the Arizona Girl 1 (Marvel Comics) — I don’t remember these characters, but I like them. I just wish Gray and Palmiotti hadn’t made the villains of the piece aliens. Am I the only person who thinks cowboys and aliens just shouldn’t mix, even in the Marvel Universe? Still a fun read, though.
Fantastic Four Presents: Franklin Richards, Son of a Genius Super Summer Spectacular (Marvel Comics) — Whew, what a name! Typical cartoon fun. These books are fun for what they are, but then, after reading three of them, the humor is starting to grow a tad stale. A Calvin-espue Franklin shares misadventures with his robot nanny, H.E.R.B.I.E. (Why does that name sound familiar?)
Justice League Unlimited 23 (DC Comics) — The Royal Flush Gang is always fun, even this overly-serious grouping from the Cartoon Network series. This story also has Martian Manhunter insights to boot.
52 Week 10 (DC Comics) — Some nice character bits with Clark Kent and a whole lot of time spent with Black Adam, a truly fascinating character in the DC Universe the last couple years. I’m guessing the young lady, Adrianna Tomaz, will become the new Isis soon. But y’know, we really only spend time with Clark and Adam. Did none of the other players in this little drama do anything this week, or are we seeing some of the working of having multiple writers on this title: each one takes one story and we don’t get development on a particular storyline if that writer didn’t get his stuff done that week? Hmmmmm.
That’s it for today. See ya next time, kiddie cops.
I was also able to snag copies of the three-issue miniseries , The P.I.s: Michael Mauser and Ms. Tree, by First Comics. Trade ads for this series looked good in the mid-1980s issues of Jon Sable, Freelance. I don’t know Michael Mauser, but I’ve read some Ms. Tree before. She’s a classic, hard-boiled private investigator from the old school except she’s a dame, not a guy. I was also able to pick up the complete 24-issue run of DNAgents from Eclipse Comics at a nice price. Don’t know much about this series either, except it was supposed to be good, was written by Mark Evanier and was compared to Marv Wolfman’s New Teen Titans, which I love. And I also picked up Incredible Hulk #s 210-222 from the late ’70s. I remember reading these issues at a friend's house at the time and liking them, but that’s about it. I dunno if this is a complete arc or several arcs; I don’t remember. But I’ve checked on buying them in the last few years and always found them a little pricey. A few weeks ago, when I found them on sale, I snagged them.
It may be a while before I get a chance to read some of these finds. Back issue buys like the Checkmate series, which started in 1988, can be read and filed when I come to the appropriate dates as I go back through my collection. Older stuff, though, like DNAgents and the Hulk issues, I’ve already passed those respective dates. So they get added to a stack of out-of-continuity trades and such that I have vowed not to touch and read through until I finish the massive undertaking that is making it back through all of those chronological back issues. The stack is getting kinda big.
Enough of that. On to some quick reviews:
Outsiders 38 (DC Comics) — More questions than answers in this book. I want to like it, but it’s teetering on the edge of being dropped right now. How does the grim and brooding Nightwing in this book justify with the more laid-back personality he has in his own book now? DC online has said they will address that, but when? How do the Brain and Monsieur Mallah’s actions in this title jibe with their appearances in Teen Titans? On the fence with this one.
The All New Atom 1 (DC Comics) — This story started out slower than we were promised in Brave New World. I thought that book was the intro and that the new series would pick up from there. Apparently not. If that’s the case, since Brave New World did nothing to change my already-conceived notions aboiut these new titles, was it a waste of my money?
OMAC 1 (DC Comics) — Same thing here. The issue starts out before what we saw in Brave New World. It doesn’t even catch up to BNW by the end of the issue.
Marvel Westerns featuring Kid Colt and the Arizona Girl 1 (Marvel Comics) — I don’t remember these characters, but I like them. I just wish Gray and Palmiotti hadn’t made the villains of the piece aliens. Am I the only person who thinks cowboys and aliens just shouldn’t mix, even in the Marvel Universe? Still a fun read, though.
Fantastic Four Presents: Franklin Richards, Son of a Genius Super Summer Spectacular (Marvel Comics) — Whew, what a name! Typical cartoon fun. These books are fun for what they are, but then, after reading three of them, the humor is starting to grow a tad stale. A Calvin-espue Franklin shares misadventures with his robot nanny, H.E.R.B.I.E. (Why does that name sound familiar?)
Justice League Unlimited 23 (DC Comics) — The Royal Flush Gang is always fun, even this overly-serious grouping from the Cartoon Network series. This story also has Martian Manhunter insights to boot.
52 Week 10 (DC Comics) — Some nice character bits with Clark Kent and a whole lot of time spent with Black Adam, a truly fascinating character in the DC Universe the last couple years. I’m guessing the young lady, Adrianna Tomaz, will become the new Isis soon. But y’know, we really only spend time with Clark and Adam. Did none of the other players in this little drama do anything this week, or are we seeing some of the working of having multiple writers on this title: each one takes one story and we don’t get development on a particular storyline if that writer didn’t get his stuff done that week? Hmmmmm.
That’s it for today. See ya next time, kiddie cops.
Monday, June 26, 2006
A Crisis Is Brewing
Just some brief thoughts today on the comics I’ve read over the last few days moving into the year 1985.
For one thing, several of the comics, regardless of publisher, have been running an advertisement listing the results from Amazing Heroes Best 10 Books of 1984 poll, per R.A. Jones in Amazing Heroes #63. The list is first, Swamp Thing; second, Jon Sable; third, American Flagg; fourth, Teen Titans; fifth, Fantastic Four; sixth, X-Men; seventh, Blue Devil; eighth, Atari Force; ninth, Dr. Strange; and tenth, Power Pack. Two out of those top ten are complete runs in my collection.
I’ve also been paying more attention to the letters columns, editorial features and First Notes and such as I read over some of these comics than I used to when I was younger. I still don’t read every letter or comment, but I notice writer’s names and editorial opinions and such a tad more than I used to. I am seeing a lot of letters by “T.M. Maple,” a pseudonym not unfamiliar to a large number of comics collectors. T.M. was a very prolific and insightful writer to many letter cols. I don’t know the entire story of this individual, but I’ve read some things. It is interesting to see the number of books in which his missives appear.
For specific storylines, the Thing has finished up his adventures on the Beyonder’s planet and returned to Earth. I knew there was a point when his long-time girlfriend, the blind Alicia Masters, started dating the Human Torch instead. Now I know more about how and when that event came about in the life of Ben Grimm. One of the reasons Thing stayed behind on the Beyonder’s world was to sort out his feelings for Alicia. He was thinking he should break up with her because he was too dangerous for her to have a relationship with. Ben resolved to go through with the break-up and returned to Earth to find that Alicia had suspected what was coming, and when he didn’t return right away from space, she took the hint and moved on with her life. Johnny Storm was there to help out, and their relationship grew while Ben was away.
In the New Teen Titans, the team recovered from their emotional and psychological battles with Trigon. Then they discover something of the true origin of Lilith, a longtime, on-again-off-again member from the old days. It seems that Lilith is the daughter of Thia, one of the Titans of Myth, parents to the gods of Olympus. The goddess Thia kidnapped Lilith claiming to have been searching for her since she was stolen away as a baby and commenced to usurp control of Mount Olympus with designs on Earth next. Before defeating this menace with some mythical help, the Titans meet Kole, a young crystal-powered teenager whose parents the Titans attempt to track down in their next story arc.
Jon Sable’s title included a three-part story taking him to the Middle East titled, The Contract. A special back-up feature in those three issues was a real-life prose account of Sable creator Mike Grell’s first safari in Africa, complete with photos and sketches to illustrate the tale. Next begins a two-part story about Jon Sable’s mother before her death.
In addition to these regular books, I also have Sword of the Atom Special #2. In late 1983 or early 1984, artist Gil Kane and writer Jan Strnad turned the shrinking hero's world upside-down. In a four-issue miniseries, they took physicist Ray Palmer from his Ivy Town university job, ended his marriage to Jean Loring-Palmer, and plopped him down in the middle of the Amazon rainforest among a hidden civilization of six-inch tall yellow aliens stranded and living in the jungles. It sounds hard to believe, and the Atom probably wouldn’t have been most people’s first choice as the next big sword and sorcery hero, but the story and art in the series were incredible and the characters likable. The series was popular enough to generate two sequels, a 1984 Special and the second one in early 1985, but never an ongoing series of its own.
And then there’s the Warlord. For quite some time in that title, Travis Morgan and his Skartaran mate, Queen Tara of Shamballah, have been in hiding, building their forces and preparing to re-take their kingdom from the New Atlantean usurpers who have been little more than a subplot since they took over the land. But what is most interesting to me about the recent Warlord stories is how often the Monitor has been depicted watching the exploits of the characters. The Monitor is a mysterious figure, always shown in shadow at this point, who appeared in several DC books over the course of 1983 and 1984, usually as just an observer watching events transpire, but sometimes acting as a type of referral agent, connecting bosses with super-powered muscle for a fee. Readers wouldn’t learn who the Monitor was or what his motivations and goals were until the maxiseries Crisis on Infinite Earths. This is my first time reading Warlord stories from this period, so I am curious just how much of a role the Crisis plays in the life of the Warlord and vice-versa. I know Travis Morgan is pictured in the Crisis series in several group shots of heroes, but the number of appearances of the Monitor in the the pages of the Warlord, makes me wonder if the Crisis will play a large role in Skartaris.
Moving forward from here, in addition to Titans, Warlord, Sable and Thing, I also have a four-issue Red Tornado series and a four-issue Nightcrawler series from early 1985 and a three-issue Legend of the Hawkman prestige series from 2000 which I have placed here chronologically because it obviously deals with the pre-Crisis Hawkman from Thanagar. Then, of course, Crisis on Infinite Earths, after which the dates in my collection get really muddy. But more on that when the time comes.
For one thing, several of the comics, regardless of publisher, have been running an advertisement listing the results from Amazing Heroes Best 10 Books of 1984 poll, per R.A. Jones in Amazing Heroes #63. The list is first, Swamp Thing; second, Jon Sable; third, American Flagg; fourth, Teen Titans; fifth, Fantastic Four; sixth, X-Men; seventh, Blue Devil; eighth, Atari Force; ninth, Dr. Strange; and tenth, Power Pack. Two out of those top ten are complete runs in my collection.
I’ve also been paying more attention to the letters columns, editorial features and First Notes and such as I read over some of these comics than I used to when I was younger. I still don’t read every letter or comment, but I notice writer’s names and editorial opinions and such a tad more than I used to. I am seeing a lot of letters by “T.M. Maple,” a pseudonym not unfamiliar to a large number of comics collectors. T.M. was a very prolific and insightful writer to many letter cols. I don’t know the entire story of this individual, but I’ve read some things. It is interesting to see the number of books in which his missives appear.
For specific storylines, the Thing has finished up his adventures on the Beyonder’s planet and returned to Earth. I knew there was a point when his long-time girlfriend, the blind Alicia Masters, started dating the Human Torch instead. Now I know more about how and when that event came about in the life of Ben Grimm. One of the reasons Thing stayed behind on the Beyonder’s world was to sort out his feelings for Alicia. He was thinking he should break up with her because he was too dangerous for her to have a relationship with. Ben resolved to go through with the break-up and returned to Earth to find that Alicia had suspected what was coming, and when he didn’t return right away from space, she took the hint and moved on with her life. Johnny Storm was there to help out, and their relationship grew while Ben was away.
In the New Teen Titans, the team recovered from their emotional and psychological battles with Trigon. Then they discover something of the true origin of Lilith, a longtime, on-again-off-again member from the old days. It seems that Lilith is the daughter of Thia, one of the Titans of Myth, parents to the gods of Olympus. The goddess Thia kidnapped Lilith claiming to have been searching for her since she was stolen away as a baby and commenced to usurp control of Mount Olympus with designs on Earth next. Before defeating this menace with some mythical help, the Titans meet Kole, a young crystal-powered teenager whose parents the Titans attempt to track down in their next story arc.
Jon Sable’s title included a three-part story taking him to the Middle East titled, The Contract. A special back-up feature in those three issues was a real-life prose account of Sable creator Mike Grell’s first safari in Africa, complete with photos and sketches to illustrate the tale. Next begins a two-part story about Jon Sable’s mother before her death.
In addition to these regular books, I also have Sword of the Atom Special #2. In late 1983 or early 1984, artist Gil Kane and writer Jan Strnad turned the shrinking hero's world upside-down. In a four-issue miniseries, they took physicist Ray Palmer from his Ivy Town university job, ended his marriage to Jean Loring-Palmer, and plopped him down in the middle of the Amazon rainforest among a hidden civilization of six-inch tall yellow aliens stranded and living in the jungles. It sounds hard to believe, and the Atom probably wouldn’t have been most people’s first choice as the next big sword and sorcery hero, but the story and art in the series were incredible and the characters likable. The series was popular enough to generate two sequels, a 1984 Special and the second one in early 1985, but never an ongoing series of its own.
And then there’s the Warlord. For quite some time in that title, Travis Morgan and his Skartaran mate, Queen Tara of Shamballah, have been in hiding, building their forces and preparing to re-take their kingdom from the New Atlantean usurpers who have been little more than a subplot since they took over the land. But what is most interesting to me about the recent Warlord stories is how often the Monitor has been depicted watching the exploits of the characters. The Monitor is a mysterious figure, always shown in shadow at this point, who appeared in several DC books over the course of 1983 and 1984, usually as just an observer watching events transpire, but sometimes acting as a type of referral agent, connecting bosses with super-powered muscle for a fee. Readers wouldn’t learn who the Monitor was or what his motivations and goals were until the maxiseries Crisis on Infinite Earths. This is my first time reading Warlord stories from this period, so I am curious just how much of a role the Crisis plays in the life of the Warlord and vice-versa. I know Travis Morgan is pictured in the Crisis series in several group shots of heroes, but the number of appearances of the Monitor in the the pages of the Warlord, makes me wonder if the Crisis will play a large role in Skartaris.
Moving forward from here, in addition to Titans, Warlord, Sable and Thing, I also have a four-issue Red Tornado series and a four-issue Nightcrawler series from early 1985 and a three-issue Legend of the Hawkman prestige series from 2000 which I have placed here chronologically because it obviously deals with the pre-Crisis Hawkman from Thanagar. Then, of course, Crisis on Infinite Earths, after which the dates in my collection get really muddy. But more on that when the time comes.
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