At last it can be revealed … to me, at least

The Tick: The Naked City trade
New England Comics Press
Creator: Ben Edlund
Release date: July 1996, according to Wikipedia, but mine is the second edition version, dated May 1998

This trade was a very fun read, and I was glad to finally read the Tick’s “true” comic origins as this volume collects the first six issues of the Tick’s comic adventures.

Note, I did not say this volume includes the Tick’s first appearances.

According to Wikipedia, the Tick was created in 1986 by an 18-year-old cartoonist named Ben Edlund as a mascot of sorts for his local comic book shop, New England Comics of Brockton, Mass., to use in its newsletter. Edlund later expanded his use of the Tick, beginning with a three-page origin story in which the character escapes from a mental institution. Unfortunately, that three-page tale is not included in this trade.

I’ve never seen that three-page origin myself. I don’t now and have never lived anywhere near Massachusetts. But I was aware of the Tick’s existence even without reading any of his early adventures. The Tick was like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in that regard; if you were a comics fan in the late 1980s and early 1990s, even if you’d never read any of their comics, you were aware of the characters. They quickly became that popular.

The Tick is a parody of the superhero genre, but unlike other parodies that poke fun at the genre in what often seems to be a mean-spirited and denigrating fashion, the Tick seems to be poking fun in a more good-natured way. Plus, the comic is funny!

If you don’t know anything about the character, the Tick is a heavily-muscled powerhouse in an all-blue bodysuit with a pair of prehensile antenna on top of his head. While his heart is clearly in the right place, the Tick is not the smartest tool in the shed. Although he does have moments of very keen insight amid the nonsense he typically spouts.

But again, I was aware of the character’s existence while never having read any of his comic adventures for the first 15 years of his existence. That changed in 2001 when Fox produced a live-action television series based on the character starring Patrick Warburton as the Tick. An earlier animated series had been produced by Fox in 1994 and lasted for three seasons, but I never watched that program. Sadly, this live-action series only lasted for a handful of episodes, but I thoroughly enjoyed every one of them.

In the pilot episode of the Patrick Warburton series, the Tick has sworn to protect a bus station. In this incarnation, the Tick only changes his focus to protecting his unnamed city after he is tricked into leaving the bus station by the station employees, who he continuously annoys. The show also starred David Burke as the Tick’s reluctant sidekick, Arthur; Nestor Carbonell as Batmanuel; and Liz Vassey as Captain Liberty.

I enjoyed the series so much, my family bought me the DVD collection when it was released, and thankfully, this DVD collection featured all of the episodes of the show, even the unaired ones.

In 2016, Amazon produced another series based on the Tick, and my family and I have watched and enjoyed both seasons of this series as well. This version of the live-action Tick starred Peter Serafinowicz as the Tick. In this version, Arthur was traumatized as a child, along with most of the city, by a supervillain known as the Terror. When the Tick arrives in the city, he befriends the now adult Arthur, and along with the help of Arthur’s sister, Dot, and another hero named Overkill, they vow to fight crime and evil throughout the city. While this version still had its comedy moments and characters, the action was taken much more seriously.

All of that brings us to this trade, The Naked City. I enjoyed the Fox television series so much, I wanted to try out the comics that inspired the show. But in a story by now familiar to regular readers of this blog, I tracked down a copy of the first trade, bought it and tossed it on the pile of books to read when I had the time. That’s why I’m just now trying out the collection. And while it is very different from either television program, it was still very good.

In this trade, the Tick arrives in the City looking for crime to thwart and adventures to enjoy. What he finds are a group of slightly incompetent ninjas threatening a young woman. Through the course of this adventure, the Tick briefly joins the staff of the Weekly World Planet newspaper and comes into conflict with another hero named The Caped Wonder. After a few misadventures with the staff at the newspaper, the Tick joins forces with Paul the Samurai to defeat the ninja empire. Along the way, Jack and Tick are joined by Arthur, who Tick later decides to take on as his sidekick.

Some of the humor comes from the obvious parodies of Superman and his supporting cast and later parodies of Elektra Natchios and the Hand from Daredevil comics in this tale. But most of the humor, as it should, comes directly from the Tick himself, from his obvious delusions about crimefighting, and from his seemingly inexplicable success despite his lack of true understanding in most situations. If you have a sense of humor about your love of comics, I think you’ll find much to enjoy in this trade collection.

And He's Back In Form

Daredevil by Mark Waid tpb Volume 3
Marvel Comics
Mark Waid and Greg Rucka, writers
Chris Samnee, Marco Checchetto and Khoi Pham, artists

I was a little underwhelmed by the second trade collection of these Mark Waid Daredevil stories and likely wouldn't have purchased this third volume if it hadn't already been pre-ordered. I'm glad it was! These stories are back up to the high level set by the first trade, and by no small coincidence, these stories also serve to wrap up the story started in that first trade.

We start out with two Daredevil guest appearances in other books written by Greg Rucka, Avenging Spider-Man No. 6 and Punisher No. 10. Previously, Daredevil had confiscated a unique hard drive of criminal information on all of the major Marvel Universe crime "families" as depicted in the first trade collection of this title. With the help of the Avengers, Daredevil used the information on that hard drive to bring about the downfall of one of those criminal cabals, as detailed in the second Daredevil trade. But possession of the device has left Matt Murdock, Daredevil, and all those around him targets for the other four groups. This trade collection begins with Spider-Man trying to intervene, urging DD to turn the drive over to either the Avengers or the Fantastic Four, while the Punisher hopes to take the information for himself to use in his one-man war on crime. The three, along with a new partner for the Punisher, agree to work together instead, but things do not go exactly as planned, which leads directly into Daredevil issues 11-15, also in this collection, wrapping up the saga of that hard drive, but also setting DD up for some trouble with the ruler of Latveria, Dr. Doom!

Very fun, high-flying adventure tales. And unlike the DD guest-appearance included in the second trade, these two "extra" books seem to flow a little more naturally with the Daredevil ongoing. Pick it up; you'll be glad you did!

Bless The Little Children For They Have Saved It

Daredevil by Mark Waid Vol. 2 tpb
Marvel Comics
Mark Waid, writer
Paolo Rivera, Emma Rios, Kano and Khoi Pham, artists

The appeal for this series dropped off a little bit with this second trade collection of Mark Waid's run on Daredevil. I reviewed the first collection here, and really enjoyed it. It was a fast-paced, fun adventure book and a terrific read.

The first story in this collection continues that very high standard of excellence. There's a little bit of foreshadowing that will tie in to a later tale pitting DD against the Mole Man. But the bulk of Daredevil No. 7 features blind attorney Matt Murdock continuing an annual tradition of taking a class of blind children on a field trip. A sudden severe snowstorm throws a monkey wrench in the group's plans, and Daredevil is left to rescue them when their bus crashes. Problem is, Daredevil is injured in the crash, losing blood, and truly blind as the effects of the storm dampen his usually heightened senses of hearing, smell and touch.

The next issue in this collection is where things start to go awry. Daredevil makes a guest appearance in Amazing Spider-Man No. 677 and the "team-up" continues in Daredevil No. 8. Spider-Man serves little purpose in the story except as the means to bring Daredevil and the sometime cat burglar Black Cat together, but a plot twist at the end of the story reveals a motivation for the pair to cross paths without Spidey's involvement. That just makes the rest of the story seem like a pointless detour. To make matters worse, the art on the Amazing Spider-Man portion of the two-parter isn't up to the level of the rest of this collection. I'm not familiar with Emma Rios' work from other books, but she just doesn't seem to pull it off for this reader. The art isn't bad, exactly, but "off" somehow. And I absolutely hate how she changes Spider-Man's eye lenses in every panel to convey facial expressions. Some artists can pull that kind of thing off well, allowing the readers to suspend disbelief that the mask really moves, squints, etc. For Rios' pages, it just seems like she can't draw Spidey's lenses very well.

Issues 9 and 10 of Daredevil are the Mole Man confrontation hinted at earlier. This wasn't a bad tale, just not one I cared overly much for as the Mole Man has his minions steal bodies from a cemetery, and Daredevil tries to determine why. And finally, this volume also includes Daredevil No. 10.1, which returns to the plot from the end of the first trade collection where Daredevil is holding five criminal empires at bay because he has possession of an artifact that contains all of their secrets, and they naturally want it back.

All in all, this isn't a bad collection, but it's not as good as the first trade was. That first story makes up for the rest, however, so I'm still gonna recommend you check this trade out.

Back To The Basics

Daredevil by Mark Waid tpb Vol. 1 (collecting issues 1-6)
Marvel Comics
Mark Waid, writer
Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin, artists

I'd heard good things about the Mark Waid-helmed relaunch of Daredevil and decided to try out the first trade collection when it arrived. Now that I have, I can honestly say that it is NOT the best thing I've ever read, but it was a very fun and entertaining read.

That's saying a lot for a character who had gone down such a dark path of late. I'd read and enjoyed a lot of Brian Michael Bendis' run with the character, and continued to follow the title and enjoy it through Ed Brubaker's run, but then Andy Diggle took over, and it was just getting too dark for my tastes, and I dropped the book. That's why I didn't sample the Waid issues when they first came out. I didn't know about his new direction and had simply had enough dark.

Waid's run on DD is NOT dark. He explains this in-story as being Matt Murdock's answer to all of the dark craziness in his life of late. The character is making a conscious effort to lighten up and have some fun with life. That's not to say Daredevil is a funny, comedy style book now. Not really when the first arc involves the sound villain Klaw trying to resolidify his body by possessing DD. Also not when DD takes on all of the major criminal organizations in the Marvel Universe at once in the second arc. There is real threat and real danger here. But the Man Without Fear is choosing to face these threats with a smile on his face and an appreciation for being alive when he triumphs, as we all know he ultimately will.

I hear Waid's take on the character has been so successful that he plans to use the same approach to writing a relaunched Hulk title later this year. Comics that are fun to read ... I may just have to get on board for that trend!

Moving Into January

Lot of ground to cover today, Kiddie Cops. I’ve managed to finish reading the last of the December-releases and start on January, if only a little bit, so let’s dive right in.

Powers 22 (Marvel Icon) — I read the entire Image run of this title as trade paperback collections. There is definitely an advantage to waiting for the trade on a title like Powers because it has a tendency to come out on such a slow, irregular basis; reading one entire arc all the way through leaves less opportunity to forget what's going on in the series between individual issues. And, of course, since I came to the Powers party late, I didn’t really have to wait that long between most of the trades, either.

Since the title switched to Marvel Icon, however, I’ve been buying the individual issues as they are released. One benefit to the pamphlet-style books is the infamous Powers “letter column.” It amazes me the number of people who don’t even seem able to string a group of words together and make a coherent sentence. If you’re e-mailing a friend or simply chatting online, slang and abbreviations are just fine, but when you’re sending something to a stranger, something you think might be printed — and especially for the seemingly never-ending supply of people soliciting writing advice from Bendis — you really should be able to compose a rational thought in print.

Maybe some of these people write what they do deliberately trying to provoke a certain response. In fact, I’m certain some of them do. But some of the “writers” featured there each issue have got to be legitimately clueless, and it worries me about the future of the industry when the most vocal “fans” are — I’m sorry to say — such morons.

Jack of Fables 6 (DC Vertigo) — New two-issue story arc begins. Jack and his fellows escapees are all in hiding. To wile away the time, jack regales his current traveling companions with a tale from his past, specifically, how he received winter powers and became Jack Frost. Another nice Willingham fable.

Daredevil 92 (Marvel Comics) — Penultimate chapter of Devil Takes a Ride wherein we learn the identity of the mastermind behind DD’s recent woes. The beginning of this arc was starting to lose my interest, but I am intrigued by the revelation that Vanessa Fisk is behind it all. Of course, since there is still one chapter to go, there may yet be more to the story.

Winter Soldier: Winter Kills (Marvel Comics) — This one-shot comic is everything a mega-crossover tie-in should be. It provides a nice, done-in-one story which adds to the overall tapestry of the crossover if you have an interest in picking it up without being so essential to the plot that the crossover won’t make sense without it. This tale by Ed Brubaker and Lee Weeks also relies heavily on flashbacks from World War II, and does this quite effectively, providing some nice scenes from the past which truly enhance the current drama being played out without changing everything you thought you knew from that time period. Highly recommended.

52 Weeks 35 and 36 (DC Comics) — Rain of the Supermen was very dramatic, but after a while, one has to start to question why Luthor gets away with everything so easily. Despite all of his denials, some of the general populace of the DC Universe beyond the heroes have to suspect he knows more than he is letting on. We also learn that the Question is not yet dead as I’d suspected a few issues ago. Does that mean there’s hope that this issue wasn’t really the death of Buddy Baker? I hope so.

New Universal 2 (Marvel Comics) — More questions and still no answers that make much sense in this series so far, but I still get the vibe from this story that we readers are in the dark intentionally while the author of our confusion knows exactly what is going on. Under those circumstances, I can be patient for answers.

Superman 658 (DC Comics) — On-time issues growing with this title right now, which aren’t helping my overall enjoyment much. I just can’t make up my mind on this arc from Kurt Busiek. The first issue, 653, I believe, was excellent. The next two introduce a new alien named Subjekt, whose interaction with Superman was also great. Then this great character is suddenly and anti-climactically dispatched in favor of the alternate future shown to our hero and his friends by the insufferably egocentric Arion. I cannot stand this incarnation of the Atlantean mage. I’ve never really followed his adventures before, but I’m surprised he could carry a title if Arion’s character has always been like it is portrayed here. I could maybe like Khyber if he is developed more over time. And the alternate future and the ever-growing threat of man’s downfall are intriguing. But I can’t get past the boor presenting it all to Superman.

Manhunter 27 (DC Comics) — What th--?! I can hardly wait for the next issue of this book so Marc Andreyko can explain this one.

Nightwing 128 (DC Comics) — In all honesty, the ending of this first arc by Marv Wolfman was a tad disappointing, but the overall arc is still head and shoulders above the dreck that preceded it. Now that Marv is on the title to stay for a while instead of just filling in for a few issues, I look for things to get even better.

Civil War 6 (Marvel Comics) — Double-agents and double-crosses abound in this issue, and I’m truly anxious to see what happens in the final chapter and where the Marvel Universe is going from here as the powers-that-be keep promising real change in the aftermath of this “event.”

Civil War: Front Line 10 (Marvel Comics) — Not sad, but surprised to see Sleeper Cell and the usual text piece gone from this issue, but then I’ve always said I feel Embedded and The Accused are the strongest two components in this title. Nice to see the entire issue devoted to these stories this time. I kept hoping for a reveal from Sally and Ben that I knew the writers wouldn’t share with us and spoil things, and I genuinely feel the pain and torment Robbie Baldwin is suffering through.

Boneyard 23 (NBM) — Another title that doesn’t come out nearly often enough, but this one is designed to be a quarterly comic anyway, so I can’t complain. Interesting solution to Abbie’s current problem, but I have to wait three whole months to see how it plays out.

Justice League Unlimited 29 (DC Comics) — This issue focuses on B’Wana Beast and Animal Man and their respective differences as the League takes on first the denizens of Gorilla City, then Queen Bee.

Batman 662 (DC Comics) — The end of the Grotesk story line. I really kind of thought that Grotesk was going to turn out to be the sister rather than the brother, even though the story indicated otherwise. Overall, this arc was OK, but unspectacular.

JLA Classified 26-31 (DC Comics) — This story line by Howard Chaykin was disappointing. Several other writers of late have done stories pitting the Justice League against a “real world” dictator, forcing them to debate whether or not to interfere in the politics of a sovereign nation. But what disappointed me the most with this arc was the characterizations of the Leaguers themselves. I realize this story is “out of continuity” and takes place much earlier than the events of Infinite Crisis, so the Batman here should be the paranoid, non-trusting one. He and Superman aren’t friends. But this group is like a twisted parody of even that League. My ideal Justice League is made up of a group of individuals who work with each other for the greater good because they respect each other’s dedication to the same ideals. They may not always trust each other. They may not always see eye to eye with each other. They will have internal conflicts from time to time. But deep down, they remain a group. The “heroes” in this tale don’t even like each other a little bit. There’s no reason for them to cooperate.

Well, that was a lot. So let's call it a wrap, and see ya next time.

Lightning Round

Hey, kiddie cops. I know it’s been over a week since I had a chance to post something. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading. In fact, since last time, I’ve finished the rest of the books received in my last shipment. So, without further ado, let’s dive right in and catch up a bit.

52 Weeks 24 and 25 (DC Comics) — I’ve said it before; I’ll say it again. Individual issues are not always great, but the overall story line this series was designed to tell is interesting. I’m curious where Ralph is headed. I like the story line with Montoya, Question and the Black Marvel family. The Steel/Luthor story seems to be old news, but is maybe going somewhere interesting. Green Arrow’s cameo was nice. Super Chief didn’t last long, did he?

Action Comics 844 (DC Comics) — This wasn’t a bad beginning, but it almost seems more a sequel to the Donner films so far more than a continuing story of the comic book Superman. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but is this story gonna “fit” in continuity? I mean, Jimmy isn’t an inexperienced photographer anymore.

Birds of Prey 99 (DC Comics) — Black Canary’s departure. I agree with scribe Simone that it feels right for Dinah to leave now, even though I’ll miss her. As far back as Longbow Hunters we’ve seen that Dinah wants children but wrestled with the issue of raising one while adventuring. Now she has one. It makes sense for her to step back now.

Captain America 23 (Marvel Comics) — A nice interlude with Winter Soldier/Bucky and Nick Fury in the middle of the Civil War tie-in. It updates us on the ongoing story line with Bucky, but doesn’t interupt the flow of the Cap Civil War events. Very nice.

Checkmate 7 (DC Comics) — I wanna like this title, but it just doesn’t seem to be as good as it should be. I know the Suicide Squad has its fans, but I can take it or leave it. I think this title should include some superheroes on the periphery, but for the most part, avoid overt superhero action and costumes.

Civil War: Front Line 7 (Marvel Comics) — Typical stuff here. The first two stories following the reporters and the former Speedball are excellent storytelling, while the Sleeper Cell bit does little for me, and the final bit just seems pretentious. I think one of the reasons Sleeper Cell is uninteresting to me is there is no tie-in to the Civil War. I assume this Atlantean faction is merely trying to take advantage of the strife above for their own ends, but that is just a guess on my part, not something we’ve been told.

Criminal 1 (Marvel Icon) — Not sure if this is a mini or an ongoing. Not even sure if I like it yet or not. But it was an OK beginning from I writer I really like, so I’ll hang around.

Daredevil 90 (Marvel Comics) — This issue seemed to slip just a bit. Matt is trying to track down who had Foggy killed because he doesn’t know Foggy isn’t really dead. Forget that Matt would be very hard to fool on that point, but I don’t like how easily he’s gotten sidetracked by this woman, even if she does have a power that explains why.

Donald Duck & Friends 345 (Gemstone Publishing) — Just good Disney fun. I’ve always liked Donald, and the mix of classic and newer tales is great. Plus, there’s always one story featuring someone else, this titme a great Goofy tale. Shouldn’t we all laugh more?

Fables 54 (DC Vertigo) — Sons of Empire continues. I didn’t think things could get much creepier than the Snow Queen’s plan for destroying both Mundies and Fables. I was wrong. Hansel is so far beyond creepy that he belongs in his own Mundie slasher series.

Jack of Fables 4 (DC Vertigo) — The promos for next issue seem to indicate this won’t happen, but wouldn’t it be too funny if after all this planning and helping all of the other escapees, Jack himself doesn’t make it out?

JSA Classified 18 (DC Comics) — The back half of a two-parter featuring Hourman, both the modern version and the Golden Age one. A solid tale from Tony Bedard, as usual. And besides, it isn’t necessarily that hard, but its always fun to watch someone out-think Bane.

The Lone Ranger 2 (Dynamite Entertainment) — I stand corrected from my criticism of last issue. Black Bart is an enforcer, not the criminal mastermind. This issue hints that the individual who pulls Bart’s vicious strings is none other than Butch Cavendish, the villain from Ranger lore. Brett Matthews, you have my apologies for doubting you. Carry on.

Martian Manhunter 3 (DC Comics) — Enter the Justice League, which was good to see. After all the divisiveness stemming from Identity Crisis and leading into Infinite Crisis, it’s nice to see these heroes acting like colleagues and friends once again. Oh, wait. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman don’t seem to want to listen to J’Onn about what is going on. Right now, I’m willing to assume that maybe this wasn’t really the three heroes it appeared to be. So much subterfuge has been going on in this story dealing with shape-shifting Martians, that’s what I’m hoping anyway. Otherwise, this story might’ve worked better before IC.

New Avengers 24 (Marvel Comics) — This Civil War tie-in is the Sentry entry, but seems to be more about fallout from the House of M and the Inhumans than Civil War. It’s sad that the interaction between books that I love from DC is one of the things I don’t like about Marvel because I buy fewer of those books and am less interested in the intermingling there.

Omega Men 1 (DC Comics) — My knowledge of this team is limited to their interaction with the Titans in the “olden” days, but I liked their recent cameos in Adam Strange and Infinite Crisis, so I decided to give this a try. Andersen Gabrych’s usually great writing didn’t hurt either. But I have no clue what is going on in this title right now. That’s not good.

The Perhapanauts: Second Chances 1 (Dark Horse) — OK, this mini DOES seem to pick up right after the trade I just read, as I assumed it should. But the letters column has a bunch of people commenting on issue #104. Now, I could just assume the first mini was numbered funky and move on, but the letters also mention a story titled “The 28th Anomaly.” There’s no story with that name in the trade. Am I missing something here?

Secret Six 5 (DC Comics) — Did they really just kill the Mad Hatter?!?

Stan Lee Meets the Thing 1 (Marvel Comics) — Much better than the Spidey one-shot, the only other one of these I read. It’s been long enough now that Ben has come to grips with his appearance. Heck, most New Yorkers have, too. He’s a celebrity, not a monster now. Good to see that reflected here.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes 23 (DC Comics) — Cosmic Boy decides the Legion needs to deal with the superpowered delusional in their midst. So, does that mean Supergirl is going to be going away soon? Dunno if I trust these “Kryptonians.”

Superman/Batman annual 1 (DC Comics) — This is a totally bizarre story, but it’s a fun one. Accept it for that and it works. Look for more and it falls apart.

Tales of the Unexpected 1 (DC Comics) — I’ve heard this mini isn’t getting much interest online. Truthfully, it wasn’t great. But it was intriguing, and I liked Crispus when he was alive, so I’m intrested enough to hang with this one a bit longer. The Dr. 13 story left me cold, but then I’m not as familiar with the character.

Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters 4 (DC Comics) — I thought this might be the exception to the mostly so-so minis DC is spitting out right now, but I’m starting to lose interest in this one big time, too. This is supposed to be an alien suddenly sitting in the White House and part of a shady government operation spitting out new metahumans like they’re no big deal, and no other teams notice? No Titans, no JSA, no Superman, no GLs. Just doesn’t ring true.

Whew! That was a bunch, but that’s all of the October releases I have. See ya next time.

Make Mine Marvel ... Once In A While

Most of the people I know in and around this part of Oklahoma and Arkansas seem to have grown up with Marvel Comics and much prefer that stable of heroes out of the Big Two comics publishers. A lot of that affinity seems to stem from the time those folks got interested in comics and a number of Marvel characters on television when they were young. I suppose my preferences come from much the same sources, but took the opposite turn.

Somehow, I managed to miss the first, somewhat crude by today’s standards, launch of Marvel superhero cartoons in the late 1960s and early 1970s. But I did watch the Batman and Wonder Woman and Superman live-action shows when they were on in first-run or syndication. And I never missed the Superfriends among my Saturday-morning TV viewing. Sure, there was also the live-action Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man shows and Spider-man and His Amazing Friends later on. I’m not ignorant of the Marvel characters, but DC’s group was always the ones I knew and loved just a bit more.

That preference is reflected in my collection, especially during the mid-1980s when I discovered my first-ever Comics Specialty Shop. I had a number of single issues of DC Comics from the grocery store as a small child, things like Superman Family or Batman Family, maybe some World’s Finest and Justice League of America. Even an occasional issue of Spider-man, some based on his appearances on The Electric Company, that PBS series for kids too old for Sesame Street. Sadly, many of those silver-age comics are no longer in my possession because smaller children don’t always take care of things like their parents might wish they would. At this time, besides TV, my only other contact with the world of superheroes were some copies of Superman, Action and Adventure (staring the Legion of Super-Heroes) comics while awaiting my turn at the barber shop. Once in a while, they’d also have some Turok, Son of Stone, too. But it was rare that I owned or read any two issues in consecutive order of any title.

The yearning for that to change came about in the early 1980s when I discovered The New Teen Titans annual #2, a story I’ve related here before and won’t bore you with again. But the desire was not matched immediately with access. That wouldn’t come until a few years later when a friend of mine at school introduced me to that all-important comic shop. I was just in time to snatch up every new issue of DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths. Of course, I also followed the Teen Titans titles at the time. I tried some other books which I no longer own like DC Challenge and a Rip Hunter, Time Master re-vamp. From Marvel, I tried some Spider-man and Captain America issues, but my favorite title from them was Squadron Supreme, an alternate version of DC’s Justice League. And forget other titles like Jon Sable or Warlord from the time; I knew nothing about them and didn’t try that much new back then. My passion for those titles is somewhat more recent (Thank God for back-issue sales, right?).

Anyway, this lengthy introduction is not meant to bash Marvel, but rather to explain why there aren’t that many Marvel titles in these retro-reviews posts. That just wasn’t my preference then, and while I really like some of their characters, Marvel is still second in my own personal rankings. So, there really aren’t going to be many Marvel titles this far back in my collection. In an effort to make some small amends for that, here are a few Marvel comics I DO have.

The Amazing Spider-Man: The Death of Jean DeWolff tpb (Marvel Comics, 1990) — This collection written by Peter David and illustrated by Rich Buckler was originally published as Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-man #107-110 from 1985-86. I’ve never seen or read any of the other stories featuring Jean DeWolff, but this story makes me think of her as an early precursor to Maggie Sawyer over at DC (there I go again, relating it all to DC). DeWolff is a police captain appearing in a number of previous issues of Spider titles apparently. She was created by Peter David according to the forward in this collection, and though she hadn’t been around long, she was gaining fans. This story, obviously, kills her off. Apparently, that caused some furor at the time because of DeWolff’s popularity. Further angering her shocked fans, she doesn’t die at the end of the story in heroic battle or sacrificing herself to save another like so many characters in comics. She dies off-panel at the very beginning of the story. And it takes not just Spidey, but also Daredevil, to help unearth the true identity of her killer, at first only known as the enigmatic Sin-Eater. The story is a compelling one even if you’re not familiar with DeWolff, and features some nods to classic Spider-man history.

The Thing 33-36 (Marvel Comics, 1986) — These are the last four issues of Thing’s solo series, and in all honesty, I was a little disappointed in them, mostly because there is no final resolution. Obviously, Ben continues to be a character in the Marvel Universe. I didn’t expect them to kill him off, or even necessarily reunite him with the Fantastic Four, but this tale just leaves the reader hanging unless you want to go buy other books.

When last we checked in with Ben Grimm, he was wrestling in the newly formed Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, and was only beginning to wonder where all of the extremely powerful brawlers in the UCWF had been coming from. Before this, all of the other wrestlers shown have been male. Issue #33 shows readers that there is, in fact, a female division, and the champion female UCWF wrestler wants to challenge her male counterpart, Thing. Along the way, we learn that Sharon, the woman Ben is currently interested in, is interested in joining the female UCWF and we again hear the mysterious name, the Power Broker, the individual responsible for powering up many of the competitors. Ben is concerned about Sharon’s plans and tries to stop her. Further complicating things is the fact that Sharon does not share Ben’s feelings.

Ben vows to finally check out this Power Broker person, but is side-tracked in Issue #34 by the appearance of the Sphinx, a villain from Marvel Two-In-One, and the re-appearance of the Puppet Master. Ben manages to make peace with the latter and defeats the former, but along the way, the dizzy spells he has been suffering from grow worse. These spells were first introduced a few issues before.

Issue #35 has Sharon going to the Power Broker, now revealed to be Dr. Malus, a villain I’m not familiar with. He augments volunteers for a price, but then manipulates them into doing his bidding. Unless of course, the aumentation process fails. Those poor, mutated souls are locked away in a dungeon. Sharon is successfully augmented, despite a change of heart on her part, and becomes the all-new Ms. Marvel, or at least a version of the character that I don’t remember seeing anywhere else, so I’m assuming hers was short-lived. She also meets a new friend, Army Lt. Michael Lynch, whose rank changes a couple times in the story, and the two instantly have chemistry. That added to the fact that Sharon has already gone to the Power Broker angers Ben, who storms the Power Broker’s lair only to find it abandoned. First, all of the other augmented wrestlers are against Ben and Sharon. But then, they all join forces to hunt Malus down. That is, until Ben starts to change.

The final issue has Sharon take Ben to the hospital, but of course, normal physicians have no clue what to do for the Thing. Ben continues to mutate painfully, a condition reported on in the news and attracting the attention of She-Hulk, Ben’s replacement in the FF. Shulkie travels to California to see what is up only to clash with the new Ms. Marvel, who thinks Ben wouldn’t want to see She-Hulk. Ben, who doesn’t want to see anybody, breaks out of the hospital and disappears. The end. A teaser on the last page says to check out West Coast Avengers #10 for more. Don’t have that book. If anybody knows for sure what happens after this to Thing, feel free to let me know. Most of the illustrations of Ben in this issue are vague, but a few seem to show some points, so I’m thinking maybe this is how he adopts the pointed rocky appearance he had for a while, but it seems like that happened in the 90s. A hint on the letters page also says he will soon be joining a team but doesn’t reveal what team. I wonder if this is when he does, ultimately, rejoin the FF, but again, I don’t know for sure. Little help?

And A Blind Man Shall Lead ...

Let’s talk some Daredevil for a bit today. I’ve seen some Daredevil comics from the previous Bendis/Maleev run, and I’m familiar with the overall story line: Daredevil has been outed as Matt Murdock by a tabloid, and the feds are pursuing possible charges against him for that; at the same time, DD has defeated Kingpin and set himself up as the replacement. But I haven’t followed every issue of the title until Ed Brubaker took over the writing chores. I liked what Brubaker had done with Gotham Central at DC and, more recently, Captain America at Marvel.

So, I’ve read the individual issues of The Devil in Cell Block D starting with #82 to now. These issues were very good, as we’ve discussed in some previous posts. And they served to make me curious about what came immediately before. So I recently purchased, and just read (all in one afternoon), the previous three Daredevil trades to catch up a bit. In all honesty, only one of these trades, the most recent one, really serves as a prequel to how Matt Murdock ended up in jail. The other two trades could almost occur at any time in DD’s past, but they were damn good stories.

Daredevil tpb 11: Golden Age (Marvel Comics) — This is a historical tale about the Kingpin of Crime who came to power before Wilson Fisk. The small-time hood rose to the big-time after killing a costumed hero, then was later brought down by a novice Daredevil. The current part of the story is this hood, Alexander Bont, as he is finally released from prison and goes about exacting his revenge on the man who put him away. It’s a very nice story with a lot of parallels between past and present events.

Daredevil tpb 12: Decalogue (Marvel Comics) — This collection is a very dark, demonic little tale that takes place entirely during an evening support group meeting where residents of Hell’s Kitchen have gathered to talk and share their common Daredevil experiences in light of recent events. What becomes clear as different people share their tales is that all these various people are linked to a common event which has put the red-garbed vigilante on the trail of one of them.

Daredevil tpb 13: The Murdock Papers (Marvel Comics) — This last collection depicts the actual capture and arrest of Matt Murdock as the incarcerated Wilson Fisk tries to make a deal with federal authorities for his own release in exchange for handing Daredevil over to them. The tale brings in various DD alums such as Black Widow, Elektra, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Bullseye, among others.

Daredevil 89 (Marvel Comics) — And then this is the current issue. At the end of the Cell Block D arc, Matt escaped from prison with the help of Frank Castle, the Punisher. Matt is now on the run from authorities and trying to track down the killers of his friend, Foggy Nelson, who DD doesn’t know isn’t really dead. This issue takes him to Monaco.

Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters 3 (DC Comics) — The new Black Condor debuts as do a whole new team of characters with political jargon names. Father Time is still after Sam and the Freedom Fighters who left S.H.A.D.E. to assist Sam — the new versions of Doll Man, Human Bomb, Phantom Lady and Ray. And Firebrand, although he wasn’t part of S.H.A.D.E. First up is Chief Justice, Spin Doctor, Propaganda and First Strike. When they don’t fare so well, Father Time himself shows up. I want to like this series and these characters, but I find myself not caring that much about them.

The Trials of Shazam! 2 (DC Comics) — This book is going downhill fast for me, and I don’t think it will survive for all 12 issues. I’m not sure I really understand Billy’s new role or why it took over a year for this new manifestation of his powers to show itself — after all, in story, this is a One Year Later tale and Billy’s been in charge at the Rock of Eternity for that entire year. About the only thing I do understand is that he can no longer be Captain Marvel like he was, and that Freddy Freeman now must prove himself worthy of assuming that mantle.

Action Comics 843 (DC Comics) — Another great story; another placement headache. Story lines with lots of characters interacting usually are. This concludes the story line where an intergalactic “auctioneer” snags a whole bunch of Earth’s heroes. Superman, Nightwing, the new Aquaman, Firestorm, Skyrocket, Bluejay, the Veteran and Livewire lead the charge to free the others and stop the acquisitions. Very nice work.

Civil War: Front Line 6 (Marvel Comics) — This title continues to thrill and bore me. The Embedded and Accused story lines are incredible. The Sleeper Cell story added late in the series is OK, but not up to the standards of the other two. And the final installment in each issue just strikes me as pretentious. I get the symbolisms. Don’t beat me over the head with it so much.

Batman 657 (DC Comics) — This is the third installment of Batman and Son. Bruce brings Damian home to Gotham where the boy proceeds to use his assassin’s training on his rivals for his father’s affections. By the end of the issue, Damian has done something off-panel with Alfred and left Tim injured and bleeding in the cave while adopting parts of Jason’s enshrined costume and pronouncing himself the new Robin. Could he be any more his mother’s son?

Secret Six 4 (DC Comics) — This issue proves once again that this comic is a good one, but not nearly as good as its predecessor, Villains United. I can’t quite put my finger on what, but something is missing.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes 22 (DC Comics) — What to say about this title? I’ve tried Legion titles before, stay with them awhile, then lose interest. The concept of this latest incarnation sounded quite good. Then they added Supergirl and it seemed to flounder a bit. Then it got good again. This issue wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great.

Captain America 22 (Marvel Comics) — With this issue, Cap’s own title catches up with the events in Civil War. Cap is in hiding, and S.H.I.E.L.D. has decided to use Agent 13, Sharon Carter, Cap’s liaison and girlfriend, to trap him. And Sharon is torn: she truly believes Cap is wrong and that superhero registration, as the current law of the land, should be upheld, yet she doesn’t want to betray her lover. And hey, one of the villains, according to the last page, is Dr. Faustus; I don’t follow that many Marvel Comics on a regular basis, but I don’t think he’s been seen in quite a while. Good stuff.

JSA Classified 17 (DC Comics) — This first part of two focuses on Hourman, the original and his son, as they are forced to work side-by-side with Bane. This story posits that the basis of Bane’s former drug-of-choice, Venom, is originally based on Rex Tyler’s formula for Miraclo, the source of Hourman’s power. I’m not certain, but I think that idea has been used before, but this isn’t a bad tale, so far.

Jack of Fables 3 (DC Vertigo) — This book is just as funny as the original Fables, but decidedly wickedly so.

Justice League of America 3 (DC Comics) — OK, this book is starting to worry me. I want to like it. I really do. But the story is starting to seem severely disjointed. The triumvirate of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are shown still voting on the roster for the latest incarnation of the League, but they’re rehashing the same candidates as before. They vote on Nightwing in this issue after Batman and Wonder Woman shared a humorous exchange about Dick in the last issue. The first issue made it seem like the team had been formed and the voting was mere flashback, but this issue makes it seem like the current mission of Arsenal, Black Canary and Green Lantern know nothing about a new League. And the pacing seems to indicate that 12 issues is going to be waaaaay too long for this arc.

Stan Lee Meets Spider-Man 1 (Marvel Comics) — I was a little disappointed in this comic. It was a tad humorous, and I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting, but this was just not quite as good as I’d hoped. I’ve also ordered the Thing comic in this series. Maybe I’ll like it better.

Next post, we’re back to the past as this was the last of my current comics from my last shipment and the next hasn’t yet arrived. Until then, happy collecting, kiddie cops.

We’re Absolutely Flying Through August

Hey, Kiddie Cops, it’s time for some more comic book reviews from the month of August. We’re already halfway through the month, and I’ve been reading at a better than normal pace, so we’re almost through the entire month already.

Martian Manhunter 1 (DC Comics) — Another limited series, this one with some strikes against it right off the bat. First off, I don’t much care for the new costume design. From what we’ve seen of the character in the past, the costume doesn’t make much sense, so there better be a darn good in-story reason for it. Second, I didn’t much care for the creative team of Lieberman and Barrionuevo on Gotham Knights; actually, the art was fine,but the story rang off for me. However, I’m curious about where this discovery of other green martians on earth is going.

52 Weeks Fifteen and Sixteen (DC Comics) — Still liking this series, especially the arcs involving Black Adam and Isis and Montoya and the Question. It was nice to see a glimpse of the stranded space heroes again, too. No sign of Ralph Dibny, though, so apparently they’re going to make us sweat his fate out a bit.

Manhunter 25 (DC Comics) — I’ve mentioned that the last arc of this book was a little disappointing. This new story seems to be starting off nicely, but I wonder how this story is going to mesh with what is happening in the relaunched Wonder Woman title. Speaking of which ...

Wonder Woman 2 (DC Comics) — Very interested in where this story is going, but what is up with Wonder Girl? Cassie was devastated by Conner’s death and Diana disappearing, but what is up with her joining a resurrection cult, blowing off the other Titans and being a complete jerk when Diana resurfaces. She was hurt, sure, but endangering Donna and other civilians to get back at Diana? What’s up with that.

Checkmate 5 (DC Comics) — I’m glad I waited this title out. It’s getting better and better.

Nightwing 123 (DC Comics) — This first One Year Later arc wasn’t bad, but I find myself just waiting for Marv Wolfman’s run to begin.

Donald Duck and Friends 343 (Gemstone) — I like Donald. I just do. But there’s no escaping the fact that the best stories in these books are the reprinted classic Carl Barks stories.

JSA Classified 14-16 (DC Comics) — This story arc was a sequel to the most recent JLA Classified arc with the Royal Flush Gangs. But this story just didn’t seem as good to me for some reason. I like most of the characters, but the tale just left me saying “So?” I’m not exactly sure why.

Daredevil 88 (Marvel Comics) — I shouldn’t have doubted Ed Brubaker. The stories he’s churning out in this title and Captain America are incredible. But when I learned Foggy was still alive, I feared the explanation would fall flat. I should’ve known better. He’s written another ace that keeps the characters in question completely in character.

That’s it for today. Check back next time for the rest of the August release comics, or at least the ones I received for the month. And quite probably, there’ll also be some more retro-reviews.

Closing Out July On The Heels Of August

Today we have reviews for the last of the comics which came out in July, as well as a few older comics I managed to read before the August shipment arrived at my door this weekend. I’ll get those books ready to read so the next batch of reviews should be of August books, which is good since August is almost over.

Daredevil 87 (Marvel Comics) — So DD is out of prison now. He managed to escape while salvaging his secret identity thanks to some help from others, and he can start getting to the bottom of who’s setting him up. So really, this entire last arc didn’t really advance the overall plot at all, but damn, it was sure some good reading.

Birds of Prey 96 (DC Comics) — This title seems to be floundering somewhat since Infinite Crisis. Don’t get me wrong; Gail Simone has a great writer’s voice for these characters, but I just don’t care so much for some of the storylines, particularly this one about Black Alice. I just don’t care about her much, I guess.

Civil War: Front Line 4 (Marvel Comics) — More of the same from this title: I really enjoy the insights offered in the Embedded storyline about the reporters covering the events in the Marvel Universe, and I am loving reading about Speedball’s persecution in The Accused, but I’m not so sure about the Sleeper Cell storyline, and don’t much care for the pretensious parallel story that always ends the book. I get the similarities between the Civil War storyline and real world events such as the Patriot Act and the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, etc. I don’t need to be beat over the head with it or made to feel like these stories are more emotional than they are.

Action Comics 841 (DC Comics) — Not sure about this arc yet, but decided to give it a try since it seems to guest-star Nightwing and the Titans. Seems people outside of Metropolis are concerned about whether or not the newly-returned Superman is the real deal or just another pretender. Nice tie-in to previous events. After what happened when Superman died, I can see why people might be suspicious.

New Avengers 22 (Marvel Comics) — Another good Civil War tie-in. Last issue showed us Captain America’s views on the registration act. This issue focuses on Power Man Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and their newborn daughter. Nicely done.

Batman 655 (DC Comics) — This is the opening arc of Batman and Son, the follow-up to an earlier Batman graphic novel in which Bruce and Talia have a son, a boy whom Bruce believes was stillborn. This story has a great deal of potential for emotional conflict considering Bruce’s feelings on family responsibilities. Not too many impressions so far, although this version of Talia seems somewhat darker and colder than usual.

JLA Classified 22-25 (DC Comics) — I’ve never been a big fan of the Detroit-era Justice League, surprising in that I have always liked Aquaman, and he was in charge of that incarnation of the team. But I didn’t know the other main new characters. However, I have always been rather fond of the various incarnations of the Royal Flush Gang. I don’t know why, they always seem kind of lame, power-wise. But I’ve just always liked them. This story ties together a couple different incarnations of the Gang, retroactively adding some sense and cohesion to the two teams, while also making me care a little bit about the Detroit Leaguers. It was a fun read, and is making me look forward to the sorta sequel in JSA Classified 14-16.

Jack of Fables 1 (DC Vertigo) — I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I don’t much care for Bill Willingham writing superhero comics. His run on Robin was mostly bizarre and seemed to take the character back to being a novice, ignoring about 10 years’ worth of stories in the process, not to mention current continuity. But the man can write these Fables characters. I have been hooked on the original title since it began, and decided to give this new spin-off a try. I wasn’t sure if I’d like it or not, but I WANT to see issue #2 right away after reading #1. That doesn’t happen very often anymore. I’ve read enough comic books that good stories leaving me wanting to read the rest and see what happens, but not really anxious about it. I’m anxious to read this book next month.
Retro-Reviews

Crisis On Infinite Earths 5-7 (DC Comics 1985) — These books comprise the heart of the series. The first four issues are a lot of set-up. Issue 5 comes along with the revelation of the Anti-Monitor as the villain. Issue 6 brings the final five remaining earths together and introduces the coming villains coup. And issue 7 gives us origin and back story details for the new characters created for this series as well as the intensely dramatic death of Supergirl. Heroes and villains have died before this point, but Supergirl’s death lets everyone know that anyone could be next. For those still not convinced, check out issue 8 for the death of ... but we’re not there yet. (Like somebody out there hasn’t read this series yet.)

DC Comics Presents 87 (DC Comics 1985) — This story is one of the better Crisis tie-ins taking place right after Supergirl’s death. Superman is mysteriously taken to Earth-Prime, the earth that is supposed to be the one we readers live on. While there, he witnesses the dawning of powers on Superboy Prime, a character who will play a role in this Crisis, as well as in the later Infinite Crisis. A good book to have if for no other reason than that.

Well, that’s it for today. See ya next time.

Still Playing Catch-Up

Civil War Front Line 2 (Marvel Comics) — The second issue of this Civil War spin-off was good. I’m enjoying following these reporters as they watch and react to events unfolding — must be the journalist in me. But in this second issue, the backup story following Speedball is overshadowing the main one. I’ve never really followed Speedball or much cared one way or the other for the character before, but in light of the registration act, he is the perfect focus character for this story.

Daredevil 86 (Marvel Comics) — I haven’t made up my mind for sure on this title. I’ve followed Daredevil from time to time in the past. Brubaker is a great writer. But this whole Daredevil in prison thing needs to start moving to some kind of resolution as I am starting to loose interest. This issue seems to be moving DD toward an escape, so maybe change is coming.

New Avengers 21 (Marvel Comics) — This Civil War tie-in issue felt like a fill-in. It was nice to see Captain America between his dramatic escape from S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in Civil War #1 and leading the group of resistance fighters in Civil War #2, but there really isn’t much going on in this issue besides filling in those gaps, which most readers probably assumed happened anyway. The only information revealed in this issue — which side the Falcon and Ant-Man/Giant-Man Hank Pym are on — could be deduced from the pages of Civil War itself.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes 19 (DC Comics) — This latest incarnation of the Legion is my third attempt at following the group’s adventures. I always seem to loose interest after a while. This latest approach by Mark Waid and Barry Kitson seem to be quite novel, but with the introduction of Supergirl and her ascent to the lead spot in the title seems to have thrown the rest of the book off its focus. This particular issue doesn’t even have much to do with Supergirl, per se. It is more a solo spotlight for Chameleon. And it’s not a bad story, it just didn’t grab my interest like earlier issues did. This book is also in danger of being dropped like a few others discussed last time.

Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre 2 (DC Comics) — I have high hopes for this series, and so far it hasn’t let me down, unlike its companion title, Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Bludhaven. I really liked Gotham City police detective Crispus Allen when he was alive. I like what writer Will Pfeifer is doing by offering Allen the chance to join with the Spectre and using Allen’s perspective to help us explore the astral avenger. I hope this pairing moves beyond the scheduled miniseries.

Brave New World (DC Comics) — This preview comic offers advance glimpses of several upcoming series and miniseries — at least in theory. The problem is, when a person has to order his comic books several months in advance, he (or she) has to decide which of these books to follow before ever reading the preview. I’ve never cared much for the Creeper so I opted to pass on that series, and nothing in this book changed my mind. Other advanced online information convinced me to give the Shazam, Martian Manhunter and Atom series a try; this book leaves me hopeful that they will be worth the trial. I was curious about Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters, and still am after reading this comic. And I wasn’t sure about the OMAC series, but figured I’d give it a try based on their role in Infinite Crisis. This preview story looks promising.

Solo 11 Sergio Aragones (DC Comics) — This has been an uneven title as most anthologies are. That’s probably why it has been canceled. I think the concept is sound, the company sponsoring such a project just has to accept and expect uneven sales. Aragones is a funny guy. This issue shows why. I especially liked his true tale of Marty Feldman and the Batman story. The rest was so-so.

Marvel Milestones: Rawhide Kid and Two-Gun Kid (Marvel Comics) — This book is exactly what I expected the Outlaw Files to be: reprints of the first stories to feature Johnny “Rawhide Kid” Bart and Matt “Two-Gun Kid” Hawk. Great classic western fun.

And that was the last of my June new comic purchases. Moving on, we resume reading from the mid-1980s:

The Thing 26 (Marvel Comics) — Recapping, in the aftermath of the Marvel Super-Heroes Secret War, Ben Grimm opted to stay on the Beyonder’s world for a while. When he returned to earth, he found his one-time girlfriend Alicia masters had become involved with the Human Torch. Feeling betrayed, Grimm left Manhattan and the Fantastic Four. This issue finds him wandering the country and stumbling across a sinister circus run by — no, not the Ringmaster, but the Taskmaster. “runaways” isn’t a bad story, but it’s not a remarkable story, either.

Superman annual (1985) 11 (DC Comics) — This is one of the greats. “For the Man Who Has Everything” was written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. It’s Superman’s birthday. Batman, new Robin Jason Todd and Wonder Woman arrive at the arctic Fortress of Solitude to give Superman birthday gifts and discover the Man of Steel under the thrall of a parasitic organism given to him by the alien conqueror Mongul. This story is so iconic it was adapted into an episode of Justice League Unlimited on Cartoon Network. If you’ve never read it, I highly recommend it. If you can’t find the original issue, it was recently reprinted in trade paperback form by DC in a collection of Alan Moore DC Universe stories.

The Warlord 97 (DC Comics) — Travis Morgan is leading his band of rebels in an attack to retake the besieged city of Shamballah. But the bad guys know about the “secret” attack plan in advance. Not only is the attack repelled, but the oppressors follow the rebels back to their camp and counter-attack there. All this disaster and the beginnings of the Crisis on Infinite Earths begins to be felt in the inner world of Skartaris.

Wow, if that’s not enough comics for you, come back next time for more.