Hope is a requirement

Captain America: Home of the Brave tpb (Collects issue Nos. 695-700)
Marvel Comics
Creators: Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, Matthew Wilson and Joe Caramagna
Release date: 2018

I read two of the single issues collected in this volume, and liked them enough, I said I would buy this trade. Don’t believe me? I wrote about it here.

I bought the trade and just recently, I had time to sit down and read it. It was full of surprises despite my having already read nearly one-third of the contents previously. In fact, it was so surprising, I might not have purchased this trade if I had known more about the contents beforehand. And that would have been sad, because had I not bought the trade, I would have missed out on a wonderful story.

But let’s back up. I took a break from Cap comics after Ed Brubaker’s phenomenal, multi-year run on the title. Brubaker’s run saw Bucky brought back from the dead, Cap killed and eventually resurrected and explored a lot of what the character of Captain America is and represents. I liked that run and its focus first on Cap as an espionage-style character, then later as more of a traditional superhero.

After Brubaker’s run, a number of other creators took the reins of the book and guided it in different directions. I felt I had read the definitive Cap — at least for my tastes — in Brubaker’s run, so I bailed on the title. I can’t speak to the strengths or weaknesses of those subsequent stories because I didn’t read them. But the most recent one prior to the issues collected here was certainly a bit controversial. In that lengthy story arc, an evil version of Cap was revealed as a sleeper agent for Hydra and helped bring the world “to the brink of destruction,” according to a brief introduction in this book, before being defeated by the original hero.

This book opens with the real Steve (Captain America) Rogers traveling the country, getting in touch with common folks and trying to rebuild his reputation. The issues I’d read previously included a done-in-one story along those lines from issue No. 696 and a confrontation with Kraven the Hunter in issue No. 697, which seemed to be kicking off a multi-issue arc when it was revealed that Kraven’s attack was orchestrated by another group. What I didn’t know when I read those two issues was that the group behind Kraven’s assault on Cap had faced the star-spangled hero twice before in the pages of issue No. 695, the first in this collection.

The group is a white supremacist, paramilitary organization called Rampart that tries to stage a coup of the United States, beginning in the small town of Burlington, Nebraska. Captain America thwarts that small-town takeover attempt shortly after the Avengers find and revive Cap from the ice-induced suspended animation that had held him captive since World War II. Cap begins his tour of America by returning to that small town, now renamed Captain America, Nebraska. It is the 10th anniversary of Cap’s defeat of Rampart, but that newly rebuilt terrorist group has also returned, seeking revenge.

Cap once again dispatches the Rampart goons with some help from the residents of the small town, and he leaves feeling somewhat re-invigorated. That is where we find him in issue No. 696, where he happens purely by chance upon a plot by the new Swordsman, the done-in-one tale I’d read previously. What Cap doesn’t consider is that none of the Rampart ringleaders are defeated or rounded up in the battle from the previous issue. Instead, they put in motion the plan with Kraven that is meant to end with them once again putting Captain America on ice, which is exactly what happens in issue No. 697.

When issue No. 698 begins, Cap is once again revived from suspended animation to find an America much changed and at the mercy of Rampart and its mysterious leader. Nuclear war has ravaged the population, leaving the few survivors weak or mutated. With the exception of issue No. 696, this entire trade is one big tale about Captain America facing off against this one group three times and ending up in a rather dystopian future that is quite bleak, to say the least.

I’m not a fan of dystopian future stories, as I believe I have discussed before, although there are always exceptions. I’m glad I didn’t know this tale would so heavily involve such a future before I bought it or I likely would have passed it up. Instead, though, I happened to read the two chapters that did not deal with the bleak future and found them quite enjoyable. I've read and enjoyed Mark Waid’s writing in other books; and I appreciate Chris Samnee’s clean, flowing art style; it isn’t too cartoony but still harkens back to a simpler time, with clean, simple lines. It also didn’t hurt that I knew from previous cover art that the Thing and the Hulk would also play a role in this story, and I like both of those characters.

So I did buy this trade, I did read it, and I was not disappointed. This team has crafted a stirring tale filled with heroism big and small, with tragedies befalling beloved characters and innocent masses, with examples of mindless depravity and noble sacrifice. And all of it hinges on a simple little concept, one critical to these kinds of four-color heroes, but especially to Captain America — hope. As Cap himself says in this tale near the finale, “Hope is not a plan. But you sure as hell can’t win without it.”

Well said, Cap, and well done, Messrs. Waid, Samnee, Wilson and Caramagna!

Free Comic Book Day finds and thoughts

Captain America No. 696
Marvel Comics
Creators: Mark Waid, Chris Samnee and Matthew Wilson
Release date: February 2018

If you follow the Steve's Comics for Sale Facebook page, you already know I enjoyed some Free Comic Book Day offerings: notably Dynamite's James Bond: VARGR preview and the DC Nation No. 0, although that last one wasn't free. (It cost a quarter.)

I support the idea of Free Comic Book Day: to get new people into comic book stores with the lure of free stuff. But I also very much support the idea of not going, grabbing all of the free books you can and rushing back out. Stay, browse, look around, ask questions and find soemthing else you like or want to try that you can pay for. FCBD is free to the consumer, but not to shop owners, who still have to pay something for those giveaway books. Help make it worth their while by buying some comics, too.

I attended FCBD this year with my 6-year-old daughter and my 17-year-old nephew who shares my interest in the hobby. We traveled to one local store and three others in other town looking for some good books. And at each store in which we stopped, I bought something in addition to picking up a few of the free books to try. Thanks to that free James Bond preview, I decided to go ahead and spend the money to buy the full story in trade. And that wasn't the only purchase that day that prompted further buying.

I was browsing the shelves at the last stop of the day. This shop owner's shelves were pretty picked over by 4 p.m., but he still had several issues that caught my eye, including the one above, Captain America No. 696.

I haven't bought a Cap issue in quite a while. I loved Ed Brubaker's phenomenal run on the title and just hadn't cared to try another run since that one. This cover, showing Cap wielding a sword instead of his usual shield, was interesting. The creative team was the same one I'd enjoyed on Daredevil a few years ago as evidenced by posts here and here and here. And the shop had this issue and the next, No. 697, by the same creators. As a bonus, No. 697 had Cap on the cover with Kraven the hunter, a villain I like. So I picked them both up.

I'm glad I did. No. 696 is a standalone story that was a great read, a well-done Captain America tale that has him stumble across a villain purely by accident. No. 697 was also good, but ended up being continued into the next issue. So I opted to seek out and buy the trade that collects both these issues and the subsequent ones by this creative team.

That's how Free Comic Book Day should work, at its best: Get a person into the store so he or she can find something they want to try, and maybe, find a title they can get into and follow to another purchase and another enjoyable tale.

Or Maybe I AM Getting Too Old

The Green Hornet Vol. 1 tpb: Bully Pulpit
Dynamite Entertainment
Mark Waid, writer
Daniel Indro and Ronilson Freire, artist

I was pleasantly surprised not long ago by the fresh take on the Batman mythos presented in the original graphic novel Batman: Earth One, then rather disappointed in Superman: Earth One, a similar updating on the familiar beginnings. This book is somewhere in between. The writing is great as one would expect from a veteran writer like Mark Waid. And the artwork is crisp and clear, as one would expect from an action/adventure story such as this one.

And yet, I'm just not feeling it.

In his introduction, Waid explains how he developed the plot of this story, and it sounds interesting, if not quite as original as Waid claims. The Green Hornet's alter ego, Britt Reid, owns a daily newspaper in Chicago. Waid's idea was to have Reid experience some success both as the crusading journalist and as the Hornet, and end up eventually "believing his own press and stumbling hard over his own ego." Take away the newspaper angle and that story HAS been told before, by Waid himself, as well as a great many other writers. A familiar basic plot does not make a story bad, by any means. Familiar plots are re-told in any number of new and creative ways to very great effect all the time.

I am even quite willing to give Waid props on his characterization in this volume. Quite often when a writer wants to take an established character and show him or her making mistakes early on that helped teach a lesson and shape the individual that character would eventually become, the writer ends up making said character act "out of character" to bring about the error in judgment. Waid avoids that common writing flub here. His Britt Reid/Green Hornet behaves consistently throughout this narrative.

My problem with the story is that I just personally don't care for the way Reid/Hornet is acting here. And I don't like how quickly former partners the Hornet and Kato are placed at odds with each other and physically battle each other. Where is the friendship and devotion to each other these two characters should have in order to carry out the mission they have set for themselves?

Another problem this trade suffers from is incredibly decompressed storytelling. The great bulk of this trade, collecting the first six issues of the series, is almost pure setup rather than a complete story unto itself. This is the second time I have run across a trade that did not present a complete narrative in and of itself. Comics are a continuing medium; it is not unusual for the stories to continue from issue to issue for years, yet still, most trade collections offer a satisfying beginning, middle and end within the framework of the ongoing continuity. This book does not. Perhaps that is a new path comic storytelling is destined to take, but I'm still of the mindset that a single trade should contain a single story even if several trades tell a much larger narrative.

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Just a quick "heads up" before I go: Stop by this Friday for a special second post this week!

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!

Here's A Little More Darkness

Irredeemable
BOOM! Studios
Mark Waid, writer
Peter Krause and Diego Barreto, artists

What would it take to make the world's greatest superhero into the absolute worst villain, someone so evil he became irredeemable?

Imagine Superman growing up without the influence of Jonathan and Martha Kent to help shape his moral center. Being a young boy with powers and abilities he doesn't understand and can't control would be scary enough. Add to that being bounced from foster home to foster home, dreading the day when each new family learns that he isn't normal and learns to fear him, wanting desperately to be free of him.

Despite all of that, the boy grows up and adopts the public identity of the Plutonian, a superhero. He works hard to save people from everyday dangers and criminal masterminds and alien invasions. He is beloved, but he has learned through long years of experience that others' love can be a temporary thing. One slip can turn that love into fear and loathing.

Other heroes begin to show up on the scene. Plutonian reaches out to these other heroes, seeking friendship and understanding. Several of these heroes join forces to form the Paradigm, the world's foremost superhero group. But always, Plutonian must be on his guard. Any mistake will bring disaster, and he has the emotional scars to prove it.

But then, one day, despite all of his efforts, or maybe simply because of all the pent-up pressure he has placed on himself all these years, the Plutonian makes that one mistake that slowly turns everyone against him. And first the Plutonian's world falls apart, and then in a rage, he makes sure the rest of the world falls apart as well.

That is the premise that begins this series, the brainchild of Mark Waid. It isn't Waid's first foray into a darker, alternate version of superheroes. But it is an interesting read, a terrifying take on what might have happened in other heroic universes. The entire run of Irredeemable is collected in 10 trades, and there is also a companion series, if one is interested, called Incorruptible, about the Plutonian's most persistent foe turning into a hero in the wake of the Plutonian's fall from grace.

My only complaint about Irredeemable is that none of the heroes of the Paradigm are really all that likable once you get to know them. Each one is flawed and has a multitude of secret shames, it seems, just none that have fallout as disastrous for the world as the Plutonian's downfall. But the story Waid has crafted is nonetheless an interesting one. And the ending serves to not only tie everything up, but even offer a bit of a nudge and a wink to the heroes whose popularity makes it possible to explore these kinds of "what if" scenarios.

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.

Taking A Cue From The Film

Indestructible Hulk 1
Marvel Comics
Mark Waid, writer
Leinil Yu, artist

Several reviewers of "The Avengers" movie gave their highest praise to the portrayal of the Hulk. This book takes that concept and runs with it.

I have to say I haven't been too impressed with most of the advance information on the Marvel Now! titles. Some of them might be very good stories, but most didn't make me want to pre-order the books. However, I've enjoyed Waid's writing in the past, most recently on his recent new take on Daredevil. So I thought I would give his new Hulk a try based on that title.

This first issue was necessarily mostly setup and thus pretty Banner-heavy at the cost of very little Hulk action. But I like the direction Waid is going. Banner hasn't exactly decided to embrace his green alter ego, but he HAS decided to quit using Hulk as an excuse to be miserable. He decides to turn himself in to S.H.I.E.L.D. director Maria Hill and request a staff and funding so that he can produce the kind of innovations to help mankind that Reed Richards and Tony Stark often create. After all, Banner is a pretty smart guy in his own right. In exchange, he will allow himself to be pointed in the villains' direction WHEN he hulks out, because as he puts it, "It's a given" that he will hulk out at some point. Then when the crisis is averted and Hulk calms down, S.H.I.E.L.D. just comes in and gives Banner a lift back to his lab. Everybody wins.

I love this concept and am anxious to see it in action, so I plan to stick with this book for a while. In fact, my only real complaint so far is the Hulk's hair. When Banner does finally hulk out in this issue to take down the Mad Thinker as his trial run with S.H.I.E.L.D., the Hulk is colored as the familiar green everywhere but his hair, which remains brown. Not only is that not consistent with ANY other incarnation of the character I'm familiar with, it just looks odd! 

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!

Good, Just Not What I Was Expecting

Unknown/Unknown: The Devil Made Flesh trades
BOOM! Studios
Mark Waid, writer
Minck Oosterveer, artist

I'm on a Mark Waid kick, I guess. This is the third and fourth series by him I've read recently. But man, can that man write some truly intriquing, interesting characters!

I happened upon a 10-page preview of the initial Unknown either in some other book I was reading or maybe online somewhere. That preview introduced the situation and two main characters for this four-issue series originally published in 2010. There's Catherine Allingham, a world-famous detective known for her keen ability to crack "unsolvable" cases. We also learn quickly that she is being "haunted" by hallucinations. And we learn that the cause of those hallucinations is an inoperable tumor, which prompts Allingham to hire James Doyle to assist her with what she believes will be her last case. We see Doyle's powers of observation and his own considerable deductive skills at work when he busts a co-worker for stealing from his "friends," which is what impresses Allingham enough to hire Doyle on the spot.

After all that, I wanted to read more, and seeing Oosterveer's fantastic art on those preview pages only sweetened the deal. I've never heard of him prior to this series, but the man draws real pretty. Yet, his work has a down-to-earth quality I thought worked well with what I believed to be a grounded story much like Waid's earlier Potter's Field.

Now, in all fairness, on the very first page of the book (and the preview I'd seen), we see one of Allingham's hallucinations, and the guy she is seeing can only be described as creepy looking, vaguely vampire-like, but definitely something of a supernatural nature. That likely should have been my tipoff that things might not stay as grounded as I was expecting, but it didn't. Allingham wakes up to see this figure calmly sitting by her bed, watching her sleep. She stares at him for a beat, neither saying a word. Then she takes a few pills from a bottle on her nightstand, swallows them, and the guy fades away. Straight-up hallucination is what I thought. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

As it turns out, however, I should have read more into that hallucination. The unknown of the title refers to the afterlife, and Allingham's determination to find out what awaits her after death before she reaches that point naturally. So there is a DEFINITE supernatural element to this story. Now, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It can be quite a good thing in some stories. And I in no way mean to imply that this is a bad story. But I went in expecting a grounded-in-reality story and didn't get that. SO I WAS a tad disappointed.

I was so certain I would like the story, however, based on the 10-page preview, that I didn't just buy the trade collection of Unknown, but also the follow-up trade, Unknown: The Devil Made Flesh, which opens with Doyle trying to land a job in Italy. One year has passed since the first arc, but it quickly is made obvious that Doyle has little memory of Allingham or their adventure together. When chance reunites the pair, it is also clear Allingham has no memory of Doyle, either. What's more, she is still alive and kicking despite her inoperable tumor, and is telling a new acquaintance that she has been given six months to live. Obviously, another adventure follows, this one even more steeped in the supernatural than the previous one. Again, not a bad story at all, but not what I was initially expecting from this series.

Put these down as definitely worth a read, but mildly disappointing due to my own LACK of observation skills, I guess.

It's All About Character

Potter's Field
BOOM! Studios
Mark Waid, writer
Paul Azaceta, artist

This is another series that passed below my radar when it first came out in 2007, but I've since heard good things about the three-issue series, and I've come to appreciate the writing of Mark Waid whether it is on iconic company-owned characters or his own creations. Finally managed to get my hands on copies of the individual issues earlier this year and enjoyed this series enough to hope BOOM! produces more at some point.

The title of this series refers to the generic term given to cemeteries where unnamed individuals are buried. Many big cities will have a community burial spot for unidentified bodies never claimed by family or other survivors.

The central character, about whom little is known, is simply called John Doe by those few who know of him. For unknown reasons, he makes it his mission to identify these unnamed dead, giving survivors a sense of closure but also giving the dead the respect that comes with not dying anonymously, unmourned.

Through his various investigations, John Doe comes into contact with many people, some of whom might have skills which can aid him in the future, so he maintains "contacts" with a select few. One of these associates inadvertently divulges some of the mystery man's secrets, allowing a living client for the first time to reach out to Jon Doe for help.

This title is populated by some truly fascinating characters. I guess that is one of the appeals I find in Waid's writing. The man creates some truly interesting, layered individuals who are engaging to read about.

All About The Gotcha!

Empire 1-2/1-6
Image Comics/DC Comics
Mark Waid, writer
Barry Kitson, artist
***mature content warning***

I don't know the entire history of this title, but it debuted from Image Comics in 2000 and saw two issues published before disappearing. I first heard of the series in 2003 when DC Comics agreed to publish the limited series by the popular writer/artist team. DC released a special 0 issue which reprinted the earlier Image books, and then completed the series as a six-issue mini. I bought the six new DC issues, but preferred to hunt down the original two from Image for the beginning of the story and recently reread this series while in the process of trying to winnow down my enormous collection to a more manageable size.

This series holds up to multiple readings and will continue to take up space in my collection; it's just that good.

The basic concept of a major villain winning the day and taking control of the planet is not a new concept. Many writers and artists both in and out of comics have tackled the premise before to varying degrees of success. Even series co-creator and writer Mark Waid has mined this popular concept in his current BOOM! title Irredeemable, which I also enjoy.

I just find Empire to be a step above in originality and surprise factor. Because the core concept has been done so many times, it is easy to fall into cliche and that much harder to surprise readers with story developments. But Waid is operating on all cylinders with Golgoth and crew and produces some truly great twists. There are several developments which were perfectly foreshadowed in retrospect but which nevertheless caught me off-guard on first reading. I won't reveal them here to preserve the shock value, but seek out this series, if you've never read it before. Waid's writing and Kitson's gorgeous art make it well worth a look!

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.