But what do you think?

Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer tpb Vol. 15: What Cost Victory
Marvel Comics
Creators: Nick Spencer, Federico Vicentini, Ze Carlos, Mark Bagley, Carlos Gomez and Alex Sinclair
Release date: November 2021

Got something a little different this time: I want YOU to tell ME what you think of Nick Spencer’s recent run on Amazing Spider-Man.

I like Spider-Man, but I’ve never been a regular reader of his adventures. I read some random issues that I bought as a kid in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but most of them were truly random. The only continuous run I read during that time included some issues with Spidey facing off against Silvermane, Green Goblin and other gangsters. At the time, everyone assumed the Goblin was Harry Osborn again, but it didn’t turn out to be him in the outfit. I borrowed these comics from a friend, and I currently own a trade collecting some of them: Amazing Spider-Man: A New Goblin, reprinting Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 176-180 by Len Wein and Ross Andru.

I bought many of the then-current Spidey titles in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but I’ve since sold off most of those issues. I kept Amazing Spider-Man No. 267, “When Cometh … the Commuter,” a very amusing stand-alone issue written by Peter David. I had the original six issues that told the story that came to be known as “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” but I’ve since sold them and bought a hardcover of the story instead.

All of this is to say I am no stranger to Spidey stories. I’ve read a lot of them, but I don’t still own most of the stories I’ve read. And I don’t follow the character regularly.

But I do like Spider-Man, and I really like some of his villains. I’ve always been partial to the Green Goblin in his various incarnations. I also like Doc Ock, Kraven, Chameleon and some of the others.

I hadn’t paid much attention to Nick Spencer’s recent run on the title. Nothing against the writer; I haven’t read many Spidey stories in more than a decade by anyone. And I’m not familiar with other things Spencer has written.

But the solicitation image for the trade collection of “The Chameleon Conspiracy,” which was the 14th trade collection of Spencer’s run on Amazing Spider-Man, caught my eye. The cover image shows the Chameleon sitting in a darkened room surrounded by masks of the faces of many of Spider-Man's friends and enemies. There are nearly 30 masks pictured, and the cover brought to mind the first appearance of Chameleon in Amazing Spider-Man No. 1, of which I own a reprint. I don’t know if there is a previous image similar to this trade’s cover, but it made me thing of that initial appearance of Chameleon, and piqued my curiosity.

I pre-ordered the trade and then ordered the next one, Vol. 15, when it was solicited. I don’t think I knew when I ordered Vol. 15, “What Cost Victory?” that it would be Spencer’s last. But it did seem like a resolution he’d been building to, and I thought I might need this trade to complete the story begun in Vol. 14. Turns out I was both right and wrong about that.

Both these two trades very clearly wrap up a lot of plotlines from Spencer’s run and stories from past creators, too, including a story arc I’ve never read but heard a lot about, “Sins Past.” Both of these trades were decent reads, but I got the feeling frequently that I wasn’t getting the entire story. I was very aware I hadn’t read everything that came before. I didn’t feel lost, exactly, but still like I was missing something.

So I’m curious to hear from others who have read all of Spencer’s run, and perhaps even more. What did you Spider-Man fans think of his run on the title? Is it worth it to seek out and buy the earlier Spencer trades? What say you, Spider-fans? I’d like to hear from you for a change.

Changing Habits, Changing Suppliers

Superior Spider-Man Vol. 1: My Own Worst Enemy and Vol. 2: A Troubled Mind
Marvel Comics
Dan Slott, writer
Humberto Ramos and Ryan Stegman, artists

I've been buying a lot fewer comics of late.

This isn't the first time I've tried to trim my comics-buying budget. Several times in the past, I'd look at what I was buying and how much I was actually enjoying each title as opposed to buying out of habit. I think such periodic analysis is good, and it would often trim my pull list by a few titles here or there.

But this time has been different. It started out the same, weeding out a few titles only at first. But as I discussed last time, I'm selling titles I very much enjoyed but no longer have the storage space for. In light of some of the things I've been selling, it seems silly to buy so much stuff I might enjoy briefly, but will likely just turn around and sell in short order and take a big loss on. Don't get me wrong, reading and enjoying some books has its own value. But why buy so many knowing I'm just going to eat the difference?

Especially when I don't have to. The prevalence of trade paperbacks these days means there are other venues available to comics readers. For instance, the public library. I've borrowed a number of trades and read them through my local library. It's a good, inexpensive way to keep up with a title in which my interest might have waned or to try something new I'm not sure I'll like.

Superior Spider-Man is one of the titles I decided to give a try through the library, and I've been very glad I did. I like Spider-Man. I read some runs from the 1970s when I was a kid that I very much enjoyed, and I still have a few stand-alone issues that are fun to re-read from time to time. But I've never followed the character on a regular basis.

I've heard and read a lot of good things about Superior Spider-Man, the title that recently wrapped up to make way for the return of Amazing Spider-Man. I've also enjoyed other things Dan Slott has written in the past. So Superior Spider-Man seemed like a good title to try, but since Spidey isn't a character I regularly read, the library seemed a good option for a trial of the book.

The first two Superior Spider-Man trades aren't the meatiest in terms of page count; each one collects five issues of the title. But the first was good enough, I requested the second. And the second was also good, so I plan to continue with the series.

For those not in the know on Spidey's world, Superior Spider-Man launched with a new No. 1 in January 2013 because the man under the mask was no longer Peter Parker. In the final story arc of the previous volume of Amazing Spider-Man, the terminally ill Dr. Otto Octavius (Dr. Octopus) managed to transplant his own consciousness into Peter Parker's body, leaving Peter's mind in his own dying form. Peter was unable to undo that switch before Octavius' body died. Believing the real Peter to be "out of the way," Octavius set about using Peter's memories to assume the younger man's life, including his alter ego. But Octavius was not content merely to be young and powerful again. He set out to be a better Spider-Man than Peter had been — a superior Spider-Man.

The first trade in this new series showed Octavius assuming Peter's life and relationships. It also let readers know that Peter was not completely out of the picture. A fragment of his consciousness still existed in his old body, but Peter could not physically affect anything Octavius was doing.

In his defense, Octavius did do some good in Spider-Man's body. He used both Peter's scientific knowledge as well as his own to improve Spidey's costume and create a number of helpful gadgets. For instance, he took Peter's original design for the spider-tracer — a simple way for Peter to "tag" an enemy so he could find him or her later — and fashioned an army of tiny spider robots that could patrol the city, giving him instant eyes on any trouble situation. But Octavius' hubris and violent tendencies also made him much more brutal and unforgiving than Spider-Man had ever been before. In that first volume, Octavius as Spider-Man knowingly uses lethal force to stop a criminal, an act which garnered a mixed reaction among the authorities and civilians.

In the second volume, Octavius continues to operate as a much more inventive but brutal "hero," much to the horror of the phantom Peter trapped in his own body. But with effort, Peter slowly manages to gain some slight control of his body when Octavius sleeps. Peter hopes to use this limited control to call attention to his situation, especially when the Avengers begin to question the dark turn Spider-Man has taken. Unfortunately, Peter's actions also serve to make Octavius aware of his presence.

Slott is telling a gripping tale that is certainly holding my attention better than I expected it to. I'm genuinely curious to see what more Octavius can and will do in his effort to be a better hero than Peter was, and knowing full well that Peter will somehow come back, I'm still curious to see how that feat will be accomplished. Additionally, Slott has populated his tale with a number of new supporting characters that are equally as interesting as the leads.

Ramos' and Stegman's art is a little on the cartoony side and might not work for some other heroes, but seems to fit well in Spider-Man's world. In fact, the lighter tone of the art serves to soften some of the darker ramifications of Octavius' actions as Spider-Man.

I don't plan on dropping all of the titles I buy in favor of borrowing from the library; I still want to own the stories of my favorite characters and certain story lines I'm more likely to return to and re-read multiple times. But the library is a great alternative for reading and trying titles I might not otherwise be able to afford.

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.

Fun But A Little Disappointing

Doom's Day trilogy
Boulevard Books
Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk: Rampage by Fanny Fingeroth and Eric Fein
Spider-Man and Iron Man: Sabotage by Pierce Askegren and Danny Fingeroth
Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four: Wreckage by Eric Fein and Pierce Askegren
Steven Butler, illustrations

I don't read just comic books; I read quite a bit of prose, as well. So I'm usually excited to see characters I enjoy from the comics featured in prose novels -- as long as they are well written. Roger Stern did a nice job adapting the comic storyline into the novel "The Death and Life of Superman," and the book was a joy to read. Peter David's novelization of the feature film "Batman Forever" is a lot better than the film was, especially in the scenes dealing with the origin of Robin. I've also picked up some anthologies that collect prose stories featuring Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Spider-Man that I have greatly enjoyed, largely, I think, because they were such short stories.

There were a number of novels released in the mid- to late-1990s featuring various Marvel Comics characters, and I was very happy to see them appear on bookstore shelves at the time. But now that I have actually had time to read some of them, they are a pretty mixed bunch. Spider-Man and the X-Men were the subjects of the lion's share of these books. Iron Man starred in two adventures, "The Armor Trap" and "Operation: A.I.M.," and I have to say both of those novels fell kind of flat for me.

These three books are a notch above the Iron Man solo novels. They include some genuinely fun moments and great characterization by some writers familiar to the comics field. In the first, a renegade scientist with ties to both Hydra and A.I.M., two Marvel terrorist organization mainstays, attempts to create controllable duplicates of the incredible Hulk in a secret base beneath Manhattan. He must first capture the real Hulk for study, and his actions later draw the attention of Spider-Man when Spidey's friend, Flash Thompson, is one of the poor lugs transformed into a gamma-irradiated beast. In the second novel, first Hydra and then A.I.M. try to take control of Tony Stark's latest invention, the Infinity Engine, which promises to provide a cheap, clean energy source for the world. The terrorist organizations' attempts to pervert Stark technology draw the attention of not only Spidey, but also Iron Man. Both of these novels also include characters from a government organization named S.A.F.E. I'm not sure if S.A.F.E. ever appeared in any actual Marvel Comics of the time, but in the novels, they are a U.S. organization created to stand in for S.H.I.E.L.D., which had taken on a more international role. As one might guess from the name of the trilogy, Victor von Doom, Dr. Doom, is also a background player in the first two novels. Finally, in the third novel, Dr. Doom takes center stage using technologies perfected in both of the previous two novels in his latest bid to conquer the world. This brings together Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four to challenge him.

As I said before, all three books have some great moments and some stellar action sequences. But all three also tend to bog down a bit when it comes to the background descriptions and motivational narration. Descriptions can help a reader imagine the scene, but overkill on descriptions can pull the reader out of the story. That tends to be the issue here sometimes. Other times the descriptions just get a little tedious and repetitive, dragging the story pacing down from what one might expect from an action/adventure type of story. One further criticism, directed solely at the third novel, is the layout of the book. I was surprised at first to see that the third novel is about 50 pages shorter than the previous two. That is, until I started trying to read the third novel and found out why. The page margins on the third paperback are much smaller than the first two novels, running right down to the bottom edge of the page, and quite far into the spine of the book, making it somewhat harder to hold and read comfortably. There also seemed to be a pretty large number of typos in these three books, but that is something more on the editing side of things.

All in all, if you enjoy these characters, these books are fun reads, but I wouldn't put them at the top of the stack. Marvel has recently announced that it plans more prose novels based on some of its more popular company-wide crossover storylines. The plan is to launch the series with a prose adaptation of its popular Civil War limited series from 2006; that novel was released last week. Hopefully, Marvel does a little better with this latest round of prose novels.

The Name. The Name Doomed It.

I don't always pay that much attention to story arc titles. Some, like "Batman and Son" from a few years ago, can tell you instantly what the upcoming tale is all about; some, like "Without Fear," play on phrases or traits associated with a specific character; some, like "Shadow Puppets" may even be somewhat cliche and appear over and over again; and some, like "Fruit of the Earth" can just leave you scratching your head and wondering. The saddest title of all, though, is one which instantly makes you anticipate greatness that the following read doesn't quite live up to.

I have always liked the Spider-Man story, "Fearful Symmetry," by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck. What's that? You're not familiar with that story? Sure you are, but maybe you know it by it's more popular title — "Kraven's Last Hunt." Fearful Symmetry is the original title DeMatteis gave the story, according to his foreword in the recent hardback collection, and that name DOES appear in the original issues, but Marvel editorial thought Kraven's Last Hunt sounded better.

Whatever you call this story, it is a great one! I bought and read the original issues when they first came out in 1987. The story was considered special enough at the time, that it's six parts were told across all three Spider-Man titles at the time — a common enough thing today, but unheard of then. The individual issues of the story were Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 293 and 294, Spectacular Spider-Man Nos. 131 and 132 and Web of Spider-Man Nos. 31 and 32, and I still own all six of the original issues I bought back then, though several repeat readings have left them looking a little worn.

DeMatteis and Zeck take what previously had been just another Spider-Man villain and made him great. They portrayed Kraven the Hunter as a tortured soul who has finally reached his end. He sets out to capture Spider-Man, bury him in the ground and replace him. Not satisfied just to defeat his foe, Kraven seeks to out-Spider-Man Spider-Man, to be better at superheroing that Spidey. To that end, Kraven captures another Spider-foe, Vermin. Then, when Spider-Man returns from the grave, Kraven savors his victory with a finality that was truly shocking for comics at the time. The story plays out on a psychological level even moreso than it does on a physical one, and it makes for a very powerful tale. So much so that I recently decided to shell out the big bucks required to purchase a copy of the new hardcover reprinting of the story.

Now, I haven't been following Spider-Man regularly. I've bought Spider books from time to time when one catches my eye, but his tales are more a dalliance for me than true devotion. But I DO keep my eyes open for what might be entertaining Spider reads.

When I was purchasing the hardcover reprint of Kraven's Last Hunt, I also learned there was a more recent softcover collection called Spider-Man: Kraven's First Hunt. The back cover shows a woman with a gun flanked by what appears to be Daredevil and Spider-Man chained and suspended from the ceiling upside down. So, OK, I assume that they have brought back Kraven the Hunter in the form of a female, likely the original's daughter based on her apparent age in the image. Not a reach for comics. I also assumed that with a title like "Kraven's First Hunt," this story would hearken back to that favorite tale from a few decades ago. I imagine it goes without saying that I further assumed that the story would actually live up to that title.

Most of those assumptions were proven wrong, at least to some degree, once I read "First Hunt." That image does not depict exactly what I thought it did. While the woman shown is the daughter of Kraven, there is more to her story than merely that. And finally, while the story isn't bad, it fails to live up to the name given to it, at least in my estimation.

To be fair, this trade, which collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 564-567 and portions of Spider-Man: Brand New Day Extra No. 1, ends on a cliffhanger and is NOT a complete story unto itself. I am mildly curious about where the story would head from the point where this trade leaves off, but I'm not sure I was happy enough with this beginning to seek out the next trade. I'm curious, but hardly dying to know, certainly not sure I care enough to plunk down money for another trade or costly back issues.

As always, if there is anyone who disagrees, dissenting opinions are welcome here. Opinions are not absolutes, mine are not always right, and they are rarely carved in stone. Anyone out there care to defend "First Hunt" and share why they think it DOES live up to it's name?

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.

Making Sense Of Division

Bear with me; I haven’t changed my focus to mathematics on you. The division I’m referring to is the split in the ranks of the various Marvel superheroes. For the most part, Civil War (at least through issue #3) hasn’t been bad, although I see no way that “the Marvel Powers That Be” can make anyone see Tony Stark as a hero again. But a minor quibble I’ve had is a disagreement with the side chosen by some of the various characters as depicted in the main series.

Now, at it’s best, a major crossover event like this one should have all of the basic story elements present in the main title, but give the reader some extra insights in the various tie-in issues. Let’s face it, that doesn’t always happen. Quite often, the various tie-ins add nothing to the overall story. Not so with the issues that are leading off today’s discussion, kiddie-cops.

The Amazing Spider-Man 534 (Marvel Comics) — Jennifer Walters loves the law. Sure she’s been shown as a rebel at times, but she’s an attorney, for crying out loud. Her support of the law of the land makes a certain sense. Ms. Marvel has a military background. She’s used to following orders and a chain of command. No surprise she’s on the side of the government. Not so Spidey. He’s the basic everyman. The down-on-his-luck, anti-establishment-because-the-man-keeps-him-down guy. Now the main Civil War title has given us some insights into how Iron Man is manipulating Spidey somewhat, but this issue paints that betrayal very clearly, as well as showing us some of the moral qualms Spidey is suffering going against heroes like Captain America. This was a good read and added to the overall story nicely.

Fantastic Four 538-539 (Marvel Comics) — These issues highlight the thoughts of yet another puzzler for me: the Thing. Ben has been seen on the periphery of some of the events in the main Civil War title, seemingly siding with Iron Man’s pro-registration forces. That seems out of character for him to me. Issue 538 shows some of the internal strife pulling at the various members of Marvel’s first family: Reed is very much pro-registration; Sue is very anti-registration; Johnny’s in a coma; and Ben is conflicted.

The events set up in issue 538 explode in #539 when the prisoner transfer and Captain America’s sneak attack clash. I bought these FF and Spidey issues based on a review I read by Tony Isabella, and I’m glad I did. Like the Spider-Man issue, these books give some insights, especially into Ben wrestling with what to do. Then the two groups of heroes clash on Yancy Street and the leader of the Yancy Street Gang is accidentally killed — collateral damage. Enter Benjamin J. Grimm — the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing — flipping one of the prisoner transports between the combatants, forcing them to stop for a moment and look around at the carnage they — these so-called heroes — have caused. At this moment Ben becomes the simple voice of reason, showing that neither side is completely blameless, all share some responsibility for the damage and death they are causing by their “war.” I have never been more proud of a hero than when Ben moves forward, carrying the body of the dead young man, and says, “ I barely knew him. But he had parents, he had a life, he had a future ... and you took all of that away from him! Don’t you see what you’re doing? Don’t you see that you’re tearing apart everything that makes this place worth fighting for?”

And then he blows it.

Each side responds by saying they are trying to stop the fighting, the loss, the insanity, and they just need Ben on their side to win and set things right. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not sure what Ben should or can do at this point that would be the right thing. Picking a side and joining in will only start the senseless fighting up again. But simply turning away and leaving — not just from this street or this battle, but from the country, abandoning it to its fate — seems wrong, too.

So, I’m a little disappointed in Ben. But stepping back a bit, this comic made me think. It made me feel. This is why I read comics. They’re fun entertainment, and every once in a while, like with any other medium, the stories and pictures, the characters, speak to you and make you think.

Now, for a couple other, somewhat shorter reviews:

Flash 4 (DC Comics) — I’d already dropped this book from my advance orders based on the first couple issues. This was the last issue that I had pre-ordered before seeing issue number one. I’m not saying this is a bad comic, but it’s just not for me. I found Impulse to be annoying when he was first created. The character grew on me somewhat under the creative hands of Peter David and Todd Nauck in the pages of Young Justice. I even liked him as a slightly more serious new Kid Flash in the modern Teen Titans. But this suddenly adult Bart Allen just does nothing for me. There’s no emotional attachment for me to the character in these pages.

Fallen Angel 8 (IDW Publishing) — Another solid issue of this title. I purchased the original Sachs and Violens series based on George Perez’s art. Those two characters are a nice fit with the other denizens of Bete Noire. I just hope Violens isn’t really dead. Otherwise, Jubal is taking to his job as magistrate better than I expected, and new villain Siroco is intriquing. Hey, I just noticed the title character wasn’t even in this issue.

Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters 2 (DC Comics) — As much as I didn’t like Battle for Bludhaven (There were just too many new characters for most of them to be developed much, and the pre-existing characters were unrecognizable.), that’s how much better this series is. Uncle Sam is a great character, and while some of the other re-imagined Freedom Fighters are not very likable people, this title shows promise.

Nightwolf: The Price 1-2 (Devil’s Due Publishing) — Apparently I have missed some earlier books in this series as there has obviously been some history before these issues. And there are some moments where the story seems to jump a bit, forcing the reader to figure out a transition which should be more seemless. But overall, these issues were a good read. A young Man named Davey Doyle is turned into a werewolf and slays his parents and sister. In an effort to atone for this, he creates Nightwolf, an anti-heroic persona who targets evil-doers. This series starts out as Davey tries to direct his wolf form against a street pimp, but slays a cop instead, albiet a possibly crooked cop. I’m interested enough to seek out more of these issues.

And, I think that’s enough for today. As always, feel free to chime in with comments if you agree or disagree, and thanks for reading, kiddie-cops.

Things Get Just A Little More Normal — Linearally Speaking

The Crisis is over. So are all of the revamps (at least the ones in my collection) which changed something about the status quo in the DC Universe without using a contemporary framing sequence. But there are still a few of these older comics I managed to read through before my latest batch of new comics arrived. So, getting back to our various story lines from before the Crisis ...

The Warlord 99-100 (DC Comics, 1985) — We talked a bit about issue 98 last time and how it made a couple veiled references to the coming Crisis, but how there was a natural break between issues 97 and 98. And the references to the Crisis were vague enough that I think the issue can stand and “refer” to some other big event. These two issues wrap up the story line from before Crisis where New Atlantean invaders have captured the kingdom of Shamballah and most of Skartaris. The magical nature of the ruler of New Atlantis is revealed in issue 98 and 99. Morgan, his daughter, Jennifer, and his companion, Krys, devise a plan to defeat both wizard-king and his minions. The epic battle takes place in issue #100, of course, and involves Morgan taking on the wizard-king directly. As Morgan is protected by Jennifer’s mystical spells, the wizard is taxed more than he expected to be by the battle. In his efforts to defeat Morgan, he draws psychic strength from his people, thus weaking them to the point that the rag-tag Shamballan army can conquer the invaders. Once that is accomplished, there is no more psychic energy for the wizard to draw on, and he is finally defeated, as well. Overall, not too bad an ending to this tale, except that the wizard king’s name changes throughout issue #100 from Cykroth to Cycroth, but that’s a minor quibble.

The Thing 28-32 (Marvel Comics, 1985-86) — Before the Crisis, the Thing was wandering the country on his own after quitting the Fantastic Four. Most recently, he’d decided to join the Thunderiders motorcycle stunt group in an effort to get closer to one of its members, Sharon, only to learn that she was leaving the group. Issue #28 picks up with Ben deciding that his heart just isn’t in the motorcycle thing since Sharon left. He decides to leave the group and pursue a career in wrestling, specifically the new unlimited class wrestling league being formed. Ben quickly becomes the star attraction and proven champion of the class, which doesn’t mean there is a shortage of people showing up to challenge him. The first major challenger, the Gator in issue 29, was a former champion looking to reclaim his lost glory and willing to go to any lengths to achieve it. Issue 30 pits Thing against the Beyonder in a crossover portion of Secret Wars II. In this story, the otherworldly Beyonder makes himself human and tries to experience life as one of us. Hearing of the unlimited class wrestling, the Beyonder thinks to try his hand at it. Ben sees this as his opportunity for revenge as he begins to blame the Beyonder for all of the troubles in his life since the first Secret Wars series. Ben beats the Beyonder viciously, almost killing the omnipotent being. Unbeknownst to Ben, Sharon, the woman of his dreams, has been coming to see all of his fights. She is horrified by what she sees when Ben nearly kills the Beyonder. She reveals her presence to Ben and invites him to take a vacation, ease his stress, and accompany her to her new job as a stuntwoman in a movie. Issue 31 takes Ben and Sharon to the set where a movie version of Devil Dinosaur is being filmed. Predictably, Ben mistakes the first couple of scenes he sees being shot as real peril for someone and ends up ruining the shots trying to save actors. It gets so bad, Ben is banished from the set, then fails to respond when — you guessed it — a real monster shows up. Everything works out OK, though, and Ben returns to the ring in issue 32, where he begins to suspect something foul in the way the wrestling league’s promoter keeps coming up with strong men. For the most part, these are some fun issues of a fun comic, although I think writer Mike Carlin went a little far showing Ben’s rage in the battle with the Beyonder. Thing is not normally depicted as a berserker-type fighter like Wolverine, and I believe he crosses the line and ceases to be a hero when the only reason he doesn’t kill the Beyonder is because he can’t kill an immortal opponent.

The Amazing Spider-Man 267 (Marvel Comics, 1985) — Now this is a fun comic. Spider-Man is at his best when he is the typical hard-luck hero. This issue starts out with the wall-crawler feeling somewhat under the weather anyway, but when a non-powered thief manages to escape him, Spidey is furious with himself. The one saving grace is the fact that our hero manages to flip a spider-tracer on the criminal before he makes good his escape. After regrouping, Spider-Man tracks his foe to the suburbs where all sorts of out-of-his-element hilarity ensues. First, the absence of tall buildings means nothing from which to slings his webs. So Spidey hops on the roof of a transit bus which promptly stops as the driver demands fare or he’ll toss Spidey to the curb. When he tries to climb a tree to gain a higher vantage, the tree breaks and a self-important neighborhood watch tries to make a citizen’s arrest. Of course, Spider-Man ends up catching the thief in the end, but not before he vows never to visit suburbia again. Peter David and Bob McLeod remind a person how fun comics can be with this issue.

The New Teen Titans 15 (DC Comics, 1985) — Despite the cover which shows four different puzzle pieces representing the overall Titans mosaic at this point, only three of the vignettes are actually featured in this issue. Wonder Girl, Cyborg and Changling, shown charging determinedly toward something on the cover, do not appear in this issue. However, we do spend a brief time following Arella’s quest to find her daughter, Raven, following rumors of her appearance in a small, southern community. In flashbacks, we hear that Raven was indeed in the town for a while, but once the people there learned of her healing abilities, they took Raven prisoner and forced her to heal more people than she could handle until she escaped. The bulk of this issue pics up with Nightwing, Jericho and Starfire bound for Tamaran on a spaceship. We learn that the political climate on the planet is once again in turmoil, this time, as before, with the trouble being stirred up by Starfire’s sister, Blackfire. The difference is, Blackfire is leading a rather successful rebellion. The Tameranean people have grown tired of the weakness they perceive in their ruler, Myand’r, Starfire’s father. Instead, many of them have embraced Blackfire’s call for open revolt. This, we learn, is the real reason behind Starfire being summoned back home. She is to be wed to the prince of a southern kingdom in an effort to re-unite the Tamaranean people and prevent a civil war. Of course, Starfire is not very happy about this, and neither is her lover, Nightwing.

The Omega Men 34 (DC Comics, 1986) — The tale begun in New Teen Titans 15 picks up again in this title. The Omega Men are a space-faring super team, and one of their members is Ryand’r, Starfire’s younger brother. They are returning to Tamaran after an adventure in their own title. At first, Ryand’r is happy to be reunited with his sister, who has been away on earth for quite some time. But, once the Omegans land and discover the political strife, a traitor is revealed in their midst, and this team, too, is thrown into the middle of the brewing battle.

The New Teen Titans 16-17 (DC Comics, 1986) — These two issues deal with the actual conflict breaking out among the Tamaraneans. First, Blackfire uses the Omegans to battle the Titans for her. We also get some insight into Blackfire’s motivations and learn that while she can be barbaric and cruel, she really does want what is best for her people. Ultimately, Blackfire wins control of the planet because the people are on her side — they are tired of Myand’r seemingly always making concessions to their enemies. This is a warrior race, and they want a warrior to lead them. Unfortunately for the relationship between Nightwing and Starfire, Blackfire does not win until after Starfire is wed to the southern prince according to her father’s wishes. In the end, Starfire, her brother, her mother and her father are exiled by Blackfire. And the starship carrying them to the nearby planet Okaara is destroyed in space. Neither of these issues looks at the other members of the cast during the duration of this conflict.

Jon Sable, Freelance 31-33 (First Comics, 1985-86) — Issues 31 and 32 take Jon on a fact-finding mission to Nicaragua. He is asked by an old friend to be part of a team which will sneak into the country, verify rumors of a munitions storage depot, and if they find the rumors to be false, call off the planned airstrike to destroy the munitions. We meet the various members of the team and follow them into Nicaragua where they find the munitions, but not the ones they expected. Instead of ordinary arms, the weapons they discover are of nuclear strength. An airstrike would be far more destructive than intended, but the team feels they cannot call off the strike and do nothing. So they must find a way to safely destroy the stockpile on their own, and the clock is ticking.

Issue 33 is a more light-hearted tale. In a previous issue, mention is made of turning Jon’s leprechaun children’s books into an animated cartoon. Jon, Eden and Myke go to meet the animator and preview the animation. The illustrator in the story is based on Sergio Aragones, who illustrates the portion of the comic devoted to the leprechauns.

Detective Comics 559 (DC Comics, 1986) — This issue features Batman and Catwoman teaming up with Green Arrow and Black Canary. At this point, Catwoman Selina Kyle knows Bruce Wayne is Batman, the two are romantically involved, and the former thief is the Dark Knight’s sometime ally. Green Arrow and Black Canary come to Gotham trailing a man committing crimes, but for a morally higher purpose, to help bring down a corrupt corporation poisoning unwitting people. The Star City pair stop Batman from catching the thief, and the two male heroes must settle their ideological differences long enough to work together. This tale is by Doug Moench, Gene Colan and Bob Smith.

The Warlord 101-2 (DC Comics, 1986) — A new creative team takes over with issue 101, writer Michael Fleisher and artist Andy Kubert, and I have to say, I’m not so sure about it so far. At the end of issue 100, Morgan returns from his battle with Cykroth to find that Jennifer’s magic spell has taken a toll, Morgan’s daughter is now old and near death. This issue begins the quest to find a cure for Jennifer’s mysterious aging before she dies. First Morgan seeks out the greatest wizard in Skartaris, who agrees to help if Morgan will secure an artifact for him. Once the task is complete, the wizard’s help turns out to be merely pointing the way to look for someone else who might be able to help. In issue 102, Morgan comes across a group of clerics about to perform a human sacrifice. Naturally, Morgan defeats the cleric and frees the damsel who turns out to be an Amazon queen, and the two share an adventure among her people. I don’t know what it is about these issues that has changed for me, and maybe I’ll warm up to them in a few more, but right now, I’m losing interest in The Warlord since Shamballah has been regained.

The Warlord annual 5 (DC Comics, 1986) — This annual is by Michael Fleisher and Adam Kubert. It depicts Morgan on a quest, presumably still the one trying to find a cure for Jennifer, but he is traveling with Shakira, someone who hasn’t been seen in the regular book in a couple issues, so maybe this book takes place a little more into the quest. The focus of this story, however, is not Morgan or his travels, but on outer world events. A group of vacationers is exploring Incan ruins when one of them disappears. Unbeknownst to the others, the man is kidnapped by a secret group of Incans who still live on the edge of Skartaris and travel back and forth between their old home and their new one. Morgan just happens to stumble onto the Incans, tries to help free their captive and seal up their secret entrance to Skartaris. This tale is a bit different from the usual Warlord fare, and just not my cup of tea, I’m afraid. As always, your mileage may vary somewhat as it’s not a bad story.

Whew! That’s was really a bunch of stuff, so I’ll call it a day for now. And again, next time we’ll go back to some truly current comics including a few really good Civil War tie-ins.

What the hell are 'kiddie cops'?

OK, while it's not officially a comment, my wife did ask that question (or one along those lines) after reading my most recent post. So, you get the answer, too.

"Kiddie cops" is one of those terms or phrases I use occasionally in my speech which comes from something I read, in this case a comic book. Specifically, The New Teen Titans annual 2 (1983), the comic which is directly responsible for my adult interest in comics.

Both my brother and I had read comics when we were much younger, but we didn't "collect" them. We'd get random issues of Spider-Man or Justice League of America or World's Finest Comics when Mom let us buy them from the grocery store, but they'd never last long enough to be collected. But in 1983, while on a youth group trip with friends, I spotted this comic book in the spinner rack convenience stores all used to have. To be honest, I didn't recognize most of the characters on the cover, but I was pretty sure the "floating head" on the lower right was Robin, the Boy Wonder. I picked up the issue and fell in love with the storytelling and intrigue, not to mention those stunning George Perez illustrations.

The story in the comic picks up in the middle of an investigation by the New Teen Titans (Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Changeling, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven and Terra) and Manhattan district attorney Adrian Chase. The Titans believe that Chase and his family have just been killed by the organized crime family they are pursuing. In an audiotape left by Chase for the Titans, he refers to them as "kiddie cops." I thought it was clever at the time, and the phrase became part of my vocabulary.

This issue has much more to offer those interested in comics. Chase is, in fact, not dead and goes on to become the costuned vigilante ... Vigilante. Many others would use this moniker afterwards, but Adrian Chase was the first. This issue also features an appearance by a mysterious power broker for heroes and villains named the Monitor, a shadowy figure seen in various DC titles throughout the year. He would soon be revealed as an extra-terrestrial "monitoring" and testing various meta-humans for the upcoming blockbuster Crisis on Infinite Earths series. And at one point in the story, the Monitor is called upon to provide several assassins-for-hire to slay the Titans on behalf of that nasty organized crime family. Most of the villains make their one and only appearance in this issue, but one in particular, the Asian-American assassin Cheshire, would go on to be a major presence in the DC Universe.

Probably, I won't talk about comics every time I post, but this time I did, so it makes a nice transition into another quick topic. In a previous post, I had mentioned comics to sell which I had listed on a site called iOffer. That worked pretty well for a while, but I have so many comics to sell, I ended up creating my own site listing all of them. If you happened to find your way here and are interested, check out the site at http://www.angelfire.com/comics/tsgnightwing

And so long for now, kiddie cops.