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.

And We’re Back To 1986 Like Marty McFly

OK, we’ve reintroduced many of the DC Universe heroes in the aftermath of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, so there aren’t very many more revamps to pour through before we’re caught back up to the “present” of 1986 where many of the storylines we’ve been following in New Teen Titans; Jon Sable, Freelance; the Thing; and the Warlord continue on pretty much unaffected.

Batman: Batgirl (DC Comics, 1997) — This prestige format one-shot was released about the time “Batman and Robin” was released in theaters, the film which introduced Batgirl to the movie franchise. This tale by Kelley Puckett, Matt Haley and Karl Kesel takes place shortly after Barbara Gordon’s debut as a crimefighter. In addition to worrying about what will happen if her police commissioner adoptive father learns of her nocturnal activities, the young heroine confronts the Joker for the first time.

Legends of the DC Universe: Batgirl 10-11 (DC Comics, 1998) — This two-issue story is another tale from early in the career of Batgirl as the young Barbara Gordon heads off to college. She is confronted by Batman, who tries to discourage her Batgirl career before it gets her killed. Barbara doesn’t back down, instead telling Batman that she will continue as Batgirl, and that if he is so worried about her safety, he should train her as he did with Robin. Batman obviously, eventually, relents. By Puckett, Dodson and Nowlan.

Legends of the DC Universe: Justice League of America 12-13 (DC Comics, 1999) — This tale features the satelite-era League, arguably one of the most enduring incarnations of the team. The bulk of the tale by Christopher Priest, Ken Lashley and Ron Boyd takes place in flashbacks, both to a very early case of the League’s and the current tale. At the outset, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Zatanna and Aquaman have been enlarged to gigantic proportions. The heroes, unprepared for the sudden size change, are disoriented and causing inadvertent damage. The Atom, with his mastery of size-change, remains unaffected but unable to help his friends as they continue to grow. The rest of the League joins in as they seek solutions in another old case before the giant League members die from their sizes.

Girlfrenzy!: Batgirl 1 (DC Comics, 1998) — Girlfrienzy! was a series of one-shot comics focusing on female leads in an effort to attract more female readers. Other books in the series took place more in current continuity and featured Secret from Young Justice, Donna Troy from the Titans and Wonder Woman, Lois Lane from Superman, the Mist from Starman, the Ravens from Birds of Prey and Tomorrow Woman from JLA. This book, however, depicts Batgirl in confrontation with another of Batman’s rogues, Mr. Zsasz. The relationship between Batgirl and Batman has obviously changed in this tale, though. At the end, Batman solicits Batgirl’s help with another case and the heroine declines, foreshadowing the time when Batgirl was semi-retired from superheroing. This tale is by Kelley Puckett, Jim Balent and Rick Burchett.

Legends of the DC Universe: The New Teen Titans 18 (DC Comics, 1999) — This tale is listed as featuring the New Teen Titans. In fact, this tale by Marv Wolfman and Butch Guice takes place just prior to the formation of the New Teen Titans. It shows a previously unknown adventure where Kid Flash and Raven cross paths. It plants the seeds that result in Raven bringing together the new Titans incarnation and explains Kid Flash’s motivations for joining the new team.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 132-136 (DC Comics, 2000) — Siege, by Archie Goodwin and Marshall Rogers, brings back Silver St. Cloud from the earlier Englehart and Rogers run of Detective Comics. It also involves a para-military leader who believes gold is buried on the land beneath Wayne Manor. The story contains a lot of historical information on the Wayne family.

Nightwing 101-106 (DC Comics, 2005) — These six issues of Nightwing bring back original series writer Chuck Dixon to re-examine Nightwing Year One, the time period where Dick Grayson decides to give up his costumed identity as Robin and adopt a new costumed persona. Several Bat-rogues make appearances and other DC heroes such as Superman, Batgirl and Deadman also have cameos. Continuity changes in this story include Dick wearing the new Robin costume with long pants that originally was first created for third Robin Tim Drake. The Nightwing identity is still based in part on Batman and in part on the Kryptonian hero, Nightwing, but the costume design mimics a circus costume worn by Dick in part of the story. Some readers online complained that this story negated the events of The Judas Contract in New Teen Titans when Dick adopts the Nightwing persona. I’ll admit it is a bit of a stretch, but I see this story as fitting in between the pages of The Judas Contract with only some modification.

And that brings us back to the “current” storylines taking place immediately after the Crisis ... sorta.

Warlord 98 (DC Comics, 1985) — Now we left the denizens of Skartaris, and specifically Shamballah, as only a ragtag band of outcasts, thrown from their homes by the New Atlantean invaders. I originally saw #97 as a good point to cut away for the events of the Crisis because the good guys had just lost a demoralizing battle and had gone off to lick their wounds and regroup. This issue begins with kind of a recap of the invasion and the lost battle, so it seemed like a good place to insert the Crisis, a tale in which Travis Morgan plays a small but important part. Well, this tale still makes a couple vague references to the Crisis as something yet to occur. Because of that, this story may have to be moved back to before the Crisis in my chronological filing system, but I’ll read on a bit more before I decide for certain.

And I think that’s a good place to stop for today. Next time, we’ll look at some more stories picking up following the Crisis. Plus, I have just received my most recent shipment of new comics released during the month of September. It may take me a day or two to get those comics inventoried and start reading them. So we’ll be back into some new comics, maybe as soon as later this week.

Silver Age Redux

We’re closing back in on the “present” — 1986 — as we look at superhero revamps following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths. So far, we’ve seen the changes in Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, the Justice League and Robin, as well as a collection of villains. Next up is Captain Marvel as DC tries once again to introduce the denizens of Fawcett City into the DCU.

The Power of Shazam! (DC Comics, 1994) — Jerry Ordway updates the lives of the wizard, Shazam, Billy Batson, Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, Black Adam and Sivana, among others. Things start out with Billy and Mary’s archeologist parents and explode from there.

Legends of the DC Universe 6: Robin and Superman (DC Comics, 1998) — Through team-ups in the pages of World’s Finest, Superman is almost as much an influence on the man young Dick Grayson will grow up to be as Robin’s “father,” Batman. This story reflects that influence and pays homage to those classic silver age tales by teaming the Man of Steel and the Boy Wonder.

The Brave and the Bold: Flash and Green Lantern 1-6 (DC Comics, 1999) — This is yet another tribute to the friendships and team-ups of the silver age, focusing on the friendship between Hal Jordan and Barry Allen. But along the way, their various extended families and relationships also play a role, so there are cameos by Iris West, Carol Ferris, Alan Scott, Jay Garrick, Ralph and Sue Dibny, Wally West, Oliver Queen, Dinah Lance and Roy Harper.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 127-131 (DC Comics, 2000) — “The Arrow and the Bat” brings Green Arrow and Batman together and let’s the sparks fly between these two intense and explosive personalities. Along the way, both heroes are forced to examine the reasons why they put on their respective costumes and battle crime.

Batgirl Year One 1-9 (DC Comics, 2003) — Batgirl Barbara Gordon was another character changed pretty drastically by the Crisis, but mostly by accident. The character wasn’t seen much in the few years preceding Crisis. During the various revamps of Batman’s origin, the Dark Knight’s supporting cast was changed to the point where it was no longer possible for Barbara to be Police Commissioner James Gordon’s biological daughter and still be the right age to be Batgirl. So Barbara becomes Gordon’s niece, and later, his adoptive daughter. Still intact is the young girl’s fascination with Batman. This series also shows how others also inspired the young Batgirl, heroines like Black Canary.

The Batman Chronicles 9 (DC Comics, 1997) — Another element retained in Batgirl’s new origin is the infatuation Robin had for the new crime-fighter and how Batgirl felt the same way, up to a point. In the silver age, the two young heroes shared a number of adventures together. The first story in this comic shows more of that budding relationship that wouldn’t mature until several years later.

Legends of the DC Universe: Flash 15-17 (DC Comics, 1999) — These three issues focus on an early adventure of the Flash, or rather, his alter-ego, police scientist Barry Allen, and showcases a number of the Flash’s colorful rogue’s gallery.

Short entry today, but not as much time this time around. Check back next time for more stories revamping the past of the DC Universe in the wake of Crisis.

Everything You Know Isn’t Wrong ... Just Some Of It

Welcome back for some more retro-reviews, the kind that show some of the changes introduced in the aftermath of the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Not everything changed, of course. As far as I know, there were no major changes in the origin of the Barry Allen Flash, for example. But subtle changes were introduced in the origins of some heroes in the years following the Crisis. Krypton, for instance, became a sterile, emotionless world. Joe Chill was no longer the gunman who killed the Waynes, being replaced with a nameless shooter who was never caught. And Wonder Woman was no longer exactly a contemporary of the other Silver Age heroes. Continuing with these re-imaginings ...

Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II 1-6 (DC Comics, 1991) — The first Emerald Dawn miniseries introduced some personal weaknesses into the character of test pilot Hal Jordan. Along with meeting the dying Abin Sur and inheriting the GL power ring, the growth Hal underwent in the story was learning to take responsibility for his actions.

In this series, the newly responsible Jordan turns himself in and is sentenced to serve 90 days in jail for drunken driving. At the same time, the Guardians of the Universe assign Hal a trainer, someone to teach him the GL ropes, someone who has excelled at being the best GL by keeping his own sector of space in order — Sinestro. This series gives readers just as much insight into Sinestro’s psyche as it does that of Hal Jordan. It also gives us some early brief looks at the lives of some future Lanterns.

The Man of Steel 5 (DC Comics, 1986) — This issue re-introduces Bizarro as a creation of Lex Luthor’s failed attempts to clone Superman. This new/early version of the creature never speaks and eventually sacrifices himself to help another, proving that there was some part of Superman in him after all.

Green Arrow: The Wonder Year 1-4 (DC Comics, 1993) — This series came out of Mike Grell’s successful run on Green Arrow. He takes GA’s previous origin and expands it so that the part readers knew before is just one small portion of an overall tapestry. The only real glitch this series’ placement causes is that by the end of the story, Oliver Queen is wearing the costume designed by Neal Adams in the 1970s. But since this is Ollie’s origin as Green Arrow, he really should have the green tunic and leggings with the red boots and gloves. But it’s a minor detail.

Catwoman annual 2 :Year One (DC Comics, 1995) — All of DC Comics’ annuals in 1995 played off the Year One theme. Many of them included “modern” framing sequences, so they won’t show up in my collection until the other comics from 1995. This one however, is a story firmly set in the past, yet Selina Kyle has obviously been Catwoman for a little bit when the events unfold. This story expands on the details of Selina’s backstory from Batman: Year One and the Catwoman minseries from 1991, adding in a martial arts element to explain some of the skills the character was regularly using in her own title at the time.

Legends of the DC Universe 7-9: Green Lantern and Green Arrow (DC Comics, 1998) — This story is obviously an early pairing of these two heroes, occurring before superhero team-ups became a common thing. The two heroes meet in an Asian nation and confront their ideological differences.

Legends of the DC Universe 26-27: the Joker and Aquaman (DC Comics, 2000) — Now this tale doesn’t so much change established continuity as it builds upon what has gone before. During the classic Englehart/Rogers run of Detective Comics, they had a truly perfect Joker story called The Laughing Fish. At the end of the story, the Joker disappears into the Gotham River and is presumed dead. In this story, the fledgling hero called Aquaman happens to be swimming by and thinks the Joker is merely a drowning surface-dweller. The naive hero offers the “persecuted” villain a place under the waves before he learns the Joker’s true nature.

The Man of Steel 6 (DC Comics, 1986) — The final issue of the Superman re-vamp shows us Clark’s revelation that he is really from the planet Krypton, information he did not possess before that point. Clark, as well as Jonathan and Martha Kent, learn this from Jor-El himself, via hologram. The revelation of his alien origins prompts Clark to wonder about his future, but he concludes: “I may have been conceived out there in the endles depths of space ... but I was born when the rocket opened on earth, in America. ... It was Krypton that made me Superman ... but it is the earth that makes me human!!” And thus the stage is set for the new Superman.

Batman: Shadow of the Bat annual 3: Year One (DC Comics, 1995) — Yet another Year One annual, but the Batman-themed annuals in 1995 all focused on villains. This story is a story, then, about Pamela Isley, Poison Ivy Year One, showing the first encounter between the Queen of Green and the Batman.

Catwoman 38-40 (DC Comics, 1996) — This three-issue story arc is subtitled Catwoman Year Two. Batman and Catwoman cross paths again, and each feels attracted to the other. Catwoman initially springs the Joker, Penguin and Two-Face from lock-up in an effort to distract Batman. The other villains don’t much like being someone else’s decoys and their machinations end up pushing together the Bat and the Cat.

Detective Comics 575-578 (DC Comics, 1987) — Having dealt once again with Catwoman, Batman gets his own Year Two treatment, going up against a new villain named the Reaper in this four-issue arc. It also has Batman questioning his decision never to use guns in his war on crime.

JLA Year One 1-12 (DC Comics, 1998) — We’ve spent a great deal of time re-introducing a number of heroes, and even had a few of them team-up from time to time. But eventually, there would come a day when a threat arose which no single hero could overcome alone ... oops, wait, wrong company, but you get the idea. Eventually all of these heroes had to get together, and one fine day, the Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Black Canary and Martian Manhunter did just that. Green Arrow, Batman and Superman also play their respective roles. And Hawkman comes along as a representative from the legendary Justice Society to make sure the “kids” don’t screw up. In addition to the drama, this story includes some great character moments, especially the fact that noone can hear Aquaman’s mumblings when he talks in their early adventures. Seems sound waves travel better in water than air, and he’s never had to speak up before. Along the way, the team also meets other heroes such as the Doom Patrol, the Metal Men, the Blackhawks and the Freedom Fighters.

Batman Chronicles: The Gauntlet (DC Comics, 1997) — While the members of the new Justice League get used to each other, back in the Batcave, Batman is getting used to his new partner, a young lad named Dick Grayson, aka Robin, the Boy Wonder. This is the tale of Robin’s first real trial-by-fire.

Robin Year One 1-4 (DC Comics, 2000) — Next, Robin gets the Year One treatment in a four-issue prestige series depicting his first encounters with some of the worst of Batman’s growing list of rogue’s — characters like the Mad Hatter and Two-Face. But even those villains are no match for Batman’s wrath when Robin disobeys orders and is stripped of his costumed identity by his mentor.

Lex Luthor: Man of Steel 1-5 (DC Comics, 2005) — This story is a typical early match-up between Superman and his arch-nemesis, but it is told from Luthor’s perspective. In yet another bid to out-do Superman, Lex creates his own female superhero with the intent of using her to best Kal-El, then do him in. Batman guest-stars.

Batman: Full Circle (DC Comics, 1991) — This prestige format one-shot brings back the Reaper for a rematch with Batman.

Teen Titans Spotlight 11: The Brotherhood of Evil (DC Comics, 1987) — Few of these re-vamps seem to focus on villains, but this one does. It looks at the formation of the New Brotherhood of Evil, villains who would later take on the New Teen Titans. But the Titans group is not in existence at this point. Instead, a government agency is tracking the movements of the Brain and Mallah as they gather recruits, including a teleporter named Warp. Agents sabotage Warp’s power, sending the new group to an alternate reality where they meet future versions of Tin-Tin, the character created by Hérge, and his friends.

And, I think that’s far enough for today. Believe it or not, we’ve covered the majority of the re-vamps on our way back to comics which occurred in 1986. Again, not every character got a major overhaul following Crisis, and some who did, established the new changes within the context of “current” stories. So, there’s really not that much more to go to “catch up.”

The Way It Was ... At Least For The Next 20 Years

OK, so to recap just a bit, the last bunch of older comics we discussed finished out the Crisis On Infinite Earths and moved the surviving members of the Justice Society into limbo. Most heroes’ lives continued from that point, some with subtle changes, which would be explored in stories over the next decade or so. Some of those stories included flashbacks to the past, but included an in-story contemporary framing sequence. Those tales are placed whenever they would occur in my collection. But other stories, especially a number of miniseries established a new status quo for various heroes, and the events those tales relate are set firmly in the past. Following the Crisis in my “chronological” collection are a number of these tales.

Very little was revamped initially with the Justice Society, at least not in print. Initially, the characters were in limbo. But there have been a few more recent tales told of the old JSA without Superman and Batman. For example ...

JSA: Strange Adventures 1-6 (DC Comics, 2004) — This miniseries focuses on the writing efforts of Johnny Thunder as he tries to chronicle a bizarre tale of The Justice Society as a novel. The books are written by novelist Kevin J. Anderson and illustrated by Barry Kitson and Gary Erskine and make for a fun read.

Following that tale, we jump ahead quite a bit to pick up the Superman revamp by John Byrne, but only the first two issues, so far.

The Man of Steel 1-2 (DC Comics, 1986) — The first issue re-tells the final days of a newly-technological and sterile Krypton from which Jor-El sends his unborn son’s gestation chamber into space and on a course for earth. As there was no longer any Superboy in this new single-earth continuity, Clark Kent’s youth goes by pretty quickly and he debuts in Metropolis, meets Lois and gets dubbed Superman in the second issue.

Batman 404 (DC Comics, 1987) — Next we go to Gotham City. This issue has no current framing sequence and is the first chapter in the four-part Batman Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham from several years’ worth of travel abroad to begin his war on crime. His first night out, disguised as a vagrant, does not go well. Injured, he returns to Wayne Manor where the bat crashes through the study window, inspiring Bruce to adopt a bat motif for his disguise.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 1 (DC Comics, 1989) — Before moving on with the rest of Batman Year One or The Man of Steel, we detour for this first chapter of the five-part Shaman by Dennis O’Neil, Ed Hannigan and John Beatty. This story starts out with a flashback to two years ago while the young Bruce Wayne is still training under masters of various disciplines, this time an expert tracker in Alaska. The expert is killed, and so, seemingly, is the quarry, but Bruce is left literaly out in the cold with no gear. He is saved by an Eskimo shaman. From there, the story returns to modern times, which in this tale is a few days before and the next day after Bruce’s disasterous debut appearance. So the timing of these events coincides with the first issue of Batman Year One.

Batman 405-407 (DC Comics, 1987) — This is the rest of the Batman Year One story as the Batman debuts, befriends new Gotham cop Lt. James Gordon and saves Gordon’s son, cementing the pair’s working relationship. This is a somewhat darker, more grim Batman, foreshadowing the cynical person with trust issues he will become later.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 2-5 (DC Comics, 1989-90) — Dialog in the second issue of this tale established that the events here take place about six months after those in the first issue. The storyline explores the concept of masks and identities, and provides some excellent insights into the mind of the Darknight Detective.

Batman and the Monster Men 1-6 (DC Comics, 2006) — Next comes this re-telling of the first Hugo Strange story by Matt Wagner. One of the conceits of this re-telling is that it bridges the gap between Batman battling mostly gangsters and common criminals to the more bizarre costumed and demented adversaries he comes to be identified with. The story ends with mention of someone called the Joker.

Batman: The Man Who Laughs (DC Comics, 2005) — explores the first confrontation between Batman and this Joker character. In fact, the first time Batman sees the maniacal killer, he assumes the man is literally just a harmless clown. This great story is by Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke.

Catwoman 1-4 (DC Comics, 1989) — This story, by Mindy Newell, J.J. Birch and Michael Bair, once again returns to the night of Bruce Wayne’s disasterous debut without the bat costume. That night he briefly meets a prostitute named Selina Kyle and stops her pimp from beating her up. This story fleshes out Selina’s new backstory and shows how that encounter with Bruce, and later Batman, inspire her to create Catwoman.

The Man of Steel 3 (DC Comics, 1986) — Now that Batman is firmly established in the world, we return to the Superman revamp where the two heroes meet for the first time. John Byrne puts several fun moments into this series, and some of them are found in this particular issue, including the closing scene. Superman has come to Gotham to investigate this rough vigilante operating there. Superman quickly finds Batman with every intention of stopping him from going forward with his “one-man war on crime.” Batman threatens to kill an innocent somewhere in the city if Superman acts against him using an explosive device Superman could never find in time. At the end of the adventure, Batman starts to leave when Superman reminds him of the earlier threat.
Batman: Here you go, Superman. I had it tucked inside my utility belt all the time.
Superman: You ...??? You mean, it was your own life you were risking? Why?!?
Batman: Because I knew my plan was the only way I could stop you, Superman. I also knew that with your great powers, you’d probably be able to tell if I were lying.
Superman (leaving): Well, I still won’t say I fully approve of your methods, Batman ...... and I’m going to be keeping an eye on you, to make certain you don’t blow it for the rest of us ... but ... good luck.
As Superman departs, Batman thinks to himself, “A remarkable man, all things considered. Who knows? In a different reality, I might have called him “friend.”

Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn 1-6 (DC Comics, 1989-90) — Superman and Batman aren’t the only heroes in the world, of course. Others start to be seen fighting crime and battling super-villains. This re-telling of Green Lantern Hal Jordan’s origin ads flaws to the hero, setting up the change the character would take in Emerald Twilight later. This tale is by James Owsley, M.D. Bright and Romeo Tanghal. It even features the Guardians and other GLs toward the end.

Legends of the DC Universe 1-3 (DC Comics, 1998) — This three-issue story focuses on a story from early in Superman’s career and features a villain better known to golden age fans, the Ultra-Humanite.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 16-20 (DC Comics, 1991) — This story is important for a number of reasons, first of which, it’s a darn good tale by Dennis O’Neil and Trevor von Eeden. Batman catches a kidnapper who has abducted a small girl. He forces the kidnapper to tell him where the little girl is being held, but by the time Batman gets there, the little girl has drowned. Bruce tortures himself with guilt over not being strong-enough to reach the girl in time, and gives in to the temptation to take a man-made steroid to enhance his abilities. Unbeknownst to Batman, the drug is highly addictive, and also renders him susceptible to suggestion. Once he realizes his mistake, Batman must fight his way through withdrawal to defeat the villains. The drug he took is an early form of Venom, the chemical Bane will later pump directly into his own brain to enhance his own strength.

The Man of Steel 4 (DC Comics, 1986) — This isn’t necessarily the first meeting between Superman and Lex Luthor, but it is the one where Superman learns the businessman’s true intentions and motivations.

Hey, I think that’s far enough for today. We’ll move closer to the current events next time.

Bidding Adieu To August So That We Might Better Reorganize The Past

Just a few books left from my shipment of August-release comics, so let’s jump right into what remains.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes 21 (DC Comics) — So they did manage to bring back Dream Girl, or did they? Maybe Brainy’s just crazy with heartbreak like Ralph Dibny over in the pages of 52. Still can’t make up my mind on this book. Subsequent issues haven’t been as good as the first arc, in my mind, nor as good as the work this team did on Empire a few years ago, but it’s just good enough to keep me hoping it’ll get better.

New Avengers 23 (Marvel Comics) — This Civil War tie-in examines how Jessica “Spider-Woman” Drew reacts to the registration act. The previous two issues focused on Captain America and Luke Cage; they were great. This issue, not so much. In fact, I was initially happy to see Brian Michael Bendis bring Spider-Woman back in New Avengers, but I’m just not sure I care for the convoluted mess they made of her origin in the recent Spider-Woman: Origin, and I didn’t much care for this book, either. Is she helping the good guys? Is she helping the bad guys? Is she making it look like she’s helping the bad guys to better help the good guys? Do the bad guys know this and use that against her, so she really is helping the bad guys? Know what? I don’t care anymore.

Jack of Fables 2 (DC Vertigo) — Another solid issue from Bill Willingham. This series is off to a good start, just like its parent title.

Justice League of America #1 (DC Comics) — The story moved along rather slowly in this book, but then Meltzer likes his set-ups. I like the focus on Red Tornado and Arsenal joining instead of Green Arrow. Some of the other focus characters make this seem like an interesting group. And while I’m really OK with the fact that Nightwing won’t be in the JLA, what does Wonder Woman have against him? For that matter, based on what is happening in her own title, why is Diana Wonder Woman here?

And that’s the last of my most recent shipment of new comics, which brings us back to the past of 1985 for some ...

Retro-Reviews
Crisis On Infinite Earths 8-9 (DC Comics, 1985) — Not only is the Barry Allen Flash killed off, but we find out why villains have been disappearing — they’re up to something. Brainiac and Luthor — both Earth-1 flavor — organize all the villains in a bid to take over the five remaining earths and succeed in ensnaring three of them before their plans are shut down. We also spend some time with various members of the New Teen Titans, which brings us to ...

The New Teen Titans 14 (DC Comics, 1985) — The Tamaranean ship we’ve seen heading for earth in the past couple issues arrives to take Starfire home. Nightwing and Jericho go along for the ride, thinking the Crisis is over and suspecting something sinister among the Tamaraneans. And Mento gives the rest of the team some trouble as the helmet drives wearer Steve Dayton insane. Oh yeah, and Arella is still looking for her daughter, Raven. This is an important issue of this book in that it helps set up several major storylines to come, but is also kind of a placeholder-type story as the events in Crisis are still ongoing and we don’t want to give away the ending.

Crisis On Infinite Earths 10-12 (DC Comics 1986) — The Spectre shows up and warns the assembled heroes of five earths that the Crisis is NOT over. Instead, the Anti-Monitor has merely fled to the dawn of time in an attempt to quash all life before it begins. The heroes follow and the Anti-Monitor and the Spectre battle it out, drawing power from the others.

The plan works and it doesn’t work. Life is allowed to develop, but instead of a multiverse, only one universe is created. Most of the heroes from the previous battle wake up to find themselves home and things seemingly normal again. But as they investigate, they learn that this new single earth combines elements from the histories of each of the previous ones while eliminating others. Some heroes and lives are seemingly unchanged, other heroes exist, but noone remembers them because their histories have been “erased.” It is also learned that while weakened, the Anti-Monitor still lives, and yet another assault is launched. More heroes are lost, including Kole, the Earth-2 Robin and Huntress and the Earth-1 Wonder Woman. When the villain is finally dispatched, few lives are left unchanged.

Last Days of the Justice Society of America Special 1 (DC Comics, 1986) — Even though this book came out almost a full year after the final issue of Crisis On Infinite Earths, it is written to be a follow-up to the Crisis. The older heroes of the Justice Society did not fare well in the Crisis. Noone remembers the elder Superman or Wonder Woman. Wildcat was crippled. Robin and Huntress were killed. This story was created to give the surviving members a heroes send-off while still moving them out of the way of newer, younger namesakes, some of whom — such as Wildcat, Dr. Mid-Nite and Hourman — debuted in the Crisis itself.

Those remaining heroes learn that the Spectre is left unconscious after his battle with the Anti-Monitor at the dawn of time. Unchecked, his powers combine with those of the Spear of Destiny, allowing Adolf Hitler to change history at the end of World War II, slaying the Justice Society members and destroying the world. This was achieved when Adolf used the power to bring about the Twilight of the Gods, or Ragnarok, from Norse mythology. The only way to preserve the normal time stream is for the JSA heroes to merge with their counterparts from Valhalla and eternally wage that final battle, over and over again. I just re-read this book, and even though the events herein told are later reversed, this is a worthwhile tale, largely because it is lovingly written by that great re-creator of the golden age, Roy Thomas. He gets these older heroes and allows them to shine in a fight they cannot win.

History of the DC Universe 1-2 (DC Comics, 1986) — This two-volume, prestige format book reveals the Monitor tapes and the recording of the altered history recorded by his assistant, Harbinger. It gives a broad overview of how some of DC Comics’ historical characters fit together in this new single earth, as well as providing some hints of what was to come in the coming months. It is also the point where my filing system goes the most nuts.

The recent Infinite Crisis explains continuity errors as Superboy-Prime punching against the barrier that separates him and his companions from the sole remaining earth after the events of Crisis On infinite Earths. I plan to use that excuse offered by DC Comics itself. However, shortly after the end of Crisis On Infinite Earths, several heroes’ origins were revamped. The trend continued for 10 or 15 years, at least to the 1995 annuals which all had a “Year One” theme. No matter when these things were released, the bulk of them have been placed at this point in my comic book collection filing system. The history of the new earth was different from what it had been. What better place to “make” such changes and explore them, in “chronological order,” as we catch back up to the titles I was collecting in 1986?

So, while retro-reviews before the Crisis were focusing on The New Teen Titans and The Warlord from DC, The Thing from Marvel, and Jon Sable, Freelance from First, it will be a little bit before we catch back up to those stories where we left off. I think it’ll be an interesting bit of jumping around when we pick up next time.

We’re Absolutely Flying Through August

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spending My Time Among Fantasy Worlds

Just reviews today. Not much time to post. So, here we go:

Detective Comics 822 (DC Comics) — This is the second issue penned by Paul Dini, one of the geniuses behind the animated DCU. As with that continuity and the first issue of his run here, this man “gets” Batman. This was a good solid read with some fun at the Riddler's expense along the way. Now it just remains to be seen if anyone else runs with the “Edward Nigma, Detective” thread started here.

Justice League Unlimited 24 (DC Comics) — This book is, of course, based on that same animated DCU. The stories are simple and easily enjoyed by youngsters, while containing depth for adults that really satisfies. In short, these are quality, fun comics to read. This taps into the Martian Manhunter’s greatest fear, something very different from his greatest weakness, fire.

Agents of Atlas 1 (Marvel Comics) — Another good read. This is exactly what you want from the first issue of any series, limited or not: A solid introduction to the main characters without giving everything away; a set-up which lets you know more is to come and leaves you wanting to know what that more is.

52 Week 14 (DC Comics) — This wasn’t a bad comic, but it WAS more of a fill-in issue than anything else. We check back in on Steel briefly and see that he is still very upset over his niece’s defection to Luthor. We learn a bit more about what Doc Magnus has been up to besides visiting his friend and mentor T.O. Morrow and see that Morrow has escaped his holding facility. And we follow Montoya and the Question to Khandaq on the trail of Intergang, where they immediately get into trouble. With the exception of the Khandaq trip, most of the action of this issue takes place off-panel and we only see the results.

Superman 655 (DC Comics) — I like the idea of Superman as a character, and I like him as part of a team dynamic, but I usually get bored with his monthly adventures pretty quickly. That’s what I expected to happen here, too, especially after the first One Year Later arc ended so weakly for me. When this issue started out with a less-than-flattering glimpse of the 1600s life of Arion, it did little to quell my fears. But I must say, after reading the entire issue, I am curious to know where this tale is going and what happens next. Keep it up, Kurt Busiek.

Green Arrow 65 (DC Comics) — Good to see Speedy back in this issue, but she is part of the problem I have with this book right now. Judd Winick weaves such intricate and interweaving storylines that it can be hard to establish continuity. And he doesn’t seem to care. The final issue of GA leading into Infinite Crisis shows Oliver stabbed twice through the chest by arrows. Now, One Year Later, we are hearing that he went away to an island for a year to recuperate and re-train. Same with Conner and Mia who were nearly killed in the explosions which leveled much of Star City. Except it’s already been said in Teen Titans that Mia was active as Speedy with the team during the missing year, and we’ve already seen Oliver up and around in the pages of 52. Normally you could write this off as poor communications between writers, but Winick is supposed to be one of the writers on 52 and involved in the whole “charting a new course” plans. That makes the discontinuity seem just plain sloppy. Hopefully future issue will prove me wrong.

Secret Six 3 (DC Comics) — This series is not quite as good as its predecessor, Villains United, in my mind. The storyline seems a bit more disjointed and meandering. Almost like a decision was made at the last minute to do a sequel because the first series was so popular, and this is what could be thrown together last minute. I don’t know any insider stuff on how this series came about, but that is my suspicion. If anyone knows more or something different, feel free to chime in.

And lastly, Fables 52 (DC Vertigo) — Sons of Empire part 1. As usual, just Wow! I love this book.

Sometimes A Little Crazy Helps ... And Sometimes Not

Light reading week so far this week, but that’s OK as I’ve only got a little time for posting right now, too. So, here’s a few quick lightning reviews and a bit of a rant and then I’ll let you get back to your day.

52 Week Thirteen (DC Comics) — I’ve complained the last couple times about recent issues of this title focusing on some stories to the exclusion of others. I still maintain that there has to be something going on with the heroes we aren’t seeing each time, but I will agree with the recent online comments I have read where others cite this as a good thing, allowing the writers to give the readers a solid chunk of whatever story they follow this week.

And Week 13 is no exception to good storytelling. Ralph has been invited to the attempt to resurrect Sue by the Cult of Conner. He covertly brings along Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Metamorpho and Zauriel to help him determine if the ritual is a fraud. They convince him it must be and chaos ensues until the proxy Sue shows some small signs of life. I’m not sure if that little bit of drama was all in Ralph’s head or not, but he believes it was real, and seems to be so much the worse for that belief. Hasn’t this man suffered enough?

The All New Atom 2 (DC Comics) — Not much to say on this one. Maybe it’s just taking its time setting things up, but this one is moving slowly. That’s OK if the story and characters are building my interest, but this book hasn’t grabbed my interest like I thought it would. I’m not giving up yet, but this title is becoming iffy.

OMAC 2 (DC Comics) — I feel much the same way about OMAC, but since it’s a limited series with a definite ending, I have more patience in letting it grow. If this book lets me down, I may have to just face the facts that I don’t care for Bruce Jones’ writing. Note, I didn’t say he’s a bad writer; just that his writing isn’t in tune with what I like. That’s a distinction most fanboys miss when ranting about creators they don’t like.

Outsiders 39 (DC Comics) — I’m not sure what was worse, psychologically: the image of Monsieur Mallah and The Brain in bed together discussing philosophy or the fact that they seem to have collected enough superhero DNA from such a variety of sources that they’ve built a veritable super army (yet they still can’t clone Brain a new body?!?). This issue was just disturbing.

Fallen Angel 7 (IDW Publishing) — This was the best of this bunch of books. We are seeing Lee’s first adventure after her fall. Lee being the titular angel who has been cast out of Heaven for disobeying God. The previous arc showed us what her transgression was, confirming it was an act we could all relate to.

This book is both funny and tragic. I think writer Peter David has a bit more freedom since the title moved to IDW from DC, even though the events of the first run were not set in the DC Universe proper. But the publisher switch has only made the title better. If you aren’t reading this book, you should give it a try.

And finally, no Marvel Comics in this batch of reviews and very few of them in this most recent month’s shipment of comics. I usually order more DCs anyway, but most of the Marvel Comics I ordered for this month are tied up in the Civil War event, which Marvel recently announced was running late.

First let me say that the Civil War storyline has been pretty good so far and I’m willing to wait for it rather than have it be rushed and suffer in quality. I’m paying good money for these books, and I want that quality. Let me also say that I’m familiar with publishing, and there are a lot of things that can, and sometimes do, go wrong which are out of the creators’ control. But increasingly, we are seeing late books because creators can’t make a deadline, and that I have little sympathy for.

I work in an industry with a daily publishing deadline; most jobs have some form of deadlines; work has to be done by a specific point or problems result. Are the creators involved taking on too many projects? Are they missing deadlines because of commitments to other industries? I imagine there are many reasons in each and every instance. But whenever a creator misses a deadline consistently, it is a slap in the face to those who make their assigned deadlines month in and month out.

It was just announced that Wonder Woman is becoming a bi-monthly title — one issue every other month — because writer Allan Heinberg needs the extra time. The book he wrote before this, Young Avengers, was consistently late and is now on hiatus because of deadline problems. Not low sales, Heinberg just can’t meet the monthly deadline with all of his other comic and television commitments. He’s a great writer, and I will buy his wok when he can do it, but if he can’t meet a monthly deadline, find someone else who can for the monthly books. Or, if he wants to write a monthly book, commit to doing that, on-time, for a fixed timeframe and then go back to the other projects.

This is similar to Brad Meltzer’s arrangement on Justice League. He will be the writer for 12 issues — one year — then, no matter how popular his run, he will leave the title to write his next novel. That’s his next commitment, and he is doing what needs to be done to meet both. He can always come back after the novel and write more comics if he, the industry and the fans are agreeable. Most likely they will be.

I guess my point is this: Don’t agree to do what you are unable to do, and when you have agreed to do something, you had better be doing everything in your power to get it done as promised. Unfortunately, that ideal doesn’t seem to be quite so universal anymore.

Closing Out July On The Heels Of August

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here's My Mea Culpa

To those who have posted comments to my blog as far back as March, I apologize. I'm an idiot.

I just thought I didn't have any comments posted. But apparently, I had the settings adjusted so that I had to "approve" any comments offered, then received no alerts or notifications to that effect. So I had a few waiting for me when I happened to check today.

Thanks to all of you for your interest, and please drop by again. I'll try to be more attentive.

Short Weekend Of Solid Reading

I read some good comics over the weekend, so let’s just jump right in to today’s batch of reviews.

52 Weeks 11 and 12 (DC Comics) — The first of these books features the costumed debut of Batwoman; the issue also focuses mainly on Montoya and the Question and their investigation into Intergang’s move on Gotham with just a few side bits on Ralph Dibny’s investigation of the Cult of Conner. The second issue continues this narrow focus on just a few characters, leaving other storylines unadvanced for entire weeks. If anything, I think that is this title’s biggest failing. It’s an anthology of unrelated stories taking place during a common year. This time, we spend the bulk of our time with Black Adam, witness the creation of the new Isis, see that Captain Marvel is not fairing too well, and see Ralph finally catch up to Wonder Girl. But when was the last time we checked in on the trio of heroes lost in space or the unfolding time weirdness with Booster Gold. I know it’s been at least three weeks since we saw anything with Steel and Luthor. Are we to believe absolutely nothing happened with these characters in this time? But hey, I love the glimpses we are getting.

Flash, The Fastest Man Alive 2 (DC Comics) — I’m just not feeling it with this series. I understand the writers, Danny Bilson and Paul Demeo were involved in the Flash TV series. It was OK, but I’m just left not caring much about this suddenly-adult Impulse. Look for these first issues to show up on my Web site in the coming weeks.

Checkmate 4 (DC Comics) — I like this book a little more with each issue, although I’m still not sure if I like it overall. Is Alan Scott really leaving? Will that take away why I like the title? I don’t know, but I’m still along for more of the ride.

Aquaman 43 (DC Comics) — I’m torn by this book. I like Kurt Busiek. I’ve never cared that much for Butch Guice. I love Aquaman and I love this young Arthur Curry currently dominating the book, but I miss getting to read about the Aquaman I know. I also wonder with the introduction of this new, younger “Aquaman,” how much of this storyline was motivated by the Aquaman TV pilot. (I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ve heard it is available on YouTube.) But think about it: If the pilot had been picked up, the comic would more closely mirror the series. Hmmmmm

Manhunter 24 (DC Comics) — Since the announced cancelation and reprieve on this book, the quality seems to have dropped just a bit. I dunno if they had to rush to get the next few issues done once the reprieve was announced or what, but I hope it returns to it’s accustomed level soon.

Civil War 3 (Marvel Comics) — Wow! Is this book going to make it all the way to the final issue before everyone in the Marvel Universe is forced to kill everyone else? I didn’t expect a major clash of the big guns like this so soon. And for the record, I can see Iron Man’s belief in registration, but some of the other characters who have sided with him baffle me. Thing, She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel seem more naturally to fit with Cap’s rebels, the correct side in this war of liberties versus security.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes 20 (DC Comics) — I said this book was suffering from the addition of Supergirl. I’d now like to amend that statement. The first few issues after Supergirl’s arrival spent a lot of time focusing on her. Now she’s just another one of the characters in this team book, and she seems to fit somewhat better. So it wasn’t her presence that threw things off, but the imbalance of her role. That seems to be corrected now.

Crisis Aftermath: The Battle of Bludhaven 1-6 and Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters 1 (DC Comics) — I haven’t much cared for Battle at all. The Titans seem out of character and out of continuity in this title. All of the other characters in this rambling, disjointed tale are modern re-inventions of old characters, and they’re done poorly. Every team’s origins and motivations are kept cryptic in hopes of later revelations in their own titles, but without any kind of payoff in this title, who cares about hanging around long enough to find out. I am curious about the new Doll Man and the new Phantom Lady a bit. That’s why I signed on for Uncle Sam. But where’s the payoff?

Justice League of America (2006) 0 (DC Comics) — This book is just the opposite; it’s all payoff. If you follow DC Comics at all, you already know what is presented in this book. All of the history will be well-known to you, the present-day stuff is just the big three agreeing to reform the League (no surprise since the title is relaunching) and the future teasers may never come to pass because of the impossibility of predicting exactly what will become of these characters through the infinity of publishing history. But damn, this was fun to read.

And that makes a perfect place to bring this post to an end.

Posting While The Posting Is Good

Despite some complications both at work and at home already this week, I’ve managed to do a little bit of reading and I have a little time with the computer, so here’s some more reviews of recent comics:

Superman 654 (DC Comics) — This was a fun stand-alone issue. It continues to show just as much of the life of Clark Kent as it does Superman, which is nice. And the Daily Planet newsroom is a little more like what I expect from real newsrooms. The anniversary Clark and Lois are trying to celebrate is a nice one. And the ending is a nice little gift from Lois to her husband that rings true of her character and of the partnership these two share in modern comics. I was afraid some of the storyline quality would suffer after the initial arc. I like Superman as part of the group, but tend to get bored with him solo. This issue gives me hope for the Man of Steel’s future.

Squadron Supreme (2006) 5 (Marvel Comics) — This book is a guilty pleasure. It is much darker than the original 1986 series, playing as it does off real world prejudices and events, but Straczynski and Frank do a wonderful job making these characters real and consistent, both in action and appearance.

Fables 51 (DC Vertigo) — Another great charcter-driven title. I don’t so much like what Willingham does as a writer on superhero comics. I particularly did not care for his run as Robin scribe. But his attention to detail and characterization in this title is superb. This issue focuses on superspy Cinderella providing a wonderful little solo story, nicely advancing the overall Adversary War plotline and creating some new threads for future stories, all of it in a pretty package by guest penciller Shawn McManus. If you aren’t already, read this title.

Civil War Front Line 3 (Marvel Comics) — This issue was somewhat of a letdown. I haven’t been following She-Hulk’s adventures in the Dan Slott title, so I am not exactly sure how she comes down in the whole registration debate, but she seems in support of registration and quite out of character in “The Accused” as the former Speedball is further railroaded by the government. The main “Embedded” story is still the best, but this issue left me scratching my head more than anything else.

Dorothy 6 (Illusive Arts) — This is an intriguing quarterly title. I grew up watching “The Wizard of Oz” on television even though I’ve never read Frank Baum’s original books. I'm curious whenever a book visits Oz. This independent comic updates Dorothy Gale to a modern, rebellious teen with spikes, studs and dyed hair. An attempt to run away from the restrictive home of her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em is interrupted by a tornado and Dorothy is deposited in a strange land. Rather than strictly drawn panels, however, this title uses Photoshopped photography and computer enhanced images to depict Dorothy’s adventures.

Dorothy is not the only character to get a makeover, however. Oz is a place ruled by a dark witch and full of political machinations. So far, Dorothy has been befriended by a small robotic canine ToTo unit, an unfortunate political dissident who has been mind-wiped and left an adle-brained Scarecrow, and a Tin Man with the soul of a poet and the mind of a tortured genius trapped in a mechanical body.

OK, I’m getting tired, so I think I’ll call that a post right there, and grab some Zs. Later, kiddie-cops.

A Week Of The Unusual

Only a few reviews again today. Haven’t had as much time to read again this week, partially because of some recent back issue purchases. I think I mentioned previously (but I’m too lazy to check) about trading for a complete run of DC Comics’ original Checkmate series from the late ’80s. I didn’t know it until they arrived, but smack in the middle of this 33-issue run is a crossover story with Suicide Squad and a couple other books. The crossover is called “The Janus Directive.” Well, I went on a hunt for the other chapters in this crossover so that when I read the arc, I can assess it based on the whole. That led to a number of other finds and impulse buys which have recently arrived.

I was also able to snag copies of the three-issue miniseries , The P.I.s: Michael Mauser and Ms. Tree, by First Comics. Trade ads for this series looked good in the mid-1980s issues of Jon Sable, Freelance. I don’t know Michael Mauser, but I’ve read some Ms. Tree before. She’s a classic, hard-boiled private investigator from the old school except she’s a dame, not a guy. I was also able to pick up the complete 24-issue run of DNAgents from Eclipse Comics at a nice price. Don’t know much about this series either, except it was supposed to be good, was written by Mark Evanier and was compared to Marv Wolfman’s New Teen Titans, which I love. And I also picked up Incredible Hulk #s 210-222 from the late ’70s. I remember reading these issues at a friend's house at the time and liking them, but that’s about it. I dunno if this is a complete arc or several arcs; I don’t remember. But I’ve checked on buying them in the last few years and always found them a little pricey. A few weeks ago, when I found them on sale, I snagged them.

It may be a while before I get a chance to read some of these finds. Back issue buys like the Checkmate series, which started in 1988, can be read and filed when I come to the appropriate dates as I go back through my collection. Older stuff, though, like DNAgents and the Hulk issues, I’ve already passed those respective dates. So they get added to a stack of out-of-continuity trades and such that I have vowed not to touch and read through until I finish the massive undertaking that is making it back through all of those chronological back issues. The stack is getting kinda big.
Enough of that. On to some quick reviews:

Outsiders 38 (DC Comics) — More questions than answers in this book. I want to like it, but it’s teetering on the edge of being dropped right now. How does the grim and brooding Nightwing in this book justify with the more laid-back personality he has in his own book now? DC online has said they will address that, but when? How do the Brain and Monsieur Mallah’s actions in this title jibe with their appearances in Teen Titans? On the fence with this one.

The All New Atom 1 (DC Comics) — This story started out slower than we were promised in Brave New World. I thought that book was the intro and that the new series would pick up from there. Apparently not. If that’s the case, since Brave New World did nothing to change my already-conceived notions aboiut these new titles, was it a waste of my money?

OMAC 1 (DC Comics) — Same thing here. The issue starts out before what we saw in Brave New World. It doesn’t even catch up to BNW by the end of the issue.

Marvel Westerns featuring Kid Colt and the Arizona Girl 1 (Marvel Comics) — I don’t remember these characters, but I like them. I just wish Gray and Palmiotti hadn’t made the villains of the piece aliens. Am I the only person who thinks cowboys and aliens just shouldn’t mix, even in the Marvel Universe? Still a fun read, though.

Fantastic Four Presents: Franklin Richards, Son of a Genius Super Summer Spectacular (Marvel Comics) — Whew, what a name! Typical cartoon fun. These books are fun for what they are, but then, after reading three of them, the humor is starting to grow a tad stale. A Calvin-espue Franklin shares misadventures with his robot nanny, H.E.R.B.I.E. (Why does that name sound familiar?)

Justice League Unlimited 23 (DC Comics) — The Royal Flush Gang is always fun, even this overly-serious grouping from the Cartoon Network series. This story also has Martian Manhunter insights to boot.

52 Week 10 (DC Comics) — Some nice character bits with Clark Kent and a whole lot of time spent with Black Adam, a truly fascinating character in the DC Universe the last couple years. I’m guessing the young lady, Adrianna Tomaz, will become the new Isis soon. But y’know, we really only spend time with Clark and Adam. Did none of the other players in this little drama do anything this week, or are we seeing some of the working of having multiple writers on this title: each one takes one story and we don’t get development on a particular storyline if that writer didn’t get his stuff done that week? Hmmmmm.

That’s it for today. See ya next time, kiddie cops.

Why I Hate Supergirl

OK, kiddie-cops, I’m back for another lightning round of comics reviews looking back over mags that I’ve recently read. And starting us off is

Supergirl (2005) 7-8 (DC Comics) — OK, I cheated a little bit here in reading order since #8 didn’t come out until almost the end of July, but I didn’t expect to like either of these books much, so I read ‘em both together. Why buy them if I didn’t expect to like them, you ask. It’s the problem with advance ordering your comics. I didn’t expect to like them after reading #6 a couple months ago, but by that time, I’d already ordered these two. I have NOT ordered #9.

I like the original Supergirl. And I’m not necessarily opposed to updating and reintroducing old characters as new ones. I like the new Supergirl, Matrix, introduced after Superman’s revamp. I just don’t like this latest ultra-teen, sorority-chick, stereotype that DC is parading around as the Maid of Steel.

I could handle her introduction in the pages of Superman/Batman. I’m not altogether certain if she truly had an evil personality to begin with or if Darkseid “created” one when he kidnapped her, but that tale was passable, and even had some memorable moments. Her next adventure, kicking off her own title, wasn’t too bad either, tying in with the events of Infinite Crisis and Luthor and such, and the use of her evil side was a nice touch. But the story was so drawn out what with all of the delayed issues, it was a little hard to follow. But now, the midriff-baring whiner moves into One Year Later, dragging Power Girl along with her, into a twisted vision of the bottle city of Kandor. Making this story, even more lame, in my opinion, is the use of Ultraman and the evil Saturn Girl from another Superman/Batman arc. I’m just not buying it, literally.

Detective Comics 821 (DC Comics) — New writer Paul Dini is not the first scribe to return this title to one that lives up to its name, but as a creator on Batman, The Animated Series, he’s proven he gets Batman, isn’t afraid to use Bruce Wayne in a story as more than a fool, and above all, shows us why Batman is known as the World’s Greatest Detective. He doesn’t just punch his way to a resolution in this done-in-one tale, he searches out clues, follows leads and uncovers a new villain with good, old-fashioned detective work.

Teen Titans 37 (DC Comics) — I’ve been reading a lot of people bashing this title of late online. I’m starting to agree that maybe it's lost its focus a little bit with the jump One Year Later. I’m not opposed to having new characters in the group, but its almost like Johns is bored with keeping Cyborg, Robin and Wonder Girl around but feels he has to to keep his audience. Or maybe he’s stretched a little thin right now with all he’s doing. It’s the Titans; I have high hopes, so I’m not dropping it yet, but I’m disappointed in this most recent arc.

Secret Six 2 (DC Comics) — Just not quite sure about this one either. Gail Simone is such a great writer and Villains United such a great read, I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt so far. But this follow-up miniseries seems even more violent, and with somewhat less focus, so far.

The Thing (2005) 8 (Marvel Comics) — Now this is good comics, people!!!! Naturally, it’s the last issue. I don’t like everything Dan Slott writes. I just don’t get the appeal behind his latest reimagining of She-Hulk. It’s just not that funny to me. But he did right by bashful Benjy, the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing. And in true style for a fun comic, Slott takes this book out on a high note. Just about evertbody who’s anybody in the Marvel Universe shows up in this blowout final issue for a rollicking Superhero Championship poker match.

Slott went out on such a high note, how can I do any less? That’s it for today. Happy collecting.

Getting Back Into The Groove

Still a somewhat slower than normal week, reading-wise, but I managed to read a couple more back issues before getting the most recent month’s stash in the computer, then begin checking them out. So, let’s get right to those reviews.

Crisis On Infinite Earths 4 (DC Comics) — The cover tells it all on this issue: Death of the Monitor! Harbinger’s “betrayal” in killing her mentor while under the control of the as-yet unrevealed villain of the epic is what sets most of the rest of the action in motion for this series.

Legends of the DC Universe Special: Crisis On Infinite Earths 1 (DC Comics) — This 1999 comic came almost 15 years after the original maxiseries. Billed as “The Untold Story,” this tale by Marv Wolfman, Paul Ryan and Bob McLeod doesn’t really hinge on any major reveals. It focuses on Barry “The Flash” Allen as he learns what the Anti-Monitor and the anti-matter cloud are all about. The story loosely takes place between the events of the original series’ issues 4 and 5. What really sets this issue off, though, is Earth-D, as far as I know, a previously unvisited alternate Earth within the multiverse. Flash accidentally ends up on this earth and meets the members of the Justice Alliance of America — a Japanese-American Flash, yellow-skinned Hawks, a much nicer Batman and his son, Robin, husband and wife Superman and Supergirl, a Native American Green Arrow and husband and wife Wonder Woman and Atom. These heroes, later joined by several more familiar faces struggle — ultimately in vain, remember, we already know how this is going to turn out — to save Earth-D from the anti-matter cloud.The characters introduced in this tale show what makes our more familiar heroes great by their differences and similarities, and they passed away from the scene much too quickly. If you liked the Crisis, if you just like good alternate reality tales, or if you just love superheroes, go get this book and read it.

Powers 19 (Marvel Icon) — I like what is going on with this book right now, just not how slowly events are unfolding. Deena has powers now. Walker has gotten powers again. Calista has grown up to be the new Retro Girl. Now if they could just get the book out on a regular basis, that’d be great. And I love the letter column in this book. Especially how Bendis has to constantly remind people not to send him unsolicited work for both his and their protection. It sucks if you’re trying to break into the business, yes, but that’s the reality of things, people.

52 Week Nine (DC Comics) — OK, going by the little caption boxes, we only see two days worth of events in this issue. Not only is that not a whole week, but the story doesn’t feel like it moved forward much in those two days. I like the series, but it can get a tad slow at times.

That’s it for this time. Short and sweet, but unlike 52, it’s progress.