A little more figure talk

The last round of auctions ended, but another new round is going on right now through Friday. This one has several more figures; in fact, it is mostly figures this time around. You can get to the auctions and check them out here.

Anyway, since I have another round of figure auctions running, I thought I would give a little more information about them this week. I started out buying the 6-inch line of figures that DC Direct started putting out in the 1990s, buying almost every figure as it came out. There were a few others from other lines — especially once Mattel started up its DC Universe Classics line of 6-inch figures — but most of my figures were DC characters with an occasional favorite from another toy line or company.

They were everywhere in my home office, on shelves on the wall, on book cases, on comic storage boxes, etc., anywhere I could find a place to stand them up. Then I started running out of room to put them, and I decided to sell off the vast majority of my figure collection and specialize.

I kept a few random figures of villains or heroes I liked, but from that point forward, I decided to mostly only buy and display figures based on my three top favorite characters — Aquaman, Green Arrow and Dick Grayson, the former including his incarnations as Robin, Nightwing and beyond.

That decision was made several years ago and in the interim, I have bought all shapes and sizes of figures and toys based on these three characters. Many of them are 6-inch figure lines, but some have come in other sizes ranging from figures to statues, from 1-inch figurines to 13-inch and above, from the detailed and serious to the silly and cartoony.

And now I am once again running out of room, and I've once again decided to sell off some of that collection. I plan to keep a couple hundred statues and figures, Pops and smaller toys that I really love for one reason or another. But that leaves more than 100 figures going up for sale to help sustain us while my wife and I continue to look for work. There are, of course, exceptions, but the vast majority of what I am selling are representations of those same three characters as that has long been the bulk of my collection.

Pictured here are a few more of the figures that are currently listed for sale on eBay. Give them a look, if you're so inclined. I appreciate it. And next time, I'm going to try to have some talk about "The woman who just wouldn't quit."

Maybe we can help each other out

Kind of a different post today, focusing a little more on the real world than usual, but I promise there is a comics related tie-in coming.

My wife and I are both out of work right now. We each got a decent severance package, so we are not in dire straits at this point, but we are both looking for new jobs after more than 20 years working for the same industry. I'm hoping to use some of my new-found "free time" to get a few more regular posts up here, but I also need to focus a good portion of my time looking for a new job. So time will tell how that all shakes out, I guess.

One other area I'm focusing on right now is culling a portion of my action figure collection and listing them for sale. My efforts at getting portions of my comic collection listed are also ongoing; but today, I want to focus on the figures.

I have a current round of auctions running right now on eBay which includes the figures pictured here and a few more along with a few dozen comics sets. Those auctions will end Thursday, in just two days. I hope to get another round of auctions listed with more figures by the end of the week. You can find me on eBay, and thus find my auctions, here.

I also have regular listings on StorEnvy and my own Steve's Comics For Sale websites. Simply follow the links to see all the items currently listed, and I will have the figures added to those sites soon.

I try to list my items for sale at reasonable prices. I don't intend to simply give my stuff away, but I'm also not looking to gouge or cheat anyone who shares my enjoyment for the hobbies I love.

I will tell you that the best prices for the items tend to be on my own site because I don't have to give a portion of the sale price to another site host like eBay or StorEnvy on my own site. Listings through those sites cost me more, so the prices need to reflect that, but I'm happy to sell any of my items for sale through any of the various options. Links to all the sites are also listed to the left, and they all include ways to contact me if you have questions.

Take a look if you have an interest in comics or figures, maybe find something for your own collection and know that your purchase is helping keep our little family afloat during this time of transition.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by here and read this. Hopefully I'll see you back here next week with a more traditional comics post. Happy collecting!

It truly is a return to greatness

Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands 1-6
DC Comics
Creators: Tony Isabella, Clayton Henry, Yvel Guichet and Pete Pantazis
Cover dates: January 2018 to June 2018

I've been discussing my recent reading projects — the Black Lighting comics written by the character's creator, Tony Isabella. That includes the original 1977 series and the subsequent 1995 relaunch. I've had these two sets of comics in my collection for a number of years. I made it a point to read them now largely because this series was coming out, and it also would be written by Isabella.

This series is very much a product of its time, being ripped from the current headlines of innocent black people being harassed or shot simply because they are black. I criticized the 1995 series for being such a product of its time that it felt very dated reading it now, more than 20 years later. I admit we are still too close to the current time to judge accurately how well this title will age, but I don't think this series will suffer that same problem.

Isabella does a wonderful job of presenting today's racial tensions as the complex issue they truly are. While the members of the black Simmons family tragically at the center of much of the action of this tale are innocent victims of circumstance, the story does not shy away from presenting black characters as villains. Also, some very bad examples of humanity on the police force in this story are not used to depict all police officers as evil, corrupt or misguided. The characters are people first, and the color of their skin does not factor in what kind of people they are or what role they fill in society.

Having read this latest series immediately after the previous two, I also appreciated how Isabella took great supporting characters from Black Lightning's previous casts, and updated or tweaked them in nice ways. For instance, Walter Kasko was a fellow teacher with Jefferson Pierce in the 1995 series. In "Cold Dead Hands," he becomes the principal at the Cleveland school where Pierce now teaches. A police detective contact from the previous series, Tommy Colavito, becomes a young, female police detective named Tommi Colavito, who we learn in the story grew up with Pierce. There was nothing that would detract for someone being exposed to a Black Lightning comic for the first time with this story; rather it was a nice treat for longtime readers.

I also appreciated the artwork in this series more than that in the 1995 series. Clayton Henry has a dynamic style that shows the action well and also offers a variety of faces and physical characteristics that make it easy to distinguish between characters at a glance. He also gives Black Lightning a new costume, mirroring the one used in the new CW television show, which I think is a smart move if DC hopes to capitalize on the TV program for comic sales and vice versa. That doesn't mean all characters in the comics should mimic their appearances in other media, but for one that appears as infrequently in comics as Black Lightning, why not?




If you didn’t try this series as it came out just a few short months ago, I believe the trade is being solicited now for an October release. Keep a lookout for it, as this is good comics!

The 1990s were not kind to Pierce

Black Lightning 1-13
DC Comics
Creators: Tony Isabella, Eddie Newell, Ron McCain, Octavio Cariello, David Zimmerman, Fred Fredericks, David DeVries, Lane Shiro, Mike Huddleston and Keith Champagne
Cover dates: February 1995 to February 1996

I've been writing about finally reading the Black Lightning issues written by the character's creator, Tony Isabella. You can read my thoughts on the 1977 series here, as well as a bit of back story on how I finally came to be reading these issues I've owned for several years.

This week we are going to look at the mid-1990s relaunch of Black Lightning as a solo title. Writing chores were again handled by Isabella, but the character underwent certain tweeks in keeping with the grim-and-gritty feel of comics in the 1990s and the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths and post-Zero Hour DC Universe continuity.

Suicide Slum is replaced by the generic Brick City. The artwork is darker and not an improvement, in my opinion. I'm not familiar with much else that penciller Eddie Newell has done, but I was not a fan of his interpretation of Black Lightning or his world. Nor was I a fan of Black Lightning’s ’90s costume redesign. The big, thick wrestling-style belt and the oversized jacket collar than served to partially obscure Jefferson Pierce's face when he was in costume seemed like they would be cumbersome for a heroic action costume.

In many, many ways this title was a product of the 1990s and reading the series now, it feels somewhat dated as a result.

Having said all that, I did still like the voice Tony Isabella gave to Black Lightning and the initial story arcs of this new series. The supporting cast is expanded and fleshed out nicely. The only real misstep I saw in the writing was the representation of Gangbuster, a supporting character from the Superman books, who makes an appearance in the story arc in issues 6-8; Jose Delgado did not seem to be the same character in this story as he was in the Superman titles of the time, which I did read as they were coming out.

But then, with issue No. 9, Tony Isabella was gone and David DeVries was the new writer on the title. I'm not familiar with DeVries from any other comics work, and I don't know what brought about the change in writer, but my own feeling is that the book suffered with the change. The resulting stories under DeVries were OK, but they were more typical superhero fare where the writer could remove Black Lightning and substitute any other hero with very few changes. These just didn't feel like Black Lightning stories to me, certainly not Jefferson Pierce stories. But again, that may be my skewed history with the character more than anything else.Your mileage may vary.

Come back next week to see my thoughts on Isabella's modern return to Black Lightning, "Cold Dead Hands."

It was an electrifying debut

Black Lightning 1-11
DC Comics
Creators: Tony Isabella, Trevor Von Eeden, Frank Springer and Vince Coletta
Cover dates: April 1977 to October 1978

Longtime readers of this blog know I buy more comics than I read. Oh, I intend to read all of them eventually, and I've slowed down in my buying quite a bit in more recent years, but I still have a huge backlog of trades, hardcovers and even single-issue back issues that I have purchased over the years and haven't gotten around to reading yet.

I usually read comics from that backlog at random as time allows. Every now and then, though, something will prompt me to grab something from the middle of the stack and vow to read it next. The announcement some months back that Tony Isabella would be returning to write for DC Comics on his creation, Black Lightning, prompted such a move.

I know a little about Black Lightning, but I'm no expert. I've read the late 1970s issue of Justice League of America where Superman invites Black Lightning to join the League and the hero of Suicide Slum famously turns down the invitation. I've read several issues of the various iterations of the Outsiders (both with Batman and without). I've read more recent issues of Justice League where Black Lightning was a member. There have been many, many other stories that included Black Lightning — some even featuring him as the title character such as Black Lightning: Year One by Jen Van Meter and Cully Hamner from almost 10 years ago now — but I've never read any of the Black Lightning comics written by his creator, Tony Isabella, a writer whose work I enjoy.

In the late 1970s when this initial series debuted, I was 10 years old. There were no comics shops; instead we bought our comics at the grocery store or department stores. Limited availability, limited mobility and limited resources — even though this was a time when comics were a fraction of the cost they are now — all contributed to my being unaware of the new character or his title at the time. And honestly, even if I had known about Black Lightning in 1977, I likely wouldn't have cared to buy his comic when other names were more recognizable to me.

But as an adult collector, I've long been curious about the initial series and Black Lightning's mid-1990s second solo series, also written — at least initially — by Isabella. Over the years, I've managed to track them all down. Now a new, modern start for Black Lightning was being planned, and Isabella would again by writing Jefferson Pierce. I wanted to read all three series together. The fact that a new "Black Lightning" television adaptation was coming was also a factor, but less of one since it would debut on the CW before the new comic series and before I'd have a chance to read the back issues I owned.

I enjoyed watching the CW's debut season of "Black Lightning." While I'd heard names like Tobias Whale and Inspector Henderson from the comics before, watching this new television program told me a lot about these people I knew little about. It also introduced me to names I'd not heard before like Peter Gambi and The 100. While some of the relationships and interactions depicted in "Black Lightning" the television series were not exactly the same as those from the comics, the show served as a nice introduction prior to reading these earliest Black Lightning comics.

The first Black Lightning comics series ran for 11 issues before being caught up in the "DC Implosion," a name coined in jest mocking the line-wide expansion that had just been announced as the DC Explosion. I didn't know it at the time I bought these back issues, but the sudden cancellation of many titles at DC in 1978 left many story lines unresolved and several issues written and drawn without a title to publish them in. Black Lightning was no exception, and what would have been issue No. 12 later ran as a segment in an issue of World's Finest Comics. Sadly, I don't own that World’s Finest issue, but I found the previous 11 issues of Black Lightning quite enjoyable despite the abrupt ending.

Peter Gambi is still very much a father-figure and mentor to former Olympian Jefferson Pierce, who has returned to Suicide Slum to teach by day and clean up the streets by night. I was surprised to learn that initially Black Lightning did not have the metahuman powers he would later develop. Instead, he has an electromagnetic belt that gives him a protective force field and some limited ability to discharge electrical current in the form of lightning bolts. But the belt is the source of those abilities; they do not exist within Jefferson himself.

Primarily, Black Lightning battles The 100, a gang that controls much of the vice in Suicide Slum and keeps the populace in check by recruiting its young people and keeping people afraid, on drugs or both. Tobias Whale is one of the chief architects of The 100's activities, and very early on they recruit an archer/assassin named Merlyn to take out Black Lightning. I've always liked the character of Merlyn and did not know he was associated with Black Lightning at all. I was also pleased to find out after reading the early issues of Black Lightning with his involvement, that this is one of the earliest appearances of the character since his debut in the pages of Justice League of America.

For those who don't know, Suicide Slum is a subdivision of Metropolis in the comics. That's how a cop like Inspector Henderson, a frequent Superman supporting character in some eras, comes to play such a large role in early issues of Black Lightning. But also, being set within Metropolis, it would make sense that Superman might show up in some form in this first Black Lightning series. I was pleasantly surprised to see that he does appear in several issues, as does Jimmy Olsen. Nice continuity tie-ins there!

And then there's the title character, Black Lightning, a.k.a. Jefferson Pierce. Pierce is a likable, relatable character in these earliest issues. He has confidence, which he would need to play dress up and believe he has a chance against the thugs he fights. He is a skilled athlete as readers are reminded by references to his Olympics background, so his exploits are believable. And Pierce seems equally at ease in the classroom, teaching his students and being a role model for them as a citizen, even without his costume and flashy superhero identity. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I really enjoyed these early issues.

Be sure to come back next week and we’ll fast forward to the character’s mid-1990s relaunch.

Support Richard Moore's new Patreon page

I'm a fan of Richard Moore's work and want to do what I can to support him and get to see more of his creations, so I'm very happy to help share the news that Richard has a new Patreon page. You can find it at https://www.patreon.com/richardmoore

Moore has many creations to his credit, many of them in an adult vein. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but my absolute favorite realm he has created is the world of Boneyard, which is completely family friendly. Boneyard is the story of Michael Paris, a young man who inherits a cemetery full of some colorful characters. If you've never tried it, I highly recommend checking it out. Don't believe me? Check here and here, to name just two places.

I also hope this Patreon thing works out for Richard and will allow him to create more Macabre-type comics. That was a great series that sadly became just a one-shot.

So please go check out Richard's Patreon page and support him, if you're able!

And come back here next Tuesday for another new, lengthier post. I promise to try and make it electrifying!

Open your comics for today's lesson

Justice League of America Nos. 118-119
DC Comics
Creators: Elliot S! Maggin, Dick Dillin, Frank McLaughlin and Julius Schwartz
Cover dates: May and June 1975

I was listening to a news report the other day about the latest advances using radio telescopes to find and contact extra-terrestrial life. I confess, I was only half listening as I did some work around the house, but it seemed as if the commentator on the news program was describing how the telescope was being adapted to search for sounds, not merely light, from out in the galaxy. She went on to discuss how advances had made it possible to search a vast swath of space simultaneously as opposed to a single point in space at a time.

Here's the part I may have heard wrong, but it sounded like the newscaster was comparing the current technology used with that of the tech available when scientists first began listening for radio signals from space with radio telescope technology — just a few years ago. Again, I may have heard incorrectly what the newscaster was saying. But I know the idea of using radio telescopes to listen for signals from space is much older than just a few years. I know this from a number of sources, just one of which is comics. One of my favorite childhood Justice League stories was set in motion by the use of a radio telescope and a misunderstood message.


I now own these two issues, but my first exposure to this two-parter —"Takeover of the Earth-Masters!" and "Winner Takes the Earth!" — was in a paperback novel-sized, black-and-white reprint book published by Tor Books. These two issues of Justice League were reprinted with the story from issue No. 130 all wrapped up in a cover swiped from issue No. 102.

This story is set in motion by a frustrated researcher operating a radio telescope. (Why researchers in the DC Universe are wasting time trying to locate and prove the existence of extra-terrestrial life when Superman and several other aliens are openly running around on the planet isn't raised in the issue, by the way.) Anyway, this researcher — named Dr. Hubble — is frustrated by his lack of results and grumbles to himself, "There's no worse trouble on Earth than this radio-telescope has been! I'd have to be a super-being to communicate with other worlds!" Unbeknownst to Dr. Hubble, he accidentally transmits this message, which is received in a garbled form so it sounds like, "There's ... trouble on Earth … super-being … ."

The alien who intercepts the message mistakenly believes the people of Earth to be enslaved by evil super-beings and dispatches a bunch of lifeforms named Adaptoids to help. These creatures land and are quickly confronted by concerned Justice League members Aquaman, Black Canary, the Flash, Red Tornado and Superman, all of whom are defeated rather handily

A couple, quick side notes: The Adaptoids land on Earth in what the being in charge calls their "raw form" — vaguely circular pink blobs. (Remember, my first exposure to this story was a black-and-white reprint; so I didn't know they were pink in color and always thought the Adaptoids looked a lot like the single-celled alien creatures in the original "Star Trek" series episode "Operation: Annihilate.") Anyway, in the middle of the battle with these five Leaguers, the Adaptoids change their shape — a bottle-like torso with three spindly legs and one eye stalk/tentacle coming out of the top. Again, the being in charge of the Adaptoids refers to this as their evolution "into the form that is perfect for survival on Earth – infinitely superior to the human body!" But then when the five Leaguers renew their attack on the Adaptoids, they are again pink blobs and remain so for the rest of this tale. So they reverted? Why?

The five Leaguers are again defeated and retreat back to the JLA satellite. The second issue opens with the Adaptoids announcing that they have decided all humanity is a disease that needs to be exterminated. Additional Leaguers show up to challenge the Adaptoids in various locations. But Green Arrow, Elongated Man, Batman and the Atom fare no better. The original five dispirited heroes beam their teammates to the satellite to save them, but the Adaptoids follow and a battle royale ensues 22,300 miles above the Earth. I won't ruin the ending of the story for anyone not familiar with it, but the League is finally saved by the timely intervention of yet another longtime member.

Free Comic Book Day finds and thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More Superman. But well worth checking out!

Action Comics No. 999
DC Comics
Creators: Dan Jurgens, Will Conrad, Ivan Nunes and Rob Leigh
Cover date: March 2018

Most Superman fans are eagerly awaiting next month's Action Comics No. 1,000, a super-milestone, to be sure. But Dan Jurgens and crew made this preceding issue one not to be ignore.

Why?

Because Jurgens shows once again why Superman is the first and one of the greatest heroes ever: his genuine compassion and concern for others, even the villains he faces.

The most recent storyline in Action Comics involved some time travel, both backward and forward from the present. I won't spoil that story either, but information revealed to Superman during the course of that story made him question the humane-ness of sending villains into the Phantom Zone, a dimension discovered by his father, Jor-El. In the Phantom Zone, individuals exist only as disembodied wraiths who can still see and hear events in the real world but never interact or impact those events.

Superman's own experiences within the Phantom Zone have revealed that there is more to it than that, however. That plane of existence actively acts to overwhelm a person's hope and will. That aspect of the Phantom Zone makes exile there a cruel and unusual punishment, Superman decides, and he moves to find another solution for villains too powerful for earthly imprisonment, one that is less punitive, more humane, for the convicted.

Nice job, Superman. You are truly a shining example for us to follow. And kudos to Jurgens and the team for a fine issue!

Focusing on the backups

Superman Nos. 358 and 363
DC Comics
Creators: Bob Rozakis, Denys Cowan, Dick Giordano, Anthony Tollin and Shelly Leferman, Rich Buckler, Joe Giella, Milt Snapinn and Jerry Serpe
Release dates: April and September 1981

Last time, we spoke about a backup story in Superman No. 353 titled "The Secret Origin of Bruce (Superman) Wayne." I compared it to the 1990s Elseworlds one-shot Superman: Speeding Bullets.

It turns out there was a series of rotating backups in the Superman title in 1981-82, all written by Bob Rozakis, that looked at different eras and takes on the familiar Man of Steel mythos.

"Superman: The In-Between Years" looked at the time immediately after a young Clark Kent graduated from Smallville High School but before his move to Metropolis to attend college.

"The Fabulous World of Krypton" segment looked at life on Superman's native world before its destruction.

"The Adventures of Superman 2020" followed the adventures of the Superman we know, now aging and graying; his adult son, Superman Jr.; and his teenaged grandson, just starting in the hero business as Superman III or the Superman of 2020.

Later in 1982, "The Private Life of Clark Kent" series from several years prior was revived.

I'm sure each of these backup series have fans. But for my money, the best of them was the world imagined in "The Secret Origin of Bruce (Superman) Wayne." Two subsequent Superman issues returned to that world. The first, the backup story in Superman No. 358, asked readers to "Just imagine … 'A Day in the Life of Bruce (Superman) Wayne.'"

A brief, four-panel recap of the first tale from Superman No. 353 refreshes readers' memories of how baby Kal-el's rocket from Krypton lands on the outskirts of an early, smaller Gotham City. The infant is found by patrolman Jim Gordon and taken to the Waynes, who decide to adopt the child. The boy grows and begins exhibiting strange powers and abilities, which the Waynes disclose to Gordon. The three adults keep the secret and mentor the boy until his 21st birthday, when young Bruce saves his father from an assassination attempt by mobster Lew Moxon. Thus begins the career of Superman.

The "Day in the Life" story takes place an unspecified amount of time later, deals with Superman thwarting a group of terrorists trying to blow up a plane that his adoptive parents happen to be on, and discloses more information about the dual life led by Bruce Wayne after Superman's debut. For instance, when not wearing his Superman uniform, Bruce disguises himself in much the same way Clark Kent does in the traditional DC Universe, by wearing glasses and combing his spit curl back.

Jim Gordon is now police commissioner of Gotham and has a signal device — much like Jimmy Olsen's signal watch in regular continuity — that he uses to alert Superman to trouble. When Bruce receives such a signal, he simply focuses his super-hearing and super-vision on police headquarters so Gordon can talk directly to him. There's no real explanation of how Gordon knows Bruce is ready, but I imagine this wasn't meant for that kind of scrutiny.

The most interesting change for me, was seeing Bruce Wayne's day job, working in a book store named the Book Cellar with his girlfriend, Barbara Gordon. Despite being Jim Gordon's daughter, Barbara obviously knows nothing about her beau's secret identity. It is also pretty clear that she has little use for Superman.

I admit this choice on Rozakis' part regarding a day job for Bruce Wayne seems an odd one to me. As the adopted son of millionaire parents, I wouldn't think Bruce would need to work at all. But let's say that his parents and their friend Jim Gordon have instilled a sense of civic responsibility in young Bruce, which is obvious from these stories. How else do you explain Bruce's ultimate decision to adopt the guise of Superman to help people unless that is the case? But then why work in a book store? I'm guessing the decision was made simply to work Bruce's closeness to Barbara into the stories, but wouldn't their growing up together accomplish that? Really, I'm not complaining or trying to belittle the work; I love these stories. This just struck me as an odd choice within the stories.

Getting back to the narrative at hand, when the commissioner alerts Bruce to the terrorist danger, the Kryptonian creates a rather elaborate ruse to leave the Book Cellar and go into action as Superman. After thwarting the terrorists, Bruce returns to the Book Cellar only to have Barbara challenge his reasons for leaving.

"No hold on, Barbara … you may think that's a reason to suspect I'm Superman … ," Bruce begins. But Barbara cuts him off with a different accusation.

"What on earth are you talking about?" she asks. "You're meeting another woman behind my back … ."

Way to almost blow your own secret identity, Clark — er, Bruce! This was a nice callback to regular continuity where Lois Lane is always trying to prove that Superman and Clark Kent are the same person. But in this case, we are given no real reason other than regular continuity to explain why Bruce makes that leap in logic. But again, this is a minor quibble.

Next, in Superman No. 363, the backup tale is a story called "A Night in the Life of Bruce (Superman) Wayne." Oddly enough, both covers from these two issues show Superman flying over the skyline with a Bat-signal-like "S" light shining in the sky, but such a device is never used in any of these stories.

The splash page for this tale includes another four-panel recap, then a large single panel showing the wedding of Bruce Wayne and Barbara Gordon. A turn of the page reveals that one year has passed since that wedding, and the now Mrs. Bruce Wayne is watching a videotape of the ceremony and reflecting back on her wedding day. Her musings lead her to recall how Bruce finally revealed his secret to her at the start of their honeymoon.

Bruce telling Barbara that he is Superman does not go as he expected. Barbara tells her new husband that she expects him to retire from his costumed exploits now that he is married. Bruce is shocked until Barbara explains her reasons, that while he might save a life here and there thwarting crime on the streets, he could better serve humanity by using his super-intellect to create a cure for deadly diseases. Hearing her rationale, Bruce agrees and announces Superman's retirement to the world.

Back in the present, Barbara is regretting her decision for a number of reasons. While Bruce has succeeded in curing a number of common human ailments, he spends nearly all of his time in his basement lab working, to name just one reason. Things get worse when Barbara's private thoughts are interrupted by a phone call from Police Chief O'Hara. Commissioner Gordon has been shot and killed.

Barbara cries out in shock and pain, and Bruce rushes to her side. When she fills him in on what has happened, Bruce quickly dons his Superman outift and explains that he will fly back in time and prevent the tragedy. Superman's attempt to change events fails when he emerges in the past as only a ghostly image — a fact that is explained using great comic-book science — but he does manage to learn the identity of Gordon's killer — Lew Moxon.

Back in the present once again, Superman tells his wife the news and promises to at least catch Moxon and bring him to justice. Barbara stops him, telling him that she realizes now that Superman was a symbol Gotham needs to keep criminals at bay. She says that she has decided to be that symbol now, and she will catch her father's killer — as Batwoman. Thus, out of tragedy, a new World's Finest team is born.

These three little tales were a great, fun diversion, a glimpse into how things might have been, and I wouldn't have minded reading a few more of them. Alas, as far as I know, these were the only three such Bruce (Superman) Wayne stories from this era. While the other backup features continued on from this point, it seems like the return of "The Private Life of Clark Kent" replaced this one. At least until Speeding Bullets came along.

Don't give up on me just yet

It's been a crazy couple weeks, so no new post once again this week, but here's a small teaser image for the next post, just to let you know I am thinking of things. Just haven't had a chance to write my thoughts down as yet.

In the meantime, happy collecting!

Everything old is new again Vol. 2

Superman No. 353
DC Comics
Creators: Bob Rozakis, Curt Swan, Frank Chiaramonte, Milt Snapinn, Gene D'Angelo and Julius Schwartz
Cover Date: November 1980

I'm still making my way through that large purchase of old Superman comics from the 1970s and early 1980s as I have time. But I came across one story the other day that proved to be very serendipitous timing.

Let's back up. About three weeks before, I was talking comics with a co-worker who shares an interest in the hobby. I honestly don't remember how the topic came up, but I was asking him if he'd read an Elseworlds one-shot from 1993 titled Superman: Speeding Bullets by J.M. Dematteis and Eduardo Barreto. The vast majority of the Elseworlds titles from the 1990s were Batman-centric comics with a few Superman and Justice League titles thrown in here and there. This one had Superman right in the title, but seemed to depict Batman right there on the cover.

The story posits that the rocket from Krypton lands not in Kansas, but on the outskirts of a much smaller Gotham City. And instead of Jonathan and Martha Kent finding the rocket's sole occupant, young couple Thomas and Martha Wayne happen upon the child. Being wealthy and childless, they decide to keep the child and raise him in the seclusion Wayne Manor provides. Martha teaches the young boy about compassion and the need for those who are able to help those who are less fortunate. Thomas teaches the boy to care about the law and doing what is right. And they are a happy family until one night when the boy, named Bruce Wayne by his adoptive parents, is 9 years old. The family is leaving the theater when they are mugged by a small-time hood named Joe Chill.

The parents are killed, and the anger, hurt and pain that Bruce feels explode out of him in the form of hot death from his eyes, something that traumatizes the child even more. Guilt and shame consume the boy to the point that he forgets the details of what happened, and he lives in seclusion until he reaches the age of 21. More powers and abilities have developed in the meantime, but it is at this point that the Wayne's butler, and Bruce's surrogate father, Alfred, tries to help the young man by revealing what is known about his origins. The shock of seeing the rocket brings back the traumatic memories of the night Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed, and Bruce swears to take out his anger and loathing on the lawless as a creature of the night named Batman.

Bruce pursues that mission in the daytime by buying the Gotham Gazette and serving as its crusading publisher and in the night by brutally punishing all who would prey on others as the Baman. Only by making a new friend does Bruce come to realize that his brutal nighttime methods make him little better than the criminals he opposes, and he chooses to follow a different path.

Of course, I didn't recall all of those details in the conversation with my co-worker. It had been several years since I last read Speeding Bullets. But about a week after that conversation, I came across the book while going through part of my collection looking for something else. I re-read the issue, then took it to work to let my co-worker borrow it since he seemed interested and hadn't previously read the story. Then, just a few days later, I sat down to read Superman No. 353, the next in my stack.

Those familiar with the nearly 40-year-old comic might recognize that the page pictured at the top of this post is not from the main story. Rather it is an eight-page backup story from the issue titled "The Secret Origin of Bruce (Superman) Wayne," and I was happy to read a very similar — but also very different — story to Superman: Speeding Bullets.

In the 1980 tale, as in the 1993 one, the rocket from Krypton again (or previously) crashes on the then-outskirts of a smaller Gotham City. In this instance, however, the young baby Kal-El breaks out of the rocket on his own and begins to crawl toward town when he is spotted by a young Gotham City patrolman named James W. Gordon. Gordon makes a report to his desk sergeant, asking if anyone has reported a missing baby. Finding no such reports, he decides to take the child to his friend, Dr. Thomas Wayne, to ensure the child is uninjured. Dr. Wayne and his wife, Martha, decide to keep the baby until his real parents can be located rather than having the infant sent to an orphanage, and Gordon agrees. When no one comes forward, the Waynes adopt the child and name him Bruce.

True to Superman's earlier origins, this child from Krypton already has most of his future powers even as an infant rather than developing them over time and exposure to earth's yellow sun. The Waynes notice evidence of Bruce's unusual abilities right away — his impervious skin, his ability to fly and his X-ray vision — but keep quiet about them until the fateful encounter with Joe Chill.

In this instance, the quick-thinking young Bruce uses his super speed to reach out and grab the bullets before they can strike either of his adoptive parents. Chill, spooked by the turn of events, tries to shoot the boy directly and is instead hit by a ricochet off the boy's invulnerable chest. Patrolman Gordon, alerted by the sound of the gunshots, arrives on the scene in time to hear Chill's dying words, a confession that he was hired to kill the Waynes by mobster Lew Moxon.

Moxon is jailed. Gordon is promoted to sergeant for his part in the case. And the Waynes finally decide to confide in someone — their friend, Gordon — about young Bruce's abilities. The three adults continue to be a guiding influence in shaping the man young Bruce will grow into. Then, on Bruce's 21st birthday, at a party thrown for him by his parents, the recently paroled Lew Moxon shows up to take his revenge. Bruce quickly disguises himself and thwarts the mob boss, thus beginning his career as Superman, aided by his parents and their friend, now Commissioner Gordon.

I know a lot of stories and ideas get recycled in comics, and the longer a reader is involved in the hobby, the more instances you will find. But it was particularly fun and timely to discover this version of Superman being Bruce Wayne so soon after talking about and re-discovering a later story that starts in the same place but takes a much different route to get to a similar ending. The simple germ of an idea can go in many different directions depending on the creators and the time in which it is developed. 

Everything old is new again

Deathstroke the Terminator Nos. 6-9
DC Comics
Creators: Marv Wolfman, Steve Erwin and Will Blyberg
Cover date: January-April 1992

Among the April 2018 solicitations for DC Comics is this blurb for Deathstroke No. 30: "'Deathstroke vs. Batman' part one! Beginning this month, a six-issue series-within-a-series featuring the ultimate showdown between DC’s fiercest rivals!"

I've read some issues of the current Deathstroke series and enjoyed them, so I mean no disrespect to writer Christopher Priest or artist Carlo Pagulayan when I raise the question: Are fans really clamoring for this face-off? Isn't this a bit of old news? These two characters squared off long ago in a truly excellent tale that avoided a number of potential pitfalls. Go check it out; it's well worth your time!

Let's give this tale a little bit of context. Deathstroke debuted alongside Marv Wolfman's and George Perez's The New Teen Titans in 1980. Longtime Titans foes the H.I.V.E. tried to hire the mercenary, Slade Wilson, to slay the teenage heroes, but he refused, preferring to avoid conflict with costumed vigilantes. So the H.I.V.E. set about engaging Deathstroke's services by involving his estranged son, Grant. Grant accepted the contract, but died while attacking the Titans, and Deathstroke, a man of honor, felt bound to complete his son's contract against his own better judgment.

This touched off a long antagonistic relationship between the Titans and Deathstroke that reached its conclusion in "The Judas Contract" storyline in 1984. Deathstroke finally fulfilled the terms of that original contract by successfully capturing all of the Titans and turning them over to the H.I.V.E. The heroes survived and escaped, but Deathstroke saw his obligation as fulfilled when he turned the Titans over. That wasn't the end of the character's history, however.

Deathstroke proved popular and was used as a villain in many other DC Comics. Some of those appearances made for good stories; some were less well conceived, especially in light of the character's ongoing appearances in the New Teen Titans title. Deathstroke made amends with the various Titans characters following "The Judas Contract" and even served as an ally to the team in the "Titans Hunt" storyline several years later. The character was still a mercenary for hire, but one with a rigid code of honor and ethics. Not everyone, especially a superhero, would agree with all of Deathstroke's decisions and actions, but the character was given more depth by Wolfman's continued use of him. He certainly wasn't a hero, but he could be someone readers could root for in a number of situations.

Following the "Titans Hunt" storyline, Deathstroke was given his own title. Many of the stories in this book took Wilson to foreign countries, often ones at war, where killing and mercenaries could be viewed outside the moral absolutes of most superhero stories. Wolfman's continued great writing and characterization made Deathstroke a more multi-faceted character, and Steve Erwin and Will Blyberg gave the art a crisp, clean, dynamic appearance.

The first story arc of the title re-examined Deathstroke's origin and added details to it while taking Wilson on an emotional journey through all of the tragedies of his life. I'm sure the addition of Batman in the second story arc was an attempt to pull in more readers with a more superhero-centric tale. But including a character like Batman could have backfired for the book.

Deathstroke is the title character of the book, which is also a new book to comic stands. It wouldn't be good to have the title character losing a fight. But neither is Batman a character DC would want to see put to shame in a matchup. Remember, the height of Batmania began in 1989 and is still going very strong in 1992. So they could fight to a draw? That wouldn't be satisfying for fans.

Instead, Wolfman smartly avoids having the characters go head-to-head. Remember, this Batman was very different from the Batman of today in one key regard. He's the world's best detective, an excellent combatant and a brilliant tactician. That has been — and always should be — a part of the Batman mythos. But in the early 1990s, Batman was still willing to work alongside other heroes, to trust other heroes and to listen to what other people had to say. Also, remember that Deathstroke at this point had very recently been an ally of the Titans.

In the "City of Assassins" storyline, Wolfman has Batman and Deathstroke working toward a common goal rather than at odds. There is an initial confrontation, and Deathstroke, an enhanced human, does have the upper hand against the Dark Knight, who while in peak form, is still human. But from the outset, Batman suspects that Deathstroke might be on the side of the angels after consulting with Nightwing for information about the mercenary. When others are quick to assume Deathstroke to be one of many bad guys in the scenario, Batman looks at the evidence of what has happened and rightly concludes that assumption is incorrect.

As an added bonus, this storyline also is the one that introduces the third character to bear the name Vigilante in the DC Universe. I strongly recommend it if you've never read it before. And even if you have, it is well worth another look if you haven't read it in a while!

Fun to read; powerful storytelling

Motor Girl Vols. 1 and 2 (Real Life and No Man Left Behind, respectively)
Abstract Studio
Creator: Terry Moore
Release Date: 2017

I am no longer a stranger to Terry Moore. I'd read and heard a lot about his epic "Strangers in Paradise" comic before I ever actually gave it a try. I hemmed and hawed with indecision, but picked up the digest-sized collections a time or two when I'd see them at shops. But they never seemed to have the first volume. One day I decided to take the plunge and just try the series. I tracked down all of the trades on either eBay or Amazon.

What I found was an incredible story about two women, their lives, their friends, their loves, etc. This was very much character-drive writing, and Moore was an excellent artist to boot. There was very little not to love!

To top it all off, not long after I finished reading the then-last trade of "Strangers," it was announced that Moore would be working on another story line titled "Echo." This title, oddly enough, also focused on strong female leads. It also had more of a sci-fi slant to it, while still being firmly grounded in the real world. In fact, late in the title's 30-issue run, it was revealed that "Echo" was set in the same universe as "Strangers" thanks to a common character. I collected that title as singles as they came out and enjoyed every issue.

Not long after "Echo" ended, Moore announced his next title, "Rachel Rising," would have a supernatural slant. I purchased that series in singles, as well, sticking with it well into the upper 20s. I still enjoyed Moore's strong writing, his beautiful artwork and his powerful female leads, even the undead ones, but it began to feel to me like the narrative of "Rachel" was beginning to meander a bit. Look back at some of my past posts and you can read more of my thoughts on Moore's previous titles.

But after I gave up on "Rachel Rising," I didn't heard about any more Terry Moore projects for a while. In fact, I failed to notice when "Motor Girl" was announced or solicited or released. I was happily surprised one day doing my comics order to see a new Terry Moore trade, and decided to give it a try.

I was glad I did. "Motor Girl" is "Sam"antha Locklear, a Marine Corps veteran fresh out of Iraq, where she was captured and tortured by the enemy. Back stateside, she now works in a Nevada desert junk yard where she prefers to be alone — except for the imaginary gorilla she calls Mike, her best friend; her boss, Libby, a grumpy but sweet old lady; and some comical little green men who land in her back yard with "engine trouble." Unfortunately, the arrival of the aliens brings some shadowy industrial/government types nosing around, too. And Sam is suffering from headaches and post-traumatic stress disorder from her ordeal in Iraq.

That first trade was everything I expected it to be. It was funny. It had a sense of drama and mystery. And there was also a sense of heavy foreboding regarding Sam's health. This book was definitely a keeper, and I kept watch for the second trade.

I was surprised to learn the month after I ordered that second trade that a "Motor Girl" omnibus would soon be solicited. That makes this the shortest Moore story I am aware of to date with only 10 issues to wrap up Sam's story. And I can confirm after now having re-read the first trade and reading the second trade that this is an incredible story about yet another strong female lead character.

Both volumes are great reads, and I am happy to recommend that anyone give them a chance. If you've read and enjoyed other Terry Moore Abstract Studio comics, you'll love this one, too. And If you've never tried his comics, this is a great one to start with. His work is deserving of your attention!

Sticking with original ideas and concepts

The Twilight Experiment tpb
DC Comics
Creators: Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, Juan Santacruz, Jose Luis Roger, Carrie Strachan and Phil Balsman
Release date: 2005

I got this book from a seller on eBay almost three years ago. When I buy out-of-continuity books like this one, especially trades, they often get tossed on a stack to be read when I have a chance. I didn't know anything about this title going in, so I imagine I purchased it because of the writers, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray.

I don't always like comics written by this frequent writing duo when they tackle established characters. I guess sometimes their idea of what company-owned characters like the Teen Titans members would do or how they'd act in given situations don't always line up with mine. But I have liked a lot of stories this pair has written using their own, original characters. Don't believe me? Check out these previous posts on Hype, Book Smart and Time Bomb, all penned by Palmiotti and Gray.

This collected six-issue miniseries is no exception. It was printed by DC Comics, but takes place in its own universe, not the DCU proper. In this world, there were only a handful of super-powered beings, and when they all destroyed each other, they took a good chunk of Denver, Colo., with them. This story focuses on Rene Doyle, a troubled paramedic who lost most of her family in the Denver battle when she was just a child, and Michael, the super-powered son of one of the heroes who gave her life trying to stop the violence that day. The two meet by chance, but soon find out that not only do they have a lot in common, they may be the world's only hope of preventing another, even greater tragedy.

Another great story by a simply terrific writing duo — at least when they are writing their own, original characters. And there's nothing wrong with that!

It's all about respect for the source material

The Bionic Man Volume 1: Some Assembly Required tpb
Dynamite Entertainment
Creators: Kevin Smith, Phil Hester, Jonathan Lau, Ivan Nunes, Simon Bowland, Alex Ross and Jason Ullmeyer
Release date: 2012

Bottom line: I was pleasantly surprised by this book, and I owe it all to Scott Gardner.

I've talked before about what a mixed bag I often find licensed properties in comics to be. Some are really good; but others really, really stink. On top of that, while I like a lot of Kevin Smith's movies, his comics work has also been a mixed bag for me. I really liked his relaunches of Daredevil for Marvel Comics in 1998 and Green Arrow for DC in 2001. Can't stand his work on Batman, though. Batman: Cacophony from 2008 was horrid.

So when I heard the news that Dynamite Comics had secured the license and planned to resurrect the idea of The Bionic Man, I was skeptical. Hearing that Kevin Smith would be the writer didn't change my mind. And the tragically botched attempt at a "Bionic Woman" reboot on television from several years prior was the final piece of evidence in my mind. Modern creators weren't handling Steve Austin or Jamie Summers right. No need to waste money on this comic. Nothing good could come of it.

And I never had reason to second-guess that opinion. Not until I listened to Scott Gardner rave about the then-new title on an old episode of one of his podcasts, Comics Monthly Monday.

A brief aside: For those of you who didn't read my post on podcasts, in a nutshell, I'm anal. I like to listen to podcasts when I exercise. But when I find a podcast I like, I want to listen to it from the beginning. I have more than a dozen I like to listen to, but my time to do so is quite limited, and many of the creators involved have been podcasting for quite a while. Long story short, I'm listening to podcasts from several years ago, not current ones. Right now, I'm listening to early 2012 podcasts because I just finished the 2011 episodes of my favorite shows. And it was during the December 2011 episode of Comics Monthly Monday, I'm pretty sure, that Scott, one of the three co-hosts of the show, was raving about the issues of The Bionic Man that he'd picked up.

He spoke so highly of the book and its faithfulness to the heart of "The Six Million Dollar Man" television program that introduced most of us to the concept of cyborgs and Col. Steve Austin (Yes, I know the show was based on the novel "Cyborg" by Martin Caidin from 1972, but the vast majority of the show's fans only learned about the book after first watching the show it inspired.), that I decided to give the series a try in trade.

The opening arc takes no less than 10 issues, all of which are collected in this larger than usual trade paperback collection. And Scott Gardner was quite correct. This series is very, very good.

It isn't the 1970s television program re-presented in comic book form. It has been updated for a modern audience. But in updating the concepts, the creators involved did not lose sight of what made fans of the television program love the show. The name was simplified to The Bionic Man because $6 million doesn't carry the financial heft it used to, but Smith finds a way to work in a special significance for the figure in this modern story as well. Also here are the red track suit; familiar phrases like "Colonel Steve Austin. A man barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology." and "We'll make him better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster."; Max the bionic dog; that cool sound effect from the show when Steve's bionics are being used. It's all here, maybe in slightly different contexts, but in ways that make sense in this new story while also showing a love for what has come before.

That's part of what makes this such a great comic. It's also why I liked the 1998 movie "Lost in Space" so much when it was not well received by most. That film had a lot of nods to the old TV show, while still forging its own path and finding a new story to tell. So many reboots or relaunches of old concepts today seem to say, "Let's take this old property and fix what's wrong with it." Well, if it was popular enough in its day that you are considering bringing it back, maybe you should have a little more respect for the old property. Maybe some of the ideas and concepts then will seem hokey today, but rather than poke fun of the property for that, find a new reason to make those elements relevant. Because quite often, those are the same elements that made the concept popular the first time around.

The Bionic Man is not an old episode retold in a new format. There are a number of changes and different concepts in this story that make it fresh. But it doesn't forget that there's a reason for the show's popularity. This book is well worth checking out whether or not you ever watched "The Six Million Dollar Man." I definitely think so. Thanks, Scott!

And Happy New Year's, too

Wishing everyone a safe and happy New Year's celebration and many more comic. And in the spirit of starting the year off right, here's another comic-themed happy New Year's illustration for your enjoyment. Come back next week for more comics talk!

Merry Christmas, everybody!

No new post this week. Just wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday. Read some comics; you'll be glad you did!

It's a bit of a head-scratcher

Future Quest Presents: Space Ghost 1-3
DC Comics
Creators: Jeff Parker, Ariel Olivetti, A Larger World Studio, Steve Rude, Brittany Holzherr and Marie Javins
Release dates: October-December 2017

I liked the 12-issue Future Quest title DC used to unite all of the Hanna-Barbera sci-fi and action/adventure characters together. Don't believe me, just read about it here.

Based on the strength of that series, I decided to pick up the follow-up book, Future Quest Presents, which so far is a solo Space Ghost story with cameos by the Herculoids. It clearly takes place after the events of the previous Future Quest series because Space Ghost and his teen allies, Jan and Jace, mention that adventure as having just happened.

I like this story on its own merits, so far. I also like how it is continuing to flesh out the back stories of its various characters. We learn more about the Space Force Space Ghost was once a part of, as well as more of the backstory of the twins now in his care. The fact that Jan and Jace are twins was taken directly from the "Space Ghost" cartoon, but viewers knew nothing about their parents or how they came to be under Space Ghost's care and tutelage.

This series shows the two youngsters attending school and keeping a secret the fact that they are training under Space Ghost to rebuild the once proud Space Force, and that's where I have issues that don't seem to quite line up for me. I can't think of a single instance where Jan and Jace are given a specific age, but they always seemed like teenagers to me in the show. Nothing in Future Quest made me think differently. And nothing in Future Quest Presents specifically contradicts that idea.

But the twins are drawn in these issues in a way that makes them seem younger than teens. The same goes for their classmates in the school they attend. I very much get an 8- to 10-year-old vibe, maybe slightly younger. They also make very obvious reference to the fact that noone at their school is supposed to know about their association with Space Ghost. Despite their undercover status at school, they wear their uniforms, identical to those worn by the members of the previous Space Force, something you'd expect to be a dead giveaway. Add to these oddities the absence of their usual comm badges; both teens typically wore red triangle badges with a picture of Space Ghost's head on them. These were used to communicate with each other while in space, and would also be a dead giveaway. Those comm badges are missing in these issues, even when the twins are with Space Ghost. I started to doubt that they did sport these devices in the show. But I checked out some episodes. They did wear them in the show, and they were drawn with them in Future Quest. So where are they now.

None of these discrepancies are ruining this book for me. But they do leave me scratching my head as to how these things were overlooked or "wrong" in an otherwise excellent series.

Creative. Educational. Entertaining. And a Little Bit Scary.

The Tithe Vol. 3: Samaritan
Image Comics
Creators: Matt Hawkins, Atilio Rojo, Troy Peteri, Elena Salcedo, Bryan Hill and Carey Hall
Release Date: September 2017

This will not be the first time I've mentioned this title on the blog. I covered the first trade collection and why I was interested in giving the series a try here. The series is the story of a hacker who is working to attack the corruption rampant in many of this country's mega-churches. It is not an attack on any specific religion or even on faith in general. One of the two FBI agents also central to the plot is a devoutly religious man, and the character is not presented as foolish or a zealot simply because he is a man of faith. Rather he is shown to be an intelligent, caring individual who also takes issue with the corruption the hacker, Samaritan, is targeting. That's intelligent, thought-provoking writing that uses real-world events and situations as a springboard for story ideas.

I liked that first trade so much, I was happy to learn that not only would there be a second volume, but that the writer, Matt Hawkins, and the illustrator, Rahsan Ekedal, had another series they collaborated on titled Think Tank. I decided to try Think Tank, which had three existing trades at that point, while I waited for The Tithe Vol. 2 to come out. I absolutely loved that series, too, although that's where the scary description comes in.

Think Tank follows the life of a young man named David Loren. Loren is a genius, so much so that he is recruited at the age of 17 by the government to come work for them. Loren is one of the people responsible for creating a lot of the tech the government uses, often for clandestine purposes and military applications. In exchange, they provide Loren with anything and everything he needs to live and work because they keep him under close wraps on a military base he is not supposed to leave. He has limited contact with the outside world — although often more than his handlers realize — and often gets bored with his work, the limited minds around him and the general sameness of his day-to-day existence. Not to mention he has increasing qualms about how the officials around him use his developments. So Loren has a tendency to go a little rogue.

Much like The Tithe, Think Tank is very intelligently written, and the stories leave readers with a lot to think about. Adding to the narratives is Hawkins' insistence on using real tech currently in use by the militaries and the governments of the world — not just our own — in his stories. I can't say for certain about the individual issues, but every one of the trades from both series have had extensive material, citations, internet links and other research to show the true applications behind the ideas in Hawkins' stories. The fact that some of this tech is real and not just the subject of a riveting fictional story can be a little scary at times.

But wait, there's more. (You remember I said these stories were thought-provoking and intelligent, right?) Both The Tithe and Think Tank inhabit a shared universe. Loren and his core supporting cast did not appear at all in The Tithe Vol. 1. And Samaritan and her core cast did not appear in the first couple trades of Think Tank stories. But some of the background politicians and other ancillary characters in Think Tank did appear as background characters and politicians in The Tithe. I confess, I did not catch those minor characters' crossovers until I read the solicits for a book called Eden's Fall. That book was co-written by Hawkins and Bryan Hill, and it was Hawkins' name that first caught my attention. But reading the advance solicitation material clued me in that this limited series would combine elements of all the Edenverse titles — Think Tank, The Tithe and a third series called Postal I hadn't previously been aware of. So I got Eden's Fall, and it also was great. That single trade is set in the environs of the Postal series, but also includes major characters from Think Tank playing a role, and could easily be billed as The Tithe Vol. 2.5. That's because events in Eden's Fall occur as a direct result of things from The Tithe Vol. 2, and the aftermath of Eden's Fall leads directly into the events in The Tithe Vol. 3.

Some readers might be getting skittish at this point. "Whoa, do I have to read all of these titles to make sense of any single story? That can get pricey!" I understand that fear, believe me. Many intra-company crossovers these days leave you with only part of the story unless you buy all the related crossover titles and one-shots, sometimes bits and pieces that are only very loosely related to the whole, but nonetheless important if you want a complete story. And I agree, that if you are already reading The Tithe, you kind of need to read Eden's Fall or you'll get lost between The Tithe Vols. 2 and 3. But Think Tank stands quite well on its own, and Think Tank is not needed to read any of The Tithe. All you really need to know about any crossover characters is given to you within the book in which they appear. Reading both series has given me a better understanding of some behind the scenes events in either book. But neither is critical to understanding the other. Which is how such crossovers should be handled, giving the decision-making power "to buy or not to buy" entirely to the readers.

Having said that, I liked The Tithe enough to try Think Tank — now up to five trades, the latest of which was a little weaker than the first four, but still good — to stick with The Tithe itself through three trades — all very great reads — to try and love Eden's Fall and now, finally, to go back and try Postal, the book Hawkins co-writes with Hill. That's the one Edenverse title I haven't read yet, but I like the others enough and the brief glimpse I got of those characters from the Eden's Fall collection, that I'm willing to try this series too — which currently has six trades available. What cemented my desire to take the plunge and try Postal, too? Both the Eden's Fall trade and The Tithe Vol. 3 trade included the first full issue of Postal for readers not familiar with the series. In fact, the Eden's Fall trade include the first issues of Postal, Think Tank and The Tithe, giving new readers an idea of what they could expect from the beginnings of each of the characters involved in the Eden's Fall story line. That's good cross-promotion. Not just, "If you liked this title, try our other products," but "If you liked this title and are interested in our other products, here's a free sample before you buy."

I know this post is light on specifics from any of the various titles. I always try to shy away from major spoilers, when possible. But I've also tried to give a sense of what the series I've read are about. I can't speak to Postal in depth yet since I haven't read those beyond issue No. 1. But if what I have said about The Tithe, Think Tank or Eden's Fall has piqued your interest at all, I think you'll enjoy them. And I like each of those series enough to try a fourth title by the same writer. These are definitely good comics!