Let's get this project funded

Mike Grell has a new Kickstarter campaign that launched March 22. The project promises the return of his popular character, Maggie the Cat, and if successful, the conclusion to a story which began in 1996 and has yet to be finished. You can find out more about the Kickstarter campaign here.

I've discussed before how I first became aware of Mike Grell's storytelling and artwork with his Green Arrow miniseries, The Longbow Hunters. From there, I discovered his earlier work on The Warlord and later Jon Sable, Freelance.

Maggie the Cat began as a secondary character in a Jon Sable story, but the character proved to be popular with her creator and readers. It would be easy to dismiss Maggie as a Catwoman knock-off for someone who has not read her stories. But the character is much more than that in Grell's hands.

Maggie is an American woman who married into the British aristocracy. Her husband is now dead, which is no great loss in Maggie's life. But much of her family's wealth and possessions have been scattered. She becomes a very accomplished cat burglar in an attempt to reclaim the various heirlooms and crosses paths with mercenary Jon Sable several times in his comic.

In the mid-1990s, Grell moved over to Image Comics, where he launched such series as Shaman's Tears and Bar Sinister. Image was also home to Maggie the Cat's first solo series in 1996. But the limited series was cut short by the comic implosion in the mid-1990s. Only the first two issues were published, and Maggie's solo story was never completed — until perhaps now.

In her solo story, Maggie is coerced by the British secret service into helping them thwart a terrorist plot. She is teamed with an SAS agent who bears a striking resemblance to a famous Scottish actor who portrayed an equally famous fictional British spy. This first Kickstarter project promises to update and re-release those first two issues with additional pages in a single volume. A few months later, a second Kickstarter will finally resolve the storyline. And based on response to these two volumes, more Grell Kickstarter projects may soon follow.

I encourage you to go check this project out at the link above. It's already well on its way to being funded, but if you have an interest in the storyline and are in a position to do so, I also encourage you to support the project. Grell is a proven writer and illustrator with a long history in comics. He has more stories to tell; let's give him an outlet to do so!

The best of the bunch

The Owl trade
Dynamite Entertainment
Creators: J.T. Krul, Heubert Khan Michael, Alex Ross, Vinicius Andrade and Marshall Dillon
Release date: 2016

This book was a happy coincidence. Three other trades caught my eye while surfing the web a few months ago. I added this trade only in an effort to raise my purchase total to a level that would net me free shipping. The other three trades ended up being mere eye candy without much substance. But this gem ended up making the entire purchase worthwhile.

The story springs out of the Project Superpowers concept Dynamite used to bring back a number of characters that were no longer in print and free of any copyright constraints. I read the initial series from 2008 and wrote about it here, but in a nutshell, a huge number of golden-age comic characters were locked away in an urn for half a century before being released back into the modern world. Following the initial series, a Volume 2 version was published alongside a number of limited series spotlighting many of the characters in solo adventures.

This trade collects the four-issue limited series focused on the Owl, a vigilante from the early 1940s. Much like Batman, the Owl has no special powers or abilities in his original incarnation. Rather he had a costume meant to shock and frighten criminals and a number of themed gadgets that helped the hero keep his advantage and defeat his foes. By day, the Owl is Yorktown police detective Nick Terry, and he is frequently joined in his later adventuring by Owl Girl, his real-life girlfriend and confidante, Belle, a newspaper reporter.

Like most of the other costumed heroes trapped for decades inside the urn, the Owl emerges slightly changed. His costume is more dramatic and modern-looking, and the Owl now has some new abilities that help him stun and subdue the more jaded criminals of today. This series focuses on Terry’s efforts to fit back into society and help mankind while haunted by the past he has lost. Owl Girl was not trapped inside the urn as the Owl was, thus robbing this hero of the happy ending and possible family he’d been fighting for. His story is very much one of a man out of time trying to find his place.

Complicating matters for the Owl, is his discovery that the criminals aren’t the only ones who have changed in his absence. A new brand of hero flies through the night skies over Yorktown. And the Owl fears this new crimefighter is no better than the criminals she maims and kills with abandon.

This trade was a joy to read, and I’m glad I finally discovered it. If you aren’t familiar with Project Superpowers, everything you need to know to follow this story is right here in these pages, and J.T. Krul weaves a truly engaging tale. The artwork, while not the best I’ve seen, isn’t bad. I especially like how Heubert Khan Michael switches up his style for the flashback scenes of the Owl’s earlier life, giving those panels a true golden-age feel.

Will there or won’t there be more? I hope there will

Near Death Vols. 1 and 2
Image Comics
Creators: Jay Faerber, Simone Guglielmini and Ron Riley
Release date: 2012

I guess I’m on a bit of a dark kick when you consider the last post was about the Netflix version of the Punisher and now this one is about a story about a hitman called Near Death. But it wasn’t planned that way. Instead, it all came about rather serendipitously.

I won’t go into my whole explanation of how I listen to podcasts here. In short, just know that I listen to a lot of older shows when I have a chance to listen. And sometimes, I will be inspired to try a book based on a podcaster’s thoughts and reactions to it. Such was the case recently when I heard a 2012 podcast review of the then-current Near Death series.

The series is about a hitman who gets shot and dies. Turns out his death was very brief but had a dramatic impact on the man. While dead on a makeshift operating table, the hitman sees what he believes to be hell. He comes back willing to do whatever it takes to balance the scales of his life in an effort to avoid ever going back to that place again. His solution, try to save people’s lives rather than taking them, ideally saving one person for every one of the many lives he’s cut short.

The concept piqued my curiosity. So next time I was placing my monthly order with my online comic shop, I decided to look for and found two collected editions of the series available among the back issue stock. I added them to my order and went on with my life. Then I got a small surprise the next month when I placed my next pre-order. There among the new solicits from Image Comics, the publisher of Near Death, was a solicitation for a forthcoming third trade. I added that to my order, and when the first two trades came, I set them aside to wait until I had the third in hand, too.

Obviously, I didn’t stop to consider the math of the situation right then. If the series was new in 2012, why would it just now be reaching the point of a third trade collection? I didn’t delve into that question until another month had passed by and I received word that the third Near Death trade had been canceled by the publisher. No mention of whether it was merely being delayed and would be resolicited or canceled due to lack of interest/orders.

So I finally researched that timing question. Turns out the 11 issues collected in the first two trades were the only issues of the ongoing series published before Near Death went on hiatus. The third trade I had seen solicited was intended as a standalone original graphic novel that would continue the story. If successful, a series of one-shots might have been the future of the stalled story. I certainly hope more are forthcoming as this is a great story. And the art is great, too. Artist Simone Guglielmini reportedly said he was trying to mimic the style of books like Criminal and Gotham Central, both of which I liked. So no surprise I like Near Death, too.

Markham, the hitman in the story, has few friends. That’s not surprising for someone who makes his living killing people. He does have a large number of work contacts, though. Many of those work contacts are less than thrilled by Markham’s change of heart when he starts saving people by thwarting some other hired killers’ efforts. Most heroes who work on behalf of others do so with the assistance of the police. That doesn’t work so well for Markham who is known as a contract killer by many law enforcement officials. All of these factors make it very challenging for Markham to live up to his new mission in life.

Near Death is written in an episodic format, with most issues being done-in-one tales. But Markham’s universe slowly grows over the course of the 11 issues as some folks who benefit from Markham’s new savior tendencies become recurring characters. Along the way, readers are given glimpses here and there into Markham’s past — nothing major, but little vignettes that help flesh out his character. And Faerber does his best to keep the story interesting, throwing some twists and turns I did not see coming. Many of the stories call into question conventional wisdom of right and wrong. This is the kind of story that leaves you thinking after you finish reading.

I’ll definitely be watching for future Near Death stories, and I sincerely hope I don’t have to wait long. This is a story worth telling and one I very much would like to continue reading. Can you hear me, Image Comics?

Update: Maybe Image Comics can't hear me, but Jay Faerber did. He tweeted this response to my tweet about this blog post when it went up: "We’re planning a new Near Death-related graphic novel. Stay tuned...!" So more is coming!

I miss you, bro

“Marvel’s The Punisher” Season 2
Netflix
January 2019
 

Shawn died in 2000, nearly 20 years ago now. He was a son, a husband, a musician, a Marine, a prankster, a police officer, and he was my younger brother. He was 28 at the time of his death, so in just one more short decade, he will have been gone as long as he lived.

Time has passed. Life goes on. And there are many days when he doesn’t cross my mind at all. That’s life. But there are also random things that will bring his memory to the front of my mind.

One of the losses I feel most consistently on behalf of my brother are movies and television properties that he would have loved but missed. He was a huge Star Wars fan, yet he never got to see the second and third prequel films or the more recently realized but long-rumored sequels. He very much enjoyed “Phantom Menace,” and I have no reason to doubt he would have been thrilled by and enjoyed all of the films to follow.

The plethora of comic book films is another thing I think he’d have enjoyed. He was always more a Marvel fan than I was growing up. I remember crying when I saw “X-Men” in the theater for the first time in 2000 because he wouldn’t get to experience it, and he was always a huge Wolverine fan. The “Spider-Man” films began in 2002. Then the modern Marvel cinematic age began in 2008 with “Iron Man.” I think he would have loved the explosion of films since then from the various “Avengers” and “Captain America” films to “Black Panther” and “Infinity War.”

Another of my brother’s favorite comic book characters was always Frank Castle, the Punisher, and I’ve been thinking of my brother as I watch Netflix’s second season of "Marvel's The Punisher," starring Jon Bernthal. This is a phenomenal show, and everyone involved deserves kudos for the excellent product they have created.

The Punisher first appeared in Marvel Comics in Amazing Spider-Man No. 129 and was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The character went on to appear in various other titles for several years before starring in his own limited series in the mid-1980s. At the peak of the Punisher’s popularity in the late 80s and early 1990s, he starred in three concurrent monthly titles: The Punisher, The Punisher War Journal and The Punisher War Zone. There was also a short-lived black-and-white Punisher Magazine and other limited series and one-shots at various points along the way.

Shawn collected most of these titles by a number of creators, but the book that struck a chord with me was War Journal. This title, initially written by Carl Potts and illustrated by Jim Lee, would later feature creators such as Mike Baron, Mark Texeira, Chuck Dixon, Steven Grant, Tod Smith, Ron Wagner and others. Potts and Dixon stand out in my mind the most when I think back about favorite issues.

I’m not as familiar with Billy “Jigsaw” Russo, although I know he also existed in the comics. I’m not certain if the comic Jigsaw played a role in the deaths of Frank Castle’s family as he does in Ben Barnes’ portrayal of the character in the Netflix series. If not, the inclusion of that detail helps bring the two characters’ lives full circle in the show.

As far as I know, most of the other characters in the Netflix version of the Punisher are original to the program, but may have been portrayed in comics in some form or fashion. But I love how the ancillary characters add to the show’s drama. Karen Page and Brett Mahoney show up from the cast of Netflix’s “Daredevil” to add cohesion to the shared universe. And Curtis Hoyle, Dinah Madani and Krista Dumont add dimension to the proceedings of both seasons of the show.

Netflix’s “The Punisher” is definitely more gritty and bloody than I typically like my comics stories, but so was the Netflix version of Daredevil. Both worked well in the realities established for the series, and the visceral visuals of the programs don’t glorify violence. Rather they use it to emphasize the physical and emotional toll of these peoples’ lives and choices.

Jon Bernthal does an exceptional job of bringing Frank Castle to life in this series. The later comic series added some nuance and character beats to what could have easily been a one-note, disposable caricature. Bernthal and his supporting cast help do the same with the on-screen Punisher. Bernthal portrays an efficient killing machine on a deadly mission, to be sure. But he also shows Frank’s caring side without turning the brutal vigilante into a parody of the original creation.

I can watch this show for what it is and enjoy it. I tend to think Shawn would have seen it as a more pure expression of the character than some of the various movie attempts. Believing my brother would have liked the show adds a level of appreciation to watching it. But it also makes me sad that my brother will never be able to see one of his “heroes” brought to life on the small screen in such an effective way.

I’m also very sad all of these Netflix Marvel shows have been canceled due to business concerns and we won’t get more of this version of the Punisher, Daredevil or Jessica Jones.

It’s a mixed bag, but a good read

Batman Vol. 7: The Wedding
DC Comics
Creators: Tom King, Mikel Janin and Tony S. Daniel
Release date: October 2018

I’ve been reading recent issues of Tom King’s Batman Rebirth run in trade format and enjoying them. The entire courtship and developing relationship dynamic between the modern Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle since the former proposed has been an interesting read even though the title of this particular trade is a bit of a misnomer.

That’s right: If you’ve been living under a rock and missed the news after the release of Batman No. 50, Batman and Catwoman did not end up going through with the wedding. That was several months ago now, in real time, and the “secret” was spoiled for me long before I read this trade, too, so you might have even heard the news while living under a rock. But that’s not what makes this outing such a mixed bag — not exactly.

First the good stuff: The Batman (or rather, the Joker) short from DC Nation No. 0 is included in this collection. It focuses on the Joker showing up at a random house and holding the owner hostage until the mail arrives. The Joker is waiting to see if his wedding invitation will be delivered. And King handles the Clown Prince of Crime quite deftly in this eight-pager. The stream-of-consciousness dialogue and daft motivation make sense coming from this insane character. There’s more of the same on ample display in Batman Nos. 48 and 49 as Joker faces off against the happy couple one at a time. The running exchange between Joker and Catwoman especially is both mundane and hilariously off-kilter while still ringing quite true to form.

I also credit King with writing a very minimalist yet spot-on interpretation of Batman, especially his caring. That’s not a side a lot of writers focus on with Batman. But that is what makes the character be his best self. As grim as things look, as dire as the situations grow, as murderous as his foes become, Batman hopes they can still change. Why else would he continue to confront them and foil their schemes time and again. Without his belief that they could still reform, there would be little to keep Batman from simply killing his foes. King seems to get that as Batman kneels when the Joker asks him to pray in the image above.

I have some issues with the first half of this trade, though. The premise of the first three issues collected in this trade are that Booster Gold, a time-traveling hero, wanted to get Batman and Catwoman the perfect gift. So he went back in time and saved Bruce Wayne’s parents from being killed. The idea was to give Batman a “For the Man Who Has Everything” moment, an “It’s a Wonderful Life” revelation that shows the Caped Crusader that his life is how it was meant to be and that it is better for how things unfolded. The result is much worse than Booster anticipated, a reality where nothing is as it should be.

My first problem with this scenario is that such a story has been done before several times. Maybe Bruce has the chance to save his parents lives. Maybe someone else does it on his behalf. Things never turn out well, and Bruce is forced to relive his parents’ murders all over again to right things.

Secondly, even if Booster has no first-hand knowledge of any of the times when this scenario has played out for readers, what sense does it make to prevent the tragedy that led to the creation of the Batman in an effort to show Bruce Wayne that his life is perfect as it is. Booster refers in-story to the time when Superman went through a similar life re-imagined event in the story “For the Man Who Has Everything.” Anyone who has read Superman annual No. 11 knows the Man of Steel did not find the experience pleasant. Why on earth would Booster think this was a good idea?

Then thirdly, it is truly bizarre just how wrong things go in this revised history where Thomas and Martha Wayne live on. We are told most of the Justice League was killed in battle with Starro the Conquerer because the team was missing the strategy of Batman. If the League lost that battle, why is everyone on Earth not wearing a Starro face-hugger? Dick Grayson, Selina Kyle and Jason Todd all make appearances in this new reality, but as twisted parodies of their traditional selves. Yet if Bruce is not Batman, why are these characters even connected to him?

If one simply accepts events as they unfold, this isn’t a bad story arc. It’s just that there are a lot of oddities within the reality that results from Booster’s actions that don’t seem to add up logically. I can’t help but wonder if this arc was stuck in here simply to explain the trauma Booster is supposed to experience that leads him to treatment at Sanctuary in the new miniseries, Heroes in Crisis. Neither that story nor Sanctuary are mentioned in these issues of Batman, but I just can’t find any other reason for its inclusion here.

But by and large, my biggest issue with this trade is the final issue, Batman No. 50, in which the wedding falls apart. First the Joker, then Holly Robinson, manage to convince Catwoman that marrying Batman would be a mistake. If she marries him, he will be happy, and a happy Bruce Wayne cannot be Batman, they reason.

I find that logic flawed. Bruce Wayne is a traumatized individual and there is a lot of anger and vengeance wrapped up in the origins and the workings of Batman. But to say that he can never be happy and continue to function as Batman is to insult the relationships he has with his surrogate family — Alfred, Dick, Barbara, Jim, Jason, Tim, Damian, Clark, Diana, etc. Are those relationships strained at times? Yes. Adult relationships are sometimes strained. But there is genuine love and affection at the root of those relationships or they would have fallen apart long ago.

This doesn’t ruin the stories presented here. Joker and Holly make these arguments, but neither of them is the most sound or logical of minds. Selina comes to accept their arguments; but that doesn’t make them right. People often act on false information or incorrect assumptions. They don’t always do what is right.

I enjoyed reading this trade, and think it is worth checking out if you are a Tom King, Batman or Joker fan. It’s worth a read even if you’re just a comics fan in general. I just wanted to point out my take on some of what happened between the panels.

This is a crossover done right

“Sink Atlantis” from Suicide Squad (2016) Nos. 45-46 and Aquaman (2016) Nos. 39-40
DC Comics
Creators: Dan Abnett, Rob Williams, Jose Luis, Jordi Tarragona, Vicente Cifuentes, Adriano Lucas, Pat Brosseau, Joe Bennett and Steve Wands
Release date: 2018

I was very pleased with how smoothly this crossover between two DC titles came together. It stems from events in a previous miniseries and one of the ongoing titles and leads directly into another major upcoming crossover event. Still, this story contains its own definite beginning, middle and end. And it also reads pretty smoothly from issue to issue.

A major story line in the Aquaman comic came to its conclusion with issue No. 38 of that title. A new monarch was named in the wake of a vicious tyrant being deposed. At the very end of that issue, due in part to events depicted in the Dark Night: Metal miniseries, Atlantis was raised partially above the surface of the Atlantic. Relations between Atlantis and the United States were somewhat strained before despite efforts to cement peace on both sides. Having the mysterious underwater nation suddenly appear above water just off the U.S. coastline has further strained relations as well as thrown Atlantean culture into upheaval.

A new Task Force X (Suicide Squad) is formed to restore the previous status quo. But tensions are high among old and new members of Task Force X even before the mission parameters begin to change mid-stream. And don’t expect the Atlanteans to make the mission go any more swimmingly.

Tensions remain high even though all-out war is averted in this crossover event, which I’m sure will lead directly into the next Aquaman/Justice League crossover, “Drowned Earth.” But “Sink Atlantis” is still a self-contained story as all plot elements raised within these four issues are also resolved within these four issues.

I have to think that is at least in part due to collaboration between the writers of these two respective titles. Dan Abnett is the regular Aquaman writer and Rob Williams is the Suicide Squad scribe. Both men are given story credits in each issue. That is not normally the case with crossovers of this kind. The writers collaborate, sure, they plan and coordinate story beats. But rarely are both writers credited with each chapter of the whole. That leads me to believe there was a greater level of collaboration in this instance. There are certainly just as many Aquaman-centric scenes in the opening Suicide Squad chapter and vice-verse in the second Aquaman chapter.

The result is a much-more cohesive narrative. Kudos to all involved!

Great characterization makes for a great narrative

Kill or be Killed Volume Four
Image Comics
Creators: Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips and Elizabeth Breitweiser
Release date: August 2018

 I have come to trust this creative team. Ed Brubaker is a great writer with a number of my favorite stories under his belt from Captain America to Detective Comics to Gotham Central to Velvet. He and Sean Phillips have also proven themselves an adept duo with past collaborations such as Scene of the Crime, Criminal, Fatale and Fade Out. And Elizabeth Breitweiser has also been an important ingredient in many of the above successes, adding nuance and mood with her colors. So it is no wonder I enjoyed Kill or be Killed, an incredible series by this creative powerhouse team.

But I’ve always been more of a story guy even though I certainly like the mix of words and art that comics provide. And as good as Phillips’ art and Breitweiser’s colors are in this series — and they are valuable contributions to the whole — the writing is what clinched the deal with me when I got and read the first trade collection of this series.

I liken Kill or be Killed to “Ozark,” a Netflix original series that dropped its second season a few months ago. In a nutshell, “Ozark” is the story of an accountant and his family caught up in working for a Mexican drug cartel and trying to stay alive while doing some truly horrible things along the way. Jason Bateman plays the father, and Laura Linney plays his wife. Neither were perfect people before they got caught up laundering money for the cartel they come to work with. There is validity in saying there are no likable characters on the show. And yet you find yourself rooting for various characters to succeed in what they are trying to accomplish. They are so well written, it is possible to see yourself in them just enough to wonder, “What would I do in that situation?” or “Would I be able to commit murder or have someone killed to protect my family?”

That is how Brubaker writes Dylan Cross, the main character in Kill or be Killed. Readers’ introduction to Dylan — before we even know his name — is of him catching not one but two men by surprise and killing them with a shotgun. This is on the first page. The next two pages show the masked gunman proceeding to kill several more people in the same office, home, we don’t know where. There is very little dialog beyond the startled shouts of the men Dylan kills and caption boxes with Dylan’s narration, spoken directly to the reader. Obviously, the pictures are showing a violent person committing horrible acts of violence. But that narration draws the reader in, shows them a friend who has a story to tell, a story they want to continue reading despite the violence depicted.

I liken Brubaker’s writing skills, at least in this narrative, to Stephen King’s. King does not always follow the conventional rules of writing prose. His sentences are not perfect. His structure is sometimes lacking. But King creates characters readers want to know, want to learn about. He creates characters people want to read about. Ones they relate to. That is part of Brubaker’s skill as well. Dylan doesn’t always do the “right” thing or the “smart” thing. He isn’t even that sympathetic a character sometimes. But you still care what happens to him.

Dylan’s story — mixing elements of crime fiction and commentary on social ills, mental health issues, relationships and life — grabbed my imagination, and I had no hesitation in ordering the second, third and fourth volumes as they were solicited. I did not know the fourth volume was the final arc until a few weeks before it hit the stands. I avoided spoilers, but I saw an article that indicated the series had ended with issue No. 20, as planned, and that the forthcoming fourth trade would contain the final issues. That only added to my anticipation of reading the final chapters. That fact, combined with the long six-month delay between trades, made me decide to re-read the first three trades right before reading the final one. I wanted to refresh my memory of all the parts of the story as I read the ending, and the earlier portions were a quick but enjoyable read the second time around.

A lot of writers mess up the ending these days. Television programs leave loopholes for future story possibilities in the hopes they get renewed. Limited comic series merely lead into the next limited comic series. And I understand the profit motive behind that mentality. But it makes us afraid to end a story, to put a final period on something. That doesn’t happen here. Dylan’s story has an end. And it is a good, solid ending. One well worth reading.

It’s time for a good scare

“The Haunting of Hill House”
Netflix

Tomorrow is Halloween, and since I haven’t read any good scary comics to talk about recently, I thought I’d take a small departure and talk up a great Netflix original series my wife and I recently enjoyed.

We both like scary movies and television shows, especially at Halloween time. We recently had a weekend to ourselves while our 7-year-old daughter stayed with her grandparents. We’d watched all of “Black Mirror,” a creepy techno-based anthology series, and the first season of “Creeped Out,” another creepy anthology, but this time aimed at and focusing on child protagonists.

We’d also just watched “Castle Rock” on Hulu and loved it right up until the disappointing cop-out ending. And we’d also just watched “Light as a Feather,” another new series this October on Hulu. Like “Castle Rock,” we enjoyed “Light as a Feather” until it came to a disappointing ending.

Let me clarify that I understand the impulse of so many shows to leave things open ended at the close of a season. Writers, actors, producers all hope their show will be a hit and run a long time. But leaving the season finale open-ended leaves viewers, even fans of the show, feeling like they were cheated. There’s no payoff at the end of watching the show. The conclusions of both “Castle Rock” and “Light as a Feather” had other issues, too, but the endings of both lacked a sensible resolution that didn’t feel like a cheat at the end, at least in my opinion.

“The Haunting of Hill House” does not share that problem, and I heartily recommend the Netflix series to anyone who is looking for something spooky and satisfying. If you haven’t watched this series but are a scare fan, you need to watch it soon.

The series centers on the Crain family — Hugh and Olivia and their five children, Steve, Shirley, Theodora and twins Luke and Nellie. The family purchases Hill House and stays there over a summer so the parents can renovate and flip the property, but the house has a history of hauntings. Part of the story takes place several years later as the now adult Crain children cope with what happened to their family over that summer and how those experiences continue to haunt them and shape their lives.

Hill House or some of the Crain family character names may sound familiar. That’s because the 1959 book, “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson, has spawned two other film adaptations. The first was a 1963 British film starring Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson and Russ Tamblyn; the second was in 1999 and starred Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson and Lili Taylor. I haven’t seen either film, but several of the character names recur, although the various players are not family members in the film versions. In fact, according to Wikipedia entries on each film, the family name Crain belongs to Hill House’s builders in both films. Making all of these various people family members adds several new dimensions to the hauntings and the impact, in my opinion.

What sets this show apart from some of the others that disappointed us is the solid ending to the series. Is there room for a season two if all involved are given the chance to do another 10 episodes? Absolutely. More stories could be told in this continuity and based around this house. But these 10 first-season episodes tell a complete story, giving viewers a satisfying and at times frightening slice of entertainment.

A rough time for Bond, but it’s great for the readers

Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007: VARGR tpb
Dynamite Entertainment
Creators: Warren Ellis, Jason Masters, Guy Major and Simon Bowland
Release date: 2018

I have a complicated relationship with 007. Most people seem to fall squarely into the “love it” or “couldn’t care less” camps when it comes to Ian Fleming’s creation. I’m more in the gray in-between area.

I never saw a Bond film in the theater until Pierce Brosnan was allowed to take on the role; I was a fan of “Remington Steele” growing up and was happy to see him finally be allowed to play the famous British MI6 agent. Brosnan’s four films were also the only Bond films I have ever owned on VHS, although I did not replace them when I updated my collection to DVDs.

While Brosnan rates a very high second-place, my personal favorite Bond is and likely always will be Sean Connery, the first and best. I have seen all of his turns as 007, some many times, but never in a theater and never did I feel the need to own them. But I’ve watched them all on television.

Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby never had much impact in the role for me, and Roger Moore’s Bond always seemed more tongue-in-cheek. Nothing wrong with that really. Bond has always had his humorous side, to varying degrees. But Moore seemed to take it to an extreme and to be playing the role more as a farce than anything else.

That just leaves Daniel Craig. Reportedly, his take on Bond is quite good, but again, I haven’t caught any of his Bond films in the theater. I want to see them, but I prefer to see them in order. And I still can’t find his version of “Casino Royale,” the first in which Craig played James Bond, without having to pay a high fee for the privilege. So I have yet to see any of the Daniel Craig Bond films, but I have seen and enjoyed Craig in other roles.


During my time as a comics collector, several companies have tried to translate James Bond in comics form. I’ve yet to feel strongly enough about any of them to purchase them, though, with the exception of a three-issue prestige format Bond tale that Mike Grell wrote and drew titled “Permission to Die.” I own that series, but bought it secondhand and still have yet to read it.

All of that serves as my introductory thoughts on the character when I heard that Dynamite was going to publish a James Bond ongoing written by Warren Ellis. Ellis can be hit-and-miss with me, but I happened to see a few preview pages online of the first story arc, “VARGR.” Both the name and the preview pages intrigued me, as they were meant to do. Those preview pages, by the way, are some of the 10-page opener for the first issue and serve as the Bond film-style opener that has nothing to do with the story proper. Bond pursues the man who killed 008 and puts that case to rest, then roll the opening credits.

What follows is a solid tale that has a number of twists and turns; appearances by a number of familiar Bond characters like Moneypenny, M and Q; the inclusion of bionic body parts (another intriguing aspect of the story); and several instances of sharp, quick-witted dialogue that seem perfectly in character for this famous British espionage agent. I could see this story being made into a film quite handily.

In fact, I liked this first 007 story arc enough that I have ordered the second trade, “Eidolon,” and another Dynamite James Bond trade from a different creative team, this one based largely on the name — “Hammerhead” — and the obvious aquatic theme.

Good job, all! I hope the future volumes continue the trend of quality.

Hope is a requirement

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You have to laugh at heroes and villains “punching in” and out

Evil Inc. Annual Report Vol. 1
Lulu Press
Creator: Brad Guigar
Release date: 2006

This book has been on my “to read” stack for quite some time — so long, in fact, that I no longer recall exactly how I first came across it. But I somehow did come across it, thought it was a good idea to buy it, and now, several years later, I’m finally getting around to reading it and realizing that it was indeed a good purchase.

This first volume is a collection of comic strips from an online comic by the name "Evil Inc." by cartoonist Brad Guigar. What makes this stand apart from some other print collections of web comics is that Guigar tried to get a little more creative about the packaging. Rather than simply reprinting each individual daily strip, Guigar opted to snip and repackage to make the collected edition more of a smooth narrative. That means this volume might not appeal to a completist, and some of the initial strips in this first volume are still a little clunky. But for the most part, it works very well and makes this an enjoyable read.

The "Evil Inc." strip is a spinoff of another online comic strip Guigar did called "Greystone Inn." I’ve seen an odd comic or two from the "Greystone Inn" strip but never followed it with any regularity. "Evil Inc." follows the efforts of a former silver age villain named Evil Atom (standing in the panel above with a number of other more “familiar” evil faces) as he takes his criminal exploits legit by founding a corporation run by super villains for super villains.

Evil Atom is joined by a number of other regular cast members like his assistant/receptionist, Lightning Lady; Dr. Haynus, a disembodied brain in a jar surgically attached to a dog; Dr. Muskiday, with the head of a fly on the body of a janitor; Miss Match, a fire-based villainess; and a number of guest appearances that must really frustrate copyright attorneys.

The first volume begins very much as a typical gag-a-day type strip poking fun at a number of comic-book tropes perpetrated by both heroes and villains. I think any fan of the superhero comic genre will enjoy Guigar’s sense of humor. And the author does a great job of excising panels and adding some running commentary in places that helps lend a continuing feel to these strips.

What further helps is the quick introduction of some continuing story threads. Early on, a plot is revealed wherein someone is trying to buy up controlling interest in Evil Atom’s business, Evil Inc. There are also appearances by the occasional hero, most often Captain Heroic, the top hero in the fictional Fairmount City. Another subplot involves the fact that Captain Heroic, a hero, and Miss Match, a villain, are secretly married and have a 5-year-old son, Oscar.

The secret life of Captain Heroic, Miss Match and Oscar is one of my favorite parts of this book. I’m also happy to report that that relationship continues to be developed and play a key role in the strip in later collected volumes. I know because I’ve also just read "Evil Inc. Annual Report Vols. 2-4," and I’m currently working on Vol. 5. All in all, I’m really glad I found this strip and have enjoyed following its evolution in collected form. Here are a few of the full strips from the second collection. I think this scene is funny as I have my own little monster who continuously calls out at bedtime, but it doesn’t hurt that Aquaman makes an appearance, too.

 

The woman who just wouldn’t quit Part 3

Jessica Jones Season 2
Netflix
2018

I know it’s been a few months since the second season of Netflix’s Marvel series “Jessica Jones” dropped, but my wife and I just finished watching it. We have a 7-year-old daughter, and sadly, most television and streaming programs these days are not created with a family audience in mind. I’m not personally opposed to anything in this series, mind you. I honestly feel that “Jessica Jones” is my favorite and consistently the best of the Marvel Netflix street-level heroes series of shows. “Daredevil” and its offshoot, “The Punisher,” were also excellent programs. While I had trouble getting into “Iron Fist” and “Luke Cage,” “The Defenders,” which brought all four of the main characters together, was also good. “Jessica Jones” is my favorite, though. It’s just that some of the scenes and topics in the show are not suitable for my elementary-age child to watch while we’re eating dinner.

I’ve previously read and enjoyed much of Jessica’s brief history in the print comics, and you can read my thoughts about her two main series here and here. Hence this being “Part 3” when the previous two posts had nothing to do with this character. (Also as a side note: I re-read the issues in question before writing those posts back in 2013. I liked them so much upon re-reading them, that I sought out the debut hardcover of Alias, so I have now read those first nine issues of Jessica’s debut.)

The first season of Netflix’s version of Jessica Jones started in a familiar place for readers of the comics. Much of her past was explored by making Kilgrave — alias the Purple Man and amazingly, creepily portrayed by David Tennant in the show — the main villain of the season. Jessica herself is portrayed by Krysten Ritter as a no-nonsense, boozing, jaded private detective who cares more than she initially lets on. The show also includes Malcolm, played by Eka Darville, a young wannabe assistant to Jessica. In the show, Malcolm is also a former victim of Kilgrave’s.

Several other characters make it into Netflix's "Jessica Jones" from a variety of Marvel Comics sources. Claire Temple, alias the Night Nurse and portrayed by Rosario Dawson, is most closely associated with Luke Cage in the comics, but she was one of the earliest unifying members of all of the Netflix shows’ casts. Jeryn Hogarth is a character most closely associated with Iron Fist in the comics. A male attorney in print, Jeryn “Jeri” Hogarth is a female attorney in the Netflix Marvel universe and is played by Carrie-Anne Moss. Actor Mike Colter first brings Luke Cage to life in the first season of “Jessica Jones,” too.

But the most important transplant for the Netflix version of Jessica Jones is Patricia “Patsy” Walker, played in the show by Rachael Taylor. In the comics, Patsy Walker was the co-star of a teen romance/comedy title in the 1940s and 1950s. She was re-invented as a superhero named Hellcat in the mid-1970s. The Netflix show works Patricia “Trish” Walker in as Jessica’s sister after Jessica survives the crash that kills her biological family and is adopted by the Walker family. Trish was a child television star best known for a sitcom called “It’s Patsy” in the Netflix continuity, but she begins her transformation into the eventual Hellcat during the second season of “Jessica Jones.”

All of these nods to past Marvel continuity are a great bonus for a longtime fan such as myself. But the producers behind “Jessica Jones” do a fantastic job of keeping those things as Easter eggs for the longtime fans while not confusing fans new to the Netflix series. They tell you everything you need to know about each person to follow along. I know this because my wife watched both seasons of the show with me, and she not only doesn’t know all the comic book ties, but doesn’t really care. She doesn’t want to have to do homework (or listen to me explain everything ad nauseam) to follow a television show. She was not only fine simply watching what was presented, but she also enjoyed “Jessica Jones” more than the other Netflix Marvel programs.

So the show is accessible to non-comics fans. It also holds surprises for longtime comics fans. The Netflix series does not feel it has to follow the character’s history from the books to the letter. Starting off with Kilgrave was a smart decision because it is a compelling story and gets to the heart of the character of Jessica Jones. Attaching all of the other ancillary characters from other books was the first departure and has offered up a number of story directions different from the comics history of the character, for instance. I don’t believe any kind of foster family was ever introduced for Jessica’s backstory in the comics, for instance. Not only adding a foster family, but adding one with its own heroic history, opened up a number of possibilities. The second season of “Jessica Jones” further opens up the title character’s history by suggesting the possibility that Jessica is no longer the sole survivor of the car crash she believes claimed the lives of her biological family.

Netflix’s “Jessica Jones” is smartly written, wonderfully acted and well worth checking out if you enjoy a good drama. The other shows will allow you to learn more about the shared universe, if you enjoy this show, but it is not necessary to watch all the shows to understand any one. Give Jessica a try; she’s just conquered another medium, so she remains the woman who just won't quit!

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.