Comics
Reading 'Blog'
(Comics that I have recently read.)
[Archive: 2004 entries]
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(Credits note: Covers are assumed to be by interior artist/s unless otherwise noted.)
December 31, 2004 --
The Flash #216 (2005)
Identity Crisis #7 (2005)
Comic Book Artist (magazine) #16 (2001)
Ok, this is going to be a rather long entry today because I want to get these last three things in before the end of the year, so here goes...
The Flash #216 is part three of the three part "The Secret of Barry Allen", an Identity Crisis "tie-in" story arc. Flash and Zatanna succeed in "undoing" the reprogramming Barry Allen had Zatanna perform on the Top years before. As a result, the Top remembers everything, reverting to his original, villainous, nature. He also warns the Flash (Wally) that not all of his "reformed" former villains are actually reformed (some of them "reprogrammed" by the Top), and to watch out. Following the Flash-Zatanna-Top confrontation, we get several little scenes, including ones with Flash and Green Arrow, various Flash villains (the "Rogues Gallery" foes), and a reuniting of Flash and his beloved Linda (teaser for the following issue's new storyline). A pretty good three-issue tie-in story (The Flash #214-216), but one that carries Identity Crisis over into the Flash title more so than one that actually adds to the Identity Crisis experience. Enjoyable though, especially if you like the Flash (which I do) and follow his title regularly (which I do not).
Next up, we have Identity Crisis #7, the big finish of DC's most talked about "event" series of 2004. (Once again, SPOILERS warning! I'm about to tell you who did it!) I couldn't help but feel that it was a bit anti-climactic, after all of the clues (and online rumors and speculations) as to who the true killer of Sue Dibny might have been to have learned that it was really... Jean Loring! Yep, Ray (the Atom) Palmer's ex-wife. Not the Atom himself (as was hinted at in the end of the previous issue). Not Nightwing (as some online rumors suggested). (Good, I would have hated that, myself.) So, while there is a bit of irony playing out here--the ex-wife of one (reserve) Justice Leaguer "accidentally" murdering the wife of another in hopes of drawing the other heroes closer to their respective loved ones, including her and ex-husband Ray--I can't help but feel a bit let down that it turned out to be neither a "traitor" superhero or a nefarious villain.
The ramifications of Identity Crisis? Dark secrets revealed (Flash--and the readers--now know of the "reprogramming" certain JLA members did on villains--and Batman!--during the early years of the League to "preserve" it). Elongated Man and Robin (Tim Drake) must go on without cherished loved ones (Sue Dibny and Jack Drake). Loved ones are drawn closer together. Jean Loring is placed in the "care" of Arkham Asylum. The Atom withdraws into isolation to recover from the emotional shock of learning that his ex-wife has gone insane, murdering a close friend in hopes of winning him back. Overall, a very enjoyable and intriguing series. Meltzer sure knows how to write a good murder mystery, which is understandable since he came to comics recently as an established author of mystery/thriller novels.
And finally, Comic Book Artist #16 (December 2001). (I wouldn't normally try to squeeze a magazine such as Comic Book Artist into the same blog entry as one with comics like this, but I finished reading this one a little while ago, and--like I said earlier--wanted to get it in with the other 2004 blog entries.) This issue (which originally came about this time of year, three years ago), is an issue long look at the 1974-1975 Atlas/Seaboard comics publishing company, its brief history and comics output. As explained in the various articles and interviews within, in 1974 former Marvel Comics publisher Martin Goodman came out of comics publishing retirement to found "Atlas Comics", reusing an earlier name that Marvel Comics had gone under while Goodman was publisher. (Comics historians tend to refer to the mid-1970s version as "Atlas/Seaboard" to differentiate between it and the 1950s Goodman line. Seaboard Periodicals was the parent company of Goodman's mid-1970s "Atlas Comics".)
Now, in my opinion, this is what Cooke's Comic Book Artist (the first series) did the best: the issue long features on the lesser known comic book publishers and their titles. In addition to an excellent article by Cooke about the history of the company (believed by many to have been created by Martin Goodman in a spirit of revenge against Marvel for firing his son, Charles "Chip" Goodman, after Martin had sold off the company; Martin had apparently had an agreement that Chip would remain publisher at Marvel and was angered when his son was let go in favor of elevating Stan Lee to the position), this issue is just chock-full of interviews!
Interviewed in this issue: Roy Thomas (editor at Marvel at the time and once offered an editorial position at Atlas/Seaboard), Atlas/Seaboard editor Jeff Rovin (later author of The Encyclopedia of Superheroes and Tom Clancy's Op Center novel series, etc.), Ernie Colón (The Grim Ghost and Tiger-Man for A/S), Atlas/Seaboard production manager Steve Mitchell, Larry Hama (Wulf the Barbarian), Howard Chaykin (The Scorpion), Sal Amendola (Phoenix), Jim Craig (The Scorpion, Hands of the Dragon), Atlas/Seaboard assistant editor Ric Meyers, and Alan Kupperberg (first freelance lettering and coloring for A/S, later a production manager after Steve Mitchell's departure).
Also included are brief "capsule interviews" with Atlas/Seaboard alumni Alan Weiss, Walter Simonson, Terry Austin, Steve Skeates, Allen Milgrom, Joe Staton, Bernie Wrightson, and Frank Springer; single page looks at Terry's Austin's work on "The Dark Avenger" and how the use of photos were used for reference (samples of A/S artists posing); a two-page article about Steve Ditko's work at Atlas Seaboard, The Destructor, by Nick Caputo; a one-page retrospective (reprinted from Deadspawn #1 (July 1975)) by former Atlas/Seaboard assistant editor David Anthony Kraft; and a six-page "Atlas/Seaboard Checklist" index.
All this plus standard features: editorial by Cooke, "Dateline!@!!?" comic strip by Fred Hembeck ("interviewing" Atlas/Seaboard character, Morlock, "the human plant"), John Cochran's "Cochran's Corner" column (a chat with Michael T. Gilbert, of "Mr. Monster" fame, about various things), and Alex Toth's "Before I Forget" column (remembering his own Atlas/Seaboard experience).
(Credits info for issues mentioned above: The Flash #216: Geoff Johns (writer)/Howard Porter (penciller)/Livesay (inker); Identity Crisis #7: Brad Meltzer (writer)/Rags Morales (penciller)/Mike Bair (inker)/Michael Turner (cover artist); Comic Book Artist #16: Jon B. Cooke (editor/designer)/John Cochran, Alex Toth, David Anthony Kraft, Nicolas Caputo, David R. McLallen (columnists/contributors), Fred Hembeck ("Dateline!@!!?" comic feature writer/artist)/Jon B. Cooke & Chris Irving (conducted interviews)/Ernie Colón [front] & Alan Kupperberg [back] (cover artists).)
December 21, 2004 --
Fantastic Four #515-519 (2004)
Marvel Knights 4 #7-12 (2004-2005)
Ultimate Fantastic Four #8-12 (2004)
Ok, I'm in a hurry this morning to get these down (Christmas trip to see the parents to get ready for) and a lot of issues to cover, so here goes. I'm catching up with the Fantastic Four titles again today.
Fantastic Four #515-516 finishes up the Frightful Four story. It was okay. Not as good as the surrounding stories, in my opinion, but not bad either. Waid's characterizations of the Frightful Four villains are interesting at times, especially how cold and calculating he make the Wizard (a pretty silly villain most of the time). What happens? Well, in Fantastic Four #515, the Frightful Four fights and defeats the Fantastic Four (picking up from issue #514) in the latter's headquarters in front of television cameras. The Fantastic Four then (in issue #516), with the help of the Wizard and Salamandra's daughter, Cole, in turn infiltrate and defeat the Frightful Four in their secret headquarters.
Fantastic Four #517-519 brings us the return of the regular creative team of Waid, Wieringo, and Kesel. The storyline, titled "Fourtitude", is labeled as an "[Avengers] Dissassembled" tie-in, but no Avengers appear anywhere in the story, and only the occassional reference is made to what's been happening over in the Avengers title. The story deals with a powerful group of aliens who begin to raise the island of Manhattan up into the sky. Confronting the aliens, the Fantastic Four learn that these aliens long ago created a "cloaking" technology capable of making planets disappear, preventing the planet eating Galactus from finding them. They have detected Sue's ability to make herself and other objects visible (as well as invisible), and they say that Galactus will realize what is happening and come after Sue himself to circumvent the aliens' technology. So, the aliens are here now to do away with Sue. Reed, however has other plans, and uses a device to remove Sue's powers. When the aliens, satisfied with this alternate solution, leave, Reed reveals that he hasn't really taken Sue's powers of invisibility away, but instead has switched them with Johnny's! Before all can be set "right" again, however, Galactus arrives. Johnny realizes that now that he has the powers of visibility and invisibility, Galactus will be after him! To be continued...
Marvel Knights 4 #7 finishes up the aliens-camping trip story. Sue saves the day in this one. Marvel Knights 4 #8-9 guest-stars Namor, the Sub-Mariner. It begins with the routine Namor propositioning Sue, Reed stumbling onto it and duking it out with Namor, for awhile at least. Then the story shifts to Johnny's asking Namor's help in finding a boy who is reported by his fearful mother as having fallen into the icy Hudson River days earlier. Marvel Knights 4 #10-12 features the return of Psycho-Man, out for revenge on Sue Storm. He creates chaos in the city, once again, with his fear-inducing psionic powers. Ultimately, with the help of their friend, Alicia Masters, the team tricks and defeats Psycho-Man. Once finished with that, it appears that things will be getting back to normal a bit, as Reed and Sue agree that it is time for Reed to get them back in the Baxter Building and their finances in order once again.
Finally (told you I was in a hurry today), Ultimate Fantastic Four #8-12 are parts two through six of the "Doom" storyline, bringing this "new" Fantastic Four team into their initial confrontation with "Victor von Damme" (Dr. Doom) following the accident that gave them all their superhuman powers. Time is short, so all I can say here is that Immonen's art is okay (although not quite as good as on some other books I've seen him on in the past, such as Adventures of Superman and The Final Night), and Ellis continues to do a good job of making these young, "Ultimate", Fantastic Four characters different and interesting yet at the same time true in spirit to their mainstream Marvel counterparts.
(Credits for above titles: Fantastic Four #515-516, Mark Waid & Karl Kesel (writers)/Paco Medina (penciler)/Juan Velasco (inker)/Gene Ha (cover artist); Fantastic Four #517-519, Waid (writer)/Mike Wieringo (penciler)/Kesel (inker); Marvel Knights 4 #7, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (writer)/Steve McNiven (penciler)/Mark Morales (inker); Marvel Knights 4 #8-9, Aguirre-Sacasa (writer)/Jim Muniz (penciler)/Morales [#8], Cam Smith & Scott Hanna [#9] inkers)/McNiven (cover artist); Marvel Knights 4 #10-12, Aguirre-Sacasa (writer)/Muniz (penciler)*/Hanna (inker)/McNiven (cover artist); Ultimate FF #8-12, Warren Ellis (writer)/Stuart Immonen (penciler)/Wade von Grawbadger (inker).) (* Marvel Knights 4 #11: penciling credited inside to Muniz, credited to "Johnson" on cover; art looks like that of Staz Johnson to me)
December 13, 2004 --
Smallville #5-11 (2004-2005)
Ok, today I'm catching up with the stack of DC's Smallville comic books that have been sitting on my dresser for a while. Since there's a lot here, I'm going to try to be brief in covering each issue. First off, I should point out Smallville is (was) a bi-monthly comic series based on the television series (which is, of course, based on the Superman comics). DC first released a Smallville: The Comic one-shot in the fall of 2002, which apparently was successful enough for them to follow it up in 2003 with this bi-monthly series. Each issue features a couple of comics stories plus various tie-in articles, interviews, etc.
In Smallville #5, the first story ("Sojourn") is actually based upon a storyline of the TV series. It fills readers in on what the red Kryptonite influenced Clark was up to in Metropolis between the second season cliffhanger and third season premiere TV episodes. The second story ("The Few, the Proud") is also based on events seen on the television series, showing us in a bit more detail Whitney's last moments before being killed on the battlefield. This issue also features an interview with actor John Glover ("Lionel Luthor"), a one page "Sullivan's Travels" faux newspaper column by Chloe Sullivan, and part five of the "Smallville Season 1 Episode Guide". Due to its strong ties to the TV series storylines, this is one of the better issues of the Smallville comics series in my opinion.
The first story in Smallville #6, ("Id") shows us more about Lex's time marooned on a deserted island, as seen on the television series, via his reaccounting his ordeal to his psychiatrist. The second story ("Magic") is a (somewhat) funny little story of Clark helping out his buddy Pete with the girls. This issue also features an interview with actor John Schneider ("Jonathan Kent"), another one page "Sullivan's Travels" column by Chloe, and part six of the "Smallville Season 1 Episode Guide". The first story is pretty good, even though it really doesn't show us much we didn't already see in the television episodes. The back-up story is a bit of a dud.
In Smallville #7, we have an actual crossover with the WB's "Smallville" internet website. The first story ("Chronicle"), Chloe is drawn back into an old case she was investigating (that of Lionel Luthor's mysterious "Level Three" experiments, as seen on the TV show) by the appearance of a young man on the run who had been involved the case. The story continues online, then back in the next issue here. The second story ("Parenthood") is a cute little Jonathan and Martha Kent back-up story. This issue also features an article on the making of the special effects for the TV series, a one page "Voice from the Future" faux report on history of the "Ezra Small Project", and part one of the "Smallville Season 2 Episode Guide". Not a bad issue. While I don't really like the idea of making the reader go online to find out the next chapter in a continuing story, you can pretty much enjoy this first chapter on its own (as I did; I never sought out the "online" segment). The back-up story is a bit better this issue than the previous issue's (I say that partially, I'm sure, because I like Tom Grummett artwork).
In Smallville #8, the first story ("Exploit") picks up the Chloe story started in the previous issue and continued online at the WB "Smallville" website. Chloe, now joined by Pete, continue their investigation, learning of a secret installation studying the meteor rocks and those Smallville inhabitants that the rocks have been mutating. The second story ("Captive") shows us Lex's drugged perspective of things while incarcerated in the Belle Reve Sanitarium (as seen on the TV show). This issue also features an interview with actor Annette O'Toole ("Martha Kent"), another one page faux article on the "Ezra Small Project" ("Ezra Small Revisitied"), an article about the "Smallville" season two DVD set, and part two of the "Smallville Season 2 Episode Guide". It was a bit disconcerting starting with the cliffhanger ending of the "online" second chapter. Other than that, it's a good Chloe and Pete lead-in story tying strongly into plots from the show (although there may be some future contradictions if some of the characters seen captured and being studed in this story later show up again on the show). The back-up story is interesting, painted in a very psychedelic manner, reflecting the chaos of Lex's then drugged state of mind.
Smallville #9 has an interesting theme. In it, the first and second stories reflect the exact same story, but from two different perspectives. The first story ("Secrets") tells the story from Clark's perspective, while the second story ("Lies") shows it from Lex's. In the story, Clark stumbles upon a burglary at the Talon (Lana's coffee shop). Unknown to Clark, however, the burglars are really there to plant surveillance equipment for Lionel Luthor. This issue also features an interview with actor Michael Rosenbaum ("Lex Luthor"), "A Guide to the Smallville Novels", and part three of the "Smallville Season 2 Episode Guide". An interesting issue, what with the alternate perspective stories. Nothing really spectacular or groundbreaking, but enjoyable.
Smallville #10 was the first issue to really make me say, "yuck!" (which, out of twelve issues total, including the initial one-shot, isn't too bad a track record for a series, actually). This issue's theme was "Lana and Chloe go bad!". In the issue's one, feature length, story ("Rampage"), Lana and Chloe are accidentally injected with an experimental drug before going on a shopping excursion. The drug increases their adrenalin, making them extremely aggressive and super-humanly strong. They go "bad" for awhile, tearing through several small Kansas towns, before the drug eventually wears off. This issue also features an interview with actor Erica Durance ("Lois Lane"), "A Guide to the Smallville Young Adult Novels", and part four of the "Smallville Season 2 Episode Guide". I said "yuck!" on this one because, despite good art from Derenick and DeKraker, the super-human strength, endurance, and invulnerability, not to mention the complete change of personality, this drug gives Lana and Chloe is just ridiculous.
Smallville #11 is the final issue of the series, although a series of "special editions" is mentioned in the end of the issue. Again, the two story format is dropped for one feature length story ("Nature"). In the story, Clark (after an argument with his father), runs off and finds himself in the Amazon jungle. Soon, he finds he has the dilemma of needing to be in two places at once: in the jungle to defend a native tribe from a "meteor rock" (Kryptonite) induced "freak" out for revenge, and back at the farm which is about to be washed away in a flood. (The story wasn't bad, but the confrontation between Clark and Jonathan did not seem genuine the way it was scripted, plus the Clark-vs-the-mutant-jaguar angle was a bit too "superheroey" for "Smallville". The art, as usual, was pretty good though.) This issue also features an interview with actor Jensen Ackles ("Jason Teague"), an article on how the special effects people on the TV show made Clark fly in the episode, "Crusade", and part five of the "Smallville Season 2 Episode Guide".
(Credits info for the above issues: Smallville #5: (1) Mark Verheiden & Clint Carpenter (writers)/Tom Derenick (penciller)/Adam DeKraker (inker), (2) Carpenter & Jake Black (writers)/Pete Woods (penciller)/Ron Randall (inker); Smallville #6: (1) Carpenter (writer)/Derenick (penciller)/DeKraker (inker), (2) Carpenter (writer)/Kano (artist); Smallville #7: (1) Carpenter (writer)/Derenick (penciller)/DeKraker (inker), (2) Carpenter (writer)/Tom Grummett (penciller)/Kevin Conrad (inker); Smallville #8: (1) Carpenter (writer)/Derenick (penciller)/DeKraker (inker), (2) Carpenter (writer)/Renato Guedes (artist); Smallville #9: (1) Carpenter (writer)/Derenick (penciller)/DeKraker (inker), (2) Carpenter (writer)/Jim Fern (penciller)/Lary Stucker (inker); Smallville #10: Carpenter & Dan Thomsen (writer)/Derenick (penciller)/DeKraker (inker); Smallville #11: Thomsen (writer)/Derenick (penciller)/DeKraker (inker); Smallville #5-11: John Van Fleet (covers ["Photoshop" (?) type creations with pictures of "Smallville" TV show actors].)
December 12, 2004 --
Superman: Metropolis #10-12 (2004)
Today I've got another one of those limited series that I've had the final issues of sitting in my "to be read" box for quite a while. This time, it's Superman: Metropolis #10-12 (not to be confused with the 1996 Superman's Metropolis "Elseworlds" one-shot). Despite its title, this is very much a Jimmy Olsen series. Up to this point, Jimmy has made friends with a sentient aspect of the futuristic "Tech" running Metropolis these days named "Lena". At first a disembodied voice, via a complicated series of events Lena eventually ends up in the body of a young photographer named Rebecca Muldoon.
Superman: Metropolis #10 begins with Lena/Rebecca near death in a hospital emergency room. Through quick thinking by Jimmy, she recovers, but the evil Killgrave remains in charge of the "B13" (Brainiac 13) "Tech" running the city. Superman is seen briefly dealing with looters acting under the chaos Killgrave is causing. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Lena/Rebecca infiltrate the Tech's central power source in hopes of putting the Tech back under Lena's control and defeating Killgrave. Killgrave attacks however, apparently killing Jimmy.
In Superman: Metropolis #11, to save Jimmy, Lena takes Jimmy's mind directly into the Tech itself. To do so, she must permanently delete the villain Sledge's (who has been in the Tech since he lost his own body) personality to make room for Jimmy. Meanwhile, things are really getting crazy in Metropolis. Heroes such as Superman and Black Lightning try to minimize the chaos. (The Creeper is also present, but it's hard to tell if he's helping the heroes or adding to the chaos himself.) Killgrave is furious that he has apparently lost out on killing Jimmy, so he takes it out on Metropolis. Superman attempts to stop him, but Killgrave takes the form of an animated city building (no less) and just stomps the Man of Steel.
Superman: Metropolis #12, the last issue of the twelve issue limited series, begins with Superman and the Creeper unable to stop Killgrave. The only hope is Jimmy's plan to defeat Killgrave from both within (Lena's "drugging" Killgrave to distract him) and without (a device Jimmy had seen earlier that could manipulate the Tech). In the end, Killgrave is defeated and Jimmy and Lena are back in their own bodies (well, Lena is back in Rebecca Muldoon's body, that is). Perhaps most important (to the overall Superman line of comics), the "Tech" is largely removed from the city. Some of the futuristic touches remain, but it is no longer a totally automated "living" city.
I really didn't enjoy this series all that much. At times the writing is inspired, at other disjointed and just plain "dark". It probably ran for at least a couple issues too long. Worst of all was the change in artists half way through. Daniel Zezelj, who started the series off, has a very distictive abstract style. I wasn't completely crazy about his style, but I had to admit that at times if fit Austen's scripts for this series very well. The switch to Teddy Kristiansen (after Zezelj chose to leave the book) was a real blow. It appeared to me that Kristiansen was trying to modify his own style to match Zezelj's (I don't know for certain as I've not seen any of Kristiansen's other stuff). Unfortunately, he doesn't really pull it off and overall his stuff is very scratchy/rough looking.
(Credits info Superman: Metropolis #10-12: Chuck Austen (writer)/Teddy Kristiansen [#10-12] & Ashley Wood [#12] (artists).)
December 11, 2004 --
Identity Crisis #6 (2005)
All right, back to the other big story of the year! Identity Crisis #6 is the penultimate chapter in the series, and things really start to heat up. (Again: SPOILERS ahead!) First off in this issue, we pick up from where the action left off last issue, with a frantic Robin (Tim Drake) arriving at his home just moments after his father (Jack Drake) has been killed by Captain Boomerang (also killed in the exchange). This latest death from within their ranks jolts the superhero community once again. Further shocks are revealed, however, in the secret past of the Justice League. It seems that certain League members did not limit their "mind altering" activities to certain dangerous super criminals, but, out of believed necessity once, also to a certain "dark knight" co-member. And a new clue found in the autopsy of Sue Dibny redirects suspicion to an unthinkable and previously unforeseen possibility: Ray Palmer (the Atom). To be continued...
(Credits info for Identity Crisis #6: Brad Meltzer (writer)/Rags Morales (penciller)/Mike Bair (inker)/Michael Turner (cover artist).)
December 8, 2004 --
The Amazing Spider-Man #509-514 (2004-2005)
Ok, now we get to the most talked about Spider-Man story of the year, "Sins Past". This story arc became quite controversial due to the new revelations about Gwen Stacy presented in it. (For those who don't know, Gwen Stacy was Peter Parker's love interest for many years. She first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December 1965). She began dating Peter a few years later (1968 issues), and was ultimately killed by the Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) in Amazing Spider-Man #121 (June 1973). She was the love of Peter's life.)
Once again: Spoilers warning!!!
In Amazing Spider-Man #509 Peter is shocked to receive a letter written by his late love, Gwen Stacy. Written before her death, someone has now discovered the letter and sent it on to Peter for unknown reasons. This dredges up those same painful feelings again for Peter (who, very much in love with Mary Jane, will never truly get over losing Gwen), plus it presents to Peter the question of why someone would send the letter now. While visiting Gwen's grave site, Peter is attacked by two masked persons, both strong enough and fast enough to be a threat to Peter. Peter escapes, but shows his spider-powers in the process. His two attackers now know that Peter is Spider-Man and that "it just gives us one more reason to kill him."
In part two (Amazing Spider-Man #510), Peter receives threats from his attackers, letters saying that they can kill Peter's loved ones (Mary Jane, his Aunt May) at any time they wish. Meanwhile, Peter uses his current contact in the police department, Detective Lamont, to work on deciphering the impressions on the back of Gwen's letter (presumed to be what she wrote on the missing page two). Later, Peter is drawn into another confrontation as Spider-Man with his two assailants, who once again nearly kill him. Wondering what he did to deserve their wrath, he meets up again with Lamont, who shows him what the police lab workers were able to come up with. Surprise: Gwen Stacy was pregnant!
In part three (Amazing Spider-Man #511), Peter extracts a DNA sample from Gwen's grave site (using a long, hollow, shaft to drive into the ground and Gwen's casket below). Taking the sample to a lab, he discovers that the DNA of his attackers and Gwen's is a match. Somehow, there two are Gwen's children. To cement it, Peter is attacked by the female of the two attackers and pulls off her mask, revealing a younger spitting image of Gwen Stacy. End of issue shocker: (later) Mary Jane reveals to Peter that she knows who the father of Gwen's children is.
In Amazing Spider-Man #512 ("Sins Past" part four), Peter is shocked that Mary Jane has kept the secret of Gwen's children a secret from him all this time. Which is nothing compared to the shock he receives when Mary Jane reveals who the father is: none other than Peter's greatest enemy, the man who ultimately murdered Gwen Stacy himself, Norman Osborn! (This really got a lot of long time Spidey fans riled.) Mary Jane tells Peter of how, during a period when Peter and Gwen were not dating, Gwen succumbed to Osborn's powerful force of will and charisma, and how even later Mary Jane accidentally overheard a conversation between Gwen and Osborn discussing the fate of their children. Once recovered from the shock of the revelation, Peter resolves to save these two children of Gwen's, who are now dying from the same genetically altered inheritance they received from Norman Osborn that rapidly aged them and gave them superhuman abilities.
In Amazing Spider-Man #513-514 ("Sins Past" part five and six), brings Peter (as Spider-man) to his inevitable confrontation with Gabriel and Sarah, the children of Gwen Stacy and Norman Osborn. Peter tries to tell them the truth of their parentage and how Osborn killed their mother, but they (particularly Gabriel) refuse to believe him, having been taught by Osborn as they had grown up that Peter had foresaken their mother and that Spider-Man had murdered her. In the ensuing fight, Sarah is shot. Peter rushes her to the hospital. Meanwhile (issue #514), Gabriel arrives at one of Osborn's old hideouts in the city, discovering that what Peter had told them was true. Gabriel is addressed by a recording of Osborn, explaining it all (from Osborn's perspective, of course), and Gabriel consents to injecting himself with the Green Goblin formula. Gabriel, wearing a Goblin costume, then confronts Peter (still as Spider-Man) at the hospital where Sarah is being treated. Weakened from providing Sarah with a large blood transfusion, Peter is no match for the "goblin-ized" Gabriel. Only the timely intervention of Sarah, standing up to Gabriel, saves Peter from being killed by Gwen Stacy's very own son. In the end, Sarah says she must leave, Gabriel washes up on a nearby shore with at least partial amnesia, and Peter passes out in Mary Jane's arms.
Now, what did I actually think about "Sins Past"? Well, overall, I liked a good deal. It was certainly an interesting story arc, one that kept me looking forward to the following issue. And Straczynski and company certainly succeed in telling a story that pushes Peter Parker to his emotional limit. My only real problem is that I still don't really buy that Gwen would sleep with Norman Osborn. Not that I have the "Madonna or whore" mindset that she was either entirely virtuous or entirely the opposite, and that her doing the deed with Osborn pushes her over into the "whore" catagory. While Gwen Stacy is one of those characters that grew larger in the eyes of the readers in death than she did in life, I'm not saying that I don't like this because I think it makes her a bad person (and Peter doesn't blame her in the story, either). However, I just think that they needed to present more details leading up to the encounter between Gwen and Norman Osborn. As presented, it seems unlikely that Gwen Stacy would willingly sleep with Norman Osborn when she had never sleeped with Peter (whom she loved dearly) while they were dating.
(Note: See Spectacular Spider-Man #23-26 for follow-up story arc, "Sins Present".)
(Credits info for Amazing Spider-Man #509-514: J. Michael Straczynski (writer)/Mike Deodato, Jr. (penciler)/Joe Pimentel (inker).)
December 7, 2004 --
The Amazing Spider-Man #506-508 (2004)
Took me a little longer to get to this entry than I expected, but, of course, this is a busy time of year. I'm still building up to the "Sins Past" story arc in Amazing Spider-Man.
Amazing Spider-Man #506-508 is a three issue story arc titled "The Book of Ezekiel". In it, we have the return of Ezekiel, a mysterious figure Straczynski introduced to Spider-Man readers back in Straczynski's first issue of Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2 #30). Ezekiel, who has powers pretty much identical to Spider-Man's, introduced a rather mystical element into the series, telling Peter that he believed Peter's powers to have been more than the by product of a freak scientific accident. Instead, he believed Peter to have been the latest in a group of individuals to have been gifted with supernatural powers by ancient "totemic" spirits. (Peter, the science whiz that he is, of course didn't buy it for a minute.)
Amazing Spider-Man #506 opens with Ezekiel, "somewhere in Peru", burning up with fever. Ezekiel is dying. He travels to New York to meet up with Spider-Man again. He informs Peter that the "Gatekeeper" (the last of the "totemic powers" after Peter) is on his way to confront and defeat Peter once and for all.
Amazing Spider-Man #507 is "The Book of Ezekiel" chapter two. The "Gatekeeper" has arrived in the form of a destructive swarm of millions of spiders attacking the city in search of Peter. He, as Spider-Man, attempts to stop them but is hopelessly overwhelmed by the swarm, which takes the form of the "Gatekeeper" upon confronting Peter. Peter falls unconscious, in which state he communicates with the totemic powers that have been pursuing him. He learns the truth, that Ezekiel is the "pretender" that the powers have been after, and that Ezekiel has been using Peter to fight them off. When Peter comes to again, he finds himself confronted by a very determined Ezekiel, one very determined to live even at the cost of Peter's own life.
Amazing Spider-Man #508 finishes "The Book of Ezekiel". Peter and Ezekiel have their inevitable battle to see who will survive. Unfortunately for Peter, he loses and soon finds himself chained to a pillar in a temple in Peru, set up as a sacrifice. Facing powerful totemic beings manifested as a giant, hungry, spider, Peter is helpless to defend himself. Only Ezekiel, racked with guilt, has any hope of saving Peter (which, of course, he does). Ezekiel's last minute act of selflessness appears to cost him his own life.
So ends (at least for now) Ezekiel's mysterious role in Peter's life. This issue also ends the long penciling run of John Romita, Jr. on Amazing. He moves on to other projects, such as his own creation, The Grey Man, at Image Comics, and Wolverine and The Black Panther at Marvel.
Next up in Amazing Spider-Man: the controversial "Sins Past" story arc!
(Credits info for Amazing Spider-Man #506-508: J. Michael Straczynski (writer)/John Romita, Jr. (penciler)/Scott Hanna [#506-508] and Scott Koblish [#508] (inkers).)
November 13, 2004 --
The Amazing Spider-Man #501-505 (2004)
Well, now I'm catching up with the issues of Amazing Spider-Man that have been sitting in my "to be read" stuff. (Just a note of disclosure: I did go ahead and read the "Sins Past" story arc ahead of the issues discussed here because I just kept finding out way too many "spoilers" online to wait any longer. I will be covering those issues here in a following entry.)
Amazing Spider-Man #501 and #502 are done-in-one fill-in stories ("fill-in" in the sense of short, one-issue, stories set between the longer story arcs, not as in "done by a fill-in writer and/or artist"; the regular crew of Straczynski, Romita, Jr., and Hanna do these issues). #501 is titled "Intermezzo Number One: Saturday in the Park with May", and largely features Aunt May, with intercutting shots of Peter as Spider-Man battling a crook who has stolen a powerful prototype mining suit. #502 is titled "Intermezzo Number Two: You Want Pants with That?", and tells the story of Leo, a tailor who has a rather profitable side business tailoring for the superhero-supervillain crowd. Leo tips Spider-Man off on an assassination attempt one of Leo's customers is planning. Both of these stories are enjoyable enough. The May one is rather forgettable, however, while Leo is an absolute scream. (Leo: "Hey, up there, mister bug guy, down here--"; Spider-Man: "Mister bug guy?")
Amazing Spider-Man #503-504 tell the two-part story, "Chasing a Dark Shadow". In it, a women is possessed by Morwen, a being set free during Spider-Man and Dr. Strange's battle with Dormammu in issue #500. This attracts the attention of Loki (scheming half-brother of Thor). Loki also detects that Spider-Man had something to do with Morwen's entering the reality of "Midgard" (Earth). Confronting Spider-Man, the two warily agree to work together to stop Morwen (at least, that is, as long as it benefits Loki, of course).
And finally (for this entry, at least), we have Amazing Spider-Man #505. This ("Vibes") is another done-in-one story, "filling in" (so to speak) between the two-part "Chasing a Dark Shadow" story in the previous two issues and the "Book of Ezekiel" story arc starting in the following issue (#506). Straczynski is joined in this issue (and the previous two issues) by Fiona Avery, who provides the script (dialogue). What's it about? Well, Mary Jane flies to Hollywood for a movie audition which turns out to be a bust (the part was recast before she even arrived for the audition). While Mary Jane, bummed out, reevaluates her career aspirations, Peter (as Spider-Man) prevents a young boy from making a terrible mistake. All in all, not a bad done-in-one tale.
(Credits info for Amazing Spider-Man #501-505: J. Michael Straczynski (writer [#501-502])/J. Michael Straczynski & Fiona Avery (plot [#503-505])/Fiona Avery (script [#503-505])/John Romita, Jr. (penciler)/Scott Hanna (inker)/Tony Harris (cover artist [#501])/Jason Pearson (cover artist [#502]).)
November 8, 2004 --
Identity Crisis #5 (2004)
The Flash #214-215 (2004)
In Identity Crisis #5, now that the mysterious killer has shown that he (or she) knows even Superman's secret identity (sending a threatening letter to Lois Lane in the previous issue), the heroes accelerate their search for clues to the killer's identity. Many lower level villains are interrogated. In one such encounter, Firestorm is apparently killed by the Shadow Thief. (This is picked up in the current Firestorm ongoing series, but I am not picking that title up.) The Atom (Ray Palmer) and ex-wire Jean Loring rekindle their romance, and Captain Boomerang becomes closer with his son. That is, before apparently murdering Robin's father, Jack Drake. Boomerang takes several shots in the chest from Drake's gun, however, leaving both down with Batman and Robin racing furiously to the scene. To be continued...
The Flash #214-215, "The Secret of Barry Allen", is an Identity Crisis "tie-in" story arc. Picking up after the battle between the JLA members and Deathstroke in Identity Crisis #3, in #214 Flash (Wally West) worries about Linda's safety (Linda Park, who is currently separated from Wally and living in a secret location). Flash also confonts the former JLA members who, along with Wally's mentor, Barry Allen, chose to alter Doctor Light's mind years ago (as revealed in Identity Crisis #2). This leads to Wally receiving a letter from Barry written prior to Barry's death, revealing a dark secret. Flash #215 reveals that Barry, mourning the death of his wife, Iris, also convinced the League to alter the mind of his foe, the Top, turning him from a villain to a hero. This radical change, however, went awry and drove the Top mad. Barry's letter concludes with a request for Wally to one day repair the damage Barry had caused to the Top's mind.
Although the death of Jack Drake seemed rather obvious by this point, the way they kept cutting back to Tim Drake (Robin) and his father in previous issues, and although Robin seems a bit too much the cry baby in this issue (granted, he's scared out of his wits that he's going to lose his father, but he's always portrayed as a much stronger character in his other comics appearances), Identity Crisis continues to be an interesting crossover "event". Just two more issues remain. Rumors are flying on the internet as to who the killer really is, but I've been trying to avoid all of that. One rumor that I have seen, should it turn out to be true, will need a heck of a lot of explaining before I'm buying it. (More on this later, should it transpire.) And the spin-off story in The Flash is an interesting off shoot. Such a drastic revelation as Barry's involvement in the "magical lobotomizing" of Doctor Light was bound to have an impact on the current Flash (Wally West) in his own title, so this crossover makes sense. (A three parter, it finishes in The Flash #216.)
(Credits info for issues mentioned above: Identity Crisis #5: Brad Meltzer (writer)/Rags Morales (penciller)/Mike Bair (inker)/Michael Turner (cover artist); The Flash #214-215: Geoff Johns (writer)/Howard Porter (penciller)/Livesay (inker)/Ethan Van Sciver (cover artist [#214])/Howard Porter & Livesay (cover artists [#215]).)
November 6, 2004 --
The George Pérez Newsletter (magazine/fanzine) #2 (2001)
The George Pérez Newsletter is one of the few remaining "fanzines" out there, relatively speaking. Fanzines are, by their very definition, fan produced magazines, and Tony Lorenz (publisher of The George Pérez Newsletter) is truly a fan. I picked up Lorenz's first issue when I believe it made it's initial premiere at the 2001 Orlando Mega-Con convention. Lorenz released three issues (#1, Winter 2001; #2, Fall 2001, and #3, Spring 2002) before relaunching the series under the new title, Pacesetter: The George Pérez Magazine (#1, Spring 2003).
The issue I'm discussing today, having just finished reading it, is The George Pérez Newsletter #2 (Fall 2001). This issue's theme is Pérez's Marvel Comics work (the previous issue had been about his DC Comics work). Inside this issue you will find: "The Fantastic George Pérez: The World's Greatest Comic Book Artist", an opinion piece by Lorenz on Pérez's 1970s run on Fantastic Four; an interview with Pérez by Lorenz from September, 2001, discussing Pérez's Marvel Comics work; "Kirk Philbrick's Homage to George Pérez", another opinion piece focusing on the author's love of Pérez's comics work over the years; a six page "George Pérez Marvel Comics Checklist"; "Pérez Fans Around the World" by Lars Peter Larsen, describing how he came to become a Pérez fan via Danish reprints of DC's Justice League of America and New Teen Titans comics; interviews with Avengers and JLA/Avengers (2003-2004) writer, Kurt Busiek, and colorist, Tom Smith, both by Lorenz; a twelve page "Fan Art" section; and a sixteen page "George Pérez Art Gallery".
(Credits info for The George Pérez Newsletter #2: Tony Lorenz (publisher)/Marcus Mebes (production manager & designer)/Tony Lorez, Kirk Philbrick, Lars Peter Larsen (writers/contributors)/George Pérez (cover art*).) (* this issue came in two "editions" with separate covers, the standard or "Diamond" edition (available to comic shops via Diamond Comics Distributors) (the version I have), and the "limited edition" (available exclusively via mail order from the publisher); both cover pieces are by Pérez, the "Diamond" edition cover using art work from the aborted 1983 JLA/Avengers one-shot, and the "limited" edition using a more recent (2001) Pérez piece that can also be found in the "George Pérez Art Gallery" inside both editions)
November 1, 2004 --
Comic Book Marketplace (magazine) #87 (2001)
Comic Book Marketplace is another comic book related magazine. Marketplace has been around for quite a number of years. This is actually the second series to carry the title. The first series was started by Gary Carter (editor) in xxxx and ran for twenty-one issues. The series then restarted with issue #1 in 1993 with Gary Carter still as editor.* Carter remained the magazine's editor all the way up to issue #83 (November 2000). The series then went on hiatus for nearly a year. It finally returned with issue #84 (August 2001), and a new editor, famed publisher of the 1980s-1990s EC Comics reprint collections, Russ Cochran.
[* Note added, April 18, 2005: The publishing history of CBM is actually a bit more complicated than that, as I now recall. (Thanks to fellow comics fan [and comics historian] "Doc V" [Dr. Michael Vassallo] for emailing me some of this info, plus the introduction in Comic Book Marketplace Special #2 [Summer 1999] by Pat Calhoun that also covered CBM's publishing history.) CBM, series one, was begun by Gary Carter in 1991 (I had xxxx in the paragraph above until I could hunt this date down). This first series--a self-publishing fanzine style venture sent out by mail, at least initially--ran until #21, 1992(?). Carter than joined with Bob Overstreet to produce a second series of (Overstreet) Comic Book Marketplace from 1993 to 1995(?). This second series of CBM was similar to that of Wizard (: The Comics Magazine) in that this version of CBM was also a slick magazine focused on current comics. (Carter and Overstreet also produced six issues of Overstreet's Advanced Collector/Overstreet's Golden Age Quarterly/Overstreet's Golden Age and Silver Age Quarterly from 1993 to 1995, which was a series aimed more at the original CBM's primary audience.) This second (Overstreet) version of CBM also ended with #21 (in 1995[?]). Carter than took CBM over to Gemstone Publishing. This series began with #22 (March 1995), leading to a bit of confusion as to what to call this series exactly. Some see it as a continuation of the first series (as in tone that's what it is), some obviously as a continuation of the second series (since that series also ended with #21 and this series immediately followed). I've decided to list it as "v.3" on my menu here as that's what Pat Calhoun referred to it as in his introduction in CBM Special #2. Anyway, this is the current version (series) of Comic Book Marketplace that I'm reviewing here. The rest of the stuff above about the later year-long hiatus between issues #83 and 84 and the change in editors is still correct. And it was announced in #120 (March 2005) that the following issue (#121) would be the final issue of this series of CBM. Plans were also announced to continue CBM as an online (only) magazine.]
Comic Book Marketplace #87 (November 2001) is just a few issues removed from that first Cochran edited issue. This issue's primary feature is one article and two interviews with the late George Evans (1920-2001), 1940s-1970s artist who specialized in aviation titles (such as EC Comics's Aces High series), war comics, and horror comics for publishers such as Fiction House, Fawcett, EC Comics, Gilberton (Classics Illustrated), Gold Key, DC Comics, and Marvel. [Note added, April 30, 2005: See entry for Comic Book Artist #17 (January 2002) for more articles on the life and career of George Evans.] Also in this issue: an interview with Don McGregor about his Detectives, Inc. graphic novels, an interview with comics legend Jim Steranko (Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD) about his controversial post-September 11th indictment of the moral state of the comics industry, and an interview with comics writer (and former Marvel Editor-in-Chief) Tom DeFalco (Spider-Girl).
Regular features:
• Pat Calhoun's "Adventures into Weird Words" column ("Horror Hosts": summaries of Fawcett's This Magazine Is Haunted #5 (1952), Ace Comics's The Hand of Fate #23 (1954), and Fiction House's Ghost #2 (1952)), •
•Michelle Nolan's "Nolan's Notebook" column ("Do They or Don't They...Exist?: The Continued Case of Mythical Comics", continuing Nolan's search for comics listed in the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide that do not actually exist), •
• R.C. Harvey's "Funnies Farrago" column ("The Longest Running Comics", a discussion of the longest running newspaper comic strips), •
• the first of Scott Shaw!'s "Oddball Comics" features to appear in CBM (reprinted from Shaw!'s online column; in this issue, an introduction to Shaw!'s fascination with what he calls "oddball" comics, plus a look at Action Comics #270 (1960)), •
• "Collectible Character Statues" ("Busting Out All Over", a look at the Bowen Designs Marvel Comics mini-busts), •
• "New & Noteworthy" (an interview with Jim Krueger about his Foot Soldiers comics series), •
• various comics retailer market reports, •
• and a "Color Gallery" featuring three "Gasoline Alley" Sunday pages by Frank King (1926, 1932, 1934) and ten of George Evans's covers from Aces High, Crime SuspenStories, Piracy, Shock SuspenStories, and Twisted Tales. •
• Plus two brief sidebar obituaries for Johnny Craig (1926-2001) (EC Comics, DC Comics, Marvel, Warren) and Gray Morrow (1934-2001) (Atlas, Gilberton (Classics Illustrated), Warren, DC Comics, Marvel, "Tarzan" newspaper strip). •
(Credits info for Comic Book Marketplace #87: Russ Cochran (editor/publisher)/Pat Calhoun, Michelle Nolan, James J.J. Wilson, S.C. Ringgenberg, Paul Wardle, R.C. Harvey, Don Flanagan, Bill Baker, Keith Giles, Scott Shaw!, Mike Wilbur, J.C. Vaughn, Michael Naiman (columnists/contributors)/George Evans (cover art*).) (* from Aces High #4; issue also available with Crime SuspenStories #23 cover, also by Evans)
October 25, 2004 --
Marvel 1602 #5-8 (2004)
Marvel 1602 is another one of those limited series that the remaining issues have been sitting on my "to be read pile" for quite a while. The setting of the series is 1602 England (and "the New World", America). When the series began, all readers knew was that familiar Marvel characters were somehow living in this past era. The assumption by fans at first, I believe, was that this was some sort of "imaginary tale"/alternate reality story. Well, writer Neil Gaiman let it be known that this was indeed the "real" Marvel Universe we were seeing and that all would be explained.
Marvel 1602 #5 picks up the threads from the previous issue. Nicholas Fury is assigned by the new king of England the duty of capturing "Carlos Javier's" school of "Witchbreed" (mutants). He, however, cannot bring himself to turn them in. Other plot threads involve Stephen Strange, Count Otto von Doom, "The Grand Inquisitor" (Magneto), Matthew Murdoch (Daredevil), and young Peter Parquagh (Peter Parker, or Spider-Man). We also learned the tale of the crew of "the Fantastick" (Fantastic Four), and how they disappeared years ago.
Marvel 1602 #6 is the issue where Gaiman reveals the secret behind how this strange version of 1602 has come about. The Watcher reveals to Stephen Strange that a being from the future has come back and altered the timeline. This tampering has caused a ripple effect, bringing forth heroes before their rightful time. It has also caused a chain reaction that will gradually destroy all of time.
As I write this entry, I am, unfortunately, a bit pressed for time, so I'll have to sum up the remainder of the issues of this limited series as thus. Once the true crisis has been revealed, the players (including the crew of the Fantastick, who have been the prisoners of Doom all this time) all begin to converge on the same goal: identifying the "forerunner" who came to their time from the future (who turns out to be Steve Rogers, Captain America, who has been disguised as the silent Indian Rojhaz) and returning him to the time he left.
At first, this series was a bit hard to follow at times, what with all of the characters used and their various sub-plots, not to mention that most of the characters are seventeenth century versions of familiar Marvel characters (altered appropriately for the time period). Once the secret behind it all is revealed and the mission determined, all becomes clear. I enjoyed this limited series quite a bit, particularly the second half.
(Credits info for Marvel 1602 #5-8: Neil Gaiman (writer)/Andy Kubert (artist)/Scott McKowen (cover artist).)
October 22, 2004 --
Comic Book Artist (magazine) #15 (2001)
Ok, when I started this "Comics Reading Blog", I really hadn't planned on including comics related magazines. However, I've changed my mind about that. Why? For one reason, I'm the type of person who likes to know when he read something. That way if I start to read it again and have a deja vu moment, I can check the blog and see when/if I last read it. Second, it'll let you, the web reading public, see yet another aspect of my personal reading and collecting tastes. Third, via my summaries you will be able to get an idea as to what's actually in these issues and whether or not you might be interested in searching out a copy for yourself.
The first magazine we have here is Comic Book Artist #15 (November 2001). This is from the first series, published by TwoMorrows (editor/designer Jon B. Cooke, after twenty-five issues with TwoMorrows between 1998 and 2003, moved the series to Top Shelf Comics and restarted it as "volume two" in 2003). This issue's theme is "The '80s Vanguard", and focuses on the artists responsible for some of the more influential independent comics titles of the 1980s. Interviewed in this issue: Dave Stevens (The Rocketeer); Mario, Gilbert, and Jaime Hernandez (Love and Rockets, Mister X, etc.); Matt Wagner (Mage, Grendel, etc.); Dean Motter (Mister X, Terminal City, Electropolis, etc.); Paul Rivoche (Mister X, etc.); and Sandy Plunkett (various 1970s to 1990s comics, including Ant-Man feature in Marvel Comics Presents, Solo Avengers, other various DC, Marvel, and Gold Key projects). Also included is an editorial by Cooke concerning September 11th (this was the first issue released following the terrorist attacks), and a review of the Jack Cole and Plastic Man: Forms Stretched to Their Limits book by columnist John Cochran.
(Credits info for Comic Book Artist #15: Jon B. Cooke (editor/designer)/John Cochran (columnist/contributor)/Fred Hembeck ("Dateline!@!!?" comic feature writer/artist)/Jon B. Cooke, Chris Knowles & Tim Barnes (conducted interviews)/Dave Stevens, Gilbert Hernandez & Jaime Hernandez (cover art).)
October 11, 2004 --
In Memory of
Christopher Reeve
(1952-2004)
October 9, 2004 --
JLA/Avengers #1-4 (2003-2004)
(As Reprinted In: JLA/Avengers: The Collector's Edition (2004), limited hardcover reprint collection.)
Oh, man! Now this is what I've been waiting for! I was at Orlando Mega-Con back in 2001 when this project was announced. And like many long time fans, there was great rejoicing. You see, back when the infamous aborted 1983 JLA/Avengers thing went down (which was also going to be drawn by the awesome George Pérez), well, that was right around the time I first started collecting comics. So, like a lot of fans, I've always felt that this was the "holy grail" of sorts. Now DC Comics and Marvel Comics were actually going to do it!
It took a while to arrive though. First, it took a year for Pérez to get going. That seems like a lot of time, but he was really going to go all out on this one (a dream project of his as well, finally being realized), cramming in just as much detail and as many character per panel as possible! Also, this was going to be four large "prestige" format issues. (Pérez got a one year sabbatical from his exclusive contract with CrossGen Comics to do this. Unfortunately, CrossGen is now no more, but there's not enough room to go into that particular subject here and now.) Anyway, the issues finally started hitting comics shop store shelves in fall 2003, and the last issue shipped (a bit late) in April 2004. I, however, made myself wait even longer (as hard as it was) to buy this long-awaited series because I just knew that there would be a deluxe hardcover reprint of the series out on the market soon after the series was completed, and reports said that it would include a special companion book that would feature the twenty-one pages Pérez drew by in 1983 for the first JLA/Avengers book! Finally, my copy of JLA/Avengers: The Collector's Edition arrived in late September 2004. My comments below will be on the individual issues first, followed by comments about the collection itself.
(Now, before I start, I have to admit that a straight summary of the plot of this series is going to sound rather conventional by comic book standards. However, remember that the plot in this case is here purely to serve one purpose alone: To provide a reason for George Pérez to draw as many DC and Marvel characters interacting with each other as possible, especially the "big guns" on each company's main superhero team, the Justice League of America (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, etc.) and the Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Wasp, Giant-Man (or whatever he's calling himself at the moment), the Vision, the Scarlet Witch, etc.).)
Anyway, in JLA/Avengers #1 (released by Marvel Comics), we have a mysterious man named Krona (who is recognized by some long time DC Comics fans as a DC character) destroying universes (alternate dimensions) looking for some great cosmic secret. He arrives in the Marvel Comics universe and is about to destroy it when he is stopped by the Grandmaster, another rather cosmic being who enjoys placing super-beings against each other in competitions and then watching to see who will win (he was the villain behind Marvel's Marvel Super Hero: Contest of Champions mini-series way back in 1982, the first time Marvel did one of these superhero jam fest mini-series). Grandmaster convinces Krona to stage a contest between the greatest super-beings of Krona's home dimension (the DC Universe's Justice League of America) vs. the Grandmaster's (Marvel's Avengers). To the heroes involved, they are told that they must gather together twelve powerful artifacts from both universes before Krona and/or the Grandmaster can get them first. They each see the other team of superheroes as obstacles to this end. #1 ends with the start of a major battle between the Justice League and the Avengers.
In Avengers/JLA #2 (released by DC Comics), they fight. That pretty much says it all. (And it's 48 pages of pure wonderment.) Oh yeah, and we find out what powerful secret truth Krona is after, and Batman and Captain America go off on their own (as their teammates are battling each other and trying to get to the cosmic artifacts first) to try to figure out what the heck's going on.
JLA/Avengers #3 (Marvel Comics) is where things get a bit weird. Time ripples start distorting time-space or some such. Anyway, we get several scenes of big Justice League-Avengers team-ups with just oodles of past and present Justice Leaguers and Avengers (in various costumes), all of which (of course) had never really happened before. Only Superman and Captain America (who have been at each other's throats since the beginning) know that something is awry with each "jump" from one reality to another. Ultimately, both teams come to realize what's happening, that Krona's trying to merge the Marvel and DC universes together (which, of course, will destroy both). They come to the conclusion that they must work together to save their respective "true" realities, even though it means futures of death and despair for many of them (the "death" of Superman, the death of the Robin (Jason Todd), Batman's getting his back broken by Bane, Hal Jordan's going crazy and becoming Parallax, Hank Pym's striking the Wasp and their later divorce, Iron Man's bouts with alcoholism, Aquaman's losing his hand, the Vision and Scarlet Witch's loss of their children and marriage, the death of Wonder Woman's mother Hippolyta, etc.) (This sequence makes for a nice review of the major turning points in the Marvel and, especially, DC universes over the least ten to twenty years, almost a "catching up" with what has changed since this project was first proposed and developed twenty years ago in 1983.)
And finally, in Avengers/JLA #4 (DC Comics), you have the all out battle between the Justice League and Avengers vs. Krona and all of the DC and Marvel villains at his disposal. Obviously, the heroes win in the end. The excitement, however, is in George Pérez's jam-packed art. This issue (and the series as a whole) is like Crisis on Infinite Earths times ten! (for those who don't know what that means, sorry, no time to explain it right now; sooner or later I'll hopefully get to that series here on the "Comics Read Blog").
In conclusion, this mini-series was everything I had been hoping for and well worth the wait. (Just think, twenty years ago, if it had gone forward, it would have been just one issue!) As for the fancy limited edition hardcover collection (with slipcase), that made it even better. The book is in what DC calls its "absolute" format, over twelve inches tall and exactly eight and a half inches wide. The larger page size allows Pérez's amazing level of detail to be seen quite a bit better than on the standard sized comics page. The only disappointment here is in the JLA/Avengers: Compendium, the exclusive companion book I mentioned that features the twenty-one pages Pérez completed back in 1983 for the original, aborted, JLA/Avengers project. As explained in the Compendium, these twenty-one pages were sold by Pérez to fellow comic book artist Rob Liefeld. Liefeld, in turn, sold the pages himself to "a variety of collectors". DC was unable to "track down" the original artwork to seven of the twenty-one pages for this collection, so Photostats had to be used. These pages are of a much lower quality than the ones printed from the original artwork. Much of the line detail is lost, seriously detracting from one's enjoyment of the pages. I really wish DC had managed to get all of the original artwork pages back for this or maybe asked Pérez to work on the photostats to bring them back up to snuff. This was, after all, the primary reason I waited so long (and paid so much) for the deluxe hardback collection, to see these twenty-one pages from the 1983 crossover all in one place and in the best treatment possible. In this regard, I can't help but feel a bit let down. The 2003-2004 series itself, however, is well worth picking up, whether in the original four individual comic book issues, this expensive deluxe hardcover collection, or the inevitable (much less expensive) trade paperback collection to come. (Also of interest in the Compendium: reprints of articles published in 1984-1985 declaring each company's side in the controversy the JLA/Avengers project had become and the reasons (in their eyes) for its unfortunate demise, Kurt Busiek's original plot outline for the 2003-2004 series and unused plot details from issue #3, and an incredibly detailed annotated guide to each and every character appearing in the series, including information on his or her first comic book appearance.)
(Credits info for JLA/Avengers #1-4: Kurt Busiek (writer)/George Pérez (artist).)
September 27, 2004 --
Astro City Special #1 (2004)
H-E-R-O #11-15 (2004)
In Astro City Special #1 we have the tale of "Supersonic's" final mission. A retired superhero, Supersonic is called out of retirement to take on a giant robot rampaging through the Astro City suburbs. While the present day Supersonic struggles to defeat the robot, we read (via his memories) how things were different when he was a young superhero. An enjoyable enough story. Not one of the best in the Astro City, but not one of the worst either.
Next up we have H-E-R-O, a DC Comics spinoff of their old "Dial 'H' for Hero" series. H-E-R-O follows the mystical device from person to person, showing us the reprecussions of each person's time with the super power granting device. #11 is a nice little interlude from the ongoing overall story arc. It takes the reader back "50,000 years ago" to see how a neaderthal man once found the H-E-R-O "dial".
H-E-R-O #12-14 is a three issue story arc starring a chauvenistic construction worker named Joe who finds the dial and, after dialing "H-E-R-O" finds himself trasformed into a superheroine! This is a fun tale, although I kind of wonder if it really needed three issues to tell. (The sub-plot of the mysterious person tracking the sporadic superheroes created by the dial continues to build throughout these issues and comes to a head in the following story arc.)
Finally, H-E-R-O #15 begins the story arc that the sub-plot of the previous issues has been leading to. Jerry Feldon, the man who first used the dial in this series way back in issue #1 is confronted by the man tracking the dial created superheroes' appearances. It turns out to be Robby (now "Bob") Reed, the original "Dial 'H' for Hero" feature character. Reed insists that the two of them must work together to get the dial back before someone with more nefarious purposes might get his or her hands on it. Also, Reed reveals that a portion of the person who uses the "dial" to become a superhero's powers remains in the person after the "dial's" effects wear off.
Like I said, this issue begins another story arc. This is the last issue of the series I have purchased at this time, however, so you will not see any further blog "reviews" about the following issues here. A pretty good series, H-E-R-O was merely one of the first titles to go in my big "cut back" of late 2004, coinciding with my move to Georgia. (H-E-R-O, as it turns out, didn't have much farther to go however. As of this writing, the series' final issue has been announced as issue #22 (January 2005 cover date).
(Credits info for issues mentioned above: Astro City Special #1: Kurt Busiek (writer)/Brent Anderson (artist); H-E-R-O #11: Will Pfeifer (writer)/Kano (artist)/John Van Fleet (cover artist [#11-15]); H-E-R-O #12-14: Will Pfeifer (writer)/Leonard Kirk (penciller)/Wade von Grawbadger (inker); H-E-R-O #15: Will Pfeifer (writer)/Dale Eaglesham (penciller)/Wade von Grawbadger (inker).)
September 25, 2004 --
Identity Crisis #4 (2004)
The mystery killer has struck again (in the end of the previous issue). (Spoilers!) His/her target: the Atom's (Ray Palmer) ex-wife, Jean Loring. This time, however, the Atom arrives in time to save his former wife, who has been left hanging from a noose. A later study of the crime scene by Green Arrow, Mr. Miracle, Superman, and Oracle turns suspicion to a villain named Slipknot. When confronted by Wonder Woman and her magical lasso, however, Slipknot turns out not to be the killer. Tensions continue to rise as tips keep turning into dead ends. And, before fading to black, Lois Lane receives a foreboding message. "Lois-- I know who your husband is (the "s" in husband written in a red triangle). You're next." To be continued...
(Credits info for Identity Crisis #4: Brad Meltzer (writer)/Rags Morales (penciller)/Mike Bair (inker).)
September 20, 2004 --
Empire #5-6 (2004)
Ministry of Space #2, 3 (2001, 2004)
This time, ironically enough, I have the completions of two limited series, both of which were very late in coming.
Empire, by Mark Waid, Barry Kitson, and James Pascoe, started in 2000 as part of the short lived Gorilla Comics line. Only two issues of Empire shipped before Gorilla Comics was no more. Three years later, Waid and company were able to complete their story over at DC, starting in late 2003 with reprints of the first two issues before moving on to issues four through six. Going back to my "to be read" pile, I'm finishing off reading the series with issues #5 and #6. As usual, Waid's story is engaging and Kitson's art is enjoyable. The last two issues focus on Golgoth crushing the rebels troops arrayed against his forces and (shockingly) dealing with a potential future threat to the "throne". I enjoyed Empire and would like to see more stories, but Waid and Kitson seem pretty busy at the moment. (I'd also really like to see the return of fellow Gorilla Comics alum Shockrockets by Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen, but they also see busy on other projects and unlikely to return to that particular universe at this time.)
Ministry of Space is an interesting "alternate history" type of story where the set-up is that the British won the space race following World War II instead of the United States. Warren Ellis's story and Chris Weston's art are very good. The series, however, suffered from the Camelot 3000 syndrome, that is, there was a huge span of time between the last two issues of the series. #2 shipped in September 2001, while #3 didn't ship until April 2004! Needless to say, people were beginning to wonder if they'd ever see the end of the story or not. Fortunately for me, #2 had been sitting in my own "to be read" pile since it was first released, so I was able to read both issues for the first time in one setting. (I was going to go back and reread #1, but I then realized that my comics boxes are still a bit out of order since the recent move and I didn't want to take the time to locate the Ms again.) My thoughts on the series? I liked it. Ellis definitely brings a "British" style to his work. It really works with this series. My only compaint is that it feels like it ends too quickly (meaning that it seems like the story isn't over yet when you reach the last page of #3, obviously not that the series was released too quickly!)
(Credits info for issues mentioned above: Empire #5-6: Mark Waid (writer)/Barry Kitson (penciller)/James Pascoe (inker); Ministry of Space #2-3: Warren Ellis (writer)/Chris Weston (artist).) September 4, 2004 -- Identity Crisis #3 (2004) I know, I haven't been reading (and posting about) very many comics lately. What can I say? Other things have been taking up my time. At the very least, I've been keeping up with Identity Crisis as I receive the issues (otherwise I'll read one of those spoilers online before reading it!). This issue begins where the previous issue ended, with Elongated Man, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Atom, Hawkman, Zatanna, Flash (Wally West), and Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) squaring off against Deathstroke. Anyone who's a fan of intense super-hero action should definitely check this issue out. Suffice it say, Deathstroke handles himself very well against this group of Justice League members, using his superior strategic mind and physical skills to exploit the weakness of the heroes. This issue isn't all about one big fight however. The dark secrets in the League's past continue to come out, the questionable actions taken in hopes of protecting their loved ones, and another one close to a League member is attacked by the mystery killer. To be continued... (Credits info for Identity Crisis #3: Brad Meltzer (writer)/Rags Morales (penciller)/Mike Bair (inker).) August 17, 2004 -- Identity Crisis #2 (2004) A few days ago I read Identity Crisis #2. Normally I would wait for the entire limited series to come out before reading it and commenting on it. The online press and conversation about this series has been so high, however, that it makes it almost impossible not to come across spoilers, so I'd better do this one on an issue by issue basis. And, fair warning: In my comments on the first issue I purposely kept it very general, avoiding spoilers. However, I think it would be impossible to comment on the following issues without refering to the important events in issue one, so from now on there will be spoilers here! (Stop reading if you don't want to come across them.) Ok, to get it out of the way, the Elongated Man's wife, Sue Dibny was brutally murdered in issue one. After the funeral, just about every super-hero in DC's line went off in search of the killer. A small group of (primarily former) Justice League of America members (Elongated Man, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Atom, Hawkman, and Zatanna) secretly gathered to confront who they believed to be the killer. This issue picks up from there. Joined by the Flash (Wally West) and Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), they move to confront Dr. Light. While doing so, the younger Flash and Green Lantern learn of a secret dark period in the JLA's history, when Dr. Light raped Sue Dibny and this particular group of JLA members elected to use Zatanna's magic to manipulate Dr. Light's mind itself to make him forget the incident. The issue ends with the present group running up againt Dr. Light's hired protector, Deathstroke the Terminator. To be continued... (Credits info for Identity Crisis #2: Brad Meltzer (writer)/Rags Morales (penciller)/Mike Bair (inker).) July 31, 2004 -- Spider-Man: The Official Movie Adaptation #1 (2002) Ok. Took a bit of a break from comics there. (It'll happen quite a bit as I bounce around from comics to books to magazines, etc.) My reading the above two Spider-Man adaptations at this time was part of a little project I decided to perform. I decided that, since Spider-Man 2, the movie, was arriving in theaters this month (and I had just watched the original Spider-Man movie again on DVD), that I'd read the two Spider-Man novelizations by Peter David back to back, and then the two comics adaptations. (To see what I thought of the two novelizations, see my "Books Read" page.) Spider-Man: The Official Movie Adaptation #1 is a very nice adaptation of the 2002 movie. The real selling point here is Alan Davis's wonderful artwork (inked by Mark Farmer). Also worthy of noting is that Spider-Man co-creator (and Marvel spokesman) Stan Lee returned to script this issue (based on the movie script). My one minor complaint is that Lee sometimes gets a bit too chatty with Spider-Man. It's almost like Lee is trying to write Spider-Man as he did back in the 1960s and 1970s, chatting up a storm. Unfortunately, this sometimes doesn't match the style set in the movie. Also, it can be a bit clunky because Lee oftentimes tells the reader via dialogue what the artist is already showing them. Still, even with these minor drawbacks, this is a very nice comics adaptation of a movie, perhaps one of the best. (DC's comics adaptation of the first Batman movie, art by Jerry Ordway, also comes to mind.) Spider-Man 2: The Movie #1 (for some reason they shortened the title as it is prited in the issue's indicia; the cover title is Spider-Man 2: The Official Comic Book Adaptation) isn't quite as nice. I mean, it's an okay enough adaptation, but it's just no where near as good as the first one. For starters, the first one was done in the fancier "bookshelf" (or "prestige") format. More expensive, but worth it in that case. This adaptation of the second movie is in the more standard comics format. Less expensive (which is good), but also less pages to cover the movie script (which is bad because more seems to happen in the second movie than in the first, leading to more stuff having to have been left out of this adaptation). The thing that really hurts this adaptation, however, is that they used three pencilers: Staz Johnson, Ron Lim, and Pat Olliffe. All three are good enough artists, but the team approach waters down the quality of the book a bit (and as good as they are, none of them in my opinion are as good as Alan Davis). To be fair, I'm sure that deadline problems forced Marvel to go with having to split up such a high profile comic among three artists. (Credits info for issues mentioned above: Spider-Man: The Official Movie Adaptation #1, Stan Lee (writer; based on a screenplay by David Koepp)/Alan Davis/Mark Farmer; Spider-Man 2: The Movie #1, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (writer; based on screenplay by Alvin Sargent, and screen story by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar & Michael Chabon)/Staz Johnson, Ron Lim & Pat Olliffe (pencilers)/Scott Koblish & Rodney Ramos (inkers).) July 8, 2004 -- Kingpin #7 (2004) Two more last issues of a series here and two first issues, first issues of series that I decided not to continue buying. Kingpin #7 is part seven of the seven-part "Thug" storyline. It is also the last issue of the series. The series was most likely designed as a limited series, but when it was announced they called it an ongoing series. Then a few months later (after sales weren't that great I'd suppose), they declared it a seven-issue limited series (surprise surprise). The series focuses on Kingpin as he is first making his way to the top of New York's organized crime structure, dealing mainly with Fisk (Kingpin) and his rival gangsters/crime lords. Spider-Man (a young, inexperienced Spider-Man) shows up in most issues. By the time you get to this final issue, it's a bit hard to keep up with all of the crime figures, and it's pretty predictable. Also, I kind of doubt this fits in with how Spider-Man met Kingpin in the original stories. (Yep, just checked, and it sure looks like Spider-Man is meeting Kingpin for the first time in Amazing Spider-Man #51 (1967), after Fisk had already become the "Kingpin" of crime. So this new Kingpin is a bit of retroactive continuity.) My feeling about the series as a whole: average (if slightly interesting in the beginning to see where the writer, Bruce Jones, was going with it). Ok, next we have Scratch #1. This was disappointing to me, but to be fair I should explain why. The only reason I bought this was because it had Batman in it. Of course, the solicitation for this issue didn't specify that Batman's total involvement in the issue would come to a two page cameo at the beginning of the issue and off-screen narration the rest of the way. Suffice it to say, I wasn't impressed with Batman's level of involvement. So, what is it about, you ask? A new "young werewolf" character. He befriends some other friendly (but freakish) characters, and is attacked by prejudiced locals. To be continued. I won't be with it though. Even before I realized that Batman was nothing more than a glorified narrator here, this book was on my cut list, one of the first to fall in my quest to cut back. (If you like Sam Kieth's particular art style, you might want to pick up this book though.) Next up is another number one, Spider-Man Unlimited #1 (not be confused with the quarterly Spider-Man Unlimited that ran from 1993 to 1998 or the Spider-Man Unlimited TV cartoon tie-in comics series that ran for five issues in 1999-2000). This, along with sister title X-Men Unlimited, is yet another attempt to launch a title featuring short stories by lesser known and up-and-coming creators. Both titles are bi-monthly (so one month Spider-Man Unlimited ships, the next X-Men Unlimited ships). Unfortunately for these two new series, they were launched right when I started cutting back on titles, so I decided not to get either one on a regular basis. I did decide to get the first issues of each title however. Here's Spidey (I'll get to the X-Men one somewhere down the line). This has two reasonably enjoyable (if totally forgettable) tales. In the first, Spider-Man befriends a young girl with a terminal disease. Not bad, but I can't help thinking about the much more effective (and classic) "Boy Who Collected Spider-Man" in Amazing Spider-Man #248 (1983). Brief appearances by Iron Fist, Daredevil, and Luke Cage (Power Man) for completists out there. The second story is a silly little tale of Spider-Man vs. "Slyde". Slyde is definitely not in Spider-Man's class. Slyde, however, does not know this, which makes this a humorous little story. Good art by Sean Chen and Sandu Florea (two well established artists) too. Finally, we have Superman & Batman: Generations III #12. Oh boy, not enough room to explain everything here. First off, since this is the first "Elseworlds" title I'm mentioning here in my comics blog, here's what "Elseworlds" is. Here's DC's description: "In Elseworlds, heroes are taken from their usual settings and put into strange times and places--some that have existed, and others that can't, couldn't, or shouldn't exist. The result is stories that make characters who are as familiar as yesterday seem as fresh as tomorrow." So, in a nutshell, it's familiar characters (Superman, Batman, etc.) in stories that for one reason or other can not take place in current mainstream DC continuity. Examples: characters living in different historical times, DC events happening in a different way, etc. Ok, so that's what "Elseworlds" is. John Byrne's Generations is a bit harder to explain. Once again, in a nutshell, Byrne's concept is what if Superman and Batman (and other DC characters) actually aged as the comics went along. In other words, Superman's and Batman's comics first appeared in the late 1930s. In the 1990s, the character would then be sixty years older. Byrne introduces children of characters to keep family lines going, and keeps main characters around via magic and super-science when desired. Byrne started his Generations universe with the four issue Superman & Batman: Generations limited series in 1999. He returned to it in Generations II (again for four issues) in 2001. For Generations III, Byrne had something more ambitious in mind: a year-long, twelve issue limited series (in the 1980s it would have been called a "maxi-series"). Each issue jumps ahead a century, so that the final issue takes place in the "30th Century". The plot involves Darkseid attempting to destroy our heroes and rule the Earth by sending his Parademons back in time over and over. Each time the Parademons are defeated, they go back further in time. So, in issue one, the heroes are facing the Parademons for the first time, but from the Parademons' perspective it's the final time. By the time you get to issue #12, it's quite hard to keep up with everyone. You've got the original Batman and Superman (or is this the son of Batman?), the grand-daughter of Superman, the original Wonder Woman (immortal, of course), and the 30th Century Green Lantern. I'm a die-hard DC fan and I'm confused. Still, I just about always enjoy Byrne's artwork, particularly on the mainstream DC characters. And I have a feeling that if I were to go back and read all three Generations series back to back I'd comprehend things a bit more. So, thumbs up for the die-hard fan, a "you might want to look elsewhere" for those easily confused by alternate realities and multiple characters with the same codename (more than one Superman, Batman, etc.) (Credits info for issues mentioned above: Kingpin #7, Bruce Jones/Sean Phillips ("breakdowns")/Klaus Janson ("finishes"); Scratch #1, Sam Kieth (writer/artist); Spider-Man Unlimited #1, first story, Joseph Goodrich/Takeshi Miyazawa (artist), second story, Brian Lynch/Sean Chin/Sandu Florea; Superman & Batman: Generations III #12, John Byrne, writer/artist.) July 5, 2004 -- Astro City: Local Heroes #5 (2004) Rather eclectic bunch, huh? Well, today I dive into some of the comics that I only had one or two issues to read in order to complete the series, story, etc. Astro City: Local Heroes finishes the five issue limited series. Continuing from the previous issue, the story focuses on Vince Oleck, an attorney who is using a rather novel approach to defending his obviously guilty defendent, that of entering precedents from earlier superhero cases into his defense (although there is no evidence of any such superhero involvement). He is tormented in his dreams by a vigilante named the Blue Knight (who turns out to be very real and a friend of his). An enjoyable enough entry in the Astro City (formerly Kurt Busiek's Astro City) series. (For those unfamiliar with the series, Astro City is Busiek's creation, a thriving city that happens to be the home of many of this Earth's super-hero population. The stories usually detail the impact living in a such a city has on those "normal" people residing there. Astro City's publishing history is a rather long story, however. It started as a limited series, under the Kurt Busiek's... title, in 1995 from Image Comics. It then relaunched as a regular ongoing in 1996, but then changed publishers (Wildstorm, the studio carrying Astro City was bought out by DC), and suffered from long delays between issues due to Busiek's health problems. Astro City: Local Heroes (dropping the Kurt Busiek's) finally appeared in 2003 to (hopefully) get the series back out on a semi-regular basis, although as a series of bi-monthly limited series and specials.) Next we have Astro City/Arrowsmith #1. This is a special one-shot promoting Busiek's two creator-owned titles. The Astro City story is a predule to an upcoming limited series titled Astro City: The Dark Age, and introduces readers to young Charles and Royal Williams, and their father, who is secretly another heroic vigilante, the Black Badge. These characters will be featured in The Dark Age. The Arrowsmith story on the other side of this "flip-book" is well drawn (by Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino) but I can't really make much sense out of it since I haven't read any other issues of the series. I do know, however, that this story was originally available on the internet as a web-comic. Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity #3 finishes up a three issue limited series that takes a look at the supposed first time all three of these heroes worked together (in current continuity). Superman and Batman had already worked together, and so had Superman and Wonder Woman, but this is the first time all three of them supposedly teamed-up (and also the first time Batman and Wonder Woman met). The wrap-up here is okay, although not quite as enjoyable as the first two chapters in my opinion. The villains (Batman foe Ra's al Ghul and Superman adversary Bizarro) are done well, as is the dialogue between the heroes and the use of supporting characters (in this case Queen Hippolyta, in an earlier issue Robin and Alfred). The Artemis used in this series is presumably the same one who later showed up in the main Wonder Woman title as a rival of Diana's and who actually assumed the mantle of Wonder Woman for a while. One continuity thing though: If I recall my post-Crisis Wonder Woman continuity correctly, Diana did not have her invisible plane (jet) in the beginning. George Pérez did not include it in his relaunch/revamp of the Wonder Woman title back in the 1987. I believe (if I am correct) that John Byrne reintroduced the concept into the post-Crisis continuity in his 1995-1998 run on Wonder Woman. Emma Frost #5-6 are parts five and six of the title's initial storyline, "Higher Learning". The title details the early life of the later villainess (and, even later, "heroine" and X-Men member), the White Queen. This series is okay, if heavy on the soap opera like elements. I don't really have a whole lot to say about Emma Frost aside from the fact that it did not survive my recent cut-backs (number six was the last issue I purchased; the title continued on until #18, which had been announced at the time of me typing this as the final issue of the series). Also, I have to agree that while the Greg Horn covers on this series were quite, uh, interesting (Emma Frost in her very scantily clad costume from New X-Men) they were completely misleading as to the content within (at this point Emma is still a young girl and is some time away from even becoming the White Queen) and were targeted at the entire wrong crowd (this series was supposed to appeal to young girls, not just the typical male fans who enjoy looking at scantily clad women). Finally (today), we have the very enjoyable last issue of the Formerly Known as the Justice League limited series. A reunion of the team behind the 1987 Justice League characters and creative team, as expected, hi-jinks and sillyness ensues. This particular incarnation of the League (often referred to as the "Giffen-DeMatteis" League) was more or less a situation comedy, taking almost none of the characters seriously. It was a successful approach for many years, however, due mainly to the quality of the material Giffen, DeMatteis, and artist Kevin Maguire (and following artists) were able to put out. Formerly Known As... picks up with the old characters in the present day. No longer the Justice League (the original "big seven" members, Superman, Batman, etc., have rightfully taken that name back by now of course), this crew of secondary characters (Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Fire, Elongated Man, etc.) are reluctantly gathered together again (along with Mary Marvel, a replacement for Captain Marvel, who was briefly a member of the old team) as the (wait for it) "Super-Buddies". Old foe, Manga Khan, appears on the scene however to spoil their fun, and the current Justice League (including former teammates in the 1987 League: Martian Manhunter, Flash, and Batman) keep on eye on things to avert any possible (and likely) disasters. I enjoyed this limited series very much, and look forward to the announced follow-up, I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League. One thing, however, about me reading this issue after Identity Crisis #1, which shipped a few months after the Formerly Known As... series wrapped up: I couldn't help but keep thinking about the violent death one of these characters was going to meet later on. It definitely colored my reading a bit, especially since the character is so joking and jovial in this issue. (See June 26, 2004, blog entry below for more details on Identity Crisis #1; I do not give away the identity of the murdered character in that blog entry, however.) (Credits info for issues mentioned above: Astro City: Local Heroes #5, Kurt Busiek/Brent E. Anderson (cover by Alex Ross); Astro City/Arrowsmith #1, Astro City story, again, Kurt Busiek/Brent E. Anderson, Alex Ross cover, Arrowsmith story, Kurt Busiek/Carlos Pacheco/Jesus Merino, cover by Pacheco & Merino; Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity #3, Matt Wagner (writer and artist); Emma Frost #5-6, Karl Bollers/Randy Green/Rick Ketcham; Formerly Known as the Justice League #6, Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis (writers)/Kevin Maguire/Joe Rubinstein.) June 30, 2004 -- Stars and STRIPE #9-14 (2000) Back to the JSA-related titles in my "to be read" boxes. This time up is Stars and STRIPE (ok, really it's Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E., but I've never liked typing in all of those periods nor do I particularly like how it looks that way, so I tend to write it as STRIPE). Stars and STRIPE was a title started by Geoff Johns, Lee Moder, and Dan Davis in 1999, and featured another second-generation super-hero, Courtney Whitmore. Courtney's step-father is Pat Dugan, formerly known as "Stripesy" of the 1940s crime-fighting duo Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy. At the beginning of the series, Courtney catches on and becomes the second Star-Spangled Kid. Dugan becomes "STRIPE" (named after the huge robot/armor he wears) to keep an eye on her. Chronologically (as best as I can tell), of the issues I read here, Impulse #61 comes first. An okay issue, notable mainly for Star-Spangled Kid and Impulse switching partners (Kid goes with Max Mercury, Impulse with STRIPE) for the issue. (The oddest thing about the issue is that it is labeled as a Day of Judgment "follow-up" (crossover) on the cover. It had been seven months, however, since Day of Judgment had come out when this issue hit the stands.) Next up is the final six issues of Stars and STRIPE. #9 is a very enjoyable story for fans of DC's golden age characters as it tells the secret "last" adventure of the Seven Soldiers of Victory (as they are in modern, post-Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity). #10-13 is one long story arc, as the villainous Dragon King and his daughter Shiv finally try to bring the Kid and STRIPE down. In this arc, Courtney's mom finally learns about her daughter's and husband's super-hero secret identities. In addition to this, the Shining Knight (of the Seven Soldiers of Victory and the All-Star Squadron) returns, seeking revenge on the Dragon King for what he did to his beloved, Firebrand. According to notes in issue #13, the events of JSA #11-15 occur next (see blog entry below for May 29, 2004). Stars and STRIPE #14 then follows. The JSA appears in the issue, and things stabilize as this is (sadly) the final issue of the series. (Star-Spangled Kid continues to appear in JSA, and Pat Dugan (STRIPE) becomes a supporting character in Superman: Man of Steel.) Last up here is JSA Annual #1. Somewhat ironically, the year JSA got its first annual turned out to also be the last year DC put annuals out. The overall theme of the DC annuals this year was "Planet DC". The concept was to introduce new, non-American, characters in each annual. JSA Annual #1 was one of the better ones. The focus is on the female member of the JSA: Black Canary, Hawkgirl, Star-Spangled Kid, and Queen Hippolyta (mother of Wonder Woman). They are drawn into a conflict between a woman code-named Nemesis (not to be confused with the earlier, male, DC character by the same name) and "The Council", the organization that created her and trained her to be their assassin (same group as in the acclaimed 1970s "Manhunter" series). One somewhat interesting note concerning the annual: The cover credits list several names not involved with the story in this issue (Johns, Buzz, Royal). Since most of the other "Planet DC" Annuals this year had back-up stories, it makes me wonder if there was supposed to be one for JSA Annual #1 as well and was cut for some reason? (Credits info for issues mentioned above: Impulse #61, Geoff Johns/Mshindo (no last name listed, a "Mshindo Kuumba" found online that is presumably the same person)/Eric Battle & Rodney Ramos (inkers); Stars and STRIPE #9-11, Geoff Johns/Scott Kolins/Dan Davis; #12-14, Geoff Johns/Lee Moder/Dan Davis; JSA Annual #1, David Goyer, Caton (no first name lists; a "Uriel Caton" found online)/Wade von Grawbadger.) June 26, 2004 -- Identity Crisis #1 (2004) Today I'm jumping back to stuff in my "current" stuff (comics just arriving via my nifty mail-order retailer). First up is Identity Crisis #1 from DC (Brad Meltzer/Rags Morales/Mike Bair). Identity Crisis is touted to be the big "crossover" mini of the year from DC (crossover in the sense of a whole boatload of DC's heroes appearing in one title, not in the sense of an "epic" storyline "crossing over" into everyone's else's titles). Issue one begins with the brutal murder of a longtime DC character, one fans of the old Justice League of America (and following Justice League titles) will be most affected by. (I can't say anything more or I'll give it away.) In the aftermath of the murder, just about all of DC's main characters (Justice League, Justice Society, Outsiders, Teen Titans, etc.) take off in search of the primary suspects of who might have murdered their friend. One group of heroes (former Justice Leaguers Atom, Black Canary, Elongated Man, Green Arrow, Hawkman, and Zatanna) seem to know exactly who it is based on some dark exploit they all shared back in their days in the League. It is said that there will be more heroes dying in this series before the culprit is ultimately caught, making this the DC mini-series of the summer. (Meltzer is a best-selling crime novelist and also the writer who took over Green Arrow when Kevin Smith left, and Rags Morales's resume includes the wonderfully quirky Black Condor and Hourman series.) I also took the opportunity to catch up with the Fantastic Four titles. Fantastic Four #513 finishes up the two-part "Spider-Sense" Human Torch-Spider-Man vs. Hydro-Man at a water park story. Fun stuff. I enjoyed the humor and lightness of this story (between the heavier stuff). Also in this issue is the second of two back-up stories by Mark Waid and Paul Smith (continued from the previous issue). This issue's back-up features the return of Alyssa Moy, a character from Reed's past Waid created in his Before the Fantastic Four: Reed Richards (2000) mini-series. Sue and Alyssa go on a time-travelling mission together and, as expected, cattiness ensues. Fantastic Four #514 is the start of a new Fantastic Four vs. Frightful Four story. The Wizard once again gathers three other villains (this time Hydro-Man, the Trapster, and a new female villain named "Fire Maiden") to do battle with Reed and company. Outside of a revealling teaser at the end of the issue, not all that interesting as (personally speaking) the Wizard and the Frightful Four aren't quite as interesting as they used to be. Marvel Knights 4 #6 continues the camping trip of the previous issue. Sue has to fend off vicious looking aliens while looking after the five young boys in her company. Meanwhile, Reed and Ben try to get to discover what the aliens are up to. So far, I'm enjoying this series (as an alternate FF title to the mainstream one). Ultimate Fantastic Four #6 finishes the initial six-part origin story arc ("The Fantastic"), somewhat predictably reuniting the primary characters and dispatching with (at least for now) the rather repugnant "ultimate" Mole Man. Ultimate Fantastic Four #7 begins the next story arc, "Doom". As expected, this story arc will establish the "ultimate" Dr. Doom (who was with Reed, Sue, Benn, and Johnny during their "accident" in issue #1). Note: The creative team changes with this issue (details below). I'm enjoying the new spin the writers of Ultimate Fantastic Four have been giving the characters (very much in keeping stylistically with what Bendis did with Ultimate Spider-Man and Millar with Ultimate X-Men. And Ellis here in #7 reveals some interesting things about Reed's post-accident physiology (aspects never covered in the mainstream FF title as far as I'm aware). (Credits for above FF titles: Fantastic Four #513, Mark Waid/Mike Wieringo/Karl Kesel, back-up story, Mark Waid/Paul Smith; FF #514, Mark Waid & Karl Kesel (writers)/Paco Medina/Juan Velasco; Marvel Knights 4 #6, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa/Steve McNiven/Mark Morales; Ultimate Fantastic Four #6, Brian Michael Bendis/Adam Kubert/John Dell & Danny Miki (inkers); Ultimate FF #7, Warren Ellis/Stuart Immonen/Wade von Grawbadger.) June 21, 2004 -- Hourman #20-25 (2000-2001) Finished up the last six issues of Hourman today. This was a very quirky (and very interesting) series, and it's a shame that it's no longer around (although the editors state, in the letters column announcing the series's cancellation in issue #23, that they were finishing up because it felt like the natural time to do so storywise). Hourman #20 and #21 finish up the Amazo-disguised-as-an-older-version-of-Hourman story arc. (Series co-creator Tom Peyer writes all six of the issues discussed here. #20 is drawn by a group of fill-in artists, pencillers Howard Porter, Jason Orfalas, inkers David Meikis and Norm Rapmund; Chrisopher Priest also gets a co-plotting credit on #20. The regular team of Rags Morales and David Meikis return for #21.) Some things that make these two issues interesting: the Golden Age Flash (Jay Garrick) guest-stars in both issues, and the story behind the loss of Snapper Carr's "snapping" teleportation powers (seen way back in 1999's Blasters Special) is finally revealed. #22-25 is the final story arc of the series, and begins with a seemingly wasteful time-traveling "vacation" Hourman goes on with his closest "friends" (the series's various supporting characters). In this arc we get a glimpse of Bethany's future (does she end up marrying Hourman?), the secret to the original Hourman's (Golden Age Hourman, Rex Tyler) presence in the far future as the creator of the 853rd Century android Hourman, and another appearance by the villainous Amazo. A rather nebulous ending of the series (in regards to Hourman himself at least), but nonetheless a very fun series as a whole, one I'd highly reccommend people to check out if they get the opportunity. (Credits for #22-25: Peyer is writer on all four issues; Tony Harris, artist, #22; Morales, pencils, and Meikis, inks, #23-25, additional inks by Claude St. Aubin on #25.) May 29, 2004 -- Now I'm going back into my overflowing "to be read" boxes. First up, I'm picking up from where I left off with DC's Hourman and JSA series. Hourman #17-19 (2000) These were/are two of DC's more interesting titles (Hourman was cancelled in 2002). Hourman #17 (by Peyer/Orfalas/Wong) picks up the story with our version of Hourman (an android from the 853rd Century first introduced in 1998's DC One Million mini-series/crossover) competing with an older version of himself over his girlfriend Beth. Feeling down, he feels a bit better after his future self shows him the "Hourman Century" in Earth's far future (he is told that at some point numbers give way to "themes" in recording centuries). Hourman #18 (Peyer/Morales/Meikis) shows us a JSA (Justice Society of America) Thanksgiving dinner. Hourman, a member, of course attends. So does Hourman's friend Rick Jones however, and Rick has issues with how Hourman acts differently when he's with the JSA than when he's with Rick and company.
Spider-Man 2: The Movie #1 (2004)
Scratch #1 (2004)
Spider-Man Unlimited #1 (2004)
Superman & Batman: Generations III #12 (2004)
Astro City/Arrowsmith (flipbook) #1 (2004)
Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity #3 (2003)
Emma Frost #5-6 (2004)
Formerly Known as the Justice League #6 (2004)
Impulse #61 (2000)
JSA Annual #1 (2000)
Fantastic Four #513-514 (2004)
Marvel Knights 4 #6 (2004)
Ultimate Fantastic Four #6-7 (2004)
JSA #11-15 (2000)
Next, I jumped over to JSA #11-15 which follow chronologically. In JSA #11, the team splits up to confront two separate threats, one team remaining on Earth to confront the maniacal terrorist Kobra (who has killed JSA member Atom Smasher's mother in a plane explosion), the other taking off to finally take down Extant, the villain who tried to remold the timestream in his own image (and killed three original Justice Society members, the original Atom, Dr. Fate, and Hourman) in DC's 1994 Zero Hour: Crisis in Time mini-series. JSA #11-12 (Goyer & Johns/"Buzz"/Bair) deal with the team facing Kobra. JSA #13-15 (regular team of Goyer & Johns/Sadowski/Bair) then turns to "The Hunt for Extant!" as the two teams reunite to deal with Extant. I've always enjoyed the Justice Society (and DC's other golden age based teams such as the All-Star Squadron and Infinity, Inc.). I think it's because they are heroes nearly on the same scale as the Justice League (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc.) but who the reader feels are not quite as indestructible as the JLA (who really believes they are going to kill off Superman or Batman in JLA?). There is more of a feeling of actual dilemma in well written Justice Society stories. Also, the JSA has a feeling of tradition to it (the original team going back to World War II), and the current JSA title has a very generational feeling to it, with "old school" heroes such as the original Green Lantern (now "Sentinel") and Flash, assumed "twenty-something" characters such as Black Canary and Atom Smasher, and next generation characters carrying on familiar names such as the new Dr. Mid-Nite, Star-Spangled Kid (of Johns' Stars and STRIPE series), and Mr. Terrific, all on the same team roster. Anyway, these issues are very interesting, and it's nice to see the team finally confronting Extant.
Then, it was back to Hourman #19 (Peyer/Morales/Meikis). First, it informs Hourman readers that Hourman has resigned from the JSA (in JSA #15). Things seem to go from bad to worse as all of Hourman's friends seem to prefer his future self to him. (However, on the bright side, the "future" Hourman finally cures Rick Tyler, the golden age Hourman's son, of the disease that's been plaguing him for so long.) Rick finally figures out what's happening and confronts the "future" Hourman, who turns out to be the villainous android, Amazo. To be continued... (I know, all of these "Hourmans" are confusing, but I'm not going to take up the space here to try to clear it all up.) I plan to continue with Hourman in my comics reading now, through the end of the series. I will pick up again with Stars and STRIPE soon as well, reading the rest of that series too. Then JSA and possibly Starman (another JSA member title).
May 15, 2004 -- My first entry in my new "Comics Reading 'Blog'". I wanted to do something a bit different from my "Recently Read (Books)" list. There I'm simply listing the books I read as I read them. Like I said, I wanted to do something a bit different with the comics so I decided to go with a 'blog' format. We'll see how it goes.
I took a pretty long 'break' from reading comics recently, primarily due to my move from Florida to Georgia. With all of the comics boxed up, I hit the books instead. (With all of the things I buy to read (comics, books, magazines about comics, etc.), I usually "swing" from one to another quite a bit in terms of my actual reading, reading comics for a while and then books after that.
This week I'm back into the comics though. The first comics I decided to catch up with were my Fantastic Four ones. Here's what I read.
Fantastic Four #512 (2004)
Ultimate Fantastic Four #5 (2004)
Marvel Knights 4 #5 (2004)
Human Torch #12 (2004)
Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Comics Magazine #9-12 (2001-2002)
Fantastic Four: 1 2 3 4 #1-4 (2001-2002)
Thing & She-Hulk: The Long Night #1 (2002)
The Thing: Freakshow #1-4 (2002)
Startling Stories: The Thing--Night Falls on Yancy Street 1-4 (2003)
Startling Stories: The Thing #1 (2003)
The first four listed above are current issues (at least, as "current" as possible since I get my stuff via mail order). Fantastic Four #512 is part one of a two-part "Spider Sense" story guest-starring Spider-Man. Waid and Wieringo continue to do a good job with the FF's flagship title. Favorite scene: The Department of Homeland Defense telling the Human Torch and Spidey that they can't hang out at the top of the Statue of Liberty (their long-time meeting place) anymore.* Ultimate Fantastic Four #5 is part five of "The Fantastic", the "Ultimate" team's origin story. Bendis, Millar, and Kubert's updating of the four is interesting. By now, Bendis is an old pro at "Ultimatizing" the Marvel heroes. Marvel Knights 4 #5 takes three of the four (all but the Thing) on a camping trip with young Franklin and four of his friends. This more "normal" feeling that Aguirre-Sacasa, McNiven, and Morales use is an interesting "other" take on the FF (but I'm glad that they didn't take over the flagship title from Waid and Wieringo as originally planned). Human Torch #12 is the last issue of the series (2003-2004). So-so (pretty unoriginal) Torch and Thing vs. Dragon Man story. Medina's Thing looks pretty good at times though.
FF: World's Greatest Comics Magazine #9-12 are the last issues of a twelve issue limited series put out in 2001-2002 to commemorate the FF's 40th anniversary. This was a pretty fun series, with modern artists (such as Erik Larsen, Bruce Timm, and Ron Frenz) and classic FF inker Joe Sinnott (among others) doing a "retro" story in the style of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (supposedly a "lost" story arc taking palce betwee Fantastic Four #100 and 101). Had read #1-8 a while back and am just now getting to #9-12. Likewise, I have had Fantastic Four: 1 2 3 4 #1-4 sitting in the "to be read" box since it first arrived in 2001-2002. This is actually the first "Marvel Knights" FF series. A more mature (and interesting) spin on a FF-Sub-Mariner-Dr. Doom story by Grant Morrison and Jae Lee.
Finally, I read four Thing titles that had been sitting for a while. Thing & She-Hulk: The Long Night #1 is a one-shot Bryan Hitch began the art on and then never finished. It was finished later by Ivan Reiss and released in 2002. This book also features Dragon Man. The art is the main draw here. The Thing Freakshow #1-4 was better than I thought it'd be. Johns, Kolins, and Lanning tell a story of the Thing returning (accidentally) to a travelling carnival that he had visited as a boy. His past comes back to haunt him as he wasn't very nice to the "freaks" back then. Of course, now that he has a big orange rocky hyde, the irony is obvious. This story also features Marvel's warring space aliens, the Skrulls and the Kree. Startling Stories: The Thing--Night Falls... #1-4 is a mini-series under the "Startling Stories" heading/imprint Marvel tried a few years back. The purpose of the heading seemed to be to tell stories starring the mainstream Marvel characters but with a much more edgy, "adult", tone. In this story, the Thing, down about his monstrous appearance once again, becomes involved with a young woman he meets on Yancy Street. The only problem is that he is still seeing Alicia Masters at this time. This story also features the Absorbing Man. Lastly, we have Startling Stories: The Thing #1 (one-shot). This is a fun issue with nice art by Don Kramer. Includes appearances by the Wrecker, the Inhumans, the Invisible Woman, Blastaar, and (briefly) the Hulk. Like I said, a fun one, but I don't see why this one was under the "Startling Stories" header (or why it didn't have a sub-title such as Night Falls on Yancy Street did).
[* Addendum, June 27, 2004: I forgot to mention the back-up story in Fantastic Four #512 back when I wrote this in May. By Mark Waid and Paul Smith (although the way the credits are done on this story, it's hard to tell), it is four pages long and continues in the back-up story in the following issue, FF #513. It is an amusing enough little feature, one of Sue playing some tricks on Reed because she feels that he hasn't been paying her enough attention.]
(Spider-Man is © 2007 by Marvel Comics)
(Batman is © 2007 by DC Comics)