Guy Gardner: Warrior #29

“It’s My Party and I’ll Fight If I Want To” – March 1995

This may just be the perfect time capsule for the mid-1990s DCU. Thanks to the plot device of Guy throwing a party for the opening of Warriors restaurant, this issue is able to provide a snapshot of nearly every DCU character as they existed during comics’ most controversial era. Just paging through the issue, you get a splash page featuring Kyle Rayner, Steel, and that weird 90s version of Ice, a mulleted Superman complaining about “imposters,” a grumpy, longhaired Aquaman who is actually complaining that no one notices his missing hand, the Blood Pack, that knife carrying version of Doctor Fate called Fate, Atom Smasher in his old Nuklon get up, the extra-grim post Zero Hour Hawkman, the Psyba Rats, and, maybe best of all, Artemis in her Wonder Woman costume arguing with Donna Troy in her Darkstar outfit. And that’s not even mentioning the pure nineties glory that is Guy Gardner: Warrior himself. Plus, you get a gimmick cover (a sort of double gatefold job that serves as “doors” for Warriors and which opens to reveal a secondary cover jam packed with all of the heroes of the DCU), a gratuitous Lobo appearance and fight, gratuitous celebrity cameos by Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone, and a story that is “to be continued” in another title (Action #709). And if that’s not enough reason to check it out, it’s all beautifully penciled by the always terrific Phil Jiminez, who isn’t necessarily a nineties style artist, but who cares?

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From Guy Gardner: Warrior #29 - March 1995

Batman: The Scottish Connection

August 1998

In a story that seems like a better fit for the world’s richest duck than for the dark knight detective, Batman travels to Scotland and is quickly embroiled in a vicious, centuries old clan feud where superstition acts as a smoke screen for revenge plot involving the plague virus. The story is honestly kind of a humdrum affair, with an uncomplicated and rather obvious mystery at its center. The villain is not up to the usual standard of Batman rogues and the verdant, rolling landscape feels out of place in a Batman story that doesn’t use that clash to say anything interesting. The best part about the issue, though, is unquestionably the art, an early Batman offering from current fan favorite Frank Quitely. No, it’s no Batman and Robin, but Quitely’s distinct rendering style and gift for action storytelling are already in place, as displayed in a couple of excellently choreographed fight scenes. This book also expertly displays Quitely’s gift for faces. Often times, artists have trouble differentiating one character from another, particularly with background characters, but Quitely always has a way of making each face stand out by employing slightly caricatured, but distinctly human features and imperfections in almost mind numbing detail that also never distracts or overwhelms. He’s almost like the Preston Sturges of the comics page in that regard. Particularly nice is Quitely’s depiction of the story’s romantic interest who, in a near impossibility on the comics page, is beautiful without being crazy comic book hot.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold #3

“President Batman!” – May 2009

Silver Age craziness abounds in this issue, which sees the caped crusader pose as the President of the United States to stop an assassination. The highlights, and there are many, include, a completely unnecessary guest star role for Green Arrow who spends most of the time posing as a secret service agent without ever removing his mask or Robin Hood hat, two real secret service agents freaking out over handing over control of the country and the military to anyone other than the president, but going ahead with it since it’s Batman, , a white house lawn luau, the best artistic rendering of a dude using a hologram projector to disguise himself as another dude that I have ever seen, and, last but not least, the origin of the Ultra-Humanite. Now, that last bit may not seem like a big deal, particularly in a story where Batman beats up dudes while disguised as the president, but how often do you see a cartoon tie-in comic tell the origin of a major bad guy. Usually that sort of thing is reserved the cartoon series itself and I was surprised and delighted to see it here, especially portrayed as it was as not the center of the story, but just another bit of craziness in an otherwise already delightfully over the top romp. My only gripe: the scene on the cover totally doesn’t happen and I, for one, really wanted to see Batman’s inauguration day.

The Outsiders #1

“Nuclear Fear, Part 1: Beginning with a Bang!” and “Statue of Limitations” - November 1985

I honestly don’t know where to start with this review except to say that this comic is bat shit insane. True, the main story is plenty weird and features the Batman-less Outsiders defending a nuclear power station from The Nuclear Family, a family of robots, including mom, dad, little boy, little girl, and dog, wearing white jumpsuits and sporting nonsensical nuclear powers. And while that’s all super weird, the weirdest part of the issue comes with the last page, a single page gag strip starring Halo. You see, the Dahli Lama or a Buddha or something has moved to California and has told his own personal Mr. Drysdale to carve him a bunch of Halo statues. The banker or real estate agent or whoever he is invites a duly impressed Halo over to the house to check them out. While there, the Dahli Lama arrives and asks what’s up with the statues. You see, he doesn’t want a bunch of Halo statues; he wants a lot of the little machines that you talk into and say, “Hallo? ‘Stat Chu?’” Or, translated for the my non-racist readers, “Hello? Is that you?” Following the God awful punch line, Halo and the banker literally tip over onto the floor with a thud. I’m not quite sure which surprises me more, that Mike W. Barr got DC to publish this sub-Archie gag, that he got Jim Aparo to draw it, or that I honestly can’t wait to see what he pulls in issue two.

The Spectre #11

“The Mission”

Cover Price: $2.50
Bargain Price: $0.25
Cover Date: January, 2002

Hal Jordan’s a really bland character. He’s brave and confident and fearless and whatever and, while that’s great for the Silver Age, it doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for complexity today. Hal has been GL since the late fifties. It’s probably about time we told new and interesting stories about someone new and interesting. J.M. DeMatteis’ Spectre series, however, is a surprisingly refreshing take on Hal. Here, Hal is over his head as the new Spectre, unsure and downright distrustful of his powers. He’s dealing with the wrath of God, judgment, and his own guilt over his time as Parallax. He’s still the brave Hal Jordon, but here there’s a little more depth as we see Hal dealing with his recent troubled past in a heroic and human way, while dealing with situations that are completely new to the jaded space cop. DeMatteis adds a really nice sense of wonder to the proceedings of this particular issue, which deals with Jordon learning that there are different aspects of himself and his personality that even he wasn’t aware of, wandering the world to bring the wrath and redemption of God to people of different cultures and faiths, allowing the Spectre to be in multiple places at once and to cater to a variety of different faiths and expectations. It’s a pretty clever twist on the idea of the GL Corps that leads to some interesting ideas and a nice, refreshing take on a well-worn character.

Trinity #1

“Green Lantern” “Darkstars” “L.E.G.I.O.N. ‘93”

Cover Price: $2.95
Bargain Price: $0.50
Cover Date: August 1993

Not to be confused with DC’s recent weekly, 1993’s Trinity was the anchor book for a two month, eight issue long crossover for DC’s space fairing law enforcement agencies: the Green Lanterns, Vril Dox’s L.E.G.I.O.N. and the Darkstars, the extreme, take no prisoners nineties take on the Lantern Corps. Despite the flashy cover, this looked like a good chance to, if nothing else, learn more about the L.E.G.I.O.N., a concept I found intriguing, but which, so far, has failed to hook me (which is a shame because I really like Vril Dox). The Darkstars and Green Lantern stories are mediocre, despite art from Travis Charest and Gene Ha respectively. Ha and Charest may be superstars today, but, unfortunately, they’d yet to crystallize their distinctive styles in 1993. Fortunately, the L.E.G.I.O.N. story is pretty fun. Written by Mark Waid with pencils by Barry Kitson, the chapter sees both creators at the top of their game. The art is clean and distinctive and Kitson handles the large cast well, effortlessly distinguishing one character from another while handling the crowd scenes and alien city without ever skimping on detail. This issue really reminded me just how good Kitson is and it’s a shame he doesn’t get more recognition. Waid’s story is also a lot of fun and serves as an excellent showcase for the conflicting personality types of the characters, particularly the arrogant Dox. I’m looking forward to finding some issues of Waid and Kitson’s L.E.G.I.O.N. and seeing if it holds up.

The Man of Steel #3

"One Night in Gotham City..."

Cover Price: $0.75
Bargain Price: 3/$1.00
Cover Date: November 1986

This may be Superman’s comic, but, brother, this issue is all about Batman. This middle chapter of John Byrne’s Superman origin reboot sees Batman and Superman meeting for the first time, while trying to stop an absurdly dressed killer named Magpie. Incidentally, Magpie, whose shtick is to steal shiny things and replace them with explosives, is the only bad part of the issue. Seriously, was the Joker busy? Anyway, Superman has come to Gotham to arrest Batman, but Bats convinces Superman to hold on and help with Magpie by telling Supes that if he even touches Batman a bomb will go off somewhere in Gotham, killing an innocent person. If that sounds out of character, just wait for the twist, which, honestly, is about as Batman as you can get. Batman continues to shine throughout the adventure. There’s some solid detective work and deduction, which, ironically, is often missing from Batman’s adventures, and a great little exchange with Superman about how saving the planet is one thing, but saving a city is something else entirely. As for Kal-El himself, since the story primarily serves to demonstrate to both Superman and the reader the validity of a vastly different approach to crime fighting, the man of steel actually does or says very little in this issue. The result is a fun little meta-commentary wherein Superman is basically the reader, sitting down to read his first Batman comic and learning what a badass Batman is, which is alright with me.

The Man of Steel #1

“From out of the Green Dawn”

Cover Price: $0.75
Bargain Price: 3/$1.00
Cover Date: October 1986

This issue begins John Byrne’s reimaging of Superman, and, while I mainly enjoyed the issue, there is a lot here that just isn’t my cup of tea, raised as I was on the Superman’s Silver Age iteration. Mainly, I just don’t care for Byrne’s sterile version of Krypton. I simply can’t help but think that making Jor-El and Lara so alien, so much so that Lara is repulsed by a human farmer (irony!) and that the duo doesn’t understand our hu-man concept of love, is a bit of mistake. I feel the same way about presenting little Kal-El as an unborn embryo who isn’t actually “born” until his ship lands on Earth, denying any real emotional connection between the infant and his parents and somewhat undermining the tragedy at the heart of the origin. Oddly, there is also no arguing about the planet’s demise nor any attempt by Jor-El and Lara to flee, even though doing so seems entirely within their power. The scenes on Earth fair better, with Byrne making up for dehumanizing Jor-El and Lara by increasing Jonathan and Martha’s role in the book and by keeping Jonathan alive, itself easily the best change Byrne makes. Otherwise, the issue is almost interminably wordy. Still, the art is great and the issue is overall likeable enough that I think that, now that the controversial origin is out of the way, the rest of the mini aught to be pretty fun.

Final Crisis Aftermath: Run! #6

“Step Six: Stop Running”

Cover Price: $2.99
Bargain Price: $0.25
Cover Date: December 2009

Having read the intervening issues, I’m sorry to say that Run fails to live up to its first issue, but only just. As the story progresses, it quickly becomes a tale about the Human Flame’s rather inept quest for power, coupled all along with his penchant for self delusion, particularly among a cadre of DC’s lamest villains, and for carelessly taking advantage of those around him. Still, it’s hard to think of him as truly evil. He does commit horrible, despicable crimes, but he lacks the Machiavellian mindset to seem truly evil. Instead, he’s just kind of a douche, and while that’s pretty entertaining for two or three issues, it does begin to grate a bit by the end. As I hoped, there is no road to redemption for the Flame, but, as I feared, the result is a lead character who becomes increasingly annoying, so much so that writer Matthew Sturges brings in Jon Steward, Firestorm, and Red Tornado to give us heroes to latch onto and through whom we can witness the Flame’s inevitable and slightly ironic end. Still, I’m being perhaps a bit too harsh on the book. Even if it isn’t quite what I wanted, it is still entertaining and wonderfully off kilter with some terrific art from Freddie E. Williams II and, for a quarter, you can’t ask for much more than that.

Secret Origins #10

“Tarry Till I Come Again” “…And Men Shall Call Him Stranger” “Revelations” “Footsteps”

Cover Price: $1.25
Bargain Price: $0.50
Cover Date: January 1987

I’ll be honest, The Phantom Strange is one of those characters I love, but whose origin I couldn’t care less about. What makes him interesting is the enigma, a stranger to reader and character alike. Editor Robert Greenberger apparently felt the same way as, when tasked to dedicate an issue of Secret Origins to the Phantom Stranger, he commissioned four unrelated stories, each telling a distinct origin without ever confirming which, if any, was the true one. It’s an intriguing idea from the get go and one that benefits from a dazzling array of talent, including Jim Aparo, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, Paul Levitz, and Alan Moore. Each story is really solid, with at least three of the four interestingly rooted in Judeo/Christian mythology, including portrayals of the Stranger as both a Lot analog and the Wandering Jew of folklore. Unsurprisingly, though, Moore’s is the most intriguing, thanks to a parallel story in which the Stranger watches a modern Street Angel vigilante fail to choose sides between warring factions of his own association. The segments set in the celestial city are the most interesting, though, particularly a glimpse of the angel Etrigan and a fascinating, even probable explanation for the deformed forms of the fallen angels. The best part, though, is that the story wisely embraces the tone of the whole issue, with Moore only ever implying that the Stranger and the half-fallen angel are one and the same, never stating so explicitly and leaving the story open to interpretation.

Final Crisis Aftermath: Run! #1

“Step One: Make a Lot of Enemies”

Cover Price: $2.99
Bargain Price: 3/$1.00
Cover Date: July 2009

Being the Human Flame sucks, although Mike Miller hasn’t realized it yet. An early convert to Libra’s religion of crime in Final Crisis, Miller got his wish of seeing the Martian Manhunter burned alive only to be betrayed and brainwashed. Now, the Final Crisis is over and a restored Miller quickly realizes that he is one of the most wanted men alive, tied as he is to a Justice League founder’s homicide. None of this phases Miller, though, as he is, quite simply, a total jerk and that is easily the best thing about this series. It would be easy to portray Miller as a sympathetic hero, changed by the events of Final Crisis and on a road to redemption. Instead, Matthew Sturges writes Miller as a slovenly loser falsely convinced of his own greatness. Still, there is something likable about this supremely unlikeable character. Perhaps it is the detailed, yet caricature laden style employed by Freddie E. Williams II or perhaps it is his everyman portrayal. I’m very interested to see where Sturges and Williams take the character, especially now that he’s being pursued by the mob (for stealing drug money) and the JLA alike. It seems like the inevitable arc of the story will be for Miller to yet find some redemption, but I’m not sure I hope he will. It might end up getting old, but, for the moment at least, I’m enjoying reading about a completely wretched human being who can shoot fire from his nipples.

Booster Gold #32

“Tense Future”

Cover Price: $2.99
Bargain Price: $0.25
Cover Date: July 2010

People seem to forget that Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis’ JLI was just as much about action and drama as it was about comedy. True, the comedy was a big part of the proceedings, but so were but the intense fights with Desparo, The Grey Man, and the mutated Thunderer as well as personal tragedies, exemplified by Blue Beetle’s brain washing. These were the spine that held that series together and offered a nice, if extreme, counterpoint to the interpersonal comedy the writing duo pioneered in those pages. The resulting mix was what made that series special, not merely one or the other. All that said, as the cover implies, this issue of Booster Gold does certainly have the “Bwa-Ha-Ha,” but it brings the action and drama as well. Booster finds himself in the future, helping a small group of refuge esescape catastrophe on Daxam. Unfortunately, the group runs into the Emerald Empress, leading to a truly excellent action sequence as Booster battles her Emerald Eye, drawing it away from the refugees and figuring that the Empress herself is not as big a threat. Booster’s monolog and his repartee with the refugees is classic Giffen and DeMatteis, but the scene that awaits Booster when he returns from fighting the Eye, revealing how badly he underestimated the Empress, not to mention one of the surviving refugee’s reaction to the aftermath, prove this issue a much closer spiritual successor to the JLI than much of the duo’s other recent efforts.

Catwoman #1,000,000

“Nine Million Lives”

Cover Price: $1.99
Bargain Price: $0.25
Cover Date: November 1993

DC Comics hates the obsessive compulsive comic book reader, a fact they’ve show with both their #0 tie-ins to Zero Hour and their #1,000,000 tie-ins to Grant Morrison’s DC One Million crossover event. During the month DC One Million came out, every book in DC’s line was numbered 1,000,000, even if it had no particular reason to tie into the JLA-centric story. Enter Catwoman #1,000,000. When I saw this thing in the quarter bin, I thought I’d struck gold: Jim Balent era Catwoman in the far future, with the ridiculous breasts and (God help me) computer cable dreadlock hair? Sign me up. Sadly, the book was both more ridiculous and less ridiculous than I dreamed. The plot, such as it is, focuses on the Catwoman of the future (I was really hoping to see Selina Kyle unnecessarily thrust into the future, but c’est la vie) trying to break into the future Batcave on Pluto for non-future Batman. For 22 pages, she runs around, fighting weird monsters and thrusting various body parts, but, as campy and titillating as that sounds, it’s all just so rote. There is no fun here or any of the winking of the camera that someone like Amanda Conner pulls off effortlessly, just a strange seriousness about things that I can’t imagine ever caring about. Still, whether I like it or not, someone certainly does, as Balent’s been making a living off this very thing for years now, whether Chris Sims wants him to or not.

Batman Annual #12

"Slade's Demon"

Cover Price: $1.50
Bargain Price: 3/$1.00
Cover Date: 1988

So Bruce Wayne is invited to a spooky mansion for a murder mystery dinner, when, needless to say, someone actually gets murdered. This instantly seemed like the perfect setup for Clue-style secret passages, darkened rooms, and skullduggery, with Bruce Wayne forced into solving a murder in his playboy alias, without ever letting on that he is really Batman. Unfortunately, only a page or so after the murder, Bruce changes into his Batman Underoos, with no one noticing that Batman has conveniently shown up at a house in the middle of nowhere just as Bruce has skedaddled. The mystery plot itself is a little thin, which doesn’t help matters, nor does the fact that the book has entirely too many characters, some of them with three different identities to keep track of: their civilian identity, their assumed identity for the mystery dinner, and, for several, the fact that they’re secretly someone’s father or son or whatever. Still, there’s a pretty good fight scene toward the end and a couple of really nice moments with Batman actually doing some detective work and deduction, so the issue’s got that going for it. It also has a solo back-up story featuring Jason Todd, wherein Jason struggles with whether or not to turn in his friends who have been changing their report card grades Wargames style. It’s so wishy-washy and pointless that I was yearning for a 900 number to call by about page four.