In my last post, I mentioned I’d be reviewing some DC comics, starting in January 1977 and working my way forward. Today, I’m going to get more detailed about which comics I’ll be looking at. On Monday, I’ll post my first actual reviews. As I mentioned before, I don’t have time to read every DC comic that came out in 1977, nor would I want to; let’s face it, some of them were crap. So I compromised and picked some popular comics, plus a few that I like or have always wanted to read but never got around to.
I’ll be posting comic reviews every Monday and Friday (Wednesdays are for reviews of the TV show Lost Girl). I’ll do at least two comics reviews in each post, sometimes three (or even four, if need be); these won’t be insanely long, page-by-page reviews … there are already plenty of those to be found online. I’ll summarize the storyline of each issue, then afterwards I’ll add a few observations, under the heading of Noticeable Things (a title I took from that old Missing Persons song “Noticeable One … remember the video for that? Man, Dale Bozzio looked like Lady Gaga’s hotter sister). Some reviews may be longer than others, depending on what I have to say, or how complex the story is, or whatever. I’ll also be including some art from each issue. The reviews will be absolutely overflowing with spoilers, of course.
I’m going by cover dates according to the Newsstand feature at Mike’s Amazing World of Comics. The comics I’ll be reviewing are:
- Batman 283-294, Detective 467-474, Brave and the Bold 132-138; I’ve read most of these at one time or another, but it’s Batman … he’s always good for a re-read. Some classic stuff in here too, with Englehart on Detective and Reed’s “Trial” 4-parter in Batman. Of course, the Calculator’s in this bunch too 🙂
- Superman 307-318, Action 467-478; I read Superman off and on as a kid, so I’ve read some of these, but it was so long ago I don’t remember much about them. So they’ll mostly be new to me. Some interesting stuff in here, with the SKULL/STAR Labs storyline, and Amalak. Action has some dubious villains though … Terra-Man, Dr. Light, Vartox. Oh well, they can’t all be winners.
- Justice League of America 138-149, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes 223-234; I’ve read all of these before (in the Legion’s case, more than once), but they’re always worth another look. Some good stuff here, with the start of Englehart’s run on JLA and Levitz’s first LSH stuff.
- Flash 246-256, Green Lantern 93-99, Wonder Woman 228-238; these I’m not familiar with at all. I know all three from the JLA comics, but never really cared about their solo stuff. I always found Flash kinda boring, Green Lantern either boring or annoying, and my friends and I considered Wonder Woman to be a “girls’ comic” (we did watch the TV show, but that probably had more to do with Lynda Carter than anything). So these will be all new to me. I’ll try to keep an open mind.
- All-Star Comics 64-69, Black Lightning 1-5; I read a few of these as a kid, so I figured I may as well read them all now. I like Paul Levitz’s writing on Legion, so hopefully it’ll work on All-Star. I always liked Black Lightning … in fact, he’s the main reason (other than Batman, natch) that I got into the Outsiders, so I guess it’s time I read his whole series (which is only eleven issues … not really a huge commitment).
- Jonah Hex 1-7, Warlord 5-10; a bit of variety from the superheroes. I read Jonah Hex sporadically as a kid, so I figured I may as well try to read the whole run while I’m doing these reviews. I’ve read every issue of Warlord, but it’s been a while and I’ve been meaning to check ’em out again; there are some great stories in there, especially in the early issues … I love Mike Grell’s writing and art.
And that’s basically it for 1977. If I can stick to my schedule, I should get through these by the end of June. In July I’ll start on 1978, which will include all these titles, plus a couple more. I’m looking forward to visiting (or revisiting) some classic storylines. I hope you’ll join me on Monday (January 2) as I check out Batman #283 and Detective #467.