Reviews, ruminations, and (occasional) ramblings.
Superman #383 – “Your World or Your Life, Superman—One Must Die” – Cary Bates/Curt Swan/Dave Hunt
This one starts with Superman out in space, coming across a weird energy phenomenon. He checks it out (by flying right through it) and determines it’s no threat to any nearby systems, so he heads back to Earth. On Earth, Lois Lane is on a plane heading for her new assignment in the Middle East. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Superman 383, Action 543, DC Comics Presents 57, Warlord 69”
Episode 18: Weapons of Class Destruction
This one starts with Veronica and Leo making out on her doorstep. Leo’s pretty brazen about wanting to come in for some hot sex, but Veronica puts him off by saying her dad’s home. I’m assuming she hasn’t told Leo about being drugged and raped last year. When she goes in, Keith is waiting up for her (while pretending not to, as fathers do). He’s acting a little weird and Veronica wonders if he’s got a problem with her and Leo, but it turns out Keith has been seeing someone too and wants to clue Veronica in, since he’s started to have real feelings for this woman. Who has Keith been dating on the sly? Only Alicia, Wallace’s mom. Continue reading “Veronica Mars Reviews: Season 1, Episode 18”
Batman #359 – “Hunt” – Gerry Conway/Dan Jurgens/Dick Giordano
This one starts with Batman sneaking into the home of Filbert Hughes III, a fat cat who’s a big wheel in the Tobacconists’ Club. Batman knows the Club is full of rich men who profit from the criminal acts of others while keeping their own hands clean. Batman scares the hell out of Hughes. Asking him about Gotham’s newest mob boss … Killer Croc. Speaking of Croc, he’s holding a convocation of mobsters at the Reptile House of the Gotham Zoo. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 359, Detective 526, Brave & the Bold 198, Firestorm 12”
Flash #320 – “The Final Purge” – Cary Bates/Carmine Infantino/Rodin Rodriguez
Last issue, the deadly vigilante known as Eradicator was revealed to be Senator Creed Phillips, who kidnapped his girlfriend Fiona Webb and is holding her outside town while Flash and the cops frantically search for her. We see Flash sneaking down an alley and breaking into a mirror store. Later, Mirror Master and a couple of henchmen return after a successful robbery to find Flash caught in one of Mirror Master’s traps. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Flash 320, Wonder Woman 302, Green Lantern 163, Jonah Hex 71”
Episode 17: Kanes and Abels
Last episode, Veronica found out Abel Koontz has a daughter (Amelia DeLongpre), which explains why he took the fall for Lilly’s murder. The Kanes’ payoff wouldn’t mean much to Koontz (who’s dying of cancer), but if the money went to his estranged daughter, that would give him incentive to take the blame for something he didn’t do. Unfortunately, Jake Kane’s security chief (Clarence Wiedman) knows Veronica’s onto his shenanigans, so she has to find Amelia before Wiedman does. Continue reading “Veronica Mars Reviews: Season 1, Episode 17”
Justice League of America #213 – “Into the Microcosmos” – Gerry Conway/Don Heck/Romeo Tanghal
This one starts with a very dramatic scene of Ray (Atom) Palmer trying to keep his sanity as he tumbles down into the sub-atomic universe. The scene shifts to Katar (Hawkman) Hol on the JLA Satellite telling his teammates that something bad has happened to Atom. That’s right, it’s flashback time! Hawkman recounts how he wanted to share the good news of Shayera (Hawkgirl) Thal’s return with his old friend Ray, but when he called, Ray’s wife Jean was freaking out. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 213, Legion of Super-Heroes 298, New Teen Titans 30, All-Star Squadron 20”
Superman #382 – “Where Trouble Goes—Euphor Follows” – Cary Bates/Curt Swan/Dave Hunt
Last issue, the supposed altruist Euphor (who can drain negative emotions from people) turned out to be a scumbag. He used some of the energy he drained to give powers to three people with a grudge against Superman. When that didn’t work, he gave powers to Lois Lane, drawing on her resentment at the aloof way Superman’s been acting toward her lately. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Superman 382, Action 542, DC Comics Presents 56, Warlord 68”
Episode 16: Betty and Veronica
At the end of last episode, Veronica tracked her mother to a diner in Barstow but got a shock when she spotted Clarence Wiedman (whose threats were the reason Lianne left her family in the first place) in the diner too. We’ll have to wait to see the immediate consequences of that scene, as the story jumps ahead in time a bit. Continue reading “Veronica Mars Reviews: Season 1, Episode 16”
Batman #358 – “Don’t Mess With Killer Croc” – Gerry Conway/Curt Swan/Rodin Rodriguez
This one starts with Killer Croc busting in on a meeting of the Tobacconists Club. Croc knows it’s a front for the crooked businessmen and politicians who pull the strings in Gotham and mentions the recent fall of Boss Thorne and gangster Tony Falco. Croc says he’s stepping into the power vacuum left at the top and they can either support him or get wiped out. (He makes quite the impression when he takes off his coat and hat, revealing his freakish reptilian appearance.) Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 358, Detective 525, Brave & the Bold 197, Firestorm 11”
Flash #319 – “A Slight Touch of Death” – Cary Bates/Carmine Infantino/Dennis Jensen
Last issue, Eradicator was revealed as a sort of “alternate personality” of Senator Creed Phillips and he took Phillips’s girlfriend (Fiona Webb) hostage. Flash almost got blown up checking Phillips’s apartment and when Captain Invincible (police Captain Frye) came to help, they both ended up plunging through the wall toward the street. Frye slaps the shit out of Flash on the way down, finally waking him up with less than a second to spare. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Flash 319, Wonder Woman 301, Green Lantern 162, Jonah Hex 70”