Reviews, ruminations, and (occasional) ramblings.
The Black Wolf – Director: Mario Di Leo/Writer: Alan Jay Glueckman
This one starts with some soldiers collecting taxes (in other words, shaking people down for their last dinar) in a village. A bunch of freedom fighters dressed in black show up to pound the soldiers and claim to be working with the Black Wolf, a local hero who opposes Xerxes, the greedy king. Continue reading “Xena Reviews: Season 1, Episode 11”
Batman #386 – “Black Mask: Losing Face” – Doug Moench/Tom Mandrake
This issue introduces a new Batman villain, Black Mask. Pretty much the entire issue is dedicated to his origin story, showing how Roman Sionis (heir to a cosmetics company) became criminal mastermind Black Mask. Moench really goes all out on this one; maybe DC had started giving creators a piece of the characters they invented and Moench was trying to come up with the next Joker. It didn’t quite work out that way, but Black Mask has lasted a long time and been used in other media, so maybe Moench and Mandrake did make some money off him. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 386, Detective 553, Batman & the Outsiders 24, Firestorm 38, Vigilante 20”
Flash #347 – “Back From the Dead” – Cary Bates/Carmine Infantino/Frank McLaughlin
This one starts with Captain Frye showing up at Cecile Horton’s place to tell her he was attacked by Professor Zoom, apparently back from the dead. Frye figured Cecile would want to know since her client (Flash) is on trial for killing Zoom, but Cecile thinks Frye is delusional. We soon see that he isn’t, as Zoom shows up at Mirror Master’s current hideout to wreck one of his mirror devices and kick Mirror Master’s ass. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Flash 347, Wonder Woman 326, Green Lantern 190, Warlord 95”
Hooves and Harlots – Director: Jace Alexander/Writer: Steven L. Sears
This one starts with Gabi getting herself a walking stick and Xena showing off some fighting moves with it. They’re passing through Amazon territory and soon run into some Amazons, but Xena is familiar with their ways and asks for safe passage. Continue reading “Xena Reviews: Season 1, Episode 10”
JLA #240 – “The Future Ain’t What It Used to Be” – Kurt Busiek/Mike Sekowsky/Tom Mandrake
This is a combination flashback/untold story featuring some of Kurt Busiek’s early work, plus the art of classic JLA artist Mike Sekowsky. The framing device (which runs through the story) is about a couple of STAR Labs scientists who work in temporal research. (Their names are Fred and Daphne … a Scooby-Doo reference maybe?) There’s a sort of sub-plot about them being interested in each other, even though Daphne is Fred’s supervisor; these days, that comes off as problematic, but neither of them seem too bothered by it. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 240, Tales of the Legion 325, Legion of Super-Heroes 12, Tales of the Teen Titans 55, New Teen Titans 10”