Comics Reviews: Legion of Super-Heroes 43, New Teen Titans 40, Suicide Squad 10

Legion of Super-Heroes 43 coverLegion of Super-Heroes #43 – “And Wake to Find a Dream” – Paul Levitz/Greg LaRocque/Mike DeCarlo, Arne Starr

Last issue, the Legionnaires found out their Academy trainee Laurel Kent wasn’t really a descendant of Superman, and in fact wasn’t even human; she turned out to be a Manhunter robot, activated after a thousand years to kill the descendants of the humans chosen by the Guardians of the Universe to become immortal (in the Millennium mini-series). Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Legion of Super-Heroes 43, New Teen Titans 40, Suicide Squad 10”

Comics Reviews: Justice League International 10, Infinity Inc. 47, Young All-Stars 9

Justice League International 10 coverJustice League International #10 – “Soul of the Machine” – Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis/Kevin Maguire/Al Gordon

This continues the Millennium storyline that ran through most of DC’s books for the first couple months of 1988. A contingent of superheroes (Superman, J’onn J’onzz, Hal Jordan, Katma Tui, Arisia, Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Dr. Fate, Captain Atom, and Firestorm) have gathered near the planet Orinda, the Manhunter homeworld. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Justice League International 10, Infinity Inc. 47, Young All-Stars 9”

Comics Reviews: Batman 416, Detective 583, Outsiders 28, Green Arrow 1

Batman 416 coverBatman #416 – “White Gold and Truth” – Jim Starlin/Jim Aparo/Mike DeCarlo

This story is set “one year ago”, which I think is a neat way of avoiding all the Millennium bullshit going on at the time. Jason Todd is still getting used to his role as Robin and when he tracks some cocaine dealers to a manufacturing plant, he figures he’s hit the jackpot. But he’s caught by a guard and about to get pounded by all the thugs inside when he’s rescued by … Nightwing! Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 416, Detective 583, Outsiders 28, Green Arrow 1”

Comics Reviews: Wonder Woman 12, Firestorm 67, Vigilante 49, Warlord 125

Wonder Woman 12 coverWonder Woman #12 – “Echoes of the Past” – Len Wein/George Perez/Bruce Patterson

This one starts with Hippolyte following Diana down into the subterranean caverns under Themiscyra, led by a vulture that seems to have the power to open passages for her. Hippolyte runs into some winged demons, but burns them up with some lamp oil she brought. In Oklahoma, Steve Trevor sits vigil at his dying father’s bedside, while Etta talks to Steve’s aunt and uncle about his childhood and his mother who died forty years ago … and whose name was Diana. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Wonder Woman 12, Firestorm 67, Vigilante 49, Warlord 125”

Comics Reviews: Legion of Super-Heroes 42, New Teen Titans 39, Suicide Squad 9

Legion of Super-Heroes 42 coverLegion of Super-Heroes #42 – “To Sleep a Thousand Years” – Paul Levitz/Greg LaRocque/Mike DeCarlo, Arne Starr

This one starts with Polar Boy congratulating himself on his leadership during the big fight against Starfinger and his gangs. Tellus gets tired of Polar Boy’s ego, so he goes to find someone else to hang with. He runs into Sun Boy and Laurel Kent, but they’re getting romantic, so he leaves. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Legion of Super-Heroes 42, New Teen Titans 39, Suicide Squad 9”

Comics Reviews: Justice League International 9, Infinity Inc. 46, Young All-Stars 8

Justice League International 9 coverJustice League International #9 – “Seeing Red” – Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis/Kevin Maguire/Al Gordon

Like all the January issues, this one ties into the Millennium mini-series. It starts with the JLI returning from being briefed about the Manhunters, but before they have time to digest that knowledge, their new teammate Rocket Red announces that he is a Manhunter. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Justice League International 9, Infinity Inc. 46, Young All-Stars 8”

Comics Reviews: Batman 415, Detective 582, Outsiders 27

Batman 415 coverBatman #415 – “Millennium” – Jim Starlin/Jim Aparo/Mike DeCarlo

As you can tell from the title, this is a crossover with the Millennium mini-series (as were the first two issues of every DC comic in 1988). This was a company-wide event designed to get people to but comics they normally wouldn’t bother with, just so they’d have the whole story. Basically, Millennium involves the Manhunters, who were created by the Guardians of the Universe a long time ago (pre-Green Lantern Corps) but went rogue. Now the Guardians are planning some big event (called the Millennium) that involves ten humans. But the Manhunters want to stop the Millennium and they’ve planted robotic spies around every superhero, so the big twist is that theoretically anyone (even a long-established character like Lana Lang) could end up being a Manhunter robot in disguise. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 415, Detective 582, Outsiders 27”

Comics Reviews: 1988 Preview

Well, that’s another year down; 1987 was a year of changes for DC as they showed us the new post-Crisis status quo. 1988 continues in that vein, but things start taking a darker turn with several character deaths during the year. Crisis also seems to have kicked off a slew of crossovers; Legends took place in 1987 and 1988 both starts (Millennium) and ends (Invasion) with a mega-crossover event. This year is also notable because almost every title has two extra issues at the end of the year (called Winter and Holiday issues). Four titles end this year, but I’m adding one (Green Arrow) and I’ll be sticking to the usual format for my reviews. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: 1988 Preview”

Comics Reviews: Justice League Annual 1, Legion of Super-Heroes Annual 3, New Teen Titans Annual 3

Justice League Annual 1 coverJustice League Annual #1 – “Germ Warfare” – /Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis/Bill Willingham/Dennis Janke, P. Craig Russell, Bill Wray, R. Campanella, Bruce Patterson, Dick Giordano

This story takes place right after Justice League #4, which is why Guy Gardner is still an asshole and Dr. Fate is still on the team. It starts with a handful of Kord Industries employees flying to a remote island in the South Pacific. Ted Kord (aka Blue Beetle) bought the island sight-unseen, but there’s some kind of old compound there, so he sent some guys to check it out. The place looks deserted until a woman with red glowing eyes pops up out of nowhere. It isn’t long before everyone’s eyes are red and the Kord employees head back to civilization to carry the woman’s “message” to the rest of humanity. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Justice League Annual 1, Legion of Super-Heroes Annual 3, New Teen Titans Annual 3”

Comics Reviews: Firestorm 66, Warlord 124, Batman Annual 11

Firestorm 66 coverFirestorm #66 – “Out of Control” – John Ostrander/Joe Brozowski/Sam De La Rosa

This one starts a million years ago with some aliens destroying an entire planet just to eliminate something called Zuggernaut, which they see as a threat. But Zuggernaut manages to cling to a piece of the blasted planet, which tumbles through space for millennia until it approaches Earth. In Russia, Mikhail Arkadin is being examined by doctors after returning from his clash with Firestorm last issue. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Firestorm 66, Warlord 124, Batman Annual 11”