Category: Comics Reviews

Comics Reviews: Batman 401, Detective 568, Outsiders 13

Batman 401 coverBatman #401 – “A Bird in the Hand” – Barbara J. Randall/Trevor von Eeden

This is definitely a post-Crisis story, and the first Batman comic for the last few years that wasn’t written by Doug Moench. The villain in this one is Magpie, a new character introduced in John Byrne’s Man of Steel mini-series, and supposedly the first villain Batman and Superman fought together as a team. There’s also a tie-in to the ongoing Legends limited series, with G. Gordon Godfrey appearing here. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 401, Detective 568, Outsiders 13”

Comics Reviews: Firestorm 52, Vigilante 34, Warlord 110

Firestorm 52 coverFirestorm #52 – “A Giant There Was” – Gerry Conway/Joe Brozowski/Steve Mitchell

Last issue, a wrestler named King Crusher was given experimental drugs by his sleazy manager Eddie Slick (who just happens to be a dead ringer for Martin Stein). When the drugs turned Crusher into an over-muscled behemoth, he went nuts and came after Eddie, who took off. But guess who just happened to be on a date right across the street? Yeah, so when Crusher comes out of the arena looking to waste Eddie, the first person he sees is Stein … who he assumes is Eddie. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Firestorm 52, Vigilante 34, Warlord 110”

Comics Reviews: Legion of Super-Heroes 27, New Teen Titans 24

Legion of Super-Heroes 27 coverLegion of Super-Heroes #27 – “Going Home” – Paul Levitz/Greg LaRocque, Collen Doran, Shawn McManus, Gene Colan/Mike DeCarlo, Arne Starr

This one starts with Projectra back on Orando, where the Council of Regents are offering her the throne. Apparently, her time with the Legion as Sensor Girl was penance and now they’ve decided she’s worthy of being their queen again. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Legion of Super-Heroes 27, New Teen Titans 24”

Comics Reviews: JLA 255, All-Star Squadron 62, Infinity Inc. 31

JLA 255 coverJustice League of America #255 – “Rising” – Gerry Conway (plot), J.M. DeMatteis/Luke McDonnell/Bill Wray

This issue opens with Zatanna still being held by Adam’s cult and we get a recap of how she ended up there after tracking her friend Sheri (who double-crossed her) and having some blood taken by Adam so he could assimilate her magical powers. Zatanna’s dream of her father helps her reconnect with her powers and she fights off the influence of the drugs she’s under. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 255, All-Star Squadron 62, Infinity Inc. 31”

Comics Reviews: Batman 400, Detective 567, Adventures of the Outsiders 38, Outsiders 12

Batman 400 coverBatman #400 – “Resurrection Night” – Doug Moench

This is a special anniversary issue of Batman featuring multiple chapters, each illustrated by different artists. (I’ll list each artist for each chapter, but Doug Moench is the writer for all of them.) The basic premise is that someone has released a bunch of Batman’s villains (almost all of them) and he ends up fighting them all (with a little help from Robin, Catwoman, and Talia). This ties into the note Batman received last issue that told him to “Know Your Foes”, a note he’s still pondering as this story begins (which is also the anniversary of the night Bruce Wayne first became Batman). Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 400, Detective 567, Adventures of the Outsiders 38, Outsiders 12”

Comics Reviews: Green Lantern 204, Firestorm 51, Vigilante 33, Warlord 109

Green Lantern 204 coverGreen Lantern #204 – “Young and Innocent” – Steve Englehart/Joe Staton/Mark Farmer

This one starts with the Green Lanterns examining Arisia in a machine whipped up by Kilowog. They’re worried because she freaked out when fighting Whiteout and Lanterns are supposed to be fearless. Katma Tui almost mentions Arisia’s dizzy spell a couple issues ago, but stops herself (although John knows she’s hiding something). Arisia checks out fine, but Hal worries Kilowog’s machine might’ve missed something. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Green Lantern 204, Firestorm 51, Vigilante 33, Warlord 109”

Comics Reviews: Legion of Super-Heroes 26, New Teen Titans Annual 2, All-Star Squadron 61, Infinity Inc. 30

Legion of Super-Heroes 26 coverLegion of Super-Heroes #26 – “Illusion” – Paul Levitz/Greg LaRocque/Mike DeCarlo, Arne Starr

Last issue, a contingent of Legionnaires (Dream Girl, Colossal Boy, Polar Boy, and Tellus) confronted the new Fatal Five on Stratus, suspecting that mysterious Legionnaire Sensor Girl might have joined them. It turned out she hadn’t, but during the fight Sensor Girl was revealed to be Queen Projectra, who’d left the Legion after killing Nemesis Kid to avenge her dead husband, Karate Kid. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Legion of Super-Heroes 26, New Teen Titans Annual 2, All-Star Squadron 61, Infinity Inc. 30”

Comics Reviews: Superman 423, Action 583, DC Comics Presents 97, JLA 254

Superman 423 coverSuperman #423 – “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” – Alan Moore/Curt Swan/George Perez

This is an imaginary story (but aren’t they all?) about Superman’s supposed death, or disappearance, or retirement, depending on how you look at it. The Superman comics were ending in anticipation of John Byrne’s reboot of the character and this (very famous) story is a way of saying farewell to the Silver Age Superman before his history was radically altered. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Superman 423, Action 583, DC Comics Presents 97, JLA 254”

Comics Reviews: Batman 399, Detective 566, Adventures of the Outsiders 37, Outsiders 11

Batman 399 coverBatman #399 – “Strike Two” – Doug Moench/Tom Mandrake

Last issue, a nutcase named Spivey killed his ex (Mona Lamont) in a fit of jealousy, decapitating her and taking the head as a trophy. Batman is certain of Spivey’s guilt, but couldn’t find any evidence in his apartment (because Spivey took the head to the basement, where he put it in a bucket of chemicals to shrink it). Batman has been staking out Spivey’s place for over a month, getting Catwoman to cover his nightly patrols. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 399, Detective 566, Adventures of the Outsiders 37, Outsiders 11”

Comics Reviews: Green Lantern 203, Firestorm 50, Vigilante 32, Warlord 108

Green Lantern 203 coverGreen Lantern #203 – “The Diabolical Doctor Ub’x” – Steve Englehart/Joe Staton/Mark Farmer

This one starts in Modora, right after the end of last issue. Dr. Ub’x has used his “Sucker Stick” to place all the Green Lanterns (Hal, John, Katma, Kilowog, Salakk, Ch’p, and Arisia) into crystal coffins, where they’re held in some kind of suspended animation. When Dr. Polaris gets mouthy, Ub’x zaps him into a crystal coffin too. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Green Lantern 203, Firestorm 50, Vigilante 32, Warlord 108”