Category: Comics Reviews

Comics Reviews: Batman 380, Detective 547, Batman & the Outsiders 18, Firestorm 32, Vigilante 14

Batman 380 coverBatman #380 – “End of the Bat” – Doug Moench/Rick Hoberg/Alfredo Alcala

This one starts with a series of vignettes to bring us up to speed: Bullock barely survived his shooting by Mayor Hill last issue and is laid up in hospital. Hill still wants Bullock dead, but Dr. Fang changes the deal, so Hill has to release him before he’ll kill Bullock. Hill complies, which prompts ex-Commissioner Gordon to start a 24/7 armed vigil by Bullock’s hospital bed to protect him. Of course, Batman is still persona non grata with the cops. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 380, Detective 547, Batman & the Outsiders 18, Firestorm 32, Vigilante 14”

Comics Reviews: Flash 341, Green Lantern 184, Warlord 89

Flash 341 coverFlash #341 – “Trial and Tribulation” – Cary Bates/Carmine Infantino/Frank McLaughlin

Last issue, we were promised a big bombshell at Flash’s trial and as this story opens, we find out what it is: the manslaughter charge against Flash has been dropped. Don’t celebrate yet … the charge has actually been amended to one of second-degree murder since the prosecution now contends that Flash killed Professor Zoom willfully not accidentally. Flash’s lawyer (Cecile Horton) tried to get the new charge dismissed, but couldn’t, and she had no way to let Flash know since he was incommunicado (being held captive by Big Sir). Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Flash 341, Green Lantern 184, Warlord 89”

Comics Reviews: JLA 234, New Teen Titans 4, Tales of the Legion 319, Legion of Super-Heroes 6

JLA 234 coverJLA #234 – “Claws” – Gerry Conway/Chuck Patton/Bill Anderson

This continues the introductions of the new members of the JLA, spotlighting one character per issue. This time around, it’s Vixen who’s at the forefront of the story. The story starts with Vixen pursuing a car full of armed men through the streets of Detroit. The cops are chasing these goons too, but Vixen leaps right into the car (a convertible) and takes out the gunmen, stopping the car right before it smashes into a church. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 234, New Teen Titans 4, Tales of the Legion 319, Legion of Super-Heroes 6”

Comics Reviews: Superman 403, Action 563, DC Comics Presents 77, All-Star Squadron 41, Infinity Inc 10

Superman 403 coverSuperman #403 – “The Greatest Thief in the Universe” – Paul Kupperberg/Curt Swan/Bob Oksner

This one starts with an alien drone ship flying down toward Metropolis, seemingly about to crash. Superman stops it, but before he can figure out where it came from, the ship takes off into space and disappears. Turns out the drone belonged to the Monitor, who was gathering information for a client, the Thief-Master of Ramox. Thief-Master traded info on his own planet for the data from the Monitor in preparation for a series of heists. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Superman 403, Action 563, DC Comics Presents 77, All-Star Squadron 41, Infinity Inc 10”

Comics Reviews: Batman 379, Detective 546, Batman & the Outsiders 17, Firestorm 31

Batman 379 coverBatman #379 – “Bedtime Stories” – Doug Moench/Don Newton/Alfredo Alcala

Last issue, Batman and Robin captured a computer from Mad Hatter that the villain was using to download information straight from people’s brains. Apparently, Hatter has become quite the techie because as this story opens, we see him perfecting a new electronic device that lets him control a person’s mind. Elsewhere, Julia Pennyworth shows up at the scene of a massive fire on her first assignment for Picture News. She’s literally shoved out of the way by a TV cameraman and told by TV reporter Olivia Ortega that print journalism is dead and that she’s wasting her time. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 379, Detective 546, Batman & the Outsiders 17, Firestorm 31”

Comics Reviews: 1985 Preview

Crisis 1 coverWell, my 1984 reviews are done, so now it’s on to 1985, which was a pretty big year for DC. Several long-running series ended (Flash, Titans, Legion, Jonah Hex) to make way for new stuff in the next two years. All this transition was prompted by Crisis on infinite Earths, where DC basically rebooted their entire Universe, retroactively wiping out all the parallel Earths and saying that all their stories take place (and always did) on one single Earth. I know a lot of people hated that idea, but I kinda liked having all the heroes on one Earth so the writers didn’t have to come up with some reason for them to cross dimensions every time they did a team-up (or even a cameo). That being said, I didn’t actually read Crisis when it first came out, as I was moving toward reading Marvel exclusively around that time. So, many of these stories will be brand new to me and I’m looking forward to finally checking them out. As usual, I’ll be dividing my reviews into groups to make things easier. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: 1985 Preview”

Comics Reviews: Superman Annual 10, DC Comics Presents Annual 3

Superman Annual 10 coverSuperman Annual #10 – “The Day the Cheering Stopped” – Elliot S! Maggin/Curt Swan/Murphy Anderson

This one starts with Superman saving an alien planets from a meteor swarm, then gets kinda esoteric, musing on why Superman’s name is the same in so many alien languages. We get a story about a strange sword (the Sword of Superman) forming spontaneously out of the matter left over from the Big Bang. So, Superman is less a man than a universal concept? Whatever. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Superman Annual 10, DC Comics Presents Annual 3”

Comics Reviews: All-Star Squadron Annual 3, Firestorm Annual 2

All-Star Squadron Annual 3 coverAll-Star Squadron Annual #3 – (No Title) – Roy Thomas/Rick Hoberg, Rich Buckler, Wayne Boring, Richard Howell, Carmine Infantino, Don Newton, Martin Nodell, George Perez, Keith Giffen/Jerry Ordway, Mike Machlan, Frank Giacoia, Bill Collins, Joe Giella

This is a flashback story that takes place early in the JSA’s career. Basically, it’s Roy’s way of explaining certain details about those early 1940s stories: why Green Lantern suddenly quit the JSA; why Hourman took a long leave of absence; why Dr. Fate changed helmets; and most importantly, why the various JSA members seem to have aged so well (or so slowly) since the War. As you can see from the art credits, this is one of those all-star jam issues, where each chapter is done by different artists. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: All-Star Squadron Annual 3, Firestorm Annual 2”

Comics Reviews: JLA 233, Warlord 88, Legion of Super-Heroes Annual 3

JLA 233 coverJustice League of America #233 – “Gang War” – Gerry Conway/Chuck Patton/Bill Anderson

The next few issues are basically introducing us to the various new JLAers and their backgrounds, as well as setting up a new team of super-villains for them to fight. This one starts with a JLA member break-dancing. Yeah, you read that right … welcome to the Detroit League, baby! One of the JLA’s new recruits (Vibe) is showing off for the crowd, which includes Zatanna and Vixen in their civilian clothes. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 233, Warlord 88, Legion of Super-Heroes Annual 3”

Comics Reviews: Flash 340, Wonder Woman 322, Green Lantern 183, Warlord 87, Jonah Hex 88

Flash 340 cover

Flash #340 – “Reach Out and Waste Someone” – Cary Bates/Carmine Infantino/Frank McLaughlin

Last issue, a number of Flash’s Rogues set him up by convincing a dimwit named Dufus that Flash had killed his pet mouse. The Rogues equipped Dufus with some high-tech weapons and armour, dubbing him Big Sir. Big Sir found Flash and knocked him out before dragging him out into the country to finish him off. The Rogues celebrate the success of their plan by slapping around some cops and taking off to commit some major crimes.

Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Flash 340, Wonder Woman 322, Green Lantern 183, Warlord 87, Jonah Hex 88”