Category: Comics Reviews

Comics Reviews: Batman 336, Detective 503, Brave & the Bold 175

Batman 336 coverBatman #336 – “While the Bat’s Away …” – Bob Rozakis (plot), Roy Thomas/Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez/Frank McLaughlin

This one starts with a goofy villain called the Bouncer busting out of a jewelry store that he just robbed and ping-ponging around to escape from the cops outside. A reporter asks the cops if there was any sign of Batman and it turns out the Caped Crusader has been missing for a few weeks … and Gotham’s criminals are taking advantage. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 336, Detective 503, Brave & the Bold 175”

Comics Reviews: Flash 297, Wonder Woman 279, Green Lantern 140, Jonah Hex 48

Flash 297 coverFlash #297 – “Capt. Cold’s Cold, Cold Flame” – Cary Bates/Carmine Infantino/Bob Smith

This one starts with Barry Allen’s parents (Henry and Nora) driving down to Central City to visit him. They haven’t seen him since Iris’s funeral, almost a year ago. They’ve deliberately kept their distance to let Barry work through his grief by himself. Now that Barry’s seeing Fiona Webb, they figure he’s pretty much over Iris, though I’m not sure Nora is … she still has Barry and Iris’s wedding photo with her. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Flash 297, Wonder Woman 279, Green Lantern 140, Jonah Hex 48”

Comics Reviews: JLA 190, Legion of Super-Heroes 275, New Teen Titans 7

JLA 190 coverJustice League of America #190 – “Our Friends, Our Enemies” – Gerry Conway/Rich Buckler/Bob Smith

Last issue, a piece of Starro the alien starfish, was fished out of a lake by a kid named Terry Watson. Starro soon reconstituted himself and dominated the minds of Terry and his family, using them to get the alien conqueror to New York. Starro shot millions of small starfish replicates from his body, taking over the minds of everyone in New York … including a number of JLA members. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 190, Legion of Super-Heroes 275, New Teen Titans 7”

Comics review: superman 359, Action 519, DC Comics Presents 33, Warlord 45

Superman 359 coverSuperman #359 – “Today Superman … Tomorrow the World” – Cary Bates/Curt Swan/Frank Chiaramonte

This one starts in the far future, with humanity’s descendants getting ready to test their ultimate invention (which looks like a robotic snail). But something goes wrong and the device explodes, leaving nothing behind. In the present (well, 1981), a fighter pilot runs into trouble on a test flight and his jet plunges toward the ground. Continue reading “Comics review: superman 359, Action 519, DC Comics Presents 33, Warlord 45”

Comics Reviews: Batman 335, Detective 502, Brave & the Bold 174

Batman 335 coverBatman #335 – “Ashes to Ashes” – Marv Wolfman/Irv Novick/Frank McLaughlin

Last issue, Batman and friends (Robin, Catwoman, and King Faraday) were all captured and taken to a remote island in the Indian Ocean. Batman’s sometime love, Talia, was involved, but it turned out she had her own reasons for going to the island; she was aging rapidly and needed treatments to renew her youth … treatments that could only be administered by her father, Ra’s Al Ghul. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 335, Detective 502, Brave & the Bold 174”

Comics Reviews: Flash 296, Wonder Woman 278, Green Lantern 139, Jonah Hex 47

Flash 296 coverFlash #296 – “The Man Who Was Cursed to the Bone” – Cary Bates/Carmine Infantino/Bob Smith

That’s right, Infantino’s back on Flash, in a goofy tale that seems like it might have been left over from his first run on the comic. It starts with Flash zipping across country, looking for Ralph (Elongated Man) Dibny, who’s been missing for a few days after taking a case in Chicago. Ralph’s wife, Sue, asked Barry Allen if he’d get his “friend” Flash to look for Ralph, but so far the Scarlet Speedster has come up empty. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Flash 296, Wonder Woman 278, Green Lantern 139, Jonah Hex 47”

Comics Reviews: JLA 189, Legion of Super-Heroes 274, New Teen Titans 6

JLA 189 coverJustice League of America #189 – “The Return of the Starfish Conqueror” – Gerry Conway/Rich Buckler/Frank McLaughlin

This one starts on the JLA Satellite, with Black Canary running Firestorm through a high-tech obstacle course. Firestorm cheats by using his molecular powers to render the obstacles harmless, instead of dodging them like he’s supposed to. Black Canary tells him she runs the course every day and that plays on his ego enough that he promises not to cheat anymore. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 189, Legion of Super-Heroes 274, New Teen Titans 6”

Comics Reviews: Superman 358, Action 518, DC Comics Presents 32, Warlord 44

Superman 358 coverSuperman #358 – “Father Nature’s Folly” – Cary Bates/Curt Swan/Frank Chiaramonte

The splash page calls this the “most awe-inspiring story of the year”; if that’s true, DC was having a pretty crappy year. This starts with Clark Kent showing up at a school as a guest speaker. (The kids are rather disappointed, since they were hoping the surprise guest was Superman.) One of the kids is a smart-ass named Alec and another is a bright student named Shanna. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Superman 358, Action 518, DC Comics Presents 32, Warlord 44”

Comics Reviews: Batman 334, Detective 501, Brave & the Bold 173

Batman 334 coverBatman #334 – “Infinity Island” – Marv Wolfman/Irv Novick/Frank McLaughlin

Last issue, Batman was trying to figure out who was behind Gregorian Falstaff’s attempt to ruin Wayne Enterprises. As Bruce Wayne, he (and Talia) followed the trail to Hong Kong, where he was gassed aboard a ship. Meanwhile, Robin, Catwoman, and King Faraday followed a separate trail that also led to Hong Kong. Faraday was supposedly killed and Catwoman and Robin (in disguise) were captured by an informant (Chin) she asked for help. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 334, Detective 501, Brave & the Bold 173”

Comics Reviews: Flash 295, Wonder Woman 277, Green Lantern 138, Jonah Hex 46

Flash 295 coverFlash #295 – “In Grodd We Trust” – Cary Bates/Don Heck

Last issue, Solovar was worried that his fellow super-intelligent apes were being corrupted by decadent human influences, so he came up with a way to make everyone on Earth (except Flash) forget the existence of Gorilla City and its inhabitants. But simian super-villain Grodd went a little farther, sabotaging the memory-wiping machine so everyone (including Flash and the other gorillas) forgot that Grodd existed. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Flash 295, Wonder Woman 277, Green Lantern 138, Jonah Hex 46”