Category: Comics Reviews

Comics Reviews: Superman 381, Action 541, DC Comics Presents 55, Warlord 67

Superman 381 coverSuperman #381 – “Whose Super-Life is it Anyway?” – Cary Bates/Curt Swan/Dave Hunt

Last issue, Superman and Superboy both tried to travel through time and ran into the same weird time-storm which caused them to switch minds and be catapulted back to their respective times. So now Superboy’s mind is in Superman’s adult body in the present, while Superman’s mind is in Superboy’s teenage body about fifteen years in the past. (That part of the story was told in concurrent issues of Superboy, which I don’t have and won’t be reviewing.) Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Superman 381, Action 541, DC Comics Presents 55, Warlord 67”

Comics Reviews: Batman 357, Detective 524, Brave & the Bold 196, Firestorm 10

Batman 357 coverBatman #357 – “Squid” – Gerry Conway/Don Newton/Alfredo Alcala

This one starts with Batman beating the hell out of some gangsters and capturing their leader, a guy named Lester. Batman wants to know who gave Lester the drug concession in Gotham. Lester says that since Batman put the old mob boss (Falco) away, a new guy has moved in to take over the action … a guy called the Squid. Across town, Commissioner Gordon is undergoing his first physical since being reinstated. He’s in pretty good shape for a sixty-year-old, but the doctor says he has high blood pressure. He’ll have to stop smoking, cut down on salt, and take pills. Gordon isn’t too impressed with her list of demands. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 357, Detective 524, Brave & the Bold 196, Firestorm 10”

Comics Reviews: Flash 318, Wonder Woman 300, Green Lantern 161, Jonah Hex 69

Flash 318 coverFlash #318 – “The Killer Who Wiped Central City Clean” – Cary Bates/Carmine Infantino/Dennis Jensen

This one starts with Barry Allen and Fiona Webb having lunch and chatting about Fiona’s relationship with Senator Creed Phillips. Since Fiona and Barry used to date, that seems a bit tacky. Speaking of Phillips, his butler accidentally discovers that he’s really the murderous vigilante known as Eradicator, so Phillips disintegrates the butler to preserve his secret. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Flash 318, Wonder Woman 300, Green Lantern 161, Jonah Hex 69”

Comics Reviews: JLA 211, Legion of Super-Heroes 296, New Teen Titans 28, All-Star Squadron 18

JLA 211 coverJustice League of America #211 – “The Devil’s Bargain” – Gerry Conway/Rich Buckler/Romeo Tanghal

Last issue, a newly-discovered form of matter known as the X-element began breaking down, changing Earth’s fundamental forces and threatening to wipe out life on the planet. Some aliens called the Treasurers showed up with a proposition: give them some materials from Earth (snow, water, soil) and they’d restore the X-element. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 211, Legion of Super-Heroes 296, New Teen Titans 28, All-Star Squadron 18”

Comics Reviews: Superman 380, Action 540, DC Comics Presents 54, Warlord 66

Superman 380 coverSuperman #380 – “A Mind-Switch in Time” – Cary Bates/Curt Swan/Dave Hunt

This one starts with Superman heading back in time to do a favour for Professor Lang. Coincidentally, Superboy (years in the past) is heading forward in time to go visit the Legion. Superman and Superboy both encounter the same strange time storm during their trips and they both try to rush right through it. But the storm is stronger than they thought and they actually end up colliding with each other and being catapulted back to their respective time periods … except they’ve switched minds. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Superman 380, Action 540, DC Comics Presents 54, Warlord 66”

Comics Reviews: Batman 356, Detective 523, Brave & the Bold 195, Firestorm 9

Batman 356 coverBatman #356 – “The Double Life of Hugo Strange” – Gerry Conway/Don Newton/Dick Giordano

This one starts with Hugo Strange (who, as we saw last issue, is very much alive) indulging in his favourite hobby … dressing up like Batman. Strange has pulled this trick before, but this time he’s got doppelgangers of Alfred and Dick Grayson as well. Elsewhere, Bruce Wayne is on a date with Vicki Vale, who ditches him to go finish a story. Bruce can’t complain too much, since his love life usually takes a backseat to his crimefighting career, so he tells her to come by his place when she’s done. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 356, Detective 523, Brave & the Bold 195, Firestorm 9”

Comics Reviews: Flash 317, Wonder Woman 299, Green Lantern 160, Jonah Hex 68

Flash 317 coverFlash #317 – “A Fast Way to Die” – Cary Bates/Carmine Infantino/Dennis Jensen

Last issue ended with Goldface beating the crap out of Flash and tying his unconscious body to an anchor at the bottom of a lake. Goldface gloats about beating the speedster and heads for the surface, figuring Flash is dead. But Flash has been faking it, holding his breath until Goldface left. He’s almost out of breath and still hurting from the beating, so all he can do is spin his body around at super-speed, hoping to pull the anchor loose from the lake-bed. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Flash 317, Wonder Woman 299, Green Lantern 160, Jonah Hex 68”

Comics Reviews: JLA 210, Legion of Super-Heroes 295, New Teen Titans 27, All-Star Squadron 17

JLA 210 coverJustice League of America #210 – “When a World Dies Screaming” – Gerry Conway/Rich Buckler/Romeo Tanghal

This one starts with Ray (Atom) Palmer and a colleague named David using a special sub-electron microscope at Ivy Town university. David has postulated the existence of an “X-element”, a sort of catalyst that ties all the atoms in the universe together. David and Ray have finally observed the X-element, but they noticed it’s decaying rapidly which will mean disaster for all life on Earth. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 210, Legion of Super-Heroes 295, New Teen Titans 27, All-Star Squadron 17”

Comics Reviews: Superman 379, Action 539, DC Comics Presents 53, Warlord 65

Superman 379 coverSuperman #379 – “The Bizarro-Buster is Loose” – Cary Bates/Curt Swan/Dave Hunt

This one starts on Bizarro World (which is a planet shaped like a cube), where Bizarro has called a meeting of the Bizarro-JLA to discuss a problem … Bizarros are spontaneously exploding. At first, the Bizarro-JLAers don’t believe him, but after they start blowing up they figure he might be onto something. Unfortunately it’s too late and the epidemic continues all through Bizarro World, culminating in the Bizarros at the Daily Planet exploding too. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Superman 379, Action 539, DC Comics Presents 53, Warlord 65”

Comics Reviews: Batman 355, Detective 522, Brave & the Bold 194, Firestorm 8

Batman 355 coverBatman #355 – “Never Scratch a Cat” – Gerry Conway/Don Newton/Alfredo Alcala

This one starts with Catwoman freaking out about Bruce Wayne dating Vicki Vale. Last issue, Catwoman showed up at Vicki’s place to scare her off, but Vicki and Bruce kept dating, which is really putting Catwoman over the edge … even though she’s he one who dumped Bruce and left Gotham in the first place. Speaking of Bruce and Vicki, they’re driving home from a date when a cat-themed car appears on the highway behind them. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 355, Detective 522, Brave & the Bold 194, Firestorm 8”