Comics Review: JLA 138, Superboy & the Legion 223

JLA 138 coverWelcome to my reviews of JLA #138 and Superboy and the Legion #223. I always gravitated more toward “team” books for DC than “individual” books, so these two titles are favourites from way back. These particular stories are pretty good; I’m a big fan of Mike Grell, so the art on the Superboy comic is the standout for me.

Justice League of America #138 – “Adam Strange—Puppet of Time” – (Cary Bates/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin)

This issue begins with Alanna, Adam Strange’s wife, narrating the story into a recorder. Alanna tells the story which unfolds throughout the rest of the issue; I’m not too fond of that as a storytelling device…why not just have the damn story play out normally? Continue reading “Comics Review: JLA 138, Superboy & the Legion 223”

Comics Review: Superman 307, Action 467

Superman 307 coverWelcome to my reviews of Superman 307 and Action 467. Neither of these is what I’d call a classic, but they’re both serviceable … and the Superman issue has Garcia Lopez art, which is always classic!

Superman #307 – “Krypton—No More” – (Gerry Conway/Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez/Frank Springer)

We start in the middle of the action (an old Stan Lee trick) with Superman smashing the shit out of a vinyl chloride plant north of Metropolis. A glowing guy called The Protector shows up and fights Supes. Continue reading “Comics Review: Superman 307, Action 467”

Comics Review: Batman 283, Detective 467

Welcome to my first comics reviews. Today I’m looking at Batman 283 and Detective 467, both cover dated January 1977. Neither of these is what I’d call spectacular, but they’re both okay stories. So, without further ado …

Batman 283 coverBatman #283 – “Omega Bomb Target: Gotham City” – (David V. Reed/Ernie Chua)

Batman heads to Gotham where a ransom demand awaits from a group called Omega. They’ve stolen a ship (the Miramar) and placed a nuke aboard. If their demands aren’t met, they’ll detonate it in Gotham harbor. Continue reading “Comics Review: Batman 283, Detective 467”

Comics Review Specifics

In my last post, I mentioned I’d be reviewing some DC comics, starting in January 1977 and working my way forward. Today, I’m going to get more detailed about which comics I’ll be looking at. On Monday, I’ll post my first actual reviews. As I mentioned before, I don’t have time to read every DC comic that came out in 1977, nor would I want to; let’s face it, some of them were crap. So I compromised and picked some popular comics, plus a few that I like or have always wanted to read but never got around to.

I’ll be posting comic reviews every Monday and Friday (Wednesdays are for reviews of the TV show Lost Girl). I’ll do at least two comics reviews in each post, sometimes three (or even four, if need be); these won’t be insanely long, page-by-page reviews … there are already plenty of those to be found online. I’ll summarize the storyline of each issue, then afterwards I’ll add a few observations, under the heading of Noticeable Things (a title I took from that old Missing Persons song “Noticeable One … remember the video for that? Man, Dale Bozzio looked like Lady Gaga’s hotter sister). Some reviews may be longer than others, depending on what I have to say, or how complex the story is, or whatever. I’ll also be including some art from each issue. The reviews will be absolutely overflowing with spoilers, of course.

Continue reading “Comics Review Specifics”