Comics Reviews: Superman 336, Action 496, DC Comics Presents 10

Superman 336 coverSuperman #336 – “A Rose By Any other Name” – Len Wein/Curt Swan/Frank Chiaramonte

This one starts with some guys robbing a jewelry store. They’re jumped by the vigilante known as Thorn, who kicks the crap out of them and leaves when the cops show up. Thorn heads home and changes back to her alter ego, Rose Forrest. But unlike most costumed crimefighters, Rose and Thorn aren’t aware of their alter egos because they have a split personality. So when Rose wakes up the next morning, she’s weirded out from the “dream” she had of being Thorn and beating the shit out of the crooks. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Superman 336, Action 496, DC Comics Presents 10”

Lost Girl Reviews: Season 5, Episode 2

Lost GirlEpisode 2: Like Hell Part II

This one continues from last episode, with Kenzi realizing she’s buried alive and freaking out. She tries to calm down to preserve some air, though she keeps lighting matches, which would use up a lot of her oxygen. She starts panicking again but hears Dyson and Lauren yelling for her to hang on. Continue reading “Lost Girl Reviews: Season 5, Episode 2”

Comics Reviews: Batman 312, Detective 484, Brave & the Bold 151, Warlord 22

Batman 312 coverBatman #312 – “A Caper a Day Keeps the Batman at Bay” – Len Wein/Walt Simonson/Dick Giordano

This one starts in the middle of the action, with Calendar Man robbing the Metropolitan Museum. It doesn’t really look like Calendar Man because he’s dressed as Odin; why is he dressed as Odin? Because it’s Wednesday and Wednesday is named after Woden, who was also known as Odin. Calendar Man has gone all out in his dress-up, even riding an eight-wheeled motorbike in reference to Odin’s eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. Batman swoops in on his whirly-bat and goes after Calendar Man, who tries to flee into a tunnel. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 312, Detective 484, Brave & the Bold 151, Warlord 22”

Comics Reviews: Flash 273, Wonder Woman 255, Green Lantern 116

Flash 273 coverFlash #273 – “Harvest of Hate” – Cary Bates/Alex Saviuk/Frank Chiaramonte

This issue starts right where the last one left off, with Flash just having crashed through a brick wall. He was following a crooked cop who’d stolen drugs from police headquarters when he was compelled to change course and ended up smashing through the wall. A young woman kneels over him, bragging about how she made him come to her because the two of them are “mind-mates”. Flash hears her, even though he’s half out of it, but before he can get his marbles together, the woman disappears and a couple of guard dogs show up. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Flash 273, Wonder Woman 255, Green Lantern 116”

Lost Girl Reviews: Season 5, Episode 1

Lost GirlEpisode 1: Like Hell-Part I

This one starts with Bo climbing a column of rock (with a rather obvious projection of surrounding cliffs in the background). She finds a nest at the top and in the nest is the Hell-Shoe she was looking for. (You’ll remember, she needs the Hell-Shoes to go to Valhalla and rescue Kenzi, but the Hell-Shoes are also dangerous, supposedly leading to the End of Days.) Continue reading “Lost Girl Reviews: Season 5, Episode 1”

Comics Reviews: JLA 166, Superboy & the Legion 251, Jonah Hex 24

JLA 166 coverJustice League of America #166 – “The Long Way Home” –  Gerry Conway/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin

This one starts with the JLA still in the hidden city of the Homo Magi, attending the funeral of Zatanna’s mother. The funeral is different from what they’re used to, with nymph-like maidens dancing around the bier and finally absorbing Zatanna’s mother into themselves. Batman is freaked out by all the weirdness, but Wonder Woman and Superman remind him that everyone has different customs and he shouldn’t impose his own beliefs on every culture they meet. The JLA heads for home, Zatanna accompanying Wonder Woman to Paradise Island to recover from her mom’s death. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 166, Superboy & the Legion 251, Jonah Hex 24”

Comics Reviews: Superman 335, Action 495, DC Comics Presents 9

Superman 335 coverSuperman #335 – “Mxyzptlk Spelled Backward is T-R-O-U-B-L-E” – Martin Pasko/Curt Swan/Frank Chiaramonte

This one starts with Superman and Lois Lane hanging out at her place, discussing marriage. No, it’s not an imaginary story, they’ve just been getting closer lately and it’s a natural topic. Superman points out that it would be too dangerous for Lois to be his wife, since his enemies might go after her, but she points out all the times her life has been in danger before. Superman says he’s been trying to find a way to give her super-powers, but hasn’t had any success. He vows to keep looking until he finds a way, then takes off. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Superman 335, Action 495, DC Comics Presents 9”

Lost Girl Reviews: Season 4, Episode 13

Lost GirlEpisode 13: Dark Horse

This one starts only minutes after last episode ended, with Bo a tad pissed off at Rainer after being betrayed by his general, Rosette, and watching her jump  into a fire. Rainer says he didn’t know Rosette had turned against him and wonders how powerful Bo’s father really is. Continue reading “Lost Girl Reviews: Season 4, Episode 13”

Comics Reviews: Batman 311, Brave & the Bold 150, Warlord 21

Batman 311 coverBatman #311 – “Dr. Phosphorus is Back” – Steve Englehart/Irv Novick/Frank McLaughlin

This one starts with a quick recap of Dr. Phosphorus’s origin: a guy named Sartorus invested in an offshore nuclear plant, but the construction was shoddy and he got caught in an explosion that turned him into Dr. Phosphorus. He blamed everyone but himself and tried to poison Gotham’s water supply with his own radioactive body, but Batman confronted him and he fell into the reactor core of the offshore nuclear plant. Why are we getting a recap of that? Because the rebuilt reactor went critical for ten minutes and when Batman came to check it out, he found flaming footprints leading out of the core and off the platform. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 311, Brave & the Bold 150, Warlord 21”

Comics Reviews: Flash 272, Wonder Woman 254, Green Lantern 115

Flash 272 coverFlash #272 – “The Girl With the Master Mind” – Cary Bates/John Calnan, Rich Buckler/Vince Colletta

A quick recap of last issue: a villain named the Clown blames the Mayor, the Governor, the head of the local power company, and the Flash for an accident that wiped out three of his family members and left him mute. Clown and his family were acrobats and a power failure at a circus precipitated the fatal fall. Flash was supposed to be at the circus that night but was on a JLA mission, and the Clown thinks if the speedster had been there, his family might still be alive. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Flash 272, Wonder Woman 254, Green Lantern 115”