Comics Reviews: Firestorm Annual 4, Vigilante Annual 2, Warlord Annual 5

Firestorm Annual 4 coverFirestorm Annual #4 – “Venom” – Gerry Conway/Rafael Kayanan, Dick Giordano. Gene Colan, Curt Swan, Al Milgrom, Martin King, Keith Giffen/Steve Mitchell, Bob Smith, Murphy Anderson, Steve Montano

This one starts with Firestorm flying frantically to New York to meet his father, Ed Raymond, who’s coming back from his honeymoon in South America. Unfortunately, Ed’s new wife Felicity (who Ronnie refuses to call his step-mother) got some weird disease in the tropics that’s shutting down her nervous system and will probably kill her. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Firestorm Annual 4, Vigilante Annual 2, Warlord Annual 5”

Comics Reviews: Legion of Super-Heroes Annual 2, Superman Annual 12

Legion of Super-Heroes Annual 2 coverLegion of Super-Heroes Annual #2 – “Child of Darkness, Child of Light” – Paul Levitz/Curt Swan, Keith Giffen/Larry Mahlstedt, Ernie Colon

This one starts with Darkseid taking a baby (one of a set of twins) and mutating it into a monster before sending it into the past. The story shifts to Rimbor, where Validus is on a rampage. He ends up in a cave containing a statue of Darkseid and runs into Ol-Vir, the renegade Daxamite who worships Darkseid and was a member of the Legion of Super-Villains for a while. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Legion of Super-Heroes Annual 2, Superman Annual 12”

Xena Season 2 Geography and Chronology

Xena title cardHey again, Xena fans. Welcome to my geography and timeline review for Season 2. As I explained last year, this is my attempt to bring some continuity to the Season 2 episodes, trying to figure out where they took place and in what possible order to make the whole thing flow better. As I also said last year, none of this speculation really matters (and I could be way off in my reasoning), but I’m a continuity nerd, so I have to at least try. Continue reading “Xena Season 2 Geography and Chronology”

Xena Season 2 Overview

Xena title cardWelcome to my Season 2 overview for Xena: Warrior Princess. As I did for Season 1, I’ll be discussing the themes I see in the second season and trying to relate them to the show as a whole. I won’t link to individual episodes, since you can access them in the Tag Cloud under Xena Season 1 or Xena Season 2. There isn’t really one clear theme for this season, but there are several common threads that run through a lot of episodes. Continue reading “Xena Season 2 Overview”

Comics Reviews: Batman Annual 10, Outsiders Annual 1

Batman Annual 10 coverBatman Annual #10 – “Down to the Bone” – Doug Moench/Denys Cowan/Alfredo Alcala

This one starts with three different men being pressured in three different ways to sell some stocks they own; one (Carstairs) is threatened (using a dead cat to reinforce it), one (Hersch) is beaten, and one (Hammond) is haunted by a ghost. All three of them decide to sell the stock, which turns out to be in Wayne Enterprises. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman Annual 10, Outsiders Annual 1”

Comics Reviews: Firestorm 54, Vigilante 36, Warlord 112

Firestorm 54 coverFirestorm #54 – “Rock n’ Roll Fantasy” – Paul Kupperberg/Michael Bair/Bob Smith

This one is obviously filler, since it makes no reference to the ongoing storylines. It starts with a guy named Steve Brockman trying out for a rock band. The band are impressed by his cool, home-made guitar, but unfortunately Steve can’t play it worth a damn, so they tell him to get lost. Steve vows to show the world what a great musician he can be. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Firestorm 54, Vigilante 36, Warlord 112”

Xena Reviews: Season 2, Episode 22

Xena title cardA Comedy of Eros – Director: Charles Siebert/Writer: Chris Manheim

This one starts with Cupid trying to get his son (Bliss) to go to bed because Cupid’s wife Psyche is in the mood for some lovin’. Cupid finally gets the toddler settled, but as soon as he leaves, Bliss grabs his dad’s bow and arrows and heads down to Earth to have some fun. Continue reading “Xena Reviews: Season 2, Episode 22”

Comics Reviews: Legion of Super-Heroes 29, New Teen Titans 26

Legion of Super-Heroes 29 coverLegion of Super-Heroes #29 – “No Star Shall Shine” – Paul Levitz/Greg LaRocque/Mike DeCarlo, Arne Starr

This one starts with Mon-El and Shadow Lass on Labyrinth (the new prison planet), where Lars Hanscom, the original Starfinger, has been murdered and a star-shaped burn mark left on his face. They don’t know what to make of it, but promise the authorities to report it to Legion headquarters. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Legion of Super-Heroes 29, New Teen Titans 26”

Comics Reviews: JLA 257, All-Star Squadron 64, Infinity Inc 33

JLA 257 coverJustice League of America #257 – “Coming Down” – J.M. DeMatteis/Luke McDonnell/Bob Smith

Last issue, Zatanna and Gypsy journeyed inside the mind of Adam, the cult leader who tried to make himself a god by mixing some of Zatanna’s magical DNA with his own. He succeeded a little too well and ended up expanding his mind so much that he encountered the Godhead, the creator of the universe, which drove him nuts. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 257, All-Star Squadron 64, Infinity Inc 33”

Xena Reviews: Season 2, Episode 21

Xena title cardLost Mariner – Director: Garth Maxwell/Writer: Steven L. Sears

This one starts with Xena and Gabi on a merchant ship that breaks up in a storm. Gabi manages to hang onto some flotsam (and Xena’s sword, which Xena gave her to cut the rigging during the storm) and gets picked up by a passing ship, along with a pirate from a ship that was trying to board the merchant vessel. Continue reading “Xena Reviews: Season 2, Episode 21”