Reviews, ruminations, and (occasional) ramblings.
Green Lantern #196 – “3” – Steve Englehart/Joe Staton/Bruce Patterson
This one starts with Guy Gardner enjoying his new status as a Green Lantern (after receiving a ring last issue from some renegade Guardians). Guy is in his old neighbourhood in Baltimore, using the ring to demolish the tenement where he used to live. He heads out to sea to look for the Shark, who the Guardians have told him to find. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Green Lantern 196, Firestorm 43, Vigilante 25, Warlord 101”
Hey Xena fans, this special post is my stab at unraveling some of the geographical and chronological clues in the first season of Xena. Why am I doing this? Well, I’m a continuity guy, so I like it when the episodes fit together in a logical order and I like to figure out where Xena and Gabi’s adventures are taking place in each episode. Naturally, the writers at the time were usually more concerned with telling good (or great) stories instead of with making everything fit together logically, so a lot of the place names and travel times in the episodes don’t really make sense. Continue reading “Xena Season 1 Geography and Chronology”
Welcome to my overview of Season 1 of Xena: Warrior Princess. Like most first seasons, this one was mostly about establishing the characters and letting us get to know them. But it’s not just us in the audience who have to get acquainted with the characters, they also have to get acquainted with each other. Continue reading “Xena Season 1 Overview”
Legion of Super-Heroes #18 – “Has Anyone Noticed a Crisis Going On?” – Paul Levitz/Greg Larocque/Larry Mahlstedt
This one starts at the Time Institute, with Rond Vidar losing it when he realizes the Crisis has been going on for weeks (or went on for weeks in the distant past, I’m not sure how that works for a series set a thousand years in the future) but nobody seems to have noticed, even though Supergirl and Kid Psycho were killed. Vidar goes to see Brainiac 5, but he’s freaked out too because he also can’t remember anything that happened in the Crisis, even though he participated in some of it. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Legion of Super-Heroes 18, New Teen Titans 16, All-Star Squadron 53, Infinity Inc. 22”
Superman #415 – “Supergirl: Bride of—X?” – Cary Bates/Curt Swan/Al Williamson
This one starts with Superman searching for oil deposits under the ocean when he gets an emergency signal from the Fortress of Solitude. Someone has broken in and set off a particular signal, one that was used by Supergirl. (Supergirl was recently killed in Crisis on Infinite Earths.) Superman zooms to the Fortress and finds an alien taking a strange object from beside Supergirl’s statue. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Superman 415, Action 575, DC Comics Presents 89, JLA 246”
Is There a Doctor in the House? – Director: T.J. Scott/Writer: Patricia Manney
On the way to Athens, Xena and Gabi are traveling through a forest and find themselves caught in a war between Thessaly and Mitoa. They find Ephiny (who’s about to give birth) hiding in the trees and she tells them her husband Phantes (who we saw in Hooves and Harlots) was killed by Mitoans. Gabi is disgusted by the toll the war is taking on innocents and Xena decides to do something about it. She finds a Mitoan general (Marmax) and follows him. When Marmax goes after a lone Thessalian soldier, Xena knocks Marmax out and stabs him. Continue reading “Xena Reviews: Season 1, Episode 24”
Batman #391 – “Death Comes as the End” – Doug Moench/Tom Mandrake
This one continues from last time, with Robin running into Night Slayer on the rocky islet that holds the Gotham Observatory. Night Slayer is there to kill Nocturna and Robin tries to stop him, but Night Slayer’s crazed strength is too much. He swats Robin aside and starts climbing toward the observatory. Batman is still at the hospital with Selina (Catwoman) Kyle, who was injured pretty badly last issue. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 391, Detective 558, Batman & the Outsiders 29, Outsiders 3”
Well, that’s another year gone by in my comics reviews and it’s time for my 1986 preview. 1985 was a big year at DC, with the Crisis turning everything upside-down. 1986 will finish that process and give us the first steps into the new, amalgamated universe that came about as a result of Crisis. The real changes don’t start until 1987, but the die was cast and the differences could be felt in 1986. As always, I’ll break my preview into blocks corresponding to the way I’ll be doing the reviews. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: 1986 Preview”
Death Mask – Director: Stewart Main/Writer: Peter Allan Fields
This one starts with Xena and Gabi discussing how Xena catches arrows (by listening with her whole body) and when a couple of guys in iron masks ambush them, Gabi actually stops an arrow with her staff. She and Xena pound the ambushers and Xena interrogates them, learning they work for Cortese … the raider who attacked Xena’s village ten years ago and set her on a path of revenge and darkness. Continue reading “Xena Reviews: Season 1, Episode 23”
Firestorm Annual #3 – “Sparx” – Gerry Conway/Rafael Kayanan/Ian Akin, Brian Garvey
This story takes place just before Ronnie’s graduation and Professor Stein’s move to Pittsburgh. It starts with some modern-day pirates robbing a tourist boat on the Hudson River. Firestorm tries to stop them, but his powers conk out when he makes himself intangible (not the first time that’s happened), which results in the Statue of Liberty being damaged. Firestorm fixes it, but he still looks like an idiot for letting it happen in the first place. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Firestorm Annual 3, Vigilante Annual 1, Warlord Annual 4”