Reviews, ruminations, and (occasional) ramblings.
Episode 20: The Bitch is Back
This is the last episode of the original run of Veronica Mars and it mainly has to do with Veronica trying to figure out who taped her and Piz (almost) getting it on. The story begins right where it left off last episode, with a bloody and battered Logan showing up at the office to tell Veronica about the video. Continue reading “Veronica Mars Reviews: Season 3, Episode 20”
Batman #380 – “End of the Bat” – Doug Moench/Rick Hoberg/Alfredo Alcala
This one starts with a series of vignettes to bring us up to speed: Bullock barely survived his shooting by Mayor Hill last issue and is laid up in hospital. Hill still wants Bullock dead, but Dr. Fang changes the deal, so Hill has to release him before he’ll kill Bullock. Hill complies, which prompts ex-Commissioner Gordon to start a 24/7 armed vigil by Bullock’s hospital bed to protect him. Of course, Batman is still persona non grata with the cops. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 380, Detective 547, Batman & the Outsiders 18, Firestorm 32, Vigilante 14”
Flash #341 – “Trial and Tribulation” – Cary Bates/Carmine Infantino/Frank McLaughlin
Last issue, we were promised a big bombshell at Flash’s trial and as this story opens, we find out what it is: the manslaughter charge against Flash has been dropped. Don’t celebrate yet … the charge has actually been amended to one of second-degree murder since the prosecution now contends that Flash killed Professor Zoom willfully not accidentally. Flash’s lawyer (Cecile Horton) tried to get the new charge dismissed, but couldn’t, and she had no way to let Flash know since he was incommunicado (being held captive by Big Sir). Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Flash 341, Green Lantern 184, Warlord 89”
Episode 19: Weevils Wobble But They Don’t Go Down
This one starts with Veronica and mac waiting in line to buy frozen yogurt at the Hearst Food Court. Veronica mentions Piz’s disappointment that she’s going to intern with the FBI all summer and Mac advises her to let Piz know that she’s just as bothered by the prospect of not seeing each other for months as Piz is. A blonde girl at the front of the line gets in some kind of trouble with her student ID and is hauled off by campus cops. Continue reading “Veronica Mars Reviews: Season 3, Episode 19”
JLA #234 – “Claws” – Gerry Conway/Chuck Patton/Bill Anderson
This continues the introductions of the new members of the JLA, spotlighting one character per issue. This time around, it’s Vixen who’s at the forefront of the story. The story starts with Vixen pursuing a car full of armed men through the streets of Detroit. The cops are chasing these goons too, but Vixen leaps right into the car (a convertible) and takes out the gunmen, stopping the car right before it smashes into a church. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 234, New Teen Titans 4, Tales of the Legion 319, Legion of Super-Heroes 6”
Superman #403 – “The Greatest Thief in the Universe” – Paul Kupperberg/Curt Swan/Bob Oksner
This one starts with an alien drone ship flying down toward Metropolis, seemingly about to crash. Superman stops it, but before he can figure out where it came from, the ship takes off into space and disappears. Turns out the drone belonged to the Monitor, who was gathering information for a client, the Thief-Master of Ramox. Thief-Master traded info on his own planet for the data from the Monitor in preparation for a series of heists. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Superman 403, Action 563, DC Comics Presents 77, All-Star Squadron 41, Infinity Inc 10”
Episode 18: Know What You’ll Do Next Summer
This one starts with Veronica and Piz (looking pretty cozy after last episode) studying together. Keith keeps interrupting to quiz Veronica on P.I. procedures, since she’s taking her private investigator’s exam tomorrow. Continue reading “Veronica Mars Reviews: Season 3, Episode 18”
Batman #379 – “Bedtime Stories” – Doug Moench/Don Newton/Alfredo Alcala
Last issue, Batman and Robin captured a computer from Mad Hatter that the villain was using to download information straight from people’s brains. Apparently, Hatter has become quite the techie because as this story opens, we see him perfecting a new electronic device that lets him control a person’s mind. Elsewhere, Julia Pennyworth shows up at the scene of a massive fire on her first assignment for Picture News. She’s literally shoved out of the way by a TV cameraman and told by TV reporter Olivia Ortega that print journalism is dead and that she’s wasting her time. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 379, Detective 546, Batman & the Outsiders 17, Firestorm 31”
Well, my 1984 reviews are done, so now it’s on to 1985, which was a pretty big year for DC. Several long-running series ended (Flash, Titans, Legion, Jonah Hex) to make way for new stuff in the next two years. All this transition was prompted by Crisis on infinite Earths, where DC basically rebooted their entire Universe, retroactively wiping out all the parallel Earths and saying that all their stories take place (and always did) on one single Earth. I know a lot of people hated that idea, but I kinda liked having all the heroes on one Earth so the writers didn’t have to come up with some reason for them to cross dimensions every time they did a team-up (or even a cameo). That being said, I didn’t actually read Crisis when it first came out, as I was moving toward reading Marvel exclusively around that time. So, many of these stories will be brand new to me and I’m looking forward to finally checking them out. As usual, I’ll be dividing my reviews into groups to make things easier. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: 1985 Preview”
Episode 17: Debasement Tapes
This one starts with Veronica and Wallace watching a Joan Crawford movie (for Wallace’s Film Studies class) and talking about Veronica and Piz’s big smooch last episode. Apparently Veronica kinda freaked out after Logan saw her and Piz kissing, so she took off. Piz called her (once) the next day, but she hasn’t heard anything since and wonders if Piz is pining for her. Wallace says Piz seems just fine, which isn’t quite the response Veronica wanted. Continue reading “Veronica Mars Reviews: Season 3, Episode 17”