Tag: 1983 Annuals

Comics Reviews: DC Comics Presents Annual 2, Superman Annual 9

DC Comics Presents Annual 2 coverDC Comics Presents Annual #2 – “The Last Secret Identity” – Elliot S! Maggin/Keith Pollard/Mike DeCarlo, Tod Smith

This is one of those goofy Silver Age-type stories that old time fans seem to like so much. I’ve never been a huge fan of those, although this one’s certainly well told. It could even fall under the category of “Imaginary Story”, but it’s presented as if we’re meant to take it seriously. I can’t imagine it being canon post-Crisis though. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: DC Comics Presents Annual 2, Superman Annual 9”

Comics Reviews: Legion of Super-Heroes Annual 2, JLA Annual 1

Legion Annual 2Legion of Super-Heroes Annual #2 – “Whatever Gods There Be” – Paul Levitz, Keith Giffen/Dave Gibbons

This annual came out right after issue 303, so some of the plot set-ups have already been resolved in my reviews of the regular issues. More specifically, Shrinking Violet’s situation hasn’t been resolved, Dream Girl is still leader, and Dawnstar hasn’t left yet. This one starts on Daxam, where a group of Legionnaires (Dream Girl, Ultra Boy, Star Boy, White Witch, and Cosmic Boy) are helping restore the planet after the damage done by Darkseid. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Legion of Super-Heroes Annual 2, JLA Annual 1”

Comics Reviews: Batman 366, Detective 533, New Teen Titans 37, Firestorm Annual 1

Batman 366 coverBatman #366 – “The Joker is Wild” – Doug Moench/Don Newton/Alfredo Alcala

Last time, Batman and Vicki Vale both ended up in Guatemala, where Joker has been stirring up trouble between the government and some rebels, hoping they’ll decimate each other so he can take over the country and turn it into a gigantic theme park. Batman and Vicki escaped Joker’s hideout in an ancient Mayan temple, but Joker still plans to kill a top General (Diaz) and make sure the rebels are blamed. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 366, Detective 533, New Teen Titans 37, Firestorm Annual 1”

Comics Reviews: JLA 220, Legion of Super-Heroes 305, New Teen Titans 36, All-Star Squadron Annual 2

JLA 220 coverJustice League of America #220 – “The Doppelganger Gambit”– Roy Thomas/Chuck Patton/Romeo Tanghal, Pablo Marcos

Last issue, the annual JLA/JSA reunion was interrupted when all of Earth-1’s heroes were incapacitated, leaving anyone from Earth-2 hale and hearty. Black Canary and Starman were dragged into the Thunderbolt dimension by Johnny Thunder’s T-bolt, now under the control of the Earth-1 Johnny Thunder (who’s an evil bastard). They were startled to see another Black Canary in suspended animation, lying beside Canary’s dead husband, Larry Lance. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 220, Legion of Super-Heroes 305, New Teen Titans 36, All-Star Squadron Annual 2”

Comics Reviews: Superman 388, Action 548, DC Comics Presents 62, Warlord Annual 2

Superman 388 coverSuperman #388 – “The Kid Who Played Superman” – Cary Bates/Curt Swan/Dave Hunt

This one starts with Lois Lane returning to WGBS after her time off. She heads straight for Perry White’s office and gives him hell for replacing her with Lana Lang on the big Middle East story she’d been working on. Perry lets her say her piece, then reminds Lois that she’s the one who walked away when it looked like the assignment had fallen through, and since she decided to take extra time off and not tell anyone where she was, Perry had no choice but to send Lana to salvage the story. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Superman 388, Action 548, DC Comics Presents 62, Warlord Annual 2”

Comics Reviews: JLA 218, Legion of Super-Heroes 303, New Teen Titans Annual 2, All-Star Squadron 25

JLA 218 coverJustice League of America #218 – “The Price of Humanity” – Cary Burkett/Chuck Patton/Romeo Tanghal

This one starts with an epic space battle … sort of. Actually, it’s just Hawkman and Ralph (Elongated Man) Dibny playing 3-D Space Wars on the JLA Satellite computer. Ralph is demolishing Hawkman and they’re so engrossed in the game they don’t notice Wonder Woman arrive on the Satellite. Hawkman is such a stick-in-the-mud he’s embarrassed to be caught having fun. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 218, Legion of Super-Heroes 303, New Teen Titans Annual 2, All-Star Squadron 25”