Tag: JLA reviews

Comics Reviews: JLA 164, Superboy & the Legion 249, Jonah Hex 22

JLA 164 coverJustice League of America #164 – “Murder by Melody” – Gerry Conway/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin

This one starts with Red Tornado (still recovering from injury) on the JLA Satellite dictating recent events. Yup, this is one of those issues where most of it is told in flashback, with the added twist of it being narrated by Red Tornado. I really don’t like that particular storytelling device, but it  was used a lot at DC back in the late 70s. I’ll try to keep my retelling as straightforward as possible and hopefully my tenses won’t get too tangled. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 164, Superboy & the Legion 249, Jonah Hex 22”

Comics Reviews: JLA 163, Superboy & the Legion 248, Jonah Hex 21

JLA 163 coverJustice League of America #163 – “Concert of the Damned” – Gerry Conway/Dick Dillin/Frank Chiaramonte

This one starts with Green Arrow walking through the front door of Oliver Queen’s apartment (way to protect the old secret identity, Ollie) and finding a weirdo named Anton Allegro waiting inside. Allegro is there looking for Oliver Queen, but he attacks Green Arrow with a strange electronic accordion that creates solid creatures from sounds. The creatures attack Arrow and pound him. Up on the JLA Satellite, the team is trying to get answers from Zatanna’s father, Zatara. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 163, Superboy & the Legion 248, Jonah Hex 21”

Comics Reviews: JLA 162, Superboy & the Legion 247, Jonah Hex 20

JLA 162 coverJustice League of America #162 – “The Creation Conspiracy” – Gerry Conway/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin

This one starts with some JLA members (Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Elongated Man, Green Arrow, and Zatanna) one the scene of a fire at a STAR Labs facility. But this particular facility was so secret that even the JLA didn’t know about it until the scientists called for help. The guy in charge says they have no idea what caused the fire, but it may have something to do with a top-secret chemical named Compound One that they’ve been working on. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 162, Superboy & the Legion 247, Jonah Hex 20”

Comics Reviews: JLA 161, Superboy & the Legion 246, Warlord 16, Jonah Hex 19

JLA 161 coverJustice League of America #161 – “The Reverse Spells of Zatanna’s Magic” – Gerry Conway/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin

This one starts with the JLA (all 13 of them) taking a vote on electing a new member—Zatanna. Green Arrow is taking it pretty seriously, but Zatanna shows up before they can count the votes and blasts the ballots to ashes. (Any readers paying attention will notice that Zatanna recites her spells normally, instead of backwards like she always has before. That is what’s known as a “clue”.) Zatanna tells them she doesn’t want to join their lousy club and the more they try to reason with her, the snottier she gets. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 161, Superboy & the Legion 246, Warlord 16, Jonah Hex 19”

Comics Reviews: JLA 160, Superboy & the Legion 245, Jonah Hex 18

JusticeLeagueofAmerica_160_cover (Copy)Justice League of America #160 – “Crisis From Tomorrow” – Gerry Conway/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin

This one continues from last issue, which was pretty wild. Apparently the Lord of Time built a kick-ass computer that’s so powerful it can actually stop time; unfortunately, he didn’t realize what a monumentally stupid idea that was until after he built the computer. Now he wants to shut down (or destroy) the computer, but he’s afraid it’ll go all 2001 and kill him if he tries, so he’s worked out some convoluted plot to have the JLA and JSA do it for him. He’s calculated that if the JLA/JSA are defeated by five heroes from the past (Jonah Hex, Miss Liberty, Enemy Ace, Black Pirate, and Viking Prince) they’ll come back stronger and more determined and be able to smash his time-threatening computer. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 160, Superboy & the Legion 245, Jonah Hex 18”

Comics Reviews: JLA 159, Superboy & the Legion 244

JLA 159 coverJustice League of America #159 – “Crisis From Yesterday” – Gerry Conway/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin

This one starts rather sedately, with the JLA and JSA having one of their annual meet-ups, this time in a fancy restaurant in Gotham (Earth-1 Gotham, in case you’re wondering). Batman ponders retirement and envies his Earth-2 counterpart having a daughter like Huntress; Ralph tells Sylvester (aka Star-Spangled Kid) not to be ashamed of his name; and Black Canary confides in the Earth-2 Wonder Woman that Green Arrow and Hawkman’s newfound bonhomie is getting on her nerves. But this is a JLA/JSA meeting, so of course we know something’s going to happen. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 159, Superboy & the Legion 244”

Comics Review: JLA 158, Superboy & the Legion 243, All-Star Comics 74

JLA 158 coverJustice League of America #158 – “The Super-Power of Negative Thinking” – Gerry Conway/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin

This one starts in the middle of the action, as Flash and Wonder Woman battle Poison Ivy and Mirror Master at the Central City Museum. Mirror Master uses one of his devices to put a force bubble around Wonder Woman’s head, blinding her and cutting off her air. Poison ivy shoots poison darts at Flash that are attuned to his vibrational frequency, so he can’t just vibrate through them. It looks bad for Flash, but Ultraa shows up out of nowhere and blocks the poison darts with his invulnerable body. Continue reading “Comics Review: JLA 158, Superboy & the Legion 243, All-Star Comics 74”

Comics Reviews: JLA 157, Superboy & the Legion 242

JLA 157 coverJustice League of America #157 – “Till Doom Do Us Part” – Gerry Conway/Dick Dillin, Juan Ortiz/Frank McLaughlin

This one starts with a really attractive woman (named Siren) going on a diatribe about how much she hates the Justice League. She’s surrounded by enthralled helpers—all men, naturally—and says it’s time for them to eliminate the JLA once and for all. In Ivy Town, Ray Palmer finally tells his fiancée Jean Loring that he’s the Atom. You might say he left it a bit late, since their wedding is tomorrow, but Ray was worried that Jean might have another nervous breakdown when she found out. Jean’s not going nuts, but she is pretty pissed off and leaves Ray wondering if there’ll still be a wedding. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 157, Superboy & the Legion 242”

Comics Reviews: JLA 156, Superboy & the Legion 241, All-Star Comics 73

JLA 156 coverJustice League of America #156 – “The Fiend With Five Faces” – Gerry Conway/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin

This one starts with Aquaman emerging from the ocean in Honolulu and staggering through the streets mumbling about having to warn the JLA about a fiend with five faces. He’s accosted by a couple of muggers (who he quickly slaps down), then finds a cab. The cabbie is really excited to have such a distinguished person in his cab and takes Aquaman to a building where the JLA transporter tube is located. (The joke is that the cabbie thought Aquaman was Steve McQueen—ask your parents.) Aquaman beams to the JLA Satellite where Ralph (Elongated Man) Dibny is on duty. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 156, Superboy & the Legion 241, All-Star Comics 73”

Comics Reviews: JLA 155, Superboy & the Legion 240

JLA 155 coverJustice League of America #155 – “Under the Moons of Earth” – Gerry Conway/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin

This one starts out with Ray (Atom) Palmer and his fiancée Jean Loring on a moonlight walk. Ray’s asking if Jean has any secrets (not yet!) because he still hasn’t told her he’s the Atom. Before he can figure out what to do, the moonlight walk gets a lot brighter, as a second moon appears in the sky. We jump to Central City where Flash is putting Captain Cold away. When the second moon appears, it causes a huge earthquake in Central City. In the Atlantic Ocean, Aquaman is plagued by new undersea volcanoes popping up everywhere and disrupting the ocean environment. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 155, Superboy & the Legion 240”