Comics Reviews: Flash 271, Wonder Woman 253, Green Lantern 114

Flash 271 coverFlash #271 – “The Silent Slayer of Central City” – Cary Bates/Rich Buckler/Jack Abel

This one starts right where last issue left off, with Flash stuck halfway inside a wall about to get blasted by some rockets. Last issue, a new villain called the Clown showed up with a bunch of gimmick weapons and in their second encounter, a stunned Flash tried to vibrate through a wall but only made it half-way. The Clown then unleashed the rockets from his trick calliope. Flash tries to vibrate again to avoid the rockets, but they blow the wall of the building to pieces and there’s no sign of Flash anywhere. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Flash 271, Wonder Woman 253, Green Lantern 114”

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: Superman 333, Action 493, DC Comics Presents 7

Superman 333 coverSuperman #333 – “Happy New Year … Rest in Peace” – Martin Pasko/Curt Swan/Frank Chiaramonte

This issue continues the holiday theme that’s been running this month, although this is set during New Years not Christmas. This one actually starts out on Bizarro World, a planet where imperfection (and stupidity) are practically worshiped, and where everything is the opposite of Earth. Bizarro has gotten a message from the Future-Scope Teletype (the opposite of Earth teletypes, which only report what’s already happened) that Superman’s friends Lana and Lois are going to die. His editor is so happy he fires Bizarro, who heads to Earth to check things out. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Superman 333, Action 493, DC Comics Presents 7”

Comics Reviews: Batman 309, Brave & the Bold 148, Warlord 19

Batman 309 coverBatman #309 – “Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas” – Len Wein/John Calnan/Frank McLaughlin

This is a Christmas-themed issue; despite the March cover date, it was probably on the stands in December of 1978. It starts with a bunch of muggers grabbing a young woman’s purse. She freaks out, saying it contains all the money she has left in the world, but the muggers aren’t moved by her pleas. In fact, they seem to think she got off light, since they didn’t rape her or something. The purse only contains five dollars, but before the muggers can go in search of more prey, Blockbuster comes smashing into the alley and kicks the crap out of them. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 309, Brave & the Bold 148, Warlord 19”