Crimebuster
CCF Podcast Guru
Making comics!
Posts: 3,922
|
Post by Crimebuster on Jun 21, 2020 21:10:19 GMT -5
It does sort of come out of nowhere, which for me is the biggest weakness of the story. He had been more or less "off screen" for a couple of years before this, so we're just supposed to accept that he was going down this road and we weren't seeing it. But it would have seemed a lot less jarring i think if Shooter had spent a few issues showing this instead of just telling us about it.
We don't really get the full character justification until #227 when the story is about to wrap up.
|
|
|
Post by dbutler69 on Jun 26, 2020 7:59:56 GMT -5
There are about a dozen issue of Justice League of America (vol. 1) that I've never read, so I decided to rectify that situation. I read Justice League of America#41 & 42. I really liked #41! It's probably my favorite Gardner Fox issue, aside from the JLA/JSA team-ups. Yeah, the Key looks ridiculous, but he had a plan that made sense, considering it's a Silver Age DC comic book and all. #42 wasn't as good. It was ok, but had the usual goofiness, as Metamorpho declines membership in the JLA, though agrees to be a reserve member.
|
|
|
Post by Batflunkie on Jun 26, 2020 18:45:32 GMT -5
Captain America #139 Script: Stan Lee/Art: John Romita So recently I joined a facebook group called "Marvel Comics In The 70's" (not many other classic comic groups out there with like minded people besides this here board *wink wink*) and I got something of an itch to re-visit 70's Cap as most of it is an utter blur to me from reading too much for weeks on end and then stopping for months longer; though I will get vague recollections of issues whenever I scroll through Mycomicshop like "oh, yeah, right. That happened...". I don't exactly have positive viewpoints on both Englehart or Kirby's runs, maybe that'll change with a re-read, who knows? But I digress. Let's focus our attention back on the book itself... The book opens with Cap being asked by a commissioner to work undercover as beat cop to solve some disappearances. Steve thinks that this might be a good opportunity to become a new man with Cap overtaking most of his personality. Meanwhile Sam gets harassed by Leila for not doing more for the community and tests out a new gadget, the Falcon hook, only to get abducted by Fury and Dugan who are just as clueless as to Steve's whereabouts as Sam is (much to the chagrin of Sharon). Steve gets ready for his first day as a rookie cop and has recollections of his stint in the army when confronted by Sgt. Muldoon. Later Steve gets into a fight with a gang of thugs while retrieving his costume and easily dispatches them with the aid of Reverend Garcia who only, seconds later, disappears. He later finds the good reverend in the cemetery, among a myriad of others cast in stone thanks to the Grey Gargoyle. Overall, fairly good issue I feel. Nice and punchy
|
|
|
Post by dbutler69 on Jun 29, 2020 9:56:14 GMT -5
Continuing to read the JLA issues that I've never read before. JLA #44 is basically a sequel to #42, where they fought the Unimaginable with the help of Metamorpho. Frankly, this story was equally mediocre, with a nice 60's sexist moment with Wonder Woman sewing Batman's costume. She's a girl, of course she can (and should) sew!! JLA #49 is a decent yarn where Felix Faust casts a spell to break himself out of prison. Man, does Felix Faust look bad out of his uniform! I guess I've never seen him like that before and didn't realize he was bald. He kinda looked like the Vulture. Interesting setup for the story, though, where the JLA have to help Faust determine which is the real Faust and which one was created by the spell to break him out of prison. If they don't figure it out in time, the universe will be destroyed because...of course it will. Another 60's sexist moment as Green Lantern overcomes his female (some kind of air nymphs or something( opponents by creating mice with his power ring, because they're "girls", so of course they're scared of mice! Why didn't GL ever try that against Star Sapphire? JLA #50 is also a decent story where the Lord of Time controls some Vietnam vet into doing his dirty work for him, but the vet is eventually able to prove his courage and help the JLA defeat that naughty guy. By the way, in the story, they talk about carbon dating fossils. Sorry, Gardner, but you can't carbon date fossils. You can only carbon date organic matter, and a fossil is something from a living creature which has been entirely replaced by minerals (i.e.rock) so it can't be carbon dated. Plus, if something is too old, there's not enough carbon-14 remaining to accurately carbon date it. JLA #51 is a cute story where Zatanna gathers together all of the heroes (a few JLA members plus Elongated Man) who helped her finally find her father, Zatara. They are all confused, and so she explains the story of how she was able to go to the realm where he was, and use magical doppelgangers of the heroes to rescue her father. Some hokey stuff in here, but a fun issue overall. JLA #52 was an interesting idea for a story - Snapper answering a letter wondering why all JLAers don't show up for every adventure by explaining what the other JLAers were up to during the events to #50 - but poor execution. They mention in this issue that not only does Superman have no powers under a red sun, but he also has no powers under a green sun!! Has this ever shown up in a Superman comic? I've never heard of it before. By the way, there is no such thing as a green sun, so Superman needn't worry about this one. Stars basically come in red, orange, yellow, white, and blue. JLA #53 was a pretty good story (in spite of the goofy cover) where Hawkgirl saves the day! It's a shame she didn't get admitted to the JLA sooner, but hey, we can't have too many girls in our superhero club, right?
|
|
|
Post by dbutler69 on Jun 29, 2020 12:50:41 GMT -5
I read Detective Comics #475-476. This is the two-part "Joker fish" story. It was really good, both story and art (Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers, Terry Austen). Sadly, Silver St. Cloud dumps Bruce at the end of this. And Jingle Bells, Batman smells, the Joker got away.
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Jun 29, 2020 16:31:26 GMT -5
I read Detective Comics #475-476. This is the two-part "Joker fish" story. It was really good, both story and art (Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers, Terry Austen). Sadly, Silver St. Cloud dumps Bruce at the end of this. And Jingle Bells, Batman smells, the Joker got away. I read this when it first came out and it's still my favorite joker story!
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Jun 29, 2020 16:34:28 GMT -5
Continuing to read the JLA issues that I've never read before. JLA #44 is basically a sequel to #42, where they fought the Unimaginable with the help of Metamorpho. Frankly, this story was equally mediocre, with a nice 60's sexist moment with Wonder Woman sewing Batman's costume. She's a girl, of course she can (and should) sew!! JLA #49 is a decent yarn where Felix Faust casts a spell to break himself out of prison. Man, does Felix Faust look bad out of his uniform! I guess I've never seen him like that before and didn't realize he was bald. He kinda looked like the Vulture. Interesting setup for the story, though, where the JLA have to help Faust determine which is the real Faust and which one was created by the spell to break him out of prison. If they don't figure it out in time, the universe will be destroyed because...of course it will. Another 60's sexist moment as Green Lantern overcomes his female (some kind of air nymphs or something( opponents by creating mice with his power ring, because they're "girls", so of course they're scared of mice! Why didn't GL ever try that against Star Sapphire? JLA #50 is also a decent story where the Lord of Time controls some Vietnam vet into doing his dirty work for him, but the vet is eventually able to prove his courage and help the JLA defeat that naughty guy. By the way, in the story, they talk about carbon dating fossils. Sorry, Gardner, but you can't carbon date fossils. You can only carbon date organic matter, and a fossil is something from a living creature which has been entirely replaced by minerals (i.e.rock) so it can't be carbon dated. Plus, if something is too old, there's not enough carbon-14 remaining to accurately carbon date it. JLA #51 is a cute story where Zatanna gathers together all of the heroes (a few JLA members plus Elongated Man) who helped her finally find her father, Zatara. They are all confused, and so she explains the story of how she was able to go to the realm where he was, and use magical doppelgangers of the heroes to rescue her father. Some hokey stuff in here, but a fun issue overall. JLA #52 was an interesting idea for a story - Snapper answering a letter wondering why all JLAers don't show up for every adventure by explaining what the other JLAers were up to during the events to #50 - but poor execution. They mention in this issue that not only does Superman have no powers under a red sun, but he also has no powers under a green sun!! Has this ever shown up in a Superman comic? I've never heard of it before. By the way, there is no such thing as a green sun, so Superman needn't worry about this one. Stars basically come in red, orange, yellow, white, and blue. JLA #53 was a pretty good story (in spite of the goofy cover) where Hawkgirl saves the day! It's a shame she didn't get admitted to the JLA sooner, but hey, we can't have too many girls in our superhero club, right? I've only sampled Silver Age JLA … and I think I will continue to sample them as various issues become available to me from time to time. Thanks for the reviews though! Isn't the Royal Flush Gang from this period? I love that issue. And the one where Queen Bee shrinks the JLA and turns them into her drones and Batgirl saves the day? That might be my favorite issue of the JLA EVER!
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Jun 29, 2020 17:11:45 GMT -5
I read up to Spider-Man #40 some time ago. Two weeks ago, maybe? And - despite quarantine - I was a little busier than usual. I was pet-sitting and I was transporting animals for the rescue and I was working on a YouTube project with some friends. (My part is done. Now the other two guys have to finish it. I will probably link it here when it's done. It's not comic related. But we think it's funny. And I don't think it will be offensive to any but the most humorless christians.) Those last few Ditko issues are … not quite as good as the rest of the series, are they? I've always liked #35 a lot. I first read it back in 1975 or 1976, the very first late Ditko Spider-Man I ever read. I like it for its focus! It's almost a Molten Man adventure instead of a Spider-Man adventure. The Spidey supporting cast is either absent or only gets a few panels. The developing conflict with Gwen and Harry and Flash at Empire State University is ignored. Aunt May is nowhere to be seen. The only member of the supporting cast whose plot is furthered a little bit is Betty Brant … and she isn't ever shown! Peter stop by the Daily Bugle and Betty is gone! The new secretary gives Peter a signed photo that Betty left for him. #36 features … The Looter! It's not much of a issue for Spidey, but Gwen gets a lot of time on-panel. Peter and Gwen end up at a science exhibit … and the Looter attacks! They are still developing the love/hate relationship between Peter and Gwen. But once Ditko leaves, this aspect of their relationship is gone forever! I sort of get the idea that Ditko was READY TO GO at this point. Tired of Spidey? Tired of Marvel! Tired of Stan Lee? But they still had a few issues to go through the motions. In #37, Norman Osborne is finally named and revealed to be Harry's father! And he's a ruthless businessman who treated a scientist named Stromm so badly that he wants to kill him! So Spidey has to save Norman from the evil robots! There's something suspicious about Mr. Osborne. Better keep an eye on him ... #38 is "Just a Guy Named Joe!" which is a pretty good story that doesn't advance any of the plots very much. And Ditko is gone! The story arc in #39 and #40 features new artist John Romita inked by Mike Esposito. The original Green Goblin saga that begin in #14 finally comes to an end as the Goblin is revealed to be Norman Osborne and the two foes engage in their first final battle! Norman ends up with amnesia and Spidey swings off to deal with his post-Ditko destiny. I almost hate to say that, though I like these issues well enough, I've always found them a bit disappointing as the end to the first round of the Green Goblin saga. Norman Osborne turns out to be just some crazy guy driven even more nuts by one of those mysterious, power-giving comic-book explosions. He has great strength and an effective slyness that helps him triumph at first. And the story ends with this grumpy, negligent, corrupt, scheming malcontent stewing in a hospital bed, saved from the consequences of his actions by Spidey's soft heart and a convenient dose of dramatic amnesia. I don't have an alternative ending. But the dude would get worse and worse, and it's all just a little too convenient. OK. Yeah. It's a comic book. But the Spider-Man series of the early 1960s was reaching to be better than "just a comic book" and it comes so close! I think I'd like just some higher-quality closure to the Ditko Spider-Man series.
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Jun 29, 2020 17:25:13 GMT -5
I'm still reading All-Star Comics! Not very quickly. I read All-Star Comics #21 a few days ago. I've only got five issues left and I will have read all 57 issues of the Golden Age series of All-Star Comics! I've been pretty harsh on the Justice Society, I think. The stories are formulaic and frequently dumb, and a lot of the art is on the verge of hurting your eyes. It is what it is. But I find myself liking more of the stories if I space it out a little (I'm reading no more than one or two issues a month right now) and don't expect too much from the stories. I take a few days to read them. They are divided into segments where each member completes his part of the mission. I only read one or two missions every night when I'm reading an issue. So I didn't hate #21 as much as some of the other issues I read in the last few months. It's about a guy who regrets many of the decisions of his past and the JSA members all go back in time to different decades and their actions change the outcome so that he doesn't all these regrets on his conscience. (And it turns out in most cases that the guy misunderstood what happened in each incident. It's rather convoluted and I'm not even going to get into it.) I enjoyed this one for its depictions of the recent past, and for including the hero in incidents like World War I and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Hopefully I'll finish all these issues some day!
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Jun 29, 2020 17:28:47 GMT -5
I was scrolling back to see how much farther I'd gotten with Thor since the last time I'd reviewed an issue. On June 8, I wrote about Thor #135. And I haven't touched Thor since! #136 is a classic! I guess I'll read that next!
|
|
|
Post by dbutler69 on Jun 30, 2020 8:59:29 GMT -5
Continuing to read the JLA issues that I've never read before. JLA #44 is basically a sequel to #42, where they fought the Unimaginable with the help of Metamorpho. Frankly, this story was equally mediocre, with a nice 60's sexist moment with Wonder Woman sewing Batman's costume. She's a girl, of course she can (and should) sew!! JLA #49 is a decent yarn where Felix Faust casts a spell to break himself out of prison. Man, does Felix Faust look bad out of his uniform! I guess I've never seen him like that before and didn't realize he was bald. He kinda looked like the Vulture. Interesting setup for the story, though, where the JLA have to help Faust determine which is the real Faust and which one was created by the spell to break him out of prison. If they don't figure it out in time, the universe will be destroyed because...of course it will. Another 60's sexist moment as Green Lantern overcomes his female (some kind of air nymphs or something( opponents by creating mice with his power ring, because they're "girls", so of course they're scared of mice! Why didn't GL ever try that against Star Sapphire? JLA #50 is also a decent story where the Lord of Time controls some Vietnam vet into doing his dirty work for him, but the vet is eventually able to prove his courage and help the JLA defeat that naughty guy. By the way, in the story, they talk about carbon dating fossils. Sorry, Gardner, but you can't carbon date fossils. You can only carbon date organic matter, and a fossil is something from a living creature which has been entirely replaced by minerals (i.e.rock) so it can't be carbon dated. Plus, if something is too old, there's not enough carbon-14 remaining to accurately carbon date it. JLA #51 is a cute story where Zatanna gathers together all of the heroes (a few JLA members plus Elongated Man) who helped her finally find her father, Zatara. They are all confused, and so she explains the story of how she was able to go to the realm where he was, and use magical doppelgangers of the heroes to rescue her father. Some hokey stuff in here, but a fun issue overall. JLA #52 was an interesting idea for a story - Snapper answering a letter wondering why all JLAers don't show up for every adventure by explaining what the other JLAers were up to during the events to #50 - but poor execution. They mention in this issue that not only does Superman have no powers under a red sun, but he also has no powers under a green sun!! Has this ever shown up in a Superman comic? I've never heard of it before. By the way, there is no such thing as a green sun, so Superman needn't worry about this one. Stars basically come in red, orange, yellow, white, and blue. JLA #53 was a pretty good story (in spite of the goofy cover) where Hawkgirl saves the day! It's a shame she didn't get admitted to the JLA sooner, but hey, we can't have too many girls in our superhero club, right? I've only sampled Silver Age JLA … and I think I will continue to sample them as various issues become available to me from time to time. Thanks for the reviews though! Isn't the Royal Flush Gang from this period? I love that issue. And the one where Queen Bee shrinks the JLA and turns them into her drones and Batgirl saves the day? That might be my favorite issue of the JSA EVER! Yup, the Royal Flush Gang are in #54!
|
|
|
Post by tartanphantom on Jun 30, 2020 12:50:11 GMT -5
I'm still reading All-Star Comics! Not very quickly. I read All-Star Comics #21 a few days ago. I've only got five issues left and I will have read all 57 issues of the Golden Age series of All-Star Comics! I've been pretty harsh on the Justice Society, I think. The stories are formulaic and frequently dumb, and a lot of the art is on the verge of hurting your eyes. It is what it is. But I find myself liking more of the stories if I space it out a little (I'm reading no more than one or two issues a month right now) and don't expect too much from the stories. I take a few days to read them. They are divided into segments where each member completes his part of the mission. I only read one or two missions every night when I'm reading an issue. So I didn't hate #21 as much as some of the other issues I read in the last few months. It's about a guy who regrets many of the decisions of his past and the JSA members all go back in time to different decades and their actions change the outcome so that he doesn't all these regrets on his conscience. (And it turns out in most cases that the guy misunderstood what happened in each incident. It's rather convoluted and I'm not even going to get into it.) I enjoyed this one for its depictions of the recent past, and for including the hero in incidents like World War I and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Hopefully I'll finish all these issues some day! The two primary plot tropes for most of the original JSA stories in All Star Comics:
1. help war orphans 2. buy war/liberty bonds
everything else is pretty much window dressing.
|
|
|
Post by brianf on Jun 30, 2020 17:27:45 GMT -5
Maybe not "classic", but.. I've been slowly reading through a complete collection of AMERICAN FLAGG I picked up a few years ago and while I do enjoy Chaykins unique art and storytelling, the use of racial and homophobic slurs is kinda tough to get through. Wasn't there an idea from leftists in the 70s about using slurs as a way to remove their power? I'm thinking of songs like John Lennons "Woman is N***** of the World" and Patti Smiths "Rock N Roll N*****". Well, obviously that idea didn't age well, so my wife has been hearing me mutter "oof" every time I stumble across one of those. I recently finished the issues with a back up story by Alan Moore in #21 to #26, then finished up in the full issue of #27. Oof again, not very good. The cartoony sex zombie plot is dumb, and except for a little nod to George Herrimans Krazy Kat & Ignatz there not much pleasure to be found here. I'm gonna keep slogging through, but hey - if someone is interested in a full American Flagg set of comics in a few months I'll be happy to sell em, cheap.
|
|
|
Post by chadwilliam on Jun 30, 2020 20:14:37 GMT -5
They mention in this issue that not only does Superman have no powers under a red sun, but he also has no powers under a green sun!! Has this ever shown up in a Superman comic? I've never heard of it before. By the way, there is no such thing as a green sun, so Superman needn't worry about this one. Stars basically come in red, orange, yellow, white, and blue. Bill Finger actually wrote the story "Superman Under a Green Sun" for Superman 155 in which a villain uses a filter to change a blue sun's rays to green and yes, the effect of these green rays renders Superman powerless.
|
|
|
Post by beccabear67 on Jun 30, 2020 20:34:00 GMT -5
Maybe not "classic", but.. I've been slowly reading through a complete collection of AMERICAN FLAGG I picked up a few years ago and while I do enjoy Chaykins unique art and storytelling, the use of racial and homophobic slurs is kinda tough to get through. Wasn't there an idea from leftists in the 70s about using slurs as a way to remove their power? I'm thinking of songs like John Lennons "Woman is N***** of the World" and Patti Smiths "Rock N Roll N*****". Well, obviously that idea didn't age well, so my wife has been hearing me mutter "oof" every time I stumble across one of those. I recently finished the issues with a back up story by Alan Moore in #21 to #26, then finished up in the full issue of #27. Oof again, not very good. The cartoony sex zombie plot is dumb, and except for a little nod to George Herrimans Krazy Kat & Ignatz there not much pleasure to be found here. I'm gonna keep slogging through, but hey - if someone is interested in a full American Flagg set of comics in a few months I'll be happy to sell em, cheap. I have the first few issues stashed someplace but all I really remember of the series at this remove is the shoulder pads, garter belts, and a general sort of Reagan semi-fascistic conservative feel to the imagined future shown. Dark Knight had some more of the same, and maybe Judge Dredd, or before that Trashman, were the godfathers of this kind of stylized exaggeration sf comic? I don't remember the Cody Starbucks I read in magazine form or B&W Star Reach titles having as heaping a spoonful of it. Oh yeah and the talking cat, can't forget him (he was on a San Diego Con book back then with Marshall Rogers' A Foozle). And really nice lettering, don't want to forget that, I knew I kept them for some solid reason...
|
|