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Post by Batflunkie on Jan 15, 2024 9:38:57 GMT -5
I really wanted to like Omac, it has some great designs and there are some neat ideas in it. But man, Kirby's art is really ugly and that dialogue... Yeah, I agree. Sometimes the dialogue is really stilted at times and Kirby's art isn't the best (It was actually the first Kirby book that I read as a teen and it kind of put me off of his work for a long time until I started getting more passionate about comics in my 20's). However, like Berkley said, it's still filled with a lot of neat science fiction ideas though
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Post by spoon on Jan 16, 2024 20:41:30 GMT -5
I've been reading my recently purchased Batman: The Silver Age Omnibus vol. 1. So far I've read the Batman stories from Detective Comics #233-235 and Batman #101-102. I'm really enjoying it thus far. It's got its share of coincidences and silly premises, but the key is just to suspend disbelief and enjoy the gimmick in a given story. At this point of the Omnibus, the stories haven't gone full sci-fi craziness yet. There's one time travel story, but the stories are still somewhat grounded. It's its own funky mix of gritty and goofy. Characters still get killed. A pilot who suddenly developed a fear of heights describes being admitted to a mental hospital before ending up on skid row.
A couple of the stories I've read are significant events in Bat-History. Detective Comics #233 features the first appearance of Batwoman (Kathy Kane). It's quite the time capsule piece, because has its share of sexism, but also unintentional (or implicit?) criticisms of sexism. Batwoman's utitlity belt gadgets are beauty items, like a compact mirror and perfume. Also, Batman tries to force Batwoman to retire because fighting crime is supposedly too dangerous for her. The script contains no explicit admonitions of Bruce's viewpoint but undercuts it. For instance, Batwoman keeps catching the crooks or saving Batman. She seems capable of taking care of herself rather than in need of paternalistic protection. Even though Batman seemingly succeeds in convincing Batwoman to retire, Robin wonders aloud whether they'll ever fight crime together again. Finally, Batwoman's origin is basically a combination of the origins of Batman and Robin, so it seems hypocritical for them to decide she's ill-prepared.
The other milestone story "The First Batman" from Detective Comics #235, which retcons Batman's origin. Now, seeing a bat fly in the window drew upon Bruce's subconscious memories of his father, Dr. Thomas Wayne, dress as a Bat-Man in a costume party and thwarting mobsters. Also, his death at the hands of Joe Chill (called Joey here) is part of a plot rather than a random crime. I think I like the older version better, but it's cool to finally read a story I've known about since way back when I read the Batman 50th anniversary book by Mark Cotta Vaz. Speaking of Thomas Wayne, another story mentions criminals killing Bruce's father, as if his mother wasn't killed as well.
Other stories I've enjoyed so far is one in which Robin has to fight crime solo when Batman is a supposedly dead, a tale in which three men's lives are changed when each has a turn wearing a copy of Batman's cowl, and a story in which a group of entertainers (a magician, a contortionist, etc.) help Batman solve a crime.
The one story that made it annoying to suspend disbelief had Batman being gifted an urban headquarters and showing a disturbing lack of caution.
I also read The Saga of Crystar, Crystal Warrior #6. That sounds random, but I bought it for the obscure X-Men content: guest appearances from Nightcrawler and Amanda Sefton. It has a cool Michael Golden cover, while the story pairs writer Jo Duffy and penciler Ricardo Villamonte. Crystar is a toy tie-in, but the characters were actually created by Marvel first and licensed to a toy company, rather than vice versa. Since it's outside the main Marvel Universe, it involves some interdimensional teleportation. It's a sword and sorcery tale so Nightcrawler is in his element. The mythos don't motivate me that much to check out other issues, but the script is courteous enough to give a rundown of characters and background presumably for X-Men readers who were buying their first Crystar.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 18, 2024 22:33:22 GMT -5
I got Batman #324 in the mail a few days ago and I read it already. It's some pretty cool Bronze Age Batman. With Catwoman trying to go straight and being struck with a fatal disease and the main thing standing between Selina and the cure is Catman! My only quibble ... I'd rather see a classic contest between BAD Catwoman and Catman, not a story where Selina is trying to give up her criminal ways and fighting for her life and basically being there for Batman to save her. Selina is not a damsel in distress. And I would love to see Catman challenging Catwoman ... and finding out that he's way in over his head.
I also got some new comics, Catwoman #61, Jay Garrick #4, Wonder Woman #5 and Capwolf #4. I read them all within a few hours after I got them. The three DC comics were all very good or better! Capwolf ... has nice art. (It's OK. A story defeated by extreme modern decompression.)
So the only thing I haven't read yet is To Wake the Mangog.
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Post by spoon on Jan 21, 2024 0:06:15 GMT -5
I read Ka-Zar the Savage #1-2 (the 1980s series). It's written by Bruce Jones, with really nice art by Brent Anderson and Carlos Garzon.
The issue starts with Ka-Zar and Shanna having a philosophical debate about whether civilization is good or not. Like Ariel, Ka-Zar wants to go where the people are. Also, he's concerned that his sabretooth Zabu is missing. I'm not sure how long Ka-Zar and Shanna had been involved at this point. But they have a roll in the grass, and later he asks Shanna about making a permanent commitment (unclear if that a proposal or something less). She tells him to go find his tiger first. Ka-Zar somehow considers this a "hiking the Appalchian Trail" euphemism. That's because he tracks Zabu to a valley called Pangea where he runs into Queen Leanne of Zarhan who is seeking her own tiger, Felina. Zabu is really following Felina who is in heat, while Ka-Zar has his own off-panel action with Leanne and then professes his love. Felina is rescued from a tribe that sacrifices cats. But when they all get to Leanne's fabulous home city, Ka-Zar is unwelcome and Leanne unceremoniously dumps him.
Next issue, Shanna tracks Ka-Zar to Pangea. They're rescued from a fall by the winged people of the Aerie. The Aerie is at war with the Pterons, who look like Sauron but more yellow. Turns out that the Pterons have kidnapped Leanne, whose kingdom is allied with the Aerie. They hatch a play to rescue Leanne and destroy their Pterons by collapsing their cave. Ka-Zar is reluctant to help out because he doesn't want to clue Shanna into their bizarre triangle. Shanna pushes him to help. The mission becomes a mess when it turns out her kidnapping was a ruse so she could elope with Sep of the Aerie. Ka-Zar, quite hypocritically, is outraged that Leanne is two-timing him, and Shanna overhears their confrontation. Quite confusingly, the Pterons actually are double-crossing Leanne and Sep. In the end the Pterons are defeated, but in a literal cliffhanger Ka-Zar chooses to rescue Shanna rather than Leanne. Shanna is grateful by Ka-Zar meeting the low bar of saving her life instead of the chick that cheated on him, but it feels like there's unfinished business.
The writing is really interesting. Ka-Zar is three-dimensional in the sense that he partly a jerk rather than unambiguously heroic. He has a crisis of personal meaning, cheats on Shanna, and tries to avoid fights when the odds are against him or he thinks it will backfire instead of the doing the heroic thing no matter the danger.
I'm also continuing with the Batman Silver Age Omnibus vol. 1, reading the stories from Batman #103-104 and Detective Comics #236-237. We get some conflicting examples of whether criminals can reform. There's also a story in which Batman acts like a clutz (or a jerk), but thankfully explains partially why he smashed the trophies given to him. We also get a story the presages the idea that Robin can be replaced, an early Bat-Hound appearance, and a story that give Alfred some focus. Although the stories in this Omnibus have more grounded so far, there is also one sci-fi type story where Batmand and Robin help some nautical adventures try to catch a mysterious sea monster/dinosaur. Batman doesn't seem sufficiently concerned that they might be disrupting an endangered species, but the story ends slightly better than it starts.
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Post by dbutler69 on Jan 21, 2024 8:52:37 GMT -5
I've been reading my recently purchased Batman: The Silver Age Omnibus vol. 1. So far I've read the Batman stories from Detective Comics #233-235 and Batman #101-102. I'm really enjoying it thus far. It's got its share of coincidences and silly premises, but the key is just to suspend disbelief and enjoy the gimmick in a given story. At this point of the Omnibus, the stories haven't gone full sci-fi craziness yet. There's one time travel story, but the stories are still somewhat grounded. It's its own funky mix of gritty and goofy. Characters still get killed. A pilot who suddenly developed a fear of heights describes being admitted to a mental hospital before ending up on skid row. A couple of the stories I've read are significant events in Bat-History. Detective Comics #233 features the first appearance of Batwoman (Kathy Kane). It's quite the time capsule piece, because has its share of sexism, but also unintentional (or implicit?) criticisms of sexism. Batwoman's utitlity belt gadgets are beauty items, like a compact mirror and perfume. Also, Batman tries to force Batwoman to retire because fighting crime is supposedly too dangerous for her. The script contains no explicit admonitions of Bruce's viewpoint but undercuts it. For instance, Batwoman keeps catching the crooks or saving Batman. She seems capable of taking care of herself rather than in need of paternalistic protection. Even though Batman seemingly succeeds in convincing Batwoman to retire, Robin wonders aloud whether they'll ever fight crime together again. Finally, Batwoman's origin is basically a combination of the origins of Batman and Robin, so it seems hypocritical for them to decide she's ill-prepared. The other milestone story "The First Batman" from Detective Comics #235, which retcons Batman's origin. Now, seeing a bat fly in the window drew upon Bruce's subconscious memories of his father, Dr. Thomas Wayne, dress as a Bat-Man in a costume party and thwarting mobsters. Also, his death at the hands of Joe Chill (called Joey here) is part of a plot rather than a random crime. I think I like the older version better, but it's cool to finally read a story I've known about since way back when I read the Batman 50th anniversary book by Mark Cotta Vaz. Speaking of Thomas Wayne, another story mentions criminals killing Bruce's father, as if his mother wasn't killed as well. I love me some Batwoman. I need to get myself more comics with her in them (I've added this Omnibus to my Amazon wish list). Anyway, your comments about the combination of sexism yet showing her as competent remind me of the Filmation Batman cartoon from 1968 which I recently finished watching. In it, Batgirl is often the smartest one in the room and sometimes rescues Batman & Robin yet she is also often portrayed as a bumbling female superhero who needs to be rescued by the male superheroes. Interesting dichotomy. I suspect they tried to be progressive but being 1968, and these guys doing the wiring probably having grown up in the 40's, this was probably about the best they could do. Oh, and I too prefer the Batman origin where his parents' deaths are some random crime rather than part of some conspiracy. I hate retcons like this. It brings in too much coincidence and also makes Gotham seems smaller (if that makes sense) and makes things too interconnected, rather than making a statement on how there's all of this random crime out there. But hey, at least they didn't make the Joker his parents' killer, like in the 1989 Batman movie.
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Post by spoon on Jan 21, 2024 15:20:02 GMT -5
I've been reading my recently purchased Batman: The Silver Age Omnibus vol. 1. So far I've read the Batman stories from Detective Comics #233-235 and Batman #101-102. I'm really enjoying it thus far. It's got its share of coincidences and silly premises, but the key is just to suspend disbelief and enjoy the gimmick in a given story. At this point of the Omnibus, the stories haven't gone full sci-fi craziness yet. There's one time travel story, but the stories are still somewhat grounded. It's its own funky mix of gritty and goofy. Characters still get killed. A pilot who suddenly developed a fear of heights describes being admitted to a mental hospital before ending up on skid row. A couple of the stories I've read are significant events in Bat-History. Detective Comics #233 features the first appearance of Batwoman (Kathy Kane). It's quite the time capsule piece, because has its share of sexism, but also unintentional (or implicit?) criticisms of sexism. Batwoman's utitlity belt gadgets are beauty items, like a compact mirror and perfume. Also, Batman tries to force Batwoman to retire because fighting crime is supposedly too dangerous for her. The script contains no explicit admonitions of Bruce's viewpoint but undercuts it. For instance, Batwoman keeps catching the crooks or saving Batman. She seems capable of taking care of herself rather than in need of paternalistic protection. Even though Batman seemingly succeeds in convincing Batwoman to retire, Robin wonders aloud whether they'll ever fight crime together again. Finally, Batwoman's origin is basically a combination of the origins of Batman and Robin, so it seems hypocritical for them to decide she's ill-prepared. The other milestone story "The First Batman" from Detective Comics #235, which retcons Batman's origin. Now, seeing a bat fly in the window drew upon Bruce's subconscious memories of his father, Dr. Thomas Wayne, dress as a Bat-Man in a costume party and thwarting mobsters. Also, his death at the hands of Joe Chill (called Joey here) is part of a plot rather than a random crime. I think I like the older version better, but it's cool to finally read a story I've known about since way back when I read the Batman 50th anniversary book by Mark Cotta Vaz. Speaking of Thomas Wayne, another story mentions criminals killing Bruce's father, as if his mother wasn't killed as well. I love me some Batwoman. I need to get myself more comics with her in them (I've added this Omnibus to my Amazon wish list). Anyway, your comments about the combination of sexism yet showing her as competent remind me of the Filmation Batman cartoon from 1968 which I recently finished watching. In it, Batgirl is often the smartest one in the room and sometimes rescues Batman & Robin yet she is also often portrayed as a bumbling female superhero who needs to be rescued by the male superheroes. Interesting dichotomy. I suspect they tried to be progressive but being 1968, and these guys doing the wiring probably having grown up in the 40's, this was probably about the best they could do. Oh, and I too prefer the Batman origin where his parents' deaths are some random crime rather than part of some conspiracy. I hate retcons like this. It brings in too much coincidence and also makes Gotham seems smaller (if that makes sense) and makes things too interconnected, rather than making a statement on how there's all of this random crime out there. But hey, at least they didn't make the Joker his parents' killer, like in the 1989 Batman movie. I get what you mean about Gotham being smaller. The random crime scenario underscores the pervasiveness of crime in Gotham. Batman's crusade addresses the criminal element as a universal thing. If it was a target attack, is the mission as resonant when the mastermind is stopped? It also reminds me of how Wolverine's past used to be shrouded in mystery, but then more and more characters had past history with him and it dilutes the mystery.
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Post by dbutler69 on Jan 22, 2024 9:30:03 GMT -5
Exactly!
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Post by chadwilliam on Jan 22, 2024 13:10:26 GMT -5
I've been reading my recently purchased Batman: The Silver Age Omnibus vol. 1. So far I've read the Batman stories from Detective Comics #233-235 and Batman #101-102. I'm really enjoying it thus far. It's got its share of coincidences and silly premises, but the key is just to suspend disbelief and enjoy the gimmick in a given story. At this point of the Omnibus, the stories haven't gone full sci-fi craziness yet. There's one time travel story, but the stories are still somewhat grounded. It's its own funky mix of gritty and goofy. Characters still get killed. A pilot who suddenly developed a fear of heights describes being admitted to a mental hospital before ending up on skid row. A couple of the stories I've read are significant events in Bat-History. Detective Comics #233 features the first appearance of Batwoman (Kathy Kane). It's quite the time capsule piece, because has its share of sexism, but also unintentional (or implicit?) criticisms of sexism. Batwoman's utitlity belt gadgets are beauty items, like a compact mirror and perfume. Also, Batman tries to force Batwoman to retire because fighting crime is supposedly too dangerous for her. The script contains no explicit admonitions of Bruce's viewpoint but undercuts it. For instance, Batwoman keeps catching the crooks or saving Batman. She seems capable of taking care of herself rather than in need of paternalistic protection. Even though Batman seemingly succeeds in convincing Batwoman to retire, Robin wonders aloud whether they'll ever fight crime together again. Finally, Batwoman's origin is basically a combination of the origins of Batman and Robin, so it seems hypocritical for them to decide she's ill-prepared. The other milestone story "The First Batman" from Detective Comics #235, which retcons Batman's origin. Now, seeing a bat fly in the window drew upon Bruce's subconscious memories of his father, Dr. Thomas Wayne, dress as a Bat-Man in a costume party and thwarting mobsters. Also, his death at the hands of Joe Chill (called Joey here) is part of a plot rather than a random crime. I think I like the older version better, but it's cool to finally read a story I've known about since way back when I read the Batman 50th anniversary book by Mark Cotta Vaz. Speaking of Thomas Wayne, another story mentions criminals killing Bruce's father, as if his mother wasn't killed as well.I love me some Batwoman. I need to get myself more comics with her in them (I've added this Omnibus to my Amazon wish list). Anyway, your comments about the combination of sexism yet showing her as competent remind me of the Filmation Batman cartoon from 1968 which I recently finished watching. In it, Batgirl is often the smartest one in the room and sometimes rescues Batman & Robin yet she is also often portrayed as a bumbling female superhero who needs to be rescued by the male superheroes. Interesting dichotomy. I suspect they tried to be progressive but being 1968, and these guys doing the wiring probably having grown up in the 40's, this was probably about the best they could do. Oh, and I too prefer the Batman origin where his parents' deaths are some random crime rather than part of some conspiracy. I hate retcons like this. It brings in too much coincidence and also makes Gotham seems smaller (if that makes sense) and makes things too interconnected, rather than making a statement on how there's all of this random crime out there. But hey, at least they didn't make the Joker his parents' killer, like in the 1989 Batman movie. Brave and the Bold #184 has Batman "learning" that his father conspired with gangsters to enrich himself financially. Of course, by issue's end he discovers otherwise, but during that brief period when Batman is convinced that the evidence against his father is irrefutable, he stands before his parents' grave and makes this declaration: "I didn't want to believe it, dad, but that tape was the clincher... I realize now you're not the good, decent man whose death I've tried to avenge after all these years... in fact, you're no better than the worst criminals I've fought in your name! To continue The Batman's career would make me as much a hypocrite as you were, so I've decided... it's time for The Batman to die!"(to "die" in this instance meaning retire) The problem is that at no point in this story is Martha Wayne falsely incriminated by the crook behind this set-up. There is no indication that she knew of or was in any way complicit in her husband's nefarious deeds. In other words, despite remaining unsullied by these revelations, Batman doesn't give avenging her murder a second thought - it's all about his dad. Batman #47 (where Batman confronts Joe Chill) has our hero finally closing the case of his parents' murder at issue's end. However, when he writes 'CLOSED' on the casefile which he presumably has been keeping in The Bat-Cave, the dossier reads 'MURDER OF THOMAS WAYNE CLOSED' - again, no mention of Martha Wayne. What really underscores the injustice done to Martha here is how stupid Thomas Wayne comes across in every retelling of Batman's origin. A nameless mugger demands Martha Wayne's necklace. Rather than give up the jewelry and live, the unarmed Thomas Wayne decides to pick a fight with the gunman and naturally gets himself and his wife killed. Stupid. Which is why I actually like the revelation that Chill was hired to kill The Waynes by Lew Moxon. This way, Thomas Wayne isn't a reckless moron getting himself and his wife killed over a necklace but a desperate man who has nothing to lose when he lunges at an assassin. Admittedly, Thomas Wayne doesn't know that Chill has orders to kill him, but Finger's revelation does create a context in which the reader, at least, understands that his actions have suddenly become the only sensible thing to do in that situation. And speaking of the mothers of superheroes - what's up with Lara's whole "My place is here with you" rejection of Jor-El's insistence that she get in that rocket during Krypton's final moments anyway while we're at it?
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Post by spoon on Jan 22, 2024 21:05:14 GMT -5
I love me some Batwoman. I need to get myself more comics with her in them (I've added this Omnibus to my Amazon wish list). Anyway, your comments about the combination of sexism yet showing her as competent remind me of the Filmation Batman cartoon from 1968 which I recently finished watching. In it, Batgirl is often the smartest one in the room and sometimes rescues Batman & Robin yet she is also often portrayed as a bumbling female superhero who needs to be rescued by the male superheroes. Interesting dichotomy. I suspect they tried to be progressive but being 1968, and these guys doing the wiring probably having grown up in the 40's, this was probably about the best they could do. Oh, and I too prefer the Batman origin where his parents' deaths are some random crime rather than part of some conspiracy. I hate retcons like this. It brings in too much coincidence and also makes Gotham seems smaller (if that makes sense) and makes things too interconnected, rather than making a statement on how there's all of this random crime out there. But hey, at least they didn't make the Joker his parents' killer, like in the 1989 Batman movie. Brave and the Bold #184 has Batman "learning" that his father conspired with gangsters to enrich himself financially. Of course, by issue's end he discovers otherwise, but during that brief period when Batman is convinced that the evidence against his father is irrefutable, he stands before his parents' grave and makes this declaration: "I didn't want to believe it, dad, but that tape was the clincher... I realize now you're not the good, decent man whose death I've tried to avenge after all these years... in fact, you're no better than the worst criminals I've fought in your name! To continue The Batman's career would make me as much a hypocrite as you were, so I've decided... it's time for The Batman to die!"(to "die" in this instance meaning retire) The problem is that at no point in this story is Martha Wayne falsely incriminated by the crook behind this set-up. There is no indication that she knew of or was in any way complicit in her husband's nefarious deeds. In other words, despite remaining unsullied by these revelations, Batman doesn't give avenging her murder a second thought - it's all about his dad. Batman #47 (where Batman confronts Joe Chill) has our hero finally closing the case of his parents' murder at issue's end. However, when he writes 'CLOSED' on the casefile which he presumably has been keeping in The Bat-Cave, the dossier reads 'MURDER OF THOMAS WAYNE CLOSED' - again, no mention of Martha Wayne. What really underscores the injustice done to Martha here is how stupid Thomas Wayne comes across in every retelling of Batman's origin. A nameless mugger demands Martha Wayne's necklace. Rather than give up the jewelry and live, the unarmed Thomas Wayne decides to pick a fight with the gunman and naturally gets himself and his wife killed. Stupid. Which is why I actually like the revelation that Chill was hired to kill The Waynes by Lew Moxon. This way, Thomas Wayne isn't a reckless moron getting himself and his wife killed over a necklace but a desperate man who has nothing to lose when he lunges at an assassin. Admittedly, Thomas Wayne doesn't know that Chill has orders to kill him, but Finger's revelation does create a context in which the reader, at least, understands that his actions have suddenly become the only sensible thing to do in that situation. The funny thing is that I don't recall either "The First Bat-Man" or another story in this Omnibus that mentioned the murder actually referring to Martha Wayne. It's as if they forgot she was killed too (or maybe I've forgotten whether her death was actually in the original version).
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Post by Chris on Jan 23, 2024 1:34:50 GMT -5
Brave and the Bold #184 has Batman "learning" that his father conspired with gangsters to enrich himself financially. The problem is that at no point in this story is Martha Wayne falsely incriminated by the crook behind this set-up. There is no indication that she knew of or was in any way complicit in her husband's nefarious deeds. In other words, despite remaining unsullied by these revelations, Batman doesn't give avenging her murder a second thought - it's all about his dad. I believe at that time, the wife would have been assumed to be, if not actually involved, at least aware of a husband's actions, legal or not. I could be wrong though. What really underscores the injustice done to Martha here is how stupid Thomas Wayne comes across in every retelling of Batman's origin. A nameless mugger demands Martha Wayne's necklace. Rather than give up the jewelry and live, the unarmed Thomas Wayne decides to pick a fight with the gunman and naturally gets himself and his wife killed. Stupid. Which is why I actually like the revelation that Chill was hired to kill The Waynes by Lew Moxon. This way, Thomas Wayne isn't a reckless moron getting himself and his wife killed over a necklace but a desperate man who has nothing to lose when he lunges at an assassin. Admittedly, Thomas Wayne doesn't know that Chill has orders to kill him, but Finger's revelation does create a context in which the reader, at least, understands that his actions have suddenly become the only sensible thing to do in that situation. I personally don't have a problem with the idea of Thomas Wayne trying to fight back. In a situation like that, there's really no right answer, a gunman might shoot you and/or your family no matter what. At least by fighting, Wayne had a chance of saving his family even at the cost of his own life. But if a revision is needed, I think a better retcon would be for Thomas Wayne to not have resisted but get shot anyway. It maintains the pervasiveness of crime that spoon mentioned while not making Wayne reckless. And speaking of the mothers of superheroes - what's up with Lara's whole "My place is here with you" rejection of Jor-El's insistence that she get in that rocket during Krypton's final moments anyway while we're at it? I believe at some point it was established (pre-1986) that having Lara in the rocket would jeopardize the chances of the rocket making it to Earth. The rocket was only a prototype, a family size rocket would have come later after testing the prototype and making sure it worked - (if I recall right, even though Jor-El correctly predicted the explosion of Krypton, even he was surprised by how fast it came) - and since the prototype rocket was so small and the drive not fully tested to see how much weight it could carry without going off-course, the additional weight of a full-grown adult would probably be too much. Sending Kal-El alone gave him much better odds of surviving the trip. However, this could be one of those things that established in a letters column or text page and not an actual story, I don't remember for sure. If you're talking about the 1986 version, then I don't know. It's Byrne, I don't bother asking questions.
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Post by chadwilliam on Jan 23, 2024 15:12:45 GMT -5
Brave and the Bold #184 has Batman "learning" that his father conspired with gangsters to enrich himself financially. The problem is that at no point in this story is Martha Wayne falsely incriminated by the crook behind this set-up. There is no indication that she knew of or was in any way complicit in her husband's nefarious deeds. In other words, despite remaining unsullied by these revelations, Batman doesn't give avenging her murder a second thought - it's all about his dad. I believe at that time, the wife would have been assumed to be, if not actually involved, at least aware of a husband's actions, legal or not. I could be wrong though. I wondered if this might have been the case myself, but I didn't see anything in the story which implied this catch. However, something which I didn't mention in my initial post but perhaps should have is the fact that from that 1948 retelling of Batman's origin up until at least the late 1960s, Martha Wayne's death was attributed to "the shock" of seeing her husband gunned down. I didn't mention it because I thought that this revision didn't come about until after the Comics Code was put into place, but after taking another look at Batman #47 (the issue I criticized for acknowledging the murder of Thomas Wayne but not Martha) that retcon was around even then (and I suspect where it originated). Technically then, Chill didn't "murder" Martha Wayne hence my criticism losing its validity on that point. I suspect that 20 years of thinking of Martha Wayne as dying indirectly from Chill's actions created a mindset in writers that even after her proper origin was reinstated, it was difficult to consider her as anything other than a bystander in her own death rather than a fully fledged character.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 23, 2024 17:24:04 GMT -5
As I was driving back from the desert today, I was on the 210 driving through Rancho Cucamonga and I realized that I was just a few blocks away from a comic book store that I haven’t been to for a while. So I got off the freeway and went to the store and I was browsing through the old Superman comics, and I bought Superman #291.
I also bought some new comics, Detective Comics #1081 and Power Girl #5.
And then when I got home, Batman #256 was waiting for me in the mailbox.
I haven’t read any of them yet. So the comics that I have lying around that I haven’t read yet are …
To Wake the Mangog (Thor Epic Collection)
Batman #256
Superman #291
Detective Comics #1081
Power Girl #5
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 24, 2024 15:45:35 GMT -5
I read most of the comics I got yesterday. Superman #291 was one of those Bronze Age Superman stories that make no sense that I love. Power Girl and Detective were pretty good.
And then I went by my regular comic-book store and picked up a couple of books that were sold out at the place I went to yesterday. Harley Quinn #36 and Spider-Woman #3. I haven’t had a chance to read those yet.
So here’s what I have laying around that I haven’t read yet:
To Wake the Mangog
Batman #256
Harley Quinn #36
Spider-Woman #5
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Post by MRPs_Missives on Jan 24, 2024 17:18:49 GMT -5
I recently read through the 1st years worth of Adventures in the DC Universe, the pseudo-anthology/showcase book done in the animated style from the late 90s, when the Batman and Superman animated series were airing but not Justice League yet. Each issue featured a different hero, though the Justice League was in issue 1, and that issue set the stage for some ongoing plots that ran in a lot of the lead features. Many issues also had 7 page back ups (with 15 page lead stories), several of which also tied to the plots set up in the initial issue. It was more fun than a rolling barrel of monkeys, and I hope to get to the final 7 issues plus annual sometime soon. They were all well written with strong visual storytelling done in the "Adventures" style that DC used for the animated tie-ins. -M
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Post by kirby101 on Jan 24, 2024 18:53:10 GMT -5
I very much liked the Superman Adventures book. For a time it was written by Mark Millar and drawn by a talented artist Aluir Amancino, who went on to work in Animation I believe.
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