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The ‘90s Revisited: Batman #476

Posted on February 15, 2024 by Walt

baman0476The Return of Scarface! Part Three: The Gig Heat!

Writer: Alan Grant
Artist: Norm Breyfogle
Colorist: Adrienne Roy
Letterer: Todd Klein
Assoc. Editor: Kelley Puckett
Editor: Dennis O’Neil
Cover Price: $1.00
Cover Date: April 1992

In this day and age (February 2024), comic covers are virtually meaningless. People even seem to collect "virgin variants" that don’t even carry the TITLE, or cardstock variants that don’t have the actual big, bombastic, noticeable logos, etc. And there are so many variants with any given issue from any given publisher that there’s no way to keep ’em all straight from one issue to another. The best one (I?) can seem to hope for is to somehow determine something is "the next issue" of a series I follow, and hope that when/if I get around to actually READING the thing that it’s worth my $5.

So let’s jump back 32-some years. Let’s look at Batman #476 (from an era when a comic might see a #1 issue in the 1940s and 50 years later still be continuing the numbering without 35 reboots, 16 universe re-shapings and umpteen mini-series any given week).

In sorting through my accumulation, this issue REALLY stuck out to me…just by the COVER. We have a view from behind as Batman actually UNMASKS in front of a stunned woman in a hospital bed–who I mistook for Barbara Gordon but is actually Vicki Vale (oops, wasn’t she blond in the ’89 Tim Burton flick?).

But there was just something to the visual that so stood out to me–I had never read this issue before–that amidst hundreds of other issues being sorted through and stuck away for filing, I HAD TO set this one aside to READ. Because of the stupid COVER IMAGE grabbing my attention, holding my attention, spurring some thoughts and wonderment, and leaving me flat-out INTERESTED in reading the issue to see how this played out, if it was exactly as the cover depicted, or something sensationalized, etc.

I had no idea from the cover that this was a Scarface/Ventriloquist issue. But apparently it’s a THIRD chapter of a story…yet the cover proclaims NOTHING of the sort. No Event banner or Event designation/trade dress. This is just "another" issue or "a next issue" that happens to continue some ongoing story. There’s not even a "recap page" or a "What Came Previously" caption to catch one up. As a reader, one is just simply thrown on into the story! Some masked gunmen burst into a hospital room, obviously intending to Do Some Harm to Ms. Vale. Batman swoops in through the window, disarms and knocks out the gunmen, then unmasks in front of the startled woman, as she realizes Bruce Wayne actually IS a hero and not some weak, bumbling fool. She proclaims her love for him after all, they kiss, and…yeahhhh, Bruce’s mind wandered while he waited in the hospital to be allowed in to see his (apparently former) flame.

Scenes shift and we check in with the Gotham City Police Commissioner, and separately a gang of goons, as some plan gets put in motion. Meanwhile, Bruce is working up the nerve to tell Vicki that he’s Batman (apparently they’d broken up and he’s interested in ‘getting her back’ and thinking Total Honesty might work). But just as he’s about to Say The Words, he sees the Bat-signal lit up over the city, and Duty calls.

Over the next few pages, we see Scarface’s plan unfurls: an apparent informant luring the police to some deal at a chemical plant between rival gangs. Batman (apparently withOUT his Batmobile) finds Sarah Essen manning the Bat-signal instead of Gordon, who has gone on ahead with police, unwilling to wait for the Batman to do their jobs for them. As the Street Demonz and the other gang start shooting, the police are at a disadvantage–especially Gordon, who has his glasses shot off, but thankfully not his head. As time goes on, it’s revealed there’s a bomb, and Scarface’s plan involves eliminating the competition and the Batman and whatever police are caught in things, leaving him to reign over crime in the city. Batman stops Essen from going into the plant after Jim, retrieving the commissioner himself…and realizes that for her love for Gordon, she could have been killed. This leads to his ultimately going back to Vicki after things are wrapped up, and NOT revealing his Big Secret…as he doesn’t want his love for her to lead to her being killed.

So this was definitely NOOOOT at all what I "expected" from the issue. The "big reveal," as I should have recalled to be typical of the time, was a cover "fake-out," where we see it happen on-page, BUT it’s "just a [day]dream sequence." Still, the cover reflected something from INSIDE the issue, which is more than I can say for most comics in 2024! Not to mention it got me to pick the issue out of hundreds to actually read; though obviously I’d already BOUGHT it some time ago for it to already be in my collection.

Visually this one has a defffffinite "early" look to me, from my earliest days being into comics. With an April cover date in 1992, I imagine this likely came out in January or February, barely off 1991, so still close enough to the ’80s to practically BE ’80s. And for me, Norm Breyfogle’s work is certainly a huge part of those early days, particularly his work on Detective Comics [including my first-ever issue in #604]. In fact, this is the same writer/art/colorist/inker team AS that issue of Detective!

On the surface level, the story didn’t really thrill me. I’m not exactly a fan of Scarface/Ventriloquist, nor am I overly familiar with the Bruce/Vicki thing except knowing it had existed enough to at least be incorporated into the ’89 film. It’s also strange to–after what seems like most of the past 20 years–have so much "Bruce" WITH the "Batman." So I’m not thrilled with the story, but I definitely appreciate seeing Bruce here…as human, as someone that CAN get nervous, as someone that IS fallible, etc. It’s a deeper portrayal than I feel I’ve seen in a long time, and reminds me how much I enjoyed Batman stuff as a kid and how little I enjoy it now.

I knew I remembered Grant/Breyfogle working together, and Grant prior to Shadow of the Bat, though I’m most recently familiar with Grant FROM Shadow of the Bat, reading Cataclysm along with the NML Podcast my friend Chris is doing. That’s also where I’m most recently familiar with Scarface and Ventriloquist…especially their inability to say "B"-words, or I might’ve been more put-off by the use of "G" for "B". The Gig Heat being the BIG Heat for this issue.

Due to reading this issue, my most recent comic shop visit included noticing that part 1 was in the previous issue, and I was shocked at a $10-$15 price on the thing! I would by NO MEANS consider this issue to be "worth" anything like that, and was able to enjoy this enough for what it is withOUT spending double-digit dollars on the thing…and it does not have enough for me to suggest or recommend anyone ELSE pay double-digit dollars. Assuming I have the previous couple chapters in my possession already, I might dig ’em out to read…but otherwise I’m gonna chalk this up to a reasonable one-shot-read.

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Ultimate Black Panther #1 [Review]

Posted on February 12, 2024 by Walt

ultimate_blackpanther_0001Writer: Bryan Hill
Artist: Stefano Caselli
Color Artist: David Curiel
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover Artists: Stefano Caselli & David Curiel
Design: Jay Bowen
Assistant Editor: Michelle Marchese
Editor: Wil Moss
Editor in Chief: CB Cebulski
Cover Date: April 2024
Cover Price: $5.99
Published By: Marvel Comics

It seems like a long time since I reviewed any "current issue" of a comic, let alone a Marvel comic. I’m far more keen on facsimile editions and non-"current year" stories these days than current stuff coming out from most publishers. And then this issue is riding all sorts of hype and speculation, apparently, between skyrocketing prices of even the "A" cover of Ultimate Spider-Man #1 and a distributor reportedly losing thousands of copies of this issue’s "A" cover, and of course the USUAL (modern-day) speculation crap involving constant first issues and umpteen variant covers that exceed the number of story pages for a given issue, and so on.

I bought all four issues of Ultimate Invasion last year, though when the series was announced, I’d planned to stay away from it. I vaguely recall actually READING the first couple issues, but I’m not sure I read the latter ones, as yet. Based on what I was hearing about Ultimate Spider-Man just before its premiere issue came out, I snagged that one, and waffled on Black Panther…wavering still on whether or not to "embrace" this new Ultimate Universe, even if only for nostalgia of the original. Given the hype on this issue, I elected to visit a second shop when the first was sold out, and snagged a copy, leaving behind 2 copies.

I hate that it seems so many modern comics are "about" the speculation, variants, and pretty much anything but the story inside the covers; and I’m frequently reminded that even as a young teenager I had speculated that publishers could simply polybag a bundle of blank pages behind a cover and call it a day, and probably few would even notice. So let’s dig in here on the actual story.

The issue opens on the apparent slaughter of a village, while two shadowy figures prepare to report what they’ve seen to their king. We then cut to a just-awakened T’Challa conferring with his wife Okoye after a bad dream. Reflecting on how traditions must change, T’Challa visits with his father T’Chaka, former king, who counsels that he listen to what the Vodu-Khan have to say about things. T’Challa later meets with his sister Shuri (woman-at-arms) and the spies we saw at the beginning as T’Challa learns of the attack. Though Shuri and T’Challa clash on response, T’Challa elects not to leap into war based on reports…though he intends to act in some form. Elsewhere as another attack unfolds, a new figure–Killmonger–appears on the scene to defend against the Ra/Khonshu invasion. Finally, at an annual Celebration of Life gathering in Wakanda, suicide bombers appear, and T’Chaka shoves his son off the building just before the explosion. Arriving at the ground in Black Panther mode, T’Challa–The Black Panther–declares that the enemy is Moon Knight and Wakanda is at war.

I think the best part of this issue for me is the art. I really liked it, at least in and of itself. I don’t know that it’s such that I would have flipped this open and chosen to buy it due to the art if I wasn’t already interested in buying it…but for reading it, the art fit, I liked it, and in whatever subjective way I interpret "art," it worked for me.

That said, I’m less thrilled at the overall issue (and sure, the art gets as much blame as the writing, I’m sure) feeling so "cinematic." This came off very much like the adaptation of something from a tv show, to me, more than being its own original comic. Having barely a dozen words on a 2-page spread SCREAMS "cinematic" to me, and remains a "cheat" on pagecount/story in my eyes. Even though this was an extra-sized (and extra-priced) issue, it read very much as a standard-sized one, which isn’t horrible but isn’t good, either.

Much of what I take from characterization is a combination of interpreting this as an alternate reality, and drawing on what I recall of Priest’s 1998 Black Panther series from Marvel Knights, with a certain influence from the MCU films that had T’Challa, T’Chaka, Okoye, and Shuri.

With only this single issue to go on, I’m definitely inclined to pick up the next issue and perhaps keep on with the series, assuming it’s more than a "stealth mini-series" at this point. While I understand this to be in the same Ultimate Universe as Ultimate Spider-Man, I do hope the titles stay pretty much self-contained, and with that they should be good companion books free of loooooads of other continuity things making so many modern comics unappealing to me.

I’m glad I got this issue, particularly to READ, and that I enjoyed it juuuuust enough to "justify" the price. I have a hard time recommending someone spend $6 on a single-issue of a comic, but you could definitely do WORSE than this one…though it’s not exactly all that meaty. It’s some fresh air from main Marvel continuity stuff.

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The ’80s Revisited? – Batman #428 "Faux-simile" Edition

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Walt

batman0428fauximileA Death in the Family

Writer: Jim Starlin
Penciler: Jim Aparo
Inker: Mike DeCarlo
Letterer: John Costanza
Colorist: Adrienne Roy
Asst Editor: Dan Raspler
Editor: Denny O’Neil
Cover Art: Mike Mignola
Cover Price: $4.99

Batman arrives back at the warehouse just after it’s exploded. Searching the wreckage, he finds Sheila just before she dies. And then…Robin. But he’s ALIVE! Kid in the hospital, the rest of the issue plays out much as it originally did—Bruce returns to the US, sees to it that Sheila is buried properly, goes after the Joker, is confronted by Superman, and learns of the Joker’s new “promotion” that keeps him from touching the murderer if he wants to avoid an international incident.

Well, that was NOT what I expected. I’ll have to dig out my copy of the original issue, and/or the older TPB to check page-by-page…but I’m pretty sure the only REAL differences were text boxes and "that" panel–"He’s alive!" vs. head bowed in grief.

As I went through this faux-simile, though, it hit me as a great example of how different a story can be/go with just a few word changes…and how much we may or may not "read between the lines" or insert our own feelings, etc.

The Joker goes on about stuff having left the kid for dead…NOTHING about that had to change. But reading a few words about Jason being ALIVE lets one consider how "foolish" the Joker was to not confirm his kill, and/or build up feelings of "oh, he’s gonna be in for a shock when Batman catches up to him!" or whatever.

I think of the ’80s animated GI Joe movie where they apparently had intended to kill off Duke; but after Transformers and the actual death of Optimus Prime they backtracked a bit. As I’m recalling it offhand, there’s some dialogue about Duke pulling through, or is going to pull through, or whatever…but you still don’t see the guy on-screen again. They easily could have referenced his NOT having pulled through, but due to action there’s no time to get a funeral on-screen, or logically they just wouldn’t get TO it yet (if all the action is same-day, for example).

I’d also forgotten how many pages we had leading up to Batman FINDING Jason, and the way ads spaced things out for the pages, drawing along some drama as Batman goes through the warehouse wreckage.

I said this was NOT what I expected–I suppose I EXPECTED a lot more change to the issue and more of a visual difference…that there’d be at least several PAGES of different art to the story.

Having Jason be "in a coma" obviously tracks with his being ALIVE, and accounting for the horrific injuries from the explosion. AND accounts for him not being in #429…dead or in the hospital in a coma, he wouldn’t be physically capable of anything "on-panel" of story significance, and the point of the story is NOT hospital drama of Bruce lingering by the bed listening to machines, etc…so in "classic" "compressed" style, we’d get the focus on Batman, Superman, Joker, etc in #429 and would just have to "know" that the kid’s alive in the hospital but no longer pertinent to the story at hand (Joker as ambassador targeting the UN).

This issue has one of THE MOST iconic (to me) covers in comics; one I was very aware of long before I ever got to own a copy myself…probably from the back cover of an early TPB edition of the entire story (from a local library, back in the day). It’s by Mike Mignola…likely better known nowadays for Hellboy. I often forget that he DID do stuff for DC back then…This cover definitely works for conveying something from the issue–namely that we have a badly-injured-from-an-exploding-warehouse-Robin; and yet the blood spatter was Comics Code Authority-approved.

The interior art being Jim Aparo is fantastic, especially compared to what I think of nowadays. Aparo and John Byrne and Norm Breyfogle (and it’s waned on me over the years, Jim Lee) are probably my favorite Bat-artists. Visually this issue is up there with the heart of Knightfall, such as Batman #497 (the Batcave slugfest between Bane and Batman).

This thing was $4.99 ($7.99 cover price on the foil variant!). I’m not quite sure why the extra dollar on a standard-length issue (Batman #405 facsimile—Year One part 2—came out the same day with the same number of story pages for $3.99). But I suppose it’s technically a “new” issue for not being a 100%-straight-reprint, so they snuck the extra dollar into the price. I’ve quit buying Batman in part for the price increase…and at the least, the price increase has "kept" me away from buying the title for the current issues. Considering the importance of this issue in pre-2004 Bat-history and it commanding higher prices as a back issue, I can be a LOT more "forgiving" of the $5 price; and it’s much more palatable somehow. (Even though the ads technically become “story pages” since they’re not putting NEW ads in with stuff…seems “off” having 428 & 405 together with the difference in pricing!)

For me personally, I enjoyed this issue/experience, seeing how the issue could have been different all those years ago, getting the thoughts/examples in my face of how different "tweaks" can impact a story.

If you’re not all that familiar (or at all) with A Death in the Family and/or prefer much more recent Batman to ’80s/’90s Batman, this may not be "worth it" to you.

But if you’re like me, this is well worth the pickup.

Some comparisons:

428_01_orig

First from the original take in #428.

428_01_faux

And then here’s the “new”/alternate from the faux-simile.

428_02_orig

The infamous full-page image…

428_02_faux

But it’s smaller for the alternate take, making room for several additional panels (since the kid’s survived and that has to be explained, vs. just the grave moment)

428_02_bat_ann_25

And since they’d included it in the TPB I was referencing, here’s the page that we were given in Batman Annual #25, without the extra words.

428_03_orig

Context, conveying a lot in just a few words…

428_03_faux

A slight change of wording omits Jason, since the alternate take is that he actually survived.

428_04_orig

Original panel…

428_04_faux

Slightly re-worded without Jason.

428_05_orig

The original version, mother and son side-by-side.

428_05_faux

Alternatively, a single coffin and simply no extra reference to Jason.

428_06_orig

A poignant moment with Alfred after the funeral…

428_06_faux

Orrrr Dick checks in with Bruce in the hospital after the funeral of Jason’s mother.

And then looking into #429, we have a few panels that would take very little alteration of words to account for Jason living.

429_01

“Injured” vs. “Killed,” perhaps.

429_02

Make past tense present tense, and the Joker “did that to” rather than “murdered"?

429_03

“Hurt” instead of “murdered”…

429_04

“in a coma” instead of “dead”…

429_05

“nearly killed”…

Now, even having this alternate take…with DC releasing the 4-issue Year One issues weekly, it seems like other 4-parter classics like Death in the Family, Year Two, and so on would be ripe for facsimiles. Even The Dark Knight [Returns]. If they can do Vengeance of Bane as a “regular” (if extra-pages) facsimile instead of squarebound, why not those?

Time will tell, but such reprints would get ME buying Batman for the duration…

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Grails Update October 2023

Posted on October 19, 2023 by Walt

After "passing" on a copy several years ago at Carol & John’s before the "pandemic spike" of absolutely delusional, ridiculous pricing on comics, I figured even a 3rd print of TMNT #1 was out of reach for me, for my price range.

But a couple weeks ago, an email from Kenmore listed some new TMNT acquisitions…which included a 3rd print of #1. And while it was definitely more expensive than the CNJ copy a few years back…it was at a price I was willing to pay, and I jumped on it.

tmnt_1_3rdprint

I was introduced to the TMNT in 1989 or so, while Dad was Den Leader for my Cub Scout group. Meeting was at the old house in Eastlake, and someone flipped the tv to this cartoon that I initially thought was dumb, but soon totally got onboard with. I remember Dad taking some of us (I think as friends and not as Cub Scouts) to the 1990 film; I was definitely "into" the TMNT by then.

Suffice it to say I was aware of the original Mirage TMNT #1 cover/image at LEAST by 1992, when TMNT #50 came out (with an updated version of the classic image). I feel like I recall seeing #1 listed somewhere back then in the $300 range and thinking that was absolutely ridiculously expensive and farrrrr outta reach. (Which, to a middle school kid most certainly WAS true).

That’d be a STEAL nowadays in 2023.

However, after seeing that copy at CNJ, I resolved that the 3rd print of #1 was attainable (to me)…if only "someday." Though I grew to DOUBT that, as said, with the spike in pricing the last several years.

This copy I just got now holds the record as THE most expensive single comic I have EVER bought in my life–more, even, than any Omnibus hardcover or other collected volume. It also beats out the copy of Uncanny X-Men #141 that I got at a show in early December 2021 that Dad was SHOCKED at learning what I’d paid, but figured it was my money, made me happy, and not like I was buying drugs or such.

And I’ve updated my "grails" list…though I’m sure there are plenty of other issues I’m also interested in. These now are specifically "notable" though I’m not in any huge rush to obtain them.

With the price of modern new comics’ cover prices also spiking lately to $4.99…I yet again need to be trimming back on what I’m buying. And even stuff I’d otherwise be perfectly interested in is getting hard to justify in the "generic" sense of being "just another" issue to come out any given week. (More on that soon, possibly).

Updated Grails List:

  • Mirage TMNT vol. 2 # 10
  • Body Count (Image TMNT/Casey/Raph mini) #1
  • Body Count (Image TMNT/Casey/Raph mini) #2
  • Body Count (Image TMNT/Casey/Raph mini) #3
  • Body Count (Image TMNT/Casey/Raph mini) #4
  • Mirage Donatello: The Brain Thief #4
  • Image TMNT #s 1-18, 21+
  • Mirage TMNT #2 (2nd print)
  • Mirage TMNT #3 (1st print van cover)
  • Mirage TMNT #3 (2nd print splinter vs mousers cover)
  • Mirage TMNT #4 (1st print green sketchy cover)
  • Mirage TMNT #4 (2nd print Nintendo box art cover)
  • TMNT IDW #1 (Donnie cover)
  • DC Comics Presents #26
  • TMNT IDW #1 (wraparound cover)
  • Archie C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa (vol. 1) #1
  • Archie C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa (vol. 1) #2
  • Archie C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa (vol. 1) #3
  • Archie C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa (vol. 2) #1
  • Archie C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa (vol. 2) #2
  • Archie C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa (vol. 2) #3
  • Battletech: Fallout #1 Hologram cover
  • Mortal Kombat: Blood and Thunder #1 Hologram cover
  • Max Yearbook (1990 Marvel) #1 (hologram cover)
  • Onslaught: X-Men gold edition
  • Spawn #s 132, 134, 136-149, 151-175, 177-184, 190, 194-198, 203-256

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The Before: Re-Consolidating the X-Collection June 2022

Posted on June 3, 2022 by Walt

Dropping the ball on covering Eclipso: The Darkness Within, but c’est la vie…writing for myself, so not too big a deal, no?

The Memorial Day holiday through me off a bit; as well as general "real-life" stuff, as well as some minor "physical labor" displacing some "writing time" and "mood" and such.

Figured as a filler non-content post, I’d post a couple "before" pics, focusing on my pre-HoX/PoX collection of X-Men.

xmen_from_2yearsago_june3_2022b

These 15 shortboxes house my pre-July 2019 X-Men collection, as of my May 2020 sorting/consolidation.

A little over two years ago, I lugged these all downstairs and put them on a rack. Other than grabbing several issues last August or so for the Chris Claremont signing, they’ve remained basically untouched…

…to now be hauled back up the stairs once again.

Because even though I’ve barely touched the boxes’ contents themselves…I’ve been pointedly whittling down my "missing X" list for the past two years. And the time has finally come to re-consolidate stuff…and see where I now actually stand in terms of what’s missing.

And perhaps THIS time actually get data input into an inventory app to begin actual record that way of my collection!

xmen_from_2yearsago_june3_2022a

I doubt I’ll have as many photos as two years ago that I took during the project, but time will tell.

I’m guestimating that overall I’ve likely got at least 2-3 shortboxes’ worth of issues to work into these, and some definite shuffling to do organizationally to better "prepare" for filling out runs and such.

Hauling these boxes up also marks the beginning of some longer-range plans and expectations, as well as a bit of a weird feeling in the gut as I begin a "takeover" of "The Cave" in a way I’d never actually wanted the "opportunity" for.

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The ’90s Revisited – Action Comics Annual #4

Posted on May 25, 2022 by Walt

90s_revisited

action_comics_annual_004Living Daylights

Written by: Dan Vado
Pencilled by: Chris Wozniak
Inked by: Karl Altstaetter, Trevor Scott, Karl Kesel, Steve Mitchell
Lettered by: Albert De Guzman
Colored by: Matt Hollingsworth
Assistant Edited by: Dan Thorslan
Edited by: MIke Carlin
Cover Art by: Joe Quesada
Cover Date: 1992
Cover Price: $2.50
Published by: DC Comics

[Note: Apparently I covered this issue once before, back in October 2013. This 2022 post is my current take on the issue.]

Professor Bennet’s daughter Mona is still under Eclipso’s control. Superman and the Justice League plead with him for help but he’s got nothing to offer. Superman decides that the only option left is that he turns himself over to Eclipso in exchange for the citizens of Crater Bay. He leaves without knowing the League’s plans, as that would just tip Eclipso off. While the League prepares for a battle with an eclipsed Superman, the man of steel goes through with his plan and gets himself eclipsed. With the help of Lex Luthor II and Professor Hamilton they get a new solar trap ready…but it’s got to be installed and is on a timer, so Booster/Fire/Ice attempt to keep Eclipso-Superman busy until the "cavalry" arrives. Said cavalry is Captain Marvel, with the power of SHAZAM…Earth’s Mightiest Mortal, The Big Red Cheese, yadda yadda yadda. A number of pages are eaten up with the fighting between Captain Marvel and Eclipsed Superman…amidst their battle, the League attempts to deal with the many eclipsed citizens…and the town winds up burning. Jerry–who we met in Superman Annual #4–meanwhile comes across the solar device and manages to change its timer to go off much sooner. Ultimately, the Crater Bay townsfolk are freed from Eclipso…but the town has been practically destroyed, and Eclipso gets away with Superman’s body.

As much as I wrote summarizing this issue, it’s a very loose summary…you’ll get a lot more out of reading the actual issue.

For me, this is very much a "key issue" that I remember from being a kid and first reading it in the summer of 1992. I’m pretty sure this was my first exposure to Captain Marvel in any "modern" sense…and was definitely one of my earliest exposures to the 1992 incarnation of the Justice League.

The cover is very memorable to me, with an enraged, eclipsed Superman in a chokehold from Captain Marvel and the tagline "The EVIL of ECLIPSO vs. the Power of SHAZAM!" It’s certainly one of my earlier exposures to Joe Quesada’s art.

I recall covering at least one issue of the Lightning Strikes Twice story that ran in Action Comics #826/Adventures of Superman #639/Superman #216 for comiXtreme/csPulp back in 2005 (ahead of the lead-up to Infinite Crisis) and feeling like it retread a bunch of stuff…and citing this particular issue as why it felt like such a retread. (Interesting to me to note that at the time, Lightning Strikes Twice was 13 years removed from Eclipso: The Darkness Within…but LST is now 17 years removed from the present!)

On this read-through I found the story to be fairly basic and simple…though that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Superman gives himself up to Eclipso, the League calls in Captain Marvel, and fighting ensues. Despite expectations that the heroes would "win" and get Superman back, they don’t…and we’re left to get more of the story (and resolution) elsewhere.

The art didn’t impress me all that much, though it’s not bad. Superman seems too large at points, but overall characters I should recognize, I do…and no one looks so "off" as to be any great problem or disappointment to me. Passive acceptance of the art rather than any active response on my part.

While the issue isn’t terribly "deep," it’s definitely a "favorite" for me, if only as a bit of nostalgia. Summer 1992 and this Eclipso event were parts of my main "deep dive" into comics, that has more or less lasted for 30+ years now. I can concretely "place" this exact issue as something I definitely read that summer, I have memories of shared time with a friend, discovering comic shops, and other things that have stuck with me long-term.

I remember thinking that Eclipso: The Darkness Within had a much more linear, serialized story, largely based on this issue’s opening feeling like it came directly out of a previous issue released immediately prior. This does feel like a much more "crucial" chapter of the event than say, The Demon Annual #1 or The Flash Annual #5. With this issue, though, I am at about the halfway point of the event, though it’s breezed through 3 of 4 Superman titles of the time. I look forward to getting to the final Superman Annual and the bookend issue of the event that finished things out…but I’m definitely also curious as to how the rest of the Annuals will read. This feels like a late issue, but with half the event yet to go, we’ll see how I take ’em!

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Filed under: 2022 Posts, 2022 Reviews, Eclipso the Darkness Within, The '90s Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The ’90s Revisited – Flash Annual #5

Posted on May 18, 2022 by Walt

90s_revisited

flash_annual_005Run-In!

Story: Mark Waid & Craig Boldman
Pencils: Travis Charest
Inks: Dan Davis with Scott Hanna and John Lowe
Letters: Tim Harkins
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Edits: Brian Augustyn
Cover: Charest & Davis
Cover Date: 1992
Cover Price: $2.50
Published by: DC Comics

This issue opens with some context narration from Wally West–the Flash. As he’s out jogging he notices a building that wasn’t there before. On investigation, he finds the Trickster, and winds up ambushed by the Weather Wizard. The rogues escape…and Wally recuperates had his friend Chunk’s place. Chunk, apparently, has a black whole inside himself AND knows Wally is The Flash. Wally helps Chunk with a new device, which pretty much blows up in their faces–a warp effect arced with Chunk’s singularity, but they’re able to get it shut down. Elsewhere…Trickster, Weather Wizard, and Captain Boomerang find themselves summoned by Golden Glider…who ‘borrowed’ Captain Cold’s device to do so. She introduces them to Chillblaine…and ropes them into a plan for a heist…to steal a black diamond! Later, we see each party arrive "early," having designs on getting the treasure without the others’ involvement. Glider kisses the guys, poisoning them…and offers an antidote to whoever brings her the diamond. Flash gets involved–taking the diamond from the rogues, and having the offer extended to him as well. Flash finds himself in some sort of metal boot contraption attached to the globe-thing containing the black diamond. While Flash faces the rogues, it turns out that Glider already got the genuine diamond, and the one being fought for is a fake. Flash gets the boot device off, and he and the rogues soon learn that it’s some sort of explosive. Flash gets rid of it before anyone’s actually blown up. As Glider and Chillblaine rejoin the battle, she begins displaying Eclipso’s likeness and abilities. In the fight…Flash winds up possessed by Eclipso. The rogues slink away.

I’ll be all over the place on this one, I think. First thing, the issue ends with Flash possessed, AND a note of "End!". There’s no "To Be Continued in…" nor any blurb for where to go from here for this event. After the first few chapters directed the reader onward…this is the second annual to not do that, after The Demon. THAT one seemed tangential enough to be self-contained with no such direct continuation or follow-up…but it’s not quite the same for The Flash!

This came out in 1992…still RELATIVELY early in Wally’s career as The Flash. I’d forgotten about the whole "eating thing" for him keeping up his energy because of his speed-metabolism. And his lack of confidence and trying to measure up to Barry…stuff like that.

I liked that this felt mostly self-contained…being (re) introduced to Wally/The Flash; meeting some rogues, learning about them, seeing their interaction with Wally and each other…I actually mostly forgot that I was reading an "Eclipso issue"–other than "a black diamond" being referenced for a heist, there was nothing about Eclipso here. No Bruce Gordon showing up, no "eclipsed Starman" or other shapeshifter; no Eclipso himself monologuing his plans to obtain Flash, etc.

For the first 46 or so pages.

Glider’s got the black diamond, though, and winds up possessed by Eclipso briefly…but long enough to provoke Wally and eventually get HIM. Over 2/3 of an issue and it’s relatively routine-ish seeming stuff for Flash, in a Flash comic…and then some obligatory Eclipso action and an ending.

Except having the hero possessed at the end doesn’t seem like a proper ENDING…though it does seem an interesting "cliffhanger." So I’m a bit baffled at there not being any notes of where to pick up…even if it’d be to the very end with the 2nd bookend issue of the event.

Visually this felt like a strong issue.  I’m not sure if this is the "regular" art team for the Flash title at the time…but the work is quite good here and certainly fits the snippets I remember for early-Wally-Flash, and I’d be more than willing to read further work with this entire creative team.

Other than my repetitive noting of there not being any "To Be Continued" note, this is a solid, fun issue that gives a good taste of Flash stuff, includes some Eclipso for "theme," and actually has me thinking about–and curiosity up about–the main Flash series at the time. That’s a blind spot for me in DC, though…maybe I’ll get to it someday.

There doesn’t seem to REALLY be enough Eclipso here to fully justify it as a part of an event…though it DOES explain how the villain got Flash, assuming that fact comes into play later in the overall event. Instead of just being "told" later that Eclipso got him, this gives the details. Outside of that, this was a fun (of sorts) read, and definitely worth the time TO read, and I’d say quite worth a bargain-bin purchase.

Not the greatest Flash, certainly not the worst…but one of the better Annuals I can think of offhand for sampling the series while serving another event and inspiring interest in the ongoing series!

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Filed under: 2022 Posts, 2022 Reviews, Eclipso the Darkness Within, The '90s Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Free Comic Book Day 2022

Posted on May 11, 2022 by Walt

I don’t even remember when Free Comic Book Day started…though I’m thinking offhand it was 2002, making this year’s ‘event’ the 20-year-anniversary, and the 21st FCBD. Buuut I could be off by a year or two; though I vaguely recall my senior year of college (spring 2003) being at least the SECOND FCBD, so…yeah. I could google it I’m sure, but this is an off-the-cuff rambling/stream-of-consciousness post.

As I’m typing this, I’m more or less planning to let this BE my "post for the week," as I don’t have any great expectations of getting the next Eclipso: The Darkness Within issue read AND written up in time; so this first "haul" post since losing Dad will take its place, and I’ll get back to "real" content next week, hopefully!

On to Free Comic Book Day 2022!

Met up with an old friend after too many years–made for some good catching up, shared time, and of course–comics!

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Plenty of other folks have posted stuff on the branded "FCBD" comics, so I’ll skip those.

Took advantage of a couple sales to knock out MOST OF the rest of Uncanny X-Men that I’ve been working on for yeeeeeears. Thanks to this, I’m now–as of this typing and according to my records–only missing #532 from having #s 139-544!

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Happened across these two mini-comics and couldn’t pass them up. I’m sure I had them as a kid, and MIGHT still have them SOMEWHERE (if so, likely in a box of ephemera I haven’t really dipped into since my last move in 2016) but if my originals are indeed lost to time, I knew darned well I’d kick myself for passing them up!

As best I can tell/recall, these would have been pack-ins with the VHS tapes from Pizza Hut in 1993 (1 had the 2-part Night of the Sentinels and 2 had Enter: Magneto and Deadly Reunions–the first four episodes of the X-Men animated series.

On the whole, definitely more than I’d planned to spend for the weekend, but I do feel like it’s helping whittle away at my missing-X stuff, and it’ll be nice to "complete" a phase of Uncanny X-Men. Get that last issue and I’ll pretty much be casually looking for LOW-grade/reader-copy "raw" (non-‘slabbed’) copies of the title, working backward with the Dark Phoenix Saga and then just see how far back I eventually go. It’ll complete my most recent intent of filling in to have #141-the end (544), but having snagged several of the Dark Phoenix issues already, I’m inclined to just keep going back on occasion. As I’m looking for low-grade copies and everyone seems to deal with graded and/or high-grade slabbed stuff, we’ll see what happens!

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Filed under: 2022 Non-Review Posts, 2022 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The ’90s Revisited – The Demon Annual #1

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Walt

90s_revisited

demon_annual_001Ex-Nihilo…Death!

Script: Alan Grant
Pencils: Joe Phillips & David Johnson
Inks: John Dell
Colors: Robbie Busch
Letters: Todd Klein
Editor: Dan Raspler
Cover Art: Joe Phillips
Cover Date: 1992
Cover Price: $3.00
Published by: DC Comics

Jason Blood and his pal Harry (some sort of human pillow?) arrive in San Francisco. Not long after, they’re attacked by some large creature and Jason is forced to call forth Etrigan to fight it. Meanwhile, some kid and his cat are on the scene stirring up some trouble of their own. Etrigan’s adversary is eventually recalled–apparently this was just a test for Etrigan by some old guy. The old guy is Nihilo, and he’s confronted by Jason and the kid–apparently his nephew–also known as Klarion (the witch boy). Nihilo regales his "guests" with his story, which comes down to his having been cursed with immortality by the cruelty of Eclipso. And with Eclipso apparently being back, Nihilo seeks death before Eclipso’s attention returns to exacerbate his suffering.

Klarion, however, attempts to invoke Eclipso to kill the Demon Etrigan. He winds up "eclipsed," along with Teekl (his cat), and we get another lengthy fight scene. Along the way, Eclipsed Klarion seems to burn out Nihilo’s eyes as punishment, and ultimately, Eclipso seems to have the Demon beat…but Harry intervenes, creating an illusion of sunrise, which spurs Eclipso to move Klarion and Teekl underground, abandoning the fight in favor of preserving his control over their magical bodies. Etrigan lives, and rides off with Harry and a large "The End" closing out the story.

I went into this issue "blind." Other than some very loose basics, I’m almost wholly unfamiliar with The Demon and Etrigan outside of an episode or two of Justice League Unlimited, his appearance in 1999’s Judgement Day, possibly Final Night, and a few issues of Demon Knights (being The New 52, though, could be vastly different!). Ditto with Klarion. I didn’t even know who the kid was til the name was put out there, and then I only know whatever I read (and have presently forgotten) from the Grant Morrison mini whenever that 7 Soldiers stuff was out. I vaguely knew of Etrigan being a "rhyming" demon and definitely appreciated some of the rhymes in the issue (outside of the story itself, a writer being able to make mostly-sensible rhymes work is fairly impressive to me for whatever reason).

I’m not all that clear on the actual relationship between Jason Blood and Etrigan outside of there being at least a bit of an adversarial thing. Is Etrigan related to Merlin? Or is that someone else? There’s not much "background" here as far as Blood and the Demon. Despite that, this was a fairly self-contained issue…which gives it more credit with me for being a $3 issue–a 20% increase on the prior chapters of Eclipso: The Darkness Within being $2.50. This is also the first non-squarebound issue of the event. This is one I’m highly confident I did NOT ever read before, though it was an interesting enough read as a first-time thing in 2022. Even though I didn’t know the characters, I feel like I got to know or recognize the "essential" bits.

Visually, this had a certain "darker" style to it that put me in mind of early issues of Batman: Shadow of the Bat (though PART of that may be Alan Grant’s name with this issue). Something to the visuals also put me in mind of older Hellblazer issues and perhaps Vertigo stuff as well.

Readers are directed to this issue from Justice League America Annual #6…but other than that, there’s really nothing here that seems to truly tie in to the event. Having read previous chapters, I have a bit more context for Eclipso…but I don’t think it’s really needed in reading this…we get filled in contextually with what we "need" to know. If there was no "meta" context of having read prior chapters, this would seem a standalone story to me, and not a bad one at that. There’s also no direction to the "next" chapter of Eclipso: The Darkness Within…and with Eclipso seemingly "defeated" for the purposes of this issue–"driven off," at least–we get a conclusion of sorts that doesn’t push us into another chapter.

As I do not recall reading any other issues of the title from the ’90s–except perhaps the Bloodlines Annual–this was a decent introduction of it to me; the extra length to the issue giving more room for things to play out beyond what "just" a normal single issue would have. It doesn’t obligate me to check recent issues, nor to dive into subsequent issues. Even within the event itself, this seems more like a one-shot/special that happens to feature the characters. As "a" #1, this is additionally worthwhile if fished out of a cheapo-bin. #1, extra-sized, dark, contained…and yet ties into the overall event by virtue of referencing a black diamond and having Eclipso.

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Filed under: 2022 Posts, 2022 Reviews, Eclipso the Darkness Within, The '90s Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

The ’90s Revisited – Justice League America Annual #6

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Walt

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justice_league_america_annual_006Maximum Eclipse

Dark Design: Dan Jurgens
Writer: Dan Mishkin
Penciler: Dave Cockrum
Inker: Jose Marza, Jr.
Letterer: Clem Robins
Colorist: Gene D’Angelo
Editor: Brian Augustyn
Cover Date: 1992
Cover Price: $2.50
Published by: DC Comics

This issue opens with an introduction to Eclipso and his plotting (aka "monologuing") before cutting to a bickering Justice League (in 2022, seems this one’s the "Bwa-Ha-Ha!" JL). Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Guy Gardner, Fire, Ice, Maxima, Bloodwynd…and loosely, apparently, Superman. The group (along with Bruce Gordon) awaits Superman’s arrival on his request, and is joined by Metamorpho. Superman attempts to recruit Wonder Woman, but she turns him down for reasons. Elsewhere, Eclipso takes control of a jewelry store security guard that leads to Wonder Woman deciding she cannot forego helping the League.

The League bickers some more, while Ice and Maxima each have reactions to Wonder Woman’s presence regarding Superman. Maxima and Metamorpho wind up storming off, leaving the rest of the group to deal with things. Maxima is quickly met by the Eclipsed Starman, who hands her a Black Diamond. The angry Leaguer is immediately possessed by Eclipso, and used to go on a super-powered rampage. This splits the League, with Blue Beetle left at HQ to work on a solar device with Gordon and the cooled-off/returned Metamorpho, while the rest set out to deal with the super-powered threat. There’s a prolonged confrontation with the Eclipsed Maxima, while Eclipso seems to show up "in person" at HQ to attempt to kill Beetle. Lots of fighting, Eclipso (via Maxima’s psychic abilities) gets temporary hold of Wonder Woman, while Beetle trashes HQ evading and fighting Eclipso. In the end, Wonder Woman is freed of Eclipso, but the villain maintains control of Maxima…and the League returns ‘home’ to find Blue Beetle missing.

In 2022, I feel like these annuals keep taking me off-guard in their length and density. Any one of these annuals has the "feel" of at least a couple–if not SEVERAL–modern comics’ issues. Broken record that I am, that seems fitting, as each title in the even had a single (annual) issue participating, where present-day these WOULD all be at least 2-3 issue miniseries!

This issue felt at once jam-packed and yet surfacey to me. While very AWARE OF this incarnation of JLA, I’m not nearly as familiar with it as I perhaps ought to be; and this is an issue I definitely had never read before. On the whole, I enjoyed reading through this and getting an action-packed adventure…it’s certainly plenty in one issue to "justify itself" to me.

The writing doesn’t blow me away, but definitely comes off as rather familiar (if not cliché) in the presentation of the characters. This almost feels trope-y to me, with the characters a slight step above caricatures or such. I recall Ice having a crush on Superman, and the Guy/Ice dynamic, but don’t think I’d recalled stuff being so blatant or melodramatic. At the same time, that’s also something to be said for "thought bubbles" still being a part of comics 30 years ago where they’re rarely present these days.

I liked the art overall in this issue, and was rather surprised when I actually took in the credits to write this post–Dave Cockrum. THE Dave Cockrum? I tend to think of him and the X-Men…not so much anything for DC. That’s another thing for being in 2022 and reading these, though: I’m looking back at comics from THIRTY. YEARS. AGO. Of course creators like Cockrum were still around THEN!

The opening scene of Eclipso reads like the start of any particular story to me, which works well here. It’s primarily introduction and context to set the issue up, but has expected vague references to place this as part of a continuing thing. Though we don’t get some definitive conclusion/ending, overall this seems to stand on its own. Having read other "Eclipso Annuals" recently, I have a fuller context here…but this reads more like picking up the start of a story amidst an ongoing series than picking up a middle chapter of some event series.

I can’t speak much to this issue’s place within the main title, but taken alone I’d say if you’re a fan of (or curious about) this era of JLA, this is another issue that’s likely at least worth grabbing from a bargain bin and reading.

I’m "curious" where the story goes from here in terms of the ‘event’ and have some vague recollections from reading other issues back in the ’90s, at least regarding Maxima.

The issue itself ends with a "To Be Continued" directing one to The Demon Annual #1, which was apparently on-sale the same week as this very issue…a change from the apparent "weekly" gaps between Annuals thus far.

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Filed under: 2022 Posts, 2022 Reviews, Eclipso the Darkness Within, The '90s Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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