Comics are Awesome III

[andersonh1]

A couple of interviews about Flash War:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPuAHR1 ... u.be&t=640

http://comicbook.com/dc/2018/05/23/flas ... interview/

[andersonh1]

If there was ever a character who does not fit in the dark and dreary DC/Watchmen crossover that is Doomsday Clock, it's Johnny Thunder. But he's in it, and has apparently found Alan Scott's lantern. Does that mean Dr. Manhattan kidnapped the Thunderbolt?



I didn't care for the first issue of Doomsday Clock, and I'm not reading the series, but I may pick up individual issues if characters I'm interested in have prominent roles.

[andersonh1]

Aquaman/Jabberjaw #1
I've never seen an episode of Jabberjaw. I got the book because I like Paul Pelletier's depiction of Aquaman, and because I hoped it would recapture some of the old shark banter from the Peter David Aquaman series, or at least remind me of it. The art's good, the story is a weird mix of Hanna Barbera cartoon zaniness mixed with attempts to hammer home a social justice message about tolerance along with some character moments for Aquaman. I expected it to be tonally jarring and it is. It almost works, but even with the backup, it's not really worth your $4.99.

Edit: I'm going to reverse course a bit and say that this actually works pretty well. I looked up Jabberjaw over the weekend, and it seems to have been a bit of an adventure series with villains and topical issues, despite the fact that it has a band with a talking shark as a drummer. So it's not quite as much of a genre mismatch as I thought. And I did enjoy the book more on a second read-through, so I'll elevate my evaluation a bit.

Man of Steel #1
I've now read a Bendis-written comic. Mostly quite good, except for the return of nervous, stammering Clark Kent, who we left behind with the Crisis. Otherwise it splits the story between the past, where Rogar Zaal tries to convince a circle of aliens (including Guardian Apa Ali Apsa) that the Kryptonians are about to turn expansionist and threaten other planets in their area of space, a notion the group ultimately denies, voting that the Kryptonians must be allowed to rise and fall on their own.

In the present day, there's a stream of probable arson fires in Metropolis, and much of the book is Superman helping put out the fires, rescue people, and interact with various others along the way, including a firefighter from the west coast who just arrived. Superman is well written, in my opinion, and in this issue Bendis seems to have grasped his character well. The last few pages of the book show Clark, Lois and Jon, and then a white haze much like the white light of entropy from Zero Hour starts to fill the page. Don't know if it's meant to be the same thing or not, but hints are dropped at several points in the issue that something's happened to Lois and Jon. Good start to this weekly series.

Doomsday Clock #5
I still have no plans to buy every issue of this series, but about a quarter of the book dedicated to Johnny Thunder heading to the All-American steel factory to find Alan Scott's lantern was enough to draw me in for at least this issue. The overall plot progresses with Ozymandias and Rorshach looking for Dr. Manhattan and interacting with Batman and Saturn Girl, respectively. Meanwhile the world is rapidly turning against superheroes, convinced the US government is manufacturing them. Batman is beaten up badly by a crowd in Gotham, where the Joker's men find him. The various interconnecting plots are dark, violent, and have more profanity than the standard DC comic. LIke issue 1, it's often deeply unpleasant to read, as if the Watchman world is bleeding over into DC, which I'm sure is deliberate in this universal mash-up. Adrian Veidt even lectures Batman on the endless runaround of locking up criminals only to have them escape and repeat the cycle, while he brags about all he did on his world to make the world a better place. Of course, it was about to be destroyed by nuclear war when he abandoned it to look for Dr. Manhattan, so how much did he really accomplish?

In any case, poor 102 year old Johnny Thunder, with no friends and no Thunderbolt, takes a bus to the disused All-American steel factory in PIttsburgh to find Alan Scott's lantern. It's a bad neighborhood, and some crazy junkies try to kill him. He runs, finds the lantern, is attacked and then saved by Rorshach and Saturn Girl, with Rorshach wondering just what the lantern is. DC seems quite fond of writing the JSA out of continuity and then returning them. By my count this is the third time after Crisis and Zero Hour. Maybe it will take the idealistic original DC heroes from the 1940s to defeat the deconstructionist Watchmen characters. Who knows?

[andersonh1]

The Man of Steel #2
This is not, as I assumed when the covers were first shown, an origin story. In fact, I'm not sure why we're not just seeing these issues as issues of Action or Superman, because it's Bendis setting up his story in the present day, combined with flashbacks to the time of Krypton's destruction. Krypton's destruction so soon after Rogol Zaar recommended genocide against Krypton is suspicious, but while Appa Ali Apsa seems to believe that Zaal is responsible, he and the others are afraid enough of Zaal that they hope he died in the explosion. Appa in particular goes to visit Zaar's planet, and hopes "all the other ugly secrets" died with him.

Back in the present day, the arson in Metropolis continues, and gossip about where Lois Lane is also continues, with Clark carrying on alone. Something appeared last issue, but this time we're shown what it is, but I still can't describe it. In other plotlines, Superman captures the Toyman out in Coast City and spends a few minutes chatting with Hal Jordan before returning home. Ambush Bug gets a cameo, and Zaal, not shown in full, learns that there are living Kryptonians still.

Justice League #1
Another day, another "first" issue of Justice League. It's a good one as these things go, with a better lineup: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg, Flash (Barry Allen), John Stewart and the Martian Manhunter, acting as chairman and telepathic coordinator for the group. We get the Hall of Justice and Legion of Doom headquarters from the old Superfriends show as Luthor puts together his own group consisting of himself, Joker, Sinestro, Grodd, Cheetah, and Black Manta. The plot evidently follows up from No Justice (which I did not read) and involves some terrible threat from beyond the Source Wall. The artist reminds me of a better John Romita in some ways. It's a dialogue heavy book, which often makes me feel like I get more for my money. It's good but not great. Justice League is one of those books that in theory I'm always interested in, but in practice it depends on the approach and art and whether the story hooks me.

[andersonh1]

Man of Steel #3
The story continues to move along quickly as Superman brings Batman in to investigate the arson in Metropolis, and Rogal Zaar finds the Fortress of Solitude and not only trashes it, but apparently kills everyone in the bottle city of Kandor. That gets the attention of Superman and Supergirl, who end up almost where we found them in Action Comics 1000, fighting a losing battle against Zaar in Metropolis, though as the issue ends it's just about to begin. Meanwhile we learn only slightly more about what happened to Lois and Jon, as the thing that appeared in their apartment was a ship of some kind with a pilot, hidden in shadow so we don't yet know who he is. Three issues in, and I'm really enjoying the series so far.

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #46
All four main Lanterns get some page time. Hal gets a sample of how powerful Hammond is (and appears to have lost his sense of identity when last we see him) and it's hinted that it's Hal's fault the Darkstars have appeared in their current form. Kyle is imprisoned with Highfather refusing to allow Orion to help with the Darkstars (though I'd bet he'll do it anyway). John wants Zod's help to build a teleportation disrupter to negate this advantage the Darkstars have. And Darkstar Guy Gardner goes to execute his father for abusing him as a child, only for Arkillo to show up to stop him. All four plotlines have varying levels of effectiveness and engagement, but I enjoyed them all. Which is good, because the forward momentum of the main plot grinds to a halt as they play out.

Hawkman #1
I think Venditti has tapped into some of what made Carter Hall appealing when he first appeared in the 1940s, without making him as brutal and bloodthirsty as Geoff Johns did. Carter has returned to archeology, but he's searching for who he is, given that he's reincarnated so many times. In the 1940 origin story, the reincarnation was used to explain who he was and drive the plot, and was never mentioned again. Geoff Johns made it a bigger part of who Carter Hall was, and Venditti expands on that here as Hawkman investigates an ancient outpost of Gorilla City to find a artifact that can reveal his past to him, only to fight off a giant Gorilla golem. It should probably be risable, but it's played dead straight and it works. Afterward Carter goes to London to visit Madame Xanadu and with the artifact learns that he's not only been reincarnated across time, but across space as well. Interesting mystery, but I hope there's a good explanation.

Flash #48
Flash War part 2 has Wally regain his memories of his children, Jai and Iris, as well as remembering who the (apparently now powerless) Hunter Zolomon is. Zolomon says that the Speed Force "once a wonder has become a prison" and that others are trapped, and Wally has to break it to free them, something Barry is very cautious about attempting, warning Wally of the possible consequences. But Wally does not care, and says as much. He just wants his children back. And as the issue closes, it's very much implied that from the very first time they raced, Wally has always been faster than Barry. The race is on....

[Sparky Prime]

IDW is going to have a Transformers vs. Star Trek mini-series in September. I really like that they went with the original Transformers cartoon aesthetics with the Star Trek Animated Series. Hope this will be as good as the Star Trek/Green Lantern crossover.

[Dominic]

Barber's "generic comic" style might work for this. A cross-over between Trek and TF is not a new idea. But, it will be nice to get an official release for it.

[andersonh1]

I like the idea of using an old animated style for the characters. 1984 models for Transformers, early 70s animated Star Trek for the Trek characters. That alone makes me curious.

I hope it's better than the Star Trek/Doctor Who crossover with the Borg/Cybermen alliance. That book was terrible.

[andersonh1]

Aquaman #37
This story has to end soon, because DC is advertising the Aquaman/Suicide Squad crossover in August. The Corum Rath storyline has been running for the last year, and while it's been good, I'm done. Let's kill king Rath and be done with it. Aquaman stabs him twice with the trident, once after it's been powered up by the ghosts of dead Atlanteans, and it still doesn't kill the mutated king. Turns out the abyssal dark magic he's tapped into is some demon that's plagued Atlantis since before it was sunk. It's compelling Rath to just destroy Atlantis since it cannot be controlled, which is no doubt why it will end up on the surface for the Suicide Squad to attack.

Man of Steel #4
Kevin Maguire draws most of the issue which involves Superman and Supergirl fighting Rogar Zaal in the middle of Metropolis and trying to avoid collateral damage. The scene where Superman is stabbed by Zaal takes place about mid-issue, and apparently Hal Jordan saves him when he comes to investigate the alien intrusion into Metropolis. Zaal retreats and returns to the ruins of the Fortress of Solitude, where Superman confronts him again as the issue ends.

The mysterious object and person who entered Clark and Lois's apartment is revealed to be Jor-El, still looking like he did at the end of the Oz Effect. He seemed to have been captured by Dr. Manhattan at the end of that story, so how he's free has yet to be explained. But it took four issues to show us that it was him at all.

[Sparky Prime]

A cross-over between Trek and TF is not a new idea.

What does that matter? I believe this is the first time the two franchises have actually met in anything officially licensed.