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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 22, 2020 17:57:15 GMT -5
They so dropped the ball on Congresswoman Barbara “Boots” Gordon (or as I call her, Rep. Barbara Gordon (D-N.J.)). They did almost nothing with it, and it really had a lot of story potential. The District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and Maryland have a lot to offer in the way of history, geography, culture, etc. Not to mention all the government intrigue, Wonder Woman team-ups, and a possible hunky investigative reporter to make Jason Bard jealous. I totally agree! That seems like a great set up to have her out of Batman's shadow and one her own, while having a setting other heroes weren't in. Not to mention the uniqueness! I don't think there's ever been a superhero-politician that wasn't just taking over the world before. One of the great tragedies of every incarnation of The Freedom Fighters is the way the D.C. connection was completely ignored. The 1970s series was such a lost opportunity. They should have kept them on Earth-X! Recovering and moving on after 30 years of global Nazi occupation … I am fascinated by that! Not by a rehash of The Fugitive with super-heroes! Any version of the Freedom Fighters could have looked at the team this way: The Black Condor is a U.S. Senator! The Phantom Lady is the daughter of a U.S. Senator! The Ray is a reporter! I know virtually nothing of his 1940s set-up, but think how easy it would be for him to be re-assigned to Washington if he's not already there! The Human Bomb is a scientist. He could be working at any of a number of labs in the region, for the military, for the CIA, at several universities. Uncle Sam … Yeah, he seems like a natural for the capital! And Doll Man, like the Human Bomb is also a scientist. I'm thinking maybe the Human Bomb is the military scientist and Doll Man is the university scientist. And they are continually involved in government intrigue and foreign attacks and crazy domestic terrorists. The series has so much to work from in the capital and in Maryland and Virginia. I'm already seeing an arc set in Baltimore where they get some help from some independent filmmakers based on John Waters and Divine. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 22, 2020 18:30:06 GMT -5
I just read Amazing Spider-Man #13, #14 and #15, and I decided to quickly review them as a group because it's quite a burst of creativity from the creative team and I love all three of these comics! Spider-Man #13 is one of the first issues of Ditko Spider-Man I ever read. My grandmother had a back enclosed porch that had several bookcases with bunches and bunches of books, including a lot of stuff that had been left by various relatives and also stuff that she just couldn't remember where it came from. One of the books was the Lancer Spider-Man paperback from the 1960s. I reprinted one of the stories from Spider-Man #1 and also #13 and #16. It was in black and white and the stories were kind of chopped up you could fit two or three panels per page, but it was all there! So I've read #13 about a million times and I never get tired of it! Mysterio is so dang cool! I especially like the fight at the end where Spidey and Ol' Fish Bowl Head end up battling it out in a TV studio where they are filming a sci-fi show. And #14 is the first appearance of the Green Goblin! This is another one I've read over and over. You get the Goblin, a crazy movie producer, the Ox, Fancy Dan, Montana and (rather more random than anything else in this issue) the Hulk! It's totally nuts! And #15 is the first Kraven! I love the bit where the wild animals escape from their storage crates at the pier and Kraven rounds them up while Spidey is putting his suit on! And also, the way that the Chameleon and Kraven know each other! I don't know how Marvel (which thrives on Year One stories that don't really need to be told) has somehow missed Kraven and the Chamelon: Year One: Friends Forever. And #15 also has some classic Peter's Tragic Love Life scenes where Betty sees Liz mussing Peter's hair and fixing his collar and talking baby talk and calling him Petey. And then she mocks Liz when they get back to the Bugle … just in time for Jameson to walk in and see them and yell at Peter! I like #16 a lot too, but not quite as much. #16 suffers in comparison because the next few issues are the Amazing storyline in #17, #18 and #19, and then that's followed by #20 and the great stories keep coming through the 20s and up to #35. These are my favorite comics EVER! |
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Post by Batflunkie on Apr 22, 2020 19:44:40 GMT -5
Hot Stuff Sizzlers #10  Fun little read for what it was, a few one page gag strips and few full length (three-to-five page) stories, similar to Archie books. I think my favorite was The Magnetic Fork purely for the world building as it introduces Hot Stuff's Uncle |
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Post by dbutler69 on Apr 23, 2020 5:25:38 GMT -5
I totally agree! That seems like a great set up to have her out of Batman's shadow and one her own, while having a setting other heroes weren't in. Not to mention the uniqueness! I don't think there's ever been a superhero-politician that wasn't just taking over the world before. One of the great tragedies of every incarnation of The Freedom Fighters is the way the D.C. connection was completely ignored. The 1970s series was such a lost opportunity. They should have kept them on Earth-X! Recovering and moving on after 30 years of global Nazi occupation … I am fascinated by that! Not by a rehash of The Fugitive with super-heroes! Any version of the Freedom Fighters could have looked at the team this way: The Black Condor is a U.S. Senator! The Phantom Lady is the daughter of a U.S. Senator! The Ray is a reporter! I know virtually nothing of his 1940s set-up, but think how easy it would be for him to be re-assigned to Washington if he's not already there! The Human Bomb is a scientist. He could be working at any of a number of labs in the region, for the military, for the CIA, at several universities. Uncle Sam … Yeah, he seems like a natural for the capital! And Doll Man, like the Human Bomb is also a scientist. I'm thinking maybe the Human Bomb is the military scientist and Doll Man is the university scientist. And they are continually involved in government intrigue and foreign attacks and crazy domestic terrorists. The series has so much to work from in the capital and in Maryland and Virginia. I'm already seeing an arc set in Baltimore where they get some help from some independent filmmakers based on John Waters and Divine. Hmm, I'm not sure I ever though about it, but I think you're right. Keeping the Freedom Fighters on earth-X would have been more interesting. Lots of story possibilities and the creators would have had a lot more freedom. |
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Post by berkley on Apr 23, 2020 21:42:09 GMT -5
Just started Volume 3 of IDW's collected Steve Canyon. The previous years I read in the first 12 issues of Kitchen Sink's 80s magazine-size reprints and they were nicely put together but the IDW is definitely a step up in production values: the weekend strips are printed in colour, as they were meant to be, and the reproductions of the weekday strips are substantially larger than in the Kitchen Sink mags, which makes the text much easier to read for my 50-something year old eyes and shows off Caniff's artwork to better effect. The only possible disadvantage is that the book is so big, you probably wouldn't want to try to read it in bed or lying down on the chesterfield, but I wasn't doing that with the KS mags anyway.
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Post by dbutler69 on Apr 25, 2020 9:18:52 GMT -5
I just read All-Star Squadron #40, which concludes the three-part story about the Sojouner Truth race riots in Detroit. The only bad part was the appearance of the Monitor, meaning that Crisis in Infinite Earths is just around the corner, getting ready to derail this series. Also, Rick Hoberg unfortunately leaves as penciller.  |
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Post by Cei-U! on Apr 25, 2020 10:33:55 GMT -5
In anticipation of the premiere of Stargirl on the CW next month, I'm reading the original Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. run that introduced the character. I'm seven issues in and I gotta say this is a fun little series. This was Geoff Johns' first work in comics and his enthusiasm is contagious. I like the pacing, the dialogue (narrative captions and thought balloons are pretty much non-existent), and the overall vibe. I'm not as enthused about the Lee Moder-Dan Davis art, which is a touch too exagerrated for my tastes, but their work has so much energy that I've learned to embrace it. The only serious criticism I have is that some of the scene transitions are too abrupt, forcing me to backtrack to figure out what's going on. This is where a short "Meanwhile, back at the Pit Stop..." caption would be useful. Nevertheless, I'm enjoying the heck out of this title and looking forward to reading the second half of the run.
Cei-U!
I summon the irrespressible Courtney Whitmire!
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Post by dbutler69 on Apr 26, 2020 11:03:09 GMT -5
I've read All-Star Comics (1940) #4-6, and Green Lantern's powers are described as being immune to all metals (so bullets can't hurt him), flight, and being able to walk through walls. That's it. No green energy projections. I wondered why he resorted to fisticuffs so often in those Golden Age adventures, and I guess that's why. I wonder when his powers were expanded? Also, it appears that Johnny Thunder doesn't actually know what the magic word that causes his thunderbolt to do his biding for one hour ("say you") is, and just lucks into it. I wonder when that dumbkopf figured it out? Sounds like my cue...
Green Lantern's powers were restricted to what you describe in his first episode, but he was already forming objects of solidified light in the second. New powers were added (and vulnerabilities removed) as the series progressed. Those early All-Stars probably reflected that original power set because they were scripted by Gardner Fox (who may only have read the pilot story at that time) rather than co-creator Bill Finger. Fox would eventually catch up.
Johnny T didn't even notice the Thunderbolt until Flash Comics #11 and didn't figure out his magic word until #20. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, our Johnny.
Cei-U! I summon the Golden Age goofiness!
OK, so now I'm reading All-Star Comics #8, where Dr. Mid-Nite makes his first appearance, and while it mentions that he can see in the dark, I don't believe it mentions him being blind. Also, in the panels where he's in his alter ego, while he's wearing glasses, they're only shown from the side, so I can't tell if they're sunglasses. Since I think Dr. Mid-Nite was blind even from his first appearance, was Gardner Fox just unaware of that, or did he just choose not to mention it? |
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Post by Batflunkie on Apr 26, 2020 11:10:48 GMT -5
Sounds like my cue...
Green Lantern's powers were restricted to what you describe in his first episode, but he was already forming objects of solidified light in the second. New powers were added (and vulnerabilities removed) as the series progressed. Those early All-Stars probably reflected that original power set because they were scripted by Gardner Fox (who may only have read the pilot story at that time) rather than co-creator Bill Finger. Fox would eventually catch up.
Johnny T didn't even notice the Thunderbolt until Flash Comics #11 and didn't figure out his magic word until #20. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, our Johnny.
Cei-U! I summon the Golden Age goofiness!
OK, so now I'm reading All-Star Comics #8, where Dr. Mid-Nite makes his first appearance, and while it mentions that he can see in the dark, I don't believe it mentions him being blind. Also, in the panels where he's in his alter ego, while he's wearing glasses, they're only shown from the side, so I can't tell if they're sunglasses. Since I think Dr. Mid-Nite was blind even from his first appearance, was Gardner Fox just unaware of that, or did he just choose not to mention it? I think Mid-Nite might have been blind in the JSA books sort of like how Daredevil is/was, but I'm not entirely sure. It's been a while since I've real them |
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Post by spoon on May 2, 2020 11:27:25 GMT -5
In the ginormous binge-read of Spider-Girl I started in the first week of February, I'm now up to Amazing Spider-Girl #24. So thus far, I've read Spider-Girl #0-100, Spider-Girl Annual 1999, Last Hero Standing #1-15, Last Planet Standing #1-5, and Amazing Spider-Girl #1-23. I'm in the home stretch!
Believe it or not, the change from Spider-Girl to Amazing Spider-Girl feels like more than just a renumbering to boost sales. One change is the art, which is odd because the credited art team is still Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema. In Spider-Girl, there is often unrealistic anatomy, with Spider-Girl having a big head on a thin, long neck and a very slim body. In Amazing Spider-Girl, the anatomy suddenly becomes much more realistic. To me, it's a big improvement in the art.
Also, in the Spider-Girl series, while there were running subplots, there villains tended to change from issue to issue. Sometimes there would be two-parters and there were some titled arcs of around 6 issues toward the second half of the series with a villain dominating the arc. But the transition leads to a dominant Big Bad. The Hobgoblin shows up around #98 of Spider-Girl. After those last few issues, he's a pretty steady presence through Amazing Spider-Girl #19. Even though there might be a different villain of the month who actually fights May, Hobby is present in just about every issue of the run.
And in Spider-Girl, May is interested in various guys, but she doesn't have a real relationship. In Amazing Spider-Girl, May has started dating Gene Thompson, son of Flash Thompson, in the time gap between the series. Gene was mentioned, but I don't recall him every being shown on-panel in the first series. The on-again, off-again relationship is a big part of Amazing. The ironic part is that Gene is arguably a big jerk that any of the guys May was interested in before. It's also an interesting twist on the Spider-Man tradition of the main character being a person with real problems. May can't quit Gene, even though it seems that she should realize he's a selfish jerk who is often diminishing her.
I will probably finish my Spider-Girl binge sometime between now and next weekend, so I'll be thinking about what the next reading project is. Do I jump into another big binge or something short as a transition? A couple of the long reads I'm thinking about are a Silver/Bronze Green Lantern read or the Silver Age Doom Patrol Omnibus. On the short side, I might read the Mephisto Vs. mini or a normal size TPB. But there are lots of other alternatives, too.
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Post by beccabear67 on May 2, 2020 13:50:05 GMT -5
When I got into collecting the new revived 80 Page Giants DC released back in 1998-2001 I was intrigued by one titled one Million set in the 853rd century. I guess this is like DC's version of Marvel's M2 future verse from around this same time (I don't know which came first though) just multiplied by a factor of centuries. So suuuure, why not? I have Wild Thing #0 representing M2, I should have something of the DC variation. I don't know anything about all the rest of the presumably numbered #1 DC titles also set in this future, but this turned out to be a bit of gonzo fun... especially the future descendants of the Legion Of Super Pets story... now they are The Legion Of Executive Familiars! Future Batman still has a Robin but this one is a robot referred to as the Toy Wonder. Rather warped and somewhat more improbable than the usual fare but I enjoyed it, not enough to seek out the regular One Million one-shot titles... still, I'm glad I did get this one.  |
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Post by beccabear67 on May 2, 2020 13:56:14 GMT -5
Hot Stuff Sizzlers #10 Was Princess Charma from some kind of magical fairy land? I vaguely remember the character as a semi-girlfriend to hot Stuff... an odd couple of good and evil only in the mild-mannered cute Harvey style? I think I mostly bought Sad Sack so I don't remember a lot from the other Harvey titles, but I did have something with Charma in it, totally forgotten until now.  |
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2020 20:47:55 GMT -5
Read a pair of Golden Age keys last night.
All-American Comics #16 the introduction of Alan Scott-Green Lantern. This is the first time I have read the original story of Alan Scott's origin (I've read later retellings of it). It was a decent read, but the rest of the issue was a slog. I didn't really enjoy Hop Harrigan, Mutt and Jeff, Cicero Cat. Daisybelle or any of the other regularly occuring featurs in All American at that point. Of them, Adventures in the Unknown and Gary Concord, the Ulltraman showed even a glimmer of potential for me, and I doubt either has readily accessible collections available in print for me to explore.
Te second I read was Green Lantern #10, featuring the introduction of Vandal Savage. The 2 part lead feature was a fun read. The third GL story was more of a Doiby showcase and wasn't appealing to me. The rest of the filler stuff was not of interest to me-I recognize and respect the place Mutt and Jeff have in the history of comics, but the humor in the strips fell flat for me which made them an unappealing read.
-M
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Post by Icctrombone on May 2, 2020 20:53:34 GMT -5
I just finished reading the "Trial of the Flash " Flash 340-350 V.1. It was quite enjoyable and only marred by bad Carmine Infantino artwork. Kind of sad to read a happy ending in #350 only to know that Barry Allen would take a dirt nap in Crisis #8.
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Post by dbutler69 on May 3, 2020 9:07:09 GMT -5
Read a pair of Golden Age keys last night. All-American Comics #16 the introduction of Alan Scott-Green Lantern. This is the first time I have read the original story of Alan Scott's origin (I've read later retellings of it). It was a decent read, but the rest of the issue was a slog. I didn't really enjoy Hop Harrigan, Mutt and Jeff, Cicero Cat. Daisybelle or any of the other regularly occuring featurs in All American at that point. Of them, Adventures in the Unknown and Gary Concord, the Ulltraman showed even a glimmer of potential for me, and I doubt either has readily accessible collections available in print for me to explore. Te second I read was Green Lantern #10, featuring the introduction of Vandal Savage. The 2 part lead feature was a fun read. The third GL story was more of a Doiby showcase and wasn't appealing to me. The rest of the filler stuff was not of interest to me-I recognize and respect the place Mutt and Jeff have in the history of comics, but the humor in the strips fell flat for me which made them an unappealing read. -M Yeah, some of that old humor doesn't translate well into modern times. |
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