Category: DC Superhero

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The Flash: Wonderland


By Geoff Johns, Angel Unzueta & Doug Hazlewood (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-1489

When Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash whose creation ushered in a new and seemingly unstoppable era of costumed crusaders, was killed during the Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985, he was succeeded by his sidekick Wally West, a young man who struggled to fill the boots of his predecessor, both in sheer physical ability and, more tellingly, in confidence. He felt a fraud, but like a true hero he persevered and eventually overcame…

After years in the role, West adapted and made a convincing argument for being an even greater hero as he triumphed over his mentor’s uncanny foes and a whole new Rogue’s Gallery of his own. In Wonderland (reprinting issues #164-169 of the monthly Flash comic-book) scripter Geoff Johns and illustrators Angel Unzueta & Doug Hazlewood pushed him to greater heights – and depths – than ever in a dark, extended saga based in large part on a Barry Allen tale from Flash #174 (November 1967).

Wally West revealed to the DC Universe that all super-speedsters derived their enhanced velocity from an all-pervasive energy field that permeated all of creation. This “Speed Force” generally provides the energy and stamina needed for extreme accelerated motion.

Our book opens with a powerless Flash being arrested and brutalised by cops who know he’s Wally West yet treat him as if he’s a criminal. Deducing that he’s in some alternate dimension where he cannot access the Speed Force, surrounded by familiar faces that don’t know him, West is at his lowest ebb until Captain Cold appears to bust him out of jail.

His home-dimension’s Captain Cold…

The murderous Frozen Felon had also woken up a stranger in a strangely familiar land, and is prepared to use any means to get back to his own world – even if it means helping a hated enemy. On the run and gathering intel they discover just how dark a place America could be without super-speed super-heroes as the history of costumed crimefighters is revealed as one littered with gaudy, prematurely dead champions. This is an Earth that has no time for any metahumans, costumed or otherwise…

When Mirror Master appears, revealing himself to be from their home reality, they assume themselves to be trapped in one of his Mirror Worlds, but sadly that is no longer the case as the Reflective Rogue discloses that all their woes are actually caused by the Mirror Mercenary’s erstwhile silent partner…

The enigmatic Brother Grimm has his own agenda, which tangentially includes the destruction of the Flash; but his real target is Wally’s beloved wife Linda Park. Whilst the hero and villains are lost in the mirror world Grimm makes his move, so that when the fugitives pull off an incredible escape the mastermind has to quickly intervene to preserve his scheme.

Flash, Cold and Mirror Master arrive home to find Keystone City vanished, and decide to continue their tenuous truce until they can restore it…

The chase takes them to even weirder and more terrifying alternate realities, and the tumultuous action is resolved and the secret of Brother Grimm revealed in spectacular manner before order is finally restored…

Johns’ first story arc on the Flash is slick and thoroughly engrossing: rapid-paced, classily violent and often genuinely scary, with the unlikely team of antagonists wandering a range of hostile realities, clashing with twisted versions of friends and foes, and although the conceit of reflecting Lewis Carroll’s Looking Glass tale is a little forced, the overall effect is one of a grand quest successfully completed.

This is the kind of Fights ‘n’ Tights saga that could give comics a good name…

© 2000, 2001, 2007 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Superman vs. Brainiac


By various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-1940-6

Superman is the comicbook crusader who started the whole genre and in the decades since his debut in 1938 has probably undertaken every kind of adventure imaginable. With this in mind it’s tempting and very rewarding to gather up whole swathes of his inventory and periodically re-present them in specific themed collections, such as this calculated confection of cosmic clashes with alien arch-foe Brainiac, originally a mere marauding alien but continually refitted over the decades until he now stands as the ultimate artificial nemesis, a thing of cogs, clockwork and computer code.

This superb collection represents appearances both landmark and rare from the many brilliant writers and artists who have contributed to the Kryptonian canon over the years and naturally this terrific tome opens with the extremely impressive introduction ‘The Super-Duel in Space’ by Otto Binder and Al Plastino, from Action Comics #242 (July, 1958) wherein an evil alien scientist attempts to add Metropolis to his collection of miniaturised cities in bottles.

As well as a titanic tussle in its own right, this tale completely changed the mythology of the Man of Steel, by introducing Kandor, a city full of Kryptonians who had escaped the planet’s destruction when Brainiac captured them. Although Superman rescued his fellow survivors, the villain escaped to strike again, and it would be years before the hero could restore the Kandorians to their true size.

Next is a lovely and clever yarn from Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #17 (May 1960), by Jerry Siegel, illustrated by the exceptional fine art team of Curt Swan and George Klein. ‘Lana Lang, Superwoman’ saw the Man of Tomorrow temporarily imbue both Lana and Lois with superpowers to foil a blackmail/murder plot by the viridian villain, whilst the novel-length saga ‘The Team of Luthor and Brainiac’ by Edmund Hamilton, Swan & Klein (from Superman #167, February 1964) not only teamed the hero’s greatest foes in an uneasy alliance but also revealed that the alien antagonist was actually a malevolent mechanism in humanoid form, designed by the computer-tyrants of the planet Colu to infiltrate and destroy organic civilisations and cultures.

There’s a big jump to the end of the 1970s for the next story, an epic three-part clash that first appeared in Action Comics #489-491 (November 1978-January 1979) scripted by the hugely undervalued Cary Bates and illustrated by Swan & Frank Chiaramonte.

‘Krypton Dies Again’ sees Superman once more battling Brainiac when the light from the decades gone explosion of his homeworld finally reaches Earth. The resultant flash supercharges his Kryptonian cells leaving the Man of Steel helpless. ‘No Tomorrow for Superman!’ finds an increasingly berserk hero unable to cope until joined by Hawkman to finally resolve ‘A Matter of Light and Death!’

In Action Comics #544 (June 1983) both Luthor and Brainiac were given radical makeovers to make them more apposite menaces for the World’s Greatest Superhero. Marv Wolfman and Gil Kane amped up the computer conqueror’s threat-level with ‘Rebirth!’ as cosmic forces reshaped the humanoid horror into a mechanistic angel of death.

When DC Comics decided to rationalise and reconstruct their continuity with Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985 they used the event to regenerate their key properties at the same time. The biggest gun they had was Superman and it’s hard to argue that the change was not before time. The new, back-to-basics Man of Steel was a sensation and members of his decades-old rogue’s gallery were suitably retooled to match the new, grittier sensibility.

In this continuity ‘The Amazing Brainiac’ was Vril Dox, a monolithic disembodied intellect from the planet Colu who inhabited and transformed the body of showbiz mentalist Milton Moses Fine, (Adventures of Superman #438, March 1988, written by John Byrne& Jerry Ordway, illustrated by Ordway & John Beatty), until it grew beyond physical limits in ‘Man and Machine’ (Action Comics #649, January 1990, by Roger Stern, George Pérez, Kerry Gammill & Brett Breeding) to eventually become a time-travelling ball of malignant computer code, constructing or co-opting ever-more formidable physical forms in its self-appointed mission to eradicate Superman.

By the time of ‘Sacrifice for Tomorrow’ from Action Comics #763 (March 2000), by Joe Kelly, German Garcia, Kano & Mario Alquiza, the fiend had transformed into its 13th iteration and converted Metropolis into an automated City of the Future. It had also learned how to possess human infants – including Lana Lang’s newborn son and Luthor’s daughter Lena… – a chilling thriller to end on, but only a taste of the monstrous horror Brainiac is capable of.

With a pin-up page of Brainiac 13 by Scott Beatty, Steve Kim & Tommy Yune (from Superman: Metropolis Secret Files #1, March 2000) this comprehensive collection is a compelling introduction and overview of the undying enemy alien and a superb treat for fans of every vintage.

© 1958, 1960, 1964, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1988, 1990, 2000, 2008 DC Comics.  All Rights Reserved.

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Superman: Brainiac


By Geoff Johns, Gary Frank & Jon Sibal (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-84856-230-1

Since his first appearance in Action Comics #242 (July 1958) the alien reaver Brainiac has been a perennial favourite foe of the Man of Steel, and has remained so even through being subsequently “retooled” many times. Brilliant and relentless, the one thing he/it has never been is really scary – until this latest re-imagining from Geoff Johns and Gary Frank.

In modern DC continuity the raider was a computerised intellect from the planet Colu who inhabited and transformed the body of showbiz mentalist Milton Fine, until it grew beyond physical limits to become a time-travelling ball of malignant computer code, constructing or co-opting ever-more formidable physical forms in its self-appointed mission to eradicate Superman.

Now, in this slim but evocative graphic novel, collecting Action Comics #886-870 and Superman: New Krypton Special #1, the truth is finally revealed. Long ago, an alien invader attacked the planet Krypton: merciless robotic berserkers slaughtered hundreds of citizens before physically removing the entire city of Kandor. Decades later one of those robots lands on Earth only to promptly fall before the Man of Tomorrow’s shattering fists.

This ‘First Contact’ leads to a revelatory conversation with Supergirl, a fortunate survivor of the Kandor Incident, in ‘Hide and Seek’. Every Brainiac Superman has ever faced has only been a pale shadow of the true villain: autonomous automatic probes and programming ghosts of a malevolent entity that has stalked the stars for centuries, stealing representative cities before destroying the redundant worlds they once thrived upon. And now the real Brainiac has found Earth…

What nobody realises is that the Cosmic Kidnapper has been searching the universe ever since Krypton died. He actually wants to possess every last son and daughter of that long-dead world…

Superman rockets into space to find the monster, unaware that the marauder is already en route to Earth, and as the Metropolis Marvel confronts his old foe for the very first time in a titanic, horrific clash, ‘Greetings’ sees Supergirl lead the defence of an embattled planet Earth from the monster’s diabolical mechanical marauders.

The war on two fronts continues in ‘Mind Over Matter’, concluding in an overwhelming tale of ‘Triumph and Tragedy’ as Superman defeats Brainiac and frees an entire city of fellow Kryptonians he never knew still existed, only to lose one of the most important people in his life, ending the adventure on an uncharacteristically sombre, low key note in ‘Epilogue’.

Johns is at the forefront of the creative movement to restore much of DC’s Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths mythology, and by combining a modern sensibility with much of the visual flavour of Ridley Scott’s Alien movies has added a tangible aura of terror to the wide-eyed imagination and wonder of those old and much-loved tales. The visceral, gloriously hyper-realistic art of Gary Franks and John Sibal adds to the unease, and their deft touch with the welcome tension-breaking comedic breaks is a sheer delight.

This is a Superman yarn that anybody can pick up, irrespective of their familiarity – or lack of – with the character: fast, thrilling, spooky and deeply moving, for all that it’s also the introduction to the major story event New Krypton – but that’s a tale and review for another time…

© 2008, 2009 DC Comics.  All Rights Reserved.

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Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam!


By Mike Kunkel, Art Baltazar, Franco, Byron Vaughns, Ken Branch & Stephen DeStefano (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-2248-2

After the runaway success of Jeff Smith’s magnificent reinvention of the original Captain Marvel (see Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil) it was simply a matter of time before this latest iteration won its own title in the monthly marketplace. What was a stroke of sheer genius was to place the new Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! under the bright and shiny aegis of the company’s young reader imprint – what used to be the Cartoon Network umbrella.

Here, slightly askew of the mainstream DC Universe, these frantically ebullient and utterly contagious tales of the orphan Batson and his obnoxious, hyperactive little sister, both gifted by an ancient mage with the powers of the gods, can play out in wild and wooly semi-isolation hampered by nothing except the page count…

Billy Batson is a homeless kid with a murky past and a glorious destiny. One night he followed a mysterious figure into an abandoned subway station and met the wizard Shazam, who gave him the ability to turn into an adult superhero called Captain Marvel. Gifted with the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury, the lad was sent into the world to do good, a good if immature boy in a super man’s body.

Accompanied by the talking tiger-spirit Mr. Tawky Tawny, Billy tracked down his missing little sister, but whilst battling evil genius Dr. Sivana (US Attorney General and would-be ruler of the universe) he impetuously caused a ripple in the world’s magical fabric through which monsters and ancient perils occasionally slip through. Now, the reunited orphans are trying to live relatively normal lives, but finding the going a little tough.

Firstly, without adults around, Billy often has to masquerade as his own dad and when he’s not at school he’s the breadwinner, earning a living as a boy-reporter at radio and TV station WHIZ. Moreover little Mary also has access to the Power of Shazam, and she’s a lot smarter than he is in using it… and a real pain in Billy’s neck.

Mike Kunkel, inspired creator of the simply lovely Herobear and the Kid, leads off this collection (gathering the first six issues of the monthly comic-book for readers of all ages) writing and drawing a breakneck, riotous romp that reintroduces the new Marvel Family to any new readers and, by virtue of that pesky rift in the cosmic curtain, recreates the Captain’s greatest foe: Black Adam. This time the evil predecessor of the World’s Mightiest Mortal is a powerless but truly vile brat: a bully who returns to Earth after millennia in limbo ready to cause great mischief – but he can’t remember his magic word…

This hilarious tale has just the right amount of dark underpinning as the atrocious little thug stalks Billy and Mary, trying to wheedle and eventually torture the secret syllables from them, and when inevitably Black Adam regains his mystic might and frees the sinister Seven Deadly Evils of Mankind from their imprisonment on the wizard’s Rock of Eternity the stage is set for a classic confrontation.

Pitched perfectly at the young reader, with equal parts danger, comedy, sibling rivalry and the regular outwitting of adults, this first story screams along with a brilliantly clever feel-good finish…

With issue #5 the writing team of Art Baltazar and Franco (responsible for the incomparably compulsive madness of Tiny Titans) took over, and artists Byron Vaughns and Ken Branch handled the first bombastic tale as convict Doctor Sivana unleashes the destructive giant robot Mr. Atom to cover his escape from prison.

The story-section concludes with another funny and extremely dramatic battle – this time against primordial super-caveman King Kull, who wanted to reconquer the planet he ruled thousands of years ago. Older fans of gentle fantasy will be enthralled and delighted here by the singular art of Stephen DeStefano, who won hearts and minds with his illustration of Bob Rozakis’ seminal series Hero Hotline and ‘Mazing Man (both painfully, criminally overdue for graphic novel collections of their own…)

Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! is an ideal book for getting kids into comics: funny, thrilling, beautifully, stylishly illustrated and perfectly in tune with what young minds want to see. With a gloriously enticing sketches section and a key code for those pages written in the “Monster Society of Evil Code” this is an addictive treat for all readers who can still revel in the power of pure wonderment and still glory in an unbridled capacity for joy.

© 2008, 2009 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Batman: The Many Deaths of the Batman


By John Byrne, Jim Aparo & Mike DeCarlo (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-56389-033-8

Batman is in one way the ultimate superhero: he is uniquely adaptable and can fit into practically any type or genre of story – as is clearly evident from the plethora of vintage tales collected in so many captivating volumes over the years.

One less well-mined period (so far at least) is the grim and/or gritty 1980s when the Caped Crusader was partially reinvented in the wake of the inspired and inspirational Crisis on Infinite Earths, becoming a driven but still cool-headed, deeply rational Manhunter, rather the dark, driven paranoid of later days or the costumed boy-scout of the “Camp” crazed Sixties.

This brief but satisfyingly punchy thriller combined the best of all worlds and even pushed the creative envelope with a silent/mime first chapter (no pesky words to read, fans!) as in the wake of the murder of his sidekick Jason Todd (see Batman: A Death in the Family) the traumatised hero is forced to re-examine his own origins during a bloody murder-spree that touches the very essence of what – and who – made him…

Collecting Batman #433-435 (May-July 1989) the mini epic opens in a shocked, rain-soaked Gotham with a ‘Period of Mourning’ as the city reacts to the sight of the Caped Crusader crucified in a dirty alley. His friends and enemies reel in shock, but soon that turns to something else as another Bat corpse is discovered. Meanwhile the real Dark Knight is finishing an international hunt in Paris when the news reaches him…

‘How Many Times Can a Batman Die?’ expands the enigma as the hero returns to Gotham to probe the mystery of six seemingly random dead men murdered in his costume. However they aren’t strangers to Bruce Wayne. Every one of them was a specialist in one particular field, and each had spent time long ago teaching an anonymous young man one of the many skills necessary to become the Batman…

The saga concludes in captivating and rewarding manner as a fair-play mystery is solved in ‘The Last Death of the Batman’, displaying all those composite skills as the Dark Knight shows himself to truly be “The World’s Greatest Detective.”

Short, sweet and simply superb, this is a Batman much missed by many of us, and this tale, like so many others of the period is long overdue for the graphic novel treatment. To the Bat-Files, old chums…
© 1992 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Batman: A Death in the Family


By Jim Starlin, Jim Aparo & Mike DeCarlo (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-0-93028-944-7

Despite decades of wanting to be “taken seriously” by the wider world, every so often a comic-book event gets away from editors and publishers and takes on a life of its own. This usually does not end well for our favourite art form, as the way the greater world views the comics microcosm is seldom how we insiders and cognoscenti see it.

One of the most controversial comics tales of the last century saw an intriguing marketing stunt go spectacularly off the rails – for all the wrong reasons – becoming instantly notorious and sadly masking the real merits of the piece.

Robin, the Boy Wonder debuted in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940) created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson: a juvenile circus acrobat whose parents were murdered by a mob boss. The story of how Batman took the orphaned Dick Grayson under his scalloped wing and trained him to fight crime has been told, retold and revised many times over the decades and still undergoes the odd tweaking to this day

The child Grayson fought beside Batman until 1970 when, as a sign of the turbulent times, he flew the nest, becoming a Teen Wonder and college student. His invention as a junior hero for younger readers to identify with had inspired an incomprehensible number of costumed sidekicks and kid crusaders throughout the industry, and Grayson continued in similar vein for the older, more worldly-wise readership of America’s increasingly rebellious youth culture.

Robin even had his own solo series in Star Spangled Comics from 1947 to 1952, a solo spot in the back of Detective Comics from the end of the 1960s wherein he alternated and shared with Batgirl, and a starring feature in the anthology comic Batman Family. During the 1980s the young hero led the New Teen Titans, re-established a turbulent working relationship with Batman and reinvented himself as Nightwing. This of course left the post of Robin open…

After Grayson’s departure Batman worked alone until he caught a streetwise young urchin trying to steel the Batmobile’s tires. Debuting in Batman #357 (March 1983) this lost boy was Jason Todd, and eventually the little thug became the second Boy Wonder (#368, February 1984), with a short but stellar career, marred by his impetuosity and tragic links to one of the Caped Crusader’s most unpredictable foes…

Todd had some serious emotional problems that became increasingly apparent in the issues leading up to ‘A Death in the Family’ as the street kid became more callous and brutal in response to the daily horrors he was being exposed to. When he caused the death of a vicious, abusive drug-dealer with diplomatic immunity (and when is that long-neglected sequence of tales going to be collected, huh?) the boy entered a spiral that culminated in the story-arc collected here, comprising Batman #426-429.

Ever more violent and seemingly incapable of rudimentary caution, Jason Todd is suspended by Batman who thinks the boy has not adjusted to the death of his parents. Meanwhile the Joker is again on the loose. But rather than his usual killing frenzy the Clown Prince is after mere cash, as the financial disaster of “Reaganomics” has depleted his coffers – meaning he can’t afford his outrageous murder gimmicks…

Without purpose, Jason has been wandering the streets where he grew up. When he sees an old friend of his dead mother she reveals s a shocking secret. The woman who raised him was not his birth-mother, and moreover there is a box of personal papers that indicate three women who might be his true mother. Lost and emotionally volatile Jason sets out to track them down…

The potential parents are Lady Shiva, world’s deadliest assassin, Sharmin Rosen, Mossad agent and Dr. Sheila Haywood, a famine relief worker in Ethiopia. As the lad heads for the Middle East and a confrontation with destiny he is unaware that Batman is also in that troubled region, hot on the Joker’s trail as the Maniac of Mirth attempts to sell a stolen nuclear missile to any terrorist who can pay…

The estranged heroes accidentally reunite to foil the plot, and Jason crosses Rosen off his potential mom-list. As Batman offers to help Jason check the remaining candidates the fugitive Joker escapes to Ethiopia. After eliminating Shiva, who has been training terrorists in the deep desert, the heroes finally get to Jason’s true mother Sheila Haywood, unaware that she has been blackmailed into a deadly scam involving stolen relief supplies with the Clown Prince of Crime…

I’m not going to bother with the details of the voting fiasco that plagues all references to this tale: it’s all copiously detailed elsewhere (just Google and see) but suffice to say that to test then-new marketing tools a 1-900 number was established and thanks to an advanced press campaign readers were offered the chance to vote on whether Robin would live or die in the story.

He dies.

The kid had increasingly become a poor fit in the series and this storyline galvanised a new direction with a darker, more driven Batman, beginning almost immediately as the Joker, after killing Jason in a chilling and unforgettably violent manner, became the UN ambassador for Iran (later revised as the fully fictional Qurac – just in case) and at the request of the Ayatollah himself attempted to kill the entire UN General Assembly during his inaugural speech.

With echoes of Frank Miller’s landmark The Dark Knight Returns, Superman then becomes a government watchdog tasked with stopping Batman from breaching diplomatic immunity as the vengeance-hungry Caped Crusader attempts to stop the Joker at any cost, leading to a spectacular yet chillingly inconclusive conclusion with the portents of dark days to come…

And here is the true injustice surrounding this tale: the death of Robin (who didn’t even stay dead) and the voting debacle took away from the real importance of this story – and perhaps deflected some real scrutiny and controversy. Starlin had crafted a clever and bold tale of real world politics and genuine issues which most readers didn’t even notice.

Terrorism Training Camps, Rogue States, African famines, black marketeering, Relief fraud, Economic, Race and Class warfare, Diplomatic skullduggery and nuclear smuggling all featured heavily, as did such notable hot-button topics as Ayatollah Khomeini, Reagan’s Cruise Missile program, the Iran-Contra and Arms for Hostages scandals and the horrors of Ethiopian refugee camps.  Most importantly it signaled a new and fearfully casual approach to violence and death in comics-books.

This is a superbly readable tale, morally challenging and breathtakingly audacious – but it’s controversial in all the wrong places and for all the wrong reasons. But don’t take my word for it: get it and see for yourself.

© 1988 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Justice League of America volume 6: When Worlds Collide


By Dwayne McDuffie, Ed Benes, Rags Morales & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-2422-6

In this collection (issues #27-28 and 30-34 of the most recent incarnation of the World’s Greatest Superhero team) writer Dwayne McDuffie gets all cosmic as he formally introduces the characters from the 1990s imprint Milestone Comics into the ever-expanding – if dangerously hero-heavy – DC Universe. At least this cosmic extravaganza has the decency and panache to make that merger the storyline rather than have the heroes suddenly notice each other after years of seemingly being unaware of each other’s existence, as was too often the case in days past…

The action begins in ‘Be Careful What you Wish For’, illustrated by Ed Benes with additional inkers Rob Hunter, Norm Rapmund & Drew Geraci, wherein a team of mystery metahumans calling themselves the Shadow Cabinet confront and re-energise the currently powerless Kimiyo Hoshi – the second – heroic – Dr. Light.

Meanwhile JLA leader Black Canary challenges Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman in the secret star-chamber from which they have been surreptitiously spying on the new League, but the confrontation is interrupted by the invasion of the enigmatic new superbeings in ‘Shadow and Act’ (drawn by José Luis and inked by JP Mayer) with the usual result: instant chaos. However Superman and Cabinet leader Icon clearly have a hidden agenda…

For reasons unknown the next episode has been omitted: I wouldn’t necessarily quibble as it was something of a digression, but since it tells an “untold tale” of the as-yet unrevealed master villain, perhaps room should have been found for it somewhere in this chronicle?

As it is we resume with the third chapter from #30, ‘New Moon Rising’ again by Luis & Mayer, and the arrival of Winged Wonder Hawkman who inadvertently provides an entry into the super-secure headquarters for old enemy the Shadow Thief, who is now powerful enough to endanger the entire Earth. There is another story break – included, this time – as ‘Interlude: Crisis of Confidence’ (art by Shane Davis & Sandra Hope) follows Black Canary as the revelations of the spying and in-fighting lead to a momentous decision and a split in the League, before Chapter 4: ‘Nyctophobia’ (illustrated by Rags Morales & John Dell) provides the “Big Reveal” as cosmic vampire Starbreaker resurrects himself and prepares to consume the World.

‘Metathesiophobia’ (look it up, it’s clever) sees the newly empowered Dr. Light come into her own as the JLA and Shadow Cabinet team up at last to fight their common foe, with a startling reprise and return for one of the imaginary heroes encountered in the previous volume (see Justice League of America: Second Coming), but even he isn’t enough to counter the energy leech’s overwhelming power…

With more than one world imperilled the united champions finally save the day and accomplish the impossible in ‘The Dharma Initiative’ (penciled by Ardian Syaf and Eddie Barrows with inks from Don Ho, Ruy José, Dan Green, Jack Purcell & Mark Propst) a spectacular conclusion, and as much the end of a comics era as the dawn of a new day.

Big changes were in store for the World’s Greatest Heroes, but that’s for another time and another review, as this slick and classy graphic novel signalled the closure of yet another incarnation of the premier Silver Age Superteam. Witty and hugely enjoyable, blending high concepts with great characterisation and gripping action with biting one-liners, this JLA‘s adventures were among the very best modern superhero sagas around. It’s never too late so if you’re not a fan yet, reading these books will swiftly and permanently alter that reality…

© 2009 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Showcase Presents Aquaman volume 2


By Jack Miller, Bob Haney, Ramona Fradon, Nick Cardy & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-1712-9

Aquaman was one of the few superheroes to survive the collapse at the end of the Golden Age, a rather nondescript and generally bland looking guy who solved maritime crimes and mysteries when not rescuing fish and people from sub-sea disasters.

He was created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris in the wake of Timely Comics’ Sub-Mariner and debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (1941). Strictly a second stringer for most of his career he nevertheless continued on beyond many stronger features, illustrated by Norris, Louis Cazaneuve and Charles Paris, until young Ramona Fradon took over the art chores in 1954, by which time Aquaman had moved to a regular back-up slot in Adventure Comics. She was to draw every single adventure until 1960.

In 1956 Showcase #4 (See The Flash Archive Edition volume 1 or Showcase Presents the Flash volume 1) rekindled the public’s imagination and zest for costumed crime-fighters and, as well as re-imagining many departed Golden Age stalwarts, DC also updated and remade its isolated survivors, especially Green Arrow and Aquaman. Records are incomplete, sadly, so often we don’t know who wrote what, but after the initial revamp better records survive and this second collection of the King of the Seven Seas has far fewer creative credit conundrums.

Although now the star of his own title, Aquaman still appeared as a back-up feature in World’s Finest Comics until 1964 and this chronological compilation includes those tales (issues #130-133, 135, 137, 139), his Brave and the Bold team-up with Hawkman (# 51) and the contents of Aquaman #7-23, covering the period December 1962 to September-October 1965, a period that led directly into the King of the Seven Seas becoming one of DC’s earliest television stars as part of the animated Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure.

The major writers from those years were Jack Miller and Bob Haney and although some records are lost and a few later scripts remain unattributed, recognizing artists is far less troubling. The World’s Finest stories were Fradon’s last; captivatingly clean, economical lines bringing to unique life charming little adventure and mystery vignettes which always were and still are a joy to behold. Thereafter, apart from a memorable and brief return to co-create Metamorpho the Element Man, she left comics until 1972 to raise her daughter.

‘King of the Land Beasts’ (WFC #130, by Haney & Fradon) is a typically high-quality teaser about an alien Aquaman whilst ‘The Sea Beasts from Atlantis’ (Aquaman #7 by Miller & Nick Cardy) pitted the Sea Lord and Aqualad against hideous sub-sea monsters and a plot to overthrow the government of the lost city, abetted if not quite aided by the sea imp Quisp.

‘The Man Who Controlled Water’ (World’s Finest # 131, Miller & Fradon) saw the heroic pair tackle a scientist who could solidify liquids into fearsome weapons whilst in issue #8 of their own magazine, creators Miller and Cardy revealed ‘The Plot to Steal the Seas’ with the oceanic adventurers battling far out of their comfort zone to thwart marauding aliens.

Dave Wood scripted the quirky thriller ‘The Fish in the Iron Mask’ (WFC #132) wherein faithful octopus Topo was possessed by a sinister helmet and ‘The Secret Mission of King Neptune’ (Aquaman #9, Miller & Cardy) seemingly brought the heroes into bombastic contention with the God of the Oceans – but was he all he seemed?

World’s Finest #133 briefly introduced ‘Aquaman’s New Partner – Aqua-Girl’, but Miller and Fradon’s creation was strictly a one shot deal, whereas ‘War of the Water Sprites’ (Aquaman #10, Miller & Cardy) introduced an evil band of Quisp’s fellow imps who eerily presaged a tale of the JSA decades later…

‘The Creatures that Conquered Aquaman’ (from WFC #135, Miller & Fradon) was another alien invasion extravaganza whilst Aquaman #11 featured the landmark introduction of the Sea King’s future wife Mera in the Miller & Cardy extravaganza ‘The Doom from Dimension Aqua’, whilst #12 featured two shorter thrillers from Haney, ‘The Menace of the Land-Sea Beasts’ with mutated jungle animals wreaking sub-sea havoc and ‘The Cosmic Gladiators!’ wherein the seaborne sentinels are press-ganged into an intergalactic gladiatorial contest.

Miller provided the penultimate World’s Finest outing ‘The Day Aquaman Lost his Powers’ for #137 and Haney scripted a manic tale of team-up terror for superb veteran artist Howard Purcell in ‘Fury of the Exiled Creature’ (The Brave and the Bold #51, December 1963-January 1964) in which the fearsome Outcast of Atlantis turned mutative powers against not just Aquaman but also new DC superstars Hawkman and Hawkgirl.

Aquaman #13 then saw Mera return in the Miller-penned ‘Invasion of the Giant Reptiles’ as the tide-crossed lovers joined to defeat criminals from the future. Fradon and Miller ended the Sea King’s World’s Finest tenure in high style with the taut thriller ‘The Doom Hunters’ in #139, leaving Nick Cardy as sole Aquaman artist. His work slowly began to become more representational and realistic, although Miller’s ‘Aquaman’s Secret Powers!’ still held plenty of fantastic fantasy as a dying derelict cursed the Sea King with incredible new abilities, whilst the second tale in #14 ‘The Tyrant Ruler of Atlantis’ found the temporarily deranged hero seizing the throne of the sunken city. Within scant months he would be legitimately offered the crown…

Miller wrote the next four issues beginning with the sinister scientific tragedy ‘Menace of the Man-Fish’, #16’s ‘The Duel of the Sea Queens!’ as Mera battled an alien siren who had set her tentacled cap for Aquaman and #17’s ‘The Man who Vanquished Aquaman’ wherein the god Poseidon stole Mera.

All this romantic tension and concentration was for a purpose. The next issue, #18 featured ‘The Wife of Aquaman’ as the Sea King married his extra-dimensional beloved in one of the first superhero weddings of the Silver Age. Talk about instant responsibilities…

None of the remaining tales have a credited scripter, but that doesn’t affect their wonderful readability nor Cardy’s better-every-panel artwork, beginning with #19’s ‘Atlanteans For Sale’ wherein new bride Mera slowly went bonkers due to her husband’s neglectful super-heroing schedule. Cue the arrival of the merman man-candy Nikkor who insinuated himself into her affections… and the throne!

This surprisingly adult tale is followed by #20’s ‘The Sea King’s Double Doom’ as an old friend and a shape-changing monster both hit Atlantis at the same time. Coincidence? We think not…

Super-villain the Fisherman debuted in #21’s ‘The Fearful Freak from Atlantis’ as the Sea King became a sea monster, whilst ‘The Trap of the Sinister Sea Nymphs’ introduced Mera’s wicked twin sister. This splendidly engaging second volume ends on another groundbreaking high-note with issue #23’s ‘The Birth of Aquababy’ wherein the happy couple’s newborn child displays uncanny powers (and yes, you nit-picking gossips it was nine months later… exactly nine months).

One of the greatest advantages of these big value black-&-white compendiums is the opportunity they provide whilst chronologically collecting a character’s adventures to include crossovers and guest spots from other titles. When the star is as long-lived and incredibly peripatetic as DC’s King of the Seven Seas that’s an awful lot of extra appearances for a fan to find…

DC has a long and comforting history of gentle, innocuous yarn-spinning with quality artwork. Ramona Fradon’s Aquaman is one of the most neglected runs of such accessible material, and it’s a pleasure to discover just how readable they still are. And when the opportunity arises to compare her wonderful work to the exponentially improving superhero work of such a stellar talent as Nick Cardy this book becomes another fan’s must-have item. More so when all the stories are still suitable for kids of all ages, Why not treat yourself and your youngsters to a timeless dose of whimsy and adventure? You won’t regret it.

© 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 2008 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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JSA volume 7: Princes of Darkness

New Extended Review

By Geoff Johns, David Goyer & various (DC Comics)
ISBN 1-84576-035-2

As a kid in the 1960s I used to love any appearance of the Justice Society of America, DC’s pioneering and popular crime-busting characters from the 1940s. They seemed full of a resonance that was equal parts Mystery and History. They belonged to the mythical land of “Before I Was Born” and their rare guest-shots always filled me with wonder and joy.

A few years ago they were permanently revived and I found very little to complain of. As superhero sagas go the stories and art were entertaining enough, often even outstanding, but with this compilation (collecting issues #46–55), I finally found myself agreeing with those wise editorial heads of my well-spent youth who felt that less was more and that over-exposure was a real and ever-present danger.

That’s not to say that these tales are in any way less than they need to be nor that the full-on, goodies-vs.-baddies extravaganzas are boring or tired. The problem is much more insidious and, I regret, more to do with me than the material. It finally became clear with this extended, spectacular struggle of valiant heroes against Darkness-wielding villains who black out the entire Earth and let evil reign free that the JSA were back for good.

But they were no longer quite so “special”.

Following on from the cliffhanger revelations of JSA: Savage Times the shadowy saga, written as ever, by David Goyer and Geoff Johns, with art from Sal Velluto, Leonard Kirk, Don Kramer, Bob Almond, Keith Champagne, & Wade von Grawbadger, opens with ‘Into the Valley’ and a blistering attack by the Chaos Lord Mordru, acting in concert with the conflicted ex-JSA-er Obsidian and the demonic spirit of rage, Eclipso.

Apparently dead, the sprit of Hector Hall, the latest Doctor Fate, travels to a distant realm for some sage advice in ‘Eclipse’ whilst on Earth, utter soul-drinking blackness has blanketed the globe unleashing the worst aspects of human nature. ‘Enlightenment’ and ‘Army of Darkness’ see Fate delve deeper into a potential solution whilst on the physical plane all of the World’s heroes – and some villains – are slowly being destroyed by the irresistible wave of Night.

A turning point comes in ‘The Last Light’ as a valiant sacrifice turns one of the dark masters from foe to friend, resulting in stupendous battles and an earth-shattering climax as the heroes save the day in ‘Princes of Darkness Coda: Justice Eternity’ – with which scripter Goyer moves on to fresh pastures.

After all that angsty spectacle and shiny triumph, the team catches a collective breath in ‘Brand New Day’ with a few new members and general recuperation, unaware the Atom Smasher and Black Adam have covertly crossed a moral line which will come back to haunt them all whilst the new heroic Eclipso feels himself drawn to do likewise. The main action of the piece comes in the form of a return for haunted huntress Crimson Avenger; a woman driven by possessed handguns to execute murderers who have escaped justice. To everyone’s astonishment her latest target is veteran hero Wildcat and nothing in the universe can stop or sway her…

The tale concludes in ‘Blinded’ as the relentless Avenger and Wildcat find a unique way to satisfy the curse of her relentless pistols, whilst Black Adam continues to recruit disenchanted heroes for a new kind of super-team, and the book ends on a satisfyingly welcome lighter note with a brace of seasonal tales, beginning with a lovely, lighthearted Thanksgiving bash starring both Justice League and Society.

‘Virtue, Vice & Pumpkin Pie’ is a splendid and jolly change of pace after all the high-octane testosterone which readily displays Geoff John’s comedic flair whilst ‘Be Good for Goodness’ Sake’ finds the surviving WWII heroes (Green Lantern, Wildcat, Hawkman and the Flash) bringing a lump to the throat and a tear to the eye (comic fans being the most soft and sentimental creatures in the universe) with a Christmas present for a long-lost member, not seen since the early days of the Golden Age…

These are characters that everyone in the industry seems to venerate, and I would be churlish to deny new readers and fans a chance to discover them too, but anticipation, delayed gratification and keen imagination once made every appearance of the JSA a source of raging joy to me and a million other kids. It’s such a shame today’s readers can’t experience that unbeatable buzz too. At least the stories are high quality. It would be utterly unbearable if the team were over-exposed and sucked too…

© 2003, 2004 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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The Question volume 5: Riddles


By Dennis O’Neil, Denys Cowan, Bill Wray & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-84856-513-5

This is a saga about dysfunction and a search for answers: Social, societal, political, emotional, familial and even methodological. The normal masked avenger tactics don’t work in a “real”-er world, and some solutions require better Questions…

Challenging Western dystopia with Eastern thought and martial arts action is not a new concept but O’Neil’s focus on cultural and social problems rather than histrionic super-heroics make this series a truly philosophical work, and Cowan’s raw, edgy art imbues this darkly adult, powerfully sophisticated thriller with a maturity that is simply breathtaking.

This fifth collection (reprinting issues #25-30) picks up from the shock ending of The Question: Welcome to Oz with ‘Skells’ illustrated by Cowan & Malcolm Jones III. New Mayor Myra Fermin-Connelly has been gunned down by her drunken, brain-addled husband and lies in a coma. Due to a quirk of Hub City law, with both current candidates unable to take office, the incumbent – despite being wanted for attempted murder – is technically next-in-line, and therefore de facto Mayor…

The tornado that struck the city on Election Day has finished the job begun by years of corruption and the gang warfare of the campaign. Hub City is a billion-dollar disaster zone. All essential services have ceased, the surviving populace are either rioting, looting or hiding. Food and water are running out.

State authorities are unwilling to step in and the urban hell-hole is poised to become a purely Darwinian jungle (this storyline probably inspired Batman’s ‘No Man’s Land’ publishing event) but all the Question wants to do is hunt down Myra’s addled husband/killer…

‘Riddles’ is a strange and melancholy Christmas divertissement, from fill-in penciller Bill Wray and Jones III which sees the Riddler, fresh out of jail and in a slump, catch a bus to Hub City and a new start. Sadly he picks the wrong girl to chat up and the result is the bloodiest and most senseless night of his life. It’s a genuine Christmas miracle that Vic Sage and Professor Rodor are on the same road that night…

With the city in turmoil, Myra in a coma, and no foe he can hit, The Question is helpless, but when the Prof reveals that his long-lost brother was a comic book artist in the 1940s it leads them all on a quasi-mystic quest which just might provide the mauled metropolis with its first glimmer of hope and recovery. ‘Captain Stars & Sergeant Stripes’ is illustrated by Cowan and Jones III, with Golden Age pastiche pages from Rick Stasi & Terry Beatty.

The last three tales here, also limned by Cowan and Jones, form an extended epic as the lethal Lady Shiva (see The Question: Zen and Violence) returns. Myra has emerged from her coma and taken charge, but with no resources and open warfare on the streets she is forced to take some extraordinary measures to restore order. In ‘A Place for the Arts’ Shiva, drawn to the chaos and ever-hungry to test her martial arts skills, offers her murderous services to one of the gangs trying to take over what’s left of Hub City, only to have her potential employers snatched from her as the new Lady Mayor convinces the warring thugs to become her new police force…

Incredibly disaster seems to have been averted until in ‘The Slaying’ one of the rival gang-lords is stabbed at a peace-conference and the Faceless Inquisitor has a murder to solve before the last remnants of hope are swallowed by renewed bloodshed. ‘Whodunit’ reveals all, but as is always the case in this superb series the answers are far from neat, tidy or satisfactory, and as always a moral and philosophical pall clouds the issues. And like a ghost Shiva stalks the city, ambivalent, ambiguous, unfathomable in her private purposes…

Like life, The Question never produces easy answers…

Bleak, brutal, confrontational and mordantly action-packed these tales come from one of DC’s very best series, and they form a perfect snapshot in comics history of a hugely creative and historically significant time. These graphic novels demonstrate just how evocative sequential narrative can be and no fan of serious fun literature or mature, sensitive escapism can afford to miss them.

© 1989, 2009 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.