Category: DC Superhero

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JSA volume 5: Stealing Thunder


By Geoff Johns, David Goyer & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-84023-667-5

The groundbreaking reinvention of the World’s first super-team continued apace with these compelling thrillers which originally appeared in JSA #32-38, beginning with a chilling peek into the life of the new Crimson Avenger: a haunted woman compelled to hunt down murderers by her own magic guns. Her irresistible compulsion has brought her to her next target – one of the Society’s greatest heroes…

‘Death Duty’ is illustrated by Peter Snejbjerg who also provided the pictures for the ‘Stealing Thunder Prologue’ wherein octogenarian hero Johnny Thunder, miraculously cured of senile dementia, reclaimed his magical Thunderbolt genie from his successor Jakeem. Unfortunately it’s all a macabre plot constructed by the body-hopping Ultra-Humanite…

The epic begins in ‘Wish Fulfillment’ (with art by Keith Giffen & Al Milgrom, Leonard Kirk & Keith Champagne), as, an unspecified time later, silicon superhero Sand awakens to discover that the Ultra-Humanite has usurped the power of the Thunderbolt and taken control of Earth. Those superbeings not directly mind-controlled and used as storm troopers are all stored in a giant body-bank.

Escaping with homicidal foe the Icicle in tow, Sand accidentally makes contact with the last free minds on the planet: Jakeem, Crimson Avenger, Power Girl, Hourman and Captain Marvel…

Kirk and Champagne continue in ‘Troublestruck’, ‘Lightning Storm’ and ‘Time-Bound’ as the desperate rebels risk everything to liberate the enslaved electric genie whilst being pursued by an murderous armada of their oldest friends before the tragic, spectacular finale returns the World to its original state in ‘Crossing Over’.

This volume ends with one of those touching “after the Apocalypse” tales: quiet, reflective and focusing on the heirs of lost heroes as Jakeem and the second Hourman contemplate their legacies and new responsibilities on ‘Father’s Day’, movingly illustrated by Stephen Sadowski and Andrew Pepoy.

By this time a fully realised superhero soap opera, Geoff Johns and the soon to depart David Goyer had made the Justice Society of America a stunning mix of old and new by blending cosmic action and human scaled drama with a memorable cast of characters. These tales are among the very best “fights and tights” adventures in contemporary comics, and should be on every old fan and potential convert’s “must-have” list.

© 2002, 2003 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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JSA volume 4: Fair Play


By Geoff Johns & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-84023-628-6

Now firmly re-established as a major force in the DC universe as well as the commercial comics market, the Justice Society of America went from strength to strength after the rebirth of the seminal, eternal hero Hawkman (see the previous volume JSA: the Return of Hawkman), with Geoff Johns writing increasingly grander epics, tinctured with intriguing soap-opera sub-plots whilst scrupulously exploring and reinventing the internal mythology that has kept the characters as beloved best friends for generations of fans.

This volume, collecting issues #26-31 of the monthly comic and pertinent selections from JSA Secret Files #2, leads off with ‘Breaking Storms’ (co-plotted by Davis S. Goyer and illustrated by Javier Saltares & Ray Kryssing) finding assorted members of the team getting reacquainted, generally carrying out day-to-day business, but beyond the rewarding view of heroes behind their masks, the groundwork for two upcoming epics were stylishly foreshadowed as a pair of old enemies made their first cautious moves…

‘Who Do You Trust?’ (with art from Rags Morales & Michael Bair) found the nominally reformed villain Black Adam making himself less than welcome with his new team-mates until magical boy-scout Captain Marvel intervened, and it was back to all-out action in ‘Upping the Ante’ (illustrated by Derec Aucoin) when extreme gambler Roulette laid plans to pressgang the JSA for her next cage-fighter gladiatorial tournament.

The plan got underway in ‘Thunderstruck’ (Morales & Bair) as the team elected a new chairman only to find themselves abducted and enslaved; forced to fight each other to the death for the edification of super-villains and evil millionaires. Throughout it all Roulette was playing a double-game: something other than greed for profit and blood was fuelling her actions…

The big climax began in a ‘Face-Off’ (by Stephen Sadowski, Christian Alamy & Dave Meikis) but the saga paused – if not digressed – for a short interlude featuring the team’s youngest members, Jakeem Thunder and Star-Spangled Kid (with art from Peter Snejbjerg), who were caught up in a battle with a “Jokerised” Solomon Grundy.

‘Kids’ was part of a braided crossover event that spanned the entire DC pantheon (see Batman: the Joker’s Last Laugh for more details and murderous high jinks) but scripter Johns also cannily used the opportunity to advance one of those aforementioned big plots by bringing back the original Johnny Thunder – who wanted his magic genie back from Jakeem…

Roulette’s motives were revealed even as her illicit fight-club went down in flames when the triumphant JSA overwhelmed her assembled hordes in ‘Fair Play’ (Sadowski & Keith Champagne) and this volume concludes with a team field trip to Gotham City and a terse encounter with the Dark Knight in ‘Making Waves’ (chillingly executed by Snejbjerg) as the assembled heroes raced to rescue a kidnapped baby…

Superhero stories simply aren’t to everybody’s tastes, but if the constant and continuous battle of gaudy costumes and flashy personas must be part of the graphic narrative arts market then high quality material like this should always be at the top of the list. If you haven’t been tempted yet these sterling stirring tales might make a convert of you yet…

© 2001, 2002 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Justice League of America: Second Coming


By Dwayne McDuffie, Ed Benes & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-84856-253-0

By the time of the stories in this collection (issues #22-26 of the most recent incarnation of the World’s Greatest Superhero team) writer Dwayne McDuffie has his feet comfortably under the table and begins to play with the secondary characters that always offer the most narrative opportunity in such large congregations of major and minor stars.

Beginning with ‘The Widening Gyre’, illustrated by Ed Benes, he also cleans up some of the longer-running plot threads as the Red Tornado finally gets a new body, after months of inhabiting the JLA computers after being destroyed by the killer android Amazo (see Justice League of America: the Tornado’s Path). Sadly, whilst his relationship with his human wife and child looks set to resume, the tempestuous affair between Red Arrow and Hawkgirl is rapidly spinning out of control and beast-empowered heroine Vixen has finally come clean to her team-mates about her out-of-control abilities, Amazo reveals he is neither gone nor forgotten…

Once more assuming control of the Tornado’s new body in ‘Things Fall Apart’ the parasitic automaton resumes its programmed task of destroying the JLA, but as it again crashes to defeat in ‘The Blood-Dimmed Tide’ (this chapter illustrated by Alan Goldman, Prentis Rollins, Rodney Ramos & Derek Fridolfs), Vixen and guest-star Animal Man realise that something is terribly amiss with their powers, origins and even reality itself…

‘The Best Lack All Conviction’ (with art from Benes, Doug Mahnke, Darick Robertson, Shane Davis, Ian Churchill, Ivan Reis, Christian Alamy, Rob Stull, & Joe Prado) finds one faction of the team tracking down Amazo’s creator whilst the other half are drawn into a reality-warping battle with the trickster god Kwaku Anansi. The mythical creator of all stories claims to have designed Vixen (and Animal Man’s) abilities, and now forces the malfunctioning warrior into curing her current maladies – even if she has to die in the process.

With her comrades re-imagined into a plethora of disturbing alternate incarnations Vixen battles to overcome her own failings and rescue “the Real World” from a creature utterly beyond good and evil, and with a particularly unpleasant method of teaching salutary lessons in the climactic ‘Spiritus Mundi’, a impressive and quirky conclusion from McDuffie and Benes that proves that you don’t need A-List stars to tell great stories…

Sleek, glossy, action-packed and leavened with great characterisation and sharp one-liners, the JLA‘s continuing adventures are still among the very best modern superhero sagas around. If you’re not a fan yet, reading these books will swiftly and permanently alter that reality…

© 2008, 2009 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Showcase Presents Supergirl volume 2


By Jerry Siegel, Leo Dorfman, Jim Mooney & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-84856-055-0

Superhero comics don’t often do whimsical and thrilling anymore. They especially don’t do short or self-contained. The modern narrative drive concentrates on extended spectacle, major devastation and relentless terror and trauma. It also helps if you’re a hero who has come back from the dead once or twice or wear a combat thong and thigh boots…

Although there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that, sometimes the palate just craves a different flavour. Once this continued cosmic cataclysm was the exception not the rule, and this second enchanting black and white compendium of the early career of Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El of Argo City happily displays why.

After a few intriguing test-runs Supergirl began as a future star of the expanding Superman pocket universe in Action Comics #252 (May 1959). Superman’s cousin Kara had been born on a city-sized fragment of Krypton, hurled intact into space when the planet exploded. Eventually Argo City turned to Kryptonite like the rest of the detonated world’s debris, and her dying parents, observing Earth through their scopes, sent their daughter to safety as they perished. Landing on Earth, she met Superman who created the identity of Linda Lee and hid her in an orphanage in small town Midvale whilst she learned of her new world and powers in secrecy and safety.

This second collection, encompassing all the Girl of Steel’s adventures from the back of Action Comics #283 (December 1961) to #321 (February 1965), finds the young heroine still in training, her very existence kept secret from the general public and living with adoptive parents Fred and Edna Danvers – who are also completely unaware that the orphan they have recently adopted is a Kryptonian super-being.

The accent on these stories generally revolves around problem-solving, identity-preserving and loneliness, with both good taste and the Comics Code ensuring that readers weren’t traumatised by unsavoury or excessively violent tales. Such plots, akin to situation comedies, often pertained, as in the first story represented here: ‘The Six Red “K” Perils of Supergirl!’, by Jerry Siegel and regular artist Jim Mooney.

Peculiar transformations were a mainstay of 1960s comics, and although a post-modern interpretation might discern some metaphor for puberty or girls “becoming” women, I rather suspect the true answer can be found in the author’s love of comedy and an editorial belief that fighting was unladylike. Red Kryptonite, a cosmically altered isotope of the radioactive element left when Krypton exploded, caused temporary physical and sometimes mental mutations in the survivors of that doomed world – a godsend to writers in need of a challenging visual element when writing characters with the power to drop-kick planets…

Here the wonder-stuff generates a circus of horrors, transforming Supergirl into a werewolf, shrinking her to microscopic size and making her fat (I’m not going to say a single word…).

The drama continued in the next instalment, ‘The Strange Bodies of Supergirl!’ wherein she grew a second head, gained death-ray vision (ostensibly!) and changed into a mermaid. This daffy holdover to simpler times presaged a big change in the Maid of Might’s status as with the next issue her parents learned her true origins and her existence was revealed to the world in the two-part saga ‘The World’s Greatest Heroine!’ and ‘The Infinite Monster!’ both appearing in issue #285, as Supergirl became the darling of the universe: openly saving the planet and finally getting the credit for it.

Action #286 pitted her against her cousin’s greatest foe in ‘The Death of Luthor!’, whilst ‘Supergirl’s Greatest Challenge!’ saw her visit the Legion of Super-Heroes (quibblers be warned: initially their far-future era was the 21st century. It was quietly retrofitted to a thousand years from “now” after the tales in this volume) and save the Earth from invasion. She also met the telepathic descendent of her cat Streaky. His name was Whizzy (I could have left that out but chose not to – once more for smug, comedic effect…).

‘The Man who Made Supergirl Cry!’ signaled the beginning of Leo Dorfman’s run as scripter. Little is known about this prolific writer, other than he also worked under the name Geoff Brown, producing quality material continuously from the Golden Age until his death in 1974. In this tight little thriller Phantom Zone villains took control of Supergirl’s new dad in a plot to escape their ethereal dungeon dimension, whilst #289’s ‘Superman’s Super-Courtship!’ is something of a classic, as the Girl of Steel scoured the universe for an ideal mate for her cousin. Charming at the time, modern sensibilities might quail at the conclusion that his perfect mate was just like Supergirl herself, but older…

‘Supergirl’s Super Boy-Friends!’ saw both human Dick Malverne and Atlantean mer-boy Jerro catch super-powers after kissing her (I’m again saying nothing here) whilst she didn’t actually become ‘The Bride of Mr. Mxyzptlk!’ when the fifth dimensional prankster transferred his unwanted attentions to her in Action #291.

An extended storyline began in the next issue when the girl got a new “pet”. ‘The Super-Steed of Steel!’ was a beautiful white horse who helped her stave off an alien invasion, but the creature had a bizarre and mysterious past, revealed in ‘The Secret Origin of Supergirl’s Super-Horse!’, and a resolution of sorts was reached in ‘The Mutiny of Super-Horse’.

A new cast member joined the series in ‘The Girl with the X-Ray Mind!’, a psychic with a shocking connection to the Superman Family, and her secrets were further revealed in ‘The Girl who was Supergirl’s Double!’ It was the beginning of an extraordinarily tense and epic continued storyline that featured Phantom Zone villains, Luthor, Supergirl’s arch enemy Lesla Lar, the destruction of Atlantis and genuine thrills and excitement. Earth was threatened by ‘The Forbidden Weapons of Krypton!’ and it took ‘The Super-Powers of Lex Luthor!’ to finally save the day.

Action #299 returned to whimsical normality with ‘The Fantastic Secret of Superbaby II!’, and the anniversary 300th issue featured ‘The Return of Super-Horse!’: another multi-part tale that revealed ‘The Secret Identity of Super-Horse!’ in #301, only to suffer ‘The Day Super-Horse went Wild!’ in the next episode.

By this time Supergirl was featured on every second Action Comics cover, and was regularly breaking into the lead Superman story. All those covers, by art dream-team Curt Swan and George Klein are collected herein, as is their Dorfman-scripted Man of Steel tale ‘The Monster from Krypton!’ from #303, with Supergirl having to battle her Red K transformed cousin. Sadly the art is misattributed to Mooney in the credits, but he actually did draw the moving tragedy of ‘Supergirl’s Big Brother!’ for his regular second-feature in that issue.

Supergirl got a new arch-enemy in ‘The Maid of Menace!’ but Black Flame was not as problematic as ‘The Girl Who hated Supergirl!’ (again solely credited to Mooney but I’m pretty sure its at least part-inked by John Forte). Action #306 was a pure mystery thriller as Girl of Steel became ‘The Maid of Doom!‘ whilst ‘Supergirl’s Wedding Day!’ almost proved that no girl can resist a manly man… almost!

‘The Super-Tot from Nowhere!’ proved to be a most difficult adventure in babysitting and #309’s ‘The Untold Story of Argo City!’ began another long saga revealing the true fate of Kara’s Kryptonian mum and dad, whilst ‘Supergirl’s Rival Parents!’ saw her having to chose between them and her Earth family.

More equine revelations came on ‘The Day Super-Horse Became Human!’ whilst eerie coincidence was examined in ‘The Fantastic Menace of the “LL’s”.’ ‘Lena Thorul, Jungle Princess!’ brought the troubled psychic back into the Girl of Steel’s so-complicated life, and the soap opera screws began really tightening when parent trouble resumed in ‘Supergirl’s Tragic Ordeal!’

It was the start of another wicked plot, continued in ‘The Menace of Supergirl’s Mother!’ and concluded in ‘Supergirl’s Choice of Doom!’, but the heroine’s problems were only beginning. In Action #317, Luthor’s latest scheme resulted in ‘The Great Supergirl Double-Cross!’, after which her life changed forever when ‘Supergirl Goes to College!’

Now nominally on her own at sedate Stanhope College, the dramas of catty rival and suspicious sorority sisters were added to identity preserving, boy-chasing and superhero-ing, but first she had to prove she wasn’t ‘The Super-Cheat!’ to keep her place at university. ‘The Man Who Broke Supergirl’s Heart!’ was not only a cad but an alien one, and this volume finishes on an emotional high with #321’s ‘The Enemy Supergirl!’ stuffed with intrigue, imposters and even coma-patients…

Throughout this four-odd year period Kara of Krypton underwent more changes than most of her confreres had in twenty years, as the editors sought to find a niche the buying public could resonate with, but for all that these stories remain exciting, ingenious and utterly bemusing. Possibly the last time a female super-character’s sexual allure and sales potential wasn’t freely and gratuitously exploited, these tales are a link and window to a far less crass time and display one of the few strong female characters that parents can still happily share with their youngest girl children. I’m certainly not embarrassed to let any women see this book, unlike any “Bad-Girl” book you could possibly name.

© 1961-1964, 2008 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Adam Strange: Planet Heist


By Andy Diggle, Pascal Ferry & Dave McCaig (DC Comics)
ISBN: 9787-1-4012-0727-4

As the Silver Age began in the late 1950s, reintroducing costumed superheroes to markets overflowing with cops and cowboys and cosmic invaders, Showcase #17 (cover-dated November-December 1958) launched a true hero for the space-age in a feature entitled ‘Adventures on Other Worlds’. An instant success, it debuted as the lead in Mystery in Space #53, enchanting and enthralling a generation of thrill-starved kids under the title Adam Strange.

Strange was an Terran archaeologist who, whilst fleeing from enraged natives in Peru, jumped a 25ft chasm only to be hit by a stray teleport beam from a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri. He materialised on another world, filled with monsters, fabulous civilisations and was rescued by a beautiful woman named Alanna.

Rann was a world of constant danger: non-stop peril for which brains, not brawn, were the best solution, but Strange was only able to stay on the atomic-war scarred planet for as long as it took the teleporting Zeta Beam radiation to dissipate, whence he would fade away to reappear on Earth until the next beam struck. He found true love with Alanna and unparalleled adventure (see Showcase Presents Adam Strange vol.1) but the universe seemed determined to keep them apart.

After years of travail and turmoil Adam finally relocated permanently to Rann, but his new homeworld grew no less dangerous…

This sharp, compelling rollercoaster ride (collecting the eight issue miniseries which acted as a prequel and introduction to the many story-strands that formed the Infinite Crisis mega-event) finds the once-archaeologist back on Earth to wrap up his affairs. However just when he is ready to depart the Zeta beam never arrives…

After months of increasingly desperate research his Justice League contacts reveal that Rann is gone: while he packed trinkets and underwear a supernova wiped out everything he ever knew and loved…

Desolate and off the rails his life goes swiftly down until he is attacked by alien bounty hunters. In the wake of the resultant destruction he knows something is amiss, and the only logical conclusion must be that Rann still exists…

This is a breakneck-paced science fiction conspiracy-mystery that finally revives the rational, intellectual hero fans haven’t seen since the end of the Julie Schwartz days: an indomitable fighter who thinks things out as he roars through the universe, accused of destroying the very world he seeks, meeting – and usually pursued by – a legion of DC’s outer space icons such as Vril Dox, the Thanagarians, Omega Men and Dark Stars, as well as an unexpected surprise über-villain…

Deducing a greater threat to all reality, avoiding the guns of a billion bloodthirsty foes and the machinations of many malignant masterminds, Adam Strange fights to regain his family and world and in so doing unravels a plot that will shake the very stars…

Bombast aside, this is a superb thriller that rockets along, draped in DC’s convoluted history and continuity, but somehow still fresh and streamlined enough to entertain the most clueless neophyte and seasoned canon-feeder equally. Andy Diggle and Pascal Ferry have crafted a brilliant tale that only falters on the last page, and only then because the solution leads inexorably to another book.

This is well worth any fan of fantastic fiction’s time and attention, but be warned: for final resolutions you’ll probably also need to read Rann-Thanagar War and Infinite Crisis…

© 2004, 2005 DC Comics.  All Rights Reserved.

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JSA: volume 3 The Return of Hawkman


By David S. Goyer, Geoff Johns & various (DC Comics)
ISBN 1-84023-628-0

The third collection of the revered, revived and very legendary Justice Society of America continued the crusade to resurrect or re-induct all the classic big names by reviving the biggest name and most visually arresting of the original team: Hawkman.

However, before that epic unfolds this volume (reprinting issues #16-26 of the monthly comic and portions of JSA Secret Files #1) kicks off with a triumphant extended return engagement for some old foes with ‘Injustice Be Done’. The first chapter ‘Divide and Conquer’ (illustrated by Stephen Sadowski and Michael Bair) finds an expanded Injustice Society in possession of the heroes’ most intimate secrets, ambushing them whilst they’re off guard with significant success.

In ‘Cold Comfort’ mastermind Johnny Sorrow reveals his plans as the heroes begin their fight back, and we see his horrific origins in ‘Sorrow’s Story’ (with additional art Steve Yeowell), before the World goes to Hell with ‘Into the Labyrinth’ (extra inks by Keith Champagne) and the ghostly Spectre returns to save the day.

And spectacularly fails…

The saga concludes in cataclysmic fashion with ‘Godspeed’ as Black Adam and Jakeem, the heir of genie-wielding Johnny Thunder join the team, but not before Jay Garrick the veteran Flash is lost in time and space…

Compelling as it was the entire saga was just a set-up for the eponymous ‘Return of Hawkman’ which I’ll get to after this necessary diversion…

Hawkman is one of the oldest and most revered heroes in comic-books, premiering in Flash Comics #1 (January 1940), created by Gardner Fox and Dennis Neville, although the most celebrated artists to have drawn the Winged Wonder are Sheldon Moldoff and Joe Kubert, whilst a young Robert Kanigher was justly proud of his later run as writer.

Carter Hall was a playboy archaeologist until he uncovered a crystal knife that unlocked his memories. He realised that once he was Prince Khufu of ancient Egypt, and that he and his lover Shiera had been murdered by High Priest Hath-Set. Moreover with his returned memories came the knowledge that his love and his kicker were also nearby.

Using the restored knowledge of his past life he fashioned a costume and flying harness, hunting his killer as the Hawkman. Once his aim had been achieved he and Shiera maintained their “Mystery-Man” roles to fight modern crime and tyranny with weapons of the past.

Disappearing at the end of the Golden Age they were revived by Julie Schwartz’s crack creative team in the early 1960s (see Showcase Presents Hawkman volume 1 for further details), and after a long career involving numerous revamps and retcons  the Pinioned Paladin “died” during the Zero Hour crisis.

Now the lost Jay Garrick awakens in old Egypt greeted by a pantheon of that era’s superheroes. Nabu, the Lord of Order who created Doctor Fate, the original incarnation of Black Adam and Khufu himself reveal the true origins of Hawkman whilst in the 21st century the JLA‘s heavenly hero Zauriel tells the modern Hawkgirl just who and what she really is in ‘Guardian Angels’.

The epic further unfolds as a major connection to the alien Hawkworld of Thanagar is clarified and explored in ‘Lost Friends’ and as Garrick returns to his home time Hawkgirl is abducted to the aforementioned Thanagar by its last survivors, desperate to thwart the schemes of the insane death-demon Onimar Synn who has turned the entire planet into a zombie charnel house.

As the JSA frantically follow their abducted member to distant Polaris in ‘Ascension’ Carter Hall makes his dramatic return from beyond and saves the day in typical fashion before leading the team to magnificent victory in the concluding ‘Seven Devils’.

Illustrated by Buzz, Rags Morales, Sadowski, Bair, David Meikis and Paul Neary, this latest return not only led to Hawkman regaining his own title (more graphic novel magic to review soonest!) but also stands as one of the most cosmic and grand-scaled of all the JSA‘s adventures.

Complex, enticing, thrilling and full of the biggest sort of superhero hi-jinks, if costume drama is your meat, this book should be your prey…

© 2001, 2002 DC Comics.  All Rights Reserved.

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JSA volume 2: Darkness Falls


By Geoff Johns, David S. Goyer, Stephen Sadowski, Michael Bair & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-56389-739-9

Following hard on the heels of their successful revival of the industry’s first super-team, the assorted creators hit the ground running and began expanding the roster and finding bigger and bolder cataclysms for the multi-generational army to combat.

The Justice Society of America was created in the third issue of All-Star Comics (Winter 1940/1941), an anthology title featuring established characters from various All-American Comics publications, by the simple expedient of having the heroes gather around a table and tell each other their latest adventure. From this low key collaboration it wasn’t long before the heroes joined forces to defeat the greatest villains and social ills of their generation.

Gathering issues #6-15 of the monthly JSA comicbook in one mighty tome, this volume begins with the official relaunch of the team in ‘Justice. Like Lightning…’ (illustrated by Marcos Martin & Keith Champagne) as the veteran members Flash, Sentinel and Wildcat assume the role of mentors for both current and future champions only to be attacked by a demented super-human named Black Adam. The bombastic battle serves to introduce some very far-reaching plot threads as the new incarnations of Doctor Fate, Hourman and Hawkgirl journey to ancient Egypt to solve the mystery of the Black Marvel’s madness, before the second major story-arc of the series begins.

In ‘Darkness Falls’ (art by Stephen Sadowski & Michael Bair) Sentinel’s troubled son Obsidian, haunted by his own powers, seemingly goes mad and attempts to drag the world into a supernatural realm of dark despondence. Naturally there’s more to the mess that might first appear, and when the new Doctor Mid-Nite appears it’s not long before the black tide begins to turn…

The epic concludes in a savage battle for the ‘Black Planet’ and Wildcat then takes centre-stage for a magnificent solo stint against the entire Injustice Society in ‘Wild Hunt’ – the best “Die Hard” tribute ever seen in comics.

Beginning with ‘Split’ (by Bair & Buzz) the next extended saga pits the team simultaneously against serpentine super-terrorist Kobra and the time-bending villain Extant (who killed many of the original team in Zero Hour) forcing the still largely untested JSA to divide its forces between a world in peril and a continuum in crisis.

‘The Blood-Dimmed Tide’ concentrates on the anti-Kobra contingent but their swift victory is spoiled when the sole survivor of the other team appears to bring them into battle against Extant in ‘Time’s Assassin’, ‘Chaos Theory’ and the spectacular ‘Crime and Punishment’ wherein reality is stretched beyond its limits, the gates of the afterlife are propped open and more than a few dead heroes return…

Complex and enthralling, these super shenanigans are the very best of their genre, filled with wicked villains and shining, triumphant heroes, cosmic disaster and human tragedies, always leavened by optimism and humour.

As such they’re simply not for every graphic novel reader, but if you can put yourself into the head and heart of a thrill-starved ten year old and handle the burden of seven decades of history, these tales will supercharge your imagination and restore your faith in justice…

© 2000, 2002 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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JSA volume 1: Justice Be Done


By James Robinson, David S. Goyer & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-56389-620-0

After the actual invention of the comicbook superhero – for which read the launch of Superman in 1938 – the most significant event in the genre, and indeed industry’s progress was the combination of individual sales-points into a group. Thus what seems blindingly obvious to us with the benefit of four-colour hindsight was proven – a number of popular characters could multiply readership by combining forces and readerships. Plus of course, a whole bunch of superheroes is a lot cooler than just one – or even one and a sidekick.

The Justice Society of America was created in the third issue of All-Star Comics (Winter 1940/1941), an anthology title featuring established characters from various All-American Comics publications, by the simple expedient of having the heroes gather around a table and tell each other their latest adventure. From this low key collaboration it wasn’t long before the guys – and they were all guys (except Red Tornado who pretended to be one – don’t ask!) until Wonder Woman premiered in the eighth issue regularly joined forces to defeat the greatest villains – and social ills of their generation.

Within months the concept had spread far and wide…

And so the Justice Society of America is rightly revered as a true landmark in the development of comic books, and, when Julius Schwartz revived the superhero genre in the late 1950s, the key moment would come with the inevitable teaming of the reconfigured mystery men into a Justice League of America. From there it wasn’t long until the original and genuine returned. Since then there have been many attempts to formally revive the team’s fortunes but it wasn’t until 1999 on the back of both the highly successful revamping of the JLA by Grant Morrison and Howard Porter and the seminal but critically favoured new Starman by Golden Age devotee James Robinson, that the multi-generational team found a concept and fan-base big enough to support them.

This first volume collects the prequel tale from JSA: Secret Files #1 and the first complete story-arc from JSA #1-5, detailing with great style and remarkable facility (considering the incredibly convoluted continuity of the feature) how the last active survivors of the original team, Wildcat, Flash and Green Lantern/Sentinel, unite with the inheritors of the veteran team’s legacy to continue the tradition, train the next generation of heroes and battle one of the oldest evils in the universe.

It all begins with the death of the Sandman, octogenarian Wesley Dodds, who beats the odds one last time to thwart an unstoppable ancient foe and warn his surviving comrades of the peril to come…

At Dodds’ funeral a horde of death-demons attack the mourners after the hero known as Fate is murdered, and the assembled mourners – legacy heroes Sand, Stargirl, Hourman, Atom Smasher, Starman and Obsidian, plus Black Canary, Wonder Woman (actually her mother Hippolyta) and the aforementioned trio above are sent on a tripartite mission to rescue three babies; one of which is the new incarnation of the magical hero Doctor Fate.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to all, a wild card has been introduced with the unexpected return of another departed comrade in the guise of a new and deeply troubled Hawkgirl…

Although deeply fixed in the vast backstory of the DC universe, ‘Gathering Storm’, ‘The Wheel of Life’, ‘Old Souls’ and ‘Ouroboros’, illustrated by Scott, Benefiel, Stephen Sadowski, Mark Propst and Michael Bair, is a accessible superhero-rebirth saga, wonderfully compelling with a frenetic pace that keeps the reader barrelling along. The struggle against the mystery villain is pitched perfectly, with plenty of clues for the old-timers and enough character illustration to educate and satisfy those who have never heard of “the Dark Lord…”

With the revival and reintroduction of Hawkgirl and Doctor Fate achieved, the volume concludes with ‘Grounded’ (illustrated by Derec Aucoin and Bair) focusing on the history and new powers of the latest Sandman and introducing a new Mister Terrific to the team, whilst foreshadowing horrors yet to come…

Complex, thrilling, breathtaking; this is the very best modern superhero comics can aspire to: adding to rather than subtracting from the shared mythology whilst not afraid to dump the utterly unsalvageable bits of stuff that just won’t play today – never once forgetting that it’s all about entertainment…

Although this will never be a universally acclaimed graphic novel like Maus or Watchmen, for dyed-in-the-wool tights and fights fans JSA: Justice Be Done is just what the Doctor ordered and what Fate decrees…
© 1999 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Showcase Presents Hawkman volume 2


By Gardner Fox, Murphy Anderson, Bob Haney, Dick Dillon & various (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-4012-1817-1

After fighting long and hard to win his own title it was such a pity that time and fashion seemed to conspire against the Winged Wonder…

Katar Hol and his wife Shayera Thal were police officers on their own highly advanced planet of Thanagar. They originally travelled to Earth from the star system Polaris in pursuit of a shape-changing spree-thief named Byth but stayed to study Earth police methods in the cultural metropolis of Midway City. This all occurred in the wonderful ‘Creature of a Thousand Shapes’ which appeared in The Brave and the Bold #34 (cover-dated February-March 1961), but the public was initially resistant and it was three years and many further issues, guest-shots and even a back-up feature in Mystery in Space before the Winged Warriors finally won their own title

Hawkman #1, cover-dated April-May 1964, signalled the beginning of a superb run of witty, thrilling, imaginative and hugely entertaining science fiction, crime-mystery and superhero adventures that captivated the devoted but still painfully small audience.

This second, concluding volume, reprinting in crisp efficient black and white Hawkman #12-27, Brave and the Bold #70, The Atom #31 and the avian portions of the last-ditch combination-comic The Atom and Hawkman #39-45, recommences the magic with another large-scale cosmic epic that originally debuted in February-March 1966 (issue #12). ‘The Million-Year-Long War!’ is pure Gardner Fox storytelling, recounting how a Thanagarian exploration team awakened two aliens determined to kill each other even after eons of suspended animation and whose enmity drove them to possess all of Thanagar, turning Hawkman’s homeworld into one huge weapon. As usual Fox’s imaginings were gloriously illustrated by Murphy Anderson – as they would be until Julie Schwartz surrendered editorial control with issue #22.

Hawkman #13 featured a startling time-bending saga ‘Quest of the Immortal Queen!’ wherein a Valkyrie from Earth’s far future decided to add the Winged Wonder to her seraglio of lusty warriors plucked from history. Happily his wife Shayera strenuously objected and is both smart and tough enough to sort things out. Fox’s treatment of female characters was highly unique for those pre-feminist times: all his heroines – a large number of them wives, not wishy-washy “girlfriends” – were capable, intelligent and most importantly, wholly independent individuals.

Hawkgirl was written as every bit her husband’s equal and the Hawks had one of the most subtle and sophisticated relationships in the business. Like Sue and Ralph Dibney (Elongated Man and wife) Katar and Shayera were full partners, (both couples were influenced by the Nick and Nora Charles characters of the Thin Man movies) and the interplay between them was always rich in humour and warmth.

As a sign of the times super-secret criminal conspirators C.A.W. returned to seize control of the ‘Treasure of the Talking Head!’ – an ancient computer which held all the world’s knowledge, built before the birth of Christ, and the Pinioned Paladins then faced a fantastic monster in ‘Scourge of the Human Race!’, an encounter which revealed the true history of humanity as the last surviving specimen of Homo Sapiens’ earliest rival for mastery of the planet attempts to reverse evolution…

Issue #16 was a dimension-hopping sequel to Hawkman #6 (‘World Where Evolution Ran Wild’): an incredible Lost Worlds romp which combined secret history, fantastic fantasy and DC’s signature fascination with apes and simians in ‘Lord of the Flying Gorillas!’ whilst #17’s ‘Ruse of the Robbing Raven’ changed pace with a clever costumed crook caper. The issue also contained the first short back-up tale in over a year – another science based mystery entitled ‘Enigma of the Escape-Happy Jewel Thieves!’

Hawkman then guest-starred – and clashed – with Batman in The Brave and the Bold #70 (February-March 1967): ‘Cancelled: 2 Super-Heroes’ by Bob Haney, EC legend Johnny Craig and Chuck Cuidera saw the usually comradely crime-busters at each others throats due to the machinations of a manic millionaire who collected secret identities, whilst later that month in his own title the Winged Wonder teamed with Adam Strange against the malevolent Manhawks to locate the ‘World That Vanished!’ The planet in question was Thanagar and when it went it took Hawkman’s beloved Shayera with it…

This colossal tale concluded in the next issue with the action-packed ‘Parasite Planet Peril!’ and the Avian Ace then joined his old friend in The Atom #31 for ‘Good Man, Bad Man, Turnabout Thief!’ (by Fox, Gil Kane & Sid Greene) to battle a phantom super-criminal hidden within the brain of an innocent man, before returning to home ground for Hawkman#20’s ‘Death of the Living Flame’ a classy anthropological tomb-raiding yarn and the introduction of a new and persistent foe in ‘Lion-Mane… the Tabu Menace!’

The alien-infected leonine marauder returned in the very next issue ‘Attack of the Jungle Juggernaut!’– a typically classy thriller for Fox and Anderson to bow out with. With issue #22, George Kashdan took over the editorial reins, tapping Bob Haney, Dick Dillin and Charles “Chuck” Cuidera to continue the adventures of the Winged Wonders in a market increasingly indifferent to costumed characters. ‘Quoth the Falcon “Hawkman Die!”’ certainly hit the ground running as the tale of extraterrestrial paranoia and civil unrest resulted in Hawkman revealing his secret identity and alien heritage to a hostile Earth…

‘The Hawkman from 1,000,000 B.C.!’ was another dark, moody tale wherein a mad scientist’s time-plundering ray inflicts dinosaurs, ancient warriors and an amnesiac Hawkman on the shell-shocked citizens of Midway City. Arnold Drake scripted the alien invasion saga ‘The Robot-Raiders from Planet Midnight!’ and Haney resurfaced for ‘Return of the Death Goddess!’ and Shayera’s brief but ghastly possession by the ghost of the mythical Medusa.

The writing was on the wall by June-July 1968 and the prophetically entitled ‘Last Stand on Thanagar!’(issue #26) scripted by Raymond Marais, was a rushed inconsequential affair before the final tale ‘…When the Snow-Fiend Strikes!’ ended Hawkman’s solo career with a muddled tale of Communist agents and Yetis in the Himalayas.

It was a bad time for superheroes. Buying tastes had changed and a drop in comic sales and attendant rise in interest in supernatural themes prompted publishers to drop or amend much of the anti-horror provisions of the Comics Code Authority. Tales of mystery and imagination were returning after nearly a decade-and-a-half, but sales figures notwithstanding, Julie Schwartz had worked too hard to just let Hawkman die.

Just as Marvel were converting their double-feature split books into solo titles Hawkman was crammed into the equally struggling Atom comic for one last year of adventures.

The Atom and Hawkman, beginning with #39 (October-November 1968, carrying on the numbering of the Tiny Titan’s publication) featured some of Schwartz’s biggest creative guns, alternating short solo stories with shared adventures. The first of these was ‘Vengeance of the Silver Vulture!’ an epic battle against a resurgent Mayan death-cult written by Bob Kanigher, illustrated by Anderson and Joe Giella, with cover art by Joe Kubert – who would also contribute interior art to the feature he struggled so long and hard to create.

Written by Fox, pencilled by Kubert and inked by Anderson, the Hawkman portion of #40, ‘Man with the Inbuilt Panic Button!’ and its sequel ‘Yo-Yo Hangup in the Sky!’ from #41 are one last splendid slice of the “Good Old Days” – an intriguing mystery about a ordinary man who suddenly develops the power of teleportation – but only from one life-threatening crisis to a greater one…

Denny O’Neil joined Dick Dillin and Sid Greene for ‘When the Gods Make Madness!’, a full-length team-up which pitted the heroes against Hindu gods, and Kanigher revived the Golden Age Hawkman’s greatest foe in the two part saga of The Gentleman Ghost ‘Come to my Hanging!’ and the concluding ‘The Ghost Laughs Last’, both illustrated by Anderson.

The Atom and Hawkman #45 was the final issue, a revelatory psycho-drama featuring both heroes by O’Neil, Dillin and Greene that wrapped up their comic tenure and set them up with a prolonged series of further adventures in Justice League of America: a veritable lifeboat for cancelled costumed crime-fighters at that time.

‘Queen Jean, Why Must We Die?’ revealed that the Atom’s fiancée Jean Loring was the descendent of aliens who had crashed on Earth in the Stone Age. Returned from sub-molecular exile the survivors drove her insane – because their hereditary rulers must be free of all care – before the heroes could rescue – but not cure her. This tale would provide much of the basis for Loring’s actions in contemporary sagas Identity Crisis and Countdown to Final Crisis…

And then , but for the JLA, occasional guest-spots or back-up features in Action or Detective Comics that was it for the Winged Wonders until changing tastes and times gave them another, indeed many other, shots at the stars.

Hawkman briefly grew into one of the most iconic characters of the second superhero boom, not just for the superb art but also because of brilliant, subtle writing and incomparable imagination. These tales are comfortably familiar but grippingly timeless. Yet comics are a funny business; circumstances, tastes and fashions often mean that wonderful works are missed and unappreciated.

Don’t make the same mistake readers did in the 1960s. Together with its first volume this book captures and perfectly preserves the very essence of the Silver Age of Superheroes. Whatever your own vintage, read these astounding adventures and become a fan. It’s never too late.
© 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 2008 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Catwoman: the Long Road Home


By Will Pfeiffer, David Lopez & Alvaro Lopez (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-84856-181-6

After a phenomenal relaunch (see Catwoman: Selina’s Big Score, The Dark End of the Street and Crooked Little Town) the feline felon motored along nicely for years before falling prey to her most telling weakness: she is inextricably bonded to the Bat Franchise and as it turns, so does she.

Despite some sterling work from Will Pfeiffer, David Lopez & Alvaro Lopez, the series was marked for cancellation and the final days saw her sucked into both the Amazons Attack and Salvation Run publishing events (see particularly Wonder Woman: Amazons Attack!, Justice League of America: Sanctuary, JLA: Salvation Run and the previous volume Catwoman: Crime Pays).

So it is that this final compilation (collecting issues #78-82 of her gone-but-not-forgotten monthly comic) opens with the urban defender of Gotham City’s downtrodden underclass marooned on a distant deadly planet where America’s super-criminals have been clandestinely deported by the government, trying to avoid being killed by her own rogues gallery (Russian émigrés Hammer & Sickle and Cheetah most notably) whilst back on Earth old friend Slam Bradley’s search for her has led him into a murderous deathtrap…

One Final Whine (and you just know that’s not true): as I’ve said in many a review, graphic novels are different from simultaneously published periodicals, and lots of the tricks that augment sales in the latter are actual hindrances in the former. This first chapter is the ideal example of that observation.

In the comic-books this story culminates with a cataclysmic death-duel on the alien Hellworld, and a Slam Bradley teaser/cliffhanger after which the informed reader turns to Salvation Run issues #6 and 7 to discover what happens next. In this collection we simply, inexplicably find Catwoman back on Earth and coming to Slam’s rescue. Bast help you if you’re on a tight budget or only collect Catwoman books…

Feel free to consider that an advisory to buy Salvation Run too.

After saving Bradley Selina returns to unfinished business: chiefly tracking down The Thief, an obnoxious upstart who stole all her possessions and reputation to augment his own, which she does with panache and perhaps excessive force and zeal, before settling a few other old scores, most notably with criminal information broker The Calculator, and drives off into the sunset after one final fight with Batman.

This is a readable if necessarily bitty clean-up operation prior to Catwoman joining the cast of the ensemble series “Gotham City Sirens”, but there are still moments of the old magic to be found here. A rather unfortunate end to a superb series and a wrap-up only the most dedicated fans should have to endure.

© 2008 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.