Comic books for the week of April 9, 2008:Terry Moore's Echo #2 (Abstract Studios)
Fantastic Four #556 (Marvel)
Justice Society of America #14 (DC)
Action Comics #863 (DC)
Comic books for the week of April 16, 2008:Captain Action #0 (Moonstone)
Noble Causes #32 (Image)
Superman #675 (DC)
Powers Annual 2008 (Icon/Marvel)
Comic books for the week of April 23, 2008:None. In honor of the anniversary of the appearance of Action Comics
#1 on newsstands on April 18, 1938: My First Superman ComicsComic books for the week of April 30, 2008:DC Universe #0 (DC)
Wildguard Insider #1 (of 3) (Image)
Noble Causes #33 (Image)
Legion of Super-Heroes #41 (DC)
Action Comics #864 (DC)
Comic books for Free Comic Book Day, Saturday, May 3, 2008:Archie's Pal Jughead (Archie)
Walt Disney's Gyro Gearloose (Gemstone Publishing)
The Death-Defying Devil (Dynamite Entertainment)
EC Sampler ((Gemstone Publishing)
Back Issue Bin:
A Distant Soil #25 (Image)
Comic books for the week of May 7, 2008:Joe Kubert's Kor #1 (of 6) (DC)
Action Comics Annual #11 (DC)
No, I haven't quit this blog. It's just been a busy month. My family had to get ready for my son's graduation from Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina on Friday, April 25, as well as a birthday / high school graduation / boot camp graduation party last Saturday, May 3. He is now at infantry school at Camp Gieger at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He'll be there for a month before going to his electronics maintenance school, at either 29 Palms, California or Pensacola, Florida. I took a week of vacation after his graduation from boot camp, and didn't have a chance to catch up on this blog until now. First I had to clean up his old bedroom after he left for infantry school, which I began using it for my office after he went to boot camp. Once I'm done with this blog I'll work on catching up on my podcast,
Superman Fan Podcast. Now, without further delay, let's get this blog rolling.
Comic books for the week of April 9, 2008:Terry Moore's Echo #2 (Abstract Studios)
* * * * *With this second issue, Terry Moore is still setting up his story and introducing characters, and the plot only gets more interesting. Julie begins to discover the strange properties of the "flowing" metal that has mysteriously stuck to her after the mid-air explosion in the first issue. We learn more about her personal life, which isn't so great right now. The unknown corporation continues their search for the flying suit that was blown up last issue, and they bring in a woman named Ivy to take charge of the search. This promises to bode ill for Julie. Terry Moore shows he is as good at action/adventure stories as the personal relationship stories of
Strangers In Paradise.
SIP had its share of action/adventure/suspense, so the story quality of
Echo is no surprise. It has bits of personal stories through the issue. I can't wait to see where this story goes. I'll be keeping this titile on my pull list.
Fantastic Four #556 (Marvel)
* * * * *In this third part of the four part story
World's Greatest, the CAP Robot (Conserve and Protoect) kicks butt, Johnny Storm's life continues to get more complicated with a rock band, reality show and a new super villain. The rampage of the CAP Robot leads to a question about Reed's ex-girlfriend Alyssa and her husband: Do they have any other dark secrets with their Nu-World project. This story matches the quality of the best Lee/Kirby
FF stories and is worth checking out. Sue Storm has a great line about a nanny candidate for Franklin and Val.
Justice Society of America #14 (DC)
* * * *The JSA takes the fight to Gog, or is that the other way around? There are some nice quiet moments between cast members before the battle, especially between Power Girl and Sandman. The battle previous issues built toware begins here. The question is, will the next issue be the end of the story, or is it really just the beginning. This tie-in to the classic
Kingdom Come mimi-series is an excellent prequel (?), and it only helps that
Kingdom Come's artist Alex Ross is working with Geoff Johns on the story.
Action Comics #863 (DC)
* * * * *This issue marks the conclusion to the
Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes story. Earth-Man and Superman finish their battle in Earth orbit, while the Legion work on shutting down the equipment that has converted the Sun to a red star which nullifies Superman's powers. This has been the best story in the regular Superman titles in years. It shows Superman at his best, even without his super powers. Even when he is being tough in his battle with the villain, Superman doesn't forget his boy scout manners with innocent bystanders during the fight. And what's wrong with that? Hey, it's Superman!
Comic books for the week of April 16, 2008:Captain Action #0 (Moonstone)
* * *This title is not on my pull list, and I'm not adding it to it, but I couldn't resist picking up this first issue. As a boy Captain Action was one of those toys I wanted for Christmas that never made it under my Christmas tree. the closest I came was buying a Captain Action Batman costume that I put on my G. I. Joe action figure, the original twelve inch figure, not the later smaller figures.
For those who are to young to remember the Captain Action toy, it was an action figure with its own costume, that you could buy licensed super hero costumes, especially DC Comics. I once saw a costume for the Green Hornet. This comic book incorporates the costume changes into Captain Action's powers. It's not as long as the average comic book, but includes a short origin and shows the son of the original Captain Action picking up the mantle, and why, as well as the first threat he must face. In the back of the issue is an article about the history of the toy that is also interesting. It was fun seeing how the creative team brought in the toy's costume changes into their story. I enjoyed this trip down memory lane even if I won't be picking up the title. Too many comics, not enough budget.
Noble Causes #32 (Image)
* * * * *This title hasn't been published for some months while creator Jay Faerber revised the story. This issue picks up five years later, after Gaia has surrendered to authorities after her actions in the last storyline. Doc Noble has remarried, the cast look a little different, a little older. Their lives have changed drastically, and there are some new members of the cast. This issue begins with a group of super villains in their hideout counting loot and watching a TV show about the Nobles, when they find themselves part of the show. We are re-introduced to the Nobles and their new members through the battle that follows, and on their return to Noble Island. We are introduced to the "civilian" girlfriend of one of the new Nobles, reminiscent of the Liz and Race relationship. The changes to the cast and the characters themselves haven't taken away from the quality of the title. It has picked up where it left off as far as quality art and story, and was well worth the wait.
Superman #675 (DC)
* * * 1/2
Superman finishes his battle with Paragon and the Daxam clerics. The stereotype of religion equaling ignorance took away from the story for me, but Superman's battle with the Daxam doomsday device and subsequent attempt to save one of the Daxam clerics from lead poisoning made up for it. The best part for me was the ending, where Daxam's loss of their planetary knowledge gives Superman an idea.
Powers Annual 2008 (Icon/Marvel)
* * * * *Someone dressed in a bear's head mask and skin lies dead on a night club floor. The sight gives Detective Christian Walker a flashback to his life in prehistoric times as the Conan-like warrior Gora, and his battle with his oldest enemy. This story takes place between the first two issues of the
Powers: Forever trade paperback, which details Christian Walker's origin. You don't need to read that trade to fully understand and enjoy this issue, but it will definitely add to your enjoyment of this story.
Powers never disappoints me, and I always save it for last whenever an issue comes out. Speaking of which, issue #29 was originally scheduled to come out on April 23, but still hasn't appeared on comic store shelves. I anxiously check the Diamond shipping list every Monday to see if it will appear. Oh well, maybe next Monday.
Comic books for the week of April 23, 2008: My First Superman Comic BooksThis was a rare week when I didn't have any comics come in at
Bad Apple Comics (
http://www.bacomics.com/). This day was also the day my family and I traveled to Parris Island, South Carolina to my son's graduation from Marine boot camp. Since I didn't have any comics to blog about I thought I would write about my first Superman comic books. According to Marc Tyler Nobleman's blog,
http://www.noblemania.blogspot.com/, Friday, April 18, 2008 was the anniversary of
Action Comics #1 going on sale on newsstands. In that blog he writes about his very first Superman comic book. The web site
http://www.dcindexes.com/ gives the approximate publication date as May 3, 1938. Whichever date is accurate, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share my first Superman comic books.
One of the first Superman stories that I have any memory of reading was
Superman #181, cover date November, 1965 was one of them. The cover featured the back up story,
The Superman of 2965, and the first story was
The Super Scoops of Morna Vine. The neice of a Daily Planet stockholder weasels her way into a job asd a reporter and commences to scoop Clark, Lois and Jimmy using devices salvaged from a destroyed Superman robot. It was destroyed rescuing her father and his diving bell from weird undersea creatures. I remember being slightly creeped out as a child by the panel of the Superman robot breaking into pieces. Even at that age I could tell it was a robot, but it still seemed like Superman was being destoyed.
Another early Superman comic book I remember reading was
World's Finest #159, cover dated August 1966. The title of this story was
The Cape and Cowl Crooks. Superman and Batman battle Anti-Superman and Anti-Batman. Anti-Superman wears a dark blue cowl and costume and a dark red cape, and Anti-Batman wears a green costume. At the end it is revealed that Anti-Superman was actually Perry White and Anti-Batman was Commissioner Gordon. They were exposed to a formula that turned them evil during a visit to Superman's Fortress of Solitude, when they walked into the weapons room.
The first comic book that I can remember my Dad buying me was
World's Finest #155, cover dated February 1966. He bought it at a convenience store near Silver Springs, Florida, near Ocala. The title of the story was
The 1,000th Exploit of Superman and Batman. Batman tries to solve the mystery of the new super hero, Nightman, that Superman is working with. It turns out that Batman solves the mystery by discovering that it is himself, hypnotized by Superman , to commemorate their 1,000th case together. Superman did this in return to a similar trick Batman pulled on him for Supoerman's birthday, as told in
The Super Key to Fort Superman, from
Action Comics #241, cover date June 1958.
I have found copies of these issues to add to my collection again and still enjoy reading these stories from my childhood.
Comic books for the week of April 30, 2008DC Universe #0 (DC)
Wildguard Insider #1 (of 3) (Image)
Noble Causes #33 (Image)
Legion of Super-Heroes #41 (DC)
Action Comics #864 (DC)
DC Universe #0
* * * *This title was cover priced at 50 cents, but was free at
Bad Apple Comics (
http://www.bacomics.com/). It had a great George Perez cover, which always catches my eye. The story summarizes the "crises" of past DC history, including
Crisis of Infinite Earths. Next is Batman questioning the Joker at Arkham Asylum, leading into the upcoming
Batman R.I.P. storyline, Greek Gods and various villains plotting against Wonder Woman, Hal Jordan and Jon Stewart investigate a mysterious explosion in desert norther California, a chilling scene of the Spectre delivering "poetic" justice, a mysterious fugure in another dimension coming back to life, and finally a meeting of DC villains with Libra as a disciple of the Crime Bible sect. It's a great set up to DC's
Final Crisis (we can only hope). I'm not saying that I think this will be a terrible story, I'm just burnt out on all of these "event" comics. I enjoyed
52, but had to quit
Countdownto tighten my comics budget. I enjoyed reading this book even though I won't be buing the event series. Judging by this story
Final Crisis has the potential to be a great story. Time will tell.
Wildguard Insider #1 (of 3) (Image)
* * * *The first story is a Red Rover adventure, followed by fact files of the characters, Wildguard web comic strips,
Where Are They Now stories featuring Shaker and Adhesor and a
Guardpost article about Wildguard creator Todd Nauck, who serves as writer, aritst, colorist and letterer. Even though I missed the first mini-series I've picked subsequent ones.
Wildguard is another of the super hero titles that grab my attention with a unique twist on the super hero genre. The first mini-series told the story about a reality show picking a new super hero team. this appeared well before Stan Lee's
Who Wants To Be A Super Hero? The characters are original and Todd Nauck knows how to give each one a unique personality.
Noble Causes #33 (Image)
* * * *Unlike a lot of comic books the story is actually reflected in the cover. Frost battles aliens, backed up by the rest of the Nobles, then they all appear at an award ceremony. Frost certainly has changed, in more than looks from five years ago, and is less of a "bad boy". This issue also has some great back-up features. The changes Jay Farber has made in fast forwarding the story by five years has made the book stornger, and I didn't think that was possible.
Legion of Super-Heroses #41 (DC) * * * * *
Princess Projectra continues her downward slide as a princess without a planet, Lightning Lad is still caught up in United Planets beuraucracy, a mysterious kid continues to snoop unnoticed around Legion HQ, the autosy of a mysterious alien destroyer from recent issues goes awry, and it seems that the Legion is attracting some powerful enemies. This is the strongest of Jim Shooter's return to the title that began his comic book career. Various plot threads and Legion intrigue are starting to develop, The quality of the title is definitely improving after several "reboots" disrupting continuity and seeming to start over, again. Legion has stopped spinning its wheels and is really going places again.
Action Comics #864 (DC) * * * * *
This is an epilogue of the
Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes story that concluded in the previous issue. Lightning Lad transports the bodies of Una (Triblicate Girl) and Karate Kid back to the 31st century. This issue serves as set up for the upcoming
Final Crisis tie-in mini-series
Legion of Three Worlds. Unlike a lot of issues that serve as set up for mini-series and are just fluff with little story or character development or interaction, this issue is a breather after an action packed storyline, with interesting characterization. It doesn't disappoint. And I will be reading
Legion of Threee Worlds.
Comic books for Free Comic Book Day, Saturday, May 3, 2008:Archie's Pal Jughead (Archie Comics)
Walt Disney's Gyro Gearloose (Gemstone Publishing)
The Death Defying Devil (Dynamite Entertainment)
EC Sampler (Gemstone Publishing)
From the back issue bin:A Distant Soil #25 (Image Comics)
I had to make quick dash to
Bad Apple Comics (
http://www.bacomics.com/) that morning because we were having a belated birthday party / high school graduation / Marine boot camp graduation party for my son that day. So when I went for an ice run I took a detour to the comic store. How they did Free Comic Book Day was that each customer could pick four free comic book day special issues. These were the ones I picked.
Archie's Pal Jughead (Archie Comics)
* * * *As a boy I enjoyed reading Archie comics, but as an adult I've grown out of it. But the photo cover of the Geppi Entertainment Museum caught my attention. I had listened to his interview on the
Fanboy Radio podcast episode #328, and would like to visit the museum sometime in the future. The story was a pleasant surprise, as Archie gets a job as night watchman. He proceeds to stumble on a plot to steal the artifacts in typical Archie fashion. In the back is a brief history of the character and the publication company. This title didn't make me want to start reading Archie comics again, but it was a fun read.
Walt Disney's Gyro Gearloose (Gemstone Publishing)
* * * *I had to pick up this title when I saw it on the Free Comic Book Day spinner rack. While only one of the stories was a classic Carl Barks story,
Cave of Winds, I have very fond memories of the Scrooge McDuck characters, especially Gyro Gearloose. When you look at the ink line of the Carl Barks story compared to the others, as good as they are, I think you'll find that
Cave of Winds is a notch above the others in art. It had a finer line, and more variety of line. I would collect other classic Carl Barks stories after reading this comic. The Carl Barks Collection is coming out later this year, but I don't know if I'll be able to afford it.
The Death Defying Devil (Dynamite Entertainment)
* * * *This issue reprises the golden age character Daredevil (no relation to the Marvel character) and his battle with the giant villain the Claw. To learn about the original Daredevil from the 1940's listen to
The Golden Age of Comics podcast with Bill Jourdain, episode #44. I'm enjoying the
Project Superpowers issues, including this one, and seeing some of these obscure golden age heroes, now in the public domain.
EC Sampler (Gemstone Publishing)
* * * * *This was definitely the best of my picks on Free Comic Book Day. Stories like these were the reason EC Comics were the best comics of the 1950', and were largely ahead of their time. This title gives a broad look at the genres EC was involved in, from SF, war, horror and suspense. The final story, about racism and the KKK is especially chilling, not in support of the Klan, but against racism. All of the artists shown in this issue were among the top of the field. My favorite was Wally Wood, artist of the story on prejudice.
From the back issue bin:A Distant Soil #25 (Image)
* * * *I was looking for a back issue of last year's Free Comic Book Day issue of
The Umbrella Academy but didn't have any luck. I guess I'll have to wait for the trade paperback. but when I saw an issue of Colleen Doran's
A Distant Soil, I had to pick it up. I've read at least part of the first issue on the Image web site, but had never read a regular copy. Picking up the story in the middle was hard to keep up, but the characterization was excellent. The art was top quality as well. I look forward to picking up her trade paperbacks, starting with volume I, as well as her trade
Orbiter, written by Warren Ellis.
Comics for the week of May 7, 2008:Joe Kubert's Tor #1 (of 3) (DC)
Action Comics Annual #11 (DC)
Joe Kubert's Tor #1 (of 3) (DC)
* * * *This title was not on my pull list, but when I saw this next Joe Kubert mini-series after his
Sgt. Rock series, I had to pick it up. I first noticed Kubert on DC's
Tarzan book from the 1960's. Just looking at the panels will teach the reader about how to compose a comic book page. Joe Kubert is a master and shows it by doing all of the art chores. The issue begins with Tor, beaten and exiled, finding a mysterious land, separated from the surrounding country by high cliffs. Once there, he finds an apish child tied to a rock about to be eaten by a pre-historic alligator or croc. From there Tor discovers more of the strange denizens of this place. I think I'll be adding this to my pull list.
Action Comics Annual #11 (DC)
* * * * *Finally, the conclusion of the General Zod story, which ended in a cliffhanger in the regular
Action Comics title before the Legion story ever began. It was definitely worth the wait but shouldn't have taken this long to be published. The battle in this title rivals the fight with General Zod from
Superman II. This title rivals a Joe Kirby Thor story. Adam Kubert's art was fantastic. This special issue was full of action with a bittersweet ending. Another excellent Superman story for this year. It looks like this will be an excellent year for Superman.
That finally catches me up on my comic book reading for this month. I hope to avoid having to do any more catch up blogs and keep it at a reasonable length. My next project is to work on the next episode of the
Superman Fan Podcast, and I'm about three weeks behind on that as well.
Comics for the week of May 14, 2008:Project Superpowers #3 (Dynamite Entertainment)
Superman #676 (DC)
To send e-mail about
My Pull List, send it to
mypulllist@gmail.comSuperman Fan Podcast can be found at
www.supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com. Send e-mail about this podcast to
supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
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