New Talent Showcase #1 (Rock of Ages)
"The Rock of Ages"
Story - Tod Smith
Colors - Helen Vesik
Edits - Roger Slifer
Into every anthology, a one-off shall fall. Today's New Talent Showdays takes a look at a one-and-done. I'm looking forward to seeing more of these... in fact, I wish Action Comics Weekly popped more of this sort of thing into their rotation (so long as all of the one-offs didn't feature the Phantom friggin' Stranger).
Let's pop right in!
--
Submitted for your approval, one Paul March... a man on a self-appointed quest... a quest for answers. His journey brings him to a remote mountain, in a part of the world he had never darkened. Atop the mountain, sits a man... and this man, aged and alone, has been waiting for Mr. March's visit for a very long time. While this old man has answers... they appear to be to different questions than the ones Paul brought.
The old man tells him that the answers are in fact here... however, to find them... Paul will have to do the exact same thing he did... sit, and wait. The old man shares that he has been sitting on this spot for fifty years... if March does the same, all will be revealed. Well, Paul doesn't like the sound of that... and so, he backhands the poor old fool with all his might!
Killing him.
And so, without the old man around to be given his nebulous "answers", Paul decides to sit... and sit... and sit. Wouldn'tcha know it, some fifty years later, the answers come to him.
Also, some fifty years later, the cycle begins anew.
--
This was pretty clever, I guess... and coming in at only four-pages, didn't overstay its welcome.
If it wasn't obvious by my hacky opening paragraph... this felt very much to me like a Twilight Zone episode... only without the implied guilt about how man is the worst thing ever. Though, in fairness, our Mr. March is portrayed like a jerk.
We don't know what he's running from... and we don't know what answers he's seeking... but really, none of that matters here. It's all about the "calling", I suppose... and, from the looks of it, this "calling" chooses a new vessel every half-century. The cycle repeats without end... giving us a feeling of both optimism that the answers to the riddles of the universe are eventually answered... and hopelessness, in the understanding that once the knowledge is procured... the original "vessel" will probably be murdered by their successor.
Not sure if there's a lesson to be learned here. Patience, perhaps? Though, if patience were the thing... the cycle would be broken, right? Oh well... I've probably already devoted more thought to this than most. I suppose we can leave it for now. Talk about lack of patience, right? Overall, though... I enjoyed this well enough.
Let's meet our maker... it's just one dude this time out, Tod Smith. We'd already met him here at the blog... he provided pencils for a good chunk of the earliest part of the Green Lantern Action Comics Weekly feature (including the Oprah chapter!). This here little story, if the DC Wiki is to be believed, is Tod's only credit as a writer. If that's true, it's kind of a shame... because, this was quite well-written. Not overblown and flowery as we might expect from a "New Talent". As for his art... well, Smith's had a fairly prolific career... at both Marvel and DC (among others). It looks like his longest stint on art was for Marvel's Darkhawk series in the early 1990's, where he stuck around for 24 issues. Other notable runs include Vigilante, and Omega Men for DC... and Green Hornet for NOW Comics.
Tomorrow: Let's all meet up in the year Two-Thousand (Sixty-Four)
Action Comics Weekly #614 (Green Lantern)
"Bring Me A Man"
Writer - Peter David
Art - Tod Smith
Colors - Anthony Tollin
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Assistant Editor - Dan Raspler
Editor - Denny O'Neil
Today we're going to discuss one of the "bigger" chapters from Hal Jordan's time as the "headliner" of Action Comics Weekly. A chapter which could have informed the character from this point on... if only it weren't immediately forgotten about.
This is the one we've been building too for awhile now... let's get right to it.
--
When last we left, Hal was zapped into his own ring in search of answers. We open with the familiar scene of Abin Sur's dying body. Before he passes, he commands his ring to locate a replacement... a man who is "totally without fear". So, nothing out of the ordinary... yet.
The Ring complies with the request and searches the nearby area... electing to start with folks with minimal fear... and wean down from there. Since time was of the essence, the Ring chose a local... with a minimum amount of fear... Hal Jordan!
Now, here's where the other shoe drops. The Ring's instructions weren't to find someone with minimal fear... it was supposed to find someone completely without fear. Ya dig? And so, the Ring made the decision to "rectify" any "inconsistencies" in Hal Jordan. The Ring made Hal Jordan a Man Without Fear!
In other words, the Ring mucked around in Hal's mind... in it's own words, "rearranging his psychic profile to eliminate all fear." Hal is flustered at the thought that he'd been lobotomized... but the Ring ensures him that it didn't cut away any brain tissue. Thank goodness for small favors!
We shift scenes to the Chicago streets, where a suicidal man is threatening to jump from a ledge. While the police try to talk him inside, Hal is instructing his Power Ring to put him "back to normal"... which is to say, remove his Ring-induced "fearlessness". And... it does!
Hal hears the ruckus outside, and deduces that the would-be jumper is a few blocks away. He leaps from the window... and, get this... begins to plummet to the ground! Heyyy, it's just like the cover to Action Comics Weekly #602!
Our man manages to pull himself together before going splat. Turns out, all of the fears that had been repressed in the years since his "non-lobotomy" are rushing back at once... which is really putting him through the mental ringer. He tells himself that in order to be Green Lantern, he doesn't need to be a "Man Without Fear"... he just needs to be a "Man". And no, I don't think that was intended as a sexist statement.
He lands on the ledge next to the jumper... and, he's still pretty freaked out by the rush of fears. The jumper sees him, and (somehow) concludes that Hal is acting the way he is in order to illustrate how the jumper himself is feeling... scared! This is enough for him to reevaluate his life... and climb back inside his window.
We close out with the hooting and hollering of a celebratory streetfull of Chicagoans (and Arisia). Hal gives a victorious wave... though, might just chill up there for a little bit before daring to take to the skies once more.
--
So, yeah... the big reveal is: Abin Sur's Power Ring mucked around in Hal Jordan's brain to eliminate his ability to feel fear.
Now, I'm not really sure how I feel about all of this. I've never really been one to draw a solid line under the concept that "Hal Jordan is a Man Without Fear". Ya know what I mean? I feel like this is one of the things that shouldn't really be played with. I mean, we can assume that he is fearless... or, we can assume that he has the baser "life-preservation-type" fears. I don't think we need to really "dig deep" on this... just let it "be".
How would we even play something like this out? Would Hal try and discuss this with the Guardians (wherever they are)? Would he begin second-guessing all of his prior actions? Would he begin second-guessing all of his future actions? There's potential for this to be either very interesting... or, very "sticky". Overall, if I were pressed... I'd call this a "net-negative".
That doesn't mean I didn't like the story, however... because I did. I feel like this was an interesting (and probably, at the time, mind-blowing... pun always intended) revelation... and it really "pays off" the story up to this point. From Katma's death, to the Carol Ferris "murder", to Green Lantern's Q-Rating taking a dive, to the appearance on Oprah, to Mind Games... it all comes together here, with this revelation. Whether I feel like the "non-lobotomy" should be explored, I cannot deny that it was well-written... and damned creative! I don't think anybody saw this coming. I give a ton of credit to Peter David for thinking "outside the box" with this one.
Let's look at this story (and reveal) in a vacuum for just a moment. I mentioned during the synopsis that this story featured a scene that looked a lot like the cover to Action Comics Weekly #602.
This Perez cover has almost got to be in reference to this story. If we were to look at Mark Waid's note in the Letters Page of Green Lantern Corps #224, he mentions that Peter David will be the incoming (and first) writer for Hal's Action Comics Weekly exploits. That tells me that this story was supposed to be the one that kicked off the anthology. But then... something happened.
Not sure what... or why. But I am interested to know what the original story-progression was to be. Without the "build", would the non-lobotomy story have hit the mark? Feels like this is a reveal that needed everything that came before it in order to give us that true "A-ha!" moment. I'm definitely curious though!
Going forward... Being a proponent of playing the ball where it lands/playing the cards you're dealt... I don't like the idea of just wiping this all away (which is where this is headed... the finer points of this story, to my knowledge, are never referred to again). This is the end of the arc... and we're going to be moving into a very different story next week... with some very different art.
Overall... an interesting and creative ending to a very unique Green Lantern story. Despite it being swept under the rug (like so much of Hal's late-eighties exploits), I recommend checking it out, whether as a novelty, or for the very well-written "What if...?" story it's become.
Tomorrow: The Phantom Stranger deals with Mind Games of his own!
Action Comics Weekly #613 (Green Lantern)
"Head Trip"
Writer - Peter David
Art - Tod Smith
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Colors - Anthony Tollin
Assistant Editor - Dan Raspler
Editor - Denny O'Neil
It's a New Day... er, Week, yes it is! This week gives us a very different line-up than the one we started with back in Action Comics Weekly #601! Only two of our original six features are in this one... so, if you're worried about stagnation setting in here at the Infinite Earths, well... I mean, it's still me, so we're not completely in the clear of that. There'll just be new things for me to talk about, is all.
Let's kick it off with ol' reliable Hal!
--
If you recall, last week's chapter ended with Hal getting zapped pretty good by Mind Games. This time out, we're going to open inside Hal's head... and see just what this zappin' did to his noodle! We're going to go through some very strong emotions with our man, starting with HATRED. Hal finds himself surrounded by some baddies... who he, well... kills. Hatred soon turns to GUILT, wherein Hal finds himself surrounded by... dead baddies. He attempts to resuscitate Sinestro, but it's to no avail.
Next emotion, JEALOUS RAGE. Hal is surrounded by... fellow Lanterns, and they're reading him the riot act for his trespass in killing the villains. He lashes out, claiming that the Lanterns have no right to judge him. Quite why this is being referred to as "jealous" in any way, I'm not entirely sure. In fact, he accuses the other Lanterns of being jealous of him! I guess we'll roll with it, though.
Next... is kind of the one we've been uncomfortably edging up to for awhile now. This emotion is PASSION... and it has to do with his underage girlfriend. Arisia enters the frame wearing some very revealing undergarments... she and Hal make out for a bit, before our man comes to the revelation that, ya know... Arisia's just a kid! She breaks the news to him that... she always has been! Uh-oh.
Star Sapphire then shows up, and asks Hal to "Take a Seat"... okay, no she doesn't. She is there to explore Hal's FEAR. Below Carol is the corpse of Katma Tui. This almost works...
... but, lest we forget, Hal is completely without Fear, so this is just the trick to break him out of Mind Games' trance! Hal wakes up, kayos the baddie, and takes him into custody.
After dropping Mind Games off with the Chicago P.D., Hal heads back to the Hotel. He's surprised to find that Arisia isn't there waiting for him. Turns out, she's still out with that Modelling Agent... and what's more, she's agreed to become a model!
We close out with Hal asking his Power Ring how he can be completely without fear. The Ring informs him that he is "fearless as per instructions"... whatever that means. Hal asks for clarification... and finds himself sucked into his own ring!
--
Now, this is more like it! This is the "meat" that we've been working our way towards ever since the first Oprah issue.
We hop inside the mind of Hal Jordan... and find out it's quite the strange and creepy place. He appears to have a great deal of pent up frustration... with his friends, his enemies, his lover... and with himself.
Let's get the most uncomfortable one out of the way first. Arisia... is a kid. Sure, they kinda swept it under the rug with some half-hearted explanation that her teen-agery form is actually that of a grown (and assumedly, legal) adult in her race... but, the fact remains that Hal Jordan, Earthman... is sexually attracted to a woman who has the appearance of a young teen. What's more... with this chapter, he appears to come to that realization himself... and it freaks him out.
Now... here's the thing... Hal is disturbed by this, but why? Is it because he knows it's wrong? Is it because he fears he'll be punished? Hmm... fear.
Let's keep tugging at that thread a bit. Hal lashes out at villains early on in the chapter, killing them. Was any part of that rooted in fear? Once dead, he frantically tries to revive them... again, could that be rooted in fear? Fear of doing something wrong? Fear of reprisal and punishment? Maybe...
I mean, this is all going to make more sense in the coming weeks, so I'll stifle it with the analysis for now. Fact is, this was a pretty good installment, one of the best yet... and it's leading to a revelation that, if it were allowed to remain in continuity, would have led to some very interesting encounters to come. We'll talk more about that next time.
Tomorrow: Welcome to the rotation, Dick Grayson!
Action Comics Weekly #612 (Green Lantern)
"Mind Over Matter"
Writer - Peter David
Art - Tod Smith
Colors - Anthony Tollin
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Assistant Editor - Dan Raspler
Editor - Denny O'Neil
Welcome to Week 12... where, the times, they will be a'changing! We'll be bidding adieu to a couple of our ACW stalwarts... so, watch this space next week for a more eclectic collection!
In other news...
Y'all ever hear of HeroClix? I remember them first coming out sometime around the turn of the century... and I also remember buying the first "pack" of em. It's probably still in my garage somewhere. Anyhoo, it's basically a game where you pit miniatures against one another... least as far as I can tell, I've never actually played it. I don't think there's a solitaire version, and I don't have all that many friends. Heck, the very few I do would probably run for the hills if I tried handing them a miniature Spider-Man on a spinning dial!
So, yeah... I bought this "starter box", it was probably $20 or so, and it was guaranteed to come with a Spider-Man. It was only Marvel at the start. Along with Spidey, you'd (or I'd) get a few more wildly vital characters in the Marvel Universe... a Hydra Soldier, a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent... ooh boy! Guess ya gotta sell them Booster packs by any means necessary!
Anyhoo, that was my only toe-dip into the HeroClix universe... until last week. Picture it, I'm walking through a shop, minding my own business... when, what to my wondering eyes should appear:
... a Vartox Week Miracle, no matter what time of the year!
If you're wondering what #VartoxWeek is... you can find links to it all over this site, including... right here:
The quick and short of it is, I took a month-long "week" to celebrate the Bronze Age character, Vartox. What started as sort of a "funny, ha-ha" turned into gaining a real affection and respect for the guy. If you find yourself with a free hour or two, you can work your way through the pieces and see just who and what this character is!
Speaking of #VartoxWeek, I did save a few of his "lesser" appearances out of last year's celebration... so, perhaps if I play my scheduling cards right... we might find ourselves with a Return to Vartox Week at some point in 2019!
As for the 'Clix... I bought the bugger, probably paid too much... and he's at home, comfortably stood next to a............ Manhunter.
--
Picking up where we left off, Hal has been zapped by that "Mind Games" satellite, just as Lt. Rensaleer finds the "Mind Games" note! A maddened Hal lunges at the Lieutenant, and pins him to the ground. Rensaleer strikes back with an ear-clap, that puts a bit of space between them. Hal points his ring in his direction... emerald energy pouring off of it.
Back at the station, that modelling agent is still trying to sell Arisia on signing on with her agency. In order to "seal the deal", she suggests Arisia could become the next Cory Anders. Hey, we know her!
Back in the alley, Hal goes to blast the Lieutenant... but his ring doesn't seem to want to cooperate! He's certain that it's charged, but for whatever reason, it refuses to fire. Hal then freaks out, and begins flapping his arms... as though he's trying to fly, and forgotten how!
Rensaleer chases Hal out of the alley, tackling him. A stray dog wanders over to the Mind Games note... and, uh, lifts his leg over it. At this point Hal goes back to normal, and hasn't the foggiest clue what's been going on.
After cooling their jets for a bit, Hal and the Lt. catch the evening news broadcast. Some nutjob busts in on the station, and demands $500,000 on behalf of... Mind Games. To prove his power, he claims that, for a two-minute period, Mind Games will turn one-tenth of Chicago's population insane. I feel like there's a real easy joke to be made there, but we'll let it go.
Those two-minutes begin, and one of the "crazies" turns out to be, Cynthia Whatsherface, the modeling agent! While out to dinner discussing the finer details of a potential modelling contract, she lunges across the table at Arisia, and attempts to stab her with... a spoon. Well, that was a lucky break!
At this point, Hal realizes that he could just use his ring to track where the crazy beams are emanating from... and follows them to a large satellite dish, which he destroys. He enters a nearby building, and runs into a man... who we can only assume is Mind Games. Ol' Emm-Gee hammers Hal with a mind-blast!
--
I'm going to give y'all a peek behind the curtain here. I've had this synopsis written for like a week... and have just been dragging my feet in writing up my thoughts and "review". There's just nothing really to say, is there? It was my hope that something would come to mind... some sort of discussion thread would reveal itself... buuuuut, nope.
I mean, we're building to something... and next week's installment will be a ton more interesting than this... but for now? It's just kinda "there". I suppose we could wonder why Hal never thought to follow the psycho-waves before now? Why the ring didn't pick up on a "disturbance in the force"... but, yawn, why?
It is what it is... and what it is, is kinda weak. Don't worry though, next week we will kick things up a notch, and have quite a bit of fun digging around in Hal's dome!
Tomorrow: The Senses-Shattering, Scintillating, Shocking, Satisfying final installment of the Secret Six! Boy, hope I didn't oversell that...
Action Comics Weekly #611 (Green Lantern)
"Room Service"
Writer - Peter David
Art - Tod Smith
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Colors - Anthony Tollin
Assistant Editor - Dan Raspler
Editor - Denny O'Neil
Ya know... we comics bloggers struggle to get noticed... we hustle, we create, we maintain strict schedules. It often feels like a thankless and fruitless endeavor... and then there are times like right now. I've been discovered y'all.
I'm so excited... so jazzed to share this news with you. Check this out:
Ya see that, gang? These guys... "Like it!". It's been like four times this week, so I must be doing something right! Sure, they didn't "like it" enough to click the little heart, or retweet me... but, we're going to take this new relationship slowly. I don't want to scare away such a high-profile account.
Okay, okay. Of course, I'm being facetious here. If you're a comics-content creator, you've no doubt been hit with these "Like it!" tweet-replies from time to time. It's irritating to be sure... but it must get 'em at least a few clicks, right? Otherwise, why do it?
Well, if ya can't beat 'em...
--
Picking up right where we left off... Arisia answers the door to grab the room service platter, however, what she finds is a rather angry attendant! I'm not sure this is the time for banter, but I did chuckle at her "Hal!! It's for you!". She tries to push the fella out of the room, but he barges in anyway, and the pair wrestle around on the floor for a bit. Hal trudges in from out of the bathroom just as she forces the intruder to jam his kitchen knife into an electrical socket! This stops him in his tracks.
Hal "Lanterns up" and apologizes for not being there for Arisia. She assures him that this was the most fun she's had in weeks... and, ya know what? I kinda believe it. It's been a rather rotten few weeks, hasn't it?
Hal and Arisia bring the attacker down to the Police Station... where they just take his word for what the poor fella did, even though he himself can't seem to remember what came over him... or what he even did! Hal asks to speak to Rensaleer, and is directed out back... by the dumpsters.
Turns out, the Lieutenant is, in fact, digging through the dumpster... and he's looking for: that note from "Mind Games" he tossed out last chapter! Ya see, Chicago is up to 27 cases wherein seemingly normal folks suddenly went nuts! Maybe he shouldn't have dismissed Mind Games' missive?!
At the same time, Arisia is hanging out inside the Precinct... right next to a woman, who introduces herself as Cynthia Gresham. She owns a Modelling Agency in Chicago, and thinks Arisia has an "out of this world" look. Hmm...
We then shift scenes to... a room full of strange machinery, and a shadowy fella who wonders if the name "Mind Games" was too esoteric to be taken seriously. Hmm. He then presses a button, sending a beam to a satellite dish...
... which returns to Earth, and strikes Green Lantern (just as they find that crumpled note). Uh-oh!
--
Alrighty, Mind Games is really heating up. Well, kinda anyway.
It's established here that the Mad Samurai Guy from last chapter wasn't an isolated incident... and this isn't just a "Green Lantern threat", but something going on all throughout Chicago.
So yeah, there's stuff going on. Is it interesting though? Well, not really. I promise it's leading somewhere somewhat interesting... so, we'll just muddle through for now and take it as it comes.
The idea of Arisia becoming a model is raised here, which will figure a bit into Peter David's next Green Lantern arc... which, I'm already kind of dreading. The Freak Show ain't fun, folks... but, we'll get there!
Tomorrow: Penultimate Deadmanning!
