New Teen Titans #26 (1982)

New Teen Titans #26 (December, 1982)
"Runaways"
Writer & Co-Creator - Marv Wolfman
Artist & Co-Creator - George Perez
Inker - Romeo Tanghal
Letterer - Ben Oda
Colorist - Adrienne Roy
Editor - Len Wein
Cover Price: $0.60

This week's "project", if I may call it that is The Life and Times of Tara Markov.  Going to try and cover some of Terra's bigger moments over her relatively short career.  Today we're going to start... at the start, Ms. Markov's first appearance!

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We join the Titans as they are returning home from an adventure in space.  Vic and Wally are in the cockpit, and the subject of conversation is the recent revelation that their teammates Dick and Kory are well on their way to becoming an actual romantic "item".

... and so, we shift to Robin (with a broken 'wing') knocking on Kory's door.  Inside, he reveals/clarifies that he's in love with her... and he's not talking as a friend.  He's deeply in love with her... however, he is also deeply confused and conflicted.  Kory appears to be pleased by the news... and promises to wait as long is it takes.

After a brief stop in Turkey, with some swarthy folks transporting "television components"... aka drugs... unsuccessfully (more on them later), we pop in on an apartment in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.  A young boy is talking to... somebody... he's planning on running away to New York to avoid showing his abusive mother all the D's on his report card.

Next stop, da Bronx.  Young Luis is packing his bags in front of his frantic mother and despondent father.  His mom's always bugging him with questions... cuz, you know how moms be... so Luis is pulling an "Anthony" and he's Movin' Out!

Last stop before getting back to the Titans... Skokie, Illinois.  Young, pregnant Lizzie is getting the ol' heavy-ho from her dad.  He tells her to "marry the scum" that knocked her up, and let him take care o' the kid.  He calls her a rotten slut, and tells her to hit the bricks.

We rejoin our young heroes as they arrive at Titans Tower.  Gar is so happy to be home, he literally kisses the ground.  Since they're home, they decide it's probably best to return to their normal lives and responsibilities for a bit.  Vic's gonna check in with his friends at the Special School, Gar's gonna parlay his floor-kissing to girl-kissing, Raven's going to re-enroll in College, and Donna's going to "catch up" with... grumblegrumble... Terry Long.

Later that night, Dick and Kory head out on what would be their first "formal" date.  It is, however, interrupted by the sudden appearance of a certian knife-wielding Minnesotan junkie D-Student... and District Attorney, Adrian (Vigilante) Chase.  The junkie is either on a bad trip or dealing with a horrendous bout of withdrawals... whatever the case, he needs money for another fix.

Since Mr. Chase is the best-dressed man on the scene, the kid heads in his direction.  Adrian easily defends against the blade, however, he didn't plan on getting kneed in the crotch.  The kid runs off... right into the path of an oncoming car... which kills him instantly.

Back at the tower, Gar is getting his butt-kicked while playing Swordquest... gotta wonder which version of Swordquest he was playing... and if he was ever in contention for one of those bad-ass prizes Atari was offering!  Suddenly, an emergency signal hits... something's going down at the Statue of Liberty.  This is where we meet the girl of the hour... Terra.

Gar's arrival allows Terra to demonstrate her powers... she is truly a dangerous threat... but, is she a threat?  She claims that she's been ordered to take Lady Liberty down... and plainly states that it's not something she wants to do.  She continues, begging Logan and the police to back off... so she doesn't have to kill them.  She then flees, while expressing fear that she'll be killed for having failed in her assignment.

We check in with Raven as she's hanging out with some of her classmates.  They all appear to be fascinated by her, and she is uncomfortable from all the attention.  She notices a certain pregnant Illinoisan... and via her empathic nature, feels her pain and hunger.  She introduces herself to Lizzie, and takes her to Vic's apartment for a bite to eat.

Here we learn that she's got this guy... this guy who she gives all her money to.  I don't know why they're skirting around the word "pimp" here, when they're going to use it in a few pages.  Anyhoo, her pimp's name is Howard... and he'd recently been picked up by the police.  We see a man outside the apartment building... watching... waiting... looking very much like a beardless Terry Long... creepy punk.

Vic and Raven take Lizzie to a home for runaways.  Along the way, Vic shares that he'd left home a fair amount during his younger days, and always found a safe place to lay his head at the Center.  Lizzie is introduced to Dr. Raymond, who will give her the once over.  A woman named Ellie brings the Titans into her office, where they run in with... Adrian Chase... who is less than impressed that the "Kiddie Do-Gooders Squad" is on the case... c'mon Ade, why ya gotta be like that?  You give us lip... then ask for help?  Bad form, fella.

Outside the window, young Lerry Tong is listening in... he doesn't hang around all that long... he's apparently got a boat to catch... or stare at through binoculars.  It's the boat of Mr. Scarapelli... presumably, a drug lord.  He's lamenting the fact that the "Turks" snafu'd a shipment worth a quarter of a billion bucks!  Ehhh, no big... they'll just send their stupid runaway kid brigade out to make up for the lost dosh... this sounds quite familiar to the New Titans Drug Awareness issue...

Shortly, due to a glimmer beaming off the binocs, the jig is up.  Lerry runs off while the baddies unload their guns in his relative direction.

At Police Headquarters, the Titans and Chase confab over the recent bout of runaway madness.  Adrian makes mention of being tired of "laws"... he'd rather worry about what's "right" than what's "legal".  This instantly makes Robin think of his pointy-eared mentor.

The Titans leave HQ, and head back to Vic's apartment to reconnoiter... boy are they surprised to find what appears to be Terry Long, face down in a pool of his own blood!  Okay, we all know it's not Terry... it's the boat-watching boy from before.  Maybe he wasn't as much of a creep as I thought!  Needless to say, this is... [to be continued...]

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This is such a great era for the Titans.  Here we have a PSA-style story, and it's still a hell of a good book.  It's stories like this that make those Drug Awareness issues not feel out of place, lack of Robin notwithstanding.  The Titans are a great fit for these relatively low-key street-level bits... no matter how cliche they may be.

Dick and Kory finally coming around to their true feelings was great to see.  This relationship may just be the one thing missing from the post-Rebirth Titans.  Even though in the recent Starfire ongoing series they made mention of it... I still miss it being a "thing".  It's always amusing to me that Starfire actually has a "civilian identity"... I mean, how many 6-foot-plus golden-skinned women with hair to the floor are walking around New York City?

It was neat seeing an Adrian Chase cameo.  I always like it when creators "world build", and watching Wolfman build his is a lot of fun.  Weaving these folks together, at least for me, makes things seem more important... and not nearly as gratuitous as it feels these days.

Let's move on and discuss Terra for a bit, shall we?  This is her first appearance... and I gotta admit, if I were reading this at the time... I'd have bet good money that she'd be our next Teen Titan.  Here we have a young girl acting against her will... actually begging the police and Gar off... pleading with them not to make her harm them.  Of course she's gonna be a Titan!  It's only a matter of time... right?

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Titans (vol.3) #1 (2016)

Titans (vol.3) #1 (September, 2016)

"The Return of Wally West, Part One: Run for Your Life"

Writer - Dan Abnett

Penciller - Brett Booth

Inker - Norm Rapmund

Colorist - Andrew Dalhouse

Letterer - Carlos M. Mangual

Assistant Editor - Brittany Holzherr

Editor - Alex Antone

Cover Price: $2.99

Late last year, I felt as though my hopes had been answered by DC Comics.  Not only were we getting an ongoing title featuring the pre-Flashpoint Superman, we were also getting a "fill-in-the-blanks" 12 8-issue maxi-series featuring the Titans... the real Titans, with Titans Hunt.

I feel that the Titans have had a pretty poor showing since the New-52 hit.  This team... ay yai yai... this team, full of unlikable horrid social media obsessed children... and, by all accounts these were meant to be the only team of Titans to have ever existed in the new landscape.  This title went from nearing the top of my read-list, to my... let's let a dozen issues pile up before I attempt plowing through it.  

Making matters worse... this was Scott Lobdell, one of my all-time favorites.  The fella to thank and/or blame for my getting into superhero comics in the first place!  When I heard he was going to be the writer, I couldn't have been happier.  I thought back to the amazing work he'd done on Generation X, and figured it'd be a no-brainer that he'd knock it out of the park with Teen Titans.  Dunno what happened... but, I really didn't dig it.

Well, onward and upward... the Titans... the real Titans are back... even Wally West... the real Wally West.  Let's dive into it!

Be warned, I do go more in depth here than I usually do with newer issues.  This is a special issue, and I couldn't help myself.  If you haven't read it yet... proceed with caution.

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We open with a Flashback, no pun intended... okay, maybe kind of intended.  Wally West is giving us the quick 'n dirty of his life pre and post-Flashpoint.  We see him as a teen-sidekick, and a Teen Titan... finally a loving husband (and father?).  This was all before time got janky.  From there, we see his reunion with Barry Allen from DC Universe: Rebirth #1... a scene, which I'm not ashamed to say made me mist up just a tad.  

Now, Wally's back with his buddies... the Titans.  Following the events of Titans Hunt, the gang's missing memories have began filing back in.  Fellow Titan, Lilith Clay otherwise known as Omen is trying to read our man via psionic link.  What she comes up with is a name... Linda Park.

Wally gets all "gawrsh", when his pals start kidding him about having a girl on his mind... which, kinda feels like a tame reaction to me.  He comes across looking more embarrassed than upset here.  He claims that Linda was just "the girl I knew back in my time".  That's a far cry from "my wife and the mother of my children."  He shares how during his return she did not recognize him.

We now shift scenes to Ms. Park's apartment.  She's the fastest reporter in town writing for the website Super News.  While reading about the recent electrical storms, her mind wanders back to that strange... Flashy man, who claimed to know her... last night.  Didn't realize this was just the next day.

Back at the Grayson loft/Titans HQ; Roy, Donna, and Garth are putting their heads together to figure out just who or what messed with the time.  Garth posits that the villain they're looking for just might be Mr. Twister.  He suggests they try and hunt down the oafish brute Mammoth to see if he can lead them to their man.

And so, Roy and Donna head to the Bowery section of Gotham to check in on some of Mammoth's drug muscling stomping grounds.  Here, we learn that the Man Mountain is rolling with a fella called Psimon.  This scene also consists of a nice "getting to know you" moment between Roy and Donna.

Back at the loft, Lilith and Wally are still trying to get down to it... without much success.  The returning Speedy and Wonder Girl (man, I love that I can type that... in 2016... and for it to be... mostly true) bring with them piles of pizza for the gang to share.  In between bites, Lilith finds that she may have reached a bit too deep in Wally's subconscious... actually, past Wally's subconscious.  She's woken something... something that will need their immediate attention.

Now for something completely different.  We join a lame-o suburban birthday party, where an old, overweight magician is attempting to entertain a gaggle of tots.  After being deservedly heckled, he stumbles back... and faints.

He awakens as... well, quite a familiar face to Flash fans.  He shows off his magical prowess by teleporting the party to outer space... and returning them home just before their little heads go pop.

In case it's not clear... our mad magician is Abra Kadabra, and he's taking credit for Wally West's recent vanishing act.

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This was a very fun issue.  The team members are still in something of a Honeymoon phase... still getting reacquainted.  I'm very glad this is being done on-panel, rather than as a throwaway line.  Quite a bit remains unknown between the Titans... so, the reader is poised to receive the information just as the disparate team members are.  Really digging this.

One thing that... I dunno, I don't wanna say it bugged me... okay, yeah... it bugged me.  When Wally thought about Linda, it was kinda in the "aw, schucks" kinda way and not the devastating "my wife doesn't know me" kinda way.  I can't speak for anybody else, but I'd be a lunatic in the same situation... perhaps that's why I'm not a superhero.  Also, what of Jai and Iris?  Ya know, Wally and Linda's kids?  They showed up during last year's Convergence: Speed Force mini-series... so they gotta be somewhere, right?

Staying with Wally for just a bit longer... does he have a code-name yet?  Is he just The Flash again?  It looked as though when he "introduced" himself before Lilith read him, that he hesitated.  He did the "I'm Wally West, the (dot dot dot) Fastest Man Alive".  Was he wanting to say "The Flash" there?  I don't think I'd mind if we had two (maybe three when the JSA returns) Flashes... but, hey... that's just me.

It looks like the Fearsome Five are on our horizon... which, I'm cautiously optimistic for.  The Five always seemed a bit dorky to me, however, I'm most definitely willing to give Dan Abnett the benefit of the doubt.  The reveal that... Abra Kadabra made Wally disappear was... something.  Very interesting... I'm very much looking forward to how this plays out.  He makes it so Barry's gotta go on trial for the last few years of his (first) existence, and now we learn he had his one-time sidekick erased from the world's collective memory banks.  What a bastard.

I remember when the New-52 started, and there were certain books that felt like absolutely no thought was put into them.  These were just filler books, destined for the cheap-o bins of the world... poor storytelling... lackluster art... just complete afterthoughts.  Titans #1 is almost the complete opposite of that... from top to bottom, this feels vital.  It feels like it matters... which is something the Titans haven't in a half-decade.  It should come as no surprise that I am VERY pleased with this issue... and this team (creative and in-story).  My only real complaint is that this is not one of the bi-weekly DC ongoings... meaning I/we gotta wait a whole month for my/our next taste.

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Suicide Squad #1 (1987)

Suicide Squad #1 (May, 1987)
"Trial by Blood"
Writer - John Ostrander
Penciller - Luke McDonnell
Inker - Karl Kesel
Letterer - Todd Klein
Colorist - Carl Gafford
Editor - Robert Greenberger
Cover Price: $0.75

Feels like it's been a little while since I've said this but... we've got another comic book movie coming out this weekend that I'm not gonna see!  I've long wanted to discuss this series, however, kinda shied away in light of the property's recent run-in with relevance.  I do so hate being cliche... but, eh, whattayagonnado?

I mostly wanted to discuss this issue (in particular) due to the circumstances surrounding my acquisition of it... and a lesson I learned from it.  I decided several years back that I wanted to own as complete a run of DC Comics from post-Crisis onward... with a special emphasis on the mid-late 1980's.  This feels like something of a golden age for me.  Things are new, different, and exciting... and we hadn't quite run into that speculatory wall.  For the most part, these books are pretty easy to come by... they clog many'a quarter and fifty-cent bin.

One of those books, was Suicide Squad.  These were among the most ubiquitous in the cheap-o bins... cuz, after all, who's ever gonna care about this book, right?  I managed to find just about every issue I needed for under a buck... except the issue we're going to discuss today.  I searched high and low for this bugger... driving for, literally hours, to strange and exotic comic and used book stores... I always came up empty.  This would go on for the better part of a year.  I realize I could've just ordered the damn thing online... but I'm really about "the hunt".  It's so much more satisfying finally tracking a coveted issue down... for me anyway.

I used to work on the road.  I'd put on several hundred miles a day driving throughout the city (and neighboring... and not-so-neighboring towns/cities).  I was particularly far out one day... and during a break, decided to see if there were any comic shops in the area.  As luck would have it... there was one!

Rather than wander my way through this foreign-to-me town, I did perhaps the stupidest thing a person who is looking for a particular comic book can do... I called ahead.  I called them, and asked if they had a copy of Suicide Squad #1... from 1987... because there's been several.

Well, again... as luck would have it... they actually had a copy!  I did the next stupidest thing a person looking for a particular comic book can do... I inquired what they were asking for it.  Stupid!  The question was met with a pregnant pause... followed by a few "uhhh..'s".  I could almost hear the woman's eyes darting about... trying to figure out if she should check eBay or the Overstreet.

She finally manages to stammer out a "F...fo.... five... dollars?".  It was a hair more than I wanted to pay (at the time it was listed at $2.50 in Overstreet), but I agreed.  She then got cocky... she pretended she was looking at the wrong issue... then bumped the price up to $10.  I told her $5 was my limit... over my limit, in fact... and she relented.

Later on that day... I dropped a Lincoln-plus-tax on the counter and snagged my book.  It wasn't until I was halfway home that I noticed the price sticker (which was on the BACK of the bagged and boarded book)... for ONE dollar.  Oh well... ya live, ya learn.  I've never called a shop ahead of time to see if they had what I wanted since.

Now, onto my normal spoilery (and probably underwhelming... I doubt I can do this one justice) synopsis.

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We open at the busy and bustling Hub City Airport where they are both the Mayor and Governor are awaiting the arrival of the President of the United States.  A mustachioed man in a red shirt is our focus character for the time being.  He goes about his business, picking up his bags and people watching.  He gazes out the window as Air Force one touches down... then gives the signal...

A portal opens up in a wall, and a pair of mercenaries burst through it.  The man we've been following hops in the portal after being waved in by a masked woman.  The mercs begin mercilessly slaughtering the civilians.

As the police attempt to intervene, our POV man reenters the scene and drops a strange box that a digital genie appears to emanate from.  The Djinn makes short work of the law-enforcement threat.

The fella in the red shirt starts tailing the Governor and Mayor as they start fretting over the welfare and safety of the POTUS.  He garrotes one, and stabs the other in the chest.  Air Force One has been informed of the terrorist threat, and begins taxiing on the runway.

Unluckily for them, our man is armed with a flaming sword.  He's on the tarmac before they can take off.  He chops off AF1's landing gear and a wing, and it noses down before exploding in a fiery mess.

The group of mercs hop back into the portal... leaving nothing but disaster and death in their wake.

Three semi-well-dressed individuals begin walking through the wreckage.  They're calculating casualties, and time frames.  One is revealed to be Marlo the President of Qurac, who also operates the terrorist group, The Jihad.  We learn that this was all just a demonstration... the President is save... the people present were really killed, however.  These people are described as criminals... and actors thinking they were in a movie.  The next time around... those dead will be American citizens.  The Jihad have passed their test.

We shift scenes to Belle Reve Prison in Louisiana.  Warden John Economos is giving a guided tour to reporter Vicki Vale.  He takes her to the cell of Superman villain, Parasite... who they are keeping just barely alive... but not so alive that he an do any harm.  They feed him by sending one rat in every so often so that he may siphon its life energy.  Vale is visibly disgusted, however concedes that she herself has no better plan.  She eventually leaves, and staff member Flo Crowly gives the "all clear" to Amanda Waller.

Waller is currently chatting up a few of Belle Reve's mental health professionals.  Task Force X is on the other side of what I would assume to be a two-way mirror.  Here the Wall runs down all of the team members' stats.  Our "main" team consists of Rick Flag, Bronze Tiger, Enchantress and Captain Boomerang... they are joined by a pair of "newbies", Mindboggler and Plastique.

I'm glad they put a pair of new kids in the group.  It gives the Squad an opportunity to go over their mission statement without it feeling forced.  If you missed the Squad appearances in Legends or Secret Origins, this is all new information.  We get the skinny just as the new members do.  These folks volunteer for potential suicide missions, in the hopes that their jail sentences will be changed to "time served"... of course, they've gotta survive...

Plastique is a bit perturbed that she has to wear an explody bracelet.  Ya see, until Waller and Company trust you... you gotta wear the hardware.  If you wander a bit too far off the beaten path... you go boom.  Digger can't keep his fool mouth shut, and winds up sportin' jewelry himself for this mission.  Another great way to deliver this information to the reader without it looking forced.

Waller begins her debriefing with the team.  This is an awesome scene... she goes through the members of the Jihad via overhead projector slideshow.  I love that we can see her shadow on the "screen".  This is another awesome way of sharing information with the reader in a natural and organic way.  We learn that the digital genie is called Djinn, the ugly Sabretooth-lookin' merc is called Manticore, the spear-wielding Rambo lookalike is Jaculi, the masked woman is Chimera, and our point of view fella from the opening scene goes by Ravan.

Waller continues, discussing Quraci President Marlo, and international terrorist called Mushtaq, and the Jihad's mountainside headquarters Jotunheim... which is the Squad's target.

Task Force X readies for their trip east.  This is another fun moment... just watching the Squadies killing time until it's time to kill.  Col. Rick Flag, the point man for the Squad is surprised to see that they will be joined by one Karin Grace.  They were apparently lovers at once point, however, I'm not terribly familiar with her.

Captain Boomerang, being his flirtatious and delusional self can't seem to leave poor Plastique alone.  Mindboggler's seen enough, and so she... er, boggles his mind.  Digger don't dig bein' made to look a fool (if only he knew), and so he chucks a 'rang at her... which is caught by Bronze Tiger.  They share a contentious... and almost racist moment.  This promises to be quite the eventful outing...

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This is one of those stories I try and read through every so often... it's an awesome way to start this series.  This current reread was no exception, I really enjoyed my time with it.

The opening pages are designed in a cinematic style.  The credits pop up in consecutive panels, most of which have no dialogue, giving a feeling of progression and almost a "weight" to the seemingly innocuous actions occurring within.

Ostrander offers up introductions on the core Task Squad X as well as the members of the Jihad.  These bits feel organic, as while this is something of an info-dump... it's meant to be "in story" as well.  This all works beautifully, and at least for me, helped with my engagement to the story.

The team members hardly get along, and that also works well.  We've (already) got new members, and they fit in to the dysfunctional dynamic really well.  Captain Boomerang is definitely a fun one to watch.  He's just such a goofball... can't help but like him.  Amanda Waller... I've spoken about her before, but, Waller... this Waller, is such an awesome character.  The Rick Flag and Bronze Tiger as "parents" or, at least babysitters for the crew is fun to see as well.  They both give off that Martian Manhunter in the JLI vibe.  They know how dire and serious the situation is... and they've gotta somehow make that clear to the rest of the team.

Let's talk about the Jihad for a bit.  These guys are frankly, pretty terrifying.  The horrendous lengths they are going to... just for a demonstration (!) really speaks to their depravity... and how unlikely they'd be to listen to reason.  What's scarier than terrorists?  Well, terrorists with super-powers, of course.

Last thing I want to mention, is the amazing Howard Chaykin cover.  This is one of those that I like to call "immediately iconic".  Just beautifully laid out... even the heavy text doesn't take anything away from it... in fact, it fits quite well.

That's really all I've got... overall, great issue... great arc, and more often than not, a great series.  I doubt I did it the justice it deserves... luckily, in light of current events, I'm sure any interested parties can easily and affordably procure it in collected edition.  If you are headed out to see the film, hope you have a great time!

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