JSA #54 (January, 2004)
"Virtue, Vice & Pumpkin Pie"
Writer - Geoff Johns
Pencils - Don Kramer
Inks - Keith Champagne
Colors - John Kalisz
Separations - Heroic Age
Letters - Jared K. Fletcher
Associate Editor - Stephen Wacker
Editor - Peter Tomasi
Cover Price: $2.50
Happy Thanksgiving!
Today is my absolute favorite day of the year. Every year I meticulously plan how the day will go... what food I will prepare... how and when I'm going to prepare it... then, the morning of... go into panic mode and just hope to make it out the other end. Sounds like a horrible time, but damned if I don't love it!
As such, I've always had a soft spot for Thanksgiving themed... anything, really. Television shows, comics... whatever. When I think of some of my happiest times reading (and buying) comics, this time of year always plays a role.
I've told the story of the odd jobs I took on when I was endeavoring to afford the Death of Superman and X-Cutioner's Song storylines... which occurred right around Thanksgiving. A wonderful childhood memory that I (obviously) still think about to this day.
Before I get into today's spoilery synopsis, I wanted to at least mention another favorite Thanksgiving issue... Uncanny X-Men #308 in which Cyclops and Jean Grey take a stroll around Xavier's as the X-Men go about their Thanksgiving festivities... there's a football game that ends in a pile of raked leaves... just so much fun... so much family. The X-Men had been put through... well, many wringers that year... so this was a great bit of "quiet reflection". The issue ends with Scott and Jean finally deciding to tie-the-knot. It's an issue that affected me in my youth, and continues to even today. Maybe one of these days I'll actually start up that From Claremont to Claremont X-Men blog/cast I've been threatening so that I can talk about those stories.
Anyhoo... let's get down to dinner with the JLA and JSA. Again, Happy Thanksgiving one and all... and be ready for tomorrow's three-hundredth daily post!
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It's a wonderful Thanksgiving at the Justice Society's Manhattan brownstone. We open with Mr. Terrific welcoming Batman inside and escorting him down a hallway. On this holiday, the Justice League and Justice Society are dining together... which Batman finds troubling. He thinks it's dangerous to have both teams under one roof as it paints a pretty big target on the location. Terrific all "relaaaaax man" because they've got enough heavy-hitters to keep things going smoothly.
In the main meeting hall, members of both teams, past and present have assembled to celebrate the holiday. We check in on Wonder Woman as she is lecturing some members on the true meaning of Thanksgiving... ya know, like that one member of your family who sits there with a scowl on their face while the rest of the family enjoys each other's company? From off-panel, we hear a voice proclaiming her to be "full a' crap!"
Why it's Wildcat! And today he is playing the role of "drunk uncle". He meanders over to the ladies and starts reading Diana the riot act... even comparing her to her (post-Crisis) mother, Hippolyta... who was a JSA founder... because post-Crisis Diana would be too young for... ehhh, let's just roll with it. Power Girl does not take kindly to Wildcat's behavior... and so, hurls him out through an open window.
Where as luck would have it, Superman and Captain Marvel happen to be flying by! Didn't even have to lose 1 of his 9 lives here!
Inside we see a meeting between Impulse and Jakeem Thunder where the maturely and philosophically discuss the merits of the educational system. Really quite a cute scene.
Batman and Superman share a special moment in which they discuss the things they are thankful for... or not.
Ya see, Batman is still worried about potential threats... cuz, ya know... he's Batman. There are no days off for the caped crusader. He is informed that Dr. Mid-Nite had volunteered to perform monitor duty... so there's nothing to worry about. What's great is that Dr. Mid-Nite is blind, and yet he is looking into a wall of monitors. Anyhoo... Black Canary enters the monitor room to chat with Mid-Nite. Evidently, they had a sorta kinda "thing"... at least Mid-Nite thinks so. Dinah has a brief moment of profundity... and they decide to keep it "casual"... Friendzone, Population: Dr. Mid-Nite.
In the kitchen, Hourman is dazzling some of the Society wives with his cooking acumen. In walk Jesse Quick and her mother Liberty Belle... and they are also rather taken with our man Rick.
Outside the kitchen... Hawkman and the Atom decide to team up and take on the hefty threat of sharing a turkey leg. Well, not if Ollie has anything to say about it. Before ya know it... we're back to the classic Green Arrow/Hawkman pull-apart.
Batman attempts to intervene... he's still on edge about a potential threat. He urges Hourman to use his prophetic vision to check out the future... but Rick tells him his powers don't quite work like that. Before Batman can start crawling the walls, the dinner bell gets rung.
In the dining hall we get a cute scene where Star-Spangled Kid (Stargirl, these days) is upset that she's been shunted off to the "kid's table"... I mean, the fact that there even is a kid's table is beyond great. She nudges Captain Marvel and tells him he oughta be there too, but gets the ol' ixnay from Billy.
And so, it's dinner time. Jay Garrick does the toast, and the members of both teams raise their glasses. Gotta assume Superman is drinking a juice of some sort, right? Before they can take their first bite, however... we get some trouble.
It's the Warlock of Ys (hey, we know him) and Kulak the Sorcerer... and they're ready to... uh, well... uh oh.
About a half hour later... all's well at the Brownstone... well, except for the fact that Thanksgiving dinner has been ruined. Lucky for the heroes, the local pizza place is both open and willing to deliver.
We wrap up this absolutely amazing issue with the standard DC Comics moral... always listen to Batman. Wonk wonk wonkkkk...
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I'm not sure "love" is a strong enough word for how I feel about this issue. It's just a perfect storm of so many things that I dig. Great characterization, a celebration of continuity and legacy... and Thanksgiving!
Geoff Johns on JSA was pure magic... just candy. He's got these characters down so well. Everything said sounds natural, everything done feels organic. Even though this was, ostensibly, a gimme issue, ongoing plot lines were still addressed. One plot line was the, I guess, sorta-kinda "thing" between Black Canary and Dr. Mid-Nite. This is not something I remember at all from this era. Either my memory is shot, or this just wasn't all that big a deal. I still like that it gets a mention though, making this issue feel truly like "another day" in the lives of the JSA.
We get a ton of cute character moments here... Batman being uncomfortable and paranoid the entire time... Wildcat playing "drunk uncle"... Ollie and Carter being, well, Ollie and Carter... Captain Marvel not being seated at the "kid's table"... hell, the fact that there was a kid's table. Just too much fun!
We even get a fight scene... well, sorta when dinner gets interrupted by a pair of intergalactic geeks. Yet another wonderfully fun scene in this amazing issue. The looks on... well, all of the faces... priceless!
Speaking of how faces looked, Don Kramer's art here is excellent... everybody and everything looks amazing. Definitely a "homesick" inducing artist. Really makes me miss this era in the DC Universe.
This books gets one of my highest recommendations. An absolute celebration of the post-Crisis DC Universe, that I feel fans of any era would benefit from checking out. As luck would have it, DC Digital has this one up.
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Green Lantern (vol.3) #107 (December, 1998)
"The Choice"
Writer - Ron Marz
Pencillers - Jeff Johnson & Chris Batista
Inkers - Bob Wiacek & John Lowe
Colors & Separations - Rob Schwager
Letterer - Chris Eliopoulos
Assistant Editor - Chuck Kim
Editor - Kevin Dooley
Cover Price: $1.99
Just a random pick today. For the next couple of days we've got some special features... tomorrow is a Thanksgiving special, and Friday will be the... three-hundredth daily post here at the ol' blogstead. I've got a few ideas for what #300 will be... hopefully I'll be able to settle on something fun. Anyhoo... enough housekeeping... let's check in on Kyle Rayner as he pops the question... no, not that one.
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We open with Kyle getting the stuffing knocked out of him by Sledge who is an absolute mountain of a man. Kyle sees him as a threat, however, Sledge is doing his best Hulk impression... saying he just wants to be left alone. He swats Kyle into a building and leaves him laying under the resultant rubble. While the battle raged, our narration was excerpts of a letter Kyle was writing to his mother. The note is mostly about his current cohabitation with the former superhero Jade.
By the time Kyle is able to dig himself out, Sledge is already long gone. It's just as well, however, because Kyle has some Green Lantern business to attend to over at Warriors. He has arranged to meet with three former Earth-based Lanterns, Alan Scott, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner. Ya see, in recent issues Kyle Rayner had a team-up with, of all people, Hal Jordan. This was a time-displaced Hal, not yet at his Parallax-worst. At the end of their team-up, Hal gave Kyle a self-replicating copy of his own Lantern ring, and urged him to rebuild the Corps.
To do so, Kyle will have to go off planet for an extended period of time. As this would leave Earth without a Green Lantern, he needs to find an interim replacement. His first offer goes to... well, the first Green Lantern, Alan Scott (and not just because he's shacked up with his daughter). Alan notes that, while he was the first Lantern... he was really never officially a member of the Corps. He is flattered by the offer, but decides to pass.
The next offer goes to John Stewart. He also appreciates the thought... but feels he is not yet ready to wield the ring again. He recounts all of the things he had lost while being a Lantern... his wife, an entire planet... he's just not ready to "go there" again.
Which leaves Kyle with a smilin'-like-the-cat-that-ate-the-canary lookin' Guy Gardner. He surprises Kyle... and I'd assume a lot of the readers, by also declining to take the ring. He is happy with his new lot in life as the proprietor of Warriors, and as the on again off again Vuldarian superhero, Warrior.
The "old guard" apologize to Kyle and suggest he find someone more willing to take on the temporary mantle. Kyle considers Connor (Green Arrow) or Wally (Flash) as his replacement. All he knows, is that whoever he chooses, they're going to have a lot of tradition to live up to.
And so, Kyle heads home. He is greeted by his live-in girlfriend Jade who is pretty surprised that he couldn't find a replacement. She thought, at the very least... Guy would have jumped at the opportunity. She begins hinting that she might "know a gal" who would be interested in filling in.
Kyle thinks this is a great idea, and slides the ring on her finger. She instantly manifests a classic Green Lantern costume (with mask). Kyle suggests she zazz it up a bit, and put her own spin on it... which gives us a fun little fashion show. She ultimately decides to stick with the classics... but loses the mask.
After getting "fitted" Jade is chomping at the bit to hit the streets and "do stuff". They do some pleasure flying throughout New York City and wind up in Central Park where Kyle hopes to have more room to "work". Well... wouldn'tcha know it... there's Sledge!
Kyle and Sledge get back down to business, trading blows and tree stumps until... Jade interrupts. She is... and I'm assuming here because the art is a bit iffy... seated in a seductive pose to distract the baddie so that Kyle can kayo him with a construct of an anvil.
With the job done, we head to the end... and a pretty abrupt shift in art style. Jennie has now held the ring for a week, and is ready to officially take over as Earth's Green Lantern. She and Kyle share a final conversation in which they replicate Hal's ring, and a kiss that has to hold them both over for the foreseeable future. We close out with Kyle heading skybound in search for the new (and, spoiler alert... disappointing) Green Lantern Corps.
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I really enjoyed this issue. It's part action, part day-in-the-life, and Marz is able to put it all together in a great package. I've always been an Earth-bound Green Lantern fan... I always prefer the comparably more mundane Lantern tales than those that take place in outer space. I always start to lose interest when Kyle (or Hal... or whoever) heads off into space (Green Lantern: Mosaic is my exception), which is why this story works so well. If we want to follow Kyle on his quest... we can pick up the New Corps miniseries. The main Green Lantern title will follow Jade while she takes care of Earth-bound issues. Best of both worlds.
I think, upon reflection, what I appreciate most about this issue (and this era) is that DC was moving forward. We had characters like John Stewart and Guy Gardner leaving the superhero world behind... moving into their next stage of life. There was just such a feeling of change... all of which has been undone in the decades that followed. Superheroes don't retire anymore... they just keep hanging on. Nothing changes. Instead we just get reboots and de-aging.
I would say that my biggest complaint here would be with the mishmash of artists. Most of the pages looked fine enough, however... the one page that springs immediately to mind is the one where Jade sits seductively by the tree... I mean, c'mon... how goofy does that look? She looks completely uncomfortable... chuckle-headed and cross-eyed. Unless Sledge has some strange tastes, I just don't see how this gets him so distracted.
Overall... worth checking out. This was a fun era for the character and the title from a time in which the DC Universe was actually progressing. A time, sadly, long forgotten.
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New Teen Titans #13 (November, 1981)
"Friends and Foes Alike!"
Co-Creator & Writer - Marv Wolfman
Co-Creator & Artist - George Perez
Embellisher - Romeo Tanghal
Colorist - Adrienne Roy
Letterer - Ben Oda
Editor - Len Wein
Cover Price: $0.60
Who is ready for two great tastes that taste great together? Today we're going to be discussing the start of the New Teen Titans' second year in which they team with Doom Patrol member Robotman in order to rescue Mento, and hunt down the killers of the original team. It's bound to be a great time... let's get down to it.
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We open as Donna Troy is dealing some major league damage to some fools at a warehouse. She's just tossing geeks around left and right... ultimately causing a crate avalanche by throwing a forklift in the direction of the gang-bangers. Donna, being Donna chooses to spare the baddies, and pulls them from the wreckage so that they could be arrested. We learn her outburst was due in no small part from the events of an earlier issue in which she was made into a pawn by the god Hyperion.
As if the day couldn't get any worse, Donna's next stop is lunch with... Terry Long. The two share an uncharacteristically stilted conversation where Donna shares her fears... both in regard to her vulnerability in being controlled, and in regard to her teammate Gar Logan's health and well-being as he lay on Paradise Island where he is being bathed by the purple ray after being shot by Deathstroke the Terminator.
Speaking of Paradise Island... it's our next stop. I'll be upfront here and say... I really dislike Paradise Island. It just bores me to tears. And, speaking of things that bore me to tears, we've got arena battles! Starfire is competing as Hippolyta and Raven look on. While we don't really know how adept Starfire is in competitive battle at this point, she makes short work of her opponent nonetheless.
After completing the "kanga-back" round, Starfire begins the hand-to-hand combat piece. Here is where we start to get a look into her formal battle training. As she competes, we see her both in her current battle as well as a flashback to battle on her home planet of Tamaran. She wins this round as well. The celebration, however, is cut short when an explosion occurs on Paula's Laboratory Island where Gar Logan is recuperating.
We shift scenes to the jungles of Uganda where Robin, Kid Flash, and Cyborg are looking to rendezvous with Robotman, formerly of the Doom Patrol. They are looking to team up to locate Gar's adoptive father, Steve Dayton... better known to us as Mento... also of the Doom Patrol. The trio have been waiting quite some time, and as such Wally decides to engage in a bit of high-speed reconnaissance. He leaves Dick and Vic behind, where the subject of friendship comes up. Victor is having a difficult time making nice with some of his teammates, and is also a bit nervous about his new friend Sarah Simms (from the special school).
It's not long before Wally returns... and he has bad tidings. He leads his teammates to the man they were to meet... and he appears quite worse for wear.
The boys bring Robotman down where Vic can take a better look at him. He is able to revive Cliff... who is just as ornery as ever. We get some fun back and forth between the two (mostly) metal men while "the new 1981-style" Cyborg performs some spot-weld-surgery.
Back at Paradise Island, we discover the cause of the explosion at the island lab. It's Changeling... now in the form of a brachiosaurus. We learn that the purple ray had overloaded him and driven him mad. It is left to the resident empath, Raven to sooth the savage beast... boy.
Later, Gar wakes up. He is atop a table, surrounded by several Themysciran goddesses. He attempts to step down, but is advised that his non-female feet were to ever touch the ground, they would lose all of their powers. Poor Gar, surrounded by lovely ladies... and relegated to a cold steel table. Before we leave this scene, Wonder Girl calls in to inform her sisters that she is headed home.
Back in Africa, Robotman has led the Titans to a secret entrance to an underground bunker where he believes Steve Dayton is being held. Wally decides to play canary-in-a-coal-mine by running ahead to scout the situation.
What he finds is a pair of sentries... who he takes out with the quickness before giving his pals the all-clear to join him down below.
Now, what they find is... a crazy underground city chock full of sentries.
On a nearby video monitor, the crew sees Madame Rouge as she addresses her faithful folks. She lets them know that they've got intruders... and they'd best do something about them pretty damned quick. Cliff is rightfully enraged upon seeing her face... after all, she is (partially) responsible for the deaths of his old friends Rita, Larry, and Niles.
The fellas are able to weave their way through the facility and eventually find themselves standing before a... woozy... Steve Dayton. He doesn't appear to recognize any of them... not even Cliff. Before they can get in any proper reintroductions, Wally warns that the hordes are on their way.
A short battle rages... so short in fact, that the Titans bring attention to it. Why would so few sentries attack when earlier they saw what must have been hundreds of them. Fearing it to be a trap, the gang decides they'd best hit the bricks. For the duration of the battle, Dayton has been mumbling about his Mento costume... which Wally fetches for him after the dust settles.
Our story draws to a close as the fellas head to their T-Jet. In the distance Rouge and her Doom Patrol-eliminating associate Zahl look on. We end with a bit of a heavy-handed hint that there might just be more to Steve Dayton then meets the eye.
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I'm of two minds with this issue. On one hand, I love the Doom Patrol related scenes... while on the other, Paradise Island is always an instant yawn for me. I was hoping Marv and George would be able to change my mind, but alas... still totally bored me. For me Paradise Island is something akin to outer space stories... familiar heroes and characters dealing in unfamiliar environments (at least to me). My least favorite Titan's stories seem to always take place on either Starfire's homeworld or Donna's homeland... at least under Perez's pencil, it all looks real pretty.
Luckily... again, at least for me... the other half of the story was wonderfully compelling. Two of my favorite teams taking care of business together... actually following up on official Doom Patrol issues, amazing stuff. It must have blown some minds back in 1981, seeing the death of the original Doom Patrol addressed.
The opening bit was well done, with Donna lashing out in order to process her feelings of vulnerability after having been controlled by Hyperion in an earlier issue. Even despite all of this, she still acts heroically in the end... which is a testament both to her constitution and her upbringing. Sadly, we also get a lunch scene with our old friend Terry Long. The dialogue between the two is painfully lovey dovey in a way that feels inorganic... forced, even. I mean, "little lady that I love", gimme a break, Terr'... nobody talks like that, man... nobody. His sensitive man shtick/gimmick sometimes gets a bit too thick for my liking.
Overall... its Wolfman/Perez Titans, and regardless of my reservations in regard to the goings-on on Paradise Island, I wholeheartedly recommend checking this out... and that goes for the entire run. I understand that my mileage on Paradise Island may not be indicative of others... and, even I will admit that what happens there is important, and there is some good action and a few funny lines. There is definitely stuff there to be enjoyed.
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