Teen Titans (vol.3) #½ (2004)
"The Ravager"
Writer - Geoff Johns
Penciller - Ivan Reis
Inker - Marc Campos
Colors - Sno-Cone
Letters - Comicraft
Associate Editor - Tom Palmer, Jr.
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Not gonna be a big preamble today... spent most of the day between the Emergency Pet Hospital and family vet with our Pug. We were afraid he had a stroke which caused him to lose motor function in his hind legs, however, they feel it's more likely that he slipped a disk. Had some blood drawn to rule out "valley fever", and will proceed from there. As I sit here typing, he appears to be in high spirits, and is acting more like his old self... though he is clearly annoyed to be locked up in his crate.
Anyhoo... after bumming us all out, let's take a look at another fabled "one half" issue from our friends at Wizard Magazine.
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We open with a flashback some eighteen years ago in Cambodia. We are with Slade Wilson and his team while they attempt to escort a young woman named Lilian into Thailand. As they proceed they walk into a hail of bullets, one of which grazes Slade's head. The scene then shifts to a quick and dirty history of the Teen Titans, including events such as the original Ravager's death, the Titans Hunt, the Superboy clone, and Bart Allen being kneecapped by the Terminator.
Next up we join Rose Wilson as she shares a meal with her foster parents. It would seem as though she's had a pretty rough day at school as her folks received a call informing them she'd been in a(nother) fight. She claims the fella whose arm she broke had it coming for being a pervert. The parents agree, and Rose hugs her mother... who winds up getting shot in the head. A moment later, her dad gets one too.
Turns out Rose has an assassin tracking her. It's a man using the Ravager name who claims to be Slade Wilson's brother... Wade. Wait, Wade... Wilson? Nonono, this is Wade DeFarge.
Just then the Teen Titans crash through the wall of the house. Certain members seem to be quite happy in light of the grave situation... lookin' at you Robin and Kid Flash. They take down the new Ravager with relative ease... all the while destroying Rose's home, not to mention burying her foster-folks under the debris of their own house. Before the Titans can detain the Ravager, an arrow whizzes into the window in what must be the only wall still standing. The arrow leaks gas, kayoing the Titans.
When the teens come to, they have a somewhat contentious conversation regarding whether or not Rose is worth saving. Superboy is especially adamant against it, claiming that all the Wilsons are beyond help. He then rattles off past members of the team who should never have been recruited, including Raven, Duela Dent, and our old friend Terra. This is a nice little scene, though, c'mon Kon, at this point you've been a Titan for about twelve minutes.
We catch up with Rose Wilson as she wakes up on a couch in what looks like a rundown warehouse. Before her stands her father, and her would-be captor is off to the side tied to a chair. Slade hands her a gun, with which he expects her to kill his brother Wade. Rose refuses... well... she refuses to do it with the gun, and instead requests Deathstroke's sword. Uh oh.
We wrap up with the Titans considering calling off the hunt as they haven't been able to track Rose down... this scene bleeds into one where Rose and Slade are hugging... and Deathstroke has one helluva satisfied smile on his face.
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Now this is more like it. When we discussed the one-half issue of Flash yesterday, I mentioned that I thought it should have been written with at least a bit of an eye toward the new reader... while still moving the story ahead for the seasoned fan. While I feel Flash struggled, Teen Titans excelled. We were able to get a bit of expositional dialogue which would certainly help get a curious Wizard Magazine reader interested in following the monthly exploits of these Teens. For long-time fans such as myself, I feel there was some decent character work here that justified the purchase/sending-away for.
The story is a bit, and I'm not sure if I can make this make sense... shallow. It's an action bit with some conversational catch-up placed in the background of a Rose/Slade story. I say "shallow" because I feel that while the issue notes that the story within falls between issues #- and #- of the ongoing Titans series, I do not feel like you lose anything if you read it "out of order". That is to say, even if this mail-away issue arrives after you've read the "bookend" issues, you won't really lose anything. This can be read as having taken place in the present, or the past. I think that's the best way for a one-half issue to shoehorn itself into a series.
Johns' dialogue and storytelling is pretty great all throughout. I think most people feel he was born to write Green Lantern, but I'd argue it's books like this he's best suited for. His (relatively) contemporary Titans work can stand up among the all-time greats. The art here is pretty great, however, perhaps a bit too "posy" for me... especially in the two-page spread. I'm looking at Kid Flash "making love to the camera" while bursting through a wall of a house wherein Rose Wilson's foster-family was just shot dead. I don't think any of the Titans should be smiling at that point... but what do I know. right?
Overall, this is a great "extra" issue of Geoff Johns' Teen Titans. Ain't never gonna be anything wrong with that. I'm shocked to find that it is available digitally... and has been collected as part of the Teen Titans omnibus and trade paperback.
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Flash (vol.2) #½ (2004)
"Rogue Wars, Prologue: Tricksters"
Writer - Geoff Johns
Penciller - Justiniano
Inkers - Walden Wong & John Livesay
Colorist - James Sinclair
Letterer - Rob Leigh
Assistant Editor - Michael Siglain
Editor - Joey Cavalieri
I'd forgotten about the Wizard "one-half" issues. Was doing some organizing in the library today... which is a Sisyphean task at best, when I came across this bugger. I recall a lot of folks being annoyed by these... especially this one. Ya see, it acts as a prologue to the much-hyped and long-awaited Rogue Wars story arc. Not only did you have to buy a copy of Wizard Magazine to get this... you had to mail away for it! Six-to-eight weeks later (if you were lucky), you'd finally have your hands on your book. I'm tellin' ya, this was a crusher for completionists like me. Hell, I would send away for "one-half" issues on series' I wasn't interested in... just in case I one day became interested!
So crazy to think of, considering where the industry is now... just about anything you might wanna read is readily available online. Don't need to leave home or even lick a stamp. Funny to think this wasn't all that long ago too!
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We open as the new Trickster is fleeing from the police. He covers his tracks by dropping a few smoke bombs, and after using his x-ray specs to check out a buxom apartment dweller, he is nyoinked by the fasted man in the world, Wally West... the Flash.
The pair tussle for a bit, with the Trickster trying to use his bag o' novelties against the Flash, including a super-charged joy buzzer... which is actually pretty effective. Of note, this Trickster claims that the "reformed Rogues" are far worse than he is.
It's no matter though, Wally has had just about enough of the Trickster's crap... and so, he grabs him in a headlock and bee-lines it to an Iron Heights cell. Unfortunately, this cell happens to have a mirror. A boomerang comes flying out the mirror and cuts Wally's hand. Amid the confusion, the Trickster escapes through the Mirror Master's reflective portal.
Flash stands there alone... surprised that he didn't catch the boomerang. He knows something's up... it came at him too fast. He is approached by Warden Wolfe, who he chews out for allowing mirrors to remain in the cells... and, ya know, the man's got a point. Wolfe blames the presence of a mirror on "the liberals".
We rejoin the Trickster with the Rogues, Captains Cold and Boomerang along with the Weather Wizard. Captain Cold is polishing the Stanley Cup, which is pretty neat. The Captain Boomerang here is Digger's son, Own... and the Trickster has arrived with news about the whereabouts of Digger's body.
We shift to Chicago and meet with the Reformed Rogues... Heatwave, Magenta, Pied Piper and their leader... the old Trickster, James Jesse. It is pretty much said outright that they either have possession of... or have at the very least have done something with Digger Harkness' body.
Jesse gets a call to inform him he has a visitor...and it is the Flash. James Jesse, when he's not in costume, works for the F.B.I.. Wally is interested in seeing whether or not he has any info on the new Trickster. We learn his name is Axel Walker, and he took the Tricky-mantle when he found a bunch of Jesse's old gimmicks. Wally's not entirely sure he can trust Jesse...
We wrap up with Linda Park-West as she is getting ready to roll on a hot story about Goldface's expanding of a union. Suddenly there is a burst of light... and then, Zoom. He informs Linda that he "still knows". This is likely a reference to Wally's secret ID having been public until a mind-wipe dealie around issue #200.
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They're not kidding calling this a "one-half" issue... story only runs for a dozen pages!
But, I digress...
It's been a long time since I reread the Johns run on Flash, so I can't say with any certainty that that is "required reading". I mean, to a completionist nut like me it's "required owning", but for normal comics fans, I'm not sure how essential this issue is to the narrative. That is to say, everything that happens here could be (and might be) condensed into a single page of exposition in Part One of Rogue War in Flash #220.
The new Trickster always kind of annoyed me, though, I'm sure that's kind of the point. Something I have sort of mixed emotions on is Johns' treatment of the Rogues during his run. He humanized them... really fleshed them out, especially Captain Cold. It made it kind of hard to root against them... they were far too likable. Enter: Nu-Trickster, he ain't likable at all.
I was sort of expecting this to be a more new-reader friendly issue... and it's not. That's both a good and bad thing, I suppose. I know I appreciated it not being a "Flash 101" type of thing back when it first came out... though now, a dozen years removed, I could've used a bit of a refresher course. Even a single page "here's where we're at" would have been nice.
I can't imagine I was satisfied with this back in late '04 or early '05 when I got it. Imagine spending upwards of eight weeks to get a twelve page story... then again, I was also reading plenty of late-shipping short-delivering Marvel back then too... ba'dum-tish.
Anyhoo, certainly not something I would recommend reading in a vacuum, however, if you're in for the long-Rogue War-haul, it's harmless... and you'll likely get something out of it. It is part of the Rogue War trade paperback collection (which is pretty spendy on Amazon right now), so if you snag that, you'll get this. The only thing you'll be missing is the Wizard Certificate of Authenticity.
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Superman: The Man of Steel #37 (September, 1994)
"Countdown to Zero"
Story - Louise Simonson
Penciller - Jon Bogdanove
Inker - Dennis Janke
Letterer - Ken Lopez
Colorist - Glenn Whitmore
Assistant Editor - Chris Duffy
Associate Editor - Frank Pittarese
Editor - Mike Carlin
Cover Price: $1.50
I'm not sure where in the timestream I'm transmitting from... but we've got a really fun issue to discuss today. Working on an upcoming Cosmic Treadmill... which may have birthed an additional episode of Weird Comics History, all about Zero Hour! Having more fun with our "research" than I thought we would.
Anyhoo, we start the (doomed to be retconned out of continuity) Chris is on Infinite Earths: Year Two with an amazingly fun issue of Man of Steel.
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It's the day of a big "Children of the Night" benefit concert in Metropolis... featuring the rock songstress Babe. Jeb Friedman wearing both a bitchen "Shredding Metal" jacket and a wild mullet seems to be organizing the affair. Speaking of affairs, he appears to be quite keen on Lois, who is currently going steady with our main man. Not to be left out of this early-90's insanity, this is around the time ol' CK had himself quite the mane. Sometimes a mullet... sometimes just long hair. Either way, I'm blaming it on the time anomalies.
Lois and Clark take their leave. As they walk down the street, Clark notices a familiar signal... morse code being reflected in the light... which can only mean one... well, I suppose it could mean many things, but this time it means that Batman is trying to get a hold of him. But then, is this Batman?
Superman tells his World's Finest pal that he looks pretty good for a fella getting over a broken back... which is a reference lost on the Dark Knight. Also, Batman is quite confused about the length of Superman's hair... that makes two of us, pal. This Batman is depicted as though Neal Adams drew him, and it looks really cool. Anyhoo, Batman informs Superman that there's something strange happening in Gotham... something having to do with time anomalies.
We shift scenes to check in on Jimmy Olsen and Ron Troupe as they celebrate their having backstage passes for the Children of the Night concert. They share a high-five so powerful windows shatter for a five-block radius.
We rejoin Jeb Friedman as he walks down an alley of sorts. Seasoned DC Comics fans will notice some pretty familiar visors watching him from a darkened nook. Why, it's the Mutants... from Dark Knight Returns! They grab the goof and demand he call off the concert because they're not for anything that would help rebuild the City. Well, where the Mutants go, a certain someone can't be far behind... and so, it isn't long before Batman (that Batman) is on the scene.
The Dark Knight Returns Batman proceeds to pummel the hell out of the Mutants... and does so until he is joined by Superman and the Neal Adams Batman.
The trio confer and discuss what's going on. DKR Batman brings similar tidings to the Adams variation... there's some crazy stuff going down in Gotham... due to some time anomalies (no matter how many times I type that word, I still misspell it at least twice!).
Superman decides it might be a good idea at this point to chat up his Physicist friend Emil Hamilton. Before he can, however, our threesome becomes a quartet... we got ourselves another Batman, this time from the Golden Age! C'mon now... how awesome is all this?
Golden Age Batman has the same message as the two before him... Gotham City-weird, time-anomalous. And speaking of time anomalies, it's at this point that the Neal Adams Batman shifts into the form of the more recent Kelley Jones-looking one... ya know, with the really pointy ears.
We shift scenes to the Whites settling in on a picnic blanket in preparation of the Children of the Night concert. They are currently in custody of a young boy named Keith. We met him a long while back drawing arrows with glow-in-the-dark spray paint. He's happy that the Whites have taken him in, though he still misses his mother... who, it just so happens might just be at the concert. We watch as he wanders off.
The concert is about to begin, and we get a pretty awesome panel featuring Superman and the three Batmen looking on... which I would love to see without the word balloons!
Although the "music" is messing with Superman's super-hearing, he is still able to parse a rifle bolt being pulled back. One of the Mutants is in the crowd, ready to take aim. Superman tackles the creep, however not before he can squeeze off a shot... which appears to hit Babe dead center!
The Batmen spring into action... and suddenly the Mutants emerge, in a freaking tank! The heroes unload on it, with DKR Batman taking an especially proactive approach, via thermite bomb... which isn't terribly effective. Superman decides to stop the tank with his form of offense... his body.
Back on stage, Babe is... well, still alive... and what's worse, still singing! Her set ends and she transforms into a bat and flies away. I think I might need to share photo evidence of that so you don't think I'm making that up.
We rejoin Jimmy and Ron as they flash their backstage passes... and hoo boy is Jimmy a smug little jerk. I hope he gets bit by a vampire...
We rejoin Superman and the Bats as they meet up with Hamilton. Here's where it gets weird... the Bats start time-shifting like it's going out of style. Really great work here by Bog. It's deduced that none of these Batmen are the one from the DCU "proper"... and suddenly Superman hears a high pitched signal that tells him where he might just be able to find the real-bat-deal.
Outside of town is... Batman, ya know... the real one. Superman mentions the "broken back"... which is a reference that this Batman does understand. You'll never guess, but Batman is here to inform Superman about some strange goings-on round Gotham way... before they can go too far, however, they are interrupted by Metron... who warns that these anomalies are badder news than we might have thought.
We wrap up with a craft landing in Smallville. A pair of figures wander up to a well-lit dwelling and knock on the door. Why it's the Kent farm... and our guests are Superman's parents, Jor-El and Lara. They mistake the door-answering senior citizen for their son... something tells me this is only going to get more confusing.
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Well, that was a lot of fun, right?
Jeez, no matter how many times I read this one, I always get giddy seeing Superman hanging around these iconic versions of Batman. I mean, ya just don't see the Dark Knight Returns Batman out of that particular world. Not only was the art incredible, but Simonson actually wrote them with the proper voices and behavioral patterns... just so much fun!
Check out that cover. I mean, really now. We've got Batmen from all over the map, including the Animated Series, and if I'm not mistaken, the 1966 Adam West show. I remember folks not really cottoning (is that a word?) to Bogdanove's work early on... but if this issue alone didn't tell ya that he's got chops, then I don't think you'll ever be convinced.
Gotta say... I don't remember the early 90's being so ugly... like, fashion-wise. I was there, and I'm old enough to remember... and I don't recall such ugly clothes and hairstyles. Oh so many mullets... including, arguably our star. I know the super-mullet is a divisive subject... kinda... but, whether it's a mullet or just overgrown hair... it's rather unpleasant either way. I used to complain that the artists couldn't agree on it's length or shape... however in this issue alone, it's all over the place. I think we can just write it off and say that Superman's hair is a victim of time anomalies...
My only complaint about this issue is how hard it was for me to decide which pictures to include. I really wanted to include just about every page! There's just so much cool stuff here to share. So many awesome panels... too many! I guess when your biggest gripe is that something is TOO good, you're doing alright... right?
Overall... yes, this is a comic book you should read. It's available digitally, so if you're down for it... give it a go. Also, check out the DC UNIVERSE page in the "Ads" section... DC does a bit of teasing and trolling to give readers an idea of what might follow Zero Hour. Some came to pass... while others were actual theories we'd heard at the shops. Give it a look, it's a fun piece of ephemera.
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