Fun with Comics: Hey Lobo!

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365 Days of Defiance, Day 212: The Line Is Drawn

Panels from 52 #32 (February 2007); script by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid; breakdowns by Keith Giffen; pencils by Patrick Olliffe; inks by Drew Geraci; colors by David Baron; letters by Travis Lanham

A Month of... Celebrities in Comics, Day 5: Last Action Heroes

It's opening night at Guy Gardner's Warriors bar, and anybody who's everybody (and his brudder) is at the party, from Ambush Bug to Zatanna! Seriously, check out the guest list! And it's not only superheroes that are attending the literal bash, it's the elite of Hollywood and a trio of very tough guys themselves marvelling at how Guy defenestrated Lobo: Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone! Why, that's at least one and quarter action movie heat right there in those three guys alone!


Panels from Guy Gardner: Warrior #29 (March 1995), script by Beau Smith, pencils by Phil Jimenez, inks by John Stokes and Dan Davis, colors by Gene D'Angelo, letters by Albert DeGuzman

Comics News for October 2, 2014

Top: panel from Superman series subscription ad in DC Comics cover dated June 1989. Izzat Jerry Ordway artwork there?
Middle: panel from the Batman story "The Riddler" in Detective Comics #140 (October 1948), script by Bill Finger, pencils by Dick Sprang, inks by Charles Paris
Bottom: panel portion from Lobo (2014 series) #1 (December 2014), script by Cullen Bunn, pencils by Reilly Brown, inks by Nelson Decastro, colors by Pete Pantazis, letters by Travis Lanham

Today in Comics History, June 14: Flag Day Special: Correct and Incorrect Flag Display Etiquette in a Comic Book Universe

Correct flag display in a comic book universe:

Incorrect flag display in a comic book universe:

Do not leap through flag.





Do not shoot flag.





Do not set flag on fire.





I said, do not set flag on fire.





What did I just tell you?!?





Do not erect any flags higher than the American flag.





If you win a a big comic book crossover battle,
don't use the flag to be a total dick about it.





Do not use the flag as a cheap variant cover stunt.

What will happen if you use incorrect flag display in a comic book universe:

This guy will get pissed at you.

365 Days of DC House Ads, Day 107: DC Annuals House Ads Week, Day 4

Tonight's "DC Annuals House Ads Week" installment is a more extensive than usual, so I'm substituting it for my nightly post. Okay? Okay!



House ad for Lobo Annual #1 (May 1993); printed in Sandman #50 (June 1993)
Ad art taken from the cover of Lobo Annual #1: pencils and inks by Christian Alamy
Hoo boy! Bloodlines! Where the Sam Scratch do I even start?

Well, first of all, let me repeat what you've been thinking: a house ad for Lobo in Sandman?!?! Neil Gaiman's Sandman? Not to mention the landmark 50th issue P. Craig Russell Scheherazadestravanga?!? Yup. (And it was only one of two ads for Lobo in that book. To be fair, the Vertigo imprint had only started up three months earlier and was still developing a house identity, so you'd see ads for mainstream DC comics within the first several months of Vertigo titles. But sheesh, Lobo? Not to mention...hoo boy, Bloodlines!

Bloodlines was the DC Annuals 1993 summer crossover event, the third yearly such linewide mega-story: 1991's Armageddon: 2001 and 1992's Eclipso: The Darkness Within started the trend, but Bloodlines pretty much killed it. Although DC's Annuals for the next several years would be themed across the board, they generally kept to single-issue stories within a specific theme: Elseworlds, Year One, Legends of the Dead Earth (virtually Elseworlds of their own)...even the crossover JLApe (never as good as that title made it sound) only affected the Justice League's titles. Just as Marve;'s huge line-wide Annual crossovers like The Evolutionary War and Atlantis Attacks ultimately collapsed under their own weight, Bloodlines drove the nail in the coffin of the twenty-three Annual mega-storyline. Let me sum up the plot: monster aliens infect normal humans in the DC Universe, changing them into superhumans, some of whom later got their own swiftly-cancelled throw-it-at-the-wall and we'll-see-it-it-sticks series. (Ah, Anima, you were too awful for this world.) Now of course is the perfect time to use the line that we all know and love and should probably be the motto of Comics Oughta Be Fun—"Now that [insert character name here] is so popular in comics, movies, and merchandising and a vital part of the DC Universe, it's nice to see where they got their start!"

Sounds straightfoward, huh? But there is nothing subtle about this crossover, a storyline so mega that it actually replaced the individual books' logos for each installment. Hey, remember these 1990s DC books? (It's okay if you don't remember them.)


Yup, bright neon colors, exaggerated 90s anatomy, and big dumb fight sequences were the bread and butter of Bloodlines. Yes, even the grim, dark, shadowy world of Gotham City did not escape the crossover or the over-saturated cover tones. Because when I think "Batman," I think MONSTER GIANT KILLER ALIEN INFECTING HUMANS. (Also: I think of Alfred.)


1993, if you hadn't marked it down on your anniversary calendar, was the year of The Reign of the Supermen, where four heroes stepped up following the death of Kal-El, each claiming possession of one of Superman's books. (Oh, and also claiming to be Superman.) I generally recommend The Reign of the Supermen as one of the more enjoyable runs of the post-Crisis Supes. My recommendation does not include these annuals.


Yup, even the DCU's other big guns were not immune to being drawn into this horrifically hyperactive history. Man, you'd think Hawkman would be glad just to be around and have a title, but noooooo. By the way, if you're looking for Wonder Woman, don't look too hard—she didn't have a 1993 annual. Lucky Diana! Her Justice League comrades were not so fortunate. You know that phrase "the survivors will envy the dead?" Yeah, it's kinda like that.


Now w-w-w-wait just one doggone minute! (I say, in my George Bailey voice.) Just what the heck is the comic that's always 1,000 years ahead of its time, The Legion of Super-Heroes, doing in this crossover? And that's a very good question that begins by telling you this unbelievable fact which must be accepted, no matter how incredible, in order to get to the bottom of all of this: Timber Wolf once had his own miniseries. Got your head around that? Timber Wolf? DC Limited Series? I know, I know...just bear with me here. You'll see where I'm going. Anyway, Timber Wolf...had his own...giggle...miniseries, in which he was...hee hee hee... stuck in the twentieth century...BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA! Geez, Timber Wolf couldn't even have his own concept for a series; he had to\ steal one from Karate Kid! Anyway, Brin Londo* (Timber Wolf's civilian name is Brin Londo.) was retrieved from his miniseries the twentieth century and brought back to the thirtieth by Legion super-time-scientist Rond Vidar* (Rond Vidar's civilian name is Rond Vidar) but he's got a stowaway with him...the recently Bloodline-infected surfer dude named Jamm. While pal Andrew has already patiently and firmly pounded the nail into this coffin, I can't help but subjecting you also to Jamm. Laddeez and gennlemen...the new character sensation of 3093.: Jamm.


Panels from Legion of Superheroes Annual v.4 #4 (1993); script by Tom Bierbaum and Mary Bierbaum; pencils by Stuart Immonen, Darryl Banks, Joe Phillips, Christopher Taylor, and Nick Napolitano; inks by Ron Boyd, Terry Austin, Wade Von Grawbadger, and Dan Davis, colors by Tom McCraw, letters by Bob Pinaha
Ah, Tom and Mary Birnbaum minus the leveling presence of Keith Giffen, what have you wrought? And five pencillers on an annual? That can't be good news.

Say, what are Jamm's super-powers (BESIDES MAKING ME WANT TO KILL HIM)? Why, he's able to "persuade" people to do anything he wants them to. He...oh dear...jamms his thoughts and wishes into them. Huh, why didn't they call him The Persuader? I mean, it's not like that name would have been taken by anybody else in the 30th Century.


Pausing only to throw her baby into Matter-Eater Lad's mouth, Night Girl accompanies Jamm in a space cruiser. And yeah, then this happens.


Pretty much the whole rest of the comic book is Jamm persuading the female members of the LSH to strip off their clothes, all accompanied by the Adam Ant classic "Strip." Yes, even Kono. Shame on you, Jamm.



These vaguely Comic Code-approved nudie escapades keep on occurin' until Jamm is given A Serious Talking To™ by Legion stuffed shirt Mon-El Lar Gand M'Onel Green Lantern Valor.


And to top it all off: full page pin-up of Jamm. Clip it out and toss it in the wastebasket, kids!


Pin-up from Legion of Superheroes Annual v.4 #4 (1993), pencils and inks by Joe Phillips, colors by Tom McCraw
By the following year the Legion would be off to Oz in their Annual (NO IT REALLY HAPPENED IT'S CANON FANBOYS) and a couple months later they'd be retconned to the Earth-247 post-Zero Hour Legion, aka The Legion I Really Love™. But I hope you've enjoyed this look at the last sputtering gasps of the it-began-excellently "Five Years Later" era of the Legion mashed-up with Bloodlines.

Also, there were Bloodlines trading cards.


Okay, okay, in the interest of being fair (and you're no fun anymore!), there is one good thing, count it, one, to have come out of Bloodlines:


Cover of The Demon Annual #2 (November 1993 AW MAN THIS SERIES REALLY WENT ON THAT LONG?!?), pencils and inks by John McCrea
...which led to one of the best, longer-running, and indeed, one of the most original DC Universe series of the 1990s:


So remember: just as Legends begat Suicide Squad and Justice League, as Zero Hour begat Starman and Legion of Super-Heroes, as The New 52 begat NOTE TO SELF: TRY TO THINK HARDER ABOUT THIS AND FILL IN LATER, yes, the big steaming crap-fest that was Bloodlines gave us a pretty darn good series in Hitman. Which, as they say, only goes to show.

There Is No Hope in Crime Alley, Night 25

Panels from Batman/Lobo one-shot (April 2000), script by Alan Grant, pencils and inks by Simon Bisley, colors by Nathan Eyring, letters by Bill Oakley

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 177

Panels from Batman/Lobo one-shot (April 2000), script by Alan Grant, pencils and inks by Simon Bisley, colors by Nathan Eyring, letters by Bill Oakley

Separated at Birth: In the land where the venetian blind man is king

L: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For #1 (November 1993), art by Frank Miller
R: Lobo #17 (July 1995), art by Val Semeiks and John Dell

(Click picture to she grew up-size)

Separated at Birth: It's a Guy Thing

L: Justice League International #18 (October 1988), art by Kevin Maguire and Joe Rubinstein
R: Justice League International #19 (Nov. 1988), art by Kevin Magure and Joe Rubinstein
(Click picture to Guy-size)


Dedicated to SallyP...Happy birthday, Sally!

All in color for two dimes

If you remember this entry, I bought twenty comic books for two bucks at Forbidden Planet. That's a comic for twenty cents. Since most of 'em origi'nly cost $2.99, that''s a savings of...uh...um...well...that's a savings of a lot. (I'll get my baby sister to do the math for me later, 'kay?)

What's really important, like always, is whether or not these comics were fun! So I'm gonna review these toot-sweet, fast-fast, and grade 'em each on three points: could I follow the story even just buying one issue, were they fun or not, and were they worth 20¢. I don't wanna give away the startling shock ending of this blog entry but [SPOILER WARNING] some of these comics weren't even worth 20¢!!!

Let's get this party started!

EXILES #72:

Could I follow the story?: I've never read this series. I don't know much about the New Universe, which the characters visit. There's a good story synopsis on the first page, but I guess the question is more "do I care if I follow the story?" Answer: not really. I kinda just flipped through this one.

Was it fun?: Not really. It didn't seem to go anywhere. I think I missed the "glory years" of Exiles, if there were any. This doesn't look like it: it actually looks and reads more like the comics it's referencing, generic 1980s mid-list Marvel quickly-cancelled superhero titles.

Was it worth 20¢?: No.

HAWKMAN #46

Could I follow the story?: Not too much problem. It's a prelude to Rann-Thanagar War so reading that helped. Lotsa weird stuff going on here and I'm sure I missed some plot points, though. Good summary of what's going on in a single dialogue bubble on page one, by the way.

Was it fun?: Sure. Big winged guy with a mace hittin' stuff, always decent fun to read! A little too much reference to Identity Crisis though, which is never fun. But I even liked the OMACs in this, and I haven't picked up a single OMAC Project issue.

Was it worth 20¢?: Yes.

NYX #7

Could I follow the story?: Not really. Not for trying, though. There's a good summary of the first six issues on page one, but I think it was harder to follow because these are all characters I don't know.

Was it fun?: Not really. Sad, disillusioned teens having no fun at all with their superpowers. Nice art, though. Subtract points for that awful Nick Fury's Howling Commandos preview that really killed the book before it had even been published.

Was it worth 20¢?: Eh, just barely.

MARVEL KNIGHTS 4 #19-22

Could I follow the story?: No problem at all. #19-20 was a two-part story. #21 and #22 were both done-in-ones.

Was it fun?: Ehhhh. Weird. To me there is at heart no more fun than the Fantastic Four, but all four of these comics seemed to have a kinda sharp, dull, very cynical edge which doesn't fit well with what I like best about the FF: the over-the-top adventure and wonder. Gorgon seems horribly out of character in the first storyline (although there's some nice bits with Franklin Richards), and Sue Richards' "girls' night out" storyline in #21 is just horribly creepy when it gets into her flashback temptations with the Black Panther. (Nothing against the Black Panther. But she loves Reed!) And there's no superhero I love more than the Thing, so #22 shoulda been a no brainer. Instead it's a sad and spooky golem story with no real satisfaction to the end. Only high spot in these four issues was a nice Kirby impression in the flashback of #21. Who drew it? Probably Ron Frenz, but who knows? There's no credits or title in the story! Bad Marvel! Bad! Bad!

Was it worth 20¢?: Nope. Even Stan and Jack would be bored by these four issues.

CATWOMAN #43 and 45

Could I follow the story?: Sure, even though #43 was the last issue of a storyline and #45 part two of a new story. No summary page at the front, but Catwoman sums up what's goin' on so far in her internal monologue.

Was it fun?: I'm surprised to say yes. Together these issues had a lotta some things I don't really like in mainstream superhero comics: sexual innuendo, over-the-top brutal violence, pointless dream sequences, threatening helpless animals with violence, and most of all, Hush. (I really really don't like Hush.) But #43 had a nice "justice is served" ending and #45 had a great cliffhanger that act'lly makes me wanna seek out issue #46 and see what happened next.

Was it worth 20¢?: These two issues were purrrrfectly worth forty cents. Hee hee hee! That's a Catwoman pun. ... Oh, like you've never made one.

BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #65

Could I follow the story?: Oh, heck no. No idea what was going on here. Poison Ivy lost her powers or something. Who knows?

Was it fun?: Ick. More Hush. And looks like a major character died at the end, but I don't even have to bet that that character will be back in a few months at the most. Nice cover, though.

Was it worth 20¢?: No.

BLACK WIDOW: THE THINGS THEY SAY ABOUT HER... #1

Could I follow the story?: Even tho' it was a #1 issue, not really! Too much depended on you having to have read the last Black Widow series.

Was it fun?: Not really. Too much sex talk and violence without any real forward movement of the story. (I blame Brian Michael Bendis for making stories popular in which nothing happens for several issues). Also, points subtracted for that awful, awful "Bod" ad popping up in my memory again.

Was it worth 20¢?: Heck no.

THE HIRE #4

Could I follow the story?: Sure, no problem. It's a done-in-one story even though it's issue four. I guess this book is an anthology.

Was it fun?: Yes! Mysterious chauffeur in a souped-up BMW helps a tycoon evade his killers, with an escape twist at the end. It reminded me of the movie The Transporter, but no cute Shu Qi in this one! The cartoony art was an odd choice for this story, though. Bonus points for a great one-page Hellboy merchandise advertisment at the back.

Was it worth 20¢?: Yes. Not bad for a comic that's basically a commercial for a car company.

THE AUTHORITY/LOBO: SPRING BREAK MASSACRE

Could I follow the story?: I dunno...John wouldn't let me read it! (He said "yes; it's a done-in-one.")

Was it fun?: John says "Nope! None of the nano-anarchy of an Authority story, too many dirty and over-the-top Lobo jokes. And if you can't make Jenny Quantum look cute, there's something very wrong with the artwork."

Was it worth 20¢?: John says "NO!"

RANN-THANAGAR WAR #2-6

Could I follow the story?: No real problem, even though I missed the first issue and there were a million characters to keep track of. Five issues in a row helped.

Was it fun?: Actually, to my surprise, yes! I've been pretty much avoiding Infinite Crisis crossovers but this one was a lead-in so it didn't seem like it was dependent on a lotta the stuff I've hated seeing happen in IC (even tho' I'm not buying that series). Some cool moments, good visuals for sweeping galactic events and plenty of favorite characters in here including the Prince Gavyn Starman and a neat final issue defeat-the-villain plan. Points off for the non-conclusion at the end of issue #6: I really do think miniseries should have a definite end and not just trail off into another story. (That's the same problem I had with the Power Girl storyline in JSA Classified).

Was it worth 20¢?: Five-sixths of a trade paperback for a buck, and I enjoyed the story. Well worth a buck altogether.

DAY OF VENGEANCE #4

Could I follow the story?: Boy howdy, I could not really figure out what was going on here at all...

Was it fun?: ...and yet it didn't really matter, 'coz yes, this was big, noisy, bonbastic fun. The origin of Detective Chimp? Sign me up! Big giant Captain Marvel fighting colossal Spectre throughout the landscape? I'm in the front seat for that one. Blue Devil and Rook? I'm, so there! I have no idea what's goin' on here, no idea what happened next, and I don't really care. This was sorta anarchic comics in the vein of Rob Liefeld, but hey, it was big loud dumb fun to me.

Was it worth 20¢?: Oooooh yeah.

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #640

Could I follow the story?: It's the kinda-end of a storyline that I didn't even know had been going on but it's easy to follow. Knowing all the characters always helps.

Was it fun?: Sorta. There's some really nice quiet characters bits in here I liked a lot, and the format is kinda clever and neat without being annoying: photographs, media reports, and surveillance of Superman takes up the top two-thirds of every page, and the ongoing storyline occupies a strip at the bottom. But the ending looks like something that's been building up a long time so coming in on the middle didn't have much impact for me, and the last page is kinda sour to me: definitely an un-fun revelation. (Doesn't the DCU have enough evil POTUSs?)

Was it worth 20¢?: Just barely.

So, in summary, Marshall has done the math: $54.50 worth of comics for two bucks. Out of twenty, eleven were well worth the twenty cents I paid for 'em. There's some kind of chart and graph Marshall is working up with my colored pencils and markers, but in the meantime I'll just say this: it was a great way to try a lot of different comics and get interested in some of them for just a little money. The biggest disappointment: four Fantastic Four stories that left a sour taste in my mouth. The biggest surprise: the Infinite Crisis books actually tickled me sense of fun.

Or, to put it another way:

Detective Chimp sitting on a sofa: 20¢.

Scary giant space villain trying to enslave Thanagar: 20¢.

The return of Tigorr: 20¢.

Blackfire being as villainous as she was the first time I saw her in New Teen Titans: 20¢.

Learning that the Infinite Crisis lead-in comics were a lot more fun that I ever expected? Priceless.