I think it's Jim Gordon's reaction that sells this whole scene for me. Regardless, I still love it.
Thank you, Neal Adams. :-)
Thursday, July 31, 2008
A favorite moment from Batman history
In the wake of the hoopla surrounding the Dark Knight movie, many longtime Batman fans are waxing nostalgic about their favorite moments, big and small, from Batman's very long comic book history. Here's a small moment from Batman history that's been MY personal favorite for a long, long time. From Batman #234 (1971):
I think it's Jim Gordon's reaction that sells this whole scene for me. Regardless, I still love it.
Thank you, Neal Adams. :-)
I think it's Jim Gordon's reaction that sells this whole scene for me. Regardless, I still love it.
Thank you, Neal Adams. :-)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
YES to bringing back Barry Allen ...
... because the DC Universe can NEVER have enough people around to tell Hal Jordan how fabulous he is:
(NO, they aren't talking about what you probably think they're talking about. ;->)
From JLA Year One.
(NO, they aren't talking about what you probably think they're talking about. ;->)
From JLA Year One.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
A match made in hell
This never REALLY happened -- and I think we can all be grateful. It's quite likely that any comic book featuring a teamup between THESE two would very quickly degenerate into a full-blown porn mag. No, this image is actually, merely the cover illustration from DC's Secret Origins #36. See? -->
The issue itself contains solo (origin) stories of Hal, Tom Kalmaku, and Ivy -- and that's all.
Still, the idea of Hal Jordan and Poison Ivy together ...! The mind boggles at the thought.
Well, at least everything would be green.
Monday, July 28, 2008
The Green Lama #3 (1945): "The Riddle of Toys"
Admittedly, the primary reason I started reading, and have continued to read, the comic book series Project Superpowers is due to the presense of the Green Lama. I'm rather fond of the character, and I rather like what Alex Ross & co. have done with him in terms of his powers. Many other super-heroes from the Lama's era (the Golden Age) are more or less Superman clones in terms of their abilities. For me, though, the Green Lama has always been just different enough from other Golden Age heroes to be much more than a "Superman clone." After all, Superman isn't a practising (and rather blatant) Buddhist, and he certainly doesn't wear green -- and I've always been fond of "green" heroes, anyway. Besides, unlike many other super-heroes, the Green Lama is a pretty easy-going guy (though definitely NOT nonviolent) and never seems to take himself TOO seriously.
Most people have never seen an old, original Green Lama comic book story. So, let's have some fun and peek at The Green Lama #3 (1945), featuring the work of legendary artist Mac Raboy, and featuring the closest thing the Lama has to an arch-enemy: Falstaff!
Falstaff (named after the beloved Shakespeare character from Henry IV and The Merry Wives of Windsor) is kinda like the Burgermeister Meisterburger from the old Rankin-Bass stop-motion TV special, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (1970), in that he robs children of their toys. Unlike the grouchy ol' Burgermeister, though, Falstaff is generally a jolly guy -- though that doesn't stop him from having his thugs pull guns on poor little kids. (Here's an interesting bit of trivia: Actor Paul Frees, who did the voice of the Burgermeister, also did the voice of the Green Lama in a 1940s radio serial.) Anyway, Falstaff is a lousy, rotten toy thief who creates real problems for toy lovers, and for the Green Lama. Hide your action figures, fanboys and fangirls, and read on!
The tale begins in New York, with a bunch of kids playing outside on the street ('cause, hey, that's where kids played back then). One kid has a big, shiney new toy fire engine, and he's showing it off to his buddy: "Mr. Jerome, who owns a toy store, is my pop's friend and he gave this to me!"
Suddenly, a thug leaps out of the shadows and takes the fire engine away from the kid. He then shoves the kid and leaps into a getaway car.
Witnessing the crime, though, is wealthy playboy Jethro Dumont, alter ego of the Green Lama! He says his words to transform into the Lama: "Om Mani Padme Hum!"
Green Lama flies after the car, but the bad guys see him. The car suddenly emits a smokescreen, and the Lama gets lost in the smoke. The car gets away.
After changing back to civilian attire, Jet has a word with the boys and learns that the one kid, Bobby Stout, received the fire engine "only yesterday."
Jet promises to get Bobby a new fire engine. He pays a visit to Mr. Jerome's toy shop and while there tells Mr. Jerome about the theft. Mr. Jerome says he'll go ahead and give Bobby a new toy himself, and claims there was nothing special about the one that was stolen. Jet then leaves the store, but he still feels a bit suspicious about the theft. Why would anyone want to steal an essentially "worthless" toy?
(Hey, Green Lama -- by the 21st century, that toy may not be so worthless and may, in fact, become a hot item for toy collectors! But, I digress ...)
The next day, at a boys' baseball game in Central Park, a boy named Jimmy is showing off his new baseball glove to his pals: "Robby Steller is my pop's friend and he autographed this glove himself! See where he signed his name!"
Three guesses what happens next.
(Now, just what kinda scumbag pulls a machine gun on a little kid?! Geez!)
However, standing on a terrace with a great view of the park is Tsarong, Jethro Dumont's buddy from Tibet. Tsarong sees the theft and calls Jet, who immediately transforms into Green Lama and goes after the crooks.
This time, the Lama succeeds in stopping the car, but the bad guys still give him some trouble:
(I gotta admit, one of the reasons why I love green super-heroes so much is that, for some odd reason, they're all so endearingly clumsy. Hey, Jet -- did you forget you can fly?)
Jet finds out where the boy who lost the baseball glove lives, and pays a visit. He finds out that the glove was autographed by famous pitcher Robby Steller and it was "the only thing he ever autographed!"
Playing on a hunch, Jet then decides to pay a visit to his friend, Lieutenant Caraway of the NYPD (who apparently knows that Jethro Dumont is the Green Lama). Jet describes the bad guys' getaway car to Caraway, who checks his records and verifies that it was stolen. Jet tells Caraway to watch out for checks with Steller's name forged on them.
Readers are then given a peek inside Falstaff's hideaway, which indeed shows a clerk practising rewriting the baseball glove's signature.
Later, while out and about, Jet spots the bad guys and follows them into a local five-and-dime shop. Just as the bad guys hold up the store clerks and steal a bunch of toy mechanical men from a store case (all the while asking Falstaff why the heck they're stealing mechanical dolls), the Green Lama shows up.
Pumpkinhead!
Green Lama hauls the crook back to police headquarters and turns him over to Caraway. It seems that Caraway likes having Green Lama around so that he can use him threaten crooks: "If you don't start talking, I'll let the Green Lama take a swing at you!"
The crook claims to know nothing except that all members of Falstaff's gang were to meet at 4th and Main at 3:00. Caraway determines that they must be planning to rob the bank on that corner. Green Lama changes back to Jethro Dumont and goes to the bank, posing as a customer.
Sure enough, at 3:00, Falstaff and his gang show up at the bank and turn loose the toy mechanical men they previously stole. The toys march toward the bank vault and blow it wide open. Jet then changes to Green Lama and confronts the bad guys. He has better luck against them this time.
Yeah, that's right -- Falstaff's the toy store owner, and he took advantage of that position to have the local kids tell him all about the toys they had. Whatta jerk.
So, why did Falstaff steal the "worthless" toy fire engine at the beginning of the tale? Well, it turns out that he'd hidden the key to his personal safe in the toy, and then accidentally gave away THAT toy instead of one of its duplicates.
Oops! This definitely makes Falstaff a candidate for an episode of America's Dumbest Criminals.
Most people have never seen an old, original Green Lama comic book story. So, let's have some fun and peek at The Green Lama #3 (1945), featuring the work of legendary artist Mac Raboy, and featuring the closest thing the Lama has to an arch-enemy: Falstaff!
Falstaff (named after the beloved Shakespeare character from Henry IV and The Merry Wives of Windsor) is kinda like the Burgermeister Meisterburger from the old Rankin-Bass stop-motion TV special, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (1970), in that he robs children of their toys. Unlike the grouchy ol' Burgermeister, though, Falstaff is generally a jolly guy -- though that doesn't stop him from having his thugs pull guns on poor little kids. (Here's an interesting bit of trivia: Actor Paul Frees, who did the voice of the Burgermeister, also did the voice of the Green Lama in a 1940s radio serial.) Anyway, Falstaff is a lousy, rotten toy thief who creates real problems for toy lovers, and for the Green Lama. Hide your action figures, fanboys and fangirls, and read on!
The tale begins in New York, with a bunch of kids playing outside on the street ('cause, hey, that's where kids played back then). One kid has a big, shiney new toy fire engine, and he's showing it off to his buddy: "Mr. Jerome, who owns a toy store, is my pop's friend and he gave this to me!"
Suddenly, a thug leaps out of the shadows and takes the fire engine away from the kid. He then shoves the kid and leaps into a getaway car.
Witnessing the crime, though, is wealthy playboy Jethro Dumont, alter ego of the Green Lama! He says his words to transform into the Lama: "Om Mani Padme Hum!"
Green Lama flies after the car, but the bad guys see him. The car suddenly emits a smokescreen, and the Lama gets lost in the smoke. The car gets away.
After changing back to civilian attire, Jet has a word with the boys and learns that the one kid, Bobby Stout, received the fire engine "only yesterday."
Jet promises to get Bobby a new fire engine. He pays a visit to Mr. Jerome's toy shop and while there tells Mr. Jerome about the theft. Mr. Jerome says he'll go ahead and give Bobby a new toy himself, and claims there was nothing special about the one that was stolen. Jet then leaves the store, but he still feels a bit suspicious about the theft. Why would anyone want to steal an essentially "worthless" toy?
(Hey, Green Lama -- by the 21st century, that toy may not be so worthless and may, in fact, become a hot item for toy collectors! But, I digress ...)
The next day, at a boys' baseball game in Central Park, a boy named Jimmy is showing off his new baseball glove to his pals: "Robby Steller is my pop's friend and he autographed this glove himself! See where he signed his name!"
Three guesses what happens next.
(Now, just what kinda scumbag pulls a machine gun on a little kid?! Geez!)
However, standing on a terrace with a great view of the park is Tsarong, Jethro Dumont's buddy from Tibet. Tsarong sees the theft and calls Jet, who immediately transforms into Green Lama and goes after the crooks.
This time, the Lama succeeds in stopping the car, but the bad guys still give him some trouble:
(I gotta admit, one of the reasons why I love green super-heroes so much is that, for some odd reason, they're all so endearingly clumsy. Hey, Jet -- did you forget you can fly?)
Jet finds out where the boy who lost the baseball glove lives, and pays a visit. He finds out that the glove was autographed by famous pitcher Robby Steller and it was "the only thing he ever autographed!"
Playing on a hunch, Jet then decides to pay a visit to his friend, Lieutenant Caraway of the NYPD (who apparently knows that Jethro Dumont is the Green Lama). Jet describes the bad guys' getaway car to Caraway, who checks his records and verifies that it was stolen. Jet tells Caraway to watch out for checks with Steller's name forged on them.
Readers are then given a peek inside Falstaff's hideaway, which indeed shows a clerk practising rewriting the baseball glove's signature.
Later, while out and about, Jet spots the bad guys and follows them into a local five-and-dime shop. Just as the bad guys hold up the store clerks and steal a bunch of toy mechanical men from a store case (all the while asking Falstaff why the heck they're stealing mechanical dolls), the Green Lama shows up.
Pumpkinhead!
Green Lama hauls the crook back to police headquarters and turns him over to Caraway. It seems that Caraway likes having Green Lama around so that he can use him threaten crooks: "If you don't start talking, I'll let the Green Lama take a swing at you!"
The crook claims to know nothing except that all members of Falstaff's gang were to meet at 4th and Main at 3:00. Caraway determines that they must be planning to rob the bank on that corner. Green Lama changes back to Jethro Dumont and goes to the bank, posing as a customer.
Sure enough, at 3:00, Falstaff and his gang show up at the bank and turn loose the toy mechanical men they previously stole. The toys march toward the bank vault and blow it wide open. Jet then changes to Green Lama and confronts the bad guys. He has better luck against them this time.
Yeah, that's right -- Falstaff's the toy store owner, and he took advantage of that position to have the local kids tell him all about the toys they had. Whatta jerk.
So, why did Falstaff steal the "worthless" toy fire engine at the beginning of the tale? Well, it turns out that he'd hidden the key to his personal safe in the toy, and then accidentally gave away THAT toy instead of one of its duplicates.
Oops! This definitely makes Falstaff a candidate for an episode of America's Dumbest Criminals.
Jimmie Johnson wins at the Brickyard
If I may be allowed to give my opinion of yesterday's running of the Brickyard 400 (yeah, that's right -- BRICKYARD 400. That's what we Hoosiers call it, and what we'll ALWAYS call it, no matter WHO the sponsor is. Nya, nya, Allstate!): The race was BO-RING!
It certainly wasn't the drivers' fault. There were massive issues with the tires. At one point, a right rear tire blew and practically took out the entire side of the car (Matt Kenseth's?). Hey, when THOSE tires go, baby, it's very dangerous. So, of course the officials established mandatory yellow flags for every 10 laps or so, which made for a VERY long, VERY boring, VERY frustrating race for all involved. At least no one suffered any major injuries. Major kudos to the pole sitter, Jimmie Johnson, for figuring out a strategy to climb on top of the mess and win the race!
Here’s the final tally of how everyone finished:
1 Jimmie Johnson
2 Carl Edwards
3 Denny Hamlin
4 Elliott Sadler
5 Jeff Gordon
6 Jamie McMurray
7 Kasey Kahne
8 Greg Biffle
9 Jeff Burton
10 A.J. Allmendinger
11 Mark Martin
12 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
13 Ryan Newman
14 David Ragan
15 Kyle Busch
16 Bobby Labonte
17 Reed Sorenson
18 Patrick Carpentier
19 Clint Bowyer
20 David Gilliland
21 Sam Hornish Jr.
22 Marcos Ambrose
23 Tony Stewart
24 Martin Truex, Jr.
25 Scott Riggs
26 Casey Mears
27 Terry Labonte
28 J.J. Yeley
29 Joe Nemechek
30 David Reutimann
31 Regan Smith
32 Jason Leffler
33 Robby Gordon
34 Michael McDowell
35 Dave Blaney
36 Travis Kvapil
37 Kevin Harvick
38 Matt Kenseth
39 Juan Montoya
40 Kurt Busch
41 Paul Menard
42 Brian Vickers
43 Michael Waltrip
Here's hoping the inaugural MotoGP race on September 14 is an improvement. Hey, there are gonna be MOTORCYCLES racing at the Speedway for the first time in nearly 100 years! That's GOTTA be exciting! :-)
It certainly wasn't the drivers' fault. There were massive issues with the tires. At one point, a right rear tire blew and practically took out the entire side of the car (Matt Kenseth's?). Hey, when THOSE tires go, baby, it's very dangerous. So, of course the officials established mandatory yellow flags for every 10 laps or so, which made for a VERY long, VERY boring, VERY frustrating race for all involved. At least no one suffered any major injuries. Major kudos to the pole sitter, Jimmie Johnson, for figuring out a strategy to climb on top of the mess and win the race!
Here’s the final tally of how everyone finished:
1 Jimmie Johnson
2 Carl Edwards
3 Denny Hamlin
4 Elliott Sadler
5 Jeff Gordon
6 Jamie McMurray
7 Kasey Kahne
8 Greg Biffle
9 Jeff Burton
10 A.J. Allmendinger
11 Mark Martin
12 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
13 Ryan Newman
14 David Ragan
15 Kyle Busch
16 Bobby Labonte
17 Reed Sorenson
18 Patrick Carpentier
19 Clint Bowyer
20 David Gilliland
21 Sam Hornish Jr.
22 Marcos Ambrose
23 Tony Stewart
24 Martin Truex, Jr.
25 Scott Riggs
26 Casey Mears
27 Terry Labonte
28 J.J. Yeley
29 Joe Nemechek
30 David Reutimann
31 Regan Smith
32 Jason Leffler
33 Robby Gordon
34 Michael McDowell
35 Dave Blaney
36 Travis Kvapil
37 Kevin Harvick
38 Matt Kenseth
39 Juan Montoya
40 Kurt Busch
41 Paul Menard
42 Brian Vickers
43 Michael Waltrip
Here's hoping the inaugural MotoGP race on September 14 is an improvement. Hey, there are gonna be MOTORCYCLES racing at the Speedway for the first time in nearly 100 years! That's GOTTA be exciting! :-)
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The Crisis Event to beat ALL Crisis Events!
Coming to YOU from the DCU next summer!
FIRST, there was the gut-wrenching Crisis of Infinite Earths!
AND THEN, there was the eyeball-wrenching Zero Hour!
The esophagus-wrenching Identity Crisis!
The hair-wrenching Infinite Crisis!
And the epiglottis-wrenching Final Crisis!
Ah, but Final Crisis isn't the final tale! In the most stunning Crisis epic YET, the Anti-Monitor is BACK (don't ask how; it won't make sense, anyway), and the heroes of the DCU face the greatest challenge of their lives! DC Comics is proud to present ... MIDLIFE CRISIS!
(Yes, yes, I know -- "Midlife Crisis" is a VERY old DC fanboy joke. I dunno what came over me ...)
FIRST, there was the gut-wrenching Crisis of Infinite Earths!
AND THEN, there was the eyeball-wrenching Zero Hour!
The esophagus-wrenching Identity Crisis!
The hair-wrenching Infinite Crisis!
And the epiglottis-wrenching Final Crisis!
Ah, but Final Crisis isn't the final tale! In the most stunning Crisis epic YET, the Anti-Monitor is BACK (don't ask how; it won't make sense, anyway), and the heroes of the DCU face the greatest challenge of their lives! DC Comics is proud to present ... MIDLIFE CRISIS!
(Yes, yes, I know -- "Midlife Crisis" is a VERY old DC fanboy joke. I dunno what came over me ...)
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Why Power Girl will never rejoin the Justice League: Part 7
Once the truth was out, Power Girl could never, ever bring herself to face her male teammates again.
ESPECIALLY Wally.
ESPECIALLY Wally.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Green Lantern vs. brass rope stand
Just one more little scan from Emerald Dawn II. Whonk!
Hey, Hal -- Brass IS a yellow metal, y'know. I swear that sometimes Hal forgets he's NOT Superman.
*Sigh* ...
Hey, Hal -- Brass IS a yellow metal, y'know. I swear that sometimes Hal forgets he's NOT Superman.
*Sigh* ...
Monday, July 21, 2008
Goodbye, Emerald Dawn
With Geoff Johns' new retelling of Hal Jordan's Green Lantern origin story in Secret Origin, it's time to say goodbye to the previous retelling of the tale: Emerald Dawn, and its sequel, Emerald Dawn II.
I admit I'm not saying goodbye to them completely. In keeping with my ongoing comic-book-pruning task, I have them in trade form, so there's no need to hang onto my comic book issues anymore. The issues featuring the Geoff Johns origin tale will probably go away, too, once they're in trade form. For now, though, they're allowed to take up the space being vacated by Emerald Dawn.
Though so far I do like the new Secret Origin story better than Emerald Dawn, I have to agree with some fellow GL fans that there's one thing in particular that I'm gonna really gonna miss from Emerald Dawn. Oh, sure, it's fun to see Kilowog clobber Hal with a big yellow Frisbee in Secret Origin ...
... but NOTHING beats Hal Jordan VS. Big Yellow Sign, from Emerald Dawn:
Big Yellow Sign = 1; Hal Jordan = 0!
Anyway -- GOODBYE, Emerald Dawn. No more shy and indecisive Hal. No more drunk driving. No more Hal spending time in prison. And no more Hal having to explain his sexual orientation to Sinestro one more time ...
I kid! I kid! ;-)
I admit I'm not saying goodbye to them completely. In keeping with my ongoing comic-book-pruning task, I have them in trade form, so there's no need to hang onto my comic book issues anymore. The issues featuring the Geoff Johns origin tale will probably go away, too, once they're in trade form. For now, though, they're allowed to take up the space being vacated by Emerald Dawn.
Though so far I do like the new Secret Origin story better than Emerald Dawn, I have to agree with some fellow GL fans that there's one thing in particular that I'm gonna really gonna miss from Emerald Dawn. Oh, sure, it's fun to see Kilowog clobber Hal with a big yellow Frisbee in Secret Origin ...
... but NOTHING beats Hal Jordan VS. Big Yellow Sign, from Emerald Dawn:
Big Yellow Sign = 1; Hal Jordan = 0!
Anyway -- GOODBYE, Emerald Dawn. No more shy and indecisive Hal. No more drunk driving. No more Hal spending time in prison. And no more Hal having to explain his sexual orientation to Sinestro one more time ...
I kid! I kid! ;-)
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Green Lantern "mystery art" project
Glass House Graphics often supplies artwork for comic book publishers (amongst other clients) in need of art and materials for promotional or out-of-house projects. Following are a bunch of drawings from their Studio Sakka division, which was/has been working on an "interactive project" based on Green Lantern. There's another, similar project based on Aquaman.
I have a zillion of these drawings, done by various artists. The ones posted here represent only a small sampling, and there are a zillion more floating around out there for collectors. Unfortunately, the guy I got them from (who sells and distributes art from Studio Sakka) has no idea what project they're from. All he knows is that it's an "interactive educational book," and that it's being published/distributed outside of the USA. (To me, the drawings look like coloring book pages -- but some of them are labelled "PC-MAC" on the back, so who knows?) At any rate, I'd love to hear from anyone who knows anything at all about these drawings, or the project they're related to.
(This one really cracks me up. GETTIM, Sapphire!):
I have a zillion of these drawings, done by various artists. The ones posted here represent only a small sampling, and there are a zillion more floating around out there for collectors. Unfortunately, the guy I got them from (who sells and distributes art from Studio Sakka) has no idea what project they're from. All he knows is that it's an "interactive educational book," and that it's being published/distributed outside of the USA. (To me, the drawings look like coloring book pages -- but some of them are labelled "PC-MAC" on the back, so who knows?) At any rate, I'd love to hear from anyone who knows anything at all about these drawings, or the project they're related to.
(This one really cracks me up. GETTIM, Sapphire!):
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Remembering Superman on a "Batman" weekend
YES, I saw The Dark Knight. YES, I loved it. YES, it seemed rather long, but for the life of me, I can't think of any scene I'd want to cut. It's so nice to see a superhero movie that actually requires the audience to THINK for a change. I also loved the super-realism. I LOVED Heath Ledger as the Joker (now THAT's the Joker!). I loved the relentless barrage of moral dilemmas confronting all of the heroes. Weirdly enough, though, what I loved best was Gary Oldman as Gordon. And, OHHHHHH, what they did with Gordon ...! Brilliant!
ALSO, separated at birth: Harvey Dent and Jonah Hex. Who knew? ;-)
Favorite action bit: Batman taking out an entire SWAT team BY HIMSELF.
And if I EVER have my very own corporation, I want Lucius Fox to run it.
I also saw the Watchmen trailer. I'm reserving judgement until the film is actually finished and released. Right now, the only thing that sticks in my mind is, Dr. Manhattan looks very fake to me. But, I'm also assuming that could be due to the fact that the effects aren't yet finished.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Off to celebrate "Batman Day"
I'm off to see Batman at the movies. Yep, it's time to go see The Dark Knight and remind myself why Batman was my first great love, at least where super-heroes are concerned.
Before I do that, I should post an update on my progress in pruning my comic book collection. I've finished with the "J"s and doubled back to FINALLY go through the "G"s. Oh, it's going to be PAINFUL. For some reason, I didn't have any trouble getting rid of most of my Batman comics. Sad to state, it's now evident to me that very few Batman stories (of the ones that haven't been reprinted) over the last four decades are really worth keeping -- at least for me. :-( However, right now, I DON'T feel that way about Green Lantern or Green Arrow. Yep, pruning the "G"s is going to be tough.
Something else that's become evident: Originally, my plan was to prune my collection all the way down to only ONE comic book box. Well, that's now beginning to look impossible. So, I've changed my goal to TWO boxes. If it turns out that I CAN make it to only one box, I will certainly do so. For now, though, TWO boxes looks to be a difficult-enough goal!
Before I do that, I should post an update on my progress in pruning my comic book collection. I've finished with the "J"s and doubled back to FINALLY go through the "G"s. Oh, it's going to be PAINFUL. For some reason, I didn't have any trouble getting rid of most of my Batman comics. Sad to state, it's now evident to me that very few Batman stories (of the ones that haven't been reprinted) over the last four decades are really worth keeping -- at least for me. :-( However, right now, I DON'T feel that way about Green Lantern or Green Arrow. Yep, pruning the "G"s is going to be tough.
Something else that's become evident: Originally, my plan was to prune my collection all the way down to only ONE comic book box. Well, that's now beginning to look impossible. So, I've changed my goal to TWO boxes. If it turns out that I CAN make it to only one box, I will certainly do so. For now, though, TWO boxes looks to be a difficult-enough goal!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
BrainTrust vs. "brain trusts" (Green Lantern-Green Arrow #101)
It’s time to take a break from picking on the Justice League, and instead pick on my two favorite green-clad boneheads, Hal and Ollie, and their adventure in Green Lantern-Green Arrow #101: “The Big BrainTrust Boom” (1978).
The tale begins in a dark alley in Star City, where Green Arrow and Black Canary are beating up a gang of thugs and exchanging banter. Of course, the two succeed in defeating the bad guys. However, when the cops show up, Green Arrow takes off and leaves Dinah behind to finish things up. It seems he has to catch a plane for a business meeting in Coast City.
(Attention, Black Canary -- DO NOT let Ollie go to Coast City! You KNOW he’s only going to hook up with Hal Jordan -- and then the two of them are gonna go do something boneheaded and get into all sorts of trouble that they WOULDN’T get into with you around. Don’t let Ollie ditch you like that! DON’T!)
(*Sigh.* Oh, well. I tried.)
Actually, Ollie really does need to attend the business meeting. He hasn’t been spending a lot of time drumming up clients for his public relations business: “I’ve got to convince a new firm that I should handle their advertising or it’ll be slum city for me -- again!”
(Actually, advertising and public relations are two different things, Ollie -- but, never mind.)
Oh, and it appears that, yes indeed, Ollie is anticipating meeting up with Hal: “--and where HE is, TROUBLE is!”
Boy, you aren’t kidding, Ollie. (See, Black Canary? I warned you!)
Meanwhile, in Coast City, Hal is at a local pub, having a beer and feeling slightly ticked. He was supposed to meet his brother Jim for dinner, but Jim bailed at the last minute. Not only that, there’s a drunk guy at the bar who keeps complaining to Hal about his kid.
Oh, no! Hector Hammond -- that immobile-but-very-dangerous-and-brilliant telepath with an oversized brain pan -- is out of prison! Hal has been out in space for a while (literally and figuratively), so this is news to him. After ducking out of the restaurant, he switches to his Green Lantern garb and flies to the prison, to get in a (losing) argument with the warden.
(Hey, Ollie -- Didn’t you notice that the bearded guy’s hair looks an awful lot like Hal’s? No? Oh, well. I guess Ollie isn’t exactly known for his detective skills, is he?)
Ollie enters the office for his meeting, only to find out that someone else beat him to the punch.
Well, Ollie never did take rejection well. He confronts the manager, a guy named Baggins. The two nearly get into a fist fight until some security guards pick up Ollie, AND --
So, what does Ollie do next? Why, call Hal, of course! Boneheads reunited! Ohhh, Black Canary, where ARE you?!
Both Ollie and Hal decide that Hal’s problem is much more interesting. So, Ollie takes off to go learn more about Hammond’s cult, while Hal goes to investigate BrainTrust, Inc. And investigate it he does -- by breaking into their offices. (And THAT, boys and girls, is why super-heroes are often called vigilantes.)
Just as Hal finds out that BrainTrust is contributing an awful lot of dough to Hammond’s cult (“Spark of Divinity”), he gets attacked by ... a guy in old-lady drag?
Now, it REALLY becomes apparent that Black Canary isn’t around to keep the boys in check, when Hal says things like this:
Shame on you, Hal. If Dinah heard that, she’d kick your ass.
More bad guys, dressed as guards, run into the office. No problem for Green Lantern, right? WRONG.
While Hal fights to breathe, the bad guys start pummeling him. Just when it looks like Hal is going to lose the fight, he manages to gain enough control over his ring to dissolve the noose. Finally able to breathe again, but not trusting his ring to work properly, Hal decides to abandon the fight. He manages to escape the bad guys and run out of the building.
As Hal vacates the premises, though, the leader of the bad guys shows up. It’s Baggins, the guy who threw Ollie out of his office earlier: "Good thing I was nearby, or he would've torn your men apart! Double the guard!"
Hmmmmm ...
Meanwhile, Ollie is attending a cult meeting.
Disgusted, Ollie leaves and heads back to his hotel room. There he finds Green Lantern passed out on the floor(!) -- apparently hurt worse than he thought from his battle with the BrainTrust guys. Not to worry, though -- Hal recovers quickly enough.
(And, Holy Hannah, Hal and Jim must get their clothes from the same tailor -- who apparently only uses one style of fabric. Anyway ...)
Jim, Susan, little Howard, Ollie, and “Unka Hal” all sit down to dinner and talk about Jim’s new employer -- BrainTrust, Inc. Apparently, BrainTrust is a real mover and shaker that’s hiring all sorts of experts in various fields from all over the world. Susan also happens to know that BrainTrust runs the “Spark of Divinity” mission.
Oh, Ollie, you are SUCH a troublemaker.
SO, now Hal is mad because Ollie almost gave away his secret identity AND Hal was beat up by a guy in drag for information that Sue already had. However, our boys eventually laugh things off and (after taking care of “a few things”) decide to go back to the cult headquarters to find “something to explain Hammond’s link with BrainTrust.” Especially since Hal is convinced that (gasp!) Hammond is the reason why his ring turned against him. (Oh, you think?)
Sure enough, Hal and Ollie stumble across Hector Hammond, who's meeting with ... Baggins! And, whaddaya know, Hal was right about Hammond and his ring.
“-- just as I’ve manipulated the world leaders who’ve come to BrainTrust for advice! Even the finest minds cannot resist me!”
Mwaaaa, ha, ha, ha, haaaaa!
To make matters worse, Hal recognizes Baggins. Turns out he’s actually a guy named Bill Baggett, who fought Hal before.
Hal and Ollie are captured and made immobile by Hammond’s power. Ollie, of course, can’t shut up, and starts pissing off Baggett/Baggins by calling him “Bilbo of BrainTrust.”
Ollie then turns his attention to Hammond and gets him to monologue about his evil scheme: “I wanted to see how far people could be led! The answer is -- far indeed! As you will see, when I establish control over every world power! The task will require at least twenty-five years -- but what is time to an immortal?”
Yeah, especially when he has his own pet Green Lantern and pet Green Arrow to watch his schemes unfold!
However ...
Hal pulls his favorite macho trick of removing his power ring before fighting with the bad guy.
And, of course, Hal just HAD slip in a green boxing glove for good measure.
Hardee-hardee-har-har-har. Oh, you guys are SUCH cards. When Black Canary hears about this, she’ll definitely be glad she wasn’t around.
Oh, and I guess Ollie is now broke again. So much for drumming up some public relations business!
Written by Frank McGinty; drawn by Alex Saviuk
The tale begins in a dark alley in Star City, where Green Arrow and Black Canary are beating up a gang of thugs and exchanging banter. Of course, the two succeed in defeating the bad guys. However, when the cops show up, Green Arrow takes off and leaves Dinah behind to finish things up. It seems he has to catch a plane for a business meeting in Coast City.
(Attention, Black Canary -- DO NOT let Ollie go to Coast City! You KNOW he’s only going to hook up with Hal Jordan -- and then the two of them are gonna go do something boneheaded and get into all sorts of trouble that they WOULDN’T get into with you around. Don’t let Ollie ditch you like that! DON’T!)
(*Sigh.* Oh, well. I tried.)
Actually, Ollie really does need to attend the business meeting. He hasn’t been spending a lot of time drumming up clients for his public relations business: “I’ve got to convince a new firm that I should handle their advertising or it’ll be slum city for me -- again!”
(Actually, advertising and public relations are two different things, Ollie -- but, never mind.)
Oh, and it appears that, yes indeed, Ollie is anticipating meeting up with Hal: “--and where HE is, TROUBLE is!”
Boy, you aren’t kidding, Ollie. (See, Black Canary? I warned you!)
Meanwhile, in Coast City, Hal is at a local pub, having a beer and feeling slightly ticked. He was supposed to meet his brother Jim for dinner, but Jim bailed at the last minute. Not only that, there’s a drunk guy at the bar who keeps complaining to Hal about his kid.
Oh, no! Hector Hammond -- that immobile-but-very-dangerous-and-brilliant telepath with an oversized brain pan -- is out of prison! Hal has been out in space for a while (literally and figuratively), so this is news to him. After ducking out of the restaurant, he switches to his Green Lantern garb and flies to the prison, to get in a (losing) argument with the warden.
(Hey, Ollie -- Didn’t you notice that the bearded guy’s hair looks an awful lot like Hal’s? No? Oh, well. I guess Ollie isn’t exactly known for his detective skills, is he?)
Ollie enters the office for his meeting, only to find out that someone else beat him to the punch.
Well, Ollie never did take rejection well. He confronts the manager, a guy named Baggins. The two nearly get into a fist fight until some security guards pick up Ollie, AND --
So, what does Ollie do next? Why, call Hal, of course! Boneheads reunited! Ohhh, Black Canary, where ARE you?!
Both Ollie and Hal decide that Hal’s problem is much more interesting. So, Ollie takes off to go learn more about Hammond’s cult, while Hal goes to investigate BrainTrust, Inc. And investigate it he does -- by breaking into their offices. (And THAT, boys and girls, is why super-heroes are often called vigilantes.)
Just as Hal finds out that BrainTrust is contributing an awful lot of dough to Hammond’s cult (“Spark of Divinity”), he gets attacked by ... a guy in old-lady drag?
Now, it REALLY becomes apparent that Black Canary isn’t around to keep the boys in check, when Hal says things like this:
Shame on you, Hal. If Dinah heard that, she’d kick your ass.
More bad guys, dressed as guards, run into the office. No problem for Green Lantern, right? WRONG.
While Hal fights to breathe, the bad guys start pummeling him. Just when it looks like Hal is going to lose the fight, he manages to gain enough control over his ring to dissolve the noose. Finally able to breathe again, but not trusting his ring to work properly, Hal decides to abandon the fight. He manages to escape the bad guys and run out of the building.
As Hal vacates the premises, though, the leader of the bad guys shows up. It’s Baggins, the guy who threw Ollie out of his office earlier: "Good thing I was nearby, or he would've torn your men apart! Double the guard!"
Hmmmmm ...
Meanwhile, Ollie is attending a cult meeting.
Disgusted, Ollie leaves and heads back to his hotel room. There he finds Green Lantern passed out on the floor(!) -- apparently hurt worse than he thought from his battle with the BrainTrust guys. Not to worry, though -- Hal recovers quickly enough.
(And, Holy Hannah, Hal and Jim must get their clothes from the same tailor -- who apparently only uses one style of fabric. Anyway ...)
Jim, Susan, little Howard, Ollie, and “Unka Hal” all sit down to dinner and talk about Jim’s new employer -- BrainTrust, Inc. Apparently, BrainTrust is a real mover and shaker that’s hiring all sorts of experts in various fields from all over the world. Susan also happens to know that BrainTrust runs the “Spark of Divinity” mission.
Oh, Ollie, you are SUCH a troublemaker.
SO, now Hal is mad because Ollie almost gave away his secret identity AND Hal was beat up by a guy in drag for information that Sue already had. However, our boys eventually laugh things off and (after taking care of “a few things”) decide to go back to the cult headquarters to find “something to explain Hammond’s link with BrainTrust.” Especially since Hal is convinced that (gasp!) Hammond is the reason why his ring turned against him. (Oh, you think?)
Sure enough, Hal and Ollie stumble across Hector Hammond, who's meeting with ... Baggins! And, whaddaya know, Hal was right about Hammond and his ring.
“-- just as I’ve manipulated the world leaders who’ve come to BrainTrust for advice! Even the finest minds cannot resist me!”
Mwaaaa, ha, ha, ha, haaaaa!
To make matters worse, Hal recognizes Baggins. Turns out he’s actually a guy named Bill Baggett, who fought Hal before.
Hal and Ollie are captured and made immobile by Hammond’s power. Ollie, of course, can’t shut up, and starts pissing off Baggett/Baggins by calling him “Bilbo of BrainTrust.”
Ollie then turns his attention to Hammond and gets him to monologue about his evil scheme: “I wanted to see how far people could be led! The answer is -- far indeed! As you will see, when I establish control over every world power! The task will require at least twenty-five years -- but what is time to an immortal?”
Yeah, especially when he has his own pet Green Lantern and pet Green Arrow to watch his schemes unfold!
However ...
Hal pulls his favorite macho trick of removing his power ring before fighting with the bad guy.
And, of course, Hal just HAD slip in a green boxing glove for good measure.
Hardee-hardee-har-har-har. Oh, you guys are SUCH cards. When Black Canary hears about this, she’ll definitely be glad she wasn’t around.
Oh, and I guess Ollie is now broke again. So much for drumming up some public relations business!
Written by Frank McGinty; drawn by Alex Saviuk
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Why Power Girl will never rejoin the Justice League: Part 6
NO ONE should have to put up with an idiot like General Glory (and his trusty sidekick, Ernie the Battling Boy), even if only briefly.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Why Power Girl will never rejoin the Justice League: Part 5
NO ONE should have to put up with all the mind-control/mind-swapping/turning-into-robots malarky that the Justice League commonly goes through:
Yeah, Wally West really missed his chance here -- especially after Power Girl started yelling, "I wanna get it on with ... EVERYBODY!"
(However, what happened to Wally and Power Girl isn't HALF as bad as what happened between Kimiyo [Dr. Light] Hoshi and Tasmanian Devil.)
Yeah, Wally West really missed his chance here -- especially after Power Girl started yelling, "I wanna get it on with ... EVERYBODY!"
(However, what happened to Wally and Power Girl isn't HALF as bad as what happened between Kimiyo [Dr. Light] Hoshi and Tasmanian Devil.)
Why Power Girl will never rejoin the Justice League: Part 4
"What did you do THAT for?" Oh, Hal, Hal, Hal ... You are so heroic, and so pretty ... and so DUMB.
Just blame it all on Parallax, Kara. You'll feel better.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Hal Jordan Envy
It was bad enough when he was trying to compete with Aquaman, but you'd think Wally West (of all people) would know better than to try competing with Hal Jordan.
Just blame it all on Parallax, Wally. You'll feel better.
Just blame it all on Parallax, Wally. You'll feel better.
Why Power Girl will (probably) never rejoin the Justice League: Part 1
(Hey, at least it was just Ralph's leg that got caught in the door.)
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Aquaman Envy
Here we have Wally West and a type of problem that commonly faces former Teen Titans when they go on to join the Justice League:
Yeah, that's right, Wally -- Aquaman ain't no purple-eyed fish-phobic geek, like Aqualad. Better forget trying to compete. Go get married and have kids, if you know what's good for ya.
Yeah, that's right, Wally -- Aquaman ain't no purple-eyed fish-phobic geek, like Aqualad. Better forget trying to compete. Go get married and have kids, if you know what's good for ya.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Hal Jordan vs. Jonah Hex!
Actually, this never REALLY happened. Hal and Jonah did meet, but they got along quite well together. But, OH, the possibilities ...! Justice League #198 could have been SO much better. Such a wasted opportunity.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
On the pummelling of Hal Jordan (Justice League #56, 1967)
Sally over at Green Lantern Butts Forever! recently posted a series of panels showing Wildcat and the original Mr. Terrific pounding Hal (Green Lantern) Jordan in the head with wooden sticks. The people who want to know about the original home of those panels need look no further than Justice League of America #56 (1967), featuring a Justice League–Justice Society team-up back when the JLA was on “Earth 1” and the JSA was on “Earth 2”. Yep, this is a pre-Crisis tale, folks. Brace yourselves for some Silver Age nuttiness.
The story actually starts in issue #55, but issue #56 offers a handy-dandy update. Maestro! Cue the Star Wars music!
”On Earth-Two, mysterious black spheres have been absorbed into the bodies of How Chu, a Chinese Bandit -- Claire Morton, a gem-loving girl -- British businessman Horace Rowland -- and sportsman Marty Baxter -- turning these four innocent victims into super-villains!
"Attempting to stop their criminal activity, the Justice Society of America suffers a crushing defeat! When Johnny Thunder sends his magic-powered Thunderbolt to capture the black-sphered four, he meets a humiliating defeat!
"In desperation, Johnny summons members of the Justice League of America from Earth-One to stop the threat -- only to learn that they too have just failed against an identical villain-quartet on their own Earth!
"When the Thunderbolt reveals that the spheres are living creatures from a negative universe and that they will soon be in full control of their human-host bodies -- making them absolutely invulnerable -- the problem of stopping them becomes doubly hopeless!"
Well, gasparoony. Everyone get all that?
Okay, here’s the lineup: On the JSA side are Hawkman, Wildcat, Mr. Terrific, Hourman, Wonder Woman, Robin, and Johnny Thunder and Thunderbolt.
On the JLA side are Superman, Green Arrow, Barry (Flash) Allen, and Hal (Green Lantern) Jordan. Yeah, the JSA members outnumber the JLA members in this tale, but with Superman and Hal on the JLA side, who cares, right? Hmmmmm …
The heroes decide that the first thing they need to do is go find the spheres that haven’t already been absorbed by somebody. As it turns out, the unabsorbed spheres are dead. However, the JLA and JSA come up with the absolutely brilliant idea of having some of the heroes absorb the leftover “negative radiation” from the dead spheres, in order to protect themselves from the four infected people AND give themselves an added power boost for stopping the infected people. Never mind that the negative radiation just might turn the heroes into villains, too -- and make ‘em that much harder to fight.
The heroes decide to pick two members of each team (gotta keep things even!) to absorb the radiation. The four they pick? Wonder Woman, Hourman, Barry, and Hal.
(Now, if it had been up to me, I think I would’ve volunteered four of the WUSSIER heroes, but what do I know?)
Oh, and just for good measure, “Superman would have been chosen -- but his body is immune to radiation!”
(What, you mean there’s no chance of making Superman even MORE powerful, and EVIL to boot? Well, DARN!)
Boy, do these heroes love living on the edge. Anyway …
The heroes all split up into teams, with each negative-energy-infected hero accompanied by two unaffected heroes, in the hopes that the unaffected heroes will be able to keep the infected heroes in line.
The first group consists of Hourman, Superman, and Robin. They head out to find Marty Baxter, but before they can stop him, Hourman turns on Supes and Robin. He actually gets the drop on Superman by digging a rock of kryptonite out of the ground. When Hourman tries to drown Robin in the Tiber river, Superman gets an idea of how to stop him:
Yeah, that’s it -- Let’s DROWN everyone! That’ll solve the problem!
(Or, ya could just give everyone a lousy drink of water. Sheesh!)
Meanwhile, Barry, Green Arrow, and Hawkman (yes, that’s right -- Ollie and Hawkman) are out looking for How Chu. Of course, Barry goes bad and tries to attack everyone. So, how do they take out the Flash? Well, Ollie fires an exploding arrow at a patch of flowers, AND …
So, Ollie and Hawkman bury Barry in wisterias and determine that they can also use flowers to defeat How Chu. Uh, HUH.
Next up are Wildcat, Mr. Terrific, and Hal (in a little more detail than the others since this scene involves the panels that brought up this whole article in the first place).
The three heroes are out searching for Horace Rowland when, you guessed it, Hal goes BAD and tries to smush Wildcat and Terrific. However, Wildcat and Terrific are NOT pushovers (and one definitely gets the impression that they don’t much like Hal, anyway). First, Wildcat gives Hal an uppercut:
Next, Terrific kicks Hal:
And then Hal falls on his head:
(Hey, I don’t care how much Hal’s ring is protecting him, or how much extra power that negative energy has given him. The man’s skull MUST be made of adamantium.)
Hal is down, but not out. He pummells Wildcat and Terrific with ring constructs and REALLY starts pissing them off:
How terribly convenient.
Oh, jeez, it’s the Big Green Boxing Glove.
Oh, SURE, Hal. Blame it on the negative radiation.
Finally, Hal gets whacked in the head but GOOD:
Let the beating commence!
Yeah! Let’s shut Hal in a box and go beat the crap out of the others with wooden sticks!
Last, but not least, of the teams heading out to stop the negative-energy people are Wonder Woman, Johnny Thunder, and Thunderbolt. Yep, you guessed it -- Wonder Woman goes bad (“Sheer evil!”) and pummells them. How do they stop her? Brace yourselves for this one, folks: They stop Wonder Woman by telling REALLY BAD JOKES:
And that, ultimately, is how ALL of the people affected by the black spheres and negative energy are stopped. Not by drowning ‘em, or burying them in wisteria, or beating the hell out of them with wooden sticks. Nope, everyone is brought back to normal by having Thunderbolt make ‘em laugh at really stupid jokes. Or is that REALLY how it was done?
Ya see, the formerly-affected heroes ARE (perhaps) in a bit of denial, claiming that they were actually HELPING bring about their own defeats by clueing in the others to their own vulnerabilities:
Yeah. Right. You guys just go on believing that.
THE END.
Written by Gardner Fox, drawn by Mike Sekowsky.
The story actually starts in issue #55, but issue #56 offers a handy-dandy update. Maestro! Cue the Star Wars music!
”On Earth-Two, mysterious black spheres have been absorbed into the bodies of How Chu, a Chinese Bandit -- Claire Morton, a gem-loving girl -- British businessman Horace Rowland -- and sportsman Marty Baxter -- turning these four innocent victims into super-villains!
"Attempting to stop their criminal activity, the Justice Society of America suffers a crushing defeat! When Johnny Thunder sends his magic-powered Thunderbolt to capture the black-sphered four, he meets a humiliating defeat!
"In desperation, Johnny summons members of the Justice League of America from Earth-One to stop the threat -- only to learn that they too have just failed against an identical villain-quartet on their own Earth!
"When the Thunderbolt reveals that the spheres are living creatures from a negative universe and that they will soon be in full control of their human-host bodies -- making them absolutely invulnerable -- the problem of stopping them becomes doubly hopeless!"
Well, gasparoony. Everyone get all that?
Okay, here’s the lineup: On the JSA side are Hawkman, Wildcat, Mr. Terrific, Hourman, Wonder Woman, Robin, and Johnny Thunder and Thunderbolt.
On the JLA side are Superman, Green Arrow, Barry (Flash) Allen, and Hal (Green Lantern) Jordan. Yeah, the JSA members outnumber the JLA members in this tale, but with Superman and Hal on the JLA side, who cares, right? Hmmmmm …
The heroes decide that the first thing they need to do is go find the spheres that haven’t already been absorbed by somebody. As it turns out, the unabsorbed spheres are dead. However, the JLA and JSA come up with the absolutely brilliant idea of having some of the heroes absorb the leftover “negative radiation” from the dead spheres, in order to protect themselves from the four infected people AND give themselves an added power boost for stopping the infected people. Never mind that the negative radiation just might turn the heroes into villains, too -- and make ‘em that much harder to fight.
The heroes decide to pick two members of each team (gotta keep things even!) to absorb the radiation. The four they pick? Wonder Woman, Hourman, Barry, and Hal.
(Now, if it had been up to me, I think I would’ve volunteered four of the WUSSIER heroes, but what do I know?)
Oh, and just for good measure, “Superman would have been chosen -- but his body is immune to radiation!”
(What, you mean there’s no chance of making Superman even MORE powerful, and EVIL to boot? Well, DARN!)
Boy, do these heroes love living on the edge. Anyway …
The heroes all split up into teams, with each negative-energy-infected hero accompanied by two unaffected heroes, in the hopes that the unaffected heroes will be able to keep the infected heroes in line.
The first group consists of Hourman, Superman, and Robin. They head out to find Marty Baxter, but before they can stop him, Hourman turns on Supes and Robin. He actually gets the drop on Superman by digging a rock of kryptonite out of the ground. When Hourman tries to drown Robin in the Tiber river, Superman gets an idea of how to stop him:
Yeah, that’s it -- Let’s DROWN everyone! That’ll solve the problem!
(Or, ya could just give everyone a lousy drink of water. Sheesh!)
Meanwhile, Barry, Green Arrow, and Hawkman (yes, that’s right -- Ollie and Hawkman) are out looking for How Chu. Of course, Barry goes bad and tries to attack everyone. So, how do they take out the Flash? Well, Ollie fires an exploding arrow at a patch of flowers, AND …
So, Ollie and Hawkman bury Barry in wisterias and determine that they can also use flowers to defeat How Chu. Uh, HUH.
Next up are Wildcat, Mr. Terrific, and Hal (in a little more detail than the others since this scene involves the panels that brought up this whole article in the first place).
The three heroes are out searching for Horace Rowland when, you guessed it, Hal goes BAD and tries to smush Wildcat and Terrific. However, Wildcat and Terrific are NOT pushovers (and one definitely gets the impression that they don’t much like Hal, anyway). First, Wildcat gives Hal an uppercut:
Next, Terrific kicks Hal:
And then Hal falls on his head:
(Hey, I don’t care how much Hal’s ring is protecting him, or how much extra power that negative energy has given him. The man’s skull MUST be made of adamantium.)
Hal is down, but not out. He pummells Wildcat and Terrific with ring constructs and REALLY starts pissing them off:
How terribly convenient.
Oh, jeez, it’s the Big Green Boxing Glove.
Oh, SURE, Hal. Blame it on the negative radiation.
Finally, Hal gets whacked in the head but GOOD:
Let the beating commence!
Yeah! Let’s shut Hal in a box and go beat the crap out of the others with wooden sticks!
Last, but not least, of the teams heading out to stop the negative-energy people are Wonder Woman, Johnny Thunder, and Thunderbolt. Yep, you guessed it -- Wonder Woman goes bad (“Sheer evil!”) and pummells them. How do they stop her? Brace yourselves for this one, folks: They stop Wonder Woman by telling REALLY BAD JOKES:
And that, ultimately, is how ALL of the people affected by the black spheres and negative energy are stopped. Not by drowning ‘em, or burying them in wisteria, or beating the hell out of them with wooden sticks. Nope, everyone is brought back to normal by having Thunderbolt make ‘em laugh at really stupid jokes. Or is that REALLY how it was done?
Ya see, the formerly-affected heroes ARE (perhaps) in a bit of denial, claiming that they were actually HELPING bring about their own defeats by clueing in the others to their own vulnerabilities:
Yeah. Right. You guys just go on believing that.
THE END.
Written by Gardner Fox, drawn by Mike Sekowsky.
Pruning the comic books: The adventure continues
The comic book pruning continues. Yesterday, a HUGE stack of (mostly) Batman comics left the house, moving on to greener pastures and (hopefully) more appreciative readers and collectors. Seriously, I was shocked by how easy it was to part with most of my Batman comics, even ones that haven't yet made it into reprints (and just WHY haven't the Norm Breyfogle ones been reprinted? Grrrrrr ...). I even managed to get rid of some of my old, beloved Neal Adams issues -- because, hey, they've all been reprinted, anyway.
Also, I got to (very gleefully) throw a HUGE STACK of discarded comic book bags into recycling! There's a local grocery store that recycles plastic bags of all sorts, so they're outta here! And I won't miss 'em! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!! COMIC BOOK BAGS!!!! I HATE 'EM! I HATE 'EM! I HATE 'EM--! The fewer I have in my life, the better!!
Speaking of comic book bags: One thing I've noticed during this pruning exercise -- something that's kind of surprised me -- is that the blasted things definitely DO NOT stop old comic books from yellowing!
My oldest bagged comics, from the 1960s, still yellowed despite not having seen the light of day in over 20 years -- and the BAGS were also yellow. Yes, the plastic had aged and deteriorated to such a degree that it turned yellow. Well, actually, that IS a common drawback to plastic -- it DOES turn yellow over time, even if it's stored away in a nice, clean, dry environment away from sunlight. My general dislike of comic book bags aside, now I'm not sure the things protect comics as well as advertised. Hmmmmmm ...
Oh, and don't get me started on what happened to the tape ...!
All that aside, once the first batch of discarded comics left the premises, I took one look at the boxes next in line (the "G"s) and instantly got cold feet. After going through ALL of those BATMAN comics (not to mention quite a few Action Comics), the idea of plowing through ALL of my Green Arrows and Green Lanterns had me feeling a bit ... well ... green. So, I've skipped ahead to the "H"s, "I"s, and "J"s. I'll come back to "G" later.
Also, I got to (very gleefully) throw a HUGE STACK of discarded comic book bags into recycling! There's a local grocery store that recycles plastic bags of all sorts, so they're outta here! And I won't miss 'em! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!! COMIC BOOK BAGS!!!! I HATE 'EM! I HATE 'EM! I HATE 'EM--! The fewer I have in my life, the better!!
Speaking of comic book bags: One thing I've noticed during this pruning exercise -- something that's kind of surprised me -- is that the blasted things definitely DO NOT stop old comic books from yellowing!
My oldest bagged comics, from the 1960s, still yellowed despite not having seen the light of day in over 20 years -- and the BAGS were also yellow. Yes, the plastic had aged and deteriorated to such a degree that it turned yellow. Well, actually, that IS a common drawback to plastic -- it DOES turn yellow over time, even if it's stored away in a nice, clean, dry environment away from sunlight. My general dislike of comic book bags aside, now I'm not sure the things protect comics as well as advertised. Hmmmmmm ...
Oh, and don't get me started on what happened to the tape ...!
All that aside, once the first batch of discarded comics left the premises, I took one look at the boxes next in line (the "G"s) and instantly got cold feet. After going through ALL of those BATMAN comics (not to mention quite a few Action Comics), the idea of plowing through ALL of my Green Arrows and Green Lanterns had me feeling a bit ... well ... green. So, I've skipped ahead to the "H"s, "I"s, and "J"s. I'll come back to "G" later.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
O Captain! My Captain!
Oh, how comic book super-hero fans LOVE to compare the DC and Marvel universes, particularly similarities between the heroes: Green Arrow and Hawkeye, Captain America and Batman, Superman and Thor, blah, blah, blah, blah ...
So (in keeping with my current, favorite super-hero obsession), which Marvel hero is most commonly compared with Green Lantern? Well, you have the Iron Man camp, arguing that both heroes are weapons-based and have similar abilities. Then we have Nova and the Nova Corps, which some fans claim are just like the Green Lantern Corps.
There's another candidate for comparison that's often overlooked, and I think it's a shame because I believe this particular Marvel hero wins the Green Lantern comparison contest. Not only does he have a lot in common with Green Lantern(s) in general, he has a lot in common with Hal Jordan:
- He's a member of a corps.
- He died but was brought back to life.
- He gets pushed around by nigh-omnipotent beings.
- He's very powerful.
- He's very pretty.
- He's a self-absorbed, arrogant jerk.
- He's kinda dumb.
- He's heroic to a fault.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you CAPTAIN BRITAIN!
Yes, Captain Britain (Brian Braddock) of Earth-616 really does have a lot in common with dear Mr. Jordan. Similar to Hal, in addition to the things I've already cited, Brian has been known, on and off, to be among the best of the best of the Captain Britain Corps. And he hasn't always gotten along very well with other members:
Did I mention that Brian also tends to get smacked in the head a lot? (At least, unlike Hal, Brian wears a helmet!)
Brian and Hal also have close ties to siblings (parents are deceased), and are prone to strong feelings of guilt when things don't quite work out the way they should.
Each also once tried to retire from his Corps, until disaster struck and brought him back to the super-hero gig (in Hal's case, the original Crisis; in Brian's case, his sister's brutal attack by Slaymaster).
Oh, but there are big differences between Hal and Brian, to be sure:
- Brian was born to privilege (an impoverished privilege, but privilege nonetheless), whereas Hal is a USAF brat.
- Brian has a rotten temper and is prone to fits of pessimism and depression. Hal is more likely to shrug things off and keep forging ahead.
- Brian is no prude, but he isn't half the womanizer that Hal is (but who is?). And there's no way Hal would put up with a clingy female like Meggan for long.
- Brian started off as a gawky teenager (was Hal ever gawky?) but quickly grew into a stereotypical big, muscular, blond super-hero. Hal, on the other hand, is still atypical in that he has brown hair and a slim, light build.
Perhaps the biggest difference of all is that while Hal tends to willingly plow head-first into trouble (and has received the whacks on the head to prove it), Brian usually walks into battle very reluctantly, and often has to be forced into it -- unless someone makes him mad.
Another major difference between the two heroes is that while it's pretty easy to keep track of Hal Jordan's supporting cast, Brian Braddock's supporting cast is SO huge and SO complicated that it makes the X-men look like a barbershop quartet by comparison.
Actually, the cast is probably the single biggest obstacle for new readers trying to get a handle on Captain Britain. Keeping track of Saturnyne (or Sat-Yr-9, or Sat'neen, or Courtney Ross, or whatever), Roma, Merlyn, and the various members of the Technet, the Crazy Gang, Excalibur, the Captain Britain Corps (and their respective alternate dimensions), S.T.R.I.K.E., the Warpies, the R.C.X, and so on, and so forth, can be a real pain in the patootie. It's also a pain trying to make sense of all of the reality warping and interdimensional craziness in Captain Britain stories (which started long before the group Excalibur was ever even formed).
Ah, but what stories they are! They're much more fantasy-based than Green Lantern (which is pure science fiction), but they're endlessly fascinating, and at once humorous and gut-wrenching. And never has Captain Britain been better than when handled by the creative "dream team" of Alan Moore and Alan Davis, in the original battle(s) involving Mad Jim Jaspers and the Fury. Now THOSE were some serious villains!
OR, at least serious MOST of the time ...
Okay, that's enough gushing about Captain Britain. I've finished weeding out my C-to-F comics (and just why the heck am I fond of heroes who are self-absorbed, arrogant jerks?). Time to start going through my G (gulp!) comics!
So (in keeping with my current, favorite super-hero obsession), which Marvel hero is most commonly compared with Green Lantern? Well, you have the Iron Man camp, arguing that both heroes are weapons-based and have similar abilities. Then we have Nova and the Nova Corps, which some fans claim are just like the Green Lantern Corps.
There's another candidate for comparison that's often overlooked, and I think it's a shame because I believe this particular Marvel hero wins the Green Lantern comparison contest. Not only does he have a lot in common with Green Lantern(s) in general, he has a lot in common with Hal Jordan:
- He's a member of a corps.
- He died but was brought back to life.
- He gets pushed around by nigh-omnipotent beings.
- He's very powerful.
- He's very pretty.
- He's a self-absorbed, arrogant jerk.
- He's kinda dumb.
- He's heroic to a fault.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you CAPTAIN BRITAIN!
Yes, Captain Britain (Brian Braddock) of Earth-616 really does have a lot in common with dear Mr. Jordan. Similar to Hal, in addition to the things I've already cited, Brian has been known, on and off, to be among the best of the best of the Captain Britain Corps. And he hasn't always gotten along very well with other members:
Did I mention that Brian also tends to get smacked in the head a lot? (At least, unlike Hal, Brian wears a helmet!)
Brian and Hal also have close ties to siblings (parents are deceased), and are prone to strong feelings of guilt when things don't quite work out the way they should.
Each also once tried to retire from his Corps, until disaster struck and brought him back to the super-hero gig (in Hal's case, the original Crisis; in Brian's case, his sister's brutal attack by Slaymaster).
Oh, but there are big differences between Hal and Brian, to be sure:
- Brian was born to privilege (an impoverished privilege, but privilege nonetheless), whereas Hal is a USAF brat.
- Brian has a rotten temper and is prone to fits of pessimism and depression. Hal is more likely to shrug things off and keep forging ahead.
- Brian is no prude, but he isn't half the womanizer that Hal is (but who is?). And there's no way Hal would put up with a clingy female like Meggan for long.
- Brian started off as a gawky teenager (was Hal ever gawky?) but quickly grew into a stereotypical big, muscular, blond super-hero. Hal, on the other hand, is still atypical in that he has brown hair and a slim, light build.
Perhaps the biggest difference of all is that while Hal tends to willingly plow head-first into trouble (and has received the whacks on the head to prove it), Brian usually walks into battle very reluctantly, and often has to be forced into it -- unless someone makes him mad.
Another major difference between the two heroes is that while it's pretty easy to keep track of Hal Jordan's supporting cast, Brian Braddock's supporting cast is SO huge and SO complicated that it makes the X-men look like a barbershop quartet by comparison.
Actually, the cast is probably the single biggest obstacle for new readers trying to get a handle on Captain Britain. Keeping track of Saturnyne (or Sat-Yr-9, or Sat'neen, or Courtney Ross, or whatever), Roma, Merlyn, and the various members of the Technet, the Crazy Gang, Excalibur, the Captain Britain Corps (and their respective alternate dimensions), S.T.R.I.K.E., the Warpies, the R.C.X, and so on, and so forth, can be a real pain in the patootie. It's also a pain trying to make sense of all of the reality warping and interdimensional craziness in Captain Britain stories (which started long before the group Excalibur was ever even formed).
Ah, but what stories they are! They're much more fantasy-based than Green Lantern (which is pure science fiction), but they're endlessly fascinating, and at once humorous and gut-wrenching. And never has Captain Britain been better than when handled by the creative "dream team" of Alan Moore and Alan Davis, in the original battle(s) involving Mad Jim Jaspers and the Fury. Now THOSE were some serious villains!
OR, at least serious MOST of the time ...
Okay, that's enough gushing about Captain Britain. I've finished weeding out my C-to-F comics (and just why the heck am I fond of heroes who are self-absorbed, arrogant jerks?). Time to start going through my G (gulp!) comics!
Dick Grayson: Recovering dweeb
Hee, hee, hee, hee -- whatta goober. :-)
Sorry, folks. I'm still having WAY too much fun with Batman Family.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Just Past the "B"s, and Bogged Down by Batman
I was lucky enough to have a very LONG 4th-of-July weekend -- so you'd think I should be just about finished with paring down my comic book collection, right? Well, the process is taking a lot longer than I anticipated due to one little glitch: Going through my old comics is FUN!!!
Many of my comics haven't seen the light of day in over a decade (TWO decades in some cases), so I've been caught up in re-reading comics and going, "Oh, yeah! I remember this! This was great/hilarious/painful/awful/why the hell did I keep this?" Nevertheless, I'm making progress, slowly but surely, and each comic is ending up in one of three piles:
- Comics I'm discarding without a second glance.
- Comics I'm definitely keeping.
- Comics I'm undecided about.
So far, the Discard pile is much larger than the Keep and Undecided piles combined. Thank goodness.
Also, I have a LOT of old Batman, Batman Family, and other Batman-related comics, so it took the better part of last week just to go through those. Ah, but what fun it's been, rediscovering things like:
- Batman's casual sadism, LONG before Frank Miller got a hold of him:
(How convenient that Batman's cape doesn't get sucked into the giant fan. That's just a broken neck waiting to happen: "GRRRKKK-SNAP-blahhhhh!!!!")
- Barbara (Batgirl) Gordon's approach to trying to cure Dick (Robin) Grayson of his chauvinism:
- Fun with Dick and Jane ... er ... Babs (or, nonstop outrageous flirting a la "The Dynamite Duo") AFTER Babs tried to cure Dick of his chauvinism:
- Dick accidentally calling Tim Drake "Jeff" -- and Tim continuing the conversation without skipping a beat. I love editorial boo-boos like that. (Of course, Dick hardly knew Tim at all at this point, and Tim was probably too intimidated to correct him):
(And we won't discuss Tim's obvious obsession with Dick.
...
I DIDN'T just write that, did I?)
- Man-Bat, God of ... er ... BATS!
- Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
That's enough fun with Bat-people for now. On to the "C"s!
Many of my comics haven't seen the light of day in over a decade (TWO decades in some cases), so I've been caught up in re-reading comics and going, "Oh, yeah! I remember this! This was great/hilarious/painful/awful/why the hell did I keep this?" Nevertheless, I'm making progress, slowly but surely, and each comic is ending up in one of three piles:
- Comics I'm discarding without a second glance.
- Comics I'm definitely keeping.
- Comics I'm undecided about.
So far, the Discard pile is much larger than the Keep and Undecided piles combined. Thank goodness.
Also, I have a LOT of old Batman, Batman Family, and other Batman-related comics, so it took the better part of last week just to go through those. Ah, but what fun it's been, rediscovering things like:
- Batman's casual sadism, LONG before Frank Miller got a hold of him:
(How convenient that Batman's cape doesn't get sucked into the giant fan. That's just a broken neck waiting to happen: "GRRRKKK-SNAP-blahhhhh!!!!")
- Barbara (Batgirl) Gordon's approach to trying to cure Dick (Robin) Grayson of his chauvinism:
- Fun with Dick and Jane ... er ... Babs (or, nonstop outrageous flirting a la "The Dynamite Duo") AFTER Babs tried to cure Dick of his chauvinism:
- Dick accidentally calling Tim Drake "Jeff" -- and Tim continuing the conversation without skipping a beat. I love editorial boo-boos like that. (Of course, Dick hardly knew Tim at all at this point, and Tim was probably too intimidated to correct him):
(And we won't discuss Tim's obvious obsession with Dick.
...
I DIDN'T just write that, did I?)
- Man-Bat, God of ... er ... BATS!
- Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
That's enough fun with Bat-people for now. On to the "C"s!
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