Crisis on Infinite Earths

DC

Writer : Marv Wolfman

Artist : George Perez

Inks: Dick Giordano, Mike De Carlo, Jerry ordway,
Colours: Anthony Tolkin, Tom Ziuho, Carl Galberd
 Letters: John Costanza
Reconstruction: Tom McCraw


I picked this up as a collected TPB in a massive job lot of DC and other random stuff from a friend who wanted to clear space in their house for normal human possessions.

There is an introduction from the writer, Marv Wolfman, who explains that he thought it would be really cool to have all the DC characters from all the different DC Universes meeting up to fight off one giant threat to the 'Multiverse' - The idea that there are many different Universes all sat next to each other where slightly different realities play out. DC used the idea to try and squash much of their characters backstories together, trim up characters and explain where other properties had come from. -DC had purchased other properties from other companies over the years and then created comic books for each one.

The story was run over 12 issues from 1985 through to 1986.

The story starts with a massive white void consuming a whole Universe, throwing all the people in it out of reality. The Monitor, a being who sits outside of reality, is murdered by Harbinger, his assistant. In his dying throes he launches the last five parallel Earths into Limbo. Here the Anti-Monitor, the villain behind the destruction of the different universes, can not destroy them. Instead he sets about conquoring them through the use of Earth villain - The Psycho Pirate. This triggers a massive war between the heroes and eventually the villains of the five Earths to try and stop the Anti-Monitor. There is much convuluted story telling as we weave different Supermen and throw other characters from other realities all in together to fight the common enemy.

I mainly grew up reading Marvel titles, although I had gotten a hold of different DC titles over the las forty years. In 1978 I bought a copy of The Atom and The Avengers and my comic book buying habits could easily have shifted the other way. My main problem in reading this story was getting attached to any of the characters. Also much of the action takes place 'outside of reality'. When the big bad releases his awesome powers of destruction it is a huge white light that devours reality. This does not allow me to feel too much attachment to the characters undergoing destruction.

I won't spoil the ending but the continuation of DC comic books since 1986 can tell you the outcome.

I can see why DC ran this story. It was a good idea to clean up their continuity and try and make their characters backstories match up a bit better. Overall it was a success simply because DC sold more comic books after the story than before. Reading it all these years later it is hard to connect, especially knowing that a lot of the characters they killed off eventually came back. Added to this they have run very similar stories, even using the same 'Crisis' theme. Still it is a recommend because of the history of the work.

Edit: Also found out after writing this that DC had run 'Crisis' stories before this one. I guess they kind of like that word.

Captain America Winter Soldier

Writer : Ed Brubaker
Artist : Steve Epting

I picked up a whole stack of graphic novels and collections at the Lifeline Bookfest. I meant to go in and get one or two but came home with twelve.

Of course I had heard of the story line. After all Marvel made a small movie about it you might of heard of.

I'm not giving anything away to say that Bucky Barnes is postulated to be the mysterious killer used by the Soviets during the Cold War. The evidence is presented to Cap, who at first won't believe it. Livov, Bucky's Soviet handler, has discovered the cosmic cube.

Most of the story is the chase and pursuit of Bucky and the Cosmic Cube. All the while this is happening Cap is agonising over the betrayal of his friend.

The ending is a bit deus ex machina and to avoid a spoiler I won't reveal it. One case where in my opinion the movie ending was better than the book.

The artwork is gorgeous and the story does grip still the whole piece did leave me feeling a little flat at the end. Still it was a good read and enjoyable throughout.

I recommend this book. I also recommend Brubaker and Epting stories they have worked on together with Image comics. I currently read Velvet which is amazing.

Uncanny X-Men

Uncanny X-Men : 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228
Annual : 10, 11
Fantastic Four vs X-Men: 1, 2, 3, 4


Writer: Chris Claremont
Artists: Barry Windsor-Smith, Alan Davis, Jackson Guice, Marc Silvestri, Art Adams, Jon Bogdanove

All of these were collected in Essential X-Men volume 7.

I managed to pick this up on sale at my local comic book store (Comics Ect. in Elizabeth Street). It was sat on a shelf by the counter on special. I do have a lot of the issues in my collection seperately.

Uncanny X-Men 217 holds a special place in my heart as it was the first ever issue of Uncanny X-men I ever read. These stories lead up to the fall of the mutants story line, where the X-Men 'die'. 

We start these books with a trip to the Mojoverse. Just some background: Mojo is a large slug like creature that runs his own TV channel in an alternate dimension. He uses his shenanighans to shrink the X-Men back into babies. Of course the X-Men get out of this scrape and gain the addition of Longshot, who is not actually a mutant but a cloned creature created by Mojo. He is always included as an X-men but I feel his membership should only be honourary.

The X-Men tangle with Malice. She has an incorporal form and can posses other people by inhabiting a body. This is shown by a small choker appearing on the victims neck.

Dazzler, an actual mutant and budding rock star, takes on Juggernaught. This is one of the X-Men's toughest foes and poor Dazzler gets owned. Luckily Jugs is a big fan and does not murder the crap out of Alison. This was my first issue and was a great introduction to the book.

In this story Storm has lost her powers due to her partner/lover Forge. Yes, these things happen if you're an X-Men. She tangles with three veteran mutants and manages to get up despite the lack of weather based abilities.

We have a brief sojurn into FF vs X-Men where Doom and Richards argue over how to save Kitty Pryde, who received injuries in the Mutant Massacre (which happened just before these issues). Eventually they decide to stop being whiny bitches and save the poor girls life.

The stories build to the Fall of the Mutants. The Trickster faces off against Roma, the guardian of the gates of reality. If he wins, well, bad shit is going to go down. As his pawns he uses the Second Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, who get re-named Freedom Force and are given a government mandate to be dicks. Of course the outcome is the peak of the story so instead of spoiling I'll go to my review  of the books.

As you may know Chris Claremont wrote the books for many years (1975 - 1990 off the top of my head). He writes the books really well, getting into the head of each character and giving each of them their own goals and purpose. There is a big weave as relationships develop and the team builds and sinks. The artists change but they all match the story quite well. Claremont also stacks the roster with female characters. As a fourteen year old reader it was really easy to get into the books and the characters hooked me. The stories stand up to re-reading and I have a thirst to get the books before this one and read the ones after, which is what every good comic book should do. I recommend these stories, which you can pick up more easily in a collection than the old classic issues, which can get pricey.

Green Arrow - New 52 volume 1.

The Midas touch TPB

DC

JT Krul - Writer
Dan Jurgens - Layouts
George Perez - Finishes

Oliver Queen, aka The Green Arrow, is a direct cross between Hawkeye and Batman/Bruce Wayne. He has the Batman set up and is 'the worlds most skilled archer'. - Although I guess crime fighters should have backup skills, Queen does get close and go to the fists a bit fast for my liking.

We start with Arrow flying to Paris to take out some street thieves. On face value this seemed like a bit of a long stretch but as he is a billionaire I'm willing to let it go. After defeating the gang and getting them incarcerated another villain busts them loose. His name is Rush, and he has assembled a team of brawlers who he wants to use to take out Arrow 'live' streamed on the internet. This has the juxtaposition of the audience cheering on the villains. Arrow sends them a message as he brings them to justice.

Oliver Queen often talks to his tech guy, Jax, about building him some new arrows to use on bad guys. He also has a back-up team that talks to him and helps him fight bad guys. 

The next person to tangle with Green Arrow is Midas and Blood Rose. Both are more than they seem. On face value, they are simple villains, but there is some deeper motives behind their mayhem.

The book is well drawn and the writing is good, showing us that Queen, the man behind the very small mask, is trying to use his skills to make a difference, both with The Green Arrow and his company. It has it's flaws; some of the set up is kooky and no matter how hard Queen gets hit, he always looks chiseled and handsome in the next panel.I do like his little team. The only other problem is that Oliver Queen runs off and The Green Arrow appears a bit too frequently for no-one to guess what is going on. I'm going to recommend. I have Volume 2 and I'm looking forward to reading that.

Silk
Volume 1
2014

Marvel

Robbie Thompson - Writer
Stacy Lee - Artist
Ian Herring - Colour Artist

I managed to pick up these five issues cheap from Mike, who runs the 'Waiting for Doom' podcast, which is all about Doom Patrol. He was wanting to get rid of them and I was lucky enough to score.

Silk is the alter ego of Cindy Moon, who picked up her powers from the same spider as Spider-Man. After locking herself away in an bunker for ten years because *reasons* she is now dedicated to becoming a reporter and fighting crime in New York.

Issue one sees Silk fighting Dragon Claw. Still with some inexperience, Silk has to get saved by Spider-man. Their relationship isn't the best, despite the fact that they have slept together.
In a cut scene we find out that Black Cat is behind the Dragon Claw character. Cindy also finds out that her family might be still alive.

Issue two starts with some investigations into her family and some flashbacks to her life before the bunker (cleverly done in another colour tone). Silk is attacked by a rogue Hydra robot, the kind we see across the Marvel universe; Skull and tentacles.

Issue three has a long action sequence against a now boosted Dragon Claw. Silk tries to re-habilitate his evil ways and finds out his back story. This bit really reminded me of the characters we play in our own SHRP games. After the battle Silk is ambushed by Black Cat. low on webbing and adrenaline she loses the fight but escapes. Spider-man introduces her to the Fantastic Four.

Issue four has Reed Richards test Cindy for her power levels. He recommends her to visit a shrink while Johnny Storm asks her out on a date.

Issue five sees Cindy hard at work at the Daily Bugle. She gets J Jonah Jameson to help her with some leads on her family. In a cut away scene Black Cat seeds a trap for Silk with Dragon Claw's kid. Cindy teams up with Spider-Man and then the trap is sprung...

I liked the artwork for this book and feel it really matches the story and the character. The characterizations are good and the story builds nicely. I liked the twists and the way Silk interacts with Spider-man is great. I recommend this book, especially if you like the 'ordinary hero' drama books, much like Spider-Man.

I will be trying to track down all the issues I'm missing of this one.

As an aside, along with Spider-Gwen, I remember Jessica Drew as a flying Spider-Woman and Julia Carpenter as the black clad psionic web weaving Spider-Woman. A quick Google let me know there is actually a whole bunch of Spider women in the marvel universe!

Fantastic Four volume 1 - 1981

Issues 233, 234, 235, 237, 238, 239

Marvel

John Byrne - Pencils and Writing

I first started reading FF back around issue 300. After this time I started to find a whole batch of back issues from 230ish up which were written by John Byrne. At the time he was my favoured artist and I noticed he also wrote the books. Since then I have endevoured to collect a lot of his FF run. There are still a few gaps as the above issues listings testify too.

Issue 233 - We start with a man on Death Row who gives a letter to the priest. This gets handed to the Human Torch, aka: Johnny Storm. This is after a brief interlude where the Torch and the Thing are fighting. In the letter the now executed criminal asks Johnny to clear his name of things he didn't do, while confessing he has had some 'poor life choices'. The rest of the issue sees Johnny in full Private Detective mode. He follows the trail to Hammerhead, a long time Spider-Man foe. They scrap and Hammy escapes by leaping from a building. Obviously not to his death. The Torch informs the mother of her sons innocence af the crime he was executed for but she says he deserved to die anyway. Harsh!

Issue 234 - The cover at the top of the page. An odd story about a man who seemingly has the perfect life because he can alter reality but he doesn't realise it. Because of his powers when he takes a business trip to New York he gets to see the FF in action. 'Gravity Waves' are wrecking cities around earth. Reed tracks them down to space where the FF find Ego, the living planet.

Issue # 237 - There is a robot Doctor Doom inactiv3e on the roof of the Baxter Building so I assume they defeated it in the previous issue. After this the Torch is late for a date. Sue and Reed run off to do the family thing with Franklin and The Thing has a workout while his girl friend watches. These are all good human elements. Reed and Sue go horse riding in Central Park. Johnnies GF strips off... A very tall lady called spinnerette helps a batch of crooks rob a bank and get past Reed and Sue. It turns out she is an alien and is trying to obtain some silver to 're-power' her ship and leave Earth again.

Issue # 238 - Frankie Raye was not naked in front of Johnny but was in fact in a costume. Frankie is a female human torch with almost the exact same power set as Johnny. She tells the story of her father who created the original human torch during World War 2. Frankie dropped a drum of chemicals on herself, hence the powers. The second half of the issue has Reed trying to reverse Ben's powers and stop him being the Thing. He almost succeeds but ends up regressing his rock like form to his lumpy form and this time the condition is 'permanent'.

Issue # 239 - The FF get a visit from Ben's Aunt Petunia, who is in fact quite young (she's married to Ben's older Uncle) - 'By my sweet Aunt Petunia' is a phrase Ben uses a lot in the comics. She  then tells them about a town where the residents are being 'scared' to death.
There a is a quick excerpt into Attilan, the home of the Inhumans, where Crystal and Quicksilver are having a baby. They are worried because Crystal is an Inhuman and Quicksilver a mutant.
The town is built next to a burial site and is housed by some 'spirits' who are driving people away. half the town decides to leave. Wendy, the girl who seems to have made friends with the spirits, is happy and hangs out with them as the story ends.

These books are good, where the art and story mesh. Well, they are the same person in this case. Byrne does an excellent job of highlighting the human qualities in the FF. Each story is a 'small' one. What he does is build up the team for the larger story arcs that follow, while always re-enforcing the characters traits, humanity and their nobility, even if the story is slightly kooky. I don't know who came up with 'Ego the Living Planet' as a villain for heroes to combat or stop but I remember it was the Sixties when he was created...

A certain recommend. Find these in original format (the issues are still relatively cheap compared to Claremont/Byrne X-men books) or in the collected Essential format, although I think the art deserves colour. Byrnes run is issues 232 - 295.

Batgirl - Trade paperback New 52 Volume 1

DC

Gail Simone - Writer
Ardan Syaf - Pencils
Vincent Cifuates - pencils and inks

Picked this up very recently and it's a book I don't normally read.

Batgirl is the daughter of Commisioner Gordon who has swiped Batman's motif because, well, if you were going to swipe anybody???

The book is full of Batgirl doing lots of Batmanesque type stuff. She crashes through windows and saves people from deranged killers. She takes down the same sort of crazy and kooky villains of Batman.

The book also weaves her personal life into the narrative and we get a glimpse to the person behind the mask.

Once we drop into the action again we get a villain planting a bomb on a Subway train and Batgirl having to save lives. Of course one of my thoughts here was 'Yay!' Gotham has a Subway. She saves some people but a second bomb goes off.

We then see some more of the extended Bat family as Barbara meets up with Nightwing, the hero formerly known as Robin. They end up fighting but even though I re-read this section, I wasn't sure why.

Further on in the story Batgirl does more saving of innocent victims in alleyways, she narrowly misses taking out a slightly more deranged vigilante before having to defeat a mind controlled Brude Wayne, who fights very well for a rich playboy billionaire...

There are many good things about this book which is why I reccomend it. It does frame Barbara's life balance well and the art is gorgeous. All the villains have a bit of back story and some motivation for their deeds. On the downside of course, the links to Bats himself hang off of every panel. Barbara is part of the extended 'Bat-family' and with no powers and a replicated motif her stories can come across as 'Batman-lite'. Then again, because she isn't the same person you could argue that her story is or could be a lot more interesting...

Tank Girl - book 1 (collection of the first four issues)

Dark Horse

Jamie Hewlett - art and plots
Alan Martin - plots and other things

How to describe Tank Girl? A story about a Neo-punk bounty hunter who lives in the Australian Outback and likes getting drunk.

Of course this is a story which is irreverent with the focus on comedy and a hero who can seemingly do what ever the hell she likes and usually survives death by luck or a huge amount of blood letting.

Each issue involves some shenanighans or another. Tank Girl tracks down a band of blood thirsty kangaroos before snogging one then shooting him. In another she is tracked down by her former commander, keen on bringing her to justice. She defeats him with giant outsized boobs. Later in the stories she is joined by Booga, her boyfriend who is a kangaroo, Jet Girl, Sub Girl and a stuffed Koala called Camp.

Tank Girl is a perfect blend of an irreverent script and artwork that matches, transporting you to a world where Paul Hogan, President of Australia, shits his pants because Tank Girl didn't get colostomy bags to him on time.  I love this book and went on to grab each story that she was drawn in.

Of course the artist went on to form the worlds first virtual band with Damon Albarn - Just showing that you never really know where life is going to take you.

Asterix at the Olympic Games

Hodder - Dargaud

Written by - Rene Goscinny
Drawn by - Albert Uderzo

I read my first Asterix book at the age of eight or nine. The mists of time have made me forget exactly. I bought it through a book club at school and the story instantly had me enthralled.

In this volume Asterix gets invited to compete in the Olympic Games via the Romans. The druid and Obelix offer to tag along but in the end the whole Gaulish village attends.

Once in Greece Asterix and Obelix are shocked to find that they can't compete with any magic potion. Luckily Asterix works his sly wily ways and tricks the Romans into using the potion thus winning a laurel on a technicality.

There are some holes in the story and it spends a long time getting the hero to Greece. Still the art is sumptuous and it's one of these stories where the art matches the text and blends together into something gorgeous. Some of the humour is deeply pun based, which happens to be good for me as I love a good pun.

Recommended

Batman The Killing Joke

DC


Written by Alan Moore, Art by Brian Bolland, Colours by John Higgins, Letters by Richard Starkings

Published in 1988.

I bought this recently in a hardback Deluxe version. I first read it many years ago, borrowing a friends copy.

It was created by Brian Bolland after being asked by DC on what he would like to work on. He came up with a Joker origin story and asked Alan Moore to be the writer.

Most people know the plot. The Joke escapes Arkham. He then shoots Barbara Gordon and kidnaps Commissioner James Gordon. He rents a small theme park for the express purpose of showing Gordon the wounding and abuse he heaps on Barbara in an attempt to prove his theory that all people are 'one bad day' from going insane.
While this unfolds we see in flashback the genisis of The Joker as he goes from failed stand up comedian to psycho through poor lifestyle choices.
We finish by seeing Batman being told by Gordon to 'Do it by the book'. He hasn't fallen into The Joker's trap. Batman catches The Joker and they share a joke...

This comic is very important in the history of the art form. The story is well written and beautifully drawn. It sucks you in and stays long in the memory. I remembered huge chunks of it from over twenty two years before. Of course the injury and abuse of Barbara Gordon is one of those things in the book that sticks. This raises the most important question in Comic Books, of the superhero genre to me: Is it okay to reflect society or should comics strive to aim higher and reflect more?

I recommend on the art and the way the story is written.