Fourth of July "Funnies" Foolishness

How does a person like myself celebrate the Fourth of July?  Well... considering I'm operating on my girlfriend's sleep schedule for work, no late evening fireworks for me.  And as for parties?  My family is having a July Birthday package party... on Sunday the 7th.  But thankfully the IFC Channel has come through for me with a weekend marathon of the Adam West "Batman" television series.  AND I decided earlier this week to celebrate the occasion with not one, but TWO, Friday entries.  One I had decided upon as of last weekend, but another hit me in a blast of inspiration this past Wednesday.  You see, I did have a two-part blog entry plan in mind as early as last weekend, but aside from the Friday Foolishness entry, the July 4th idea remained nebulous.  Oh, I toyed with trying to create a top 5 patriotic hero list, but I wasn't up to that level of research for the week.  (Aside from feeling mopey about my professional searches, I also managed to catch a brief summer cold.)  And... to be fair, a patriotic super hero list would be fairly predictable.  I mean, we ALL basically know who would've ranked number one.  I'll give you a hint: he was in a major motion picture as of this past April...

But an idea came to me, when I decided to take a bit of the mick out of DC for my initial entry.  And a certain team came into connection with the holiday... A group of goofs that would make for a star-spangled gimme for the Fourth of July.  It also didn't hurt that in their very first appearance, they tangled with another group of characters that were... questionable in their quality, as well.  Ladies and gentlemen, light your short-fused sparklers in honor of DC's Force of July.

Jobber Role Call!

• Major Victory: Our blonde beefcake, who possesses a super suit, granting him enhanced strength, flight, and energy projectiles.
• Lady Liberty: Monument cosplayer that can project energy blasts from her torch... and yes, she can fly, too.
• Mayflower: Soon to be sued by Poison Ivy for copyright infringement for her ability to control plant life.  (But who looks kind of hot in a pilgrim costume...  Just saying...)
• Silent Majority: Also soon to be sued by Multiple Man for his powers of multiplying his body.  May also be served with a lawsuit by the members of Devo for costume design theft.
• Sparkler: AKA the Mati of the group, who can shoot off "sparkler" blasts.  (Okay, so he came before Jubilee and Boom-Boom... but you get the drift.)  Oh, and huge surprise... HE CAN FLY!

This team first saw creative life in the first annual of a certain questionable group, namely "Batman and the Outsiders Annual #1".

To this day, I still wonder to myself; the Batman quit the Justice League around this time period to form THIS team?!?  But grievances about the Outsiders will come at a latter entry.  How the Force of July came into conflict with the Outsiders... and I should highlight the Outsiders aspect of this annual, since Batman really doesn't figure into the story, realizing this was far below his best interests... is the Force of July was manipulated by the government to battle the Outsiders.  It did involve some rather clandestine plots by corrupt government officials... proving little changes in politics in 30 years... and I do remember at the end of the annual, the Force of July and the Outsiders put their differences aside to tackle the REAL threat.  (I get the impression it involved some sort of mind control device.  Sorry, folks, but it's been a LONG time since I've read this particular annual.)  And according to the wisdom of Wikipedia, the team did put in another appearance in the pages of "Suicide Squad"... and, SPOILER ALERT, manages to get themselves killed off completely.  I'm sure at least one comic fan was shedding tears over that loss of such a "stellar" concept.

But was that the end of their DC interactions?  Nope!  Three universal reboots afterwards, following the events of "Infinite Crisis", Force of July did kind of reappear in the pages of "The Battle for Bludhaven" mini-series under the new brand name of Freedom's Ring.

Only Lady Liberty, Major Victory, and Silent Majority made the return trip from universal restructuring, and the interesting thing about Freedom's Ring is it essentially transformed into the new version of "Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters".  So, the spirit of liberty rings true for a bunch of no-namers that decide to unite for a "greater cause" in the pages of our comic books!

What Have You DOOM! DOOM! DOOM! DOOM! For Me, Lately?

The timing for this entry couldn't be any better, because it feels like I'm having more of a sour than sweet pre Fourth of July in my life.  Not to dwell on too many details, but there are literally days where it feels like the steps I take towards improvement aren't even steps forward: just a constant reverse gear.  Still, remain calm, and try and find my happy spot...

And part of my happy spot is this blog.  Remember how I said, yesterday, that I might be returning to the slightly critical edge towards Marvel for today's entry?  I'm still holding true to that planned entry.  (Believe it or not, I put a LOT more thought into topics for this blog than I seemed to EVER do for Action Attraction!)  So, Doc Brown, please warm up that Delorean so we can take a trip back in time to the summer of 1990.  You see, at the House of Ideas, one artist had aspirations to be a writer... and probably to earn a larger paycheck, and stroke his ego..., but the title he was currently on did not allow that.  Still he had some attachment to the main character... or realized his name attached to the already red-hot popularity of said main character could earn him further buttloads of money.  So Marvel decided to give this "little known" artist/soon-to-be writer his own book featuring a character that wasn't going to be called "Amazing", "Spectacular", or even "Web Of" for this solo book.  The artist/writer was Todd McFarlane, and the title was "Spider-Man".

I could almost say this first issue was the main catalyst of the 90's speculator "boom" for comics.  Take a hot brand-name artist, attach him to a character that has already grown massively popular due to said artist, and ALSO release various versions of the first issue with special edition covers, and you have various avenues towards people believing this issue will put their children through college!  Now... I'm sure Todd McFarlane is a wonderful family man, and that he's very awesome to his fans, and hell... when this book came out, I bought it right off the stands.  (I basically wasn't even in the collecting radar when McFarlane was working on "Amazing Spider-Man", and I only ever picked up a few issues when Erik Larsen was the successor artist.)  But in recent years, I've soured some on Todd's creative output, and after having watched a documentary on the man, I also really notice he could teach J. Jonah Jameson some lessons in being a professional-level jerk.  BUT that all being said, this first issue to a new Spidey book, and the opening to the "Torment" storyline, was a record-setter for Marvel for that 1990 Summer season, and I bought into it hook-line-and sinker.  And I'll be fair: for all the issues I have about McFarlane's "Spider-Man" run, this is probably the best storyline he created for that phase in his career.  ... But as we'll soon find out, that's not exactly a stellar claim.

The story, in a nutshell, goes fairly simply.  Peter Parker notices some newspaper headlines about the Lizard coming back, and slaughtering people in the streets.  Spider-Man takes the fight to the Lizard, who is tied into service via mystic means by Callista, former wife of Kraven the Hunter.  Once the Lizard hauls Spidey's maimed self to Callista, she intends on taking mystical revenge on Spider-Man for causing her husband's suicide.  (I'm trying to remember if she inflicted a physical illness on Spider-Man, or if it was all just mental anguish.)  But regardless, once Spider-Man makes his escape, he's in for a looney trip of hallucinations, physical torment, and brawls with the Lizard.  If this sounds like a fairly muddled summary, it's because it's a fairly muddled storyline.  Oh!  And I nearly forgot one other key player in this story: Peter's then-wife Mary Jane Watson-Parker!  Yeah... she's P.O'ED that Peter had the "AUDACITY" to hit the streets to stop the Lizard's rampage.  Yes... Saving other people's lives is pretty darned selfish.  So what does she decide to do?  Why... go out DANCING!

I do remember the conclusion of the story offers Peter and Mary Jane reconciling with each other about their individual stubbornness.  And since the Lizard still was a repeat offender in the Spider-Man universe, and I KNOW Callista appeared in some issues of Daredevil around 1993, she didn't remain inactive after "Torment" finished.  But she should take some satisfaction that Peter was haunted by the brain-blasted hallucination of Sergei Kravinoff during the story's progress.  Even she strikes a dance pose in joy over that!

I'll give Todd McFarlane his due credit for this mini-series before I start hacking at it like the Lizard.  With Todd handling most of the art chores for this book, and the coloring scheme of the artwork, his Spider-Man work NEVER looked so interesting until that point.  I'd say this was the beginning of Todd starting to experience with a more "moody" art atmosphere that he would later perfect with "Spawn", and it was a truly distinctive art study.  And as I mentioned in a previous paragraph, the story probably does have the best momentum out of all of McFarlane's "Spider-Man" issues.  Since I can't remember much about the conclusive half of the tale, it may not be PERFECT, but I know for a fact that "Torment" is a story out of that writer/artist run I'd read again in a heartbeat.  It may spin its wheels for stretches, but the progression is there.  (I'll give you a comparison: the following storyline, which featured Wolverine and the Wendigo, went for 6 issues... but the story was sluggish and uninteresting to my eyes, making it feel like Todd was trying his best to make what SHOULD have been a two-parter that much more lengthy.)  And he did have a knack for the flow of action for this introductory storyline.  Those showdowns with the Lizard did pack some tension into their page spans!

BUT... as I mentioned, with the good must also come the bad.  Okay... Spider-Man, to my perceptions, is a character about guilt and internalizing his worries, BUT he still projects a fun and wise-cracking exterior to keep himself grounded while battling various menaces.  (And I do believe Peter takes a small amount of joy in making a difference as Spider-Man.)  When this book launched, Todd McFarlane took that light-hearted concept of our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man... and flushed that right down the toilet.  This is far from a cheerful story, regardless of the couples' bonding ending.  People are killed in horrendous ways, the story atmosphere is DRENCHED in "grim and grit" that was so popular around that time span, and Spidey hardly ever quips in the tale.  So this is essentially a "Spawn" dry-run for all the WRONG reasons.  And the main weakness of McFarlane's "Spider-Man" run is none of his stories really feel like they mattered.  I'm not one that is insistent on tight continuities, but his writing was trying oh-so-hard to say this book was IMPORTANT, but most of his writing is just dark cliche-ridden claptrap.  It also felt like, aside from Spidey, Todd just didn't care to even keep his characterizations consistent with the rest of the universe.  I have to be blunt: Mary Jane is wholly unlikable in this introductory arc.  I REALLY dislike it when writers try to shoehorn established characters into their own storytelling agendas.  So having Mary Jane go back to her pre-marital days of just wanting to have fun, just to spite her husband going off to help the GENERAL CITIZENRY... Yeah, that peeved me off, somewhat.  And lest I forget... the cliche that EVERYONE remembers about this storyline.  The one that, unless you're talking about a grand Latverian monarch, you tie into this series...

Doo-doo-doo-doo-DOOM!  Yes, Todd... We get it... Spidey's undergoing mystical issues, and this story is "dark and serious", but did that sound effect have to be used ad nauseum CONSTANTLY in the story?  You're eventually left feeling like Spidey in the above panel.  Just stop it, Todd.  Just.  Stop.  It.

But that was hardly the end for Todd's run on the adjectiveless series!  As I mentioned before, there was a 6-part storyline set up in Canada with Logan.  That was also a bundle of cheer, dealing with child death and hunters being murdered.  Then we had a 2-part storyline with Hobgoblin and Ghost Rider, with a bunch of gibberish about innocent and guilty souls, and them fighting at a church.  Following that, another 2-part storyline with homeless people congregating around Morbius the Living Vampire... and for some weird reason, the return of the black Spider-Man costume.  This all came to a head over Todd wanting more creative control... and money, because sports collectibles don't just fall into your lap..., and because of controversy over a panel in a "Spider-Man" crossover with "X-Force", and McFarlane rode off into the self-publishing horizon to form Image Comics, and to create the "Spawn" franchise.  ... Which will receive its day in court on blog another time. 

All in all, while I did buy into "Torment" as a storyline, that was quite enough for me of what Todd had in mind for our favorite "wall-crawler".  His run may have been stylistic and atmospheric, but it was drained of all traditional Spidey "good will", and that is a deal-killer for me. 

As for tomorrow's entry, let's just say I have not one... but TWO surprises to discuss... and neither of which will involve pinning a rose on DC's nose.  Yes, even THEY get the Friday "Funnies" Foolishness bonk on the head, for a change!

Orange You Glad You're The Idol 'O Millions?

I feel like I've been a bit too harsh, or at the very least judgmental, about Marvel product lately.  (To give you a sneak peek, I'll be riding that train again, come tomorrow.)  So to balance out some negativity, I wanted to discuss one of my favorite Marvel characters, and give him his moment in the sun.  ... And he can take his time in the sun, since he doesn't have much skin... in the traditional sense... to burn!

Benjamin J Grimm may not have been my first Marvel character introduction, but he's been an unflagging reliable character in my estimation.  Born on the roughshod streets of Yancy, as a street tough, to college football star, to fighter pilot, Ben lived a full life even BEFORE the fateful rocket test launch that Reed Richards instigated.  After that, Ben transformed into a creature with a rough orange rocky hide, developing enhanced strength... but also crippling self doubt at times, and a hair-trigger temper.  Now when The Thing first debuted in "Fantastic Four #1", he was pretty much in the same mold Stan Lee wrote ALL of his "bruiser" hero characters for the first few years; quick to anger at the "normals", bemoaning his fate, which means us readers should feel sympathy for the man under the monster.

But over time, the Thing's personality started to develop some genuinely likable quirks.  Sure, he did still have bouts over his being a "freak" of the team, but he started to joke more, show off more of his vulnerable side, and be the gruff... yet loveable... Ben Grimm we still essentially have to this day.  But the funny thing about Ben Grimm is, despite his design evolutions, he has retained the same developed characteristics for over 50 years of comic existence.  Take, for example, his first "smoothing over" of his lumpy appearance:

This is considered the "traditional" Thing appearance; distinctly larger than life, but with the pronounced eyebrows, and "humanization" of his physique, it allowed Jack Kirby, and subsequent artists, to provide Ben with more expression and emotion.  Heck, this appearance even stuck around when circumstance called for Ben to be transformed back to human for a stretch of time, and had to make use of an exoskeletal suit of Thing "armor" to be part of the Fantastic Four!  We then jump into the 80's for the Thing's next evolution.

It's not just solely Ben's more "spiky" appearance that changed with the time period; for a stretch of continuity, Reed and Sue Richards left the team, so Ben was declared leader.  (I'm sure Johnny Storm was a HUGE fan of that decision... but who gives a toss what that jerk thinks?  Yes, in a future article, I plan on discussing my general beefs with the Human Torch.)  It was a bit of an appearance departure, and the leadership role did create an interesting dynamic... especially when that team's Ms. Marvel was transformed into a "She-Thing", and Ben had to act as a therapist for her.  One more appearance digression bears mention: the 90's Thing "helmet".

Oh yes... Whatever most creative teams were hopped up on in the 90's also carried over into the Fantastic Four.  (Need I mention Invisible Woman's "boob window" costume?)  Y'see, in a particular story, the temporary FF team of Hulk, Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, and Wolverine came back to fight the traditional FF.  And because Logan can generally be a jerk, he took a chunk of stone from Ben's face, leaving him with an unhealing scar.  ... Because that was a brilliant creative direction...  Ahem...

Regardless of the phases that Benjamin J Grimm has went through over the years, he's also been a... pardon the pun... rock for the Marvel Universe.  I know that when the Thing shows up for a story, I'll experience a spectrum of satisfying character moments... along with some kick-butt fight sequences!  (If Marvel made a trade entirely of the Thing/Hulk showdowns, they may as well just immediately take my dwindling resources of money at that very moment.)  And it's because the Thing is one of the most unique characters in the Marvel Universe that he was also gifted with one of the greatest team-up titles of all time "Marvel Two-In-One" along with a few solo series.  I'd even dare say he's a character that mixed media interpretations manage to keep the essential spirit of.  Maybe not always necessarily the spirit, but cartoons and movies tend to do Aunt Petunia's nephew right for the core characteristics. 

I believe it's the fact that we've all had moments of feeling like the "monster" of a group, but also carrying a wry sense of humor about the cards life has dealt us, that makes Ben Grimm so popular with comic fans.  He's a character I didn't mind also being allowed into the Avengers ranks... and we can't forget his catch phrases!  For cripes' sake, if CM Punk can use "It's clobberin' time!" as part of his WWE ring entrance, you've hit the big time, Benjy!  This hump-day, Benjamin J Grimm, you're given a solid tribute courtesy of Metal Mikey.  ... Thankfully, not in care of the Yancy Street Gang!

The Birthing of Skeletor

You may... or may not... know I have just a TEENY thing about Skeletor from "Masters of the Universe".  Maybe it's because the animated series was one of the earliest series I feel like I've regularly followed while growing up.  Maybe it's because the character has a truly inspired villainous appearance.  Maybe it's because I owned at least two versions of his action figure while growing up.  (The standard removable armor version and the "battle impact" chest armor version!)  ... Or maybe it's because the character embodies a sense of menace and threat... while still being silly, and just a tidge bit "sassy".  Seriously, just watch clips from YouTube of Skeletor laying down some tongue lashings to his subordinates!  Whatever sorcery Skeletor worked on my impressionable young mind, it carried over 30 years of my life, and he's STILL one of my favorite fictional characters.  (And, thanks to my nasally Midwestern accent, I can do a KILLER impression of the man!)

Some of you may now be wondering, "Why the hell are you talking about Skeletor in a comics blog?".  To this, I say, "Time to be schooled."  Because Skeletor has an EXTREMELY valid legacy in comics, that I shall touch upon every so often in this blog, in chronological order.  I will say the ONLY medium that won't be explored in overly long detail is the mini-comics found packaged with various "Masters of the Universe" action figures.  Mainly due to the fact I have ZILCH access to those.   But I can begin the series with the comic book debut of Skeletor, his lackey Beast-Man, some guy that calls himself Man-At-Arms (I allege that, due to the fact that he's depicted without a mustache for this appearance)... and some minor characters that went absolutely nowhere named He-Man and Superman.

"DC Comics Presents #47" was the first comic book appearance of the "Masters of the Universe" franchise, and it makes sense it would debut with the early 80's cash cow of the DC Universe, Superman.  This won't be an overly complex synopsis of the book, but I shall discuss the salient points of the book... and in one particular case, a MAJOR difference to the character of He-Man in this issue.  You see, we're introduced to Prince Adam in essentially the back alleys of Eternia... Drinking, carousing with women, and getting into barroom brawls!

Admittedly, Cringor is still around, but this is a FAR cry from the usual fop that would hang around the Castle of Eternia, being lectured by King Randor... or getting his butt whipped by Teela.  (For the record, she could literally whip my butt anytime of the week.)  This must've still been in the rough character outline period where "Conan" was still the seed of the universe's development.  And while I didn't drag up any pictures, take my word for it that Man-At-Arms is baby-faced for his first appearance.  No 'stache, no Man-At-Arms in MY estimation!  (But thankfully, we're spared a first appearance by Orko in this comic.  Ugh... Lousy little jerk...)

So what's Skeletor up to in this issue?  I'll give you three guesses:

• Bemoaning another lonely Saturday night, his advances rejected by Evil Lynn... yet again.
• Engaging in a royal court debate with Randor about his legitimate claim to rulership of Eternia... and insanely high property taxes on Snake Mountain.
• Gain control of the Sword of Power, and Castle Greyskull, to truly become Master of the Universe.

... I ask again, which one sounds the most Skeletor-like?  Anyways, in his spell-casting, he manages to snag Clark Kent/Superman into Eternia to essentially act as his "champion" against He-Man.  Which initially DOES work, because remember that magic is one of Superman's weaknesses.

Of course, Superman doesn't immediately agree to Skeletor's malicious planning... or being referred to as "strangely garbed".  (No offense, Skeletor, my friend... But calling anyone else "strangely garbed": Pot, meet kettle.)  However, when He-Man arrives on the scene, to put a halt to Skeletor's plan of conquest, Skeletor puts the magic whammy on Superman.  And this time, it's to COMMAND the Man of Steel to the attack.

Alas, while I have grown in appreciation of Curt Swan's artwork, since he was never that strong in detailed fight sequences, we're short-changed some solid fisticuffs between Superman and He-Man.  But in conclusion... for a very quick wrap-up, and since I don't have the issue currently on me for reference, Superman regains his sense of common good, they both team up to battle the TRUE evil of Skeletor, and both he and Beast Man are vanquished... for now.  Because like any great villain, you cannot keep Skeletor down.  (I would lump Beast Man into that category... but calling him a "great villain" is kind of like calling NFL Superpro an essential element of the Marvel Universe.)  And in my next eventual entry in the Skeletor Comics History series, we'll see that while he didn't really cross paths with the DC Universe proper much after this, he DID figure into a "Masters of the Universe" comic run through the company name!

... And I say "much after this", because there WAS a sequel... or was it a prequel?... story insert in Superman books in 1983, about a year after this "DC Comics Presents" issue was published.  But that, too, is another story for another time!

Ehhhh-X-Men

This will probably end up being a post that could stir some controversy, but I'm laying it out on the line, because it's a topic that came to me during my conversation brain-storming this past weekend.  I believe the seeds for this topic were essentially sown during my viewing of "X-Men: Days of Future Past".  I did enjoy the movie, but it didn't hit me in the "sweet spot" as much as... say... "Captain America: Winter Soldier".  It was after said movie, and some reading experiences as of late, that the growth of this idea started producing the ultimate fruit of my thoughts.

 Y'see, I came to the point where "Marvel's Merry Mutants" really don't fire me up as much as they used.  I don't want to misquote, but I BELIEVE that it was the "Irredeemable Shagg" on an episode of "Views from the Longbox" that said that we all have X-Men phases.  For me, my phase was absolutely during middle/high school.  I lived in the teenage years of X-Men influence!  We had the launch of the brand-new X books in the summer of 1992, the outpouring of new video games, and a cartoon series!  What more did an angst-fuelled teenager need than a team that were outcasts of society in their own right?  ... But just like any angry young music act cannot maintain such frustration for years on end, so could I outgrow my teenage angst, and in the years, I found many chinks in the X-Armor to my perceptions:

• WAY too many characters
• WAY too many teams
• WAY too many crossovers
• Too LITTLE interaction with the Marvel Universe as a whole
• Characters than invite separatism by bemoaning their "mutant" status near constantly elicit little sympathy for me

That being said, I wanted to offer my thoughts on two classes of X-Men; the underrated and overrated.  The members that, I feel, could thrive if they received an invitation to the mainstream Marvel universe to play.  And the members that need to be scaled back, because I'm starting to grow rather tired of their elevated roles.  Since I want to end this article on a positive spin, I'll begin by sounding the retirement gong on those Muties that have grown too big for their britches.

Cyclops: Some could say he's the "heart and soul" of the X-Men.  There from the start, and... to a degree... still an important figure to Charles Xavier's dream.  I could say that ever since "A VS X", he's been led down the path of being an insufferable jerk, making even Magneto in his most villainous moments look rather docile.  But if you think about it, Scott Summers hasn't really been all that "awesome" a person in his fictional life.  A stick-in-the-mud teenager, a deadbeat dad to his separated wife, (One could make the argument that a marriage involving the clone of your deceased lover is totally binding, but still...), and now an extremist Mutant revolutionary.  Would it REALLY have been so bad if Cykes joined Jean Grey in the Phoenix-y afterlife at the conclusion of "A VS X", just so we could've had a few years without "Slim" Summers being a pain in the butt?

Wolverine: A lot of people have much love for the Canucklehead, but even as early as the 90's for me, the overexposure of the character was beginning to chip away any goodwill I had for him.  Couple that with the fact that he apparently HAS to figure into every Marvel team book... X-Men, Avengers, Fantastic Four... probably at one point the Invaders, or even Power Pack... and I just would rather him be strictly in the Mutant leagues.  But one thing that has really irked me about the "Best At What He Does" is that his powers have grown so bloody amplified in recent years!  Back in my favorite periods of the X-Men, sure... Logan could take some abuse, but he wasn't able to wholly regenerate limbs, or reassemble himself so quickly after intense body burns.  He has a healing factor; not an invulnerability clause!

Now for those members I'd really want to see make a more positive impact in the Marvel Universe:                                                                                                                                                                         

Colossus: If there's one thing that "X-Men: Days of Future Past" illustrated to me, it's this; writers have a hard time figuring out what to do with Peter Rasputin.  And I'm not just talking Hollywood.  Last I ran into the mutated Man of Steel, he was in possession of the Jewel of Cytorak... AKA Juggernaut's bling... and that made an already mopey character all that much more down in the dumps.  Yes, I realize Peter was a product of Soviet-Era Russia, and has generally been characterized as a more introverted character... who happened to form romantic relationships with girls MUCH younger than himself... but if they were to pull Colossus out of his character shell, give him an Avengers membership, maybe that could open the character up to new possibilities.  Besides, for years he's been a character that has a great combination of visual aesthetic and power-set!  He deserves better than being the metallic navel-gazer of the X-Men!

Storm: C'mon... She LED the X-Men through a majority of the 80's, one of the roughest patches the team went through.  Ororo has been a rock in the X-Men foundation... Probably a more reliable one than even all of the original five members!  Sure, she was given a chance to expand her influence with a relationship with Wakandan royality, Black Panther, but like Colossus, since there at least 20 Avengers teams in the Marvel Universe, Storm has surely won a membership nomination 50 times over!  She's tough... yet sensitive, has a power set that puts her in the class of Thor in terms of weather manipulation, and I still believe she holds rank as one of the most influential African female characters in fictional history.  If that's not worth a pass to the "Big Leagues", I obviously have zilch clue!

Single Issue Bliss

Occasionally I'll write an entry about a single comic issue that I found you can read without having ANY previous knowledge of continuity, and still gain a satisfactory experience with.  ... The only minus about that plan is that pretty much any comic from the last 10 or so years is automatically excluded from that category.  (We live in trade paperback times, my friends.  Bleh.)  So these books will be on the "older" side of things, but I will promise you that you can find my featured issues relatively easy, and without breaking your bank account to find them!  Because one positive thing about the times we live in: online auction sites are our friends.  So without further pause, let's discuss today's anniversary SPECTACULARRR!

"World's Finest #271" was a break from the normal "Dollar Comics" formula of presenting the reader with an anthology of stories of different characters.  To mark 200 issues of the Superman/Batman team, Roy Thomas crafted a double-sized bash that not only told a brand new tale, BUT also crammed... Every. Single... origin story of the World's Finest team into one narrative.  As if that wasn't a treat enough, you get some killer artwork Rich Buckler for the occasion!  So... what tale could justify such a rich history, double the length, and the participation of a blazing star of an artist?

Superman keeps having nightmares about a guy he supposedly never met called Atoman, who can shoot Kryptonite rays from his hands.  Stirring from his troubled sleep, he turns on the tube, and finds a news report about a fire in Gotham City, with Batman on site to lend assistance.  Of course, Supes being who he is, decides that while Batman is rather gallant, Superman is actually rather useful in a fire situation.  (What I wouldn't have given for Clark's television's first broadcast to be an episode of USA's "Up All Night".  He could've caught "Student Bodies"!)  Fire fought, the collected duo, and firemen, discover a metal coffin under the fire site, bearing the Atoman symbol on the lid.  Coffin explodes, Atoman awakes, and in the words of the People's Champ, the Rock, he layeths the smackdown on Batman and Superman.  While recovering, they basically try to put together the pieces of what just happened, and how it ties into their team-up past.  Because while Superman knows no Atoman, his costume looks a LOT like a robot fake-out he made to ward off Batman and Robin from a case called Power-Man.  (Luke Cage should've nipped that in the bud...)

The weird thing about Atoman is he keeps referring to landmarks that would exist in the 40's, and that he insists he and Superman fought during World War 2.  (I smell Earth 2 involvement...)  But to cut to the heart of the matter, after a lot of history is recounted for us readers, and for our heroes put together the pieces, Atoman makes a public challenge to Superman to duke it out in an arena... TO THE DEATH.  Oh yeah... and if the "Boy Scout" doesn't agree to the fight, Metropolis is screwed.  Royally.  This all leads to the big duke-a-roo, and to avoid spoilers too much, I'll just say remember my other Earth tease, and you can see how this conflict shapes up, and how it ties to Atoman's memories.  (Oh, before I forget, Atoman also is a Nazi, so we get our standard comic book German speak for his dialogues!  If it weren't for comic books, I would never have learned the German I know that would probably be bound to get my butt kicked if I were to ever converse with the citizenry of that nation.)

I think for this approach to the issue, I'll tackle the pros and cons on a bullet point basis.  And to be fair... and not completely DC-biased... I'll showcase the cons, first:

• This comic is DENSE.  It's thick with about 40-years of team up history, and Roy Thomas is not shy about word usage.  So if you're not aware, even being a comic book reader "pro", you may be reading this issue at about double the time you would a normal comic of any era.
• Speaking of the flashbacks, I could say that they do overwhelm the story.  I should have taken an actual count of page ratios dedicated to current-time material to the flashback material.  So the current time story does play backseat driver to the story.
• One REAL big gripe I have, especially with the thick history of the book, is that the fight sequences feel the pinch!  With such a dynamic artist like Buckler, we could've seen a hell of a showdown between the World's Finest team and Atoman, but it feels like in certain sequences, we only get smatterings of a greater conflict.
• And who the hell decided to stick Steve Lombard in my World's Finest issue?  Grr!  Jerk!

But now for the positives!

• This comic is DENSE.  I know I mentioned that as a "con", but there are times where I really want my comic reading experience to last more than 10 minutes.  And in today's world where books are dialogued so lightly, and it feels like 14 pages out of a 20 page book are devoted to entire page splashes, I find comfort in a weighty read.
• Roy Thomas, for all his flashbacking, DID manage to tie in all of the then-current origin stories of the World's Finest team together in a chronological fashion that makes sense.  He even managed to include the radio show origin of the team-up!
• Atoman does provide a genuine threat to our team.  He isn't just some one-off "jobber" showing up for the anniversary; the character is revealed to have some ties to multiple versions of Superman's history.  And he can't be brushed off so easily by just beating the tar out of him.  If it wasn't for a handy trick Superman figures out towards the end of the story, I imagine things could've gone a lot more disappointingly for our heroes.
• Did I mention the artwork, yet?  Rich Buckler is one of my absolute favorite Bronze Age artists.  And you get a whole super-sized issue of his stuff!  The only way this book could have been more divine was if either Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez or George Perez provided the artwork.  But with Buckler, you still cannot fail.

Equal amounts pros and cons, I know, but my pros are FAR more impassioned than my cons, which are probably more nitpicks than anything else.  So I highly recommend to the blog readers; if you enjoy a solid DC story featuring Superman and Batman... together in ONE TALE... you should see to treating yourself to a solid single issue sense of bliss with "World's Finest #271"! 

(And also admire the back-cover's "Daily Planet" feature talking about upcoming titles.  Man... a "Superman" tabloid, and the first issue of "All-Star Squadron"...  Sweet times!)

You REALLY Want To Talk About "Jokers", Batman?

Today's blog will actually be a shorter than normal one... and technically it could have been a "Friday 'Funnies' Foolishness" entry, but after finishing this particular two-parter, I HAD to expand my thoughts about a certain character in an individual posting.  Now I admit, I've not exactly been terribly charitable to Marvel Comics for my postings, thus far.  But today proves that even a more DC-centric person like myself can still find things to nitpick in my favored universe.  Case in point: "Batman #289-290", and a "delightful" villain known as Cosmo "Skull" Dugger.  ... Yes, you read that name, correctly.

Batman's rogue gallery may be one of the most iconic gatherings of villains in comic history: The Joker, The Penguin, Two-Face, Catwoman, Bane, Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze... etc.  But for every iconic villain Batman squares off against, we also have occasional two-time losers... like today's entry.  You see, Cosmo Dugger suffers from a condition known as anhedonia, the inability to experience joy.  (And if you looked like the love child of Charles Xavier and Thaddeus Sivana, you might not be overflowing with joy, either.)  So this drives Cosmo to the heinous drive of creating a device that literally robs people of joy, used in the moment where the victim experiences the apex of joy.  The device is shot at the victim's forehead, and after having suffered heart attack-like symptoms, they are left deceased with a skull mark on their forehead.  Cosmo later takes the stolen sense of joy, and sips at it like fine wine.  Hmm... a person that essentially works as a joy vampire... You know, I think I've had a few ex-girlfriends like that. 

 Aside from wanting to prevent further murders, Batman himself suffers the effects of the joy-robbing ray, which does not kill him... because this is Batman's book, and he can't be destroyed in such a pathetic fashion... but it leaves him near paralyzed, every movement Batman commits in the goal of fighting crime causing him intense pain.  ... Which implies that swinging around from crime scene to crime scene, and causing physical pain on people who are admittedly committing terrible deeds, brings Batman joy.  Normally an average schmoe like the rest of us would be placed in psychiatric care for voicing such thoughts... Anyhow, the way Batman gets around all this to ultimately put a stop to Cosmo's crime spree is he tricks another lame villain, Dr. Tzin Tzin, to grant him one hour of physical immunity to anything, so that the Doctor can be released from prison.  Having been freed from his physical pain, Batman then confronts Skull Dugger, who after a lab-thrashing battle, writes his own fate by electrocuting himself against his broken joy storage/release unit.  But the most annoying thing of this entire story is... Yes, Batman does discover the whys of how these people are dying, but the skull-mark?  That remains an unsolved mystery NO ONE decides to look into, after Skull Dugger meets his maker. 

This story DOES have some decent points, though.  As is the case for most Bronze Age Batman stories, they do have some great action sequences, and this period does mostly feature the Batman I personally enjoy the most.  He's determined, but not obsessed, in his Batman persona, and can even make time to crack a small joke every now and then.  And the artwork in these two issues, EXCELLENT.  Mike Grell put in some great touches on the Dark Knight Detective, and I would've loved to see him have an extended run on some Batman adventures.  This is also despite the fact that his work is inked by the killer of generally great artwork, Vince Colletta.  But what did this two-parter teach me?  Not even Batman is spared from having some general losers in his life... and that if Skull Dugger really wanted to be efficient in his joy thievery, he should have become a producer of Adam Sandler movies.  Wakka-wakka!