Who Was Who Is Who #31

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Mysto's chance.

MR. TERRIFIC - the Michael Holt version of the character is definitely in place, despite his series getting cancelled so that alone puts him in the in place column. A few months back (at least from the time of writing in mid-March) DC released some teaser designs and there was a different Mr Terrific featured, so it seems likely we'll see an Earth-2 version at some point as well.

Worlds' Finest #2 And Before Watchmen

Honestly, I saw that cover and thought "Sweet Cthulhu's beard! They've brought back the Anti-Monitor as an enemy for Power Girl and Huntress!"

"HUNTRESS and POWER GIRL versus THE IRRADIATED MAN!
Learn what our heroes have been doing since they arrived here five years ago from Earth Two!"

No such luck - he's apparently The Irradiated Man.

Justice League Detroit Redux - JLA Incarnations

JLA INCARNATIONS #5, written by John Ostrander with art by Val Semeiks, Kevin Conrad and Prentis Rollins.

As seen last week, the Justice League Detroit's original run came to an end with Justice League of America #261. By the end of that issue, Vibe and Steel were dead, Gypsy had reunited with her family and Vixen had resigned. While both women would continue adventuring over the years (Gypsy even re-joining the Justice League in the form of the Task Force) it would be fourteen years or so before the full Detroit League were seen again.

In JLA Incarnations, John Ostrander wrote single issue tales of the Leagues various line-ups and, in #5, he dealt with the Detroit League during the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Retroactive - The 80's Part 2

As DC Comics are celebrating the creators that made an impact in the 70's, 80's and 90's, I thought I'd wander through the same decades and pull out my favourite comic of each year.

Welcome back to the 80's!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #122

You hear that, science? Superman wants you to bring back dinosaurs.

It's Sunday so that means comics!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #83

Backwards spells - Zatanna deals with creeps in her own style.

• Battlefields #6 - I think we all knew the mostly lighthearted story couldn't end well, but even so, those last couple of pages were a bit of a shock.
• Brightest Day #2 - Firestorm appears to have an unwanted (and unknown) passenger; at least one White Martian has shrugged off their human disguise; and the Martian Manhunter shows why he's been described as the soul of the Justice League, dealing with a tricky situation in a calm and compassionate manner. Oh, and those last two pages? See below.
• The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Journey Begins #1 - easily picking up the longest title award, as my wife said: "Hasn't this journey been going on for some time already?" We get more flashbacks, though, this time dealing with the aftermath of Jericho Hill. My only gripe - as it starts the adaptation of The Gunslinger, how can it miss the classic opening line of the book: "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
• DCU: Legacies #1 - comparisons to Marvels may well be made as this story romps through various generations of heroes as seen by an everyman character, but right now it's off to a great start. Appearances from the Crimson Avenger and other Golden Age characters along with the less well known "Scoop" Scanlon make this a treat for those of us who like DC's history.
• Justice League of America #45 - didn't I say last time that this series seemed to be getting better? This issue, once more, seems to sprawl - there's no real sense of pacing, it's simply one scene after another that barely seem to connect. Such a shame.
• Zatanna #1 - the last thing I read that had Paul Dini credited as writer was Countdown . . . and we all know how that turned out. It's an absolute joy, then, to read this first issue and come away with the intention of adding this to my pull list. Zatanna's always been a cool, if underused, character and it's nice to see her get an ongoing. The story races along, setting up for the next issue, and the art is nice and clean. Good job all round.

And what made me laugh out loud:

Deadman vs the Anti-Monitor!? It took most of DC's heroes to beat him in Crisis on Infinite Earths; took dozens of Green Lanterns to have any effect in the Sinestro Corps Wars; the combined Lantern Corps still had problems with him in Blackest Night.

Now Deadman has to fight him on his own?!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #76

Quote from Etrigan the Demon in The Brave And The Bold #32

• Battlefields: The Firefly And His Majesty #1 - the continuing story of the Tankies, I can't help but wonder if this relatively light hearted war tale is going to end nastily.
• Booster Gold #30 - Dan Jurgens's run is fast coming to an end with most of his loose ends wrapped up. I like his writing and his art so it's a shame to see him go but at least Booster, Goldstar and Rip will be in good hands with Giffen and DeMatteis . . . I hope! And hey, woah, hold on there - Hypertime?!
• The Brave And The Bold #32 - when did Aquaman go all Star Trek Vulcan on us? That whole "My thoughts are your thoughts... my will is your will." is straight out of a Vulcan mind meld . . . and I know that even without being a Star Trek fan!
• Green Arrow #31 - so here begins the Fall of Green Arrow who, annoyingly, has been turned into the same kind of jerk he was years ago: arrogant and selfish, unwilling to listen to his friends - I thought he'd grown out of that with the whole marriage to Black Canary? Oh, and now we dark Speedy? Poor old Green Arrow . . .
• Green Lantern Corps #46 - something of a holding issue to get to Blackest Night #8 but still a good read; could have done with more Anti-Monitor but that's just me!

And what made me smile:

Big on Star Trek references this week by the look of it! Never thought of Guy Gardner as a Trekkie but I can go with it.

Friday Night Fights - Beware The Javelin, My Son!

DC has some fantastic villains, many of whom we've seen in this round of Friday Night Fights where Spacebooger has decreed that the bad guys win. The usual arch enemies - the Joker and Lex Luthor - spring to mind, but also the bigger, more cosmic guys: the Anti-Monitor and Darkseid for example.

The Javelin, however, cannot rank amongst them. He's a guy who flies. And throws javelins. That's it.

But that's still enough to kick Green Lantern's arse, though!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention - those javelins? They're trick javelins!

"Bright-eyes"?!! Is Jordan flirting with him?!

Flirting or not, it isn't going to help him as that damn Javelin has a . . . er . . . javelin just right for Jordan. Damn that yellow impurity!!

And who says Germans don't have a sense of humour?!

As you all seemed to enjoy Jordan getting beaten last week, I figured I'd stick with the theme of DC's current boy wonder being smacked around by second rate villains.

And remember:

Hal Jordan's humiliation first appeared in Green Lantern #173, cover dated February 1984, written by Len Wein with art by his majesty Dave Gibbons.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #72

I'm actually away this weekend but thanks to Blogger's scheduling function, I can still get my Cocktail post in!

• Battlefields: Happy Valley #3 - a sombre ending which came as no real surprise but was handled delicately and with care by Ennis who once more showed he's more than swearing and violence.
• Blackest Night: The Flash #3 - as much as the White Lantern (?) symbol over Reverse Flash's chest was intriguing, the most interesting part of this issue, like those before it, were the Rogues. It comes to something when the bad guys hold more fascination than the main character.
• Green Lantern #51 - more blood on Parallax's hands than the Anti-Monitor? Spectre, dude, the Anti-Monitor wiped out thousands of universes! Universes! And that bit with Hector Hammond? Can anyone say "groundwork for up-coming storyline?!"
• Green Lantern Corps #45 - the whole "battle your personal demons" thing was a little cheesey but it's good to have Gardner back at last.
• Justice League of America #42 - okay, a little all-over-the-place but not bad on the whole, though the couple of two page spreads weren't incredibly clear and I ended up reading down the page instead of across, but I'm liking the new villains.
• Magog #6 - tying in with Justice Society of America Annual #2 from a couple of weeks ago, this is Magog's side of things concerning the big JSA vs Magog fight along with the aftermath.
• Marvels: Eye of The Camera #6 - my god, this has actually arrived?! I'm not going to bother reading it until I re-read the earlier issues again, it's been so long.
• Power Girl #9 - did no-one tell Satanna that leopard-print went out with the 70's? Another damn fine issue where sub-plots from previous issues crop up again, making the story feel genuine. And hey, Terra's back to save Power Girl!
• The Stand: Soul Survivors #4 - damn, those were some big weasels!

And what made me smile wince:

Owwwwwwww!

Friday Night Fights - The Last Blow Sounds

As the onomatopoeia themed fights come to a close with this final round, I wanted to go big and back in the 80's, few things were bigger than DC's universe ending epic, Crisis On Infinite Earths.

As the end draws near, the Anti-Monitor - scourge of the multiverse - faces off against dozens of heroes until he is confronted by Earth-Two's Superman, Superboy-Prime and Alex Luthor. Seemingly unstoppable, help comes from an unlikely source as Darkseid pitches in.

Using Alex as a conduit, Darkseid fires a blast at the Anti-Monitor that sends him plunging into a dark star.

But it's not enough - he will not die! A huge, living fireball launches itself toward Superman forcing the elderly hero to take final, decisive action.

SKRABLLAAAMM! That's the sound of the last punch as the Anti-Monitor explodes.

Will there be another Friday Night Fight? Only Spacebooger knows!

This multiversal multipart crossover super-punch first appeared in Crisis On Infinite Earths #12, cover dated March 1986, written by Marv Wolfman with art by George Perez and Jerry Ordway.