Monday Memories #27 - Flash: Terminal Velocity

Each Monday this year I'll be taking a look back at a random comic, prestige format issue, graphic novel or collection of reprints from amongst my 3,000 or so comics that date from 1962 to 2003 - I figured anything in the last ten years would be too recent to hark back to.

The comics are chosen completely at random and apart from a four week lead-in period, even I don't know what I'll be looking at in the weeks to come!

Global Guardians #6 - Red Winter

For the next few weeks, I'm going to be running through the DCU appearances of the Global Guardians post-Crisis and pre-Flashpoint (or at least all the appearances I have) and try to find out where they are now. Or were, pre-Flashpoint.

Following the last couple of posts about the Global Guardians, it should be clear by now that they were closely linked with the Justice League in its various forms.

Their next appearance came in the Red Winter storyline that ran throughout Justice League Europe #54 - #50 although the Guardians themselves has a relatively small part to play in it.

Global Guardians #3 - Our European Cousins

For the next few weeks, I'm going to be running through the DCU appearances of the Global Guardians post-Crisis, pre-Flashpoint (or at least all the appearances I have) and wonder why they never had a title of their own and find out where they are now. Or were, pre-Flashpoint.

After the events shown in last week's instalment, Jack O'Lantern and Owlwoman are seen safely ensconced as part of the Queen Bee's retinue following her usurping of the Bialyan throne. The Justice League, helpless in the face of her overwhelming support from the Bialyan people, leave with their tail between their legs.

Not long after that, Invasion! takes place where various alien races band together with the Dominators to try and take over the Earth. At the end of that, a decision's made to increase the scope of the League's activities and Justice League Europe is created, based in Paris which, you may remember, also houses the Dome, home of the Global Guardians.

This Looks Like Another Job For...

There's been one major thing bugging me about the New 52 / DC Relaunch / Reboot / DCnU or whatever it's being called this week and it can be summed up in one word:

Continuity.

We've learned that the new stories from September will take place five years after the dawn of the superhero - five years from the start of Superman's adventures and the formation of the Justice League.

But we've also been told that many things that have happened over the last few years in real time are also part of the timeline. Obvious examples are The Killing Joke and Identity Crisis but there's also been mention of the more recent Blackest Night still being part and parcel of DCU history.

What about the original big summer event, Crisis on Infinite Earths? Did that still happen? If so, did Infinite Crisis happen? Then there's a whole bunch of other things - Batman's crippling by Bane; Superman's death by Doomsday; Wonder Woman being turned into a goddess; were Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake and Stephanie Brown all Robin within those years?

It's a whole mess of things which fanboys like myself will bitch and moan about. The Killing Joke's in continuity but the Justice Society aren't?

Retroactive - The 90's Part 1

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.

And here we are, finally in the 90's.

Retroactive - The 80's Part 3

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? #68

Been busy as all heck in work this week so am running well behind on the notes for Blackest Night tie-ins; will get them done as soon as possible, I promise! In the meantime: comics!

• Battlefields: Happy Valley #2 - Garth Ennis continues his war story about a bomber crew and their new pilot but I can't help but think it's all going to end badly.
• Blackest Night: The Flash #2 - a little more emphasis on the Flash this time round rather than the Rogues and I have to wonder whether the new Captain Boomerang can really bring back the old one.
• The Brave And The Bold #31 - another take on the Joker's beginnings, moving away from the "one bad day" to a point where he was apparently always weird. And didn't the Atom think of the irony of walking around the Joker's brains, contemplating on causing a blood clot and killing him? Isn't that basically what his crazy ex-wife Jean Loring did to Sue Dibny?! Pots and kettles, Mr Palmer, pots and kettles!
• Green Lantern Corps #44 - maybe this is why Mogo doesn't socialise!
• Power Girl #8 - so many funny moments in this issue; the "formal evening wear"; "that particular function"; the meal; the "pregno-ray"! Loved the nod to the Adam Hughes women of DC picture as well. Seriously, folks, buy this book - it's one of the best out there at the moment.
• Project Superpowers: Chapter Two #6 - it's all going mental as hero fights hero spurred on by Supremacy infiltrators while the threat of Zeus hangs over them all.
• Starman #81 - nice to see Opal City and the Shade again but, like the other fill in titles, this was all done in one - Black Lantern arrives, battles hero, is defeated.

And what made me smile:

Oh crap - I find myself agreeing with a crazy talking badger scientist. That can't be good . . .

Friday Night Fights - Economy Of Effort

Friday Night Fights return with a villainous slant this time round - Spacebooger, in his infinite wisdom, has decreed that the bad guys must win each battle!

Back before 52 and Countdown, before the Multiverse was reborn, Earth-8 didn't exist as a separate universe, it was only another dimension (because, you know, that makes all the difference) where bad things had happened. With the world torn apart by a nuclear holocaust that they had caused, the Extremists came to our world in order to conquer it.

Who could stand up to them? Why, Justice League Europe of course!

That's Power Girl landing feet first into the face of Dr. Diehard as Captain Atom streaks towards the Extremists' leader, Lord Havok.

Crimson Fox takes on Tracer; Elongated Man tangles with Gorgon; but the resident Extremist spellcaster, Dreamslayer, has no interest in "fisticuffs" with the Flash, oh no . . .

No, he has a simpler, more straightforward way of bringing this fight to a close.

With one skeleton revealing blast, Dreamslayer takes out the entire JLE. With the enemy down, Lord Havok rallies his troops and sets off toward world domination leaving the League a little worse for wear . . .

How will the League recover from this crushing defeat? Only Spacebooger knows!

Head over to Spacebooger before 11pm (EST) on Sunday and check out the other fights that are linked, then vote for your favourite.

This villainous victory first appeared in Justice League Europe #16, cover dated July 1990, written by Keith Giffen and Gerard Jones with art by Bart Sears and Randy Elliott.