Monday Memories #46 - Zero Hour #1

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!

DC's October Solicitations

Is it me or is artist Juan Doe just doing superb work with these covers for the Steppenwolf War storyline? Limited palette, a poster feel, block lettering . . . I'm really liking them.

Monday Memes #50

For the last Friendly Fire covers meme, I figured I'd do something special, something that highlighted one character that I've read in various incarnations over the years that always seems to end up fighting the people he works with.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Guy Gardner Friendly Fire Special:

As we saw in the recent Jurgens League posts, Guy and Superman were pretty much always at odds with each other and it didn't take long for them to come to blows.

And yes, despite the Hal Jordan costume, that is Guy getting punched by Power Girl in an alternate timeline story where he became Green Lantern first and she was still Arion's grand-daughter.

And talking of Jordan, here he is as Parallax having a go at Guy after he became Warrior . . . and then, years later, Guy's strangling Jordan.

Get a room, you pair.

Green Lantern Movie

The negative press was never going to stop me watching this - hell, I sat through Star Wars: Episodes I and II and managed to live to tell the tale.

For the record, before you get worried, Green Lantern is no Phantom Menace which is something to be thankful for.

On the whole I enjoyed it; I'd hoped to come out shrieking with joy but that wasn't to be, but neither was I hanging my head in shame thinking they'd killed a franchise at their first attempt.

There's a lot to cram into this and, in some ways, it felt a little rushed. The opening voice over concerning who the Corps and the Guardians are is handled well, however, and you have to expect a truncated version rather than the decades-long history in the comics.

Reynolds is pretty good as Jordan. Sure he's a little goofy at times but, as he tells the Guardians, he's only human. One review I read made mention of how scared Reynolds's Jordan is despite a Green Lantern being without fear; that reviewer obviously missed the whole "ability to overcome fear" scene with Blake Lively's spot-on Carol Ferris. This Jordan isn't fearless but once he embraces and accepts his fear he's able to act and grow into the role.

Retroactive - The 90'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.

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

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #131

Oooh, she's feisty!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #123

Power Girl asks what we've all been thinking for some time . . .

Four Becomes Three

In all the hullabaloo of Flashpoint, I've hardly mentioned the upcoming War of The Green Lanterns event that's going to be running around the same time as the GL movie will be out.  Specifically, there's been the couple of mentions of losing one of the Earth/Sector 2814 Lanterns.

At the end of Green Lantern #62, after getting his ass kicked, Hal Jordan has some sort of vision of the future:

That black on yellow dialogue fits in with what we've seen of Krona, intimating that Jordan's possession by Parallax was somehow a deliberate punishment from the Guardians. Then we have the Guardians themselves proclaiming how dangerous he is post-War (so he obviously survives - no surprise there) since "the loss of one of the Lanterns of Sector 2814."

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #117

Just how does Batman prepare for every eventuality?

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #110

Edward I continues his cross-border relations policy

Missed out on my comics last week so a bumper haul this week - possibly the last of 2010!

Friday Night Fights - Prize Fight!

This is it - the big prize fight finish to the Free For All rounds and as I won a round of the qualifying twelve fights, I get to participate. So who have I called up to fight for me?

Yep, it's Green Lantern Hal Jordan up against his old foe, Goldface! This was back in the days when the GL rings couldn't affect the colour yellow due to a "necessary impurity" - there's no Parallax here, kids!

After dispatching the minions, Jordan turns his attention to Goldface himself, planning to use some aqua regia he's prepared.

But what's this?!

Goldface has improved his elixir, imbuing his "body with a super-auric energy -- giving me awsome powers over gold!" Man, you just don't get villains spouting that sort of dialogue any more, do you?

With his power ring powerless, Jordan has to rely on his fists:

and when that doesn't work . . .

Not even a wooden beam swung like Willie Mays can overcome Goldface's "awesome powers over gold!" and in moments, the fight ends with Jordan having seen better days:

Now, head over to Spacebooger by clicking on the image below, check out the other fights and then do what you know is right: vote for me!

This golden opportunity to make me the winner of Friday Night Fights first appeared in Green Lantern #48, cover dated October 1966, written by "Golden" Gardner Fox with art by Gil "Awesome Powers" Kane and Sid "Super-Auric Energy" Greene.

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!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #69

• Black Terror #7 - this series kinda seems to be stumbling from one big fight to another but does so with such abandon that I'm still enjoying it - plus it gave me this week's quote for the banner.
• Blackest Night: JSA #2 - oh, those sneaky, tricksy Black Lanterns! Who'd'a thought so many heroes could be so easily duped?
• Green Lantern #50 - Hal Jordan appears as Green Lantern and Parallax in the same issue and has the Spectre along as well. Jeez, it's like all his ex's turned up at once!
• Justice League: Cry For Justice #6 - was it just me or was this issue actually not that bad? Of course, we can all guess how it's going to turn out because of . . .
• Justice League of America #41 - . . . which takes place after the events of Justice League: Cry For Justice #7 which isn't out yet, but even this issue wasn't too bad. Poor old Reddy's been dismantled again but the time-travel aspect with Tomahawk and Miss Liberty looks like a nice set-up; even Green Arrow's grim hunt for Prometheus didn't impair it too much. For the first time in several months, this series seems to be picking up.
• Justice Society of America #35 - this was a really good issue; Mr Terrific's refusal to play by Mordru's rules; Wildcat's prison; even Dr Fate's drooling on the floor all worked superbly. Only one complaint: Flash's dialogue just didn't sound like Jay to me.
• Teen Titans #79 - have to admit this didn't work for me at all; it didn't flow at all, just jumped about everywhere: page 3, the Titans are all working out together and Static says he has to head home; page 4, Static's at his sister's apartment having travelled all the way to Dakota; page 5 and the Titans have just finished their workout. The rest of the issue's just as clumsy, really.
• Ravager co-feature - Ravager manages to break free of the bad guys but doesn't get the answers or closure she needs. Still better than the main story, though.

And what made me smile:

Never a truer word said.

Friday Night Fights - What's A Guy To Do?

It's no holds barred, full-page fighting this week - seriously, every page of Guy Gardner: Warrior #20 was a single panel.

Guy Gardner, armed with the yellow power ring he stole from the corpse of Sinestro (hey, don't ask, okay? This was a while back) takes on that hero turned mad-man, Green Lantern Hal Jordan - now running round as Parallax - above the skies of Oa.

Poor old Guy - for once he's on the side of the angels but there's no hope for him this time round.

Parallax takes Guy's ring leaving him powerless and subject to being sent hurtling to the planet below!

WHACCK! THOOM! That's the sound of Guy's face planting into the sands of Oa, leaving Parallax to try and recreate the universe to his own satisfaction in Zero Hour . . . much like Spacebooger!


This planet kissing battle between former comrades first appeared in Guy Gardner: Warrior #20, cover dated June 1994, written by Beau Smith with art by Mitch Byrd and Dan Davis.