Who'd Like A Cocktail? #214

Admitting it is the first step.

Monday Memories #5 - The Spectre #8

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!

The Mayan's Got It Wrong

The world doesn't end today. It ended back in the mid-80's.

Who you going to trust? A bunch of New Agers who've decided that the end of one calendar = the end of the world, or Marv Wolfman?

Who Was Who Is Who #42

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 Spook's chance.

SONAR - is there anything more terrifying than a villain armed with a gun shaped like a tuning fork? Hmmm, now that I put it like that . . . I don't think Geoff Johns will be revitalising Sonar any time soon.

Dan DiDio's Diabolical Dialogue

I really wanted to enjoy last week's Phantom Stranger #0 a lot more than I did - I like the character but this new iteration has stripped the mystery of his identity away and has given him a finite number of tasks to complete. Saying that, though, it's taken him two thousand years to do the first one (the creation of the Spectre) so we should be okay for the next few years.

But the main reason I didn't enjoy it was mostly the clunky, leaden dialogue:

Really? "An uncontrollable rage"? Even "I've been angry all my life" would be better; it sounds more natural, at least to my ears. And later, once the Spectre has been created, we're treated to this:

Right . . . Spectre . . . Wrath . . . I see what you did there, Dan . . . real subtle.

I can forgive one use of the "I am . . . just a stranger" line as a sort of nod back to the old days when the guy used to say it on an almost weekly basis, but to squeeze a second one in at the end of the issue seemed to just underline how old fashioned it sounds.

I'll be sticking with this series for a while but I've a feeling I may be using this post title again.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #194

Uh-huh, that sounds believable.

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.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #130

The Spectre gets all snitty with Zatanna

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? #117

Just how does Batman prepare for every eventuality?

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #111

Is it wrong to find a centuries old immortal blue man throwing up funny?

Christmas and New Year delayed me getting hold of my comics hence the bumper delivery today!

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.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #26

After a month off due to a hectic work schedule, the Cocktail post returns as I run through what I've bought this week.  And what a bumper week to return, as well, as there seemed to be shed-loads of comics.

Ah, Ambush Bug, the DCU is a better place for having you in it.  Ambush Bug: Year None #5 continues the irreverant, nonsensical but above all funny exploits of Keith Giffen's wonderful creation as he hops from one alternate world to another, searching for . . . well . . . a job and . . . er . . . Dan Didio?! It lurches from one gag to another with little regard for plot, let alone continuity, and is all the richer for it. It'll be a shame when this finishes with the next issue but we can hope the Bug will show up somewhere in the DCU soon - hopefully with the Heckler in tow!

Booster Gold #15 picks up from #12 and now regular writer Dan Jurgens carries on Chuck Dixon's unfinished story of museum thefts and time-travel. After a brief visit to the 16th Century where Booster's sister Goldstar turns out to be the model for the Mona Lisa, they return to the present to find Rip Hunter and his lab missing, all because a knife wasn't replaced following the museum theft from several issues back. Cue more time travelling and an awkward reunion with the Elongated Man and a mysterious villain before Booster ends up stuck in what appears to be World War I.

The nastiness (and that's putting it mildly) continues in the pages of Crossed courtesy of Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows as the survivors struggle to come to terms with their new world. A simple mistake by one of their number means they're on the run once more and are quickly made to realise that the diseased Crossed are smarter than they first might appear . . . and a damn sight more disgusting as well. They come up with a novel way of spreading their disease (and yes, that's a pun) which results in another death among the survivors as they move off, heading for a safe haven. It's a tough, visceral story that makes me wonder how it's all going to end.

The Project Superpowers universe expands a little more as well with The Death-Defying 'Devil #1. The silent martial artist with the steel boomerangs gets his own series and, apparently, his own set of bad guys, one of who is dressed the same as himself but with green instead of red on his costume. I'm enjoying the new world these old characters are establishing and am looking forward to the rest of the specials spinning out of Project Superpowers.

Final Crisis #5 finally arrives and starts to tidy things up a little. The whole Green Lantern/deicide charge is brought to a close with the revelation that Granny Goodness is inhabiting Alpha-Lantern Kraken and the Guardians of the Universe charge Hal Jordan with saving the universe.  In 24 hours, no less. Poor old Dan Turpin has been subsumed and is now simply Darkseid who intends to end the entire world while Mr Miracle attempts to save it with the help of Checkmate. An assortment of heroes attack Darkseid's base in Bludhaven prompting a fight between various Shazam powered characters. Meanwhile the exiled Monitor, Nix Uotan, begins to remember things about his previous life as Libra heralds the arrival of his dark lord. It's all going very wrong for the heroes and I like it but, despite the tie-in series, it still doesn't feel like a big enough event. Something like this should have been a crossover series in the truest sense - we should have had to pick up half a dozen issues of series we don't normally buy because as it is at the moment the DCU we're seeing here isn't reflected in any of the normal monthly series. How can this be a universe-shattering event if no-one else knows it's going on?

Talking of the Final Crisis tie-ins, Final Crisis: Revelations #4 was out as well and I still think it's one of the better tie-ins, if only for the central conceit that long-time villain Vandal Savage is actually Cain, the Biblical murderer. With the use of the Spear of Destiny he manages to separate the Spectre from his mortal hose and subjugate it. The Question puts up resistance with the aid of the Radiant and Huntress but it seems to be too little, too late as Savage/Cain uses the Spectre to release the Anti-Life Equation on the world.

In what appears to be the definition of "jumping on point for new readers" new writer Andrew Kreisberg gives us all a run down of who Green Arrow is in Green Arrow/Black Canary #15. It's neatly done, as well, running us through his origin in a handful of pages before, via a flashback, we get a scene where he sweeps out the supporting cast. Ollie's son Connor, fresh from the Judd Winick written "coma and new powers" nonsense, decides to split just as Speedy decides to leave as well as her new boyfriend lives in London. All of this is sandwiched between a framing scene where Ollie and Dinah take down a low-level thug and appear to have (unknowingly) created the new Fiddler. Not a bad issue, but Kreisberg seems to think the title of the comic is still Green Arrow - where's Black Canary's origin? If it's not in the next issue, there will be words.

Justice League Of America #27 had me at a bit of a disadvantage. That nice two page spread where a whole bunch of characters are introduced? I had no idea if they were brand new or part and parcel of the whole Milestone Comics event that happened a few years ago. Still, I went with the flow and the story's shaping up nicely. Best part of the whole issue, though, was Black Canary finally standing up as the leader of the League and chewing out Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman over their secret meeting room.

More Garth Ennis goodness as he and long time collaborator return to the Punisher with Punisher: War Zone #1. It's been a while since I've seen any of Dillon's art work and it's nice to see it again; his clean lines and excellent facial expressions are a joy to see. Couple that, of course, with Ennis's writing and it's going to be no surprise that this Punisher series will be a success even if the dreadful looking film it shares a title with isn't. Chimps flinging junk, lesbians beating up men and the return of Ma Gnucci whom the Punisher killed years before all add up to the sort of story that defines entertainment, at least in my home. I think I might need some help.

Gail Simone fills the gap left by The All-New Atom's demise with her run on Secret Six as the gang try to get the Get Out Of Hell Free card across the country. As Tarantula keeps saying, the card plays on their fears and guilt and they slowly begin to turn against each other before they arrive at Las Vegas only to find that the monstrous Junior is already there, along with a whole host of super-powered mercenaries. Chief among them is Cheshire who saves the mercenaries the bother of killing the Six by having poisoned their last meal.

Finally Trinity #28 continues the whole alternate Earth storyline as the should-have-been friends of the main heroes try to set about bringing the missing Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman back to where they're needed. While that's going on, the villains of the piece are causing problems for the Society of this world by releasing villains from all sides before Tomorrow Woman arrives and attempts to help. It's still good fun that romps along at a cracking pace and while it may be unfair to compare it to Countdown, you can't help but think that this is how that series should have been handled.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #25

Another Garth Ennis title leads the Cocktail posts this week as Crossed #1 picks up the story a year after where the preview #0 left off. The world's gone to hell, an infection has ravaged the world and most of the population has become evil, depraved sons of bitches, willing to perform any and all types of atrocity. It's certainly not a happy go lucky book with little sign of the black humour that Ennis usually peppers his stories with. This is grim, horrible stuff but it's done so well you can't help but continue reading it. Comparisons to The Walking Dead will be made - a small band of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world - but the titular Crossed, the infected, aren't zombies. There's obviously some intelligence left as they go about destroying the remaining dregs of humanity despite the survivors' best attempts to continue. It's a tough read but well worth it, and the art by Jacen Burrows is gloriously hideous.

Dark Tower: Treachery #2 continues adding to the Dark Tower stories of Stephen King and introduces something that was missing from the original books: a female gunslinger. Or, at least, a young woman who wants to be a gunslinger. Rejected due to tradition, though, young Aileen is unlikely to gain that hallowed title despite her obvious proficiency with a pistol.

The big DC event of the year, Final Crisis, continues with Final Crisis: Revelations #3 with the re-born Cain - lately known as the immortal caveman Vandal Savage - seeks out the Spectre who had been the one to mark him all those years before. The heroes struggle against the people of Gotham who have succumbed to the Anti-Life equation that Darkseid unleashed at the end of Final Crisis #3; Batwoman attacks and almost kills the Question before the Spectre and Radiant arrive and seek sanctuary in a church. Joined by a few survivors, they are soon surrounded by the possessed civilians who wait for the arrival of someone. That, with no surprise, turns out out to be Cain/Savage, who arrives clutching the Spear of Destiny and demands that the Spectre face him so that Cain may have his revenge. Convinced of his powers, the Spectre appears but is more than a little surprised when Cain manages to pierce him with the Spear. Theological debates between the Spectre and the Radiant aside, this is  easily one of the best Final Crisis tie-ins and I can't wait for the next issue.

Talking of "no surprise there," Speedy and Dodger finally get together in the pages of Green Arrow/Black Canary #13 even though Speedy fronts up about her HIV positive status. It's nice to see a genuine romance blossom without Judd Winick feeling the need to make a big deal out of it; both Speedy and Dodger act realistically and while I'm no fan of his drag-a-plot-out-till-it-snaps story telling, he's done well with this. Back at chez Arrow, though, things aren't going that well with the recently revived Connor Hawke who appears to have no memory of himself and at the same time has developed some sort of regenerative ability where wounds heal up in a matter of seconds. That can't bode well.

Love is in the air elsewhere this month, specifically the pages of Green Lantern Corps #29 which really begins to explore the idea of the Star Sapphire Corps. Newlyweds Miri and Kered are heading off on their honeymoon when their ship is attacked by Mongul who raids it looking for food and when challenged almost casually kills Kered before leaving. Guy Gardner and Ice, meanwhile, attempt to find out where their relationship is going but, despite maturing over recent years, Gardner still manages to be a bit of an arse when it comes to Ice. Back at the ship, a distraught Miri plans to kill herself to be with Kered but is found by a Star Sapphire ring and becomes one of, it not the first Sapphire Corps members. Saarek - the Lantern who can talk to the dead - continues his secret mission to find the corpse of the Anti-Monitor while the scarred Guardian who sent him on that mission later has Gardner, Arisia and Sodam Yat head to Zamaron on a diplomatic mission after expressing her dislike of the Zamarons obvious attempt to emulate the Corps. There's a lot going on in this title at the moment and much of it is heading towards the Blackest Night event next year which is shaping up to be really big.

As much as I like Geoff Johns's writing, his secret origin of Hal Jordan which comes to an end in Green Lantern #35 has seemed to drag a little. Still, there's a couple of good points raised in this issue about why the buildings on Oa are all yellow and why the Guardians don't like the Lanterns to fraternise but otherwise the resolution seems a little weak for the length of the story. Still, next is the Red Lantern storyline which ties into Final Crisis.

Ah, I still miss The All New Atom which finished a few months ago, but at least I've now got my Gail Simone fix with Secret Six #2. Charged by an anonymous contact, the team band together to break Tarantula out of Alcatraz prison and escort her across the country to Gotham, knowing full well that every meta-human mercenary will be on their tails. While the breakout starts off well enough, it all goes down the pan fairly quickly and they're left trying to find a way out with a bunch of guards heading towards them. Meanwhile, the mysterious Mr. Junior comes out of his box for once and hires as many mercenaries as he can to capture Tarantula and the Six, offering an enormous bounty. And framing all this is the long-awaited fight between Catman and Batman which has been brewing ever since Simone revitalised Catman in the pages of Villains United. It's peppered with wonderful dialogue with Catman trying to work out why he can smell Mexican food and at the same time Batman attempts to help him and the Six by warning them off the Tarantula gig. This is Simone doing what she does best and I really hope her run lasts longer than The All New Atom.

With The Stand: Captain Trips #2, the adaptation of one of Stephen King's best books continues apace and while I'm enjoying it, it still has the same problem as the first issue - condensing such a huge book means cutting a lot out and it still feels a little rushed. If it's going to be done, why not do it right? But hey, that's just a fan of the book bitching about it as opposed to any complaint about the book itself which still looks gorgeous.

Trinity #19 switches focus this week, with Tarot and Gangbuster stepping up to the main story rather than being the back-up. In the new and alternate world that's been created recently, they need to find a way to bring back the heroes that they now only vaguely remember. On the way they meet a very different Alfred Pennyworth who gives them a little something to pass on to "the head of the J.S.I." - a scroll from the reing of Khufu who (notwithstanding Jim Starlin's recent retcon) was a previous incarnation of Hawkman. The world, meanwhile, struggles to remember the heroes of the trinity with a young woman becoming obsessed with drawing Wonder Woman, convinced that she was real despite the condemnation of her abusive husband. It appears she's not alone as Firestorm briefly arrives - due to him investigating the Cosmic Egg at the time of the reality warping, he still knows things shouldn't be like this.

You Don't Say?

Understatement: noun, singular:

1) a disclosure or statement that is less than complete
2) restraint or lack of emphasis, especially for ironic effect
3) Batman's remark when the Joker takes over the Spectre

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #21

Slight change here to the (recently neglected) Who'd Like A Cocktail? post. Instead of picking out a single comic, I'm going to just run through my complete week's haul - damn it, why not?

Booster Gold #12 - who knew, indeed, that Batman was such a clothes horse? The Chuck Dixon story which, in two issues, has convoluted time more than Geoff Johns' entire run continues here but doesn't conclude, even though it finishes on a definite cliff-hanger. Connected to Dixon's recent sudden departure from DC? Possibly. Either way, I have to admit to being marking time until Dan Jurgens takes over as writer.

Dark Tower: Treachery #1 - I'm a big fan of Stephen King's Dark Tower books and the adaptations/extensions to the story that Marvel have published have been excellent. As with the earlier series, the art on Treachery is simply stunning, but I find myself wondering whether the team will stick together for the entire run. At this rate, they'll be working on Dark Tower comics for the rest of their lives!

Final Crisis: Revelations #2 - something else I'm a big fan of: crossover events. This joins another bunch of issues that I really have to get off my arse and note up for The Annotated Final Crisis site but, as I've mentioned before, work keeps getting in the way. The Spectre and The Question face off (as much as The Question can) as the world goes to hell with the events of Final Crisis #3. Not having read the recent Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood series, some of the references to The Question's recent activity are lost on me but this is still a damn fine read. The Radiant, the spirit of mercy, makes her debut but what really grabbed me was the revelation of Vandal Savage's part - an excellent surprise!

Green Arrow/Black Canary #12 - a whole year in and this title keeps dragging me along, unsure of why I'm still reading it. I guess it's one of those that I'm reading out of loyalty to the characters rather than the writer. Judd Winick seems to have taken forever to get round to resolving the mystery of who shot Connor and now that it's done, I wonder if the series will find a higher gear? Full marks to Mike Norton on the art front, though.

Green Lantern Corps #28 - I like Peter Tomasi's writing, though, and his tenure on Green Lantern Corps has been a solid start but most of this issue seemed like laying groundwork for the forthcoming Blackest Night event. A Lantern who can talk to the dead and the scarred Guardian who wants the corpse of the Anti-Monitor found, but wants it done secretly is a fairly obvious signpost. Having Ice turn up early on Guy Gardner's doorstep was a nice touch; I read Justice League when their whole tentative romance started with the obnoxious Gardner simply trying to get in her blue and white spandex pants. With the more mature, but still brash, Gardner now in place, I'm interested in seeing where it's going. Of course, that last glimpse of Ice with the power battery at her feet could mean that it's not Ice after all . . .

The Stand: Captain Trips #1 - like I mentioned above, I'm a fan of Stephen King's work and, of all of them, The Stand is probably my favourite book so I was really interested to see what was happening with this. The art is excellent and the writing's spot on. My one complaint is that it seems a little rushed. The Stand is a huge book and, having read it several times, I get the feeling that they're trimming a heck of a lot off it to make the adaptation work. Which isn't to say it's bad, but it is a bit rushed.

Trinity #15 - the mystical, tarot-card driven nonsense continues once more! Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying the book, but it seems to be labouring the point a little . . . but then without the symbolism angle of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman forming a trinity, where would the book be? What I would like to know, though, is where Batman's ears have gone? That scene a few pages in where the whole Justice League are trying to work out where the bad guys are? Batman's ears are little more than stubs at the top of his head! I demand Kelley Jones go round to Mark Bagley's house and show him how to draw a damn good pair of bat-ears! There's one hell of a fight in the back-up story, though, illustrated by Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens - whose work looks gorgeous - and which ends with Hawkman about to hit something very hard!