EMPEROR AQUAMAN #15 DC COMICS
I guess there is no better time than now to address the elephant in the room. Aquaman is one of those characters (much like Donna Troy – Wonder Girl) that DC just cannot get a handle on. Yellow gloves, green gloves. Orange and green uniform, blue wavy uniforn. Two handed, hook hand that shoots off like a Batarang. Everytime someone finally gets a good idea for the King of the Seven Seas, someone else comes along a few issues later and starts bouncing us off the walls. And unfortunately, if the title changes that usually doesn’t help. Add any extras to the title, Sword of Atlantis, Rebirth, and the Others, etc. and you know that you are about to enter another loopty-loop on the Aquaman roller coatser. And the fact that this new change is based off the latest crossover disaster makes my head hurt. Writer Jeremy Adams tries to get us back to some semblence of normality but it may be too late as different psychologic aspects of Aquaman reunited to reform the Aquaman universe. Mera is back as well as Atlantis and her lost citizens. For as much as I just want to throw my hands up in the air and give up, there is something hopeful about Adams’ intro. 7 out of 10 Grahams.
ACTION COMICS #242 FACSIMILE EDITION DC COMICS
Little did I know that my weekly stop at the Doc’s Corner Stand be filled with nostalgia. And my love for the books of my childhood is a well known fact. So including in the first appearance of Brainiac was right up there. With such talents as Mort Weisinger, Otto Binder, and Al Plastino, you can’t possible go wrong. However, one of the most interesting parts of this comic is that the cover, by Curt Swan features the more modern Silver Age Brainiac while inside Brainiac has no metal skull cap, isn’t all that macho, and looks like a alien straight from Strange Adventures along with his alien monkey Koko (Holy Dr. Smith, Will!) But we do get the miniture ciity of Kandor as well. And what many readers may not understand is that back then, Action was also an anthology. And along with some one pagers featuring Little Pete and Shorty, we also get a new Tommy Tomorrow where Tommy gets demoted from a Planeteer to a space traffic cop. And a new Congo Bill story as he and sidekick Janu the Jungle Boy fight aliens in the jungle. All this for the price of a dime (at least back in the day.) And normally that would be enough for me. But with this latest batch of facsimile books, there is something off. Maybe it the size change affecting the artwork. Maybe it’s the slight changes in color of the years. But the more I stare at it, the more it seems … well … off. 8 out of 10 Grahams.
DETECTIVE COMICS #475 FACSIMILE EDITION DC COMICS
One of the most iconic Joker gimmicks created! LAUGHING FISH! And while it is impossible to take your eyes off those disgusting fish, this issue also presented us with a remarkable newer love interest for Bruce Wayne. Having first shown up five issues earlier (and popping up in Justice League of America #151!) Silver St. Cloud was not only an eyeful based on William Marshall Rogers pencils but also had that 1970’s strong yet delicate balance that she shared with other DC characters of the time like Gwen Sterling from the Spectre and Sapphire Stagg from Metamorpho. By the way, did we mention that she had already figured out that he boyfriend was Batman? Not too shabby but her future was tragicly cut short. It was nice to see her again when she was on top. 8 out of 10 Grahams.
VAMPIRESS CARMILLA #29 WARRANT PUBLISHING
The good people at Warrant keep up the classic black and white tales as told by everyone’s favorite mini-skirted vampire. And this issue, she gets to spread her wings and fill a few pages with her own story. But you still get a collection of terrible tales featuring the talents of Don Glut, Nicola Cuti, and Reno Maniquis. Learn valuable lessons like why you shouldn’t do Tana Leaves, why making the perfect woman isn’t that great of an idea, and of course, why time travel doesn’t always work out. Classic panel work done in glorious grey tones. 8 out of 10 Grahams.
DC FINEST THE FLASH THE FASTEST MAN DEAD TPB
It’s amazing how many times the Flash ‘died’ during the 1970’s. Along with guest appearances and back-up tales featuring the Golden Age Flash, Kid Flash, and the Justice Leaugue, these were some exciting but strange times for the Flash. Racing Superman, meeting his literal future in-laws in the 30th century, fighting Satan, and running into classic Golden Age sorcerer, Sargon. And, of course, featuring the whole Rogues Gallery, from Captain Boomerang to the Trickster, heck even Turtle Man shows up. Featuring many of the 52 page issues that overstuffed the newsracks of my day. 10 out of 10 Grahams.