JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERGALACTIC SPECIAL #1 DC COMICS
A new variation of the Justice League. Been there, done that. In fact more than once. Green Arrow and Adam Strange on a special JL team? Anybody remember Justice League United? Yeaf,me neither cause I really wasn’t impressed with it back then. I still am not. But that’s not to say that this is a bad book. Artist Travis Moore’s visuals are quite stunning and Tamra Bonvillian’s color simply pop off the page. Writers Jadzia Axelrod and Nicole Maines do a good job of wording a story that, in typical DC fashion, is nothing more that a one-shot getting you ready for the next big thing. Even the Legion of Super-Heroes references can’t elevate this past a point. So, congrats to the creative team for a good job. And shame on DC for reusing the same formula again. And shame on us readers for going along with it. 7 out of 10 Grahams.
ZATANNA #1 DC COMICS
The one man creative team of Jamal Campbell has taken on quite the task with this new Zatanna title. With all the Realms of Magic as his canvas, the once shy but charming daughter of Golden Age mage Zatara, has been elevated to the Prime Magus. And she’s out on a little tour of the realms. This is a brief one issue story that actually flows very well and covers all the basics. Including secondary characters, previews of future storylines, and a sort of purpose in moving forward. This one is going to need a issue or two more under it’s belt before I can really judge it but it has enough to have me check out issue two. 8 out of 10 Grahams.
SWAMP THING 1989 #88 DC BLACK LABEL
The Saga of Swamp Thing title was already pretty odd and dark before it changed it’s title to just Swamp Thing with issue #39. But after the change it only got weirder. Swamp Thing began interacting with the stranger aspects of the Dc Universe. The Phantom Stranger, Deadman, the Demon were all frequent guests. Time Travel became a thing as he interacted with Enemy Ace, Tomahawk, and Sgt. Rock. But when writer Rick Veitch came up with his grand finale, DC looked at the finished issue and cancelled it. Because even in 1989, the controversy would have been a bit much. As the intemporal form of Swamp Thing floats through the multiverse, he interacts in a history as told in the Bible! And even a guest appearance by the Golden Gladiator wasn’t going to save this issue from the editorial staff. Not only that but we learn the secret origin of Etrigan the Demon. Amazingly, if you can ignore the giant rabbit hole this can turn into, this is a story that I found enjoyable. If you are interested enough to read this, I can’t begin to pretend to say if you will enjoy it or not. I did and I’m pretty sure I would have enjoyed it 37 years ago. Although, I will admit that the original cover concept art (shown here) would have been problematic to say the least. 10 out of 10 Grahams.
DC FINEST THE JOKER THE LAST HAHA TPB
Everybody knows the Joker. Fact of life. The Joker is the quintessential Batman villain. And in the 1970’s and 80’s he was everywhere. Aside from battling the Dark Knight in Batman Comics and Detective, He was popping up in the Justice League of America and the Brave and the Bold. Which are presented here. But how many of us remember that time DC gave him his own series. In May of 1975, the Clown Prince of Crime started up a 10 issue series (the final issue never saw official print but is shown here). And honestly, I really enjoyed the series fresh from the newsstand. The series was known for it’s guest stars. The Creeper, Green Arrow and Black Canary, Catwoman, Luthor, Sherlock Holmes all made appearances. And amazingly, the final unpublished issue ended on a cliffhanger as the Joker was killing various members of the Justice League! Once again, the DC Finest team has presented an amazing collection. 10 out of 10 Grahams.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #175 (1980) DC COMICS
With the passing of legendary writer Gerry Conway, we here at Doc’s Corner want to honor his work with a look back at one of his classic tales. And with his partners in crime, artists Dick Dillin and Frank McLaughlin, what better tale than a touching character story featuring the Red Tornado’s alter ego John Smith and his budding family of girlfriend Kathy Sutton and his adoptive daughter Traya. Plenty of adventure as Doctor Destiny attacks and we learn if an android can dream. With the Justice League taking a backseat, Conway kept the focus on an android trying to be human. Gerry Conway was a master storyteller and he will be missed. 10 out of 10 Grahams.