Reviews Of Old Comics: Prez #4 (Updated)

PREZ #4

March 1974 - DC Comics

Writer: Joe Simon

Penciller: Jerry Grandenetti
Inker: Creig Flessel

Letterer: Joe Rosen

SYNOPSIS:

After returning from a state trip to the European nation of Moravia, where Prez's administration has helped build a billion-dollar canal for irrigation, Prez and Eagle Free (head of the CIA) remark on the Moravians' strange custom of wearing garlic wreaths. That night, a bat-shaped helicopter unexpectedly visits the White House, carrying the Transylvanian Ambassador, the Wolfman. The Moravian canal has drained the lakes of Transylvania. Prez refuses to destroy the project, and the Wolfman delivers a formal declaration of war on behalf of his country's leader, Count Dracula. Wolfman storms out, with no one realizing that he has left his coffin-shaped briefcase behind.

Prez calls a cabinet meeting only to be frustrated by a lack of intelligence on the area other than the superstitions of legend. The next night sees Wolfman's briefcase open to reveal a vampire with no legs strapped to a small cart for mobility, wearing blocks on his hands to ease his propulsion. Dracula's attempt to turn the sleeping Prez into one of the living dead is thwarted by Eagle Free, who fights off the vampire with an Indian hooked cross resembling a swastika.

The Monrovian Ambassador reveals that Dracula plans to release thousands of rabid bats over America. Prez goes before Congress for a declaration of War against Transylvania, but Congress doesn't believe him and launches an investigation. Eagle Free concocts a final solution against the Transylvanian plane (their only plane), using birds on a suicide mission to dive into the plane's jet engines and cause it to crash, apparently killing Wolfman and Dracula, who were at the controls of the jet.

REVIEW:

This comic is just goofy fun. For the time it exists, it's wacky enough to make the various elements work in the genre of the story. As a reader, you cannot take this comic seriously. The absolute best part of this particular issue is its timelessness. If a young cartoonist produced something like this today, without DC having already done Prez, we'd all be talking about it. The fact that this was written by one of the co-creators of Captain America is a testament to the talent behind that creation and the range that is possible in comics, even with just one creator.

The art conveys the story very well, and for its weaknesses, it's still strong enough to add to the story's bizarre nature without distracting from it. Nothing about this comic goes into an overly wacky area that would be so easy with this issue. The creators play it completely straight.

This series should be on the reading list for alternative comic creators. It reads like something that could have been published by any independent publisher or even self-published.

FINAL RATING: 8 (out of a possible 10)

NOTES:

This issue was part of 2016's collection Prez: The First Teen President. Finding a copy of the individual issue may prove tricky, given that demand escalated after the character's appearance in Sandman. Now everybody that wants a copy most likely has one. You won't find a Near-Mint condition copy in any dollar bins, but you should be able to get a reading copy for not much more than the price of a new comic today. Graded copies in high condition can cost hundreds of dollars.

Digitally, it is available on DC Universe Unlimited. It's included in the initial subscription price as of this writing. The entire series is there, as well as Supergirl #10, which features Supergirl helping Prez.

Reviews Of Old Comics: Batman And The Outsiders #22

 

 

It's not necessarily out of place when Batman goes into cosmic or science fiction stories because sometimes the adventure is entertaining. It shows the strengths of the character. In the Justice League, we often see the Dark Knight in situations he should not be suited for. Batman always manages to show himself to be very adaptable.

With Batman and the Outsiders, Batman gave up the more fantastic adventures for those more grounded. There were still threats that should have been outside of his skill set. Writer Mike W. Barr proved how adaptable Batman is. Even in the more grounded 1980s, Batman could be taken into space and fight other-dimensional beings. With Batman and the Outsiders #22, Alan Davis joined as an artist who excelled at telling these stories, Alan Davis. In that issue, readers saw more than the team facing a cosmic threat illustrated by a new artist. We saw the beginnings of the rift between Batman and the Outsiders.

Batman And The Outsiders #22

June 1985 - DC Comics

Writer: Mike W. Barr
Artist: Alan Davis
Colorist: Adrienne Roy
Letterer: John Workman

Synopsis:

Batman and the Outsiders teleport onto the abandoned and wrecked Justice League satellite. Batman is disgusted and reminiscent of the fall of the Justice League of America. He calls the Outsiders his weapon to bring justice to the world, which unnerves Metamorpho and Black Lightning. They move to use the equipment still on the satellite to get answers to Halo's origins.

Halo was Violet Harper, a criminal killer murdered in Markovia by the assassin Syonide. She still has no memory of that former life. Black Lightning charges the generators on the satellite. Dr. Jace uses the equipment in the JLA laboratory to stimulate her repressed memories.

Halo tells the Outsiders she was one of the Aurakles, energy beings almost as old as the universe. She came to be interested in life, and while witnessing the killing of Violet Harper, she found herself possessing the human body but losing all memory of what she was. The Outsiders find it hard to believe, but the Aurakles use the restored memories to locate Halo and emerge in the satellite. 

The Aurakles want to Halo back to their realm and restore their unity. Batman refuses, and a battle commences. Dr. Jace activates the vertigo rays in the satellite. Seeing that the Aurakles can't handle the energy attack well, Black Lightning electrifies Katana's sword. When she throws it through one of the Aurakles, it destroys the energy being. This angers the Aurakles, who disable the vertigo ray device and then attack the Outsiders directly, with mixed results. They then deal with the Outsiders by blowing a hole in the satellite.

Everyone but Batman and Metamorpho is blown out into space. Batman orders Metamorpho to seal the breach, so Geo-Force can bring the others back to the safety of the satellite. Geo-Force uses the few seconds a person can survive in the vacuum of space and gets his teammates to the hole that Metamorpho is plugging. Metamorpho acts as an airlock, allowing them to return to a breathable atmosphere. The Aurakles disappear with Halo, and the Outsiders swear to find Halo but wonder how they will do so.

Review:

Batman stories are sometimes the best when he's out of his element. A prime example is Batman's role in JLA: New World Order, where he recognizes the White Martians. When placed against foes beyond his power level, Batman is forced to rely upon his intelligence and cunning. In this story, Batman is shown to be very adaptable. He also knows the abilities of his team very well. This makes Batman a good team leader. It also makes Batman a more compelling character because of what bizarre situations a writer can put him in to get himself out of. 

Alan Davis is a great artist. This is relatively early in his career, so the figures are stiffer than in his later work. The characters seem bloated at times, but overall, they're solid. The storytelling is solid, too. A fun, cartoony element is added when Metamorpho becomes the airlock for the JLA Satellite. The action scene with the Aurakles is a little sparse in the scenery, but when the characters fight glowing circles, the scarcity is understandable. The drawback is the wrecked and abandoned JLA Satellite isn't fully explored.

The colors don't make full use of possibility, with broad spaces of flat color, only given variation by Alan Davis's line work. It works well with the Aurakles, and the abstract swirls and patches of color make Halo's Aurakle self stand out as unique, helping the story.

Final Rating: 8.0 (out of 10)

Notes:

This comic was collected in 2017's Batman and the Outsiders, Vol. 2. This comic is available digitally on DC Universe Infinite and for purchase on Amazon Kindle. The DC Universe version is better, as it is browsable panel by panel and is included in the subscription price. Currently, a physical copy fetches a few dollars for a near-mint copy.

Reviews Of Old Comics: Sensational She-Hulk #31 (updated)

This is the ongoing story of recapturing that feeling by reading unread comics. Perhaps they live in some long-neglected long box in the spare room. Maybe they are discovered at the bottom of that last box unpacked since that last move two years ago, and perhaps they're just waiting in some comic shop's back stock waiting for someone to discover them the next time they're dragged to some mini-convention in a hotel ballroom looking to score some quick cash with cheap back issues. Sometimes they'll be gems, and sometimes the memory is fonder than the reality, but the goal is to share spoiler-ridden Reviews Of Old Comics.

She-Hulk got her own title again in 1989, done by John Byrne, the writer/artist that brought new life to her character in Fantastic Four. Within a year, however, Byrne had left the book in a dispute over his artwork being redrawn. Story quality suffered until he was brought back to continue her adventures in the same vein he used when he started the book. Namely, She-Hulk knew she was in a comic book, faced heroes and villains largely forgotten because "serious" writers thought they were too stupid to be resurrected, and never took any of it too seriously.

Sensational She-Hulk #31

September 1991 - Marvel Comics

Writer/Penciller: John Byrne

Inker: Keith Williams
Color: Glynis Oliver
Letterer: Jim Novak

SYNOPSIS:

She-Hulk wakes up from the bad dream of issues 9-30 and, realizing how late it is by reading the legal text at the bottom of the first page, rushes to get ready, with a convenient white box provided by Byrne to keep the book approved by the Comics Code. She also asks him to give her the "fake McFarlane layouts" he's using in Namor and flies off to pick up Louise Mason in her flying green car for a trip to sunny Florida.

Meanwhile, a jet transporting a disgraced rock star is caught in a bad storm and tries to avoid crashing into a mountain but fails when it seems that the mountain moves to intercept them. She-Hulk and Louise hear the report and detour to investigate the mysterious moving mountain, which has vanished from the crash site. A scientist on the scene named Bob Robertson claims that it was the work of Spragg, the Living Hill.

He relates how he came across Spragg many years ago in Transylvania after he had enslaved a small village to build a machine to increase his mental powers. Spragg was an evil member of a race of alien spores that had become trapped in the forming Earth and developed the psychic abilities they used to create earthquakes. Bob Robertson was immune to Spragg's powers because of the mining helmet he was wearing and turned the machine into a rocket which sent Spragg into space. He discovered that Spragg had vaporized upon reentry into the atmosphere and became a force responsible for unexplained natural disasters.

Using a small device, Bob Robertson triggers the Spragg effect, inadvertently causing a ridge of rock to endanger a nearby town. She-Hulk drops from her flying car onto the front of the moving outcrop and places a device to stop it in its tracks. However, the sudden stop sends her plummeting into a hole in the Earth that opened up where the front of the ridge had been.

REVIEW:

There was a time when comic publishers could put out a tongue-in-cheek book. This is just after Giffen and DeMatteis's Justice League International, which returned humorous comics to the mainstream. John Byrne had fun with the tropes of the comic book medium and the superhero genre in general. In this issue alone, he pokes fun at the all-encompassing aptitude of comic-book scientists, such as an entomologist building robots, the ego of creators, and the ever-looming presence of the Comics Code Authority.

Byrne's art in this issue is probably at his peak, with very few blank backgrounds and a very believable rendering of a pre-Silver Age character like "The Living Hill." His Bob Robertson isn't as consistent as his She-Hulk or Louise Mason. Given the low number of characters with significant roles in this issue, it's not confusing. In his writing, he tends to be very verbose but doesn't fall into the trap of describing things that can be seen.

The story is a refreshing pallet cleanser after the grimmer fare of most modern comics, but a better switch between comedy and serious drama is needed. It actually detracts from a jet full of people being killed. Those distractions are probably more from Byrne's sense of storytelling, which is very fast, benefiting his art style of using large panels.

The colors, as appropriate to the time, are flat, which works very well with John Byrne's style. For an example of how bad modern colors can look on this art, just look at the cover of  Sensational She-Hulk, Vol.1 collection, which collects the issues just before this one. Modern coloring over this would still need to retain the flatness to not take away from the visuals of She-Hulk among normal-sized people. I just don't see how it could improve very much to have heavily rendered colors on this artwork.

FINAL RATING: 8 (out of a possible 10)

NOTES:

This issue was collected in 2019's Sensational She-Hulk by John Byrne Omnibus. In back issue bins, you should be able to find copies at a very reasonable price, perhaps even a bargain. For immediate satisfaction, it's available digitally as part of Marvel Unlimited. The rest of Byrne's run is also there.

Reviews Of Old Comics: Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #230

This review is inspired by an article coming up based on a rejected pitch to CBR. This issue has two stories inside, each from some of the best creators the Legion of Super-Heroes ever had. 

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #239

August 1977 - DC Comics

Writer: Paul Levitz
Pencillers: James Sherman and Mike Netzer (as Mike Nasser)
Inker: Jack Abel
Colorist: Liz Berube
Letterer: Bill Morse
Cover Art: Neal Adams

This was when Superboy's solo title became a team book featuring adventures with the Legion of Super-Heroes. At this point, it had been for around three years. Much of this was based on the strength of artists like Dave Cockrum and Mike Grell. The quality would be mixed for some time, but part of the high points would be the writing of Paul Levitz and artists like Mike Nasser and Jim Sherman.

SYNOPSIS:

"The Creature Who Conned The Legion"

The planet Remor is honoring five Legionnaires when quakes endanger the population. An alien named Sden appears and promises the quakes will return. When questioned by the Legion, he explains that a magic crystal is causing destruction to empower itself. The Legion agrees to retrieve the crystal.

After finding the crystal in a volcano, Dream Girl is skeptical that it's the cause of the quakes. The Legionnaires put the crystal in a chest. When Sden gets the chest, he causes more tremors and reveals himself as a villain. The crystal increases magical abilities, and Sden opens the container to destroy the Legionnaires.

However, when opened, flames shoot out, weakening Sden. Element Lad put a phosphorus coating around the crystal, causing the fire. Dream Girl foresaw that Sden would have used the crystal to defeat the Legion and then the sorcerer Mordru. She also noticed him avoiding Sun Boy and his fire-generating power. Sden is taken to Takron-Galtos, and Superboy takes the crystal to the 20th century.

"The Day Bouncing Boy Bounced Back"

While the Legion is burying Chemical King on Shanghalla, Bouncing Boy watches the headquarters. Since he lost his powers, he's been relegated to the Legion reserves. The intruder alarm goes off and Bouncing Boy rushes to catch the intruder. The intruder turns out to be Science Police officer Roon Dvron. While he and the former Legionnaire fight, gas and energy spheres capture both combatants. 

After waking up, Dvron says he was tasked with watching Legion headquarters while everyone was away. The Science Police didn't know the Legion reserve would have that duty. Dvron even damaged the security controls in a way that didn't recognize Bouncing Boy. Frustrated, the former Legionnaire hits the energy shield and finds that it inflates his hand like when he had his powers. Throwing himself into the energy sphere, his powers return in full, allowing him to break out. He and Dvron keep the return of Bouncing Boy a secret, and the Legion returns, none the wiser.

REVIEW:

Both stories are excellent, taking only as much space as they need to tell the stories. Paul Levitz knew how to write the Legion, breaking the team into smaller squads for specific missions. Every Legionnaire has a purpose, keeping Superboy from dominating the story.

Dream Girl really shines. At this point in Legion history, she was still discounted as mostly eye candy, with many writers not knowing how to treat her precognitive powers. Suspicious based on her visions, she takes command of the situation and proves strategic and intelligent. Within a few years, she would become an effective leader for the Legion. Looking at this story, one can see why.

James Sherman and Jack Abel's art in the first story has moments where it is sparse in the details. There are moments, especially a close-up of Dream Girl, where it becomes technically perfect. Liz Berube's colors are a fine compliment in both stories, using unconventional colors like a near-perfect cyan and straight magenta. 

Mike Netzer shows a mastery of form and likeness. Bouncing Boy is consistent, looking like a young adult carrying extra pounds. Netzer's work on Superboy and the Legion remains some of the best ever on the title from a technical point of view.

RATING: 7.0 (out of 10)

NOTES: 

Currently available online on DC Universe Infinite. It has been reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 13. A brief search online shows that a physical copy should run a few dollars. Someone can find a lower-grade copy in a bargain box, but something of this era may not be readily available in such a situation. There is a variant containing an insert for a Mark Jeweler advertisement. This is slightly more valuable than the regular edition of this issue. Completists should also know about this variation.

Reviews Of Old Comics: New Mutants #18 (Updated)

New Mutants #18 debuted a new artist on the mutant books, Bill Sienkiewicz, who had made a mark on Moon Knight and a few other books. This was a real turn, as Marvel's style was far from artsy, and the comics industry was still recovering from the heavy influence of Neal Adams. Sienkiewicz developed an art style based on illustration techniques. It showed in page layouts that set the stage for the modern age method of irregular panel shapes, overlapping images, and borderless panels.

New Mutants #18

August 1984

Writer: Chris Claremont

Artist: Bill Sienkiewicz

Colorist: Glynis Wein

Letter: Tom Orzechowski

SYNOPSIS:

We open on New Mutant team leader Dani Moonstar having a terrible nightmare of the Demon Bear that killed her parents. We then see the X-Mansion under attack by the military as a young, red-haired girl uses her powers to shield herself as she makes her way to Professor X, trying to reason with the troops telepathically only to be killed. It's revealed that these are the memories of a young woman from the future, the girl from the before, just older and looking much more ragged.

The New Mutants, except Dani and Illyana Rasputin, train in the Danger Room and prove successful, albeit with some difficulty. Illyana answers the front door to find the red-haired young woman who runs off in tears since she remembers seeing Illyana die.

In space, an alien named Warlock is on the run from his brutal father. This Interlude leads to Dani training in the Danger Room against holographic bears to the confusion of Illyana. That night Dani sets out in the snow to confront her Demon Bear, as she knows it's close. She uses her mutant power on the bear to find its deepest fear is her and finds the strength to apparently slay it with surprising ease. It's then she realizes that she made a terrible error.

Rahne wakes screaming from the rapport she shares with Dani and leads the New Mutants to the woods, where they find Dani unconscious and lying in a pool of blood.

REVIEW:

This is a beautifully drawn comic. Glynis Wein must've had a helluva time doing the coloring on this issue. Sienkiewicz made good use of black areas. Each character is unique in their depiction. Illyana is cute as a button. Cannonball is lanky and awkward, a quality no other artist since has been able to capture like Sienkiewicz did. Previously in this series, Dani was sexualized, which is disturbing, given that the character is still in her teens. Sienkiewicz managed to make her attractive and exotic without being sexual about it. The only drawback is the technology of the time, as I sit and think of what this comic would've looked like if it had been printed with today's technology and paper quality. Heck, thinking about what kind of work he's doing now, what would this book look like if today's Sienkiewicz had drawn this book.

The script is Chris Claremont at his peak, as he foreshadowed a subplot in a way that was intriguing and made time travel seem not quite so hokey as the previous times he used it. While cliché, Dani's motivation is written well enough to be believable.

FINAL RATING: 9.0 (out of a possible 10)

NOTES:

This issue has been collected twice, first in 1990, 2006, and 2018. Prices vary, but the most recent collection is 2020's New Mutants Omnibus, for those who like spending money on thick, comprehensive collections. Finding a physical copy will cost a few dollars, but twenty dollars for a raw, unslabbed copy would be too much. Fortunately, the book is available digitally on Marvel Unlimited. 

Those inspired to look for more Sienkiewicz, look for Elektra: Assassin, Stray Toasters, and even some art books collecting Sienkiewicz's work.

Reviews Of Old Comics: John Byrne's Next Men #6 (Updated)

 

John Byrne influenced a generation of comic book artists. In the 1990s, after bouncing between Marvel and DC for over a decade, he turned a proposal for Marvel's 2099 line into 2112, a graphic novel that became the basis for Next Men. This was the issue that tied those two together because after reading 2112 and John Byrne's Next Men #0-5, it was not apparent that they were linked in any way except that both had a character named Sathanas, which could or could not be the same. They certainly didn't look alike. Then this issue was published.

JOHN BYRNE'S NEXT MEN #6

July 1992 - Dark Horse Comics

Story and Art: John Byrne

Colorist: Matt Webb

SYNOPSIS:

In an Antarctic research station, an earthquake rocks four scientists who quickly deduce it came from an explosion 30 miles away. They investigate to discover around a hundred mangled, mutilated, and not-quite-human bodies at the site. One of them is alive, and it quickly attacks the group draining each member's life force to save itself. Recognizing one of the scientists as Fleming Jorgenson, the creature, horribly injured, relishes in that the year is 1955.

Cut to the United States and the home of Congressman Aldus Hilltop, who is hosting Dr. Jorgenson, who returned from an apparent explosion of the research station that killed all other scientists there. Aldus Hilltop places his political career above all else. Jorgenson has had Hilltop help retrieve a case from Antarctica in the most confusing and complicated way possible. Inside the crate is the creature he discovered in Antarctica. Named Sathanas, the being is an energy vampire that awakes and brings Hilltop into his grand plan with the promise of power.

Hilltop starts a program with Jorgensen while providing Sathanas with young women to feed off, including Hilltop's own young wife. They are undetected because their corpses resemble old women after Sathanas feeds off them. Jorgensen and Hilltop's program buys infants from teen mothers to mutate into deadly and powerful soldiers. Jorgensen disagrees with the military direction of the project that he and Hilltop have directed under Sathanas's instructions, using historical knowledge to shepherd the project around the chaos of many historic administrations. When Jorgensen makes a veiled threat to give the secrets to another government, he dies in a car accident, which Hilltop had nothing to do with, to the surprise of those around him.

The subconscious education network the test subjects are hooked to has developed a "feedback" that has the test subjects seemingly talking to each other and living in an imaginary reality while training for a life as soldiers. When asked about it, Sathanas confesses that not only will the project produce soldiers, but that they will be well educated and well rounded. He assures Hilltop that in twenty years, the project will succeed, and Hilltop will be President of the United States, confessing that what Hilltop thinks is the future is all in the past for Sathanas.

REVIEW:

This issue is the only one of this series to stand alone. One of the challenges of this series was that John Byrne was telling a larger story. However, this story gives the reader a complete sense of the level of villains the Next Men will face. Sathanas is a patient schemer, willing to sit behind the scenes for the larger plan to unfold. If there is one fault to the story, it covers so long a period that it seems a bit jumpy. 

Hilltop is so centered on his self-interests that his methods can only be described as Machiavellian. At one point, he exhibits racial prejudice, which is one extra thing that's unnecessary to establish Hilltop's evil nature. He has already fed at least two wives/lovers to Sathanas and manipulated a eugenics program that would make the Nazis envious. Later in the series, Byrne would add other elements to Hilltop's evil nature, but there is enough here to let the reader know that Aldus Hilltop does not have a redeemable bone in his body. 

John Byrne's art is sometimes sketchy and betrayed by the colors from a more primitive computerized coloring process. One cannot fault the craftsmanship in Byrne's ability to repeatedly draw the same character, making them instantly recognizable even though they age by decades. Aldus Hilltop at the end of the book is the same Aldus Hilltop from the beginning, but with all the attributes that come with age. Byrne's layouts are easy to follow. Even using relatively large panels, he manages to tell a lot of information here. The appeal of John Byrne's art style is a personal preference, but one can't find fault in the merits of craftsmanship.

FINAL RATING: 7.5 (out of a possible 10)

NOTES:

This issue has been collected in the trade paperbacks published by Dark Horse, and it should be relatively easy to locate a copy of either the single issue or the trade paperback. IDW also published a Next Men Omnibus that reprinted this story in a larger format. As an individual back issue, the 1990s had print runs on even the most marginal books that were larger than today's average print run of X-Men. Do not be surprised if you can pick up a copy of this in a bargain bin. Digitally, it can be read on Amazon's Kindle reader, but the quality may suffer for the format.

Reviews Of Old Comics: Unity #0 (Updated)

In the early 1990s, the speculation boom brought new customers into comic shops. Some professionals in the industry thought it might be a good time to create new universes to draw these new readers in, and some used purchased licenses to build those universes around.

Valiant was one of those companies. Structured around purchased Silver Age Gold Key characters Solar, Man of the Atom and Magnus, Robot Fighter, Jim Shooter directed the construction of a universe complete with new characters, brought in creators like Barry Windsor-Smith and Dave Lapham, and engaged readers on a level not seen in years. Valiant seemed like it might survive the eventual bursting of the speculation bubble, but it was not to be.

However, for one bright, shining moment, it looked very spectacular. Unity arrived at just that moment when Valiant tried to ultimate gimmick in getting new readers to try out their crossover. They gave it away for free.

UNITY #0

August 1992 - Valiant Comics

Writer: Jim Shooter
Penciller: Barry Windsor-Smith

Inker: Bob Layton

Colorists: Janet Jackson, Maurice Fontenot, and Jorge González 

Letterer: Jade Moede

SYNOPSIS:

Above Chicago, Illinois, a naked Erica Pierce falls from the sky, unhurt and exhibiting strange powers. Months later, Solar and the Geomancer Geoff are investigating her death. Solar explains that Erica gained similar powers to him in the same nuclear accident. He assumes that she was physically abused by her husband and killed him, then herself. The inanimate objects in the house tell Geoff that Erica was killed by another Erica Pierce, who kidnapped Erica's son. Geoff deduces that Erica Pierce is the fabled demon that will destroy everything.

Solar takes Geoff to a lost land with both dinosaurs and future technology. Almost immediately attacked by robots, some disguised as dinosaurs, Solar decides to send Geoff back for his safety. Geoff insists on bringing back help from Gilad, the Eternal Warrior. Using Solar's detached hand, Geoff returns to Earth.

Unable to reach Gilad on a pay phone, Geoff wills Solar's hand to find other people that can help, returning later that night with the Harbinger renegades and Aric, possessor of the alien X-O Manowar armor. The pay phone rings, and it's Gilad. Using Solar's hand, Geoff teleports the Eternal Warrior to his location. Gilad then uses the power in Solar's hand to recruit his brother Aram and his young companion, Archer.

With help recruited, Geoff and the others return to the lost land, where Solar has met up with Magnus, Rai, and a future Gilad. Witnessing this from afar, Erica Pierce and the dead Erica's son Albert send a massive force against the heroes in the first step she must take towards Unity.

REVIEW:

Jim Shooter started crafting a true crossover in the style of Secret Wars. He makes good use of a hero with almost limitless power and gives us an equally powerful villain with none of the moral restraint. The story doesn't give us a complete sense of how crazy and depraved she becomes pursuing that goal, saving it for some of the crossover comics to explain. That is the flaw in this issue, but the strength in it is the first chapter of a larger story. After reading this story, you'll likely be inclined to read the rest of the story.

The art is by Barry Windsor-Smith, yet it's colored at the beginning of comic books using computer coloring, so not much modeling is done with his forms. That's for the best because Barry Windsor-Smith's art needs to be the focal point, and adding a ton of variance in a pair of pants takes doesn't add anything to great art. Only a select group of artists get that leeway since most comic book artists usually benefit from a good colorist.

As a whole, the art is great, but it gets hurt a couple of times by the mundane nature of some scenes. The story is very quick paced and it seems we miss a huge chunk in the middle while Geoff is fetching the Harbinger kids and X-O Manowar. All in all, though, this is the way to build a cohesive universe with a single crossover. It's quite possibly, one of the best company-wide crossovers of the 1990s.

FINAL RATING: 8.5 (out of a possible 10)

NOTES:

Unity has been collected, but those collections are out of print. In back issue bins, you should be able to find copies at a very reasonable price. The other chapters in the crossover might be hard to find. Collecting the entire story might take a while.

Reviews Of Old Comics: Hansi, The Girl Who Loved The Swastika (Updated)

Hansi, the Girl Who Loved The Swastika

February 1994 - Spire Christian Comics

Story and art: Al Hartley

Lettering: Bill Yoshida

The trick about talking about Religiously-themed comics is doing so without inserting personal feelings about said religion into the commentary. Hansi was published in 1976 by Spire Christian Comics, who produced a series of Christian-themed comics featuring Archie. It is the biographical story of Maria Anne Hirschmann. Hansi is an anagram for her ministry, meaning Helping America to a New Spirit and Insight. So yes, this comic is primarily propaganda for her ministry. Many people who know about this comic may not have realized that because it's not blatant propaganda.

SYNOPSIS:

Hansi is a young girl living in the Sudetenland in 1938 when the Nazis invaded and gave her books to read. She is thrilled by this because the Bible was the only book she was allowed to read while growing up. She wins a contest to go to a Hitler Youth Training Camp and says goodbye to her family and home.

In the camp, Hansi becomes enthralled by the message of the Third Reich, no matter what may happen to shake that belief. She also falls in love with Rudy, a young German soldier with whom she corresponded before meeting in person. He proposed marriage immediately, but his wealthy parents disapproved, so Hansi urged Rudy to forget her.

When the war takes a turn for the worse against the Germans, Hansi stands firm, even denouncing the pleas of besieged soldiers for Bibles to be sent to the front line. After Hitler commits suicide, Hansi is taken to a Russian labor camp. Submitted to abuse at the hands of the soldiers, Hansi and many of the other girls escape into West Germany, where Americans are in control but are slightly better with female prisoners. Hansi is suspicious but quickly realizes that the Americans are nowhere near the monsters that their Russian allies are. After giving her clean clothes, warm food, and a place to rest, they take her to the Red Cross.

There she becomes a teacher and discovers that Rudy was thought dead in the war but is alive and still in love with Hansi. Unfortunately, after getting married, they find something missing in their marriage. Rudy brings home a bible, and the two become good Christians and eventually immigrate to America. There, Hansi sees a country that has lost any sense of purpose and reason. Hansi is inspired to open her home to troubled kids and introduce them to Christ, thereby changing their lives. She and Rudy broaden their ministry to prisons, finding continued success and fulfilling their purpose in life.

REVIEW:

Again, the problem comes from not reviewing this without personal bias. As a product of its time, Hansi uses some broad strokes to paint groups of people. The Russians are portrayed as rapists (without directly referring to rape) and monsters. The Americans are all presented as Christians. Once in America, they meet no conflict, as Americans are just lost and awaiting ministry to introduce them to Christ.

The story is brief in parts, a problem of telling a life story in just over 30 pages. The plot is consistent from beginning to end, and to the credit, Hansi is a flawed person who only becomes idealized by her salvation, which she refuses numerous times. One can appreciate the character growth, although it is unbelievable it was like this, as they never really meet with resistance to their ministry.

The art by Al Hartley is basic but consistent. The colors are too bright in the places where the story is dark. When stated that Hansi is thin, Hartley fails to draw her as skinny. The clothes are not depicted as dirty or damaged. Hansi’s appearance changes very little throughout the story, despite the passage of at least twenty years. There are moments where Hartley takes the opportunity to use page layout to his advantage. He also uses some good illustrative techniques to convey many things at once.

It still could be much better, but this book is about drawing attention to the HANSI ministry. Over time, that appeal has become lost, becoming a joke among comic fans. The shame is that the comic has a purpose and does it well. As a comic book, it falls into mediocrity.

FINAL RATING: 6.0 (out of a possible 10)

NOTES:

To the best of my knowledge, this comic has not been collected. Finding a copy will be difficult. If priced according to the condition, it might get expensive. There are two versions, one with a 39-cent price and another with a 49-cent price. The 49-cent version warrants a higher price. It cannot be found online through conventional means, but some hunting can track it down, albeit in varying quality. 

Oh, Never Mind...

With the news that Legion of Super-Heroes will be cancelled, apparently with no plans to continue elsewhere, I've been prompted to once again reread some of my favorite Legion stories, and being the natural critic that I am, I'm reviving Reviews of Old Comics to chronicle them. Eventually there will be a link in the sidebar to get to these quickly, but for now just click the Tags for more. We're starting with the first one of a long run that I own, so as to not have to go shopping for issues. Also, a couple of these are already reviewed making it easier to get some continuity going.

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #298

April 1983

 A lot of the things that happen in this issue get brought back for future storylines including one for the end of the Legion's seventh series. There's also a preview of Amethyst, which won't be part of this review but is an excellent addition to this issue as it's a complete, albeit open-ended story awesomely illustrated by Ernie Colon.

SYNOPSIS:

A Legion team is investigating a remote asteroid mine because of reports of trouble. The United Planets consul that contacted them is dead. Seizing the consul'd coffin, Wildfire takes it back to their cruiser where the rest of the team, consisting of Dawnstar, Blok, White Witch and Invisible Kid begin the investigation.

Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl arrive on Medicus One and get the runaround from a receptionist that has trouble understanding their request. They get through to her and visit a physician substituting for regular Legion doctor Gym'll.

Meanwhile, Duplicate Boy, one of the Heroes of Lallor, arrives at Earth seriously mad at Colossal Boy and tracks him to a Himalayan resort where he's enjoying a romantic vacation with Shrinking Violet, which explains Duplicate Boy's anger since last he knew she was his girlfriend.

Back on the asteroid, White Witch's spell reveals, in a very graphic (to the characters) that the Consul was indeed murdered. Wildfire and Blok go into the mine to investigate.While in the tunnels a loud BOOM nearly causes a collapse which Wildfire helps prevent by leaving his containment suit. Afterwards the miners are very little cooperation in directing to the source of the explosion that nearly collapsed the tunnels, but eventually point the way.

At Legion HQ, Element Lad and Science Police officer Shvaughn Erin receive a call from SP Chief Zendak that Colossal Boy is being attacked in the Himalayas.Ultra Boy, using his prerogative as the new Deputy Leader speeds ahead of the rest of the rescue team to find Duplicate Boy and Colossal Boy slugging it out as giants. He tunnels underground and trips up Duplicate Boy, saving Colossal Boy.

Back on the mining asteroid, Invisible Kid and Dawnstar have joined Wildfire and Blok in their investigation. They discover that behind the explosions and murder is a Khund warrior, Karlak who was disgraced in the challenge courts on Khundia when Legionnaires invaded and used their powers against him. He's upgraded with cybernetics and established a challenge court here in order to get revenge against the Legionnaires. Wildfire goes nuts when he hurts Dawnstar and flies right into having his containment suit blown apartand his energy absorbed. When Blok hurts him, he teleports out. Invisible Kid also vanishes, not just turning invisible, as he remarks he saw something when Wildfire was absorbed by Karlak.

Back in the Himalayas, Duplicate Boy gives up and apologizes for the damage he caused. He loved Shrinking Violet but now realizes that she's "not the Shrinking Violet" he fell in love with. He flies off, and everyone goes back on their way. Shvaughn and Element Lad both recognize that Shrinking Violet had an odd reaction to Duplicate Boy, actually looking afraid.

Elsewhere RJ Brande and his son, Chameleon Boy discuss the Legionnaire losing his powers, similar to how his father lost his from fever, but that Chameleon Boy wants to return to Durla to get his powers back.

REVIEW:

At first glance this is a filler issue, with a lead into an Invisible Kid/Wildfire adventure next issue, but it seems that not too much of importance seems to occur. Paul Levitz in this period was good about juggling subplots and here he is setting up a few storylines that would culminate in the coming months. The big one is the Shrinking Violet story, which came to a head in one of the best comic books I have ever read.

Keith Giffen's art is consistent but hasn't gotten to a peak of its style at this point. He does convey that this is the future and not just space, and this is the period that aliens in Legion stories looked like aliens, and a lot of that credit goes to Keith Giffen, even though he wasn't the first. He does have a little trouble making characters with similar hairstyles look unique.

The colors are ambitious, given that this is a pre-computer time, and Carl Gafford helps illustrate the story, carrying the burden a couple of times to indicate Invisible Kid and convey a sunset in the Himalayas. His variations on the last page are excellent in setting the mood of a gazillionaire's eaborate remote retreat and building to a crescendo of determination.

NOTES:
I don't believe that this issue has been collected anywhere yet, and it may be a little difficult to pick up for a bargain. It isn't going to be too expensive, though, as there are no major events that would spark a frenzy among comic collectors.

FINAL RATING: 7 (out of a possible 10)

The art is good but not fantastic. This issue seems to build up to a lot of bigger things, even without already knowing where the storylines are going. It doesn't seem like enough emotional weight is given to Wildfire's apparent death, even though Blok has a monologue ending the scene. This series would get better, but it was building from the plateau of the Great Darkness Saga

"Give Me A Needle And I Could Make It Work"

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #54

February 1994

I've made it no secret that I'm a fan of the Legion of Super-Heroes. My absolute favorite incarnation has to the Giffen/Bierbaums era also known as the "Five Years Later" Legion. After they blew up the Earth, the Bierbaums left the writing chores up to colorist Tom McCraw and there seemed to be a struggle to find a direction for the Legion. The idea struck someone to put the team through some major challenges and put them on the run.

SYNOPSIS:

The Legion has just defeated Glorith, but at significant cost. Celeste Rockfish has apparently been aged to the point of death, Brainiac 5 has been advanced to a point where his body is riddled with age. Devlyn O'Ryan and Mysa have been reduced in age to teens, and Kent Shakespeare is a child. Jo is raving mad because he's learned that his lost love Tinya is still alive, displaced somewhere in time by Glorith. When Celeste's body vanishes, replaced by a green energy body. Brainiac 5 suggests that the team goes to Quarantine for tests on their changed bodies.

On Quarantine, we learn that for the most part the changes made by Glorith are not harmful, although Devlin and Celeste have trouble adjusting to their new forms. Celeste's new form is the result of her body merging with the Green Lantern energy years ago, and now that Glorith has destroyed her body, that energy is no longer restricted by spending most of its power just to keep Celeste alive. Brainiac 5 is now dependent upon an exoskeleton to remain mobile, but he needs to return for his files at the Legion HQ on Talus. They leave Devlin and Kent behind. Jo wants to go back in time and look for Tinya, Wildfire wants to leave as well for his own personal reasons, and while Rokk and Brainy can't convince them otherwise, they do welcome Spider-Girl to the team, as appreciation for her help.

Rokk's wife and child have been brought to Winath by Garth Ranzz signalling some troubles the Legion is having with the Science Police. When the team get to Talus, they find it guarded by the SP's and the newly enlisted Subs waiting to arrest the Legion for conspiracy against the United Planets. In the battle that follows, they find themselves captured, being taken off guard by the Subs and their new members.

Former Earth President and Legion member Jacques Froccart protests the Legion's innocence despite holos showing the Legion aiding the Khunds. Using his invisibility he discovers that Universo is behind the charges in a plot to take over New Earth. He assists the Legion in escaping while he works to clear the Legion of the charges.  The Legion escape with the help of Loomis, who has operated as their mechanic on Talus, although Violet seems to be taking charge and giving orders during the escape.

After being safely away from Webers World, Rokk argues with Vi and gives leadership over to her. She decides to use one of Jo's hideouts on Rimbor as a base. Vi orders everyone to come up with new uniforms and identities, using what they have on hand.

After arriving on Rimbor, Laurel and Mysa fence unneeded supplies to gain credits, but are getting the short end of negotiations until Mysa uses a little sex appeal to get a better deal. As the Legion finish off their new costumes, Spider-Girl returns hurt badly  and informing them that she and Jo have been attacked.

REVIEW:

This was one of those transitional issues of the Legion that took the team in a different direction. With only minimal exception, this has been done to boost sales. Usually it doesn't work.  I'm unapologetic in my love for Giffen's "five years later" Legion, and I find this new direction just a punishment.

Tom McCraw does an adequate job of writing the Legion, and he keeps the voices pretty much the same, with the exception of Mysa and Rokk. Rokk gets explained in later issues, but Mysa never does. The concept of the Legion being framed as traitors is not a new one, and I sigh at the lack of originality in it. Universo's motivation doesn't make sense in that he was practically the hero that masterminded Earth's liberation. If  his desire was to take control of New Earth, he had every opportunity to do so. The new uniforms we see in the story are slight, but the cover does feature them prominently, in a nod to the cover of Giant-Size X-Men #1.

Which transitions me to the art. Stuart Immonen is, in my opinion one of the best comic book artists around today. His style in these early days was very naturalistic, with an excellent use of black in his composition. The colors are adequate for the time, albeit a bit flat and some cutting to denote shading would have helped Immonen's artwork immeasurably. The costume designs are for the most part, forgettable. Wildfire's looks like a bad flame job that you give a car. Laurel's actually reminds me of the cape that Laurel Kent used to use to cover up with around the dorms at Legion academy way back in LOSH #304. it lacks something to make it stand out as Laurel, though. I really like Timber Wolf's outfit, as he really doesn't require a whole lot to discern his personality and identity. Brainiac 5 is the other standout for me, since Brainy has always been rooted to wearing coveralls instead of a formal costume. I can completely do without Ayla and Vi's costumes, though. I do question the logic behind Violet's choice. If the point is to conceal their identities, why isn't she wearing a disguise?

NOTES:
This issue has not been collected to the best of my knowledge. Do not be surprised if you can pick up a copy of this in a bargain bin as most fans completely write off this version of the Legion, as DC practically has.

FINAL RATING: 6.0 (out of a possible 10)

Without Stuart Immonen's art, this would score much lower. If I were reviewing this book as it was a half year later, it would most certainly be almost as low as that Spider-Woman issue I reviewed.

Reviews Of Old Comics: Avengers #255

Avengers #255

May 1985 - Marvel Comics

Writer: Roger Stern

Penciller: John Buscema

Inker: Tom Palmer

Letterer: Jim Novak

Colorist: Christie Scheele

SYNOPSIS:

Captain Marvel Monica Rambeau arrives at Thanos's abandoned starship, Sanctuary II, seven light hours away from Earth. Nothing seems amiss, as the station has been abandoned since Thanos's defeat. Back on Earth, both the US Government and the Avengers recover from the Vision's takeover of the world's computer networks. The Vision has decided to leave the Avengers and submit fully cooperate with a government investigation of his actions. Captain Marvel reports in and the Vision admits that he sent her on a wild goose chase.

As she goes to leave, a ship docks, and two passengers, Skunge the Troll and an orange alien named Kehl attack her. The attack is called off by another passenger, a Rigellian named Gunthar. The last passenger, the apparent leader of the group, Levan apologizes. Captain Marvel stays behind because something doesn't sound right with these salvagers' story.

The Wasp returns home to learn of the Vision's takeover attempt and see him and the Scarlet Witch off, noticing that the Vision's voice has gone from flat and modulated to more human.

Meanwhile, Levan's crew acts on their duplicity, engaging Sanctuary II's star drive, temporarily nullifying Captain Marvel's powers, and abducting her millions of light years away from Earth!

REVIEW:

This is a recovery issue from a previous culmination of a subplot that took a year to develop. John Buscema returned to the Avengers with this issue and his style was a welcome departure from the previous regular artist, Al Milgrom, who could draw the most unattractive women. That's all the background you need for this review.

Roger Stern's story has to accomplish much in this issue, including recapping the previous storyline and introducing a new sub-plot. The best element that gets pointed out late in the story is how different the Vision's voice is, depicted visually by his word balloons, which use to be rectangular with rounded corners, and now are organic and oval. Roger Stern is unknowingly giving a lesson in how to convey the tone of voice here.

The art, as I've touched on, is exquisite. Captain Marvel had only briefly been drawn remotely attractive, yet despite the worst examples since her creation, John Buscema draws her as an attractive woman.

NOTES:
To my knowledge, this issue has not been collected in any trade, nor would I expect it to. This was not a very influential period in Avengers history, despite the solid creative force on it.

FINAL RATING: 7.5 (out of a possible 10)

Art-wise, it's fantastic, at least a 9, but this is a recap issue, and on its own just reaches for too much and doesn't deliver enough, albeit it does well enough to get by. For a while, this review was going to be for the issue following this one, which is much better. This was a good run for Avengers, up until the culmination of the Masters of Evil multi-issue storyline. I picked my copy up for a couple of dollars, and it should be easy enough to find at an affordable price.

I Need More Zip-a-tone!

NAMOR, THE SUB-MARINER #8

February 1990

I've got a few minutes this afternoon, so how about another review? You down with that?

Right after High School, I was big into John Byrne. It was a good time to be into John Byrne, too. He had produced Omac for the DC, West Coast Avengers, She-Hulk, Next Men and of course, Namor, the Sub-Mariner. Of course he didn't do them in that order, but those are the comics that he worked on in the late 1980s and early 1990s that just seemed to be Byrne flexing his artistic muscles. I got rid of a lot of my mainstream comics a long time ago, but just cruising bargain boxes has gotten me replacement copies of a few that I really remember fondly.

This particular comic was stashed away in an office paper box, since it's not really among my prized possessions, comic-wise. I have to admit that nostalgia is the main reason that I own this, so a lot of this review will hinge on that perspective.

As always, Spoilers abound from here. That means I'll tell you exactly what happened.

SUMMARY

In 1961, German agents, including a scientist stash away a project before the Russians seal them into the city of East Berlin. While escaping the scientist is shot, and the two agents violently get him past the US checkpoint in an effort to get him help.

Namor wakes up in a puddle of sludge on top of a skyscraper, after flying a viral agent into the heart of a Sewage based creature inadvertantly created by scientists that was threatening New York. In attempting to fly down, he finds that his ankle wings have vanished and only his strength and skill save him. Namorita escapes from a pod she'd been placed in inside the creature, and she proceeds to rescue other captives as Namor walks up. One of the scientists to survive tells that the creature was an attempt to escape funding cuts, and Namor and the authorities were misled by the creator, now killed by her creation. Phoebe Marrs then runs up and begs Namor to help her brother, who struck a horrible deal with the corporate raider known as Headhunter. he rides off with her, and seems to be falling prey to her charms.

Meanwhile, Misty Knight and Colleen Wing are shocked to see the return of Banny Rand, aka Iron Fist, who they believe to be dead. Namorita is being brought uiup to speed by Namor's allies, Caleb and Carrie Alexander, as Carrie confesses her love for Namor, which does not appear to be returned, as Namor looks to be enthralled by Phoebe Marrs.

Namor and Marrs arrive at Headhunter's offices and we learn that her agreements with businessmen come at a high price as she reveals her collection of their mounted heads on her wall!

REVIEW:

The story flows by a series of coincidences, someone walks up, someone runs up, and everything happens in the course of an afternoon. There's not really a reason for this, as time could have passed before Marrs approached Namor, with no ill effect to the story. Namor's personality is very stoic and pompous, which is the biggest trouble in centering a book on him. Byrne did seem to make it work, but Namor's thought balloons should reveal more of the trouble in dealing with his loss of flight.

The largest attribute to the art that's noticeable is the zip-a-tone. Byrne used this on Omac and after leaving Namor, on She-Hulk. He uses it for shading and the colorist Glynis Oliver adds subtle colors to accentuate them so it doesn't get terribly distracting. It's an added effect that Byrne didn't need, but took the time to add, which gives some sense at how much pride he took in his work on this book. No one can fault Byrne's anatomy or basic artistic skill. If I find fault with anything in this comic, it's in the writing.

Byrne took, in this issue, a character seen at the time as one of the more powerfuul characters in the Marvel Pantheon and gave him more limitations. At the same time, there seemed to be no pondering of the circumstances that brought about it. The dialogue seems to render the characters two-dimensional in the context of this issue. Byrne was better at writing long-term, and in an era of sub-plots, he was able to excel at that. In smaller stories, he seemed hindered.

NOTES:

Like many comics that I've reviewed, this issue has never been collected. Also like most of the comics that I've reviewed, it should be cheap, provided that you can find it. Don't pay more that two bucks for an issue, and if you do, pick one up, try to pick up a run of several issues. Byrne makes Namorita interesting.

FINAL RATING: 6(out of 10)

The story weakness really hurts this comic. If it was on par with the art, then we'd be looking at at least an 8. John Byrne comics of this era probably need to be read in a series rather than individually.