Showing posts with label Keith Giffen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Keith Giffen. Show all posts

Friday, August 18, 2023

#IReadsYou Movie Review: BLUE BEETLE

Blue Beetle (2023)

Running time:  127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)
MPA – PG-13 for sequences of action and violence, language, and some suggestive references
DIRECTOR:  Angel Manuel Soto
WRITER:  Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer (based on characters from DC Comics)
PRODUCERS:  Zev Foreman and John Rickard
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Pawel Pogorzelski (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Craig Alpert
COMPOSER:  The Haxan Cloak

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION/FAMILY

Starring:  Xolo Maridueña, Bruna Marquezine, Damien Alcazar, Adriana Barraza, Belissa Escobedo, Elpidia Carrillo, Raoul Max Trujillo, Modesto Lacen, and Harvey Guillén, Susan Sarandon, George Lopez, and  (voice) Becky G

Blue Beetle is a 2023 superhero and action-fantasy film directed by Ángel Manuel Soto.  The film is based on the DC Comics character, Blue Beetle/Jaime Reyes, that was created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner and first appeared in the comic book, Infinite Crisis #3 (cover dated: February 2006).  Blue Beetle the movie focuses on a young man who finds himself chosen to be the symbiotic host of an alien artifact that gives him a suit of armor.

Blue Beetle introduces recent college graduate, Jaime Reyes (Xolo Mariduena), who is returning to his hometown of Palmera City.  He receives a warm welcome from his family:  his father, Alberto Reyes (Damian Alcazar); his mother, Rocio Reyes (Elpidia Carrillo); his Nana (Adrian Barraza), his younger sister, Milagro (Belissa Escobedo); and his uncle, Rudy Reyes (George Lopez).  Jaime soon learns that his family will lose their home due to financial difficulties and to Alberto's poor health.  Still, Jaime is optimistic that he will quickly get a job and make enough money for his family.

Some time later, Jaime meets Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine), the daughter of Ted Kord, the currently-missing CEO OF Kord Industries.  Jenny is at odds with her aunt, Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon), the current CEO.  Jenny discovers that Victoria has dark plans for her recent discovery, an alien artifact called “the Scarab.”  Jenny steals the Scarab, and not knowing its true nature, she passes it on to Jaime.
 
As soon as Jaime touches the Scarab, it activates and attaches to him, creating a suit of armor around him.  The suit gives Jaime extraordinary powers, such as flight, super-strength, and invulnerability, but those powers are unpredictable.  Now, Jaime's family calls him a “superhero.”  However, Jaime isn't sure that he wants to be a superhero, and Victoria Kord will do whatever she has to do – including murder – to regain possession of the Scarab.

The Blue Beetle first appeared in Fox Comics' Mystery Men Comics #1 (cover dated: August 1939) and was the secret identity of a young police officer, Dan Garrett.  The second Blue Beetle first appeared in Charlton Comics' Captain Atom #83 (November 1966) and was Ted Kord, an industrialist and owner of KORD Industries.  I mention this because Dan Garrett is referenced in this film.  Also, Ted Kord, with a new origin, is a major subplot in this film, although the story is that he has been missing for years under mysterious circumstances.

However, this is Blue Beetle/Jaime Reyes' film.  He comes across as a normal young man in his early twenties.  Warner Bros. didn't even cast some muscular young android-like actor for the role.  Xolo Mariduena's body is in good shape, but he looks more like a high school kid still in physical development.  Everything about Xolo comes across as boy-next-door, which makes him more relatable to a larger segment of the audience.  After all, Jaime seems so vulnerable that even an alien suit of armor doesn't seem capable of completely protecting him.  If there is a superhero of the people – the champion next door – Xolo makes Jaime Reyes as Blue Beetle fit the role perfectly.

Like Warner Bros.'s 2019 DC Comics film, Shazam, Blue Beetle emphasizes family, and the Reyes are delightful.  George Lopez's Uncle Rudy is a scene stealer, and I'm glad the story reveals that there is so much more to him than meets the eye.  Of course, one can judge how good a family is by placing it in contrast with a problematic family, and that is the Kords.  Susan Sarandon plays the evil aunt, Victoria Kord, with relish, although she doesn't really go over the top.  The film puts Jenny Kord, smoothly played by actress Bruna Marquezine, at the center of the good family (the Reyes)-bad family (Victoria Kord) dynamic.  Which will Jenny ultimately choose?  Like Shazam, Blue Beetle shows how cool an extended or surrogate family can be, especially to someone in need.

I like what director Angel Manuel Soto does with his collaborators, cast, and crew.  Blue Beetle is an easy-going superhero film that is fun for a family audience, even with the sometimes intense action and dark plot elements.  I'm surprised that the film has as its themes, “imperialism in the name of democracy” and “militarized capitalism,” neither of which are ever portrayed as a good thing.  Uncle Rudy even calls Batman a “fascist,” which has caused a stir in some Internet circles.  This film definitely has an anti-authoritarian streak.

That aside, Blue Beetle is hugely and surprisingly entertaining, and it sparkles with humor.  By focusing on Jaime Reyes as much as it does on the Blue Beetle armor, the film gets to center on the most winning aspect of it story, family and friends.  Blue Beetle won't get the attention of bigger superhero film productions, but it has more heart than most of those other films.

[Blue Beetle has two extra scenes during the end credits.]

B+
★★★½ out of 4 stars

Friday, August 18, 2023


The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Monday, January 21, 2019

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for January 23, 2019

DC COMICS

APR180259    ABSOLUTE FLASHPOINT HC    $75.00
NOV180395    AMERICAN CARNAGE #3 (MR)    $3.99
NOV180396    AQUAMAN #44    $3.99
NOV180397    AQUAMAN #44 VAR ED    $3.99
NOV180404    BATMAN #63    $3.99
NOV180405    BATMAN #63 VAR ED    $3.99
OCT180556    BATMAN BRAVE & BOLD BRONZE AGE OMNIBUS TP VOL 02    $34.99
NOV180421    COVER #5 (OF 6) (MR)    $3.99
NOV180422    COVER #5 (OF 6) VAR ED (MR)    $3.99
NOV180424    CURSE OF BRIMSTONE ANNUAL #1    $4.99
NOV180425    DAMAGE #13    $3.99
OCT180569    DARK NIGHTS METAL TP    $19.99
NOV180445    FREEDOM FIGHTERS #2 (OF 12)    $3.99
NOV180469    JUSTICE LEAGUE #16    $3.99
NOV180470    JUSTICE LEAGUE #16 VAR ED    $3.99
OCT180596    LOBO BY KEITH GIFFEN & ALAN GRANT TP VOL 02    $24.99
NOV180478    LUCIFER #4 (MR)    $3.99
NOV180384    NAOMI #1    $3.99
NOV180385    NAOMI #1 VAR ED    $3.99
OCT180601    NIGHTWING REBIRTH DLX COLL HC BOOK 03    $34.99
NOV180483    PEARL #6 (MR)    $3.99
OCT180604    SANDMAN TP VOL 04 SEASON OF MISTS 30TH ANNIV ED (MR)    $19.99
OCT180533    SHAZAM #2    $3.99
OCT180534    SHAZAM #2 VAR ED    $3.99
NOV180493    SIDEWAYS #12    $2.99
NOV180504    TEEN TITANS #26    $3.99
NOV180505    TEEN TITANS #26 VAR ED    $3.99
NOV180503    TEEN TITANS GO #32    $2.99
NOV180515    WILD STORM #19    $3.99
NOV180516    WILD STORM #19 VAR ED    $3.99

Friday, February 2, 2018

Review: THE KAMANDI CHALLENGE #1

THE KAMANDI CHALLENGE No. 1 (OF 12)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Dan Didio; Dan Abnett
PENCILS: Keith Giffen; Dale Eaglesham
INKS: Scott Koblish; Dale Eaglesham
COLORS: Hi-Fi
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Bruce Timm
VARIANT COVER: Keith Giffen with Hi-Fi; Dale Eaglesham with Jason Wright
40pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (March 2017)

Rated “T” for Teen

Kamandi created by Jack Kirby

“The Rules” and “K -- is for 'Kill'!”

Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth was a comic book created by writer-artist Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics. The series, which ran from 1972 to 1978, starred Kamandi, a teenaged boy in a post-apocalyptic future, in which humans have been reduced back to savagery in a world ruled by intelligent, highly evolved animals.

Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth #1 (cover dated: October 1972) opens some time after a huge event called “The Great Disaster,” which wiped out human civilization.  In “Earth A.D.” (After Disaster), many animals have become humanoid, bipedal, and sentient, and also possess the power of speech. These newly intelligent animal species have equipped themselves with weapons and technology salvaged from the ruins of human civilization and are constantly at war in a struggle for territory.

The world of Kamandi returns in the new DC Comics miniseries, The Kamandi Challenge, bringing together 14 teams of writers and artists.  Each issue will end with an cliffhanger.  The next creative team will resolve that cliffhanger before creating their own, which the next creative team after them will have to resolve... and so on.

The Kamandi Challenge #1 opens with “The Rules” by the team of writer Dan DiDio and artists Keith Giffen and Scott Koblish.  In a pastoral borough, a teenage boy awakens, late for the school bus.  Rushing to school, everything seems normal until the sky cracks opens and giant talking rats attack, revealing that nothing is what he thought it was.

“K -- is for 'Kill'!” is by the second creative team of writer Dan Abnett and artist Dale Eaglesham.  The story places the boy, Kamandi, in a world full of animals that walk and talk like humans.  Specifically in “Tiger City,” our young hero is thrown into the arena of blood sport and he must survive the giant man-ape, “Tiny”

I don't follow the part of the comic book Internet that breaks news about new comic book projects, not like I used to do.  I think I need to start again because I only recently heard about The Kamandi Challenge, and after reading The Kamandi Challenge #1, I know it would have been sad to have missed this fantastic first issue.

Telling a complete story in a single comic book might seem like a lost art in these last three decades of multi-issue story arcs produced in order to be collected into trade paperbacks – sometimes called graphic novels – for the bookstore market.  However, the two creative teams in The Kamandi Challenge #1 prove that they can tell a story that seems complete – even with a cliffhanger ending – in a single issue.

DiDio-Giffen-Koblish's 12-page introduction works as a standalone story and is a nice homage to Jack Kirby's visual and graphical art style.  I also wonder if the borough, burg, town depicted in the opening chapter is an homage to the early 20th century New York City in which Jack Kirby grew up.

The Abnett-Eaglesham team ably picks up the DiDio-Giffen-Koblish cliffhanger from “The Rules” and delivers a gem in “K -- is for 'Kill'!”  Dan Abnett turns his story into a flight of fancy set in world that is part old-school, EBR-style, pulp science fiction and part Planet of the Apes.  Using powerful, muscular compositions, Dale Eaglesham delivers art and storytelling that conveys both the bizarre nature of a world ruled by humaoid animals and the threat of weapons of mass destruction in a post-apocalyptic world that does not understand these lethal relics of war from the distant past.

It's obvious, isn't it?  I really enjoyed reading The Kamandi Challenge #1.  I can't wait for the second issue and I recommend this one.  It is the fun-to-read comic book for “all-ages” that many comic book readers keep saying they want.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Monday, January 22, 2018

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for January 24, 2018

DC COMICS

NOV170221    ACTION COMICS #996    $2.99
NOV170222    ACTION COMICS #996 VAR ED    $2.99
OCT170357    AQUAMAN TP VOL 04 UNDERWORLD (REBIRTH)    $16.99
NOV170227    BATGIRL #19    $3.99
NOV170228    BATGIRL #19 VAR ED    $3.99
NOV170225    BATMAN BEYOND #16    $3.99
NOV170226    BATMAN BEYOND #16 VAR ED    $3.99
NOV178102    BATMAN LOST #1 2ND PTG METAL    $4.99
NOV178097    BATMAN THE DAWNBREAKER #1 3RD PTG METAL    $3.99
NOV178098    BATMAN THE DROWNED #1 3RD PTG METAL    $3.99
NOV178099    BATMAN THE MERCILESS #1 3RD PTG METAL    $3.99
NOV178100    BATMAN THE MURDER MACHINE #1 3RD PTG METAL    $3.99
NOV178101    BATMAN THE RED DEATH #1 4TH PTG METAL    $3.99
NOV170235    BLUE BEETLE #17    $3.99
NOV170236    BLUE BEETLE #17 VAR ED    $3.99
OCT170368    CHECKMATE BY GREG RUCKA TP VOL 02    $24.99
NOV170252    DEMON HELL IS EARTH #3 (OF 6)    $2.99
NOV170257    DETECTIVE COMICS #973    $2.99
NOV170258    DETECTIVE COMICS #973 VAR ED    $2.99
AUG170309    DOOM PATROL #10 (MR)    $3.99
AUG170310    DOOM PATROL #10 VAR ED (MR)    $3.99
NOV170212    DOOMSDAY CLOCK #3 (OF 12)    $4.99
NOV170213    DOOMSDAY CLOCK #3 (OF 12) VAR ED    $4.99
NOV170262    FLASH #39    $2.99
NOV170263    FLASH #39 VAR ED    $2.99
NOV170254    GOTHAM CITY GARAGE #8    $2.99
OCT170371    GREEN ARROW THE ARCHERS QUEST TP NEW ED    $16.99
NOV170273    HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #37    $2.99
NOV170274    HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #37 VAR ED    $2.99
NOV170281    HELLBLAZER #18    $3.99
NOV170282    HELLBLAZER #18 VAR ED    $3.99
OCT170391    HELLBLAZER TP VOL 18 THE GIFT (MR)    $29.99
NOV170385    IMAGINARY FIENDS #3 (OF 6) (MR)    $3.99
NOV170292    JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #23    $2.99
NOV170293    JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #23 VAR ED    $2.99
OCT170373    LOBO BY KEITH GIFFEN & ALAN GRANT TP VOL 01    $24.99
NOV170349    LOONEY TUNES #241    $2.99
NOV170303    NIGHTWING THE NEW ORDER #6 (OF 6)    $3.99
NOV170214    RAVEN DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS #1 (OF 12)    $3.99
NOV170215    RAVEN DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS #1 (OF 12) VAR ED    $3.99
NOV170345    RUFF & REDDY SHOW #4 (OF 6)    $3.99
NOV170346    RUFF & REDDY SHOW #4 (OF 6) VAR ED    $3.99
OCT170392    SAVAGE THINGS TP (MR)    $19.99
NOV170350    SCOOBY DOO TEAM UP #34    $2.99
NOV170312    SUICIDE SQUAD #34    $2.99
NOV170313    SUICIDE SQUAD #34 VAR ED    $2.99
AUG170343    SUPERMAN THE GOLDEN AGE OMNIBUS HC VOL 05    $125.00
NOV178103    TEEN TITANS #12 2ND PTG METAL    $3.99
NOV170320    TEEN TITANS #16    $3.99
NOV170321    TEEN TITANS #16 VAR ED    $3.99
NOV170334    WILD STORM #11    $3.99
NOV170336    WILD STORM #11 HITCH VAR ED    $3.99
NOV170335    WILD STORM #11 LEE VAR ED    $3.99
NOV170328    WONDER WOMAN #39    $2.99
NOV170329    WONDER WOMAN #39 VAR ED    $2.99

Monday, October 23, 2017

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for October 25, 2017

DC COMICS

AUG170186    ACTION COMICS #990 (OZ EFFECT)    $2.99
AUG170185    ACTION COMICS #990 LENTICULAR ED (OZ EFFECT)    $3.99
AUG170187    ACTION COMICS #990 VAR ED (OZ EFFECT)    $2.99
AUG170193    BATGIRL #16    $3.99
AUG170194    BATGIRL #16 VAR ED    $3.99
AUG170201    BATMAN BEYOND #13    $3.99
AUG170202    BATMAN BEYOND #13 VAR ED    $3.99
JUL170456    BATMAN NIGHT OF THE MONSTER MEN TP (REBIRTH)    $16.99
AUG178712    BATMAN THE DAWNBREAKER #1 METAL 2ND PTG    $3.99
AUG178713    BATMAN THE DROWNED #1 METAL 2ND PTG    $3.99
JUL170312    BATMAN THE MERCILESS #1 (METAL)    $3.99
AUG178714    BATMAN THE MERCILESS #1 METAL 2ND PTG    $3.99
AUG178665    BATMAN THE MURDER MACHINE #1 2ND PTG METAL    $3.99
AUG170205    BLUE BEETLE #14    $3.99
AUG170206    BLUE BEETLE #14 VAR ED    $3.99
AUG170272    DC HOUSE OF HORROR #1    $9.99
AUG170213    DETECTIVE COMICS #967    $2.99
AUG170214    DETECTIVE COMICS #967 VAR ED    $2.99
AUG170180    FLASH #33 METAL    $2.99
AUG170181    FLASH #33 VAR ED METAL    $2.99
AUG170277    GOTHAM CITY GARAGE #2    $2.99
AUG170221    HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #31    $2.99
AUG170222    HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #31 VAR ED    $2.99
AUG170227    HELLBLAZER #15    $3.99
AUG170228    HELLBLAZER #15 VAR ED    $3.99
JUL170459    HELLBLAZER TP VOL 02 THE SMOKELESS FIRE (REBIRTH)    $16.99
JUL170474    INJUSTICE 2 HC VOL 01    $24.99
MAY170369    JUSTICE LEAGUE MOVIE CYBORG STATUE    $150.00
AUG170235    JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #17    $2.99
AUG170236    JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #17 VAR ED    $2.99
JUL170480    JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA MIDSUMMERS NIGHMARE DLX HC    $24.99
AUG170291    KAMANDI CHALLENGE #10 (OF 12)    $3.99
AUG170292    KAMANDI CHALLENGE #10 (OF 12) VAR ED    $3.99
JUL170491    LUCIFER TP VOL 03 BLOOD IN THE STREETS (MR)    $16.99
AUG170311    MOTHER PANIC #12 (MR)    $3.99
AUG170312    MOTHER PANIC #12 VAR ED (MR)    $3.99
JUN170406    NIGHT FORCE BY WOLFMAN & COLAN COMPLETE SERIES HC    $39.99
JUL170461    NIGHTWING REBIRTH DLX COLL HC BOOK 01    $34.99
AUG170297    NIGHTWING THE NEW ORDER #3 (OF 6)    $3.99
AUG170299    RUFF & REDDY SHOW #1 (OF 6)    $3.99
AUG170300    RUFF & REDDY SHOW #1 (OF 6) VAR ED    $3.99
AUG170313    SCOOBY DOO TEAM UP #31    $2.99
AUG170247    SUICIDE SQUAD #28    $2.99
AUG170248    SUICIDE SQUAD #28 VAR ED    $2.99
JUL170464    SUPERGIRL TP VOL 02 ESCAPE FROM THE PHANTOM ZONE (REBIRTH)    $16.99
AUG170259    TEEN TITANS #13    $3.99
AUG170260    TEEN TITANS #13 VAR ED    $3.99
MAY170352    WILDSTORM A CELEBRATION OF 25 YEARS HC    $29.99
AUG170267    WONDER WOMAN #33    $2.99
AUG170268    WONDER WOMAN #33 VAR ED    $2.99

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Review: SCOOBY APOCALYPSE #1

SCOOBY APOCALYPSE No. 1
DC COMICS – @DCComic

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

PLOT/BREAKDOWNS:  Keith Giffen
DIALOGUE: J.M. DeMatteis
ARTIST: Howard Porter
COLORS: Hi-Fi
LETTERS: Nick J. Napolitano; Travis Lanham
COVER: Jim Lee with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVERS: Howard Porter with Hi-Fi;Dan Panosian; Neal Adams with Alex Sinclair; Joelle Jones with Nick Filardi; Ben Caldwell
40pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2016)

Rated “T” for “Teen”

“Waiting for the End of the World”

Based on a concept by Jim Lee; Scooby-Doo created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and Iwao Takamoto

Scooby-Doo is a media franchise that began with the animated, Saturday-morning, television series, “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” in 1969, which was produced by American animation studio, Hanna-Barbera Production.  The series featured four teenagers:  Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Norville "Shaggy" Rogers and Scooby-Doo, a talking Great Dane-ish dog.  Together, they solved mysteries involving supernatural creatures that usually turned out to be frauds.

That first series basically gave birth to numerous follow-up Scooby-Doo animated cartoon series that used the original as a pattern to one extent or another.  DC Comics recently launched a Scooby-Doo comic book that takes the characters introduced in “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” but largely reinvents the character relationships, personalities, histories, and their mission.  Entitled Scooby Apocalypse, the new comic book is based on a concept created by Jim Lee.  The comic book is written by Keith Giffen (plot) and J.M. DeMatteis (dialogue); drawn by Howard Porter; colored by Hi-Fi; and lettered by Nick J. Napolitano.

Scooby Apocalypse #1 (“Waiting for the End of the World”) finds Daphne and Fred at “The Blazing Man Festival.”  Daphne is the host of a once-popular television series, “Daphne Blake's Mysterious Mysteries.”  She hopes that an informant that she is supposed to meet at the festival will provide the lead to a story that will return the show to the big time.  Fred, her long-suffering cameraman, thinks that he and Daphne should move on to bigger things.

Nearby is Shaggy, a dog-trainer at a secret facility, and his trainee, Scooby-Doo.  A misunderstanding forces an encounter between Shaggy and Scooby and Fred and Daphne.  Now, both parties are about to hear an amazing story from Dr. Velma Dinkley who works for a secret government program, the Elysium Project.  What she tells them will change their lives.

I would not call myself a Scooby-Doo purist, but I probably am.  I am not crazy about anything that strays too far from “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” (1969-1970) and the follow-up series, “The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries” (1972-1973)  Thus, I am inclined to not like Scooby Apocalypse, and I had planned on not reading it.  However, word that some of the early issues were selling-out in various places piqued my interests.  I picked up some copies at a my local comic shop and turned to eBay for the ones I could not find there.

After reading the first ten pages, I was disgusted and even insulted, as a Scooby-Doo fan.  Then, I found myself intrigued by the goings-on inside the Project Elysium facility, and then, I bought in to this comic book.

I'd be lying if I called it great, but I really want to see where this goes.  I have the first four issues, and I think that will be enough to decide if I want to keep reading.  Honestly, I would recommend this first issue to any adult who is or was a fan of Scooby-Doo, reading it as a lark or out of curiosity.  Considering the creative team behind this, Scooby Apocalypse could be good.  The bonus story, “When Shaggy Met Scooby!” about the first meeting between fiction's greediest boy-and-his-dog combo is a novel spin on the classic animated cartoon comedy duo.

I'll review a future issue, dear reader, and I promise to keep it real, one way or the other.

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Friday, January 22, 2016

Review: WHO'S WHO Volume 1


WHO'S WHO: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE OF THE DC UNIVERSE VOL. 1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITERS: Len Wein, Marv Wolfman
PENCILS: Joe Orlando, Craig Hamilton, Carmine Infantino, Don Heck, Alex Saviuk, Scott Shaw!, Jerry Ordway, Marshall Rogers, Mike Zeck, Keith Giffen, Ernie Colón, Gil Kane, José Delbo, Howie Post, Greg Theakston, George Pérez, Chuck Patton, Steve Bissette, Jan Duursema, Eduardo Barreto, Rick Hoberg, Murphy Anderson, Curt Swan, Tod Smith
INKERS: Joe Orlando, Dick Giordano, Frank McLaughlin, Murphy Anderson, Don Heck, Scott Shaw!, Jerry Ordway, Marshall Rogers, John Beatty, Bob Oksner,  Ernie Colón, Gil Kane, Romeo Tanghal, Howie Post, Greg Theakston,  George Pérez, John Totleben, Jan Duursema, Eduardo Barreto, Rick Magyar
COLORS: Helen Visik, Shelly Eiber, Tatjana Wood, Joe Orlando, Greg Theakston
LETTERS: Todd Klein (production)
EDITORIAL: Len Wein with Marv Wolfman and Robert Greenberger
COVER: George Perez
32pp, Color, $1.00 U.S., $1.35 CAN, 45p U.K. (March 1985)

Who's Who: The Definitive Guide to the DC Universe was an encyclopedia of the characters, places, and things of the DC Universe, but it was published in a comic book format.  Created by Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, and Robert Greenberger, Who's Who began publication in 1984 one month before the release of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the 12-issue comic book series that changed the DC Universe of characters.  Who's Who ran for 26 issues, but there were updates (in 1987 and 1988) and spinoffs (including one for DC Comic's 1980s “Star Trek” comic book series).

In Who's Who, each of the characters, places, and things (for the most part) has its own page and is depicted in an illustration, pin-up, or technical drawing created by a comic book artist or a penciller/inker team.  Some of the artists are legendary comic book creators or are famous or are at least known for their association with DC Comics.  Others are comic book artists who were active working professionals in American comic books, including in independent and alternative comics, at the time of the publication of the original Who's Who.

At the recent Louisiana Comic Con (October 17 and 18th, 2015 in Lafayette, LA), I found a copy of Who's Who: The Definitive Guide to the DC Universe #1.  I once had several issues of this series, but I don't know what happened to them.  Although I actually once read some of the text, I really bought Who's Who for the illustrations.

First of all, I love the wraparound cover art by George Perez, especially the detail with “Arak: Son of Thunder” sitting on a rock outcropping.  Inside, there is also a lot to like.  I think that it is just great that the first illustration of this first issue is by the late, great Joe Orlando, a depiction of House of Secrets star/victim, “Abel.”  Seeing classic Flash artist, Carmine Infantino, draw “Abra Kadabra,” a character in Flash's “rogue gallery” is a treat.  Fans of Jerry Ordway's 1980s work for DC Comics will be happy to see his double-page spread of the cast of All-Star Squadron.

I can never say no to “Ambush Bug” drawn by Keith Giffen.  I can never say “No” to anything by legend Gil Kane, who offers a drawing of pre-Grant Morrison, “Animal-Man” and a drawing of his version of “Atom.”  I like Ernie Colón, so I was happy to see a few drawings from him, including one of “Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld.”  “Arcane” by the classic Swamp Thing art team of Steve Bissette and John Totleben is a highlight.  Classic Golden and Silver Age DC Comics artist, Murphy Anderson, offers a drawing of one of his signature characters, “Atomic Knight.”  Anderson also inked “The Atomic Skull” drawing by one of my all-time favorite artists, Curt Swan.

Greg Theakston did a good job with an “Apokolips” drawing, but I would have preferred that “Fourth World” creator, Jack Kirby, draw Apokolips for this series.  Eduardo Barreto is a fine comic book artist, but I wish that Jose Luis Garcia Lopez had drawn the Atari Force double-spread.

In the nearly three decades since Who's Who: The Definitive Guide to the DC Universe was originally published, much of its text is no longer relevant.  That is the result of DC Comics' numerous reboots and relaunches and “new directions.”  Still, this series can be of use as a reference source for writers, comics historians, and archivists, and especially for fans of DC Comics' bygone days.  Fans of classic and veteran comic book artists, of course, will want this series.  I plan on hunting down more issues.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.


Thursday, July 24, 2014

Review: BATTLE ROYALE Ultimate Edition Volume 1

BATTLE ROYALE ULTIMATE EDITON, VOL. 1
TOKYOPOP

WRITERS: Koushun Takami and Masayuki Taguchi
ARTIST: Masayuki Taguchi
TRANSLATION: Tomo Iwo with Emily Shoji
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Keith Giffen
ISBN: 978-1-4278-0753-3; hardcover (October 2007); Action; Rated “M” for “Mature-Ages 18+”
632pp, B&W, $24.99 U.S.

The Battle Royale media franchise began life as the novel, Battle Royale.  It was written by Konshun Takami and published in Japan in 1999 by publisher, Ohta Shuppan.  Some audiences know Battle Royale for the controversial 2000 Japanese film adaptation that has gained cult status in the United States.

Japanese comics creator (mangaka) Masayuki Taguchi adapted the novel into manga.  TOKYOPOP published the Battle Royale manga in English as 15 graphic novels from 2003 to 2006.  In late 2007, TOKYOPOP began collecting those graphic novels into five omnibus editions, with each omnibus reprinting three graphic novel volumes of the Battle Royale manga in one hardcover book.

In the TOKYOPOP adaptation of the original magna, Battle Royale is set in an alternate timeline in which Japan is a police state.  There, the government sanctions a television game or reality show called “The Program.”  This show pits school students against one another in a kill or be killed scenario.  And only one student can survive and win!

Battle Royale Ultimate Edition, Vol. 1 (reprinting Battle Royale Vols. 1-3) introduces readers to Class B-9th Grade at Shiroiwa Junior High School.  These 42 students (21 boys and 21 girls) are gassed during a bus trip.  They awake to find themselves marooned on an island and forced to kill one another until only one survives – the winner.  They are goaded and warned of the extreme rules of “The Program” by its ruthless and mysterious game master, Yonemi Kamon.  Collars rigged with explosives around their necks will keep the students honest.

Weapons are handed out and each student is sent out into the island alone; before long many students are turning against each other and committing the most brutal acts of murder.  Amidst the carnage, however, established friendships and love relationships take hold, while new bonds are forged.  Out of the chaos, seven figures take center stage.  The righteous Shuuya Nanahara and the gentle and caring Noriko Nakagawa join a hardened veteran of a previous stint on “The Program,” Shogo Kawada.  Hacker Shinji Mimura takes the battle against the captors to cyberspace.  Some seek an alliance with the kind-hearted kung fu master Hiroki Sugimura, while the troubled bad girl, Mitsuko Souma, and the cold, merciless Kazuo Kiriyama kill at will.

I saw the Battle Royale film before I ever read the manga, and though the film’s violence is alternately bracing and cathartic and sickening and troubling, it’s not the most disturbing film I’ve ever seen (De Palma’s Scarface, Ken Russell’s The Devils, and Larry Clark’s Kids, among others).  Still, the Battle Royale movie didn’t prepare me for how shockingly and brutally violent the Battle Royale manga is.

Film critics often attack horror movies for not having good characters; their reasoning is that if the viewers care about the characters, then, the horror of their violent murders will affect the viewers that much more.  In his adaptation of Battle Royale, manga-ka Masayuki Taguchi is exceptionally good at getting you to take these characters into your minds (if not hearts), and then making you suffer their often gruesome fates.  The idea of placing humans in situations outside of civil society and civilization and watching them turn to murderers is not new, even when the characters are all children.  But there’s nothing quite like the horror of the teen-on-teen murder (and occasional explicit sex and sexual assault) of Battle Royale.

Battle Royale Ultimate Edition Volume 1 is like a comic book version of a DVD.  It contains essays and new and previously unseen art.  This book has a weapons dossier written by Eliot R. Brown, who wrote the specifications for weapons, armor, and equipment that appeared in titles published by Marvel Comics.  Readers will like this added material as nice extras to go with the excellent manga.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.


Friday, July 11, 2014

I Reads You Review: Wally Wood’s T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1

Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS #1
DELUXE COMICS

WRITERS: Dann Thomas; Stephen Perry; Steve Englehart
PENCILS: George Perez; Keith Giffen; Dave Cockrum
INKS: Dave Cockrum; Rick Bryant
COLORS: Paty Cockrum
LETTERS: John Workman
PIN-UPS: Jerry Ordway; Steve Ditko and Greg Theakston; Stan Drake; Pat Broderick
COVER: George Perez
48pp, Color, $2.00 U.S., $2.75 CAN (November 1984)

The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents is a team of superheroes that appeared in comic books originally published by Tower Comics from 1965 to 1969.  The original T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents team was an arm of the United Nations.  Their name, T.H.U.N.D.E.R., is an acronym for “The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves.”

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents the comic book series was published for 20 issues.  Two of the most popular T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, Dynamo and NoMan, had short lived series.  Tower Comics closed, and the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents characters did not appear in new comic book stories until 1983.  For the next four or five years, five different entities published T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents comics.

One of those entities was Deluxe Comics (a division of Singer Publishing Company, Inc.).  Believing that the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents property was in the public domain, Deluxe launched its own T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents comic book series, entitled Wally Wood’s T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.  Wood was the driving creative and editorial force behind the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents:  creating the characters, writing and editing the stories, and providing much of the art, in one form or another.  Singer eventually cancelled Wally Wood’s T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents after losing a lawsuit over ownership of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents characters and concepts.

I have a soft spot for Wally Wood’s T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents because I genuinely liked the characters and Deluxe’s comic book series.  Most of all, I like this series because it introduced me to Wally Wood.  At the time I first read this series, I only knew Wood’s name through a small obituary printed in the back of Marvel Comics titles published a few months after Wood’s death in 1981.  [I don’t remember the comic book in which I first saw the obit; it may have been Marvel’s Star Wars.]

As it was in the original Tower Comics series, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. is an acronym for “The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves.”  This is a combination spy agency and international police force that deals with threats to Earth, from dictatorships to outlandish threats such as alien invasions.  The organization also helps with natural disasters.  Some agents are given mechanical devices, including what is called a “Super Suit,” that gives them limited super powers.  These agents are known as “Super Agents.”  Agents without super powers are part of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad.

Wally Wood’s T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 is a quasi-anthology comic book.  It opens with two short stories; one focuses on a Super Agent (The Raven) and the other on a potential new Super Agent who has possession of a former agent’s Super Suit (Menthor).

The first story, “Code Name: The Raven” (written by Dann Thomas and drawn by George Pérez and Dave Cockrum) finds the titular hero soaring over the sheikdom of Bahrain.  His destination is a club called “The Falcon’s Roost,” where he has an interesting encounter with the host, Abu Jahl, and a dancer known as “Phoenicia.”

In the second story, “A Change of Mind” (written by Stephen Perry and drawn by Keith Giffen and Rick Bryant), we meet Connie, the young woman who now possesses the helmet of the deceased Super Agent, Menthor.  Some part of John Janus, the original Menthor (who died early in the first T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents series), his spirit or consciousness, remains in the helmet.  Now, Janus taunts Connie as she pursues Eddie, a vicious hood who calls himself the “Prince of the Streets.”

The third story launches Wally Wood’s T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and opens with an attack on the android NoMan.  Sam Short, the “Chief” of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, calls the Super Agents and the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad to action.  He sees the attack on NoMan as an attack on the entire organization, but little does he realize how far the attackers will go and how far into the past this attack originates.

Wally Wood’s T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 is a comic book that is definitely of its time.  As a story, it reads like the kind of 1980s reboot that existed before Alan Moore’s reboots and re-imaginations of such series as Swamp Thing and Marvelman.  Once Moore’s work began to take hold of comic book readers’ imaginations, it also began to fundamentally change comic books.  Wally Wood’s T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents reads like a comic book that could have been written by the top-tier writers and writer/artists of the early to mid-1980s, such as John Byrne, Chris Claremont, Marv Wolfman, and Walter Simonson to name a few.

In that context, this comic book is still a joy to read three decades later.  Wally Wood’s T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 is quaint, but not corny.  Still, I could not help but read it and think of what someone like Warren Ellis could have done with T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents in the mid to late 1990s or even today.

The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents’ existence as an actual comic book series has been so sporadic over a 50-year period.  Thus, the concept has not endeared itself to a large enough group of readers to sustain it as a long-running series.  It is essentially stillborn, and I doubt that its admirers are large enough to even be referred to as a cult.  Nostalgia won’t sustain the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.  Still, I wonder how long Deluxe Comics’ version would have lasted had a lawsuit not ended it.

As much as I have written in this review/article about Wally Wood’s T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1, I surprisingly cannot find the words to talk about the art in this issue, from storytelling to pinups.  I have been a fan of almost every artist in this comic book, at one time or another.  I think George Perez, Keith Giffen, and especially Dave Cockrum are the standouts.

Cockrum is a quintessential superhero comic book artist because his graphic style, his compositions, and his storytelling lend themselves to comic book storytelling.  Cockrum, who passed away a decade ago, could take all the weird visual elements of superhero comics:  the costumes, settings, people, creatures, and beings and then, normalize them so that weird fantasy became soap opera with fantastic elements.  Cockrum’s storytelling is poignant and dramatic although he does not have a dazzling, showy style.

Luckily and thanks to eBay, I found Wally Wood’s T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.  I look forward to reading more, and I wish this series had had a longer run.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.



Tuesday, September 25, 2012

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for September 26 2012

DC COMICS

FEB120252 ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN SINESTRO CORPS WAR HC $99.99

JUL120194 ALL STAR WESTERN #0 $3.99

MAY120322 AMERICAN VAMPIRE HC VOL 04 (MR) $24.99

JUN120280 AMERICAN VAMPIRE TP VOL 03 (MR) $16.99

JUL120127 AQUAMAN #0 $2.99

JUL128163 BATMAN #8 2ND PTG $3.99

JUL120150 BATMAN INCORPORATED #0 $2.99

JUL120153 BATMAN INCORPORATED #0 COMBO PACK $3.99

JUL120162 BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #0 $2.99

JUL120116 BEFORE WATCHMEN OZYMANDIAS #3 (MR) $3.99

JUL120118 BEFORE WATCHMEN OZYMANDIAS #3 COMBO PACK (MR) $4.99

JUL120131 FLASH #0 $2.99

JUN120245 FLASH TP VOL 02 THE ROAD TO FLASHPOINT $14.99

JUL120141 FURY OF FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MEN #0 $2.99

JUL120185 I VAMPIRE #0 $2.99

JUL128164 JUSTICE LEAGUE #12 2ND PTG $3.99

JUL120180 JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #0 $2.99

JUN120247 LOBO PORTRAIT OF A BASTICH TP NEW PTG $19.99

JUL120204 NATIONAL COMICS ROSE AND THORN #1 $3.99

JUL120251 NEW DEADWARDIANS #7 (MR) $2.99

JUL120201 PHANTOM LADY #2 $2.99

JUL120179 RED LANTERNS #0 $2.99

JUN120283 SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING TP BOOK 02 (MR) $19.99

JUL120133 SAVAGE HAWKMAN #0 $2.99

JUN120248 SHOWCASE PRESENTS AMETHSYT TP VOL 01 $19.99

JUL120146 SUPERMAN #0 $2.99

JUL120235 SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES #5 $2.99

JUL120119 TALON #0 $2.99

JUL120197 TEEN TITANS #0 $2.99

JUL120193 VOODOO #0 $2.99

JUN120240 VOODOO TP VOL 01 WHAT LIES BENEATH $14.99

DC COMICS/DC COLLECTIBLES

JUL120272 ARKHAM ASYLUM DELUXE TITAN JOKER AF $72.95

JUN120302 BATMAN AC SER 3 CLOWN THUG A (WITH BAT) AF PI

JUN120303 BATMAN AC SER 3 CLOWN THUG B (WITH KNIFE) AF PI

JUN120299 BATMAN ARKHAM CITY SER 3 AZRAEL AF PI

JUN120298 BATMAN ARKHAM CITY SER 3 BATMAN AF PI

JUN120300 BATMAN ARKHAM CITY SER 3 PENGUIN AF PI

JUN120301 BATMAN ARKHAM CITY SER 3 RAS AL GHUL AF PI

MAY120344 BEFORE WATCHMEN RORSCHACH STATUE $149.95

MAY120347 COVER GIRLS OF THE DCU WONDER WOMAN NEW 52 STATUE $99.95

JUN120304 DC COMICS SUPER HEROES WONDER WOMAN BUST $69.95



Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The New 52 Review: O.M.A.C. #1

O.M.A.C. #1
DC COMICS

WRITERS: Keith Giffen and Dan DiDio
PENCILS: Keith Giffen
INKS: Scott Koblish
COLORS: Hi-Fi
LETTERS: Travis Lanham
32pp, Color, $2.99

OMAC is a superhero comic book created by Jack Kirby in 1974. The series was set in a near future where OMAC was a corporate nobody named Buddy Blank. An A.I. satellite called “Brother Eye” changed Buddy, via a “computer-hormonal operation done by remote control,” into the super-powered One-Man Army Corps (OMAC).

DC Comics is currently re-launching its superhero comic book line. Produced by Keith Giffen and Dan DiDio, a new O.M.A.C. series is part of that launch. O.M.A.C. #1 opens on a peaceful afternoon at the headquarters of Cadmus Industries, the corporate leader in genetic research and cutting edge medical technologies.

Jody Robbins is fretting over her boyfriend, Kevin Kho, also works at Cadmus, but is missing. Suddenly, O.M.A.C., a powerful behemoth of a creature, assaults the complex and begins tearing his way down through the lower levels. What is he seeking? And where is Kevin?

Over the course of his four-decade career, Keith Giffen has often showed the influence of Jack Kirby on his work. In O.M.A.C., Giffen blends the powerful compositions and graphic design of Kirby with his own sharp line work to create some of the best comic book art to come out of “The New 52.” Giffen captures the raw power of a creature like O.M.A.C. by depicting destruction on massive scale in panels both small and big and especially in a double-page spread that is… awesome. I think this is a book worth a second and third look.

A-

August 31st
FLASHPOINT #5
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/flashpoint-5.html
JUSTICE LEAGUE #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/justice-league-1.html

September 7th
ACTION COMICS #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/action-comics-1.html
ANIMAL MAN #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/animal-man-1.html
BATGIRL #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/batgirl-1.html
BATWING #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/batwing-1.html
DETECTIVE COMICS #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/detective-comics-1-2011.html
HAWK AND DOVE #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/hawk-dove-1.html
JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/justice-league-international-1.html
MEN OF WAR #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/men-of-war-1.html
STATIC SHOCK #1 2.99
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/static-shock-1.html
STORMWATCH #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/stormwatch-1.html
SWAMP THING #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/swamp-thing-1.html

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for March 9 2011

DC COMICS

JAN110404 ALL NEW BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #5 $2.99

JAN110280 BATGIRL #19 $2.99

JAN110271 BATMAN AND ROBIN #21 $2.99

NOV100164 BATMAN INCORPORATED #3 $2.99

JAN110279 BIRDS OF PREY #10 $2.99

JAN110296 BOOSTER GOLD #42 $2.99

JAN110421 CINDERELLA FABLES ARE FOREVER #2 (OF 6) (MR) $2.99

JAN110300 DOC SAVAGE #12 $2.99

JAN110302 DOOM PATROL #20 $2.99

NOV100227 GOTHAM CENTRAL HC VOL 04 CORRIGAN $29.99

DEC100248 GOTHAM CENTRAL TP BOOK 01 IN THE LINE OF DUTY $19.99

JUN100297 HEROES OF THE DCU BLACKEST NIGHT HAL JORDAN BUST $70.00

JAN110409 INFAMOUS #1 (OF 6) $2.99

JAN110427 IZOMBIE #11 (MR) $2.99

JAN110307 JSA ALL STARS #16 $2.99

JAN110247 JUSTICE LEAGUE GENERATION LOST #21 (BRIGHTEST DAY) $2.99

JAN110297 LEGION OF SUPER VILLAINS #1 $4.99

DEC100186 OUTSIDERS #37 (DOOMSDAY) $2.99

JAN110289 SUPERBOY #5 $2.99

JAN110313 TITANS #33 $2.99

JAN110317 VERTIGO RESURRECTED FINALS #1 (MR) $7.99

JAN110414 VICTORIAN UNDEAD II HOLMES VS DRACULA #5 (OF 5) $2.99

JAN110314 WEIRD WORLDS #3 (OF 6) $3.99

DEC100219 WONDER WOMAN #608 $2.99

APR100323 WORLD OF WARCRAFT LICH KING ARTHAS DLX FIGURE PI

DEC100241 ZATANNA #10 $2.99

DEC100255 ZATANNA MISTRESS OF MAGIC TP $17.99

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Leroy Douresseaux on Legion of Super-Heroes The Great Darkness Saga The Deluxe Edition




DC COMICS
WRITER: Paul Levitz
PENCILS: Keith Giffen with Pat Broderick, Howard Bender, Carmine Infantino
INKS: Larry Mahlstedt with Bruce D. Patterson, Rodin Rodriguez, Dave Hunt
COLORS: Carl Gafford, Gene D’Angelo
LETTERS: John Costanza, Bruce D. Patterson, Ben Oda, Adam Kubert, Annette Kawecki, Todd Klein, Janice Chiang
COVER: Keith Giffen and Al Milgrom with Drew R. Moore
ISBN: 978-14012-2961-0; hardcover
416pp, Color, $39.99 U.S., $47.99

If there are superhero comic book stories that deserve to be called legendary, then, The Great Darkness Saga is legendary. It may be the most famous Legion of Super-Heroes comic book storyline, and DC Comics is bringing The Great Darkness Saga, first published in the early 1980s, back to print.

No, make that DC Comics is celebrating The Great Darkness Saga with a new book, Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga The Deluxe Edition. This 416-page (7.25in x 11in) hardcover reprints Legion of Super-Heroes #284-296 and Legion of Super-Heroes Annual 1. The Great Darkness Saga started in #290 and ended in the double-sized #294, but the event was foreshadowed before it actually began in a half-year’s worth of Legion of Super-Heroes comic books. After the end of the epic, the series continued to deal with the repercussions on the Legionnaires.

Written by Paul Levitz and largely drawn by penciller Keith Giffen and inker Larry Mahlstedt, The Great Darkness Saga is basically about the Legion of Super-Heroes war against the forces of Darkseid. The New God quietly reawakens in the 30th century and hatches a complicated, but ingenious plan to both revive his powers and to finally conquer the universe and subvert it to darkness.

Unaware, the Legion of Super-Heroes is in a state of flux with retirements and resignations, and also with Legionnaires moving to reserve status. Older members find themselves feeling replaced by newer members and also dealing with their own adult issues and midlife-like problems. Personal problems become team problems, and personal and professional failings take a toll on the team. When Darkseid’s minions attack, the Legion basically wakes up with their lives like a house on fire.

The Great Darkness Saga was of its time and ahead of its time. The character drama and storylines captured the best elements of two of the most popular comic book series of the time, Chris Claremont’s soap operatic Uncanny X-Men and Marv Wolfman’s emerging New Teen Titans. As the story gets deeper into the conflict with Darkseid, the Legion of Super-Heroes basically establishes the template for series-wide and company-wide crossover events that are common today.

In a more compact manner and with fewer characters (although there are lots of Legionnaires) than most crossover events, Paul Levitz takes readers across the 30th century version of the DC Universe to experience a super powers fight club, in which the superheroes try to stop their existence-as-they-know-it from blinking out in favor of eternal darkness. Levitz deftly balances sustained battles with electrifying, fleeting glimpses at other clashes. This epic is the stencil for Crisis on Infinite Earths and its children; one might even recognize Marvel Comics Secret Invasion in this.

One also cannot help but be impressed by how Keith Giffen and Larry Mahlstedt drew this without the art ever looking hurried or rushed. There is a consistency to the storytelling, and the compositions, also stunningly consistent, are impeccable in their professionalism.

What would a grand hardcover collection of classic comics be without some extras? Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga The Deluxe Edition offers the standard sketchbook material and bonus cover art, but by far the best extra – the one that really makes this collection – is the inclusion of Levitz’s plot for issue #290, the opening chapter of Darkness. This detailed plot breakdown (one paragraph for each page) will be a treat for Legion fans and of importance for those who want to write superhero comic books.

The Great Darkness Saga was popular at the time of its publication, but because it was so ahead of its time that it seems of this time; so it deserves the deluxe treatment. Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga The Deluxe Edition is one of those pricey books that should have place in the home of every reader of superhero comic books.

A+