DARK CRISIS WORLDS WITHOUT A JUSTICE LEAGUE GREEN LANTERN #1
Any time you have a title that is longer than the amount of space I have on the page, we have a problem. Luckily, I didn’t have to identiify the book as being from DC Comics because DC has a monopoly on the term Crisis. Never a catastrophe, never a cataclysm, never a calamity, always a crisis. I wonder if Gardner Fox realized in 1963 what he had just created?! If you take away all the references to the Dark Crisis (which aren’t all that many), this is a sweet little tale of an alternate universe and what Green Lanterns inhabit it. This touching story shares a lot of what could have been John Stewart’s backround. Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s script is well done and well thought out. It is actually a shame that they had to slap that Dark Crisis logo on it. We also get a short Hawkgirl tale penned by Jeremy Adams which again is well written but seems more out of place than the Green Lantern story. If DC would have slapped an Elseworld logo on the cover, these stories would have made more sense. Right now, I can only assume that both of these plot lines will somehow work their way into the main series. But for now they are just another title on the Dark Crisis checklist that all superfans need to buy. Will there ever come a day when I won’t need an ad page devoted to all the titles of a storyline and the order I need to read them in? Unfortunately, I don’t think so. And unfortunately, I cannot punish two talented creative teams for DC’s insanity. Really good stories, really good art, really good color pallet. 7 out of 10 Grahams.
AVENGERS & MOON GIRL #1 MARVEL COMICS
Having Moon Girl return was something I was looking forward to reading. I loved her original series and found the character to be quite fun. Teaming her with the Avengers raised a lot of red flags. Which Avengers? Would we get Devil Dinosaur back? Etc., etc. So first off, Captain Marvel and an Iron Man cameo do not constitute “the Avengers”. The only saving grace here is that this is structured like an issue of the original Moon Girl series. While not a perfect copy, this has the definate flavor of those stories. This one-shot will morph into X-men & Moon Girl for the next installment but again the use of the X-men logo to represent Wolverine and Havok who make an appearance at the end of the story is deceiving. But its some good clean fun which these days is sorely lacking. I give it an 8 out of 10 Grahams.
AND NOW …
IT’S TIME FOR AN EDITION OF WAYBACK WENDESDAY!
MARVEL COMICS SUPER SPECIAL #17 MARVEL COMICS
With so many tributes to Olivia Newton-John on her passing, no one seemed to be bringing up her appearance in August 1980’s Marvel Comics Super Special. In 1977, Marvel was still working in the magazine medium along with their comic titles. Marvel had also taken a page from Gold Key’s habit of scooping up any movie related properties they could get their hands on. With such movie adaptations as Jaws 2, Annie, and Buckaroo Banzai, they also managed to scoop up the amazing tale of Xanadu. The movie itself tells the tale of a Greek muse come to life to inspire a struggling artist. As said muse, Olivia Newton-John not only got to take center stage on the cover but also got to be illustrated by the amazing Rich F. Buckler and colored by Michael Netzer. Adapted by J. Mark Dematteis and edited by Louise Simonson (now there is a name that rings a bell!), This is one of those classic Marvel magazines filled with movie stills and bonus features along with the adaptation. A competant effort by Marvel and another gem in it’s movie adaptation collection. And just another outlet touched by the beauty and charm of Ms. Newton-John. I give it a 9 out of 10 Grahams.
