JSA #2 DC COMICS
Well, thanks to a flashback, we finally get to see the old guard in action. But something feels off. Some of the results of old storylines are being ignored or warped a bit. Obsidian had gone through therapy and was more stable but not now. Wildcat’s attitude seems a bit jaded (more so than usual) here. Young Doctor Fate seems too insecure. Hawkgirl has morphed back to the version we met in the original JSA title. The story seems to have various lines of script that could be said by any of the characters. And while things are starting to get better, it still hasn’t graduated beyond a 7 out of 10 Grahams.
FEARLESS DAWN THE BOMB #4 ASYLUM PRESS
The big finally to another breif visit with the world of Steve Mannion. And it is completely outside the box and wonderfully chaotic! And while we get a nice finale to the adventure of Betty and Priss including a tank in a hardware store, the one page ads and Who’s Who pages are what make this book. Add in a few pinups as well and this becomes an all around classic. Bringing you back to a time when comics didn’t have to make a lot of sense. As always, thanks to the fine folks at Asylum Press for giving Mannion a place to spotlight his unique vision. 10 out of 10 Grahams.
FLASH COMICS #1 FACSIMILE EDITION DC COMICS
You knew that I was going to get this one to review! Probably because I remember the original version. Welcome back to the 1940’s, when comics were fresh and unbound. Anything went and to fill the pages of the many anthology titles on the newstands, creative teams were pulling out all the stops! And while titled Flash Comics and having a main cover hero called the Flash, this has so much more! Comic genius’s Gardner Fox and Harry Lampert would begin the Flash Legacy as young Jay Garrick accidently knocks over a container of ‘hard water’ and is overcome by fumes gaining super speed. But we also get an adventure with special agent Cliff Cornwall by legendary comic pioneer Sheldon Moldoff! We learn the secrets of reincarnation with Carter Hall as he becomes the Hawkman! We also learn the secret to Johnny Thunder’s (even though the title refers to him as Johnny Thunderbolt!) control of a mystic thunderbolt. Even if the earliest appearance of the Thunderbolt is more of a cloud of smoke. As the story continues in future issues, the cloud will first morph into a real thunderbolt and then into a man shaped thunderbolt. And to fill the western aspect, John B. Wentworth and George Storm present us with the Whip! As socialite Rod Gaynor dons some Zorro like gear (and a vaguely offensive accent) to fight crime south of the border. With short text stories and a picture novel, this is a perfect example of what the Golden Age of Comics had to offer and why many of these characters are still around today over 80 years later! 10 out of 10 Grahams.