JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #8 DC COMICS
Well we finally made it to issue #8. The Huntress is still annoying everyone with her ‘mission’ to rehabilitate super-villians and turn them into a future JSA. Alan Scott’s beard is still bothering me and is it just me or does he appear to be getting chunkier? But enough about the story here. The real reason to pick this issue up is the 1st appearance (HEADS UP, SPECULATORS!) of the Forgotten Legionnaire! The on-line speculation is already running rampant. The geneal consensus is that this is one of the Nolan brothers from the 31st century. You remember the Nolan brothers, born with deformed faces but had the ability to turn themselves into living iron. When Andrew sacrificed himself to defeat the Sun-Eater, Douglas found an alternate universe and became a hero there (LSH #300). And while the evidence does seem to be pushing in that direction, may I remind the comic community of two other metal masked characters from the LSH. Anybody remember Sir Prize and Miss Terious? Hmmmmmm! Or how about the decendants of Lex Luthor and Mr. Mxyzptlk that showed up in the Adult Legion?! Not so sure now are you. Too much Red Lantern not enough JSA. I give it 7 out of 10 Grahams.
GREEN ARROW #7 DC COMICS
Joshua Williamson remind us why it sucks to be a super-hero as Oliver Queen is back (maybe to stay). But he also proves why Green Arrow has proven to be the heart of the DC Universe. Whether he was forcing his imfamous chili recipe on the JLA, heving heart to heart chats with Green Lantern, brofighting with Hawkman, or romancing Black Canary, he has proven to be the most relatable and most human member of the team. And this is highlighted here as Ollie travels the globe to find out why there is no Justice League. But also to help his own paranoia at the possibility of not being in the correct reality. And while starting to believe he is where he is suppose to be, it looks like we are getting back into the Green Arrow storyline as we get a guest cameo from the early 2000’s Kevin Smith villain, Onomatopoeia. Which is exciting as it was those issues and stories that made sense of a totally blown to smithereens Green Arrow returning to life. I give it a 9 out of 10 Grahams.
GIANT-SIZE SUPER-STARS #1 FACSIMILE EDITION -MARVEL
The 1970’s were an amazing time in comic history. Anything and everything could happen at the drop of a hat. One of those anythings was Marvel’s newest idea, giant-sized comics. Huge page counts with larger stories. And one of the first of these was Giant-Size Super-Stars #1 which would feature the Fantastic Four. And even though, the Super-Stars would be dropped with the next issue, this one was quite the treat. This was a time in FF history that saw the semi-retirement of the Invisible Girl, Johnny Storm wearing a red outfit instead of classic blue, and a revolving replacement for the missing Sue Storm (including Medusa, Thundra, and Crystal). And while we had seen the Hulk vs the Thing before, this time the Thing’s mind was in the Hulk’s body and visa-versa! And no one else knew! Thrown in a collection of mini-poster bios for the early FF Rogues Gallery and you’ve got a Fantasti Four Fans dream comic. This flashback earns an 8 out of 10 Grahams.
UNIVERSAL MONSTERS DRACULA #3 IMAGE COMICS
What are you waiting for? We are three issue into this already and you should be reading this wonderful title. James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds are producing a unique and special product here. The story expands magnificently on the original movie and adds to the characters. For monster fans, this is a must read! For the casual reader, this is something really different. High on the end of the year best of 2023 list. 9 out of 10 Grahams.
FLESH-EATING CHEERLEADERS 1969 #1 AFTER DARK
These one-shots generated by the original 6 part series continue to give off that 1980’s mom and pop video discovery that so many love. After a couple of alien larva end up on Earth in 1969, they find their way into the good girl and the hippy (not-so) bad girl. So the girls are shedding clothes and chomping down on the local hormone driven men. And like any good sequel to a B-movie, there is no continuity. While the main series and the holiday special seem to take place in the present day, there is no mention of the creatures having arrived some 55 years before. WIth enough plot development to fill up the page count between human munching, this one-shot keeps up the level of respect for the source materials. But what happened to Flesh-Eating Cheerleaders FROM OUTER SPACE? The flesh-eaters are still from outer space? What’s with the title shrinkage? While definitely not for everyone, this one gets a 9 out of 10 Grahams.