"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #50"

WORTH CONSUMING!

The last issue of the series went all with a very dignified BANG!!! The story of the (1st) 2 Flashes meeting really isn’t any origin- it’s a repeat or “remake”. The Black Canary story is really heavy on the Golden Age version, but comes up flat on BCII. I did not like the Western Origin- in fact, I don’t really remember his name! Dolphin was okay- but I don’t quite understand where she fits in the DC Universe. Robin’s story was great (although it’s more a short story and not a comic). But, the real star of the book is the Space Museum. I hate that the is not a history section in this issue, because I really would like to read more of those tales, if there are more to read.

Not the best issue of all-time, but it had great merit and was a fitting finale for this series.

 

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Annual #3"

NOT WORTH CONSUMING

If this annual and story is any indication, I do not like nor care to know anything about the Teen Titans (Elseworlds stuff not included). Trying to keep the Titans membership straight is worse that the Avengers and I really thought they were bad!!!

The early history of the story was fairly good- having Dick Grayson be the focus helped, but having all these minor characters that I do not even remember reading about in the DC Encyclopedia- play huge roles in the plots was awful. And just plain BAD! (However, the front cover was kinda cool and maybe one of the best of the entire series)

Not Worth Consuming- and if you are thinking of starting up on the Teen Titans starting with Showcase Presents, read this first, it may help change your mind and save you some money!

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Annual #2"

WORTH CONSUMING!

It’s always great to have Barry Allen back, even if for just an origin story. The whole tachyon- reverse time thing while hard to explain was perfect and if you look at the 1950’s first appearance of the Barry Allen Flash, you really wonder if Infantino had a plan to kill him off like this years later. It’s just eerie.

The Wally West story was good too, but it’s not Barry Allen- but I still give this issue 5 stars and a Worth Consuming!

"Secret Origins Special #1: Batman's Vilest Villains - The Riddler, Two-Face, and the Penguin (DC Comics)"

 

WORTH CONSUMING!

This is a re-read for me. I first read it 18 years ago when it first came out in print. A great selection of tales, though the Riddler tale (while a homage to the ’60s TV show) was a tad cryptic and confusing. Yes, I know that was probably the point of it, but it really interrupts the tempo of this book.

 

Still, it is very much worth consuming!!!

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #49"

WORTH CONSUMING!

Usually I hate the Newsboy Legion, but this story was good- though it was not really an Origin (at least not in the Secret Origins sense). Bouncing Boy’s story was funny, but the real star is Silent Knight. I really would like to read that series!

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #48"

Essentially, an all-humor issue. However, I didn’t get Ambush Bug. It was very surreal, and hyper. I also did not like it. The Rex story was a great parody of Capt. America, and I like Stanley and his Monster. There was a 4th story, but I do not remember it, so it must not have been that great.

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #47"

WORTH CONSUMING!

Darn those Legionnaires- After years of hating these guys, Secret Origins has really made me a fan. I really think I’m going to start collecting that series! 3 great tales.

All about dead members- all WORTHCONSUMING!!!

 

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #46"

WORTH CONSUMING!

A novel concept issue- features 3 legendary superhero headquarters. I must admit- the Legion story made me very sad! And it is- it ranks up there with Bambi’s mother dying- Honest, no joke, I swear. Very much worth consuming- but be sure to have a tissue handy!

 

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #45"

WORTH CONSUMING!

The Blackhawk story was very Indiana Jones-ish. Which was cool, because I cannot wait until next year’s sequel. I had some trouble with his background- just way too many names and faces to keep straight. Especially the whole twins who are spies thing.

El Diablo was a pleasant surprise. When I read about him in the DC Comics Encyclopedia, I thought it was a stupid idea, but this one really worked.

"Bone, Vol. 2: The Great Cow Race"

WORTH CONSUMING!

A great second installment- maybe even better than volume 1. I really like this series, but it may be a while before I get to read volumes 3-11.

Worth Consuming and all those awards and accolades it’s amounted over the years.

 

"Bone, Vol. 1: Out From Boneville"

WORTH CONSUMING!

Okay-

I was wrong- Bone does not suck! It’s actually quite good. The art is a cross between Goldstone’s Disney books and Alan Moore. Great dialogue and a great mystery that needs to be unraveled.

 

"Our Gang Vol. 2 (Walt Kelly's Our Gang) (v. 2)"

For 1940’s kiddie comic, it’s okay- but compared to volume one- it’s not as good. The art of the Gang really looks nothing like them and as the Gang starts to transition out of the series, the replacements are subpar!

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #44"

WORTH CONSUMING!

Have read this issue before- so I wasn’t quite so bummed about the cliffhanger (plus, I have read the cliffhanger material in the past). Great art and great stories. Clayface III story is the best and is really eerie- like a Twilight Zone Episode.

 

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #43"

NOT WORTH CONSUMING

Truly lame- I’ve never really liked Hawk and Dove and this story didn’t help with that. The whole dragon in love thing being the reason to create Hawk and Dove does not “explain everything” like the story says- just the opposite- it makes it worse.

Cave Carlson was like reading a joke that only those on the inside got.

The Chris-KL99 story was really cool. I really would like to read that series.

Still, this issue is not worth consuming!

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #42"

WORTH CONSUMING!

A very pleasant surprise for me! When I first got this, I thought “Ugh! not the Legion of Superheroes! And ugh! Who’s this chick?” (and I had to buy it, if I wanted the entire series). Well, Man was I wrong. Those Legion folks are really starting to grow on me. And I really liked Phantom Girl’s story, though I don’t really understand what is the big deal about color fence-barriers on her planet?

Grim Ghost- really good too! I’d never heard of him, but this was a great Indiana Jones meets Ghost kinda story.

"Justice League Unlimited, Vol. 3: Champions of Justice"

WORTH CONSUMING!

Great stories, great art, and Kudos on having appearances by really obscure heroes like Gypsy, Black Lighting, and Ragman!

"Justice League Unlimited Vol. 1: United They Stand"

WORTH CONSUMING!

Beautiful artwork- the whole Batman: Animated Series type art is so noir, so Soviet Propaganda style- sOOOOOOOOOOO freakin’ awesome! Great for kids and ADULTS!!!! Honest- these are not just for kids but all lovers of DC Comics! With many lesser known Golden and Silver age heroes and villains this is a true homage to the mighty history of DC!

"Y: The Last Man, Vol. 7: Paper Dolls"

WORTH CONSUMING!

I read this too soon- now I’ll have to wait weeks- maybe months for the library to get the next installments. Great stuff- I really like the episodes that reveal the lives of some of the lesser known main characters. I really have an idea who the mysterious Dr. M is!

Save Ampersand!!!

"Time Warp Trio, Vol. 1: Nightmare on Joe's Street"

WORTH CONSUMING!

Nice series. Very campy, with some real history breaks. Very clever use of historical characters- and some monsters.

I have trouble with the whole granddad as a kid meeting his granddaughter thing. Doesn’t this screw up the Space time continuum? And apparently they run into each other a lot- does the “granddad” run into other relatives? Also, don’t have a cast of characters and not even use one of them in the story. That’s a blatant waste of ink. Still, great for kids of ages 7-12. Monsters may be a tad scary for 5-6 year olds.

"Y: The Last Man, Vol. 6: Girl on Girl"

WORTH CONSUMING!

Finally, some insight into the lives of Dr. Mann, 355, Hero, and others. Lost must have really helped this series out around this time (of the 1st run issues), because I don’t remember this many flashbacks in the earlier volumes.

"Y: The Last Man, Vol. 5: Ring of Truth"

WORTH CONSUMING!

I’m doing some real catch-up on this series, as it’s been several months since I read book 4. This is one of the most original- no scratch that, the Last Man on Earth thing been done to death. This is one of the most well thought out “End of the World” series ever. Thankfully the whole “find a hidden cache of supplies” does not apply here. And after 24 issues, a couple of secrets have been revealed. Great stuff!!! I just hate to speed read through these books- They are great reads!!!!

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #41"

WORTH CONSUMING!

WARNING!!!! Despite his presence on the cover, the Scarlet Speedster does not appear in this book. But an extra Special Super Secret Villain does. A Great Homage to the Rogue Gallery of one of the best loved super heroes of all-time.

A true Worth Consuming if there ever will be. This is by far my 2nd favorite issue in this series.

Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #40

WORTH CONSUMING!

An all-Ape issue??? It’s not as bad as it seems. And no- it’s not all Schlock! Grodd story was good, but not enough Grodd in it- true, it’s more about Gorilla City, but Grodd’s on the cover – so it’s what I want. Congorilla origin is really good, though the real thinning of the plot comes about when you think of future storylines. The Detective Chimp Story was pretty good- it is Schlock- but I expected that.

The real prize is the cover. To fully appreciate it, YOU MUST read the History behind this on the Letters Page.

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #39"

WORTH CONSUMING!

Manbat was great- only getting Neal Adams to do the art would have made this a Classic. Animal Man was very good- only not ending it in yet another blasted cliff-hanger could have made this better. On the plus side, I may decide to read that entire series of his one day.

Great tale and a real plus to be a hero I know little- if any about.

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #38"

WORTH CONSUMING!

Green Arrow and Speedy- two of the best costumed heroes with a very limited appeal storyline-wise. Stories were very goofy- but having Speedy be a half-blood Indian was a little far-fetched. Still, very much worth consuming!

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

WORTH CONSUMING!

Great story of the 1st World’s Fair and one of America’s most evil Serial Killers. The First few Chapters dealing with the planning of the fair kinda sucks, but every chapter on the murderer was great. Excellent book- would make a great movie or documentary.

"Our Gang Vol. 1 (Walt Kelly's Our Gang) (v. 1)"

WORTH CONSUMING!

Great for a fan of the series or artist Walt Kelly (and you just hate Pogo). Good stories, good art, great color restoration and the introductions are essential for film buffs.

Strangely, the most realistic artwork of the Our Gang group is a story that is not drawn (and maybe not even written by Kelly) and the critics in the Intros hate it!

As for the work themselves, I would not be surprised that this book becomes a banned book for the portrayal of Buckwheat and Blacks as stupid and Minstrel-like. Many of the jokes and WWII elements may be over the heads of kids under 10 and are not familiar with the second World War. Still worth consuming (and as for Pogo, I don’t hate it, I just don’t get it!).

"Ultimate X-Men Vol. 3: World Tour"

WORTH CONSUMING!

What a difference a volume makes. I know I read volume 2 of this series, but Volume 3 just seemed like a different world to me. Maybe, I need to read it again. It was very entertaining, not one of my favorite titles, but something, I still enjoy reading.

"Being Good: A Short Introduction to Ethics"

NOT WORTH CONSUMING

What’s there to say about this book that would NOT get me sued for slander. I picked this book up because it looked interesting, had a really pretty cover (I tend not to judge by that, my wife DOES) And while some of the concepts were totally not my views and I had trouble understanding why many of the pictures were being used as examples for ethical concepts, I muddled through, trying to complete another book for my Dewey Decimal System project.

Then, I got to page 64!

On that page, the author claims that mothers (and DADs!)- though he calls them women, who suffer a miscarriage haven’t a loss of a life to grieve, but a loss of what could have been. And that a miscarriage isn’t a child and that it was without a soul. Well, that pissed me off!

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #35"

WORTH CONSUMING!

Great J’onn J’onnz Story. (Though, I have read it somewhere before). Maxwell Lord is pretty good, but man is he a slime ball. The best is the Booster Gold Story. Just perfect. Worth Reading for this story alone.

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #37"

The substitute heroes’ story was very good, though I prefer the WB Kids episode of Legion of Superheroes that dealt with these oddballs better. The Dr. Light story blew. Names were jumbled, and really, to be honest, he’s not the interesting of a character. Maybe it’s because he later ends up raping Sue Dibny.

The cover was great and very clever!!!Still, not the best Secret Origins outing.

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #36"

WORTH CONSUMING!

Technically, GL’s origin was covered (in very good detail) in the Guy Gardner story in the early issues of this series, but someone felt it was time to cover the most famous GL: Hal Jordan. Personally, I’d rather have an origin of John Stewart’s G.L.- not the Daily Show guy (though, that one might be fun).

Poison Ivy’s was great, but again, a stupid cliffhanger to some other title, I care about the amount of water on the sun about.

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #33"

WORTH CONSUMING!

It’s hard to put it. Mister Miracle was such a letdown. Not at all what I thought his origin would be like. The others were good, but they’re such “forgettable” entities, I hardly remember their names, much less their origins. Proof Positive that JL Europe was a mediocre title (I’d later recant this statement). Still, for some reason, I give this a worth consuming and I cannot figure out why??!!!?

"Secret Origins (3rd Series, 1986-90) Issue #34"

I did not like Gnort’s story which is a shame, cause I think he is a hoot! Also, I  Couldn’t understand Rocket Red’s origin (which is sad, because I really was interested in that one), and had trouble with Capt. Atom’s- story was good, but I’m torn between the ending- it’s like a cross between The Usual Suspects (A twist) and The Castaway (lack of finality)- so I must give this book no rating.