Adventure Comics #465

Not all comics are created with the same love and attention that it deserves. This 1979 Adventure Comic is a gigantic flop! Yes, I have said how 80 and 100-page giants were like finding gold. But sometimes, you end up with pyrite.

In this issue we get 4-stories. There’s a Deadman story about racial violence in an big city neighborhood. That’s a great story. Deadman is a favorite of mine and the tale was done to perfection. So far, so good.

Then Aquaman fends off  a Neo-Nazi plot when he discovers a secret base in North Pole. Aquaman acts like he’s on these fascists’ side but really he’s bidding his time until he can uncover their sinister plot. Again, a very good story starring a childhood favorite of mine.

Then we have the Flash who after he prevents a super-sonic jet from destroying Central City, finds that he’s become attuned to the thoughts of an invading race of something. The mystery is who or what is behind this invasion. I thought the answer was clever. However, the science behind how the Flash creates a wall of sound to keep the jet from crashing into downtown is ludicrous. Yes, you can create a wall of sound but it wouldn’t act like a rubber ball and bounce the plane harmlessly back into the air. It would rattle the ship apart and cause mass causalities!

Then for our final tale, the classic Justice Society of America team-up to stop a rare poison stored in a capsule that’s about to dissolve, from  destroying all of mankind. Okay- with Ebola and nerve gases and stuff, yes I can believe that a toxic of some sort could cause lots and lots of death. However, is there a hospital in not just America but the entire world that would store such a dangerous poison in a) a capsule that would melt after too much exposure to the elements and b) locked in the filing cabinet of the hospital’s records department?!

If this was Mythbusters, a giant BUSTED sign would pop up right now as there is no way in the world this could happen! OY! The whole scenario reminds me of a riddle in which a doctor holding a jar announced he had in his hands an acid that could melt any material and his wife called ‘Bulls-it’ because if that was true, the vessel would be dissolving as he spoke.

They say don’t judge a book by its cover. Yet, with this awesome cover filled with dozens of awesome DC Superheroes, the adage doesn’t ring true. This issue is mostly filler and not very well plotted.

Not Worth Consuming

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.