Robin #5

The Tim Drake Robin’s training culminates with his final show down with the big boss crime lord that Lady Shiva’s been wanting to take down for the length of this entire series. But, Robin’s got his work cut out for him as this baddie is blind and has super heighten senses, especially hearing, to make up for his handicap.

A fantastic ending to a really good series. Robin takes a little while to find his wings, yet as with all birds, it just takes a little push to get a youngling flying.

With the myriad of teachers and training Tim Drake has encountered in this mini-series, you almost have to wonder “Did Batman set this whole thing up from the very beginning?”

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Robin #4

Well, I was right. This issue has Robin learning the ropes from Lady Shiva. We also see the origins of why this Robin uses a staff and a bolo caster.

The art’s gotten better and is on par with the writing. This issue also features another fantastic Brian Bolland cover.

I am so glad I’ve stuck with this mini-series. It’s only gotten better as the issues (and tensions) mount.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Robin #3

I think I’ve got this series figured out. Every chapter is has Tim Drake learning from a new sensei on how to become a fighter.

Issue one had Robin learning from one of Batman’s old trainers. The previous issue had Robin learning by proxy from his first official solo outing as the new sidekick of the Dark Knight. This issue has Drake learning to street fight from the guy he rescued from the street gang, who happens to be a former DEA agent.

I suspect with Lady Shiva making herself known as a potential ally of Robin’s we’ll be seeing her teaching her own form of martial arts.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Robin #2

The Tim Drake Robin finds himself on the run after he witnesses a man being beaten by a street gang and the fledgling sidekick comes to the guys rescue. With very little than a personal computer and a solid gold Visa card, Robin finds himself no longer in France for training but now he’s on his very first solo mission to bring down a ruthless crime lord.

Not 100% sure where this book is going. But, I like what I see. This series’ art is so very 90s, it’s sad. However, the writing is very good (the characters have depth and the dialogue isn’t very cheesy) and the fantastic Brian Bolland covers make up for the other visual slights.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Robin #1

Part One 

Sometime after A Lonely Place of dying, Tim Drake finally got permission to be Batman’s new sidekick. Big on brains but lacking in the muscles department, the new Robin is sent to Paris to train with one of the last remaining masters of an ancient martial art.

Thus begins chapter one in the story of the new Robin. A very interesting take on a classic hero. It’s amusing to see Robin building himself from the ground up. Plus, to have Lady Shiva waiting in the wings, there are surprises behind every corner.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 49

 

First edition of 2000 AD

   Though the cover was dated for February 26th, today marks the 40th anniversary of the British sci-fi comic magazine 2000 AD. Growing up I was allowed to read any comic book I wanted except for this one, Heavy Metal, and anything listed in the adults only box at the local comics shop Tales Resold. But over the past decade, I've gotten my hands on some issues and I must say I enjoyed them. 

    2000 AD was where many great British comic book writers and artists got their start. Talents like Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Brian Bolland, and Grant Morrison gained international fame working on the publication. But if 2000 AD is known for anything, it's this- Judge Dredd.

Alan Moore- Acclaimed Writer
of Rasputin cosplayer... you decide.

    Judge Dredd appeared in the title's second issue or Prog (which is short for Program.) The authoritarian look at life in an overcrowded metropolis won over fans, appalled critics, and soon became English slang for a police state. 

2000 AD's most famous character, Judge Joseph Dredd.

     2000 AD was edgy, violent, and just want the punk movement needed. Published weekly, it quickly became a sort of manifesto for the anti-establishment crowd which is ironic because Judge Dredd is the ESTABLISHMENT! But the die was cast as the alienated tone of punk rock was embraced by many of the writers of this series well into the late 80s, especially the work of Morrison and Moore. 
  

My favorite 2000 AD alum, Neil Gaiman.

     When 2000 AD was first published it was owned by IPC Magazines. Over the next two decades, the title was purchased by Robert Maxwell and Edmont UK. When the book first came out, it was in black and white and published like an over-sized tabloid magazine. Nowadays, the book is a mere shell of itself. Published in stark color and reduced to the size of a general comic book to save cost and appeal to readers. Fans liken these changes to when National Lampoon stopped publishing nude women and foul language in their pages after being bought out by a subsidiary in the late 80s. It was like a neutered dog- still feisty but missing a real passion to it's bite. 

A 2016 issue of 2000 AD.
It doesn't seem quite so grim and gritty anymore...

    Time (and sales) will only tell if 2000 AD will make it another 40 years or become another classic sci-fi comic title relegated to bargain bins worldwide and otherwise forgotten. 

    Until tomorrow...

     

Mystery In Space

  This collection is a literal time capsule of DC's sci-fi anthology series. From the fanciful stories of the wonders of the future from the 1940s to the atomic-aged heroes of the 50s and 60s to the revival of the twist ending in the 70s through to 1981 when DC published it's last sci-fi genre comic- it's all here!
    My favorite stories were of the heroes created during the 50s and 60s. The most famous of these is the earth-man Adam Strange whom become the hero of faraway Rann when a transporter ray teleports him light years away. But where is J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter? Sure, he got his start in the pages of Detective Comics and headlined the 'horror' anthology title House of Mystery, but the green man from Mars was the quintessential DC sci-fi character!
    The stories of the 70s and 80s were phenomenal as well. Featuring art by masters such as Joe Kubert and Brian Bolland, those short stories were gems being both masterfully drawn and well written.
    This book was supposed to be the flagship of a new imprint of anthologies called the Pulp Fiction Library. Collections devoted to DC's horror titles, war books, and other genre series were slated to follow this book. But for some reason, those plans were scrapped. Thankfully, DC created the Showcase Presents line that reprinted in chronological order large runs of classic Silver Age titles. Those black and white collections were much cheaper to produce but that's not the reason why the Pulp Fiction Library went nowhere as this book was published 6 years before the first Showcase title.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

DC Comics Presents: Green Lantern #1

A tribute issue in honor of the passing of the great Julius Schwartz, long-time EIC of DC Comics. Schwartz was known for having concept covers drawn up and then would assign writers to use that idea for use in a forthcoming issue of said title.

Here, artists and writers such as Brian Azzarello, Brian Bolland, and Scott McDaniel devise two potential tales in which Green Lantern might have reason to sell copies of his power rings for only a buck each. (That my friends is a steal.)

The best of the two stories is the first, which is set during the 60s and has the Emerald Warrior on the hunt for Gorilla Grodd. The second tale has Green Lantern and Green Arrow teaming up to stop a renegade toy seller from profiting on fake Lantern rings using shoddy work conditions and child labor. The internal conflict of Hal Jordan just doesn’t seem plausible. In just about everything I’ve read on GL, Jordan loved his dad. But in this tale, Mr. Jordan is a boozer and has led to Hal having rage issues. I just don’t see that. Maybe the writer got Jordan confused with Guy Gardner?

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.