I Know What You Did Last Crisis #1

When is a Halloween special not a Halloween special? When it's this year's All Hallows Eve offering from DC Comics! Each October, for at least the past 7 or 8 years (maybe more), DC has presented fans with a horror themed annual of 8 stories. Generally 6 or 7 are set during Halloween or Dia De Los Muertos. I Know What You Did Last Crisis offers 8 tales, set during the various Crisis events that DC has published since the biggie way back in 1985. But to call most of these stories 'horror' are misnomers at best. They're more like thrillers and only 1 is set during Halloween.

The lone Halloween story occurs during Zero Hour when the Justice Society of America is attacked by an unknown foe who has the ability to rapidly age their enemies to the point of near death. It was okay. But had I already read Zero Hour, I'd probably like it and understand it better.

The cream of the crop includes CRISIS set story starring Batgirl who finds that as Earth-1 is about to die at the hands of the Anti-Monitor, Killer Croc has kidnapped the parents of a scared little girl. Black Canary rushes to save innocents from the Silver Banshee who is exhibiting powers unlike her during the events of 'The Final Night'. Kimiyo Hoshi, the Doctor Light of Japan, tries to save her STAR Labs co-workers from a malfunctioning Man hunter during the Millennium event of 1988. 

A couple of stories starring villains Lex Luthor and the Scarecrow were mid-level reads. They had great premises. But they remind me of how long ago it was when I read Final Crisis and Blackest Night that I've forgotten a lot of the less finer details. 

I really thought I was going to hate that Midnighter story. I'm just not a fan of the Wildstorm stuff and I'm so tired of DC trying to make the Authority a thing in this current melded timeline. However, this is not the Batman knockoff that looks like I imagine Wolverine smells. His story takes place during the alternate timeline events of Flashpoint and sees Midnighter playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with Professor Pyg. It was a pleasant surprise and one that I would be interested in reading a follow-up of!

The absolute worst story is a sort of Elseworlds twist on the ending of Infinite Crisis. In the original story, Dick Grayson was fated to die but Conner Kent sacrificed himself. Kinda a bad move because had Nightwing died, it would have issued in a new age of peace and prosperity for the DC Universe. Great for the superhero community. No so ideal for sales. Anyway, an alternate Conner goes rogue and kills all the Dick Grayson's in the multiverse to ensure that all timelines experience this golden age. 

In what would have been a great 'What If' type tale if it was done as a standalone special and not part of a supposed Halloween anthology, it's a jumbled mess. Not scary at all. And it's written by Dan DiDio, who just absolutely hates Dick Grayson with a passion and nearly destroyed the House that Superman Built. When can we stop making Dan DiDio a thing?

I can't really rate this book fairly based on that one tale. I need to average the quality of all 8 stories and then remove one more star for not being a Halloween special! And after making some calculations, I came out with an average of 6.5. So not quite worthy of consumption. But a decent read and for once, it doesn't try to push the envelope nor alienate established fans.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10 stars.

O.M.A.C., Vol. 1: Omactivate!

The non-Fourth World world of Jack Kirby is given the New 52 treatment in this oh too brief miniseries. I'm typically not impressed with the grandstanding style of Dan DiDio. He's self-indulgent and smarmy. Plus, DC Comics wouldn't be in half of the financial mess that they're in right now if not for DiDio. Yet, this time around, I was more than impressed. It's probably because of the assist by Keith Giffen (Larfleeze) on the script. But I will give kudos where kudos are due. 

Not only does this book retool the character of OMAC, this book also ties in another Kirby classic, Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth. Add in Project Cadmus from Kirby's Jimmy Olsen tenure, Max Lord (a Keith Giffen creation) and Dick Giordano's Sarge Steel, this felt like a tribute to classic DC Comics. 

I did not want this book to end. It was so very fun. I would love for this to be turned into a movie. Heck, I would love for there to be a sequel. Though, with this being New 52, I'm not sure how connected to continuity this is and I don't want to support something that would contradict DC canon. But if a sequel doesn't do such a thing- please, oh please, continue the story!

With artwork by Scott Koblish (Scotch McTeirnan's Halloween Party), this is a fantastic story for those who like their DC Comics to be a little off-the-wall. A reluctant sci-fi superhero in the vein of Neo from The Matrix. You don't have to be a Kirby fanatic (of which I am). But it helps. And for those established Kirby-ites, as long as you understand that this book isn't trying to replace Kirby's OMAC, they should enjoy this as well!

Don't ask me why this is listed as Volume 1. There is no volume 2. This sort of oversight infuriates me and is about the only thing about this book I dislike.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars. 

DC Dog Days of Sumer Special #1

8 action packed adventures for all you DC Comics fans. 

A $9.99 price tag might be pretty steep for most of you. But I am a holiday themed comic addict and since I was going on vacation this week, I could not pass it up. 

There's quite a few of DC's best working on this book including Dan DiDio, G. Willow Wilson, Stjepan Sejic and a cool-looking cover by Francis Manpul. While there's an impressive list of talent on this book, the quality of the stories do vary. 

The best stories were:

• A Killer Croc tale of the crime lord's Miami origins, set in the Everglades.
• Beast Boy's feats of strength during his much needed summer vacay.
• Red Lantern Dex-starr teaches a milquetoast the benefits of rage when some Khund vacationers go on the war path.
• On a jungle safari, Animal Man must protect his family when an ancient menace targets them as his next meal. 

The worst:

• A Superman and Krypto team-up. The story of the duo facing an alien menace was good. But the art was really poor. 

In the middle was:

• A Justice League story involving a Minotaur named Ferdinand. His quest to find a suitable main course for the League's BBQ was admirable, especially since I am a professional chef. But I don't know this character and that made it hard to make a connection with the story.  
• Captain Carrot's cartoon world is undergoing a CRISIS. With Earth-23's Superman out of commission, the bunny must rely on the grim and gritty Atomic Batman of Earth-17 whose all about logic Yet, with the sun feeling unappreciated, the only way to save the day means relying on some hilarious cartoon physics! Again, the art wasn't all that great. But it seemed to match this Looney Tunes inspired tale.

If you are keeping count, I just mentioned 7 stories. That's because #8 is one that I couldn't decide whether I loved it or hated it. It involved a pair of drunks deciding to ride an untamed bull (wearing a pained on smiley face) at a county fair. To the rescue is Batcow! This was an absurd story that had some hi-highs and some groan-worthy lows. I'm sure that I don't feel okay with this story. I just don't know whether to hate it or love it. 

Overall, I enjoyed this special very much. For the most part, the stories were great. It was the artwork that wasn't, in my opinion, DC Comics quality. If you are going on a vacation anytime this summer, pick up the DC Dog Days of Summer Special. Almost perfect for reading on a breezy evening after a long day of fun in the sun.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Kamandi Challenge #1

   Have you ever played that game in which you start a story and then the person on your right adds to it and then it keeps getting passed around the group? Your story might start off as a romance and evolves into a horror, comedy, or Bollywood blockbuster. It's all up to the storyteller. Well, that's what Dan Didio and the good folks at DC Comics is doing with the Kamandi Challenge.
    2017 marks what would be the 100th birthday of comic book legend Jack 'King' Kirby. While Kirby is more noted for his work with Marvel, there have been periods where the King worked with DC. Most notably is his time in the early 70s where her created a slew of fan favorite characters including OMAC, The Demon, Darkseid, and the star of this project, Kamandi.

Dale Eaglesham variant cover.
It's sick! I love it!

    Kamandi is the last human boy on earth. A great disaster caused mankind to either die out or de-evolve into uncivilized cavemen. In turn all sorts of animals evolved, become intelligent and bi-pedal. It's Kamandi's mission to restore humanity to it's rightful place as the rulers of the earth.
     In this opening chapter Kamandi is a normal boy, living a seemingly normal life. That is until invaders arrive to kidnap him. It turns out that Kamandi's parents created a world with androids to look over the lad in their absence. However, the weaponry of the attackers is too much for the robots and the boy is swept away into a deep dark void. Now on his own, Kamandi must escape his animal jailers and be reunited with his parents.
    This origin is slightly different from Kirby's version from 1972. But I'm going roll with it for a couple of reasons. For one, I'm a big Kamandi fan. Secondly, I am told that somehow through this series, the last two unpublished (except in the extremely rare Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2) issues are going to be finally released to the masses. Since I am trying to collect the entire original Kamandi run, I need those issues!
     The first chapter of the Kamandi Challenge was very entertaining. I'm not sure where this book is going to go but that's part of the fun. So far the assortment of writers and artists such as Didio, Keith Griffin, and Dale Eaglesham have been impressive. I can't wait to see what happens next.
     On that note, since this is the 100th birthday of Jack Kirby, I have a feeling that both DC and Marvel have some more surprises in store for the rest of 2017. I'm excited at the prospects- I just hope they get Stan Lee involved somehow.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
     

Ambush Bug Year None #1

In the midst of the craziness that is Countdown, Keith Giffen and Dan DiDio have brought back The Ambush Bug! It appears that with a new 52-earth multi-verse, someone’s killed the DC’s universes continuity cop, Joanie DC. So, the part-time PI, full-time nut case is on the job to bring the killer to justice, or to at least slap him on the wrist with a sock filled with anchovy paste and pickled whipped cream. (The insanity is contagious!)

Expect a madcap riot that’s so far in left field, it somehow ends up in shallow right.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.