The Best of DC Digest #30 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

It's not often that the Dark Knight is wrong. However, when he claims that 11 crimes have been committed on the cover of The Best of DC Digest #30, there are actually only 10 infractions in need of solving. That's because the Robin/Batgirl story is a 2-parter. 

The run down for this issue is as follows:

• 'Wanted for Murder One: The Batman'. A talk show host with a grudge against the Caped Crusader is found dead. Off in the distance, Batman is witnessed fleeing the scene. With the GCPD on his trail, Batman must clear his name or surrender in disgrace.
• 'The Assassin Express Contract'. Christopher Chase accepts a mission to impersonate a wealthy industrialist who has a hit out on him. Already confined by the limits of a racing train, the Human Target must restrict himself further when it's revealed that the subject he's tasked with portraying now has an injured eye.
• 'Riddle of the Unseen Man' sees Roy Raymond, the famed TV Detective who investigates strange but true occurrences is besieged by a seemingly invisible person throughout his daily operations.
• 'Burial For a Batgirl' and ' Midnight is the Dying Hour's sees Barbara Gordon at Gotham State University for a festival honoring Edgar Allen Poe. When a controversial figure is found murdered on campus, Batgirl and the Boy Wonder swing into action to find the killer.
• Magical Mirror Mystery.' When the new mirror Ralph Dibny buys for his wife, Sue, shows the image of a missing woman, the Elongated Man travels to the mansion of the girl's father to solve the mystery.
• Famed magician Mysto aims to solve the 'Three Feats of Peril' that his fallen mentor seeked to perform before his untimely death.
• Crippled private investigator Jason Bard aims to solve how a daredevil skydiver was stabbed to death in the middle of a jump in 'The Case of the Dead-on Target.'
• Captain Mark Compass finds his attempts to crush a ring of smugglers thwarted at his ever turn in 'The Ocean Pest.'
• J'onn J'onnz, the Martian Manhunter, appears in 'The Man With 20 Lives.' Gifted with mental telepathy, the Martian knows that a Gotham City thug committed an impossible murder. But in order to solve the crime, he must operate as human police detective John Jones to extract a confession of guilt.
• Batman bursts into the middle of a performance of MacBeth as a sniper takes aim at the star in The Stage is Set - For Murder!'

Each story appeared previously in the pages of Detective Comics. Talent such as Frank Robbins, Dennis O'Neil, Irv Novick, Joe Certa and Vince Colletta worked on these tales which at some point all challenge the reader to solve the mystery from clues sprinkled throughout each story before the hero does. Some of the clues are easy to piece together while some hints require expert level expertise. It's those more difficult leads that feel like cheats, playing upon obscure knowledge of animals, cultures and even the laws of physics in able to solve the mysteries. 

Len Wein was this issue's contributing editor with Mike W. Barr acting as special consultant. 

Completing this review completes Task #38 (A Comic Book Digest) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Batman Begins: The Movie & Other Tales of the Dark Knight

This DC trade paperback is like a matinee movie in reverse. The comic adaptation of the opening chapter of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy by Scott Beatty and Kilian Plunkett is the main attraction. The accompanying 4 stories are like the animated shorts and adventurous serials you would watch as lead up. Only they come after the movie!

I can't really say a lot about the adaptation of 2005's Batman Begins. Unlike the 2008's follow up, The Dark Knight, I've only seen the origin story once. So I don't have any idea if Beatty and Plunkett's version of the movie has extra stuff that got removed before hitting theaters or not. I will say that reading the comic book version of the film has really pique my interest in seeing the trilogy again. Mostly because there is a lot of material in the comic that I don't remember.

While Batman Begins is what got me to buy this book, it's the 4 shorter Batman stories that really captured my attention.

First by Denny O'Neil and Dick Giordano is another origin story of Batman. Only this is the accepted DC canon version which focuses more on Bruce Wayne studying the science of criminology more than martial arts and the tools of stealth. 

Story #2 is by Greg Rucka and Rick Burchett. It simultaneously tells of Batman taking down a gang while a family of 3 are trapped in their vehicle under the Gotham harbor. With time running out and water rushing in, this story has more of a Batman: The Animated Series vibe to it and was perhaps the best story of the bunch.

Story #3 is by Ed Brubaker. In a teaming with Catwoman, Batman explores what it is that makes him a vigilante. That faithful night in Crime Alley is referenced a lot. Art is pretty good. Yet, despite my feeling that Brubaker is the best crime comic writer of them all, he commits an unpardonable sin amongst fans of the Dark Knight by having the hero proclaim that his true identity is Bruce Wayne! Not the Bat!

The final story is an unusual Batman story by Fables head honcho Bill Willingham. It sees a rooftop Batman losing his footing and crashing to the streets below. Obviously injured from the fall, the Caped Crusader must be helped by an assorted group of Gothamites. I wasn't so much of a fan of Tim Fowler's art. But the story was so different and so very engrossing. 

A great mix of stories celebrating not just the origin of the Batman but also of what makes a Batman. A worthy addition to my Batman collection of comics. Only it's not the feature that makes this book worth owning--- it's the backup material! In fact, I'd rather lose the comic adaptation and just add 3-4 more similar tales to the quartet of additional works!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Western Gunfighters #33 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Marvel's anthology series Western Gunfighters, which ran from 1970-75, was the second series to be published by that name. From 1956-57, Marvel, when they operated as Atlas, produced a series that spawned only 8 issues. The series began with issue #20, taking over the numbering from another Western title, Apache Kid. With issue #27, two other Western anthologies took over the numbering from Western Gunfighters.

The second volume lasted almost 4 times longer than it's predecessor, going for 33 issues. The first 7 issues contained a mix of all-new material and reprints, before switching entirely to previously published material with issue #8. The cowboy Ghost Rider was the main feature in those first few issues. Other new characters introduced in Western Gunfighters volume 2 included Jerry Siegel's Gunhawk and Roy Thomas and Mike Fredrich's short-lived and seldom remembered Renegades.

Referring back to the title's origins, reprints of the Native American hero Apache Kid were a frequent back-up feature since issue #1. In this issue, the Apache Kid, who poses as a white teenaged cowpuncher in order to infiltrate desperadoes who want to harm his tribe, joins a gang of white men who dress up as Apaches with hopes of causing a war with the US Calvary. Once the Army wipes out the Apaches, the gang hopes to lay claim to the tribe's valuable land and resources. The story featuring art by Werner Roth features two of the fastest quick-changes in the history of comics to a point, they make both Superman and any version of the Flash look slow. 

The cover story reprints a classic tale of Kid Colt. Written by Denny O'Neil, the Kid is given the chance at a pardon after he saves the governor of an unnamed Western state from train robbers. Sadly, Kid Colt must continue to live his days as a wanted man when he traded his chance at freedom in order to save the politician from assassins. Once more, the artwork is by Werner Roth.

Lastly, a loner named Gun-Slinger, along with his dog Lightning come across a prospector with aim to kill the pooch. A pack of wolves caused the prospector to lose a wealthy claim and now he's ready to kill anything that comes his way looking like a lupine. It's a story about redemption and forgiveness featuring art by John Romita, Sr.

Issue #33 would be the final issue of the series. It's demise was brought about by shrinkflation. When the reboot first debuted, it was a 52-page plus special for all of 15 cents. As the page count shrunk and the all-new material disappeared, the price rose to 20 cents and then 25 cents before Marvel let the title out to pasture.

Gil Kane was the cover artist for this issue.

Completing this review completes Task #47 (An Anthology) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Showcase Presents: Batman, Vol. 6

This addition to my collection was thanks in part to that brief period in time when wholesale emporium Ollie's bought several dozen truckloads of DC and Vertigo overstock. I think it was 2017 or 18 when those of us fortunate to live near an Ollie's could go to the discount shop and buy massive treasuries of DC's finest for pennies on the dollar. I lived within an hour of 6 locations and I was able to make huge additions to my collection without hurting my budget.

Unfortunately, being that DC's inventory was being liquidated en masse, it really was a crap-shoot as to what each store got. For instance, the Durham, NC location got 30 copies of the Strange Adventures trade from 2010 but only 1 copy of the Silver Age Suicide Squad Omnibus. That's how I ended up with Showcase Presents Batman, Vol. 6. 

The black & white reprints of Showcase Presents were highly coveted by us bargain hunters. I was able to get both volumes of The Atom's exploits. I got all 3 Aquaman books. I even found a copy of the massive collection of reprints of the events of the Great Disaster, featuring the Atomic Knights. Yet, for some reason, every location in central North Carolina got dozens of Batman, Vol 6. No 1,2,3,4 or 5. Just #6!

This volume covers the beginnings of the Denny O'Neil era of the Caped Crusader. (His first run. After a 6-year return stint to Marvel, O'Neil would begin a second memorable stint as a Batman writer in 1986.) The first thing O'Neil and his Green Lantern/Green Arrow collaborator Neal Adams would do to Batman was make him the Dark Knight again. The 1960s ABC series would make the Batman Family quite campy. Now it's the 1970s and everything is dark again.

Batman would face one of his greatest foes in this run, Ra's al Ghul. Whereas with a villain like the Joker or Two-Face, Batman would beat the crap out of them and return them to jail quick. With Ra's, Batman plays the long game. It's further complicated by the addition of Ghul's daughter Talia, with whom the Batman has a mutual attraction with. Over the course of a half-dozen issues, Batman and Ra's al Ghul have a worldwide pissing match, with the eco-terrorist trying to size up The Detective as his potential replacement and Batman trying to figuring out just what his new foe is up to.

That's just the Batman books. In the pages of Detective Comics, Frank Robbins, Dick Giordano and others are making Batman earn his reputation as the World's Greatest Detective. These stories are a mixed bag. They don't feature any of Batman's main villains. Mostly just small time crooks, murderers and in one case, a prison riot full of white supremacists and black power soldiers.  

Robbins' art is excellent. His ability to be the next Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is something else. Some mysteries are really good. Many are missing something. Mostly clues. Well, they're there because Batman reveals them at the end of each story. Frank Robbins just seems to forget to let the readers in on things. 

Thankfully, you don't need Volume 5 to get caught up on things in this edition. Unlike the Marvel black and white reprints (Essential Marvel), the DC collections don't make readers have to get the next volume in order to wrap up a storyline. I would love to get my hands on the first 5 volumes. What I really wish is that there was a volume 7, and then 8, and then 9. One of the biggest crimes against comic books was having both DC and Marvel scrap these fan favorite collections in favor of very expensive, page lacking color collections. That's big business for ya...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Question, Vol. 2: Poisoned Ground

I started with Volume 2. This might sound like an odd thing to do. And I agree, it is. I found this, along with about 30 exact copies of this book, at Ollie's for only $4. Featuring writing by Dennis O'Neil, I just couldn't pass it up. Unfortunately, there weren't any other volumes in the series for sale. 

I waited a few months in hopes of finding book one before just saying 'the heck with it' and going ahead and giving this book a read. And it wasn't a hard transition to start with issue #8. The Question is news reporter Vic Sage. He's helped by a scientist nicknamed Tot who provides Vic with a mask that makes him appear faceless and a special gas that seals the mask and changes his hair and physical appearance.

Vic had been left for dead and it was that incident that led him to turn into The Question. Able to do things that the corrupt police force of Hub City refuses to act upon, Vic Sage uses his leads as a newscaster to take on the dangerous criminal elements that operate in his home town. There's no question at all that this hero is a vigilante.

Perhaps the most confusing thing that Dennis O'Neil added to the mystique in this 1980s era reboot was Vic's real name. Retconned to have been an abandoned baby raised by nuns, the sisters gave him the name of Charles Victor Szasz. Well, there's a Batman villain named Victor Zsasz. That deranged serial killer was created in 1992 by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle. Were they influenced by Denny O'Neil? What's the connection? Why is it when I Googled these questions, others readers seem to not have any answers to this either?

The one thing I loved about this gritty 'mature audiences' version of a classic Charlton legacy character was how this Question seems to be more like the way I wish Batman would be like. See, I don't play Batman video games for the very reason that those games are more fighting and less mystery solving. I love the Dark Knight more when he's the great detective as opposed to some sort of glorified mixed martial artist. And this version of the Question is an exciting detective written by a Batman legend! I just wish he had better dialogue.

The scripts read like really bad imitations of Philip Marlowe. The plots are great. But Vic Sage's dialogue both in and out of costume are full of really bad jokes and even worse attempts at being R-rated without totally going full-on explicit.

The artwork is by Denys Cowan. It's gritty, sexy and pretty darn glorious. But man, did DC editors seem to let some things slide. In one issue, Vic notices an attractive co-worker eating a bar of fudge. When Cowan shows her eating the confection, well let's say- that's not how you eat fudge... And no, you don't have to have a dirty mind to make the true connection. 

I really liked what I read. I'd love to read more. No way in heck am I going to pay the prices Amazon sellers are asking for the companion volumes. They're out of print and asking prices are about $50 per volume. There's an omnibus, almost 1000 pages in length. I might be persuaded to purchase it, if I could find a copy for less than a $2.00 discount off the cover price. 

This version of the Question is gritty and very smart. But it's also cheesy. It's 80s cheese; so it's a good cheese. But it's also something that unless the price is right, something that I won't be reading further adventures anytime soon.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Mini-Books Collectible Box-Set

This deluxe box set collects over-sized facsimiles of the 6 Marvel mini-books kids could get out of bubblegum machines way back in 1966. The original mini-books were barely the size of a postage stamp and yet they were each 48-pages in length!

The stars of the 6 minis were Sgt. Nick Fury, The Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America, Millie the Model, The Mighty Thor and The Incredible Hulk. (Note that the order in which I listed these characters is also the rating I give of the 6 books from best to worst). Licensed by anow defunct tiny novelty company based in Chicago, Il., not a lot is known about the production of these little reads. Mark Evanier (Garfield: TV or Not TV?) does a very good job of recording what he knows in the 7th book in this collection, Marvel Comic Mini-Books: A Mini-History. 

Evanier makes a very good point that many of the artists and writers who might have been behind this project have passed away. Evanier was able to determine that Marie Severin (Not Brand Ecch) was behind the Sgt. Nick Fury story. I also think the Thor and Hulk stories were drawn by her. Mark Evanier also reveals that Denny O'Neil was the writer of the Captain America book.

The main problem I had with Mark Evanier's book is something that probably wasn't even his fault. The history book contains reprints of the 6 books in their original size form. If you read that book first, it spoils the reading of the 6 books, which were what you paid hard earned money for. So if you ever get your hands on this beautiful set, read the supplemental book LAST!

This was a product of its time. Marvel was way behind DC in terms of marketing its big name faces. One might wonder why Millie the Model got included in this set. In 1966, Millie starred in no less than 3 monthly titles. Plus, having a book starring a female character was a smart way to ensure that it wasn't just the boys who spent their allowances on a chance to snag one of these treasures.

While the books themselves are looked at as collector items, not every book is a classic. The Hulk book doubles as a goofy joke book. Plus, the Mean Green Machine talks more like when he's the intellectual Grey Hulk than his regular speak in monosyllable when verde. The Thor book was pretty good. It just had some rather odd looking artwork, the ending was silly and the God of Thunder is really more of a minor character than the star. The Millie book started off with a rather clever story. But the second half devolves into an outdated list of beauty tip cliches.

I thought Nick Fury's story was fantastic. It was a clever mystery tale about the Howling Commandos attempting to rescue a missing general somewhere in Nazi occupied France. Captain America's story is a spy thriller comprised of some goofy named fiends. But full of action. The Spider-Man story was silly. But then 1960s Spidey was pretty silly himself. Plus that story guest-stars a certain caped character from the Distinguished Competition. 

I really didn't know the hardback versions of these books existed. I knew of the minis from '66. But I'm not willing to pay $30 for such a tiny book. (Heck, I'm not willing to pay $30 on a regular comic unless I determine it to be an amazing deal!) But I found the whole set at a book store used for only $15. That deal was a freakin' steal!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Mini Books: Sgt. Nick Fury (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Imagine it's the spring of 1966. You're with mom at the local grocery mart and you run across a spinner rack full of comic books. Mom's not willing to pay 12 cents for the latest adventures of the Fantastic Four or Iron Man, so you continue with the shopping trip. You're a bit miffed but you move on...

After mom checks out, you exit the store, coming across the vending machines. Glistening in chrome and cherry red paint, there's an assortment of gumballs, jawbreakers, and fake mood rings ranging in price from a nickel to a quarter. And there you see it! A mini-Marvel comic book starring your favorite characters for only 10 cents! Spider-Man! The Hulk! Thor! Captain America! Sgt. Nick Fury! Even Millie the Model! Marvel Comics is the hot thing right now and you've got to have it!

Feeling a little bad that she said no to that comic book you weren't allowed to purchase, mom digs into her purse and hands you a dime. You place the coin into the slot and eagerly twist the dial. As the trinkets rumble inside the machine, your mind races in speculation as to which book you will get. Then the tumbling stops and the tiny 'egg' rolls down into your hands. At this point, you'll take the Millie book. You just want the bragging rights to being the first kid on your block to have one of these Marvel minis. And then the prize falls into your hands and you discover that you got... a whistle!!!

Chicago, Illinois' Creative House Promotions, INC. was behind the sale of these mini comics. The 6 books were less than the size of the average postage stamp and had 48 pages of story and art. There's a great debate over whether these books are in fact the World's Smallest Comic Books since the format of the stories are more like picture books than works of sequential art. 

Fans can also argue that the Marvel Mini Books were the first comics to have variant covers. Each mini came in 6 differing covers- orange, green, red, yellow, blue & lime- but the interiors were always the same. There are some error covers floating around with patterns of dots and strange lines on the front. However, they don't seem to be any more or less valuable than the solid color covers. 

The Marvel Mini Books were held together along the left side spine with a rubber glue similar to what holds together memo pads. The tiny size of the books made it impossible to read these rather thick books without damaging the spine and causing pages to fall out. Thus, a Marvel Mini Book in flawless condition is considered a grail find while the discovery of such a book held together by clear scotch tape would be gladly accepted by many a collector.

Just who wrote and illustrated these books is a bit of a mini mystery. Marie Severin (Not Brand Echh) was known to have illustrated a couple of these including the Sgt. Nick Fury book which was regularly drawn by Marie's big brother, John Severin. Writer Mark Evanier in the book Marvel Comic Mini-Books: A Mini-History got a confession out of Denny O'Neil (Batman) as being the writer of the Captain America tale. But as for the other 5 books, former Marvel EIC Roy Thomas confides that neither Stan Lee nor himself wrote any of the minis. 

Though C.H.P. would advertise all 6 Marvel titles as being available for only a dime, kids had to sift through other assorted junk like rings, plastic toy animals and even other mini books. In 1965, C.H.P. produced a line of 6 mini books devoted to jokes. Monster Laffs, Silly Willies and Wise Qwaks were just a few of the joke books that became filler in the Marvel Minis vending machines. A 'Stan's Soapbox' issued in all of the April, 1966 Marvel titles proclaimed that an astounding 10 million mini books were produced. C.H.P. apparently had a lot left over because by 1967, Marvel's fan club, The Merry Marvel Marching Society, started giving the minis away as part of their membership kits. Later, some discount stores started selling cake decorations with both the Marvel minis and the joke books affixed with glue.

The Sgt. Nick Fury book is essentially 2 stories in one. The first half of the book titled 'The Mirror Image' was about Nick's role with the Allied Forces during World War II. The second half of this book has Fury's Howling Commandos going behind enemy lines to rescue a general being held as a prisoner of war. 

For a veteran collector to enjoy these books, a magnifying glass is needed. The print is small and smudgy. C.H.P.'s quality was questionable and yet this is what you'd expect for only 10 cents. As for why Millie the Model was a part of this series, one has to remember that in 1966, Marvel was producing no less than 3 books starring Millie. Plus, to include the chance to win a Millie mini was a smart way to attract girl customers to spending their money on these books. 

A rare book that one should expect to pay a lot of money for if you weren't lucky enough to get out of the vending machine way back in 1966. As for the whistle you won, the only value it has is sentimental. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #2 (Comic from the Silver Age (1956-1970)) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Detention Comics #1

I'm heading into my third week of the new school year. In celebration or maybe a moment of blessed relief, I dug through my long boxes to give this back to school special a read.

Detention Comics is comprised of 3 stories starring the Tim Drake Robin, the Connor Kent Superboy and Guy Gardner during his stint as Warrior. For a 1996 one-shot, it's not quite your typical DC stuff. All three stories are more morality plays than gritty action adventures that have been dosed with too much testosterone. In fact, in the Superboy story, not a single punch, kick or threat is heaved in the entire thing! But let's start with Robin, since his was the opening story.

A schoolmate of Tim Drake's is being bullied- by his overbearing mother! Constantly cut from team after team, the teen finally snaps and decides to get payback against the family of the high school's head coach.

With Superboy, he's on the beaches of Hawaii trying to impress some coeds when truant officer Mack Harlin arrives to spoil the fun. It appears to be a battle of brains versus brawn. But then all bets are off when Harlin wins over the babes with his recitation of Shakespeare's sonnets.

Lastly, former teacher, Guy Gardner has been called into his former high school stomping grounds to evaluate whether the troubled institute should remain open or be turned into a mini mall. In a remake of The Substitute, which was also from '96, Guy plays the role of Tom Berenger when a trio of metahuman teens seeks revenge on a brilliant student while setting the school ablaze!

Okay, that last story sounds a little like a typical 1990s DC Comics story. But it was so full of cliches and really preachy. It read like some of the Teen Titans stuff from the 1960s and 70s in terms that whomever wrote it (Ruben Diaz, Martian Manhunter: American Secrets) didn't know how to relate to teenagers. Plus, as a teacher myself, I don't appreciate stories that paint schools as dead end hell holes. True, there's a couple of schools in the area that I don't think you could pay me enough money to teach at. But I don't think of them as helpless cases either.

The Robin story was the best of the bunch. It's interesting, and maybe even a little odd, to read a tale from Drake's early days in which he's so unprepared. I've always thought of Tim Drake as the ultimate Robin. Yet, here, he's a floundering duckling without Batman or Alfred to back him up. 

As for the Superboy story... Geez, was he really that corny back then? I'm used to a less assured Connor Kent who seems to feel out of place being a clone and also a half-Luthor clone at that. 

Oh, and having Guy Gardner turned into some sort of mutating alien arsenal. That's pretty odd. I'm glad that plot idea was retconned. Please, somebody tell that was retconned?!

For a themed one-shot, I was entertained. However, the book wasn't written for youths. And if it was, the writers, with the exception of Denny O'Neill (Detective Comics) don't seem able to write for younger audiences. I loved the logo of this one-shot. The homage to the classic Detective Comics logo done as a chalkboard was eye-catching. It obviously did it's job as it was a big part of what enticed me to buy this book.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

DC Holiday Special 2017 #1

DC Comics made 2017 a holiday season to remember yet again! In a massive holiday special, a team of legendary writers and illustrators put together 10 amazing stories including a Neal Adams Batman classic from the 70s.

Highlights of this holiday special include:

• A World War II tale recounted by Sgt. Rock spans a frosty week in the life of a wounded Allied solider and his Nazi captive.
• The Teen Titans take on the Ghost of Christmas Past and the nasty memories of holiday horrors from yesteryear.
• The Flash struggles to find time for his nephew Wally on Christmas Eve.
• Batman Icon Denny O'Neil returns to Gotham with a Solstice story starring the Dark Knight and Wonder Woman.
• And much more...

For the second year in a row, DC asked a cover price of $9.99 and I willingly shelled it out. Last year, the entertained the hell out of me! And they did it again this year!

The 2016 special had Harley Quinn as host and a superhero hero holiday party as the centralizing element of the special. That stabilizer was the only thing missing from this edition. 

Worth every penny, if you only buy one holiday special this season (well, it's Christmas Eve, so what's left of it,) this is the one to get! Shame on you Marvel for being a Scrooge this year!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Time Warp #1

This short-lived, but superb sci-fi anthology featured stories about “doomsday and other strange things.” Each issue featured 8 different tales with twists right out of the EC Comics playbook. Comic legends Denny O’Neil, Paul Levitz, and Steve Ditko contribute. Michael Kaluta did some super cover work that harkens back to some classic 1940s-style pulp art. He missed his calling if he never did a Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon book.

Time Warp only lasted 5 issues and though they weren’t massive hits, they’ve formed a sort of cult status among collectors, especially those of anthology comics. I was lucky to find this copy in a dollar box and I hope to find the other 4 issues. Though, I suspect that I’ll have to cough up big bucks for those.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

    

Sherlock Holmes #1

This is one of those comics in which if it wasn't for the group's I participate in on Facebook, I wouldn't have known that it existed. When I saw this posted as a comic convention find by a fellow group member, I was so jealous. I immediately went to the net to purchase a copy for myself. Needless to say, it wasn't cheap. So, I held off on getting the book and I waited.

  My wait wasn't very long as I found a decent good- to- very good copy for only a buck! I'm pretty sure I yelled out “MINE!”, even though I was the only customer in the store at the time. That's how bad I wanted this issue.

  This issue, dated October 1975, is based on the writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, adapted by Dennis O’ Neil, who at the time of publication was doing masterful mystery work on various Batman series. So he was the perfect choice to head this up. The gothic style cover art is by superstar artist Walt Simonson (Thor) with interiors by Filipino artist E.R. Cruz. I'm not very familiar with Cruz and what little I could find about him could fill a postage stamp. But he did do some work on a variety of DC'S lesser known horror titles and his work here is really good.

  Sherlock Holmes #1 is divided into two parts. Part one retells Doyle's ‘The Final Problem’ in what was to be the last ever story between Holmes and his arch-enemy, Professor Moriarty. I've read the story on which this part was based and the adaptation was quite good.

 Part two covers a story that I have yet to read in prose form, ‘ The Adventure of the Empty House.’ That story marked Holme’s return after a brief hiatus in which fans of the detective went bonkers and demanded that Doyle resurrect his most famous creation. To rate the story on its merits alone, the solution to how Holmes survived his encounter with Moriarty was OK. But his reasons for faking his own death were actually quite brilliant.

  The biggest surprise about this issue is that not only is it the first issue, it's the only issue. I'm not sure why it didn't catch on with readers. And no this wasn't a one-shot as there's a plug for issue #2 at the end of the book. And no- this title wasn't a victim of the DC implosion as that didn't occur until 1978. (Speaking of book endings, there is a great article about Sherlock Holmes in fiction and film at issue's end that was really interesting. Be sure not to skip it!)

 A fun read that is best read at night. A must for fans and collectors that consider themselves a member of the Baker Street Irregulars.

  Worth Consuming.

  Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

   

Bizarre Adventures #34

  

The cover says that this book isn't for kids and for 1983- they're right. 

   First of all- look at the cover- it's a skeleton Santa. Or maybe it's dad dressed as Santa coming to surprise his kiddies but he got stuck in the chimney and died. It looks kinda gruesome and kinda wicked awesome and man was I all over this!

   I didn't even know this book existed until probably 6 months ago and someone posted the cover on social media as a sort of Christmas in July motif. At that point, Bizarre Adventures #34 went on my wish list because A) It was a Christmas Themed book and B) it was a scary book or, at least, a weird one.

   So let us look at the stories contained inside:

• A homeless teen discovers that he's the Son of Santa and must take over the role when Jolly Ol' Saint Nick is brutally murdered by the Anti-Claus.
• Howard the Duck is shown by an angel that if he wasn't born his friends would've turned out a-okay!
• In an apocalyptic wasteland, a young renegade and his buxom sidekicks rescue a kidnapped tyke on Christmas Eve.
• When Santa accidently kills his father, a young boy murders the fat man's helpers one-by-one until he finally meets the real Father Christmas in his living room with a sackful of toys and one mean can of whoop ass.
• Santa's trip to the Big Apple doesn't go as planned when he's arrested for breaking and entering by New York's Finest.
• Finally, in a tribute to the classic EC Comics of the 1950s, a time traveller arrives in Victorian England in hopes of witnessing a more peaceful Christmas and gets stuck in the middle of some brutal class warfare between the Little Match Girl and her fat-cat employer.

    These Bizarre Adventures were completely off the wall and totally insane. Only the third and fourth story is really gory. But just about every tale has its fair share of sex, greed, and violence. In 1983, this book wouldn't have been deemed suitable for readers under the age of 16. Hence, the book is published without the Comics Code stamp on the cover. 

   For 2016, I would say parents of those under the age of 13 should be advised about this books contents. And for goodness sake, don't let them take this comic to school unless you'd enjoy seeing your child's place of higher learning on the 6 pm news for being under lockdown because some teacher took issue to the book's treatment of kids with weapons.

   Featuring art and stories by Al Milgrom, Denny O'Neil, Alan Kuppenburg, Mike Carlin, Larry Hama, and many more, this is a hard to find holiday themed Marvel comic. As the last book in the series, it's also the rarest. A little violent, a bit shocking as well. But it was a fun campy B-movie trek through the genres of horror, sci-fi, parody, and whatever the heck Howard the Duck is considered...

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Legends of the DC Universe #9

Green Lantern agrees to a 24-hour truce. This provides Green Arrow the time needed to show that the Central Asian dictatorship Hal Jordan’s been backing is truly evil. The target is a peace emissary from the rural rebels. Should he broker a peace between the warring factions, the demigod leader of the established government is going to hurt badly- in his pocketbook!

This final chapter is a thriller. Lots of twists and turns with plenty of surprises abound in this issue. It was almost like Tom Clancy was writing it! The only thing missing was Jack Ryan!

This hasn’t been my favorite chapter but it did end with a bang! Excellent job though I still wish they’d gotten Neal Adams from the original Green Arrow/ Green Lantern run of the early 70s involved.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Legends of the DC Universe # 8

With Ollie captured by the rebels and Hal Jordan back in the states delivering more planes for the fictional dictatorship in Central Asia, the Emerald Warriors have yet to officially meet. That all ends now with Green Arrow learning that these godless savages aren’t really that evil and thus he takes up his bow and arrow for them when the villages who’ve nursed him back to health are massacred.

Meanwhile, the Green Lantern of sector 2814 is having a crisis of conscience and asks the Guardians to guide him. In typical fashion, they tell Jordan that whichever side he chooses to defend is okay with them, just as long as he does something to keep the peace. So, being ex-military and basically an intergalactic cop, Hal Jordan picks the side of the dictatorship!

Now when both sides meet its green versus green and the winner may just be decided by the slip of a hand. But will that hand be releasing a jade arrow or a forest green beam of energy?

I’m like this storyline pretty well. I think having Denny O’Neil pen the story was the right choice. I still wish Neal Adams had done the art. I can see how this conflict could’ve very well influenced Green Arrow to become a sort of vigilante social worker while Hal Jordan always played the heavy, poo-pooing radicalism and really being a sort of tool for the man.

What I do not like about this story is how this is all playing out in ‘Vietnam’, though it’s not really the name of the country in this book. See, Ollie’s storyline is playing out a little too much like Tony Stark’s and how he came to be Iron Man. The only difference is that Oliver Queen isn’t being held captive by the Communists and forced to make a suit of armor.

Sometimes when one tries to create an origin story, they end up copying another work and Queen’s journey from selfish playboy to man of the downtrodden is just too close to old Chrome Dome over at the House of Ideas.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Legends of the DC Universe #7 (the 160-Character Review Challenge)

The first meeting of the Greens, written by legend Denny O’Neil. The only thing missing is art by Neal Adams! wc 8/10

DC Retroactive: Green Lantern - The '70s #1

 

   I rate this book as both OK and Worth Consuming at the same time. 

   First of all- the lost tale is lame. Green Lantern and Green Arrow do not team-up together and both of their adventures end very ambiguously and I HATE THAT! Plus, the art was all wrong. Why couldn’t DC Comics get Neal Adams to it? It would have been great having Denny O’Neil and Adams take another turn on the Green Guardians.

  What does makes this book worth consuming is the reprint tale. It’s GL/ GA #76, the classic story that gave birth to relevant comics. It’s a classic and thus anything that reprints that pivotal issue is a book worth a gander.

   Worth Consuming/ Not Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

DC Retroactive: Wonder Woman - The '70s #1

With DC getting ready to reboot its universe yet again, the publisher issued a series of one-shots that reflect the history of some of it’s greatest creations by reteaming original creative teams of the past 40 years with new “lost tales” of the DC Universe.

In this Wonder Woman special, Dennis O’Neil pens another tale about the powerless Amazon Princess. With her home island having sunk into the sea, Diana finds a mysterious submersible responsible. In order to save her people, she must confront her past and solve a series of tasks. She’s supposed to solve 3 mysteries but only completes 2. When asked of this, she responds that she thinks everything is back to normal and then the tale stops! No “The End” or “To Be Continued?”

The companion reprint piece from 1972 isn't any better. That too also ends abruptly with no “Tune in Next Time” or even a small blurb telling the reader which issues can be found to conclude this tale. Very poor editing, if you ask me. Not impressed. Hopefully, things will be better in the other Retroactive volumes.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Christmas with the Super-Heroes #1

Originally from ’88-89, this volume is a collection of reprints and not a volume of new stuff like more recent DC holiday ventures. I didn’t have a problem with this as I had only previously read one tale before- a Batman tale by O’Neil and Miller. The best story starred the JLA and was titled “Who Killed Santa?”

But really, they were all great stories.

This book was the kind of comic I would have loved to have received for a Christmas present. Speaking of presents, the Neal Adams cover looks a lot like the super heroes wrapping paper my parents would have used when I was you. That was sooo cool.

Green Lantern/Green Arrow Collection - Volume 1 by O'Neill and Adams

WORTH CONSUMING!

This is required reading for any comic book fan!