Rogues

It's been a long time since DC or Marvel produced a true crime heist story involving super villains. 2006's Secret Six miniseries might be the closest thing we've had and that was more about baddies acting righteous during a time when the heroes were acting criminal.

In Rogues, Leonard Snart's glory days as one of the Flash's arsh-enemies is long past. In his late 50s, balding, overweight and kept on a tight leash by a parole officer who deserves his own spot behind bars, the former Captain Cold is a broken man. 2 of the Rogues are dead. His sister, the Golden Glider has renounced her life of crime and became an inner city social worker. The Trickster has become a hack magician, performing to elderly crowds. Mirror Master lost his mind in a drug induced haze. Mick Rory, AKA Heatwave, still plays with fire. Only, he does it with an entrepreneurial flare, committing arson by torching buildings for a cut of the insurance check. 

Now is the time to bring the gang back together. For years, Smart has been planning a heist so outrageous, that it's literally a suicide mission. With Captain Cold's guidance, the Rogues are going to infiltrate Gorilla City and rob Gorilla Grodd's personal vault laden with tons and tons of gold. Good thing Smart has decided to recruit a couple of former members of the Suicide Squad to help in executing this insane plan!

Joshua Williamson penned this story which is nearly flawless. I don't even mind that there's zero appearance of any of the multitude of men to carry the moniker of the Flash in this book. My biggest issue is the addition of DEO agent Maggie Sawyer. She's a great player in Metropolis. But she really doesn't seem to have a place in Gorilla City. At least not here in this story.

Rogues was originally released as a 4-issue miniseries in 2022. The first 3 issues were by Italian artist Leomacs. Issue #4 marks the debut of artist Luca Finelli. The transition between the two was flawless. I didn't even realize about the shift change until I was reading the biographies at the end of the book. I don't know who's talent that speaks higher of. But I loved the artwork throughout this entire piece.

This is a Quentin Tarantino level story and that's not just because of the amount of violence. Tons of swears. Tons! And we're talking F-bombs. This might be a DC Comic title but it's a Black Label release. Definitely not for the kids. But a must for fans of the Scarlet Speedster and his gallery of Rogues.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Outsiders, Vol. 1: Looking For Trouble

After the events of 'Graduation Day', the Titans disbanded as did Young Justice. Cyborg decided to take the heartbroken sidekicks of Young Justice to San Francisco in order to reform the Teen Titans. Starfire and Beast Boy joined as mentors. As for the remaining now adult Titans members, those remainders have gone their own ways. 

If Nightwing has anything to say about it, they'll never reform. If Arsenal has anything to do about it, the team will live again. The former sidekick of Green Arrow has picked up corporate funding, secured a new secret NYC headquarters and added a number of cool vehicles and weapons to the coffers. He's even got a name: The Outsiders. The only thing Arsenal needs is a team. Hopefully, Nightwing, will step up to the role.

Traveling across the country, Arsenal recruits a number of superheroes for his new team. He's got a veteran in Metamorpho, strength in the form of Grace, a 7-foot tall former bouncer and Thunder, a second generation rookie hero. He's even recruited the aqua blue android whose malfunctions resulted in the death of two Titans. Now going by Indigo, her presence might be a deal breaker for Nightwing. Luckily for her, a major disaster is breaking out in New York City and the times calls for immediate action.

Gorillas have invaded the city! A suicide bomber destroyed Air Force One. An energy zapping force field has encapsulated the Big Apple and President Luthor's replacement helicopter is going down! It must be the doing of Gorilla Grodd! And that's just the first half of the book!

Judd Winick's Outsiders is a lot like Geoff Johns' simultaneous release of the Teen Titans. Only where Johns' series is a PG-13, Winick's Outsiders is rated R. Sure, this is a DC book from the mid-2000s, so it's tame compared to the stuff Vertigo was releasing at the time. But compared to most of what DC was churning out, the amount of sex, language and violence is on par with the Zalman King original series that would air on Showtime. 

Part 2 offers a look at Brother Blood's return to power- before he gets whacked by his son who kidnaps Raven to become his teen bride. So if you're keeping tabs, you need to read Teen Titans Volume 1 then this book and then Teen Titans, Volume 2.

Plus one of the Outsiders is revealed to be an impostor... with a twist!

A good book for comic book readers of an older age because of content, not nostalgia.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Flash, Vol. 6: The Secret of Barry Allen

Brad Meltzer's universe changing Identity Crisis still haunts me to this very day. Sue Dibny did not deserve her fate. Husband Ralph, the Elongated Man, didn't either. This collection of Flash comics are the prelude to Identity Crisis you didn't know you needed.

Hunter Zolomon lies in a special cell at Iron Heights Penitentiary, frozen in a moment of time. He targeted Wally West's family, causing wife Linda to miscarriage. As a result, West went to Hal Jordan, who inherited the mantle of the Spectre, for help. Using the God-blessed powers of the Spirit of Vengeance, Jordan made it to where the world forget that Wally West is the Flash; including Wally himself.

Now after about a month of a normal life, Wally has regained his memories and so has Linda. It's made marriage difficult and Linda has left her husband to deal with the sudden shock. Now the Justice League wants to know just who in the heck is the Flash; especially as the sudden loss of memory seems very similar to what happened to Doctor Light when he raped Sue Disney. Has the Justice League gone too far once more?

After Wally learns of his predecessor's role in the magical lobotomy of Light, the latest hero to carry the name of the Flash will learn that this is not the only sin Barry Allen made. What Wally must do to put things right will put something Barry Allen did right again. However, West's task may end up fracturing the uneasy detente between the Scarlet Speedster and the Rogues; including those who have reformed!

Over 200 pages of story featuring Scarlet Speedsters of the past, present and future. Yet, like with most Flash tales, the stars of the show are the Rogues. I felt when I watched The CW's The Flash TV show that the Rogues were so novel and unlike the comics. But I had based that assumption on a vast majority of my reading on books from the Silver Age and early Bronze Age. The strange moralism of Captain Cold. The vindictive nature of human hater, Gorilla Grodd. The reluctant heroics of Heatwave. It's all in here! 

It's also kinda making me rethink my stance on The Flash TV series. Will it make me re-watch it? Not in the least. I've got better things to do. But I have a much greater appreciation for it.

A wonderful collection of work by Geoff Johns, who in my opinion is a sorely underrated comic scribe. Everyone gives Jim Lee and Dan Didio props for the evolution of the modern DC Universe. But after reading 'The Secret of Barry Allen', I'm feeling that Johns deserves a heck of a lot more credit than has been due!

And YES! If you are keeping track, this is a re-read and yet I don't remember reading this prior! Oh, boy...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Blue Devil #30

While Blue Devil is a member of the Superman Family, the character also has some deep ties with the Flash family as well. That's because of Dan Cassidy's past with former stuntman cum rogue, James Jesse AKA The Trickster! 

After a pair of outings with the Flash baddie and a Kid Devil one-off with Captain Cold, it's time for the entire Rogue's Gallery to give Blue Devil and friends a bunch of headaches. Captain Boomerang, Heatwave and the rest stop by Hollywood; along with Gorilla Grodd! 

If you are a fan of the Scarlet Speedster, you will enjoy this issue!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #42

It's a case of serious monkey business in this issue of Scooby-Doo Team-Up! Grodd, the super intelligent outlaw from Gorilla City has organized the evil simians of the DC Universe to take over the world! This is a case too big for the Mystery Gang along. So the teenage detectives call in for help. Enter Sam Simian, Congorilla and Detective Chimp!

I've praised how series writer Sholly Fisch has evolved this series away from the standard Scooby-Doo formula. Jokes about pulling the mask off of the monsters and goofy traps are still in the mix. But there's no ghosts or monsters in this story. Okay, there's a Nazi gorilla in the story. He's a monster. But how many episodes of Scooby-Doo do you remember Fred, Velma and Daphne battling agents of the Third Reich?

Dario Brizuela is on point in this story filled with more primates than the St. Louis Zoo! His technique is so classic. He's really the artist to go to in these DC crossovers.

A really exciting issue. It's jammed packed with guest stars. I'm a little disappointed that Detective Chimp wasn't used as much as he could have been. My hope is for him to return in another mystery, only maybe by himself. Or with Cain and Abel, the hosts of the House of Mystery and the House of Secrets. I'd be okay with a Halloween special with Scooby and those three supernatural characters.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Flashpoint: Grodd of War One-Shot

  Without the Flash around, Gorilla Grodd easily overthrew the rulers of Gorilla City and eventually all of Africa fell afterwards. Grodd should be ecstatic but something's missing. Without a challenge to his leadership, being the despotic leader of the world's second largest continent isn't as worthwhile as he thought it would be! Who would've thought that Gorilla Grodd would actually be happy without the World's Fastest Man to give him fits??? 

    Grodd of War is another entry in the Flashpoint universe but unlike the other tie-ins that I have read set in the Flashpoint, this issue is a one-shot. I hate that! This story was so good, so intriguing, and so original, I didn't want it to end. I really wanted this storyline to be a 3-part miniseries. 
    New Suicide Squad's Sean Ryan really outdid himself with this tale. There was such a level of pathos and gore in this one-shot. The third season of the Flash is supposed to take place in the Flashpoint and if producers of the CW show are mining the comics for ideas, I really hope that they strip this issue clean!
     It's that good! And the artwork by Ig Guara (Blue Beetle) is quite exceptional as well!!!

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #15 (Family Comic Friday)

Talk about your 'fast food'-
see, the puns are the worst!

When Scooby and the gang assist the Flash in taking down a dragon assailing Central City, the action jumps to deepest darkest Africa. There the residents of Gorilla City have spooked by a ghost ape that warns of terrible doom if the citizens do not abandon the scientific marvel. The Flash and the Mystery Gang race to the scene already assuming who the mastermind behind this caper is- the treacherous Grodd who just escaped his prison cell yet again. However, all bets are off when the simian villain seeks out the Flash to keep the ghostly gorilla from haunting Grodd too!

  

Scooby-Doo Team-Up is one of my favorite comics. So much that I can't wait to find issues in the bargain bin. It's the only book that I buy off the shelf at my favorite used bookstore and LCS, Books Do Furnish A Room. I just hope with DC rebooting the look of the Scoobies that they don't cancel this fantastic series. (Since I love this title, it's days are probably numbered.)

   

 That being said, SDTU is the perfect combination of classic Hanna-Barbera, retro DC Universe and modern pop culture references. I loved when Fred told Flash that he deserves his own TV show! Both fun and funny, (though some of the puns are groaners) this is a great all ages read and at $2.99, friendly on the wallet.

   If you child loves mysteries, superheroes, and cartoons, you need to make this bimonthly book a regular part of their downtime reading!

Worth Consuming!

 
Rating: 9.95 out of 10 because of the bad jokes.

Legends of the DC Universe #19

I'm torn. I usually hate it when you read a book and then you find out that the cliffhanger is in the pages of another title. In this case, the cover explicitly states that the JLApe storyline starts here. (JLApe was a cross-over event in which members of the JLA were turned into various types of primates by Gorilla Grodd.) Then at the end of the book there is a checklist of the other books in the story arc. So, I applaud those steps to keep the reader in the know.

However, Legends of the DC Universe is supposed to tell untold tales of the best and brightest of the DC Universe. To me, that means stories from their early days. Here, we get Impulse, a 90s creation. Okay- you can still operate within the realms of this series premise with this. You can expound on Bart’s life in the 30th century. But to tell a story that occurs in the ‘present’ seems to defeat the concept of telling the backstories of the DCU.

The story itself was very good. It was funny, exciting, and made me want to read more

Impulse. Also, I am not on the hunt for the rest of the JLApe annuals.

However, this story does not operate within the established parameters set by the editorial staff in the letters pages of issue #1.

So, I will deem this story worth consuming but I must knock it down a peg because it didn’t stick to the essence of Legends of the DC Universe series.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

DC Retroactive: The Flash - The '70s #1

 This is so sad. I love Barry Allen’s Flash. However, both tales are wrought with problems. In the lost tale, Gorilla Grodd hatches a plan to make Allen think his wife cheated with him by creating an ape-human hybrid with Iris Allen. 

   Then in the reprint tale, we have Superman and Flash fighting against each other for the fate of humanity. First of all, I don’t think this was a reprint from Flash, but from DC Showcase Presents. (It is!!!) That mistake is forgivable. It’s the convoluted science behind how and why the duo is traveling through time that’s very lame. Normally, DC did a much better job at having their stories chop full of fantasy and real science. Here, the author explains time travel and then contradicts himself at least twice through the course of the tale.

 Very poor offerings. Not impressed.

 Not Worth Consuming.

Rating: 4 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.

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.