Batman: Second Chances

Jason Todd. 

The second sidekick of the Dark Knight. One of the most controversial characters in comic book history. He's like the celery of DC Comics as you either love him or hate him... and most despise him!

I decided to give Jason Todd another look with the purchase of this collection of stories from the late 80s. Featuring writing by Max Allan Collins, Jim Starlin and Jo Duffy, Batman: Second Chances covers the retooled origin of the character that was sorely missing from his 1983 debut. And this is where I think a lot of readers hated Jason Todd. 

See, Jason just kinda got thrust on readers as being the new Robin in Batman #368 after having basically appeared in a couple of cameos nearly a year prior. Jason Todd was replacing Dick Grayson, whose role on the 1960s Batman TV series made the young ward a household name. Never mind the fact that Dick Grayson had moved on from being Batman's partner years before. Here's a kid replacing a legend. A youth who is a little cocky, a bit brash, and kinda rude taking over the role of America's favorite teen sidekick without so much as a thank you and it ticked fans off. 

I think DC Comics kinda realized that fans were unhappy with Jason Todd. So after Frank Miller's Batman: Year One storyline retooled the origins of Bruce Wayne for a more modern audience, Max Allan Collins sets his sights on giving Jason Todd a formal introduction into the Batman Family while giving readers the must desired reason for the fallout between the Caped Crusader and Dick Grayson. 

Though the title was never officialled renamed, editors rebranded the Caped Crusader's solo title as Batman: The New Adventures. Here we learn that during one of Batman's annual visits to Crime Alley, the area of Gotham in which Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered, someone had the brass balls to steal the tires off of the Batmobile. The thief is none other than the orphan street rat, Jason Todd. 

Not even old enough to drive and this kid steals from the Batman! This kind of bravado impresses Batman. Working out a deal, Batman gets Jason set up with a halfway house. However, the program ends up being a front for organized crime a la Fagin and his pickpockets in Oliver Twist. Only much more violent. When that placement falls through, Bruce Wayne takes in Jason Todd and a new Boy Wonder is shortly christened. 

Despite a new origin and a blessing from Dick Grayson to Jason as being his heir appearant, time was short for the new Robin. By mid-1988, Jason's fate was left up to readers to call a 1-900 number to decide if the Joker would kill the new Boy Wonder in an explosion or merely mangle him a little. More readers called in to kill Jason Todd, beating out those who wanted to save him by less than 100 votes. I remember my house voted. But I don't remember if my dad was one of Jason's executioners or saviors. I know I wanted Robin to die. But my father often would do the opposite of what I wanted in his own Joker-like sadistic way...

Did Jason Todd really deserve all that hatred? Based on the stories in this book: no. Max Allan Collins and Jim Starlin do a decent job making him an agreeable sort of fellow. I'm guessing it's the Jason Todd from 1983-86 that got on reader's nerves and sent the lad into an early grave.

And sure- Jason Todd is back alive. It wouldn't be comic books if the characters didn't return from the beyond once and a while. This Jason who goes around as the ultra-violent Red Hood, is a fan favorite among many. Readers love how as the Red Hood, Jason Todd will cross lines that the rest of the Batman Family refuse to even toe. But me, I am a purist. I prefer Jason as a carefree kid, trying to make the best of a new life, even though on the other side of the comic book page, unknown readers were making plans to kill him. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #109

This was a great issue!

A new Wolverine team-up starts. This one co-stars Typhoid Mary. Though the Daredevil enemy doesn't really appear in the opening chapter, it's got an intriguing premise with Logan on the trail of a serial killer who has a history with Mary. I can't wait to see where this one goes...

The Young Gods story comes to a close. The Gerry Conway/Eric Fein story still seems like a second rate Eternals story. But the Tom Sutton artwork is stunning. 

I'm really enjoying the Werewolf by Night/Ghost Rider adventure. It follows up from a MCP story from a couple of years back. As wild as that story was involving a bunch of in-breed werewolf cannibals that also happen to be members of a biker gang. This sequel starring that same pack is just as wild and maybe a little bit S&M.

I think all the more revealing and explicit artwork and story-lines are because Marvel (at this time) is edging away from the Comics Code. I think they're trying to figure out how far they can go before finally splitting away from the CCA. That way, the House of Ideas doesn't just go completely wild and end up in yet another comics scare level of trouble based on the content. 

Wrapping things up is the latest chapter of the Thanos story. Death has for some reason been avoiding the Mad Titan. Not one to be stood up, Thanos takes on Death's legions of followers to finally win an audience with his true love.

As I've said before, I am not really a Jim Starlin fan. He's too cosmic for my tastes. But this second volley wasn't that bad. And I am actually looking forward to see what happens next. Plus, it doesn't hurt to have amazing artwork from Spider-Man's Shawn McManus!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #108

The curtain finals closes on the Wolverine/Nightcrawler tale. Part 1 started off really well. Then things just went in circles. It was like a Scooby-Doo mystery without any clues. This final part was actually exciting. There are humans attacking mutants and mutants attacking humans. The real question is 'Who's the real monster here?' 

Really loved the poignant ending. But why does Nightcrawler have to be the Charlie Brown of the X-Men? I love Nightcrawler. I know I say this kind of thing a lot. But he really is in my 10 top list of favorite comic book characters. Yet nothing seems to go right for Kurt Wagner. And when something good actually happens to the character, it just feels so out of place. 

The Ghost Rider/Werewolf by Night story is awesome. It's so unusual and I love unusual.

Thanos stars in a new multi-parter. It's a tie-in to one of the Infinity Gauntlet sequels. I think. Heck, it might just be an extension of the Infinity Gauntlet itself. I wasn't really sure. Sorry, but I haven't read all those books yet and to be honest, I'm not really big on Jim Starlin.

Only 1 chapter left in the Young Gods story. It too, finally is starting to get really good. And I am not just talking about the artwork from Tom Sutton that I have been a fan of since the beginning.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The Infinity Gauntlet

I'm not sure why it took me this long to read The Infinity Gauntlet. 

Well, maybe I do. I know that I am going to rile up some feathers with this opinion but I am just not that big a fan of Jim Starlin. Starlin is known for his cosmic odysseys and let's face it when it comes to some of his favorite characters, in this case Adam Warlock and Thanos, I am just not that interested in either. 

When I was very young, Thanos was a second rate villain who flew a yellow helicopter and once was arrested by Spidey and the NYPD. As for Adam Warlock, his origin was so mired in confusion; all in thanks to writers not really caring much about the character in the first place. There was so many contradictions in how Warlock came to be and what his purpose was that I gave up caring. 

That all being said, I will commend what Jim Starlin attempted (and pretty much succeeded in) to make this pair of cosmic foes relevant for the Marvel Universe.

Many consider Secret Wars to be Marvel's answer to Crisis on Infinite Earths. After reading this, I would have to disagree. I think Secret Wars I and II were the mini-crises that the Justice League and Justice Society would have annually in the pages of Justice League of America. It's actually The Infinity Gauntlet that would be Marvel's CRISIS. 

Infinity Gauntlet starts out beautifully. George Perez, one of my favorite artists and an all-around hell of a nice guy, covered the artwork for the first 3 and a half issues. But the pressures of completing this mega crossover along with DC's War of the Amazons at the very same time kinda burned Perez out. So much, that he quit the big-two for lower level penciling duties for many years in order to recover. 

What Starlin and Perez do in those few issues is mind boggling. The level of destruction and chaos brought about by Thanos' snap are some of the most impressive pages of destruction and choas I have ever seen in comics. But Starlin does not do enough. 

In this book, he's got both the Kree and Skrull ready to go to war. But he never follows through. Instead, Jim Starlin's sweeping focus on the entire Marvel Universe gets narrowed down to maybe a dozen players by the last 2 issues. 

Another thing that Starlin doesn't do right is properly set-up Adam Warlock's rebirth on Earth. It took me several re-reads before I figured out that he doesn't kill a liquor store clerk. But instead, Adam Warlock uses the recently dead body of the murderer to return to life. That just seemed so out of character for the generally peace loving Warlock and it was. But Jim Starlin didn't do a good enough job making that notion clear. 

I did love the final 5 or so pages of Infinity Gauntlet. It was rather perfect and ties into 2018's Avengers: Inifinity War quite well. (Actually, I am amazed at a lot of similarities between this miniseries and that film. It's a same that Marvel Studios weren't able to get the rights to Adam Warlock or the Silver Surfer hashed out in order to be in the movie.)

Infinity Gauntlet is one of the best Marvel epic crossovers. But it could have been the greatest if not for the writer losing focus. The main artist leaving didn't help matters either. Ron Lim is a talented artist. But he's no George Perez. 

A good read. But it didn't do enough for me to feel like I've got to rush out and procure the second and third acts of The Infinity Trilogy. (Not like I can just rush out right now thanks to COVID. But I think you get what I mean.)

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Thanos: The Infinity Revelation

 

    I've normally viewed Thanos as an unbeatable (and uninteresting) force. But despite his might and power, the Mad Titan is perhaps the most flawed character in the Marvel Universe. It actually makes him more intriguing too. I mean why would I care about his pursuit of the secrets of the universe if Thanos was omnipotent? It would be like having God searching for meaning in Himself and that just doesn't make sense.

    Thanos could beat the combined might of the Avengers with the snap of a finger and he's literally done that more than once. But when the rogue finds what he's looking for, on more than one occasion, he fails in his pursuit of knowledge and power as his quests often leave him unsatisfied. Like the kid who got everything his wanted and then saddened because there was nothing else to desire, Thanos frequently undoes everything he's accomplished and is his own worse enemy.

 This cosmic offering in Marvel's Original Graphic Novel series is penned by Thanos creator Jim Starlin. Starlin's more recent take on Thanos has the villain a little more wiser and a little more vunerable as his record of defeats have put him on the outs with his true love, Death. As the living embodiments of Infinity and Eternity are preparing for a new era of foretold change to the cosmos, Thanos is given a chance to finally redeem himself. Joining Thanos in his quest is the mysterious Adam Warlock who's recently returned from the dead once again. His return will assist Thanos in locating a beacon that points the way to Thanos' preordained rebirth.
 
 Their journey takes them to a planet that houses a long dead civilization. Upon their arrival, the duo are challenged by a squad of peacekeepers called the Annihilators. The battle is fortuitous as it leads Thanos to the dimensional gateway he's been hunting for. But the villain and his travelling companion aren't alone as they discover another Thanos and Adam Warlock from an alternate dimension and they happen to be on the same reality changing crusade. But which team will usher in the next age of the Marvel Universe?

   There's so much going on in this graphic novel that I feared giving away too much. The quest has a major impact on the forthcoming Secret Wars reboot to the Marvel Universe due later this year. If you are a fan of Marvel and you're eagerly awaiting the major crossover event, you must read this book. The art is amazing, but the most important aspect of the Infinity Revelation is the story itself. It very meta and somewhat hard to explain.

  I'll admit, my synopsis did not do justice to the plot or the excellence contained within this books covers. Starlin is a master and thanks to him, I'm even more interested in Thanos and Adam Warlock, two characters that I've had very little use for in the past, than ever before.

   Add 'The Infinity Gauntlet' and it's numerous sequels to my wishlist.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.