Solar, Man of the Atom #31

This is an issue where the cover says it all. You don't have to be familiar with the character of Solar, Man of the Atom, to know that the hero did a very wrong thing by bringing one of his captive arch enemies home for the holidays. Despite not knowing anything about the characters, the cover provides the needed backdrop and what occurs inside is just icing on the cake. 

The real fun is Solar having to drag his arch-enemy with him everywhere he goes. The hero and his live-in girlfriend, Gayle were supposed to catch a plane from LA to the Midwest to attend a mutual friend's holiday party. But with Solar's nemesis captured and there not being a proper facility to hold him, the baddie is going to the party as well.

This plot made for some very hilarious situations. I don't think I've ever encountered a story where Batman had to host an event as Bruce Wayne at his home while keeping the Penguin from getting out into the general populace. Yet, that's what happens here literally in this story and I got a massive kick out of it.

Issue #31 was written by Kevin Vanhook (Red Tornado). Vanhook did a great job crafting a story that a fan of holiday comics, like myself, could enjoy just as well as an established fan of Solar, Man of the Atom. There's just enough back story to keep the newbies from getting lost and just enough holiday cheer to keep die hard fans from proclaiming 'Bah, Humbug!' This story was interesting enough that if I was to ever come across a few issues of this 1990-96 series from Valiant, I'd gladly add them to my collection for a read. I'd most definitely be interested in the first dozen or so issues.

The artwork was pretty good for early 90s superhero books. The heroes aren't over-stacked with muscles like what was to be expected from publishers like Image and Marvel during this time. Plus, Peter Grau's (Mickey Spillane's Mike Danger) pencils were exceptionally clean.

Holiday oozes out of every panel and a great story with perhaps unintentionally hilarious results occur in this book that for someone like myself who isn't familiar with the character and his universe, really made me feel welcome and festive.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Red Tornado: Family Reunion

Thanks to the now classic Batman: The Brave and the Bold animated series, which just the other day celebrated its 10th anniversary, I became more familiar with the character of Red Tornado. I knew that he was an android and that he was created by the T.O. Morrow, an arch enemy of the Justice League. But I did not know that the character longed to be human and donned a human mask, taking the name John Smith, when not on active duty with the JLA. I also didn't know that he married a human woman and that adopted a child until I learned about that on the Cartoon Network team-up series. But when I did, that opened a ton of interest to me. Thus when I found this book at Ollie's, I snatched it up. 

True, I sat on this book for a couple of years before finding going into a box of trades and graphic novels that was just begging to be sorted through and giving this volume a read. Looking back, I kinda see how the Red Tornado is a lot like the Avenger, Vision. While I believe that the Red Tornado came first, I don't think John Smith's relationship with a human female transpired until after Vision and Scarlet Witch became a couple. In some other ways, Red Tornado is a lot like the character of Data from the Star Trek Universe; always wanting to better understand the human condition. Maybe that's why I am fascinated by this Justice Leaguer. Also like Data, we learn that for an android, the Red Tornado sure has a lot of siblings!

An unexpected visitor to T.O. Morrow's cell at Belle Reve brings to light that the mad scientist created 3 other androids before crafting Red Tornado. Based on the 4 elements, one android is insane and super strong, another is carrying scars from being betrayed by Morrow, while the third is presumed missing. When the forgotten android manifests itself due to an episode of intense stress, Tornado has a chance to finally have a family. But the wind elemental must get to his little brother before psycho older sibling finds him. Yet in order to maintain that which he always longed for, the Red Tornado may have to sacrifice the human family he's earned.

I really wish I could say that I was a fan of this book. The parts where Red Tornado/John Smith interacts with his family are my favorite parts. They're also quite humorous. Get Red Tornado with his android siblings and I lose interest. These other elemental robots aren't really likeable. The female droid who was betrayed by her creator is perhaps the most sympathetic of the three. But she's so cold and cunning. Could it be that T.O. Morrow gifted the Red Tornado with a heart? 

The artwork, by Jose Luis (Titans United), was really good. It's sleek and full of energy. Plus, the character design for the female member of Tornado's family was really well done.  I also liked that writer Kevin Vanhook (Bloodshot) brings in another Justice Leaguer to offer some assistance to this story. However, I think I would've liked it if at least one or two more characters would have been peppered in. 

The book looks like a Justice League title from the late 2000s. It reads like a Greek Tragedy. I'm not willing to give up on Red Tornado. Though in the future, I hope that my next encounter will focus more on the current home life of the character and not forgotten members of the Tornado family tree. Maybe something a little more like WandaVision and less like Oedipus Rex.

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.