DC's Terrors Through Time #1

Finally, after several years of complaints, DC releases a holiday time special that contains relevant content but doesn't make the reader want to kill themselves because of being shamed about the sins of the world. 

For instance, in the prequel story starring the Gotham City Sirens, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Catwoman face a Hawaiian earth spirit who is unhappy with how their pristine island has become tarnished by man. I did not realize how much damage cats have done to the island chains' ecosystem, including the surrounding oceans! But in this story, the Sirens 3 are given a chance to redeem the wrongs and there's a little bit of hope; something that has been lacking from DC Comics' for the past several years.

I think DC is starting to understand that the readers with money to spend want to be entertained, not preached at. If I want a sermon, I know where to go on a Sunday morning. There's nothing wrong with covering political or even social topics. Just don't be snarky with your comments and inside jokes. Not every white male in America supports Trump and his ideals...

There are 7 other stories in this book which looks at horror through the ages as opposed to time travel frights. Based on the cover with the Super Sons looking over blueprints for a time machine, that's what I thought this book was going to be about. Alas, I was wrong.

Instead, the opening story, starring the Phantom Stranger sets the tone for this 80-page giant. The Stranger's story reflects on his eternal mission to save humanity from the forces of darkness. This usually involves demons and monsters. But I would have expected a story that took place over eons would have The Stranger wearing different togs. Instead, he wears that 1960s mod turtle neck, fedora and cloak of his throughout all time. I didn't know his costume was so timeless.

The story starring The Demon, Etrigan, was perhaps one of the best stories ever published by DC. The ending was absolutely freakin' perfect! If they still do awards for story of the year in comics, this one gets my vote and full support!

Other stories of note was the Halloween set story of the Super Sons as they go to trick-or-treating to all the secret lairs of the Justice League's line-up. Then go 50 years into the future to see how Swamp Thing protects the Green after a nuclear catastrophe. 

There's also a really good Green Lantern Corps story set about 425 years in the future. I felt that it was a story that contained characters that DC isn't done with yet. If that's the case and a Green Lantern Corps series set in the 25th century is to be a thing? Well if so, expect me to be adding it to my subscription wish list at my local LCS. It's that good!

And let's not forget that I was a fan of the Gotham City Sirens tropical tale. 

The two stories I was not a big fan of involved the Justice Society of America and Deadman. The JSA story, set during WWII, involved stopping some Nazis from obtaining a magical museum piece that could turn the war in Hitler's favorite. Overall, the art was good and the plot was okay. I just felt like writer Charles Skaggs (Grayson) was trying to fit 25 gallons of pickles into a 5 gallon bucket. The pacing was just too fast and the one-liners fell flat.

As for the Deadman tale, I blame the artist, Kelley Jones (Batman & Dracula: Red Rain). I love Jones' work. But I hate how he draws Deadman. This team-up with Damian Wayne had promise. But writer Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash) ruins it with Deadman waxing philosophical at times and Batman, when he appears, just doesn't seem himself. I thought Batman liked and respected Boston Brand. But here, the Dark Knight seems to treat Deadman with the disdain you'd expect from Batman to have towards Plastic Man. 

A very good offering of stories from DC. Not very scary. And like I said, there wasn't any time travel. But this also book contained what I think is the best story of the whole year of 2022! And this was probably the best holiday giant from the House The Superman Built in the last 5 years. I'm feeling a lot of hope for the December offering thanks to this issue.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Blue Devil Annual #1

This wasn't the last Blue Devil issue released for it's 1984-86 run. This annual WAS the last issue I read, however. So technically, when it comes to DC Comics, they saved the best for last.

Something is causing the supernatural heroes of the DC Universe to fight each other. Manbat is going for The Creeper's throat. Madame Xanadu and the Phantom Stranger are about to hex each other into oblivion. And thanks to about $6 million dollars in damage to his hard work for an upcoming flick, Blue Devil is about ready to rip the Demon, Etrigan's head off!

Just what or who is behind this madness? Throw in Felix Faust, Black Orchid, Nebiros, the demon who caused Dan Cassidy to become fused within the Blue Devil suit, and a bunch of baby imps and it's an all war!

This was the essential Blue Devil issue! The desert setting for the final showdown. The banter. The action. I wanted more of this. 

One could argue that the foundations of Justice League Dark are laid in this annual; even though it took about 3 decades for it actually happen. I think you could also argue that the other supernatural team that Blue Devil was a member of, Shadowpact, was birthed in this over-sized issue. 

Another factor in the positive for this issue is that not only does Blue Devil co-creator Paris Cullins pencil the cover, he also illustrated the whole shebang! Cullins left the series after less than a dozen issues and the art quality dropped significantly. I'm really glad that we got his artwork in this epic story! Having Cullins in on the action really was the cherry on top to this perfect read!

Summer Fun indeed! 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Blue Devil #13

30 plus years after it was published, this Madman got his wish. Issue #13 was far from unlucky with Zatanna, Jon Stewart and Etrigan returning to free Dan Cassidy from the long-distant Nebiros. 

It turns out Dan's hi-tech pitchfork has absorbed some of the demon's bad mojo. That's good news for the studio behind the Blue Devil movie as it turns out that the film footage shot isn't full of demonic influence. But for Dan Cassidy, it spells trouble.

The comedic elements of the past issue are all but gone. But I still enjoyed this supernatural chapter very much nonetheless. Full of great guest stars and chock full of new twists and turns; including a new player who promises to give Dan Cassidy the fits. That is, if he survives the events of this issue!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Blue Devil #12

It finally happened! The long-awaited premiere of Blue Devil at L.A.'s Chinese theatre promises to be a blockbuster. As they say, the devil is in the details and the moving images of the demonic Nebiros have unlocked the evil side of Dan Cassidy.

Wreakng terror on the movie goers, Blue Devil has unlocked powers unimaginable. It will take the combined efforts of Zatanna, Green Lantern Jon Stewart, the rhyming Demon, Etrigan, and an all-new hero named Kid Devil to defeat Cassidy's dark side without doing any permanent harm to the famed stuntman.

It's always great when you get an appearance from Jack Kirby's Demon. Plus Zatanna just has great chemistry with Blue Devil. I really wish she would have become a permanent fixture of this series. 

This caper to the first year of Blue Devil was a supernatural comedic masterpiece by the writing team of Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn with fantastic art by Alan Kupperberg.

Just about darn near perfect!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Cursed Comics Cavalcade #1

This, the official 2018 Halloween special from DC Comics has it's roots in history. 

First is the amazing cover that pays homage to the EC Comics of the 1950s. EC is the benchmark for which all other horror anthologies are ranked. Nice work Doug Manke!

Then there's the title. Back in 1978, sales at DC were dismal and a slew of comic book titles were unmercifully cancelled. To finish up the titles' running story-lines and to finalize pay for the creators, artists and writers, a small hand full of ash cans titled 'Cancelled Comics Cavalcade' were produced. To find one of these two issues is to find a holy grail in which you'd have to mortgage a first child to be able to afford. If you were a fan of any of the books cancelled, it was a day full of horrors.

So that's where we get the cover and title of our book. What's inside is 10 spooky stories starring characters from the DC Universe. Some tales are set during Halloween; some are not. Just as the seasons vary, so do the quality of the stories. 

The Batman story involving horror-themed movies and the Robin/Solomon Grundy team-up are the best stories. Once again the Batman Family tales are the best. Is this because of some unfair bias on the part of DC to put better talent on these titles? Or are the Gotham City themed characters the best that DC has to offer?

In the almost perfect category is a New Orleans 1880s themed story starring Jason Blood and his counterpart, The Demon. Then there's a heartwarming tale starring Zatanna and her dad. Plus the Swamp Thing story was quite good though it was a bit too meta at times to thoroughly enjoy. 

The Black Lightning/Katana story was good but it wasn't great. For some reason, lately, nobody really seems to be able to do the character of Katana right. Black Lightning is obviously in this book because of his series of The CW. So why couldn't he have been given a solo story? Is it because Katana is currently a weak character? (I think she needs to show up on the TV show, but that's subject of a different review.)

Dragging up the rear was a poorly drawn Green Arrow feature that has a bunch of plot holes. Then there's the disappointing (because he's my favorite and this story sucked) Superman tale that have more holes in it than the Titanic. 

The Guy Gardner story was another tale that should have been better than it was. Plus, the art was a very pale imitation of the late Darwyn Cooke. And rounding out the book was....

And then there's that problematic Wonder Woman story. As if you could not tell, I forgot all about it and had to go back to see which story I was forgetting. It had great art. The monster was quite creepy. I was satisfied with the ending. Yet, I had completely forgot about this ghost tale.

Cursed Comics Cavalcade was a decent mix of horror themed adventures. But based on the title, I think it would have been cool to have had this special comprised of stories starring characters who were cancelled during the DC Implosion. Along with Black Lightning, we could have see scares starring Firestorm, Kamandi, Vixen, and Shade the Changing Man. To appease the DC Editors, you could still have a couple of Dark Knight capers as the anthology series Batman Family was cancelled during this time. 

It's a missed opportunity but hey, there's always next year! Come on, DC Comics! Give this idea a chance... if you dare!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Demon #2

With it being the 100th birthday of Jack Kirby, I thought it would be more than appropriate to read an issue from Kirby's horror title the Demon from his 1970s stint at DC.

The Demon's human host Jason Blood is in a fictitious European town in search of Merlin's tomb. But the sinister forces of Morgan Le Fey have beaten Etrigan to it. Now Blood must race to a secret coven spot in order to prevent a literal hell on earth.

When it comes to the art style of this comic- it's A-1, top notch stuff. Etrigan is probably my favorite visually appealing character that Kirby has ever done. The character might even be my favorite of all-time.  

But when it comes to the story- it's not really my favorite. Maybe it's because I only had issue #2 in my collection. Perhaps I needed issue #1 to better understand just where Jason Blood went. And what's the deal with the trio of oddballs that have taken residence inside his apartment back in Gotham City? 

It could very well be that I'm just not a fan of this series period. I never really been a fan of Kirby's Jimmy Olsen stuff. I adore Kirby's Fourth World material. So who knows?!

A creepy Kirby offering that just might not be my cup of tea...

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.