Booster Gold #47 (A Flashpoint Tie-In)

  Booster Gold comes face to face with the man in control of the monster, Doomsday: General Nathaniel Adam. For Booster, whose from the unaltered DC Universe, it's like seeing an old friend and wondering whatever did he do to piss him off. For Adam, as a member of the Flashpoint, he's never seen Booster before in his life and the Air Force officer is convinced that this newcomer is a shock trooper from Emperor Aquaman's Atlantean forces. Now bound with metahuman resistant chains, how will the Hero You Never Heard Of find the ket to reversing the Flashpoint- Barry Allen!
    The thrilling conclusion to Booster Gold is not without it's detractors. For one thing, I hate that in the New 52! Booster Gold was merely a footnote as a member of Justice League International. I hope with Rebirth, he'll be a major player again. So, parts of how this book ended was bittersweet. I did however, LOVE that it's revealed who, how, and why those mysterious phrases were written on the chalkboard in Rip Hunter's base (see Time Masters: Vanishing Point #6.) Why they had to be written in code is still a mystery. But I at least was happy with how that plot point turned out. 

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Captain Atom #13

   This issue of Captain Atom has a few things going for it, the content inside the cover matches the festive cover image, the story doesn't end with a cliffhanger, and the main story was very well written.

   In this issue, an up-and-comer in the real estate world gets a harsh lesson in 'victimless crimes' when his attempt to burn down a run down building for profit results in several squatters being trapped in flames. Meanwhile, a time-displaced Captain Atom is feeling very out of sorts on Christmas Eve. How the two men's lives intersect results in heroic actions. However, there's no real justice for the arsonist. He just kinda goes into shock for his sins and disappears into the snowy streets of Washington DC.

    This is just the beginning of what went wrong for this story. Yes, I'm glad it ended without a cliffhanger. But, obviously with the arsonist not being apprehended for his crimes, I feel like his tale really wasn't over yet. The flip side to this story is that the first 10 pages of this story is based on a review of the backstory of the previous 12 issues. We learn that Atom was framed for something and that it's caused his children to hate him. However, for the casual reader, it took some rereading to figure out that the bad guy Eiling actually went so far to marry Captain Atom's wife (after everyone thought he died in the experiment that gave him his powers.) Now Atom's kids call Eiling 'dad.'

    Sometimes when a comic does a recap of previous details, they retell the entire story. Often to the point going too far. But the recap in the story relied too much on a priori knowledge. It didn't engage me. Thus, I can honestly say that I'll just catch up on what I missed on Wikipedia and forgo ever trying to collect this series.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.
 

The L.A.W. (Living Assault Weapons) #6 of 6

 

If you notice on this cover, the final one of this mini-series, it depicts Captain Atom. The same Captain Atom who will one day become Monarch. The same Captain Atom who was a member of the Justice League. And do you know what Captain Atom has done in the past 5 issues? Absolutely nothing!

   In issue 1, he is summoned to fight the demon hordes of Avatar and gets captured pretty quick. In issues 2-4, you see Captain Atom stuck in a mystical glass cage, unable to break free. In the last issue, his body has been so drained of his atomic powers, he’s morphed into a giant gray slug by the time he’s finally rescued. What was the point of having him as a member of the L.A.W. if he’s not going to do anything?

  I would’ve rather another Charlton character have been used if all Captain Atom was going to do but be the centerpiece of a giant snow globe. Where was Peter Cannon- Thunderbolt for goodness sake? Use him!

   In my last review, I mentioned that I didn’t understand why this was a 6 issue mini-series if the villain was going to be eliminated in issue 5. Well, I discovered just what DC had in store and I liked it. The issue takes place with The Question writing an article about the after math. Shades of Rorschach in Watchmen, perhaps? Since they took so long to build up the L.A.W. team, it was good of DC to take extra time showing the readers what happened next. I was quite happy with the outcome and thought that this was a decent ending to the series. I am disappointed that this new team didn’t really catch on. I would like to have seen more of their adventures. But, it didn’t catch on and some much has changed in the past 25 years since this book was published with the DC Universe, I’m sure that opportunity has past.

   However, that doesn’t mean I can’t go on a search for the old Charlton books and maybe find a few in a bargain bin. That’s a testament to how well a job DC Comics did, despite the Captain Atom fiasco, in crafting a whole ‘universe’ of characters that I grew to know more about.

   Worth Consuming.

 

Issue Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Overall Rating of the Series: 8.5

 

The L.A.W. (Living Assault Weapons) #5 of 6

 

  This issue sees the release of the JLA from Avatar’s extra-dimensional prison spell. That action could make this comic become a JLA title real quick. Thankfully, that powers that be remembered that this mini-series was supposed to star some of the super-heroes from the Charlton Comics line of the 60s and 70s. The JLA do join the fight with the L.A.W. but their role is support only. Kudos! DC, you made the right choice about this.

   Now, here’s something I am very confused about. This issue ends with the fall of Avatar. I won’t spoil how it’s done or by whom. However, I feel that I must point out that this is issue 5 of a 6 issue mini-series. So, if the villain is vanquished, what are the Living Assault Weapons going to do for their curtain call next issue? Take on another big threat to the earth and manage to defeat it in less than 32 pages?

   I’m very interested to see how that’s going to play out.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The L.A.W. (Living Assault Weapons) #4 of 6

 

 The issue 3 promised that in this issue’s fight between Judomaster and Avatar, one of these two will die. Well, if it’s the Avatar then what the hack is going to happen in the next 2 issues? And if Judomaster kicks the bucket then how will Avatar achieve some sort of final retribution since the Judomaster is inadvertently behind the villain’s reason for turning evil?

   I’m not going to reveal who dies but one of these two characters really does die. I will say that there is a M. Night Shyamalan type twist behind that characters death. No, it’s not a ‘Lady in the Water’ type twist. This is an honest to god ‘Sixth Sense’ quality level twist! I love it!

  Yet another great issue in this underrated series. It’s perhaps my favorite in the entire series- it’s definitely the best thus far.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

The L.A.W. (Living Assault Weapons) #3 of 6

The Living Assault Weapons are briefed and geared for their first mission. It’s a multi-pronged attack that will have the team fighting all over the globe. I understand most of the missions with exception of Nightshade’s. She is supposed to save a foreign dignitary but I’m not sure why he is significant other than she calls him “Uncle.”

    Perhaps the most important part of this mission is that one of them is captured and his or her capture has a major part as to why this “reincarnated” Hindu god named Avatar has raged a personal vendetta against the military and peacekeeping officers of the world. The next issue promises that between the captive and the Avatar, one of those two will die. I’ve heard that promise before. So it remains to be seen if that’s true or just false hype.

   This is the best issue in the series so far. That’s probably because of Avatar’s identity and origin being revealed and for once it’s a motivation and hatred that makes sense. I can really feel a little for the bad guy as to why he’s got such a major grudge and as to why he’s made it his mission to protect the children of the surrounding areas he’s attacked. Fantastic job on this one DC! Keep it up.

 Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The L.A.W. (Living Assault Weapons) #2 of 6

 

With the JLA trapped in a demonic underworld, the earth grossly understaffed (or it’s it underpowered?) to deal with the global crisis attacking the armed forces of the third rock from the sun. Several C-list super heroes have been recruited to assist in the peacemaker project, which was designed for such a purpose. But will they be able to survive the trip getting there?

 

This issue continues to introduce the major players in this story. Thankfully, there is a plot behind all of this. Most of the characters are spread out across the globe and dimensions. So, it does take a while getting everyone on the same page.

 

One of the main characters is a man named Sarge Steel. I’ve come across this character before. He works for the Office of Meta-human Affairs. I didn’t know he was originally a Charlton character. I just figured he was a new character created by DC sometime after the Crisis. I also thought that Sargent (or Sarge) was his rank. It’s not- it’s actually his name, just like Maria Shriver’s dad Sargent Shriver. So how did I learn this little fact? It’s because of a series of great articles in the back of these issues detailing the history of Charlton Comics and its characters. The first couple of articles have been written by former Charlton editor, Dick Giordano. A favorite artist of mine, I was very lucky to meet him just a couple of weeks before his death. If you loved the old Super Powers toy line or those Superman and Batman lunch boxes in the 80s, odds are it was Giordano’s artwork you were admiring.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The L.A.W. (Living Assault Weapons) #1 of 6

 

    When an ancient Hindu god banishes the JLA into another dimension and then uses his demon hordes to wipe out the combined military forces and remaining superheroes of the world, there’s very little hope for planet earth. Thus begins a new mini-series epic from DC Comics 1999. The twist is that what little hope for planet earth is in the form of 6 c-listers from the old Charlton Comics super hero line. Blue Beetle, Judo-Master, Captain Atom, the Question, Peacemaker, and Nightshade.

 Does this list of super-heroes seem a little strangely familiar to you? Well, they should because essentially the L.A.W. is what Alan Moore’s legendary macro-series Watchmen could’ve become if DC allowed him to use the Charlton characters as he originally wanted. Owlman was based on Blue Beetle. Doctor Manhattan was to have been Captain Atom. Silk Spectre was based on Nightshade and the Question and Peacemaker were the respective templates for Rorschach and the Comedian. (I’m not sure who Judo-master was supposed to be as the character that inspired Ozymandias isn’t supposed to be in this mini-series.)

   I am excited about the prospects of this series. I love the old Charlton super heroes as I remember reading some of their exploits in my dad’s comic book collection as a kid. I also like the fact that some of the original artists and writers from those Charlton books, such as Dick Giordano and Bob Layton have been recruited for this mini-series. Already, the art is great and the introductions of the characters is very good. In fact, I am now interested in reading more about the character Fate, who is used in a minor role to introduce Nightshade. To make a minor character that much more interesting and they’re just there to move a certain aspect of the plot forward speaks volumes of the talent of this book’s writers and artists.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Justice League America #89 (Judgment Day, Part 1)

In a massive cross-over involving the Justice Leagues America, Europe, and Task Force; recent events have unfolded in which it appears to be Judgment Day, as foretold in prophecy. Meanwhile, a power struggle between Wonder Woman and Captain Atom have caused the United Nations to lose even more faith in the Super Human community. That’s resulted in the threat of disbandment and thus, all 3 teams have been summoned together in an attempt to get the Leagues under control or else trim the fat.

With that problem on the horizon, a super-powered alien has taken over Mt. Everest as it’s command post and given the world a week left to exist. Thankfully, because he is a time-traveller, Booster Gold knows what’s about to happen next and it involves him being the hero to save the day for once. 

  In other words, the earth is doomed!

I understand the League’s gotten too big and reading previous editor’s note’s in the letter sections, I’ve been ready for this. But, the editor seems to not like his books and his missives seem like sour grapes. Thankfully, the writers and artists of these titles don’t seem to feel the same way and have put out a very good opening chapter to this epic.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Justice League America #86

The global conspiracy that has the world fearing the end is near with false gods, disasters and Dreamslayer’s New Extremists is upping the drama to 11. The team is split with most of the League saving people from these natural disasters.

But a mysterious tower that has popped up literally overnight and contains some dangerous cultists has the League putting it’s 2 most powerful members, Captain Atom and The Ray, under the authority of the ATF and FBI to remove the cultists from their potential doomsday device. Just a few issues ago these two heroes were tearing each other apart at enemies, now they’ve got this buddy cop vibe going on that I love.

Too bad DC never decided to cash in on this idea with a Ray/ Capt. Atom mini-series.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Justice League America #83

After killing one of the prisoners, Guy Gardner has a melt down and escapes. Hot on his tail is the League, Captain Atom, the golden age Flash, and Guy Gardner!? Wouldn’t you know it, we get to the good stuff and a cliffhanger hits only to inform me, I need an issue I don’t have in another series I don’t even collect in order to get some answers! I hate that!

In order to read the conclusion, you’ll need Guy Gardner, #15.

Worth Consuming, but a total let down!

    Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Justice League America #81

Once again the Ray is given a chance to shine as he’s the most powerful member able to take on Captain Atom. Lots of great action and amazing art. The plot is pretty good as Wonder Woman refuses to hand over a pair of escaped intergalactic prisoners because she has a feeling they may not be all bad.

For once, her gut may be in the wrong…

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.