Bizarro World (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Bizarro World is a loose sequel to 2001's Bizarro Comics. Whereas the earlier book was a collection of vignettes and previously cancelled material from some of the industry's top Indy talent, book-ended by a story in which Mr. Mxyzptlk is aided by Bizarro to save his 5th dimension home from an alien invader, the later work was a strict anthology in every sense of the word.

Featuring the talents of the Hernandez Brothers, Evan Dorkin, Raina Telgemeier and a host of others, 2005's Bizarro World pales in comparison to it's processor with one major deviation: Christmas stories! 

Andy Merrill and Roger Langridge's 'Jing Kal-El' is an oddball Elseworld in which we see what would have happened to the Last Son of Krypton if his rocket ship had crash landed into Santa's work shop at the North Pole. In 'Batman Smells', actor-comedian Patton Oswalt reveals the origins to the alternate lyrics of Jingle Bells. Artist Bob Fingerman takes viewers on a tour through Gotham City sewers and the Batcave in order to discover the answer. A couple of other stories have scenes that take place in otherwise non-holiday themed tales. But it adds to the unexpected merriment of an otherwise lacking anthology.

For being a graphic novel named after the Superman Family character, Bizarro is noticeably absent from a majority of this book. He does appear in the title story by Chris Duffy and Scott Morse, explaining that 'Bizarro World' is a DC Comics themed amusement park designed from a Bizarro point of view. However, the real Bizarro #1 is a closeted intellectual who milks his backwards persona for profit. Only those riches come at the cost of the anti-villain's dignity. A Harvey Pekar penned farce also stars Bizarro bringing the total number of appearances to 2. 

Not counting the cover by Jaime Hernandez. Batman is the winner of most starring roles in this book with a grand total of 8! The Legion of Super-heroes comes in third with a trio of appearances.

While a very Batman heavy book, just about every character in the DC Universe appears in this book, if only for just a 'Wheres Waldo?' type-cameo as part of the background scenery of a panel. Supergirl, The Spectre and Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth are among the characters who star in this collection of over 2 dozen short stories that look at DC Comics with an askew view.

Completing this review completes Task #12 (An Anthology) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

The Super Heroes Monthly #3

I remember exactly when I bought this. Earlier this year, I was at my favorite comic shop. I had just finished buying some new release stuff I had ordered when I saw it. The book hadn't been put out yet. It was on top of a pile of things to be bagged, boarded and priced. But from the cover, I was enticed. I had to have it!

The book was actually a magazine from the U.K.. Filled with holiday reprints from DC Comics America, I was fairly certain that I already had copies of all 3 stories. But because of that Bryan Talbot cover and the title's exotic nature, I needed this as part of my Christmas comic book collection.

The cover reminds me of that scene from the beginning of Lethal Weapon where we first meet Mel Gibson character of Riggs... or is it Murtaugh? Anyways, the character is working undercover at a Christmas tree lot trying to weed out drug dealers. With Batman standing over the body of one of Santa's helpers in the middle of a tree lot with guns pointed at the Dark Knight, I feel like this is what would have occurred if the first Lethal Weapon film took place in Gotham instead of L.A..

The 3 tales inside are classics. Batman investigates the appearance of a boat owned by an underworld kingpin and stumbles upon a Christmas Eve theft at a local department store. Paul Levitz pens a tale set a thousand years in the future with Superboy invited to spend Christmas with the Legion of Superheroes. Lastly, Len Wein crafts a murder mystery where the Justice League of America investigate the killing of a man playing Santa Claus. Guest starring John Stewart subbing in for an injured Gal Jordan, the investigation turns into a race against time when the mysterious killer reveals in clues that he's set a bomb somewhere in the United States at the stroke of midnight!

Like I said, I've read all 3 stories before. I don't think I own any of them in their original formats. But over the years I've managed to collect them in reprint form. A fascinating glimpse of British comic books published by DC Comics in 1981. Since nothing over the pond seems to ever be issued first run or even in chronological order, I don't think I could live permanently in the UK and be a comic book collector with any sort of sanity.

A great time capsule. My only problem, it's oversized, like a tabloid,and I don't have a comic book box that will fit it. So where am I going to store it???

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

DC Comics Presents #80 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

With over a hundred members to have been active with the Legion of Super-Heroes at one time or another, if you could select a team of 5, who would you select? Logic might dictate picking the original big 3- Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad. You'd also want to add Superboy to the mix. However, for the sake of this time travel team-up involving Superman, let's omit both him and his cousin Supergirl. #4 needs to be have some brain power. Who better than Brainiac 5 to fill that slot. That still leaves a 5th Legionnaire to choose. Do you go with the rotund Bouncing Boy? The ravenous Matter Eater Lad? How about the heavenly Dawnstar or the master of Martial Arts, the Karate Kid?

If you're the creative team for DC Comics Presents #80, you go totally rogue and select members that only the staunchest of Legionnaire fans might know. Paul Kupperberg and Curt Swan join forces to pit Ultra Boy, Chameleon Boy, Shrinking Violent, Phantom Girl and Element Lad against a legion of Superman robots!

Returning from a mission, this handful of Legionnaires emerge from a stargate straight into the void of space! Thanks to some quick work by Element Lad, the heroes survive the lack of oxygen. The planet Earth of the year 3000 is gone. In it's place is a floating replica of Metropolis circa 1985. The Legionnaires arrive on the planetoid to find it filled with countless androids of steel intent on destroying the heroes! 

We soon learn that the Legionnaires are stuck in a pocket dimension of the newly upgraded Brainiac. Recent events have resulted in the robot villain needing to run computations before he goes back up against the Master Programmer and his angel of death (Superman). Brainiac has pulled the Legionnaires from the timeline into his simulation in order to perfect it when the time comes to confront Superman. However, the cries of these futuristic heroes actually cross dimensions, bringing the true Man of Steel to the rescue. Only, the Legionnaires think he's another Superman robot!

The oddball selection of heroes is a tale-tell sign that this is a Paul Kupperberg story. Over his long career, Kupperberg has had a devotion to the lesser tiered characters of the DC Universe. We're talking C-listers and lower and yet the fans love it. 

As for knowing this is a Curt Swan penciled work, there are ways you can tell. All of the male humanoid characters have that slightly puffy forehead indicating a receding hairline. Superman looks less muscular and more beefy, like that of actor George Reeves. Plus, when the Man of Tomorrow flies straight ahead, Swan typically poses Superman with his arms spread far apart and his legs separated in a V shape. Only Superman isn't keeping up appearances using a glider like he does on the cover of Superman #229.

An interesting read that requires reading of several issues of Action Comics, #544-546, in order to truly understand the background behind Brainiac's intentions. It's one of the more unlikely line-ups of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Yet, based on the situations Paul Kupperberg puts the heroes into, it actually works.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #48 (A Team-Up) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #33

The Mystery Inc. gang travel to the 31st Century to solve a caper!

The members of the Legion of Super-Heroes have been terrorized by the ghost of their departed teammate and friend, Ferro Lad. Working on clues, the teen detectives question Ferro Lad's twin brother. But he's not the culprit. After a series of red herrings and misdirects, the combined teams discover just who is behind this haunt and it's not just one foe, but five. A Fatal Five!

A great romp through the ages by Sholly Fisch and Dario Brizuela. There's so much Legionnaires lore packed into this book. So much, that the story felt like it needed a part 2 to give proper attention to the plethora of heroes who have been members of the Legion of Super-Heroes. 

The only thing I was really disappointed in was the ending. I pretty much knew from page 1 who the bad guys of this story were going to be. I mean, do the Legionnaires have any other villains than the Fatal Five? Yes, they do. But when compared to the Fatal Five, those other antagonists are nowhere near as memorable. I think a cliffhanger in which both Superboy and Supergirl pop up in the future instead of that cliched reveal who the villains were by pulling their masks off would have made this story have been a lot more interesting. I know I would have been shocked with appearances from members of the House of El sending me on to a 'To Be Continued.' 

That's got to be the shocking statement of the year. If you are a frequent reader of my blog, then you know that I am NOT a fan of cliffhangers. So for me to demand a two-parter to add an element of surprise to things is a big deal.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

DC Special #28

In the penultimate issue of this DC anthology series, there are a total of 3 stories, all about 'earth shattering disasters.' Well, technically 2 stories are actually earth shattering. The other is a disaster but of a different magnitude altogether. 

In the first story, Gotham City is racked by a series of earthquakes. Only these tremors aren't natural but man-made by a technological madman calling himself Quakemaster.

In the final story, the Legion of Super-Heroes discovers that the Metropolis of 2977AD is in peril. For the first time in centuries, the city is without power and engulfed in flames. Someone has sabotaged the power sphere that energizes Metropolis. Being nuclear in origin, the power station is about to reach critical mass, threatening to meltdown in a China Syndrome type catastrophe and destroy the planet once the generator reaches earth's core. 

The middle story stars Aquaman. While he is ridding the seven seas of a band of hi-tech pirates, the King of Atlantis stumbles upon an ecological disaster. A giant oil spill. Only this mass of petroleum is alive and growing, feasting on ships and sea life that crosses its path. Teaming with the Navy, Aquaman tries to stop this menace. But as the blob gets closer to a major coastal city, the Navy proposes using A-bombs to destroy it. Seeing another ecological disaster on his hands, it's up to Aquaman to find a solution before the bombs go flying!

I think it's interesting that Gotham City had trouble with earthquakes about 30 years prior to the disastrous events of 'No Man's Land'. This story forms a bit of a continuity error as one of the characters makes a comment that the bedrock underneath Gotham isn't ideal for quakes. Apparently in the 3 decades leading up to the massive tremors that will render Batman's hometown a disaster area, nearly a billion years of geology occurred below to make the topography below more suitable for aftershocks!

I found the Aquaman story hitting a little too close to home. Currently in the South Atlantic, a 5,000 mile long swath of seaweed is making its way towards Florida. The level of destruction isn't as catastrophic as what the growing massive of oil in the story was predicted to do. But the amount of damage to that area's sea life and the proposed level of breathing problems the decaying algae is predicted to do before this ecological disaster is through is rather terrifying. 

As for the Legion of Super-Heroes story, I was non-plussed. The story was written by Paul Levitz, who many consider to be the best Legion writer ever. Yet with all the flash forwards and a baddie who I really thought was a Legionnaire, I didn't feel like I was in the presence of a master. As publisher of DC, Levitz was great. But that was in the 90s and 00s. Maybe 1977 Paul Levitz still had a lot of practice ahead of him to get great. 

I don't know why I do this. I seem to spend money on really exciting looking DC anthologies from the 1970s and wind up being disappointed. The artwork of all 3 tales was amazing and it's definitely the appeal of the covers, along with childhood nostalgia that got me to purchase this. I'm probably going to fall into the trap again sometime in the future. But at least I didn't pay more than a dollar for this book.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

The Legion: Foundations

I'm not sure why I'm not more of a fan of the Legion of Superheroes. Just about everything I read starring them is top notch stuff. And yet, I will overlook their adventures in lieu of a What If... or an Elseworlds book every time. If I wasn't given this book as a gift, I probably wouldn't have picked it up in a million years. 

This trade collects 6 issues from the 2001-04 DC series. In this book, Superboy returns to the ranks of the Legion. But it's not the Clark Kent Superboy but rather the Conner Kent version. Or is it. 

A strange anomaly that threatens all of reality gives birth to Conner. Even in the year 3003, Darkseid remains. The pure evil ruler of Apokolips has plans on unleashing his Anti-Life Equation on the universe and a time-displaced Superboy is at the center of Darkseid's plan. However, with no less than 2 other members of the Legion having recently betrayed the team, folks have their doubts that this Superboy is legit. But deep down in my heart, I know. This is the real deal... I think.

This volume also includes the main story taken from Legion Secret Files 3003. It's a great introduction to all the members of the Legion. It needed to have been added first to this volume. But that would have spoiled the inclusion of Superboy to the Legion's ranks. Though I don't think it's much of a spoiler as Superboy is right there on the corner- FRONT and mostly CENTER!

This was a great read. Lots of mystery, action and intrigue. I really wouldn't have any qualms reading the 24 issues that take place before this collection as well as the 7 or so issues that precede. But knowing me, I'll probably pass them over for something else on my wish list. I just have other preferred tastes even though this was a wonderful read.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Unlimited Access #2

The dimension shifting time-travelling adventures of Access puts the new hero in the direct path of the Legion of Superheroes. That's not all of the fun as the affects of having DC and Marvel heroes on the same world has caused Access to leap forward in time to the most dangerous potential timeline of all- The Days of Future Past!

Karl Kesel upped the level excitement, thrills, and twists in this issue. I really enjoyed it. But I'm not really a fan of the artwork. Pat Olliffe's style is very 1990s disproportionate. Enormous muscles, way too small heads, and everybody from ages 2-92 has widow's peak, even the ladies! At least it's not Rob Liefeld...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Legion of Super-Heroes/ Bugs Bunny Special #1

    A member of the Legion of Super-Heroes is fighting for their life thanks to a mystery virus. Brainiac 5 determines that the only way to save his comrade is to treat the patient with a now extinct isotope. Since the element is known to exist during Superboy’s time, the Legion uses a time cube to bring the teen hero to the 31st Century! However, instead of Superboy, the being that travels a 1,000 years into the future winds up being none other than Bugs Bunny?! When the wisecracking rabbit asks “What’s Up Doc?’, I don’t think this is what the Legionnaires had in mind to save their ill teammate.

The Crossovers of The Summer

    The Legion of Super-Heroes/ Bugs Bunny Special is just one of about a dozen DC/ Warner Bros. specials that will hit shops this summer. Written by Green Lanterns’ Sam Humphries with art by Tom Grummett (Action Comics), the story is very tongue-in-cheek with lots of inside jokes and teen angst. Even the editors get in on the action, having a caption war of sorts with Humphries throughout the book.

    One might think that a crossover between Looney Tunes characters and DC legends would not work visually. The Legion is comprised of humanoids whereas Bugs is a funny animal. Yet, the film Space Jam is a mash up of real-life human beings and cartoons. That film is still considered a visual masterpiece of 90s cinema despite 2 different medias. So, the artistry isn’t problematic.

Rated T for Too Strict, Not Tunes

     What I have trouble with not only this special, but the whole line-up of DC/Looney Tunes specials, is the ratings. DC decided to release these books with a rating of Teen. Than means that the publisher believes that readers under the age of 12 should not be reading this book.

      I’m not sure if pure nostalgia for Looney Tunes is going to make these book’s a success. True, DC recently saw major dividends with it’s edgy grown-up versions of Hanna-Barbera cartoons. But Bugs Bunny has always been thought of as family friendly. I didn’t really see anything any more objectionable in this book from what you might see on a episode of Looney Tunes cartoons on Boomerang.

      These specials do not need to be rated for all-ages. But Teen is too strict for this comic. Limiting your readership with in my opinion too-strong of a rating, I think will hurt DC in the long-run. As an educator, I notice that parents tend to take the ratings system for books a lot more seriously than that of TV or movies. I’ve seen this firsthand, having run book fairs before. Mom and Dad love for their child to be able to read at a higher level. Yet parents will shy upon purchasing books that may be more violent or scary than their kids can handle. (Note: Next Week’s Lobo/ Road Runner Special, which is rated Teen, may actually be classified too low considering the Last Czarian’s violent publication history.)

Things To Come

     Each special is supposed to include a small backup feature. This book’s second story was a retelling of the main attraction. Juan Ortiz gives his version of events a different spin and I loved his 60s DC Comics art-style for the piece. But, I feel cheated by not getting an all-new, all-different tale. I hope the other specials will not fall into this trap.

    I’m looking forward to the rest of the DC/ Looney Tunes specials. They are the right mix of silly and sentimental. Nevertheless, these one-shots are also $4.99 a piece. So, I am probably going to have to hold off on a few of these issues until I come across them in a bargain bin somewhere down the road. The Batman/ Elmer Fudd team-up by Tom King and Lee Weeks that drops in July, will not be one of those. That’s one’s going to be epic and I for one do not want to miss out on it!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Superboy And The Legion of Super-Heroes

  This pocket-sized paperback from 1977 reprints 4 Superboy & Legion of Superheroes tales. The first tale is a straight-on Superboy story from the mid-70s, in which the superpowered youth discovers a capsule containing the bodies of his Kryptonian parents Jor-El and Lara. However, Superboy cannot rescue them as their vessel is encrusted with deadly Kryptonite. Added to the danger, a rogue scientist from Kal-El's birthplace has rigged nearby asteroids to exploded should Superboy use his powers. You know, for  doomed planet in which Superman was originally the only survivor, a whole lot of Kryptonians slipped through the cracks of that tragedy!

   The next story is taken from the late sixties. It Involves Superboy bringing his girlfriend Lana Lang with him to the future to meet the Legion of Superheroes. Lana at this time had a way to become a superhero called the Insect Queen and it's her hope that the Legion will make her a member. But when it is discovered that her powers are not natural, they reject her. Can she convince them that she has what is takes or will a prophecy from a Legionnaire with clairvoyant powers spell Lana Lang's doom?

   Story #3 stars only the Legion. Saturn Girl ana Princess Projecta are called upon to recapture a dangerous fugitive. When the villain escapes them, he also causes the heroes to pass out. When revived, none of their fellow Legion seem to know who they are and treat them as villains. Even more mysterious are two new Legionnaires named Saturn Lad and Prince Projecto! Are these male counterparts behind the Princess and Saturn Girl's mistaken identity or is there a more sinister plot lurking in the background?

   Lastly, in perhaps the best story of the four, is a tale that spans the past, present, and future. In medieval England, Superboy battles a wizard who seeks to use a powerful stone to kill Superboy and then conquer the world. After Superboy defeats the mage, he throws the rock into the stratosphere where it goes into orbit for two thousand years. The rock winds up in the hands of the Legionnaire Chameleon Boy. Possessed by the stone, Cam is compelled to complete the wizard's goal of killing the Boy of Steel as he travels to 1970s Smallville to finish the job!

    The second and last story were really any good. They were entertaining, fun, and didn't seem to treat the reader like they were stupid. The first adventure ended in such a way that the reader is lead to beleive that none of it even happened. And the ending to the tale with the forgotten Legionnaires was such a cop-out and it had a really stupid solution to it. I was not impressed!

   This reprint collection is rare and by many collectors, it's considered a holy grail. Actually, any pocket-sized treasury like this from DC or Marvel is held in high regard amongst collectors and fans of Silver and Bronze Age comics., I being one of them! But, they look nowhere near what they originally did when they hit newsstands. This type of  book is reprinted in black and white, edited down in order to fit the smaller format, and they rarely give credit to the writers, artists, and editors behind these vintage yarns.

     Yet, those same collectors who adore these collections often tend to hate their modern counterparts (DC Showcase Presents and Marvel Essentials!) This is ridiculous. Both vintage and modern collections are in black and white. Both don't always give credit where it is due and both are edited for format reasons. Yet, the modern collections only remove ads, letter pages, and stories that don't star the theme character. Plus, the modern books boast bigger pages and for only $20 you get about 25 stories in DC Showcase and Essentials!

  So why all the hate? I love both versions of the reprints and I REALLY love the modern treasuries as they are a darn good deal. I think a blindness to nostalgia is behind the hatred.

   If you are looking to get a bunch of reprints for a good price search out Essentials and DC Showcase. I'm not trying to dissuade you from books such as this one that I am reviewing. But due to rarity, they are often very expensive and since they are scarce, they are really hard to find unless you are willing to look and look.

   Collections like these are beautiful discoveries when you can locate them. And like everything beautiful, it's in the eye of the beholder. But this is one of the weaker collections I have been fortunate to come across in my nearly 40 years of comic collecting.

   Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Legion of Super-heroes in the 31st Century, volume 1: Tomorrow’s Heroes

Even though this Man of Steel really hasn’t finished puberty, he goes by the name of Superman- not Superboy, in this series. There’s a good reason for this trade, based on a CW cartoon of the same name (without the “in the 31^st Century” part) from about 5 years ago. In order to not confuse kids as to who is Superboy, producers decided to go ahead and grant Clark Kent the moniker of Superman during his animated jaunt through the 31^st century.

I really liked that series. I didn’t watch it regularly because it came on at like 7 in the morning on Saturdays. But the few shows I caught, I really liked. The Legion of Superheroes is led by Lightning Lad and along with Superman, boasts Saturn Girl, Bouncing Boy, Timber Wolf and a host of other teenaged super heroes, protecting the universe from the like of the Fatal Five and just about any nasty alien race you can imagine.

This collection of comics based on the cartoon captures the spirit of the series quite well. There’s several more issues in the series that have yet and probably never will be collected in a trade format. But, I look forward to finding those issues one day. I’d also love to have this series on DVD.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.