Sgt. Fury & His Howling Commandos #1

Some stories need more than one issue to tell them. This one-shot celebrating Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos is one of those issues. Sent on a mission to recon a Nazi railroad built in Yugoslavia, Fury and Co. end up becoming allies with a Russian spy and run afoul of Baron Zemo, Baron Strucker, and Major Tito. It’s an epic story squashed into 32 pages (give or take.)

 

With few pages and tons of actions, some scenes are over in just a couple of panels. It’s like reading a video montage of a war movie, yet there’s some vital plot work occurring here and not enough time is given to its resolution.

 

A good tale, just much of it is very rushed and makes for uneven reading at times.

WORTH CONSUMING!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

"Justice League America #100"

This 100th issue starts out great. All three versions of the League are present trying to iron out this whole open membership debacle that nearly wiped everyone out in issues 96-97. Then the Snazz and Flash take Blue Beetle and Booster on a tour of the spaceship, only to discover it’s making more Overmasters in light of the alien warlord’s death. Then Lord Havok, now possessing the brain of Max Lord attacks.

    

And then wouldn’t you know it? The cliffhanger come and I now have to have an issue of Warrior to finish it! I hate when this happens! Geez- put a disclaimer or something!

This is such a major pet peeve of mine.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

"Justice League America #99"

The field trip of Wonder Woman, Nuklon, Hawkman, and Crimson Fox isn’t going very well. Something strange is going on what with the curious absence of children in this town.               

Thankfully, the day is saved by … Blue Devil?

An enjoyable mystery. The main villain is creepy, but he’s got that terminal disease know as “monologuing” and with his lengthy speeches, it appears his case is incurable.

WORTH CONSUMING!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Justice League America #98

Max Lord is dead again and when rumors that he was killed by a vigilante female with frigid powers, Fire decides to investigate if Ice has returned from the dead. Added to this excitement, Checkmate scrambles to get an insider with the League again and sets up a way for Blue Devil to spy on the League unknowingly in order to advance his acting career.

Plus, some Leaguers agree to help a young girl find out the mystery behind spooky things happening in her hometown.

Once again, fantastic plotting. Plus the comic pairing of the Snazz and Flash is classic! Another great issue by Gerard Jones and company.

WORTH CONSUMING!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Justice League America #97

The battle continues with this version of the League pitted against the insane brother of the very first issue’s villain.

There’s been some really awesome cliffhangers between the last issue and this one. I really don’t want to give away a spoiler. You’ll really have to read it for yourself.

Awesome issue! Great twists and turns. Really good plotting.

WORTH CONSUMING!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Justice League America #96

Way back in the pages of Justice League #1, Max Lord hired a mentally unstable guy to pretend he had a bomb and to hold up the United Nations. It was Lord’s madcap scheme to get the League back together. I guess invitations were too expensive.

Well, now it’s about a dozen years later and that crazy guy’s brother has come for revenge.

I’m glad that they finally address this. I’ve been wondering for a while just who and why that guy decided to take out the entire U.N.

The characters are wonderfully written. The art isn’t bad. It’s a like cartoony with that overly muscled 90s style. But, it’s not anywhere as bad as anything drawn by Rob Liefeld.

WORTH CONSUMING!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

DC Special #14 (1968-1977, 1st series)

This special is a 70s era collection that reprints the exploits, if not the origin of 4 DC super-villains. You’ve got Toyman kidnapping Lois Lane in a toy castle of death, Penguin using his array of umbrella’s to trick Batman and Robin into getting trapped in an abandoned factory and then fire and ice take on the Scarlet Speedster as Heat Wave and Captain Cold join forces for the first time ever.

Yeah, it’s a reprint book and I’ve read at least one of these story’s before. But, the cover was awesome, it’s at least 40 years old, and I found it for a buck in a long box.

This is a fun gem, especially for those who like the bad guys!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.