Blue Devil #11

Things turn metaphysical for Dan Cassidy. And that's saying a lot based on what has happened in the past few months to the young man trapped in the Blue Devil costume.

Dan has come down with some sort of virus. But with the exploding budget of Cassidy's blockbuster coming under the scrutiny of studio bosses, the stuntman can't afford to take any time off. A tough auditor has been called in. Feverish and dehydrated, Cassidy begins to hallucinate that the number-cruncher is a super villain. Someone needs to do something fast as each minute Dan spends out of his mind is another minute closer to death.

A very different type of story for this series. But it was actually very fresh and smartly done. Great ending.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Blue Devil #10

One of Dan Cassidy's friends from Hollywood is in Vegas, trying to reignite his once vibrant career. But his Greek-themed show has offended the gods who want an immediate stop put to all these shenanigans. So they recruit a trio of girls from this fallen teen idol's past to become the living embodiment of the Furies!

As they say- Hell hath no fury than a woman scorn. Imagine how worse this is with 3 scorned females now turned into actual Furies!

If you think this book is going to boast an appearance from a certain Amazonian princess, you'd be right.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Showcase Presents World's Finest, Volume 1

Presenting some of the most off-the-wall adventures starring the Man of Steel, the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder. Aliens, love-sick dames, giant robots and rather unusual new teammates to the trio of heroes make up the list of opponents faced by the World's Finest. 

This black and white collection also contains the first ever meeting between Batman and Superman from the pages of Superman. The original Batwoman, Kathy Kane, attempts to shatter the glass ceiling in competition with Batman and The Man of Tomorrow. Lastly, in an all-time classic, The Joker and Lex Luthor join forces against their arch-enemies.

But where's Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen? The cub reporter was an integral part of the World's Finest issues of my father's that I used to read by the literal trunk-load as a kid. Jimmy and Robin would often have a generational gap competition in the pages of this DC Comics team-up. Not having the ginger teen in these stories is just rather weird to me. Perhaps he'll pop up in volume 2...

One unforgivable disappointment is the overuse of plots. Yes, with comic books, being nearly a century old, it's nearly impossible to not reuse plot lines. But to have so many repeat plot lines less than a year apart in time; things got predictable quick. Maybe if I was a reader in the mid-1950s approaching these as they were published on a bi-monthly basis, I wouldn't have noticed the lack of imagination. But I doubt it.

Still, this was a great collection of 1950s DC stories. Their naive optimism was a nice transition from the bleakness of the Atomic Knight and Great Disaster stories that I had been reading prior to this archive of Golden Age works.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Blue Devil #9

The saga known as the Blue Devil/Trickster team-up concludes with James Jesse's true motive: he's planning to rob a bank while the entire bank is in transport to a new location! 

Okay- gotta ask; in the real world, do they really do this??? I know that the occasional house will get moved via a large truck. But an entire bank branch? With the vault and all it's cash still inside? With bank security still inside? Along the side of a winding canyon road?

This was a hilarious ending to the misadventures of Dan Cassidy and The Trickster. But this was such a far fetched heist. It was rather absurd! stories starring flying men and mutant villains I can believe! This mobile bank robbery- 100% unbelievable!

Worth Consuming. 

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Blue Devil #8

After taking a small detour to view Blue Devil's first appearance in comics (Fury of Firestorm #24), I returned to the second half of this Trickster story. The tale goes from romantic comedy to buddy-cop road trip. And I think it actually got better!

James Jesse is perfectly written by Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn. And to have Keith Giffen taking over for departing Paris Cullins (who is still doing covers) was an acceptable substitute. If you need a laugh, this is a great issue to help the stresses of 2020's insanity fall away.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Blue Devil Special Insert from the pages of Fury of Firestorm #24

I've taken a brief break from Blue Devil to review some past history.

In the pages of Blue Devil #7, The Trickster, James Jesse, mentions having dealt with Blue Devil in the past. Once again, I made a common mistake. As a kid, I always thought that the first issue of a super heroes titled series was the first appearance. But that almost always isn't the case. With regards to Blue Devil, he first appeared in a special insert in the pages of Fury of Firestorm #24.

In this introductory story, Dan Cassidy has yet to meet with the demon Nebiros. A master special effects wizard, Dan is in the process of building the Blue Devil suit in which he will become permanently attached to. While giving the state of the art costume a test run, Dan runs afoul of Jesse who is in the middle of a huge heist. The result is a comedy of errors with the cast and crew of the Blue Devil film who have become an integral part of the Blue Devil series. 

I am kinda glad that I didn't read this first. This has all the markings of a typical 1980s first appearance issue. The rough introductions. Those corny jokes. But it also makes sense why Blue Devil #1 didn't feel like a first appearance issue. 

One thing not typical of this 'first issue' is the art. It's a thing of beauty by the great Paris Cullins. 

As for the main story of Fury of Firestorm, I didn't read it. I have the entire series and so I plan on reading it. Someday.

Special Insert Rating: 6 out of 10 stars. 

Blue Devil #7

Danny has made it back to Tinsel Town!

Having fought death so many times, the Blue Devil takes a leap of faith as asks his long-time crush, Sharon, out for a date. With the film crew pitching in with favors galore, this first date should be one to remember. And it will; thanks to the appearance of The Trickster! 

James Jesse is being targeted by an all-new villain. And based on previous history between Trickster and Blue Devil, the Flash Rogue needs the help of Dan Cassidy!

Previous history??? Apparently, the first appearance of Blue Devil happens not in Blue Devil #1 but in the pages of Fury of Firestorm #24! Good thing I have that issue in my collection or I will be majorly pissed. 

I guess I am off to dig that book out of my bins before moving on to issue #8.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.