Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes, page 111

Review: Batman: The Dailies

Batman: The Dailies 1943-1946 by Bob Kane

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


While Batman has had a long career in comic books, he also had a much lesser known turn in the comic strips from 1943-46.

The Batman Comic Strip appeared for a small newspaper syndicate and was wrought with challenges. This book collects all the daily strips (with the Sunday strips being in another book.)

For my money, the first six strips are fantastic. They feature great stories that are packed with mystery, action, and poignant moments. In one strip, Batman is shot and lies near death's door in his battle against racketeers. In another, Batman and Robin are seemingly rescued by a private detective but there's more to this story than meets the eye. Then there's Batman and Robin travelling to take on a small town corrupt official who hires a Peter Lorre lookalike as a hitman. And of course, the Joker shows up (the only regular Batman rogue to appear in the Daily Strips) with a series of symbol crimes. There has to be nothing better than seeing the Batman and the Joker duke it out day after day, week after week.

The latter strips are much more of a mixed bag. The writing was still generally okay but we went days and sometimes weeks at a time without seeing Batman and Robin in costume. There was the "Karen Drew Mystery" which saw neither Batman nor Robin in costume for it's five week run. Another strip I counted and there were 50 daily strips run during one series with Batman or Robin only showing up in costume in three.

This isn't to say there weren't highlights. In the wake of a World War II housing shortage, Batman and Robin took on "their toughest assignment"...finding someone an apartment. Great comedy. And then there was "The Warning with the Lamp" with one of the most amusing characters with great lines such as, "Dash My Shoelaces." "Affair with Death" was also a fairly robust story. However, mostly middling storylines seemed to dominate the last sixty percent of the book.

However none of this should reflect on Joe Desris who lovingly compiled these strips from a thorough search of newspaper and interviews with Batman creators. Who truly made it happen. I also appreciated how he wrote a great commentary which provided plenty of historical context. If you're a fan of the Batman, you owe it to yourself to pick up this volume either used or through your local library.



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Tales of the Dim Knight Now Released as an Audiobook

Many people have told me that they only listen to Audiobooks. They don't have time to sit down and read.

That's why I'm pleased to announce that my wife and I's book, book:Tales of the Dim Knight|9756931] has been released as an audiobook read by Scott Wilcox.

Scott brings a good sense of comic timing and appreciation for the material to his adaptation. This book is available now through Audible and should soon be on Apple.

The Decline of Superman: Undermining the Man of Steel

In my previous post I wrote that Superman is still quite popular with the general public despite the decline in movie and comic book fortunes.

So what's wrong with Superman in these two great mediums?Let me suggest that it's the fault of DC and film producers, and further, I think there are three things that they're doing wrong that are hurting the fortunes of the character:

1) The Message from DC: Batman Rules, Superman Drools

Let me preface this remark by saying that I love Batman. I've seen every episode of Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Adventures, and I've watched countless Batman animated and real movies. I read every Batman daily strip. Batman is awesome.

However, DC has often chosen to build Batman's reputation at the expense of the Man of Steel. In the signature modern Batman tale, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Superman becomes a government stooge who takes on Batman who is the real hero fighting back against government oppression.

In Justice League: The New Frontier, Batman has become a hunted vigilante while Superman signed a loyalty oath to the United States government to placate the public. (Note: Declaring to the United States in the 1950s is always a bad thing to liberal writers.)

In Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, the two are basically completely even in terms of their fighting abilities. Only Batman is cooler.

Even as I'm watching the Justice League Animated Series, I'm struck with how much Superman gets thrown about and often at Batman's benefit. In the most recent episode, Superman got to attack a dangerous machine, but the damage he had done was only a set up for Batman to throw a batarang to do the real damage.

And of course, the inciting event for Justice League was Superman being tricked by alien invaders into disarming the Earth ahead of their planned invasion.

The message seems to be clear: Batman is cool, intelligent, and can take on anyone while Superman means well but he's kind of a tool.

And they wonder why Superman comics aren't selling.

2) They Don't Get the Character

The reason that so many writers get Superman wrong is this. There are two things they usually don't understand: Superman naturally and Superman metaphorically.

Superman has developed quite a bit over the years, so the Superman in people's mind is somewhat different than the one originally developed by Jerry Siegel in the beginning.

The vision that people have of Superman is that he's a man whose powers may come from Krypton but whose heart and values come from the Kents. Superman is a product of outer space and the heartland.

As Superman was emerging in the 1940s and 50s, Americans were moving away from places like Smallville into cities where the sense of community in small towns was often lacking and the moral climate was less favorable In the midst of this, Superman brought this heartland goodness into the culture and climate of a modern American city.

At the same time, Superman came to present a Christ-like figure. Pastor H. Michael Brewer spent the entire first chapter of his book Who Needs a Superhero?: Finding Virtue, Vice, and Whats Holy in the Comics making the case that Superman's story parallels Jesus, writing, "Superman does really stand for Jesus, who comes from the world above, sent by his Father, bearing both his Father's name and nature."

The imagery has certainly not something that has gone totally unnoticed. Indeed, the best of the comic book and screen writers have hit upon it. Perhaps, most notably in the Death of Superman story in the 1990s that saw Superman give his life to save Earth from Doomsday. Of course, an early promo for Smallville played into this as well.

However, modern cultural biases have presented a serious problem.

Our view of rural and heartland America has changed quite a bit in recent years, particularly within large cities themselves. People in places like Kansas are often viewed with contempt for political and cultural reasons.

At the same time, Christ is less revered. Certainly messianic imagery works in a culture with Christian roots, but the portrayals are often inconsistent at best.

As a result of these cultural biases, it's very hard for Hollywood and the Comic book writers to understand and appreciate the character. That's why you end up with a compromised Superman.

And we'll discuss that in our final article.

Powerhouse Flies Again: Help Wanted: Villain

Every good superhero story has to have an antagonist. When I began to do the new Powerhouse stories I knew I had to create a new line of villains. Most of Powerhouse's opponents from Tales of the Dim Knight had been dispatched one way or another. The one exception to this is the Invisibility Master, who does make an appearance in Powerhouse: Hard Pressed

There are many minor villains in the story from kidnappers to car thieves, those sort of throw away characters.

In the third book, I also begin to really play with some of the ineffectual supervillain wannabes that get attract to taking on Powerhouse such as The Boomerang Bloke and the Silver Medal.

However, these type of guys won't drive a story. For that, I needed someone who could sustain interest. For that I needed Mitch Farrow.

In many ways, Farrow is kind of prototypical outlook on villainy. Occasionally, I'll come up with a villain who is absolutely evil such as Colonel Dread in my "Rise of the Judge" stories, but I usually try to give my prime villain some humanity and some redeeming qualities.

Our main villain is Mitch Farrow and here's the scene where he's revealed from Powerhouse Flies Again:

Mitch Farrow slouched in a green metal office chair held together by duct tape. His Ebay auction filled the screen of his bulky, third-hand computer monitor. A fast food bag and an empty paper cola cup littered the buckled plywood desk that he also used as a kitchenette table. The green linoleum floor had missing patches. On his right the sink had four days worth of dishes piled in it and smelled of putrid water. The electric stove and refrigerator were cracked with paint peeling, as was the cabinets’ frou-frou blue paint.

He refreshed the Ebay auction on his screen. Thirty-five seconds to go. Come on, a few bucks more.

The auction ended at $315. He made a note in his ledger.

Not bad. This sale would put him at ninety bucks for the month once he paid his bills. He smirked and hummed “If I Were a Rich Man.”

He turned the monitor off, grabbed his newspaper off the kitchen counter, and strode to the eight foot square patch of carpet that passed for a living room. The taupe carpet was partially blackened from foot traffic and riddled with teeth marks from rats. He rearranged two red afghans over his gray recliner, covering where the stuffing was coming out while protecting his sensitive skin from the irritants ground hopelessly into it.

He settled into his chair and took a sniff of the newspaper. “Good old newsprint.” The only clean smelling thing in this dump. He smiled. Why sit there and read a bunch of lies and fabrications on the internet when he could read lies and fabrications in a good old American newspaper? He reached into the cigarette pack in his pocket, withdrew one of his blissful cancer sticks, and slipped it in his mouth.

No, Rosie needed him. Even with his life insurance, she and her mom wouldn’t make it without his alimony checks. He put the cigarette back in his pack. On the bright side, he was still worth more alive at the moment, he was down to two packs a week, and he’d be dead before he could get lung cancer from smoking anyway.

“Razzle Dazzle” played on the lace-covered cardboard box serving as an end table. He picked up his cell phone. “Hello, Farrow speaking.”

“Hi, this is Anne Falkenberg. The FDA just voted.”

Mitch held the phone tight. It was his attorney.

“They decided the drug needed more testing.”

Mitch dropped the phone and a stream of curse words left his mouth. He grabbed it. “It’s been used in Europe for five years.”

“I know this is disheartening. Understand, though, they’re just wanting to make sure that the drugs are safe and people are healthy.”

Mitch huffed a shallow breath. “None of them have AIDS. None of them have an ex-wife and daughter who have AIDS. This is what 235 years of democracy has produced in this country, a bureaucracy that fiddles while people waste away and die.”

“I know it’s frustrating.”

Mitch laughed. “Frustrating is when your DSL won’t work. Seeing your daughter suffer and knowing she and her mom are going to die like you are isn’t frustrating.”

Tears welled in his eyes. He clutched the receiver with a death grip.

“Mitch?”

“Anne, I’m hanging up. I know you did all you can, but I’ve got a lot of vinegar to spew.” He punched the red end call button, hurled his cell phone across the room, and let out a primal scream. He stared at the ceiling. “Why, God? If you’re there, why didn’t you let me die in the accident rather than get that accursed transfusion?”

What was he doing? That was silly and pathetic. Time for some meaningful, purposeful venting to the folks who read his website. No question he was going to blog about the FDA Nazis. Still, he should check and see what else was going on. He flipped through the classifieds and spotted:


Help Wanted: Cynic
Change the World
Great pay and benefits.
Send application to Box C, Seattle Guardian


He chuckled. If you need a cynic, I’m the man for the job.

From there, Farrow goes through the hiring process and learns that the job is working as CEO of Dorado Incorporated, a large corporation controlled by an inter dimensional alien named King Bel who wants to take over the Earth. When he does so, he promises to bring about a golden age. However to limit resistance to his invasion, he needs to foster public cynicism so people are less attached to the world as it is and less likely to resist and that's where Dorado Incorporated comes into play.

So Farrow's cured of AIDS and promised the same thing for his ex-wife and daughter when the invasion occurs. Farrow gets the job as CEO and he clashes with Powerhouse and become's Powerhouse's enemy because the Powerhouse's symbol of hope status clashes with Farrow's goals.

I also re-introduce Dr. Fournier in Rise of the Robolawyers. He'd played a minor role in Tales of the Dim Knight but he gets a much bigger part in the Adventures of Powerhouse series.

Review: The Essential Fantastic Four, Volume 1

Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 1 by Stan Lee

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This volume of the Fantastic Four is a must-read not only for fans of classic superheroes but for fans of classic science fiction. There's so much to love about this book and these characters as created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. This collection includes the first twenty monthly issues of Fantastic Four as well as Annual #1 and spans from November 1961 into 1963.

There's so much to love about this collection and these characters. Lets go ahead and break it down.

Concept: The Fantastic Four are often easily lumped in with Marvel's superheroes. This is somewhat apt because: a) they inhabit the same world and b).they've shared adventures with them. However, they're different.

The Fantastic Four are far more adventurers, explorers and guardians rather than crime fighters. They don't go out on patrol. If they stop a common bank robber, it's just because they're good guys and happen to be in the neighborhood, not because because that's their deal.

Their world is space travel, the microverse, alternate dimensions, and all that stuff that makes Sci Fi geeks giddy. You love Star Trek and Lost in Space, then the Fantastic Four are your people.

The Heroes: In a superhero world full of loners and alliances of conveniences, what Lee and Kirby managed to create in this pre-X-men, pre-Avengers world is a true family of heroes. Lee said that the Fantastic Four came out of a conversation with someone at DC on the golf course talking about the success of the Justice League. I've read a few early Justice League stories and (with all due respect), Lee and Kirby easily cleared that bar.

The characters are interesting as individuals. My favorite was Ben Grimm (the Thing.) While everyone else was quite happy with their new powers, he'd been left looking like a big brick monster even though he was the strongest person mortal in the Marvel Universe outside of the Hulk. He was understandably bitter and angry. At a couple points, he turned on his team mates. However, in a believable character arch, the Thing became more good natured and had a marked improvement with the introduction of girlfriend Alicia Masters in what remains one of the sweetest love stories in comics.

Mr. Fantastic is the responsible one and the one with the powers that allow the most creative uses and Jack Kirby's art work puts good use to that. Johnny Storm is the typical teenager and his clashes with the Thing (both light and serious) have been a hallmark of the series.

The one character that really did have some problems was Sue Storm. In early issues, she seemed to be in constant need of rescuing. In one issue with the Hulk, Reed Richards even suggested that her primary contribution was aesthetic.

This led to fan complaints and suggestions she wasn't contributing to the Fantastic Four and suggestion that she be thrown out. Lee and Kirby addressed this in typical fashion doing a letters column where the Fantastic Four responded to fan letters, including complaints about Sue in an actual comic book form. The criticism was portrayed as really hurting her feelings and her teammates stuck for her.

As much as superhero teammate support surely helped., Lee and Kirby worked to make the character tougher. In one issue, she delivers a key knockout blow to Dr. Doom where the others had failed. While other enhancements that would make it clear that Sue was an equal part of the team such as giving her a forecefield that could protect others in battle, Lee and Kriby actually made some nice moves.

There is some romantic tension in the story as well because while she was engaged to Reed prior to the accident, she is smitten by the Fantastic Four antagonist Sub-mariner and guest hero Ant Man. For those who grew up watching a married Sue and Reed, the marriage won't be until Fantastic Four Annual #3 which is in the third Essentials volume.

What's remarkable is that this group slowly gels and becomes a real family that works well together despite differences and cares about each other.

The Antagonists: The Antagonists were also fantastic. Lee and Kirby were smart. They knew when they found a good solid antagonist. Dr. Doom and Sub-mariner both worked and about half of the issues feature them. Two adventures each feature the Puppet Master and the Skrull race. The rest are classic sci-fi villains.

This book introduces Dr. Doom who is practically Marvel's universal super villain. While the Fantastic Four are his main rivals, he's also fought Spider-man, the X-men, and even the Hulk. He's the type of perfectly cast powerful and intelligent villain every hero needs.

The Sub-mariner works well here as a bit of an anti-hero. The undersea prince of the deep who first appeared in comics the month before Batman appeared in detective comics was re-introduced early on and makes war on the surface dwellers who he blames for the disappearance of his Atlantean kingdom. This makes the character compelling because he's not entirely evil. He has noble instincts, a code of honor, and even falls in love with Sue Storm and even makes a great sacrifice for her.

Artwork: Simply put, the artwork here was superb. I actually prefer these black and white additions, particularly when Kirby's doing the pencils. My favorite story in here is the Annual which includes an epic 40 page battle between the FF and Sub-mariner. It's simply wonderful and Kirby's artwork made it so.

Flaws: There are few flaws in the book other than the Sue problem. The epic annual included the first meeting between Spider-man and the Fantastic Four and Spidey acted poorly. Also in the same annual, Reed says the same line three times about Sub-mariner loving Sue as much as the Four do in his own way.

But that's a nitpicky point for a book that launched the Marvel Age of Comics reflects the best of early science fiction. This one is simply must-read.




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Decline of Superman, Part Two: Do We Want Heroes to Look Up To?

In the 2007 Marvel/DC After Hours fan-written You Tube series using action figures, Lex Luthor tries to get Superman to help him destroy the Marvel Universe. He explains that in his opinion Marvel has destroyed everything.

"Your job is to be an inspiration for people, someone they can look up to, someone they can aspire to be like in steadfastness, in character, in ideals...

"Now, we have an entire culture who thinks who they are is just fine and how dare anyone suggest they can improve themselves...No one wants to look up to you Superman, they don't want to strain their necks."

Truer words were never spoken at least not by action figures being used as puppets in a fan film although putting the blame on Marvel, but rather on a Wider culture.

Paul Asay ponders a similar point:

…is Superman really too strong for us? Or is he too good?

“Deep down, Clark’s essentially a good person,” Batman says of Superman in DC’s Hush. “And deep down, I’m not.”

That’s one of the things that always attracted me to Batman. Because deep down, I know I’m not, either. None of us are, if it comes right down to it. We all know, at 3 a.m. we’re staring at the ceiling, we’re not as good as we pretend to be or even think we are most of the time. We’re selfish, sinful people. Batman’s not “super.” He’s flawed. In a way he is, in Ryan’s words, a wreck. But he does what he can with the tools he’s been given and becomes a hero through force of will—giving all of us a little hope that we can be a hero, too.

Superman’s not like that. He’s better than us—better, perhaps, than we could even aspire to be. If Batman appeals to jaded adults like me, Superman is a hero for the 7-year-old set—strong and brave and incorruptible and good. He’s a John Wayne relic that you never worry about falling or failing or disappointing you. He’s a hero for people who did, or do, believe in such things.

And then there's Astro who writes;

Characters like Spider Man and Wolverine and the Batman we've all come to know more fully embody the, frankly, childish emotional upheavals we’ve all dealt with, especially the more emotionally and intellectually stunted among us...

Superman, at his core, is a mythological figure much more than he is a character. The stories told about him SHOULD represent the struggles we all deal with -- allegorically...The emotions he feels transcend angst and pettiness, cross into the realm of faith. They are of a higher order, and when you're writing the character you have to play only to those higher order emotions; largely removing jealousy, anger, self hatred, fear, whineyness, arrogance, and all the other negative emotions that make great drama, and are the bulk of a modern writers' repertoire.

Superman is bigger than all that... Superman stories are PARABLES, instructive in their tone, constructive in their direction....

To a populace who would rather not think of all the ways in which we are broken, or failing to live up to our ethical potential, Superman reminds us; a being of pure good, self assuredly doing what he can to save the world without complaint and without hesitation. Couldn't we all be that way? And if so, why aren't we?

Superman makes us UNCOMFORTABLE. Superman makes us ASHAMED of our laziness, of the small compromises we make every day, the transgressions we commit against what we know to be right in the name of expediency, convenience, greed, pettiness, anger.

So, I submit to you, dear reader; perhaps the problem isn’t with Superman. Perhaps the problem with us.

To some extent, these writers have a point. Certainly, they're right on with the comic book reading community.

For a long time, comics haven't been targeted towards kids. That's no big secret. The primary audience for comics has been cynical Gen X and Gen Y males who have little interest in a character whose known for moral goodness.

However, in the wider culture, I think Superman remains much more an enigma. Superman hauls in big time money in merchandising rights from watches to T-shirts to ball caps. People love Superman.

But perhaps we love Superman the way we love Santa Claus. Asay may have hit on it when he referred to Superman as a hero for 7 year olds.

Superman acting with unadulterated goodness while wielding great power seems like something just for kids. It's an adult world and we're cynical about moral excellence. As adults, we've come to believe that everyone has skeletons in the closet and that no one can be trusted. We've been let down time and time again by politicians, musicians, and athletes. When we see a seemingly morally upright person we're waiting to find out the weird stuff just like the recent scandal involving General Petraeus.

Maybe we can't believe a character as good as Superman was created to be. There's certainly part of our society that likes the idea of a tarnished Superman. Yet, I can't help but think that all the Superman memrobilia owned by adults, even adults not into comic books, indicates that on some level, we'd like to believe in the ideal of Superman.

Powerhouse Flies Again: The Open Door

When I wrote Tales of the Dim Knight with my wife Andrea, it was originally intended as a one-shot novel.

In fact, when I wrote the original ending, it tied everything up nicely in a big bow that precluded the possibility of sequels and that ending was in the book until the last edits to the story in mid-to-late 2010.

However, as my wife and I talked about it, it became clear that the ending really was a problem. It a little too pat and a little too clunky and it really closed the door to any possibility of a sequel. It literally took the Johnson family two years down the road from after the end of the book with final conclusions for Marco, Leona Campbell, and all our other characters. It was almost too neat and too pat. So, we decided to end strong and leave the possibility of a sequel in place at the same time. There were a couple of things that made the Powerhouse sequels seem like a good project late Spring of this year.

From a marketing perspective, the big advice that I'd been reading is that series are the best way to go. In addition, I'd been getting good reaction, if I wasn't getting the volume of reaction that I'd hoped for. I thought if I could get a series together, this character might take off.

Second, I really have been watching more superhero stories and realize there's a lot more we can do. There are more things we can poke fun at. I thought we did a pretty exhaustive work in the first book. We covered superhero team ups, Captain America, Batman, heck even Underdog, but I think there was more to do.

Third, I think there's a lot more we can get out of these characters, so it made sense to write the sequels and I'm enjoying the process immensely.

The Decline of Superman, Part One: The Problem

As someone who has hosted an old time radio Superman podcast for five years, you'd think I'd be happy that Superman is returning to theater next year seven years after the forgettable Superman Returns. You'd be wrong.

Both the early trailers, pictures, and sneak peeks we've gotten of the plot indicate we're in for a darker Superman story and everything I see on the official website seems to bare that out..

Paul Asay, a big-time Batman fan shares the concern:

Man of Steel will be directed by Zack Snyder (he of 300 fame) and produced by Christopher Nolan—a guy who worked such dark wonders with our modern Dark Knight. I wonder whether a similar remake may be on the docket for Superman—an angsty, dark, traumatized hero. He’d become Batman, only with X-ray vision and without the cool car.

I hope not. As much as I like Batman, I think we need heroes like Superman, too—heroes we can embrace without reservation. Sometimes, we need heroes that are too good for us, too good for our age. We need heroes that don’t reflect ourselves, but represent something better, something purer.

The soon to be 75-year old Superman franchise has been in decline for a decade or so at least. Not only was the 2006 film sub-par, but the Superman comics have been lagging as well.

The best of them is Action Comics, which ranked #12 in October being outsold by not only Batman and Detective Comics but also Justice League and Green Lantern. (Yep, Green Lantern is outselling Superman's best title.)

The Adventures of Superman ranked #31 behind Aquaman (#27). Yes, Aquaman is now outselling the Adventures of Superman. The title is on its third creative team since the New 52 relaunch.

Keep in mind that at his height Superman had like five titles based on his character including, "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen," "Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane," and "Superboy."

Of course, what makes this ironic is that the Man of Steel still has a lot of fans. His merchandise still flies off shelves and many have fond memories and positive opinion of the big guy.

So what's behind the decline of the Superman franchise? We'll take a look in upcoming blog posts.

Black Friday Give Away and Digital Stocking Stuffers

Hello, over at Amazon, both Tales of the Dim Knight and Powerhouse Flies Again are available for free today for the Kindle.

You can click here to get Tales of the Dim Knight and Powerhouse Flies Again as free for Black Friday only.

If you come on to this post after Black Friday, they will still be 99 cents through December 26th. These great Comedy Superhero Stories make great digital stocking stuffers for the Superhero fan in your life. Also, we hope to make it easy for people to follow the Powerhouse saga which continues in Rise of the Robolawyers.

Some other great 99 cent stocking stuffers:

The Perfect Church: The church critic is a man who goes evaluates churches looking for one that lives up to his high standards. What happens when he finds it? A great Twilight Zone-like story.

Your Average Ordinary Alien: Kirk Picard Skywalker is the ultimate sci-fi fan. What happens when his dream comes true and he's abducted by aliens.

All of these will make great stocking stuffers for you or that sci-fi fan in your life. I hope you enjoy them.

This post contains affiliate links, which means that items purchased from these links may result in a commission being paid to the author of this post at no extra cost to the purchaser.

Review: Justice League: Friends and Foes

Justice League Adventures Vol. 2: Friends and Foes by Adam Beechen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Friends and Foes collects five issues from DC's Justice League Adventures Comics published from 2002-2004. The kid-friendly digest plays off the success of the original Justice League Series featuring the original seven Justice League members. This collects a sort of "best of" digest with issues #13-14, #16, #19, and #20.

The stories contained live up to the kid-friendly label. However, the quality varies quite a bit.

"Local Hero" is my favorite story in this collection In it, a teenage girl who is a local small-town Superhero named All-Star who impresses the Green Lantern who offers her a chance to fill in for him while he has some duties in deep space. All-Star is practically floating on air as she gets a chance to fight on the same side as some of Earth's greatest heroes and is starstruck. But is she up to the task? And when a tough battle comes, can she prove she belongs in the Justice League. A touching and poignant story with a powerful point. Grade: A+

"Angry Tide" features Aquaman making trouble in Gotham. What's behind his bizarre behavior? This one was an okay story, but seems like it could have been better with the ingredients of Aquaman and one of Gotham's great villains included. Grade: B+

"Hide and Seek" finds Martian Manhunter faced with a dilemma. The original white Martians from the pilot who destroyed his home world and tried to enslave Earth are coming back. He intercepts a message indicating that one of the Justice League has been replaced by a disguised alien who will sabotage this ship. This would usually be simple enough to detect but to protect from the White Martians, he's given every Justice League member a headband that's blocks mind-reading. Now, he hasn't to uncover which of friends has been replaced. The result: Suspense, Action, and a poignant ending. Grade: A

"What in a Hero?": Worst story of the collection. Green Lantern battles a villain in a neighborhood and encounters a kid who thinks being a hero is all about superpowers, Green Lantern shows him it's not. Overall, I credit the writers for trying to teach values through comic books but this one was just too ham-handed and preachy in its approach. Grade: C

"Emotional Baggage": The Justice League battle the Psycho-Pirate, a disgruntled ex-psychiatrist who seeks to bring about destruction through manipulating emotions and when he faces the Justice League. There was a lot to like about the story as we saw some confrontations between Justice league members as a result of Psycho-Pirate's powers. Some of the emotional reactions I could buy like the Flash feeling that Justice League leadership was too old. Others, like Batman knocking Superman because the Justice League looked to him for leadership seemed outside of Batman's character. They could have done better on that point. Still, I give this one. Grade: B+

Overall, some pretty good kid-friendly comics are packed into this digest. A great find at a library or as a used book.



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