Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes, page 34

Book Review: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 3: Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 3: Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now by Ryan North

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The book features the first six issues of volume 2 of the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, along with Issue 6 o Howard the Duck as part of a crossover.

The first issue is a one-shot that establishes the characters, has Squirrel Girl (Doreen's) mother come for a visit and embarrass her and then we have a Brain Drain appear. The first issue felt a bit over-stuffed and had moments when it was trying to hard

Issues 2-5 is a four-part story that finds Doreen sent back into the time to the early 1960s before the age of Superheroes began. She finds other former ESU Computer Science students also sent back with her. She enjoys the styles of the time and sends a message to her friend Nancy. Unfortunately, the only help Nancy can find come from Doctor Doom. This is a fun travel story that also manages to effectively make fun of Doctor Doom's egotism and his often overrated sense of honor.

Finally the book concludes with a crossover with Howard the Duck. What begins as a search for a missing cat turns into a life and death battle as our heroes face a woman determined to hunt the deadliest game. The first part of this story (Squirrel Girl #6) is really good and has some nice funny moments but the final issue (Howard the Duck #6) is a pretty standard paint by numbers story that often gets Squirrel Girl's voice wrong.

Overall, this book still h has more enjoyable moments than not, so this is wroth a read.



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Book Review: Assignment: Earth

Assignment: Earth by John Byrne

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Gene Roddenberry's last episode of Star Trek in Season 2was a back door pilot for Assignment Earth. This book takes a look at five adventures of Gary Seven and his secretary Miss Lincoln.

In Issue 1, they have a mystery to solve as immediately after the Enterprise leaves they have to access a government research project where there's a Soviet Spy present. This is okay but really could have used more space.

In Issue 2, Gary Seven and Miss Lincoln deal with another visit from the Enterprise in their future from their first appearance, but in Earth's past. This is a wonky time travel tale that keeps our heroes on the periphery.

Next up is Issue 3 where they are investigating strange goings on at a University. On one hand, the military villain is pretty stereotypical. On the other hand, the war protestor character has some nuance.

Issue 4 has them trying to fight an alien invasion by a group called Counterstrike. This one was the weakest in the book. It's okay, but it needed more room to breathe.

The final issue involves Gary and Ms. Lincoln having to stop the Chinese from kidnapping Nixon and replacing him with a duplicate. This one was actually pretty funny and the best comic in the book.

This book is okay, but just okay. I'd give it 3.5 stars on the strength of the fake Nixon story. The more you're curious about this concept and all things Trek, the more you're actually going to enjoy this.



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Book Review: Mister Miracle by Jack Kirby

Mister Miracle by Jack Kirby

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Entire run of Jack Kirby's 18-issue Mister Miracle comic, which was part of his Fourth World comics that included the New Gods and the Forever People. This series is actually fairly self-contained, focusing on Scott Free's escape from Apokolips and his Superhero/Showbiz career on Earth.

This book introduced a series of great characters: Mister Miracle, Big Barda, Oberon, Granny Goodness, and the Famel Furies all make their appearance in this book. They are so fun to read and there's some great creativity that goes into them.

Kirby's art is great. It might be just a little bit less superb than his work for Marvel in the 1960, but Jack Kirby was still amazing in the early 1970s.

The stories all stand on their own, separate from whatever was going on in Kirby's other books. There are repetitive themes in the books of "Granny sends villain from Apokolips to capture Mister Miracle and Mister Miracle and Barda dispatch said villain in epic fashion." Though there are several issues where Mister Miracle goes back to Apokolips so that he can take the steps necessary to legally escape Apokolips so that he's no longer pursued but that doesn't stop him from being pursued. Other issues reflect the sort of fun pulp fiction style of storytelling that has a nostalgic feel to it, and it's pretty fun. Issue 18 brings an epic grand finale that has some awesome moments, but does feel a tad rushed.

Still, this is just a really fun book. A nice read but one of comics' greats.



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Book Review: The Flash: The Silver Age, Volume 3

The Flash: The Silver Age Vol. 3 by Various

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The third volume of the Silver Age Flash collects Issues 134-147.

The book has a few highlights. The Kid Flash costume is changed from the "mini-Flash" look to the iconic Kid Flash look. We meet two big new members of Flash's Rogue's gallery, Heatwave and Reverse Flash. Heatwave's introduction is okay, though its marked by one of the dullest and least interesting costumes of the Silver Age.

The Reverse Flash is a really solid challenge for the Flash. He not only appears but comes back a few months later to try and use a reformed criminal to make a come back. Issue #147 has Flash and Reverse Flash raising towards the former criminal in an homage to the Flash #123.

Other than that, the Flash repels several alien invasions. He has another team up with the Earth One Flash as they battle Vandal Savage who has picked off former Justice Society of America members off like flies. The adventures leads to a re-forming of the JSA and sets the stage for 20 years of crossovers between the JLA and JSA. He has a great team up with the Green Lanterns where they fight several versions of the Green Lanterns who exist for scientifically dubious rason.

There were many returning villains, some featuring silly ideas that worked from a story standpoint ( such as a prison newspaper that has a ranking of e effectiveness of Flash villains and Mirror Master escaping to rise in the rankings) to those that don't know (the Prankster story.)

Overall, I don't think this is quite as good or groundbreaking as the previous volumes, but it is still a really fun read, full of imaginative stories, and even a couple changes for our hero.



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Book Review: Batman, Volume 5: Rules of Engagement

Batman, Volume 5: Rules of Engagement by Tom King

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This action-light story collects Issues 33-37 of Batman and Batman Annual #2.

The first story, the three issue Rules of Engagement finds Batman and Catwoman trying to enter the forbidden kingdom of Khadym for some business with Talia Al Ghul, Damian Wayne's mother. This leads to the most action in the entire book, a prolonged sword fight between Talia and Catwoman. While not strictly necessary, Damian and Dick Grayson make a good double act as they learn of Bruce's marriage and process his meaning and what he's doing.

Next up is the two issue story, "Super Friends" which involves Bruce and Selina and Clark and Lois talking about discussing Bruce's engagement. It turns into a really fun and thoughtful examination of the relationship between Batman and Superman. Some of these panels where they share their thoughts on each other are beautiful. This story is an instant classic.

Finally, the Annual "Some of these Days" explores the Batman-Catwoman relationship from the beginning of their merry chase. It has some fun moments as well as some introspective moments. The ending raises a question whether this story is really about "our" Batman but it's nonetheless a heck of a story.

Overall, this is suprisingly superb book. Tom King's writing on Batman keeps getting better and better.



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Book Review: "Super Sons Vol. 2: Planet Of The Capes

Super Sons Vol. 2: Planet Of The Capes by Peter J. Tomasi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book contains two stories.

First up is the four-issue Planet of the Capes which has Jon and Damian meeting up for some crimefighting as part of Jon's parents approved schedule for him learning to be Superboy. The adventure was supposed to end with Damian heading off on an adventure with the Teen Titans. However, things go horribly wrong and the Titans have to get Jon out of his pajamas and back into action after Damian is turned into a senior citizen.

The book is a lot of fun. Jon gets to interact with the Teen Titans and show his stuff and then they're whisked off to another world. The story is light and fun, and it moves at a really good pace. Being a four-issue story helps. A lot happens in that story but it has to happen to quickly.

"One Fine Day" is a nice little one-shot that focuses on the characters relationship and has fun with that. They also get a change to Damian's status quo. (That's not very good or well-thought out, but I can forgive that.)

Overall, these characters continue to be fun and this book is a delight to read.



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Book Review: Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor The Sapling Volume 3 - Branches

Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor The Sapling Volume 3 - Branches by Rob Williams

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects the conclusion of the Sapling storyline.

The first part of the book finds the Doctor, Alice, and the Sapling landing on a planet with space-age technology and massive pollution that should be cave dwellers. Is there Time Lord interference involved?
This first story leads up to the events where the Sapling takes action to save the Doctor and Alice but inadvertently empowers the deadly Silence member Scream who has a mad plot that tests the Doctor and Alice's friendship and their sanity.

Overall, I found this a satisfying volume. The book was both imaginative and logical. The art continues to be imaginative as is appropriate with the high concept stuff in this book. The arc is enjoyable, but not as good as what we got in the first two years of the Eleventh Doctor books. But even with that said, this has still been a fun series to read.



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Book Review: The Torch

The Torch by Mike Carey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The book opens with the Torch dead and his Sidekick Tor newly resurrected by the Cosmic Cube and unsure what to do with his life when the Mad Thinker kidnaps Toro and steals the body of the Torch in order to fulfill his latest mad scheme.

The book is really a lot of fun. It examines Toro and the Torch's past and provides new insights and fills in some holes in their origin story and golden age adventures while also sending both on a character journey. The Mad Thinker has never been written better, as this cold, calculating villain ready to double cross whoever is required to get what he wants.

The art is very good. Alex Ross provides the covers. The Interiors are by Patrick Berkenkoffer who does a brilliant capturing all these characters. The only real flaw in the art is Reed Richards' absurdly muscular arms.

The more you know of the Golden Age Human Toruch, the more you'll like this book. However, the book isn't too burdened down that someone looking to discover an interesting book about an obscrue character couldn't enjoy it. Overall, a very nice read.



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Book Review: The Flash: The Silver Age Vol. 2

The Flash: The Silver Age Vol. 2 by John Broome

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book collects Issues 117-132 of the Flash, but that's barely sufficient to describe the massive amount of imaginative work in here. The Flash is the character who started the Silver Age of Comics because of the utter fantastical imagination applied. While this doesn't have as many firsts in it as the previous book, it does feature the first appearance of Captain Boomerang, the Top, and Abra Kadabra, and most importantly, the first-ever cross-over between the Flash of Earth One to Earth-Two.

The book is too massive to summarize. There's too many great ideas to cover them all.

Some highlights including Captain Boomerang trying to execute the Flash by tying him to a giant boomerang...twice! You have the Top imprisoning the Flash in an atomic grenade. You have a brilliant Flash and Green Lantern team-up. And then an encounter with an interdimensional TV producer whose trying to cause mayhem on Earth in order to create entertainment and won't let the Flash stop them. You have the Flash and Kid Flash travelling back in time to prehistory. The best one is Flash #125 which has aliens planning an invasion in the 23rd century and to accomplish they remove all radiation from the Earth during pre-history. So Kid Flash travels back to pre-history while the Flash runs to the 23rd century. It's massive fun.

The Kid Flash stories are all fun. They're kid wish-fulfillment as he uses his powers to solve crimes and problems in his hometown of Blue Valley, although in addition to his Flash team-up, he battles the Weather Wizard alongside Elongated Man, who also appears in many Flash stories.

Bottom line: if you love imaginative stories filled with fun and amusing uses of superpowers, memorable villains DC is using to this day, this book is for you. It contains the stories that laid the groundwork for the DC Universe.



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Book Review: Crisis on Multiple Earths, Volume 2

Crisis on Multiple Earths, Vol. 2 by Gardner F. Fox

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Four of the annual crossovers between the JLA and JSA that occurred in the late Silver Age between 1967-1970. This book collects the last two crossovers written by Gardner Fox and the first two by Dennis O'Neill while also including the final book penciled by Mike Sekowsky and the first three by Dick Dillon.

The Super Crisis that Struck Earth Two/ and the Negative Crisis on Earth One/Two: Black spheres turn four average people of various moral standing into powerful supervillains the JSA can't defeat, so they turn to the JLA for help and ultimately a solution is reached that involves exposing Flash (Earth One), Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (Earth One), an Hourman to the same spheres which could turn them evil. This is the weakest story in the book, partially because there's no real explanation for the source of these black spheres. There's also the introduction of an adult Earth Two Robin who is in a costume halfway between the Robin and Batman costumes and its the worst of both worlds. However, there, are some fun superhero fights and other interesting moments to make this not a bad read. Grade: B-

The Stormy Return of the Red Tornado/T.O. Morrow Kills the Justice League Today: A robot appears at a JSA meeting claiming to be Red Tornado, a hero last seen in the pages of All Star Comics #3. However, things start going wrong for the JSA and we learn it's the plan of Dr. Morrow, a Golden Age villain out for a rematch. Once he's finished with the JSA, he's ready to go after the JLA. This is a fun story. Morrow is a formidable foe with some cool tricks that make him a credible threat. The story moves at a great pace and is very fun to read. Grade: A-

Star Light, Star Bright, Death I See Tonight/Where Death Fears to Tread: Earth Two is Imperiled when people start going randomly beserk. The root cause is the evil influence of Aquarius, a star creature who was punished thousands of years before by his fellows. Now he sets to wreak havoc and the JSA sends for help because they have little choice. This is a really compact but epic story with a great sense of imagination. We have some heroes fighting that goes on long enough to give us some cool moments, but doesn't harm our heroes' image and leaves time for several other good moments, such as the Earth One Green Lantern reciting the Earth Two oath. I have mixed feelings about the death at the end, but this one is sold. Grade: A

Peril of the Paired Planets/Where Valor Fails...Will Magic Triumph...The Earths are in the crosshairs of an alien being whose bands who plans letting Earth One and Two to be destroyed so he can build a new planet for his clients. It's up to our heroes to stop them and it is an epic struggle with many heroes trying, but ultimately a line of mystical heroes is given a chance to shine. Overall, great story with some grat battles, een though there a few logical lapses. Grade: A-

Overall, the stories in here hold up as truly memorable and imaginative tales. Definitely worth a read.



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