Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes, page 76

Book Review: Darkwing Duck/Duck Tales: Dangerous Currency

Darkwing Duck / Ducktales: Dangerous Currency by Ian Brill

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book collects the final two issues of Boom Studios Dark Wing Duck and Duck Tales comics. Dangerous Currency seeks to do a lot of things including being a crossover between Darkwing Duck and Duck Tales, tie up all the loose ends in the Darkwing Duck series (none really remained from the poorly written Duck Tales series), and fill in a few plot holes (i.e. how did Gizmo Duck's suit end up in St. Canard and whatever happened to Fenton Crackwell.) The book succeeded all counts, but the results don't live up to the high standards of the prior Darkwing Duck comics.

There are too many characters running around and we really lose track of everyone other than Darkwing and Scrooge in the adventure. The whole plot doesn't seem ideal for this sort of legendary team up with the enemy being slime. The big reveal about Agent 44 in the final issue was disappointing. The way Darkwing defeats the baddie is also a bit weak and contrived. The whole story seems very rushed.

Still, the story does have good moments, particularly when Scrooge and Darwking grab a moment to talk in the midst of the madness. The best moment for that is when Darkwing insists that he has a domestic life (which Goslin is part of) and a superhero life where he 's on his own. Scrooge will have none of it and tells him, "No, you have a life." Beyond this, if they aren't well-developed, it's great to see so many great childhood favorites in this book. There were some good ideas in the plot. They just needed a lot more time to develop them like six issues instead of four, but this may have been due to the expiration of Boom Stuidos license with Disney.

In the end, Boom did the best they could. They gave us a team up that people waited two decades for. It's just unfortunate, they couldn't given us a longer and better developed story.




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Book Review: Golden Age Green Hornet Remastered

The Green Hornet Golden Age Re-Mastered by Fran Striker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This nice Trade paperback collects Dynamites Green Hornet remastered series in a 290 page volume. The strips have solid artwork and fairly good stories that manage not to get too repetitive despite the limited plot of, "Green Hornet takes on racketeers."

Compared to other Golden Age material, the comics in this book are merely okay. You can't really compare these comics to superhero comics of the era, but even compared to characters such as Will Eisner's Spirit or Quality Comics Dan Dare series, the stories here don't quite measure up. Part of it may be the length as most of these stories are 6-8 pages long and really feel like they could have been better at twice that. Also towards the end of the book, the writers seemed to forget Green Hornet's cover is pretending to be a bad guy.

Still, these are rare stories, and while it wasn't the best crime comic, I generally enjoyed the book with its collection of racketeers with a few fifth columnists thrown in for good measure.




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Book Review: Essential Fantastic Four, Volume 5

Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 5 by Stan Lee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects Issue 84-110 of the Fantastic Four and Issue 102 marks the end of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee's partnership on the strip with Kirby's sudden departure at the start of a new story arch. The first 83 Issues and 6 Annuals collectively were some of the finest comic books ever written. However, the issues of this book represent a pretty steep creative decline following the birth of the Richards' baby at the end of the last book.

Also, why the magazine would remain the Fantastic Four throughout most of the book, there would be five active with Crystal of the Inhumans remaining on after joining the group during the pregnancy of Sue Richards.

First ten issues in the book collect three different story arcs. The first and third are among the worst that Marvel had ever put out. The first arc (84-87) saw the return of Doctor Doom after a long absence by the FF's biggest archrival. However, the plot crawls as Kirby uses full and half page panels to pad and draw out a two part story into four. There's a nice surprise at the end of the third issue, but the ending of the story is weak and the book was often to a disappointing start.

Things got better when the FF went househunting in upstate in New York and were brought face to face with the Mole Man who had put a house on the market to trap them. (88-90). This is actually a fine action piece and while not at the level of Lee and Kirby's best, was quite enjoyable.

However, the next story (91-93) was the worst of the Lee/Kirby era. It took a bit of the luster off the last story when Reed fatuously suggested that the Mole Man couldn't be prosecuted for anything despite his numerous attempts to murder the FF. Then the Thing was captured by Skrulls and taken to a planet where everyone looked like men from the 1930s. In some ways, it seemed like they were paying homage to the Star Trek episode, "A Piece of the Action," but the resulting story was just tedious.

About this time, Marvel decided to stop doing multi-part stories and while this would have different effects on different magazines, the results were all positive for the FF as it forced them to tell a complete story and we saw the end of Jack Kirby's superflous splash pages. In the best FF stories, Kirby drew awe-inspiring full page splashes of space or Galactus or the Thing jumping into battle. In the early parts of the book, Kirby drew a full page splash of Doctor Doom standing at the dinner table with great detail on the food.

The stories improved markedly. Issue 94 saw the return of the Frightful Four and the introduction of Baby Franklin Nanny Agnes Harkness (aka: The Human Plot device.) in a fun and intriguing story. Issue 95 sees the FF taking on the Monocle and thwarting his plants to ignoring World War III as the magazine seems to go back to basics with Crystal returning to the Inhumans at Black Bolt's command while Agnes watches the baby so Sue can remain in the FF. Issue 96 is a fun albeit a bit silly battle with the Mad Thinker who plans to incapacitate and then replace the FF with androids. In Issue 97, we get to see the FF take a day at the beach only to become involved in a mystery with a monster. Issue 98 is one of the best issues in the book as it tells how the FF thwarted the Kree's attempt to stop the moon landing.

Issue 99 is a bad moment for Johnny Storm.(aka the Human Torch) as he decides that he wants Crystal to come back with him and when she refuses, he nearly destroys the Inhumans when he tries to seal them underground. Really, not a good moment for a "hero." The story also see Crystal return as a regular.

Issue 100 is a celebration of the Fantastic Four and as a commemorative story, it does a nice job. The Mad Thinker and Puppet Master team up to create Androids based on the FF's rogue's gallery throughout series. So many appear that the FF dispatches them with ease, but seeing all these characters calls to mind all the great stories of the past 99 issues and how much the FF was.

Issue 101 is an intriguing story that has the FF battling the Maggia who have purchased the Baxter building. The story is fun and it's great to see the FF taking on a different type of villain.

Issue 102 saw the departure of Jack Kirby (replaced by John Romita for issues 103-106 and John Buscema for Issues 107-10 110) and the return of continued stories. Issues 102-104 is actually a great concept as it's a story that guest stars both Namor and Magneto with Magneto manipulating Namor only to betray him and try to subvert Atlantis as part of his quest for world dominance. It's a great story worthy of both the FF and the two guest stars.

Issue 105-110 represents a solid story arc surrounding the negative zone with a man named Janus determined to tap into its power even at the risk of awakening the power of Annihilus. This is actually one of the best stories in the book. We see a flash back to a story that we weren't told before, and a great voyage into the Negative Zone. There are also some sub-plots: Baby Franklin and Agnes have some mysterious things happen and in mid-arc, Ben Grimm gets the power to change back and forth to the Thing but his personality's been warped. While that concept isn't new. There's a different twist with the Thing not becoming full on evil but instead very self-centered leading to some interesting problems wit Reed in the negative zone.

The bottom line: The first 35% of the book has a lot of problems, but after Issue 94, it gets better with some great stories that are joy for any FF fan. Issue 98, as well as Issues 101-110 are the highlights of the book, and Issues 84-87, and 91-93 being the lowlights for both the book and the Lee/Kirby era.



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Ultimate Mid-life Crisis Giveaway

I'm giving away a signed copy of my new novel, Ultimate Mid-life Crisis. Click below to enter.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Ultimate Mid-life Crisis


by Adam Graham

Giveaway ends October 03, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Recent Comic Book Reviews: Silver Surfer, She-Hulk, Green Hornet, Justice League, Batman '66

Silver Surfer #5:

I really was somewhat nervous when Issue 4 of Silver Surfer ended with our hero somewhat earthbound. But I shouldn't have been. It's not a matter of Galactus' barrier being put in place, it's just that every life on the planet is in danger and only one person can actually save them.

I appreciated the call back of Hulk and Doctor Strange, the Surfer's former colleagues on the Defenders as was appropriate for such a big threat.

More importantly, Slott made Dawn's continuing roll in the series plausible as we see how the same type of love that makes it hard for Dawn to leave, makes it hard for them to hold her there. Overall, this was a great issue in a wonderful book. Forward to greater adventures ahead.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5.0

She-Hulk #3:

Every Marvel hero worth their salt has to battle Doctor Doom every once in a while. It's safe to say that this particular battle is certainly unusual one. Doom's heir Kristoff wants asylum because he fears becoming Doom's heir and puppet. However, Kristoff has been in the country more than a year and for him to have any prayer of getting asylum, Jennifer Walters has to get him to court, but she has to go through Doom's efficient robots to do it.

Overall, I'd rate this comic 3.5 stars. The first flash page was a bit unsettling though somewhat justified by later parts of the story. The story was humorous but not near as funny as the prior issues.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.0

Indestructible Hulk #20

This issue wrapped up the Inhumanity saga and the 20-issue Indestructible Hulk series with a change of character for Banner. It was similar in some way that experienced by Matt Murdoch in the final issue of Daredevil Volume 3, though not quite as well-realized. The Inhumanity storyline showed the ugliness in Bruce Banner who's frustration with his life as the Hulk wasn't that his having to focus on running away as the Hulk or on curing the Hulk cost the world the advances he could discover but rather that fate had left him second rate. This issue sees him confront the issue, but his realization is short-lived as our attention demanded by the close which sets up the next series.

Rating: 3.0 out of 5.0

Green Hornet #4:

The theme of Waid's Green Hornet in the first three issues has been the ability of power to corrupt. Issue 3 showed how corrupt the Hornet could get and how blind power made Britt Reid. In this issue, the fall begins and it is a stunning occurrence. We don't see who the man who pulls the strings is but we see that he is diabolically clever and Reid isn't prepared for what he's about to go through. I should say the book does it earns 15+ rating with violence that's a bit more extreme than your typical comic book. The book left me very curious what Issue 5 would hold.

Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0

Justice League Unlimited #34:

General Zod from the Phantom Zone by Mr. Mxyzptlik and it's up to the Justice League to save Superman. This issue illustrates what every bad issue of JLU did in the most extreme.

The story had lazy continuity with Superman having claimed never having met Zod, despite the fact this occurred in Superman: The Animated Series. It might be too much to expect the writers for JLU to know every comic story published for the DC Animated Universe, but someone editing this should've known the TV shows. They don't and it shows here.

The story is very slow getting going which leads to a very rushed conclusion. This horrific pacing is added to by the fact that Mr. Mxyzptlik is acting totally out of character by spring Zod. In fact, he's only in the story as a plot device.

This is a lazy and boring story that fails to entertain.

Rating: 1.25 out of 5.0

Batman and Robin Adventures #18:

This story finds Joker depressed as all of his criminal efforts seem in vain. However, Harley is determined to cheer him up the only way she knows how: killing Batman.

In many ways, this story seems like a lighter version of Paul Dini's classic, Mad Love. However, this particular story takes a couple different turns. The relationship between Joker and Harley remains center stage and Templeton's writing really captures its disturbing yet hilarious nature. The end is a nice touch too.

Rating: 3.75 out of 4.0

Batman '66 #43:

This issue wasn't quite as good as what came before. Batman and Robin have to talk their way out of the death trap and really there's far too much standing around talking in this issue. Also, I'm very share of writing "whack whack whack" into the Penguin's dialogue as it doesn't quite seem right for a comic book, particularly when he does it so much. The book has some good moments and while the Penguin's actions were predictable, it was still fun to read. Overall, the Widow saves this story though it's not quite as fun as the one that came before it.

Rating 3.0 out of 5.0

Batgirl Digital Comic Book Sale

Comixology is having a 99 cent Batgirl Digital Comic Sale including the first 34 issues of the new 52 Batgirl series plus two annuals for 99 cents each. They also have each issue of Batgirl Year One for the same price.

That's actually not the part that interests me. I will eventually read the series in Trade and my look library has the trades. The good part is that Comixology has added Fives Issues of the 1970s comic Batman Family featuring the Bronze Age adventures of Batgirl and Robin teamed up which haven't been reprinted before. For those who haven't read it, Detective Comics #359 (her first appearance) is available as well. They also have several other issues of pre-52 Batgirl stories which appear to be mostly flashbacks after DC Comics decided to put Barbara Gordon in a wheelchair at the hands of the Joker prior to the latest universe reboot.

Anyway, if you're a fan of the fabulous Barbara Gordon, its worth checking out.

Book Review: Avengers: The Enemy Within

Avengers: The Enemy Within by Kelly Sue DeConnick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book wraps up the latest Captain Marvel series nicely with a crossover Avengers Assemble collecting the Enemy Within one shot comic, Avengers Assemble #16 and #17, and Captain Marvel #13, #14, and #17. All but the last issue are part of the crossover event, so I'll address the true Enemy Within story first.

As the book begins, Carol Danvers can't fly anymore without aggravating a condition that could destroy her mind. However, her problems go far beyond that as the enemy who caused this begins to come after her. The thing is, when you take on one Avenger, you take on them all.

It's a solid crossover story. At five issues long, it's not overstuffed with too much going on. It's packed with action from start to finish. The story works because here Carol is clearly the lead and all the other characters including heavy hitters like Captain America and Thor play supporting roles well. There's plenty of suspense and a powerful conclusion that shows Carol's heart, grit, and determination while also bringing the story of Carol's illness because in the previous volume of Captain Marvel to a satisfying conclusion.

Issue 17 is where the book falters. It was the last issue of this volume of Captain Marvel. Leaving aside the annoyance of Marvel relauching yet another title without even changing writers, this issue was yet another Captain Marvel story where the book brimmed with its own self-importance. Worse yet, it used a one dimensional cartoonish libertarian "objectivist" as a villain to launch an attack to reign on Captain Marvel's parade. Even though I'm not an objectivist, the story came off as straw man polemics. In world, after everything Carol Danvers went through in the first five issues in this book, it was like, "Oh please, give me a break."

However, even Issue 17 wasn't without its redemptive moments as the relationship between Carol and the little girl Kit saved the issue from its own self importance and politicization.

Overall, this was an enjoyable Captain Marvel book with a great crossover story which more than makes up for a lackluster Issue 17.



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Book Review: Captain America Squad

Captain America Corps by Roger Stern

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


The idea behind the book could work: Bringing together the World War II Captain America Steve Rogers, the then-modern day Captain America Bucky Barnes, former Captain America US Agent, the MC2 Universe Character American Dream, and Commander from the 25th Century and you have the Captain America Corps formed across time and space to fight a foe that is kidnapping Captain America's frozen body from several universes. This story could work, and with Roger Stern writ it, it should work.

But it doesn't.

Other than American Dream and US Agent, the characters aren't fleshed out and I'm not just talking about the Corps, I'm talking the brigade of guest characters who throw themselves into the story. The villain's behavior and motivations are weak for the scale of this story. I mean it wasn't enough for her to change her own universe, she had to start kidnapping Steve Rogers from other universes to get her jollies.

Even as a tribute to Steve Rogers, this story doesn't work as it fails to set the right tone and evoke the right emotions to be that type of story.Because the book only had five issues it ended with a story slamming religion from Age of Heroes #4 that almost got me to rate it 1-star.


The story wasn't without the good moments and the first four issues are okay, but it was really overshadowed by its bleh ideas and underdeveloped concepts. We have Tony Stark's head in a jar and giant evil Captain America robots and it doesn't make sense or ring true at all. The concepts of this book have been done and done far better elsewhere. See Avengers Forever.



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Book Review: Superman: the Greatest Stories Ever Told, Volume 2

Superman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told, Vol. 2 by Jerry Siegel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This second Volume of DC's new Superman Greatest stories collect tales spread out between 1944 and 2005.

It begins with style with the first appearance of Mr. Mxyztplk in Superman #30 (1944).

Next up is the Imaginary Tale, "Superman's Other Life," (1959) which examines what Kal-El's life on Krypton would have been like had Krypton not exploded. What kills this one for me is the really unnecessary framing device of Batman and Robin having set this up on computer so that Superman could see what his life would be like if Krypton hadn't exploded. Who thinks that's a good gift. The only appropriate response, "Hey Bruce, let me program it to see what your life would have been like if the robber hadn't been carrying a gun. Plus, Superman's own commentary on his "other life" just slowed down the tale. Still, it's not too bad if you can get past the framing.


"Superman Returns to Kypton" (1960) was a necessary inclusion particularly after Volume 1 included John Byrne's far darker re-imagining. Anyone who think Superman during the Silver Age was just goofy fun hasn't read, Superman Returns to Krypton which finds Superman crashing back through time and crashlanding on Kyrpton without powers and facing the possibility of dying of Kyrpton. He meets his parents and finds love-love for him not for his powers from a wonderful woman. Yeah, there's some silly parts but this is also a very moving and poignant story.

"The Team of Luthor and Brainiac" (1964) was a watershed issue that brought together two of Superman's most powerful foes battling Superman (and each other). For a romp with great supervillains, this one was to beat.

"Superman Breaks Loose" (1971) was Denny O'Neil's first Superman story. It sees Superman's strength changing and him gaining invulnerability to Green K while losing some power so he can't move planets any more, and Clark Kent being made a TV reporter. This is certainly an important story that would signal a new direction for the series but it doesn't really do much on its own. Like many stories after the Silver Age, the enjoyment of "Superman Breaks Loose" is hurt because its tied into a much larger story and doesn't stand up as well on its own.

As Volume 1 contained a story by Jim Steranko that wasn't the greatest but was noteworthy for him working on it, Volume 2 features, "The Legend from Earth Prime" (1984) drawn by Frank Miller. This was actually an interesting story based on the idea of people from the DC Universe looking in on our universe and discovering Superman's secret identity through that with their actions. It's actually a fun concept.

"The Secret Revealed" (1987) is an oft-repeated reprint of John Byrne's run on Superman that shows the new Luthor's ruthless and psychopathic nature. It's a well-written story, moreso if you really enjoy Byrne's intepretation of Superman. It's only really lessened by the fact that this comes from a long story arch that we don't really get here.

The same problem plagues "Life after Death" (1993) from Adventures of Superman #500 which finds Jonathan Kent in between life and death and trying to bring Clark back but is there a Clark to bring back. It's a somewhat metapyhiscal tale but entertaining.

The book began with Mxyztplk and ends with Mxyztplk in "Narrative Interruptus Tertiarius" which finds a married Lois Lane thinking about having a baby after having been shot while Clark is hesitant as if he couldn't protect Lois, how could he protect a child. This cues Mxyztplk's extraordinary visitation as he shows them a future that might be and has one of his best moments. It's beautiful.

Overall, this book lives up to its name, delivering some fascinating stories and great emotion.





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Book Review: Doom Patrol Archives, Volume 3

The Doom Patrol Archives, Vol. 3 by Arnold Drake

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This third collection of Doom Patrol stories is the best yet, collecting Issues 98-105 of Doom Patrol along with Issue 48 of Challengers of the Unknown.

The first two collections were superb but this one topped them. There are a number of reasons why.

First and foremost was the introduction of Beast Boy, a spunky orphan with the amazing Superpower to change himself into any animal and a smart aleck attitude that was second to none. The character also had a compelling personal story as his guardian is stealing his money. The character is a great addition. My only complaint is that his first appearance in Doom Patrol #99 is a bit of a ripoff. While I don't usually lend credence to such allegations. In his first appearance, Beast Boy tries to gain admittance to the Doom Patrol by breaking into their headquarters and fighting them, a plot that sounds familiar if you've ever read Amazing Spider-man #1. Despite the ripoff introduction, the character makes a great addition to the mix and a fantastic foil to Robotman.

I also loved the introduction of Mr. 103, a villain who could change himself into any of the then-103 known elements. Meteor Man was mindless but fun, particularly with the idea of the man who had been changed into Meteor Man trying to send subliminal messages.

The book's crossover story between the Challengers of the Unknown and the Doom Patrol was a highlight as the four challengers, the members of the Doom Patrol, Beast Boy, and Mento took on four of the Challengers' greatest foes led by multi-man. Truly, an epic story.

The book's ongoing characters continued to be enjoyable except perhaps for Larry. Rita continues to be my favorite Silver Age Superheroine. These books written before feminism became a thing in comics, which is good. Rita doesn't come off like Marvel and DC's attempts to appease the womens' lib movement, rather she comes as a very real character who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to say it. She stands up to both her own team and Mentos when she feels she's being disrespected. The book features the story, "Bride of the Doom Patrol," which features a superhero wedding story like no other with cameos by Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Teen Titans. Not quite the cast that would go to Aquaman's wedding but still pretty snazzy.

Robotman actually stands out better in this book. He clashes frequently with Beast Boy. In addition, Arnold Drake decided to tell his backstory in a series of 8 page back up stories. It's unusual because usually these back up stories are somewhat shallow one-shot stories with a little bit of humor. However, Drake told a 38-page story over the course of four issues with boy the Challenger Team Up and Bridge of the Doom Patrol demanding the longer tale. The story was as close to a realistic look at how a man would feel to wake up to find his brain in a robot body. It's not grim and gritty but it's got some emotional power.

Overall, this is just a great book. The Doom Patrol are fantastic as well as very human. The comics in this book are as good as any comics published in the Silver Age and better than many. This is a must-read for fans of vintage comics.



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