Tansy Rayner Roberts's Blog, page 21
November 21, 2016
Galactic Suburbia Episode 156 Show Notes
In which Tansy and Alex share a culturepalooza — witches, spies, hockey romance and magical secret agents!
New on the internet?
@GailSimone asking for recommendations of books/comics by POC, LBGTQ or other marginalised creative teams.
CULTURE CONSUMED:
Alex: The Shepherd’s Crown, Terry Pratchett;
Tansy: Her Every Wish, Courtney Milan;
Alex: The Song From Somewhere Else, AF Harrold;
Tansy: Mockingbird,
Alex: Long Hidden anthology, Rose Fox and Daniel Jose Older;
Tansy: Sarina Bowen The Ivy Years: The Year We Fell Down, The Year We Hid Away, The Understatement of the Year;
Alex: Agents of Dreamland, Caitlin R Kiernan;
Tansy: The Hamilton Mixtape,
Alex: Imprudence, Gail Carriger
Tansy: The Miraculous Ladybug
Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook, support us at Patreon and don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!
November 17, 2016
Sheep Might Fly: The Patrician Part 6
New episode of “The Patrician” by Tansy Rayner Roberts — this serial is now complete! Tune in to the podcast next week for a brand new Castle Charming story in many, many parts.
This short story featured in Love and Romanpunk by Tansy Rayner Roberts. This story won both the Washington SF Small Press Award and the Ditmar in 2012. If you enjoyed Julia Agrippina’s Secret Family Bestiary, this is the story about what happened next (cough, two thousand years later).
Clea Majora lives in a replica of a Roman city, built in the Australian outback. When a hero comes to town to rid the world of lamia, manticores and other ancient monsters, she is drawn to his quest, and forges a friendship that will last for a lifetime.
You can find me on Twitter & Tumblr at @tansyrr and @sheepmightfly, and on Facebook at @tansyrroberts. To support my online writing and Sheep Might Fly, check out my Patreon page. If you sign up to my author newsletter this month, you can claim a free copy of my upcoming festive space opera novella, Joyeux.
November 15, 2016
Justice League International #8: Moving Day (December 1987)
THE PACKAGING: I still have most of these issues as flimsies from my original collection, but for the sake of convenience, I’m using the Justice League International Volume Two trade which has the rather exciting promise of THREE female characters depicted on the front cover.
THE CREATIVE TEAM: Keith Giffen (Plot & Breakdowns), J.M. DeMatteis (Script), Kevin Maguire (Pencils), Keith Giffen (Backup Pencils), Al Gordon (Inks), Gene D’Angelo (Colors), Andy Helfer & Robert Greenberger (Editors)
THE PITCH: Justice League has gone International! This snarky, banterific superhero clubhouse version of the classic team up book is now based around a United Nations charter of global heroics. Embassies are established in every member state, new heroes join, and everything’s coming up Maxwell Lord.
JUSTICE LEAGUE ROLL CALL: J’onn J’onzz the Martian Manhunter, Batman, Black Canary, Green Lantern (Guy Gardner), Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), Booster Gold, Mister Miracle (Scott Free), Captain Atom, Rocket Red 7 (Vladimir Mikoyan), with Maxwell Lord and Oberon as civilian support.
GUEST STARS: The elegant and formidable Catherine Colbert! Jack Ryder. Jack O’Lantern.
THE STORY: While Jack Ryder continues to slander their reputation on national TV, the Justice League move into their brand new New York embassy… and their French embassy, and their Russian embassy… hang on, they’re gonna need more teams. Right?
In New York, J’onn and Captain Atom manage to half destroy the already fragile building during the moving in process, to Mister Miracle’s disgust — but he runs into problems of his own when he parks their shiny official new shuttle on the roof and the entire embassy collapses.
In Russia, the authorities are understandably unhappy about allowing Guy Gardner into the country again, which should not surprise Batman after what happened last time. The fact that Guy is now a wide-eyed, gosh darn it, milk-drinking, genuinely nice fellow doesn’t make a difference, but the Justice League’s new Rocket Red helps out. Oh, and the League’s Russian bureau chief tries to bug Batman… which seems like a poor life choice.
In Paris, Booster and Beetle sneak out to enjoy the city and admire the beautiful women, but Booster soon discovers that his futuristic flirting techniques won’t get him very far in this city… after humiliating himself in front of a sophisticated French woman, he discovers that she is their new Parisian bureau chief, Catherine Colbert!
There’s nothing to do but laugh, even if a more troubling plot is on the horizon…
In a new, regular backup story, we are introduced to the remains of the Global Guardians, a truly international superhero force who have lost their funding and their mandate thanks to the new Justice League International programme. Angry Irishman Jack O’Lantern is particularly outraged by this development, and attacks his friends before storming off to become a super villain.
THE CHARACTERS: Mister Miracle didn’t go anywhere! Didn’t he quit last issue? We’ve still got him! Everyone is relaxing into their personalities as the new format settles into place. This does not include Guy, whose new personality feels like a parody of Captain Marvel, and is more disturbing than when he was being a raging asshole.
I’m used to the later, more uptight and angry depiction of Captain Atom, so seeing him all loose and goofy on the floor of the Justice League Embassy in these early issues is always a bit weird. J’onn J’onzz, meanwhile, has morphed into his purest form, serene and dry-humoured as chaos reigns around him.
Booster and Beetle have finally figured out that their job on this team is to embrace the Blue and Gold partnership. They’re officially a double act now, from their depiction on the cover to the scene which has them sprawled at a Parisian cafe table, attempting (badly) to wheel chicks. Beetle actually pulls up Booster on his sexism, which feels far more authentic to the Blue Beetle I know.
Black Canary’s personality is still set at ‘angry’ and occasionally ‘angry feminist,’ but can you blame her in this crowd?
Oberon has cheered up, embracing a role as comic relief and Greek chorus rather than belligerent grouch, which is really working for him.
Oh, Catherine! It’s so lovely to see her in with her giant late 80’s hair and her designer power suits. When does Justice League Europe start again? It can’t come soon enough.
THE COMEDY: Martians don’t joke!!!! J’onn J’onzz accepts that the only way to beat them is to join them, and transforms his blank poker face into a work of art as he explains to the removalist why he needs an entire crate of Oreos. Oreos, people!!! (J’onn/Oreos is one of the all-time iconic running jokes of this era) Apparently, Captain Marvel turned him on to them.
Even more importantly, we get our first Bwa-ha-ha, as Beetle dissolves into laughter at his friend’s misfortune with the ladies, laughs at him all the way home, and then starts again when he finds out who Catherine is. Their friendship is the best of everything.
Both stories end with maniacal laughter, though the Justice League is a comedy and the Global Guardians are a tragedy. More on this later.
THE ART: I’m not liking Maguire’s pencils as much as before! I think it’s because he has stopped doing so many close ups, and his lines have become a lot more, well, scratchy. He was a new talent when they started, and I guess he’s moving more towards a house style? It’s a shame, though, because I loved his earlier issues more, and these feel gloomier. Part of this might be the quality of paper — the reproductions of this trade edition are not nearly as good as a new book should be.
Having said that, his cover is fantastic and depicts what has to be the cutest ever piece of artwork featuring that godawful ‘I’m into martial arts” costume that they gave Black Canary because the fishnets embarrass everyone. Maguire is one of my favourite Black Canary artists of all time.
There are a few excellent panels, here and there, notably Batman in the snow in Russia.
Giffen’s pencils are fine in the new backup story, but his style is as scratchy and ill-defined as Maguire is moving towards, which doesn’t bode well. I do like the character designs of the Global Guardians, though.
THE KITCHEN SINK: The JLI has found its voice — it’s sillier and less earnest than the earlier issues, and very much all about the characters. Literally nothing happens in this issue, but it’s great. More of this, please.
What I really love about this creative team is the way that they launch a major rebranding/storyline like this with one hand, and undercut it instantly with the other. The backup story brings a clever note of cynicism to the whole Justice League International concept, and will continue to point out all the cracks in the foundation even before the cement is dry.
By constantly questioning and critiquing the staple tropes of the genre right up front, JLI shows us that, all jokes aside, this is actually one of the most mature takes we’re ever going to get on the superhero team concept. Consequences! Bureaucracy! Look at all this funding you got, that had to come from somewhere!
If I could sum up this era with one word, it wouldn’t be Bwa-ha-ha at all. It would be CONSEQUENCES.
Also… seriously, Mister Miracle said he was quitting, but he’s still here! What’s with that?
BONUS CHARACTER HISTORY: Captain Atom
Like Blue Beetle, Captain Atom was one of the Charlton Comics stable of characters which DC Comics acquired in the 80’s and folded into their own post-Crisis continuity. His first costume was red and gold but he replaced it with one of liquid metal that was inserted under his skin and glowed when he powered up.
Charlton Captain Atom was Allen Adam, a rocket technician who was caught in an industrial accident and atomised, reconstructing himself as a nuclear-powered flying hero. He also served as the inspiration for the character of Doctor Manhattan in legendary Alan Moore comic series/graphic novel Watchmen. (I’m basically assuming this is why Doctor Manhattan is such an asshole… or does Captain Atom become an asshole later on, in response to Watchmen? What came first, the Nite Owl or the egg?)
DC’s Captain Atom was Nathaniel Christopher Adam, a Vietnam veteran Air Force captain who was framed for a crime and sentenced to execution under military law, until he was offered a reprieve — to take part in a terrible experiment, testing an alien weapon. Adam agreed, and the resulting explosion catapulted him eighteen years into the future, bonding him permanently to the alien metal. He also had superpowers, enabling him to tap into the “Quantum Field” which is very quantum.
Captain Atom is a man out of time, still controlled by the military (including General Eiling, the man behind the original experiment who totally married Adam’s “widow” Angela, herself now deceased). In his solo series which ran from 1987-1991, Adam had an ongoing romance with superpowered terrorist Plastique, rebelled against General Eiling, and battled his counterpart, Major Force, who was created from the same experiment but had none of Captain Atom’s honour and discipline.
Many of his predecessor’s old Charlton comics adventures were incorporated into his backstory, including his partnership with Nightshade, who joined the Suicide Squad after her own assimilation into the post-Crisis DC Universe continuity.
Captain Atom is pretty likeable in these early days of the JLI. That’s not gonna last… but if he seems like he’s fulfilling the same narrative role as J’onn? I’m pretty sure there’s a reason for that, and it’s called foreshadowing.
PREVIOUSLY ON THE ONE TRUE JUSTICE LEAGUE:
Justice League The Story So Far
Justice League #1 (May 1987)
Justice League #2 (June 1987)
Justice League #3 (July 1987)
Justice League #4 (August 1987)
Justice League Annual #1 (1987)
Justice League #5 (September 1987)
Justice League #6 (October 1987)
Justice League International #7 (November 1987)
November 10, 2016
Justice League International #7 (November 1987)
THE PACKAGING: Thanks to the collated edition of Justice League #1-#7, I got tangled up here, not exactly sure where #6 ended and #7 began. I’m pretty sure that the cut off point is J’onn J’onzz flying away at the end of #6 and Guy Gardner’s exciting new head injury starting off #7, which feels right. (Cough, after typing this I noticed there are also tiny page numbers, OK, good call on that one) Anyway, double-sized issue! Twice the fun!
Oh and note the name change — we’re officially in Justice League International territory now!
THE CREATIVE TEAM: Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis writing (Giffen plotting and DeMatteis writing dialogue), with Kevin Maguire on pencils. Inked by Al Gordon & lettered by Bob Lappan.
JUSTICE LEAGUE ROLL CALL: Batman, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter (J’onn J’onzz), Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), Green Lantern (Guy Gardner) Mister Miracle (Scott Free), Captain Marvel, Booster Gold. Better start including Maxwell Lord and Oberon on this list… which is gonna look different by the end of the book!
GUEST STARS: Tail end of the Creeper and Dr Fate, let’s face it, the latter was never actually on this team. Superman. Ronald Reagan. Hal Jordan again. Our first glimpse of Big Barda!
THE STORY: A battered Guy Gardner awakes on the kitchen floor, searches for his power ring under the sink, and knocks himself unconscious again when he feels something furry back there.
Back in Stone Ridge, Vermont, Dr Fate saves the day by calling on the Lords of Order (a boyband of mystical beings that includes his own magical life partner Nobu) to take out the Gray Man. Turns out that the terrible powers that the Gray Man wields were intended to be a reward, and he is now able to beg the Lords of Order to strip him of said “honour”. They do so by sucking him out of existence.
Feeling useless, Batman and the League head home without Dr Fate, who has his own stuff to deal with, as ever.
Back at headquarters, monitor duty is having a severe impact on Mister Miracle’s marriage, as Big Barda harangues him for staying at work another 24 hours. Really, a 24 hour observation shift of staring at computers? That seems… an inefficient use of resources.
MEANWHILE, DECISIONS ARE HAPPENING OVER DINNER.
Maxwell Lord, assisted by a surprisingly enthusiastic Oberon, has been wheeling and dealing behind the scenes to get Ronald Reagan, the President of the United States, to present a proposal about the Justice League’s future to the United Nations. Reagan consults Superman, who gives the proposal his earnest approval, without consulting any of the current members. Wow, Superman.
Captain Marvel, Mister Miracle and Hal Jordan are creeped out to discover that Guy Gardner is being nice to them. This is even more concerning than the whole Superman speaking for the Justice League even when he’s not a member thing.
A computer terminal who may or may not be Maxwell Lord’s ally believes the United Nations are not going to okay the proposal, and changes the odds by sending a brand new, well-televised threat for the Justice League to battle.
While juggling nuclear warheads in space, Batman mysteriously fails to die even after his space suit is torn. Mister Miracle smells a rat, and risks his life to deactivate what turns out to be a New Genesys training device.
Yep, the whole thing was a scam, designed to scare the United Nations into greenlighting a brand new, International rebrand of the Justice League, with embassies in every member nation. Has Maxwell Lord’s imaginary friend taken over as sketchiest dude in the comic?
Grumpy Cat Batman is super paranoid about the so-called Justice League International (and rightfully so), but when he realises that everyone else in the League supports the new plan, he sacrifices his alpha powers to save his sister steps down as leader, passing the baton on to J’onn J’onzz. Everyone heave a sigh of relief, Batman isn’t in charge any more!
Mister Miracle and Captain Marvel offer a polite no thank you, Dr Fate sends a telegram of hell no, and the League accepts two new members as suggested by the United Nations: Captain Atom and Rocket Red. Black Canary is still only one girl, but not for long.
It’s the Justice League International, y’all!
THE CHARACTERS: What with all the politicking and arguing, there’s tons of character material packed in here. Batman finally accepts that he makes a terrible alpha, and he’d be much happier snarking from the shadows, because J’onn is the best dad. (Black Canary says: it’s great here in the snark shadows, room for one more!)
Maxwell Lord’s plan is finally out in the open, and while he’s plainly dodgy, most of the characters know that this is where the narrative needs to go, so they’re going along with it!
Mister Miracle continues to name drop his awesome wife, obviously as part of a slow campaign to sneak her on to the League. I love that Batman disapproves of superheroes being married to “civilians” only for Scott to retort that his wife could probably take out the Joker with one hand. Even when Big Barda isn’t in the room, she is the best of everything.
Perhaps the weirdest character note is the addition of Captain Atom and Rocket Red, who both join the group shot at the end with little in the way of context or explanation. Rocket Red makes a lot of sense here given the introduction of the Corps in earlier issues, and the new International branding, but I’m not sure what the point is of having Captain Atom at this point — like another American military character is needed?
THE COMEDY: Having finally realised that there is no way to make Dr Fate funny, especially on a League that already has two uptight straight men (Batman and J’onn, obviously), DeMatteis and the gang have released him back into the wild.
There’s a lot of serious stuff going on here, and so the art is often doing the heavy lifting of the comedy, with moments like angry Big Barda in bunny slippers.
When it comes to slapstick, though, the comic has finally accepted that the best thing it will do in any given issue is to inflict head injuries on Guy Gardner. As is only right and proper. Pages and pages of this comic are devoted to Guy’s teammates being baffled that he has turned into a kind of carbon copy of Captain Marvel, to the point that Hal Jordan is flown in to react to this bizarre circumstance.
It certainly feels like the shakeup of the cast has more to do with comic timing and chemistry than anything else — a battered Guy Gardner being super nice easily takes the place of the bland Captain Marvel, so I guess they finally ran out of jokes about how bland he is?
Crucially, Blue Beetle is still bouncing his sense of humour off various characters, while Booster Gold has resigned himself to offering occasional set ups for Black Canary. They have not yet realised their true potential as a double act bromance for the ages. Get it together, boys, your audience are waiting.
THE ART: Kevin Maguire gets lots of challenging work here — not only the space battle sequences which give us the always-splendid sight of Batman in a spacesuit, but also pages and pages of Maxwell Lord doing things in board rooms, which would normally be a visual snorefest. I’m always impressed that Maguire manages to bring dynamism and dramatic flair to those Maxwell Lord scenes, which could be so dull in the hands of another artist.
The group shot at the end is marvellous — Maguire drawing the Justice League as a gang is my happy place.
THE KITCHEN SINK: This is it! This version of the Justice League was always intended to morph into Justice League International, seven issues in. Giffen and DeMatteis were sneakily moving pieces around to get to this place, just as much as Max and his computer buddy. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m so relieved Batman is no longer in charge.
BONUS CHARACTER HISTORY: J’onn J’onzz the Martian Manhunter
A mainstay of Justice League comics, the green-skinned Martian Manhunter originally appeared in a backup storyline in Detective Comics from 1955: at this point, he wasn’t the ‘last of his kind’ but simply a stranded Martian with super strength, illusion, telepathic, telekinetic and shapechanging powers (plus others including optic blasts!) who created an Earth identity of private investigator John Jones to hide among humans.
Later, he revealed his true identity to the world and was included in the original line up of Justice League America, often serving as a narrative substitute for Superman, because the powers that be weren’t keen on their flagship characters (Batman and Superman) appearing too often in team books.
In the 70’s, as Superman became more of a mainstay in the Justice League, J’onn faded out of usage and was eventually written out of the DC narrative, travelling into space with his people to found New Mars. After a few cameo and guest appearances, he returned in 1984 as a permanent member of the Justice League, and even revived the thought-dead identity of John Jones, private detective.
J’onn stuck with the League even after the destruction of the Satellite and rebranding of JLoA as a “gritty” “teen” title with Justice League Detroit, taking over from Aquaman as leader all the way through to the massacre of the team by Professor Ivo’s robots.
In 1988, shortly after the reboot of Justice League to its International status, the Martian Manhunter featured in his own mini-series by J.M. DeMatteis and Mark Badger, which retconned him to a time-displaced character, whose wife and daughter (as well as the entire population of his planet) had been dead for thousands of years. They also set up the idea that J’onn’s familiar, humanoid appearance, is a result of a form of PTSD (he also has a morbid fear of fire though this was presented as his weakness long before this particular rewrite of his backstory) — when meditating or alone, he has a more elongated, Geigeresque body shape with pointy head.
In the later Grant Morrison era of the Justice League, it is established that Mars was once host to a civil war between Green and White Martians.
PREVIOUSLY ON THE ONE TRUE JUSTICE LEAGUE:
Justice League The Story So Far
Justice League #1 (May 1987)
Justice League #2 (June 1987)
Justice League #3 (July 1987)
Justice League #4 (August 1987)
Justice League Annual #1 (1987)
November 7, 2016
Sheep Might Fly Show Notes: The Patrician Part 5
New episode of “The Patrician” by Tansy Rayner Roberts
This short story featured in Love and Romanpunk by Tansy Rayner Roberts. This story won both the Washington SF Small Press Award and the Ditmar in 2012. If you enjoyed Julia Agrippina’s Secret Family Bestiary, this is the story about what happened next (cough, two thousand years later).
Clea Majora lives in a replica of a Roman city, built in the Australian outback. When a hero comes to town to rid the world of lamia, manticores and other ancient monsters, she is drawn to his quest, and forges a friendship that will last for a lifetime.
You can find me on Twitter & Tumblr at @tansyrr and @sheepmightfly, and on Facebook at @tansyrroberts. To support my online writing and Sheep Might Fly, check out my Patreon page. If you sign up to my author newsletter this month, you can claim a free copy of my upcoming festive space opera novella, Joyeux.
Galactic Suburbia Episode 155
Our post-Halloween episode, featuring vampire college students, spider-infested children’s birthday parties, and tiny adorable skeletons. This isn’t even the culture consumed part, it’s our real life!
Download or stream the new episode here.
(sorry for the sound quality of this one, we’re blaming the weather or possibly DEMONS)
The Halloween Update
From birthday parties to Trick or Treating, yes, Halloween is a thing in Australia now.
What’s new on the internet?
World Fantasy Awards winners announced.
CULTURE CONSUMED:
Alisa: Frequency Season 1 ep 1-4, Jessica Jones
Tansy: Hocus Pocus; Octavia Cade: The Convergence of Fairy Tales, Tremontaine 1 & 2, Kelly Robson’s Tremontaine story, If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho translated by Anne Carson; Hold Me, Courtney Milan
Alex: Carmilla season 2 and season 0; Jericho rewatch; Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children; The Congress
Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook, support us at Patreon and don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!
November 5, 2016
Joyeux and Flying Sheep
It’s festival time on Paris Satellite: a seven day whirl of drunken bets, poor decision-making, religious contemplation and tinsel. But mostly, poor decision-making.
Porthos and Athos aren’t going to sleep together, no matter what Aramis says. Aramis isn’t going to marry her girlfriend, Minister Chevreuse, which probably means they’re breaking up. Athos is not prepared to be visited by the ghost of his dead husband. Oh, and the Duchess of Buckingham is totally not going to hook up with the Prince Consort thereby causing an interplanetary diplomatic disaster… right?
When a group of “festive terrorists” start inflicting traditions from a very different midwinter festival on the space station via nano-virus, the Musketeers and the Red Guard are expected to work together to protect Paris Satellite. This isn’t going to end well.
Joyeux is the prequel novella to Musketeer Space, an epic gender-swapped space opera retelling of The Three Musketeers.
Joyeux is available for pre-order on Kindle right now. When it’s officially released on 24 November, you’ll also be able to purchase it at Kobo and iBooks.
Or you can sign up for my Trifles & Flying Sheep author newsletter and receive a free copy of Joyeux right now!
November 2, 2016
Sheep Might Fly: The Patrician Part 4
New episode of “The Patrician” by Tansy Rayner Roberts
This short story featured in Love and Romanpunk by Tansy Rayner Roberts. This story won both the Washington SF Small Press Award and the Ditmar in 2012. If you enjoyed Julia Agrippina’s Secret Family Bestiary, this is the story about what happened next (cough, two thousand years later).
Clea Majora lives in a replica of a Roman city, built in the Australian outback. When a hero comes to town to rid the world of lamia, manticores and other ancient monsters, she is drawn to his quest, and forges a friendship that will last for a lifetime.
You can find me on Twitter & Tumblr at @tansyrr and @sheepmightfly, and on Facebook at @tansyrroberts. To support my online writing and Sheep Might Fly, check out my Patreon page.
November 1, 2016
Justice League #6: “Massacre in Gray” (1987)
THE CREATIVE TEAM: Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis writing (Giffen plotting and DeMatteis writing dialogue), with Kevin Maguire on pencils. Inked by Al Gordon & lettered by Bob Lappan.
JUSTICE LEAGUE ROLL CALL: Batman, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter (J’onn J’onzz), Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), Green Lantern (Guy Gardner) Mister Miracle (Scott Free), Captain Marvel, Booster Gold & Doctor Fate
GUEST STARS: The Creeper still Creepy, Maxwell Lord, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
THE STORY: Yep, turns out that the abstract art of the previous issue was the point — the Gray Man has transformed the town into weird Geigerish candy-coloured shapes that remind Mister Miracle of his home planet of Apokolips.
The League attack the town to reclaim their lost colleagues. Meanwhile, the Gray Man turns a transformed and mind-controlled Captain Marvel against his friends. Doctor Fate does a lot of talking.
J’onn J’onzz, AKA the only member of the League that Batman can trust to get the job done, takes on Captain Marvel while everyone else goes after the main villain and his army of Gray Men. As the League are overwhelmed, Doctor Fate finally decides to Do Something Drastic.
To be continued.
THE CHARACTERS: This one is mostly fight scene, and yet there are some wonderful character moments, especially with Mister Miracle who hasn’t previously got to get many words in edgewise. Not only does he talk about his hellhole home planet and his wife, but he also has a genuinely sweet exchange with Black Canary when she is hurled away by the enemy, resenting loudly that someone like Mister Miracle has to rescue her.
J’onn steps up into the grave leadership position that is honestly just waiting for him to get his shit together. Booster still hasn’t done all his research on his teammates, and it shows. “Hey Black Canary, can you fly? Nope? Ooops.”
Even Batman gets a genuinely strong hero moment of stepping into a mystical battle where he has nothing but fists at his disposal.
Meanwhile, we get another teasing moment of Maxwell Lord and his plans, as original Green Lantern Hal Jordan goes to check out what the Man in the Suit is up to. I always kind of love it when comics acknowledge that Hal is a pompous jerk. He’s not my favourite. He can’t even beat Maxwell Lord in a pompous jerk contest! Hal, you suck.
THE COMEDY: Fight scenes mean banter! The best humour comes from character, and the style of this series is really developing. It’s super meta too — we know when characters are cracking jokes because they talk about the joke telling process… and sometimes we even joke about jokes falling flat or pissing each other off, such as Blue Beetle doing a “you poor guy” joke when Mister Miracle suggests that Black Canary is a lot like his wife.
Beetle. Don’t be that guy. Be cool, man, I talked you up to everybody.
The comedy is visual, too — one of Kevin Maguire’s great skills is drawing people who are crumpled after a punch — Ten of Spades was classic, but I adore the battered Captain Marvel sticking out of a wall after J’onn got him good.
THE ART: Continually excellent and full of character, comedy, plus stoic Batface.
THE KITCHEN SINK: Black Canary hasn’t been allowed to bring more than occasional snark to these pages, but I really love the scene where she admits to Mister Miracle how hard it is to be rescued. Also, J’onn J’onzz’s scene of flying into the sky while saying “I’ll be back” feels epic and iconic, inspiring how his farewells are drawn in later stories. Here, he’s just getting Captain Marvel some medical attention, you guys, he will actually be back. Don’t worry.
Doctor Fate and the Gray Man are desperately boring, and clearly would rather be in their own comic, away from all this other stuff. Oh look, there’s one now. *shoos them away*
BONUS CHARACTER HISTORY: Doctor Fate & the Justice Society
Kent Nelson, son of archaeologist Sven Nelson, was exploring a temple in the Valley of Ur that had been discovered by his father. Opening the tomb of Nabu the Wise, Kent accidentally exposed his father to a toxic gas that killed him, and revived Nabu from suspended animation.
Nabu trained Kent over the next 20 years, giving him mystical items including his iconic helmet, amulet and cloak. Kent became a sorcerer as well as a superhero, fighting crime and so on. He lived in Fate’s Tower in Salem, Massachusetts, where his magics not only kept him young as the years passed, but did the same for his wife, Inza. Eventually, those magics began to fail…
The original version of Doctor Fate (Kent Nelson) began as a regular comic strip in More Fun Comics in 1940-1. He was also included as a founding member of a new super team, Justice Society of America, in All-Star Comics from 1940-44.
The Justice Society, the very first superhero team in comic books, continued more more than a decade, and was finally cancelled in 1951. During the Silver Age of comics, many characters from this team were reused and redesigned, with the eventual decision to portray the Justice Society as the Earth Two version of Earth One’s Justice League, allowing characters to move between universes and team up with each other on a regular basis.
Crisis of Infinite Earths changed all that, destroying the multiverse and re-imagining the Justice Society as the World War II predecessors, with a lot of handwavery about the fact that it was the mid-80’s and WWII was getting further away every year.
In 1987, the same year that Doctor Fate “joined” the new version of the Justice League, he also received his own mini-series, which depicted Kent and Inza’s death, replacing them with Eric Strauss and his stepmother Linda Nelson. As it turned out, Doctor Fate was always intended to be a male and female pair, but Kent had deliberately kept Inza’s potential power from her.
This explains why Doctor Fate’s later instances of dropping in and out of the Justice League often depict her as female…
After the deaths of Eric and Linda only a couple of years later, Kent and Inza were resurrected, and at various times became Doctor Fate separately and in a merged identity. Keeping them forever young was, as with many members of the post-Crisis Justice Society, a kind of weird plot point that kept recurring, until Zero Hour (1994).
PREVIOUSLY ON THE ONE TRUE JUSTICE LEAGUE:
Justice League The Story So Far
Justice League #1 (May 1987)
Justice League #2 (June 1987)
Justice League #3 (July 1987)
Justice League #4 (August 1987)
Justice League Annual #1 (1987)
Justice League #5 (September 1987)
October 25, 2016
Justice League #5
THE PACKAGING: Back to Volume 1 of the Justice League International trade!
THE CREATIVE TEAM: Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis writing (Giffen plotting and DeMatteis writing dialogue), with Kevin Maguire on pencils. Inked by Al Gordon & lettered by Bob Lappan.
JUSTICE LEAGUE ROLL CALL: Batman, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter (J’onn J’onnz), Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), Green Lantern (Guy Gardner) Mister Miracle (Scott Free), Captain Marvel & Booster Gold. Oh, and I suppose Dr Fate counts in this because he finally bothered to turn up in the main series!
GUEST STARS: The Creeper
THE STORY: In Stone Ridge, Vermont, a being called the Gray Man is angry, angsting, and turning the townsfolk into copies of himself by stealing their dream energy. Dr Fate confronts him, in a long and dramatic conversation about mystic whatsits which is honestly so boring I could barely focus on the words, and covers half the issue.
However, this isn’t one you can skip, because the OTHER half of the issue features one of the all-time classic scenes of Justice League International’s history, in which Guy Gardner finally pushes Batman too far, and Batman knocks him unconscious with a single punch.
The effect on morale is immediate. Blue Beetle can’t stop laughing. Black Canary is devastated to have missed the moment. Captain Marvel is starting to wonder what his function on the team is, if even the adults act like children. Clearly, nothing of any significance is going to get done today.
Dr Fate calls in his Gray Man emergency, and the League head to Vermont, with Captain Marvel going ahead to reconnoitre. They’re not the only ones heading there, either; asshole TV presenter Jack Ryder is on his way too, lured in by the possibility of Dr Fate providing material for his next expose tearing down the Justice League. When the League reach the town, they happen across The Creeper, who shows them the weird and terrible fate of Stone Ridge…
THE CHARACTERS: Captain Marvel is finally starting to make himself known, character-wise — we actually get a scene in his voice, wondering about his place in the League. You know that thing in TV shows where a character who never got to do much of anything finally gets development just before they are written out? Yeah, that thing.
Batman’s terrible leadership continues. Is the only way to deal with Guy Gardner to inflict more head trauma on him? Well, probably. But it’s interesting that the other characters address this — and that Batman speaks to Captain Marvel with the same impatience and anger he uses on Guy.
Blue Beetle once again proves to be a calm observer of human nature — as, surprisingly, is Captain Marvel. Batman, people are noticing that you’re actually having fun with all this! You’re not subtle.
THE COMEDY: Along with ‘bwahaha,’ ‘one punch!’ is an iconic moment for this version of the League. It’s certainly good to know as a reader that Guy Gardner’s brand of awfulness isn’t going to be supported by the narrative. The characters are getting to know each other better now, so the humour of the situation (really, multiple head wounds are rarely funny, but Guy Gardner being the victim somehow makes it OK) comes out of their reactions to each other, rather than scripted jokes.
Black Canary being horrified at missing the moment of the punch is one of my favourite moments for her in this title.
Despite all that, and the raving laughter of the Creeper in the final scene, this is not an especially funny issue. It’s mostly Dr Fate being earnest and mysterious.
THE ART: More great character work from Kevin Maguire, and his layouts are dynamic even when dealing with a lot of pontificating speechery from our latest villain. Some of his choices in panel composition feel very 21st century.
Art can’t save everything, though, and this is a weird issue… clearly the final shot of the town is supposed to tell us something, but it’s all so abstract. Have the buildings turned into candy? Multi-coloured Geiger-esque alien pods? I can’t tell! (PS: it’s totally supposed to be surreal alien sculpture)
THE KITCHEN SINK: Oberon’s still here — while Mister Miracle barely gets a panel (in which he is also contemplating not sticking around), our friendly neighbourhood angry circus bloke has found himself a civilian job in the League. Okay, it’s monitor duty (AKA watching the computer program do its thing), but this is good! He needs to keep busy, and superheroes are notoriously terrible at monitor duty. The civilian auxilary are an important Justice League tradition, and Oberon is one of the key members of this team!
BONUS CHARACTER HISTORY: Captain Marvel (Shazam!)
Yeah, it’s a problem that DC and Marvel both have Captains Marvel. Also, the Marvel one is better, though to be fair, that was so not true in the 1980’s.
When schoolboy Billy Batson says the word ‘Shazam’ he is turned into an adult superhero with lots of muscles. Yes, this is already a deeply problematic concept. Yes, it’s also virtually identical to the opening credits of Bananaman.
Captain Marvel of Fawcett Comics was the most popular superhero of the 1940’s even outselling Superman. Along with his “Marvel Family” of characters like Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr, he was even the first superhero to be adapted into a movie in 1941.
In the 50’s, however, DC Comics filed a copyright infringement suit against Fawcett, claiming that Captain Marvel was a blatant rip-off of Superman, which was… hard to argue with, looking at his physical design. Fawcett stopped publishing Captain Marvel comics, and DC Comics went on to acquire the character for themselves in the 1970’s. In the mean time, Marvel Comics themselves had trademarked “Captain Marvel” for themselves, which meant that DC Comics published their Captain Marvel under the comic title Shazam for many years, something that continues into the present day with current plans for movie adaptations.
A lot of people just assumed that the character was called Shazam.
Captain Marvel and his family contined their adventures in the DC Multiverse, coming from the obscure world Earth-S, but they struggled to find a new audience until they were properly integrated into the new DC universe post-Crisis.
After appearing in the Legends mini-series and being cast in the new 1987 Justice League, Captain Marvel also got his own 4 issue mini-series. In both Shazam: the New Beginning, and Justice League, the writers chose to have Billy retain his own personality after transforming to Captain Marvel, which allowed the character to preserve more of a sense of innocence and cheerfulness at a time when comics were getting darker, grittier and more miserable.
BONUS BONUS CHARACTER HISTORY: The Creeper
Omg, Jack Ryder is the Creeper! I… did not know that.
Ahem.
Another character from 1960’s origins, The Creeper was created by Steve Ditko. Talk show host Jack Ryder was contaminated by a serum that turns him into a wild card anti-hero who mostly uses his powers of weirdness to frighten mobsters and bad guys, but also has an outlaw reputation.
Originally from Gotham, the Creeper has teamed with Batman a few times, as well as the Flash, but he isn’t exactly besties with the other costumed vigilantes.
During the Crisis reboot, his origin and character were revised thoroughly, so that his zany antics and scary behaviour were actually caused by narcotics and psychosis rather than a style choice. He also could no longer control his shift from costume to un-costume, and thus could not control access to his powers.
PREVIOUSLY ON THE ONE TRUE JUSTICE LEAGUE:
Justice League The Story So Far
Justice League #1 (May 1987)
Justice League #2 (June 1987)
Justice League #3 (July 1987)
Justice League #4 (August 1987)
Justice League Annual #1 (1987)
