Pop Culture Chronicles

My Pull List (September 2009)

So here is what I'm reading these days:

Marvel Comics

Marvel 70th Anniversary One-Shots

I've really enjoyed this retro return to the Golden Age era. Each issue includes a new story, usually set in the World War II era, and back-up reprints providing a good history of Marvel Comics and of the state of popular culture in that era. 

Marvel's Project

A retelling of Marvel history written by Ed Brubaker. The first issue blew me away. The Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner, and the Angel. Classic characters with story and art that are up to modern standards of excellence.

Torch

An eight-parter co-written by Alex Ross who proved that he could write with the publication of JSA Kingdom Come Special: Superman (one of the best comics I may ever have read). It seems that this all new tale might be bringing the Golden Age Human Torch and sidekick Toro back together again. This will pick up some threads of sub-plot that were introduced in Avengers/Invaders, which had plot and covers by Ross.

DC Comics

Justice Society of America

This remains the only ongoing title I collect. The characters continue to fascinate me and the stories are still good despite the departure of Johns. I hear that a new title will be spinning off from this one as the JSA divides into two different teams. The other series will be called JSA All Stars. I don't know that I'll be getting both, but I was of the impression that the JSA was getting too big. If the teams are divided evenly between older and younger members, I'll go with the more established team.

Dynamite Entertainment

Project Superpowers, Chapter Two

While the first mini-series left much to be desired, it did set the tone for the excellent spin-off mini-series Black Terror and Masquerade. This one seems to be as good so far.

As usual the comics I collect are typically either revivals of Golden Age heroes or are set in the Golden Age era. I'm wondering if the final issue of Marvels: Eye of the Camera will ever be released. But maybe there's more hope for that than there is for the completion of The Twelve limited series. Anyway, I'm not holding my breath.

Masquerade

Masquerade was known as Miss Masque during the Golden Age of comics. Originally published by Standard Publications, her first appearance was in Exciting Comics 51 (September 1946). She continued to appear in comics until 1949. She was a socialite crime-fighter whose two guns were her only powers.   

She was recently reintroduced to a new generation in the Project Superpowers limited series. Here the new powers she gained from Pandora's urn include the ability to take on the form of any other person. She can now "Masquerade" as someone else.  

But it's her own new four-part miniseries that has me intrigued. In the first issue, Phil Hester gives us a great story set in the post-World War II era.

We get some good back story and character development, guest-starring the Fighting Yank and the Black Terror.  Our heroes fight a Nazi robot in true Golden Age fashion.

The plot here is far superior to any Project Superpowers-related books thus far. It's a self-contained story which nevertheless leaves you longing for more. If subsequent issues are as good as this one, I'm really going to love this series. It is very retro!                      

Current Pull List (11/08)

Here is what I'm collecting and reading these days:

Marvel

Age of the Sentry Now this is just a fun comic! Set in the Silver Age with plenty of Silver Age spoofing. Hilarious, but great adventure for all ages. Watchdog is a great spoof of the super-hero pets like Krypto and Ace the Bat-hound.

Avengers/Invaders (Alex Ross co-plotting and covers) Nostalgia, time travel, and Alex Ross. What's not to like?

The Twelve The strength of this book is character development as obscure Golden Age heroes are re-introduced. The art is great too. This 12-parter is over half way to conclusion.  

Dynamite  

Project Super Powers (Alex Ross co-plotting and covers) The seven-issue first volume has concluded and I was going to check out after that. This series was just too chaotic and overcrowded. Unlike The Twelve  there wasn't much character development. Too many characters were coming out of the woodwork (or the urn) at once. The redeeming thing about this book was the Alex Ross "class photo" style character drawings in the back pages of most issues. I am undecided as to whether I'll collect volume 2, but my sheer love of the Golden Age keeps me coming back. Dynamite is creating a whole new superhero universe from public domain characters.  

Black Terror (Alex Ross co-plotting and some covers) I was prepared for disappointment after the fiasco that was Project Super Powers. Black Terror seemed very one-dimensional in that series. But if this book is any indication, it appears that the Super Powers spin-offs are going to be a lot bigger on character development. After one issue I'm beginning to care about the character. It helps that his background was developed and I am now more sympathetic with his plight to find Tim, his missing partner. I chose the Greg Land cover which I thought was awesome. 

It's clear now that the Project Super Powers universe is not our universe, but a world in which the "Super Powers" of nations have become corrupt and tyrannical (at least I don't think this is our universe) and so the heroes with super powers have been self-appointed to provide checks and balances. Interesting premise, but it would also have been interesting to see these Golden Age heroes in a setting more similar to ours, as Marvel has done with The Twelve. I can't wait for Masquerade and Death-Defying Devil to have their own books. 

DC

Justice Society of America (Alex Ross co-plotting and covers) This is the only ongoing title I am seriously collecting. The others are mostly limited series. If I only read one comic, this would be it. 

Now if Power Girl is not the Power Girl of the Earth-2 in the new multiverse, but the Power Girl of a now dead universe, there could be hope that the missing Earth-2 Superman could be found alive. Wouldn't that be cool. And I still wonder if there is hope of seeing a Golden Age Batman sometime. Did I pick up a hint in issue 20 or was it just my own wishful thinking?  

Final Crisis I really don't like this book, but I'm following it to see what, if any, sweeping changes come over the DC universe. Besides, I've got all the other crisis limited series so I'll complete the collection. But this one cannot hold a candle to the original Crisis on Infinite Earths which was far more intriguing, although I didn't like the outcome. 

This particular series shares the darker tone, grittier edge, bloodier violence and profane language (although often expressed as @#*#!%) of many of today's comics. This is also typical Grant Morrison, whose writing I enjoyed in All-Star Superman, but that's about it. His stuff is usually just too "out there" for me. You don't know what's going on until the end, if you even know then. Nor has much been revealed about the multiverse to this point. 

Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds Perhaps the only redeeming tie-in to Final Crisis, with original crisis artist George Perez and the best-current-writer-in-the- business, Geoff Johns. Some of the usual things I don't like about today's comics are present in this book as well, but the story, art, and multiversal storyline are excellent. 

A few things I'll note about my pull list: 

1) Alex Ross is connected with four of the titles I collect as co-plotter and cover artist. I am a huge fan of this man who provided the art for Marvels and Kingdom Come. He brought a new brand of realism to comics.         

2) Justice Society of America remains my only ongoing title. With limited series I can make shorter commitments. With the exception of JSA I may start waiting for the trades. 

3) Seven of the eight titles I'm currently reading have a large dose of Golden or Silver Age nostalgia. Another hint of my dissatisfaction with the direction of modern comics. But I'm not called Dr. Retro for nothing.          

Reviews: Justice Society, Avengers / Invaders

Justice Society of America 15-16

Plotted by Geoff Johns and Alex Ross, with alternate painted covers by Ross. The interior art by Eaglesham and Rollins is outstanding. I'm enjoying this story arc in spite of the so-called New Gods and fourth world stuff, which I could typically care less about. But Gog is an interesting character and some happy events actually take place in # 16. Do comics always have to be dark? 

Issue 15 is basically a battle issue with the JSA against Magog. While character development might at first seem sparse, the characters are developed as individual members' powers are showcased in various panels. The final page of this issue promises a return of Earth-2 and its Robin and Huntress (but we already knew that, right?). Both issues 15 and 16 hint at a return of Isis, a character created to be killed in 52. I do hope she comes back. I liked her. 

I'm glad Cyclone is around. It's great to have a descendant of the original Red Tornado on board. But I do wish she'd replace that utterly ridiculous costume. She looks more like she belongs in the circus than with the JSA. 

Avengers / Invaders 1-2

In addition to JSA, Alex Ross is co-plotting and painting covers for this Marvel/Dynamite series. I wasn't going to add anything else to my pull list. But my love for Golden Age characters, combined with the free sketch book, and Ross' life like painted cover for the first issue made this a must read. It takes me back to the Roy Thomas Invaders series I read as a kid in the 70s.  

The Invaders accidentally travel forward through time from the battlefields of World War II to  present day NYC. They get there through a most creative and mysterious means. And they unknowingly take an American soldier with them. What havoc might such anomalies play on the timestream? 

Will the WW II Captain America learn that the Avengers he meets were his friends in the present, but that it's a present in which he is already dead? Will Bucky meet his older self, who I hear is the new Captain America? Will the outcome of WW II be altered in the Marvel Universe?

This is one of three current titles in which Golden Age heroes find themselves in their future, which is our present day. The others include Marvel's excellent series, The Twelve. It may be that the Black Widow of that series may appear in this one along with some other forgotten Golden Age heroes. The third title with Golden Age heroes is Project Superpowers. As with Justice Society of America and Avengers / Invaders this one also includes painted covers and co-plotting by Ross. 

I love this resurgence of Golden Age characters and I'm enjoying Avengers / Invaders as much as I have any comic in a long time. By the time I get to the last page I can't believe it's already over and I'm looking forward to the next issue to see what develops. Sadowski's excellent interior art makes the original Human Torch more realistic than ever. Ross and Krueger have Namor's character down perfect. And of course Ironman and Spiderman play key roles.                     

My Pull List

Sorry I've been away so long. I'll try not to let it happen again. Life has simply got in the way of my blogging, but now I'm back! My About Page is clear that I'm a nostalgia buff and what I collect reflects that.

DC Titles 

All-Star Superman This twelve issue limited series is a great reimagining of the Superman myth. It's reminiscent of the Silver Age stories I grew up reading, coupled with today's more sophisticated story-telling. I hear that this version of Superman may continue beyond twelve issues. If so, I wonder who the artist will be. I can't imagine this title without Frank Quitely.

Since I'm actually a die hard Batman fan, I did collect All-Star Batman and Robin but I quit because..well..it was just stupid.

Countdown to Final Crisis This 51-issue weekly title has been an overall disappointment, but I kept collecting it in hopes that something significant would happen. I was hoping for a more thorough exploration of the new multiverse, but it seems that the earths with any potential were destroyed. The Kamandi origin has been the most interesting thing so far, even if it is a downer. Oh well, one more issue to go. I'm hoping that DC Universe: Zero and the Final Crisis series will be more satisfying. In the meantime, I'll probably have 51 issues for sale.

Justice Society of America  As I've said before, I've been a fan of the JSA since the annual JLA/JSA crossovers. Then All-Star Comics was revived in the 70s. In the 80s it was All-Star Squadron. In 1999 the JSA got their own title and now we have the current title. The JSA has never disappointed me. The Golden Age connection is appealing to a nostalgia buff like me.

Dynamite Entertainment

Project Superpowers  I'm down to this one title from Dynamite which is a revival of obscure Golden Age heroes. Right up my alley. My review is here.

I did collect The Lone Ranger, which likewise appealed to my sense of nostalgia. But this is definitely not my grandmother's Lone Ranger. I was okay with that at first, but after the first story arc I've decided to save my money. This comic just doesn't reflect the traditional values of the original character. So I'm a fuddy duddy. It's also an awfully long time between issues. Hi yo, Silver, Away.

I read the first two issues of Zorro, which excited me at first. But I feel like the origin is being dragged out for too long, has been a little silly in some places, and we haven't been seeing enough of Zorro in full regalia. The 3.50 cover price is also a turn off. I'm not made of money.

Marvel Comics

The Twelve This twelve issue limited series is the only Marvel I read, but I think it's the best comic on the market---bar none. See my review for more details. As with Justice Society of America and Project Superpowers, this one also revives and celebrates Golden Age heroes. My kind of stuff.    

Revival From Obscurity II: Project Superpowers

The 1940s comics had an endless supply of super heroes, many of whom had vanished into oblivion by the 1950s. As with Marvel's The Twelve, Dynamite's Project Superpowers is another new comic in which Golden Age heroes are revived from obscurity.

In The Twelve, a dozen of Timely's 1940s heroes are awakened after 60 years of cryogenic slumber. In Project Superpowers, various Golden Age heroes are likewise rescued from obscurity. As opposed to sleeping, they have been trapped in Pandora's box (or in this case, Pandora's urn). Most of the heroes to be unleashed have not been seen in the pages of comics for decades. They include such names as The Flame, Black Terror, Samson, and the Green Lama (although short lived revivals have occurred in a few cases).

And then there is Fighting Yank, who just happens to have grown old without being trapped in the urn. It appears that the Yank actually did the trapping, but was perhaps duped into doing it.

Until Project Superpowers, my only exposure to most of these heroes were in cover galleries of comic book price guides. Now I can see these heroes in action. Project Superpowers appeals to my sense of nostalgia, as does The Twelve.

Project Superpowers also has Alex Ross going for it, in charge of plot, covers, art direction, and interior paintings. But he doesn't do the script or interior art.

A couple of interesting points about Superpowers. First, the revived characters were not originally the property of just one company, but they range from Standard, to Fox, to Prize. I wonder if Dynamite had acquired the rights to many of these characters or if a number of these characters had become public domain, which means anyone can use them.

Which brings us to the second interesting point. Both The Twelve and Project Superpowers each have their own unique version of Dynamic Man. But there is no question that each version is based on the same Golden Age hero since in each book his alter ego is Curt Cowan. Until now I had assumed that Marvel owned the rights to all the old Timely characters, but now I wonder if Dynamic Man had fallen into the public domain since both Marvel and Dynamite are reviving him.

And I wonder how true these versions of Dynamic Man will be to the Golden Age hero, who was originally an android (as he appears to be in Project Superpowers). Dynamic Man's alter ego, Curt Cowan, was also an FBI agent in his Golden Age adventures. I wonder if either company will do anything with that or if we'll just forget it ever happened. (I also wonder how an android passed the physical to become an FBI agent).

So far, I'm collecting both books, but The Twelve stands out as the better of the two. Yet I look forward to the revival of more old characters in Superpowers. It appears that we might see a return of Silver Streak, Cat-man (aka, "the Cat") and Kitten, and the Woman in Red, among many others. I'm excited whenever Golden Age heroes get another shot at the limelight.