Justice #8 (December, 2006)

In an Arabian desert, the Flash broke up Captain Cold's mini-harem. "You tried to kill me. And that means you tried to kill everyone I hope to save until the day I die. That's a lot of people." Cold should have pointed out that if he had succeeded, the Scarlet Speedster still would have saved everybody he saved until the day he died, but since he didn't die, he might ought to consider swapping a chemistry class for some remedial English. Instead, Cold drew a replica pistol made of ice, which Flash totally fell for, so maybe he needed another police detective class, too. Captain Cold froze up a hall of mirrors, and when that didn't work, created sculptured duplicates of himself. Failing yet again, Captain Cold was run to the Fortress of Solitude.

Still trapped in his power ring, Hal Jordan argued with simulations of his brothers about the benefits of lacking fear, and where his adventuring ways landed him.

Batman, having interrogated Captain Cold, learned all about the prophetic nightmares that motivated the villains to action. Black Canary wondered if the Legion of Doom thought they were doing the right thing, but Batman explained that the villains wouldn't have tried to turn the situation to their advantage to lord over potential survivors if their hearts were truly in the right place.

Supergirl, Batgirl and Commissioner Gordon were all captured by Legion forces.

Hal Jordan had regressed to childhood, which is why he wished to heed the command of his parents not to talk to the Stranger who had paid him a visit. "So there you are, Hal. I've been looking everywhere for you." The Phantom Stranger then helped Hal with some self-realization psychobabble about not trying to remake the real world in his image/with great power comes great moderation/how the League helps Hal check his head/yadda yadda. The important thing was the the Stranger brought a power battery and a direction home, so Green Lantern could try to look cool saying his oath in a painted splash page.

All the heroes were together at the Fortress of Solitude, except John Stewart, who got himself kidnapped by the mind-controlled kid sidekicks of other heroes (mostly the Teen Titans and the Marvel Family.)

Continue the story through these character-specific posts:

• The Atom, Red Tornado, Hawkman & Hawkgirl at Power of the Atom
• Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel at Diana Prince
• The Motor City League, Plastic Man & Superman at Justice League Detroit

"Chapter Eight" was plotted and painted by Alex Ross. The script was provided by Jim Krueger, and the penciled layouts by Doug Braithwaite.

Justice Liberals of America

I haven't read "Decisions", but I figure I can still spot the members of the Justice League of America who are miffed that health care reform didn't go far enough...





Green Arrow & his Merry Men(Oliver Queen, Connor Hawke, Roy Harper)
Duh.



Black Canary (Dinah Lance)
A left-leaning feminist moderate. She was the daughter of a detective and a vigilante with the JSA all serving as "uncles." I think she retroactively hooked up with Ollie as part of her rebellion, and picked up something of his politics, although she's comparatively apolitical these days. Under Sarah Byam, though...




Green Lantern (John Stewart and Kyle Rayner)
A former black militant and a freelance artist with as many gay friends as straight? Duh duh. I don't care how much Johns tries to sell John as a jarhead, Stewart listened to Steisand, and his immigration policy is really, really tolerant.



Batman (Bruce Wayne)
One of those scary, fascistic Democrats that gives Rush Limbaugh night terrors. The Joker is the new Willie Horton. Batman has devoted his life to combating amoral capitalists, while himself a liberal elitist with deep pockets. In favor of gun control, counciling over imprisonment, welfare programs, and has occasionally even taken over the media through hi-tech means.



Wonder Woman
A Hillary Clinton "It Takes a Village" type, perfectly willing to send the troops after WMDs, then personally investigate issues with child support payments for her low-income friends. The most inclusionistic leader of the JLA in history, without regard to race, creed, color, gender identity, power level, general lameness or planet of origin.



Aquaman (Orin/Arthur Curry)
An unpopular reformer amongst his people, with some viewing him as a criminal and outsider. Victim of religious persecution from dangerous fundamentalists. Married outside his dimension, adopted a boy who turned to sorcery, soft on crime, and constantly struggles to keep his citizens and military from instigating conflict with neighbors.



Martian Manhunter (J'Onn J'Onzz)
An admitted Communist, the second and longest-term inclusionist JLA leader, opposed to the death penalty in even the worst cases, and constantly at odds with conservatives Hawkman, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Captain Atom and Triumph.



Zatanna Zatara
A stage magician and member of the Detroit-based Justice League who practiced tantric magic with John Constantine. Didn't she shoot one of those "Rock the Vote" videos for MTV that helped elect Bill Clinton?



Black Lightning (Jefferson Pierce)
Though part of the Luthor Administration, still a tireless social reformer focused on equal opportunity through education.



Mister Miracle (Scott Free)
After decades spent on Apokolips, you couldn't really call him a liberal. He's most concerned with the happiness of himself and those nearest to him, but even still, he can't rest easily when others are not as free as himself. A moderate.



Vixen (Mari McCabe)
Immigrated from a chauvinistic African country torn by civil war to the United States? Became a far-famed fashion model and super-heroine? Fought "entrepreneurs" and took over the Justice League? Oh yeah, total red stare nightmare.



Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brien)
A reformed thief whose best pal/sidekick is also a reformed thief, and who had a child out of wedlock and shows more leg than most heroines. Hoover must have been dyspeptic.



Steel (John Henry Irons)
Formerly part of the military-industrial complex, but firmly rejected and has consistently combatted it. Also, his grandparents matched with MLK.



Geo-Force (Prince Brion Markov)
Self-righteous Euro-trash, but still left of the West.



The Flash (Jay Garrick)
Slightly more metropolitan that Barry and Wally, don'cha know? Contrasts Alan Scott's conservativism with his optimistic New Deal vibe. He was hanging with Wonder Woman's J.L.A. while Alan was bashing Jared Stephens.



Fire (Beatriz da Costa) & Ice (Tora Olafsdotter)
You know Bea's a Hugo Chavez fan, right? As for Tora: Environmentalist. Animal right activist. Bleeding heart.

Etc.

Animal Man (Buddy Baker)
Like Ice, but less a bleeding heart.

Blue Jay (Jay Abrams)
Ditto, though I'd say less concerned about PETA than GLAAD.

Lightray (Sollis)
He's from New Genesis. They're all about the Great Society.

General Glory (Joseph Jones)
A New Deal/Yellow Dog Democrat, not unlike the Marvel Comics model.

Tasmanian Devil (Hugh Dawkins)
An Australian poof. He'd damned well better have been a liberal.

Rocket Red 4 (Dimitri Pushkin)
Was communist loving freedoms of assignment in Land of Opportunity! What a country!

Crimson Fox (Vivian and Constance d'Aramis)
French. Need I elaborate?

Nuklon (Albert Rothstein)
He took a hard right turn for a bit there, but he's still a nice Jewish boy who spent most of his time in the JLA with Fire and Obsidian.

Obsidian (Todd Rice)
An unsteady Dem, as he was raised by Midwestern sociopaths, but finally stopped being so emo and came out of the closet.

Amazing Man (Will Everett, III)
Like Will Everett II didn't march and have a picture of Kennedy and/or Johnson on his wall?

Blue Devil (Daniel Cassidy)
He's one of those "Hollywood" types. Not counting Jon Voight and Kelsey Grammer.

Icemaiden (Sigrid Nansen)
A Norwegian lesbian with a thing for Fire. Do the math.

Moon Maiden (Laura Klein)
Such a product of '60s Camelot, how could she not?

Ambush Bug (Irwin Schwab)
A "Boll Weevil."

Hippolyta
See "Wonder Woman"

Starman (Mikaal Tomas)
Bisexual illegal alien who turned against his militaristic society.

Vibe (Paco Ramone) & Gypsy (Cindy Reynolds)
I'm not going to make an equal opportunity joke, I swear.

I have to say, the republican list was more surprising, and of a higher quality. Maybe it's about historically uptight DC skewing right wing?

The Grand Old JLA

Yesterday, I posted some observations about the Man of Steel that indicated he might be a Republican, however fond he might have been of Jack Kennedy. A few years ago, DC Comics released unsatisfying mini-series called "Decisions" openly exploring the same themes with their characters, which I understand was sort of crap. I wanted to pin the heroes down a but better, and since I'm a liberal myself, I started with the Republicans, since I like to think I can detect "otherness" in these characters...



Green Lantern Hal Jordan
Ollie Queens's counterpoint, but since he was being written by Denny O'Neil, that only went so far as moderate Republicanism. He's a space-cop who works for a legion of blue-skinned David Ben-Gurions. Sure he has issues with authority, self-doubt and is a bit flighty, but when it comes right to it, Hal knows what side his bread is buttered on. He helped pull the original Angry Black Superman, John Stewart, from the militant left to a more moderate position, and his return to form included reconciliation with Reagan-loving Guy Gardner. Still, Hal's moderate enough to get along with artboy Kyle Rayner.



Hawkman & Hawkgirl (Carter & Shayera Hall)
Hawk, man. Sure the Ostrander take dabbled with liberalism in the early 90's, and Kendra Saunders hung out with Roy Harper, but we're talking about brief bouts with juvenile rebellion here. They say everyone becomes more conservative as they get older, and you don't get much older than the reincarnation of Egyptian royalty.



The Atom (Ray Palmer)
I know what you're thinking... a college professor created by Gardner Fox and Gil Kane, who's arch-enemy was the spitting image of Richard Nixon? Well, let's not be too hasty. This guy spent the 1960's fighting other scientists-- sure notable nutjobs like Jason Woodrue and Dr. Light, but still. Ever see Atom in a lefty PSA? Didn't he spend a lot of time with Hawkman without the slightest squawk of dispute? When he found out his wife was cheating on him, what did he do? Fly off to the Amazon to live out his fantasy as a sword and sorcery hero. It's not like Ray tried to lift the yellow-skinned natives out of barbarism. He just wanted to poke their men and women with one sort of sword or another. Didn't Bill O'Reilly write a book like that? Maybe not, but Ray sure did, outing his secret identity and leaving his trifling ex vulnerable to reprisal while he returned to the jungle! What does he do when he returns? Start using his body like a living bullet through the flesh of alien invaders. Lend out his powers to clandestine government operations like Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad. Work with the C.I.A. And when he commits his now crazy, murderous ex to, of all the hellholes on Earth, Arkham Asylum? He disappears to another, simpler Earth while assigning a Chinese national his abdicated role. I'm telling you, Ray Palmer is one of those quiet, objectivist Libertarian types you do not want to serve jury duty with. He was after Tricky Dick for being too soft.



The Flash (Barry Allen and Wally West)
Barry strikes me as one of those salt of the earth Midwestern types who can't understand the objection to prayer in the school, or even Intelligent Design when adequately buoyed by harder science. West, meanwhile, has a long history of Red-baiting self-righteousness. That kid blew through a fortune, and happily traded on his celebrity for perks and his share of (occasionally adulterous) bed-hopping. None of that would separate him from a democrat, except that he decided to put that all in the past and lord over other heroes with his moral superiority, a decidedly Republican inclination.



Elongated Man and Sue Dibney
Comfortably rich globe-trotting amateur super-sleuths with public identities who host loads of uncontroversial charity balls for the little people? Moderate Republicans, I'd guess. Sue was probably apolitical, while Ralph was more decidedly middle-right. You know, he would work with Vibe, but he preferred not to socialize with the lower classes. Sue was more of an aisle-crosser, but at the end of the day she seemed pretty comfortable with compassionate conservatism.



Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein)
A nuclear scientist and a jock who only protested a nuke plant in a bid to get laid? Yeah, Red Staters.



Blue Beetle II (Ted Kord)
A genius inventor, athlete, and industrialist vigilante created by Steve Ditko? Also able to hang with Ditko's Question and Captain Atom? Even his latter-day mismanagement of Kord Industries and pursuing super-heroics with a heart condition point to this guy being a friend of the Bushes. Finally, while "embezzlement" is definitely in the liberal vocabulary, to walk away from a debacle like the Kooey Kooey Kooey island resort without serving time and having Maxwell Lord still like you (cold-blooded execution excepted) takes right-wing huevos.



Booster Gold (Michael Carter)
An unapologetic capitalist and best friend of Blue Beetle.



Captain Atom (Allen/Nathaniel Adam)
The Silver Age Captain Atom was an enlisted man who constantly clashed with communist powers and was a personal friend to Ike Eisenhower. Nate Adam leaned democrat immediately Post-Crisis, but this is another Ditko creation, so he inevitably swung back far right. The dude became Monarch and got away with it. Again, that takes military-industrial complex clout to walk clear from.



Huntress (Helena Bertinelli)
Can't you just picture Helena at a Young Republicans rally with Shannon Doherty circa 1993? Maybe kind of a Michelle Malkin thing going on? Batman pretty much hated her on sight, Dick still feels guilty for sleeping with her, and Chuck Dixon claimed her for himself for most of the 90's. All signs point to Neo-conservative.



Metamorpho (Rex Mason)
I'm mostly going with my gut here, although his famed adventurer shtick and association with the Staggs play into that. I don't know about the comics, but in the cartoon he was also ex-Marine, as far as that goes.



Power Girl (Kara Zor-L)
I'll be the first to admit this one seems a stretch, with PG being such a vocal feminist. On the other hand, association with the JSA always bestows an air of conservatism, and she always seemed more out of place among the Left Coast Infinitors and even the JLE. She's pro-interventionist, happily uses her sex appeal to her advantage, and is even an industrialist. She feels right here, sort of like a Meghan McCain type.

Etc.

Big Barda: Born and raised on Apocalypse. 'Nuff said.

Faith: Ex-Military Black Ops. Do the math.

See also: Steel II (Hank Heywood the Third) Dr. Light II (Kimiyo Hoshi,) Orion, Maxima, Agent Liberty, Triumph (Log Cabin flavor,) Antaeus, and Jason Blood.

Superman Red State/Superman Blue State

Years back on another blog, I broke down the political alignment of the Avengers line-up based on their iconic status quo more than continuity minutiae. That's how you have to roll when you read Marvel Comics as sporadically as I have since our falling out in the early 90's. DC Comics, on the other hand, I followed religiously until a few years back. This allows me much greater familiarity with their characters, so I'd like to discuss their alignments in greater detail.

Might as well start at the top of the hill with the Man of Steel. However, Superman is tricky, as part of his appeal is being all things good and right to all peoples of the world. Well, not miserable bastards like me who'd like to see Marshal Law pound the nails into his crucifix, but I'm talking about normal people. Let's look at the evidence...

SUPERMAN BLUE STATE

• Superman crusaded for social causes in his earliest appearances.
• Superman was a close friend of President John F. Kennedy, and seemed fond of Bill Clinton.
• Superman appeared in many PSAs in the 60's and 70's promoting racial harmony.
• Since the mid-80's, Superman has routinely opposed the agenda of politically independent but decidedly conservative tycoon Lex Luthor.
• Worked closely with lesbian police chief Maggie Sawyer for many years.
• He can tolerate Batman for extended periods of time.

SUPERMAN RED STATE

• Despite being resolutely blue collar, Kansas consistently votes Republican.
• Kansas, and quite obviously Superman, skew toward high-minded moralism and against liberal causes like abortion rights, freedom in the arts, and are possessed of a downright libertarian dogged self-determinism. In fact, Kansas seems to openly hate liberals, skewing far to the right.
• I'm not sure a non-white character appeared on a Metropolis street before the 1970's.
• I don't recall any recurring non-white characters who worked for the Daily Planet before the early 90's.
• I don't recall any recurring female characters at the Daily Planet besides Lois Lane prior to the 80's.
• Since the late 80's, Lex Luthor has been one of Metropolis' most beloved and influential figures. Maybe Superman is just the Bob Dole to his Newt Gingrich.
• Superman abandoned most social causes by the mid-1940's to become an authority figure more concerned with foiling theft and maintaining the status quo.
• Superman was a close friend of President Ronald Reagan.
• When Lex Luthor was a mad scientist, he went to jail at the end of every appearance. When Lex Luthor became an evil businessman, he rampaged largely unchecked until winning the presidency, and even after resigning in scandal he remains at large.
• Lois Lane is a self-possessed ball buster that would send Ann Coultier crying to mama.
• Excepting Luthor, most of Superman's foes are underprivileged, disfigured, and are often illegal aliens.
• Most of Superman's foes are either far stupider or exceedingly more intelligent than himself.
• Pretty near all of Superman's foes are far less powerful than himself.
• When in doubt, Superman punches something.
• He calls himself "Superman."
• Superman is anti-interventionist with regard to foreign conflict, except when he takes a personal stake, like when he used to invade the Arab nation of Qurac on the third weekend of every month. Come to think of it, how often has Superman had trouble with non-Arabic nations?
• His best "pal" wears a ridiculously outdated bow tie, just like Tucker Carlson.
• Once a year, Superman likes to read his mail and bestow token wish fulfillment to people. Also, he sometimes tries to feed the world's hungry for a day. The he goes back to punching the Parasite for the other 364 calender days.
• Superman is one of the most powerful beings in existence, but chooses to remain hands off in most instances.
• Despite his power, he takes a high paying white collar position at a major metropolitan newspaper, where he writes columns instead of housing the homeless.
• Three words: Fortress of Solitude.
  
  Jeez, I thought this would be more fair and balanced, but I'm just droning on at this point about what a total GOP the MOS happens to be...

Justice #7 (October, 2006)

Brainiac was aware Aquaman's body had been found, but it served its purpose of distracting the League, since Lex Luthor had failed to assassinate the super friends. Of course, Brainiac himself hadn't found in the Sea King's brain what he was looking for, so it was up to Gorilla Grodd to initiate a new phase in the trio's plans. Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Mary Batson, Freddy Freeman, Jean Loring, Carol Ferris, Steve Trevor, John Stewart, Dick Grayson, Wally West... all targeted...

Once again, the Wisdom of Solomon trumped any thoughts in Superman's head. Captain Marvel flew as close to the wayward Flash as he could, and with one magic word, magical lightning shook the Scarlet Speedster out of his uncontrollable race toward death. Superman caught Billy Batson before any harm could come to him, then gave him space for the power of Shazam to restore Captain Marvel. Getting thrown into the sun had burnt up the Man of Steel's wallet, so Earth's Mightiest Mortal came to the rescue again, offering his only ten bucks to feed the Flash at an all-you-can-eat buffet.



Hal Jordan was already feeling like death in a self-centered world of his own making. However, his power ring refused to restore his physical form for such an end. "Your essence has been converted into an electrical impulse that has been stored within the ring... You will now live forever. Alone."

In Shazam's lair within an abandoned subway tunnel, Black Adam covered Mary's mouth, and threatened to kill her if Freddy said a word...

Superman arrived at his Fortress of Solitude, greeted by fellow heroes awaiting him...

Continue the story through these character-specific posts:

• The Motor City League & Doom Patrol at Justice League Detroit
• Martian Manhunter & Zatanna at The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Red Tornado, Hawkman & Hawkgirl at Power of the Atom
• Wonder Woman at Diana Prince

"Chapter Seven" was plotted and painted by Alex Ross. The script was provided by Jim Krueger, and the penciled layouts by Doug Braithwaite.

1992 Pritor Alien Parasite Form Character Design by Arthur Adams

Click To Enlarge


A.K.A. "the black one," which might explain why his human guise design page has proven elusive. Anyone got a link? Anyway, a translucent Batman supplies scale here.

Update: While I'll be keeping the original link for enlargement because I dig the taped over "Pride" logo, Chuck Dixon has posted a bigger, cleaner scan at his blog.

Direct Currents: Thursday, October 21, 2010

DC Comics Solicitations for January, 2011

Holy Atomic Pile: Legends Of The Superheroes On DVD

'Green Lantern' Movie Power Battery Revealed

New 'Green Lantern' Movie Concept Art Teases a Sprawling Oa

Mattel's New World's Greatest DC Heroes Lineup Introduces Fluffy Darkseid and More

10 Completely Insane Super-Hero Halloween Costumes... For Your Dog

Grant Morrison Discusses 'Batman Inc,' Lord Death Man, and the Alan Moore Interview

Massive Aerial Batman Symbol Strikes Fear Into the Heart of Google Maps

Yildiray Cinar Sketches to Win, Whether It's Thor, Green Lantern or Hellboy

Joelle Jones' Formidable Skills Span 'Mad Men,' 'The Wire' and 'Wonder Woman'

Double Entry Review- Batman XXX: A Porn Parody Vs BatFXXX: Dark Knight Parody

BLOGS

The Absorbascon
King for a Haikuesday

Amazon Princess
Wonder Whoa Man!
Diana and Tigape!

The Aquaman Shrine
DC 75 Poster - 2010
Super Friends: The Lost Episodes
DC Heroes RPG 3rd Edition
Justice League Europe #37 - April 1992
Justice League Europe #38 - May 1992
JLA-Z: Satellite Era

Being Carter Hall
Hawkgirl Takes No Crap
Read: The Brave And The Bold #186

Charlton vs Mighty MLJ
Mainstream Mondays: The Cornerstones

Comics Make Me Happy!
1990 Who's Who Ice, a.k.a. Tora Olafsdotter
75 Favorite Moments in DC History: Number 49

Continued On 2^nd Page Following
Some of My Weirder Superman Stuff Pt. 2
Batman: Brave and the Bold Marathon

Diana Prince: Wonder Woman
Justice #6 (August, 2006)

Diversions of the Groovy Kind
"A Monster Walks Wayne Manor!" from Detective Comics #438 (September 1973)

El Jacone's Comic Book Bunker
Sgt. Rock Fights On!

Every Day Is Like Wednesday
DC's January previews reviewed

Firestorm Fan
Firestorm in Music of DC Comics: 75th Anniversary Collection
The Firestorm Series That Almost Was, Written by Geoff Johns
Firestorm Video – Ronnie’s Past
Firestorm Sketch by Leanne Hannah

Girls Gone Geek
WTF? Wednesday: Fab Foolishness

Green Lantern Butt's FOREVER!
A picture that I did of Guy.

The Idol-Head of Diabolu
2010 B'rett Custom Action Figure
Hugo vs. Hugo

Justice League Detroit
Justice #6 (August, 2006)

Once Upon A Geek
Awesome Tote Bags for Girls from DC Comics!
Need Halloween Costume Ideas? Look at these from DragonCon!

Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine
"Wanda Was A Werewolf" is from DC's House Of Mystery #1, 1952

Reilly2040's Blog
Emerald Warriors #3

Silver Age Comics
Not Birds of a Feather (Hawk & Dove)

Siskoid's Blog of Geekery
Dial H for Heroes, Plural
Reign of the Supermen
Reign of the Supermen #1: The Original Superman

Slay, Monstrobot of the Deep!!
The Richard Donner Superman is one of the more overrated things, ever.

Supergirl Comic Box Commentary
Amy Reeder Commission
Supergirl #60 ... Is That A Pink S-Shield?
Review: Superman #703
Review: Outsiders #33

Ten Cent Dreams
CAPTAIN NAZI~ BY MAC RABOY~!

AICN Comic Reviews Shipping Week: 10/6/10
AICN Comic Reviews Shipping Week: 10/13/10

Comics Of The Weak by Tucker Stone

The Buy Pile 10/14/10 by Hannibal Tabu
The Buy Pile 10/20/10 by Hannibal Tabu

Comic shop comics: Sept. 15-Oct. 12 by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Comic Judgment: Bat-a-Palooza! by E. Peterman

What I Read This Week: Monday, October 18, 2010

Bouquets and Brickbats by SallyP
Another Good Week! by SallyP

IGN Comic Book Reviews for 10/20/10

Wednesday is Veteran's Day For All I Care #85

"And Then I Read" by Todd Klein
BRIGHTEST DAY 2
BRIGHTEST DAY 3
BRIGHTEST DAY 4-5
THE FLASH 2
GREEN LANTERN 55
GREEN LANTERN 56
GREEN LANTERN CORPS 48
GREEN LANTERN CORPS 49
GREEN LANTERN CORPS 50


Newsarama's Best Shots:
KNIGHT & SQUIRE, THOR, More
RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE, More
VERTIGO RESURRECTED, More
SOLDIER 0, MORNING GLORIES, More
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PILOT SEASON: FOREVER, More
AVENGERS ACADEMY, More

Justice League of America #96 (February, 1972)

"Space-Mariners speak in soft, guarded whispers when the starwinds cease to blow, for it is a portentous sign of storms at hand, screaming in violent fury! But... on this day the winds suddenly stop! And then... the starwinds stir and swirl, ominously building, bellowing into a cosmic hurricane! -- THIS IS A DAY OF HOLOCAUST! A DAY OF DREAD, A DAY OF DEATH-- 'THE COMING OF-- STARBREAKER!'"

In the two previous issues, the Flash Barry Allen, Hawkman and Green Lantern Hal Jordan had vanished while teleporting to the JLA satellite. Green Lantern had managed to call on Superman for help with his Power Ring, and now the Man of Steel was making his way toward the planet Rann. There he found the trio of star-lost heroes at the mercy of giant mechanical insects powerful enough to withstand direct action from the mighty Kryptonian. "Huh-- not even a dent-- and my hands... hurting?!" Superman determined that his X-Ray Vision mucked with command transmissions being sent to the ant-like monstrocities, and confused them into turning "their jet-streams on each other! --Turning to molten metal--" The bugs exploded in an atomic blast contained by Green Lantern.

The recovering Hawkman explained to Superman that Black Canary's having made routine maneuvering of their satellite had unintentionally crossed its teleportation ray with an incoming Zeta-Beam, which periodically links Earth to the planet Rann. Green Lantern continued, noting that the trio had found Rann threatened by the villainous Starbreaker. The Guardians of the Universe had information about this evildoer invested in their Power Rings...

"Starbreaker is unique among galactic humans! He has the ability to absorb enormous amounts of energy into his body-- and release it at will! From time to time, he dispatches 'Mechanix' to tap the energies of solar system planets... by causing them to hurtle into their suns... The crashing of planet-into-sun releases waves of tremendous energy... picked up by Starbreaker's stand-by spaceships, and thence relayed into his own body! In due time, Starbreaker discovered that the greatest of energies were contained in the minds and emotions of intelligent beings... energies heightened tenfold in the face of solar death! Thus, this living battery constantly seeks out populated planets for his prey! Without compunction, Starbreaker auctions off his ruthlessly gained power to the highest bidder! Though one of the most wanted men in the galaxy, he has defied capture-- even by the Green Lantern Corps!"

The "Cosmic Vampire" intended to devour the world of Rann, like some curious cross between Dracula and Galactus. Flash bemoaned that no one had been able to "find a weakness to drive home a silencing silver spike!" The four Leaguers split into pairs to fend off another couple groups of the Mechanix insects that were preparing Rann's demise. This did not go unnoticed by Starbreaker: "Though I come from the outer limits of space, even I have heard tales of the legendary Superman! Now I find he had a hand in destroying two of my planet-moving deputies! To avoid a repetition of this, I shall personally protect the others-- with energy-duplicates of myself at the two remaining sites! This will necessitate the utilization of a great deal of energy, especially in my specialized offspring who will deal with Superman! But to rid myself of the Kryptonian-- along with a Green Lantern as bonus, is a fine investment! --A very fine investment indeed!"

Disgruntled citizens of Rann had created an experimental new city-state named Narzam, but had to abandon it to the Mechanix. Ever the science geek, Flash Barry Allen felt compelled to gather "valuable inventions and priceless instruments" caught in their wake, "hopefully to be used another day!" Hal Jordan meanwhile fretted over his recent absence from the Justice League during his trip with Green Arrow in "search of America," Barry's having gotten married in the meantime, and his diminished status amongst the Green Lantern Corps in the face of his new found doubts. Jordan capped the antennae of the Mechanix, only to have his Power Ring constructs shattered by a Starbreaker. "My power is of a hundred suns, Green Lantern! Your ring is weaker than most of your corps-- and I can best them at will! To survive, you must surrender--"

The Flash briefly spun Starbreaker "like a top," but the villain recovered, and forced the duo back. Green Lantern determined this Starbreaker was a copy by his limited powers, and that it required concentration like his own to command its power. Jordan tricked Starbreaker by "jiving" him, telling the "Star-Baby" his masters "get their jollies cuttin' off my power every now an' then!" GL pretended to turn over his Power Ring, but instead KO'd Starbreaker with an energy fist. Flash tied up Starbreaker, and dismissed Jordan's previous concerns about their partnership. "Hey, Hal-- c'mon! You always were the moody type! Only you could worry about something as irrelevant as that!"

A Mechanix rolled through a wall of the holy city of Abdukara, curled up like a pill-bug. From above, Hawkman was offended by this sacrilege. "For this winged one knows deeply the past of many worlds, rooting himself in their treasures-- richness which he will ferociously fight to preserve..." The Winged Wonder cleverly wrapped his anti-grav belt around the artificial insect's leg, flipping it over so that he could skewer it with an ancient diamond-tipped spear he had found.

Elsewhere, Superman launched a Heat Vision-enabled precision strike against the final Mechanix, to prevent it from detonating another A-Blast. Struck from behind, the Strange Visitor from Another World was told, "Though you defeat my machines, Superman, you are no match for Starbreaker! I alone have solved the mystery of linking science and magic! Today my power is that of star-suns... tomorrow it will be that of galaxies!" Hawkman again protested, but was left with his wings and belt torn from his body, falling to certain death. "Think, Hawkman-- think! In your moment of peril, you will energize my battery of power!" Superman rescued his cohort, but demanded "That mind-sucking monster must be stopped! But even thinking of solutions works against me!" As had Flash and GL, Superman distracted Starbreaker long enough to simplistically beat him into submission. "While I gather up your feathered wings, Hawkman-- blindfold, deafen and gag Starbreaker so he can't use his magical science when he comes to!"

The four reunited heroes congratulated one another, and were applauded by the people of Rann. The earthman Adam Strange, Rann's usual defender, had also arrived on a follow-up Zeta-Beam. That was shortly before the effects of the first Zeta-Beam wore off, returning three of the super-heroes home. Superman watched as the faux Starbreakers vanished back to their template's lair, where he slapped and reabsorbed them. "It's intolerable that I was beaten! Compared to Starbreaker, the Justice Leaguers are infants-- physically and mentally! To have been outwitted by such insignificant beings galls me! Almost as bad, I expended a great deal of salable energy! The situation is this-- the Justice League has returned to Earth-- Superman will rejoin them! Shortly thereafter, I will follow-- with the raging power of a super-nova, contained in one body! Yes-- I will restore my lost energy-- at Earth's expense! Beware, Justice League! Beware Earth! Your hours are numbered!"

Written by Mike Friedrich. Illustrated by Dick Dillin and Joe Ciella. Edited by Julie Schwartz.

Huntress #1 (June, 1994)

The Huntress sought to break up a daffodil ring run by the mob by jumping down from a skylight with a stupid big sci-fi automatic crossbow thing that fired rivets or whole daggers or something out of a stylized "H" barrel-mabob. Mooks got shot in the face and the chest and buckets of corn syrup were flying like a Herschell Gordon Lewis movie and they're trying to grab the handles or whatever and pull them out of their tore up bodies but they can't and they can't even scream because they have no dialogue so they die grisly deaths with these crude jacked-up horrified expressions.

Then the Huntress literally twists this dude's arm for information and the whole time this sting operation is recording everything from a van outside and they're cops so they're supposed to bust Huntress but they don't because she's so much more effective without that human rights Miranda bullcrap so this boss mavericky cop with like a friggin' bush growing out of his eyebrows decides to just follow Huntress to her next location and take the heat from those pencil-pushing liberal dandies at police headquarters after those friggin' daffodils were off the streets. Then one of the mooks kills the squealer (no snitches) and at the same time Huntress shoots that guy in the head and then jumps like twenty-five feet in the air and poses just like the Carrie Kelly Robin in DKR except you could totally beat off to the Huntress when she does it because she's legal.

Then the cops argue about procedure while Huntress strikes a pose just like something from Elektra: Assassin but with a way bigger gun and if it was drawn by Frank Miller in Sin City mode instead of like Bill Sienkiewitz. Actually, what this really looks like is when Scott McDaniel was trying to draw like Sin City on Daredevil but better than that but only a little bit.

And then some kid breaks into Huntress' apartment building, but I mean the whole building is hers but she makes it seem like people live there by putting speakers in all the apartments that sound like conversations and arguing and since this was before MP3 that must have taken like huge reel-to-reel tape but I bet they still said the same stuff a lot if you listened so the apartment building must have been secluded and stuff. Oh, and the Huntress has wicked traps like this medieval bricked up pit thing and she doesn't even seem to notice the kid's trapped so I guess he's going to starve to death down there so I guess he should have gotten a job instead of stealing or collecting welfare.

Huntress comes home and gets naked and takes a shower for pages and pages thinking about getting molested as a little girl and feeling vulnerable and probably never wanting to be naked even by herself but she's naked for pages and pages thinking about not wanting to be naked and I totally saw her butt crack.

So the mob boss is pissed about his daffodils and his eyebrows are almost as fluffy as the rogue cop's and he has a mustache and he's pissed at his lieutenant type guys so he hires this gigantic ninja dude in red and black with abstract sculpture hanging off of his mask and he skewers them with this freaky scythe looking thing and the boss compliments Redzone on doing neat work by keeping the blood off the tile so he must have had a wicked stabbing arc like Michael Myers so that all the blood and gore that spilled out soaked into his victims' clothes like Bounty the quicker picker upper. You'd think it would be cheaper to just shoot those guys since they're not super-heroes but I guess the mob boss wanted to see what Redzone would promise to do to Huntress which with all the penetration and the shower stuff would be kind of violently sexual but it won't happen so I guess that's just me over-thinking it.

Helena Bertinelli is at school because she's a substitute teacher who wears glasses and she's a total scaredy cat out of uniform because some guy touches her shoulder and she acts like she just woke up from a Freddy Krueger nightmare except with the guy who had raped her without using finger knives. She's all hating being weak so she hangs out at school until after dark then changes into the Huntress and is pissed at herself for being sloppy but she needs to shoot somebody with a knife-shooting gun to raise her self-esteem. She doesn't get to but she does kick a guy so hard in the head it looks like all the blood in his body is about to explode out of his face like she was the Fist of the North Star. A bunch of nobodies surround her in a trap and one knows karate and kicks her in her face but she doesn't explode she just has traumatic bad touch flashbacks and I think they're using a stencil to copy the molester because he keeps looking exactly the same.

The Huntress gets beaten up a little but some cop shoots everybody which Huntress should have done and I don't think this is the same cop because his eyebrows are mostly normal. The cop strips Huntress while she's unconscious and puts her in bed and when she wakes up he brings her breakfast and knows her secret identity instead of calling her Victoria like Marty's mom calls him Calvin because of his underwear. This kind of thing never happens to Batman, but maybe Robin.

I never read the rest of this mini-series even though it was only four issues because the parts that didn't feel like I already read them were dumb and the whole book was ugly and mean-spirited and too much like everything else in 1994 but worse. I usually like Chuck Dixon and Michael Netzer but I think maybe somebody else wrote and drew this and then claimed they were the more famous people I like sometimes.

The End.

Direct Currents: Monday, October 18, 2010

Haunting, Much?: Lego Mosaic of General Zod in the Phantom Zone

Keck's Exclusives: Smallville's Lois Becomes Isis!

Green Lantern Cartoon: 98% Set in Space, Lots of Space Murders

In brightest day, in blackest night, always obey traffic lantern’s light

Super-Hero Hoarders: The 7 Biggest Pack-Rats In Comics

Charles Holbert Jr. Makes Marker Magic Across Comics, Cartoons and Videogames

Superhero Cake [Geeky Cake]

Robert Ball's Superman and Galactus Look Powered by the Super FX Chip [Art]

Comic Book Legends Revealed #282

Wonder Woman Day V Arrives October 24, 2010

BLOGS

The Absorbascon
Jean Loring: Still Crazy After All These Years

The Aquaman Shrine's 4th Anniversary Week!
2010 New York Comic Con
Cosplay: Ray DeForest
Adventure Comics #252 - Sept. 1958
DCU Posters by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez
Tattoo Tuesday II
Super Friends Puzzle Cards - 1975
Super Powers All-Terrain Trapper - 1985

Armagideon Time
Batman #307 (January 1979)

Being Carter Hall
Argentinian Hawkman Gumcard
Read: Hawkman v.4:no.17

Charlton vs Mighty MLJ
Cancelite - Thy Name is Thine Blog

Comics Make Me Happy!
A Rannt for Weakness
Adam Strange pinup by MachSabre

Continued On 2^nd Page Following
A Probably Bootleg Superman Shirt

Diana Prince: Wonder Woman
1991-92 Impel DC Cosmic Cards #22- Golden Age Cheetah
2009 "Wonder Woman vs Ares" art by Dave Wachter
2004 Wonder Girl Donna Troy Convention Sketch by Dale Eaglesham

El Jacone's Comic Book Bunker
Fair Trade: Haunted Tank

Every Day Is Like Wednesday
Hal Jordan, explained in just five panels

Firestorm Fan
Firestorm #1 on sale December 6…

Girls Gone Geek
Ponies + Superheroes = Delight
WTF? Wednesday: The Grown and Sexy Edition
Pull List Assessment – Part Two by Vanessa G.

Green Lantern Butt's FOREVER!
Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #3
Green Lantern #58

The Idol-Head of Diabolu
Which Martian Manhunter Villains are among your Fourth most Interesting?
2006 "DC Universe: Last Sons" novel by Alan Grant

Justice League Detroit
Vamp/Vixen Character Design from JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRISIS ON TWO EARTHS by Jerome K. Moore
1991-92 Impel DC Cosmic Cards #47- Elongated Man

Kingdom Kane
"The Eyes of the Basilisk!" from House of Mystery No. 184, January-February 1970.

Power of the Atom
Justice #6 (August, 2006)
1991-92 Impel DC Cosmic Cards #69- Peacemaker

Pretty, Fizzy Paradise
Amazon Space Pirate Starfire, or the Appalling Dearth in the DCU's Outer Space Setting

Siskoid's Blog of Geekery
Dial H for Half (Rounded Up)

Slay, Monstrobot of the Deep!!
Tim Drake was Batman's partner for a longer period of time than Dick Grayson??
Evil Superman Puppet Superpowers Quiz

Supergirl Comic Box Commentary
Smallville: Supergirl
DC Super Heroes: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book
Back Issue Box: Superman #376
Review: Last Family Of Krypton #3
Review: Doom Patrol #15

Justice #6 (August, 2006)

The powers of the gods allowed Captain Marvel to try to talk Superman out of the prescribed course of action while traveling through the vacuum of space. Wordlessly, the Man of Steel made it clear he was more afraid of his infestation making him the man who killed Captain Marvel than vice versa, so the Big Red Cheese threw Superman into the sun.

Hal Jordan was mildly amused to finally encounter a portion of space(?) the Guardians of the Universe knew nothing about, but not too much under the circumstances. His power ring only had seven hours worth of charge remaining, and he was potentially lost forever. Green Lantern decided to convert himself into electronic impulses stored within his ring, perhaps indefinitely.

"This involvement of Captain Marvel was unforeseen," noted Brainiac to Lex Luthor and Grodd. The Super-Gorilla seemed the most irritated by the party crasher, and was given permission to send the pseudo-prophetic nightmare shared by the Legion of Doom to Black Adam in order to increase their numbers.

Ablaze with solar energy, the Man of Tomorrow was restored. On learning that Superman had rid himself of a worm-like bodily invader, Captain Marvel offered Mr. Mind as a suspect. Just as the pair were reaching the JLA Satellite, it exploded in front of them. Captain Marvel asked if Superman detected any trace of Red Tornado in the debris...

John Stewart told Zatanna when he arrived at Ferris Aircraft Company, and asked that she thank Elongated Man for calling him in. On the property, Stewart met with Hal Jordan's sometimes girlfriend Carol Ferris and sidekick Tom Kalmaku. Stewart was searching for Hal, but the best idea "Pieface" could offer was pointing to the sky. "Thanks. That narrows it down."

Hal Jordan knew that it was Sinestro who had "killed" him via Boom Tube, but tried to move on with his everlasting illusion of life. Simulations of Coast City and its residents were constructed, but they were hollow things, and Green Lantern wondered how long he would wait before allowing space to take him...

An emaciated Flash continued to run across the globe, surely doomed to die from exhaustion...

Continue the story through these character-specific posts:

• Batman & more at Justice League Detroit
• Martian Manhunter at The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• The Atom, Hawks and Red Tornado at Power of the Atom
• Wonder Woman at Diana Prince
• Captain Marvel, Superman & Green Lantern at DC Bloodlines

"Chapter Six" was plotted and painted by Alex Ross. The script was provided by Jim Krueger, and the penciled layouts by Doug Braithwaite.

1993 "Bloodlines: Coming Soon Ad

1991-92 Impel DC Cosmic Cards #39- Bronze Tiger

Is this the only Bronze Tiger trading card? It's the only one I can think of, and it's surely a rare example of Ben Turner merchandise. Shame it's so blah. While it was a nice gesture to enlist Bronze Tiger's co-designer, there's a reason Ric Estrada's career in comics died off in the '80s. Besides, the Benjamin Stanley of the novel and Ben Turner of the comics preceded this costumed identity by years.

I had a question in the comments of a previous post that this card kind of answers, which makes for a nice cosmic coincidence.

More Impel DC Cosmic Cards Posted

• Golden Age Cheetah at Diana Prince: Wonder Woman
• Darkseid at The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Elongated Man at Justice League Detroit
• Peacemaker at Power of the Atom

Rench's Nursing: Degrees & Research

My name is Nurse Rench, and I understand there were some concerns about my initial Elementary Nursing 101 lecture. I will try not to be so colorful this time.

We are surrounded by sickness and death worming its ways through the bloated bellies of the Baby Boom generation, which may now be our collective doom. 40% of nurses are currently over the age of fifty, with fewer people entering the field before thirty. Nurses will begin retiring at record numbers in 2012, just as the population is increasingly in need of their services. You can use this to your advantage, if you are willing to put in the work.

You should be aware of hierarchy. The lowly nurse's aide can walk in off the street and gain employment. A Certified Nurse's Aid receives a few months' worth of basic training, but is still at an entry level disadvantage against experienced uncertified aides, with a slightly higher eventual pay grade.

The Licensed Practical Nurse is subject to a rigorous year long accredited program, bringing with it a much greater amount of responsibility and broader skill set. After passing the National Council Licensing Examination for LPNs, they earn nearly twice as much as an experienced CNA. They provide basic direct technical care to clients under the supervision of a Registered Nurse.

A general RN will assess client's conditions, draft a care plan, and monitor its effectiveness. They graduate through diploma, associates, or bachelor's degrees, often studying within a hospital setting to accrue a wealth of clinical experience before actually serving as RNs. In fact, the American Nurses Association has resolved that an associates should only grant entry to technical nursing practice (AN,) with the baccalaureate a minimum for professional practice (RN.) As a straight shot, a bachelor of science in nursing takes four years, although a person who already has another bachelor's can piggyback it to pass through a 12-18 month accelerated program. From there, a master's takes a year-and-a-half or two.

Continuing education is necessary for expanding your knowledge base, progressing in your career, and keeping abreast of scientific, technological, and legal changes applicable to your field. Most employers compel their staff to attend in-service education relevant to their practice. Often, the state will mandate the need to spend 15-30 hours in CE to renew your license every few years, but you might also use it as an opportunity to work toward specialization.

A Nurse Educator like myself requires a PhD and brings down $50-75,000 a year. The Nurse Researcher is your overeducated academic, requiring a doctorate to make $60-75,000 annually. A Nurse Administrator is in management, which demands at least a bachelors and about 80K. A Clinical Nurse Specialist provides direct client care, acts as an educator, manages, consults and researches in their specific area of expertise to the tune of $75-90K a year. An RN certified by the American College of Nurse Midwives handles pre-and-postnatal care, manages delivers, and other duties often associated with the OB/GYN for a high five. Surprisingly, a Nurse Practitioner, who's practically a doctor these days, can expect the same. A Nurse Anesthetist can earn in the low-to-mid six figures for their work, but it is a boring, empty job with brief moments of enormous intensity when things go awry. The sky's the limit for a Nurse Entrepreneur, but it requires an advanced degree and business savvy.

All nurses are expected by the ANA to include research as part of their standards of professional performance, with emphasis on evidence-based practice (EBP) to substantiate their clinical decisions. The two major approaches to investigating diverse phenomena are quantitative (left brain hard data) and qualitative (subjective, anecdotal responses.) The human subjects of this research must be afforded their full rights as sentient beings. They include the rights of self-determination, full disclosure, privacy & confidentiality, as well as the most important, the right not to be harmed.

There are four criteria to determine the value of researching a question or problem. The first is significance, as in uncovering the biographical details of New Bloods left out of the Skybox trading card set because they were created in Batman-related titles to which Fleer had already been awarded the license. None of those characters mattered, most are dead, and few mourn their passing.

The second criteria is researchability, which proves that no one researched a dictionary before drafting the criteria. You may ask "What if god was one of us-- just a slob like one of us-- a stranger on the bus trying to make his way home?" However, the question lacks specificity, as there are thousands of documented deities active within the universe, and the scope of most nursing does not include the mystical arts.

The third criteria is feasibility, as in launching a study into the Silver Age mating habits of Martians. While elements of various ages of Kryptonian mating manifest to this day across the multiverse, good luck getting a grant to investigate Martian continuity buried under the three Crisis-level universe-spanning reboots.

The final criteria is the researcher's own interest, as they will rely on their obsession to drive them to fully pursue their studies. Perhaps you are an expert on the Red Tornado, but do you truly have the willpower to make it to Will Power and successfully complete a thesis on Primal Force?

The quantitative researcher must address their dependent variable, which is the subject they wish to explain or predict; and the independent variable, the catalyst that influences the activity of the subject. For instance, let's say one's purpose was to analyze the illness of DC Comics from the mid-90s. You might define the purpose of the study with the Jewish maxim "never again," then you must review the literature (Xenobrood, Extreme Justice, etc.) You must formulate a research hypothesis like "Zero Hour was mostly just an excuse to launch a bunch of shoddy titles and tidy up a bit of continuity in as lucrative a manner as possible." Your dependent variable might be #0 issues, and the independent variable would probably be the speculator market. From there, a research design must be settled upon; a population needs to be sampled; empirical data collected, verified and analyzed; and the conclusions shared.

Conversely, the qualitative researcher collects narrative data through interviews and observations which they transcribe and organize to construct conclusions. For instance, phenomenology might set aside sections of readers who had or had not read Campbell or Moorecock in determining their influence on how Hawkman fans felt about the eternal hero gestalt incarnation. Ethnology might look into the difference in responses between hetero-and-homosexual readers to the Legion of Super-Heroes reboot. Grounded theory might address whether people were ecstatic or merely content when Jared Stevens was stabbed to death by his own dagger of Fate.

That is all for today.

Captain Comet "Postcard" by George Pérez

It's been a while since I did one of these "postcard" reminiscences, and about as long since I've covered Captain Comet, so how about we kill two topics with one post? Working without the benefit of an actual postcard, I've altered a panel from 1986's History of the DC Universe #2, inked by Karl Kesel, to fabricate one. If you've ever read the comic adaptation of Logan's Run, tell me Pérez's take on Adam Blake isn't the spitting image of the sandman Francis...

CAPTAIN COMET
A mutant born one hundred thousand years ahead of his time, Adam Blake left Earth to explore space, aided by his incredible mental and physical abilities. He returned twenty years later to battle the Secret Society of Super-Heroes with his evolved strength, speed, intelligence, stamina, telekinesis and telepathy.

Captain Comet was in the mid-80s house ad for DC Challenge, but with his nondescript red costume turned mostly toward the back, I mistook him for a generic sci-fi character. Truth to tell, I wasn't so far off, as Comet started his life as a curious hybrid of bland pulp speculative fiction and a last gasp for the super-hero genre between the Golden and Silver Ages. I want to say my next exposure was thumbing through Secret Society of Super-Villains back issues around 1987, more intrigued by the titular concept, but curious about exactly who this sole unknown hero tasked with battling a host of bad guys was. I learned from somewhere (Who's Who?) that he was the first comic book mutant, predating the X-Men. Besides the Martian Manhunter, Captain Comet was the only official DC super-hero of the 1950s "gray period," and with his vast (and similar) powers, I was fascinated by what he must have gotten up to in an era (almost) all his own. I continued to stumble upon Comet over the years, most notably in his '90s revival series, L.E.G.I.O.N. Even with all his potential, Comet just played straight man to the unethical brilliance of Vril Dox, the amoral mayhem of Lobo, and the more high strung Stealth. Imagine Jim Dial in tights.

I skipped following Comet in his most recent appearances from Mystery in Space, because I was peeved DC broke the mini-series' collection up into two volumes, the first foisting The Weird mini-series onto me in a fairly expensive reprint. I still think there's massive amounts of untapped potential in the character, and feel he's interesting enough to merit his own (long threatened) mini-blog, which is just the sort of thing this venue was designed for.

Direct Currents: Tuesday, October 12, 2010

DC Comics Dropping Cover Prices to $2.99 in 2011

DC Universe: James Robinson's Accidental Hawkman Announcement, Fans Will Vote For the Leader of the Legion [NYCC]

Is This the Most Significant Piece of Comic Art Ever Offered in a Public Sale?

Twenty Things I Learnt At NYCC

Ten More Things I Learnt At NYCC

Tom Bancroft’s DCU Elementary

THE TOP EIGHT REASONS COMIC FANS SHOULD THANK CANADA

the wedding party has secret identities

'Green Lantern' Movie Parallax Teased in Upcoming Action Figure Line

Jay Tablente's Cosplay Photography Makes Superheroes as Real as They Can Get

BLOGS

Amazon Princess
Wonder Woman Underwear
Diana Spin by David Reynolds.

The Anti-Didio League of America
Celebrating Ten Years of Batgirl: A Pair Of Twos

The Aquaman Shrine
DC Super Friends Imaginext Cartoon
Super Powers "Estrela" Aquaman - 1985
Super Friends #40 - Jan. 1981
Superman (Vol.2) #63 - Jan. 1992
Brightest Day #11 - Nov. 2010

Armagideon Time
Nobody’s Favorites: Terrorsmith
Nobody’s Favorites: Goth

Being Carter Hall
Watched: Smallville "Shield"

Blinded Me With Comics
Insert Preview Here: DC Showcase, 80s Style

Charlton vs Mighty MLJ: Fiends of Fridays Week
Iron-Rich Robbers
Vanishing Villains
Headache Hubris
Limber Looters
High-Flying Felons
Ferocious Furry Foes
Hot-Tempered Turkeys!

Comics Make Me Happy!
Make Your Own Hawkgirl Mask...In Only An Hour!!

Continued On 2^nd Page Following
Let's Get Small! Cat Grant Gets Smallville-ized

Corner Symbols of Coolness
Four for the price of one!

Diversions of the Groovy Kind
"Private Eye Man-Bat" from Batman Family #20 (July 1978)


El Jacone's Comic Book Bunker
Everybody's Linking For The Weekend

Every Day Is Like Wednesday
Review: The "Ends of the Earth" arc from Wonder Woman: Ends of the Earth
Review: The "A Star in the Heavens" arc from Wonder Woman: Ends of the Earth

Firestorm Fan
Brightest Day #11: Any Port in a Deathstorm
Firestorm Sketches
Brightest Day #11 Post-Game Report

Girls Gone Geek
Ben Caldwell’s Wonderful Wondy
WTF? Wednesday: Sweet Justice

Gone & Forgotten
Cat-Man Comics' first Rag-Man

Green Lantern Butt's FOREVER!
A Little Whine About Winick
And Speaking of Tora...

The Idol-Head of Diabolu
Bel Juz: The Third Most Important Martian Manhunter Adversary
2006 Gorilla Grodd: From Bruce Wayne's private files in the Batcomputer
1978 Vandal Savage vs. The World's Greatest Superheroes

Kingdom Kane
"Thraxton the Powerful vs GL the Powerless"

Power of the Atom
1991-92 Impel DC Cosmic Cards #87- Chronos

Pretty, Fizzy Paradise
A character I really like: Starfire

Reilly2040's Blog
Green Lantern Corps #52

Silver Age Comics
Superman #112
Lois Lane #18

Siskoid's Blog of Geekery
Dial H for Here We Go Again
DC Adventures: Time Masters Campaign
Rip Hunter's Blackboard
Posted Without Comment

Slay, Monstrobot of the Deep!!
Tell Your Newstand Vendor That A Giant Talking Rabbit Sent You!
Steve Lombard Has Sexy Handwriting
Well, Excuuuuuuse Me!!
In The Metropolis Justice System...

Supergirl Comic Box Commentary
Review: R.E.B.E.L.S. #21

This Photo Life
W.37th st.

Pull List Assessment Time by E. Peterman

What I Read This Week: Monday, October 11, 2010 by Luke El Jacone

Comics Of The Weak: It's When The Neckbeards Disapprove, That's When You're On The Right Track by Tucker Stone

The Buy Pile 10/6/10 by Hannibal Tabu

Comics Panel: October 8, 2010 by the A.V. Club

AICN Comic Reviews Shipping Week: 9/29/10

Wednesday is Greenest Day For All I Care #84 by Diabolu Frank

"And Then I Read" by Todd Klein
BRIGHTEST DAY 1
THE FLASH 1
GREEN LANTERN 54

Newsarama's Best Shots:
AVENGERS ACADEMY, BRIGHTEST DAY, S.H.I.E.L.D. and more
ULTIMATE THOR, BATMAN TREASURES
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