Flashback Friday: May 21st

Get ready for a blast from the past, it's time for Flashback Friday! JT won the contest to give me an intro for this post, so thank you JT! The check is in the mail... Really, it is... Anyway, it's already Saturday, and I haven't even started this post yet... Yes everybody, procrastination, thy name is X! With that said, I'm going to cut the intro WAY short so I can try to get this post up before I fall asleep.

Robin #4(April 1991): Tim Drake, who is still training for the Robin spot, gets some training help from Lady Shiva(and really, who better to learn fighting techniques from?)and King Snake gets his deadly Nazi plague. As a loyal(but insane)citizen of the United Kingdom, Snake wants to unleash the plague in Hong Kong before it gets handed over to the Chinese. By the end of this issue, Tim, Shiva and Tim's friend the ex-DEA agent have tracked Snake down and are preparing to invade his penthouse stronghold. Score: 7 out of 10.

Robin #5(May 1991): Tim, Shiva and the DEA guy break into Snake's penthouse building and try to prevent him from unleashing his plague. Snake winds up killing the DEA agent, but Tim surprisingly manages to defeat King Snake in one-on-one combat. Snake ends up falling out the window, presumably to his death. With Snake out of the picture, Tim destroys the plague and burns all of Snake's dirty money, because as we all know, burning stuff is cool!!! Score: 7 out of 10.

Batman #465(July 1991): The real notable thing about this comic is this issue was the first time Tim(as Robin)and Batman went out on patrol together. Bats was still somewhat overly cautious with Tim due to Jason Todd's death still being fresh on his mind, but all in all, things turn out well for Bats and his new Boy Wonder. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Batman #466(Aug. 1991): Much like the issue before this one, this issue dealt with an early Batman and Tim Drake Robin story. The two try to capture some mobsters, they run into gangs, and Batman is over-protective of Tim. Score: 7 out of 10.

Batman #467(Aug 1991): King Snake's gang(the Ghost Dragons)from the Robin mini-series turn up in Gotham City and wind up scoring lots of illegal guns. After watching how they were operating, Tim believes that King Snake was somehow still alive, while Bats refuses to believe Tim's words, figuring somebody else was calling the shots for the Ghost Dragons. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Batman #468(Sept. 1991): So it turns out Tim was right and King Snake did indeed survive his fall in Hong Kong, and is now obsessed with getting revenge on the Boy Wonder. With Snake and his gang obsessed with getting their hands on Tim, Batman decides to hold him back, refusing to allow Tim to help on the Ghost Dragon case, which kept putting Bats in constant jeopardy. Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

Batman #469(Sept. 1991): Batman manages to track down King Snake, and the two battle one-on-one. Bats manages to defeat King Snake, but nearly gets his head blown off by one of Snake's men, if not for the timely arrival of Tim. Instead of thanking Tim for making the save, Bats yells at him for disobeying his orders and getting involved in the case... Ah Batman.... Score: 7 out of 10.

Batman #470(Oct. 1991): Batman and Robin go after Maxi Zeus, who was given some sort of godly artifact by the Cheetah to hold on to. Tim is still growing into the Robin role here, which leads to some miscommunication between him and Bats, but in the end the Dynamic Duo manage to defeat the inept Zeus and his gang and reclaim the artifact. Score: 7 out of 10.

Wonder Woman #109(May 1996): Wonder Woman winds up having to face off against the Flash, who is acting uncharacteristically insane. Flash runs through WW's city(Gateway City)destroying things, and acting aloof, which leads to a WW/Flash showdown. WW eventually manages to snare the Flash with her lasso and unmasks him, only to discover that it is a young man who she is unfamiliar with. Before the “Flash” can be taken to prison, he explodes into a bunch of white dust... Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Wonder Woman #110(June 1996): This time, a young and aloof Sinestro attacks Gateway City, so WW has to attempt to take him down. WW knows for a fact that Sinestro is dead, so she isn't quite sure what to make of this “Sinestro”. Much like Flash from last issue, “Sinestro” never says a word and just seems bent on mindless destruction. WW(along with some help from Champion)finally manages to capture “Sinestro”, but much like last issue, “Sinestro” explodes in white power when captured. We learn that some computer program was creating these menaces, not realizing the danger. Oh, and this issue ends with the computer creating Doomsday! Score: 8 out of 10.

Wonder Woman #111(July 1996): Fake Doomsday takes to the streets of Gateway City and stomps a mudhole into WW. We also learn that some mad scientist had put the brainwaves of his dead son into the computers at his lab, and that the kid's brainwaves were creating the fake heroes and villains from the past few issues thinking he was simply playing a video game. Also in this issue we have Cassie Sandsmark dressing up as Wonder Girl for the first time. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Wonder Woman #112(Aug. 1996): Once again Champion comes to WW's aid, but not even the combined powers of WW and Champion are enough to stop Doomsday. The mad scientist, realizing that his experiment had caused all of the destruction in Gateway City, decides to overload his computer systems, which causes Doomsday to mutate to the point where his bone growths grow out of control. WW takes this opportunity to smash “Doomsday” and destroy it. The cops arrive and arrest the scientist, which ends his threat. Score: 6 out of 10.

That's all of the old reviews I have to post this week. I was pretty Tim Drake heavy this week it seems... I'll try to mix things up a little bit for next week's post. Thanks for reading, and remember, tomorrow night is a new installment of the Best of the Rest. So until next time, Long Live Barkspawn!!!

Flashback Friday: May 14th

It's Friday, so it's time for another installment of Flashback Friday! Yeah, I still need to work on a proper intro for this feature... Oh well, one day... Anywho, I really haven't had the chance to read all THAT many back issues this past week, since I was studying for finals and stuff, but as always, I did manage to read a substantial amount of books, at least enough to make this post worth doing I'd say. Before I get started, a few quick things. First off, this link had me laughing, because it just proves what I've always known, I'm living with a goldmine!!! Who knows, in only 70 short years my massive comic collection could be worth MILLIONS!!! OK, that's enough of my deluded fantasies, on to the reviews!!!

Showcase '96 #12(Winter 1996): This comic contained three stories, one on Sarge Steel(which was painful), one which was a look at the life of Jesse Quick(which wasn't all that good), and the reason I brought this issue, a story on Vril Dox teaming up with Brainiac 5 to deal with the original Brainiac. This story was alright, but to be honest, this was one of those comics I definitely could have went without buying/reading... Score: 4 out of 10.

Wolverine Weapon X: Adamantium Men TPB(contained Wolverine Weapon X #1-5): The Wolverine portions of this trade were really top-notch, unfortunately, this trade didn't solely deal with the Ol' Canucklehead. So the positives here were the story(mainly the Wolverine portions), as well as Maverick(!!)showing up. FYI, Maverick is one of those obscure 90's Marvel characters that I tend to like so very much, so him appearing in this trade was definitely pleasing to me. As for negatives, the whole secondary story about the reporter who was trying to bring down the evil corporation Wolvie and Maverick were dealing with. If not for the annoying reporter stuff, I'd have scored this trade A LOT higher. Score: 8 out of 10.

Ray #21(Feb. 1996): I'm not even going to try to describe what happened in this comic, because I doubt I could... There was a whole slew of stuff pertaining to Black Condor that just flew WAAAY over my head... Get it? “Black Condor”, “FLEW over my head”? Ugh, yipes was that bad! Anyway, the comedy aspects of this issue were so strong that I actually wound up enjoying it in spite of the story. Score: 7 out of 10.

Ray #22(March 1996): This was another issue of the Ray with some really enjoyable comedy stuff going on, especially the scenes between Ray and his girlfriend(who was driving him insane!). Besides that, Ray finally meets up with his crazy little brother, Joshua, and Death Masque kidnaps Ray's mother(who STILL doesn't know Ray is her son)in an attempt to force a final confrontation with Ray. All in all, some really great stuff here. Score: 9 out of 10.

Ray #23(May 1996): And then the bottom fell out... This was by far the worst issue of this series yet. Let's just say that the long Death Masque storyline ended here and leave it at that, because this one was BAD! Score: 2 out of 10.

Ray #24(June 1996): For the most part this issue dealt with the aftermath of the catastrophe that was the last issue. Ray's mother now knows he's the Ray(but she still doesn't know she's his mom), and she has also decided to look after Joshua. Some weird woman from the future arrives and forces Vandal Savage to fire Ray from his computer job, and after Savage does as he was asked, she cuts his throat. Finally, Ray discovers his father alive and well, and not dead like he previously thought. Score: 4 1/2 out of 10.

Ray #25(July 1996): This comic takes place several year in the future, where we discover that Ray has become the most powerful being on the planet, both superpower-wise and money-wise. Basically old Ray is a major jerk, and his two best friends are Triumph(some guy who used to be on the JL Task Force)and the Flash(Bart Allen!!!). Ray has a girlfriend he mistreats, and that Bart is pining for. After really being a ass to the girl one day, she runs away from Ray crying, and Bart decks Ray, knocking him out cold. Bart then tries(unsuccessfully I might add)to put the moves on the girl, but even though old Ray is a horror, she refuses to break it off with him. Meanwhile, old Ray gets shot in the head by some of his enemies. Old Ray's girl and friends find him, and the girl convinces Bart to help her go to the past in an effort to prevent Ray from becoming the jerk he'd wind up being. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Ray #26(Aug. 1996): I'm not really sure why, but this issue is STILL dealing with old Ray in the future. Old Ray is slowly dying, but before he passes, Captain Atom(who is a being of pure energy in the future)grabs the dying Ray and transports his energy into the distant future where he offers old Ray the chance to atone for his lousy life... Yeah, it was as bad as it sounds... Score: 3 out of 10.

Ray #27(Sept. 1996): This issue is the conclusion to the pretty awful future Ray storyline. Future Ray winds up doing the right thing in the future and then returns to his body to die. Trust me, the least said about this issue, the better! Score: 2 out of 10.

Ray #28(Oct. 1996): This is the last issue of the Ray series. Basically it wraps up most of the loose ends in the series. Ray's father finally tells his mother that Ray is her thought to be dead son, Ray gets a new girlfriend in the girl from the future(the girlfriend of his evil future self)and he gets to finally have a mother to son talk with his mother. All in all, this issue was a decent way to end the series, although there was SO much more that needed closure... Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.

Robin #1(Jan. 1991): This was the first Robin mini-series, NOT the Robin ongoing series. Bruce feels that Tim Drake is ready to take to the streets of Gotham with him for the first time, but Tim still feels he needs more training. In order to help Tim get ready, Bruce sends Timmy to France where he could be trained by a world renowned martial arts master. Tim trains and somehow winds up getting stuck battling an Asian street gang. Score: 8 out of 10.

Robin #2(Feb. 1991): Tim rescues a former DEA agent from the Asian street gang(which we learn is lead by King Snake). All throughout this issue, Tim is being followed and watched by Lady Shiva, who wants to face King Snake since he is supposed to be the deadliest fighter in the world. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Robin #3(March 1991): Shiva finally meets up with Tim and along with the ex-DEA agent, the three join forces to try to take down King Snake's gang. Unfortunately, Snake's gang manages to get a hold of a sample of the Bubonic plague from an old Nazi laboratory and escape from Tim and company, which leads to Tim, the DEA agent and Shiva hopping an airplane in the hope that they can stop the gang members from handing the plague over to Snake in Hong Kong. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

And that's all I've got for this week. So I finally finished up the Ray books(which ended pretty poorly, considering how good the early portion of the series was), and started the Robin series('s). I actually have A LOT of Robin comics to get through, the last two issues of the first mini-series, then two other mini-series, and then the ongoing series which ran for well over 160 issues, so expect the next several Flashback Friday's to be chock full of Robin comics. Of course I'll have a few other titles thrown in, but for the most part, prepare yourself for Robinmania! That's it for this week, thanks for reading, and Long Live The Legion!!!

Flashback Friday: May 7th.

It's Friday night, which means it's time for a new installment of Flashback Friday, which is where I take a look at a bunch of older comics and try to sum them up in as few words as possible(and anybody who's read my work knows that's no easy task for me!). Last week's post seemed to be relatively well received, so hopefully this one will be even better, although I wouldn't count on that, seeing as that I am REALLY sunburned(sunburnt?)and tired, two factors that don't normally lend themselves to a good blog post! I'm actually considering throwing a few new comics into a post similar to this, mainly so I can just get them up and posted as quickly as possible, since my new comics pile is slowly beginning to resemble the Leaning Tower of Pisa! But that's an issue for a later time, let's get to the pseudo-reviews!

Lobo #1(Nov. 1990): This was a four issue mini-series that I decided to pick up not because of Lobo(who I'm indifferent towards), but because of the fact that Vril Dox played a large role in it. As for this issue, Dox sends Lobo to retrieve the last surviving Czarnian, who just so happens to be Lobo's forth grade teacher. The teacher is terribly annoying, but since Lobo had promised Dox that he would return her to LEGION headquarters alive, Lobo has no choice but to grin and bear it. Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.

Lobo #2(Dec. 1990): Lobo is still trying to transport his old teacher back to Dox and LEGION HQ, but she manages to ditch him to head to the ballet. While searching for the old woman, Lobo runs afoul intergalactic truckers, police officers, and a bunch of concerned grandmothers. This was a surprisingly funny/enjoyable comic. Score: 9 out of 10.

Lobo #3(Jan. 1991): For some reason this issue takes a really bad detour from the main storyline and Lobo(and his annoying teacher)wind up getting captured by some weirdos who force them to compete in a life or death spelling bee challenge... Seriously! Yeah, it was bad... Score: 4 out of 10.

Lobo #4(Feb. 1991): After escaping from the dread spelling bee world, Lobo decides to head to a vacation planet with his old teacher and have some fun before turning the old bat over to Vril Dox at LEGION HQ. After last issue, this mini kind of fell apart for me. Score: 5 out of 10.

Batman #440(Nov. 1989): This is the first part of the five part, “A Lonely Place of Dying” x-over with the New Titans series. Batman has been extremely reckless since the death of Jason Todd, and has been running around Gotham like a bull in a china shop with little regard for his safety. Seeing Batman's erratic behavior, Two-Face decides to do in the Caped Crusader. Besides that, a very young Tim Drake(in his first appearance as a teenager)tries to find Dick Grayson. Score: 8 out of 10.

New Titans #60(Nov. 1989): This is the second part of the x-over with the Batman series. Needing some time away from the Titans, Dick Grayson heads back to Haly's Circus, where he gets involved in all kinds of shenanigans. Tim Drake finds him there and reveals that he knows Dick's secret identity(as well as Batman's), and that he feels that Dick needs to go back to being Robin since Bats is still hurting over Jason Todd's death. Score: 5 1/2 out of 10.

Batman #441(Dec. 1989): Dick brings little Timmy Drake back to Wayne Manor, where Tim gives his name for the first time, as well as meets Alfred. Tim explains to Dick and Alfred how he figured out who Nightwing and Batman were(some footage he saw on TV from when Dick was still Robin), and why he thinks Batman needs a Robin to stay sane. While that's happening, Batman and Two-Face are each trying to come up with a way to trap the other one. As an interesting side note, while Tim and Dick are talking at the Manor, Dick refers to Tim as “Jeff”, which I guess was a possible early name for Tim. Score: 8 out of 10.

New Titans #61(Dec. 1989): Dick has enough of Tim's constant whining and pestering and tells him he'll never be Robin again, which makes poor little Timmy cry. What a bully Dick is! Bats reluctantly calls Nightwing to help him find Two-Face, and the two get caught in one of Two-Face's death traps. Score: 6 out of 10.

Batman #442(Jan. 1990): While hanging out in the Batcave, Tim and Alfred realize that something is wrong because Dick was trying to send some info to the Bat-computers, but was cut off in the middle. Tim decides to dress as Robin(for the very first time)and Alfred reluctantly drives him out to the last recorded location of Bats and Nightwing. Tim tries to fight Two-Face but fairs poorly and winds up getting saved by Alfred. Two-Face runs away and Tim frees Bats and Dick from Two-Face's death trap. The three then find and capture Two-Face and after some thought Bats decides he'll allow Tim to train to become the new Robin. Score: 8 out of 10.

The Ray Annual #1(1995): Ray's computer creation, Death Masque, causes a plane to crash in Philadelphia, and although Ray was able to save an overwhelming majority of the people in the plane, a few wound up dying. Ray takes the deaths really hard(since Death Masque WAS his creation)and gets drunk, but Superman shows up and talks some sense into Ray(after an obligatory fight between the two of course!) Score: 8 out of 10.

The Ray #13(June 1995): Ray is still acting depressed over the plane crash while Death Masque manages to create a small little country with a puppet government that he controls. Ray finds out and decides he has to take drastic actions against Death Masque. Score: 7 out of 10.

The Ray #14(July 1995): Ray decides to ask for help from Vandal Savage in dealing with Death Masque. Needless to say, Ray's Justice League Task Force teammates are not too happy about Ray's decision. Savage also gives Ray a spot in his computer company, all while promising Ray that he'd help him destroy Masque. Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.

The Ray #15(August 1995): Ray heads over to his father's house(after learning that Death Masque had killed and was impersonating his father), and runs into his mother, who still doesn't know that Ray is her son(she thought he died during childbirth). In the meantime, Vandal Savage and Death Masque have a conference where Masque voices his displeasure about Savage getting involved in Ray's life. Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.

The Ray #16(Sept. 1995): Ray(in his civilian identity)get shot in a random shooting(that's Philly for ya!)and winds up being saved by Vandal Savage, who seems to know more about Ray's powers then even Ray does. Death Masque reveals(to himself I guess)that he wants his creator(Ray)to either join forces with him or die, which is why he's been constantly harassing Ray. Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.

The Ray #17(Oct. 1995): Ray's previously unknown brother Joshua gets loose, and accidentally kills some people he mistakes for monsters(he's only a little kid). Ray tries to trap his father/Death Masque, but fails, and Vandal Savage sends Atomic Skull to attack Masque's country, but the attack is halted by Ray and his father. Score: 7 out of 10.

The Ray #18(Nov. 1995): This is a part of the Underworld Unleashed storyline. Neron(in the guise of a hot woman)tries to seduce Ray into handing over his soul, but Vandal Savage puts an end to that and takes Neron aside, offering him the soul of Atomic Skull instead. After some pretty funny bartering, Neron agrees to leave Ray alone. While that's going on, Joshua is still flying aimlessly around trying to find his father. Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

The Ray #19(Dec. 1995): Ray decides that since Vandal hadn't helped him destroy Death Masque yet, he'd go to Neron and see what kind of offer Neron would make. Of course Ray was still under the impression that Neron was just some attractive woman, not the living embodiment of evil. Since Neron couldn't trick Ray into handing over his soul(due to the agreement he made with Savage)he comes clean with him and explains that he would make it so that Death Masque never existed, all in exchange for Ray's soul. Ray ALMOST goes through with the deal, but in the end, common sense prevails. While that is happening, Joshua finds his father(who is actually Death Masque), but gets beaten up by the evil robot since its programing never told it Joshua existed. Score: 6 out of 10.

The Ray #20(Jan. 1996): This issue crossed over with events that were happening in the JL Task Force comic, and as such, I was pretty lost for most of the main storyline. After getting beaten up by his father/Death Masque last issue, Joshua is taken in by helpful hippies, who want to reunite him with his old man... Umm, OK I guess... Score: 5 1/2 out of 10.

Detective Comics #541(August 1984): The Penguin steals some government secrets and heads to Antarctica to sell them to the Soviets. Naturally it's up to Batman to stop Penguin's actions... Ultimately we learn that Penguin wasn't going to really sell the secrets to the Soviets, just trick them into thinking he was... It's Cold War mania at its worst! Score: 4 out of 10.

Detective Comics #542(September 1984): Since Bruce is running around Antarctica tracking the Penguin, the Department of Child Welfare decides to take Jason Todd away from him. After Bruce gets back from Antarctica, he finds out Jason was removed from his care and cries a bit before calling in a battalion of lawyers to get Jason back. Even though Jason was taken away, he still winds up doing the Robin thing, where he teams up with a very sad Batman. Score: 5 out of 10.