DC on TV: Crisis On Infinite Earths

The latest of the DC TV crossover stories (and the longest) was a brave and surprisingly good attempt to put this complex multiverse destroying story on to the small screen. In fact considering that their budget would have been but a tiny fraction of that used by Marvel in their two part Avengers movie epic about Thanos this was quite an achievement.

As readers will be aware from previous instalments in this series of posts covering DC's current range of TV shows Crisis On Infinite Earths is my favourite comic book story of all time and I am the proud owner of not just the original series but the Absolute Slip-Cased edition.  If you want to read the original story there is a trade paperback edition readily available for the more casual reader.

 

Of course the Monitor had already appeared in the previous Elseworlds crossover so viewers knew something big was coming, but the destruction of the multiverse now that;'s something and who is the enemy? No other than one Anti-Monitor. The show does explain it's version of the origins of this crisis hijacking elements of DC's Green Lantern/Guardians mythos to do so.

However from the start and throughout there is much to be admired from the sight of a middle aged overweight Billy Batson looking to the sky and making his trademark remark "Holy Moley", through the guest appearance of Burt Ward from the sixties Batman to the eventual appearance of Lois and Clark and of course eventually the world of Smallville. 

 

All of DC's TV output over the years finally tied into one coherent structure. Tremendous stuff. Of course the team chosen to take down the Anti-Monitor is limited to 7 but given all the problems the script writers and producers would have faced this, along with a couple of others on the sidelines made this a great piece of TV.

All the heroes from alternative earths finally meeting up for one fight and as in the original not everything or everyone survives but no spoilers if you haven't seen the programme (highly recommended) or as I urge you read the original first!. Both are worth the time!

And then there are the sequels.....

  

Loner TPB (Rebellion)

Loner was a strip that originally appeared in the short lived Wildcat comic and was carried on for a while in the Eagle when the titles were merged as is the British practice of dealing with it's failing anthologies. 

This is not a new collection from Rebellion though I did purchase mine when it came out. I read it in two sessions rather a long time apart. The reason being that though there is some imaginative work on this strip the stories and dangers do get a wee bit repetitive especially as the two thirds of the book are set on the same bloody planet!

 

And therein lay another problem. Wildcat had a rather unusual format. All the stories tied in to each other more or less simultaneously and having only ever read the first two issues and one previous collection there is rather a jolt as the survivors of Earth suddenly appear settled in this story (how?) before Loner buggers off into space to be a Bounty Hunter again.

By the time I reached this point I admit to being a little bored. As Wildcat was conceived as a kind of "junior" 2000AD of sorts it suffers very much from a lack of characterisation and even the odd mascot which comes and goes is given little chance.

The stories are one short punch-up and that's about it with our hero just scrapping through by incredulous luck or really lazy plotting.

Rating 2 Stars (Eventually disappoints)

New Comics: Legion of Super-heroes, From Beyond the Unknown & Doctor Who

Its been a while since I've reviewed new comics and even in doing so I'm a little late as these arrived last week but I only just got around to reading them in the Park as it happens. Such a nice day!

First up is the latest issue of the Legion of Super-heroes as our heroes find themselves under siege by the Science Police and under threat from the President of the United Planets. We find out  little more about the origin of this strange version of legion reality and discover this President has self interest at heart. A politician who only gives a  shit about themselves. Who would have guessed.....the Legions in trouble already.

For me the Jury is very much still out on this Legion revamp. I'm really unsure about the numerous revisions and there are times the wordy script gets a bit too self indulgent for my taste. 

Rating. 2 Stars (Could do a lot better!)

Of course for me the problem about how the Legion really should be is illustrated in the From Beyond the Unknown 100 Page Giant #1. Here we see the Legion in action. That would also be an iteration that most of us can relate to. I don't expect the classic sixties version. That had it's day

This comic originally produced for Walmart is a joy to read. Three new stories and three great reprints. The Green Lanterns get new opponents in the form of The Gloom and frankly I had some sympathy for their actions. Some villains are too dangerous to keep alive. The Joker for example , crazy or not should have been executed years ago. So many innocent lives would have been saved.

There's also a nice feature utilising Kamandi one of my favourite Kirby creations from this time at DC. The Butler was a sad joy to read.

Reprints include Superman/Adam Strange and Batman/Metal Men teams ups from old. There's also a nice little Alan Moore Green Lantern story featuring Katma Tui.

A title that holds promise!

Rating: 5 Stars (Great value, great stories)

Finally I got to read the final issue of the 10th/13th Doctor Who Team Up featuring Martha, Graham and the gang vs the Autons and the weeping Angels.  

My only problem is this issue ends with a scene that says "To be continued" and i#5 is advertised. I've not seen that solicited anywhere so hopefully Titan will sort themselves out.

Rating: 3 Stars

2000AD Sci-Fi Special (Out Now!)

It's a great time to be a fan of British comics as Rebellion continue their publishing programme with a 2000AD Sci-Fi Special, a summer special in all but name to celebrate their twenty years of owning the comic.

Rebellion took ownership of 2000AD in July 2000 at a time when British comics had mostly wound up. For years a lonely comic on the stands with only the like of Commando to keep it company oh and of course the monthly Judge Dredd magazine. 

 

 

Since then the comic has gone on to become the foundation upon which rebellion are now constructing a gradual reappearance of British fare with not jut collected editions of our favourite stories but new magazines or specials. some of which have seen an annual publication.

This special contains a mixture of new and reprint stories, all worth the price of entry in a gigantic 100 page comic. 

Inevitably starting with Judge Dredd in an inter dimensional adventure that leads him to interrogate Zombo in The Immigrant which is highly amusing. Other new stories see Shaka cross swords with gene The Hackman in Kingdom and The Red Seas vs Ant Wars. Cracking stuff.

You won't be disappointed with reprints of classic stories from Sinister Dexter, Dead World, Nikolai Danti and more. 

Rating 5 Stars Highly Recommended!

Get yours from: shop.2000ad.com

And subscribe to the Prog at: 2000ad.com subscriptions

Support British Comics!

Judge Dredd Megazine #421

The forward march of British comics continues with the latest edition of Judge Dredd Megazine which features the third and final chapter of The current Vigilant saga. A 22 page complete story. The first two parts of this amazing story were published as American comic sized one-shots but it seems with all the specials that Rebellion are putting out every month there was no room in the schedule for this story. 

The revival of old British comic heroes and villains from the sixties and seventies will hopefully appeal to a wide age range. There are one or two that I was not over familiar with (Doctor Sin being one) but it's been a wonderful journey to see childhood heroes and more in this fight against Von Hoffman, Dr Mesmer and others to prevent evil annihilating the world. 

The recent revival of Smash as an American sized anthology gives me hope that these characters and more will appear regularly in our newsagents and comic shops. They certainly deserve to.

And of course there is a wee bonus as the usual mini-graphic novel packaged with the magazine reprints a number of origin stories as they appeared in Buster, Tiger and other old British boys papers. They were not called comics by the publishers even if we did so!

Of course the Megazine has other features including Judge Dredd with a twist in The Fugitive. Even Mega City One has a "deep state" it would seem. There's Blunt III not a strip I'm keen on but has it's fans and but at least Lawless continues at the rear. Love that strip. Mega-City meets the wild west if you are not familiar.

My advice go out and buy this. It's worth the price which isn't cheap but there is so much to read when you take into account the supplement.

Rating: 5 Stars

You can grab  the issue  or subscribe here: shop.2000ad.com

Support British Comics.

Paragon #25 (Out Now)

For any comic, let alone a small press/independent comic to last 25 issues these days is actually quite an achievement and the publisher is rightly pleased to announce this. However I only came across this by accident through writing a review of the Spence Nero Club one-shot that I had only come across by chance. 

The editor kindly offered to send me a pdf but I decided to actually order the current issue and the previous two because I do not like reading comics on the computer screen. Call me old fashioned but I am a firm believer in the print medium and will go to nerd heaven with that view.

The magazine sized comic is an anthology and like all comics of this type has variable content. However there is actually plenty to recommend this comic, the Spencer Nero stories made the price of entry worthwhile alone.

 In Paragon #23 we learn the origin of the severed head in the jar we say in the fan club one shot plus there's an entertaining three page horror story from the editor one Dave Candlish that would make any mainstream anthology. 

The Christmas edition #24 contained more of our favourite all-British hero Spencer Nero plus a story about the Bulldog that made the strip more understandable and certainly had better art than in the previous issue. There's also another worthy short story.

And so up to date with the silver anniversary issue which is worth picking up as a tryout. The double length Spencer Nero team-up with the British Bulldog was a great read and certainly the art suits the story. Eldritch The last Unicorn was also a mystery tale worthy of it's American equivalents. 

There are other stories which didn't appeal to me for one reason or another but there is more than enough worthy in Paragon for me to recommend you pick up the anniversary edition. I will certainly be back for the next issue.

Rating: 3.5 Stars 

You can obtain your copies here: www.comicsy.co.uk

More info:paragoncomic.blogspot.com

Shaman Kane #5 (Out Now!)

Shaman Kane #5 

(w) & (a) David Broughton

The latest issue of the independent comic written and drawn by David Broughton came out a few days ago and continues the story of Shaman Kane set in a post-Zombie apocalypse universe where life nearly lost. Problem is that it's all seemingly happening again.

This edition begins the story Evil In The Dark Matter Dimension where Kane and his team are sent by the high council to confront the growing threat of more Zombie attacks that come through portals manipulated by "malevolent entities"

Readers are introduced to the backbone of the Shaman Kane universe in the form of the "Architects" and the enemy simply called the "Darkness".  The story of the first Shaman is told and the adventure begins. Did I mention he has a werewolf tag along?

Can they stop another Zombie War?

A splendid mixture of science fiction, the supernatural and the absurd makes this a terrific read. If you haven't read the previous four issues do pick them up. This is one of my favourite "independent" comics and well worth collecting.  The best issue yet!

Rating: 5 Stars (Highly Recommended)

Available from: www.comicsy.co.uk

DC on TV: Elseworlds

Continuing my journey through the DC TV universe I finally got around to watching the Elseworlds cross-over which I have to say I nearly didn't bother with. What I expected and what I got were two entirely different things.

Over the years I have collected and read a lot of DC's Elseworlds output  simply re-imagine their characters in different situations and continuities. Stories that couldn't be told within current continuity. When I was a child DC ran similar stories but called them "Imaginary Stories" so Superman married Lois and had Super-kids or scarily Lois married Lex Luthor. The horror. Of these I think the sons of Superman and batman teaming up are probably the best remember.

 

In modern times we've seen all-sorts. Lex Luthor as the last man on Earth, Batman in Egyptian times, Batman as a vampire, Batman as a ..well you get the picture. Most of DC's line has been given this treatment with one of the more recent Superman: Red Son where Kal-El lands in thirties Ukraine rather than Kansas was even produced as a feature length animated film.

  

Even Marvel had it's "What If" comic that did the same with Spiderman, the Fantastic Four and the rest of their line, though not for some  time.

 

However the TV show is a bit of a different animal in that it is within continuity except the Monitor is using the heroes from various alternate earths to find a team for  a crisis that is coming. In other words this is a prequel to the TV version of DC's and in mu opinion greatest adventure, Crisis on Infinite Earths.

The adventure starts with Ollie and Barry waking up as each other. Finding a way out of this is going to be a problem but one person can help them. A certain Supergirl from Earth 38. The Monitors games take a toll on our heroes but a pact is made and this is a must see tie in to the next crossover>

It's worth having a dip into some of the Elseworld comics if you find some in your local store. There's good and bad ones depending on your tastes but plenty of surprises. The Nail is worth picking up in my opinion as is Superman: Red Son.

 

The Spencer Nero Club: Folklore and Fire #1 (Paragon)

 

 

"Meet Gypsum, Smallpiece, Venables and Tookey – pupils at the increasingly-odd institution known as Blackabbots School. Together, they are The Spencer Nero Club – hardcore fans of 1930s Britain’s greatest pulp hero. "

There was a time when I saw a small press title I'd just turn my nose up and not even bother to have a look. I even used to wonder why some blogs raved so much about these titles  and ignored the comics from the big publishers. Readers of this blog will now see my views have changed somewhat.

Over the past year or so and particularly around the lock-down I have spent a lot of time reading and reviewing small press titles. Still a couple of things I haven't gotten around to posting yet but along with British reprints and revivals this is where my current interest lies.

That's not to say I've given up on the US publishers I will continue reading these at my leisure.

The Spencer Nero Club  is a very weird comic and deliberately so. Even the author admits he like writing weird things. Good for him as this one off comic is very entertaining. With suitable art for the subject matter from Scott Twells we are taken back to 1938 to meet a bunch of schoolboys who are fans of a British hero, Spencer Nero.

The club has some of the artefacts from Spencer Nero's adventures and seeks to garner asmuch knowledge of their hero like every nerd does. This time they themselves are not just thrown into a mystery but shock, horror but find there are girls that share the same interest!

Western civilisation will never be the same as their oddly robotic Headmaster bans them from visiting the local village which has it turns out strangely disappeared. The boys plus one girl head off to solve the mystery.

I really enjoyed this comic and look forward to more. I gather there are Spencer Nero books out there. Maybe one day..

Rating: Five Stars (Highly Recommended)

Grab a copy here: www.comicsy.co.uk 

Lion: King of Picture Story Papers

Another excellent volume from Steve Holland covering the popular "boy's paper" Lion which started life way back before my time in the fifties to try and compete with The Eagle which was changing the face of British comics. Lion even had it's own less well remembered space hero Captain Condor.

I didn't come across Lion until the mid-sixties and although did read the comic occasionally, had a couple of Annuals (as Christmas presents) and Summer Specials there was so much demand on my limited pocket money that it tended to take a back seat though I fondly recall a strip where the world drowned and long to see that reprinted!

Lion started life in February 1952 with the publisher Amalgamated Press transferring to the IPC stable in 1959 where it was to stay for the rest of it's publication. Along the way Lion absorbed four other other comics. Mergers as they were called, heralded as "great news for all readers" by their editorial staff. Sometimes it was a good idea. 

This began in 1959 with Sun, a comic I have never seen or read (I'd have been two years old at the time) followed by Champion in 1966 which I do vaguely remember. The merger that took readers by surprise was Lion taking over the Flagship of British comics  The Eagle with only Dan Dare surviving and then not for long.

 

The final run and one I started to collect for a while was with the Short lived Thunder comic. One of the more famous strips from that period was Black Max currently being reprinted by Rebellion and appearing in 2000AD. Splendid.

 

 

For fans of Lion and British comics in general this well researched volume is full of reprints of various strips from the "King of Picture Story Papers" as it began life. So much I would like to have read, some I remember and others I plain forgot about.

Since this includes info on the Annuals (which outlived the comic) and summer specials there's everything you need to know but were afraid to ask about in this fabulous volume. Not a new publication but still in print.

Get your copy from: bearalleybooks.blogspot.com

DC on TV: Crisis on Earth X (DVD)

Catching up with the DC TV universe got more interesting with this four part crossover between the four programmes existing at the time. The use of Nazi's as villains is always disturbing since unlike other villains these bastards actually existed and creating an alternative Earth where they won the war has been part of historical speculation for as long as I can remember.

DC used the "multiple Earth's" concept as far back as Flash #126 in Tales of Two Worlds and continued in Justice League  under the various "Crisis" banners for many a year culminating in the one all-time famous Crisis On Infinite Earths a story that changed comic books forever heralding in the age of the Dark Knight, the Watchmen and more.

 

The first adventure involving the DC heroes on Earth X took place way back in Justice League America #107 to #108 and featured the return of Uncle Sam and a number of other "Golden Age characters" in the form of the Freedom Fighters who would go on to get their own albeit short lived series.

 

For this TV adaptation we have the involvement of the heroes of three Earths. The Earth One team led by Green Arrow and Supergirl coming over from Earth 38. Plus of course there are one or two heroes in the resistance on Earth X including The Ray (albeit from Earth One), a "good guy" Captain Cold and Red Tornado makes an appearance.

The bad guys? Hitler dead and replace by Oliver Queen their Arrow plus Overgirl the Earth X version of Kara Danvers. A Nazi Supergirl with no heart. Almost literally as it turns out. Oh and the Revers Flash makes his appearance on the side of the Nazi's. A pity Flash lacks the killer instinct I thought. Oliver certainly didn't.

When it comes to Nazi's there can be no surrender. No compromise.

I really enjoyed this particular crossover. Sadly spoiled by a poor soundtrack on my copy. However if you get the chance to view please do.