PGHHEAD’S 2023 COMICS ODYSSEY, PART 11
This marks the third consecutive year that I will attempt to document my comics reading by writing at least a mini-review. The goal is 1200 books read and reviewed in 2023, although I missed the mark in 2022 by 88 books. Still, I like that number as it’s easy enough to track - - - 100 books per month on average. Wish me luck!
# GOAL FOR March 10, 2023. . . 234 comics documented
CURRENT COUNT . . . . . 258 comics documented
#240 - #244 THE MIDNIGHTER #1 - #5 by Garth Ennis and Chris Sprouse (DC/Wildstorm, 2007) The first story arc in this spin-off series from THE AUTHORITY is good one, entertaining and fast paced with a time-travel premise and a clever ending from the mind of Garth Ennis.
This is very brutal and ultra-violent in places but there is a better story here about the character and mindset of Midnighter that shines through between the battles. It's thoughtful and humorous without resorting to scatology references or over-sexualization as THE BOYS often does.
Midnighter is black-mailed into traveling back in time to murder a young Adolph Hitler and thereby prevent him from killing the parents of a mysterious and powerful Austrian with a life-long grudge and mission. Midnighter's secondary heart is replaced with a bomb that will go off if he does not complete the assassination.
He first encounters Hitler in the battle trenches of World War I but is unable to follow through with the execution. Ennis includes a bit of a dehumanized character reveal of Hitler, although it is not complimentary and Hitler gets kicked repeatedly by Midnighter right in the jewels. The potential altering of history gets the attention of the time police who interrupt his mission to engage Midnighter in battle with some humorous over-the-top scenes.
One of the better scenes occurs in Issue #4 of the story arc where a band of Hitler youth mistake Midnighter for an elite Gestapo or SS agent and engage him in worshipful conversation. By the end of the story, Midnighter manages to extricate himself from his predicament and turn the tables on his present-day tormentors in a clever twist. FOUR STARS.
#245 JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #2 by Geoff Johns with art by Mikel Janin, Jerry Ordway and Scott Kolins (DC Comics, March 2023) “New Friends, Old Enemies” I’m still on the fence about this book but continuing to enjoy it after this second installment (third, if you count the NEW GOLDEN AGE one-shot). I’m more interested in the original configuration of the Justice Society and that two-page spread where modern age Huntress (Helena Wayne, leader of the current ex-JSA) wakes up in 1940 and meets them really whet my appetite for more. Mikel Janin’s portrayal of the group creates awe - - it’s an inspiring scene.
Seems like that familiar snow globe (remember, from FLASHPOINT BEYOND?) is responsible for transporting Helena to 1940, where she asks Dr. Fate if he can find out who killed the JSA from her timeline.
As he tries to help, he has a brain freeze and gets transported to a near future for a swamp encounter with Solomon Grundy. But Salem The Witch Girl says she is his accomplice, just before Mister Miracle shows up.
There are still quite a few time jumps within this story and the datelines that introduce them don’t always clarify. For instance, “26 years from now”.
Does that mean “now” is “now” or the timeline from the last scene? No, that was the future. Maybe 26 years from the school counseling session with Helena and her mom? 26 years from the opening scene with the JSA in 1940? Anyway, Catwoman identifies the mysterious man who has been observing Helena since elementary school, and it’s an old but familiar villain.
Even with three artists, the illustrations are solid and the color choices are great - - one of the things that keeps me hanging on. As much as parts of this are confusing, Geoff Johns still tells a compelling story. Also, who doesn’t love a mystery.
On the final page, Helena has been propelled through timelines again is greeted by a quiet Deadman, a different Dr. Fate she thinks she recognizes, and that chimp detective whose name I can’t remember because I dislike the character. Oh no, if the chimp is going to be a team member that may signal my exit cue.
The final text caption in the last panel says NEXT: NOW. But is the final panel “now”? Who’s on First? THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#246 - #248 DREADSTAR #15 - #17 story and art by Jim Starlin (Marvel/Epic Comics November 1984 - February 1985) If you’re not familiar with this work from a
His supporting cast includes Syzygy Darklock the mystic, Willow the blind cybernetic telepath and her seeing-eye monkey Rainbow, Oedi the Catman, the healer Doctor Delphi and a squat dwarf-like smuggler named Skeevo Phlatus.
Issue #15 “The Power” marks a turning point in the series, as Dreadstar has been defeated by Lord Papal (a Thanos-like brute with a large pure white bald head) his sword broken and shattered during the battle. Without the sword, Dreadstar begins to age rapidly and is near death. The sword possessed the essence of an ancient being, who now merges with the body of Dreadstar in order to save them both. With the power of the sword now inside Dreadstar he no longer needs weapons, possessing increased strength and the power to absorb energies which also grants invulnerability.
With Lord Papal and the soldiers of the Church of the Instrumentality planning a return to the planet hideaway of the crew to finish the job, Dreadstar sends his company off-planet to face Papal alone and test his new powers.
Issue #16 “The Test” provides that opportunity. Lord Papal sends his representative Cardinal Elsior to demand Dreadstar’s surrender. Dreadstar is a one-man army and defeats them all, including agents Infra Red and Ultra Violet (who suspect they may have been duped by the Church).
Issue #17 “Revenge” shines the spotlight on Willow. Disheartened by learning that Dreadstar doesn’t love her, she steals a small space transport in order to find her traitor father and end his life. When she gets there, she learns that her mother (thought to be dead) is being kept alive in a vegetable state. She rushes back to the mothership to see if Doctor Delphi can restore her.
The art, ink, and colors in this series are exceptional, and Starlin’s creative use of panel size and action sequences is so eye-appealing. FOUR STARS.
#249 - #258 BUBBLE by Jordan Morris & Sarah Morris with art by Tony Cliff (First Second Books, 2021) Knowing that a graphic novel is based on, influenced by, or adapted from a podcast is normally enough information to make me avoid it. Yet, this one was the monthly selection of a graphic novel book club I am part of, so I checked out the premise/blurbs and decided to give it a go.
I was highly entertained, enjoyed the world-building and characterization and found the whole thing intensely funny. It mocks millennials, the gig economy and several pop culture favorites in a manner that is both respectful and gentle while still getting the joke/point across.
What makes this work even more is the incredible and inventive art of Tony Cliff, which reminds me in many scenes of the engaging adventure comics of Tin Tin and others.
There's plenty going on in this lengthy graphic novel, enough to satisfy me and make a sequel unnecessary reading - - there's such a thing as too much of a good thing. I also feel this gives me a good enough overview of the podcast so that I don't have to set aside time to try and follow it.
“Built and maintained by corporate benevolence, the city of Fairhaven is a literal bubble of safety and order (and amazing coffee) in the midst of the Brush, a harsh alien wilderness ruled by monstrous Imps and rogue bands of humans. Humans like Morgan, who’s Brush-born and Bubble-raised and fully capable of fending off an Imp attack during her morning jog. She’s got a great routine going—she has a chill day job, she recreationally kills the occasional Imp, then she takes that Imp home for her roommate and BFF, Annie, to transform into drugs as a side hustle. But cracks appear in her tidy life when one of those Imps nearly murders a delivery guy in her apartment, accidentally transforming him into a Brush-powered mutant in the process. And when Morgan’s company launches Huntr, a gig economy app for Imp extermination, she finds herself press-ganged into kicking her stabby side job up to the next level as she battles a parade of monsters and monstrously Brush-turned citizens, from a living hipster beard to a book club hive mind.” FOUR STARS.
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