The comics reviewed are chosen by David not by THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT management
or staff. The opinions expressed are his alone. If you have an opposing view you
are welcome to respond to David directly by Email at the address above.
Title: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA'S VIBEIssue Number: 1
Title Story: Not-So-Secret Origin
Publisher: DC
Creators: Gerry Conway & Luke McDonnell
Writers: Geoff Johns & Andrew Kreisberg
Artist: Pete Woods
Inker: Sean Parsons
Colors: Brad Anderson
Letters: Carlos M. Mangual
Cover Artist: David Finch
Price (USD): $2.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Super Hero
DC has reintroduced Vibe as a character into the NEW 52 and he will be a
founding member of the new Justice League of America. More on that in the next
review. This first issue is his origin story. I much prefer this method of
starting a comic. You may recall that most of the first wave of NEW 52 comics
began five years into the story. In this title we get to see how Francisco Ramon
gained a unique power. In fact Johns has tweaked it a little with his origin. We
start his story five years ago and then come back to current time later as he
begins his career in the JLA. Back then he is with his older brother Armando and
his younger brother Dante on the streets of Detroit as they are discuss
Armando's pending exit to California on a college scholarship. It is then that
their world is turned upside down by the first incursion of Darkseid's minions
into Earth. Cisco is caught in the event horizon of the Boom Tube that brought
the first Parademons to Earth and it changed him forever. Unfortunately, Armando
was not so lucky and became the first casualty of the invasion. Five years later
we find Cisco working at the local big box technology store, Tech Mecca. The
scene serves to show us one peculiar thing about his new power. As a customer is
trying out a camera we see Cisco's image is all blurry - he cannot be filmed or
recorded. Cisco is working hard to save for college while the younger brother
chides him about not attending the ceremony marking the anniversary of his
brother's death. But this story is really about how he gets recruited by Dale
Gunn, an A.R.G.U.S. agent working for Amanda Waller. They have already given him
a code name, Vibe. They have been monitoring Cisco and know a bit about his
power. Gunn explains to Cisco that he has an internal vibration that is out of
sync slightly with this dimension. Additionally the vibrations become agitated
when in the proximity of other things or beings from another dimension. It is
this power that allows him to locate threats to our world and Gunn has purposely
taken him to a building where a parademon is hiding. In a baptism of fire Cisco
exacts revenge and justice for his brother's death. It is after this that Gunn
convinces Cisco they can train him to gain greater control over his abilities
and help protect the Earth from threats not only from Darkseid but other
possible dimensional enemies. And so begins the first chapter of a new super
hero's story. We also get a brief glimpse behind the scenes at A.R.G.U.S. some
of which is questionable as to Waller's motives. Be that as it may, it is a good
start to what promising comic. Cisco is cast as a typical new young hero who is
not living an ideal life but is given the opportunity to be more through a twist
of fate. The art in this one is splendid and there is just enough intrigue to
make us think that Cisco may find out more than he should down the road. For now
it is worth sticking around to see what develops.
Title: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICAIssue Number: 1
Title Story: World's Most Dangerous
Publisher: DC
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: David Finch
Colors: Sonia Oback with Jeromy Cox
Letters: Rob Leigh
Cover Artist: David Finch
Price (USD): $3.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Super Hero
DC is celebrating it's third Justice League title (remember JUSTICE LEAGUE
INTERNATIONAL?) of the NEW 52 with 50 variant covers showing the new JLA
hoisting each state flag ala the famous Iwo Jima image with the regular cover
using the US flag. Naturally I picked of the cover with the Massachusetts flag
for my collection. The first issue it starts with a scene five years ago but in
this case it is not about any of the emerging super heroes of the time but
instead a couple of villains who are concerned with that proliferation and have
a plan of their own. The bulk of the book is about Amanda Waller's plan to
create her own Justice League. She is explaining to Steve Trevor, the former
liaison to the Justice League and one time boyfriend of Wonder Woman. She tells
him they need a better league - one that isn't watching the planet from a
satellite with their own agenda. She needs a league that can help other super
humans or stop them if necessary. The hook she uses is a picture of Superman and
Wonder Woman in a lip lock. She poses a number of "what ifs" about that
relationship and how A.R.G.U.S. needs to be ready. The rest of the book is a
brief introduction to the team she is putting together, or will with Trevor's
help. They plan to gain Hawkman by absolving any issues that arisen by his
vigilante clashes with authority, essentially granting him diplomatic immunity
to continue his hunt for alien fugitives and the humans working for them. They
plan to offer Katana help in finding the people that killed her husband in
return for her services. Vibe has the right power they need to counter
interdimensional threats while Star Girl can put a popular face on the league as
she is a media star already and wields the powerful cosmic rod. And so it goes
on. Rounding out the group will be Martian Manhunter, the new Green Lantern -
Simon Baz, Green Arrow and Cat Woman. Each adds something unique to the mix and
should have their own reasons for joining. Some may not be even disclosed to the
public to make them more effective. And speaking of that, we witness one of the
group coming back from a first mission with a deadly wound. It has to do with
those criminals we saw in the opening scene, who are given a name just as the
issue ends. So like most first issues this is setting up things for the future.
In a somewhat bizarre scene we see a photo array of most of the members side by
side with member of the Justice League - as if Waller is purposely choosing
members to counter each one of the first league - Superman and Manhunter for
example. I'll leave the rest for you to discover. I am hoping this is not going
to lead to an all out fight between the two groups but super hero comics
traditions suggest that could happen. For now lets see how this develops. It has
got some interesting characters and the art is terrific. I'll be sticking with
it for now.
Title: YOUNG JUSTICEIssue Number: 25 (Final Issue)
Title Story: Rolling Doubles
Title Arc: Invasion
Publisher: DC
Writer: Greg Weisman
Artist: Christopher Jones
Colors: Zac Atkinson
Letters: Wes Abbott
Price (USD): $2.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Super Hero = Cartoon Adaptation
ALL AGES
I am a fan of the Young Justice cartoon on Disney XD and this comic features
those characters as well as their adult mentors in adventures similar but not
exactly the same as the TV show. Since this comic, like the cartoon, is ending I
decided to look in on the ending. This issue is not only the last issue but also
the concluding chapter in a six-issue arc called "Invasion." The beginning of
both series had the young heroes coming together as a team in training to aid
the Justice League when appropriate. At some point they have jumped five years
to the future with a few characters added and all of the originals more
experienced in their abilities. What seems like the entire DC hero pantheon has
been battling a double invasion threat. On one front we have The Collector, whom
you will recognize as Braniac, who has erected a force field around Metropolis
preparing to add that city to his collection. While Blue Beetle, Queen Bee and
others are fighting him on his ship another squad including Batgirl, Black
Lightning and Plastic Man are having no luck trying to defeat the force field.
The other invasion involves Kylstar who refers to himself as the First Leader.
It appears he has been collecting people with powers in order to free his people
but has realized the error in imprisoning others just because they are weapons
to be used. Among those here are Wonder Woman, Superman and Conner, Shazam, Ms.
Martian and Captain Atom along with an array of villains and aliens. To correct
his mistake he offers to send everyone back to his or her worlds but offers
glorious battle elsewhere in the galaxy to those who wish to remain. Some take
his offer while the heroes and a few of the criminals are transported back to
Brainiac's ship to confront that threat. The ongoing conflict is wrapped up
leaving some threads dangling perhaps for another day. In the framing sequence
we get to look in on the relationship between Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon
both as young teens starting out on their careers and later as proven heroes and
lifelong friends. It is a fitting way to wrap up the comic for now. There are a
number of subplots involved that give some detail but not enough to know what
happened before. There is also more than a few jumps back and forward in time
that can be a bit confusing for those of us that have not kept up with the
series. Still it is a fun book with lots of familiar characters. The art is true
to the depiction of the characters in the cartoon as are the characterizations.
Perhaps DC will revive the series some day. I found the cartoon to be one of the
better comic book related series out there.
Title: NOVA Issue Number: 1
Title Story: Nova
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Ed McGuinness
Inker: Dexter Vines
Colors: Marte Gracia
Letters: Albert Deschesne
Price (USD): $3.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Super Hero
As we switch over to the Marvel Universe and their reboot known as Marvel Now we
follow the beginning of the hero that will become Nova in the upcoming series
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. There are several traditional ways a character becomes
a super hero in the comics. One of them is inheriting the mantle and the powers
that come with it. That will be the case with Sam Alexander but the story in
this first issue begins six months earlier in Arizona. Sam is a good kid, a
teenager who has his own problems. Among them are his father, Jesse, who is the
school janitor and a bit of a drunk. Aside from the derision of some of the
crueler classmates Sam also tries to keep his dad from screwing up too badly,
even to the point of sometimes doing his work for him when he has hit the
bottle. His mother seems resigned to the situation and tries to keep Sam from
thinking too badly about his father without explaining fully what has driven him
to be like this. Juxtaposed with these scenes are those of Jesse telling Sam and
his sister Kaelynn about his exploits as a space adventurer known as Nova. One
of these stories is presented to introduce us to his teammates in the Nova Corp
as they rescue a green female assassin called Gamora and a talking raccoon named
Rocket. This happened long ago and sets up the story that explains why he left
the corp before Sam was born. As a set up for what is to come the much younger
Kaelynn is in awe that her dad was such a hero while Sam has written the whole
thing off as the ramblings of his failure of a father. That is all about to
change very soon. But not in this issue. This is the setup and Loeb is taking
his time with the characterization of the main characters to make the pay off
that much better when it happens. If you have no knowledge of previous
incarnations of Nova and the Guardians you just might side with Sam on his
assessment of his dad - until you see who shows up in the last panel. This is a
good start. We instantly like Sam and sympathize with his situation such as it
is. At this point we can only hope that nothing really tragic will happen that
will cause him to become the new Nova. But his is comic books so anything can
happen. I like everything about this comic. The art team does a great job with
both the space adventures as well as the down to Earth stuff. It has a lot of
promise and is worth checking out.
Title: ALPHA: BIG TIMEIssue Number: 1
Title Story: I Used To Be Big Time
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Joshua Hale Fialkov
Artist: Nuno Plati
Letters: Joe Sabino
Price (USD): $2.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Super Hero
The second new series about a young super hero from Marvel this week is about
Alpha. The first thing that struck me was the title and how odd it is to include
BIG TIME in it. Anyway for those who missed his first appearance in Amazing
Spider-Man his story is recapped on the first page. His story is similar to
Peter's. He was visiting Horizon Labs while Peter was demonstrating his new
discovery he dubbed Parker Particles. Something went wrong and Andy Maguire got
caught in the emissions and soon had super powers like flight, speed and super
strength but he could only use one power at a time. Spider-Man was tasked with
watching over the new hero dubbed Alpha that the world knew was Andy. Well,
things went wrong and soon Peter created a device to deactivate the powers. As
the first issue begins Andy is a depowered former celebrity. He is the
stereotypical teen in such a situation - he is a nerd with few friends, or at
least other nerds that will tolerate his presence, and a target for the bullies.
But every couple of weeks he is flown to New York where he is submitted to tests
at Horizon Labs to make sure he is still depowered. Well, that was before Doctor
Octopus swapped brains with Peter Parker and is now Superior Spider-Man as well.
So Otto/Peter, who has all of Peter's memories, has decided that depowering Andy
was a mistake, and he is going to fix things. He has decided to give Alpha back
his powers, a little bit at a time and be a better mentor than Peter ever was.
He even lays a new catch phrase on Andy, "With great power comes great
opportunity!" What could possibly go wrong? Heh, heh! You'll find out as Andy
decides to jump right into the hero thing once again. I liked this book for a
couple of reasons. First it is a very clever way to use the whole mind-swap
situation that is now the norm in ASM to jump-start Alpha once again. Clearly
Otto does not see things the same way Peter did and his constant effort to prove
his superiority would not let him pass up the chance to "fix" what he feels was
Peter's mistake. Of course others who were involved with the situation the first
time around will probably have something to say about "Peter" doing this
turnaround. In fact the books I have seen with Superior Spider-Man in them, like
the latest AVENGERS, are correctly portraying the character so as to raise some
eyebrows with people who have known him a long time. There is also a theme in
this first story that has Andy determined to be better this time around, to do
things right, but clearly his inexperience is a major issue. Right now things
appear to be set up for lots of problems down the road. It gets you to a point
where you want to know what will happen next, which is always a good thing. The
art is pretty cool but in its own unique way. I recommend you give this fun book
a try.
Title: RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWSIssue Number: 17
Title Story: Don't Let the Door Hit You On Your Way Out!
Title Arc: Death of the Family: Aftermath
Publisher: DC
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artists: Adrian Syaf, Robson Rocha & Ken Lashley
Inkers: Wayne Faucher with Julio Ferreira, Ken Lashley, Jaime Mendoza & Le Beau
L. Underwood
Colors: Blond
Letters: Taylor Esposito
Cover Artist: Mico Suayan with Blond
Price (USD): $2.99
Release Date: NOW ON SALE
Genre: Super Hero
Just when you thought the whole Death of the Family show was over we get an
epilogue that involves Jason Todd. His teammates Kori and Roy just found out he
is alive after being abducted by the Joker and are on their way to pick him up
at Wayne Mansion. The main plot has Jason more or less saying his goodbyes to
the rest of the family - Bruce, Damian, Dick and Alfred. Each scene is played
well and has its own unique twist on the relationship he now has with them -
seemingly more improved. He gets some advise, gives a little and seems
satisfied when it is time to go. To add a counterpoint to some serious dialogue
we get Damian mouthing off to Arsenal in his usual fashion and before you know
it the two are having a friendly sparring match as if they were brothers. It
lightens things up temporarily. So in case you are wondering what all this has
to do with the picture on the cover that comes at the end. As an aside the cover
art by Mico Suayan is very impressive. It is partly symbolic with Batman
kneeling while cradling a limp Red Hood in his arms. He is kneeling in a large
puddle, possibly blood or just more symbolism, and the reflection in the puddle
is Batman kneeling while cradling Robin (Jason Todd) in his arms - a scene from
Death IN the Family. The image implies Jason will again suffer the same fate he
once did at the hands of the Joker. And indeed Joker has left a surprise for
Jason that provides the climax of this issue. But you will have to read this
issue to see how it plays out. I only picked this up to see what qualified as
aftermath to the big arc. I was pleasantly surprised at the good feelings among
the group so shortly after the downer at the end of BATMAN #17. The entire team
put together a decent issue, though fans of this particular title may feel this
story short changes the other main characters. The art is very good. I
especially like the payoff sequence at the end. It is worth it for those who do
not normally buy this title but followed the Death of the Family story to pick
it up. It is fitting aftermath, in more ways than one. One final note - things
are not going so well for Robins these days. If you have seen or heard about
BATMAN INC. #8 just out you know what I mean.
*****
TRIVIA CONTEST!!!! WIN REAL PRIZES!!!!!
If you think you know the answer to the trivia question send your guess via
Email to me at ComicBkNet@aol.com and you could win the prize. The first six
correct answers will be assigned a number and a roll of the dice will determine
the winner. You should put your real name in your message so we know who you
are. Prizes must be claimed at our store within 30 days of winning. The prize
will be a $10 credit slip, which will be redeemable for merchandise at regular
retail or in-store ongoing specials only. Only one prize per person will be
allowed per every 4 weeks. I will be the sole judge of the correct answer even
if more than one answer could be correct. Submit only one answer per Email
please but guess as often as you like.
Last week's trivia question:
In the old series, who replaced Sinestro as Green Lantern?
Katma Tui is the answer and the winner is Steven Berk.
Here was your no prize question:
What did Percy Spencer invent in 1945?
Percy Spencer was an American engineer and became known as the inventor of the
microwave oven. A candy bar in Spencer's pocket began to melt as he stood in
front of a magnetron tube that had been switched on. Intrigued, he placed
kernels of popcorn in front of the tube, and they too popped. He then conducted
a similar experiment with a raw egg, which exploded when the inside yolk cooked
faster than the outside of the egg. His work progressed well, so Raytheon filed
a patent on October 8, 1945, for a microwave cooking oven, eventually named the
Radarange. For his invention, Spencer received no royalties, but he was paid a
one-time $2.00 gratuity from Raytheon, the same token payment the company made
to all inventors on its payroll at that time for company patents.
THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION:
First words of a character - who uttered this line in their comic book debut?
"A card trick. how positively dreary."
Here is your no prize question:
According to Guinness what is the record number of children born by one woman?
Folks, you never know who among the readers is knowledgeable about the question
so don't hesitate to send in an answer - even days after it appears.
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