Review: DC Comics Starman #81

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics,

Rating: ** 1/2*
I was a big fan of James Robinson‘s Starman in the 90s. So much so that I got a tattoo of the insignia on my shoulder. When I heard this idea of having the Blackest Night “resurrect” canceled titles I thought it was great, especially as it would be resurrecting this long-time favorite of mine. Unfortunately, like the material that writer James Robinson has been doing since his return to comic books full-time, this issue is sub-par compared to his old work.

For those of you not familiar with the old Starman series, the Golden Age Starman, Ted Knight, had finally retired thanks to the events of Zero Hour and his son, David Knight, decided to take up his father’s mantle as the new Starman and protector of Opal City. In the very first issue (really issue zero), David is killed by the son of the super-villain, The Mist. As a result, Ted’s younger son Jack takes over the role of Starman for the duration of the series which ended with issue 80 when Jack retires to live in San Francisco with his son. One of the supporting characters of the book was the former super-villain, The Shade, and he along with another supporting character, Hope O’ Dare, are the focus of this issue of Starman.

First off, I really wish writer and co-creator, James Robinson, would have used Jack Knight in this special issue. I think it would have been cool to see Jack battle it out with Black Lantern versions of his father and brother. Maybe Robinson feels that he’s done and said what needs to be said with that character and that having him return would not be a good idea. I can respect that, but as a fan I would have loved to have seen it.

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DC Comics Review: Adventure Comics #1

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics,

Rating: *** 1/2*

By the end of the mini-series Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds, writer Geoff Johns resurrected two recently deceased super-heroes: Kid Flash and Superboy.  With this issue we see another resurrection as well with the return of the long running DC title Adventure Comics.  The original book ran from 1938 to 1983 and featured numerous adventures of secondary DC super-heroes.  Some of the characters that were featured in the title were stories about Superboy and the Legion of Super Heroes.  With the return of Adventure, we will be seeing new stories featuring both Superboy and the Legion once again. 

The difference here of course is where the original Adventure Comics showcased tales of a young Clark Kent as Superboy, this series will focus on Conner Kent who is a genetically created clone of Superman and Lex Luthor.  In this issue we see Conner return to Smallville to live with Superman’s mom Martha Kent.  Since he’s partially a clone of Superman, he’s also calling her Ma.

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DC Comics Review: Justice League: Cry for Freedom #2

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics,

Rating: ***

When the original concept of a Justice League book written by James Robinson first surfaced, I became very interested.  After a long delay, the series finally began last month.  It was originally supposed to be an on-going series, but it’s now a mini-series which lays the groundwork for when James Robinson takes over the current on-going Justice League book. To review this issue, I have to give a little background on the last one.  Hal Jordan is tired.  He’s tired of seeing his friends die at the hands of super-villains.  He’s tired of reacting to their criminal acts and wants to act before they do.  He wants to go on the offense and not stay on defense.  He wants justice!  The rest of the League think Hal is acting irrationally - all except Green Arrow.

Other heroes in the DC Universe share Hal’s desire for justice.  Heroes like the alien Starman Mikaal Tomas who sees his lover Tony die at the hands of super-villains; Congorilla who sees his gorilla friends and the hero Freedom Beast die at the hands of hunters.  Is there a connection?

We shift over to issue two where Green Lantern and Green Arrow are in Gotham City and they meet up with Jason Bard.  For those who are not aware of Jason Bard, he’s a private investigator who worked with Batman.  Bard hears that Green Lantern and Green Arrow are out looking for some super-villains.  He tells them that Prometheus and a bunch of other villains are in town waiting for instruction from someone.  Hal and Ollie leave Bard and go after the bad guys.

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DC Comics Review: Justice Society of America #22

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics,

Holy crap was that a good issue!  This is the final part to the “One World Under Gog” storyline.  Normally I don’t have the time to write a review for things so quickly after I read them, but I had to on this one.  Geoff Johns and Alex Ross just hit a monster home run on this one.  Normally when I read comic book storylines, I’m never quite satisfied with the ending.  Sometimes the story starts off good and ends badly or the ending ends up being just okay.  Not this one, this was one of the best endings to a comic story arc I’ve read in a long while.

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The coming of James Robinson’s Justice League

Posted by David Torres Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,

It’s been a busy week for me. Between the birth of my second son this past Monday, as well as Thanksgiving, I haven’t had much time to read or write about comics. Today after coming home from the pediatrician, I went and got the mail and in my mailbox was this month’s “Wizard” magazine. On the cover was a picture of the new “Justice League” comic, which will be written by James Robinson. I completely forgot about this book as the announcement for it came early this year.

James Robinson is responsible for writing one of my all-time favorite comic books: “Starman”. “Starman” only lasted 80 issues, but it was not canceled because it stunk. Robinson created a story that had a beginning, middle, and end that DC allowed him to tell - similar to Neil Gaiman’s run on “Sandman,” Robinson had carte blanche when it came to that book and it’s protagonist, Jack Knight.

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DC Comics Review: Justice Society of America Kingdom Come Special: Magog

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics,

This issue was written by Peter Tomasi with the art provided by Fernando Pasarin.  It’s a very good issue featuring Lance Corporal David Reid who was resurrected as Magog in the current “One World Under Gog” storyline. I liked the introduction of David Reid to the team by Geoff Johns and Alex Ross. The character is the great-grandson of President Franklin Roosevelt who was a part of the formation of the Justice Society of America (JSA). I love American history and I always love comic stories that weave real history into their storylines.

This issue has some JSA members following Gog on his “mission” to help the people of the world. The group comes across a river with dead bodies floating in it.  They discover that it has been poisoned by militants and it will kill everyone in the immediate area who use it for water if they don’t block it’s path.  The river is blocked by Gog and he and the JSA members make their way to locate the militants.

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