Monday, May 31, 2010

ALL STAR SQUADRON JOINS THE CRISIS


ALL STAR SQUADRON #50
COVER PRICE - $1.25
COVER DATE - OCT 85
WRITER - ROY THOMAS
PENCILERS - MIKE CLARK & ARVELL JONES

As you might expect, the heroes of EARTH 2 are busy fighting the evil Axis Powers. But I learned from this issue that the ALL STAR SQUADRON(including Shining Knight, Amazing-Man, Tarantula, Firebrand and others) had a splinter group called the ALL STAR BATTALION(including Hawkman, Sandman, Spectre, Dr Mid Nite and others,) and they're all in for an inter-dimensional surprise! The story starts out with an improbable kidnapping of the mighty ALL STAR BATTALION by a crew of Nazi thugs. It also seems as though The Monitor is still dealing in black market weapons, because the Nazis now have the technology to rocket these superheroes out of their dimension.
While this is happening, Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters appear on Earth 2 before Plastic Man and Phantom Lady. Inexplicably, they quickly convince Plas and Phantom Lady to accompany them to fight THEIR Nazis on Earth X.

WHAT'S THIS GOT TO DO WITH CRISIS?
The most important events revolve around Harbinger's recruitment of Firebrand into the fight to save the multi-verse. Harbinger starts showing off by stopping time, changing Danette into Firebrand, flying through the walls. But ultimately gets punked when some of The Monitor's technology is activated by the Nazis and halts their exit by creating a time barrier. Luckily, Harbinger is able to knuckle-up and plow through the barrier with Firebrand. The resulting feedback kills the Nazi scientist tinkering around with Monitor-Tech. So what's Firebrand got that the other All Stars don't? We'll find out in the main title.

WHO PULLED A CLAVIN?
Probably the racist jerk that doesn't have the gosh darned common courtesy to insult Amazing-Man out of earshot.
amazing man

Friday, May 28, 2010

CRISIS MODE BEGINS!


DC COMICS PRESENTS #78
COVER PRICE - $.75
COVER DATE - FEB 85
WRITER - Marv Wolfman
PENCILER - Curt Swan
My analysis of DC's CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS begins with DC COMICS PRESENTS #78. Written by Marv Wolfman and pencils by Curt Swan. With a run of 97 issues between 1978-1986, DC COMICS PRESENTS was a Superman team-up book pairing the "Man of Steel" with a variety of heroes from the DC Universe. The book begins with a punch-up between the faceless giant Chun Yull and Superman's band of heroes. Chun Yull's hails from Saturn's atom-sized world of Klaramar and he's pissed! Along with his group of "Forgotten Villains," they're fixing to rule ALL time and space with their brand of unpleasant sorcery. Luckily, the heroes(including Animal Man, Congorilla, Immortal Man and others) and villains(including The Atom-Master and Ultivac) are able to break the Triad's ring of evil magic and restore balance to both space and time.

WHAT'S THIS GOT TO DO WITH CRISIS?
The final page features a cryptic conversation between Lyla and The Monitor(who is almost completely obscured by a hefty Captains chair.) Looks like they've been "monitoring" the events of this issue. The are also discussing the sham of the council they've been providing for Earth's villains. Hmmm... Seems as though The Monitor began appearing, along with his assistant Lyla, in numerous DC Comics titles beginning in 1982, three years before the Crisis began in July 1985; these appearances made it seem that he was some sort of weapons dealer for supervillains. This was all part of the setup Wolfman and the staff of DC Comics planned for the Crisis, showing the Monitor currying favor with villains such as Maxie Zeus, prior to calling on the heroes. The Monitor was depicted in the shadows for all of his appearances in DC's mainstream superhero titles, and his face was first revealed in one of their few remaining non-superhero titles, the war comic G.I. Combat issue #274.

WHO PULLED A CLAVIN?
Easily Congorilla. He may well be a legendary explorer and adventurer, but Congo Bill don't know sh!@ about football. Check him out here making a righteous tackle on Chun Yull. Only to proclaim himself a natural quaterback? C'mon Congo Bill!
congorilla

Friday, May 14, 2010

CRISIS MANAGEMENT

As I spend my days awaiting the fate of my comic project, DIONYSUS WEPT. I have decided to delve into the epic DC COMICS universe-shattering tale CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. Internet source for all things factual, WIKIPEDIA, describes CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS as:

"a 12-issue American comic book limited series (identified as a "12-part maxi-series") and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then-50-year-old continuity. The series was written by Marv Wolfman, and illustrated by George PĂ©rez (pencils/layouts), with Mike DeCarlo, Dick Giordano, and Jerry Ordway (who shared inking/embellishing chores). The series removed the concept of the Multiverse in the fictional DC Universe, and depicted the deaths of such long-standing superheroes as Supergirl and the Barry Allen incarnation of the Flash."

But if you know anything about me, and you probably don't, a 12-issue maxi-series just isn't gonna cut it. This uber-comic-event at DC COMICS was truly innovative and comprehensive, including almost all of DC's titles and characters. My research led me to what appears to be a definitive CRISIS reading order posted on comic news site COMIC BOOK RESOURCES. Here is the list:

001 DC Comics Presents 78
002 All-Star Squadron 050
003 Crisis on Infinite Earths 01
004 Detective Comics #555
005 Detective Comics #556
006 Detective Comics 557
007 All-Star Squadron 051
008 All-Star Squadron 052
009 All-Star Squadron 053
010 Swamp Thing v2 #039
011 Firestorm - Fury of Firestorm #041
012 Infinity, Inc 18
013 Atari Force 018 [1984]
014 New Teen Titans 013
015 Green Lantern v2 194
016 Detective Comics 558
017 Crisis on Infinite Earths 02
018 Batman 389
019 Batman 390
020 Swamp Thing v2 #040
021 Crisis on Infinite Earths 03
022 Batman 391
023 Swamp Thing v2 #041
024 Green Lantern V2 195
025 Saga of the Swamp Thing #42
026 Crisis on Infinite Earths 04
027 Swamp Thing v2 #043
028 Warlord 097
029 Vigilante 22
030 DC Comics Presents 086 [ Superman & Supergirl ]
031 Omega Men 26
032 DC Comics Presents 087 [ Superman & Superboy of Earth Prime ]
033 DC Comics Presents 088 Creeper
034 Saga of the Swamp Thing #44
035 Wonder Woman v1 327
036 Wonder Woman v1 328
037 DC Comics Presents 094 [ Superman & Harbinger & Lady Quark & Pariah ]
038 Infinity, Inc 19
039 Justice League of America v1 #244
040 Infinity, Inc 20
041 Infinity, Inc Annual 1
042 Legends of DC Universe 80-Page Giant #1
043 Crisis on Infinite Earths 05
044 Saga of the Swamp Thing #45
045 Infinity, Inc 21
046 Swamp Thing v2 - 046
047 Infinity, Inc 22
048 All-Star Squadron 054
049 All-Star Squadron 055
050 All-Star Squadron 056
051 Superman v1 413
052 Crisis on Infinite Earths 06
053 Infinity, Inc 23
054 Infinity, Inc 24
055 Legion of Super-Heroes v3 013
056 Legion of Super-Heroes v3 014
057 Legion of Super-Hereos v3 015
058 Legion of Super-Heroes v3 Annual 01
059 Crisis on Infinite Earths 07
060 DC Comics Presents 095 Hawkman
061 Legion of Super-Hereos v3 016
062 Legion of Super-Hereos v3 017
063 Legion of Super-Hereos v3 018
064 Wonder Woman v1 329(Troia - HQ Scans)
065 Crisis on Infinite Earths 08
066 JLA - Incarnations #05
067 Deadman - Dead Again 01
068 Flash v2 #149
069 Flash v2 #150
070 Superman v1 414
071 Blue Devil 017
072 Omega Men #31 - Crisis Issue
073 Omega Men 32
074 Omega Men #33
075 New Teen Titans 014
076 Crisis on Infinite Earths 09
077 Green Lantern v2 196
078 Justice League of America v1 Annual 3
079 Blue Devil 018
080 Blue Devil 019
081 Firestorm - Fury of Firestorm #042
082 Superman v1 415
083 Crisis on Infinite Earths 10
084 Justice League of America v1 #245
085 Crisis on Infinite Earths 11
086 Green Lantern #197
087 Amethyst - Princess of Gemworld v2 #13
088 Crisis on Infinite Earths 12
089 All-Star Squadron 57 - Kaleidoscope
090 All-Star Squadron 058
091 All-Star Squadron 059
092 Legend of Wonder Woman (1986) #01 (of 4)
093 Legend of Wonder Woman (1986) #02 (of 4)
094 Legend of Wonder Woman (1986) #03 (of 4)
095 Legend of Wonder Woman (1986) #04 (of 4)
096 Oz Wonderland War #3
097 Green Lantern v2 198
098 Infinity, Inc 25
099 The Losers Special #1
100 All-Star Squadron 060
101 DC Comics Presents 096 [ Superman & Blue Devil ]
102 Animal Man #10
103 Animal Man #18
104 Animal Man #22
105 Animal Man #23
106 Animal Man #24

Thankfully, the illusion of collectibility of these comics is gone. They were produced in such large quantities and preserved so lovingly by their owners, that they haven't gone up considerably in value. I purchased the entire 12-issue series in an ebay auction for less than $20 with...shipping included! While they've gone up from their original $.75 cover price, they are still considerably cheaper than their contemporary counterparts. More often than not, I will be using MyComicShop.com as my primary marketplace for the issues from the above list. They offer reasonable prices with a reputation for accurate quality-grading of their product. Check out the SECRET IDENTITY PODCAST, as they have been my inspiration and will be covering CRISIS as their annual Summer Reading Project.

As always, this blog will serve as my tether to reality as I immerse myself in this infinite realm of vibrating universes.