RandoMonday: Adventure Comics #369

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Here’s a comic chosen at random from my collection.

 

Adventure Comics 369

Adventure Comics #369 by Jim Shooter, Curt Swan, Jack Abel, Gaspar Saladino, Charlotte Jetter, and Neal Adams

I first read this story in Limited Collectors’ Editions (the tabloid comics DC Comics put out in the mid to late 1970s) #C-49. It was probably one of the first Legion comics I read (after Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #254 and DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #8) and what a whopper! Mordru escapes his prison and some Legion members go on the run to the past, specifically Smallville in Superboy’s time. They take on alternate identities and even fight crime, all while trying to evade Mordru’s gaze, but the issue ends with their efforts foiled. What happens next?!

I like how the story starts in media res and then we get a flashback explaining what happened, along with nearly three pages of back story in case you didn’t know who Mordru is and his impact on the Legion (hint: he’s one bad mutha!). What I really enjoy about this issue is watching the Legionnaires infiltrate Smallville residents’ homes — it was a simpler time when someone’s word was enough for you to be welcome, even if they were lying to your face. There’s also Shadow Lass in white skin makeup again (I wonder if readers of this issue thought this is where she might perish?) and Duo Damsel flirting with Superboy (she really settled for Bouncing Boy, huh?). And it is Lana Lang who betrays them all!

If you haven’t read this story and you’re curious, you can find it in the aforementioned Limited Collectors’ Edition, in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 8, or on the DC Universe app.

Previews! (January 2020)

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Here are some recommendations (I preordered all of them) from this month’s Previews catalog for product shipping mostly in March.

Previews

Image

  • Decorum from Jonathan Hickman and Mike Huddleston not only looks great, it sounds intriguing as well.
  • I’ve heard various people talking positively about Coffin Bound by Dan Watters and Dani, so I decided to get the trade.
  • I liked the plot of Trees by Warren Ellis and Jason Howard, but it was the humanity of the story that surprised and delighted me. I’m looking forward to the conclusion.

Dark Horse

  • I love Mike Allred’s style, and his and Laura Allred’s new mini series, X-Ray Robot, looks like it may be a lot of fun.
  • Justin Giampaoli and Andrea Mutti piqued my curiosity with their Starship Down mini. Did life on Earth come from beyond the stars?

Boom

  • How can I resist a comic book with a man holding a fish balloon? Well, I can’t, so I’m getting King of Nowhere by W. Maxwell Prince and Tyler Jenkins.

Aftershock

  • It was the interior art preview pages that grabbed my attention for Artemis and the Assassin by Stephanie Phillips, Meghan Hetrick, Francesca Fantini, Lauren Affe, and Troy Peteri. But then you throw in time traveling assassins and you got me hooked.
  • Apparently I’m on a kick about stories set in a future, because I also preordered Join the Future by Zack Kaplan, Piotr Kowalski, Brad Simpson, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.
  • Ok, I’m starting to think I have a thing for time travel (or Aftershock does), because Knights Temporal also features a time traveler. This is by Cullen Bunn, Fran Galan, and Dave Sharpe.

Oni

  • I tend to shy away from fantasy stories, but Kurtis Weibe and Justin Osterling’s Dryad hooked me. It sounds like a Saga rip-off, but just different enough for me to give it a try.

Vault

  • Moneyshot had my attention when it was first solicited, but I decided to wait for the trade. This unusual concept is from Tim Seeley, Sarah Beattie, Rebekah Isaacs, Kurt Michael Russell, and Crank!

DC Comics

  • Given how much a fan I am of Robin, I cannot pass up this 80th anniversary celebration of the first sidekick and savior of the Batman comics.
  • I opted for the Doc Shaner cover of Strange Adventures by Tom King, Mitch Gerads, and Doc. What about you?
  • Who doesn’t love to smash the Klan? Superman is no exception in Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru.
  • I’ve been on a Bronze Age kick lately and this DC First Issue Special hardcover I hope will help scratch that itch.
  • I’ve heard from several people that the Wonder Comics book Young Justice by Brian Michael Bendis, Emanuela Lupacchino, Viktor Bogdanovic, John Timms, Evan Shaner, and Kris Anka is pretty good, so I thought I better check it out.

Marvel

  • Despite my annoyance that I cannot read this trade until Marvel releases the House of X/Power of X trades, I still ordered X-Men by Jonathan Hickman, R. B. Silva, and Matteo Buffagni.
  • Similarly, I ordered the Daredevil volume 3 trade by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto despite forgetting to order volume 2 (but I will).

What are you ordering this month?

New Comics Wednesday (1/22/20)

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Happy New Comics Wednesday!

Go here for a complete list of comics releasing this week.

My comics

  • LUCIFER TP VOL 02 THE DIVINE TRAGEDY – The previous volume of the series was soooo good and I thought this would pale in comparison, but I was pleasantly surprised by the first trade.
  • SUPERMAN #19 – Not sure yet how I feel about the new status quo regarding Superman’s secret identity…
  • WONDER WOMAN #750 1980S VAR ED – Pick of the week! – I love landmark issues, and Wonder Woman deserves some spotlight. Of course I picked up the George Perez variant edition — why do you ask?
  • AGENTS OF ATLAS COMPLETE COLLECTION TP VOL 02 – The first collection was one of my favorite things I read in 2018, so I hope this is just as good.
  • INVISIBLE WOMAN TP – I love Sue Storm/Richards, and she’s being written by Mark Waid, so getting this was an easy choice.

Not much in my pull this week (which is probably a good thing).

Other comics

  • HUNTRESS ORIGINS TP – If you’re a fan of Helena Wayne as Huntress, here’s your chance to read her solo stories.
  • GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #1 – I have to admit, I was curious what Donny Cates was going to do with these characters.
  • VALKYRIE JANE FOSTER TP VOL 01 – Do yourself a favor and get this trade, especially if you were a fan of the Jason Aaron written Thor/Lady Thor books.
  • A LETTER TO JO TP – I definitely will read this epistolary war comic one day.
  • CATHERINE’S WAR GN – I almost pulled the trigger on this, it looks like something I would enjoy very much.

Best comic I read recently

GRAVEYARD SHIFT TP by Jay Faerber and Fran Bueno

I usually steer clear of comic books featuring vampires — they’ve been done to death (like zombies)! But I love Jay Faerber’s comic book stories. Comixology had this on sale, so I snatched it up (along with some other of his books). There are many familiar tropes in this, but the charm of the characters keep it interesting. Bueno’s visuals aren’t consistently the best, but there are times when the characters (especially the female lead) shine of the page.

What are you getting this week?

RandoMonday: Queen and Country v1

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Here’s a comic chosen at random from my collection.

 

Queen and Country v1 by Rucka, Rolstan, Luth, Sakai, and Konot.

I love spy stories, whether it’s James Bond, Atomic Blonde, Red Sparrow, or Velvet. And if one of my favorite writers is involved, even better. I’ve had this digital trade for a while now and the randomizer got me to read this finally.

The story itself is simple: British SIS spy Tara Chace assassinates a retired Russian general, Odessa wants revenge and attacks the SIS HQ, killing a couple agents, SIS Director of Ops wants revenge and works against MI5’s operation to apprehend those responsible, and Chace is used as bait by MI5 to draw out the Odessa assassins.

I don’t know why, but I expected a grander story (I blame James Bonditis), but there’s certainly nothing wrong with what we got in this first trade, though I would have liked a bit more personality/characterization. Most of what we see is only in relation to the characters’ jobs, but maybe that was the point: their jobs are all-consuming.

Rolstan’s art also is fine, but the simple, almost cartoony quality of it, for me, detracts from the tone the story is trying to evoke. It doesn’t help when you see the Tim Sale covers–I would have loved to see this comic drawn by Sale.

The question for me now is do I buy the next collection?

What did you think of this comic book?

The Gutters: Post Holiday Blues

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Direct Download (49:37)

This episode I talk about what I did over Christmas and New Year’s, and I provide some podcast recommendations and some talk about the movies (including Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Frozen 2) and tv I’ve watched. Plus, how work’s been going lately.

If you enjoyed the show, please leave a review! Go to RateThisPodcast.com/lbr or subscribe, rate, and review the show via Apple podcasts.

Thanks for listening!

Previous The Gutters posts: https://longboxreview.com/category/podcast/gutters/