Longbox Junk - Black Canary (1993) Part 1

Welcome back to Longbox Junk, the place to find all the comic reviews you never asked for!

This time out, we're going to take a little trip in the paper time machine to a dark and strange place in the history of comics.  Yep. . .you guessed it.  We're sliding on back to the 90s!

HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. . .

Black Canary is an interesting character.  She's never really been able to headline her own series for long, and is best known as a supporting character in various Justice League, Birds of Prey, and Green Arrow titles.  I'd even go so far as to say that her connection to Green Arrow is about the ONLY reason Black Canary is even still around today.

I MIGHT be wrong about that, and Black Canary fans might take a bit of offense, but I think that looking at her most successful series (with the Black Canary name in the title) and it being DC's 2007 GREEN ARROW/ Black Canary (lasting 32 issues) sort of tells the story here.

So as a supporting character in comics, television, and movies, Black Canary is a pretty big success.

But as a solo comic character. . .not quite as successful.  Not that DC hasn't tried. 

And so we come to the series at hand.  Except for a small handful of solo mini-series efforts, the twelve-issue series we'll be taking a look at was Black Canary's longest-running solo title until a strange (but interesting) 2015 New 52 re-imagining with Black Canary being a member of a rock band fighting ninjas and vampires that also only lasted 12 issues (Possibly coming someday to a Longbox Junk blog near you).

From what I've been able to see, not much is remembered about THIS series at all, except for ONE thing.  Toward the back half of the run, Black Canary had to endure a 90s grim-n-gritty full makeover that is remembered to this very day on many "Worst 90s Costume Changes" and other internet "Top 10 Worst" lists to that effect.  

Here's a sneak preview!

Spiky hair: Check

Straps, buckles, and pouches: Check

Clenched teeth: Check

Overly-elaborate guns: Check

Improbable musculature: Check

Gratuitous crotch shot: Check

WELCOME TO THE 90s!

So there's that.  But there's twelve issues here.  An unfortunate 90s makeover can't be the ONLY thing this series has, right? That's what we're here to find out! So strap in and head back to 1993 with me as I take a look at this series.  Ready?  Let's do it!

BLACK CANARY

DC (1993)

ISSUE ONE

COVER: Trevor Von Eeden

HERO WORSHIP Part 1

SCRIPT: Sarah E. Byam

PENCILS: Trevor Von Eeden

INKS: Bob Smith

THE COVER:

Not bad.  A pretty nice action portrait here.  Giant shoulder pads set it firmly in the 90's and that's a LOT of hair.  Not a great cover, but I've seen worse.  This one could take a turn on the rotating cover display on my office wall at work.

THE STORY:

As Dinah Lance (AKA Black Canary) follows clues surrounding a rash of mysterious deaths of homeless people in Seattle, the past and future come together as similarities between her current case and her very first (failed) outing as Black Canary when she was fifteen years old become apparent.  

The life of a teen prostitute named Sally involved in the organized crime election fraud scheme Black Canary is investigating hangs in the balance as the vigilante tries to save the witness from both the thugs she's working for and the police.

To be continued. . .

THE REVIEW:

Honestly, it's a bit of a weak start.  The reader just gets dumped right into the story in progress.  There's some flashback scenes of Canary's teenage origins, but it's assumed that the reader is already familiar with the character.  It's not a very new reader-friendly first issue.  To make things worse, the election fraud storyline tying the past and present together just isn't really that interesting.

The art serves to tell the story, but is barely on the "Pretty Good" side of the scale.  It's a little above average in places, but generally a bit sketchy with sparse backgrounds and some pretty garish colors.

 There's barely any art difference between teen Canary and adult Canary, which is a problem in a storyline that switches back and forth between the two.  It's a bit confusing which parts of the story are in the past and which are in the present.

Overall, I can see that some effort was put into this.  The internal monologue style of telling the story is one I enjoy (even if it does seem like it was swiped from Batman), and there are some good moments here and there, but those moments are balanced out by bland art serving to confuse a "past is present" storyline switching between teen and adult Black Canary, as well as an election fraud story that frankly isn't that exciting.

I can sort of see right out of the gate why this series only lasted 12 issues.

NEXT!

ISSUE TWO

COVER: Trevor Von Eeden

HERO WORSHIP Part 2

SCRIPT: Sarah E. Byam

PENCILS: Trevor Von Eeden

INKS: Bob Smith

THE COVER:

Not so great.  The red is sort of a strange choice of color and Canary's face is hidden by her hair.  The giant shoulder pads keep screaming "90's!" at me.  Sorry, not going up on the wall.

THE STORY:

As Black Canary tries to save a teenage prostitute on the run, she realizes the similarities between this case and her first case as Black Canary are more than coincidence as clues point toward the same low-ranking underworld thug she let escape in the past being behind the rash of deaths in the present.

In the meantime, crooked politician Jacob Whorrsman, the figure behind the election fraud deaths, hires an assassin known as Klik to eliminate both the fleeing witness and Black Canary.  

Canary finally catches up to the witness at the same time Klik does, setting things up for a confrontation between the assassin and the vigilante.

To be continued. . .

THE REVIEW:

The story here isn't bad.  It's actually improved over the first issue and moves forward with a bit more momentum as Canary makes more connections and pursues her prey, trying to get to her before it's too late.  Unlike the first issue, I actually want to see what happens next with this one.

BUT. . .

While the story has improved, the art is still a problem.  I actually read quite a bit of one section before I realized that the part I was in was taking place in the past (The story continues switching back and forth between teen Canary and adult Canary) because there's very little artistic difference between past and present.

Here, let me show you what I mean.  One of these pictures is 15 year old Dinah Lance on her first outing as Black Canary.  The other one is of adult Dinah Lance as a seasoned vigilante.  Can you tell which is which?

The clue is in the stockings.  Adult Canary has skin-revealing fishnets while Teen Canary has darker tights. These splash pages are pretty easy.  It's a bit harder to tell when the scenes between the two time periods are switching back and forth on the same page.  It's really confusing at some points.

Overall, the artist's failure to separate flashback and present aside, this issue was an improvement on the first.  This story arc is only 3 issues long, so hopefully once the intertwining time periods are done with, the art won't be a problem.

NEXT!

ISSUE THREE

COVER: Trevor Von Eeden

HERO WORSHIP Part 3

SCRIPT: Sarah E. Byam

PENCILS: Trevor Von Eeden

INKS: Pam Eklund

THE COVER:

A decent action shot, but WAY too much negative black space that doesn't leave much room for the main character to shine.  A good idea, but poorly-executed.

THE STORY:

Continuing directly from the previous issue, Black Canary confronts assassin Tyson Klik as he is in the process of strangling teenage prostitute and fleeing witness of deadly election fraud, Sally. 

During the brutal fight, Sally escapes and both Black Canary and Klik pursue her while engaging in a running battle over the rooftops of Seattle.  Finally, Klik corners Sally and Canary is unable to stop him from breaking her neck and killing her.

In the end, Canary's witness is dead and the assassin is in the hospital, badly wounded by Black Canary and in police custody.  He refuses to name his employer, and Black Canary is determined that this is far from over.

The End.

THE REVIEW:

And here we are at the end of the first story arc for this series.  This whole issue is pretty much a running battle between Black Canary and the assassin sent to eliminate her and the witness.  So for what it is, it's a good finish with some dangling threads to be picked up in later issues.

Being mostly action, this issue abandons the dual timeline story structure, and (as I hoped in the review of issue 2) the art wasn't the problem it has been once there was only one storyline to follow.  It's still a bit sketchy, with a lack of backgrounds and some garish colors, but at least you know where you are in time.

Overall, this was a decent finish to the first story arc.  I like that Black Canary didn't really win at all, with the death of her witness and a lot of unanswered questions remaining.

  It's not the greatest comic story I've ever read, but it's nowhere near the worst.   It just sort of rides right down the middle line of "Pretty Good".  Unfortunately, "Pretty Good" isn't what sustains a comic series for the long haul. 

Let's see what happens next. . .

ISSUE FOUR

COVER: Trevor Von Eeden?

THE ART OF WHORR

SCRIPT: Sarah E. Byam

PENCILS: Trevor Von Eeden

INKS: Bob Smith

THE COVER:

A strange one.  All the information I can find on this issue lists Von Eeden as the cover artist, but this doesn't remotely resemble any of the other covers or any of his interior work.  So it's either another (uncredited) artist or an interesting painting experiment by the regular artist.  

In any case, it's pretty good.  It has a cheap pulp novel look I'm a fan of, and I like the bold colors a lot.  

THE STORY:

When thugs begin to shake down Black Canary's old friend, Tony Cinchelli, she begins to uncover a real estate scheme to force long-time residents out of Seattle's immigrant neighborhoods and buy the land for redevelopment at low cost.

What Canary doesn't know is that Jacob Whorrsman, the same crooked politician behind the election fraud scheme she recently uncovered, is also behind the real estate scheme.  

The shakedowns turn deadly when Tony's shop is firebombed and his niece, Sophia, is almost killed.  Black Canary stops Tony from taking his revenge when she reveals that Sophia had taken out an insurance policy on the shop and was working with the thugs.

In the end, it is also through Sophia that Whorrsman learns that Black Canary is still interfering in his schemes.  He becomes determined to take down the vigilante once and for all.

To be continued. . .

THE REVIEW:

Okay.  First off. . .What the HELL is going on with the title of this story?

Going by the pronunciation of Jacob Whorrsman's name (Horse-man, according to DC's Wiki), the title reads as "The Art of Whore". There's no way that wasn't intentional.  Not a good look for a comic featuring a scantily-clad female vigilante.  BUT I DIGRESS!

The story itself is actually pretty good, even though it follows a very heavily-traveled path.  The old "organized crime tries to run people out of their homes so they can buy the property cheap, and only one person can stop them!" story has been told MANY times in MANY places.  That said, it's pretty well-written and avoids the art problems that the dual time period storyline of the first three issues caused.

The art also shows a bit of improvement.  It's still looks sketchy and often has a lack of backgrounds, as well as being garishly-colored, but I can see additional effort shown as the story focuses in on more characters and conversations in this issue.

Overall, this issue shows an improvement in both writing and art.  It's not great. . .the story is VERY well-worn and the art is barely on the good side of average,  but when the bar in this series is set at "Pretty Good" anything that can be called an improvement counts.

NEXT!

ISSUE FIVE

COVER: Trevor Von Eeden

BLYNDE WOMAN'S BLUFF Part 1

SCRIPT: Sarah E. Byam

PENCILS: Trevor Von Eeden

INKS: Bob Smith

THE COVER:

Hello, gratuitous crotch shot!  No way I can put this one up on the office wall.  

Other than that, this is actually a pretty good cover.  

THE STORY:

Black Canary is hired as a "Security Consultant" to guard an extremely rare black tulip on exhibit in Holland.  Unknown to her, a mysterious figure has hired the infamous thief known as Blynde to steal the tulip.  

Blynde is the sister of Tyson Klick, the assassin Canary took down while investigating a deadly election fraud scheme (in issues #2 & #3), so she has a personal score to settle with Black Canary.

In Holland, Blynde uses her powers of disguise, as well as a cloak that makes her invisible, to infiltrate the museum the black tulip is being exhibited at.  Black Canary arrives too late to prevent Blynde from killing the guards and stealing the priceless flower.  

After a short fight, the tulip's owner arrives and Blynde kills him in order to make her escape from Black Canary.  The police arrive on the scene and find Black Canary holding his bloody body.

To be continued. . .

THE REVIEW:

I'm gonna be blunt here and just say that there's very little in this issue that made me interested in it at all.  Honestly, if I were buying this series off the rack on a month to month basis, this issue would probably be my last one.

It's not BAD, but like the rest of this series so far, it's just not really that GOOD, either.  It's just so average that there would be no way for me to justify dropping $1.75 on another issue when there's nothing here that makes me want to see what happens next.

The setup is weak.  The villain is just a throwaway "opponent of the month".  The art remains barely on the good side of average, with the lack of backgrounds and garish colors trying to move the needle to the bad side.  It's all just so. . .plain, I guess?  It just seems like there wasn't really much effort put into this.

Overall, this issue doesn't have much going for it at all.  To me, it's the very definition of "Minimum Effort".  It's the sort of comic that you read and forget about five minutes later.  It's not memorable in any way.  I'm starting to see more and more why this series isn't remembered for anything other than Black Canary's 90s makeover.

MOVING ALONG!

ISSUE SIX

COVER: Trevor Von Eeden

BLYNDE WOMAN'S BLUFF Part 2

SCRIPT: Sarah E. Byam

PENCILS: Trevor Von Eeden

INKS: Bob Smith

THE COVER:

This one is just sort of. . .Meh.  It's pretty generic.  SIDE NOTE: I don't think the artist could decide what color Canary's jacket is supposed to be.  It's purple on three covers, blue on two, and you can't really tell on one.  In any case, this isn't the sort of cover that makes me want to buy the comic.

THE STORY:

Continuing from the previous issue, Black Canary finds herself in Dutch custody awaiting trial for three murders she didn't commit.  After her companion, Green Arrow, pulls some strings, an American Agent named Eddie Fyres arrives to take Canary into custody.

With Fyres' assistance, Black Canary investigates the murders and theft of the black tulip she failed to guard.  In the meantime, the thief Blynde discovers that her employer, the mysterious "Severance", has also hired her brother, Klick, to take down Black Canary before she interferes with his plans.

After a failed assassination attempt by Klick, Canary and Fyres pursue him and are led to Blynde's location.  A brutal battle ensues, but Canary and Fyres manage to defeat the brother/sister villains and regain possession of the black tulip.  All's well that ends well.

The End.

THE REVIEW:

And so we come to the last issue in this first part of the series review.  

Like the previous issue that it continues, it's so utterly average and unmemorable that I'm actually wondering how this series managed to hit twelve issues.  Hopefully, there's some improvement to come.

I can see how the writer is trying to build Black Canary her own little "Rogues Gallery", but Klick and Blynde are just not great characters at all.  They're barely sketched and feel disposable.  Not the sort of villains that make for great storytelling.  It's a pretty weak effort.

The story here seems rushed and unimaginative.  The art remains JUST the good side of average.  There seems to be an overall lack of effort that was noticeable in earlier issues, but is starting to become more obvious as the series goes on.

Overall, this is another completely forgettable issue.  It has a story that I can't bring myself to care about, art that is okay but doesn't try very hard to be more than okay, and villains that seem more disposable than dangerous.  It's not BAD, but it's also plain to see not much effort was put into making it good.

CONCLUSION

These first six issues of Black Canary are average at best.  

I can see what they were WANTING to do. . .turn a popular supporting character into a solo title.  Unfortunately, the execution is pretty weak.  It's not that the series is BAD. . .it's just that it seems that not much effort was put into it.  This COULD have been a lot better. 

 I'm thinking the main failure here is in DC simply assuming that readers would buy these comics based on already knowing Black Canary as a supporting character and that they could just jump right into making her a lead.  That sort of makes these stories float around without much background or context at all.  I think maybe DC overestimated Black Canary's ability to carry an ongoing comic series.

It MIGHT have worked with a stronger writer on board. . .from that time, I'd say a Mike Grell Black Canary series would have been something special.  Unfortunately, Black Canary (at least these first six issues) didn't have a strong enough writer OR artist to lift it any higher than "Pretty Good" in places.  It's a shame, because in MY extremely humble opinion, Black Canary is just the sort of background character a better writer could have done some great things with.

I found the sub-par art a bit strange because generally, Trevor Von Eeden is an artist I've liked.  Even his work on the previous four-issue Black Canary miniseries is better than what's to be found here (I'd do a review on it, but only have 3 issues).  

Maybe it's the inker?  On the last series (and a Green Arrow miniseries he did before that), he had Dick Giordano on the inks and it looks 100% better.  Eedon's work on Black Lightning, Green Arrow, Batman, etc. . . is better than what I'm seeing here.  He's not my FAVORITE artist, but he's always been a reliably solid one.

But then again, I read up a bit on Von Eeden because there's a bit of controversy regarding Black Canary's 90s makeover (That I'll go into in Part 2) and I found an interesting quote from him. 

In a 2009 interview, Von Eeden stated that: 

"Black Canary, on the other hand, was done in one state of mind, from beginning to end, one of semi-interest, to tell you the truth.  I didn't, and still don't, find her to be a particularly interesting character."

I'm definitely picking up on that disinterest here.  It's a bit of a drag on the whole series. 

Up Next. . .

The back half of Black Canary.  Issues 6 - 12.

A full reboot lasting one issue!  An unfortunate 90s makeover! 

Nightwing and Huntress driving a goddamn TANK!

Female Empowerment AND Misogyny at the same time!

Artist Controversy! 

Oh, my.

Be there or be square.

Longbox Junk Retro Review - The Brave and The Bold #85 (1969)

Welcome to Longbox Junk, where the comics are cheap and the reviews are free!

Lately, I've had a pretty good run of luck while out Longbox Junkin' at the local flea markets.  There's been some unexpectedly sweet finds coming my way, and ain't THAT the truth!  

In my last Longbox Junk post, I took a look at a great Golden Age Lone Ranger comic that I bought for a couple of bucks.  So I thought to myself, "Why not show off another one of those Fantastic Flea Market Finds?"

And so here we are. . .ready to crank up the Longbox Junk time machine for a trip back to 1969 and a look at another surprise find I made back in early August that cost me a measly TEN BUCKS at the flea market!

It's a comic featuring the iconic artwork of the great Neal Adams and the introduction of his Bronze Age makeover for Green Arrow.  When I spotted this comic in the shape it's in (I'd grade it at a 7.5/8.0, but I'm no expert) for the price they wanted, I couldn't believe my good fortune!

So strap in, because it's time for another Longbox Junk Retro Review! 

Ready?  LET'S DO IT!

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #85

DC (1969)

THE SENATOR'S BEEN SHOT!

SCRIPT: Bob Haney

PENCILS: Neal Adams

INKS: Neal Adams

COVER: Neal Adams

THE COVER:

Now THAT'S a nice cover!  A Bronze Age beauty by the Legendary Neal Adams at the top of his game.  Green Arrow is the star of the show on this one, sporting his new (at the time) look front and center.  I really like how Batman's cape serves to frame the Emerald Archer.  The tilted logos and  bright splashes of color also really catch the eye. There's nothing I don't like about this cover.  It's the sort of thing that grabs my attention and makes me want to buy a comic book!  Let's get inside and see what's going on. . .

THE STORY:

After witnessing the attempted assassination of newly-elected Senator Paul Cathcart, a staunch supporter of a pending anti-crime bill, Batman fails to capture the gunman.  Later, in the hospital as the Senator lays in critical condition, Bruce Wayne is shocked when the Governor asks him to take over the Senator's term in order to push the anti-crime legislation through!

Meanwhile, as Bruce Wayne ponders his decision, we find multi-millionaire Oliver Queen discussing his bid on an important building project meant to keep the state and Gotham City from bankruptcy.  His opponent for the project is Argonaut Incorporated, headed by Miklos Minotaur. . .a man Oliver knows is the head of a powerful criminal organization (thanks to his other identity as the Green Arrow).  

As he wonders whether or not he can do Gotham more good as Oliver Queen or as Green Arrow, he is suddenly attacked!  After narrowly escaping the assassination attempt, Oliver realizes that he's been targeted by Minotaur.

The next day, Bruce Wayne, still agonizing over the decision to take over the Senator's term and fight crime through legislation, or to continue to fight crime as Batman, he reveals his secret identity to his psychiatrist, Edmond!  Sworn to secrecy, the psychiatrist  isn't really much help, telling Bruce/Batman that this is a decision he's going to have to make by himself.  

Later that day, we learn that the psychiatrist that Bruce Wayne revealed his identity to is ALSO Oliver Queen's psychiatrist as we follow Edmond and Oliver while they survey the contested land development project and Oliver Queen reveals his identity as Green Arrow!  Edmond is either the luckiest, or the unluckiest psychiatrist on the face of the earth!

That night, Green Arrow and Batman both decide to visit Edmond's office to continue their respective discussions with him.  After they get over their surprise at running into each other in such a seemingly random way, they find that Edmond's office has been broken into and the psychiatrist is missing!  

Both heroes realize that Miklos Minotaur is trying to get to their public identities through their mutual psychiatrist. The suspicion is confirmed when they review Edmond's office recording and they hear the kidnapping in progress.  Green Arrow and Batman agree they have to team up and rescue their friend. . .

The following morning, realizing the lengths Minotaur will go to, Bruce accepts the task of completing Senator Cathcart's term. . .and so becomes Senator Bruce Wayne!  In the meantime, on a small volcanic island in the Mediterranean, Green Arrow is hot on the trail of Edmond's kidnappers. . .

As Green Arrow pursues Minotaur's men, vicious animals are released in the maze of rocky tunnels leading to the crime lord's hidden base.  Green Arrow manages to fight them off, and shortly after is joined by Batman, who followed the signal of Green Arrow's Justice League transmitter to his location.  The two heroes continue on together to rescue their mutual friend. . .

In the meantime, Miklos Minotaur reveals to his prisoner that he plans to have agents destroy both Bruce Wayne and Oliver Queen for their interference with his schemes.  At that moment, Batman and Green Arrow burst onto the scene!  Minotaur takes Edmond hostage. . .

Minotaur believes he has the upper hand, but he didn't count on Green Arrow's superior bow skills, which give the heroes the chance to attack and easily subdue Minotaur's men.  Unfortunately, in the confusion of the fight, Minotaur himself manages to escape!  

As Batman rushes back to the United States in order to vote on the anti-crime bill as Senator Wayne, Green Arrow concocts a plan to capture and arrest Miklos Minotaur for his crimes by inviting him to a posh party at the U.S. Embassy in his public identity of Oliver Queen.

At the party, Oliver Queen informs the smug crime lord that he's to be arrested and taken back to the United States to stand trial.  Minotaur is shocked when he realizes he's fallen into a trap. . .the embassy is legally U.S. territory and he's taken into custody. . .

Meanwhile, in Washington D.C., Batman arrives just as the voting for the anti-crime bill has begun.  As he rushes toward the Capital, Batman discovers and defeats an assassin waiting for Bruce Wayne.  He manages to arrive just in the nick of time to deliver the deciding vote in favor of the anti-crime bill!

At the end of the day, Edmond is safely returned to the U.S., where he learns that Oliver Queen has decided to fund the land development project AND continue fighting crime as Green Arrow.  

Later, Edmond discovers that Bruce Wayne plans on giving up his Senate seat now that the anti-crime bill has passed.  Wayne prefers to fight crime as Batman.

In a final scene, we see that Edmond has decided to undergo self-hypnosis in order to wipe the knowledge of the true identities of Batman and Green Arrow from his mind.

The End.

THE REVIEW:

Okay then, there it is.  Let's break it on down!

What we have here is a pretty typical example of early Bronze Age DC "One and Done" storytelling.  They weren't quite as tuned in to the continuing storylines as Marvel was at this time, and this story shows it.  This is a tale that needs just a LITTLE more room to breathe.  I think this would have made a fine two-parter.  Anything more than that would probably have been too much, but one issue just seems like it's too little.

That's not to say it's a BAD story.  It's not.  Bob Haney does a great job in the space he's given.  The story is well-written and interesting.  It just seems a bit rushed and overly-compressed.  

What I liked most about the story was the spotlight on both the public AND heroic personas of the two main characters.  With limited space to tell comic stories during this time period, the secret identities of the heroes often fell to the wayside in favor of the more action-oriented superhero side of things.  In this story, Haney makes great use of Batman and Green Arrow's public identities, and truthfully, the scenes with the heroes out of costume were the more interesting to me.

The central conflict of this story was very engaging, with two superheroes grappling with the question of how to better serve the public. . .as themselves, using their money and position to fight crime. . .or as costumed crimefighters able to do what the authorities are unable or unwilling to do.  

This kind of superheroic introspection was just becoming popular at DC, and it's a welcome change from the usual supervillain of the month punch-ups that were more characteristic of DC comics at the time.  This story is a great example of the more mature storylines that would begin to come out of DC in the following years to come.

So the story is good. . .an early example of the more socially-conscious, or "relevant" comics to come.  I just wish that it had a little more room to move around in.  Let's talk about the art side of things.

In my humble opinion, Neal Adams is a living legend and a national treasure.  His fantastic art is always a joy to see in a comic.  His writing?  Not so much.  But THAT'S something for another review!

What we have here is Adams at the top of his Bronze Age game.  The pages of this comic are FULL of superb Neal Adams artwork, featuring his trademark realism and interesting "camera" angles.   Like the story, the art is at its best when spotlighting the characters out of costume, but every single page of this issue is worth lingering over for an extra moment before turning to the next.

CONCLUSION

From the fantastic cover to the final panel, this is comic that delivers in a big way!  It has an interesting story based around heroes conflicted about how best to serve the public and is backed up by some great Neal Adams artwork.  

Sure, the story is a little rushed and could have been better served by having an extra issue to tell it in, but I don't blame that on Bob Haney. . .I blame it on DC thinking that every comic book had to tell a complete story in one and only one issue at that time.  As a modern reader used to comics being a bit more decompressed, it just seems like a missed opportunity to make a good story great.  

If you are a Batman fan or Green Arrow fan or a Neal Adams fan in particular, you'll love this comic! But I can certainly recommend it for just about ANY comic fan that wants to see a somewhat unusual story (for the time) that focuses not just on superheroics, but also on the men behind the masks.  

Me finding this actual issue in good shape at a flea market for ten bucks was just lucky, but a bit of research shows me that this one has been reprinted many times, and is available on ComiXology, for those who like to read their comics online, so it's not hard to find at all.  Give it a look!

Up Next. . .

Spotlighting a few of my more "valuable" lucky flea market finds has been fun, but I've been inspired by Ed Gosney at COOL COMICS IN MY COLLECTION to return to my Longbox Junk roots by taking a look at some. . .Longbox Junk!  

By taking a short look at 1987's "G.I. RAMBOT" from Wonder Color Comics in his blog, I was reminded that not everyone is going to be able to snag a 1950's Lone Ranger comic, but there's plenty of forgotten and "worthless" comics lurking in the bargain bins that need a little love too!

And not for nothin' but if you're looking for a place that keeps comics fun and gives you JUST enough bite-sized pieces of comic goodness to make you want to come back for more. . .check out Cool Comics in the link above or on Facebook.  

Okay, plug time is over!  See you next time with some ACTUAL Longbox Junk.

Be there or be square!

Longbox Junk - One-Shots (Part 3)

Welcome to Longbox Junk, where the comics are cheap and the reviews are free!

Let's cut the introduction short this time and take a look at another handful of one-shot comics from my collection.  If you're a regular reader of Longbox Junk, then you know that these are my all-time favorite kind of comic book.  One issue. . .one story.  Nowhere for a creative team to hide.

This time out I've got a half and half mix of superhero and science fiction comics. Let's do it!

ONE-SHOTS (Part 3)

STAR TREK:

OPERATION ASSIMILATION

Marvel (1997)

OPERATION ASSIMILATION

SCRIPT: Paul Jenkins

PENCILS: Steve Erwin

COVER: Hajime Sorayama

THE COVER:

For some reason, this cover seems to be trying a little TOO hard.  The main figure seems stiff and the "Collector's Item Issue" spatch on the left oversells the comic a bit and just dates this to the 90's more than anything.  That said, it's not a BAD cover.  It's nicely-drawn and I like the muted colors.  A Romulan Borg is also an intriguing promise, so let's get inside!

THE STORY:

Moliok, Proud Daughter of the Seat of Tarek, patrols a backwater sector of Romulan Space near the Neutral Zone. . .in command of an outdated ship and tasked with putting down petty rebellions against Romulan Rule, far from the action and excitement of those preparing for the inevitable confrontation with The Federation, thanks to her political misfortune.

Suddenly, Moliok's luck changes when an unidentified ship intruding in Romulan space offers her a break from the grinding routine of frontier patrol.  She moves in to confront the giant cube-shaped ship as it destroys a scientific outpost.  Moliok quickly discovers that her attacks are incapable of harming the unidentified intruder, which is capable of repairing itself.

Caught in a tractor beam, Moliok is commanded to surrender her ship.  She refuses and decides to ram the cube after setting the self-destruct, but before she can do so, strange cybernetic beings transport aboard her ship.  A brutal and desperate hand to hand battle breaks out, but Moliok is unable to defeat the invaders.

She is taken aboard the cube and subjected to agonizing surgery, forcing her to join the collective of the alien "Borg".  When we next see Moliok, she is serving as a Borg emissary as the cube continues to destroy Romulan outposts.

The End.

THE REVIEW:

This one-shot serves as a prequel to the late first season Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Neutral Zone", which re-introduces the Romulans as a Federation foe to be reckoned with as outposts in the Neutral Zone are destroyed by an unknown enemy (revealed later to be the first off-screen appearance of The Borg).

The story itself is pretty straightforward and honestly a bit light.  It feels more like the first issue of an unfinished mini-series than a complete standalone story.  It's well-written and the character of Moliok is interesting, but it just feels like there should be more to it.

On the art side of things, it's not bad, but it's not particularly great either.  It's the kind of art that just tells the story and doesn't try to do anything other than that.  In other words, pretty average.

Overall, the most interesting thing about this story is seeing the Borg from another point of view that we didn't get from the T.V. show. . .which is one of the things I love about comic books!  And for that alone, I can recommend this story to any Star Trek fans (like me) out there who want just a LITTLE more background to the Borg arrival in Star Trek: The Next Generation.  If you're NOT a Star Trek fan, you'll probably just wonder where the rest of the story is.

So not a bad start.  Let's see what else we've got. 

NEXT!

FLASHPOINT:

GREEN ARROW INDUSTRIES

DC (2011)

GREEN ARROW INDUSTRIES

SCRIPT: Pornsak Pichetshote

PENCILS: Marco Castiello (Pgs. 1-5); Ig Guara (Pgs. 6-20)

COVER: Viktor Kalvachev

THE COVER:

The Flashpoint stories were all pretty much "Elseworlds" tales, and that's what this cover promises. . .a gun-toting Green Arrow with a fiendish grin who might or might not be a hero at all in the twisted world of Flashpoint.  It really makes me want to jump right in and see what's going on!  I also really like the green tone of the cover.  Very nicely-done.

THE STORY:

Billionaire Oliver Queen has made a fortune through Green Arrow Industries by using paramilitary teams to take down supervillains and transform their high-tech weaponry into military equipment for sale to the highest bidder.

When Queen's top secret testing facility comes under attack and his best friend, Roy Harper, is killed (along with a group of visiting U.S. Generals), Oliver equips himself with some of his retro-fitted villain weaponry and sets off in pursuit of the leader of the attack.

During a brutal battle in the jungle outside of the island facility with a strange woman armed with a bow, Oliver learns that the attack is to draw attention to the secret facility.  Green Arrow's weapons have caused death and destruction throughout the world and their inhumane corporate testing methods must be stopped.

Suddenly, Oliver realizes that HE'S become the villain!  He promises to end dealing in weapons and to use the technology for other purposes, but the mysterious woman just laughs at Queen's new pledge of "responsibility" before revealing that she's his daughter from the supervillain now known as Vixen and that he's been paying child support since she was born but has never seen her face before now.

Chastised, Oliver tries to allow his daughter to escape, but his security forces arrive on the scene and gun her down. . .devastating him as he resolves to change his life over her dead body.

The End.

THE REVIEW:

Hmmmm. . .interesting.  Like I said above, all the Flashpoint stories are basically "Elseworlds" tales.  This one gives us Oliver Queen as. . .well. . .pretty much a Tony Stark clone.  I'd have to say that this was an interesting little slice of the overall Flashpoint "universe", but it's very derivative and feels incomplete, like it was meant to be the first issue of a 3 issue mini.  It's not BAD, but to be perfectly honest, the cover is the best part of this comic.

As far as the art goes, this is another comic with art that just tells the story and doesn't really try anything harder than that.  There's a few places that the art manages to elevate itself to just above "Pretty Good", but there's not many.

Overall, as a small slice of the short-lived Flashpoint "Universe", this is an interesting look at a decidedly unheroic Oliver Queen being forced to face his part in the suffering of the world.  As a one shot "Elseworlds" story, it feels incomplete and has an abrupt ending.  Like the Star Trek story above, it feels more like the first issue in an unfinished mini.  

I don't think I can recommend this to anybody except Green Arrow or Flashpoint completionists.  It just sort of feels like a fragment of an unfinished story.  It's interesting, but ultimately forgettable. 

NEXT!

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA:

PEGASUS

Dynamite (2007)

PEGASUS

SCRIPT: Brandon Jerwa

PENCILS: Jonathan Lau

COVER: Photo

THE COVER:

A very nice photo cover of actress Michelle Forbes as Admiral Helena Cain, Commander of the only other remaining Battlestar, from Battlestar Galactica's second season.  If you're a big fan of the "re-imagined" BSG like I am, then this photo alone promises a chilling look at the dark places the fight for survival can take a story.  The "Pegasus" storyline was one of the best of the whole series and getting even a bit more of it is an exciting proposition that makes me want to jump right in!

THE STORY:

Set about a year before the events of the 2004 Battlestar Galactica SyFy mini-series, we begin our tale aboard the Battlestar Pegasus in spacedock undergoing maintenance and a refit of her Viper attack ships.  

Her commander, Admiral Cain, is given an emergency mission to travel to the Cylon/ Human armistice line to investigate the disappearance of the Battlestar Chronos. . .which vanished while responding to a distress signal believed to have been from a stealth ship lost on a previous secret mission across the border between Cylon and Human space.

Setting out with severely-depleted fighter forces, Admiral Cain is taken by surprise when Cylon ships attack as the Pegasus approaches the wreckage of the Chronos.  After being severely damaged, the Pegasus flees the battle and follows a distress signal coming from a Colonial supply depot.

After a brutal battle between Cylon forces waiting in ambush near the depot and Pegasus' outnumbered Viper pilots, Admiral Cain sends a ground team to investigate the distress signal.  The ground team discover a scene of carnage and are themselves attacked by Cylon troopers laying in wait.  After narrowly escaping the ambush, they discover the lone human survivor, Admiral Tong, commander of the destroyed Battlestar Chronos.

Back aboard the Pegasus, Admiral Cain attempts to gain information from Admiral Tong, but he suffers a mental breakdown and commits suicide in front of her.  Seeing the amount of death and suffering from this single encounter with the Cylons, Cain realizes that the threat waiting for mankind is far greater than anyone has imagined.

The End.

THE REVIEW:

Okay. . .not bad.  This is a nice, solid little piece of hard military sci-fi action.  Like the Star Trek comic above, it ties into the T.V. show (The 3rd season episode "Hero", which expands on the failed stealth ship mission mentioned in this comic). Existing Battlestar Galactica fans will get more out of this because, also like the Star Trek comic above, if you aren't a BSG fan, you'll just end up wondering where the rest of this story is at.

That said, if you ARE part of the target audience, then this comic reads like a lost episode of the series!  We get to see Admiral Cain in action before she became the hard and empty shell of a person we are introduced to during the "Pegasus" storyline on the show.  Here, she's shown simply as a strong, confident commander and it really sort of drives home how far into the darkness she went after the Pegasus escaped the Cylon destruction of the Colonies.  But like I said above, if you aren't a BSG fan, all that won't mean much to you.

On the art side of things. . .I'm a fan of Jonathan Lau's dynamic art style from his work on Dynamite's Green Hornet and Bionic Man series.  Unfortunately, this is not his best work.  It's not BAD, and his signature style is definitely on display for the more action-packed scenes, but for some reason a lot of the non-action scenes look sketchy and rough.  That and he never manages to capture the likeness of Michelle Forbes (the actress who plays Cain on the show).

Compare the top and middle panels to the cover to see what I mean

Overall, this is a comic that was definitely written for a specific audience. For existing Battlestar Galactica fans, this is a great little prequel story that reads exactly like a missing episode of the series.  So being a big BSG fan myself, this comic is a winner!  Unfortunately, if you aren't a BSG fan, the connections will mean nothing and what you'll end up with is a fragment of a decent hard military sci-fi story that (in its favor) MIGHT be good enough to make you want to check out the source material. 

AND FINALLY. . .

GREEN LANTERN PLUS

DC (1996)

MAGNETIC PERSONALITIES

SCRIPT: Ron Marz

PENCILS: Scott Kolins

COVER: Scott Kolins

THE COVER:

Meh.  This one's just not doing much for me.  It seems a bit cluttered and messy.  I do like the brilliant colors of the main characters, but other than that, there's not much to write home about here, in my extremely humble opinion.  Let's hope what's inside is better.

THE STORY:

We begin our tale as an isolated magnetic research station at the North Pole is attacked by a mysterious figure.  We then switch scenes to New York City, where Kyle Rayner (AKA Green Lantern) finds himself needing to rush an art assignment to Japan after missing a deadline.  

In the meantime, at a Philadelphia park, we find Ray Terrill (AKA The Ray) in an argument with his girlfriend over his never being around when she needs him.  The argument is interrupted by a strange magnetic event and Ray once again leaves his girl to follow the magnetic trail to its source.

After destroying a small island with a tidal wave, the mysterious figure from the North Pole heads to Tokyo, where he proceeds to wreak havoc before confronting and easily defeating Japan's newest hero, Arashi.  Green Lantern saves Arashi and then joins in the battle after recognizing his foe, Doctor Polaris.

As the battle rages through Tokyo, The Ray arrives on the scene to help Green Lantern and there's the team-up!  Leaving The Ray to fight Polaris, Green Lantern saves Tokyo from another tidal wave.  After Green Lantern returns, the two heroes compare notes from their solo battles against Polaris and attack him together, forcing Polaris' multiple personalities to fight themselves.

After Polaris falls victim to his inner battle, Green Lantern leaves him in the hands of The Ray as he finishes his own errand and recognizes the woman he was delivering his assignment to as Arashi, the Japanese superhero he rescued earlier.  We end the story knowing that Arashi also recognizes Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern.

The End.

THE REVIEW:

Hmmmm. . .okay.  What we have here is a pretty straightforward and extremely well-worn story path of "Heroes team up to fight a common enemy".  I'm actually surprised to find the "Heroes fight until they realize they're on the same side" team-up trope missing. . .so extra points there, I guess?  

What I'm trying to say is that this is a decent enough story, but one that's been told over and over and over and over and over and over and. . .well, you get the idea.  Most of the book is taken up with fight scenes, and at the end of the day nothing has changed for either hero.  It's a story you've read many times.

The only REAL interesting part of this was the Japanese hero, Arashi.  She's got a cool look and it seems like there was some potential there for her to be an interesting high-tech hero. . .unfortunately, when I searched for more stories with her in them, I discovered that this was her first, last, and only appearance.  DC sort of hit a foul ball there. Check her out. . .

As far as the art goes, I'd say it's probably the best part of this one-shot.  There's a lot of detail and interesting, cinematic angles that give things a great sense of motion.  The only thing I didn't like much art-wise was that the artist gives the youthful Kyle Rayner a grizzled look that makes him appear about forty years old.  Other than that, this comic has some great art and very nice colors.

Overall, this is a pretty by the numbers superhero team-up.  It's the sort of thing you read and forget about not long afterward.  It does have some very nice art, it's a sort of unusual team-up, and it's pretty fun, but it's basically comic book junk food.  If you're a big Green Lantern or Ray fan, then definitely keep your eye out for this one.  For anyone else. . .don't pay more than a buck if you REALLY want to check it out.

CONCLUSION

So there you have it.  Another handful of Longbox Junk one-shots.  Overall, I'd have to say that this bunch didn't fare as well as the last couple of batches I went through (Read HERE and HERE ).  There aren't any BAD ones, it's just that the only one that doesn't feel like an unfinished mini-series is the Green Lantern/Ray team-up.  The rest read like unfinished story fragments.

Granted, if you're a big Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica fan like myself, you'll get significantly more mileage out of those two one-shots. . .but not everybody is going to know where and how those stories connect with their television counterparts, so it's not fair for me to judge them any differently as one-shots needing to tell a complete story in a single issue.

Up Next. . .

I think I'm done with one-shots for now.

It's been a while since I dug into a mini-series.  But which one?

So many to choose from! I'll figure it out, though.

Be there or be square!