I'm not a real Christmassy guy, but I can tell good comics from bad, and while I wouldn't say all the stories in this year's DC Christmas Special work (the Huntress story has unforgivable lettering mistakes, for example), most of them do, either as touching moments, or takes on Christmas yarns, or just as comedy. I'm not handing out a prize for getting published in time for Christmas, which these days, is something of a minor miracle, because I'm leaving my snarkiness at the door. Here's only SOME of the stuff to like in this comic.1. Santa's secret origin
Using the Superman myth to explain Santa Claus is a beautiful homage to both iconic figures. Hey, they do both have a North Pole address! Too short! Too short!2. Classic Aquaman
Something of a gift to the fans, and it'd be nice to see a return of the original sea king in the fact that it was written by Dan Didio himself... The story's a bit too close to heresy for comfort, but it's a nice batch of Aquaman hero shots by Ian Churchill.3. All three Blue Beetles
Who doesn't like Jamie? Who doesn't love Ted? Who doesn't want to see more of the Golden Age Blue Beetle? A great little tale about a three generations of small town crooks who got their clocks cleaned by the Blue Beetle legacy. That's what Christmas is all about!4. Gotham's Christmas without sirens
Hope comes to Gotham City for just one day this year. I love how it completely flusters the GCPD. But once that time is up, it's up!5. The JLA Christmas party
So many moments I could call attention to, like Firestorm molecularly spiking the punch, or the very funny gift exchange, but my favorite moment is shown above, possibly manufactured by artist Kevin Macguire. Seen it yet? It's Red Tornemo having to be pushed onto the dance floor! Perfect!Have a great Christmas Eve everyone!
747. The Hijacked PlanetPUBLICATION: Star Trek #18, Gold Key Comics, May 1973CREATORS: Unknown (writer), Alberto Giolitti (artist)STARDATE: 32:48.6 - Follows the last issue.PLOT: When the planet Styra is threatened by its own star's energies, the Federation unveils Project Atlas - the digitizing of an entire world to be reconverted into matter in a safer system. While the Enterprise carries the data module, it rescues a shuttle in distress. Aboard is Allura, a beautiful young woman in the entertainment industry, who quickly seems to fall for Spock (and he for her). But she steals Styra and delivers it to her crazy brother Anzar who ransoms its 600 million inhabitants for mucho credits, despite Spock's precautions (he was faking it as well). Spock allows himself to be captured by Anzar so that he's asked to work the digitizer which now contains Kirk and his armed goons. In the end, what saves Styra is a large undigitized schnauzer who almost tears Anzar "to ribbons".CONTINUITY: In a sense, that's the same technology V'ger uses.DIVERGENCES: There's still somebody out there who thinks Scotty's the ship's ladies' man. Clearly, the writer hasn't seen the Lights of Zetar (not that I would blame anyone for that).PANEL OF THE DAY - Uhm... what?
REVIEW: They've really got to watch Spock's deceitful nature in the comics. Seems like he has all these plans and counterplans, but never lets anyone in on them. Part of being a walking deus ex machina, I guess, though Scotty does it too in this issue. It's a formula that involves a Silver Agey revelation at the end of every story (or every 6 pages here). Another problem with the story is that it jump-cuts entirely too much from panel to panel. The flow is extremely unnatural as if they had to cram two issues' worth of scenes into the available pages. The art's fine, though Giolitti doesn't get to draw anything too fanciful this issue. Still, two beautiful girls this time, and his euro-style is especially appropriate for that. The story ends on what of the worst "laughing it up" bridge scenes in Star Trek history, surely, as it includes a joke about Kirk cooking and serving the dog.
WORLD'S FINEST COMICS #307, DC Comics, September 1984
Null & Void's story ends with the sketchy art of Trevor von Eeden, which has its moments, but is extremely hard to decipher at times.As you may remember (because it was only two posts ago, take you ADD medicine), Superman had just barged in on X'ult's shotgun wedding to a pirate girl trapped in "congealed time". Well, doesn't take X'ult any time at all to trap Superman the same way! Finally, Void prods an origin story out of the "Master Pirate". Seems like X'ult is an alien who came to Earth back in the dinosaur days and who hoped to rule the planet. Unfortunately, his environment adapter was damaged and melted into the rock later worshiped by Caribbean natives and with the unforeseen ability to give random powers to humans. All of X'ult's people have the time congealing power, which they use to prolong their lives during space flight. And well, I guess that "explains" everything.Though not why he is so obsessed with Barracuda becoming his unholy bride.
One touch of his palm to hers and she is his (what happened to touching his magic chest?). The next step is creating a giant sailboat out of solid time and going after the Commies.
Before boarding, Void makes sure to lock Batman, Null and Swordfish in different cells. Did you know that Batman is the type of fellow who whistles while he works?
There's a time factor that's not real well explained, because instead of spending 80 seconds opening their cells the tried and true way, he opts to "complete the circuit" between their two hands.
What he'll do for thrills... In the meantime, Superman has found a way to fly back through time at super-speed, digging him out of the block of time ice. Off they all go after X'ult's ship. Everybody pairs off, providing us with a Batman-Void rematch!
Void forgets this is a team-up book, one with about four heroes running around at this point. His former friend Null in particular.
Swordfish snaps Barracuda out of her crush on X'ult, and then Superman provides a giant-ass deus ex machina by spinning around the ship and sending it back in time along with the three pirates. Just like the Superman movie. Ack. So the immortal X'ult is just 300 years in the past? How does that solve anything? Way to pollute the timeline, Superman.And what about Null & Void? Do they get back together?
Afraid not. I guess Sol confessed to everything, they were both sent to jail, and were then wiped out in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, never to return. I know the Platinum Age is big on bringing back Silver Age losers, but what about the Bronze Age's? No love?
746. The Cosmic CavemenPUBLICATION: Star Trek #17, Gold Key Comics, February 1973CREATORS: Unknown (writer), Alberto Giolitti (artist)STARDATE: 19:24.3 - Follows issue #14.PLOT: The crew finds a planet in its stone age they dub Neesan (after Greek gods and Shakespeare characters, we're finally down to car makes). Captured by the natives, Kirk and crew find that they worship an idol that looks just like Spock. As a "god", he can thus save them from being sacrificed. Forbidden to interfere with their tribal wars, Scotty nevertheless falls for the prescient high priestess who's only using him for his phaser. The crew has to return to the planet to get Scott's gun back and it takes Spock and judicious use of the transporter to save them from the opposing tribe. So how could Spock's godhood be possible? At some point in the past, he was startled by a space monster and sent a telepathic call out which was received by the priestess. Ah.CONTINUITY: Scotty wears a red shirt. We may finally found our colorist, gentlemen!DIVERGENCES: Scotty's a wee bit more violent than usual, in the end not starting a fist fight with Spock only for fear of being assigned to scrub the pipes in the "nuclear furnace room".PANEL OF THE DAY - Kirk's jealousy
REVIEW: The justification for this story is slightly ridiculous, since Spock's ears could have provided incentive/coincidence enough to elevate him to godhood. And though the coloring is getting better, there is still some confusion between characters when they're nor in close-up (unless Scotty really did take physiology courses). Scotty's all over the map even when he's not confused with McCoy, in fact, sometimes too violent, sometimes too much of a father figure to Kirk, sometimes accused of having "fatal charm". Otherwise, an ok, if violent, story, whose saving grace is cavemen riding pterodactyls. But that's why we have Turok, right?
WORLD'S FINEST COMICS #306, DC Comics, August 1984
So from Trevor von Eden's scratchy expressionism, we're back to Steve Lightle's porcelain dolls. Not a big role for our two (former) friends in the penultimate issue of their saga, but nonetheless a crucial one.In the real world, Null has reformed (he was never very bad in the first place, just a victim of peer pressure) and used his magic tattoo to free Swordfish from temporal ice. He and Batman rejoin Superman in international waters and pledge to go to Cuba and rescue Swordfish's partner, the lovely Barracuda, who may or may not be an ancestor of the Kents' (but not you, Superman, you're adopted, remember?). These two were abandonned on the same Caribbean island where Null & Void got their powers by the dread super-pirate X'ult, where the natives weren't any more friendly nor intelligent. They got matching tattoos, touched them, and beat the natives' asses.In Dr. Strange-world, a freed X'ult makes Void an offer he can't refuse: Trade in friendship for... more.
I'm not judging. They get back to the real world where X'ult aims to get his long-time enemy Barracuda as a bride (ok, now I'm judging). But first, they have to get through the Commies.
Superman to the rescue! When you get an S.O.S., suddenly you're justified in crossing borders. The Commies are thankful. However, they have to watch out how they show their gratitude to a guy practically wrapped up in the American flag. The Cubans do it RIGHT:
The Russians do it WRONG!
Don't try to tell me that guy isn't going to get sent to the gulag.Meanwhile, Swordfish, Null and Batman have infiltrated the Commie HQ. Swordfish gets owned by gas when his powers fail. Batman beats up a cadre of soldiers. And Null almost touches hands with Barracuda, but fails when Void and X'ult barge in. Friendship officially OVER.
That's sad. Sadder still is that Batman can't do anything against the lucky groom and his godlike powers. Next: Superman kicks him to the curb, and the final fate of Null & Void!
745. Day of the InquisitorsPUBLICATION: Star Trek #16, Gold Key Comics, November 1972CREATORS: Len Wein (writer), Alberto Giolitti (artist)STARDATE: 45:25.2 - Follows the last issue (Season 3).PLOT: Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Chekov and public relations officer Claire (finally, my job makes it to Starfleet) crash a shuttle on a planet in its Dark Ages, right in the middle of an Inquisition. The Inquisitors impound the shuttle's damaged radio and half the group is captured trying to retrieve it. It's up to Kirk and McCoy to fall in with the heretics/rebels and stage a coup. Once done, Spock repairs the radio and contacts the Enterprise which has been searching for them using a huge flashlight.
CONTINUITY: The crew totals the shuttlecraft Galileo. Chekov well and truly appears for the first time in the comics.DIVERGENCES: The uniforms continue to be miscolored. I'll let you know when the colorist gets some color photo reference.PANEL OF THE DAY - Remember to wear your seat belts!
REVIEW: A simple story that works by virtue of not using any technobabble or mad science. It's surprisingly adult too, with Spock being tortured (to no avail), but I do wish they'd done something with Miss Claire (though she has a mean go-go boot kick going) and her particular background. Giolitti's in rare form here, providing the most accurate likenesses yet and some dynamic shots, both in space and on the planet.
BuysIf I told you what I got this week, it would give away several gifts to both nerds and geeks."Accomplishments"
DVDs: Flipped Six Feet Under's third season. Things are looking up compared to the second, though it all ends in terrible disaster. I can't help but wonder if my recent borderline depression has more to do with this than it does the shortening days. Still, a resurgence of the show's black humor and a new tone, high stakes tension, is thrown into the mix. Plus, Claire goes to art school, a realm of activity I was once intimately linked to, which is always a hoot for me. The DVD includes good commentary tracks on 5 of the 13 episodes, a few deleted scenes, and a nice featurette on the season using its very artsy promo as a framework.
RPGs: Built one more character for the upcoming GURPS Torg campaign, even we've given up hope of finding a time slot to play it before Christmas. Bébert has chosen a Cliffhangers type, an almost supernaturally lucky 30s cinema rogue who can do almost anything with junk on hand (think Bullseye, think MacGyver) and who sees the world in black and white (literally!). He's also got a few background wrinkles that could prove fun later... but I've said too much.New Unauthorized Doctor Who CCG cards: 8, including the 5 starring the heroes of the Sarah Jane Adventures!Someone Else's Post of the Week
Googum compares a couple of Iron Man toys including the Heroes Reborn version, charting a part of Tony Stark's life in the process. Check it out at Random Happenstance.
Using the Superman myth to explain Santa Claus is a beautiful homage to both iconic figures. Hey, they do both have a North Pole address! Too short! Too short!
Something of a gift to the fans, and it'd be nice to see a return of the original sea king in the fact that it was written by Dan Didio himself... The story's a bit too close to heresy for comfort, but it's a nice batch of Aquaman hero shots by Ian Churchill.
Who doesn't like Jamie? Who doesn't love Ted? Who doesn't want to see more of the Golden Age Blue Beetle? A great little tale about a three generations of small town crooks who got their clocks cleaned by the Blue Beetle legacy. That's what Christmas is all about!
Hope comes to Gotham City for just one day this year. I love how it completely flusters the GCPD. But once that time is up, it's up!
So many moments I could call attention to, like Firestorm molecularly spiking the punch, or the very funny gift exchange, but my favorite moment is shown above, possibly manufactured by artist Kevin Macguire. Seen it yet? It's Red Tornemo having to be pushed onto the dance floor! Perfect!
