From: ast2r@faraday.clas.Virginia.EDU (Andrew Symons Troth)
Subject: DC reviews 12/18: SPOILERS
Summary: one man's opinion on this week's crop
Organization: University of Virginia
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 04:07:19 GMT

For once I have some time, and I feel like spouting off some opinions,
so here we go with my feelings about the books I bought this week
(which just happened to be all DC this time):

Batman: Seduction of the Gun Special #1
		writer: John Ostrander
		artist: Vince Giarrano
		editor: Denny O'Neil

	This is a welcome rebuttal to the horrendous glamorization 
of guns that has prevailed in mainstream comics over the past few years.
The story is well-plotted and believable. The characterizations of the 
supporting characters, while perhaps slightly stereotypical, are not
outrageously bad, and Batman, Robin, and Gordon all act believably and
in character. There is no sitcom-like happy resolution to everything, as
I had feared when I started to read the story: Robin not only fails in
an assignment that was obviously over his head, but nearly gets killed in
the process; Gordon has to resort to the aid of someone largely responsible
for the situation in order to effect even a stopgap solution, which is all
he can do. Ostrander made no attempt to simplify the situation; one of 
the things I like about his writing is that he assumes his audience is
intelligent enough to follow him. Giarrano's art is emotionally charged and
dramatic, without being overblown; I like it, although some might find it
too cartoony. One small plot quibble: It was necessary for the story, but
it seems to me there would be some insurmountable obstacles involved in
putting Tim undercover into another high school, i.e., his father and the
administration of the school he actually attends. There may be a plausible
way to work this, but Ostrander made no attempt to explain it. Grade: A-

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #9
		writer: Alan Grant
		artist: Tim Sale
		editor: Denny O'Neil

	"Misfits" has been an entertaining story, especially for those of
us who've been with Batman long enough to actually remember seeing these
villains before. Killer Moth is absolutely correct in referring to them
as a bunch of second-stringers and losers, and it is highly amusing to
see that they still can't accomplish anything, even working together. I 
also enjoy Grant's adept and individual characterizations of the three,
as well as the two new characters he has introduced. Even if we never see
Nimrod again, it's interesting to know that these suits are being prepared
somewhere, and it would be nice to see this idea picked up by another 
DC writer... I really like Tim Sale's art, always have and always will,
but of course it's not for everyone... Good use of Robin, as well. 
Grade: A-

Black Condor #8
		writer: Brian Augustyn
		penciller: Mike Gustovich
		inker: Richard Space
		editor: Jim Owsley

	Owsley makes a comment in the lettercol of this issue to the 
effect that trying to follow this series in a linear way is a bad idea.
This is part of what is now bugging me about a series I originally had
high hopes for. A bigger problem at the moment is the fill-in art. Last
issue and this have been utterly mediocre in the visual department, while
I had grown very fond of Rags Morales' work over the previous six. They 
say he'll be back next issue, though. We can only hope... The story makes
an attempt at being original, having a super-hero (regardless of whether
or not the Condor thinks he is one) called to court, but degenerates
quickly into a formulaic bad-guy-gets-off-on-a-technicality-and-seeks-
revenge tale. The stock characterization of the female witness as a
ditzy blonde also left me unimpressed, and it was rather ludicrous to 
have Ned up and walking with no problem with two bullet wounds in his 
stomach in the last couple of pages. We also can be pretty sure the Condor's
not dead, but it might be interesting to see how a bomb-blast affected 
him next issue. I'm also looking forward to seeing the Ray again, but 
if Augustyn doesn't get back to some of the plot threads he planted a
couple of issues ago, I'm not even going to stick around for this book's 
conclusion (I'm told it's been cancelled, but I haven't seen a last issue
quoted anywhere yet). Nice cover, though. Grade: C+

Flash #73
		writer: Mark Waid
		penciller: Greg LaRocque
		inker: Roy Richardson
		editor: Brian Augustyn

	I had actually dropped this title following the story-for-idiots
that ran in 71-72, but then I heard that Jay Garrick was guesting in 
this issue and decided to pick it up. Aside from just being inordinately
fond of the original Flash since childhood (something about that goofy
costume...) I'm expressing my anger with DC's cancellation of JSA by 
buying not only the old-timers' own title but also all their other
appearances. All in all, I found this issue pleasant to read. The plot
and concept are pretty standard (yet another basically-good-guy-in-rotten-
circumstances-goes-bad-but-then-thinks-better-of-it story) but it's spiced
up nicely by the interaction of the various characters, especially Wally
and Jay. Waid, I must admit, has a very solid handle on Wally's character
and succeeds in making me like him despite not really respecting him. It's 
just that Waid's plots are *so* damn stupid sometimes... Anyway, it was 
nice to see a little progression in Wally and Linda's relationship, and
the art, as usual, was a real pleasure (I've been a fan of LaRocque since
his Legion days; I still think Larry Mahlstedt is *the* inker for him, but
Roy Richardson does well enough). As for the supposed appearance of Barry
Allen at the very end...well, it's got me intrigued enough to go ahead 
and buy next issue as well, but I don't have great hopes here. Waid is 
the perfect candidate to make this *really* inane. Grade: B+

Green Lantern: Mosaic #9
		writer: Gerard Jones
		artist: Mark Beachum (page 1 by Jim Balent)
		editor: Kevin Dooley

	I like John Stewart more with every issue. I don't understand
how people can say there's no characterization here; half the point of
every issue is to examine what's going on in John's soul (through his
own perceptions, of course, so there's a lot we have to infer for 
ourselves, but that's part of the job of being a reader :) ). The other
half, of course, is to examine the conflicts between the species on the
Mosaic.  John's idea of hosting a party (the occasion of Christmas on the
earthers' calendar being merely an excuse, of course) to compare various
species' ritualistic celebrations is a wonderful counterpoint to his
habitual job of keeping them from each others' throats. Jones gets a
little obscure in his analysis of what these celebrations mean; I believe
this will bear re-reading, as most issues of this series have. That's one
of the things I really like about it. Mark Beachum's art is really nice
in its own way, although it is different enough from Cully Hamner's that
I had a hard time getting into the story at first; once I become accustomed
to a particular artist on a particular book, it's difficult to break the
habitual association. Grade: A-

Hawkworld #31
		writer: John "Tim" Ostrander
		penciller: Tim Truman
		inker: Tim Bradstreet
		letterer: Tim Harkins (can't spoil the convergence by leaving
					one out now, can we?)
		editor: Archie "not a Tim" Goodwin

	Much as I wanted to like it, this issue made little sense to me.
The last time I remember seeing that aborigine (who was revealed to be the
power behind the drugs in the Netherworld in this issue) was in Annual #1.
Perhaps I need to re-read that, or perhaps I've just forgotten a key 
element of last issue. I haven't checked yet. Regardless of the explanation,
this issue really seemed rather disjointed, perhaps a bit rushed. I think
it was rather silly of them to introduce this new concept of the Netherworld
in the last few issues of the book, and I don't really like the direction
we're headed in for the ending. Of course, I've been ready to dislike the
ending since I heard the announcement that a HawkMAN series would follow
a few months after Hawkworld's demise. Shayera is one of the few well-rounded
and admirable female protagonists in comics, and I will be quite pissed if
they kill her off. On the other hand, this book is almost worth reading 
just because of the Tim Truman artwork. Everything has its ups and downs, 
I guess. Grade: B+ (the + is for the art)

Robin III: Cry of the Huntress #4
		writer: Chuck Dixon
		penciller: Tom Lyle
		inker: Bob Smith
		editor: Denny O'Neil
	
	The only reservations I have about this series so far are 1) the
out-of-the-blue revamping of the character of the Huntress; I don't
recall her ever acting anything like this back in her own series. The only
common link between that Huntress and this seems to be the name, although
they are presented as the same character (Dixon seems
to be developing a habit of this; he also wrote a story completely 
contradicting everything we knew about the *real* Harvey Bullock) and 2)
the totally superfluous presence of the KGBeast, with no explanation of
how he freed himself. Not that he was such a great character to begin with.
I really am enjoying the subplots about Tim's problems with his father
and his school counselor, though, and Lyle and Smith seem to be in total 
sync now; they are working together to produce some really nice artwork.
Grade: B+

Shade, the Changing Man #32
		writer: Peter Milligan
		penciller: Colleen Doran
		inker: Pablo Marcos
		editor: Karen Berger
	
	I'll start this one out by saying how impressed I am that even as 
bad an inker as Pablo Marcos cannot actually hurt Colleen Doran's pencils. 
Only George Pratt can do that, apparently.
The art on this issue was still beautiful despite the presence of one of my
all-time least favorite artists. The story was also better than I expected;
I had originally looked at "Ernest and Jim" as just sort of fanciful filler.
And actually, the parts with the two famous writers really were little
more than Milligan indulging a little whimsy; what impressed me is that they
became incidental to a much more important turning point in Shade's life...
er, death...well, existence, maybe? The stage is set for a whole new
direction of weirdness, and I await it eagerly... Grade: A-

Superman: The Man of Steel #20
		writer: Louise Simonson
		penciller: Jon Bogdanove
		inker: Dennis Janke
		editor: Mike Carlin

	I hope just about everyone will agree with me that the "Funeral for
a Friend" storyline so far has been just oodles and oodles better than the
death story it follows up. As I would have expected before reading "Doomsday",
the Super-team of writers and artists are working in excellent conjunction
to examine the actual, believable effects of Superman's death. I have found
the scenes dealing with Lois and the Kents to be genuinely moving. And yet
things are actually happening, as well; the story is not just sitting still
while various people sob about Superman. The little jab at merchandising
in this issue is also well-appreciated; at least DC is conscious of what 
it is doing and how some people view its corporate actions.  All this has
done nothing to redeem the utter stupidity of the conclusion to the "Doomsday"
story, but at least they have lived up to my hopes and returned to the 
generally high standards of quality that the Superman titles enjoyed prior
to that fiasco. Also, I have to say that I rather enjoy Jon Bogdanove's 
art, unlike the majority of people around here. To each his own.
Grade: A

And that does it for this week. Please e-mail responses to 
ast2r@faraday.clas.virginia.edu and let me know if you enjoyed my reviews and
would like to see me do more, or if I'm wasting space with boring material.
Just thought I'd give it a shot. Oh, and I do occasionally buy non-DCs, but
no Marvels.

cheers,
	ast


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