"Leaving."

Well, three-fifths of Nextwave, anyway: Hasbro doesn't seem to be jumping up and down to make the Captain. And we have Elsa--we saw her last in November--but it would've been too crowded with four and I can only work with so many figures with heels at once.

As usual, I start a plotline, and just let it run: Crossbones has been unconscious for three months now. Although for Kurt and Sat (and Marc) it's maybe been a couple hours, if that. Wait, Kurt and Sat left their apartment that morning...in September. And I thought my days felt long lately...
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You ever see an older band, maybe booked at your local fair or casino, that maybe has like one member of their old roster? Usually they try to get replacement members that might pass a first glance; this one has some familiar names that you might not recognize! From 2016, Teen Titans #16, "The Sum of Its Parts" Written by Will Pfeifer, pencils by Miguel Medonca, inks by Dexter Vines. I have the regular cover, but there is a coloring book variant, and good luck with that! I couldn't tell you how to color even half these costumes, but it's entirely possible you could give somebody a better color scheme by accident or guesswork.

I was thinking there was only one, traditional Titan in this issue: Beast Boy, or Changeling, whatever they're calling Gar now. But there was Raven, too, in a new costume. They also have Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, and (Red) Robin; but they're Cassie, Bart, and Tim; all of whom have been Titans before but their predecessors are probably remembered more as such. Rounding out the team are the new Power Girl, Bunker, Chimera, and I think the heroic version of Doomsday? Well, the latter two may be on the way out: the Durlan Chimera's people come to take her back, by force, and she agrees rather than to continue wrecking Tim's little Titans plans. Doomsday had to get back to his internship at S.T.A.R. Labs, and Bart ditches as well, although he's considerate enough to leave a note. A massive note written in Sharpie on the floor at super-speed: I wonder if Tim had to have that erased to cover their tracks? Still, it looks like most of the remaining roster stuck it out to the last issue of this series, #24.

Is there even a current Teen Titans book right now? (Well, given current events, not right now, but you know what I mean.) Or is it all Young Justice? I did get a recent issue of that guest-starring the Warlord, but that was enough Bendis to last me a while...
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One of the few pieces of dad-advice I've given my kids, is never, ever, ever get rid of a video-game console. Even if you've played it to death and are bored to tears by it, I guarantee if you do pawn it off, in five or ten years you'll be kicking yourself. I miss my old Sega, for example, and today's book got me remembering a beloved...actually, at best it was an also-ran, but still. Anyway, from 2013, Injustice: Gods Among Us #6, "Part Six" Written by Tom Taylor, pencils by Mike S. Miller, David Yardin, and Jheremy Raapack; inks by Miller, Yardin, Raapack, Le Beau Underwood, and Jonas Trindade.

Above the title on the cover reads "From the creators of Mortal Kombat," but this made me think of the 1995 fighting game Justice League Task Force, which was pretty mediocre in comparison to other fighting games available at the time...like Mortal Kombat, actually. I preferred Eternal Champions, but we're getting off-topic...JLTF gave about three seconds of lip-service to the why of "let's you and him fight," in that your opponents were actually android duplicates. Which does explain how Green Arrow could beat...anyone. Tom Taylor would get a lot of issues out of setting up the grudge matches for Injustice: Gods Among Us and its sequel. This issue opens mid-riot at Arkham--actually, I'm assuming it's Arkham, it's not named until much later. Solomon Grundy has Robin by the face and knocks Wonder Woman through a wall, but Nightwing takes a moment to egg Superman on: Grundy is dead, you can do whatever to him. And he does, lasering off the zombie's hand then flying through his chest.

Nightwing frees Robin from Grundy's dead mitt, and while Robin tries to play it off like he had it under control, Nightwing doubts it but still covers for him with Batman. Batman then blows the head off the still-moving Grundy. While fighting other prisoners, Robin starts in with the excessive force, claiming Superman was right and they didn't deserve protection. When Nightwing criticizes him, a petulant Robin sidearms his stick at Dick--catching him in the side of the head, and he breaks his neck in the fall! Isn't that how Million Dollar Baby ended?

Superman tries to comfort Robin, partly because it was an accident, but also because I think he was on Supe's side there. Batman, of course, is devastated at the loss of his son. There's what seems like a jarring transition then, to Catwoman, as she robs from the one percent and gives to the poor; maybe keeping a bit of the shinier stuff for herself. Superman shows up mid-robbery, and Catwoman has to take off, but has planned ahead: she heads for the sewers, armed with sonic bafflers and an earring with a sliver of Kryptonite! Not enough Kryptonite, though, as Superman is able to take it out with heat vision. He's not there to stop or kill her, though: he wants her to help Batman through his grief, since he couldn't. Look, it's a fighting game, not a talking game, alright? Selina agrees, although she also suggests that Superman consider "some wrath for the evil people who truly rule the world."

After taking care of Alfred and Bruce for two pages, Selina accompanies Batman to the Bat-Signal, lit not by Commissioner Gordon, but by the president. Superman and his side (Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Shazam, among others) have begun dictating peace across the world, stopping multiple global conflicts by force. Batman knows that doesn't help the underlying problems, but to enforce the peace Superman might have to take over completely. The president wants Batman to stop him; in return Catwoman wants him to be a better president. They begin gathering their player characters--I mean, team.

Although killed here, I know Nightwing is a playable character in the game: maybe Taylor brings him back elsewhere. This is a little grimdark for my tastes, but a perfectly fine random comic to read.
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They say 'quarantine' in this comic, now I'm obligated to blog it.

Is Easter this Sunday? Well, it's too damn soon to be going out again. Stay in. Read some comics, like today's book! From 2003, Superman #621, "The Mack Minute" Written by Joe Casey, art by Derec Aucoin, cover by Kevin Nowlan.

This issue opens with longtime baddie Copperhead getting jobbed by new masked vigilante Minuteman, who Superman talks to for about a minute later in the issue. He doesn't give the traditional my city/my rules speech Batman always does, but maybe he didn't have time, since Minuteman makes himself scarce mid-talk. Also, a bunch of kids turn into big, weird bugs; and later on Clark realizes the new mail guy at the Daily Planet is, conveniently enough, the Minuteman. He's a weird guy, taking his shoe off for some reflexology after Supes calls him out, but also claims the kids are just the start of the problem, as the demonic-looking "Anti-Angelica" are coming.

I hadn't heard of Minuteman before, so I'm guessing he didn't last long. His outfit is practical yet nondescript; he might've been more memorable if he had just gone into action dressed as the mail guy. The Anti-Angelica and bug kids are well-designed, though.

It's perfectly normal to feel like climbing the walls now: I certainly do, and I was pretty socially distant before all this. Actually, I'm kind of hoping I can sneak back into the crowd when it's all over, and act like I was there the whole time...
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Seriously, I'm this close to needing another hit...

Mike Sterling of Progressive Ruin and Sterling Silver Comics had a sweet deal on his Instagram: 30 recent(ish) comics for $20 bucks, shipped! So, that's what I read this weekend.

Out of the 30, there were four I already had (and two of those were digital copies) so not too bad. And we'll go ahead and blog a recent book I've usually enjoyed, with a guest-star whose figure we got earlier this year: from 2017, Daredevil #23, "Supreme, part 3" Written by Charles Soule, art by Alec Morgan.

This was midway through a pretty intriguing legal argument, and Matt Murdock had already won in the New York supreme court. The question was, should the court allow a masked vigilante--Daredevil, as a matter of fact--to testify as a witness without having to reveal his secret identity? As the title page points out, it could set a precedent to legitimize super heroes' involvement in the legal process. Between that, and Matt being on top and things looking good, it's too bad this is part three of five. But even better for Matt--which is not a sentence you usually see for him--he gets a consult with an old friend and fellow lawyer: Jen Walters. They're both obviously glad to get together, although Matt requests they don't talk about Foggy Nelson; and Jen asks to not get into why she isn't green. (Matt can't see that she's not, but can tell from her voice that she's not She-Hulk'ed up.)

Matt tells Jen Daredevil could be "a one-man wiretap...no warrant required." That seems like it should be a red flag; and Jen also wonders why Matt seems to be pushing this at the expense of the actual case at hand. They are interrupted by Tombstone, who is not impressed by lawyers, but also hadn't been advised that She-Hulk was going to be there. He also wasn't expecting this new, grey, really goddamn angry She-Hulk. Unable to change into Daredevil, and forced to maintain his secret identity, Matt manages to talk her out of caving Tombstone's skull in. After a seemingly painful transformation, Jen laments that she's probably 86'd for life from the lawyer bar, and tells Matt "just because you can do something doesn't always mean you should."

I need to find the rest of this, although I'd be really, really, really surprised if Matt wins through on this one. I know I have another Daredevil issue in the mail right now, but I don't think it's after this one. Still, while I have more comics coming, I think I need more, right?
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"Support."

I don't know if in-continuity it's really that easy to change Typhoid Mary's dominant personality, but this is the comic version of Multiple Personality Disorder and would resemble a Cliff Notes version of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde more than reality. Ann Nocenti may have put more work into it than that, but I also remember Mary could be changed to Typhoid fairly easily with videos of violence or hardcore sex. Mary was pretty repressed, but I figured reminding Typhoid of what Mary liked or wanted could get her back in that mindset, as it were.

My pitch for a Typhoid Mary series is basically the 70's Incredible Hulk TV show: Mary rolls into town, gets wrapped up in something, Typhoid's out and destroys the place, everybody learns a valuable life lesson. Actually, Mary isn't as strong a protagonist as Bruce Banner; she wouldn't necessarily be trying to help someone or get involved. On the other hand, she was early on portrayed as a somewhat gullible innocent that drew men to her like flies; so Mary rolls into town, gets harassed or assaulted, burns half the town down. She may or may not get the half that had it coming.
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I'm not even a big Tarzan fan, and I wanna read the next issue.

The closest modern equivalent to come to mind would be some small-time criminals accidentally kill Robin, and that horrible sinking feeling that they just messed up. Bad. I guess Tarzan and Jane would be closer than Batman and Robin, though. From 1979, Tarzan #24, "Epilogue!" and "Jane's Story!" Written by Bill Mantlo, pencils by Sal Buscema, inks by Bob Hall.

Tarzan's portion of the issue wraps up--yeesh, a ten-part storyline? That seems ambitious as hell for 1979, yet alone a Tarzan book. Tarzan returns from the inner world of Pellucidar and closes up the doorway, then sets off to return to his wife.

But Jane hasn't been just sitting around twiddling her thumbs--oh, wait, she kinda has. Bored, she heads out with the Waziri to make sure a brushfire wasn't moving towards the Greystoke estate. Some poachers had set the fire to clear the too-tall veldt grass, and started a massive stampede. While the Waziri try and set a backfire, Jane and her lion Jad-Bal-Ja try to herd the panicked animals away from a ravine. All of the animals are turned, save a rhino--that charges Jane's jeep! Jane is able to grab the cliffside, but the furious rhino shoves the jeep over, leaving her no choice but to drop. There's a river down there, but the narration has written her off as dead already.

Jad-Bal-Ja wants to avenge his mistress, but gets netted by the poachers, one of whom has realized who that was, what just happened, and who would be coming for them...Also, there were not a lot of issues left: the series would end with #29, and I suspect it crammed a couple issues worth of story into that one. The way this one rolled, I didn't think Jane was dead, but I wasn't expecting to see her the next issue, either.
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Geez, Peter doesn't even get a cut of his action figure sales.

There are some virulent, hateful "fans" that were destroying Rose Tico action figures to protest...I don't even know, women, maybe. But they had to buy the figures--I don't know if they racked up enough YouTube hits to make it a profitable venture; because a lot of the angrier comic/movie posters work a pyramid scheme of grift. And I certainly don't care enough to find a link, but unfortunately the cover of today's book reminded me of that: from 2000, Amazing Spider-Man 2000, "Old Acquaintances" Written by Howard Mackie, art by Klaus Janson.

This predates "One More Day" by seven years or so, but I think it still might've been a low point for Spidey personally and as a title: was this when Mary Jane was missing, and believed dead? Still don't know how that one wrapped up, either. Spidey hears screams that lead to Liz Osborn's apartment, where some goons are attacking her and little Normie. Harry had recently died, and even though Spidey saves him, Normie is more afraid of him. Spidey then gets clowned by the bad guy, who he calls "Scrier Jr." because of his resemblance to the mysterious Scrier, but Junior doesn't correct him, so we don't know his name! Scrier Jr. takes Normie, noticing the boy collected Spider-Man action figures. And decapitated them.

Liz doesn't want Spidey involved, but didn't appear to be leaping into action to call the cops, either. Spidey would hardly be one to let something like that go, but might have been concussed. Or seeing the ghost of Harry Osborn! Or the manifestation of Peter's own guilt--ah, if he was the embodiment of Spider-guilt he'd be 90 damn stories tall. He doesn't believe "Harry" is a ghost, and doesn't shout out the obvious answer of Mysterio; but Harry doesn't press him. He sincerely seems to want Spidey to find Normie. Meanwhile, Scrier Jr. has given Normie a bunch of Spider-Man action figures to mutilate, so the kid is happy as a clam; but it's all part of Junior's plan to turn Normie against...his grandpa, Norman? I think he was dead at the time, but Junior is convinced he would return. Norman had insinuated himself into the Scrier organization? Cult? Midlevel marketing scheme? Whatever it was. Junior had attempted a coup, but been forced out. So, with stolen Scrier tech, they put every piece of info they had on Harry Osborn into a computer, to create a hologram, to use on Normie to turn him. But the holographic Harry wouldn't hurt his 'son.'

After Spidey beats Junior up a bit--knocking out a tooth, rather brutal for him--"Harry" tells Normie about the Osborn Legacy, and how he needs to look up to someone like Spider-Man, who had nothing to do with his dad's death. Junior makes a final grab for Normie, figuring he could at least hurt Norman by killing his grandson, but an unseen figure grabs Junior, apparently snapping his neck. Whoever it was, Normie doesn't seem afraid of him, but does return to Spidey for him to take him home.

I don't know if any modern psychiatrists would tell you carving up an effigy of your ire is good for you. Marvel Legends were still a couple years out from this issue, but these figures would've been Toy Biz. Or maybe bootlegs. Spidey probably doesn't see a plugged nickel for those, but still gets hit by the lawsuits whenever the head of one gets lodged in some kid's throat...
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This wasn't my favorite, but I recall this as a stretch of issues I kind of liked, even though it isn't a run as such: from 1991, Detective Comics #634, "The Third Man" Written by Kelley Puckett, art by Luke McDonnell.

I don't recall why, but I think Detective was mostly single-issue stories that year. Milligan and Aparo's "The Hungry Grass!" was only a few issues prior. This month, two old-lady amateur detectives, the Biddees, stumble across a dead man in a subway station and start working the case. Batman is less than enthusiastic about amateur help, citing multiple cases ruined by their interference. He leaves them handcuffed in a records office: they were breaking in, but so was he, and I don't think Batman was duly deputized or anything at this point. I'm not sure how I feel about them, really: they are pretty disparaging of the cops, which, honestly, they might have a point there. Not unlike Spider-Man, I'm sure they'd have a podcast: that true-crime stuff is all the rage. The Biddees later get captured by the boss, who nearly let them go, assuming them to be harmless old ladies, until a goon points out they were packing a laundry list full of heat.

Old lady detectives were well out of season by this issue--on TV, anyway. Probably tons of mystery novels, but not something I would've expected in a Batman comic. Puckett would have a great run on the Batman Adventures, while McDonnell is best known for Suicide Squad.
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This is going to wreck the team, the title, most of the DCU; but at least it's pretty.

I honestly thought I harped on about this more often here, but I really, really hate Identity Crisis. ("Both wildly popular and reviled," per its Wikipedia page, although I suspect that could apply to any DC event crossover since.) And despite some of its dodgier choices (like Deathstroke no-selling half the Justice League, or killing off Captain Boomerang for some reason) I was still excited to read the last issue! I remember reading the first six issues during lunch the day the final chapter was released, because I wanted to see if there were clues to Sue Dibny's killer; and I can not think of anything that has failed to stick the landing as badly as that last issue did. It was a murder mystery that completely forgot it was a murder mystery in the last mile. It was like a Sherlock Holmes story, where instead of the big reveal at the end, Holmes decides to go to America because Watson hid evidence to another, unrelated case, years before. Anyway, let's check out a crossover issue! I'm sure you're enthused for that now! From 2005, JLA #117, "Crisis of Conscience, part three" Written by Geoff Johns and Allan Heinberg, pencils by Chris Batista, inks by Mark Farmer.

Long-time JLA baddie Despero--who seems to have given up pants--confronts J'onn J'onzz on the team's hypocrisy, siting an earlier occasion where J'onn violated his mind. (Justice League America #39 or thereabouts, where J'onn pulls a power out of his Martian ass to trap Despero in a happy fantasy.) Despero says he had restored the memories mindwiped by Zatanna, to all her "victims." Dr. Light, the Secret Society of Super-Villains, even perhaps Batman. He thought the League would destroy itself, which frees him up to destroy J'onn. Meanwhile, Wally was trying to be everywhere at once, making sure everyone was safe, since the Secret Society knew their secret identities again. Visiting Zatanna, they don't have much time to delve into why she did what she did, before getting a mystic warning, of danger at the Daily Planet. Flash gets to Lois first, but the Society is there, intent on getting everyone the Justice Leaguers had ever loved.

Meanwhile, a recovering Catwoman checks on a noticeably crabbier than usual Batman, who had been repairing Red Tornado. Getting an alert on the Planet attack, a surprised Catwoman asks if he's going to contact the League? Hard. No. But Bats can't seem to reach Superman, either; although he's there in time to save Lois from the usual fall. The rest of the team arrive to help beat the Society but Superman notices they called him "Clark." Batman had told Supes about the mindwipes before he quit the JLA, and Superman wondered if he shouldn't quit. But since the Secret Society's memories had returned, what next. Hawkman, bluntly, suggests: "We vote."


The Secret Society had recovered a Star Sapphire--she wasn't Carol Ferris, and I thought the Society's version had been dead for years. This was a callback to a classic three-parter from Justice League of America #166-168, but the Society then had Blockbuster and Reverse-Flash; this issue they added Chronos, Felix Faust, and Matter Master. I think the bad guys were mindwiped just as a matter of course in that one: got to put that genie back in the bottle, one way or another.
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"Murderteam."

No commentary today? Ah, asleep at the wheel.
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