ComicPageOfTheWeekend: Mail it?... I'll deliver it in person!

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Teen Titans © DC Comics

ComicPageOfTheWeekend: Ollie's Stupendous Chili Recipe

Time for some cooking activity with Green Arrow!
Here's a pretty fun page, Ollie's own "Chili Recipe". Beware though, it's certainly edible, this isn't just a joke, but like you'd expect from GA, it's HOT! Really hot, like it will burn your entire mouth and ruin your sense of taste for months!

But if you feel up to the challenge, try it~

I wonder who at DC spent the time making this one up :P

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Only a hothead like Ollie or someone with Bats' discipline is able to survive this chili!

JLA © DC Comics

#Gaming NEWS! #DC characters fight each other...AGAIN!

What a random surprise Warner Bros. just announced!!

Warner announced an upcoming title developed by NetherRealm Studios slated for 2013 and it is called....

"Injustice: Gods Among Us".
which will be an all-new fighting game from the Mortal Kombat developers.
What a twist!
This new random title will have the likes of the Trinity (Bats, WW, Supes) and The Flash facing off against such villains as Harley Quinn and Solomon Grundy!
...Huh, random?!
Nice to see 'em use a random title like this.  (and not, say, "Batman & co: Fighting Superstars!!" XD)

But, guys, don't you nromally do these random proprieties-inspired fighting games to build an audience for a crossover? You already did Mortal Kombat Vs. DC! ~
(you know, like X-Men -> X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Super heroes -> Marvel Vs. Capcom)

Anyways, the game will be shown more clearly at this year's E3.
Ed Boon explained how the game will use two main categories of characters, the power-users and the ones with gadgets.

Here's some character designs, which seem to take some clues from the current comics "New 52" (specially Supes) :

(pants on Wonder Woman? "Odyssey" anyone?)

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti will apparently be writing the plot here. (a plot? in my fighting games!?)

And here's the official trailer:

CBR JLA: Incarnations

 

Remember my Justice League: Year One review?
Now's the time to dig into it's sequel, a zip through the JLA's following years and teams!

Comic title: JLA: Incarnations
Art by Val Semeiks, Prentis Rollins, Kevin Conrad, Eric Battle, Keith Champagne, Ray Kryssing
Story by John Ostrander

Published by DC
From 2001
Lineup JLA
Format: Maxi-series, published as JLA: Incarnations issues #1-7.

JLA Incarnations is a follow-up to Mark Waid's own JLA Year One.
It picks up where Year One left off, the idea behind this series was to cover various key points over the League's history in all-new adventures taking place during these "eras".

And to take on this dantesque job, it was none other than Mark Waid John Ostrander. Who, you might ask?
John Ostrander is a renowned comic book writer, best known for his classic and popular work on the Suicide Squad, the long running Martian Manhunter series and his most recent work on Star Wars: Legacy.

His style his big, epic and bold, perfect in my eyes to carry over Mark Waid's style.
This mini series serves to tell the history of the JLA during the ~10 year gab that follows the likes of JLA: Year One or Batman: Year One, the vague period of time the mid-80s Crisis event kept but retconned from Golden Age and Silver Age comics.

JLA: Incarnations issues are all double sized.
Each issue tells more or less self-contained stories, on 38-pages long issues. The story picks up fresh from the JLA's formation and first year. Through a sort of "retroactive retelling", we revisit past incarnations of the Justice League up to then-the present time of publication (that is, the JLA composed of the likes of Kyle Rayner!Green Lantern, the bearded spear-handed Aquaman, Plastic Man, etc).
We see how the League evolved, the gradual changes brought to the roster and team.

The first issues covers the "Silver Age" of the team. The roster stayed mostly the same, composed of GL, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Black Canary and Green Arrow. The League was still based in a mountain.

It's a great way to see how these stories took place in the post-Crisis DC Universe.
Subtle changes are given either to the continuity throughout the stories or the characters themselves over the course of the years.
Each issue focuses on some standalone members more than the others.  The first issue takes place around the first confrontation between the JLA and the JSA (without any silly Earth-2 aspect), the JSA seems a bit resentful against their successors at first, it's not like in the old comics when they just simply stumbled  into another world where other people filled their roles. It's your classic "villain manipulations"-plot though.
The second issue shows us how the "World's Finest" (Superman and Batman) came to  be reserve members rather than full League-status.

The third issue, one of my favorites, takes place around the "Satellite era".
When Green Arrow ends up leaving the League, feeling out of touch with the population from the space headquarters.

Ostrander plays "continuity cop", cleans up the DCU hitory and yet still manages to have fun with these overall characters arcs.
You feel invested in these characters in such few pages.

After the depart of Arrow, "thanks to fascists pigs" like Hawkman, there's a whole issue 4 dedicated to Martian Manhunter and Aquaman as they see the constant struggle to keep the team together during the time Elongated Man and Zatanna joined the JLA.
And finally even an issue 5 over a decade in the making, a Crisis tie-in!
And quite an original issue, taking place during that classic event that redefined DC Comics, but from the perspective of the actual resultant "Earth", not the old retconned Silver Age one, and from the eyes of the infamous "JL Detroit", a real team of underdogs heroes. (with the likes of Vibe, Vixen,,..)
There's also a revisiting of Barry Allen's final moments before joining the Speed Force.
And a back-up story taking place during Ostrander's own plotted Legends mini-series (glimpsed in my Blue Beetle review). When heroes became outlawed.

My favorite of the bunch is without a doubt the Super Buddies-esque issue.
Issue 6 sees Blue Beetle and Booster Gold get the Justice League International in trouble.
With some spot-on JLI-era humor, a fun (and funny!) adventure in Bialya
The same issue also offers us a extra tale during the disbanding of +the 90s Extreme Justice.
Finally, issue 7 takes place during the current League, and features the JLA's first foes, the Appelaxians! (last seen in Year One!)

JLA: Incarnations is about epic larger than life-adventures!

There's a lot of character moments, something you don't always get in these kind of action adventure comics.
This comic book series revisits and reimagines past events making they fit each other in the history of the League. There's some bigger character arcs that take place over various issues.

The book covers various classic League villains and some more obscure ones, such as Wotan, Gorilla Grodd, Kobra, etc.

The art is quite appropriate to the periods visited.
I really liked Val Semeiks' chameleon art stly,e, at times channeling John Byrne, other times George Pérez.
The art is bright, sometimes more realistic, other times more comic book-ysh. It ends up with more cartoony Superman and Batman "in the present" at issue 7.
The various inkers truly help Semeiks pencils fit the period of each issue.

There's also an on-going side story, from the perspective of Tully Reed - a reporter who is a big fan of superheroes, though he goes under some changes over the years too.
He's our entry-point into this fantastic world, and like the readers, will often cheer to the heroes, other times resent them..but in the end, he'll follow their heroic example.

Overall, it's a great enjoyable read!
Such a fun ride through the years.
It's also quite easy to get into, this is the kind of story the characters will refer to in their other comic book series.

From their golden days to the dark times and return to form.
I also loved seeing the Martian as the Justice League-constant throughout the years.
(Which, sidenote, reminds me why I just can't get into the currents New 52 League, no Martian Manhunter really? And Didio & co threw him into Stormwatch, nor JLA nor the JLI, really? booooh!!)

Loved all the little details, the mail from the fans-page designed to imitate the JLA at the time,
Keith Giffen/J.M. DeMatties feel of the JLI issue...

It's truly a shame this has never been collected (as of today, as I write these lines).
Even if you only find a issue or two, it's self contained and quite accessible.


I give it:

  2.5 / 3 Plastic-trophies!

Super Dictionary: along

By this point, they weren't even trying anymore...

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Super Dictionary © DC Comics

CBR Animal Man

 

Time for another comic book review!

This time, it's Animal Man's turn!
We already saw him before, I mentioned his storyline in an Adam Strange comics recently.

Let's see the comic that put this underdog superhero back on the map, in....

Comic title: Animal Man
Art by Chas Truog, Tom Grummett & Dough Hazlewood
Cover Art by Brian Bolland
Story by Grant Morrison

Published by DC Comics
From 1988/1991
Lineup Animal Man
Format: Trade paperback, collecting the first nine issue of Animal Man. 

Back in the 80s, after the big "Crisis" that reshaped and rebooted the whole DC Universe, DC had their creators redefine their characters for a new generation, like we saw with Batman: Year One and other related relaunches. Some others were having fun with new books, introducing new characters and playing with the format as we saw before.

Following the success of Alan Moore's Watchmen, that revamped the whole comic book medium,  younger and innovative talents were brought from outside the US.
For example, another author from the UK, famous writer Neil Gaiman got to reimagine The Sandman.
Amongst this new blood brought aboard was Grant Morrison, who has become over the years one of the greatest writers to work at DC, revamping characters, making deep and interesting stories, a true master story teller.

While Alan Moore explored the themes of life and nature through an old forgotten DC propriety with Swamp Thing, Morrison did the exact same thing for the animal kingdom and animal rights with another long forgotten Silver Age hero, Animal Man!

Who is Animal Man??
Originally a B (or even C) List hero, A.M. was revamped in the late 80s alongside various older DC character. He stayed mostly the same and kept his stories for the most part intact. At least, that's the status quo at the start of the book, soon enough, he starts questioning the way his powers work or come from...

After being exposed to some alien saucer that crash landed on earth, Buddy Baker developed some strange super powers.
Buddy was now able to "channel" the natural abilities of the animals in his environment.
He had a superhero costume made up for him and started playing vigilante around. Never as popular or strong as, say, Superman or Batman, he mostly stayed on the sidelines. (until the Crisis that is...)

Buddy lives happily with his wife Ellen and son and daughter, Cliff and Maxine respectively (9 and 5 years old children), in the suburbs.

At the start of this series, Buddy decides he now wants to be a "real" serious superhero.
He quickly joins the JLI, the Justice League Europe-branch (out of panel) and hires his neighbour and friend to serve as agent and starts taking "superhero" jobs....

The series depicts this "everyday man" Animal Man struggle with both a superhero life and these very strange powers he has.

It's more of a meta-series about an average Joe living in a world/universe populated by super powered creatures and alien creatures.
On his first job for STAR Labs, he is quickly confronted to mutation, hi-tech technology, old obscure DC Comics characters , monsters, etc..

The series plays a lot with comic book conventions and tropes, analyzing them and having fun with them. During these first story arcs it's pretty realistic grounded.

It's sort of a series that takes itself quite seriously in tone, but plays along with the usual ridiculous concepts you find in comics.
The "Wile E. Coyote" issue comes to mind, but I won't spoil it here. Let's just say it shows in a gruesome and sad "reality filter" how cartoons work. A pretty fun issue for sure.

The real stars of the show here are Buddy mostly outside his superhero persona (thinking about his Animal Man identity) and his family. Buddy doesn't have a proper "secret identity", everyone who knows who Buddy Baker is can find Animal Man's private home.
Ellen and the kids are quite featured prominently during most storylines. Buddy's relationship with them, their relationship with "Animal Man". (Cliff gets bullied at school for being the son of A.M.)

There's a lot of DC "guest stars", as Buddy lives in the larger DCU. References are made to the entire canon of the DC of that era.
B'wana Beast is brought back from the Silver Age as well in a more realistic fashion (his animal-mixing powers used for horror and shock here!), Thanagarians, Martian Manhunter, Flash's villain Mirror Master, etc.

Buddy starts to question his way of life, due to his connection with the animal kingdom. And become the first vegetarian superhero, one who fights for animal rights and causes. (like Morrison himself)
He also starts questioning and having some trouble with his own strange abilities (after a DC Comics event - Invasion - that is avoided here but alluded, easy to get without spending time upon)

During these reflective and contemplative calmer issues, he also runs into an old retired Golden Age villain (in Death of the Red Mask), which touches the same kind of subjects Watchmen does. The whole issues even seems like a big Watchmen allusion/homage, playing with the presence of violence nowadays, comics in the old days, "grey"zones of moral, simpler times. (lots of shoutouts to find, visually, same kind of breakdowns, layouts,..)

All in all, a very simple comic to read and access, and both deep and both meaningful and experimental.

Overall, it's a fantastic book!
A great entry point into the DC Universe and a powerful analysis of it from a more "common man" point of view.

Most stories contained in this book are self-contained per issues, besides the on-going overall plot of the first bunch of issues. The series was originally imagined as a 4-issue mini-series, before actually being turned into an on-going due to the fantastic sales, and it kind of shows.

This is the first of a three-volumes collection collecting Morrison's run. He wrote the first 26 issues of Animal Man (of a ~90 issues run) from '88 to 1990.

Chas Truog and Doug Hazlewood's art is quite stunning and I simply adore Brian Bolland covers, which defined the series universe and mature tone even before opening the first page of these stories.

All in all, it's a must HAVE!
Worth and necessary to anyone's library!

I give it:

  3 / 3 Plastic-trophies!

Super Dictionary: asleep

Super-creepiness at its finest...

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Super Dictionary © DC Comics

CBR Chase

 

Here's an absolute must read - and yeah, I'm already telling it right away from the start.

One of the most original and interesting reads DC produced in these last couple of decades.
Introducing...

Comic title: Chase
Art by J.H. Williams III, Charlie Adlard, Rick Burchett, Kelley Jones, Yanick Paquette, Greg Scott, Diego Barreto, Eric Canete, Robert P Hall, Shawn Martinbrough, Michael Gray and John Beatty
Stories by Daniel Curtis Johnson, J.H. Williams III and Doug Moench

Published by DC Comics
From 1998/2011
Lineup Adam Strange, Animal Man, Countdown
Format: Omnibus trade paperback, collecting the 9-issue miniseries of Chase, Chase One Million, Batman #550 and short stories from DC Universe Heroes: Secret Files #1, Secret Files Guide to the DCU, Superman: Our Worlds at War - Secret Files #1, JSA Secret Files #2, Flash Secret Files and Origins #3, Joker: Last Laugh Secret Files #1, Batgirl: Secret Files #1 and Hawkman: Secret Files #1. 

Chase is a title created by J.H. Williams III and Daniel Curtis Johnson.
It lasted for 10 issues - not counting the specials and tie-ins/appearances/cross-overs in other books.
It really became something unique, thanks to the combined efforts of its creators.
The writing of Dan Curtis Johnson made its stories stand out as a smart noir-esque and mature title taking place in the DC Universe. A more realistic approach and supernatural to this costumed populated fictional world.

While J.H. Williams III really gave a life to this side of the DCU.
And was oh-so fitting to this unique approach.

Playing with the comic book medium, analyzing it and deconstructing this incredible premise. (of flying people dressed in spandex costumes)

Our titular character first appeared in Batman 550 (in 1998) to promote the launch of this new series (which is also included in this book).

Cameron Chase is an agent of the D.E.O. - the Department of Extranormal Operations - newly recruited by Director Bones himself, head of the DEO.
She's part of a special task force of the government, her role is to mointor and keep "metahumans" under control.

Being a former detective, most of her stories are told as cases and assignments.

Along the way she discovers she actually possesses powers of her own, the ability to negate superpowers of other metas in her proximity.

She also tries to come to terms with a long time trauma from her childhood during the course of her series.
Her father was killed in an horrible fashion involving costumed characters...

Spoiler:

Walter Chase had been the super hero known as the Acro-Bat, many years ago.
With a bunch of other costumed heroes, they formed a team called "Justice Experience", probably inspired by stories about the Justice Society in the 50s no doubt.
But due to their inexperience, someone perished once during a struggle with supervillains. Someone took it personally and decided to avenge the death of that girl. He became Doctor Trap, went on a vendetta against the Justice Experience.
And killed Chase's father in front of her own eyes as a child.

Anyway, that is why Chase hate costumed vigilantes.

During the course of her series, Chase is assigned to various kind of jobs, tasking the Suicide Squad, Teen Titans, etc.
The stories shift from serious tone to more light hearted tales.
Her family secrets revealed in an amazing 6th issue, the Dark Knight guest stars several times and clashes with Chase...

It's a very fun book all around.
The quality is maintained, and supervised through and through, even in the guest issues or other appearances in other comics, like the ones from Shadow of the Bat or Secret Files.

And a fun exploration of what having spandex-wearing individuals around mean and the unforeseen implications those so-called heroes don't always think of.

Lots of different sort of stories, including a fan-favorite One Million tie-in special issue. (a story taking place in the distant future)
Case that Chase works on, personal exploration through her own abilities and confrontations over "super-powered activities" juridisctions. This complete collection covers a wide range of type of stories.
Various unexpected surprises awaits Chase on her journey.

Also guest starring such characters as Batman, The Teen Titans, Booster Gold, Green Lantern, The Flash, the Martian Manhunter, the Justice Society and many more!

Overall, a recommended book!
May you be a DC Comics fan or not. Newcomer or long time reader.
New to American comics or not.

It's a very fun entry point to all things super powers. At a more human level.

The stories in themselves are great, original, dark, "real".

And also, this is as good as it gets in published comics.
This book is a huge omnibus-sized softcover in full color.
Containing 352 pages worth of material, covering most of Chase's career.
(she appeared much later on in the pages of Manhunter and Bat-woman at the moment)

Simply said, an absolute must read!

I give it:

  3 / 3 Plastic-trophies!

ComicPageOfTheWeekend: The Fastest Pig Alive

There were a lot of "Kodak Moments" in Wonder Woman's on-going series before all those reboots of late.
But nothing beats the Flash-Pig in my eyes :P

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Wonder Woman #138 © DC Comics