July 1972

The Spidey-Torch love-fest continues in MTU while over in B&B Batman has to deal with his own gaggle of hip kids…and Aparo needs a little help from his friends.

MARVEL TEAM-UP #3 three whiskers

DATE: July, 1972

TITLE: “The Power to Purge!”

STARS: Spider-Man & The Human Torch
VILLAIN: Morbius the Living Vampire

WRITER: Gerry Conway
EDITOR: Stan Lee

PENCILLER: Ross Andru
INKER: Giacoia

STORY: Brothers Jacob and Jefferson Bolt part ways after a heated argument but instead of peace Jefferson discovers Morbius floating unconscious in the river. For his troubles Morbius feeds on his rescuer, turning him into a vampire. Morbius fiancée Martine asks the Fantastic Four for help and when she mentions a Professor Hans Jorgenson at State University in Queens it jogs Johnny Storm’s memories. Recalling that Spider-Man attends the same school, the Human Torch seeks out both the Professor and the web-slinger. Spider-Man, suffering from apparent extreme flu-like symptoms stumbles upon Morbius attacking a student on campus and attempts to stem the vampire’s actions. Soon, the Human Torch, Jacob and Jefferson Bolt, and a mob of angry and mislead students enter the fray – and Morbius escapes.

COMMENTS: In this, MTU’s first continued story, Spider-Man and the Human Torch team up for the third consecutive issue. Johnny is again portrayed as being willing to seek out Spidey, albeit grudgingly and this time for information on a possible foe. Their relationship becomes a bit more complex herein; they face off like prizefighters when first spotting one another yet fly into battle together, despite their almost complete lack of ability to work in tandem. In one striking sequence, the ill Spider-Man is pulled off of Morbius by Johnny before the young hero beats the vampire to a pulp. At the coda, Spidey compliments the Torch for a heart-felt comment on the plight of the story’s two brothers.

There is an odd statement by Johnny in the story of how Spider-Man told him about Morbius when the two heroes last met. As their previous recorded meeting was two months earlier in MTU #2, which holds no mention of the vampire and was also written by Gerry Conway, it’s a strange comment and one obviously meant to serve the plot.

Morbius and Martine make their debuts in 1971’s AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #101 and 102, respectively. A scientific vampire, as opposed to a supernatural one, Michael Morbius gains vampiric abilities and disabilities from a blood experiment rather than a curse. One of Marvel’s strangest characters, he is neither completely good nor evil but almost always all-together self-centered. His appearance here in the river corresponds with his seeming disappearance at the end of ASM #102.

Look also for a cameo of Archie Bunker, of TV’s “All in the Family.”


THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #102 three whiskers

DATE: June-July, 1972

TITLE: “The Commune of Defiance”

STARS: Batman and The Teen Titans
VILLAIN: Sonny Trask and Angel Lee

WRITER: Bob Haney
EDITOR: Murray Boltinoff

ARTISTS: Jim Aparo, Neal Adams and Dick Giordano

STORY: The Barclayville neighborhood of Gotham’s a slum and its protectors, the Young Aquarians, are sick of the city turning its back on the area. After some civil disobedience, with help from Batman and the Titans, Gotham’s Mayor gives Barclayville 30 days to clean up its streets or its demolition time for the historic district. All goes well until the neighborhood’s crime lord gets out of prison and decides to teach the Aquarians a lesson on who’s the boss…

COMMENTS: A family emergency interrupted Aparo halfway through #102’s art chores, but B&B alum Adams and inker Giordano stepped in to finish the job with nary a bump. The story is another early 1970s lecture on “urban renewal” and “flower power”, complete with hip vigilantes the Young Aquarians: Jamie, Ben Ahmed, Needles, Mother Earth, and “Lawyer.” The Titans line-up this time around includes Robin, Kid Flash, Speedy, Wonder Girl, and the plain clothed Mal Duncan. Dig Needles aping Marvel’s Stan Lee with exclamations of “True Believer!”

May 1972

Seems as if Marvel may have wanted MTU to be nothing more than a Spidey-Torch joint...and Metamorpho, every B&B fan's friend crawls out of his retirement and kick-starts a long-standing convention for the book.

MARVEL TEAM-UP #2 three whiskers

DATE: May, 1972

TITLE: “And Spidey Makes Four!”

STARS: Spider-Man & The Human Torch
VILLAINS: The Frightful Four, Annihilus

WRITER: Gerry Conway
EDITOR: Stan Lee

PENCILLER: Ross Andru
INKER: Jim Mooney

STORY: A depressed Johnny Storm seeks out Spider-Man for some friendly talk but is rebuffed by the wall-crawler. Later, Spider-Man shows up at the Fantastic Four’s Baxter Building headquarters and proceeds to pummel the Torch insensate. Johnny then learns that his fellow hero has been hypnotized by the Frightful Four, whose leader the Wizard plans to utilize the FF’s equipment to capture and store vast amounts of cosmic energy. Unfortunately, the process opens a doorway to the Negative Zone and its most infamous denizen, the evil and powerful Annihilus. Mentally freed, Spider-Man stands with the Torch between the menace of the Frightful Four and a terrifying incursion from beyond.

COMMENTS: More a Human Torch story than a Spider-Man tale, the webslinger is used mostly as the villains’ tool for most of the narrative until he wakes up for the last four pages. Despite their long-standing rocky relationship, Johnny actually proposes friendship to his fellow teen-ager, an olive branch that an uncharacteristically-callous Spider-Man shrugs off as “playing counselor to some neurotic’s fantasies!”

The loose references in this issue to the previous issue, such as Johnny’s mention of working with Spider-Man “a few weeks ago” and Sandman’s bit of payback on Spidey, presage the multipart MTU stories to come.

Johnny Storm is pining herein for the Inhuman girl called Crystal, whom he first meets and falls in love with in 1965’s FANTASTIC FOUR #45. After a long romance Crystal leaves Johnny for the mutant Quicksilver, with whom she eventually marries and has a child.

The Frightful Four first run afoul of the Fantastic Four in FF #36, in 1965. At first their membership consists of the Wizard, Sandman, Trapster, and the Inhuman Medusa. As noted in MTU #2, Medusa has left the group to join the side of the angels; the Wizard’s search for her replacement will become something of a running joke through the years.

Annihilus, one of the FF’s most powerful and dangerous foes, makes his debut in 1968’s FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #6. Wielder of the so-called Cosmic Control Rod, the would-be conqueror constantly seeks to extend his reign of tyranny outside the borders of his native Negative Zone. Before MTU #2, his most recent defeat is shown in the previous year’s FF#109-110.


THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #101 three and a half whiskers

DATE: Apr-May, 1972

TITLE: “Cold Blood, Hot Gun!”

STARS: Batman and Metamorpho
VILLAIN: Bounty Hunter

WRITER: Bob Haney
EDITOR: Murray Boltinoff

ARTIST: Jim Aparo

STORY: A strange “murder list” left at a homicide includes both Bruce Wayne and Metamorpho’s girlfriend Sapphire Stagg. Batman steels himself for the onslaught of Bounty Hunter, a notorious one-armed assassin and the owner of the list, offering protection to everyone on the list. Meanwhile, Bruce and a restless Sapphire attend the auction of a grand old estate, not realizing that its owners are intricately linked to the hired killer – and Element Man is hot on Sapphire’s pretty heels.

COMMENTS: Before this issue Metamorpho had been in publishing limbo since the demise of his series, three years previous. During that time, Haney and DC solicited readers’ opinions on whether to bring Rex Mason back, the result of which is this tale. Bounty Hunter is one of Haney’s more-inspired villains, more of a gun-for-hire than a hunter of lawful bounties. Gordon is practically beside himself with worry over Bounty Hunter’s arrival in Gotham yet Haney allows the killer a rare getaway at stories end and a thoughtful Batman ponders their next encounter…

Where the ACTION Is

CAPTAIN ACTION #1

3 1/2 whiskers

The new CAPTAIN ACTION #1 “Season 2” picks up the, well, action from the previous series and gets right down to business. This is a solid adventure-intrigue comic with a lot going for it and though it isn’t perfect it tries hard and succeeds more than it fails.

The original Fabian Nicieza premise of super-spies and super-heroes in a world invaded by aliens from the previous series is further explored here and it’s an interesting one. It’s more super-spies than super-heroes but there are plenty of fisticuffs for, well, action fans. Steven Grant’s writing is competent and steady, with relatively-smooth dialogue and I had no real complaints with the pacing. Manuel Martin’s art is very nice, with – dare I say it – a very-occasional Wally Wood vibe, which is appropriate. Again, it’s a book that has it together in many ways and Moonstone should be proud of the package.

The story jumps right in from the previous series and puts our somewhat-newbie Captain Action right in the middle of trouble. Posing as the President of The United States he tires of his masquerade and when he tries to bail rushes headlong into a confrontation with Russian super-agents. One of the things I like best here is the relationship between Our Hero and his father, the former Captain Action of the 1960s. This isn’t the clichéd “I hate my dad and everything he stood for” rebellious relationship; the two men aren’t exactly the best of buds but they manage to work together and Captain Action Senior has much still to offer in his current role.

I also appreciate that the Captain Action owners haven’t relied on pure nostalgia here to sell the book. It must have been a challenge, to find a new path for the character, without miring him in the swamp of the 1960s yet not changing him so much his original fans couldn’t recognize him. The balance in CAPTAIN ACTION #1 is a good one, with equal parts past, present and future. Something for everyone.

Here’s where the book stumbles: not enough Captain Action. Let me clarify – for most of the, well, action herein Our Hero is not himself. See, in order to retain the old “man of a thousand faces” concept from the original 1960s toys, they’ve hooked him up with this stuff that allows him to change his appearance – and super-powers – at will. Problem is that you get Captain Action as everyone else but himself most times. The redesign of the original costume is a very good one and I wish I’d seen it more in what is an inaugural issue of sorts. I sympathize with what the creators have to deal with to make the Captain more than just the normal guy in the blue-black suit, but maybe they erred on the side of, well, action than image this time.

Also, there’s very little back-story relayed here and for someone picking up this book for the first time there may be a bit of confusion. I knew the back-story and I was still struggling at times to dope out the proceedings. And while I’m at it, the moratorium on Obama appearances should begin any moment now. Seriously, guys, it had its day quite a long time ago. Now, it’s just marketing, and not very good marketing. More like pandering.

We also get a retro Action Boy back-up tale which is a lot of fun and connects to the main story. Good to see this character wasn’t forgotten and is being brought into the fold to join the good Captain. This was a nice addition to the book and I for one am intrigued with where they're going with it.

Overall, Joe Ahearn and Ed Catto, the current owners of Captain Action, have been quality caretakers for the property, more so than any others who’ve tried to resurrect the character since his original days as an Ideal action figure. They’ve started with a good foundation, an interesting world in which Captain Action lives, and seem to have a plan in place to grow it. Again, they’re not just relying on nostalgia though they do tip their hats to it and recognize it for its worth. This is a crucial time, I think, as they could easily sink this property than save it. If this new CAPTAIN ACTION #1 is any indication, I think they’re going to save it.

Give it a try. There are far, far worse ways to spend your disposable dough at the comic shop these days.

March 1972

As MTU dawned, B&B was celebrating its 100th issue...both strong entries and both displaying team-ups that are not always copacetic.

MARVEL TEAM-UP #1 3 1/2 whiskers

DATE: March, 1972

TITLE: “Have Yourself a Sandman Little Christmas!”

STARS: Spider-Man & The Human Torch VILLAIN: The Sandman

WRITER: Roy Thomas EDITOR: Stan Lee

PENCILLER: Ross Andru INKER: Mike Esposito

STORY: After a disastrous run-in with the Sandman, Spider-Man hopes to foist the problem off on the Fantastic Four - but gets the solo Human Torch instead. The squabbling heroes decide to confront the villain together, despite it being Christmas Eve, and a few short digressions later they track Sandman to New Jersey. Because of their inability to work together, the two heroes are defeated and dropped into a watery death-trap. After escaping, Spidey and the Torch catch up to the baddie and discover his Jersey secret: an ailing mother he visits every Christmas Eve.

COMMENTS: The Human Torch is a logical choice to inaugurate a series of Spider-Man team-ups. Johnny Storm first meets the wall-crawler alongside his Fantastic Four teammates in 1963’s AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1, and beginning in STRANGE TALES ANNUAL #2 that same year the two heroes begin a long tradition of rough-and-tumble meetings.

MTU #1 portrays the Spider-Man/Torch relationship as before, a begrudging camaraderie with plenty of insults and put-downs in good measure. While the two heroes manage not to kill each other and even find some common teen-age ground, their ability to work in tandem leaves much to be desired.

Spider-Man makes an odd comment in this story that Sandman isn’t “his” enemy, though the grainy goon made his debut in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #4. In fact, Spidey claims he only “tackled him once” yet Sandman is a charter member of the Sinister Six, a team-up of Spider-Man villains, beginning in 1964’s AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1. The Torch first opposes Sandman in 1963, in STRANGE TALES #115, and then alongside the full FF in FANTASTIC FOUR #36, in 1965.

In MTU #64, in 1977, it will be revealed that the woman Spider-Man and the Torch save from muggers here in MTU #1 is Misty Knight, a tough-talking private-eye with a bionic arm and the paramour of the super hero martial artist Iron Fist.

Though it’s Christmas Eve in this story, there’s no indication of the holiday – nor the wintry season – in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #106, published the same month. Both stories are reputedly edited by Stan Lee.


THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #100 4 whiskers

DATE: Feb-Mar, 1972

TITLE: “The Warrior in a Wheel-Chair”

STARS: Batman and 4 Famous Co-Stars VILLAIN: Belknap

WRITER: Bob Haney EDITOR: Murray Boltinoff

ARTIST: Jim Aparo

STORY: With a bullet lodged near his heart and awaiting a life-or-death operation, Batman calls in Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Robin to intercept a shipment of heroin scheduled to be smuggled into Gotham. A drug kingpin senses interference and tests his network – and each of the heroes – determining that when the Caped Crusader goes under the knife, he must never recover.

COMMENTS: This “Spectacular 100th Issue” pulls out all the stops by offering four Bat-partners for the price of one. There’s a rare reference herein to another DC title, this time Green Lantern #86, the infamous “Speedy on smack” issue. In another scene, Green Arrow actually kills a drug smuggler with an arrow, seemingly without remorse and at odds with the character’s belief system. Batman running the show from a wheel-chair has a certain “Rear Window” ring to it and his ongoing narrative about a nearby spider, comparing it to his own ploy, verges on the poetic.

Thursday Follows Wednesday #8

Wednesday Comics #8 – Overall rating: 4 whiskers.

I sit ready to read WEDNESDAY COMICS #8 and I must admit to some trepidation. Why? Last week’s edition scored the highest whisker rating to date – how can this week hope to compete with that? Alas, nothing ventured nothing gained – taking a page from DC themselves with this wonderful little experiment – so into the breach, dear friends, and all that other stuff.

The DC heroes await! Here comes Batman!

BATMAN – 4 ½ whiskers. Batman and Commissioner Gordon make note of a “walk” while criminals confer. This week’s strip is deceptively simple yet there’s a lot going on here. A new wrinkle in the story above all but also another fold and crease in the relationship between Batman and Gordon, as see back in #1. Not your happy-go-lucky “duly-deputized officer of the law” and his boss here. Tension you could have sliced up in a butcher shop. I like it. I’m not so sure of the pat scene of our supposed killer meeting with his own boss, the beautiful widow. Too simple. Got to be more to it. Right?

KAMANDI – 5 whiskers. Kamandi and his friends grieve deeply for the lost souls of war but gain a new pride of allies. Gibbons and Sook continue their march towards the perfect comic strip and this week does nothing to slow them down. The punch to the gut of the tiger-ape battle having taken place at Historic Gettysburg is an inspired move on the creators’ parts and the art somberly carries the mood. I also appreciated the oddness and wonder in a canine convincing a tribe of cats to fight alongside them. But can we trust the lions? Regardless, I see something like THE HOBBIT’s “Battle of Five Armies” on the horizon…

SUPERMAN – 4 whiskers. Superman gets wise but continues to get hurt for his troubles. Like “Batman” this strip’s deceptively simple this time around – but with a little less going on. Stand back and take a look at this page. It’s gorgeous. Bermejo’s probably doing the work of his career here. Can’t always say the same for Azzarello. I appreciate the situation he’s in with this format and its demands but he’s got only four more installments left to bring this to a close. I liked the force of Superman’s anger in the first panel and that he’s thinking again, like the hero he is, but too often the lure of producing beautiful art has curtailed plot development. There are glimmers of hope here, and I still look forward to the answer to the question of Kal’s super-funk.

DEADMAN – 4 ½ whiskers. Deadman learns more about his prison and takes the fight to his jailer. Now here’s a situation where the art – normally wow-wowing us – takes a back seat to the writing. But that’s okay, for the most part. I’m glad to know about that stone we’ve seen in the trees the last few weeks and the entire situation grows a little bit more intriguing with every chapter. “The kiss” comes off as both a cliché but also as a poignant reminder of Boston’s own personal situation – he’d dead. His costume is now himself. He can try to free these girls but he cannot love any of them, cannot end the story “happily ever after” in the company of any one of them. Its good stuff and I think a kind of a sleeper strip, one that might be flying under some readers’ radar.

GREEN LANTERN – 4 ½ whiskers. Green Lantern shows his true face to the monster he battles. I’ve really been getting my wish for action these last few weeks in this strip and this week’s no slacker. I’ve always liked the idea of a hero who has to appeal to someone’s inner self to be able to stop the destruction, etc. My only real gripe here is that Quinones’ sparse, comedic “hruh?” panel fell flat when I think a bit more dramatic impact was needed. Though there’s something inherently cartoony in his art I think the design choices in that single image stick out like a sore thumb. One other thought, and not a grouse: I wonder if GL’s vulnerability to yellow would’ve been too much to put across in this strip? We rarely see much that can get through the ring’s shields, thus my train of thought carries me to the traditional lantern weakness…

METAMORPHO – 4 ½ whiskers. Rex and Urania run down the table of elements in pursuit of an ancient enemy. Ha! Say what you will but you have to hand it to Gaiman and Allred for going out of their way to give you something different in this strip. I’ve complained a bit before about clever games and bits that don’t do much to advance the story but this week they try mighty hard to combine it all into one helluva quirky-jerky-hurdy-gurdy fun ride of elemental proportions. After much thought, after much staring at all that’s there, I’ve decided I like it. And hey, I don’t know the Peroidic Table from a pencil and tablet so Gaiman scores right there. He also loses half a whisker for the very unfunny Java coda. Blehhh. Beautiful portrait of Urania, though.

TEEN TITANS – 2 ½ whiskers. The team goes back to their original nest and headlong into their history. Hmm. Let’s take this slow. Okay, I griped about not getting any background on this team and its characters, so now Berganza throws a boatload of TT history at us – but essentially in the space of a single panel. It could be interesting but its way too much in too quick of an instant to be worthwhile. Here we are in #8 and I still ma not sure of what the story is – is it a revenge story? Was that what we were told? And has Kid Devil been in the strip all along? Again, too much, too quick and too confusing.

STRANGE ADVENTURES – 4 whiskers. Alanna takes her plea to Lord Korgo, seeking an ally. Back to Alanna on Rann, Pope continues to flesh out his own version of the famous planet, this time by introducing us to Lord Korgo of the blue monkey people. Pope does something a bit funky here by using omniscient narrator captions to hide actual dialogue boxes in an effort to put across the idea of words lost to history. I’m intrigued by the device but I’m not completely sure it works. Would we have liked to have read Alanna’s speech instead? Regardless, it’s a good installment, interestingly presented despite the absence of our star. Oh, but Paul? Get rid of that same old panel layout you’ve been using the last few times. Give us something new, please.

SUPERGIRL – 3 ½ whiskers. Supergirl takes her pets to the doctor and meets a tasty owl. Hurrah, Dr. Mid-Nite! Poor Charlie, though! Palmiotti and Connor continue with their mini-tour of the DCU and bring Supergirl to the JSA’s resident physician to seek help for her furry friends. Connor loads the strip with a multitude of gags, funny ones too, but overall I think she and her partner hand this week’s strip over to the gags a bit too much. I really get the feeling that whatever’s going on will be addressed in the final week as a minor note and the gags will rule all. But maybe that’s intention. Ah, what the heck; it’s a fun strip and WEDNESDAY COMICS really needs something like this.

METAL MEN – 4 ½ whiskers. The Metal Men finally get out of the bank – and straight into Chemo’s grasp. What can I say that I haven’t already said? DiDio and Garcia-Lopez offer everything a super hero strip should and do it gracefully. I’m glad to see their venue opened up a bit into the streets and I’m hoping we get a kind of Godzilla-giant monsters-vibe in the last four weeks of the story. And that o’ ante’s really been upped, huh? Kudos to Iron for his single-minded ode to friendship and heroism – this is the Metal Men that I love. The real, honest-to-goodness Metal Men.

WONDER WOMAN – 3 whiskers. Diana meets a wolf and gains a certain lasso. Caldwell rolls out a fairly drastic change to his usual cramped and profuse panels in the form of a gigantic panel right in the middle of the strip. That about bowled me over when I turned the page. Way to grab my attention. Diana finds the Golden Lasso, which is cool, but is confused by all that she’s bombarded with through other characters. I know how she feels. There’s a lot do here with Norse mythology but its not really clear how it impacts the story – still, Caldwell seems to be tightening things up and there’s a feeling of movement in the plot. One other thing: didn’t Diana have the eagle on her chest in one or more installments? Or was that a dream?

SGT. ROCK AND EASY CO. – 4 ½ whiskers. Rock confronts his tormentor but the tables turn terrifically. I dig it. This might be the best blending of both the art and writing to come along yet. Our hapless Rock’s out of the frying pan but steps straight into the fire – and a strange dilemma. The set-up is now that his rescuer, a man he does not know, is being held with a knife to his throat by a Nazi officer. Rock could just kill them all and flee, but he’s too much of a shining knight to leave the guy to the German’s tender mercies. It’s a good development and one that Kubert Senior draws to perfection. Look at the looks on that officer’s face in panels 6 and 9 – classic and expressionistic. Good stuff. Story's moving.

THE FLASH – 5 whiskers. Barry gets a super-speed lesson from his other selves and the mother of all nosebleeds. Things are moving – dare I say it? – quickly and Kerschl and Fletcher waste no time rolling out the plot points. I got a real kick out of the way the Flash seems a bit less smart than the other Flashes, though of course they’re all himself! It’s like a time travel story that’s fun! I also notice, after I finished reading it, that the strip is now simply named “The Flash” and all stories have become one. The juxtaposition with the nosebleeds and the collapsing Flashes was handled very well and dramatically – this one’s an edge-of-the seater, kids!

THE DEMON AND CATWOMAN – 4 ½ whiskers. Selina’s about to lose herself. Listen, this strip – and boy does that word take on deeper meaning here – is about as hot and heavy as they probably allow for this project. Simonson’s loading Morgaine up with sexy innuendo and Stelfreeze is doing his best to draw the sexiest near-Kirby women he can – it all gets pretty steamy! Basically, Morgaine wants Selina’s body to inhabit for, well, some adult pursuits; I guess she’s pretty frustrated after thousands of years. Overall, the strip’s – there’s that word again – atmosphere is one of decadence and decay and hints of pleasures of the flesh beyond even mortal understanding. My only concern here is that Selina’s hasn’t really been herself since the first few weeks and we’re not really seeing what Catwoman’s all about. I’m sure that will change, though.

HAWKMAN – 2 ½ whiskers. Hawkman calls for help. I think this story’s gone off the rails – or pinfeathers, if you like. Is it a Star Trek tale or a Hawkman adventure? Baker’s stacking the deck with aliens and Justice Leaguers but the whole house of cards looks to topple soon from the weight. I get no real sense of Hawkman here. The thought of the Winged Wonder stuck on Dinosaur Island is a good one. No, a great one. But that’s not what we’re getting. We’re getting Hawkgirl and Batman and alien armadas and Hawkman without his wings and a whole bunch of extraneous stuff. Where’s the incredible feeling from the first few weeks? Where’s the sense of wonder and barbaric strength in the character of Carter Hall? What I see here is just about everything but.

And that’s another edition of “Thursday Follows Wednesday” in the can and I am outta here…what? Who? Oh, him. Yeah, yeah…

Mr. Wednesday Wanty – wants more talk about WEDNESDAY COMICS. He’s afraid that DC has, in a way, shot itself in the foot by making this out of continuity and therefore drawing the lowest amount of interest and conversation to the project. Kind of sad, because it’s worthy of more reviews and discussion. He wants to know what MORE people think of this incredible production.

Thursday Follows Wednesday #7

Wednesday Comics #7 – Overall rating: 4 ½ whiskers.

Wow, #7 already. This’ll be done before we know it – but in a good way.

Going to try something a bit different here in the second half. Going to read it while holding it, like a newspaper, instead of laid out flat. Will that make a difference? Will “Teen Titans” suddenly become my favorite WEDNESDAY COMICS strip? Let’s find out together, shall we?

Oh, and btw: I find I’m referencing past issues more now than I have before. Oh sure, that’s most likely that my memory’s shot to hell but I like to think its because I’m enjoying the reads so much that I want to get the whole picture…or it could just be that my memory’s shot to hell.

Anyway – turbines to power, batteries to speed, the Caped Crusader’s up first!

BATMAN – 5 whiskers. Batman interrogates a suspect while his real prey becomes Number One with a bullet. This week’s strip has everything: Plot development, characterization, intrigue, mood, and of course…eye injury. Where’s Wertham when we need him??? Regardless, look for Batman at his best – threatening a goon for information – and fantastic coloring job that segues from a cool night high over Gotham to the hot streets below. Just follow the falling cig – and make those damn dogs stop staring at me!

KAMANDI – 5 whiskers. Kamandi, Dr. Canus and the human girl come upon a scene of great horror. Loved that opening panel of post-apocalyptical grandeur, which then moves us to a more intimate scene of our heroes attempting to communicate with the girl. Each character present is full of personality, which is a tribute to Gibbons’ writing and Sook’s art. After lingering on a beautiful portrait of the girl we’re then brought to a true view of devastation and Sook once again pulls out a few nice touches, such as the wailing tiger, kneeling over their dead comrade. Moving stuff, wonderful strip, as always. I’m sad to leave it and move on…

SUPERMAN – 5 whiskers. The Man of Steel’s beaten within an inch of his life but he can only think of his loved ones. Listen, you’re going to think I’m crazy by giving this week’s “Superman” a perfect clipping but hear me out: The story’s moving ahead and there’s a definite sense of danger and trauma in action. The art’s lovely – you can FEEL those punches in your bones – and the characterization is pure Superman. Despite the heavy beating he’s only concerned for Ma and Pa. The mystery of the aliens expands, too. Why are they more powerful? And can they read his mind? I loved it. This is what the strip should’ve been all along.

DEADMAN – 5 whiskers. Deadman listens to the chilling story of the lost souls he’s discovered. Okay, this is getting weird. FOUR perfect ratings in a row? I must be insane – or really digging my WEDNESDAY COMICS. So, we learn the set-up behind Boston’s latest troubles and it’s perfectly bone-chilling. I’m reminded here a bit of “Poltergeist” when we’re told that there’s an unseen demon on “the other side” that holds souls in a grip of terror and from their final journey – always a terrifying thought. I’m glad for the wonderful layout of the page as it perfectly conveys everything it needs to in what amounts to a single, large image. I also dig Deadman’s cool, or what appears to be cool…now let’s see him kick some demon booty!

GREEN LANTERN – 5 whiskers. Green Lantern encounters his friend-turned-monster but learns he may get more than he’s bargained for. Okay, I’m insane, I guess, but dammit, this is good stuff. From Busiek’s terse but oh-so succinct opening caption he throws us into some honest-to-Oa GL ring-slingin’ action. It was everything I wanted. Hal’s creepy as he oozes through the wall – ala Alan Scott! – and blazes into the studio. Great characterization – he’s a man of action but wants innocents to be safe – and great art – Quinones’ take on GL’s power shields is simple and effective – and the cliffhanger wrapped in a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in some sudoku is exciting. Kudos all around. This really deserves those clippings, folks.

METAMORPHO – 5 whiskers. The expedition gets down and dirty and runs into an old adversary. This is getting weird. Really, really, REALLY weird. Six strips, all with perfect clippings. BUT THEY WARRANT IT! My gosh, I laughed out loud at this week’s “Metamorpho”! The humor – “They had antimatter beams in Atlantis? Who knew?” “Java. He knew. That is me.” I mean, who knew that Gaiman had such a knack for clever quips? Pile that on top of a rapidly moving plot and the full intro to a dastardly evil Element Man and in the words of one of my readers, “Gaiman’s channeling his inner Haney.” And we reap the benefits. This is definitely now one of my most favorite strips. Bravo! Now, anybody able to translate Latin?

TEEN TITANS – 3 whiskers. The Titans dope out the situation and fly off to save a friend. You knew it had to end at some point, didn’t you? Yeah, and what better place to end the five whiskers streak than with “Teen Titans”? Okay, it DID rate its highest ever score yet and here’s why: It explained itself. The reader gets a better idea of who these characters are and what they’re up against and a sense of being a team is definitely imparted. I liked Robin’s inner dialogue and it was cool to see Superman and Batman. What I didn’t grok is the strange nod to current continuity concerning Dr. Light – seems out of place in this “kiddie” strip – and the somewhat annoying on-again-off-again use of contractions. Either Robin uses them or he doesn’t. Sounds weird when he doesn’t; too formal, too stiff. Awkward. Starfire can get away with it, though – but she should really stop ending sentences with a preposition. Regardless, a step up from previous weeks but it still harshed my perfect rating mellow.

STRANGE ADVENTURES – 4 ½ whiskers. Adam dreams of Fate and some of his prayers are answered. Okay, this strip just took a left turn into looney land – but WHAT a turn. Dr. Fate, fellow JSA fans. Dr. freakin’ Fate! Who would have seen Dr. Fate visiting? That’s truly inspired, especially the great observation that they’re both archaeologists, but as cool and wonderful as the dream sequence is it’s screwed by that garish red coloring job, in my opinion. Pope’s still firing on all cylinders in what’s happening but in an urge to impart and other-worldly feeling in the art he obscures his JSA visitor and lessens his impact. Again, it’s a wonderfully wonky wrinkle in the story and I dig it the most but man is this strip hard to look at. Oh, well. Adam’s got what he needs to ride the Zeta beam and that’s all that matters. Stranger days ahead!

SUPERGIRL – 3 ½ whiskers. Aquaman reads Supergirl the riot act. You know, this strip’s come a long way since its beginning seven weeks ago. Look at how dense it this week with panels and exposition. That’s a good thing, I think, if it actually advances the story. This installment – ehhh, not so much. It’s cute, in a way, and it’s lovingly drawn and the dialogue’s crisp but I think it’s inherently flawed. This is pretty unfair treatment of Aquaman, everybody’s doormat, and what I hoped last week was just a funny intro to him turns into an almost relentless jerk portrayal. Then, Supergirl’s status as a, well, blonde, is played up, also at the character’s expense. I’m intrigued by what’s wrong with Streaky and Krypto but the humor can fall flat when the characters are subject to put-downs. It’s a shame, ‘cause it’s drawn to humorous perfection and Palmiotti and Conner’s hearts are in the right place – but a mean-spirited core is starting to show. Prove me wrong, guys. Please.

METAL MEN – 5 whiskers. The Metal Men meet Chemo and find out the hard way just how corrosive he is. Here’s what I like about this week’s strip: it takes the conventions of comics – heroics, villainy, bravado in the face of danger, action and pathos – and rolls it all out with obvious love for the material. One can tell DiDio and Garcia-Lopez LOVE these characters. There’s no ground-breaking story here, no medium-busting message, just simple, straightforward comic book adventure. I find it interesting to compare this strip with Berganza’s “Teen Titans,” both by editors yet seemingly irreconcilable with each other in their construction and deployment. We know who the Metal Men are, we know their situation and we now know who the villains are and what they’re capable of. It’s not a lot to ask for, but “Metal Men” provides it in a deceptively-simple fashion. More, more.

WONDER WOMAN – 3 whiskers. Diana flies in the face of her adversary, the Cheetah, and makes a play for the Sword. Oops, something just happened here that caught me off guard: Caldwell intrigued me. Suddenly, and this could be just me, things got a mite interesting. I felt as if there was a clear definition of the enemy this week and of the battle. I felt as if Etta shown through as a viable character, and a funny one to boot. In fact, the humor this week was nice, and I actually smiled in a few places. Overall, its still a jumble of graphics that doesn’t lend itself to clarity of storytelling and how Diana got herself into this situation is unclear, but I’ll give Caldwell props for the coloring this week – and this line: “Oblivion is the fate of all those who stand on the wrong side of history…” That’s a lovely line. Made me stop and ponder it. Okay, let’s see where we go from here, then. Baby steps.

SGT. ROCK AND EASY CO. – 4 ½ whiskers. Rock’s free and Easy Co. plays a game of “Hot Potato.” This may be, for me, the most interesting installment of the strip – as late as it’s appearing. Rock is actually Rock now and not a punching bag. The ease with which he slips into command mode is comforting to see. One wants to trust Gustav but when one considers the situation, said trust is difficult to scrape together. The knife goes into Rock’s hand but it could just as easily slide between his ribs. And the potato bit with Easy Co. was great. In five easy panels the horrors of war are clearly illustrated – everything may possibly be an attack. In the rain a potato becomes a grenade and your life flashes before your eyes. This strip’s taking some heat for moving so slowly – and I’ve laid on some of that heat myself – but if you spend a little bit of time with this week’s page I think you’ll be rewarded with a particular genius at play.

FLASH COMICS – 4 whiskers. Everything explodes in Flash’s face and Barry follows his nose. Cool stuff this week. A juxtaposition of both strips, Barry’s and Iris’, and it creates a weird confluence of intense Super hero science fiction and Stephen King romance. And that’s only scraping the surface here. Fletcher’s art has never looked better and if there’s an award somewhere for drawing evil monkey waiters than he needs to get at least two or three of them. Brrr. The story’s in overdrive now and though Kerschl’s still skirting losing us all in wackiness he knows how to entertain us, too. I was worried that Iris’ story would be buried in the all the dimensional gewgaws but she’s keeping her head above water admirably. Oh, and nice nod to the Flash TV series, guys!

THE DEMON AND CATWOMAN – 5 whiskers. Morgaine gets the better of Etrigan but Selina regains her true form. Good, great, wonderful! Everything’s heating up nicely here and I’m loving every frame of it this week. Morgaine’s deliciously evil in her wicked and salacious ways – rrowrrr! – and I really felt bad for poor Jason. But as he descends into his troubles Selina’s on the rise and – watch out, Morgaine! Wow! Simonson and Stelfreeze put the Cat back in the scene and make one eager for the next installment. That’s a good feeling. A little scary, a little sexy; its all good.

HAWKMAN – 3 ½ whiskers. Hawkman gets all Jurassic. See, I’ve got a problem – I’m in a love/hate relationship with this strip. On one hand, Baker’s got the feeling down pat here, all nice and rugged and manly. Hawkman as he should be. And I totally dig Dinosaur Island. That’s just cool. But on the other hand the coloring is getting way out of hand and actually made it difficult to enjoy this otherwise-enjoyable installment. Why does it look like everything’s being bathed in the light from a nuclear blast? I feel like I’m looking at a negative image or something…and the heavy use, again, of CGI doesn’t help. Hawkman himself still looks great but why the jokey giant glasses on the realistically drawn little girl? I mean, why go for caricature in the midst of computer-generated bits of reality? Maybe I’m just not understanding something here, but I’ll just hope that the ultimate coolness of Hawkman on Dinosaur Island outshines the art problems.

Wow. Eight strips out of fifteen with perfect ratings this week means the highest overall whiskers a single issue of WEDNESDAY COMICS hasn’t gotten from me yet. Congrats, DC! Keep ‘em flying!

Mr. Wednesday Wanty – wants to thank everyone who chimed in on their picks for strips in a possible sequel to this project – which leads him to his Big Want: more WEDNESDAY COMICS!!!

Thursday Follows Wednesday #6

Wednesday Comics #6 – Overall rating: 4 whiskers.

So, WEDNESDAY COMICS #6.

Halfway through. In the middle. The glass is half empty – or half full? However you want to look at it, this series reaches its center point and is still rockin’ right along. Not every piston's pulling its weight but overall the engine’s in good shape and the ride’s pretty smooth. But enough with mechanical allusions, let’s talk about me.

I’ve gotten some good responses from these reviews, enough to make me feel like I’m entertaining people. Or amusing them at least. Even gotten a few pro responses, specifically from creators who, wow, appear in this series. Interesting and always humbling. Some other reviewers might pause and ponder whether or not to tailor their future reviews in one way or another, to perhaps favor or even further piss off said creators. That said, I want to assure all “Thursday Follows Wednesday” readers that what you get HERE is always and simply my unadulterated reviews. No agendas, no hidden costs, no extra charge for valve stems. Just me and a few opinions. Just like Mom used to make. If she was a comic book reviewer.

Le’s git to it!

BATMAN – 4 whiskers. Batman plays cat-and-mouse with a man he believes to be a killer. So, the Darknight Detective’s hunted a few murderers in his day and it probably gets boring after a while. Why NOT play with them a bit? Good, moody entry this week, with some nice touches: an ex-boxer/presumed killer who listens to opera, a big splash to emphasize the action, an evil smile on our hero that sent chills down my spine. Not much happens, per se, but Azzarello and Risso always evoke a mood-o, and for my money, that’s the key to the Bat-o. Cheerio, guy-with-a-gun.

KAMANDI – 5 whiskers. The strange girl gets a kick out of her gorilla captors and gets Kamandi back on the road. Anybody out there getting sick of this strip’s perfect scores across the board? Hands? Hands? No? Didn’t think so. The colors this week are so great, so rich, that they ramp up the art to a very high place. I love that middle panel, that tableau straight out of a pulp illustration. Girl with gun. Apes beware. Now, I’m not so sure that a young girl’d be able to fell a full-grown gorilla with one kick, and one right in his big leather belt rather than his kidneys, but hey, sometimes perfection in writing and art make me suspend some disbelief in things that make you go, “hmmm.” And thank Kirby that Dr. Canus is okay – now go help Tuftan, gang! Please!

SUPERMAN – 4 ½ whiskers. A restful peace is shattered by the arrival of some unwanted visitors at the Kent farm. Waitasecond. Did Arcudi just, wait for it, DO SOMETHING? Did he just, I dunno, ADVANCE THE PLOT? It took all of three seconds to read the damn thing this week but I was so overjoyed that the moping dematerialized and the crazy-ass alien infestation began. Just what this strip needed. Cool to see aliens of the same variety as that in #1. Sad to see Ma and Pa’s house ruined. troubling to see the very sad-looking grandfather clock lying amidst the rubble. Something poignant about that…

DEADMAN – 5 whiskers. Deadman falls to his death, watched by three strange personages. Everything clicked here this week and I’m moved to give “Deadman” the elusive perfect clipping. Boston’s inner dialogue of how this death differs from his first is as surreal and fascinating as it sounds. Art and colors were spot on and the wrinkle of the three women appearing at the cliffhanger, one of who Deadman recognizes – the girl from the alley in #1 – is a good shot in the arm for the story. Good job, all, though I have to chuckle a bit at a classically-garbed goddess type - who wears panties. Editorial mandate or…?

GREEN LANTERN – 3 ½ whiskers. Hal remembers the events of his dismissal from the astronaut program. A good balance here this week between the flashback to Dill’s story, a catalyst of change in Hal’s life and Green Lantern heroically swooping in to – hopefully – save the day. I think it presages some deeper struggle that might occur between GL and whatever Dill’s become, deeper than a physical one. Quinones art is really great on the centrifuge but I have to assume that the device had slowed down considerably when Hal was thrown from it – be more than a cracked rib or two if not, eh? As always, an interesting story and I think I’m about to get all the Green Lantern action I could hope for.

METAMORPHO – 5 whiskers. The intrepid explorers are waylaid by gigantic snakes deep in the Antarctic ruins. Okay, if we have to have a compression of story panels to make way for what amounts to a clever game board – I can dig it. Here’s how I justify it: the story advances, characterization evident and a few morsels of the future to be gleaned if you know where to look. “Chutes and Ladders” was one of my most favorite games when I was a kid, so that’s a win right there. Yeah, yeah, it’s called “Snakes and Ladders” in the UK; I can still dig it and it IS pretty clever to insert it here. But also look for the reference to “Algon” at the bottom – he’s the Roman Centurion Element Man who’s mentioned in #2 and who “died in a volcano,” i.e., the volcanoes that harbor the ruins Stagg and Co. are even now trampling through. Extra points for the little boy who wants to play Element GIRL in the game. Poor kid – “gender roles are hard!”

TEEN TITANS – 2 ½ whiskers. Blue Beetle wonders what he’s doing here as Trident moves in for the kill. So, we actually get some explanation of who one of these Titans is and why he’s here. Was that so hard? Why did it take six chapters? Anyway, it was a good bit of monologue and though Beetle comes off as not much of a HERO he at least intrigued me. I liked the part where he and Trident said each other’s name and then fell over. Cute. Still muddy colors and goofy art, though. And Trident is Dr. Light’s son? Is that in regular continuity, too? Not interesting enough for me to look up; just sayin’.

STRANGE ADVENTURES – 5 whiskers. Adam hits the dirt and his old life comes crashing down on him soon after. Wow. Paul Pope is doing wonders with this strip. So many little touches, so many grand ideas, so cool of a story. Here’s what’s to love this week: the culmination of the disco ball graphic from last week, Adam an old man on Earth, postcards and dusty photographs from Peru, the frustration of a dream and a grim reminder of death. Who’d have ever thought that an Adam Strange adventure could possess this much nuance alongside such larger visions of science fiction and derring-do? Paul, you made me FEEL for Adam in this strip – I don’t think that’s ever happened before for me. Kudos.

SUPERGIRL – 4 ½ whiskers. Supergirl calls on a friend for help. Best. Supergirl. Strip. Yet. I’m serious – suddenly I love this. Aquaman? I mean, Aquaman??? Who saw the coming? And I sympathize with Jimmy here ‘cause, y’know, you have to look for something to do with the King of the Sea, something interesting – and who’d ever have thought that Aquaman would end up as “that guy.” You know, that annoying guy on the cellphone. Hilarious. And funny art touches throughout from Conner: watch the pets closely and they’ll crack you up. None of this really advances the story but hey, “Supergirl” has never really been about the story, has it? Good marks for you this week, team. Fun stuff.

METAL MEN – 5 whiskers. Tin saves the day – or does he? I mean really; Tin is tops. What a great way for DiDio to ratchet up the love for the Metal Men’s “weakest” member. Wow – I seem to be saying that a lot this week. And I totally called Chemo last week! You know it! It’s good to be right, and if this is being right I don’t ever want to be wrong again. Err, or something like that. I’m sounding like a long-playing record but: good story, good dialogue, good characters, good development, good art. All this and a burp from the Villain with Gas to Spare. Way cool. Go get ‘im, Metal Men!

WONDER WOMAN – 2 whiskers. Diana gains a new friend in her quest. Took me a few minutes but I figured out that you have to read this one vertically rather than horizontally. Some call that “playing with the comic book format,” but I call that “somewhat annoying.” Thanks though to Caldwell for the introduction of Etta Candy and a narrative that makes a bit more sense than previous weeks. Where this takes place or when is a mystery and what it all means to boot but again, it appears as if we’re getting WW’s origin. Now if only we could ever get one clear shot of our heroine so as to set her in our mind’s eye as a living, breathing character – we’d be all set. Oh, I liked the sucker at the beginning, though I felt a little like I was looking in a mirror.

SGT. ROCK AND EASY CO. – 4 whiskers. Rock receives an unexpected ally. DON’T TRUST ‘IM, ROCK!!! Sorry, couldn’t help myself, soljer. I, like Rock, am suspicious of this new development, but hey, stranger things have happened in war - and to Rock. And nobody can draw poverty like Kubert. Nobody. He makes you feel every old garment, ache in the belly and punch to the face. Thanks for the development this week, father and son.

FLASH COMICS – 3 ½ whiskers. Flash creates even more time disturbances and Grodd conquers all. After those opening caption boxes, Barry should have said, “What the…??” instead of “Where the…??” But that’s simply an indication of what comes next as this strip gets even more crazy and, yes, convoluted. Gone is the “Iris Allen” strip and in its place appears a new “Gorilla Grodd” story which though interesting also throws something of a, heh, monkey wrench into the proceedings. It’s a speed bump, the first in this story, but one that I want to see what Kerschl and Fletcher do with. It could be fascinating, or it could just hurt your head. It’s a pivot point this week, folks.

THE DEMON AND CATWOMAN – 4 whiskers. The Demon meets his foe and goes for the gusto. Yay! Jack Kirby’s Morgaine le Fay is here and hopefully to stay! We get a nice encapsulation of Etrigan’s origin and his connection to Camelot and some set-up for the battle ahead – all we need now is Catwoman. You know, the co-star of this strip? I’m afraid with no appearance of late she’ll be overshadowed by all the mystic hoo-hah and whatnot. What’s her place in this story now? Also, is it just me or did Stelfreeze this week channel an artist by the name of – Simonson? And in a good way? Nice look this strip has, gentlemen.

HAWKMAN – 4 whiskers. Hawkman checks for survivors of the downed airliner. I like the questions Baker’s asking here: can Hawkman be a hero without his wings? What can he do about the larger picture while stuck on the ground? Can he relate to the plane’s passengers? I really like how Baker’s brought this strip back down to Earth, so to speak, and dispensed with the aliens for now. I liked the grimier vibe we got in the first two weeks and I’m hoping that’s what we’ll be getting more of from here on out. But don’t go to long without getting some wings back on that boy, Kyle! HAWKman, not WALKman!

What? Another week’s flown by? Where did the time go? Must be a little left for…

Mr. Wednesday Wanty – wants hear some suggestions for strips for a “Wednesday Comics” sequel – which we’ve been told is a possibility. Aquaman? Check. Sugar and Spike? Check. Robin? Could be cool. Who else? We want to know!