Weird Science DC Comics Best Books of the Week 9/8/18

It's September and the kids have all gone back to school and that means...well, it really has nada to do with comics and how much we liked them.  The list this week is dominated by #1s and a certain writer whose name rhymes with Rian Ichael Endis.  Here are the books we deemed the Books of the Week!

PREVIEW: Justice League Giant #3

Written by: Brian Buccellato, Francis Manapul, Geoff Johns, Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner
Art by: Ivan Reis, Francis Manapul, Jim Lee, Chad Hardin
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 7, 2018


BRAND-NEW WONDER WOMAN STORY—WRITTEN BY JIMMY PALMIOTTI AND AMANDA CONNER AND ILLUSTRATED BY CHAD HARDIN!

PREVIEW: Superman Giant #3

Written by: Jeff Lemire, Geoff Johns, Jeph Loeb, Tom King
Art by: Andy Kubert, Ed McGuinness, Joe Bennett, Carlos Pacheco
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 9, 2018

This month’s SUPERMAN GIANT #3 features an all new story from Tom King and Andy Kubert along with continuations and conclusions for SUPERMAN/BATMAN, GREEN LANTERN and THE TERRIFICS!

Retro Review: The Flash #118 (1961) - "The Doomed Scarecrow!"

Superhero Movie

Written by: John Broome
Pencils by: Carmine Infantino
Inks by: Murphy Anderson & Joe Giella
Cover by: Murphy Anderson & Carmine Infantino
Publication date: February 1, 1961
Published by: DC Comics

Remember the glory days of Hollywood? The studio system, big stars, classic fashion and exciting action. Yes, a time before wall to wall Superhero films? Well, your memory must be failing you! You must have forgotten about The Flash’s starring role in a big Hollywood production in the 1960s! Yes, it’s time to find out all about the Flash’s big foray into Hollywood waaaaay back in issue 118. 

Retro Review: Wonder Woman #1 (1987) - "The Princess and the Power!"

Wonder Where to Start? 

Written by: George Perez and Greg Potter

Art by: George Perez

Pencils by: George Perez

Inks by: Bruce Patterson
Colors by: Tajana Wood
Letters by: John Costanza
Editor: Karen Berger

Print release date: 1 February 1987

Published by: DC Comics    

Anyone who came to DC Comics afresh during either New 52 or Rebirth probably has some questions about Wonder Woman’s origins. I know I do even though my love affair with DC comics pre-dates those points. Greg Rucka’s run on the title at the start of Rebirth gave us a potential blend of origins, and after Superman Reborn the dial reset button could potentially have been changed again. A nice way of playing historian for this reader was to begin with Wonder Woman Volume 2 #1, with George Perez art always acting as a good incentive. 

Retro Review: Justice League of America #221 (1983) - "Beasts"

Beastly

Written by: Gerry Conway
Art by: Chuck Patton and Pablo Marcos
Letters by: John Costanza
Colors by: Gene D'Angelo
Published by: DC Comics
Cover Price: $0.75
Cover Date: December 1983


1983 was the year I really got into comics. American comics, that is. I'd collected British comics since the mid-70s (Warlord and Doctor Who Weekly mostly – not 2000AD. Far too gruesome!), but a combination of a fairly steady UK distribution service to newsagents and the increasingly sophisticated storytelling of DC's and Marvel's output soon worked its magic on me. Obviously, Justice League of America was a title that appealed to me. I mean, why wouldn't it? A diverse grouping of colorfully-costumed superheroes banding together to fight outlandish threats was right up my alley. In many respects, as a 13-year-old boy with a pronounced fondness for sci-fi and action, I was probably the mainstream comic companies' ideal customer. Certainly, this issue is one I remember really enjoying at the time. How does it stack up now? There's only one way to find out…

Retro Review: DC Comics Presents #10 – Superman & Sgt. Rock (1979) Review and **SPOILERS**

Never Forget the Man Who Didn’t Remember

Writer: Cary Bates 

Penciller: Joe Staton 

Inker: Jack Abel 

Colorist: Adrienne Roy 

Letterer: Ben Oda 

Cover By: Ross Andru & Dick Giordano 

Editor: Joe Kubert 

Cover Price: 40 cents 

Cover Date: July, 1979 

Publisher: DC Comics

**NON SPOILER AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

A lot of people know about the Batman team-up vehicle, the Brave and the Bold (from issue #59 on, that is; before that it was another Showcase-type title.) But you don’t hear a lot from people waxing nostalgic about DC Comics Presents. It was a Superman team-up vehicle that ran from the late 1970s and into the 80s, and it was great! Here, I’ll prove it and review issue #10 from 1979, right now!

Retro Review: Welcome Back, Kotter #1 (1978) Review and **SPOILERS**

To That Same Old Place That You Laughed About

Written By: Elliot S! Maggin 

Pencilled By: Jack Sparling 

Inked By: Bob Oksner 

Cover By: Sparling and Oksner 

Edited By: Joe Orlando 

Executive Editor: Jeanette Kahn 

Cover Price: 30 cents 

Cover Date: November 1976 

Publisher: DC Comics

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Welcome Back, Kotter was a sitcom on ABC that ran from 1975 to 1979, about a teacher (played by Gabe Kaplan) who returns to his old neighborhood to teach at the high school he once attended. It was wildly popular in its day, for a year while John Travolta was still regularly appearing. Once his star took off, he wasn’t around as frequently, and viewer interest plummeted. Chris and I talked all about it in Cosmic Treadmill ep. 90! But if you don’t want to listen to our stupid voices, check out my review of DC Comics’ Welcome Back, Kotter #1, appearing here!

Retro Review: Detective Comics #83 (1944) - "Accidentally on Purpose"

New and Improved

Written by: Don Cameron
Art by: Jack Burnley and George Roussos
Cover Price: 10¢
Release Date: January 1944

As I've gone through the older Batman comics, one thing that consistently cracks me up is Alfred.  He looks a bit like Wimpy from Popeye and I half expect him to tell Batman he’d gladly pay him Tuesday for a burger today.  So, reading an issue with the goal to trim up Alfred and get him in fighting shape seems like so much fun.  Was it?  Let's find out…

Retro Review: Wonder Woman (1972) #199 - "Tribunal of Fear"

Chain Reaction 

Written by: Robert Kanigher, Denny O'Neil
Pencils: Ron Andru, Don Heck
Inks: Mike Esposito, Dick Giordano
Cover Price: 25¢
Release Date: February 29, 1972
                     


Wonder Woman has had quite the tumultuous journey from her early origins up until the modern rendition and Gal Gadot on the silver screen. Issue 199 of Volume 1 of Wonder Woman was an issue I came across in a volume showcasing the Bronze Age of DC Comics. It was a page layout showcasing her practice routine through martial arts and yoga. Intrigued by the fact that it was Denny O'Neil on writing duties I thought I'd give it a spin. Let's see how it was.

Chris and Reggie's Cosmic Treadmill ep. 105 - Marvel Comics' Age of Apocalypse, Part Six! (1995)

It's Like the Apocalypse of Apocalypses

It's the dawn of a new day, comics enthusiasts! In thie episode, time-jumpers Chris (@AceComics) and Reggie (@reggeireggie) conclude their six(!) part look at Marvel Comics' 1995 X-Men event, Age of Apocalypse, when they read X-Men Omega #1 by Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid and Roger Cruz! After some quick biographical recap, they detail every moment of this show-stopping conclusion, providing context wherever available. Not content to leave things there, our Doctors Who then go over X-Men Prime #1 by Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza, and...many talented artists. After some post-Apocalyptic biographies for event architects Lobdell and Nicieza, our pair discuss the fallout from this "self-contained" event, and share their personal thoughts about it--one having read it for the first time for this podcast, the other having bought it as it came out in 1995! We bet you can guess which is which. Listen in to find out if you're right!

DC Comics Best Covers of the Week: September 5, 2018

That's a nice Superman you drew there, Jim

You Can't Handle the Covers

From famine to feast around here! Last week, I struggled to put together a list, and this week, my list runneth other. Sure, I could staple another piece of paper to the bottom and add more covers, but how cumbersome is that? And I don't even own a stapler. No, best to keep it to the slim n' trim five covers I always do, plus one I jammed here just for the fun of it.

Throwback Thursday Review: Batman and Two-Face #24 (2013)

There's Going to be a McKillin If I Don't Flip My Shilling

Written by: Peter J. Tomasi
Art by: Patrick Gleason
Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: October 16, 2013

Batman has gone through the stages of grief following his son Damian's death.  You would think that the Caped Crusader would get a little downtime, but not when Two-Face and a mysterious lady linked to Dent's past are causing trouble in Gotham.

Throwback Thursday Review: Green Arrow #24 (2013)

Seattle Sure Is Crowded

Written By: Jeff Lemire
Art By: Andrea Sorrentino

Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: October 2, 2013

I have to admit, I am not a regular Green Arrow reader.  I really like the character, but didn't enjoy the earlier issues in the New 52.  When Jeff Lemire took over and the hype machine started churning overtime, I wanted to give it a try.  However, it wasn't until Count Vertigo's Villain issue last month that I actually sat down and read.  I was impressed enough to jump into the series this month with Green Arrow #24.  As it turns out, I picked a hell of an issue to join in on.

Throwback Thursday Review: Forever Evil #2 (2013)

Shit Continues to Get Real!

Written By: Geoff Johns
Art By: David Finch, Richard Friend
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: October 2, 2013


Oh, thank god!  Villain's Month is finally over.  Yeah, this title was apart of Villain's Month, but after this, I can get back to regular titles again.  YEAH!!  But what about this issue you say.  Well calm the hell down and let me get into it.

Throwback Thursday Review: Aquaman #28 Review (2014)

Arthur and Mera's High School Reunion

Written by: Jeff Parker
Art by: Paul Pelletier
Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: February 26, 2014

Aquaman dodges torpedoes, fights off sharks and looks for answers.  Mera might just be Ariel and Arthur wasn't on the high school swim team, but took wood shop.  High School Reunions suck even if you are the King of the Sea.

Cover #1 Review

Cover Me

Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Art by: David Mack
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 5, 2018

Brian Michael Bendis have collaborated before, but I've only ever read their Daredevil work before. I find they work really well together. Bendis has a bunch of different storytelling sensibilities but his work is more muted and grounded when Mack draws his stuff. This is no different, and I need to give this another issue before really deciding if it works or not, but this is so weird and so unique that I have to give it major points for being so odd.

Adventures of the Super Sons #2 Review

Tag Team Back Again

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Art team: Carlo Barberi, Art Thibert, Protobunker, and Rob Leigh
Covers: Dan Mora and Jorge Jimenez
Release Date: 9/5/18
Cover Price: $3.99
Reviewed by: Jon Wayne

When we last saw our heroes they had been cornered by The Gang, otherwise known as a mini Legion of Doom, also known as our Young Rogues’ gallery. Robin had been encapsulated in some sort of mummification device, while Superboy had been hit with some Gold Kryptonite losing his powers for now. Frankly, this was a perfect cliffhanger and had me fully on board for issue #2 (not that I wasn’t already fully on board! I love me some Super Sons!). Does this issue deliver on the promise of #1? Let’s find out!

United States vs. Murder Inc. #1 Review

Hit Gal

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Michael Avon Oeming
Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: September 5, 2018
Cover Price: $3.99

I am really hoping the third time is a charm for me and these Jinxworld books.  I thought Pearl was interesting enough, but I had no idea whatsoever what was going on in Scarlet  So, here I am about to review United States vs. Murder Inc. #1 and I'm wondering if I'll get the Bendis who thinks everyone has been hanging on his every word for over 15 years or the Bendis who thinks he is down with the pulse of the streets.  Maybe both...I hope neither.  Let's see what we get...

Green Arrow #44 Review

Murder Was The Case

Writer: Julie Benson and Shawna Benson
Artist: Javi Fernandez, John Kalisz, and Deron Bennett
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 5, 2018

It's time for Green Arrow and I'm hoping this is the issue where we see the Benson Sisters get their groove on a bit with this book.  The start of the run showed that there is potential for a good story here with the Citizen, but it felt a little stiff overall.  So, do they loosen up here in a good way?  Let's find out...

Harley Quinn #49 Review and **SPOILERS**

If at First You Don’t Succeed, Die, Die Again

Writer: Sam Humphries 

Artist: Alisson Borges 

Colors: Gabe Eltaeb 

Letters: Dave Sharpe 

Cover: Guillem March and Tomeu Morey 

Variant Cover: Frank Cho 

Assistant Editor: Andrea Shea 

Editor: Alex Antone 

Group Editor: Brian Cunningham 

Cover Price: $3.99 

On Sale Date: September 5, 2018

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Let’s see…last we left Harley Quinn, she was able to lose the farm to the bank, and the mean Mr. Dastardly was hiding her prize hog so it wouldn’t win the county fair lottery? Something like this. Let’s find out what’s next in Harley Quinn #49, which I have reviewed, right here!

The Curse of Brimstone #6 Review

Sometimes You Just Have To Burn Some Children

Written By: Justin Jordan

Art By: Denys Cowan, John Stranisci, Chris Sotomayor, Rain Beredo, Wes Abbott

Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: September 5, 2018

The Curse of Brimstone continues with this issue, where Joe and Annie now have to fight off the Children of the Corn, who are being led by a pint size Pennywise........... or something along those lines.  That's right, the Salesman has created a horror movie that would be amazing if it wasn't involved with the New Age of DC Heroes so let's jump into this issue and see if this series has any momentum towards something interesting.  Let's check it out.

The Unexpected #4 Review and Spoilers

As Expected

Written by: Steve Orlando
Art by: Yvel Guichet, Cary Nord and Scott Hanna
Colours by: Jeromy Cox
Letters by: Carlos M Mangual
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: September 5, 2018

It's that time of the month again. I'd like to say that the arrival of The Unexpected is… unexpected. But it isn't. I'd also like to say that my unanticipated enthusiasm for the title that started with issue 1 and quickly faded with the subsequent two issues has been magically rekindled and that issue 4 is exciting, intriguing and, perhaps most important of all, coherent. But it isn't. So, in an attempt to provide something genuinely unexpected for those hardy readers who have stuck with the series up to now, I'm going to present this review as an inner (now outer, I suppose) dialogue between the naïve somewhat innocent me who kind of likes Orlando and can see what he's trying to do and the cynical more analytical me who thinks that it's no good having grand ideas if you can't execute them properly and that Orlando's hackery is a stain on the collective good name of DC Comics (not that, at this point in their history, it's otherwise exactly spotless). If nothing else, it should at least provide an interesting insight into the tortured divided soul of this long-time comic book fan and sometime reviewer.

Here we go…

Deathstroke #35 Review

Who's the Daddy

Writer: Christopher Priest
Artist: Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 5, 2018

It's time to wrap this whole Deathstroke vs Batman thingy up and I am glad.  I was so excited about this story, but it has started to drag a bit and I am ready for something new.  So, how was the finale?  Let's find out...

Justice League #7 Review

That's The Power Of ...Justice

Written By: Scott Snyder

Art By: Jim Cheung, Mark Morales, Walden Wong, Tomeu Morey, Tom Napolitano

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: September 5, 2018

We've got everything and the kitchen sink being thrown at us in this Justice League series and while we're dealing with a pretty cool concept that's cosmic and spans not only all of time, but the multiverse itself, it's lacking in the answers department right now and that's a bit frustrating for a guy who's not the sharpest pencil in the box........... Yeah, I'm a dummy and I don't need my books pointing that out to me all the time.  Hopefully, we'll get the answers we're looking for with the seven hidden forces of the Universe, the ancient Legionnaires club.......... and really, just about everything.  Let's jump into this issue and check it out.

Green Lanterns #54 Review

The Phantom Menace

Written By: Dan Jurgens

Art By: Marco Santucci, Scott Hanna, Hi-Fi, Dave Sharpe

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: September 5, 2018

The rings have gone wonky in the Green Lantern Corps and while the rest of our heroes are fighting Ravagers and Eon out in space, Simon Baz has been called away to Earth by the Guardians.  Yeah, none of us bought that, but most of us were shocked to see that Simon was actually being manipulated by Hank Henshaw, The Cyborg Superman.  Let's jump into this issue and see if Simon can overcome or if he's just another victim of this villain.  Let's check it out.