Cloak and Dagger (1983) 1

By Bill Mantlo, Rick Leonardi, and Terry Austin
Oct 1983

This issue seems to lack a meaningful center. It is broken up into a few chapters. The first two introduce new characters: Father Francis Xavier Delgado and Detective Brigid O'Rielly. The priest offers Cloak and Dagger sanctuary in his church, Holy Ghost Church on 42nd St. The police detective is hunting them because they have been enacting vigilante justice on some of the criminals who operate near the 21st Precinct headquarters.

The story winds down after two teenagers (Jerry and Alice) from somewhere far away are taken in by some men who are looking to take advantage of them. Cloak and Dagger try to help but in the the melee that ensues Jerry is shot and killed.

I love the art in this story. There are a few splash pages. The architecture of the old church is really beautiful in comparison to the more modern building that surround it. There's a gorgeous double page spread that is split into panels by diagonal borders which look like rays of light. It is on this page that Cloak and Dagger make their first appearance in this series and where the priest meets them for the first time.

On the whole I think I like this issue more for the art than for the potential it presents in terms of plot or character developments. That may change but that's where I stand right now.

Alias (2001) 21

The Underneath - Part 6
By Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos
Jun 2003

Jessica Jones and Jessica Drew rescue Mattie Franklin from the guys holding her. Yes, there's a little more detail than that but that's the gist of what happened. The Speedball part was weird and felt out of place.

Overall just an okay story. The buildup was better than the ending. Maybe there's more to this story and that will be in the 4th and final trade collection of this series, which I already own and will probably start reading in a month or two.

New Teen Titans (1980) 15

The Brotherhood of Evil Lives Again!
By Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Romeo Tanghal
Jan 1982

The Teen Titans plus Robotman have been captured, with the exception of Changeling. The captured heroes are in a vat of chemicals that causes them to devolve into primitive versions of themselves, except for Robotman who is protected from the chemicals by his metal body.

Changeling has allied himself, temporarily, with Monsieur Mallah, the Brain, and the rest of the New Brotherhood of Evil: Plasmus, Phobia, Houngan, and Warp. Before Changeling teamed up with the villains he tried attacking them. He got a taste of their powers and quickly changed his mind. The Brain explains how Madame Rouge tried to kill him and Monsieur Mallah and how they survived. By the time Changeling and the villains attack the forces of Madame Rouge the other Titans have devolved and begun to attack Robotman.

Changeling and his new allies are more than a match for Rouge's troops but what the troops lack in skill they make up for in numbers. Robotman saves himself and the devolved Titans (who no longer recognize him) using Cyborg's White Sound Blaster. The Titans quickly change back to their normal forms and join the battle. Robotman chases down General Zahl. The General tries shooting him. The bullets ricochet off his metal body, one of them right into the General, killing him.

Changeling chases Madame Rouge. He goes a bit around the bend once again. He transforms into a giant sea serpent looking creature which might be a creature of his imagination. Madame Rouge seeks to blow them all up. She sets the auto destruct but in a rage, still in sea serpent form Gar hits her. The blow is deadly. Before she dies she encourages Gar to get out and once again professes her love for the Chief, Niles Caulder, the deceased leader of the original Doom Patrol.

The New Teen Titans and the New Brotherhood of Evil escape the doomed floating headquarters thanks to Warp's teleportation ability.

So much to chew on here. There is still no explanation of Gar's moments of insanity. He has gone into a rage a few times now. I hope this eventually gets resolved.

I still have a problem with the way Gar teamed up with villains. It made sense on one level but there was something about it that rubs me the wrong way. It may be connected somehow to his moments of insanity.

I appreciated the shades or levels of villainy in this chapter. Zahl (a Nazi) is by far the worst of the lot. Even Madame Rouge, his ally, can barely contain her disgust and seriously contemplates killing him. She was a little girl during WWII. Her parents were killed by German troops.

Mallah and Raven share a moment. She heals him after Zahl shoots him in the chest. Mallah thanks her and then goes right back to his murderous ways. He protects Raven but she is disgusted by his disregard for human life. Also in this moment is further evidence that Raven is headed for a meltdown.

This isn't Madame Rouge's final final appearance but this is more or less it for her. She's dead. I think most if not all of her subsequent appearances are in flashbacks.

Zandia, the island nation where most of the story takes place is described in this chapter as a refuge for criminals. Madame Rouge wants to take this country but her plan is never explained.

The deaths of both Rouge and Zahl are treated seriously. Neither Robotman nor Changeling gloat about the villains demises. They know that they can never get back their fallen comrades: Negative Man, Elasti-Girl, the Chief.  Their villainous allies are much more satisfied with the deaths of Zahl and Rouge that the two former Doom Patrolers are.

I enjoyed this arc but I think the opening story arc of the series is still my favorite for now.

Jack Staff (UK) 6

Quick and the Dead
By Paul Grist
Aug 2001

The chapter opens with an introduction to Unit D that was was formed in 1962 to deal with super criminals. A number of characters (all part of Unit D) are quickly introduced by name and specialty. The whole thing seems to be a way to introduce another character who isn't part of Unit D, a super criminal, the Spider. Young Police Constable Maveryk shows up briefly. Unit D was disbanded in 1986. The Spider was never apprehended.

John Smith (Jack Staff) shows up in the even numbered segments of this chapter, initially in his civilian identity. He is at the home of Alfred Chinard, an elderly gentleman. He's there to do some work construction or remodeling work. The elderly gentleman isn't all that he seems. He has what looks like one of the trinkets that the Spider stole. John walks right into a trap, falls a great distance into a pit, and is knocked senseless.

When he wakes up, he is in uniform. He's Jack Staff. The old man seems to have known it all along. There's no real explanation for how or why he came to be wearing his uniform. Chinard tests Jack a bit but that seems to be all that he wants to do for now before he introduces himself as the Spider.

In the first of two interludes Harry Crane chats with Helen Morgan. She's not a ghost. She did die but Q brought her back to life, and it wasn't the first time they've done that. She tells him about a stone crystal known as the Valiant Stone. It grants the wearer immortality and a shard of it helped bring Helen back from the dead. She encourages Harry to return to Q and then leaves him to his thoughts. I love the thought bubbles in this segment.

Betsy Burdock returns in the other interlude with a new moniker. She is now the Vampire Reporter. She has endured a lot of ribbing over her vampiric experience, all from men. Against her better judgment she talks to a guy who turns out to have some demonic friends. Things don't look good for Betsy but it's unclear what this guy and his hell hounds wants from her.

Once again top notch stuff. Really love the way Grist parcels out the bits of story.

Alias (2001) 20

The Underneath - Part 5
By Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos
May 2003

Jessica Drew hits Jessica Jones with her spider's sting again and demands to know what happened to Mattie Franklin. It takes a minute but Jones explains that she's also looking for Mattie and that she left Drew a message on her voice mail. After checking her messages and confirming that Jones did indeed call her, she helps her up but doesn't apologize for what she did. Jones slugs her, knocking her out; payback for getting hit with the spider's sting.

Jones gets a call from Ben Urich. J Jonah Jameson wants to meet. Drew and Jones go to meet Jameson. His wife is there and she does most of the talking. He leaves the room before they start talking details. She gives them some more background on Mattie, and what their relationship to Mattie is exactly. They are her foster parents and they seem concerned but there's something about his wife that doesn't seem right or completely honest.

Jones and Drew go looking for Mattie. Jones finds an address for Denny Haynes, her boyfriend from the night before at the club. They check it out but he's not home. Drew uses some of her connections to track down his recent credit card expenditures. They go to the hotel where they think Haynes might be holed up with Mattie. They talk the guy at the desk into telling which room he is in, and then go pay Haynes a visit. Mattie is there with him and some of his hangers-on and what looks like the superhero known as Speedball. That was a turn for the weird.

Still interested, still enjoying the story but still not crazy about the series as a whole or the art. Not awful, just not great, just okay, on the whole.

New Teen Titans (1980) 14

Revolution!
By Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Romeo Tanghal
Dec 1981

All the Teen Titans (plus Robotman) reunite in Uganda. Gar seems to be back to normal. Steve Dayton is still acting weird. They give him his Mento costume when he asks for it. He attacks the group as soon as he puts it on. It doesn't look good for the assembled superheroes. Mento seems to have them all on the ropes when Raven steps in to the fight. She uses her abilities to relieve Dayton of his pain. Dayton recovers and is back to normal.

A few pages are devoted to retelling the origin and fate of the Doom Patrol as recounted by Steve Dayton. Robotman manages to sneak in a quick explanation of why he doesn't look like he did in Showcase 94-96 (1977-78), his first and only appearance since the death of the Doom Patrol (1968). Dayton also tells them about how he was captured by Madame Rouge. The other Titans just listen closely but Changeling gets fighting mad. It isn't clear if he has just had enough or if he is possessed once again.

Changeling heads for the villains underground headquarters. Before he gets there the whole complex lifts out of the ground and takes off. Gar just barely catches up to it and lands on the edge of the flying headquarters. The complex seems to have changed a bit and now has tall buildings and is encased in a bubble.

The other Titans follow in one of their jets. Did they leave the other one behind? There were two jets shown at the beginning of this chapter. The flying base heads for Zandia, an island country in the Baltic Sea. The armored warriors of Madame Rouge and General Zahl attack the island country. The Titans aren't far behind. They don't know what's happened to Changeling. They don't see him barely hanging on to the edge of the flying base.

Before the Titans attempt to land Starfire, Wonder Girl, and Ravenn take off under their own power and engage the troops of the enemy. Kid Flash lowers himself using his super speed. At first it seems like they are making some progress but one by one the Titans are taken down, first Starfire, then Wonder Girl, Raven and Kid Flash. The most surprising take down may be when Changeling comes up brandishing a large, high powered, high tech rifle. He blows the jet out of the sky. Of course it wasn't really the Changeling. It was Madame Rouge. Her superpowers aren't identical to Changeling's but she does posses the ability to make herself look like other people.

After the other Titans have been taken down, the real Changeling looks up only to see himself the prisoner of the Brotherhood of Evil. It was clear from what happened earlier in the issue that there was someone else who wasn't allied with either the Titans or Madame Rouge. Up to this point there were no indications given as to whom that might be.

The cover to the next issue shows Changeling leading the Brotherhood of Evil in an attack on Madame Rouge and her forces. I'm sure it can't be quite that simple. These are super villains but Changeling has shown signs that someone else is possessing him on at least two occasions. Maybe that explains the cover to the next issue.

I love the foreshadowing on page 10 where Robin wonders about the stress that Raven is under and what it might eventually lead to. I can't help but think of think of the parallels to Jean Grey/Phoenix of the X-Men who was dead by the time. Both characters code names are the names of birds and both have hidden pasts or secrets that their teammates don't fully understand.

I love the little breaks in the storytelling that are used to bring the reader up to speed on past events. In this issue it is the Doom Patrol origin story which takes up a little over 2 pages.

Great read. I really wish that other series aged as well as this one does.

Jack Staff (UK) 5

Police Investigation
By Paul Grist
May 2001

Harry Crane used to be a police detective before he joined the Q. His partner was D.S. Maveryk. Crane and Maveryk were investigating an apparent suicide which might have been a murder. Crane was getting weird premonitions about what did or might have happened. Crane narrates the opening part of this story. Maveryk narrates the second part.

Helen Morgan of Q arrives unannounced. Maveryk is suspicious of her right away. She is there for the Twisted Mirror. Maveryk gets pulled through the mirror but manages to escape by unintentionally shattering the mirror.

In the present Harry Crane comes home to find Helen's ghost, she was killed by Templar Richard in the previous arc, in his apartment. She is there to recruit him to return to Q. The book ends with him saying the same thing he said at the end of the first things. Sometimes I see things. Love the callback.

There is a weird interlude with a new character who calls himself the Druid. He talks directly to the reader. He insists that he needs the reader's help to "rectify a cosmic imbalance". The interlude ends with him getting dragged away and sedated by the orderlies at the mental institution where he lives.

Tom Tom the Robot Man's alter ego, Patricia Carthy, makes an appearance in a 6-page interlude. She is in a wheelchair and still recovering from the fight with Templar Richard. She is approached by one of her nemeses, Doc Tempest. He can control the weather. He tries killing her by whipping up a storm. She is thrown from her wheelchair. She is saved by Doc Tempest's overconfidence. He isn't paying close enough attention and gets hit by the wheelchair. The interlude ends with him getting carted away, possibly paralyzed but still alive.

There is something about the way that Paul Grist uses black that feels different from other artists. Quite often black and white comics that aren't shaded with gray tone look flat. Grist doesn't shade but somehow he achieves an effect that keeps the images from looking flat.

I enjoyed this issue so much that it didn't occur to me until just now that Jack Staff wasn't even in it.

Alias (2001) 19

The Underneath - Part 4
By Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos
Apr 2003

Jessica hangs at the club for a while with Mattie, Denny Haynes, her "boyfriend", and some of his friends. They get high. They cut Mattie and extract something from her. They use that to get high. It doesn't just get them high, it gives them superpowers, temporarily.

Jessica has seen enough. She tries breaking up the party but gets blindsided by one of the goons. She wakes up in alley. Her face is bloody. Ben Urich is standing nearby. He was trailing her when she went into the club. J Jonah Jameson put him on it. He surmised, based on what she tells him that the goons who knocked her out were on Mutant Growth Hormone.

Jessica goes to the emergency room, alone. She gets checked out, gets interviewed by some cops. She goes home and gets attacked by someone as she walks in to her apartment. The someone is Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman. She's looking for Mattie Franklin.

I got to admit this arc has yet to let me down. I'm curious to see how it all turns out. At least for now there is no indication that Mattie's "boyfriend" is the Purple Man.

New Teen Titans (1980) 13

Friends and Foes Alike!
By Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Romeo Tanghal
Nov 1981

Donna is still back in the Big Apple, unlike the other Titans. She does a little solo crime fighting. She can't get her mind off what Hyperion did to her. She's also worried about Gar.

Starfire takes part in a tournament on Paradise Island. The Amazons are well trained but she is victorious in both competitions: jousting while riding on kangas (giant kangaroo like creatures) and sparring with battle staves. Everything is going great until there's an explosion in Paula von Gunther's lab where Gar is recuperating.

The Amazons, Starfire, and Raven rush to find out what happened only to be confronted by Changeling who has taken the form as a Brachiosaurus, a 100-ton dinosaur. From the word balloons and what he has to say it is clear that he is possessed by someone or something. The Amazons and Starfire try fighting him but get nowhere. Raven steps in and using her soul self renders him unconscious. They take him back to the lab. When he wakes up he is back to his normal self.

The other Titans (Robin, Cyborg, Kid Flash) follow Robotman's instructions and arrive in Uganda. They find Cliff Steele near death but Cyborg is able to restore him. He leads them to a subterranean building where he says they will find Steve Dayton (Gar's stepfather) and the villains who are holding him captive (Madame Rouge and General Zahl). The villains have an army of red armor clad warriors guarding the temple.

The Titans and Robotman fight their way down through the villains headquarters until they find Dayton. They get away, back to their jet plane but it all seems just a little too easy. Based on the comments made by Madame Rouge on the final page it is clear that she has something up her sleeve. Presumably Steve has been brainwashed and will follow Rouge's twisted orders once she gives them.

Great opening to this arc. I like the split between Paradise Island and Uganda. It was nice to see the differences between Starfire and Raven highlighted as they were. I also liked the character moment that Vic and Dick share while Wally is off looking for Robotman. The rendering and visual storytelling is as always very nicely handled by Perez and Tanghal.

The Titans Tower letters column includes a very complimentary letter from R.M. Eury from Concord, NC. I am fairly certain that this is the Michael Eury who later worked for DC Comics and is the editor of Back Issue magazine from Twomorrows Publishing.

Love Fights 12

By Andi Watson
Aug 2004

Jack's apartment building burns in the fire started by the explosion that happened when Prof. Pendulum tried fleeing in her machine. The Flamer and Future Feline were also killed in the explosion. The Fader shows up with Nathaniel and gives him to Nora. He's wet and the Fader doesn't want to have anything to do with the tyke.

JJ shows up and encourages Jack and Nora to keep quiet about the fate of the Flamer and Future Feline. He helps them to get away with Nathaniel; sets them up in a house that Abundance Comics owns upstate.

Time passes. Jack, Nora, and Nathaniel live together upstate. Jack and Nora collaborate on a comic book: The Death of the Flamer. Jack's contract with abundance expires and JJ tries talking him into a new contract with Abundance. Jack isn't interested.

Jack and Nora talk about their future which isn't very certain. She worries that he will only stay because he feels that he has to. Do they live happily ever after in the end? They certainly seem to be headed in that direction.

Excellent ending, no action, all epilogue. Once again Andi Watson does a great job with the layouts, facial expressions, and the visual storytelling.

The series lived up to my memories of it. It was a fun read; a nice mix of romance, an insider's perspective of the comic book industry, and a fan's perspective of comic books. I can see myself rereading Love Fights again, probably not in the near future but at some point down the road. I wish that there were more comic books like this.

Alias (2001) 18

The Underneath - Part 3
By Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos
Mar 2003

Jessica tries telling Scott about what happened with Madame Web. He wants to know what it was in her past that Madam Web saw. She doesn't want to talk about it. He asks her if she was raped. She gets angry and leaves. Was it a stupid question? Probably.

Jessica goes back to her own place. She is still a bit wary. The next day she meets with Matt Murdock. She's still working part time as one of his bodyguards. He hasn't told her that he's Daredevil but it's out there in the media and she's pretty sure that he is.

She tells him about J Jonah Jameson and Mattie Franklin. She leaves out the part about Scott Lang. Later she meets with Malcolm, her annoying teenage neighbor. He introduces her to Laney who tells her a story about her brother. He's a drug dealer and dating Mattie Franklin. She tells Jessica about the club where she can probably find him: 616.

Jessica goes to the club but the bouncer won't let her. She goes home, gets all dolled up, and returns to club. The bouncer waves her in. She looks around and with some help from another woman she finds Mattie and Laney's brother. He is sitting on a couch and Mattie is lying down with her head on his thigh.

Is this Killgrave, the purple man? I think so. I know he is a major player in the final arc.

New Teen Titans (1980) 12

Clash of the Titans
By Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Romeo Tanghal
Oct 1981

Artemis appears before the army of Amazons. She calls on the Amazons to fight on the side of the gods. This sets things up in a framework that looks familiar as the Greek Titans are the parents of the gods. In the first arc of the series there was also a parent child conflict when Raven had to do battle with Trigon, her father.

Donna begins to have doubts about her feelings for Hyperion. The Titans attack Mt. Olympus. She sticks by the Titans side but her concern about her choice behind to grow. There is a very nice double page splash of the battle between the Titans and the Gods. The battle ends with the Titans imprisoning the Gods in rock just as the Titans were in Tartarus. The significance, if there is any, of imprisoning the gods (or Titans) in rock (if there is any) is not explained.

The Amazons show up after Zeus and the other Greek Gods have been defeated. Hippolyta tries to convince Donna to switch sides. Donna, despite having doubts about the Cronus, Hyperion, and the rest of their siblings stands by them. Athena, Greek Goddess of wisdom, (who did not participate in the earlier battle) refutes the Titans claims of benevolence. A battle breaks out between the Amazons and and the Greek Titans. Starfire manages to free Zeus from the rock in which he is imprisoned. Raven uses her soul self to help calm Rhea, Cronus' sister/wife. Before the battle can get any worse Athena intervenes once again and talks the Titans into returning to Tartarus. I'm not sure I completely buy this ending with the Titans of myth giving up like that but it does fit in with the whole generational divide theme that runs through the series.

There are three epilogues. The first one features Raven, Starfire, and Queen Hippolyta back on Paradise Island. They are chatting as they watch Donna head back to NYC in a borrowed airplane.

The second one takes place in the lab of Paula von Gunther. She has been keeping an eye on Gar as they use the Purple Ray on him. Her assistants note that he is recovering just before he wakes up and says something strange that sounds very unlike Garfield Logan: I live again… and I live -- to kill! That obviously not Gar talking. Someone has possessed him. I'm not sure who that person would be but it probably ties into the arc that runs through the next three issues.

The final epilogue is Donna, back in NYC with Terry, her 29-year-old boyfriend. She seems to still be shaken over what Hyperion did to her.

Interesting to note that Hippoltya's name was spelled slightly differently in the previous installment. I believe that the spelling used in this chapter is the correct one.

This little arc didn't quite live up my hopes it. The events as depicted on the covers are more exciting than the ones inside the comic books, especially in the case of this issue. I didn't have anything particular in mind but I guess I was hoping for something along the lines of some of the future arcs in this series that I have read before. It isn't bad it just felt a little flat but not enough to make we want to drop this book and read something else.

---

Titans Tower, the letters page, includes an announcement about the X-Men/New Teen Titans crossover (which was still a year or so down the road) and several letters praising New Teen Titans (1980) 7, especially the ending with Vic and his father.

Love Fights 11

By Andi Watson
Jul 2004

The woman with the child isn't the child's mother. It is Prof. Pendulum. She reveals to her stunned audience that she and Dr. Pitt arrived in the present from a pocket universe. They found Nathaniel, the child, in the near future. According to DNA evidence it is the child of Nora and the Flamer, both of whom insist that can't be true. The Flamer reveals that he is gay. It is interesting to note that the Professor sites evidence from Dr. Childers lab as proof of the parentage of Nathaniel without making mention of the fact that Dr. Childers is the Flamer's alter ego. Does she not know this? If she does know if then what reason could she have for keeping this truth from Jack and Nora?

The Professor tells them about how Guthrie got his powers. She then gets ready to leave with the child. Destroying the lives of others seems to have been enough for her. She steps into her time-and-space machine with Nathaniel. Flamer tries to stop her from leaving but Future Feline pulls him away from the machine and the two start fighting.

The Professor closes the machine and is about to leave when the Fader shows up and grabs Nathaniel. The machine malfunctions. Could that be Guthrie's handiwork? Was that his way of lashing back at Prof Pendulum who had bent him to her will? Future Feline and the Flamer continue fight, Jack and Nora watch, and the machine blows up.

The visual storytelling is as always wonderful. I love how The pages layouts vary from double page splashes to pages filled with lots of little panels. The variety helps to keep it interesting and keep the story flowing nicely. I especially like that there are some wordless panels.

This is a great penultimate chapter.

DC Comics Presents Annual 4

Welcome to LuthorCon III
By Elliot S! Maggin, Eduardo Barreto, and Jerry Ordway
1985

Dr. Kristin Wells travels back in time from the 29th century to the 20th. She loses her memory along the way. She arrives just in time for LuthorCon III. She wears the Superwoman costume she brought with her to the convention because it gets her in for free. There she meets Superman who is pretending to be an actor impersonating Superman.

Lex Luthor is operating behind the scenes of the show. He's wearing his power armor but doesn't use it. He is just pulling the strings and organizing a trap for Superman. Thanks to a big assist from Superwoman, whose powers are different from Superman's, he is able avoid falling victim to Luthor's scheme.

On the whole I found this story to be very disjointed and hard to follow. The transitions from scene to scene were very rough. I didn't enjoy this story and don't recommend it to others. The one saving grace was the art. The combination of Barreto's pencils and Ordway's inks were very soft on my eyes. It is a shame that the words that accompanied the pictures and the story behind it all didn't live up to the visual beauty provided by Barreto and Ordway.

Alias (2001) 17

The Underneath - Part 2
By Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos
Feb 2003

Jessica doesn't learn anything from J Jonah Jameson. He keeps his trap shut until she starts babbling and then he wants to know what's happened to Mattie. Jessica doesn't know, and tells him that.

Jessica tries reaching out to Jessica Drew, the first Spider-Woman. Her name was in the file that Clay Quartermain gave her on Mattie Franklin. She leaves her a voice mail but doesn't hear back from her. Madame Web, another name from the file, contacts Jessica. Madame Web tells Jessica about some premonitions she's been having and about how she can see the future and how her precognitive abilities work.

Jessica goes to visit Madame Web. Madame Web gets a visual image of something from Jessica's past, something disturbing. Jessica flips out when Madame Web tells her, even though she doesn't go into much in the way of detail.

This feels like a tease, a transition to something bigger. Once it, whatever it is, has arrived this chapter will probably feel more significant or important than it currently does.

New Teen Titans (1980) 11

When Titans Clash
By Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Romeo Tanghal
Sep 1981

The Teen Titans travel to Paradise Island. Their one hope to save Changeling's life is the Purple Ray, a device created by Wonder Woman. It was used to heal Steve Trevor (Wonder Woman 1, Summer 1942) and it gave Donna Troy her powers (Teen Titans 22, Jul-Aug 1969). It doesn't always work but it seems like it is their best hope for bringing Gar back from the brink of death.

Gar is transported from the jet in a suspended animation chamber. His feet are not allowed to touch the ground. The other guys (Robin, Cyborg, Kid Flash) aren't welcome on the island home of the Amazons. If a man ever steps foot of the island, according to Wonder Girl, the Amazons will lose their powers and immortality. The guys take off on a separate mission to look for Changeling's stepfather, Steve Dayton.

Before the Amazons get started analyzing Gar's condition an intruder interferes with the operation of the Purple Ray. Wonder Girl investigates and discovers Hyperion, the Titan of Greek myth who has recently escaped from Tartarus. He had been imprisoned there for tens of thousands of years. Donna tries to lasso him but he shrugs it off. It has no power over him. He hypnotizes her and from there on she follows him everywhere and fights by his side.

Starfire and Raven come to their teammate's aid but Hyperion is too powerful. Starfire's bolts have no impact on him. He inflicts great harm on both of them, but they survive and recover quickly enough. Before they are back to strength Hyperion and Wonder Girl have teleported back to Tartarus to free his brothers and sisters.

Raven and Starfire team up with an army of Amazons and head for Tartarus. The army is led by Queen Hippolyte, Wonder Girl's adoptive mother. The Amazons encounter some resistance getting into Tartarus in the form of a green-skinned beast with 100 heads. Hyperion and Wonder Girl also had to fight their way into the underworld. In their case it was three giant Cyclopes that stood between them and the realm of the dead.

Hyperion tells his origin story which is also the story of the origins of the Titans and the Greek Gods. His plan is to revive his brothers and sisters, who were also trapped in Tartarus, and then head for Mt. Olympus. The extended plan is to settle some old scores and take over Mt. Olympus, where the Greek Gods live.

The issue ends with Starfire, Raven, Hippolyte, and the army of Amazons catching up with the Titans. By this time Hyperion has freed his siblings. Hippolyte tries talking Donna into leaving Hyperion and returning with her but Donna claims to have decided of her own volition to stay by Hyperion's side. It is where she says she wants to stay for the rest of time. Before Hippolyte can react Hyperion teleports himself, his siblings, and Donna out of there, presumably to Mt. Olympus.

One interesting detail is that one of the Titans is missing. There are just 11 of them (6 males, 5 females) instead of 12. The missing Titan is Thia, Hyperion's sister/wife. All the other pairs of Titan siblings/spouses are intact. Hyperion wants Donna to replace Thia. I wouldn't be surprised to see Thia return before this story wraps up in the next issue and prove to be in the decisive factor in the fight between the Wonder Girl and the Titans of Greek myth and the Amazons and the New Teen Titans (Starfire, Raven). Whether she does or does not I'm guessing that there will be some divine intervention before this story ends.

I've been looking forward to reading this story for quite some time. As with all the issues in this series up to this point, I had not read this one before. On the first read through I thought it was fairly straight forward both in the plot and in the way it was told. Going back through it as I wrote my summary of the issue I can see that it is more layered at least in the amount of detail that is included than it originally seemed to me.

Love Fights 10

By Andi Watson
Jun 2004

Jack explores the tunnel beneath Guthrie's litter box. He finds a huge cave with all sorts of devices, then sees Guthrie with someone. That someone isn't happy with Guthrie and zaps him. This may explain why Guthrie has been trying sabotage Jack: he's working for someone maybe the same someone who gave him superpowers. Maybe it was fun at first but then this person started asking more of him and used this device to punish him when he didn't do as he was told to do. The only questions that leaves in my mind are why Guthrie and why Jack?

Jack doesn't confront Guthrie and the stranger. He takes one of Guthrie's spare capes as proof and goes looking for Nora. When he finds her he tells her everything he knows. He thinks that the baddie who Guthrie is working for must be Pitt or Pendulum. It's a little unclear but I think Pitt and Pendulum may be the same person, like Jekyll and Hyde. Nora doesn't believe him until he shows her the cape he took.

There's more to this scene with Jack and Nora than just mystery solving. They talk about their relationship and why it soured. They almost start making out but then she comes to her senses. She tries calling Dr. Childers. The Flamer picks up so I guess that means that the Flamer is Dr. Childers but she can't tell. He is in the middle of a fight with a big villain.

Jack and Nora go and stake out Jack's apartment while they wait for the Flamer. It is raining and they get very close together as they use the Future Feline cape (which isn't very big) to keep themselves dry. They start to kissing but them the Flamer shows up. Smooch-fest is over. Together the three descend into the cavernous lair beneath Jack's building. There they come face to face with the villain who has been forcing Guthrie to do her dirty work. She has the Flamer's live child in her arms.

Love this chapter. It has some great plot developments and Nora and Jack get back together again, at least for the moment. I really like the way the way both scenes with just the two of them are drawn. Andi Watson does a bang up job with the facial expressions as Jack and Nora talk, almost kiss, huddle while they wait for the Flamer, and then finally kiss.

Alias (2001) 16

The Underneath - Part 1
By Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos
Jan 2003

Jessica helps to stop a robbery at a convenience store. She tries throwing a can of soup at the robber but misses and has to use hand-to-hand combat to subdue the bad guy. The owner shows little in the way of appreciation and pisses her off by charging her for the pack of cigarettes she wants to buy, instead of giving it to her as a reward.

She gets home and finds a young woman dressed like Spider-Man, except she isn't wearing the mask. She knows Jessica's name. She jumps through a window when Jessica doesn't recognize her. I thought for a second there she was going to end up as a mess on the sidewalk but she made the jump. She obviously has superpowers. My next thought was that she's Spider-Girl from another universe. But I don't think that's the case now.

Jessica calls Scott Lang. He comes over. They end up going over to his place for the night. Jessica can't sleep. She can't find anything out about Spider-Woman on the internet. She decides to call (SHIELD Agent) Clay Quartermain. He gives her crap for sleeping with Scott Lang but he also fills her in on who Spider-Woman is, Mattie Franklin. The name doesn't mean anything to me. I think I'm going to hold off on googling her for now.

The chapter ends with Jessica confronting J Jonah Jameson in a parking garage. I'm not sure exactly why but I'm guessing something that Quartermain told her, off panel, must have led her to Jameson. It also makes a little more sense now that they chose to include the previous issue in this collection, considering that JJJ was also in that issue.

I'm not loving it but I'm intrigued, curious. I want to see where this one goes. I like the humor and the writing but I am still not crazy about Michael Gaydos art.

The cover for this issue found on Comixology, which is where I bought the comic, is different from what I found at comic book db and the grand comics database. I'm not sure why. The image above is the one from comixology.

New Teen Titans (1980) 10

Promethium Unbound!
By Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Romeo Tanghal
Aug 1981

Deathstroke steals a nuclear warhead from an aircraft carrier. He plans to sell it to the highest bidder but he needs a little help from the Titans in order to get the job done. He kidnaps Sarah Simms, Cyborg's friend, and uses her as leverage to get them to play along with his plan. That's the gist of the story minus the details about how it all turns out but there is so much more to the story than that.

Changeling's origin is revealed during a conversation he has with Cyborg. He talks about how he got his powers, his time with the Doom Patrol, and how they were killed. I love that Perez and Tanghal included a couple panels of Changeling, or Beast Boy as he was known then, transformed but still with a tuft of hair on his head, just like he used to appear when teamed up with the Doom Patrol in the Silver Age.

Robotman is still alive! The original or Silver Age incarnation of the Doom Patrol was killed in the final issue of their comic book, Doom Patrol 121 (Sep/Oct 1968). The second incarnation of the Doom Patrol first appeared in Showcase 94-96 (1977-78). This must be where it was revealed that Robotman (aka Cliff Steele) survived. I don't have Showcase 94-96 nor have I read that story. Unlike the original run of the Doom Patrol those issue of Showcase have yet to be reprinted.

Two of the scientists that Deathstroke has employed to help build a bomb using the stolen Promethium and the stolen nuclear warhead are named Honeywell and Bleeker. Only Honeywell is seen. He looks very much like the Bunsen Honeydew from the Muppets. I'm guessing that's not a coincidence.

There is a brief glimpse at the foreign agents traveling to the United States to bid on the stolen nuclear warhead. They are coming from a number of different countries including the Soviet Union, Korea (not North Korea, just Korea), and Libya. The KGB envoy is named Boris Battinov, a name which sounds remarkably similar to Boris Badenov, one of the primary villains on Rocky and Bullwinkle. Once again, probably not a coincidence.

I'm a bit perplexed by the designation of the aircraft carrier that Deathstroke's army attacks. F-16 is the designation for a military fighter plane that had been in production and use since the mid-1970s, 5 or 6 years prior to the publication of this comic book. Aircraft carriers in the early 1980s were designated CV-nn or CVN-nn. The designation used in this issue doesn't ruin the story but it did have me scratching my head and wondering why they used a fighter plane designation for an aircraft carrier.

Starfire battles Deathstroke in a knockdown drag out fight in Manhattan. Deathstroke runs off before the fight is over. Starfire fights instinctively and comes close to beating the mercenary before he uses a bomb to threaten civilian lives. His reason for attacking her was not so much to capture or kill her as it was to get a better assessment of what she was capable of. In that respect it seems that it was a successful venture.

Before the Titans are contacted by Deathstroke, just after his battle with Starfire, Robin mentions a call he received from King Faraday. Faraday is a government agent who has interacted with superheroes from time to time. He appeared in DC: The New Frontier and also showed up in the second season of the JLU cartoon. I talked about his background on DTC 65 starting around 27 minutes into the episode.

The issue ends with a cliffhanger. It appears that Deathstroke has killed Changeling. I know that Changeling comes back. I don't know how he comes back but I have a sneaking suspicion that it has something to do with a trip to Paradise Island.

What I like about this issue is the detail and how it is all assembled. At it's core this issue seems very simple and not so great. The way the story is plotted and laid out are what made it so much fun to read. Wolfman and Perez really work some magic between the arrangement of the panels and the layering of the reveals of the different bits of information. A lesser creative team could easily have turned it into a mediocre story at best. This is a big step up from the last issue which lacked the nuance and nods that this one had in spades.

Love Fights 9

By Andi Watson
Apr 2004

Jack and Nora meet with Flamer. He doesn't remember Dr. Pitt and Prof. Pendulum. They try jogging his memory by telling him about the Modal Multiverse Conjecture. This leads to all sorts of veiled references to DC and Marvel comic book characters, teams and events (like Crisis on Infinite Earths) but it doesn't help him remember the villains that Jack and Nora believe are behind the frame job being worked on the Flamer. Their account of the MMC might have given Flamer a headache but it brought the biggest smile to my face.

Jack goes home to get some sleep and Nora goes to meet with the Fader after they part ways with the Flamer. The Fader has a pretty weird theory about pocket universes that he thinks might explain what happened to Dr. Pitt and Prof. Pendulum. Nora talks the Flamer into delivering the autographed pair of shorts that the Flamer gave her.

I'm starting to wonder if the Fader isn't the one behind the frame job. I don't know what his motive might be but he seems like a better option than some villain who has yet to be seen.

I really loved all the comic book history talk that Jack and Nora engaged in when they were talking to the Flamer. They even got into an argument about the correct origin and fate of Flame Girl: she was either the Flamer's sister before the MMC or a homunculus created by Abra Cadaver.

On the whole this issue was a lot of fun. I don't think it is representative of the series as a whole but it adds a dimension to this series that was shown to a lesser degree in earlier issues.

8/3

Alias (2001) 10

The End
By Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos
Aug 2002

This story is placed out of sequence in the collected editions. It is included in the 3rd trade paperback which also collects 16-21. I'm not sure why this wasn't included in the 2nd trade which collected 11-15.

Jessica is hired by J. Jonah Jameson to find out Spider-Man's secret identity.

Jessica only plays a small part in this issue. Jameson is the star and the focal point. He yells at Betty Brandt, Robbie Robertson, and Ben Urich, a lot. The images get the job done and work well enough with the words but this isn't the sort of visual storytelling that I like to see in a comic book. It feels like the artist and writer didn't work very closely together in putting this one together.