Queen & Country 3

Queen & Country 3

Jul 2001

Operation: Broken Ground - Part 3

by Greg Rucka, Steve Rolston

Crocker has Wallace and Kittering, Minders One and Three, keep an eye on Chace, Minder Two, while she waits for the Russians to try and hit her. Wallace has armed all three of them with pistols.

Weldon, Crocker’s boss, objects to arming the minders. He insists that the agents from MI5 who are also keeping an eye on Chace will be armed and that’s enough. MI6 agents are not supposed to conduct operations domestically. 

Secret Origins (1986) 9 (1)

Secret Origins (1986) 9

Dec 1986

The Secret Origin of the Star Spangled Kid and Stripesy

by Roy Thomas, Tom Grindberg, Mike Gustovich, David C. Weiss, Carl Gafford, Robert Greenberger

16 pages

The origin of the team of the Star Spangled Kid and Stripesy (which is retold in this issue of Secret Origins) was first told in Star Spangled Comics 18 (Mar 1943). This story is set on the Fourth of July 1941. Neither was a costumed superhero when the story begins but both quickly don costumes which emphasize their patriotism.

The Star Spangled Kid and Stripesy do not get along when they first meet. They are forced to work together to escape from a trap set by Nazi saboteurs. It isn’t until after they have defeated the saboteurs that they concede that they make a pretty good team and agree to work together in the future. 

Star Wars (1977) 38

Star Wars (1977) 38

Aug 1980

Riders in the Void!

by Archie Goodwin, Michael Golden, Terry Austin, Joe Rosen, Danny Fingeroth

Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia are on the run from an imperial Star destroyer when they make a jump through hyperspace. Their engines were damaged at the time they made the jump and they wind up traveling much further than they expected they would, beyond their own galaxy. 

Luke and Leia encounter a giant sentient spaceship which tries to kill them after taking in their spaceship. The sentient spaceship wants to know more about them after it sees how they care for one another, and stops trying to eject them into the vacuum of space. It tells them it’s story, how part of it was once human before becoming one with the ship. 

Queen & Country 2

Queen & Country 2

May 2001

Operation: Broken Ground - Part 2

by Greg Rucka, Steve Rolston

The Russians retaliate by hitting MI6 HQ in London with a shoulder launched rocket. Two people are killed and one is injured. Paul Crocker wants to retaliate but his superiors are against that. They force him and his team, which includes Tara Chace, to work with MI5 which has jurisdiction in this case. 

MI5’s investigation reveals the culprits behind the attack and that there is a bounty on Chace’s head. Tara agrees to be the bait in an operation to draw out the Russian agents sent to kill her. 

Batman: Son of the Demon

Batman: Son of the Demon

1987

by Mike W. Barr, Jerry Bingham, John Costanza 

Batman works with Ra’s Al Ghul and Talia, his daughter, to stop Qayin, a terrorist whose parents once worked for Ra’s. Qayin blames Ra’s for his parents death but Quyin himself is responsible for the death of Melisande, Ra’s wife and Talia’s mother. 

Batman moves in to Ra’s secret headquarters, he and Talia are married, and not longer after that get pregnant. Qayin moves forward with his plan to wreck havoc by taking over a US satellite that can control the weather. 

Terry and the Pirates (31.A)

Vol. 5: 1943-1944

By Milton Caniff 

 

Infiltrator

Aug 28, 1943 - Feb 7, 1944

This is the fifth of twelve stories in what Carl Horak, author of the Terry and the Pirates Companion, considers to be the fourth era of Caniff’s run on the strip. This era began in late Jan 1942 and ran through early Nov 1945 and is called The War Years in the companion book. 

The Wikipedia article on Terry and the Pirates breaks the entire series down into 60 arcs. It breaks this arc down into the following arcs:

44 - "On the Wing" (8/30/43 to 10/29/43)

45 - "Jungle Rescue" (10/30/43 to 12/17/43)

46 - "The Fair Sex Revealed" (12/18/43 to 2/4/44)

08/18/23

Aug 28, 1943 - Taffy says her final goodbyes to Pat Ryan and Joss Goode. An officer aboard the plane that is going to take her back to China sees her getting ready to board the airplane and takes an interest in her.

X-Men Annual 3

X-Men Annual 3

1979

A Fire in the Sky

By Chris Claremont, George Perez, Terry Austin, Tom Orzechowski, Glynis Wein, Roger Stern

Arkon arrives on Earth. He heads to Avengers mansion in search of Thor. Jarvis is the only one at home. He informs the irate monarch that Thor is no longer an Avenger. Arkon is contacted by his grand vizier (at this point) who informs him that there is another who can help them.

Arkon arrives at the X-Men’s mansion in Westchester County. He sneaks in and tries to surprise Storm but she senses his presence and fights back. The fight moves outside where Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, and Colossus join the fight. Arkon puts up a valiant fight but the X-Men eventually overcome him. He hurls a golden lightning bolt at Storm before he is taken down. She vanishes.

Queen & Country 1

Queen & Country 1

Mar 2001

Operation: Broken Ground - Part 1

by Greg Rucka, Steve Rolston

SIS Minder Two Tara Chace completes a mission to assassinate a Russian arms dealer in Kosovo. She is pursued, gets injured, but manages to escape back to the British consulate more than 85 km away. 

Tom Wallace, Chace’s boss, and Paul Crocker, Wallace’s boss worry about her until they find out that she has made it to the British consulate. Crocker gets called in by Don Weldon, his boss, who wasn’t informed in advance about the operation. Crocker has to explain the deal he struck with the CIA.

Batman 251

Batman 251

Sep 1973

The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge!

by Denny O’Neil, Neil Adams, Julius Schwartz

Batman discovers that the Joker has returned to Gotham and killed one of his five former henchmen. Batman suspects that he will try to kill the other four.

Batman finds three of the other former stool pigeons. He tries to convince them that they are in danger but they won’t listen to him. The joker kills them, one by one.

Batman catches up to the Joker just as he is getting ready to kill the fifth of his former assistants. Batman tries to talk Joker down from his murderous plan. The Joker seems to relent but then Batman winds up in a tank with a shark and the fifth henchman. 

Fantastic Four 208

Fantastic Four 208

Jul 1979

The Power of the Sphinx!

by Marv Wolfman, Sal Buscema, D. Hands, Joe Rosen, Glynis Wein

The Skrull spaceship that Reed, Sue, and Ben escaped in is destroyed by Nova who then quickly realizes his mistakes. Nova rescues the trio and brings them back to his spaceship. The Thing almost gets into a fight with the Sphinx but the Sphinx has no interest in fighting once he detects the presence of the Living Computer of Xandar.

The Sphinx and Dr. Sun disappear as the Sphinx uses his abilities to transporter them to Xandar. The Sphinx only intended to transport himself but Dr. Sun jumped in time to tag along.

Baltimore Comic Con 2023 - Day 3

Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Baltimore Convention Center

Baltimore, MD

Sep 10 / Day 3

I could have slept in a little bit longer than I usually do but I chose not to. I didn't leave until about 9:55 AM. I was originally going to drive to Baltimore but I decided instead to drive to a light rail station and catch a light rail train in to Baltimore. One advantage of the light rail over the MARC train is that the light rail drops you off right across the street from the convention center.

The trains were running a little later than scheduled but I still managed to get to the convention center by about 11: 35. The train ride in was kind of crowded. It was opening day for the 2023-24 NFL season and the Ravens were playing a home game that started at 1 PM.

I walked around the convention floor looking for books that I might have missed in the past couple days. I didn't find anything I wanted but I noticed that one of the dealers had cut his $5 books down to $3. I didn't have the time to check those boxes at the moment but I made a note to check back later.

Baltimore Comic Con 2023 - Day 2

Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Baltimore Convention Center

Baltimore, MD

Sep 9 / Day 2

I got up at the same time today as I did yesterday but I left about 75 minutes earlier today. The train to from DC to Baltimore runs less frequently on Saturdays than it does on Fridays and the show opened earlier. I left home at 7:30 AM, walked to the Metro, and arrived at Union Station about 25 minutes before the train was scheduled to depart. I got up to Baltimore around 9:55 AM.

On the ride to Baltimore I did some research to see which issues of the Star Trek (1984) series I was missing. I knew that I didn't have very many. I made a list of the ones that I didn't have and checked to see how much they were going for on some of the more popular sites.

There was a 12-mile race in Baltimore this morning which ran right past Penn Station down the route that I took to the Convention Center. The race started early enough that the route for the race was still closed to vehicles, even though I didn't see more than a handful of competitors. I got to the Baltimore Comic Con around 10:30.

Monstrous: Mad Dash

Monstrous: Mad Dash

2020

Mad Dash

by Greg Wright, Ken Lamug

Doctor Frankenstein and Doctor Jekyll team up to rescue Amanda, Jekyll’s daughter. She is being held captive by robots "somewhere in Australia". Dr. Frankenstein forces Dr. Jekyll to transform into Mr. Hyde but things don't exactly go the way Frankenstein imagines they would post-transformation.

Thoughts

This was a fun read. It was very silly. The art mixed well with the dialogue. 

This was the first (of four stories) in Monstrous: Pathways to Doom which I bought at the 2023 Baltimore Comic Con.

Baltimore Comic Con 2023 - Day 1

Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Baltimore Convention Center

Baltimore, MD

Sep 8 / Day 1

I got up bright and early this morning (5:30 AM) and took care of everything I wanted and needed to do before leaving at 8:30 AM. I wanted to walk to the Metro but it was already kind of warm. I knew I had a long day ahead of me and that the walk to the Metro was long enough that even if I didn't exert myself too much I would still probably work up a sweat so I took the bus.

I didn't have a long wait for the bus, maybe 5 minutes. I had a similar wait for the train. I got to Union Station in time for the 9:40 train but I decided to wait and catch the 10:15 train instead. I walked around Union station for about 15 minutes and then spent the rest of the time waiting for the train fiddling with my iPhone near the departure gate.

I made some notes about the last comic book I read, Kane 12, during the train ride north. I got to Baltimore around 11:15. I walked about a mile to Charles Street Center where I ate lunch at the same Vietnamese restaurant where I usually eat lunch on the first day of Baltimore Comic Con. I ordered a different soup than I usually do, by accident. I usually get the one that had pork and shrimp but this time I ordered the one that had just pork. It was (of course) delicious. I finished lunch around 12:30 and then walked to the Baltimore Convention Center.

Kane (1993) 12

Kane (1993) 12

Mar 1996

Hospital Visit

by Paul Grist

Kane visits Oscar Darke in the hospital. Darke isn’t exactly overjoyed to see him. There is an attempt on Darke’s life. Kane grapples with the would be assassin until Darke gets his hands on the assassin’s gun and kills the man sent to kill him. 

Flashback 1: Kane gets badly beaten by two men with batons. He goes to the Herod Memorial Hospital after he wakes up. It is the same hospital where he visits Darke, in the present. He gets a visit from Terry, a woman in a wheelchair. He wants to leave the hospital before he has fully recovered but she talks him into not rushing things.

Flashback 2: Kane breaks into Core, Oscar Darke’s club. Kane finds Darke’s file on Dennis Harvey just as Darke’s men catch up to him. Darke gives Kane a hard time, talks down to him, and then knocks him down. Kane returns the favor and knocks the big boss man out. Kane is ready to flee Core with the Dennis Harvey file when he notices that the building is on fire. He drops Dennis Harvey file and hauls Darke to safety.