Showing posts with label scott mcdaniel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scott mcdaniel. Show all posts

Monday, July 15, 2024

NML Crossing, Episode 086 - Nightwing #35 (1999)


NML Crossing, Episode Eighty-Six

Nightwing #35 (September, 1999)
“Escape to Blackgate, Part 1: The Belly of the Beast”
Writer - Chuck Dixon
Pencils - Scott McDaniel
Inks - Karl Story
Colors - Roberta Tewes & Jamison
Letters - John Costanza
Edits - Illidge, Vincenzo
Cover Price: $1.99

After an overlong and over-melancholy intro, we finally get into Nightwing's attempt to reclaim Blackgate Penitentiary for the Bat-Family! What could possibly go wrong... except just about everything?

The Bada-Bin!

NML Crossing on Youtube

https://gothamquake.com

https://chrisisoninfiniteearths.com

weirdcomicshistory@gmail.com

Monday, February 19, 2024

NML Crossing, Episode 034 - Detective Comics #726 (1998)

NML Crossing, Episode Thirty-Four

Detective Comics #726 (October, 1998)
“Fool’s Errand”
Writer - Chuck Dixon
Art - Brian Stelfreeze w/Scott McDaniel
Colors - Gloria Vasquez & Android Images
Letters - John Costanza
Edits - Vincenzo & Peterson
Cover Price: $1.99

Wrapping up the Aftershock Era with... a Red-Sky issue?!

Rather than going out with a Cataclysmic Bang, we ready ourselves to embark upon the Road to No Man's Land with a wonderful little "evergreen" story, featuring the Joker imparting quite the impactful lesson upon our Caped Crusader.

Potentially the strongest single-issue story of our NML Crossing journey so far!  You're gonna dig this issue... and hopefully, this episode!

NML Crossing on Youtube

https://gothamquake.com

https://chrisisoninfiniteearths.com

weirdcomicshistory@gmail.com

Monday, January 15, 2024

NML Crossing, Episode 012 - Nightwing #20 (1998)

NML Crossing, Episode Twelve

Nightwing (vol.2) #20 (May, 1998)
“Cataclysm, Part Eleven: The Day after Judgment”
Writer - Chuck Dixon
Pencils - Scott McDaniel
Inks - Karl Story
Colors - Roberta Tewes & Jamison
Letters - John Costanza
Edits - Vincenzo & Peterson
Cover Price: $1.95

It's a chapter of reunions, and great leaps in Cataclysmic progression!

Nightwing heads back to the Batcave, Robin returns to the Drake House, Alfred and Harold bust loose, and the Quakemaster's dire threat is delivered!

https://chrisisoninfiniteearths.com

weirdcomicshistory@gmail.com

Tuesday, January 2, 2024

NML Crossing, Episode 003 - Nightwing #19 (1998)

NML Crossing, Episode Three

Nightwing (vol.2) #19 (April, 1998)
“Cataclysm, Part Two: Shudder”
Writer - Chuck Dixon
Pencils - Scott McDaniel
Inks - Karl Story
Colors - Rebecca Tewes & (Allen) Jamison
Letters - John Costanza
Edits - Darren Vincenzo & Scott Peterson
Cover Price: $1.95

In today's installment, Nightwing returns to Gotham and we get some great insight as to how the Cataclysmic Quake has affected the regular citizens of Gotham!

https://chrisisoninfiniteearths.com

weirdcomicshistory@gmail.com

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Batman #598 (2002)


Batman #598 (February, 2002)
"Santa Klaus is Coming to Town!"
Writer - Ed Brubaker
Pencils - Scott McDaniel
Inks - Andy Owens
Colors - Roberta Tewes
Separations - WildStorm FX
Letters - John Costanza
Associate Editor - Michael Wright
Editor - Bob Schreck
Cover Price: $2.25

Hey remember yesterday when we met Santa Klaus?  Well, we're just two months later (publishing time), and he's back... just in time for Christmas, even!

Unfortunately, all of DC's books that shipped in December, 2001 were part of a weird "cover theme" month... and so, we're robbed of a fun Holiday cover.  Not the biggest fan of this (or any) cover-theme, but it's far better than that month during the late 90's where it was just close-ups on a hero's face.  Yeesh!

Anyhoo, let's see what this creep's got in his sleigh for us good girls and boys!

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It's a week before Christmas, and we open at Wayne Manor.  The man of the house is quite displeased that his bodyguard (Sasha Bordeaux) has found where he keeps all of the Christmas decorations.  He tells her they don't celebrate the Holidays there, but she ain't havin' none of it.  Before Bruce can put up too much more of an argument, he spies the Bat-Signal illuminating the night sky... and he's off to work in a flash.


We rejoin him, in his work duds, at a Gotham dentist office where he meets Detective Montoya.  She tells him that our new pal Santa Klaus had been brought in for some oral surgery (impacted molars!), and during the procedure, he happened to overtake the surgical team and get away!


Not before killing them though!


Renee brings Batman out into the reception area where he speaks to a couple of survivors: a nurse and a security guard.  They both report that Santa Klaus knew their darkest "naughty" secrets... it was as though he could read their minds... 


We catch up with Klaus as he roams the streets of Gotham, causing all sorts of mischief by telling people the secrets they never want to hear said aloud.  He happens upon a pair of panhandling children who he hires as gun-wielding "elves".


Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce gets all melancholy staring at Sasha's Christmas Tree.  He briefly allows himself to think back to a perfect holiday season from his youth, before snapping out of it.


Over the next few days, reports come in about a dude in a Santa costume (flanked by a pair of elves) handing out gifts to naughty men and women.  Those gifts are, naturally, bombs.


Batman is called in to check out the latest bombsite... a bar, where ol' Klaus just went nuts handing out "gifts" left and right.  A bartender managed to survive the blast, because he chased after "Santa" to try and get a gift for his kid.  That's when he saw him push the detonator... which blew up the whole joint.  The bartender claims to have overheard Santa Klaus say he now had "ze perfect chance".


Batman immediately assumes this means that the baddie is going to bomb Gothafeller Center... er, Gotham Square.  And, sure enough, Klaus and Company are present and accounted for... and handing out gifts!


Santa tries handing a gift to one man in particular, who turns it down on account'a he's Jewish.  This causes Klaus to fly into a rage... how dare he refuse one of his gifts!  Luckily, the ruckus caused is enough to tip Batman and the GCPD off on his location!


Batman has the GCPD comb the crowd for "gifts" while he gives chase to Klaus.  As he follows, Batman accidentally knocks a fella down.  Unfortunately, that fella was smoking a cigarette... which rolled right under the giant Gotham Square Christmas Tree!  Before we know it, the whole thing has gone up in flames.  They probably should've refilled the water reservoir!


During the struggle, Santa himself winds up engulfed.  Using his cape, Batman manages to put out the fire... and Santa Klaus's "season of giving" comes to a close.


We wrap up back in the Batcave, where Sasha has brought Bruce his Christmas gift.  He sheepishly tells her that he didn't get her anything.  She's not surprised.  Bruce unwraps the present, and is shocked that it's just what he had wanted (we readers don't get to see what's in the box...).  The pair retire to the not-cavey part of the Manor to watch some Christmas movies, and we're outta here.


--

Well, that's more like it, eh?

While I'm certainly a "Christmas all year long" type'a dude, it's definitely better to see ol' Santa Klaus as close to the actual Holiday as possible.

Thing of it is, there ain't all that much more to say about him, right?  We know from yesterday's piece that he's going to punish all of the "bad" boys and girls... only this time around we get the added wrinkle that he might be able to read minds?  Does that mean he knows about Batman's secrets?  That kinda ups the ante, dunnit?  Guess it's a moot point though... dude went down pretty easy.

I'm not sure we've discussed Sasha yet on the blog... I thought she was a pretty fun character, and that she added a bunch to the bat-books around this time.  I had a buddy I worked with who was positively obsessed with her, for whatever reason... kept asking me questions about her, at a time when she only had all of five appearances.

I appreciated how she could go from all-business bodyguard, to a sorta perky, sorta charming pain in Bruce's butt.  I hated it when she got sucked into the post-Infinite Crisis Checkmate book, because that book be boring, my friends.

I'm not sure if this is a complaint or not... but, I'm really wondering what Sasha's gift to Bruce was.  It's been... jeez, 16-17 years since I read any of this... so I don't know if it was ever followed up on, or was just meant to be a nice "moment" between the two.  I'm pretty sure many readers were convinced that there was going to be a long and tangled romance between the two... and thought maybe this was going to be the start of it.

Of course, that's not the case... the following month will see Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure, which rolls right into the several months-long Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive storyline... which, I'm now kinda getting an itch to revisit.

Overall... this was a good read.  If you're a sucker for Christmas books like I am, this one's a no-brainer.  If you wanna see some Moonlighting-esque awkwardness and contention between Bruce and Sasha... you'll probably dig this one as well.  This issue is available digitally.

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Letters Page:


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On the Ninth Day of Christmas on Infinite Earths, I gave to you, Batman #598, Batman #596Flash (vol.5) #17,Batman and the Outsiders #31Captain Atom #13Scooby-Doo! #139Superman #369Impulse #34, and a Flash (vol.2) #73 Discussion and Review.

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Friday, December 21, 2018

Batman #596 (2001)


Batman #596 (December, 2001)
"City on Fire"
Writer - Ed Brubaker
Pencils - Scott McDaniel
Inks - Aaron Sowd
Colors - Roberta Tewes
Separations - WildStorm FX
Letters - John Costanza
Associate Editor - Michael Wright
Editor - Bob Schreck
Cover Price: $2.25

Okay, we've got a strange one today... not necessarily Christmas themed, per say... but features a homicidal Santa Claus!  Er, make that Santa Klaus.

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So, the Joker did that whole prison riot thing at The Slab which led to plenty of baddies escaping into the world.  From there, he'd do the same thing over at Arkham Asylum... so, now there are a bunch more not-safe-for-the-streets types prowling Gotham City.  One of whom is a fella they call Santa Klaus.  He dresses up like Santa, ya see... he also speaks with a thick German accent.  This guy really seems to think he's Santa Claus, and takes the "Naughty List" deadly serious... which is probably the reason he was locked up in Arkham.


As Klaus deals with a motorist's carbon footprint, Batman is across town fighting his way through a burning building.  He's following the voice of, what he believes to be, a trapped civilian.  What it turns out being is a corpse with a tape-player strapped to its chest.  


So yeah, whole thing was a trap!  Batman grabs the body, and bursts out a nearby window before the place goes boom.


Shortly, Batman is chatted up by Detective Montoya... and another guy, maybe Crispus Allen... though, I thought it was a little while until he showed up.  Either way, it ain't Bullock.  Batman reveals that the body belonged to a fella named Yuri Kalanikov, a lieutenant in the Odessa Mob, and the third of their number to fall in the past couple weeks.  Batman is certain that Lew Moxon is behind this.


We shift scenes to Moxon associate, Mr. Zeiss.  At least I think he was still Moxon's associate/bodyguard at this point.  Either way, he's informed that Batman survived the bomb... and he's not surprised, after all... it is Batman.  He gazes out the window using a pair of binoculars, and we learn the next step in his plan.  He's planning on killing another Odessa Mobster, Gregor Popavich when he goes out to dinner with his young daughter.  Zeiss confirms this with his Russian hostage, Dmitri.


We rejoin Santa Klaus as the Batmobile roars past him.  He considers punishing him for speeding, but decides to take a nap in a dumpster instead.


Some time passes, and a bunch of nogoodniks happen across the dumpster dweller, and decide to push him down a hill and into traffic!  This doesn't end up well for anyone.


We pop back over to Batman, who is in position for Zeiss's assassination attempt on Popavich.  Zeiss is also in position, and has taken a few extra measures to ensure this all goes down according to plan.  He has a sniper... and a bomb!


No sooner do Popavich and his young daughter emerge from their ride, does Zeiss leap into action.  Batman follows suit.


Before Batman can nab the baddie, Zeiss grabs Popavich's daughter by the scruff of her neck and threatens to kill her if anybody moves.  Zeiss turns to Batman and informs him that, no matter what his next move is... somebody is going to die.  Either he'll break the girl's neck... or his sniper will take out Popavich.


Popavich pleads with Zeiss to kill him and let his daughter go, but before we can see how this would've played out, Santa Klaus has come to town!


The distraction is enough so that Batman can dive over to the girl and get her to safety.


The sniper finally takes his shot, and winds up winging Santa in the shoulder.  Now, it's down to just Batman and Zeiss.


Or, it would be... if not for that bomb Zeiss had planted as a back-up.


In the explosion, our man Zeiss manages to get away.  Moments later, the GCPD arrive on the scene, and when Popavich is asked for a statement, he claims that his "eyes were closed" the entire time.  Whatta jackass.


We wrap up with Santa Klaus being loaded into an ambulance where he tells the EMTs that they've both been "güt boys".


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Ya know, I hate using this small forum as a way to complain about current comics and the culture around them... buuuuuut, issues like this make me miss when we could get a Batman book that just told a good story, and wasn't trying to be (and being ridiculously lauded as) an "instant classic".  Though in fairness, I suppose if "retweets" were a thing back in ye old 2001, this one probably would've been hailed as such too.

What we have here is a pretty seamless way to tie into the Joker's Last Laugh crossover event, while keeping Batman's story moving forward.  Sometimes tie-ins result in a book's narrative being derailed for a time... here, however... it's not much of a hindrance at all!  We get a page of Jokery exposition to open the issue, and from there we're off to the races!  Really well done!

It is a bit of a breezy issue, a quick read... but, it's from the 21st Century, so I'm not really expecting more than a few good scenes.  Scott McDaniel's art is really nice... though, for whatever reason, I prefer him on Nightwing.  I'll say he's a better fit here than on the Superman books though!

Overall... like I said above, not a Christmas issue... per say.  So, if you're in a holly jolly mood, this one might not scratch that itch.  Though, if you're just looking for a good (if brief) story, this might be right up your alley.  This issue is available digitally.

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Interesting Ads:


On the Eighth Day of Christmas on Infinite Earths, I gave to you, Batman #596, Flash (vol.5) #17,Batman and the Outsiders #31Captain Atom #13Scooby-Doo! #139Superman #369Impulse #34, and a Flash (vol.2) #73 Discussion and Review.

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Friday, June 30, 2017

Just Imagine Stan Lee... Secret Files & Origins #1 (2002)


Just Imagine Stan Lee... Secret Files & Origins #1 (March, 2002)
"The Coming Crisis!"
Plot/Profiles - Michael Uslan
Dialogue - Stan Lee & Michael Uslan
Pencils - Dan Jurgens
Inks - Bob Layton
Letters - Bill Oakley
Colors - Tom McCraw
Separations - Digital Chameleon
Profile Pencils - Joe Kubert, Jim Lee, John Buscema, Dave Gibbons, Kevin Maguire, John Cassaday, Jerry Ordway, John Byrne, Gary Frank, Scott McDaniel, Chris Bachalo & Walt Simonson
Profile Finishes - Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair, Karl Story, Sandra Hope, Klaus Janson, Stuart Immonen & Richard Friend
Editors - Mike Carlin & Ivan Cohen
Special Thanks - F.J. DeSanto
Cover Price: $4.95

Still in a Marvel mood, and... lemme ask ya, what's more Marvel than Stan "The Man" Lee?  Just Imagine (dot, dot, dot) was a strange turn of the century project where... well, we could stop imagining what it would've been like if Stan played for the other comic book team.  Results were... um, mixed?  Eh, we're getting ahead of ourselves.

Before we start spoilin' stuff, just wanted to say that we'll get back to JLA/Avengers pretty soon, I really appreciate the feedback received on that piece!

--


We open in the offices of The National Exposer where Maria Mendoza is chatting with her boss Mr. Willard about the current boom in the superhero population and the formation of the Justice League.  I was going to wait to spoil this, but let's just get it out of the way now... Maria Mendoza is really Wonder Woman.  This is a Stan Lee story... with Stan Lee charm, so keep an eye out for those alliterations!  Anyhoo, the boss ain't too sure if the League can be called friend or foe, and would like to interview each member.  Hey, this feels like a Secret Files & Origins comic already!


Maria's all "no biggie" and says she'll arrange everything.  Mr. Willard is incredulous at the idea, but Ms. Mendoza heads outside to "give Green Lantern a ring." (har har).  Mere moments later, Green Lantern has arrived!


... but he's not alone!  Lantern finds himself embroiled in a fight with a giant Medusa in a purple fog (or haze, if you prefer).  She claims to be there doing the bidding of *sigh* [Reverend Dominic] Darrk.  During the display, Maria gives Willard a bit of a quick 'n dirty on Lantern's power-set... causing the boss man to suggest he cook up a giant boxing glove to smack the baddie.  Oof.  Anyhoo, Green Lantern nails the Medusa-headed beast with a blast of green... and she's outski, though not before making a few threats about "the coming crisis" (get used to hearing that).


When the dust, er fog settles, Green Lantern chats up the nosy newsies.  He reveals that his powers are environmental in nature... humans pollute, donchaknow.  We also learn that he is the embodiment of Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life.  He suggests the purple energy is a result of an other-dimensional Deathlord, who will become an ally of Dominic Darrk during... the coming crisis!


He continues, tying together this new batch of superheroes with the Earth's release of a green mist... which could also effect those on neighboring planets, which is, ya know... awfully convenient.  So, here's the deal... Earth, in an attempt at self-preservation, released a green gas with superpower-granting qualities.  Goooo, Planet!  Before Lantern takes his leave he makes it clear that Darrk and his... oy, Church of Eternal Empowerment be exposed.  Is this a sect full of litterbugs and folks who run the faucet the whole time they brush their teeth?  Who knows.


Next up, Maria makes a phone call to Superman's Gir... er, Agent, Lois Lane.  It's not long before the Man of Ste..., yeah, I can't do it... it's not long before he shows up... right through the window... which seems, excessive.  At least it's being played for laughs.  Anyhoo, I oughta mention that he has an S-shaped scar over his left eye... which is, for much of this story colored the same as his hair, making it look less like a scar, and more like one wild lock of hair.


Anyhoo, before they can get down to "business", Superman hears a noise outside... so, he bursts out another window to check it out.  There's a car on fire, which only serves to allow him to do the iconic "holding a car over his head" pose, before chucking the clunker into space.


He then bursts back into the office... breaking a third window, to conclude the interview.  Superman is not opposed to the idea that his powers were brought on by exposure to mist.  They chat about the coming crisis, and the danger of Dominic Darrk.  Willard suggests it's a job for Superman... but Superman corrects him, this is actually a job for mankind as a whole!


We next meet Willard and Mendoza standing on the shoulder of Interstate-10, where they await the arrival of the Flash.  Just as Willard is complaining about her tardiness, she arrives and takes him on a rapid world tour.  While in her arms, he asks about the green mist connection... she ain't buying it.  She believes her powers are the result of something to do with hummingbird DNA.  Okay then.  He then asks if she thinks she's the "weak link" of the JLA... which, is probably a stupid thing to ask, right?  To demonstrate that she's not, she runs really fast... and makes him vomit.  That'll learn 'im!


Next stop... well, it ain't Gotham City... it's Century City, Los Angeles, where we join Batman and his ponytailed detective buddy as they take down a pair of criminals.  Hilariously, this is when Willard and Mendoza wander up.  I mean, dude just finished beating up a few bad guys, and these two just saunter up to ask questions.  


Before we go on, I gotta say... this costume is the pits.  Anyhoo, he ain't keen on giving interviews... but they press him anyway.  They ask about the green mist... and he says (over and over) that he has no superpowers.  Now, we know Batman doesn't have powers, but does that seem like a wise thing to advertise?  I mean, that just seems foolish.  Anyhoo, he splits, Maria makes an Altoids joke... and our POV pair heads back to the office.


Along the way, Willard asks about Wonder Woman.  Maria's all "no prob, Bob" (well, Bill... because his name is totally William Willard) because, as we know... she is Wonder Woman.  And so, she appears before him at the offices, corroborates the story of the green mist... and talks about the coming crisis.


Our adventure ends as she summons the rest of the Justice League for a very DC seance, where they search for allies on another Earth... where they find Robin, Shazam, Aquaman, Catwoman, and Sandman!


--

Well... hmm... I don't wanna say it.  Like, I really don't wanna say it.

Okay, this was... something.  I can't rightly say it was bad, because it wasn't... while at the same time, I can't say it was all that great.  I hated that for an event of this scope and import, we were treating Stan Lee as a novelty act.  Relying too much on tropes, fan-service and corniness rather than actually trying to tell a compelling story in the old Marvel way.  This felt like it should have come with a Stan Lee checklist... 

Now, it's hard to hold this against anyone... because, I think to many, at this point just having Stan write anything for DC Comics was worth the price of admission... I know it was for younger-Chris.  However, with such a "big" project, I feel like more effort should have went into the actual story than "Here are the heroes with alliterative civilian names"... oh yeah, and "Captain Planet Crisis".

I really didn't dig the character designs here either.  I think I'd have preferred just giving Stan Lee an issue of each "big" DC book to write.  Let him craft a nice mainstream story, build a threat, and pay it off.  Either that or (and this would never happen), Just Imagine Stan Lee creating... Spider-Man/X-Men/Fantastic Four/etc. in the DC Universe.  Those would have been interesting... at least in concept.  This endeavor just felt like a let-down... I felt that way in '02, and unfortunately, I still feel that way today.

For this issue in particular... well, it's a Secret Files & Origins... it's pretty much exactly what you'd expect from one of those.  It's a great way to catch us all up on the characters, their origins, motivations, yadda yadda... and solidify our threat leading into the grand finale.  The cover price is a bit excessive (as all SFO's are) but there's still some decent moments here... plus, profiles (see below)!  I'm not sold on the "green mist" concept... I'm not sure the members of the League needed to be tied together so tightly.  It feels like this group is compelled to band together, rather than choosing to, which makes the entire affair seem less genuine.

Dan Jurgens art was what we'd expect... great, clean, superhero action.  My only complaint about the art is in the coloring of Superman's scar... which, is minor.  While I'm not keen on the character designs, Jurgens did a great job making them "work".  It's so weird to consider that these characters were designated their own Earth during Multiversity.  Being a fan of "everything fitting in", I can't say that I'm against that.


Overall... ya know, there is enough novelty value here that I couldn't advise against grabbing Just Imagine...'s, it is Stan Lee writing for the Distinguished Competition, which is... ya know, interesting... wouldn't recommend paying the $5 cover price for the privilege, though (which I did).  Personally, I can't help but be disappointed... not that I expected the story/event to knock my socks off... I just wasn't expecting it to put me to sleep.

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Profiles:









 

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(Certainly Not the) Letters Page:



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