Justice League America #28 (1989)

Justice League America #28 (July, 1989)
"A Date with Density!"
Plot - Keith Giffen
Script - J.M. DeMatteis
Pencils - Ty Templeton & Mike McKone
Inks - Joe Rubenstein
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Colors - Gene D'Angelo
Assistant Editor - Kevin Dooley
Editor - Andrew Helfer
Cover Price: $0.75

I never would'a guessed it.  To think that as I sit here before my laptop and the world... that Guy Gardner might just be one of my favorite superheroes.  When did that happen?

I think that deserves a night out on the town Gardner-style.  Let's paint the town red with Guy and Ice as they take in a... ahem... show.

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We open on Fire, who is still in bed due to the Gene Bomb/Virus spoo from the Invasion event tweaking her powers something fierce.  Tired of laying around, she suits up and exchanges some odd conversation with Oberon, she tells him she wants to find Guy Gardner... to thank him for helping her earlier.  She then kinda makes it seem like she's coming on to our man Obe' a little bit.  I really enjoy his double-take here. 

We shift scenes to Guy Gardner who is... get this... demolishing a building with a ring-construct jackhammer.  He's just... caving in an entire building in the middle of a city street!  Who does that?  I mean, sure it's a building for baddies... but still, who does that?

With his job done, Guy heads back to the JLI Embassy to do some "heavy reading" in the form of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.  He arrives home, gives Oberon some guff about being short... then plops down in front of the television set with a Bud to see how the media describes his demo-job.  Just another day in the life of our man, Guy.

Ice enters the room, and since Guy's in such a good mood, he offers to take her out that night.  After some hemming and hawing, with threats of Guy showing her the "real" him... she actually agrees.  I mean, how bad could it be... right?

This news is not welcome to Bea... who goes all "mom" on Ice.  She basically forbids Tora from seeing him... but it's no use.  Ice is convinced that "nice Guy" from earlier in this volume was something of a cry for help.  Ya see, early on in the series, in issue we haven't yet discussed here... Guy gets konked on the head, and becomes an absolute sweetheart... like, it's terrifying.  It's not until a time where Lobo shows up for a fight and Guy gets konked again that he returns to his normal self.

Fire and Oberon watch as Guy and Tora leave the Embassy.  Bea is pretty hot (haw!) at the situation.  Oberon says he digs her passion... and she, I dunno... kinda comes on to him again... and we get another Oberon double-take.  On the street Guy insists they walk to their destination... because, ya know, the subway is like a toilet... and he doesn't want Ice to get, ahem, "thigh cheese".  

We shift scenes to a darkened office.  A man named Irwin is talking to his "boss".  The Boss is a retired super villain... with a fear of superheroes (especially Green Lanterns), that is, if his therapist is to be believed.  Herophobic is what they call it... which is good enough for me.  We pan out to find that the office is on the second floor of... what appears to be (because it is) a Triple-X Theater... just as a pair of Leaguers stroll on up.

Guy heads to the ticket booth and buys two... Ice doesn't quite know what to make of the situation.  I mean, it's pretty obvious... but, at the same time... could Guy be this, I dunno... "Guy-ish"?  Yeah... he totally can... and yeah, he totally did just bring Tora to a skin flick.

Love the balloon placement here!

Next we follow the ticket booth attendant as he runs upstairs to tell the Boss that he just sold a ticket to a dreaded Green Lantern.  He figures the ticket guy's gotta be mistaken... as if Green Lantern would take his date to a skin flick?  Clearly, you don't know our Guy.

Outside there's a loud crash... it would appear that Tora has realized what we already knew.  She and Guy get into an impassioned shouting match, which is interrupted by...

Black Hand?!  Yup, our herophobic "Boss" is Black Hand... who makes a rousing speech, and threatens them with a strange rounded gun... of sorts.  This does not go well for ol' Willie.

Ice thinks Guy was a bit hasty in thrashing that poor deluded man.  He's clearly ill, and was threatening them with "a toy" after all.  Black Hand gets back up and again, aims his odd gun at the pair.  Now, this is great... both Guy and Ice have had enough of Hand's crap... and so, Ice tells him to just "shoot his silly old gun and get this over with".  Amazing.

... and so, he does!  It doesn't go well for ol' Willie.

Guy and Tora walk away and continue their bickering.  Not having his disrespect, Hand runs back into the nudie-theater and procures a real gun before giving chase.  The city streets are packed with folks who all think Black Hand's costume just ain't working... but he hasn't the time to stop and argue the finer points of black latex.  He catches up to the couple... takes aim... and fires!  This too, doesn't go well...

Now you've done it... you messed up Guy Gardner's picture perfect bowl haircut.  Guy pops into his Lantern duds, and just beats the holy hell out of poor Black Hand.  He's beating him so bad he doesn't even realize that Hand's been trying to surrender the whole time.

We rejoin the happy couple later that night at the Embassy.  Fire lays into Guy for being a jackass, but it runs right off his back.  He figures he's got this one in the bag.  Tora's just gotta love him after a night like this!  I mean, why else would she be in a bath scrubbing any stink of Guy off of her, right?

We close out our issue with Fire getting a very special guest... Big Barda.  She is there to help her with her new powers... but, will this job be to "big" a job for Barda?  Well, that's a discussion for another day.

--

Man... such a fun issue... from such a fun time.  I don't expect to see stories like this anymore.

Anytime we get to "accompany" a hero on a date, it's always a lot of fun... the fact that we just went to a skin flick with Guy Gardner and the virtuous Ice (Maiden) makes it all the more.  I remember the first time I read this lo those many years ago, and I just couldn't believe Giffen and DeMatteis actually "went there".  I mean, we know Guy's a sleazy fella... but to think that he thought it would be perfectly fine to take Ice out (on their first date) to a porno theater, is just amazingly funny.  You couldn't make this work with any character buy Guy.  Despite its grossness... it's almost, I dunno... charming in a way, how little self-awareness is shown.

Little self-awareness, by the way, that lasts the entire issue.  I feel like we get a pretty good look into Guy's character here... at least insofar as what he is willing to project.  It gives the impression that he is engaging in some rather hardcore impression management.  It's almost as though he's living "up to" the kinda "Guy" (har har) people think he is.  It's like, the dude's gotta have at least somewhat of a clue, right?

As with most superhero date-nights... we've got ourselves a villain trying to spoil the fun.  This time, of all baddies, we've got... Black Hand!  Like, the dude behind the hyoooge DC event of 2009-2010, Blackest Night... and he's a complete bumbling joke.  I mean, I get that the post-2000 Willie Hand was more or less a completely different animal than his Silver-Age cliche-happy counterpart, but it's still kind of jarring seeing him here.  I can only compare it to seeing tape of a main-event professional wrestler from back when they were a "job guy".  The scene where Ice and Guy practically beg him to shoot them was amazing.  So much fun.

In the background we've got some fallout from Invasion.  Fire/Green Flame's powers have been amped up quite a bit... I like that this was included, really helps the serial nature of the series... and helps with some organic sounding-board conversations to occur.  I'd totally forgotten how, I dunno, flirtatious she was... even to Oberon!  Nothing against him... but, those aren't thoughts that need to be thought.

Overall... I think most DC Comics fans will have a ball with this issue.  It's not yet available as a single-issue via DC Digital... but it has been collected in Justice League International, Volume 4... which is available both in print and digital... and of course, there always be dem single issues you can dig for... well worth the hunt.

Like every time we discuss a JLI issue here at the humble blog, I definitely wanna suggest you check out the Justice League International: Bwah-ha-ha Podcast.  It'll probably be a little while before Shagg and Co. get to this issue, but that don't mean ya can't give'em a listen and read along anyway.  It gets the Chris is on Infinite Earths seal of approval... which holds a monetary value of 1/255 of a cent USD.*

           *Chris' opinion actually holds no cash value

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Batman #497 (1993)

Batman #497 (Late July, 1993)
"Knightfall, Part 11: The Broken Bat"
Writer - Doug Moench
Artist - Jim Aparo
Inker - Dick Giordano
Colorist - Adrienne Roy
Letterer - Richard Starkings
Assistant Editor - Jordan B. Gorfinkel
Editor - Dennis O'Neil
Cover Price: $1.25

Here's one I've wanted to talk about for a little while now.  The first time I read this, I think I was a bit too jaded and cynical to truly get the gravity of the situation.  We were coming off the Death of Superman, and while that felt (in comics terms) Earth-shattering... Knightfall just kinda felt like a "me too" stunt.

Plus, this story was just so much longer than the one that ran through the Super-books.  I couldn't fully keep up, and for did not really feel the urgency to.  I've since reread this story in its entirety in various collected edition formats... and today we're going to discuss the pivotal "breaking" chapter.

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We open with an exhausted Bruce Wayne entering the Manor from the Batcave entrance behind the grandfather clock.  What he sees is... Bane... and on the ground, Alfred.  Bruce is rightly concerned that Bane knows who he really is.  Bane refers to Bruce Wayne as Batman's mask... which isn't a new concept by any means, but still interesting.  He's here to break him... and to punctuate the point, lets a jolt of Venom toxin into his bloodstream.

He asks if Bruce has any idea what Venom is... and, of course... he does.  Bruce asks what Bane wants... why has he chosen him as his target.  Well, ya see... Bane wants Gotham.  Batman's got it... and Bane wants it.  Well, that's all Bruce needs to hear.  He's tired of Bane's crap... he's tired of the blood... it's go time.  Of particular note... as we open, Bruce is more or less wishing for death.  Now, by jumping at Bane... is he doing so for justice... or is it something of a death wish?  We're about to see just how much "fight" Bruce is packing...

... which is very little.  I mean, we've seen Batman take on big-bads before, however here it's clumsy... it's just as though he's hurling his body into the Brute.  Not sure if that's intentional, or just another case of my thinking too hard.  Bane beats the stuffing out of our Dark Knight... all the while, he is flashing back to beatings he'd received all throughout this Knightfall arc.  Alfred wakes up... Batman demands he leave while Bane continues to ragdoll him throughout the Manor.  Ultimately Bane spears Batman through the wall and down a flight of stairs into the Cave below.

The fight rages on... Bruce appears to lose himself in thought as he is pummeled.  He thinks about how little rest he has had of late despite the relentless thrashing his body has faced.  At this point, Batman throws the only actual punch of this fight... it's not terribly effective.  At this point, Bane realizes that Batman has already been broken.

More fighting... make that, more "beating" continues.  Bane kicks Batman into the giant penny trophy... and it falls over and, by the looks of it, crushes Batman pretty good.  I should mention that amid the fight Alfred has left, and appears to be headed toward Tim Drake's house.  Also, potential Bruce Wayne love interest, Dr. Shondra Kinsolving calls the Manor... she becomes important later.

At this point in the fight Bane appears to be getting bored.  He wonders aloud why Batman refuses to fight back.  Bane breaks a stalagmite off the ground and prepares to use it as a weapon... at this point Batman acts... though it is more defense than offense.  Bane still ain't digging this... so he hurls Batman through the trophy case where Jason Todd's Robin costume hang.

We shift to Alfred who has just arrived at the Drake home.  He alerts Tim as to the goings on, and asks that they also inform Jean Paul (Valley)... and ya know, an ambulance.

The next several pages consist of more Bat-thrashing.  It looks as though, at one point Batman makes a very feeble attempt at throwing a punch... which Bane answers with a tremendous backhand.  It's now that Bane has decided to stop "playing with his food"... and so, he hoists Batman above his head... 

... and rather than kill him out right, decides to...

... break him!  We close out with Bane standing over the broken Batman...

--

This is a difficult issue to review "in a vacuum".  Its strength is in what came before... the utter brutality that Batman was forced to face all throughout the Knightfall storyline... without all of that, this issue can, at first blush, appear to be kind of disappointing.  I mean, without the context... it just looks like Bane is beating the hell out of Bruce.  While that is undoubtedly true, we must also understand that by this point... Batman was already "broken".

The trials he had been put through just to get to this point did an absolute number on his spirit.  This bit here is just Bane's dessert.  You'll notice that for the whole "fight"... note the quotes... Batman throws very few punches.  There is almost no offense from Bruce... to the point where Bane actually screams "Why don't you Fight?!" as though he is somehow disappointed.

It's strange... for such a landmark issue, there's quite little to actually talk about.  This is a "fight" issue.  It is well presented, and features a lot of callbacks from earlier in the story arc.  Jim Aparo does a wonderful job here.  There are looks of true pain... even anguish on Batman/Bruce's face here.  He was somehow able to convey both mental and physical exhaustion through his art... and it's very well done.

The ending was quite well done as well.  Batman just slumped on the ground at Bane's feet.  Not a whole lotta pomp and circumstance... just a broken body laying on a cold cave floor.  It's kind of the way you'd expect Batman to go out.

I really have no complaints here... however, I still cannot recommend reading this issue on its own.  To get the full effect, you really need to check out the entire Knightfall run.  It's an exhausting story... a true gauntlet for Batman to run.  When you finally arrive at this issue, it's almost as though we're just as tired and achy as Bruce is.  Knightfall, like DC's other early 1990's character "events" Doomsday and Emerald Twilight, is as much an experience as it is a story... and should definitely be experienced by anyone calling themselves a bat-fan.  Wholeheartedly recommended... just make sure ya read the whole thing!

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Rōnin, Book One (1983)

Rōnin, Book One (July, 1983)
Creator, Writer, Artist - Frank Miller
Colorist - Lynn Varley
Letterer - John Costanza
Cover Price: $2.50

Rōnin is one of those books that has been on my to-read list for... ya know, I was gonna say "a few years"... but, in reality it's been since the mid-1990's.  Not sure why I've never gotten to it... I suppose there just wasn't all that much urgency.  Came across the lot of it in various cheap-o bins throughout the past few years... which was surprising.  This book might "scream" a lotta things... but cheap-o is not one of them!

What I know about Rōnin is limited.  For the most part, everything I know is "backstage" stuff.  Like how it was part of the catalyst for launching the Epic Comics imprint at Marvel... even though Frank decided to take his story to DC.  I guess today I'll actually start to find out what happens on the page.

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We open in Feudal Japan with Lord Ozaki and his unnamed Samurai bodyguard as they visit a statuary or gravesite (in which the statues can actually communicate) far outside the safety of the castle.  The bodyguard expresses discomfort at the thought that they are so open to attack... Ozaki, however, waves it off... treating the Samurai as something of a worrywart.  Well... it just so happens the Samurai was right to worry.  Several Assassins descend on the pair, and a bloody battle ensues.

Before long, the Samurai and Ozaki neutralize the threat... by killing the lot of 'em.  At this point we are introduced to Lord Ozaki's Bloodsword.  It is his sacred blade and it appears to actually drink the blood of its victims.  We learn that Ozaki had stolen it from its master, the demon Agat.  While the sword grows in power each time it kills, the only way it can deal a fatal blow to Agat is if it takes the blood of the truly innocent beforehand.  That's gonna be important, methinks.

As the sun begins to set the pair returns to the city for a night of drinks and all around revelry.  There, they are treated to a dancing display by an overly friendly Geisha.  Ozaki decides he wants to "get to know" the girl a bit better, and dismisses his dining buddies... including his Samurai companion.  Well, I don't need to tell ya, that's probably a bad idea.

As the Samurai waits outside he hears a scream... and not the likes of which one may let out in passion.  He rushes to his Master's side, only to find that the Geisha was, in reality, the demon Agat!  Without even a second thought, the Samurai launches into battle.  It does not go well.

Agat leaves the Samurai alive.  He wasn't after him anyway... he only wants the Bloodsword... which was not on Ozaki when he was murdered.  Agat likely sees the Samurai as an asset in this situation... leaving him alive may just hasten the return of his blade.  He does, however, leave the Samurai a "momento", in the form of a facial scar.

We advance a bit to a scene where the Samurai is back at the statuary.  By this point there is already a stone dedicated to his fallen Master Ozaki.  He kneels before the monument and prepares to commit seppuku... when the stone speaks!  The Samurai is told that he must live on to stop Agat from reclaiming the Bloodsword.  The Samurai is now... a Ronin.

 

And now... for something completely different... we shift scenes to a futuristic cybernetic fortress called the Aquarius.  Wha--?  Inside we meet a man by the name of Billy.  He appears to have just woken up... and has begun speaking to an A.I. called Virgo.  He describes having just had a dream... the one we just read.  Hmm...

Virgo informs him that someone is coming to visit... and displays an oncoming tank on its screen.  Billy asks to listen in, and so Virgo reluctantly provides an audio-feed.

We now learn we're in a dystopian New York... year, unknown.  At this point you may wonder just how far-gone New York has become... well, another flick of the wrist will tell the tale.

Dang.  Anyhoo... that globby green dome appears to be the Aquarius.  Our visitors arrive, and are introduced to the Chief of Security, a Ms. Casey McKenna.  She provides them (and us) with a tour... with a special emphasis placed on just how secure it appears to be.  There are passwords, voice recognition... all sorts of safeguards.  She takes them on an elevator ride... where they (and we) are formally introduced to the sentient computer... Estelle Getty Virgo.

Virgo rolls video feed depicting our pal Billy... in his room, which is referred to as a "test womb".  He is utilizing these amazing cybernetic prosthetic arms.  He is able to do so via mental command.  Here is where we also learn that Billy was born limbless.  After the demonstration, Billy tries to tell Virgo more about his "scary" dreams... however, before he can, he is squirted in the mouth with some foam that causes him to fall back asleep.

Which takes us back to Feudal Japan (15 years later).  Here we meet a woman and her infant child.  They are being approached by some of Agat's men... and they've got bad intentions.  Luckily, a wandering Ronin just happens to be nearby.  From what research I've done, I come to find that this scene was originally written to be a fair amount longer... however, due to a revision, it was shortened.  The Ronin handily takes down the would-be assailants.

He takes the woman and child deeper into the woods where they set camp.  She begins asking his motivations... and he replies that he is to kill Agat.  At this point, his Master's image appears in the flames of their campfire to remind him that he needs to cut an innocent in order to seal the deal.  This obviously makes the woman a bit uneasy.  To which, the Ronin laughs... her baby is too small... and she... well, she's not nearly innocent enough.

We very briefly return to New York.  Virgo is trying to wake Billy up.  We get the impression that she/it can read his thoughts/see his dreams.  It is plainly stated that nowhere in Billy's education is there a single thing about historical Japan.  Billy mumbles on (with his eyes open, oddly...) about going to the Demon's Castle for the "final battle".

At the gates of the castle, the Ronin faces off with an over-sized rat.  We get a pretty awesome battle between the two, which the Ronin is able to come out on top of.  Of particular note... before the fight began, the rat asks if the Ronin "wants to be killed"... to which, the Ronin answers, "Yes".

After the battle, the Ronin ascends up a long staircase.  At the top stands the demon Agat himself.  Agat find the situation he is currently in to be rather comical.  He is somehow linked to the Bloodsword and is certain that it hasn't been "properly fed" yet.  That is to say, it has not consumed the blood of an innocent.  Well... our Ronin's got an answer for that, pal...

The Ronin runs himself through with the Bloodsword before sinking it into Agat.  Before they perish, the demon concocts one last curse... one which will bind them forever.  From here, we return to Billy... who is probably just as confused as we are.  Panicking, he asks Virgo what it all means.  Virgo shows him a news video about a sacred sword which recently surfaced.  It was found in South America where it was used as an object of worship.  It displays strange powers... such as incinerating anyone who may try and test it scientifically.

Suddenly it all starts to make sense to Billy.  The Ronin and Agat are real... and they are still around, as souls... both of which seem to want him for one reason or another.  At this point, the Aquarius' intruder alarm begins to sound.  The screen indicates that Agat has returned.  Also... Billy's face now has the same scar as the Ronin.

We watch as Agat is able to walk completely though all the security checks that were introduced to us during Casey's tour.  He breaks through every last one, and flies up the elevator shaft to face Virgo.  He hurls himself through the glass goddess, and is now in the test womb.  At this point... Billy and Virgo begin something of a melding.

Virgo's circuits and cables and fuses and whatnot start to attach to Billy's limbless body... providing him with the body parts he'd been lacking.  Before Agat is able to grab our man, he flies off.  At this point, the Aquarius... well, goes boom.

Agat is sent flying... and land atop a building.  He shakes it off, and surveys his new "kingdom".  He's heard a lot about New York... and know he knows it as home... where he will wait.

We wrap up this introductory chapter by watching as two New Yorkers raft down the East River, dodging heaps of garbage and crud along the way.  The "go ashore" while discussing the "lost boy" Billy.  They then walk off in search of beers... and we get our first shot of the man himself.

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Well... that was unexpected!  I went into this thinking it was going to be a simple samurai story... and for the first dozen or so pages, that's exactly what I got.  What came next, however... dang... I really wasn't expecting that.  For a bit there it felt as though I was playing through Assassin's Creed... like limbless Billy was in the Animus, and reliving the memories of this Ronin.  That was pretty cool, I guess... totally lit me up at first.  Not sure where we're gonna go from here, but I'm looking forward to seeing this one through somewhere down the line.

Gotta say... the art here was pretty spectacular.  Frank Miller isn't everyone's cuppa tea... hell, he's not always mine... but this was some awesome stuff.  Loved the double-page spreads.  Lynn Varley's colors were equally spectacular.  I'm not sure why, but I always thought that the single-issues of this series were in black and white.  Really not sure why I thought that.  Needless to say, I was quite pleasantly surprised upon opening the cover.

Now, while I'm ultimately leaning toward sorta-kinda digging the futuristic twist we get here... I'm thinking I may have preferred a straight samurai story.  It's more straightforward... and I feel also plays better with Frank Miller's art style.  The dystopian New York was neat and all... but didn't quite feel "right", though of course that may be by design... or perhaps an accident of design.

Can't really say for sure how I feel about the direction of the story as a whole without reading a bit deeper into it.  If I were to place this issue in a vacuum... I think I would say, story-wise, I was a bit disappointed.  It's all due to my preconceptions and expectations going in, so I can't really say that it's an indictment of the story quality.  It's just not what I was looking for.  I went in expecting Feudal Japanese soap-opera and action... and I get something far different.  My continued reading may (and likely will) change my mind.  All I do know, is that I enjoyed reading about our nameless Ronin a lot more than Billy.

No ads this time around... on a count'a there weren't any.  This was a 48-page epic on special glossy (and unflatteringly photographed) paper.  Overall... I'd say this is one folks should read... though, if I'm being honest, it's probably best read in its collected-edition format.  As far as I know, it's still (and always?) in print.  It's also available digitally... though, it's the deluxe edition.