Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes - Posts Tagged "pre-crisis"

Showcase Presents: DC Comics Presents: Superman Team-Ups by Len Wein

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Superman and Batman had a team up book together, World's Finest dating back to the 1950s. Batman had a team up book with everyone other than Superman joining him beginning in the late 1960s. In the early 1970s, DC had experimented with turning World's Finest into a comic featuring generic Superman Team ups with characters other than Batman, but that didn't work out. Giving Superman an additional was a better idea and that's why DC Comics Presents was born. This book collects Issues 1-26 of this series spanning issues from 1978-80.

Superman in this era is fun, but no longer the goofy Silver Age hero. I like this version of Superman and there's a lot of fun to be had in this book. The first six issues are the best as it opens with a Flash team-up. No, it's not a round the world race, but a nice science fiction opera where the two heroes are forced to fight. The story with Adam Strange, a Silver Age favorite is also beautifully done in Issue 3 as Superman and Adam Strange have to stop a threat to Rann and to Earth.

The book features team ups with Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (twice), the Legion of Superheroes, Superboy, Swamp Thing, Hawkman, Mister Miracle, and more. The book starts out with mostly A-listers, but B-listers dominate the second half with characters such as Black Lightning, Firestorm, Deadman, and Phantom Stranger getting to play opposite Superman.

The stories of variable quality. The 18 page limit often led to head scratching stories like Issue 19. Issue 18 was interesting for its exploration of magic as science. The only on-going story arc was of aliens kidnapping the son of his old friend Pete Ross, the Legion of Superheroes urging him not to rescue the boy since he was fated to lead their Army and Superman deciding not to do so when he failed in his first rescue attempt. Then Pete Ross turns evil. This occurs in Issues 13 and 14 and is then revisited in Issue 25. Issue 26 with the Green Lantern is also a solid story with the Green Lantern's power ring being taken by an evil shapeshifting alien.

Overall, this an enjoyable comic and if you like Superman, with a bit of a lighter touch, this is a great book.



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Daring Adventures of Supergirl, Volume 1 by Paul Kupperberg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects Issues 1-12 of the pre-Crisis Daring Adventures of Supergirl. In the book, in her secret identity of Linda Danvers, Supergirl travels to Chicago to continue her education, majoring in psychology to understand the criminal mind.

The art is enjoyable and pleasant. It really does capture the character of Linda Danvers as this sort of sweet girl next door who just happens to have been born on another planet. In her Supergirl guise, she adds the sort of line of sarcastic banter that was standard issue for superheroes of her era.

The adventures themselves are okay. The first Issue suffers from a bit of overwriting as they cram Supergirl's origin story and history into the volume with a lot of expository dialogue. The villains she faces off like Decay, the Gang, or a crime syndicate are menaces but mostly forgettable. The same thing for the New Doom Patrol, who crossover for a couple issues. The most memorable story in the book is Supergirl battling half a dozen one foot tall duplicates of herself was enjoyably silly at a level rarely seen since the end of the Silver Age.

Overall, while this book is by no means essential reading, it was certainly a pleasant, fun, and innocent read featuring the beloved pre-Crisis Supergirl.



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Tales of the Batman, Volume 1 by Gene Colan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects Batman stories drawn by Gene Colan. The art is great, the stories are generally good. However, Colan started drawing Batman in the 1980s and by that time there was a lot of ongoing plotlines and continuity. So, while there are only two stories (including the last one) where we're left on an unressolved cliffhangers, there are several ongoing plot lines we're constantly dipping in and out of. Since this book was originally released: Tales of the Batman, Gerry Conway, Volume 2 has come out collecting all the Batman Issues in here prior to 349 and all the Detective Comics issues prior to 517, but as Conway is writing both books, you get to see more of the context.

The highlight then is the uncollected tale of Batman and Robin both having to battle becoming Vampires drawn by the artist of Tombs of Dracula for Marvel in Detective Comics 349-351 and Detective Comics 517. If they make a Tales of the Batman Gerry Conway, Volume 3, that will be in it, but for now, it's uncollected elsewhere (and incomplete in this book as the story continues in Detective Comics 518 which isn't collected here.) After that are three other Detective Comics stories including a clash with Solomon Grundy, a corrupt cop pre-Crisis Harvey Bullock, and a story with Jason Todd talking to a clown and threatening to join the circus if Batman doesn't make him the new Robin. This is also not resolved.

Overall, this isn't a bad digital collection to pick up on sale, but really shouldn't be bought otherwise unless you're a big Colan fan due to dangling plot threads and unresolved storylines.



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Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash, Vol. 1 by Cary Bates

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


An epic tale stretching across Flash Issues 323-327, 329-336, and 340-350 as the Flash kills the Reverse to save Barry Allen's Fiance Fiona Webb and finds himself on trial for murder.

This is a good story where the world seems to keep dumping on the Flash, yet at the same time, it's also a celebration of Barry Allen. This book had a more realistic approach to the Trial given how many issues it took to even to get to that point and that Flash's most celebrated Rogues never let up. At the same time, he has to make key sacrifices of his own secret identity and Barry's heroism shines through. In the trial itself, there are some surprising twists including an attempt from someone from the future to make sure history comes out right. And then there's issue #350 which is pure magic, with excitement, twists, and a team up between Flash and his Rogues against a common foe.

The book does suffer because of some omitted issues. Issue #328 was a reprint, but Issues #337-339 were original stories which means there was a break in the tale and a jarring resumption in Issue 340. The information is not vital and you can enjoy the book without it, but it appears to have only been done to keep the book under 600 pages.

The book's got legal realism problems, but then again it was published when Matlock and LA Law where kings of legal drama on TV, so I can't judge it too harshly for that. It does drag in places. Wally West "testified" as an expert witness so that we can almost an entire issue of Flashbacks to ol Kid Flash stories.

Still despite some melodrama, this is an epic and really fun story if you're a fan of the Pre-Crisis Flash with some great emotional beats and foreshadowing of the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths. I hope DC eventually reprints all the issues in color as an omnibus. Until then, fans of the Silver Age Barry Allen should get a hold of this if they can.



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