Showing posts with label Karl Kesel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Karl Kesel. Show all posts

Tuesday, 13 December 2016

Harley Quinn (2000) # 1-19, Harley Quinn: Our Worlds at War # 1 (2001)


(I originally read these comics between late August/early September 2016)

I took two weeks reading these. Altogether too long. The series isn't unenjoyable, but it's the comics equivalent of eating candy floss. Once in a while is fine, but if that was all you were eating, it'd get old fast. This comic feels almost as sickly and insubstantial. 

Writer Karl Kesel has Harley Quinn forging her own way after breaking her "puddin'" out of (presumably) Arkham and the two have a falling out. The Joker doesn't appear again (at least as far as issue # 19 goes) and frankly, I don't think Harley's a strong enough character to carry her own book. (Of course, the success of her current title would prove me wrong.) As if to acknowledge this, Kesel has her form her own gang, the Quinntets, as of issue 4, after a failed attempt to join Two-Face's gang in (what else?) issue 2. Issue # 3 features a slumber party and gives Terry Dodson the opportunity to draw much in the way of bad girl T&A, a conspicuous and constant ingredient as long as he's around. The Harley/Poison Ivy friendship seems to have been established here and they make a good pair, at least until creepy fandom started 'shipping' them as lovers and DC began pandering to it. Ivy becomes a constant in the book after the pair up sticks to Metropolis in # 14, following a failed coup and the disintegration of the Quinntets in # 12. Harley masquerades as a Daily Planet agony aunt and Jimmy Olsen becomes her would-be paramour, the two having met previously in the 'Our Worlds at War' one-shot. That and the 'Last Laugh' tie-in in issue # 13 are mercifully self-contained. 

The series thus far maintains an upbeat, poppy tone with occasional, incongruent dips into darkness (such as in # 8, where Harley's background is expanded upon). Issue # 19 is Dodson's last and the issue with which I bailed during the series' original publication. His art was more a draw for me than the stories back then, but doesn't hold quite the same appeal now. However, I've since bought the rest of the series and will return to it. 


   
   
   
   
   


Harley Quinn (2000) # 1-7 are collected in: 

Hardcover:

Softcover:

Harley Quinn (2000) # 8-13/ Harley Quinn: Our Worlds at War (2001) # 1 are collected in:

Softcover:

Harley Quinn (2000) # 14-19 are collected in: 

Softcover:



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Tuesday, 8 November 2016

Superman/Batman: World's Finest (1990) # 1-3, Legends of the World's Finest (1994) # 1-3, Batman & Superman: World's Finest (1999) # 1-10, Superman and Batman: World's Funnest (2000)


(I originally read these comics in early April 2016)

'World's Finest' takes its title from DCs long-running Batman/Superman team-up comic and is by Dave Gibbons and Steve Rude. It's worthy but slightly dull and is enlivened by Steve Rude's typically beautiful artwork. Gibbons was riding high after the success of 'Watchmen' and I believe it was Steve Rude's first major project for the comics mainstream so he pulls out all the stops, but after the brutal one-two punch of 'The Dark Knight Returns' and 'The Killing Joke,' this must have seemed a bit old-fashioned. Lex Luthor and the Joker - more clownish here than he was then otherwise being portrayed - swap home bases, Luthor moving to Gotham and the Joker to Metropolis, and their nemeses follow suit.


  


'Legends of the World's Finest' is by Walt Simonson and Dan Brereton and is unrelated to the first series. Set on a remote Scottish island, it involves a demon enlisting Superman and Batman to free him of a curse (and also ropes in Superman villainess Silver Banshee). In the process, with each suffering the other's nightmares, Superman starts to lose himself to darkness and Batman loses his edge. The story's passable, but Brereton's lush, painted artwork is the main draw.


  


The third and longest series covers a ten-year period, with Batman and Superman coming together every year to commemorate the death of a victim of their mutual mistake and learning to trust each other and work together in the process. It compares and contrasts many notable events from Batman's and Superman's chronologies along the way. My enjoyment of it might have been enhanced by a greater knowledge of Superman's history. It's by Karl Kesel and (mostly) Dave Taylor, who seems to delight in drawing deliberately eccentric facial expressions that occasionally just look daft. (His Joker's a dead ringer for Jon Pertwee, in one panel.) 


   
  
  


The 'World's Funnest' book is a bit of fluff starring Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite, two characters who should have been left to rot in the '60s. It's reasonable fun as they spar their way through every DC alternate universe, destroying them all in the process. Evan Dorkin writes and it's drawn by a host of big names handling a page or two at a time, including Dave Gibbons, Frank Miller, Alex Ross and more.




As extras, here are the 'World's Finest' and 'Legends of the World's Finest' trade paperback covers by Steve Rude and Dan Brereton, respectively, Rude's 'World's Finest' # 1-3 back covers and an in-house ad for the series.


 

  



Superman/Batman: World's Finest (1990) # 1-3 are collected in:

Hardcover:

Softcover:

Legends of the World's Finest (1994) # 1-3 are collected in:

Softcover:

Batman & Superman: World's Finest (1999) # 1-10 are collected in:

Softcover:

Superman and Batman: World's Funnest (2000) is collected in:

Softcover:



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Monday, 24 October 2016

DC Versus Marvel (1996) # 1-4, Amalgam Universe (1996-'97), DC/Marvel: All Access (1996) # 1-4, Unlimited Access (1997) # 1-4


(I originally read these comics in early/mid January 2016)

After reading 50+ issues of Hellblazer I thought I'd cleanse the palate with some bog-standard super-hero stupidity, and how better to do that than with the 1990s DC Versus Marvel series and resulting 'Amalgam Universe' titles.

The plot for the first series is basic. Two cosmic beings known as the Brothers, one personifying the sum total of the Marvel U. and the other the DCU, become aware of each others' existence for the first time in billennia (trademark: me) and decide to challenge each other for supremacy by pitting their respective super-heroes in battle. The main bouts are Superman vs. the Hulk, Superboy vs. Spider-Man, Batman vs. Captain America, Lobo vs. Wolverine and Wonder Woman vs. Storm. The outcomes of these polls was decided by (a no doubt very expensive) phone poll, of course...

The MU heroes won the share of the bouts but then something unexpected happened: at the conclusion of issue # 3, instead of one universe being wiped out of existence, the two universes are instead combined into one, the 'Amalgam Universe.' Heroes are literally smooshed together to produce the following new titles:

Amazon (combining Wonder Woman and Storm), Assassins (Catwoman/Elektra and Deathstroke/Daredevil), Doctor Strangefate (should be obvious), JLX (ditto), Legends of the Dark Claw (Batman and Wolverine), Super Soldier (Superman and Captain America), Bruce Wayne, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Bullets and Bracelets (Wonder Woman and the Punisher), Magneto and the Magnetic Men (the Metal Men and Magneto), Speed Demon (the Flash, the Demon and Ghost Rider; the only instance where three characters are combined into one), Spider-Boy (Superboy and Spider-Man) and X-Patrol (Doom Patrol and the X-Men)


   
   
   
   


Some of these are enjoyable, others (like the X-related ones) I ploughed through as a chore. All felt pointless to one degree or another. The stunt was repeated a year later with six Amalgam titles getting a reprise and six new additions:

Bat-Thing (Man-Bat and Man-Thing), Generation Hex (Jonah Hex and Generation X), Lobo the Duck (Lobo and Howard the Duck), Challengers of the Fantastic (Challengers of the Unknown and the Fantastic Four), Iron Lantern (Green Lantern and Iron Man) and Thorion of the New Asgods (the New Gods/Thor)


   
   
   


Of course, the two universes are separated by the conclusion of DC Versus Marvel # 4.

'All Access' was published between the two Amalgam waves and deals with more incursions between the two worlds. This means Superman battles Venom, Batman gets to deck the Scorpion, the JLA confront the X-Men, etc. Meanwhile, Robin and Jubilee continue the flirtation they began previously.


   


'Unlimited Access' is a final go-round at the concept from 1997. This time Access, the guardian between the two universes (and the only character co-owned by DC and Marvel), goes not only universe-hopping but bouncing through time as well. This results in the first iterations of the Avengers and the Justice League, plus the original X-Men and the then-current New Teen Titans line-up getting to join forces (and combine, as new Amalgams) against an alliance of Magneto and Darkseid. It's all very complicated...


   


DC Versus Marvel (or 'Marvel Versus DC,' if you prefer), All Access and Unlimited Access all provide decent, undemanding entertainment. I liked AA the best. The Amalgam titles vary widely, but there are no single great issues. To be honest, I'm left thinking such a mega event should have been a lot more fun than this...


DC Versus Marvel (1996) # 1-4 and Doctor Strangefate # 1 are collected in:

Softcover:

Doctor Strangefate (1996) # 1, Amazon (1996) # 1, Assassins (1996) # 1, JLX (1996) # 1, Legends of the Dark Claw (1996) # 1 and Super Soldier # 1 are collected in:

Softcover:

Bruce Wayne, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1996) # 1, Bullets and Bracelets (1996) # 1, Magneto and the Magnetic Men (1996) # 1, Speed Demon (1996) # 1, Spider-Boy (1996) # 1 and X-Patrol (1996) # 1 are collected in:

Softcover:

Bat-Thing (1997) # 1, Dark Claw Adventures (1997) # 1, Generation Hex (1997) # 1, JLX Unleashed (1997) # 1, Lobo the Duck (1997) # 1 and Super Soldier: Man of War (1997) # 1 are collected in:

Softcover:

Challengers of the Fantastic (1997) # 1, Exciting X-Patrol (1997) # 1, Iron Lantern (1997) # 1, The Magnetic Men featuring Magneto (1997) # 1, Spider-Boy Team-Up (1997) # 1 and Thorion of the New Asgods (1997) # 1 are collected in:

 Softcover:



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