2018.018 Black Lightning Vol 2

In his introduction to this volume, Tony Isabella says that this series was only supposed to reprint Tony's work on Black Lightning, not everyone's work.  But he insisted that this be a chronological reprinting, skipping nothing.  I agree with him.  While I think it's cool that DC was going to do just Tony's stuff, I think it's important to give us all the stuff.  

The first volume was Tony, plus a couple stories by others.  This volume is Tony free.  We get BL back up stories from World's Finest and Detective Comics as well as the two part Justice League of America story where BL turns down membership.

I loved this book.  Is it great?  No.  But it's really good, at least to me.  It's reprinting stories from an era of DC that means a lot to me.  Most of these stories I'm reading for the first time, or at least that's what my memory is telling me.  Minor details are very fluid in this book.  Writer to writer things change, like what kind of teacher Jefferson Pierce is.  But who cares.  It's a great time to be a Black Lightning fan right now.  Embrace him and enjoy.

Black Lightning Vol 2

Written by: Dennis O'Neil, Gerry Conway, J.M. Dematteis, Martin Pasko, Paul Kupperberg

Illustrated by: Dick Dillin, George Tuska, Rich Buckler, Marshall Rogers, Mike Nasser, Romeo Tanghal, Joe Staton, Pat Broderick, Dick Giordano, Gerald Forton, Frank Chiaramonte, Bob Smith, Vince Colletta, Frank McLaughlin

DC Comics

069 Green Lantern: Hal Jordan

Green Lantern: Hal Jordan collects both Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn mini-series.  So I'm not quite sure why the title isn't Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn, but whatever.  Emerald Dawn and Emerald Dawn II were mini-series that came out in between Green Lantern having a regular series.  Maybe this was the Green Lantern: Rebirth of the time.  

In a nutshell, these mini-series retell the origin of Hal Jordan.  And take a bunch of liberties.  Most of the liberties I don't believe are canon any longer.  Hal was responsible for the death of one of his friends and ended up going to prison for it.  I really don't recall that being part of his history any longer.  The first series deals with him becoming Green Lantern, the second series is his first encounter with Sinestro.  Honestly, both series aren't all that great, nor are they all that memorable.  It was an attempt by DC to bring Green Lantern back to the forefront.  It did result in him getting his own book again, but that series ultimately led to his death.  A volume collecting the first year or so of that series was solicited by DC, but cancelled shortly thereafter because the writer, Gerard Jones, was arrested on child pornography charges.  The timing was unfortunate.  I'm sure the book will be re-solicited somewhere down the road, but for now, this volume will be all of that era of Green Lantern in print.

Green Lantern: Hal Jordan

Writer: Gerard Jones, Keith Giffen, Jim Owsley

Artist: M.D. Bright, Keith Giffen, Romeo Tanghal

DC Comics

053 Vigilante By Marv Wolfman Vol 1

DC began collecting a different New Teen Titans spinoff series, Deathstroke, The Terminator, a few months ago.  And that surprised me by how well it's held up over the years.  I found myself genuinely enjoying that book.  So when this was announced, I was hoping for the same reaction.  This book came before Deathstroke if memory serves.  I remember enjoying it when it was brand new.  But reading it today, I didn't have the same reaction.  Marv Wolfman can write when he puts his mind to it.  Here, it felt like he had a few ideas but didn't quite know how to execute them.  Part of the problem was this book was published at the height of DC letting a handful of writers also edit the book.  Never a good idea, if you ask me.  

There was something I found especially laughable.  Technology.  This book used a formula with it's cast that's commonplace today.  We have the hero out there in the action.  Back at base we have the support team and their computers.  But with Vigilante, base was a giant camper parked out in the woods.  And I really don't know how they found anything with their computers back in the mid-80s.  First of all, everything was dial up.  Extremely slow dial up.  And second of all, the computer was in a camper in the middle of the woods.  How did they get a dial tone?  LOL!

By the end of this collection, it seemed that a direction for the book was starting to form.  I hope this book does well enough to warrant a second book.  I want to see if that direction actually firms up.

Vigilante By Marv Wolfman Vol. 1

Writer: Marv Wolfman

Artist: Keith Pollard, George Perez, Chuck Patton, Ross Andru, Don Newton, Pablo Marcos, Dick Giordano, Romeo Tanghal, Mike DeCarlo, Rick Magyar, Dan Adkins

DC Comics

052 Wonder Woman And Justice League America Vol. 1

This volume follows up Superman and Justice League America vol 2.  Dan Jurgens left as writer of the book with the end of that collection and hopefully he took the awful storytelling with him.

Dan Vado took over as writer and it becomes crystal clear almost immediately that either DC just didn't care about the Justice League anymore or they had the worst editor on the book they could find.  This volume is just awful.  I think the book might be worse than when I originally read it back in the nineties.  The direction of the book is laughable.  The stories are not good.  And we're missing some important continuity.  In the last volume, the League recruited some new members because they were lacking in might after their run-in with Doomsday.  Black Condor, The Ray and Agent Liberty were recruited.  We also found out that Bloodwynd was not who he said he was.  He was actually Martian Manhunter in disguise.  The last volume ended with the big reveal.  This volume starts off with the real Bloodwynd as a member and no Martian Manhunter, Black Condor or Agent Liberty in sight.  No mention.  No anything.  

We also have Guy Gardner acting as one dimensional as possible throughout most of this book.  I don't remember if that was how he was written in the rest of the DCU or just in this book.  We do find out that it's not actually Guy, but that's neither here nor there.

This book is a real stinker.  Consider yourself warned.

Wonder Woman And Justice League America Vol. 1

Writer: Dan Vado, Chuck Dixon, Bill Loebs

Artist: Kevin West, Greg LaRocque, Mike Collins, Chris Hunter, Rick Burchett, Ken Branch, Romeo Tanghal, Terry Beatty, Carols Garzon, Robert Jones, Mark Stegbauer, Bob Downs

DC Comics

050 Superman And Justice League America Vol 2

Oh boy.  Dan Jurgens is better than this.  At least that's what I keep telling myself.  I don't think he's the greatest writer out there, but he's solid and reliable.  But after reading this, I really have to rethink that.

This book focuses on a dark era of the JLA.  This is a shadow of what the Justice League once was and will be again.  This Justice League isn't even D-List and that's counting Superman on the team.  The group has fallen apart and the only members left are Superman, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Maxima, Bloodwynd, Fire, Ice and Guy Gardner.  Then Doomsday shows up, killing Superman, nearly killing Beetle, destroying Booster's uniform and Fire loses her powers.  Ice quits.  The team is even sadder than before, so they recruit new members.  The Ray, Black Condor, Agent Liberty and Wonder Woman.  This is so not the JLA.  I'm sorry.

There's a fairly decent (in relation) story with Doctor Destiny, and we get the startling (not) truth about Bloodwynd, but for the most part this run of the book is pure dreck.  And Dan Jurgens leaves at the end of this collection.  Hopefully the next writer can take what he's left with and spin it into gold.  Stay turned to find out....

Superman And Justice League America Vol 2
Writer: Dan Jurgens, Dan Mishkin
Artist: Dan Jurgens, Dave Cockrum, Rick Burchett, Romeo Tanghal, Jose Marzan Jr, Bob Smith, Sal Velluto
DC Comics