Comic Book Feeds

My mission: read DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! This week, I'm looking at the comics at newsstands around April 21, 1983.

Brave and the Bold #200: This is the final issue of Brave and the Bold, ending a 28-year run. It also happens to be a comic I bought off the stands (one of three this month, it turns out! The first time that's happened in this review.) so I have a lot of nostalgia for it. It perhaps doesn't read as well to be today as it did at 10, but I still think its a good Bronze Age comic, starting with a great Aparo cover. 
The main story by Barr and Gibbons/Martin is billed as a team-up between Earth-One and Two Batmen, but is really a sort of team-up between parallel world counterparts of a new villain, Brimstone. On Earth-Two (rendered in Jerry Robinson-esque style by Gibbons), Nicholas Lucien is a B-grade villain with a devil gimmick who is defeated by Batman and Robin and accidentally but in a long coma by a head injury. He is revived 28 years later in Arkham to find himself an old man, and Batman dead and thus beyond his vengeance.  Unwilling to accept this, he mentally reaches out to that other him he always sensed existed who is a respectable businessman on Earth-One. He essentially possesses that version of himself to execute a terroristic plan to lure Earth-One Batman into a trap and girl him. The Earth-One portions of the story are, of course, rendered in more gritty, modern style. It's a nice gimmick that leads to a good story, if not necessarily a memorable one beyond its high concept. Gibbons changing art styles are a large part of its success.
This issue also as a preview of the comic that is to replace Brave and the Bold: Batman and the Outsiders. In the continuity of that title, I am told, this story comes after the third issue. Anyway, it's a nice introduction by Barr and Aparo and left me wondering as a kid who these characters were. A group cultish terrorists seek to liberate their leader Miklos from the hospital where he is being held in police custody. When they attack the hospital, they run up against Batman and the Outsiders.

Legion of Super-Heroes #301: This is another issue why brother and I had as a kid. Despite it's very Silver Age-y cover by Giffen and Mahlstedt it's a very modern comic for the era. In fact, this title is one of the ones really closing the book on the Bronze Age 70s style, I think. Anyway, Chameleon Boy and his father, RJ Brande, are on Durla trying to regain Chameleon Boys powers which involve trials, including a fight with the Durlan elders. Meanwhile, there's a lot of character drama stuff, including Proty II making space for himself as a newly recognized sophont being, and the announcement of Karate Kid's and Princess Projectra's wedding. 

Night Force #11: In the 1930s, Winters and Vanessa get more than they bargain for when they meet with the cabal financially supporting Hitler whose members are all malign ghosts in 1983. Turns out the group is able to summon (or maybe form Voltron-style, it's unclear) the Beast of Revelations. After Fleeing back to the present, Winters blunders again by sending Jack and Vanessa to the house, where for some reason he didn't think the ghosts would attack them (but they do). He's forced to call in allies: Katina, with which he has personal history.

Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #9: Kupperberg and Infantino/Oksner continue the team-up with the Doom Patrol. We get the origin of Reactor, who Tempest knew in Vietnam as Krullen. Tempest first manifested his mutant powers to stop Krullen from massacring a village of civilians. Krullen had been irradiated during atom bomb tests in the 1950's and was later turned into Reactron by the Council. Reactron attempts to absorb all the radiation from an experimental reactor and blasts Supergirl. She manages to create a wind-funnel that draws him into the upper atmosphere, where he explodes from radiation overload. Unfortunately, in the aftermath, Robotman tells his teammates that his sensors detect an unknown radiation Supergirl has absorbed from Reactron--which is killing her.
Halloween (1978) must be really in the Zeitgeist in 1983, because it is referenced in two comics this week. In this Cavalieri and Oksner/Hunt Lois Lane backup, Lois spends the day with film scream queen Jenny Lind Keaton, but then she is mistaken for a disguised Keaton by a nutty gunman who thinks she's really a witch.

Green Lantern #166: The story that's been building in the background comes to the fore, as we get a new creative team with Cavalieri and Tuska/McLaughlin, and a promising start. Krista, the newest member of the Green Lantern Corps, gets stranded in the yellow desert planet of Sikarra, where a ring can't protector. She is rescued by Jordan, but she is badly injured.
On Oa, Lanterns Eddore, Kaylark, and Galius-Zed accuse the Guardians of betraying them by hiding an advanced model of the Power Ring that is effective against the color yellow, and thus endangering the lives of the Corps members. When Jordan arrives with Krista, who then dies of her injuries, the situation turns violent. Jordan fights on the side of the Guardians, but the rogue Lanterns find the advanced rings inside the Central Power Battery. Two of them escape from Oa, leaving Galius Zed to fight Hal Jordan with the advantage of the improved ring. Jordan is overpowered and Galius vows never to be dictated by the Guardians again.

House of Mystery #317: We're at the penultimate installment of the "I...Vampire" saga. Bennett and Deborah track Mary to Paris. Bennett decides to take the untested Rashnikov Formula, that's supposed to remove vampire weaknesses. It seems to work, leaving him with vampire powers but removing the weaknesses and need for blood. He is able to start a romantic relationship with Deborah. He's keep hunting the Blood Red Moon, and under cover, follows several vampires back to their hideout where he hides in a coffin. When day comes, he's unable to move. When Mary wakes him from the coffin the next night. She tells him rigor mortis has set in. The experimental formula apparently wasn't meant to be taken by existing vampires, but by people who would be turned into vampires. Looks like it's the end for Bennett, but we'll find out next issue.
There are two additional stories this issue. The first is a post-apocalyptic yarn by Kashdan and Matucenio where a couple repairs a robot to be a servant, but instead gets a killing machine. The last story, by Kelly and Trinidad has a serial killer who uses various weapons with occult significance. Only one reporter realizes what's going on, but when the killings stop, he's ridiculed so he commits a murder himself to keep interest up. That of course brings him to the attention of the serial killer.  

Sgt. Rock #379: The main story has Easy getting their mail months overdue, and then deciding to play Santa Claus to the German kids in an orphanage, complete with Jackie going down the chimney dressed as Santa. Since nothing is ever easy in Easy, there's the Wehrmacht to fight, too.
There's a story credited to "the Kubert School" about a G.I. eager for a war souvenir, a French kid playing with a German helmet he found, and a tragic accident. Finally, Harris and DeMulder deliver a schmaltzy story of a soldier who keeps talking about his gal back home, who we discover (after his death) was his mother.

Warlord #71:   I reviewed the main story in this issue here. In the Barren Earth backup by Cohn and Randall, Jinal and friends infiltrate the Mulge guardian to get back their captured friends, encountering dangerous plants and fungi, and breaking up a creepy Mulge ritual to cause fungi to grow threw the bodies of sacrificed humans. This is probably the most interesting installment of this series so far.

Former IDW group editor of graphic novels joins the Mad Cave editorial team FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APR. 23, 2024, (PITTSBURGH, PA) —  Join Mad Cave Studios in welcoming Kristen Simon…

FLASH GORDON ADVENTURES By Art Baltazar & Franco Aureliani Flash Gordon Adventures is an all-ages series by the award-winning creative team of Art Baltazar and Franco! Perfect for fans of…

The 8-Year Saga Ends Here in the FINAL Issue of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers LOS ANGELES, CA (April 23, 2024) – BOOM! Studios, together with leading toy and game company…

A Neo-Noir Paranoid Thriller from BOOM! Studios Continues in May 2024 LOS ANGELES, CA (April 23, 2024) – BOOM! Studios revealed today a first look at BLOW AWAY #2. Hot…

4/24/2024, Missoula, Montana  – Post Malone, Michael Bay and Brad Fuller’s Platinum Dunes, and Vault Comics have partnered to create an all-new IP universe based on an original story by…

An advisory to anyone planning to attend the BAD IDEA C2E2 panel this Saturday at 3:15pm in room S403-AB, please bring sunglasses. We’ll be revealing blindingly cool new art from the upcoming…

Dive into Melissa Flores & Diogenes Neves’ debut series in the NACELLEVERSE, Coming May 1st! COVER A BY DUSTIN WEAVER PORTLAND, OR (April 23, 2024)– Oni Press, in partnership with…

  A wild, time traveling thriller where nostalgia is a superpower MILWAUKIE, Ore., (April 23, 2024)— Presented by acclaimed and award-winning creators, writer Mat Johnson (Incognegro, Pym) and artist Steve Lieber…

The New Publishing Initiative Includes The All-New Graphic Novel Romeo Vs. Juliet: A Kill Shakespeare Adventure, New Editions of the First Kill Shakespeare Graphic Novels, and a Free Comic Book…

It’s the summer of true nuclear fusion as 2000 AD mashes and smashes its most popular strips together in the return of its pulsating Sci-Fi Special! Exploding into shelves on…

I think my group will finish up our current campaign in the Land of Azurth this year, and though with months to go some plenty of time to change my mind, I'm in the mood for something different. With a semi-new edition of D&D arriving around that time and other, similar options available (Shadow of the Weird Wizard, 13th Age--possibly with a 2nd edition) it will be a good time to do it, too. My prerequisites are that the system be close enough to D&D so as not to cause undue angst for my players who don't always appreciate new systems and so I have an easy time finding/adapting published material. My experience running at a regular clip for 10 years now is that I need to use premade material a lot to keep it going.

Right now, I'm thinking about expanding on the world introduced in my recent "Draconic Empire" post. Inspired by my recent consumption of some anime with the Japanese version of "generic D&D fantasy" I think that's what it will be with influence from the two settings of various editions of the Sword World rpg and Uresia, as well as hints of more console game-inspired settings like BREAK!!, Fabula Ultima, Exalted, and Icon (though more "standard D&D" than any of those). I also want to utilize as much official D&D "lore" and character options as possible to keep it familiar, though they may be given a slight twist.

Additionally, I'd like to try to capture the passage of time better, something like Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, so I think I'll try to use the Fellowship and Journey rules from One Ring (or it's 5e adaptation).

Title: Fetch – The Rescue Publisher: Storm King Comics Series Created by: John Carpenter and Sandy King Written by: Mike Sizemore Art by: Dave Kennedy Colors by: Pete Kennedy Lettering…

Clips from many Nightveil Media films starring FEMFORCE live action heroines. Including BLUE BULLETEER, GARGANTA, NIGHTVEIL, NYOKA, STORMY TEMPEST and more. Produced by Bill Black.

0 TON PRESS Dasig GN, $30.00 1FIRST COMICS Space Negro The Last Negro #2 (Of 5), $6.99 3D TOTAL PUBLISHING Character Design Quarterly 28 SC, $18.00 Golden Hour The Art…

Extraterrestrial V2 #2 Cassiopia and her father hatch a daring plot to swipe a menagerie ship overflowing with exotic creatures from the clutches of the tyrannical Terran Emperor. Their motivations…

ABSOLUTE POWER: GROUND ZERO #1 Written by MARK WAID, JOSHUA WILLIAMSON, NICOLE MAINES, and CHIP ZDARSKY Art by GLEB MELNIKOV, SKYLAR PATRIDGE, and V KEN MARION Cover by DAN MORA…

Title: Fetch – The Journey Publisher: Storm King Comics Series Created by: John Carpenter and Sandy King Written by: Mike Sizemore Art by: Dave Kennedy Colors by: Pete Kennedy Lettering…

Two completely unrelated ideas for Hack'D...
New Tag: Weapon SpecialistWhen using your preferred weapon type (ex: axes, swords, spears, bows), you force foes you strike to suffer -1 edge to armor checks.
I like this because it doesn't mean you deal more damage; it means you are more likely to use your weapon to bypass enemy armor. This is a great tag to differentiate different warrior types, or to make your warrior more powerful as you grow. I could probably have a comparable magic specialist tag that forces foes to suffer -1 edge to resist your spells of the type. I'd have to get clear in defining the 'types' that this means, however. Right now, 'types' of magic are pretty loosely defined (which I like), and this would require a greater level of clarity on that.
Thought the Second: Moridis' Halls


I had been conceiving of Moridis' Halls as a sort of 'catch-all' dungeon unified only by a single primary adversary who oversees the whole. However, I recently was thinking about re-framing it entirely as a modified Temple of Elemental Evil around dragons - there are four (or so) dragons living in different sections that don't get along, and their factions are battling each other. These are tied to the elements. However, killing them all (or collecting something from them all) would access/raise/summon their parent, a many-dead Tiamat type of dragon (Moridis). This gives me at least three or four primary elemental factions (minimally frost, flame, storm) with their primary followers, as well as a second tier of those trying to take advantage of/play multiple sides of the conflict. This, conceptually, improves the dungeon significantly, and helps me "see" it more clearly. Right away, I re-framed that western entrance to a small holding of dwarves who have one of the dragons in chains... one of the earliest encounters would involve the dwarves (along with the fellowship) trying to prevent the dragon from breaking free of its shackles and killing them all - this would allow a low-level party to have an encounter with a dragon (the dwarves would do most of the heavy lifting) and would set the campaign in motion; either the dragon dies and they get the first of several items they need, or the dragon gets away and they have to chase it down deeper in the dungeon somewhere. Either outcome propels them deeper into the dungeon. 
I also see synergy between this and a fortified town of men (Fort Grymwater) that claims to be allied with the nearby elves, but which actually supports some of the factions below. This would give the PCs an ally in the keep (the elfin envoy who resides in the keep with her small entourage) but would mean that there is danger both above and below, and there'd be quite of bit of intrigue hard baked into the setting. 

Sitting less than 100 miles from New York City, the infamous Plum Island has, for decades, been the home of a government laboratory devoted to studying the most dangerous diseases…