UPDATED! Up next...Action Comics Weekly!

It's time to pick a new random book to review from my collection, but since this is also new comic book day, that can only mean one thing...

That's right, it's time for Comic Book Days of Wednesday's Past!

So before we have the Randomizer tell us what book to read, let's fire it up to randomly pick a year and see what was on the shelves back then. The first year up is 1951!

It's Captain Marvel and the Lieutenants of Safety #3. You gotta love the 50's! A time of such innocence, when all it took to keep your family safe was a ladder and a new light bulb.

But then again, it would appear that all it took to turn people into rampant criminals was a little darkness, so maybe it wasn't the pristine age of innocence that everyone seems to recall.

So that was 1951, but let's pick another year and see what dangers of that age we can be warned against. The next year is 1989, and are broken street lights still the nefarious menace to civilization that they were 48 38 years ago?

Yikes! V For Vendetta #7...yep, the times they are a changing.

In a world of anarchistic revolutionaries fighting a fascist government in a post-nuclear world, a little darkness would seem to be the least of our problems.

Although I blame the Lieutenants of Safety. If only they would've kept up with Demon Danger and his air rifle, there would have been no dark corners in which a fascist government was able to rise to power.

Let's quit while we're ahead, and get going with the pick of our next random review. Take it away, Randomizer!

...and that book is Action Comics Weekly #642 from March 1989, published by DC Comics!

It's our second go around with the weekly anthology experiment that was Action Comics Weekly. This time we are treated with the last weekly issue, before it reverted back to the original format.

So if that isn't exciting enough, this issue features artwork by none other than Gil Kane, Steve Ditko, Jim Aparo, Curt Swan, and Carmine Infantino!

Comic book pedigrees don't get much better than that!

See you in a day or two for the review.

UPDATE: So it was just pointed out to me by reader PM that today (the 5th) is Guy Fawkes Day! I swear the highlighting of V For Vendetta in this post, with it's obvious ties to the Guy Fawkes mythology, was completey random and coincidental.

It just goes to show, once again, that the Randomizer is smarter than me. One of these days it's just going to refuse to open the pod bay doors, and then we're all in trouble!

Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #6

TITLE: Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #6

PUBLISHER: DC

COVER DATE: January 2000

COVER PRICE: $2.50

22 pages


WHAT I REMEMBER...

I already covered most of what I remember about the genesis of this title and Geoff Johns early career here, as well as my blistering expose into Young Justice over here.

So what does that leave us to talk about before we get to the meat and bones of the review?

Not much, but we should point out that this is the second part of a two-part story guest starring Young Justice. At this point in the story, Stargirl and Impulse have been transformed into aliens while attempting to stop their invasion.

The Subs Part Two

• Writer: Geoff Johns
• Penciller: Lee Moder
• Inker: Dan Davis
• Colors: Tom McCraw
• Serperations: Heroic Age
• Letterer: Bill Oakley
• Editor: Mike Carlin

We pick up the story in mid-battle as Stargirl, S.T.R.I.P.E., and Young Justice are trying to subdue the group of aliens who have transformed both Stargirl and Impulse into aliens themselves. It appears to be just a physical change, as Courtneys's sarcastic teenage attitude is still in effect.

Superboy, meanwhile, lets his hormones do the thinking as he saves a pretty young bystander. He uses his tactile telekinesis to disassemble the gun that the alien was using to transform everyone. Realizing that the tide of battle is turning against them, the aliens teleport away.

The heroes decide to split up, with Red Tornado, Superboy, and Stargirl heading off to look for the missing members of Young Justice. That leaves S.T.R.I.P.E., Robin, Impulse, and Stargirls friend Mary to reverse engineer the ray gun.

Robin and S.T.R.I.P.E. are able to put the ray gun back together, but it's Courtney's friend Mary who manages to figure out how to make the gun work in reverse.

They don't have too long to be ably impressed, as Impulse's transformation takes a turn for the worse.

What was just a cosmetic change has now progressed to the next level. In full evil alien form, Impulse uses his super speed to snatch the gun.

Back at the alien's spacecraft, Red Tornado and his crew attempt to track down Wonder Girl, Arrowette, and the Secret. It's soon readily apparent that they've been transformed as well. With the now fully transformed Stargirl at their side, they make short order of Red Tornado and Superboy. Now taken into custody and transformed, things look bleak indeed for our heroes.

On board the alien spaceship, we learn that the Earth was just a proving ground for the alien's ray gun. Needless to say, with several transformed superheroes as proof, the test was a runaway success.

The next step of their nefarious plan is now ready, a live interstellar auction for the Life-Gun technology. Before the auction can begin, however, we find out the fate of Robin and S.T.R.I.P.E. as they approach the spaceship, now fullly transformed into aliens themselves. It would appear that Impulse was successful.

Appearences can be decieveing however, as Impusle sneezes and blows off the blue make-up that they were using to disguise themselves.

It's a trick!

Using their reverse-engineered alien ray gun, Impulse soon transfroms everyone back to human with his superspeed and it then takes only seconds before the aliens are on the run.

Just as they have the main alien cornered, they are unceremoniously ejected from the spaceship as it blasts off into space, leaving the heroes and their failed commander behind.

When things have settled down, Young Justice offer Stargirl a spot on the team to which she politely declines. After all, she is a card carrying member of the JSA by this point.

The issue ends with a bit of an epilogue, as the Dragon King and Shiv destroy the fleeing spaceship. No one invades their town, and now they are ready to take on Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E. themselves!

SO, WHAT DID WE LEARN...

You know, it's funny, but Geoff Johns has been such a dramatic driving force for so long that I completely forgot that he used to be funny. This book was actually a lot of fun, being both lighthearted and briskly paced.

That's something we haven't seen from Johns in a while. From Infinite Crisis and 52, to Green Lantern and Blackest Night, he has been such a strong storyteller with the massive universe spanning dramatic stories, that it's a nice twist to see him have a little fun with a title.

It's also been a long time since I've seen any of Lee Moder's work, but his pencils here are the perfect compliment for the tone of the story. It's energetic, quirky, and also a lot of fun.

People always say that comics aren't for kids anymore, but I would have no problem letting my kids read this title. And the best thing? It had enought going for it that I enjoyed it too!

All in all, it deserves a spot on my bookshelf right next to Leave It To Chance, for just such an occasion.

All characters and artwork reproduced are (c) DC Comics

Related links for your surfing pleasure...

• Geoff Johns' official website

Young Justice justice?

So the current book up for review is Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #6, which features a two-part story guest-starring Young Justice. While reading through the issue and working on my review, it was hard not to see just how much the characters from Young Justice have been changed over the last ten years.

And I'm not just talking about their appearance, although their costumes did have had some drastic changes.

For the most part, it's hard to find fault about their aesthetic changes. Poor Superboy, such a slave to the fashion of the time. Do you think that if he had been created during the 80's he'd have been wearing a Thriller jacket and parachute pants instead?

No, the big change has been on an emotional level with what DC has actually put these characters through in the last ten years. And remember, these are supposed to be kids. Granted their young teens, but they are still kids.

Which leads me to my theory about why DC refuses to collect the Young Justice series in trade paperback.

If they did, they'd have such wildly different versions of the characters on the shelf next to each other that they'd have to tacitly acknowledge exactly what they put those nice young kids through.

Up next...Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.

It's that time again where we fire up the Randomizer for another random jaunt through the longboxes.

Normally, I like to do a bit of bantering before we get to the actual pick, but it's going to be a quick one today. I used up all of my creative inspiration turning a pumpkin into an R2-D2-o-lantern. Although I see now that I should have used C-3PO as my inspiration, as C-3PO-lantern has a much better ring to it.

So what is the next book up for review? Take it away Randomizer...

...and that book is Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #6 from January 2000, published by DC Comics!

It's easy to see from the selection of books reviewed so far that I'm a bit of an Avengers and Superman fan. But there are also a couple of other strong interests that have that have yet to be highlighted by the Randomizer.

Today ends one of those mystery interests, as we encounter our first Geoff Johns book. I think I have literally read every single one of his books, with one glaring exception.

Back at the close of the last century, one of my favorite books was Starman. When Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. was being solicited, Starman was in it's prime, and there was no better book around. This title wasn't a direct spin-off, but it did have enough of a connection, as well as the zero issue being co-written by James Robinson, that I decided to give it a chance.

I'm glad I did, as I have been a fan ever since and I got to enjoy Johns' work from day one.

So what is the big hole in my Geoff Johns collection? It's the Flash. I read some issues here and there over the years, but the character never really did anything for me. It wasn't until Geoff's last year on the title that I finally broke down and picked up one of his issues. It instantly became a must read title for me, and I have since done the requisite flagellation to atone for my sins and have gotten caught up with the trades.

This review should be fun, as I have never reread this series. It'll be interesting to read this now that Geoff Johns has firmly established himself as a modern master, to see if his famous Midas touch was there from the very beginning.

See you in a day or two for the review.

Inside the sausage factory

We've reached another milestone here at Random Longbox headquarters, as this is our 100th post! Woo hoo!

In reality, it's just an arbritrary number and I'm probably the only one who cares, but if the comic books that we all love so dear can celebrate with oversized issues and foil covers...why can't I?

In honor of this momentous occasion, let's take a look behind the scenes at what makes the Random Longbox tick.

• As far as stats go, we're just a hair shy of 1000 unique visitors since we opened the doors back in June!


• We've had visitors from over 50 countries and every continent but Antarctica, which I don't think Google Analytics is set up to register anyway (prove me wrong, multi-national research station scientists, prove me wrong!).


• When you look at the states, only four remain unrepresented: Alaska, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Mississippi. C'mon red states, get on the ball! I think I've done a pretty good job keeping my pro-Obama, socialist rhetoric to a minimum around here.

I've also had a lot of fun watching what search terms end up brining people to this blog. Some of my favorites so far include...

• comic high heel stileto
• lopsided human skull
• marc silvestri high heels
• random superman cement
• rude1 liners about parents
• she kicked him in the groin

I think if we can learn one thing from this, it is that I obviously need more posts about Marc Silvestri kicking people in the groin while wearing high heel shoes...and if said recipient of the nut shot has a mis-shapen skull, then we're all winners!

What's the most read review on this blog, you ask? It's none other than Doctor Strange #26! A big shout out is in order for the Neilalien blog for steering a monster amount of traffic to that review with their link.

But for every winner there must be a loser, so the least read review? It was Ghost #1. It's all right Ghost, I still love you...and your review.

Keep on the lookout for a new masthead for the blog too. I've been meaning to make some tweaks to the site to individualize it more, but haven't found the time just yet.

Although now that I've gone and told you about it, I better get moving.

The Vision And The Scarlet Witch #5

TITLE: The Vision and the Scarlet Witch #5

PUBLISHER: Marvel

COVER DATE: February 1986

COVER PRICE: $0.75

22 pages


WHAT I REMEMBER...

Regular readers of this blog are well aware that The Avengers was the first comic book that I started collecting, and in pretty quick order The Vision would become my favorite Avenger. It was only natural, that this series would then be a no brainer for me.

This series actually has a couple of firsts for me, as it was the first mini-series that I remember buying off the rack. It's also the first mini-series that I remember abandoning before it was finished. Whether it was the twelve-issue commitment that scared me off, or the lackluster story, or a combination of the two is something I can't quite remember. The Vision (and the Scarlet Witch by extension) would remain one of my favorite characters for a long while, so I would imagine it was the story.

If I remember correctly, this series chronicled the Vision and Wanda as they left the Avengers with the news that Wanda was pregnant. How an android and a mutant witch could conceive a baby is something that this series would explore. And honestly, what better way to capture the imagination of a teenage boy than with the trials and tribulations of a couple pregnant with their first child!

Am I being too hard on this series? Or are we in for a real treat now that I'm a more world weary and mature reader? Let's find out...

The others call it...All Hallow's Eve!

• Story: Steve Englehart
• Pencils:Richard Howell
• Inks: Jack Abel & Mike Esposito
• Colors: Adam Philips
• Letters: Rick Parker
• Editor: Jim Salicrup
• Editor in Chief: Jim Shooter

It's Halloween in the Marvel Universe, and the Vision is all dressed up in a tux and hitting the town. After relocating to the suburbs, the Vision and the Scarlet Witch have made friends with their new neighbors, who just happen to be heroes in hiding with the power of molecular control. Instead of using their powers to fight the good fight, they became magicians using their powers to create realistic illusions. It is the premier of their Halloween show, and that has brought Vision back to the city.

This being Halloween night though, means that Wanda is back at the house getting ready to flex her magick ability to take advantage of the nature of the night to communicate with her recently deceased mentor, Agatha Harkness. Before that however, she had just enough time call her brother Quicksilver to let him know that he is going to be an Uncle.

Really Quicksilver? You're going to give your sister a hard time about her robot husband, when you live on the moon with your wife who is a member of a race of humans that were genetically evolved by an alien race!

Quicksilver actually turns out to be really happy for his sister, and promises to be back on earth for Thanksgiving. It's really amazing how much these two characters have been changed (not necessarily for the better in my opinion) over the last five years. Heck, you can even throw in the Vision here as well. If you've never read a comic before the 21st century rolled around, you'd be asking yourself who the hell are these people? And why are they so damn happy?

Back to Wanda's seance, and things aren't going quite like she planned. She manages to contact Agatha only briefly before she dissipates to be replaced by her undead grandson Thornn! Ooopsie...

Back at the magic show, Agatha Harkness is able to materialize briefly to warn the Vision that Wanda is in trouble and it all leads back to the Druid Tome. Vision informs us that they had tussled with Samhain and his Druid Tome years ago, and if Samhain is back then they are in real trouble. His tie to the physical world was the Tome, which they had destroyed last time. If he's back then they won't be able to use the Tome to send him back to the dead realms.

Meanwhile, Wanda finds out that she's in more trouble than she thought as Thornn has brought a whole cadre of undead supervillains with him. It turns out that the baby that Wanda is carrying is holding a spark of magickal life within it that the demons want to use to help them rematerialize into the living world.

That seems to make some logical sense. Vision, on the other hand, has the more fantastical unbelievable part of the adventure to come. To defeat Samhain, he must rebuild the Druid Tome. But wasn't it burned? It was, but luckily (and conveniently) the powers of the Vision's new magician friends will allow them to rebuild the book with just a single speck of ash.

But how to find a piece of ash from years ago? Easy...track down the child who was turned into a ghost from the previous adventure with the Tome and hope that the sheet that she wore for her Halloween costume that night is still intact, and that it has never been washed so that they can collect a piece of ash that must have been deposited on it when the Vision transported them through the smoke of the burning book.

You got all that? I hope so, as I'd be hard pressed to find a better way to recap that.

Seeing as how this is a special Halloween issue, the Scarlet Witch is visited by all sorts of dead relatives clawing their way back from the dead to torment her and try to reclaim her baby's life for their own.

She eventually comes face to face with Samhain, who...surprise, surprise...wants the slice of magickal life contained in Wanda's child for himself. These demons and creatures of the undead are a rather single-minded lot, are they not?

Naturally, Vision finding a two year old speck of ash proves far easier than finding a storyline that doesn't rely on wild coincidences and happenstance. That's not important now, as we have a book that needs burning!

Summoning all the power contained in his solar jewel, Vision reduces the Tome to atoms, forcing Samhain into a form of pure energy. Normally you'd think that would be bad, but Agatha Harkness is back to let us know that everything is going according to plan.

Now that Samhain is pure energy, she can control him and redirect him as never before. Taking advantage of the nearby hordes of undead super-villains and demons, she redirects his energy that he had hoped to put into the baby's essence and deposits them bit by bit into the assembled undead horde.

Her job now done and the baby safe, Agatha disappears to once again rest in peace. Wanda and the Vision are reunited in the living worlds, and all is right with the world.


SO, WHAT DID WE LEARN...

I think we learned why I never did stick with this mini-series originally. It wasn't bad per se, it was just decidedly average. How this story warranted a 12-part mini-series seems a bit of a mystery. I suppose the standards for mini-series was a bit more lax back in the day. In fact, on the back cover of this issue in an in-house ad for Secret Wars II. At least Marvel had the good sense to limit that series to nine issues, but I think I would still take all twelve of Vision and Scarlet Witch's series to one featuring the Beyonder.

Anyways, Steve Englehart and Richard Howell do a serviceable job with this particular issue. It's Halloween, so of course all of the usual tropes and trappings of the holiday are in full display...ghosts, zombies, witches, magick spells, underworld dimensions...heck, even Dracula makes a cameo!

At the end of the day, however, it's a throwaway story about some characters who are nigh unrecognizable in today's continuity. It's a shame, as these characters deserve better.

All characters and artwork reproduced are (c) Marvel Comics

Related links for your surfing pleasure...

• Jason over at Marvel Comics of the 1980's clues us in to the crossover with West Coast Avengers that kicked this series off. We apparently just missed this title being good.
• We've come across books dealing with Wanda and the Vision here and here earlier.