You don't like the current creative teams? Well here's some new ones!
You don't like the current crop of Batman titles? Well here's some new ones!
Can't get enough of Damian? Well look over here!
My favorite bit of news? It's gotta be Scott Snyder on Detective Comics as I've been enjoying the heck out of American Vampire, and can't wait to see what he brings to the streets of Gotham.
So back to business, and it's time to pick another random book to review. I actually had the bare bones of a Comic Book Days of Wednesday's Past post ready to go on Wednesday, but then Matt Wagner decided to answer a couple of questions for me about the issue we just read, and that had to take priority. Couple that with the wife's new ipad that showed up the day after that, and I guess I got a little distracted.
That doesn't mean that the post goes to waste, as our trip through the past brought up two Bat-books, coincidentally enough. So while Batman is still in the news, let's do a special All-Batman edition of Comic Book Days of Wednesday's Past.
Firing up the Randomizer with the years from 1938 to 2009, and our first stop is 1995. So what Bat-book was on the stands fifteen years ago this month?
So that's surprising.No, not the Kelley Jones' cover for Batman #522, as he never fails to provide an impressive Batman cover. What is surprising is that Swamp Thing is on the cover. I would've lost money on a bet that he was off limits to the DCU at this time, being swallowed up by Vertigo as it were. What comes around goes around, however, as all signs point towards him making a return once again.
Back to the Randomizer, and this time we're off to 1956 and Batman #102!
Well, duh!Who else is going to discover the Batcave but an actual caveman!
I think that's gotta be my new favorite cover.
It's such a wonderfully goofy idea, that you figure it's either gotta be a silver age story or a Grant Morrison issue. Lucky for us we live in a world of riches and have an issue of each available for us to read. I read Morrison's cave-man epic, now I need to track this one down.
So with that taken care of, let's get our next random book picked to review. Take it away Randomizer...
...and that book is The Mighty Thor #430 from March 1991, published by Marvel Comics!So while Thor has popped up with some regularity around these parts, this is the first time we've had an issue from his solo title to read. I wish I could give you a heads up as to what we're in for, but this cover ain't ringing any bells. It's got Ghost Rider on the front, but so did every other book from the early 90's.
I'm actually surprised that out of the three dozen books picked from the 90's so far, it took us over a year to stumble across the spirit of vengeance. Luckily for us, I ebayed my Danny Ketch Ghost Rider issues away a couple of years ago, so all we'll probably ever get is the occasional guest star appearance like this one.
Come back in a day or two for the review, and we'll see what's up with The God, the Ghost, and the Guilty!
Incredible coincidence--I recently acquired that issue of Batman with Swamp Thing on the cover, along with the previous issue with Killer Croc--it's a two-part story, and quite a good one. Would have been best had Killer Croc never appeared again, as this story offers a very satisfying resolution for the character.
ReplyDelete--Thelonious_Nick
It's good to hear that the story was good on that Batman issue, as that cover has been haunting me recently to the point that I'm going to try to track it down tomorrow at the store.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up that it's a two-parter.
I'd also love to get my hands on the other Batman book, but I'm pretty sure that I don't have a couple of hundred extra dollars burning a hole in my wallet.
ReplyDeleteInteresting fact: Overstreet's Price Guide lists this book as the last Golden Age Batman story.
Definitely worthwhile, especially since those two Batman issues shouldn't set you back too much.
ReplyDeleteActually, the Killer Croc/Swamp Thing arc is probably one of my favorites Batman stories, though it's marred but a flaw in logic when Batman drives from Gotham to the Louisiana bayou on a single tank of gas. The Batmobile may have a lot of features, but surely good gas mileage isn't one of them.
But other than that, the story is pretty solid, and there's a lot of great character work.
--Thelonious Nick