Category: 100 Issues Ago

100 Issues Ago November 2013

Maybe I need to re-do my banner image and remove FOREVER EVIL from the list of Coming Soon annotations, as the more I look back on it for these 100 Issues Ago posts, the more I dislike the series. Maybe that’s why I’m focusing on this issue of WORLDS’ FINEST because it was one of the few tie-ins that I had this month? Who knows?

Either way, while not the best writer, Paul Levitz tends to manage straightforward heroics with Power Girl still suffering from her on again – off again powers (she starts the issue hoping her invulnerability has worn off so she can get a tattoo – it hadn’t) and trying to kick start them by buying a ride into Earth’s orbit on a space shuttle so she can go bathe in the sun’s rays directly. Trouble is, that gives her an uncontrollable boost and sends her hurtling back to Earth where the Huntress tries to help.

Elsewhere in the DCU, it’s mostly FOREVER EVIL as I said, so everything feels like it’s coated with an extra layer of grim and gritty this month. Outside of DC, Dark Horse continue their adaptation of THE STAR WARS (including stormtroopers – with lightsabers!), Image continues the excellent FATALE, and Oni Press LETTER 44 starts to pick up.

100 Issues Ago October 2013

While a large part of the DCU was off dealing with the results of FOREVER EVIL as mentioned last month, the Green Lantern family of titles started Lights Out, a multi-part story that told the arrival of Relic and his determination to stop all the Lantern Corps, not just the Green, from draining the well of the emotional spectrum. Here Relic arrives on Oa having already kicked the collective behinds of White Lantern Kyle Rayner, Star Sapphire Carol Ferris, and the Templar Guardians. Despite the Corps attempts, and Hal Jordan stepping up and actually acting like a leader, it’s not long before the Central Power Battery is drained by Relic and the Corps left powerless.

My recollection of Venditti’s run on GREEN LANTERN is mostly positive, and the Lights Out storyline was one of the stand outs, I think.

Elsewhere in DC, FOREVER EVIL smears itself across multiple titles; Power Girl copes with a loss of powers in WORLDS’ FINEST; Jim Starlin continues ignoring everything that’s ever happened in STORMWATCH and writes his own stories, paying no attention to the DCU; SWAMP THING‘s villain Seeder is revealed to be an old adversary; and it’s the last issue of EARTH-2 written by James Robinson who was (if I recall correctly) rather unceremoniously dropped from the title.

Outside of DC, Dark Horse continues it’s adaptation of George Lucas’ original draft of THE STAR WARS, while Oni Press launches LETTER 44 by Charles Soule which I picked up as I was impressed by his writing in SWAMP THING.

100 Issues Ago September 2013

Teased for months with the Trinity War crossover in the JUSTICE LEAGUE titles, the first big, line-wide crossover event since the launch of the New 52 landed – FOREVER EVIL, where the bad guys would win and take out the League, leaving the handful of apparently honourable bad guys (principally the Flash’s Rogues) to strike back and take over.

Of course, that’s all months down the line – this issue is simply the aftermath of the arrival of Earth-Three’s Crime Syndicate where they take out the world’s communications grid, and assemble Earth’s villains as their Secret Society, their army to take over the world. Oh, and they unmask Nightwing on live TV for . . . reasons, I guess. Maybe showing they can find anyone and everyone connected to the heroes, so telling them not to bother to retaliate.

It’s grim, and dark, and not much fun at all.

Elsewhere, the rest of my DC titles were all about showcasing the villains – each series had issues of x.1 or x.2 this month where the heroes were side-lined and their bad guys got the spotlight because of FOREVER EVIL.

Outside of DC it was still FATALE from Image and THE STAR WARS from Dark Horse, the adaptation of George Lucas’ original rough draft.

100 Issues Ago August 2013

Power Girl and Huntress are still trying to find their way back to Earth-2 and at the moment also trying to escape the clutches of Desaad who, it turns out, was stranded on Earth-0 back when Darkseid launched his invasion that the Justice League prevented. This issue seems like filler – it’s mostly Power Girl hunting for Huntress while she in turn escapes Desaad, only to finish with the revelation that the Apokoliptian god has somehow messed up Power Girl’s abilities which go haywire from next issue onwards.

So if it’s filler, why am I highlighting it? Because the rest of the DC titles appear to be gearing up to the FOREVER EVIL event, with Trinity War running through several titles, or other titles like STORMWATCH or ALL-STAR WESTERN were off doing their own thing. It really did seem like a mess of all sorts of things going on this month, and this was the issue that leapt out at me.

Once again it was a very DC heavy month with 17 issues and only FATALE from Image breaking the pattern.