Category: 100 Issues Ago

100 Issues Ago June 2012

I came across this “100 Issues Ago” panel in an old JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA and thought I’d tidy it up and re-purpose it. If one month = one issue, what was I reading 100 Issues Ago?

Man, really slim pickings this month as I looked for an issue to write about. EARTH 2 was speeding up with its #2 issue featuring the debut of the New 52’s Jay Garrick, and WORLDS’ FINEST second issue was struggling to deliver on the promise of artists George Perez and Kevin Maguire sharing the load, hampered as it was by the sluggish plotting of Paul Levitz. Outside of that, even consistently good series like ALL-STAR WESTERN and DEMON KNIGHTS were suffering, the first from a forced tie-in with the Court of Owls thing happening in the Bat-books, and the latter seeming to slow as it approached it’s first year anniversary.

BLUE BEETLE, CAPTAIN ATOM, TEEN TITANS, and even JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL all seemed to be floundering as the excitement of the New 52 experiment appeared to be wearing thin.

All of which leads me to VOODOO #10, the little title that could (at least for a while) but which never found the following. Writer Joshua Williamson would g on to write THE FLASH a couple of years later and apparently do a great job of it – I know him more from BIRTHRIGHT and NAILBITER at Image – but whether it was the character or the rough start it had, VOODOO never really took off, despite Williamson’s attempt to build suspense and a backstory.

A shame as the writing was complimented by the nice, clean art of Sami Basri whose work was always good.

Outside of the 19 DC titles this month, it was FATALE, THE BOYS, and FURY MAX.

100 Issues Ago May 2012

I came across this “100 Issues Ago” panel in an old JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA and thought I’d tidy it up and re-purpose it. If one month = one issue, what was I reading 100 Issues Ago?

There were two big launches in month nine of the New 52 (if anyone’s counting how far in we are) and EARTH 2 was the biggest for me, even though WORLDS’ FINEST, the companion title, starred a returning Power Girl. EARTH 2 told the story of the alternate world’s fight against Apokolips and the invading parademons and how the world dealt with the loss of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman during that battle.

Always a sucker for a good multiverse tale, I was happy to pick this up and start exploring the new Earth-2 and the differences the characters would have between their Prime Earth counterparts.

Elsewhere, as I mentioned, WORLDS’ FINEST reintroduced Power Girl and Huntress to the New 52; FRANKENSTEIN and SWAMP THING were crossing over with the interminable Rot storyline that really dragged on way too long; CAPTAIN ATOM was getting weirder; “The Culling” crossover between TEEN TITANS and a bunch of other titles I wasn’t getting was finally over; and the New 52’s first big event had the groundwork laid in the free DC COMICS: THE NEW 52 comic.

Outside of DC, THE BOYS was starting its final story arc; FATALE‘s first arc was drawing to a close; and FURY MAX, Garth Ennis’s retelling of Nick Fury’s wartime exploits was starting up.

100 Issues Ago April 2012

I came across this “100 Issues Ago” panel in an old JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA and thought I’d tidy it up and re-purpose it. If one month = one issue, what was I reading 100 Issues Ago?

Month 8 of the New 52 and, as I mentioned last month, the centre was not holding, and things were starting to fall apart.

ALL-STAR WESTERN was still good, though AQUAMAN was getting bogged down in the origin of the Others in the lead up to that team being given their own series further down the line. BLUE BEETLE and CAPTAIN ATOM were both struggling as Beetle left El Paso for New York and Atom ran into his future self. FIRESTORM and JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL were floundering as well, with the former still trying to fling ideas out to see what would stick, while the latter was bringing in new members to try and boost sales/interest – trouble is the new member was Batwing – anyone remember him? And TEEN TITANS was rambling on with some random crossover fighting a group called NOWHERE.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom – the GREEN LANTERN titles were solid reads at this point, and as always FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF SHADE and DEMON KNIGHTS were well worth a read. MISTER TERRIFIC came to an end, unfortunately, but (from memory – my comics are still in storage) there was the clearest reveal yet that his girlfriend Karen Starr was the Power Girl of Earth-2.

Outside of DC, it was THE BOYS and FATALE. One thing the New 52 would do for me, as we’ll see as these months roll on, is I would eventually start branching out much more beyond DC.

100 Issues Ago March 2012

I came across this “100 Issues Ago” panel in an old JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA and thought I’d tidy it up and re-purpose it. If one month = one issue, what was I reading 100 Issues Ago?

Looking back at month seven of the New 52 and, for me at least, this is where the cracks really started to show. The line-wide relaunch was a bold move and some good – like ALL-STAR WESTERN above – came out of it, but now, as most of the series eased into their second arcs, things weren’t looking so hot.

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL and CAPTAIN ATOM hadn’t really started on a firm footing and were now floundering, though not as much as FURY OF FIRESTORM where Gail Simone had jumped ship. STORMWATCH and BLUE BEETLE were changing course as well, and even MISTER TERRIFIC, with the reintroduction of Karen Starr aka Power Girl and the hints of a forthcoming Earth-2, couldn’t save things.

GREEN LANTERN titles, steered by Geoff Johns, were doing okay, and FRANKENSTEIN: AGENT OF SHADE was still a delight, but the gloss was wearing off six months in to the New 52.

Outside of DC, we had THE BOYS which was coming to the end of the penultimate storyline, and FATALE which was ticking along nicely.