Starman (vol.2) #0 (October, 1994) "Sins of the Father, Part One: Falling Star, Rising Son" Writer - James Robinson Pencils - Tony Harris Inks - Wayne Von Grawbadger Letters - John E. Workman Colors - Gregory Wright Associate Editor - Jim Spivey Editor - Archie Goodwin Cover Price: $1.95 There's that odd mix of pumpkin and meat in the air... March of the Wooden Soldiers is on the tv... and my back and feet already ache. Why, that's gotta make today Thanksgiving, doesn't it? Happiest of Thanksgivings to everyone... hope you all have a wonderful day (whether you celebrate or not). Some friendly advice from your bloggy brother, there are two things you never discuss around the family dinner table... variant covers and decompressed storytelling. Family is forever, remember not to turn on each other over the small stuff! --
We open with a (somewhat syrupy) introduction to Opal City... which I'm sure I slurped up with a straw the first time I read this as a teen-agery type person. It's also here we meet... Starman, David Knight. He looks down upon Opal, and smiles with the knowledge that he is the only Starman. Will Payton is dead... and he assumes Mikaal Tomas is too. Dave triumphantly goes to fly...
... he does not make it far.
This takes us into flashback land. It's earlier that night, and David is arguing with his brother Jack about some "old stuff" Jack's trying to buy from him. Their father, Ted Knight (the Golden-Age Starman) stands by, and doesn't seem terribly enthralled by the conversation. The discussion shifts to David inheriting the mantle, to which Jack is all "I didn't want it anyway... oh, and also... you look stupid." This comment seems to have burrowed under Ted's skin, and so, he gives him the boot... til Sunday dinner, of course.
From here, we follow Jack as he goes about his business. He picks up a package from a dry cleaner, chats up a tattoo artist, and grabs some goods from a barber shop. It's revealed here that Jack's kind of an old soul... really stuck on "old things", so much so that he runs an old junk shop. He enters, and thinks to himself how much he loves the smell of "old things"... I feel like we comics enthusiasts can second that emotion.
Time passes, and Jack receives a phone call from his father... and learns that his brother David was killed. Ted warns his son to keep vigilant, just in case this was a sort of personal vendetta. He continues, saying that there is a Cosmic Rod, and also a Cosmic Belt (that used to belong to Sylvester Pemberton) among some documents he'd given to Jack for review. Jack argues that he doesn't want to use 'em...
Ted hangs up and heads out to the morgue to identify his son's body. No sooner does he leave, than his observatory explodes! During the blast, Ted is struck by a brick.
Back at Jack's Junk Shop, a strange man enters... and inquires about some precious stones. Jack doesn't have many, but can refer him to a dealer who might. He then asks about weapons... which triggers our fight scene.
The man starts blasting the hell out of the place. It looks like this particular pistol shoots both bullets... and fire? Okay. Anyhoo, as Jack attempts to flee to the back room (where that Cosmic Rod is supposed to be), he winds up taking a bullet in the back of the leg.
The strange man follows... and decides to keep the Cosmic Belt for himself. What's more... he recognizes it!
He then takes aim, and goes for the killing shot(s) on Jack. Fortunately, in the time it took for this weirdo to admire the Cosmic Belt, Jack was able to back-flip into the flames and procure the Rod.
The stranger decides to just go all-in... figuring there's no way Jack would survive the fire anyway... he drops a grenade in the shop.
Jack manages to get out just in the nick of time.
We shift scenes over to a brother and sister... they are Kyle (the weirdo from the store) and Nash, a young woman with a stutter. It's made plainly clear that these two are responsible for wrecking all'a the havoc on the Knight family this evening...
... and they are doing so on behalf of their father... (the Golden-Age villain) the Mist! They're sure both Knight boys are dead... but have not killed ol' Ted.
We wrap up with Jack trying to get his bearings. We can tell he's thrown for a loop, since he refers to his brother here as "Danny" instead of David. That's gotta be worth a "No-Prize", right?
-- We've talked a time or two before about series' that... while they hold a special place in our hearts, they're somewhat difficult to return to. My mind immediately goes to something like Peter David's Young Justice when I think of that. Starman (vol.2) might be another. I missed out on this the first time around, and so, when they started releasing trade paperback collections, I scooped 'em up, devoured 'em, and loved 'em! These were the sorta lousy "incomplete" trades before they added all of the niceties we have these days. I've tried time and again to return to them over the years, and for whatever reason, just can't get as into it. I usually only make it through the first trade, before putting Jack and Company back on the shelf. That said, I had a really good time with this issue. Sure, it's a bit "purple" in places, though... I'm pretty sure that's due to who our narrator will eventually be revealed to be, so it makes sense. If that's not the case, and I'm remembering wrong... woof, this is a li'l bit o' preciousness in the narration here. Let's talk about Jack. He's not entirely likable here, though it's somewhat easy to see his position. He's part of a family with an established "business", which he is reluctant to join. Nothing we haven't seen before, but done incredibly well. Jack's got his passions, and superheroics/superheroing are not among them. As a person who is perhaps a bit too nostalgic for his own good (including things I wasn't even around for), I can identify with Jack... as, I'm sure, can many comics enthusiasts. He mentions the "smell" old things have... and, c'mon... what's more intoxicating than the smell of decomposing newsprint? If I could bottle it, I would. There's a certain magic to it... so much history, so much passion... it's really one of the best things ever. I've often thought about when nostalgia became capital... we see Jack's Junk Store, and realize that people do make their livings helping people relive their past... or at least reclaim old treasures. I've solicited opinions on the subject from a bunch of people (and did a fair amount of reading as well), and one of the more popular points of view is that nostalgia became "a thing" around the time oldies stations popped up on the radio. Never before were entire generations able to imbibe in the sweet taste of yesteryear with such ease. I think there might be something to that. I started this portion of the discussion be admitting to having difficulty revisiting books of either a certain vintage... or ones I discovered at a certain age. I cited Young Justice and this book... which, I'm almost positive I discovered around the same time. Nostalgia (good and bad) is a funny thing... can really skew your perceptions, and alter your point of view. With the rise of digital everything... I shudder at the thought of the potential age of arrested development we might be on the cusp of entering! Why move forward when everything in the rear view was so much fun? Okay, now I'm just babbling... when I ought to be basting (the turkey, that is). I'll just leave it there. This is a wonderful title that I'd recommend anyone and everyone pick up. I think I'm going to try and revisit a few more of these in the coming days... see how rose-colored my glasses might become! This series has been collected eight ways to Sunday (hell, it'll probably get a ridiculous and unnecessary DC Black Label branding soon enough... if it hasn't already), and is available digitally (for a buck!). -- (Not the) Letters Page:
New Titans #0 (October, 1994) "The Changing Order" Writer - Marv Wolfman Penciller - Stephen J.B. Smith Inks - Hector Collazo, Harry Candelario, & Keith Champagne Production - Dave Bednar Letterer - John Costanza Colorist - Chris Matthys Assistant Editor - Keri Kowalski Editor - Pat Garrahy Cover Price: $1.95 I was planning to follow up with the Titans $ell-Out! story today, which continued through the next issue of Deathstroke the Terminator. Now, having become "once bit, twice shy" about how nicely the Deathstroke book plays with others during a crossover during Total Chaos (which is to say, it does the least amount of "tying-in" possible), I decided to give it the ol' "flip thru" first. And, yup... $ell-Out! related scenes are only on like two pages. Maybe we'll get a running start and try tackling that some other day. Today, however, we're going to check out the launch of the "final" era of the New Titans... and a place where many'a fan seem to feel that the worm finally turns... it's Zero Hour... and it's a barely recognizable team. I know there was a certain editor who Marv was so angry about that he refused to say his name during interviews... not sure whether or not that person's name is in the above credits... buuuut, I wouldn't be surprised. Also, this is from a point that I'd already "noped" out of this volume... even in rereads, I never make it this far! So, this is gonna be interesting! Let's do it. --
We open in Sarge Steel's shadowy office. He's talking to a fella, who's most assuredly not Nightwing about the newest iteration of the Titans. Steel guffaws when he sees their ages, f'r heavens sake... they're just teen-agers! Definitely-not-Dick tells him to settle down... because, the newbies can handle it. Which takes us to... a warehouse where a pair of goofs named Coven and Slagg are interrogating a man on behalf of the "CrimeLord" (yeah, really). Changeling makes his presence known... and, yeah... this is when he wouldn't shift into animals, but... well, whatever the hell this is. A fight is on. Changeling expels a poisonous cloud... and Coven tosses some flash grenades in response.
We shift scenes to the shopping mall beneath the World Trade Center, where Titans Team-Lead, Arsenal and Titans newbie, Damage are fighting off a bunch of robotic terrorists.
We go through that bit where the new guy wants to impress the boss... and, at the same time, the boss is kinda riding him too hard (in order to prove that he's in charge). This leads to Damage overstepping, getting socked by a bot, and ultimately caught up under a bunch of rock and debris. This, of course, facilitates Arsenal saying something like "This is my first mission, and I'm gonna get my team killed!" Really hacky/hokey stuff.
The bots grow tired of the tussle and head into the subway, where they plan to... well, stand on the tracks and kill hundreds of rush-hour travelers. I mean, haven't they suffered enough? Oh, and the robo-baddies... they work for Crimelord too.
Back at the warehouse, Coven and Slagg stand over Gar's prone, normal(ish) body. Before they can act, however, New Titans (and the sole survivors of the Team Titans) Terra and Mirage arrive on the scene. They make relatively short-work of the goofs, and rescue Changeling.
We jump ahead to somewhere unduh da sea... where Coven and Slagg report their failure to... why, it's the man himself... Crimelord. It looks like he's a giant... but that might just be poor perspective. Maybe he's a hologram, who the hell knows?
As Miri, Tara, and Gar head home (which we only witness to see Gar brooding), we pop back over to under the World Trade Center... where another new Titan arrives on the scene... this is, Impulse! And boy, does he look old. It's always a bit odd seeing the pre-Young Justice Bart... I mean, he looks like he's of college age right here. Anyhoo, he saves the day.
Then, Damage emerges from the rubble... and he's brimming to the top with quaky power. His body engorges... which tells his teammates that he's about to blow. Impulse grabs him and runs him off Manhattan so he could "pop" in peace.
Back at Titans Headquarters (or just wherever the hell they're hanging out), the team reconnoiters... and we learn Damage might not understand what it means for one to "get their rocks off".
They're interrupted by a call from Sarge Steel, who summons them out to New Jersey... and it's a brand-spankin'-new, state of the art, actual headquarters. How nice.
While the Titans check out their new digs, we pop over to New York City Hall, where a man reporting that Deathstroke failed to assassinate the President (yeah...), is then assassinated himself! By... the Crimelord people.
Back in Sarge Steel's office, we see that... hey waitaminute, that fella from the beginning was Nightwing all along?! I... I don't know what's real anymore. Okay, okay... of course it was Nightwing all along. We learn here that he's decided to leave the Titans because an editor wanted him back in the Bat-Bo uh, I mean, he's taking a "well-deserved vacation".
We close out by popping into space and checking in with our soon-to-be newest Titan... Kyle Rayner?!
-- Yeah... not a lot to like here. And it's almost as though the creative team knew that... because so much of this feels "phoned in". Dialogue is tropey, storytelling is convenient, the art... it's kinda weak... and the fact that we had three inkers might suggest that actually getting this book done and on shelves wasn't anybody's tippy-top priority. As such... I'm struggling for things to say. I guess we can talk about this "new look" Changeling. His shapeshifting powers are... a fair amount, I dunno "darker" during this time. It makes for some pretty gruesome images... but, not images I really care to pore over. We could mention that Gar seems rather annoyed by being surrounded by these newbies. Not sure if that's just him maturing... or, something else. Hell, maybe both, maybe neither! I hope it's not "maturity" though, because I want to believe that Marv would be a bit more subtle. The team seems to report to Sarge Steel... which is to say, they report to the United States Government. Hate that. I hate that anytime a team does that. I get the chills thinking about how many Marvel superhero books I'd cracked open in the past decade that all opened with frickin' S.H.I.E.L.D.! I'm never a fan of this sort of thing... and, something's tellin' me New Titans won't be any different. Overall... this wasn't very good. Actually, I think I'd go so far as to suggest that it was bad... and you probably shouldn't read it. Nobody at DC seemed to care... so why should we? -- Letters Page (featuring this fella):
Green Lantern (vol.3) #0 (October, 1994) "Second Chances" Writer - Ron Marz Penciller - Darryl Banks Inker - Romeo Tanghal Colorist - Steve Mattsson Letterer - Albert De Guzman Assistant Editor - Eddie Berganza Editor - Kevin Dooley Cover Price: $1.50 It's been awhile since we discussed Zero Hour... it's actually been just about a year! I meant to cover this issue right afterwards, as it feels like it could be the sixth chapter (#-1?) of the event... but for one reason or another, never got around to it. --
Spinning right out of Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #0, Ollie just shot Hal in the chest with an arrow... while Kyle had him in a full-nelson. Turns out this sent both of the green guys into the timestream... or "outside of time" long enough for the universe to be recreated. Either way, they wind up on Oa... and they start'a fightin'.
Hal pulls away, knowing that Oa might just be what the doctor ordered... he can "recharge" here, and go back to trying to make everything "right"... only problem is, it's not working!
Hal frantically pounds into the ground... realizing he cannot access the power since he has no battery nor ring. Kyle uses this distraction to sock'em in the mush with a construct... cyber-glove-thing. Hal is sent flying... and lands, as luck would have it... right next to Kilowog's charred remains.
Hal's guilt really starts to eat at him here... he wishes he'd have just one more chance to fix things. Kyle places his hand on Hal's shoulder and tells him that he's plum out of chances. Hal pleads... and recounts his recent failures... his inability to save Coast City. Since he failed his city... he feels as though he can no longer be one of the "good guys", and so... he'd have to become "a bad guy".
This is where Kyle starts to buy in. These two might have more in common than their taste in jewelry. Kyle tells Hal about what happened to his girlfriend Alex when he became Green Lantern... and fills him in on his quick and dirty origin. I guess that's kind of the point of these #0 issues.
Hal tells Kyle that being Green Lantern was what his life was all about... and then, in a really odd bit... that doesn't feel terribly organic, Kyle removes his ring... and hands it over to Hal. Really weird. Anyhoo, Hal proclaims himself as "Green Lantern again!" to which Kyle responds "--Probably bound to happen sooner or later anyway." If you only knew, pal!
And so, with his new-old ring, Hal continues rooting through Oa in search of the "power". It's at this point that Kyle realizes he juuuuuuust might have made a mistake. No duh. Hal's going on and on about restoring everything... having learned absolutely nothing from his Emerald Twilight... or Zero Hour missteps. Kyle calmly asks for his ring back... whiiiiich doesn't go over all that well.
Hal and (a depowered) Kyle fight their way into a Green Lantern crypt. Kyle is able to get the jump on Hal... toppling a glass coffin on top of him. This is also a bit weird. Hal is surprised because the ring should have protected him. Kyle informs him that the "rules changed"... I don't remember it ever becoming less powerful... maybe I missed something. Anyhoo, Kyle reclaims the ring... but it might already be too late!
Parallax rises... he's been recharged just enough to continue the fight! After a brief skirmish, he makes Kyle an offer. In his new "perfect" world, he can have his girlfriend Alex back. Ya see, this is why we don't try and get buddy-buddy with the bad guys, Kyle... they will use your secret shame against you!
Kyle, of course, turns down the offer... though it looks like it breaks his heart to do so. He's about done with this mess... and decides it's time to wrap this caper up. Seeing as though Hal thinks Oa holds all of his power (like a battery)... Kyle sets to overloading it.
And he does!
-- Not a bad little brawl! I'm kind of a sucker for Hal vs. Kyle drama anyway... but this was really well done. That's not to say it's perfect though... so let's get my minor quibbles out of the way to start. First... Kyle handing over the ring? That just seems... I dunno, stupid? I get that we're supposed to think of Kyle and inexperienced in his role and somewhat naive... but this act really misses that "off ramp" altogether! This is just pure stupidity. It's not like he didn't just see Hal almost restart the entire universe, right? There's also the bit about the rules of the ring having changed. That might just be me forgetting that part... I know some of the rules changed (the yellow impurity)... but didn't realize the ring-wearer was no longer protected. Can't hold that against the book... just something that doesn't make all that much sense to me. Finally... the ending. It just... ends. Kyle overloads and explodes Oa... then it's just on to the next thing? I feel like there should have been a bit more in the way of resolution here. Especially if we're treating this as a coda for Zero Hour. I dunno, maybe that's just me. For everything else... I enjoyed it! Kyle's inexperience is highlighted... and outside him handing over his ring, was handled quite well. He wants to believe the best in Hal... and truly seems touched when his predecessor starts "opening up" to him. Kyle and Hal's relationship was always kinda weird... but in a good way. We look at different "families" of characters... take the Flash, for instance. The Flash "family" is a pretty tightly-knit crew. Jay, Barry, Wally and the rest were portrayed as close, often guest-starring... or becoming supporting characters in the main title. Even the Superman and Batman "families"... they were tight. The Green Lantern "family" (remember, there's no Corps anymore) was never quite that way. Alan and Hal... besides sharing a name, didn't seem to have any real "bond", at least not to me. The same can be said for Hal and Kyle... they know each other, and might share a few awkward conversations... but they don't feel like "family"... and they don't need to! Of course, post Green Lantern: Rebirth so much of this is lost... but, whattayagonnado? Overall... I'd definitely recommend checking this one out... try giving it a look the next time you read through the Zero Hour event! This issue is available digitally. -- Letters Page (Featuring... a lot of freaked out Lantern fans!):
