Nov. '86 - Teen Titans Spotlight # 4

Writer: Marv Wolfman
Artists: Ross Andru & Larry Mahlstedt

I always thought the Teen Titans comic had lost a lot of its excitement around this time so I was surprised when this comic started. The Titans must have still been a big seller since they were awarded this spinoff title and made the first appearance in Action Comics when it would soon become Superman's team-up title under John Byrne.

This series started off with a Starfire two-parter that dealt with apartheid in South Africa. This Spotlight on Jericho was much more the traditional super-hero story. It gave us more background on Jericho, revealing a past girlfriend believed dead. I enjoyed the character of Jericho though a mute character in a comic is tough. They never showed his thoughts and he never spoke so Wolfman always did a lot of narration in the comic to tell us what Jericho was thinking rather than the reader 'hearing' it from him directly.

In this Spotlight, Jericho's old girlfriend's father was a bad guy who faked his death and his daughter's death because they were wanted by the Hive. The fake deaths were planned by Jericho's mother who never told her son that his girlfriend was really alive. The girlfriend comes back for help when the Hive finds her.

Nov. 86 - Swamp Thing # 54

Writer: Alan Moore
Artists: Rick Veitch & Alfredo Alcala

There isn't much that can be said about Swamp Thing that hasn't been said before. Alan Moore's work on this title was incredible. I started buying this series when I was 15 right off the convenience store spinner rack. When you're used to super-heroes, this title was quite the change for a 15 year old. It certainly dealt with more mature themes then I was used to in my comics.

This particular issue was another good one. This one was interesting for the fact that Swamp Thing never appears in it. He was presumed destroyed in the previous issue. Abby was coming to terms with his death and there was no indication that he was still alive. With comics you never presume death, especially for the title character, but what Alan Moore would do next with the character was unexpected and fascinating.

Nov. '86 - Son of Ambush Bug # 5

Ambush Bug was a character that was started by Keith Giffen in the Superman titles. He was funny in those. There is an issue of DC Comics Presents with Superman, Ambush Bug and the Legion of Substitute of Heroes that is just hilarious. And his first mini-series was really good. With this second mini-series I was disappointed. The first series had some semblance of a plot which held it together. This one just seemed to be jokes thrown in - some funny, some not - with no cohesion.

I re-read them now with no real joy or interest. I know when I re-read the first mini-series I spend a little more time really looking at each page to try and catch all the little jokes put in the panels. Not so with this series.

Nov. '86 - Secret Origins # 8

Writers: Paul Levitz, Roy Thomas
Artists: Tom Mandrake, Murphy Anderson

This comic started off alternating issues between golden-age origins and modern origins. Around issue 6 it became double-sized and combined the two into each issue. Roy Thomas was retelling golden age origins in chrnological order. Being a fan of his work on All-Star Squadron is what made me pick up this title. He had a way of making the story feel like an older story while at the same time adding in things to make it fit in better with current times. I've said it before but it is a shame DC couldn't let All-Star Squadron continue in its own universe away from the results of Crisis. DC brought the JSA back shortly after making them go away and with Infinite Crisis recognizes that multiple earths once existed so maybe someday I'll get my wish.

The second story was an origin of a Legionnaire. The art was good, done by Tom Mandrake, fresh off Batman. I think prior to this we only knew the basics of Shadow Lass's origin so this fleshed it out a bit.

Nov. '86 - Roots of the Swamp Thing # 5

Writer: Len Wein
Artist: Berni Wrightson

This was a series that reprinted the early issues of the original Swamp Thing series. Excellent comics, each issue reprinted two of the old series. They are true horror comics with Swamp Thing sometimes a bystander to what's going on. They are similar to the work Alan Moore would later do in Swamp Thing. In a lot of his issues, Swamp Thing wasn't the protagonist of the comic but may have just happened upon the horrific situation.

This was a very affordable way to read some great comics. This issue also includes the first appearance of the Swamp Thing from House of Secrets #92. The origin and look of Swamp Thing would change a bit but the premise remained intact.

Nov. '86 - Outsiders # 13

Writer: Mike W. Barr
Artists: Jim Aparo, Joe Staton, Jerry Bingham, Steve Ditko & Jerry Ordway

This was a comic I started buying originally because it starred Batman. When it became The Outsiders without Batman I kept buying it because Barr had created great characters with individual voices. As wacky as some of his stories got, the characters were always consistent. The art was great too, done by Jim Aparo. Unfortunately, he couldn't do a whole issue himself (these deluxe format titles were 28 pages of story). This resulted in a lot of backup stories that didn't add a lot.

I notice I don't seem to have the next issue after this one so for some reason I stopped buying it but I can't remember why. I am definitely adding it to my list to watch for in the back issue bins at the next comic show I attend.

This issue had the Outsiders trapped on an island after defeating a bad guy in Africa. There was a lot of good character interaction and it was interesting to see them use their powers to escape the island.

The backups consisted of a pinup of Halo by Joe Staton, an explanation of Geo-Force's powers, and a short story featuring Black Lightning.

Nov. '86 - Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe # 12

I was shocked to find out that Marvel is reprinting this series in their Essential format. The information is 20 years old now and its not really entertaining reading. When it came out I bought it because it was a great way to get up-to-date on everything that was going on. Buying it now would only get you within 20 years of being current. I wonder how much has actually changed in the 20 years between then and now.

There was quite a difference between DC's handbook, Who's Who, and Marvel's version. DC was very light on information. They would tell you what powers a hero had. Marvel was very heavy on information. They would tell you what powers a hero had and how those powers worked. It some spots it got very technical. How do you explain Dr. Strange's abilities? Marvel's also had more of a consistent look since Joe Rubinstein inked every figure. DC had a much more varied style in Who's Who. If you needed information on a character, Marvel's Handbook would certainly have it. It made a great reference book. For a comic to sit down and read, Marvel's was not easy. Not a comic you could do in one sitting. But that wasn't the purpose of it.