Podcast – The Classy Comics Podcast

Deathstroke kidnaps two speedsters so he can travel back in time to change the past, and in terms gets both the Titans and Teen Titans on his back in The Lazarus Contract.Affiliate link included in this post. Transcript follows: D.C. Comics’ greatest assassin heads to the Speed Force in a crossover called The Lazarus Contract. We’ll talk about it just ahead. Welcome to the Classic Comics Podcast where we search for the best comics in the universe. From Boise, Idaho here’s your host, Adam Graham. The original Teen Titans began in the 1960s during the Silver Age but really hit the peak of their popularity in the 1980s. It began as a team of sidekicks of Superheroes. The original three were Robin/Dick Grayson, Kid Flash/Wally West and Aqualad but it expanded to include other teen heroes as well. In later years, many of the friends who stood together as Teen Titans became The Titans, but then came the New Fifty-Two and the wiping away of the D.C. Universe, as well as the efforts to alter the timeline. As revealed in D.C. Rebirth Number One, Wally West – a key member of the Titans – was wiped from everyone’s memory but he returned and he got the Titans back together with the team now led by Nightwing and headquartered out of Manhattan. At the same time, current Robin, Damian Wayne, has founded his own Team Titans headquartered out of San Francisco, and this book brings both teams together with Death Stroke, a foe of the Titans from the pre-New Fifty-Two era and a sort of anti-hero. The trade paperback collects Titans Number Eleven, Teen Titans Number Eight, Deathstroke Nineteen and Twenty, and Teen Titans Annual Number One. The plot is that Deathstroke decides to travel back in time using the Speed Force to save his son. His problem is that he’s not a speedster so he tries to kidnap old Wally West, and I should make a distinction: there are actually two Wally West in the current D.C. Universe. Old Wally West was the main Flash of the D.C. Universe from the 1980s into the Twenty-First Century, and he’s the one who was apparently got wiped away by a nefarious forsooth being dealt with in other books. New Wally West is the son of Daniel West, the Reverse Flash and Iris West nephew. He’s biracial and was introduced in the new Fifty-Two Flash comics, and I think at the time they really wanted him to become the accepted version of Wally West, but fans were so attached to the old Wally West that they’ve kind of worked it so they have it both ways. They’re both members of the West family and Wally is a name that multiple people use. It’s a bit of a cop-out but it’s believable when you think about it. So, that cleared up, old Wally is kidnapped and doesn’t cooperate at all with Deathstroke. New Wally doesn’t fully cooperate when he is also kidnapped, but it’s enough for Death Stroke to steal some speed and be able to traverse the Speed Force while also bringing both the Titans – which old Wally’s a member – and the Teen Titans of which new Wally is a member down on him. And so the Titans and Teen Titans have to join together to stop him from his ultimate purpose which is to travel back in time and prevent the death of his son which could have major cosmic consequences. And it’s revealed in the course of this that Dick Grayson had actually made a deal with Death Stroke as Robin that was a Lazarus Contract which could be revived if either party violated it, and this leads to some distrust from all sides. Alright, so that’s the basic plot. What are the strengths of the story? Well, as I look at it – and this is something as I’ve looked at reviews few have talked about – it’s the character growth for young Wally West. I’m a regular reader of The Flash and in that comic young Wally West has a lot to be upset about.

The Twelfth Doctor mixes it up with a scandalous sword opera singer and then gives a couple comic book creators a talking to for their absurd Doctor Who ripoff in Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Sonic Boom. Affiliate link included in this post. Transcript below: The Twelfth Doctor teams up with a scandalous opera singer to save the world. Find out how it goes in today’s episode of the Classy Comics Podcast. Welcome to the Classy Comics Podcast. From Boise, Idaho this is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment, email it to me: classycomicsguy@gmail.com and check out our website: classycomicsguy.com. Doctor Who is one of the most enduring science fiction franchises of all time, and it has a rich history in comics. For the first three Doctors and most of the Fourth Doctor’s era, the Doctors comic adventures were in serialized comic strips in British magazines such as TV Action. However, with the founding of Doctor Who Magazine, strips begin to appear there. With the popularity of the revived series the Doctor got a comic book series apart from the Doctor Who Magazine with IDW. Then the rights were eventually acquired by Titan Comics who’s printed most of the Doctor Who material that was produced by IDW’S Archives while producing ongoing series for the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctor as well as many series featuring the Third, Fourth and Eight Doctors. Sonic Boom is the sixth volume of Twelfth Doctor Adventures. In the second volume set in between the time that Clara Oswald left the TARDIS and Bill became the Twelfth Doctor’s new companion. So, the Doctor is traveling alone in this comic. First up is ‘Terror in the Cabinet Noire’. This finds the Doctor traveling to 1695 France where something is horribly wrong. Now Richelieu continues to dominate the city; however, Cardinal Richelieu was supposed to have died in 1642. Richelieu has teamed up with The Darkness in order to prolong his life and power, and is really ready to plunge the world into darkness in order to satisfy his goals. The Doctor teams up with opera singer Julie d’Aubigny, better known as La Maupin – although as Julie for short just because I’m pretty sure I’m butchering the French last name. OK, so what did I like about this story? Well, the art is pretty. It’s clear that writer Robbie Morrison really wanted a sort of gothic feel for the tale, and the art really serves that pretty well. I also like that we got to see the Twelfth Doctor sword fighting, that’s so fun, particularly as he challenged Julie who was a noted swordswoman of the time. So what didn’t I like about this story? There are three big problems: first is that Julie is not really likeable. In one early scene she responds to someone criticizing her singing by kicking that particular gentleman in the groin. There are a few cases where that could be justifiable behavior – that is not one of them. And in terms of her overall behavior she is just written as a very self-centered, hedonistic and self-destructive person. Now, of course, you’re dealing with a real-life person so, as a comic book writer, you can’t really get rid of the rough edges, but the real problem that comes in here is that she is pretty much the main character of the story. She becomes almost a bit of a Mary Sue and really dominates the narrative; so you have a not very likeable character dominating the narrative. And that leads to the final problem is that this plot seems very familiar. In so many ways it seems recycled from other Doctor Who stories and comics and audio and television. The Darkness, oh, that’s an original name for the villain. And the visual representation they use with the sort of black-colored energy is very familiar. And even in terms of the plot element of the Doctor teaming up with a singer, they actually did this with a much more enjoyable singe...

Adam Graham concludes his look at Volume 1 of the Collection of Gambit’s Solo series in 1999. Affiliate link included in this post.  Transcript below: Welcome to the Classy Comics Podcast. From Boise, Idaho this is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment, email it to me classycomicsguy@gmail.com. In our last episode I began talking about X-Men and Gambit: The Complete Collection Volume One. I laid out general thoughts on X-Men and Gambit, and also what I thought were some major highlights that could be seen throughout the first seven issues. Blade the Vampire Slayer actually shows up as a guest star in this book and it works. It’s a surprising combination but Gambit and Blade just have a good enough rapport, but also contrast to make for an interesting book. I also note that the Blade Issue tried to be very tasteful and bloodless which I don’t think would have happened if that crossover happened today. Also in this book, The X-cutioner shows up. Yes, he spells it with an ‘X’, the cutesy spelling for crazed villain who want to put down mutants and in particular Remy LeBeau/Gambit, and as part of that he kidnaps Rogue. Somehow that seems like a kind of hard task but he manages it and I have mixed feelings about the issue because on one hand it does show Rogue and Gambit in action together and there is some development regarding the relationship, and I think that it’s always a fun part of this particular character but on the other hand the X-cutioner just goes on and on. You read through that Issue and the pictures are practically blacked over with all of the X-cutioner’s lengthy diatribes, and he’s one of those villains that thinks he’s profound but really isn’t. Now on to the final four Issues in the book. Issues Eight and Nine are part of “the Shattering” event in which Professor Xavier dissolves the X-Men and orders everyone to leave the mansion because he suspects there is a traitor amongst them, and a nefarious force at work. I’m not usually a fan of including crossover Issues in a trade, I’d rather the crossovers be in the trade for that because oftentimes when you’re reading those it feels like you’re reading Part Five or Part Seven of a story without a bunch of context. But I give credit to Marvel for two things: Number One, they provide introductory comments that make it clear what’s going on, and most importantly the issues here that tie into that event don’t feel like you’re reading a part of another book as Remy is searching for Mr. Sinister to obtain a device that he can use to sniff out the traitor. While the book in which he actually uses the device is the crossover, this feels very much like a self-contained story. As Gambit first sets out looking for Sabretooth, and then after making a shocking discovery about him, sets out for Mr. Sinister. If all crossover Issues read this well I would not have a problem with them being in the trades. Issue Ten finds Remy going to Germany in order to complete a mission that his stepdad didn’t in stealing a diamond that promises great power. This was both interesting and a little bit frustrating. It was cool because we got to see a flashback that included Nick Fury and the Howling Commandos, Gambit decked out to the nines in a tuxedo, and a real sense of mythology and awe about this diamond. However, with all that setup, there’s not much of a good conclusion, particularly for the present – although it promises that this will get resolved favorably sometime in the far future. Issue Eleven finds Gambit meeting Daredevil as they’re both dealing with a criminal with Gambit seeming to want to shield them while Daredevil needs to catch him because he’s stolen an organ from a man who desperately needs it. This one is a little bit of a mystery and a really well-plotted story.

Adam takes a look at ragin’ Cajun and begins his examination of the first collection of comics from Gambit’s Solo series in 1999. Affiliate linked included in this post. Transcript below: Welcome to the Classy Comics Podcast. From Boise, Idaho this is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment email it to me: classycomicsguy@gmail.com. For today’s program we’re going to be taking a look at X-Men Gambit: The Complete Collection. The first volume collecting Gambit’s 1999 comic series. I should note that it’s been nearly two years and a second volume hasn’t been issue so perhaps this should be ‘X-Men Gambit: The Incomplete Collection’. Be that as it may I’m going to go ahead and take a look at this collection and see if it lives up to my standard as a classy comic. I have to say I have never been into the X-Men very much. There are two big reasons for that: the modern world of X-Men comics is just way too complicated. There are too many characters with too much continuity between them. I decided a few years back to pick up the all-female X-Men book; I thought that with an Issue One this would be a great jumping on point. Instead I got lost in all the continuity of how all these characters got there, what their relationship to each other was, while they were also managing an ongoing plot beginning. And many of the X-Men were often off in other X-Men books. They had a total of four different books going at the same time. I think they’re down to two different books going right now. But it’s just too daunting to try and get this all figured out. The other thing is that in the Marvel Comics Universe the X-Men could often behave in ways that were unheroic. In ‘The Secret Wars of Ant’ they went off and rescued Magneto and separated from the good guys and started a separate mutant section to the battle world. In ‘X-Men-Fantastic Four’ against Reed Richards’ advice they turn to Doctor Doom for help. In ‘X-Men- Avengers’ they decided to help Magneto avoid being tried for crimes against him which led them into conflict with the X-Men. However, unlike many kids of my generation, I didn’t grow up watching the X-Men which may have led me to view them more fondly despite their issues in print. My wife, like every other child with geek cred in our generation, swears by the X-Men as a great series and I’ve actually been impressed as we’ve started re-watching it on Amazon – though in my case it’s for the first time. And I’ve found a favorite character: Gambit. I’ve never read Gambit in comics so I decided to request a Gambit collection from my library as an interlibrary loan. I got the wrong one – I wanted the Gambit Classic with shows us introductory issues, but this collection actually collects his ongoing series that began 1999. It begins after the trial of Gambit when it’s discovered that Gambit led the Marauders into the sewers where the Morlocks were. These were sewer-dwelling mutants who were slaughtered by the Marauders. The X-Men respond to this the only way they know how – abandoning Gambit to his fate in Antarctica. See what I meant about unheroic actions? Though I will say as the book goes on, it comes out there were some mitigating circumstances on both sides. Now unlike Silver Surfer where it kind of made sense for me to go through this on an Issue by Issue basis, at least for the first several Issues of this series it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to do that with Gambit as there were ongoing stories going on throughout – plus this is a really much longer book than the Silver Surfer. There were five key points that worked it way through the first few Issues of Gambit, the first seven and the annual that we’ll go ahead and talk about.

Get out your cosmic surfboard and a box of Kleenex! Our host Adam Graham takes a look at the end of the Silver Surfer and Dawn Greenwood’s travels together in Dan Slott and Mike and Laura Allred’s A Power Greater than Cosmic.     Partial Transcript:   Welcome to the first episode of the Classy Comics Podcast. From Boise, Idaho this is your host, Adam Graham. You can send your comments to classycomicsguy@gmail.com. Now here on the Classy Comics Podcast, I’m in search of comics that I enjoy, which oftentimes will be classic comics from the 1940s and ’60s, and even into the 1970s. Though I’m not one to say that all modern comics are horrible – indeed there are some really good ones, particularly after the recent relaunch with the DC Rebirth line. So this podcast will focus on my search for classy comics, and I’ll let you know whether I think it’s classy or not! And we’ll stick to one collection per episode. We generally do trades – that’s how I tend to read comics is in the trade editions which are more economical, plus there are a lot of comic book series now being written for the trades, with six-part story arcs or with a five-part story arc with a one-parter included. So, our first trade will be Silver Surfer: A Power Greater than Cosmic. It’s Volume 5 of the Silver Surfer series by Dan Slott with art by Mike and Laura Allred. A brief backstory on these Silver Surfer and on the series in general. The Silver Surfer was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the 1960s. He was the herald of Galactus who came to inform the Earth that Galactus was coming and they’d be ready to meet their doom before the Devourer of Worlds. The Surfer ceased being Galactus’ herald and sided with the humans, earning himself exile to Earth for many years. The character was given his first ongoing series in the 1960s. It was written by Stan Lee and the Surfer saved humanity from various problems, but always found himself pondering the problematic nature of human beings, their prejudice, etc. And the Surfer remained after that series was cancelled and earthbound character for decades. He was a very good supporting character for Marvel to have around. He was a guest star in many different series including Fantastic Four, and he was also a member of The Defenders for a time. He got his own ongoing series towards the end of the 1980s, logging more than 100 issues. These tended to be very much cosmic-based adventures as he interacted with beings such as Thanos. Since the end of that long series he’s had a lot of short series – not necessarily all mini-series but some that were labeled as Silver Surfer and canceled after a few ongoing issues. He’s also been a guest star in, again, a lot of Marvel comic books. During Mark Wade’s very good run on Daredevil, he just had an issue with the Silver Surfer: just randomly showed up to guest star, wasn’t part of any plot arc or anything, it’s just the Silver Surfer in a way he’s often used in Marvel comics. Which brings us to the latest two Silver Surfer series. Dan Slott’s take on the Silver Surfer begins with Dawn Greenwood being kidnapped from her family’s inn in Maine, and taken into deep space by some aliens who believed that she was the most important person to the Silver Surfer, and the Silver Surfer’s reaction was essentially, “Who’s this?” Subsequent to that though, Dawn decided to go traveling the universe with the Silver Surfer, and the series has a very, I would say, old-school Doctor Who feel to it.