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Scott Cresswell

POST 102 --- THE QUESTION: FABLES

Why the Question and Green Arrow? During the late 1980s and early 1990s, DC loved to pair these two up together and it was very common that you’d see the two of them working together in a story or even possibly a whole six-issue miniseries. Perhaps The Question (vol 1) 18 was a financial success because after that, the two seemed to team-up almost yearly, with O’Neil writing most of those stories. The only one he didn’t pen was The Brave and the Bold (vol 2) miniseries from 1991 to 1992, featuring the Question, Green Arrow and a rather forgettable character known as the Butcher. It’s by Mike Baron, a decent writer, but I’ll only review it if I’m depressed enough to actually read it again. Possibly in the future. Anyway, the first two annuals from both Green Arrow (vol 2) (usually by Mike Grell) and The Question featured the two teaming up, with Batman himself even involved. The annuals aren’t exactly relevant to the main plot points in either of the titles, conveying that annuals themselves weren’t exactly important, at least until every annual released in a year was connected to one-long story. But I’m digressing. As I said, these stories don’t really fit into the continuity of the Question, but they are by O’Neil, so I guess they are worth reviewing. Better late than never I suppose.


In this final review covering Dennis O’Neil’s run on the Question, I’ll be reviewing Fables, a story published in Detective Comics Annual 1, Green Arrow (vol 2) Annual 1 and The Question (vol 1) Annual 1. All of these Annuals were released in 1988 and I have read them in their original annuals. Additionally, this will be a first for the blog as I’ll also be covering the Losing Face/Saving Face story from The Question (vol 1) Annual 2 and Green Arrow (vol 2) Annual 2 (both 1989), along with A Walk in The Wind, published in Green Arrow (vol 2) Annual 3 (1990). However, these will be in a condensed format, mainly because the blog would be far too long if I gave them the

Detective Comics Annual 1, featuring an incredibly plain and ugly cover by Klaus Janson.

full treatment. Also, they don’t really deserve it as I can probably get more enthusiastic about Rugby Union than those latter annuals.


Fables --- Written by Dennis O’Neil with art by Klaus Janson, Tony DeZuniga, Tom Artis, Tim Dzon, Denys Cowan and Rick Magyar


THE STORY

In Manchuria, 1895, a Chinese warrior stares at a Japanese warrior prior to battle, before the Chinese man is beheaded by another Japanese soldier. The surviving warrior screams that he promised the Chinese warrior a fair fight and due to his actions, the Japanese soldier has disgraced the army and the code of Bushido. After killing his own soldier, the Japanese warrior tells himself that he must reclaim his honour. As the Japanese warrior proceeds to kill himself, he is stopped when the dying Chinese warrior speaks and says his last words. With his death, the Japanese warrior will take his place to restore his honour. In the present, O'Sensei, the same man from before, travels to America with Lady Shiva to complete his promise made nearly one-hundred years ago. In North Africa, Ra’s Al Ghul orders his daughter, Talia, to meet with the Penguin to discuss a conspiracy. Three days ago, in Gotham, the Penguin waits for a chemist named Ibn, who offers him a drug that kills women and children. Three nights ago, in Hub City, the Question takes out some criminals who stole money from the orphanage. Afterwards, he is met by Lady Shiva, who wants to know the whereabouts of Batman. Although he doesn’t know where or who Batman really is, the Question has a theory of how to get hold of him. Back at his home, Vic uses a computer to hack into the nationwide networks, a place where hackers exchange messages. Vic leaves a message for Batman. Two days ago, in Gotham, Alfred tells Batman about the message from Hub City. Batman realises that it was from the Question, who he met years ago and knows that he is Vic Sage. The message tells Batman to meet him at the pier. Later that night, Batman arrives at the pier, met by Lady Shiva and O'Sensei, who wishes to teach Batman a lesson. O'Sensei tells Batman that in Asia, monkeys are caught and fed bananas in a hollowed-out gourd. When the monkey tries to grab the banana, it is stuck because it and the monkey’s hand cannot fit through the hole and as the monkey refuses to let go of the banana, it will be forever stuck. Listening to this, Batman deems to it be a waste of time and leaves, with Shiva telling him that he must decide whether O'Sensei’s words are of value or not. Meanwhile, the Penguin is given the drug by Ibn, who reveals that his boss, Ra’s Al Ghul, demands more than a million for it. However, the Penguin kills Ibn with one of his pet birds. Later in the morgue, Batman is shown Ibn’s body, noticing the claw marks on it. Talia then arrives, telling Batman that Ibn stole the drug from her father and that it is a danger to the world. Batman then works out that the Penguin was behind the killing of Ibn due to his plane ticket that was bought for him. Due to Ibn’s clean shoes and his muddy trousers, Batman and Talia visit a shoe-shining shop, where they discover the Penguin (and his hideout), who plans to threaten the city with the drug for money and the death of Batman. Although Batman manages to take out the Penguin and his men, Talia is injected with the drug and she faints. Afterwards, Batman takes Talia to hospital where she recovers and tells him that she wants to be with him. However, Batman tells her that she can’t because she reminds him of Ra’s Al Ghul and the villains, he has to protect Gotham from. Back in the Batcave, Batman writes a message to O'Sensei, telling him that he owes him a debt for the meaning of his message…


In Seattle, Green Arrow takes out a group of thugs stealing from a shop. Meanwhile in England, Lord Kalesque, an archer, practises his shooting, believing that he is the best archer in the world, apart from Green Arrow. He has studied Green Arrow and his moves, and he wonders if he could best him. Sometime later in Seattle, Dinah Lance notices an advert in a newspaper directed to Green Arrow, telling him that he will pay him a million dollars if he bests him in an archery competition. Despite the money, Green Arrow ignores it. Two months and forty adverts later, Kalesque is angered that Green Arrow hasn’t responded to him. He decides to go to Seattle himself, where his father tells him that he isn’t good at anything else apart from shooting arrows. At the same time, Shiva and O’Sensei order a group of slave-owners to burn their boat as a punishment for attacking them. Once they do so, Shiva fights back against the slave-owners, taking them out but refusing to kill them. Later that night, a police officer is murdered by Kalesque, who finds joy in killing. Investigating the case, Green Arrow (continued)

Kalesque after murdering a police officer. Pretty ugly and unattractive art by Tom Artis and Tom Dzon from Green Arrow (vol 2) Annual 1.

recognises the arrow to be custom-made. He also realises that the killing of the officer could be linked to his response to Kalesque’s advert in the newspaper. Later, Oliver sleeps and has a nightmare, one where he is the killer of the police officer. He suddenly wakes up and tells Dinah about his dream, but she tells him that it isn’t her fault. Nearby, Kalesque kills a couple. The next morning, Oliver hears the news and finds an advert in the newspaper, saying “I told you so”. With three dead, Oliver decides to train, before becoming angry upon realising that the bow has become a part of him. Meanwhile in the Batcave, Batman thinks about Shiva and O’Sensei, remembering his promise to them and how they want to contact Green Arrow. Batman tells Green Arrow that they are on their way. Afterwards, Green Arrow tells Dinah that Kalesque wants to fight him in the mountains in two days. Although Dinah begs Green Arrow to just send in the cops, he refuses, telling her that he must go to the mountains and face his fate. At the same time, Kalesque’s butler rebels against him for his actions, telling him that things have gotten out of hand. As his butler tries to escape, Kalesque murders him with his bow. Sometime later, while training Oliver is met by O’Sensei and Shiva, who want to give him a gift. O'Sensei tells Green Arrow that the hermit crab remains in his shell, in fear of being eaten by a racoon. If the crab doesn’t discard his hell, it will suffocate, leaving the racoon to eat its corpse. If the crab discards his shell, it can fight against the racoon. With Green Arrow confused, Dinah appears and fights Shiva for training, not realising how powerful she is. Green Arrow then decides to go for a walk before giving in to Kalesque. Two days later in the mountains, Green Arrow (without his bow) meets Kalesque, telling him that he has discarded his shell. As Kalesque draws his bow, Green Arrow slowly walks up to him, waiting for him to shoot, but he doesn’t. Green Arrow punches him in the face. Shiva congratulates Green Arrow for his choice, before asking him if he is an archer or not. As Shiva points to a pinecone, Green Arrow is given a bow and he shoots it. Later at home, Oliver thinks about how he owes Kalesque as well as O’Sensei and Shiva, remembering that every breath he took had meaning…


In Manchuria, 1900, O’Sensei tells his wife that he must remain in China as he made a promise to the dead Chinese soldier in 1895. O’Sensei is then confronted by a group of Japanese agents, who tell him that they will bring him back to Japan, alive or dead. O’Sensei fights the agents, taking them all out but one, sending that one to see that his wife gets home safely. Back in the present in Gotham City, Shiva tells Batman that he owes O’Sensei and that he must meet with the others, those being the Question and Green Arrow. Meanwhile in Hub City, Jake, who worked for Jeremiah Hatch (The Question (vol 1) 1-4) remembers that he got money from a deal before Hatch’s manor was burnt down. Due to this, he believes that the Question stole it, and he decides to go after him. At the same time, Vic talks to Tot about a hospital that burnt down years ago where he was born. Due to that, there is no way he could know who his mother really was. Then, as Vic becomes the Question, Jake and his gang arrive, confronting him for what happened to Hatch. However, the Question attempts to fight back, but he is beaten. Taking him to Hatch’s burnt mansion, the Question tells Jake and his men that he might know where the money is. After stumbling across Hatch’s corpse, the Question finds a safe with the money inside. However, to ensure that he gets it all, Jake takes Tot hostage. Suddenly, Shiva appears, taking out Jake and his men. Later at home, Shiva tends to Tot’s head injury, with the Question wondering how she can be so warm yet so cold at the same time. Shiva then takes the Question to O'Sensei, meeting Batman as well as Green Arrow again. Shiva tells the heroes about O'Sensei’s promise to his wife that once he died, he would be buried with her. However, the wife’s family feel betrayed by O’Sensei for leaving her and the great-grandson of O’Sensei’s wife’s father forbids the fulfilment of the promise. Although Shiva doesn’t know where the family are now, Batman admits that he has been investigating them and he knows that they bought an island off the coast of Malaya. After Batman tells everyone that a jet will be waiting for them the next day, the Question admits to him that he is feeling useless as he hasn’t helped anyone in his life, just watched others do it. With the Question believing that he has something to prove, Batman tells him to prove it. The next day on the jet, Shiva tells the Question that O’Sensei chooses not to give him a parable in the same way that he gave one to Batman and Green Arrow. Arriving in Malaya, the heroes prepare to board a speedboat before O’Sensei senses an attack. However, Green Arrow, the Question and Shiva deal with the attackers, before continuing their journey. Yet, as the waves grow harsher, the boat’s engine fails, and the ship turns over. Although everyone finds safety on land, O’Sensei does not and he seemingly fails, making the Question believe that he has failed. When they arrive at O’Sensei’s wife’s family home, they find her body and grave missing. When Vic arrives home, he and Tot find a letter stating that O’Sensei’s wife was transported by boat, but it unfortunately sunk to the bottom of the sea. The Question smiles, realising that the promise has been fulfilled.


MY THOUGHTS

If it wasn’t obvious enough, O’Neil often links his run on The Question with the title Richard Dragon Kung Fu Fighter, which O’Neil wrote in the 1970s. This is clearly one of his favourites as many of the characters are reintroduced in his Question run. The most obvious is Richard Dragon himself at both the start and conclusion of the run. Lady Shiva is also a prime example. But it doesn’t stop there. As I’ve never read the title or any issue of it for that matter, I’m not really aware of who O’Sensei actually is, but O’Neil does a good job in introducing us to his character in a great flashback scene (continued)

The Question realising that O'Sensei has died. A dramatic scene from The Question (vol 1) Annual 1, with decent art by Cowan and Magyar. Due to the latter's efforts, the art is actually presentable here.

at the start of Detective Comics Annual 1. Also, on a tangent here, but why is Detective Comics Annual 1 stated to be “Suggested for Mature Readers”. I understand that both The Question and Green Arrow titles were originally released in the late 1980s with “mature readers” as their audience. Detective Comics is the title that spawned Batman, a character that kids absolutely love and DC really couldn’t afford to alienate such a significant portion of the readership. I guess it’s because it is linked to those “mature” titles, but it has always been something which I’ve noticed. Also, unlike the other two parts, the Detective Comics Annual is printed on regular paper and the colouring is much cheaper. That could just be because it is a major title, but the inconsistency bothers me. Anyway, that’s enough with the digressions. When I first discovered this story and actually the others that followed it, I was horrified. How had I, a reader of Mike Grell’s Green Arrow run, and Dennis O’Neil’s Question runs, missed these out? Well, I don’t know the answer, but I have to come out now and say that you aren’t really missing much. I suppose for Richard Dragon readers this story does provide some closure, particularly for O’Sensei’s part of the story, but the rest of the story just feels so disconnected and random in the grand scheme of things. Upon discovering this story, I was initially looking forward to it. Think about it. Three Annuals featuring three of the best DC heroes. What could go wrong? Well, I often struggle to see Fables as one story, because at times, it’s not. Yes, O’Sensei does appear in all three Annuals and there is an overarching plot, but the story for the vast majority of the Annuals has nothing to do with him. The Detective Comics Annual’s plot feels very much like a traditional Batman story from the mid-1970s. The Penguin may be a threat due to the drug he received from Ra’s Al Ghul, but he is still something of a joke villain. The drama between Batman and Talia is a good addition, especially since this was published less than a year after Batman: Son of the Demon (the story where Damian Wayne is conceived). However, the Ra’s Al Ghul aspect of the story just feels clumsy. He doesn’t appear in the story because he is ill and there is a strange revelation when Ibn is proven to have betrayed him, but its never made clear why. When it comes to O’Sensei and Shiva’s appearance in the story, I don’t understand the parable they give to Batman and the story never builds on it. In the Green Arrow Annual, the parable that Oliver is given is at first confusing, but he eventually works it out and his success at the end is due to that parable. There is nothing of the sort here, leaving us mildly confused and not particularly satisfied with what we have just read. As I said, the flashbacks to 1895 with O’Sensei are done well, giving us some insight to why his character is important to the story, which is very helpful if you haven’t read Richard Dragon. However, the rest of the Detective Comics Annual is just another plain Batman story, which is rather silly and by regular standards, isn’t a great Batman by any stretch of the imagination. Unfortunately, things can only get worse. When you look at the late 1980s and early 1990s Green Arrow Annuals, they are all incredibly mixed. Some of them are utterly terrible and some are just average, but easily forgettable. This is an example of DC just not giving a crap about the Annuals. I understand that the main titles were their main focus point along with the titles that were to become part of the Vertigo line, but they really could have put more enthusiasm into the Annuals. I mean, even when they decided to link every single Annual of a year together to create an ongoing story, it felt disjointed due to the large number of writers and artists working on it as a whole. In the case of these Annuals, the lack of enthusiasm can be seen in both the stories and the art. But, before we get into the very questionable in this story, the plot devised for the Green Arrow Annual is one of the worst I’ve seen in a while. If you thought that O’Sensei and Shiva didn’t appear much in the Detective Comics Annual, then you might not be surprised by the Green Arrow Annual. I can think of only just one or two scenes where they appear and in the grand scheme of things, the scenes aren’t relevant. As before, the Green Arrow Annual has a completely different plot to the overarching one, this time featuring… another story set in England. Sigh. I don’t know what Americans thought England was like in the 1980s, but I’ll tell you one thing: it isn’t a huge forest where everyone has overweight butlers. Mike Grell’s Green Arrow run has a classic issue where he goes to England and it is just laughable. The main villain of the Green Arrow Annual is very English, almost in a very 18th Century stereotypical way. He is a Lord with a posh name and a butler who holds his arrows for him. The main problem with him is that the reasoning for wanting Green Arrow dead is incredibly bland and one-dimensional. From the start of the Annual to the end, we are meant to believe that Kalesque goes through a transition, transforming from an egotistical posh archer to a darker egotistical posh archer. His character is very underdeveloped, and he could have been written in a much more sincere and interesting way. There is clearly some tension between him and his father, an aspect which is only mentioned in one scene before being thrown under the rug. Plus, there isn’t much explanation for why he decides to start killing everyone, including those who are his friends. I guess one good aspect of this story is that the parable was shown to make sense. As opposed to Batman’s parable (which was very unclear in its real meaning), Green Arrow’s actually concludes the story nicely. The ending is somewhat conclusive, and it manages to end on a high note, a complete miracle after the crap in the previous forty pages. However, it has the same problem as the Detective Comics Annual, but to the nth degree. There, it established O’Sensei’s story and naturally, for the second part, you’d hope to see it develop. Nope. The overarching plot is nowhere to be seen here, making this whole issue, entirely pointless. Thank you, DC. Last, but certainly not least is probably my favourite part of the three-parter, which is The Question Annual. Yep. This is what I really came for, since I’m obviously reviewing these as part of the Question run by O’Neil. Overall, the third and final part of the story isn’t bad at all actually. It does end the story nicely strangely, but it does make you realise that the Detective Comics Annual and the Green Arrow Annual were incredibly pointless and didn’t need to be a part of this story whatsoever. This could have simply been a Question story. Batman (who magically vanishes midway through the third part) and Green Arrow didn’t really have to even be in it. Due to Shiva’s presence, the Question could have worked well on his own in this story. If O’Neil incorporated all the elements of O’Sensei’s past in this part, then it would prove just how pointless the two previous parts where. That being said still, the first half of The Question Annual doesn’t add much of anything to the overarching story, but it does add to the ongoing story in O’Neil’s run (something which the other two titles didn’t do). We see the return of Hatch (sort of) and his gang, tying up some more loose ends left over from The Question (vol 1) 1-4. This really could have been incorporated in the core run and I think it should of. The whole three-parter should have been in one annual and the full forty pages should have been spent focusing on O’Sensei’s story. That would have been much better, but that isn’t what we got. Finally, the last twenty pages of the story focus on O’Sensei, which in theory would be great as it finally concludes the story in a good way. However, it just doesn’t. The second half is full of scenes where the Question reflects on how much of a failure he is, which are interesting moments for his character, but it doesn’t do much for the overall story (until the very end). Then, we get to the real kick in the balls. The death of O’Sensei was a moment that actually annoyed me. Yeah, I really like the revelation at the end and how it is revealed that O’Sensei will lay to rest with his wife as they both fell in the ocean, but it is such a disappointing note to end the story on. It makes you angry that you have gotten this far, only to be let down at the end. Also, the revelation that both O’Sensei and his wife fell into the same area of the sea is just far too much of a co-incidence. Yeah, it ties up his story in some form and it is nice, but it could have been handled in a much better way. Overall, though, Fables isn’t really a coherent story. When we learn about O’Sensei and his story, O’Neil throws us on a journey of simply reading rather standard stories where the main three heroes take out a villain or two, before finally taking us back to the main action for the ending, which is unfortunately disappointing. In fact, that is the perfect way to sum it. Fables just doesn’t cut the mustard.


If you want to see ugly art in comic books, you’ve come to the right place. Who thought that teaming Klaus Janson up with Tony DeZuniga was a good idea? It simply creates a scratchy mess and makes the story look pretty dull in all honesty. The same goes for the Green Arrow Annual, but the art by Artis and Dzon is far uglier. Seriousness, everyone looks like their skin is incredibly loose and people look like cartoony characters. Undoubtedly, the best of the art here is by Cowan and Magyar, but that wasn’t much of a surprise. Cowan on his own or with many other inkers looks terrible, but Magyar once again proves that even the worst art can be saved. He actually makes the story look presentable. But overall, the art is far from anything great.


Story: 4/10

Art: 3/10


As I said earlier, below are my rather condensed reviews of the Green Arrow/Question stories after Fables. This could be the format which the blog will take from now on, but definitely much longer as these below are only a few annuals. I hope I made these awful stories tolerable.


Losing Face/Saving Face --- Written by Dennis O’Neil with art by Bill Wray, Ed Hannigan, Dick Giordano and Frank McLaughlin


From the start, you’d get the impression that this story is going to be a very powerful

The Question (vol 1) Annual 2, with a cover by Ed Hannigan and Malcolm Jones III,

one. During the Question Annual, there are some great flashback moments to Vic’s early days as a reporter and how much of an arrogant idiot he was. These scenes work very well, which is strange because flashbacks usually are done in very clumsy ways. But here, O’Neil does well in replicating the original Question by Ditko and how obnoxious he could be. For the first half of that first annual, it does appear at first that this story would just be one big flashback. However, when the flashbacks end, we come back to reality and discover that this is one of the most boring and irritating stories ever. Essentially, Green Arrow needs the Question’s help in stopping a group of criminals that have made a gas that eliminates awareness in human beings. Its an average idea for a story, but the problem is that everything feels so convoluted and overly wordy. In the first part, some random guys dressed as the Question turn up and Vic’s love interest from the flashback reappears, now as a streetwalker. Her relevance here is minimal as she doesn’t have much of an impact on the plot whatsoever. At the end of the first part, the main villain, Adolph Clevenger, is confronted by the Question on Santa Prisca, but he takes in some of his own gas, which is really where the story should end. However, it doesn’t. We have another forty pages to go. And, unlike the first part, the second part is incredibly one-sided. Obviously, the star of the annual should be the title character. In the first part, the Question features most heavily, but Green Arrow does feature a considerable amount. In the Green Arrow Annual, or the second part, the Question turns up in just one or two scenes. The rest of the story is Green Arrow chasing people dressed as the Question around Seattle and Hub City, which makes for incredibly dull reading. The Question’s portion of the story also feels incredibly rushed and incomplete. He encounters a criminal he met before on the island (The Question (vol 1) 9-11), but no one of note and there isn’t any action to compliment the scene. He just sleeps in his house for most of the story. The story idea had some potential, but it felt incredibly cluttered and littered with far too much information which ended being irrelevant. From the standpoint of the Question, it feels incredibly empty. I do like Green Arrow just as much as the Question, but I felt that he needed to be in it far more than he was. Overall, its one of the dullest comics I have read from the late 1980s and unless I was being paid, I will never read it again. Not surprisingly, the art is mixed. For the Question Annual, the art set in the present is by Bill Wray, which is more than passable, and it has its moments. The flashbacks, however, are just plain awful. There are by Shea Anton Pensa. Need I say more? Fortunately, the art team on the Green Arrow Annual is the same as it was on the monthly title, with Hannigan doing some great layouts. However, the inks are just about average as although Dick Giordano is a superb inker, Frank McLaughlin just isn’t.


Story: 2/10

Art: 6/10


A Walk in The Wind --- Written by Dennis O’Neil with art by Tom Artis and Bill Wray

From a Question standpoint, this story is borderline pointless. True, it is a Green Arrow Annual, but if the Question has to be in it then at least make his appearance

Green Arrow (vol 2) Annual 3, featuring a decent cover by Dan Jurgens and Dick Giordano.

purposeful. This story is literally important to the Question’s story for one reason: it explains how he got from The Question (vol 1) 36 to The Question Quarterly 1. Don’t get me wrong, it is a part of the story that needed to be told, but at least make the Question’s appearance here have meaning. He spends most of the story looking after Jackie or getting kidnapped and not acting like the character he should be. O’Neil is a master when it comes to writing both Vic Sage and the Question. Yet here, you wouldn’t have thought so. His character feels so much weaker and less like a hardened vigilante and more like a worried citizen. It just doesn’t add up. Anyway, the main plot is Green Arrow and Black Canary have to go on a quest to find a certain near-extinct flower for a dying old woman. Yep, that sounds pretty ridiculous. However, it isn’t the worst read in the world, nor is it anything great or even good. We can be very thankful that the story only takes up one annual as if it were any longer I may of have to shoot myself. In all seriousness though, the story does have some good action in it, and it is interesting at the very least, but my main problem is that the plot feels far too thin to go on for as long as it does. There are certainly some interesting characters, particularly the dying old woman and her son. However, something feels missing. There just needs to be more plot. If you are a reader of O’Neil’s Question run and you want to maximise your reading of it, I would reluctantly ignore this one. I say reluctantly because the story does have its moments and it’s not totally unreadable, but the Question isn’t in it much at all, rather ruining the story. The art here is very cartoony, not much of a surprise when Bill Wray is the inker. He does manage to clean up Tom Artis and the overall style somewhat matches the strange tone of the story. It may not be anything great, but it could have been a lot worse.


Story: 5.5/10

Art: 7.5/10


VERDICT

Overall, the Fables three-parter is incredibly disappointing. The main story is too often drowned by other random tales of either Batman, Green Arrow, or The Question fighting some bad guys. And, by the time O’Neil does take us back to the main plot in the final part, it may tie the story up well to some degree, but it is poorly executed and leaves me rather confused. But I could say the same for all the other annuals. There is nothing great here in terms of both the stories and the art. If you ever decide to read O’Neil’s run on The Question, I would avoid these stories. They really aren’t important in the grand scheme of things.


Well, here we are. This the end of the second year of the blog. We are 102 posts in and there is still so much more to get through. This year has been tough for obvious reasons, but there have been some highlights. This year on the blog I reviewed some of the stories and runs I wanted to the most, those being Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol and Frank Miller’s Batman stories. Both of these turned out well I think, even thought I hated most of the stories in the latter of those two. O’Neil’s Question was also one which I had wanted to review for quite some time and now that we are at the end of it, I have to say that overall, it is a classic run that I highly recommend. It does have its ups and downs, but to me it is an example of how good comics of the late 1980s and early 1990s can be. But even the stories I really didn’t like from the blog this year, like Animal Man by Tom Veitch and much of Neal Adams’s Deadman stories, I had a blast reviewing them and hopefully, that will continue into the new year. Let’s hope that 2021 is a much better year for all of us.


Next Week: The Sandman By Jack Kirby (The Sandman (vol 1) 1-6, Best of DC 22). Written by Joe Simon and Michael Fleshier with art by Jack Kirby, Mike Royer, Ernie Chan and Wally Wood. Expected by 03/01/2021.

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