Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
Next three issues feature an apparent alien invasion engineered by Hawkman foe Dr. Hastor.
This arc has a really cool setup with Earth threatened by a common enemy and the possibility of having to obtain a temporary truce with the Axis powers in order to fight this common foe. The actual story is a bit of a letdown after that setup, though isn't bad in and of itself.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
So, next up we have the "day in the life" issue #13, which is pretty groovy, though the main story of Firebrand being cured of her racism when she finds out her brother was saved by a Japanese-American comes off a bit forced.
And then we have the two issues from the JLA/JSA/A-SS crossover, which is a little weird to include them without the rest of the story, but they do hold up surprisingly well on their own. I have absolutely no ability to be objective about these issues, however, because my childhood fondness for them automatically ranks them among the greatest things in the history of stuff. Seriously, in play here there's at least four time periods, and four alternate earths, and at least two alternate timelines on those alternate earths... and my seven year old self had no problem keeping all of this straight. And this, folks, is why I love comics.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
A-SS Annual #1 was pretty much first-rate stuff, with the Atom, Wildcat, and the Guardian discovering that they'd all been trained by the same guy, who'd now been turned evil by some weird alien energy. The ending epilogue explaining the origin of the energy seemed a bit goofy, but the issue otherwise held up really well.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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Joe Morgan! Great character.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
So, then the collection is rounded out with three really solid single-issue stories. First up, Roy works a bit of continuity magic as he reveals the first appearance of incredibly obscure Wonder Woman villain Nuclear (who, oddly enough, has magnetic powers). Then we see the "Trial of Robotman" to determine whether he is human or merely a machine, and therefore the property of Bob Crane's heirs. And lastly, there is the return of Sandman foe "The Villain of Valhalla", which is really an excuse to introduce Tarantula to the series and spell out his origin.
All three of these stories are pretty much prime stuff, with Thomas really hitting his stride. And all three of them serve the purpose of filling in continuity gaps, but somehow it doesn't get distracting in the way so many modern stories that are "about continuity" seem to be. Anyway, definitely fantastic reading, and I'll certainly snatch up another volume of this if it is released! I remember the next story featuring Brain Wave subjecting the JSAers to nightmarish visions of war being kind of disturbing when I was a kid, so I look forward to seeing how it holds up.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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As I recall, the next year or so worth of issues was, in my opinion, the high point of the entire run. The aformentioned Brain Wave story, the introduction of Infinity Inc, the Freedom Fighters epic...great stuff.
Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
^^Those are the ones I remember reading as a kid. I'm pretty sure I first discovered the title through the JLA/JSA crossover, and bought it pretty consistently through Crisis, as well as picking up some of the earlier issues.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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