Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
Okay, I'm really disliking this Tala chick that's been introduced as a villain. She's completely ruining the dynamic that existed in the first few issues of the series.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
So now I'm getting close to halfway through the PHANTOM STRANGER volume, and all I can say is that I have never read a series that I liked so much in the first few issues, only to beging disliking it more and more as it goes on!
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
Actually, now that I check... yeah. Robert Kanigher takes over the writing from Mike Friedrich with #4 of the actual series, and takes the series in a much different dirrection.
Friedrich's issues have very much a kind of "X-Files" vibe to them. Typically there will be something weird going on (a haunting or something), and then Doctor Thriteen and the Phantom Stranger will both show up to the scene. Then both work to expose whatever is going on as a hoax, and then Doctor Thirteen is satisfied, except that it always seems like the Phantom Stranger himself must've done something supernatural over the course of the adventure. And they typically end with Doctor Thirteen saying something to the effect that he will one day expose the Stranger for the fraud he is.
Starting with Kanigher's run, the stories take a more blatantly supernatural tone, with the Phantom Stranger engaged in great mystical battles against the forces of evil, usually spurred on by the annoying Tala. There's also this group of four young hipsters who always happen to show up everywhere there's something weird going on. And Doctor Thirteen ends up being almost absurdly comical in virtue of his skepticism in the face of the great mystical fights going on all around him. If it weren't for the inclusion of flashback stories about past ghosts he'd busted, he'd come off as a complete doofus.
The Kanigher issues aren't bad, but I just find epic battles between massively powered magic users to be kind of boring, and I was really excited by Friedrich's takes on the characters, so it was disappointing that it didn't continue.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
Interestingly, the book then starts getting better later on, as they basically split it up into one solo Phantom Stranger tale and one solo Doctor Thirteen tale per issue.
The Phantom Stranger starts encountering more diverse sorts of plots, from underground civilizations of evil children to robotic African gods, which is kind of groovy. And Doctor Thirteen battles evil hypnotic rock and roll bands and crazy scientists trying to create utopian societies in the swamp. These issues are generally pretty cool, though I still like the first few issues better.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
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FINAL VERDICT: Okay, so the Phantom Stranger volume actually ends up being pretty decent. I still like the first few issues the best, but the second half of it is actually pretty awesome as well.
And it's worth it because the last story has this guy who looks kind of like Dr. Mayavale working for the "Dark Circle", a crazy religious cult that uses supernatural assassins!
Next: To start reading BatB!
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
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Yikes! I haven't finished the BatB stories yet, and I just received three new Showcases in the mail!
Anyway, the BatB are pretty much a mixed bag. It's amazing how contrived some of the team-ups are. One of the grooviest is actually Batman versus Eclipso, also featuring the Queen Bee and that international organization of evil, Cyclops, which I know from Metamorpho is led by that villain of the DC Ages, the Stingaree! Anyway, considering the fact that I've generally had basically zero interest in the Eclipso character, this story kind of intrigued me.
There's also a decently groovy story in which the Flash helps Bats catch some thieves that have sneakers that give them super-speed. The real interest of the story is this subplot that Flash's powers are killing him whenever he uses him, and so there's a whole heroic sacrifice kind of thing going on.
Anyway, I just got through the first Batman/Green Arrow team-up, which I'd already read in the Green Arrow volume. Basically, there's this Indian who went to college instead of learning the "old ways" of the tribe, and now Bats and G.A. have to teach him how to be an Indian so he can compete in the competition to become chief of the tribe so the heap big bad Indian (who's also an evil businessman) doesn't take over. But the real villain is J. Jay Jaye, alias the Promoter, who forces the heap bad Indian guy to summon the Thunderbird with Indian magic. Yeah, it's as bad as it sounds.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
Don't you hate it when you concoct this brilliant scheme to lure a criminal into a trap by pretending you're distracted by the two beautiful super-heroines who pretend to fall in love with you, only to super-heroines fall in love with you for real and thus distract you for real? The difficult life of a bat-stud...
In other news... tons of appearances by Spiffany Jewelery in BatB!
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
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Batman and Sgt. Rock team-up = One of the coolest things I've ever read! And I was totally caught off guard by its coolness!
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
So I finished BatB. The last story is all about Batman macking on Diana Prince in her "de-powered" phase. Which is funny considering that last time they teamed up, she was all ga-ga over him, and he seemed completely uninterested!
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
An EDE SHOWCASE REVIEW QUICK QUIZ:
Suppose your wife suddenly gets extremely sick and dies. On her deathbed, she tells you that she's a lost princess of Atlantis and your son has inherited her ability to live in the ocean and communicate with fish.
Do you:
a) Dismiss your wife's dying statements on the assumption her mind must have gone as she died. b) Take your kid to a hospital to find out if there's anything weird about him. c) Toss your kid in a large aquarium with a bunch of angry swordfish and see what happens.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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