Counting Comics - 18

This week I started my count with the totals at

DC = 5129

Marvel = 62

Others = 59



JLA 80-Page Giant #1

There are 7 short tales here featuring a ton of JLA heroes from past and present.

JLA: Secret Files and Origins

#1 (1997)

#2 (1998)

More cool short stories in these books, I do like these giant books with lots of cool short stories in them, they make for cool reading.

JLA: Primeval (1999)

The World's Greatest Heroes must save humanity from de-evolution but first face it themselves in this Prestige one-shot! When eons of evolution are erased in a heartbeat in Dallas, the JLA finds that the source is a grotesque, thoroughly mad disciple of long-vanished gods who plans to turn back the clock on the entire world! Striving to hold things together, the Leaguers slowly come to the realization that their powers are slipping away or going out of control -- with every second, as they themselves return to their ancestral roots.
Source.

JLA: Superpower (1999)

This book centred around a new hero Antaeus joining the Justice League. He was given powers via experiments by his genetic engineer father with further enhancements provided by S.T.A.R. Labs. He was plagued by his inability to save 4 people from a fire in his home town a long time ago and becomes further frustrated by a dictator subjugating and mistreating his countrymen. Believing he is doing right kills the tyrant which causes a power vacuum that leads to massive loss of life. Antaeus ends up killing himself by tearing at and damaging his enhancements which explode.

League of Justice (1996)

1 - 2

This is a 2 part Elseworlds set in a sword & sorcery/fantasy setting with characters such as Atomus the Palmer, Bat-Mancer, Green Knight/Sir John Stewart, Longbow Greenarrow, The Martian and Phaeton!

JLA: Scary Monsters (2003)

1 - 6

The JLA square off against the ancient spirits haunting a resort community constructed on an Indian burial ground! Can the JLA avoid being transformed into monsters themselves?

Source.

JLA/WildC.A.T.S (1997)

Whilst battling Epoch, the Lord of Time the JLA get transported to the Wildstorm Universe where they meet up with the WildC.A.T.s. They go through the usual routine of fighting each other before teaming up to take on the real menace.

JLA: Welcome to the Working Week (2003)

How does the JLA act behind closed doors? You're about to find out! When Marlus Randone stows away on the JLA Watchtower, he relies on his notebook and disposable camera to document the petty squabbles and inside decisions made by the members of the JLA.

Source.

DC Comics Presents

Justice League of America

A Julie Schwartz Tribute

(2004)

Another tribute issue in memory of Julius Schwartz the long-time editor for DC Comics. As I mentioned last blog he was integral in bringing about the Silver Age at DC. The 2 stories here are in that quirky Silver Age style and feature the editor himself meeting up with the characters he created.

Justice League: Another Nail

1 - 3

After the original story The Nail, the JLA comes to terms with its newest recruit--Superman--and faces a sprawling adventure that catapults them to other worlds, other dimensions, other eras, and even the mystical realms that lead to Hell itself!

Source.

The Kingdom

1 - 2

Kid Flash

Nightstar

Offspring

Planet Krypton

Son of the Bat

The Kingdom is a partial sequel to Kingdom Come, where heroes from that story cross over into the canonical New Earth universe to help stop a threat from destroying all reality. It served as an introduction to the concept of Hypertime.

Detective Comics

598, 599, 600

I'm not sure why this 3-parter is in this box rather that with some other Detective books elsewhere! Blind Justice is a Batman storyline written by Sam Hamm and illustrated by Denys Cowan. It's a three-part arc but the issues are oversized as a special event to celebrate the 600th issue of Detective Comics, published in 1989. The story involves Bruce Wayne being accused of treason and looks into the men who trained him to be Batman, as he hunts down a mind-hopping villain named Bonecrusher.

Man-Bat (2006)

1 - 5

Kirk Langstrom has long had control of his Man-Bat alter ego, able to keep the beast and himself out of trouble. But now his control is slipping, with horrifying consequences for the people around him. And two more of Batman's biggest foes have plans to turn Man-Bat's predicament to their advantage! Don't miss this stunning new vision of a classic character, one that returns him to his original, terrifying roots!

Source.

Justice League International/America (1987 - 96)

0 - 113

An annoying title to work out this one, it started as Justice League, added International to the name from #7 then switched to Justice League America from #26. I have used the cover of #7 the 1st with 'International' in the name as it features the death of Gray Man, the chap I kind of partially named my YouTube channel for. The Gray Man was a sorceror who gained the attention of the Lords of Order they approached the sorcerer and granted him the ability to tap into and collect the ambient dream energy from other human beings who were on the verge of death. However despite it being meant as a reward The Grey Man thought this duty was a punishment. He began collecting dream stuff from healthy living humans, thus earning him the attention of Earth's mystic champion Doctor Fate, as well as that of Fate's colleagues, the Justice League. After defeating him, Doctor Fate took the Gray Man to the home dimension of the Lords of Order. The Lords told him that assuming the role of the Gray Man was intended as a high honor, not the punishment that the Gray Man believed it to be. The Gray Man begged them to take away this "honor", and they acquiesced, stripping him of his immortality and removing him from existence. Created by J.M. DeMatteis, Keith Giffen & Kevin Maguire he first appeared in Justice League #2 (June, 1987) and seemingly died in Justice League International #7 (November, 1987) Although he did turn up another time after this as mentioned in an older blog that I can't be bothered to find the link for! (It was to do with a rebirth of Dr Fate though, and Wesley Dodds the Golden Age Sandman's death.)

JLA Incarnations (2001 - 02)

1 - 7

This is a story going over the different iterations of the Justice League over the years. Starting out in the shadow of the JSA and the various line-ups they've had and locations they've had their bases in, like the satellite, Happy Harbor and Detroit.

Justice League of America (2006)

JSA Classified

Cold Steel

Book 1 & 2

Even looking up synopsis of this comic didn't enlighten me much, but I kind of figured aliens and giant robot suits, for fans of Japanese giant robot manga and Pacific Rim buffs I'd imagine!

DC1ST (2002)

Superman/Lobo

Superman/The Flash

Green Lantern

Batgirl/The Joker

This is a bunch of retellings or reimagings of classic first meetings between. The 1st race between the golden and silver Flashs, the 1st Lobo/Superman tear up, the 1st Batgirl meeting with Joker etc. A pretty cool comic concept.

Justice League of America  Vol 1

176, 183, 198, 205, 206, 212, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 222, 223, 227, 241, 243, 249

What can you say about these, other than I wish I had collected more of them as a kid!! Why did I not get my DC/Marvel comics every week instead of the UK humour/adventure comics?? I would have an even more bitching collection than I already do have if only I'd collected regularly 10 years earlier in my life!! Oh for a time machine and a visit to little 9 year old me with a list of wise investments!!

Justice League International Special #1 (1990)

Justice League International Annual 

#3 (1989)

# 5 (1994)

Justice League (of) America Annual

#1 (1983)

#3 (1985)

#4 (1990)

#8 (1994)

Nothing to say about these except who doesn't love an annual or a ginat special chock full of great self-contained stories? Look at that sweet cover with is it Doctor Destiny there, the skull faced plunderer of dreams!! The team battle for their lives against nightmare creations as the skull-faced spectre looks on in maniacal glee!

JLA - Z (2003 - 04)

1 - 3

It's a Who's who of the JLA!! Did I need this book? I dunno, I have it though and why not, I'd probably Google it first but if the net is down I can go through all my boxes till I find this and hey presto, job's a good 'un!

JLA: Gods and Monsters (2001)

The World's Greatest Heroes race to stop aerial attacks by what can only be called "War Wheels", destructive flying disks deployed by a cult that worships the JLA as gods. The Wheels are a wake-up call to the world, and if the world doesn't construct temples of worship for the JLA, the destruction will continue...unless, of course, the JLA has anything to say about it!

Source.

JLA/Titans (1998 - 99)

1 - 3

Silver cylinders from space come to Earth and start 'collecting' superheroes! It turns out to be the work of Vic Stone Cyborg who somehw has lost his humanity and has become a fully robotic soul. He is collecting his old team mates to bring his family together, along the way of solving this catastophe the JLA and Titans clash but ultimately work together to help bring back Vic's human side.

JLA: Paradise Lost (1998)

1 - 3

With angels and demons conspiring against 'The Presence' Zauriel, the JLA's very own real life Angel has a mammoth task on his hands stopping a celestial/holy war.

JLA/Spectre: Soul War (2003)

The Spectre and the JLA form an uneasy alliance when the minds of psychics across the country are hijacked by an entity called the Trans - a devastating alien menace that threatens the fabric of reality itself! Our heroes discover that the only way to defeat such an overwhelmingly powerful opponent is...to become one! Can even the JLA be trusted with the awesome power of the Spectre?

Source.

JLA (1997 - 06)

1 - 28, 30, 33, 36, 38, 47, 48, 55 - 58, 73, 75, 77, 78, 81 - 125, 1 Million

Annual #1. #2

This is the highly regarded Morrison run on the World's Greatest team, yadda yadda yadda, great book, many plaudits etc what I want to know though is why the heck I have so many books missing from this run?? Did I quit for a while and then go back to collecting again? I swear I don't recall doing that at all but maybe I did!! That might account for the break between #58 and #73 and perhaps the odd missing ones here and there are my LCS being pants!! I noticed a bit gap at the end of my Teen Titans run a few blogs ago and checked to see if that gap corresponded with the biggest gap here and it doesn't, so.... it's a blooming mystery!!

Wonder Woman #212

JLA/Avengers 

Avengers/JLA

1 - 4

The World's greatest team of superheores and them fellas from that other company team up and do lots of good things together, they probably engage in a bit of fisticuffs too due to some misunderstanding or other. haha I am jesting of course, The Avengers are mighty too and I do love them but I am just more DC is all. I have a nice run of Avengers somewhere in my collection which I'll get to eventually.

Martian Manhunter (1988)

1 - 4

J'onn J'onzz the Manhunter from Mars!! Written by J.M. DeMatteis with illustrations by Mark Badger, the series re-evaluated the origin of the Martian Manhunter and introduced the character of H'ronmeer, the Martian death god. The series also featured guest appearances by members of Justice League International.

Martian Manhunter Special (1996)

Martian Manhunter (1998 - 2001)

0 - 36, 1 Million

Annual (1998)

Martian Manhunter (Volume 2) was the first and (to date) only ongoing comic book series to feature the Martian Manhunter. It was published from October of 1998 until November of 2001, spanning a total of thirty-six issues, a special 0 issue, a 1 Million issue, and two Annuals. The series was written by John Ostrander with artistic contributions from Tom Mandrake and Doug Mahnke. I totally stole that synopsis from the DC wiki, shhh don't tell them!! A really cool issue is the daft but funny Blue & Gold pairing hiding J'onn's Oreo cookies! The poor fella's a cookie junkie!!

Extreme Justice (1995 - 96)

0 - 18

Dissatisfied with their treatment after the Judgment Day incident and conflicting opinions with its leader Wonder Woman, Captain Atom formed his own Justice League team with a group of heroes that wanted to be more proactive than their sister teams.

Choosing not to be sanctioned by the United Nations, Captain Atom's team dealt primarily with threats to the United States. They originally occupied the "abandoned" Mount Thunder but this was actually a secret staging area for a military coup. Atom's Justice League managed to thwart the general behind the coup and stop a nuclear Armageddon. Later they invade Bialya to stop Queen Beatriz from recreating the Extremists villain team. This particular incident was the last straw and all versions of the Justice League were disbanded.

Identity Crisis (2004 - 05)

1 - 7

With murdered wives, murderous ex-wives, rape and mind tampering going down this tale is fun for all the family!! No, not really, it's just a sad story, Ralph 'Elongated Man' Dibney's wife Sue is killed and the heroes try and hunt down the perpetrator with suspicions falling on Dr Light. Secrets from the past are dragged up which create friction inside the team. The real killer is revealed as Atom's (Ray Palmer) ex-wife Jean!! Boo! Boo I say! She later becomes Eclipsed by Eclipso and becomes a major villain for Day of Vengeance or something like that, so many crossover, major events and so few braincells to remember them with!

Black Canary (1991 - 92)

1 - 4

After an argument with Oliver (Green Arrow) Queen over his over-spending of their joint finances Black Canary aka Dinah Laurel Lance takes a sabbatical out in the moutains. She meets up with an anti-drug campaigner and radio host Gan Nguyen and has to aid him when hitmen are sent to murder him to prevent his interventions.

Black Canary (1993)

1 - 12

Seattle is coming apart, and only one hero can hold it together. Fresh from her recent miniseries, Black Canary returns in an ongoing title chronicling the exploits of a streetwise, tough-as-nails hero. Black Canary begins her monthly adventures with the 3-part story arc "Hero Worship," as Dinah Lance is forced to relive her own origin while investigating a rash of homicides. This leads her into a confrontation with an underworld mastermind whose latest scheme has gone out of control. It becomes a race against time that Black Canary must win before more people die.

Source.

Legends (1986 - 87)

1 - 6

So this does have keys in it apparently. #1 shows Amanda "The Wall" Waller and Brimstone for the 1st time, with the new Suicide Squad showing up in #3 I believe. The original Suicide Squad appeared in Brave and the Bold #25 September 1959!

In a Darkseid plot Glorious Godfrey posing as G. Gordon Godfrey is sewing discord against superheroes on Earth. He has charismatic powers of persuasion that set non-powered humans against their super-powered saviours.

Legends was the first major crossover event to follow in the wake of the reality-altering Crisis on Infinite Earths. It exists as a landmark mini-series due to its status as a jumping-on point for several spin-off titles including a revamped Justice League, a new Wonder Woman title and a re-imagined Suicide Squad.

The Weird (1988)

1 - 4

The Weird is an alien hero composed entirely of pure energy. He belongs to a race known as the Zarolatts who were oppressed for a very long time by the Macrolatts. Unlike the rest of his docile race he decided to fight back by conacting superheroes on Earth. His physical form was created by possessing the corpse of a man named Walter Langley, giving him both Langley's appearance and memories. The Weird was created by Jim Starlin and Bernie Wrightson, first appearing in The Weird #1. (1988) So this book then, he shows up in a few other short runs that I have shown in earlier blogs, Mystery in Space and the Rann-Thanagar Holy War. Both these titles also feature Captain Comet. At the end of this miniseries The Weird dies but later his disembodied spirit meets the spirit of Captain Comet who had been killed by Lady Styxx, somehow his 'weird' powers was able to reanimate them both in new bodies! I think this guy is pretty weird but I do like his strange look. The cover above doesn't show him how he normally is and  couldn't find a crisp image of him but here he is.

Elongated Man (1992)

1 - 4

Created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, Ralph Dibney is the Elongated Man, he 1st debuted in the Flash #112 (1960) with his wife Sue being a regular feature of most of his stories from her debut in Flash #119 (1961). They were a fun pair I have an omnibus of their quirky early adventures, they teased each other a bit but they were a loving, fun comics couple. Ralphn got his powers after his fascination with Indian Rubber men led him to discover that they all drink Gingold, a soft drink made from Gingold a rare fruit from the Yucatan. He distilled it raw essence and it gave him stretch powers when he drank it!! Apparently Elongated Man was only created as editor Julius Schwartz did not realise that DC had the rights to Plastic Man!

Anyway, Ralph was a member of various Justice Leagues and this was a fun little 4-parter of Sue and his time in Europe.

The fun all ended with Identity Crisis as mentioned before when DC decided to kill off Sue, then reveal a hidden history that included her being raped and the perpetrator being mindwashed by Zatanna's Magic. If they felt like breaking the law and all morals like that why didn't they just chop his nuts off at the same time I ask you!? I can still see Ralph's crying creased face, his misery overriding his control of his power so his features are literally reduced to a melting mush of tears and snot. Comics ain't for kids anymore or for sentimental twerps like me it seems.

Today's total is
DC = 391

Making the new total so far

DC = 5520

Marvel = 62

Others = 59

   

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