The Eternals #1 (October 1985)

It's that time again! Every year, I like to dedicate one month to looking at a 12-issue maxiseries. We've looked at epic stories like Secret Wars, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Squadron Supreme, and last year, we looked at the maxi-series Justice. This year, I thought it would be fun to look at a maxiseries focused on the Eternals. Yes, the Eternals got a maxiseries in the 1980s.

So, how did this miniseries come to be? Well, mainly because of writers Peter B. Gillis and Mark Gruenwald. Gillis was a big fan of Jack Kirby's short-lived Eternals title. Even though the series was originally set off in its own little world. Marvel desired to bring the Eternals into the Marvel Universe, but incorporating that mythos into it would not be an easy task. However, Gillis and Gruenwald were up for it. When Gruenwald was the editor of the What If title, he wrote backup stories for the book that allowed him to start work folding the Eternals into the Marvel Universe, also tying in the cosmic stuff Jim Starlin was doing at the time. 

Gillis would continue on the work when writing Iron Man Annual #6 (1983), setting up the Eternals to face a cosmic threat appropriate to their god-like power levels. Roger Stern helped out by having most of the Eternals leave Earth during his time on The Avengers.

When Gillis got the go-ahead to write the 1985 Eternals maxi-series, it got him thinking about the Deviants. He started wondering what Deviant culture would be like? What would be like if children never resembled their parents? And worse, what if you knew a bunch of alien space gods were the reason your species was like this? 

Another thing Gillis wanted to do is give the Eternals a major defining villain. After all, many of Jack Kirby's other major creations and co-creations had a defining villain. The Inhumans had Maximus. The New Gods had Darkseid. The Fantastic Four had Doctor Doom, and the X-Men had Magneto. But the Eternals did not seem to have a major one of their own. Gillis wanted this villain to embody the fury of the Deviants. Several artists suggested designs, but it would be John Byrne who would win out. 

And with all of that out of the way, let's look at The Eternals #1! 

The cover is a Walt Simonson piece. It's pretty cool. It depicts our man Ikaris flying into action front and center. Which makes sense, as you will see. We also see a bit of Sersi and her human friend Sam Holden, a Celestial, and some Deviants charging on the bottom. All of this gets touched on in the actual story, with Ikaris being portrayed as a main event. My favorite thing about this cover is the masthead logo. I love the Greek pottery styling of it. It helps give the vibe that the Eternals are ancient beings that made a mark on history.

"A Mirror for Mortality"
Writer: Peter B. Gillis
Penciler: Sal Buscema
Inker: Al Gordon
Colorist: George Roussos
Letterer: Al Rosen 
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with a lecture.

Oh, it's not so bad! The lecturer is an anthropologist named Samuel Holden. His lecture is about the origins of mankind as we know it today. It's way of recapping the origin of the Eternals. Basically, millions of years ago, ancient alien beings called Celestials came to our world and experimented on our early primate ancestors. These experiments led to not only modern man (and also offshoots like mutants and Inhumans), but also the creations of the Eternals and the Deviants. 

Sadly, when his lecture ends, people immediately forget what he's talking about. But they always end up finding his lecture quite fun to listen to. How does that work? 

Despite this, he does get some reassurance from another source.

Sersi decides to take him out for a night on the town! Go have some fun! But beforehand, she tries to give him a little perspective on his situation. The Eternal points out that humans have reacted...badly to the existence of mutants and Inhumans, so they may not be able to handle the existence of the Eternals and the Deviants. Not to mention that Deviants have oppressed humans in the past. Holden remembers that there's going to be a ceremony for Thena's coronation after the death of her father Zuras in Iron Man Annual #6. Sersi would rather go to Paris, as it's more fun!

We next head out to Olympia, the home of the Eternals. Thena is sitting on now-her throne. We also see that despite Sersi finding the idea of attending the ceremony boring, she still attends it.

The coronation ceremony involves her being given the great cosmic power that was once wielded by Zuras into her. Well, that was quick. 

As the new ruler of the Eternals, Thena points out that most of the Eternals have left Earth in Avengers #248 (October 1984). She wants the ones that remain to help continue protecting Earth from the Deviants. Ikaris then up and vanishes. Is this the sign of a crisis? No, it turns out that it was just a hologram. Ikaris himself was elsewhere. 

Makkari groans and looks into it. They make a bit of a discovery. The city's central computer's processor overloaded. Whoops.

Makkari is able to fix it, but the charade is exposed. It turns out that except for the speedster (and Karkas, a Deviant ally of the Eternals), Thena was actually all alone. The other Eternals were basically attending this ceremony via their version of Zoom. Thena is infuriated by this.

She falls into tears, saying that she is all alone. Makkari tries to comfort her, saying they came up with the idea of the other Eternals attending as holograms as a form of compromise. None of them wanted to come originally. Thena points out that Olympia has essentially become a city of ghosts...

In New York City, Ikaris is with his main squeeze, Margo Damian. He changes his Eternal garb into some wrestling gear. He's going to rassle tonight as "Iceberg" Ike Harris, going up against the New Jersey's masked mangler: Enigmo!

Both Ikaris and Enigmo head to the ring.

Hey, wait a minute! Enigmo was described as masked! He's wearing no mask! Bit of a goof there, likely miscommunication between artist and writer. A plexiglass container is put over the ring for the protection of the audience. The ref flees, and the two wrestlers fight.

Ikaris then reveals that his opponent is not human.

Yup, Enigmo is really Cataphrax the Mighty, a Deviant. He punches a hole in the ground. The plexiglass is there for a reason. It somehow makes people see the two as ordinary human wrestlers. I don't know.

Cataphrax manages to grab Ikaris and bring him into the hole. Margo realizes that there's something wrong here. The amtch was not supposed to be booked this way, so she heads to the building's basement. Cataphrax drags Ikaris to a Deviant base underground. Cataphrax rants about how it's unfair the Eternals get to be beautiful and immortal while the Deviants are stuck as monsters. Ikaris gives Cataphrax some eyebeams, but Cataphrax has buddies, and they ambush Ikaris! For Gawd's sake, somebody stop the match!

The Deviants say Ikaris has a hidden secret, and they are going to tear it from him. And they will do it with this machine.

They put the machine on his chest, and it glows. They take it and run, even though it seems to have done nothing to Ikaris. He goes after the Deviants, but a speedy railcar and a collapsing ceiling slow him down. The Deviants' rail car takes them to Lemuria, the Deviants' homeland. When they arrive, they meet up with a warrior monk-like figure. Cataphrax eagerly reports their mission was a success. Cataphrax sees himself as Lemuria's new champion. But despite that, he has been judged genetically unclean, and thus, he is to be purged.

Yeah, that's gratitude for ya. Ikaris and Margo return to Madison Square Garden. Ikaris fears that he may have started the final war between the Eternals and the Deviants. Back in Olympia, Thena expresses regrets over her actions in the throne room. She picks up a crystal that contains a recording of her father Zuras. She laments that he is gone, as Eternals are supposed to be, well...eternal. She throws the crystal aside, but as she leaves, the crystal plays a recording warning her of dire peril coming...

I liked this issue. The main thing is I liked that it recapped and gave us all we needed to know about the Eternals and the Deviants, as well as any other story stuff so that it felt more self-contained. I like the nice little touches of character in the book, like Sersi's party animal nature, Ikaris' playing hero, Thena's struggles with being the new leader of the few remaining Eternals, that kind of thing. 

The issue is mainly just set up, but that's a necessary evil. And there are a couple of headscratcher moments. But it didn't ruin it for me. It was cool seeing Ikaris trying to play pro wrestler. I really like how Sal Buscema draws the Deviants. He really makes them look monstrous, and there are moments that I swear they look almost Kirbyesque. 

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2020 trade paperback The Eternals: The Dreaming Celestial Saga. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

Front Mission 1st Remake Trailer, My Thoughts

Back in 1995, Square (now one-half of Square-Enix) published the G-Craft-developed game called Front Mission for the Super Famicom, the Japanese counterpart to the Super Nintendo. The game was a tactical RPG set in the year 2090. In the game, you play as Royd Clive, a mech pilot fighting in a war over a fictional island called Huffman Island.

The game would be a big hit in its native Japan, selling over half a million copies. It was also a critical success. The game would be ported to the WonderSwan Color and the PlayStation as Front Mission 1st. The PlayStation port would next be ported to the Nintendo DS, which was the first time the game came to North America. Officially, of course. This port would be remade for the Switch. Let's look at the trailer! 

Ooh, mech fighting. I like mech fighting. 

I also like base building. I play those games all the time on my tablet.

Karen: Okay, I'm here. *looks around* Why couldn't they have let me paint my mech to blend in?! I stick out like a sore thumb out here!

I get the feeling Royd Clive was supposed to be Lloyd Clive, but game translation being what it was in the 1990s, it ended up being Royd, and it stuck.

Huh. Don't get me wrong, I do think the option of playing the original version the way it was back in 1995 is a neat option. But why not have the aesthetics of the original version with the improvements of the remake? I mean, the Classic mode looks really neat.

"So, I blew up a helicopter today. How are you doing?" 

Ooh, sound test. Yay for sound tests!

I admit, tactical RPGs are...not traditionally my cup of tea, but this has mechs, so I'm willing to give this game a try. Hopefully, Square-Enix will give the rest of the series the same treatment. 

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Trailer, My Thoughts

Back in October 2022, I looked at the teaser for the upcoming film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. I was excited for this film, but then again, I am a pretty big MCU fan. Recently, a new trailer has come out for it. Let's take a look!

"And it's a beautiful morning in San Francisco!" 

Kang: "I mean, you're a thief who managed to become one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. It's quite a story."

Scott likes to go all-out when taking Hope out on dates.

Like father, like daughter.

I think this is the crux of Scott's emotional journey in this film. His emotional struggle over his not being able to be with his daughter over the five-year gap between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

Yeah, Kang is totally manipulating Scott here. 

You know, it's a real shame that Marvel legally can't use the Micronauts, because this film would have been a perfect opportunity to introduce them. 

Goddang, Chronopolis still looks so cool!

From Avengers Annual #21 (1992). Text: Mark Gruenwald. Art by Herb Trimpe (pencils), Charles Barnett (Inks), and Gina Going (Colors).

She ain't wrong, Scott. 

Yeah, Doctor Strange ain't the only one who can bring the trippiness!

The beginning of a new Dynasty. Heh.

MODOK! 

You know, it kind of makes sense that Darren Cross ended up MODOK here, considering what happened to him in the first Ant-Man movie...

Yeah, Scotty's getting wrecked.

As I said in my last blog entry talking about this movie, I am looking forward to it. I think Jonathan Majors will steal the show as Kang the Conqueror. And also as I said before, I think it's great that Ant-Man for the final film in his trilogy is getting to have a big-time adventure, heh heh. I am curious as to how this will play into the larger Multiverse Saga of the MCU, though.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

The Punisher War Journal #1 (November 1988)

When it comes to a certain man who made his name ending the lives of criminals by liberally spraying them with bullets, one would not expect him to have any sort of sentimentality. However, Frank Castle is still human. He may be a skilled soldier and hunter of criminals, but he's still a human man. And even he is not immune to feelings of nostalgia and sentiment. The comic we are looking at this week shows an example of that. Let's look at Punisher War Journal #1!

The cover is a Carl Potts and Scott Williams piece. It's a pretty good and basic cover, showing our man Frank leaping down and filling some criminal punks with hot lead. It's a good cover for a first issue, giving a basic idea of who Frank is, and what he's about.

"An Eye for an Eye, Chapter One: A Sunday in the Park"
Writer: Carl Potts
Penciler: Carl Potts
Inker: Jim Lee
Colorist: John Wellington
Letterer: Jim Novak
Editor: Don Daley
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins with Frank Castle taking an Uzi blast to the chest.

"Hi, I'm Frank Castle and welcome to JackAAAAAAAAGH!"

Well, this comic ended quickly. Nah, not really. Frank is testing how his Kevlar armor hold up against a new 9MM gun. Microchip points out that they could have tested it without Frank wearing it. After all, we wouldn't want Frank to accidentally get any holes in him. Frank points out that he needs to see how the impacts incapacitate him. It could mean the difference between life and death for him.

With that test done, Frank has some business to take care of today. He sees a Daily Bugle headline reporting on some mysterious deaths. He asks Microchip to investigate this, as it may be something that he may need to step in and take care of. Frank has until noon to be where he needs to be at. Unfortunately, the traffic and the heat are not helping things.

Frank's like "Nuts to this, I'm in a rush". He pulls his Battle Van out into an exit, and then employs an alternate mode of transportation.

Frankie couldn't wait to try out this sweet new toy...

The motorcycle allows Frank to beat the traffic no problem. On the way, Frank's narration notes that the business contained in the building that his West Side safe house is at has been vandalized. He stops at said business, a deli to pick up some supplies. The time is 11:20. Only forty minutes left. After he leaves, the people operate the deli note that he's not seen much around. The cashier, a young woman, thinks he's spooky.

It's revealed that the vandals were sent by the building's landlord to try and drive them out so they can "gentrify" the place. The old man cleaning the place tells the cashier they can't do anything, lest it reveal their true nature. They have to depend on the legal system. In fact, the old man has an appointment with a Mr. Murdock to discuss it. 

Frank comes to Central Park, where he sees what looks like a family (a man, a woman, and a baby) being herded into a car. It's 11:35. The car's brake lights are flashing. It seems like a nervous driver...but the lights are flashing Morse Code. In particular, an SOS. 

Frank considers calling the cops, but they won't arrive in time. Frank is easily able to handle the gunmen, then drives the car into an alley. He wants an explanation. 

The woman (I'm naming her Joanie, as she seems like a Joanie, and the comic doesn't name her) explains that she married a man named Mark Scotti. After she got pregnant, she learned the man was a mobster. Joanie was horrified, as she didn't want her son to have a mobster for a father. On top of that, it's implied that Mark abused the woman. 

Joanie needed to flee. She called upon a man named Steven, who was an old rival of Mark's for Joanie's affection. Mark wants his son and "heir" back, and he'll kill Joanie if he has to. So, Joanie hatched a plan. 

Her idea involved her sister's baby Alex. Alex isn't much older than her own little tyke. The thing is, Alex is mentally disabled. I'm not sure how they'd know that. The baby in Joanie's arms in the comic seems really young. Wouldn't that be something that would show later in life? Anyway, she kidnapped Alex and gave him to Mark in exchange for some money. Mark somehow noticed the switch and is now after her. Yeah, more on this when I give my thoughts at the end. And now we're here.

The time is now 11:55. Frank considers letting them drive out of town, but then reconsiders. Sometimes, he loses sight of why he does what he does...and maybe this is a bit of a reminder. He takes the three to his safehouse. We then go back one week to Riker's Island. We look in on a prisoner named Montoya. 

He just sent a letter out to his family. Another con plans to beat him up, out of revenge for a beating Montoya gave him. Also, Montoya's due to be released for good behavior. The prisoner and his compatriot try to hassle Montoya, but the man doesn't take the bait. A guard breaks it up.

Back to New York! Microchip confirms Joanie's story. With that, the Punisher has a new mission.

"New mission: Kill Mansion. I hate mansions!"

The time is now 12:40. Whatever Frank had planned today, he's now late. Yeah, Mark Scotti is dead just for that. Frank tries to sneak his way in but is forced to make a bit of noise.

One of Scotti's men helpfully tells the Punisher where Scotti and the kid is. Frank finds his target in the bathtub, enjoying a nice relaxing soak. 

"Why do I always get bothered while I'm in the bath?"

Frank holds him at gunpoint, telling him to promise to fully support Joanie and their baby. Also, to leave them alone. To make sure that he's telling the truth, Frank is also packing a lie detection device. He also demands Mark go straight. But the device says he's lying.

Frank gets ambushed by Scotti's bodyguards. While our man is giving them bullets, Scotti goes for his own gun. Frankie's not too happy with that, so to express his displeasure with that, the Punisher kicks a radio into the bathtub.

Mark Scotti's rise through the criminal underworld came to a shocking end.

With Scotti good and fried, the Punisher makes off with Alex and a case full of money.

The money is for them and for Alex's care. Joanie asks how they can thank him. He tells them to forget about him...and be good parents. Now that that is out of the way, Frank can attend to his original objective. He goes back to the deli and stocks up again. So, what was this important thing that Frank had to do today? 

"🎵 Let's go fly a kite...🎵"

Today was the day that Frank Castle's family was killed, turning him from family man into the Punisher. He just spends a day in the park, flying a kite. 

I thought this was a pretty decent one-shot story. There were a couple parts of the story that did bother me a bit. One was a part of the plan Joanie had to escape Mark Scotti. I get what they were trying to do with the bait and switch thing, but I felt her kidnapping her sister's mentally disabled child to fool Mark kind of helped undermine her as a sympathetic character a little bit. Also, I felt it was a bit of an unnecessary complication of the escape plan. Just grab your kid and run! No need to endanger another child in the process! 

Also, as a fair warning, the characters do use the word "retarded" in the story. It's not used as an insult, it's used to describe the baby that the Punisher rescues in this story, basically as a term for mentally handicapped. I just thought I'd warn you all about that before you decide to read this issue for yourself. 

There was a clever thing that this issue did. As the main story went along, there was always a panel at the bottom of every page retelling the origin of the Punisher without dialogue. It was a clever way to inform people of how Frank came to be the Punisher, while subtly revealing exactly what the big mission he had today was. It was a nice touch.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2008 trade paperback Punisher War Journal Classic Vol. 1 or the 2018 trade paperback The Punisher: Shadowmasters. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time! 

Tactics Ogre Reborn Launch Trailer, My Thoughts

In 1995, Quest Corporation released the game Tactics Ogre for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, or the Super Famicom in Japan. The game had been in development for two-and-a-half years. The second game in the Ogre Battle series, it takes place in the war-torn kingdom of Valeria. You play as Denim Powell, a resistance fighter who gets caught up in the various conflicts in the area.

The game would sell 500,000 units in Japan. It would also receive positive criticism. The game would then go on to be ported to the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn. The game would then get remade for the PlayStation Portable as Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together. It has gone on to be regarded as one of the very best tactical RPGs ever made. This remake has been remastered for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStations 4 and 5, and Microsoft Windows. Let's look at the trailer!

Heh. I like that they kept with the original mid-90s look. It's okay for video games to be colorful, guys, gals, and whatever you wish to identify as.

Am I the only one who thinks Denam's name is a bit...odd-sounding for this world?

War is Hell, indeed.

Huh. So let me get this straight. If you get different results for this personality test, you'll get affiliated with different gods, which affects your path in the game? Hey, there's something for replayability.

Hey, customization! Find what works for you! I'm all for that!

I like that rewinding feature. Sometimes, you make a stupid mistake, and you need to erase that, or all your work will be for nothing.

I'm betting permadeath is a thing in this game. It would make sense, considering the game's whole "decisions affect the path you go on" thing. 

Well, this looks like a fun game. I'm not normally into tactical RPGs myself, but this is supposed to be a classic, and I'm always willing to give a game like this a try. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

Justice League America #61 (April 1992)

This week saw the celebration of a new year. A time like this is seen as a time of rebirth and fresh starts. A time for starting anew. A time to start fresh. It's not just regular folks that feel this way. Superheroes can feel this way about a new year, too. During its decades of its publication history, the Justice League has undergone its fair share of rebirths. So, for the first review of 2023, I thought that it would be appropriate to take a look at a comic that celebrated the rebirth of the Justice League. 

After the events of the "Breakdowns" crossover, the Justice League International (as it was known at the time) ended up disbanding. However, you can't keep an iconic team like that down for long. With various members of the League working together again in Justice League Spectacular #1 (April 1992), it was time to see the League reform properly.

The cover is a Dan Jurgens and Murphy Anderson piece, which homages the cover to the very first issue of the Justice League's comic: Justice League of America #1 (November 1960), which was drawn by Anderson and Ira Schnapp. That cover has become an iconic cover in itself, and it's appropriate that it be homaged in a comic that celebrates the rebirth of the Justice League. It's amusing seeing Guy Gardner in the spot Hal Jordan was in the original cover. Appropriate as they're both Green Lanterns.

"Born Once Again"
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Penciler: Dan Jurgens
Inker: Rick Burchett
Colorist: Gene D'Angelo
Letterer: Willie Schubert
Editor: Brian Augustyn
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

The story begins with Guy Gardner sitting in the ruins of the Justice League's old Happy Harbor headquarters as a deliberate nod to Justice League #1 (May 1987). 

The Ted Kord Blue Beetle and Booster Gold arrive, and Gardner tries to pull his typical "I'm the leader" shtick. Beetle scoffs at it and Gardner offers to fight the inventor to the death for it. The Almeracian queen known as Maxima arrives, offering to take on, and defeat the victor.

Thanks to Brainiac, Maxima's homeworld's been blown to pieces, and she has nowhere else to go for now. Hopefully, once she takes a mate, she can return and help her people rebuild. And happily for her, the being she wants resides here on Earth as well. And it's not Guy Gardner, as much as he hopes it is. Her intended betrothed is actually on his way to Maxwell Lord's offices, where the man himself is making a sales pitch to former JLI members Beatriz "Fire" da Costa and Tora "Ice" Olafsdottir. 

Superman points out the League exists because of a need for it, and the League is not meant to be an extension of Maxwell Lord's ego. Ice agrees with Superman on this, and makes it perfectly clear to the mind-controlling businessman. 

Superman heads out to meet the other Leaguers, Ice happily following. Max wonders what got Tora so fiery, as she is normally rather meek. Fire realizes she's crushing a bit on Superman. Oberon points out that Max is losing the League. Max plans to do something big. So big, even Superman will beg to have Max help. Yeah, that's totally not ominous...

We next look in on a nice private boat.

The boat is owned by a mysterious man, who has a rather...unusual client.

The Dominator is pleased the man will take the job. He thinks the reformed Justice League will be child's play. After all, he's beaten the best in the universe. He had the Royal Flush Gang fight the League recently, and he found them...unimpressive. It left him...quite disappointed.

This man is the Weapons Master, and they have nothing he cannot counter. The self-proclaimed Weapons Master teleports into the Happy Harbor headquarters. He easily takes down Guy, Beetle, and Booster, but Maxima is able to hit him with a psionic blast. The Weapons Master teleports away. He didn't expect Maxima there, so he has to reassess the situation. The four heroes have a brief reprieve, before he returns.

This time, he's packing a helmet that protects him from Maxima's mental powers. 

He's easily able to take down the four heroes. He then gets a Kryptonian knuckle sandwich from Superman. The Man of Steel gets the advantage for a while, even managing to damage the Weapons Master's armor. However, the man teleports Superman away, and then metaphorically curbstomps Fire and Ice. He then makes his way to Guy Gardner's ring. You see, the Dominators hired him to get Gardner's Green Lantern ring. They want to be able to duplicate the ring's tech for their own use. But another obstacle makes themselves known.

This mysterious figure is called Bloodwynd. He's a sorcerer who draws his power from the spirits of the dead. The Weapons Master takes his leave. After all, he knows nothing of this new superhero, and he doesn't like operating without knowing beforehand what is going on. He took the defeated League with him. Bloodwynd is left on his own...until he finds a weapon the Master left behind. 

So, where did the Weapons Master go? Well, he's got a little pocket dimension in his bag of tricks, and he's transported the League here.

Why did he transport them there? Well, he wants to play a game.

He's willing to play a game with Ted Kord for Guy Gardner's ring, the prize he's been seeking. Beetle is actually all too happy to let the Weapons Master have the ring, as he thinks it may humble Guy a bit. The Weapons Master points out that this game is for something he thinks Ted would really value: The lives of his teammates. Ted thinks this whole thing is nonsense. After all, he knows the game is likely rigged in the Weapons Master's favor. After all, the man's after the ring. It makes sense he would rig the game to make it easier for him to win, and this, get the ring.

The Master puts the chess piece of Ice on a black square on the board. It transports Ice to a world of fire and magma, assuring she is good as dead. "Play the game, Blue Beetle", he says. Or the other Leaguers' lives will be forfeit. 

I personally enjoyed this comic a lot. It does feel like a nice little sequel and continuation of the Justice League International that preceded it, even though it doesn't quite have the humor of the Giffen-DeMatteis-Maguire era. There are still amusing moments, though. Mostly from the character interaction. I never realized this when I first read this comic, but it's basically a modernized version of/sequel to a Silver Age JLA story. That's pretty cool. The Weapons Master to me is an interesting villain, and I would hope that we see more of him.

Jurgens is normally a very good artist, so it was surprising to me to see that his art looks a little rough in places here. It was nothing that ruined the comic for me.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2016 trade paperback Superman and Justice League America Vol. 1. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone!

I hope 2023 will be a great year for you!