Justice League #3 (July 1987)

On October 9, the legendary comic writer and artist Keith Giffen passed away at the age of 70. Giffen first started in the comic book business at Marvel in the 1970s. His first work was in Marvel Preview #4 (January 1976). Giffen's career would really take off when we went to DC in the 1980s, with runs on the Justice League and Legion of Super-Heroes' books. He was the co-creator of Lobo (with Roger Slifer) and Rocket Raccoon (with Bill Mantlo) and was the creator of Ambush Bug.

As a writer, Giffen was known for being more humorous than many of his colleagues, which would show in his Legion and Justice League work. As an artist, his style evolved heavily over the years. His style started out homaging Jack Kirby, but over the years, would transition to showing influence from the likes of Jim Starlin and George Perez to most recently Argentinian artist Jose Munoz. 

My first exposure to Giffen's work was as a writer, mainly on Justice League International. It is my favorite era of the Justice League. And the group has crossed paths with this blog in the past. I figured that in tribute, I'd look at a comic book from the era. This is Justice League #3!

The cover is a Kevin Maguire and Al Gordon piece. It's pretty cool. It depicts the Justice League facing off against the Rocket Red Brigade. The sheer numbers of the Brigade give the impression that the League is going to have quite a fight on their hands, even if they arguably have the power advantage with Doctor Light, Captain Marvel, and Guy Gardner on board. 

"Meltdown"
Writers: Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis
Penciler: Kevin Maguire
Inker: Al Gordon
Colorist: Gene D'Angelo
Letterer: Bob Lappan
Editor: Andrew Helfer
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

The story begins with the members of the Champions of Angor (basically a bunch of Avengers pastiches), in the company of the Bialyan dictator Rumaan Harjvati. Harjvati informs the Champions that there are a lot of nuclear weapons in the Soviet Union (keep in mind, this was originally published in the 80s, when the USSR was still a thing). 

The Champions obviously don't buy Harjvati's whole "peace-loving man" act. Can't blame them, really. Harjvati exudes sliminess.

Despite their misgivings about the man, they are there to prevent a nuclear war on this world. After all, they came from a world that was destroyed by a nuclear war, and they don't want any other worlds to suffer that fate.

Meanwhile, the JLI is hovering outside Bialyan airspace in Ted Kord's Bug. They've been there for about nine hours. And it's made Blue Beetle a little antsy. And bored.

"Man, you were more fun in the 60s, Bats!"

Batman's also got a frayed temper, but mainly because of the Champions. He's understandably worried about them. They could end up, in their zeal to prevent a nuclear war, accidentally causing one. The Bug's radar picks up the Champions. Batman orders Ted to follow them. The Bug starts to pursue...until it suddenly stops.

Guy Gardner got his first broken neck that day.

Batman is furious that Ted suddenly stopped the pursuit, but he does have a good reason. You see, the three wannabe-Avengers are now in Soviet airspace. If they start attacking nuclear missile silos there, the Soviets will interpret it as an attack by America. It didn't help that recently, there was a misunderstanding between the Green Lantern Corps and the Soviet Union's resident superheroes, the Rocket Red Brigade. That was shown in Green Lantern Corps #209-210. So, yeah. The League are going to have to risk heating up the Cold War to stop this. 

Speaking of the Rocket Reds, they spot what seems to be the Champions flying by, but it's actually the Bug. Naturally, they intercept the craft, and Guy Gardner is all too eager to throw some fists and emerald willpower energy at them.

Batman tells Captain Marvel to go and get him. In Moscow, the then-General Secretary, a Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev, is taking a call from Maxwell Lord. He tells his generals to order the Rocket Red Brigade to stand down from facing the Justice League. After all, the League may be useful to the Soviets in this situation.

Back in the skies, the Bug is picking up a lot of transmissions. The Soviet Union's nuclear bases and their subs are all on Red Alert. 

Last time this happened, Marko Ramius made off with the Red October. Mr. Miracle and Martian Manhunter go out to get Captain Marvel and Guy Gardner, who have been engaging in battle with the Rocket Reds. Kimiyo Hoshi, aka Doctor Light, basically says "enough of this" and blasts the group with a flash of light.

"MY EYES! MY BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL EYES! THE VISORS DO NOTHING!" 

Batman hears a Rocket Red on the roof and sends Black Canary to deal with him. Because Batman is lazy. She gets on the roof and easily takes him down. 

Luckily for the Rocket Reds, they have a fantastic dental plan.

Fun fact, the Rocket Red that Dinah punched out here? That's Dimitri Pushkin, who will become a Justice League member himself. Thankfully, the battle ends when the Rocket Reds get their new orders. At a nuclear plant, the Champions are having their own faceoff against the Rocket Reds.

"We just want to find the bathroom! We can't read Cyrillic!"

The extradimensional superheroes plead with the armored men to let them pass, but the Rocket Reds ain't hearing it. And to make thing worse, the plant is about to go into meltdown. The technicians had panicked and tried to SCRAM too fast. The horrified Justice League discover the plant and fly down to help. The Champions of Angor and the League watch the meltdown helplessly, until Wandjina makes his way into the plant to shut it down. We don't see what he exactly does, but we do know it has hit the thunder god hard.

"Yeah, Wandjina is hypoglycemic. Just give him a cookie and he'll be fine."

With the potential crisis averted, the two remaining Champions surrender to the authorities. The Rocket Reds assure the League they'll do all they can for Wandjina. After all, the Russians know radiation sickness well. The League leave on the Bug, and Ted notes that he can't pick up any transmissions about the near-disaster. Evidently, they're also good at covering up things. Canary wonders if that's the last they'll hear of the Champions of Angor. Count on it, Canary. Batman isn't sure, but there's something more important to worry about right now.

"This man will make you into mega-stars!"

Yup, Max Lord has arrived and he has brought Booster Gold with him. Not only that, he's acting like he runs the League. This could be a problem...

I really enjoyed this comic. It is of its time, steeped in 1980s Cold War politics, but that's not the comic's fault. We also do start to see the beginnings of the humor that would eventually become a major part of this era of the League, with Batman being in the role of the beleaguered straight man. We also get some further intrigue with Max Lord and Booster Gold. Since the beginning of this run, Max has made his way towards the League since the beginning of his run, and it's clear that he wants some influence on the group. There's a lot of intrigue in there. And we got to see that for all of Booster's flaws, the man is a hero at heart, and he really gets to show that here.

Kevin Maguire's art is fantastic. His biggest strength is in facial expressions. He is a master of showing how a character feels or what's going through their minds with their faces. It is an asset here, especially since the title will go in a more outright humorous direction.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2008 trade paperback Justice League International Vol. 1! Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!

Back to the Future Day

Happy Back to the Future Day, everyone!

The reason this day is celebrated on October 21st is because in the second movie, Marty McFly, Jennifer Parker, and Doctor Emmett Brown traveled to this date in the year 2015 to help prevent their son Marty Junior from going down a bad path. 2023 is also the 38th anniversary of the release of the first film. 

Super Mario Bros. Wonder Overview Trailer, My Thoughts

Back in June, it was announced in a Nintendo Direct that a new mainline Super Mario Bros. game was in the works: Super Mario Bros. Wonder. The game would be produced by veteran Mario series producer Takashi Tezuka and directed by Shiro Mori, who had previously directed New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. Let's look at the trailer!

I wonder if the Flower and Spritzee Kingdoms ever encountered each other. 

I'm betting Prince Florian is a bad guy.

OH MY GOD, BOWSER IS A CASTLE!

Soooo, if Bowser is now a castle, does that mean his stomach is like a swimming pool or something? Filled with his stomach acids? Are his blood vessels now hallways? Is his brain the library?

I wonder if Pipe-Rock Plateau will have a Pipe Maze like in Super Mario Bros. 3? I mean, that would be pretty neat.

It's not a modern Mario game unless it has a winter-themed level. 

Huh, the overworld map having open areas. That's actually pretty cool. 

Playing as Yoshi/Nabbit would be a handy way to scout out levels and figure out where the hazards are before using the other characters. 

Bubble Mario is a pretty versatile form. I wouldn't be surprised if Mario's attacks in the next Super Smash Bros. game are based on it.

And the Fire Flower is back! I wish the Ice Flower returned, too. 

The Wonder Effect is the Mario Universe's version of tripping on LSD, isn't it? 

I like the concept of the Badge system. If you have a level you're having trouble with, there may be a badge that can help you out. Although I can imagine the invisibility badge causing some accidental deaths.

This looks like it will be a fun game! I do like that he game seems to be working in as many anti-frustration features as possible. Nothing sucks more than giving up on a game because you just can't seem to get past this one obstacle. I've had a blast with past Mario games, and this looks no different. 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!

'Oumuamua: 6th Anniversary of Discovery

On this day in 2017, an interstellar object, a comet, decided to come cruise its way through our Solar System. The object's name was 'Oumuamua.

Artist rendering. Identity unknown.

The name is Hawaiian, meaning "scout" or "first distant messenger". Appropriate as it was first spotted by Canadian physicist/astronomer Robert Weryk at the Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii.

'Oumuamua is estimated to be about 300-3000ft long, and potentially 115-548 ft in width and thickness. Like the artist rendering shows, it's not shaped like we'd think a comet would be shaped, basically a ball. It's believed that it's shaped more like a tube, or like a peanut. One article described its appearance as "between a cigar and a pancake". I'm going with peanut.

It's considered a rather unusual comet, as it had a very strange orbit. Unlike other comets that passed by our Sun, it did not exhibit a tail. You see, in general, when a comet passes by our sun, the sun's heat causes the comet to emit dust and microparticles, as well as evaporates its gases. the pressure from the sun's radiation causes these emissions to form a tail. A comet's tail can be millions of miles long. They do things BIG in space.

However, 'Oumuamua never created a tail. It would also accelerate away from the Sun in a way that made astronomers scratch their head in confusion. 

However, that mystery may have been solved. You see, during 'Oumuamua's travels through space, this little comet (yeah, it's also small compared to many other comets) spent plenty of time getting nice and baked by cosmic radiation. Yeah, there's radiation out in space. I mean, it's how these guys got their powers.

Anyway, while the comet was getting baked like a potato...mmm, baked potato...

I'm getting off track. Hydrogen was formed from this baking process. And when this little comet passed by the Sun, it ended up getting released, causing the strange orbit and acceleration. So yeah, you could say 'Oumuamua's journey was a real...gas.

Yeah, I apologize. I hope you enjoyed this little look at this little visitor of our Solar System. 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! 

World Okapi Day

Today is World Okapi Day!

What is an okapi, you may ask yourself? Well, an okapi is an herbivorous mammal native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa. While okapi do have markings similar to that of the zebra, they are actually more closely related to the giraffe. In fact, okapi and giraffe are the only two living examples of the Giraffidae family, having a common ancestor that lived approximately 11.5 million years ago.

Okapi live in canopy forests at altitudes of 1,600-4,900 ft. They primarily are active during the daytime and are generally solitary animals. They're not fans of the concept of making friends. In fact, male okapi have territories that hey allow female okapi to forage on. Male okapi have ossicones, which are these skin-colored structures that almost resembles horns. You ever see those two big bumps on a giraffe's head? Those are ossicones. Female okapi don't have those.

The western world first became truly aware of the okapi in the late 19th century. Explorer Sir Harry Johnston would obtain pieces of the okapi's striped skin, as well as a skull. Explorer Henry Morton Stanley had earlier raised speculation of the okapi's existence thanks to reports of his exploration of the Congo. 

Sadly, okapi are considered endangered species. The main threats to them are human settlement and logging. Illicit mining and hunting have also had an impact on okapi populations. In 1987, the Okapi Conservation Project was created to help protect the species. The project helped create a wildlife preserve in the Ituri Forest. 

And that's the okapi! I hope you learned something cool about this critter! 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!

Contra: Operation Galuga Trailer, My Thoughts.

In February of 1987, Konami released a little arcade game known as Contra. Set in the 27th century, this run-and-gun shooter game tells the teal of two commandos: Bill Rizer and Lance Bean. Together, these two men fight to save the Earth from various alien monsters and war machines through the Red Falcon terrorist organization. The game would be a very profitable little cabinet, and it would be ported to various computers and the NES. The NES port would be regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time. It would spawn a long-running series of games that would arrive on various consoles. 

This new game is actually an enhanced remake of the very first Contra game: Operation Galuga. Let's look at the trailer!

What the heck is a Galuga, anyway? Sounds like an Italian pasta dish. Mmm, pasta...

*looks it up* Ah, Galuga is the name of a fictional archipelago located near New Zealand that housed the Red Falcon organization's base. Now you know! 

You know, if WayForward is involved, it's bound to be good. I really gotta get Double Dragon Neon on my Switch. I love that game.

Big flaming C.

"LANCE! BILL! GET TO THE CHOPPA!"

This game looks really good. I like the general artstyle of it. For some reason, it kind of reminds me of those old-school Saturday morning cartoons. 

That is an awesome rendition of the first level theme. 

I find it so funny how Bill and Lance jump. It's like they're trying to do their best Sonic the Hedgehog.

Don't you find it annoying when a wall of guns appear out of nowhere?

OH MY GAWD, WHAT IS THAT ALIEN THING?!

I think this game will be a great way to introduce new fans to the series, and I hope people enjoy it. It looks like a worthy addition to my Switch library. I hope there is a demo available, because I want to try it. Thanks for reading this blog entry! if you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

Eternals #10 (July 1986)

It's that time again! It's time to join the Eternals in their greatest battle yet against the Deviants! Last time, Thena and Ikaris duked it out for the role of Prime Eternal, Ghaur made off with Margo, and the mad Deviant priest's endgame was revealed. Where do we go from here? Let's find out in Eternals #10!

The cover is an Al Milgrom piece. It's pretty cool. It depicts Sersi turning Ikaris into a Deviant. It has the vibe of a horror comic cover. It's also a nice bit of bait-and-switch. You'll see what I mean.

"A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste!"
Writer: Walt Simsonson
Penciler: Keith Pollard
Inkers: Danny Bulanadi
Colorist: George Roussos
Letterer: Rick Parker
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with Ikaris calling his band to war. It's a small group (Kingo, Karkas, Ransak, Makkari, and Cybele...yeah, I don't know where Cybele's been, either), but they're ready to rock and roll on some Deviants.

Ikaris asks Cybele to stay behind and monitor the world for any further Deviant threats. There is still one Eternal left that Ikaris wants on board: Sersi. Phastos is staying out of this, and Khoryphos vanished. However, Sersi isn't coming along, either. She finds it boring. Yeah, Sersi. Saving the world is boring. 🙄 Ikaris reminds her that the Deviants have a weapon that could allow them to destroy the world. Sersi's mentality towards it is that the Deviants couldn't handle such a weapon. She suggests that he just take Margo out on a date. Loosen up a bit, enjoy yourself, man! Take a break from being so serious!

This is when Ikaris finally remembers Margo, realizing she's not with him. And she's not with Sersi, either. Sersi herself thought she left with them.

Meanwhile, Kro and Thena have managed to teleport to the underbelly of the Deviants' home city in Lemuria. Kro then takes the lead, guiding Thena to a hidden labyrinth known only to the higher-ups in the city...including Kro himself. In the labyrinth is a meeting place for the leaders of Lemuria's military. Their power was usurped by Ghaur and the Priests. Naturally, they aren't too happy about that.

"Guys! She wants to join us for a D&D session!"

Kro informs the generals about the truth of the Priests' Purity Time. However, Ghaur arrives with some guards...thanks to the generals' betrayal. In Olympia, Sersi decides to show her face. She uses her transmutation powers to disguise the group as Deviants.

Sersi's attempt at a reality show makeover did not go so well.

With Karkas also staying behind, the group head out to Lemuria. There's also a killer pizza place there, so they may want to get some grub.

In Lemuria, Kro and Thena try to fight off Ghaur's guards, but fail thanks to Thena being hit with a weapon called a brain mine. This allows Ghaur to control people, which he demonstrates by making a general shoot himself.

Ghaur reveals that he is the product of centuries of work by the Priests. They had been playing eugenicist, secretly breeding certain Deviant bloodlines to create a "master" for the Deviant race. Meanwhile, the Eternals make their way to Lemuria, while detecting another Eternal is there. The Eternals split up. Ikaris and Makkari will find the hidden Eternal. Kingo and Ransak will seek out the Priests' temple. The Forgotten One will go find Ghaur himself. Yeah, ol' Forgotten One joined up with the Eternals last issue. And Sersi? Well, Ikaris tells her to go do whatever she wants. She likely will, anyway. Why not ask her to go find Margo, dude? I mean, aren't Sersi and Margo friends? Ikaris sucks as a boyfriend. 

Anwyay, Ghaur takes Kro and Thena to his throne room. 

Normally, Ghaur uses this room with his concubines.

Ghaur reveals that thanks to all the work the Priests have done, they had a complete record of the DNA of every known Deviant. This was used to create Ghaur. Thanks to that, Ghaur has the power to control any Deviant. He can make them do anything he asks. This explains why many of Kro's anti-Ghaur allies suddenly betrayed him. Kro points out that if he could really do that, then Kro himself would fall under Ghaur's control. Ghaur believes that Kro's willpower allows him immunity to the blue tyrant's control. He moves to toss Kro and Thena to the fire pits.

So, where did Margo Damian end up? Well, she's right here.

All of this because she wanted a nose piercing.

Some Deviants are preparing to subject the lady to an experiment. And Ghaur, unaware that Ikaris is no longer in Olympia, decides to give him a call. And it's not to say he loves him. He gets Karkas, who uses a hologram to disguise himself as Ikaris. Ghaur basically tells "Ikaris" the whole "Stay in Olympia, or Margo dies" bit. For some reason, Karkas cannot contact Ikaris directly (seriously, do those people not have earpieces or communicators of some kind?), but he activates a warning beacon in the craft the Eternals used to get to Lemuria. A Deviant at a monitoring station picks it up and orders some men to look into it. 

Back in the labs, the Deviants begin their experiment. What they're trying to do is turn a human into a Deviant, and it seems to work.

The Deviants' attempt at a makeover reality show also didn't go well.

The Deviants' take on a makeover reality show ALSO didn't go over well.

However, there's a problem. The transformation ended up killing Margo. Whoops.

Ghaur is furious about this, but not at the scientists. The whole thing went to pot because the Deviants never could capture many humans to experiment on. They're going to need to fool Ikaris with a fake Margo, as...well, Margo was his girlfriend, and considering what a hothead he is...yeah. Ghaur knows someone who can help with that, and as such, he has a cunning plan.

In the City of Toads (the city within Lemuria where the Deviants reside), the disguised Ikaris and Makkari see the Deviant artist Yrdisis, and also see Ghaur's guards take her away. 

Back in Sersi's apartment in NYC, Dave Chatterton and Samuel Holden are hanging out. I can imagine those two got clean-up duty after Sersi's party. Chatterton is not a happy camper right now. You see, Sersi, being Sersi, just decided to go help the other Eternals, while leaving him and Holden in her apartment. He feels like Sersi threw him away after all she did to show that his life was worth living. And he's going to help her, whether she likes it or not. And now we go to Lemuria once more. Yeah, I feel like a ping-pong ball, too.

Ikaris and Makkari find the hidden Eternal: Khoryphos. He's been staying in Yrdisis's place since the events of issue #7, and he is enamored with her art skills.

"Ikaris, I'm hiring this chick to paint a cover for my next album!"

He sees her art as proof the Deviants aren't these mindless warmongering monsters. Makkari realizes that was the woman Ghaur's guards made off with. Khoryphos is infuriated at this, and demands the Eternals save her. He also tells the two that Ghaur and his Priests now essentially rule Lemuria with an iron fist. This whole thing gets Ikaris wondering if Kro really was that much of a traitor to his people. Same with Thena. 

Meanwhile, a disguised Sersi spots Yrdisis being taken to the House of the Priests. With the help of a couple of illusions, Sersi disguises herself as Yrdisis and takes her place. She's hoping this'll fool Ghaur and the priests enough to find out what they're up to. She is taken to the Deviant lab. Ghaur reveals he plans to turn Yrdisis into a double for the now late Margo. She undergoes the process, using her illusion powers to fake being turned into Margo. However, Ghaur has a surprise.

Ghaur...didn't quite get checkers.

Yup, Ghaur realized it was Sersi, and hit her with a brain mine. The same fate that befell Kro and Thena. Ghaur is feeling pretty triumphant at the moment. He has the crystal and the vial. He has everything he needs to become an equal to the Celestials themselves. An attendant informs him that the Eternals' craft has been found. The story ends with Ghaur planning to trick the Eternals into their own doom, with Sersi as the weapon...

I am a bit...mixed on the issue to be honest. Ghaur is a delightful villain. I really do like to hate him, which makes a good villain, if you ask me. I also quite like the character of Yrdisis. Yeah, she doesn't really do much, but I like her because she helps show that Deviant society is more complex than one thinks. I do think there was a great missed opportunity for her and Khoryphos to strike up a little romance, a nice parallel to Kro and Thena. Both of them bonding over being artists, that kind of thing whereas Kro and Thena is bound by their being authority figures. 

My main issue with this comic is the death of Margo Damien. The whole Women in Refrigerators thing aside, Margo's death here feels pointless. The character barely appeared in the miniseries to this point, much less really interacted with any of the main cast. It does feel like she was killed off because they didn't know what else to do with her. In essence, she was seen as an afterthought. I mean, considering Ghaur's goals, I doubt Ikaris would have needed the extra push to take him down anyway. I wonder if this was a Simonson thing, or it was originally intended by Gillis. Personally, I would have had her be successfully transformed into a Deviant and used against Ikaris by Ghaur. Just a thought.

If you want to read this for yourself, I suggest you track 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!