Teen Titans #4

With the 2012 London Olympics now underway, I figured it was time to bust out another issue of the old school Teen Titans comic, and you can probably guess why by looking at the cover.  And, um, that’s it really.  So let’s start.

Batman, Season Two

The second season of Batman is almost twice as long as Season One, and frankly, I don’t think that was a good thing.  By this point, the show was a monster success and everyone was riding high.  It was nominated for three Emmys—Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Comedy (for Frank Gorshin), and Individual Achievements in Sound Editing—and was even being referenced by other shows (The Monkees, Gilligan’s Island) and movies (The Fortune Cookie).  The Bat-climb celebrity cameos were in full swing, featuring everyone from Sammy Davis Jr. to… Colonel Klink from Hogan’s Heroes?  How is that supposed to work?*

The point is, the show was at the peak of its popularity, and I guess that made the writers too lazy to get up off their laurels and make sure the show continued to be a success.

Spider-Man

In 2002, among the hottest of hot summer blockbusters was Sam Raimi’s take on Marvel’s wondrous wall-crawler, the spectacular Spider-Man, which earned a whopping 821.7 million dollars at the worldwide box office; was nominated for two Oscars, two Grammies, and a whole slew of other accolades; and spawned two sequels over the next five years.  The film remains popular to this day, scoring an 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and many, many devoted fans.

And I don’t like it.

I will now take a short recess to dodge the bushels of rotten vegetables being thrown at my head, and then we shall proceed.

"Lucy and Superman" - I Love Lucy

June 16, 1959.  For many, this is just another date on the calendar, but for those of us who know a little bit about superhero pop culture, this is also the day that George Reeves, most famous as TV’s Superman and that guy who had two lines at the beginning of Gone with the Wind, was found dead of a single gunshot wound.  The death was ruled a suicide—the result of depression coupled with a night of heavy drinking—but nevertheless remains a source of debate and intrigue even today, and as the owner of a superhero blog, it wouldn’t be right for me to let the anniversary of this tragic event go by unobserved.

"The Day They Unmasked Mr. Action" - Jimmy Olsen #159

I pretty much established from day one that Silver Age comics can be extremely silly.  As far as I’ve been able to tell, no hero was immune from the ridiculousness—they adopted improbable animal sidekicks, got turned into improbable animal sidekicks, turned evil, turned their improbable animal sidekicks evil, got turned evil by their improbable animal sidekicks… everybody was having their share of crazy, cracky goodness, but out of all the characters to have stupid adventures in the 1960s, the Idiot Supreme Award probably has to go to Jimmy Olsen.  Dude got into so much trouble I’m surprised he didn’t get a restraining order against Superman just so he could stop turning into a werewolf every other week. (No, seriously, he got turned into a werewolf.  Twice.  That I know of.)

Young Avengers #7-#8

No, your eyes do not deceive you, I am finally reviewing a Marvel comic!  Only took me four and half months, right?  And I’m not even covering any of the titles that people actually care about.  Instead, I’m taking a look at one of my personal favorites, Young Avengers, about a group of teen heroes who, despite their name, have no real connections to any established heroes.  Seems pretty straightforward, doesn’t it?  The title debuted in 2005 and, from what little I’ve read, was generally a good book until Children’s Crusade came along.  I won’t spoil anything for people who still want to read it, but let’s just say that it only adds fuel to my theory that mainstream comics are allergic to happiness.

But anyway.  The story arc I’m looking at today, called “Secret Identities,” is sandwiched between two much longer story arcs where a lot more stuff goes on in terms of villainous attempts at world domination.  I’m reviewing “Secret Identities” instead of those ones because, frankly, I am lazy and didn’t feel like reviewing anything longer.  Don’t worry, we’ll still have fun.

(Also, there will be mild spoilers for the first six issues along with issues seven and eight here, so tread carefully.)

"The Sky's the Limit"/"On Wings of Song" - Sky Dancers

Hey there, children of the ‘90s!  Ready for a blast from the past that’ll make you feel old?  You’ve come to the right place.  And yes, I am counting the Sky Dancers as superheroes.  They are on the side of good, have special powers, and fight a designated supervillain, and that’s good enough for my money.  Though after watching the show, I’m kinda wishing it wasn’t.