Your 111th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast.

Wonder Woman by John Byrne.

Your 110th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast.

The Ghostly Guardian returns to Earth for Vengeance!!
This is the cover to The Spectre # 1 by Mike W. Kaluta.

This issue was published in April of 1987 under DC Comics' New Format series.

Your 109th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast.

Your Co(s)mically inclined ComicBook B'Cast is back with more comic book goodness just for you.
Have a look at this cover.

Here we have the cover to The Adventures of Superman # 568 published in June of 1999 featuring the art of Tom Grummett and Dennis Rodier.
Thanks for dropping by.

Your 99th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast

Hi there comic fans,  what's up?
I woke up this morning and read about two things that intrigued me, first, it was something about DC Comics Black Label. DC's Mature comics line or imprint which I guess is similar to Marvel's MAX Comics (is that still around?) or has the Mouse House destroyed that along with everything else?
The second thing is Superman Year One.

Yep, DC will release Superman Year One in June of this year.
Now according to DC, this will be the coming of age story of the future Man Of Steel. The story of how a young boy who also happens to be an alien from Krypton trying to find his place in a new world.
I guess you could say, this is the story of Clark Kent and his journey to becoming a legend, to becoming Superman.
Now the surprising thing for me is the choice of writer for Superman Year One. He's not what you'd call the obvious choice. As a matter of fact, some fans, well most of them would say he hates Superman.
He's none other than Frank Miller. He man who did Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, Daredevil: Born Again and Daredevil: The Man Without Fear.
You can see why some comic fans are kinda skeptical about Miller.
His partner in crime for Superman Year One is John Romita Jr. who is known for his work on Iron Man, The Uncanny X-Men, Daredevil,  Daredevil: The Man Without Fear and just so many others.
It looks like his inker for this project is Danny Miki. Which is great news, I like how Danny Miki's inks complements Jr. Jr. 's pencils.

The artwork I've got here is all from DC Comics and I'm just sharing them cause I'm excited about Superman Year One. Look at the artwork, it looks really good.

Since the announcement of this project by Miller and Jr. Jr, there's been a few questions thrown out there,  like why Miller?
I read somewhere on line that a few people believe that Miller dislikes Superman and that Brian Brian Michael Bendis would seem like the more obvious choice since he is currently writing Superman.
I for one will wait for issue # 1 of Superman Year One to see how Miller writes and depicts the Man of Steel.
I am however really happy to see John Romita Jr and Danny Miki working on this project.

John Romita Jr has worked with Miller on Daredevil: The Man Without Fear, so I'm intrigued to see this 3 part series.  How about you?
Superman Year One # 1 will be available in June, take a gander at the cover below by Jr. Jr. and Danny Miki.

Superman Year One # 2 will come out in August.

While issue # 3 will be available in October 2019.

And the Superman Year One Collection will be available in November 2019.
So, yeah, Superman Year One. As I mentioned I am interested, I am intrigued and definitely curious about this project. A few questions here and there, not the least of which is why release this under DC 's Black Label which is meant for their more mature comics.
Guess I'll have to wait and find out.  Which won't be easy. As I've mentioned and complained for a long time, there's NO comicbook store where I am and I will have to find a way to get these three issues.
Thanks for dropping by, thanks for reading and I hope to see you again next time. Until the next B'Cast, take care Comic Fans.

Your 98th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast

Hey Comic Fans.
I'm back. I forgot to mention, the B'Cast about Ten Nights of the Beast is a two parter. You've seen Part One. Here's Part Two.
Let's continue with Ten Nights of the Beast.
One other thing I really enjoyed about all four issues (apart from the story by Starlin, the interior artwork by Jim Aparo and Mike DeCarlo) are the incredible covers for Batman issue 417 to 420.
All four covers for Ten Nights of the Beast were INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL.
All four covers were drawn by Mike Zeck.  The man who drew the covers for various titles over the years,  G.I. Joe, Secret Wars, Deathstroke The Terminator, Captain America and just so many other titles.
Well for Ten Nights of the Beast, the covers were beautifully rendered by Zeck.
Here's the cover to Batman issue 417. Part One of Ten Nights of the Beast.

Batman issue 418. Part Two.

Batman issue 419. Part three

Batman issue 420. The conclusion to the 4 part storyline.

I've always been a big fan of Mike Zeck's artwork and I was really happy when I found out that Zeck was the artist of all four covers and also the cover for the collected edition of the storyline.
Well, that's part two in this look at Ten Nights of the Beast.  Hope you'll have a chance to read this four part story. 
Thanks for dropping by Comic Fans. See you next time around.

Your 97th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast

Hey Comic Fans, welcome to Your 97th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast. For this edition, I'm going to take a look at a 4 part storyline written by Jim Starlin (yes, that Jim Starlin) with art from the legendary Jim Aparo and Mike DeCarlo.
The four part storyline took place in Batman issue 417 to 420.
The year was 1988 and I'm talking about Ten Nights of the Beast. This 4 issue storyline was published one year after Batman: Year One.
I was told about Ten Nights of the Beast by a friend who absolutely raved about it.

In Ten Nights of the Beast, the KGBeast comes to Gotham City to kill nine people crucial to America's Star Wars initiative.

A KGB agent together a team comprised of agents from the CIA, FBI, the GCPD and an unofficial addition to the team, Gotham City's very own Dark Knight to stop the KGBeast.
Despite their very best efforts, the beast manages to kill all nine on his kill list. The beast used numerous methods to kill his 9 targets.  I don't want to spoil it for you, so please try and look for this storyline, you won't regret it.
Okay, with 9 confirmed kills, does that mean the beast is done? Nope. He has an additional target on his kill list. He goes after President Ronald Reagan.
Here's one spoiler for you, Batman managed to save Ronald Reagan.

Throughout the four issue of Ten Nights of the Beast, you're treated to a nail bitting storyline and solid artwork from Jim Aparo and Mike DeCarlo. Really solid work here.

There's also a memorable moment involving Batman and the KGBeast where Batman managed to detain him.
The beast however managed to free himself from Batman's grasp by doing something really drastic. I won't spoil it for you, you've gotta get a copy or grab the collected version to see what happened.

I'm just going to say the KGBeast had the whole situation well in hand. Yeah.
So how did Batman finally deal with the beast?  Well, despite the fact that the beast had killed so many people, it was a foregone conclusion that he will never be brought to justice for his crimes. Even if they sent him back to Russia, the beast would kill more people in Russia, he wasn't a people person, the KGBeast.
So, what happened in the end?

Well, again, I'm going to leave you with the page above. If you have the chance, find Batman issue 417 to 420 or you could just get the tradepaperback. Like this one.

A really beautiful cover by Mike Zeck and Phil Zimelman.
I really enjoyed Ten Nights of the Beast. I thought Batman had come up against a foe that was nearly impossible for him to defeat. Storys like this one really captures your attention and you just can't wait for the next issue to see what happens. In my opinion, it's a great four part story.
Oh one other thing, the other thing that attracted me to Ten Nights of the Beast are the covers to Batman issue 417 to 420.
And that's what I'm going to share in the next B'Cast, so stay around comic fans.
Take care.

Your 86th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast

Your 86th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast: A look at the beautiful cover to Tales of the Teen Titans # 42: The Judas Contract.

The cover to Tales of the Teen Titans # 42 by George Perez. Book One of the Judas Contract: The Eyes of Tara Markov!
A beautiful cover by George Perez from a well written and well drawn series. Tales of the Teen Titans # 42 was written by Marv Wolfman, penciled by George Perez and inked by Dick Giordano.
#thecosmiccomicbookbroadcast #dccomics #teentitans #talesoftheteentitans #thejudascontract #taramarkov #georgeperez #marvwolfman #dickgiordano

The 55th Co(s)mic Comic Book Broadcast: The Green Lantern.

When I started this blog of mine, I mentioned that I am a Marvel Comics guys.  One of my first comics was Fantastic Four.  Yep, one of my first comics.  I bought, well my Dad bought three comics for me, one was the Fantastic Four, next The Amazing Spider-Man and last but by no means least Batman.  I still can't recall whether it was a Detective Comics issue or Batman.  Why did I bring this up, well in the past after I discovered titles like Batman, Teen Titans, Justice League and so on, I decided to broaden my choice of comics.  I liked to once in a while read an issue from DC Comics and after a while it became more than just one issue.  As time went along I decided that there were great comics from both sides of the isle.  I had nothing to lose except my allowance buying more and more comics but hey, I enjoyed reading these comics.  One character from DC Comics apart from Superman and Batman that I seem to like was a test pilot named Harold "Hal" Jordan.  Yep, ol Highball himself, the Green Lantern.

I actually remember the Green lantern character from a cartoon series first.  It wasn't until a few years later that I discovered the comics, well, I think it was more than just a few years.  I can still recall the cartoon, a guy dressed in green and this magical ring.

I can still remember begging my parents for a ring just like that....ring....wearing....guy.  I didn't know who he was at the time.  Hey, the fact that I even remember that there was a Green Lantern Cartoon is an accomplishment all by itself.  As luck would have it, my parents did buy me a ring, not a green lantern ring cause back in the old days, well toys and cartoon memorabilia were scarce in my hometown.  They did however buy me a ring, it didn't do anything of course and I believe barely a week later, that ring was a goner.  I was not known as someone who took care of his toys.  I'm ashamed of that fact, a character trait I kept when I started collecting comics.  Sigh.

I remember growing up reading these comics featuring this daring fearless test pilot who got this powerful ring from a dying alien named Abin Sur.  I can recall reading some of the issues drawn by Dave Gibson and I had fun reading those comics.  Unfortunately there were not mine.  A friend who started collecting much earlier had a huge Marvel and DC Comics collection.  I never did collect issues of Green Lantern though.  It just wasn't always available.  I think that friend of mine bought his overseas and brought them back because I had never seen these comics in town.  The bookstores and so on seldom carried these titles.  So I thought it wasn't meant to be.

A few years later I did manage to find a mini series called Emerald Dawn.  It was the first time in a long time for me to read an issue of Green Lantern.

This was the cover to Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn # 1 featuring a cover by Mark Bright and Klaus Janson.  This 6 issue Mini Series was written by James Owsley, penciled by Mark bright and Inked by Romeo Thanghal.  Emerald Dawn was a retelling of Hal Jordan's origins.  A kind of Year One kind of thing.  I followed this mini series as closely as I could but after Issue # 2, I wasn't able to get the remaining 4 issues.  It seemed that the local retailers were not too concerned about ordering comic books because to them, comics are for kids and they're not really important. they're not profitable and whatever other excuse they could come up with.

So I lost track of this mini series and completely forgot about it.  I did find out later that there was an Emerald Dawn II mini series.  It was another 6 issue Mini Series.  This time, the minis series was written by Keith Giffen who did the story and Gerard Jones who did the dialogue.  The art was handled by the same team of Mark bright and Romeo Thanghal.

In Emerald Dawn II issue # 1, Hal goes to prison to serve 90 days on a DUI conviction. While he is there he meets Guy Gardner who is his lawyer. The Guardians of the Universe send Sinestro to train Hal Jordan.  So basically both Emerald Dawn I and II is Green Lantern Year 1 and 2 I guess.  If I'm not mistaken, there was a regular Green Lantern series that was launched, that event was touted as the return of DC Comics' greatest heroes, Hal Jordan along with the other Green Lanterns.  

This series was written by Gerard Jones, art by Pat Broderick and Bruce Patterson.  In this issue titled Down To Earth, Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner and John Stewart wind up getting "The Call" in several different ways, but the message is the same, "The world needs the Green Lantern Corps." Again.  The return of the Green Lanterns.  I don't think I followed this series very closely at all. But that all changed when they released issue # 48.

This issue was the turning point for me.  Everything I knew about Hal Jordan, The Green Lantern Corps, the ring, the Guardians, everything would change with this issue.  This issue was released during a period of change in comics, Superman had died and came back, Batman's back was broken by Bane and over at Marvel Comics, Peter Parker was replaced by a clone......okay before we go any further I just wanted to say that the ENTIRE Clone Saga was the WORST decision Marvel has ever made.  Whoever came up with that idea should have been given a bullet.  I hated each issue of it and the stupid way it was handled just killed the character for me.  The ending of the clone saga was half assed, because of that mistake, Marvel lost a lot of fans including me.  Anyway I digress, this issue was just unbelievable. This is Emerald Twilight part 1.  Following the rebirth of Superman and the destruction of Green Lantern's hometown of Coast City in the early 1990s, Hal Jordan seemingly went insane and destroyed the Green Lantern Corps and the Central Power Battery.

 Hal Jordan was devastated when Coast City was destroyed.  In a moment of sheer madness he decides to use the ring to recreate Coast City, to bring back the city and everyone in it.  In a moment of madness, Hal Jordan would go against all that he believed in, what he stood for as a Green Lantern.

The Power to be God.  Up until that point I didn't really understand or realize the power of Hal Jordan's ring.  Through the ring Hal willed the return of his city and his loved ones.  In that moment, he truly believed that just once, just once he should have what he wants most, after so many years of loyally serving the Guardians, he truly deserved this one moment, this one act.

In a blink of an eye, Hal Jordan would lose all that he cared for twice.  When I read this issue years a go, I did feel sorry for Hal.  He was at the time a true hero, a soldier, a police officer and also a human being.  I guess I felt that even though he was a hero, he was fallible.  Little did I know that there was quite the story behind this sudden change in Hal Jordan.

This issue was written by Ron Marz.  I read in an interview that he was asked to turn up the heat on this title, to shake things up, to bring some changes to Green Lantern.  In this issue he definitely changed the status quo on Green Lantern as he plunged Hal Jordan into madness.

And with one blow, Hal Jordan would go down a path that he couldn't come back from.  or so we thought at the time.  That was issue 48.  I couldn't believe what I had just read, this was one bold move by DC Comics.  I wanted the next issue to get here quick.  I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next, well Issue # 49 finally arrived and this cover kinda sorta said it all, Darryl Banks and Romeo Thanghal who also did the cover to issue # 48 did a great job here foretelling the story we would read in this issue as we stood witness to Emerald Twilight Part 2. 

As Hal said in Issue 48, he would need more power and he knew where he would have to go to get it.  That would be Oa.  As Hal made his way to Oa, he would have to face many of his fellow Lanterns and friends.

Along the way he would defeat all the Lanterns sent to stop him, friends and comrades, they all fell as Hal Jordan collected ring after ring after ring.

Finally even Kilowog the Green Lantern who was Hal's training officer and friend would also fall to Hal Jordan.  When I was reading this, I thought WOW DC was really serious about Emerald Twilight.  It wasn't that often you'd come across a story where the writer could basically wipe out a cast of characters like Ron Marz had done and all this was happening in the second part of emerald Twilight.  But this wasn't the end of it, no the end of part 2 came when the Guardians sent one more obstacle for Hal Jordan, one who was all too familiar.

Yes, that's Sinestro, once considered to be the Greatest Green Lantern ever.  He would be the Guardian's last line of defense against Hal Jordan.  Which brings us to....

That there is a beautiful cover, what a cover by Darryl Banks and Romeo Thanghal to conclude an already stunning story.  Emerald Twilight's conclusion was called The Future.  And what a story it was too.

 To say that this fight between these two old "friends" would be a knock down drag out fight is an understatement.

 Suffice to say that it was brutal, these two have fought each other for years, the conclusion to this fight is a little shocking I gotta say.  No spoilers especially if you have not read this landmark three issues of Green Lantern.  These next few pages shows it's almost as if Hal knows what he's doing is wrong and yet, he couldn't stop himself from spiraling further into madness.

And finally Hal Jordan's transformation would be complete as he destroys the Great Battery on Oa and emerge as Parallax.

And with that, the Green Lantern Corps is no more, destroyed by possible the Greatest Green Lantern, Hal Jordan but this was far from the end.

And the last Ring would be passed on to a new Green Lantern, that ring and the responsibilities would go to Kyle Rayner.

And a new Emerald Era began.  I read in an interview Ron Marz had with Wizard Magazine that he originally wanted to slowly build up to this chain of events, slowly telling the story of Hal Jordan's apparent descent into madness figuring that fans would be able to accept this and accept the changes and Kyle Rayner but that was not to be as the editor of the book wanted this done in the issues of Green Lantern # 48 to # 50.  Understandably long time fans of Hal Jordan were outraged and angry to say the least.  Fans sent hate mail and even made threats towards Marz and the editor of the title.  All in all after having a chance to read these issues again, it was great to enjoy some strong powerful storytelling.  I really liked the character of Kyle Rayner, he was the rookie who did good.  He was the last hope of the Guardians to carry on the mantle of Green Lantern and I personally think he was a great  Green Lantern.  Hal Jordan would return as Green Lantern a few years later after a lot of upheaval  and changes to his life.

I recently had a chance to read a few trade-paperbacks of Green Lantern written by Geoff Johns and I really enjoyed the stories which prompted me to talk about Emerald Twilight.  I'll cover a few of the trade-paperbacks I've been reading and share my thoughts with you.  If you have not read Green Lantern, try it, get a trade-paperback, you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Thanks for dropping by for the 55th Co(s)mic Comic Book Broadcast on The Green Lantern, I hope you enjoyed this look at Emerald Twilight.  I'll be back with another broadcast soon, until next time, as always take care.