Legends of the Dark Knightwas launched in 1989 with the popularity of the Batman movie, following on from Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One. It differs from other Batman titles in that it has constantly rotating creative teams, and the stories are not necessarily part of the current events of the other Batman comics. Initially the title was promoted as running only stand alone self-contained five issue stories of graphic novel quality. However, after issue 20, stories of different lengths started to appear. While some stories have tied in with the other titles, generally this has not been the case.
The miniseries Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters premiered in July 2006. This team consists of new incarnations of the Phantom Lady, the Ray (Stan Silver), the Human Bomb, Doll Man, Bigfoot, Destroyer and Face. It is part of S.H.A.D.E., a secret American government agency chartered under the USA PATRIOT Act, led by Father Time. The new team conducts assassinations and other illegal acts against criminal and terrorist organizations. As issue #1 of Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters begins, the team is tasked to capture the revived Uncle Sam, who is in the process of forming his own Freedom Fighters team; Sam subsequently recruits the S.H.A.D.E. members to his cause, openly disapproving of their use of deadly force (although they continue to kill people even under Uncle Sam’s guidance).
This version of the team is loosely based on notes by Grant Morrison and written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. Uncle Sam is portrayed as an almost Christ-like figure, returning from the dead, with the new Firebrand filling a John the Baptist role. Father Time is shown as aiding in Senator Frank Knight’s being secretly murdered in the midst of his successful campaign for the Presidency of the U.S. and replaced by a sentient robot double, Gonzo the Mechanical Bastard, who proceeds with an agenda to implant RFID chips in every U.S. citizen by law and control them to bring chaos to the world through war.
Justice League Quarterly (JLQ) was published from Winter 1990 to Winter 1994; it lasted 17 issues. It had a variable cast, pulling from the Justice League membership. The title centered on short stories featuring a differing number of characters, often solo stories, and in later issues often featured a pin-up section of members of the Justice League. Various writers and artists have worked on the title.
Meet Paradox: a new time-traveling villain with a tragic backstory who poses a big threat–and carries a big grudge against the Flash. He’s determined to destroy the Flash legacy at all costs, and he’s powerful enough to do it! With the Flash about to be erased from time and space, only one ally can help him defeat this seemingly insurmountable foe…Eobard Thawne, the Reverse-Flash? Can Barry Allen really trust his greatest enemy? And does he even have a choice?
Etrigan the Demon first appeared in The Demon #1 (August 1972) and was created by Jack Kirby. He created the Demon when his Fourth World titles were cancelled. According to Mark Evanier, Kirby had no interest in horror comics, but created Etrigan in response to a demand from DC for a horror character. Kirby was annoyed that the first issue sold so well that DC required him to do sixteen issues and abandon the Fourth World titles before he was done with them.
The 1990 series lasted 58 issues, two Annuals and one #0 issue. Garth Ennis took over the title beginning with issue #40. Ennis’ run included the first appearance of his character Hitman.
Bruce Wayne’s mission as the Batman has only been under way for a year or so, but he can tell he’s making a difference. Unfortunately, he’s made some powerful enemies. All the traditional power brokers of Gotham resent the disruption the Batman has brought to town…and it seems one of them has a plan to neutralize him. There’s a second Batman haunting Gotham’s rooftops and alleys—and this one has no qualms about murdering criminals, live and on tape.
The story deals with Smax and Toybox returning, via magical teleportation, to Jeff’s magically enchanted homeworld. Smax, now a city dweller, seems embarrassed by his unsophisticated, sword-and-sorcery roots. They attend Smax’s uncle’s funeral where Jeff introduces Robyn as his wife, though no such relationship exists. At this point Jeff’s sister Rexa Macksun is introduced, dressed in the typical garb of a female fantasy barbarian such as Red Sonja and just as tall and physically impressive as her brother with the same blue skin and white hair.
When the series was relaunched in late 1986 under its new title, the creative team initially was writer Marv Wolfman and artist Jerry Ordway.John Byrne replaced Wolfman with issue #436 (January 1988) and Ordway became both writer and artist with issue #445 (October 1988). Writer/artist Dan Jurgens worked on the title from 1989–1991. Hank Henshaw, a character who would later become the Cyborg Superman, first appeared in issue #466 (May 1990). By the late 1980s, the plots of the Superman books were often linked. To coordinate the storyline and sequence of event, from January 1991 to January 2002, “triangle numbers” (or “shield numbers”) appeared on the cover of each Superman comic book. During these years, the Superman storylines ran with the story continuing through the titles Superman, Action Comics and later in two further series, Superman: The Man of Steel and Superman: The Man of Tomorrow.
Kara Zor-El has seen some epic adventures over the years, but finds her life without meaning or purpose. Here she is, a young woman who saw her planet destroyed and was sent to Earth to protect a baby cousin who ended up not needing her. What was it all for? Wherever she goes, people only see her through the lens of Superman’s fame. Just when Supergirl thinks she’s had enough, everything changes. An alien girl seeks her out for a vicious mission. Her world has been destroyed, and the bad guys responsible are still out there. She wants revenge, and if Supergirl doesn’t help her, she’ll do it herself, whatever the cost. Now a Kryptonian, a dog, and an angry, heartbroken child head out into space on a journey that will shake them to their very core.
The series was created by a British collaboration consisting of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and coloristJohn Higgins. Watchmen originated from a story proposal Moore submitted to DC featuring superhero characters that the company had acquired from Charlton Comics. As Moore’s proposed story would have left many of the characters unusable for future stories, managing editor Dick Giordano convinced Moore to create original characters instead.
Moore used the story as a means to reflect contemporary anxieties and to deconstruct and parody the superhero concept. Watchmen depicts an alternate history where superheroes emerged in the 1940s and 1960s and their presence changed history so that the United States won the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal was never exposed. In 1985, the country is edging toward World War III with the Soviet Union, freelance costumed vigilantes have been outlawed and most former superheroes are in retirement or working for the government. The story focuses on the personal development and moral struggles of the protagonists as an investigation into the murder of a government-sponsored superhero pulls them out of retirement.
