Thursday, June 11, 2020

On The Shelf: New releases worth the wait

Things are starting to get back to normal at comics shops, as new books are trickling in 2-3 months after original release dates due to COVID-19, and we've got a trio to look through:
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DC's trying to have it both ways with books based on Batman: The Animated Series.

On one side, you have reprints of the original Batman Adventures series, which ran concurrently with the Fox cartoon dating back to 1992. On the other is the digital-first Batman: The Adventures Continue, which sees print starting this week after digital issues first were released in April.

The first issue is set after the events of the 1997 World's Finest TV-movie, as Batman encounters Lex Luthor in Gotham. As the series progresses, we will see Tim Drake eventually become Robin, no spoiler there, as it's pretty obvious where Paul Dini & Alan Burnett are going with that subplot. Ty Templeton hasn't lost a step in capturing the toon noir style of the series.

Issue 2 will be out in 2 weeks, and then it'll be monthly going forward, with the final issue out in November.

Rating: A+. (What else?)
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Kelly Thompson and the brother-sister team of Andy & Veronica Fish (to reverse the billing) return with the second volume (mini-series) starring Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. "Something Wicked" continues the plot threads from last year's miniseries, but now, it seems Sabrina has some trust issues with her own aunts, in addition to a growing love triangle, which, if my hunch is right, will eventually see Sabrina with her canonical honey, Harvey (even though she'd been dating Archie in recent continuity). This will be fun.

Rating: A.
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Those who fail to remember history are doomed to repeat it.---George Santayana

I've used that phrase so often, it's become a fall back on occasion. It applies to Dynamite's latest Nancy Drew miniseries, which has zero to do (thank God!) with the CW series.

"The Death of Nancy Drew" co-stars the Hardy Boys, but if you think the creative team on this one is serious about killing off an iconic character, all doubts are eased in the first issue, unlike four years ago, when Dynamite published a Shadow miniseries that purported to kill off Margo Lane. There's a larger plot at work here, so we'll wait it out for a final rating.
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Finally, DC has gone back to the vaults, only to retread ground previously covered, (nothing new) but with some extras.

Super Friends: Saturday Morning Comics Volume 1, originally promised for December 2019, was delayed six months for reasons unknown. Issues 1-26 of the original Super Friends (1976-81) book are reprinted, plus material from Limited Collectors' Edition, drawn by Alex Toth, who did the now-familiar cover and the material reprinted. Plus, there's a rarity seeing reprinting for the first time.

The Aquateers debuted in a giveaway that came with some swimming goggles back around 1976-7. Yes, there was merchandise attached to the show. Nick Cardy, it appears, drew this shortie, co-starring Aquaman.

A few years ago, DC had reprinted Super Friends 1-24 in the black & white Showcase trade paperback format. It looks so much better in color. Ramona Fradon wrote the foreward for the new volume, and had taken over as series artist with issue 3, relieved on a few occasions by Kurt Schaffenberger before inker Romeo Tanghal took over as series artist for the final six issues (42-47).

Now, the question is whether or not they'll get around to reprinting the rest of the series....



Rating: A.

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