I sure use the word “milieu” a lot.

§ October 25th, 2024 § Filed under dc comics, low content mode, this week's comics § 7 Comments

Hi pals! Thanks for all your responses to the recent “Question Time” posts…I will get back to those with some responses and reactions in the near-ish future. Unfortunately, I’m short on blogging time this evening so it’ll have to wait ’til next week, maybe.

In the meantime, let me tell you that I’ve read Absolute Wonder Woman #1, and it’s an enjoyable new take on the character. Yes, it’s a darker, edgier version of our favorite Amazon, as per the entire Absolute Universe milieu, but it’s well-told and has me looking forward to more.

Also, despite the fact that I’m still catching up on actual physical copies of things I have here in my home, I’m also trying to justify my subscription to the DC Universe Infinite digital comics service by reading stuff there too. Or, in this case, re-reading, as I’ve been revisiting the 1990s John Ostrander/Tom Mandrake Spectre series, which just keeps me burning through issue after issue. The art is amazing, dark and moody and filling just every square inch on the page. The writing, exploring the nature of justice vs. evil and the Spectre’s role in doling out vengeance.

It’s very much of its time — does Bill Clinton show up? You bet he does. Is there an O.J. Simpson stand-in (“B.J. Harrison”) who is caught trying to escape the scene of his murder of his ex-wife and her boyfriend in his white Bronco, and the Spectre takes care of him good? Yup again.

But it addresses some tough issues, despite giving some easy passes here and there (like Superman not going after the Spectre for literally wiping out an entire country). It remains a good read overall, and I’ll likely reread this creative team’s Martain Manhunter series afterwards.

Okay, gotta wrap it up here. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next week.

7 Responses to “I sure use the word “milieu” a lot.”

  • Thom H. says:

    Absolute Wonder Woman definitely doesn’t look like anything else on the shelves, which makes it really interesting to me. And I got the impression that Kelly Thompson might have been inspired by Madeline Miller’s excellent book Circe, which is a definite plus. I’m in.

    I never read the Ostrander/Mandrake Martian Manhunter series. Is it good? From what I saw of it, it seemed kind of heavy and depressing. I don’t need my MM to love Oreos, but he can get kind of melancholy for my tastes.

  • Chris V says:

    It’s really depressing, Thom. John Ostrander was writing the book at the time his wife, Kim Yale, had died. He was able to channel some of the pain of his loss through a character who had lost his family and his entire world. It made for some fascinating reading but certainly not the most uplifting of subject matter.
    It wasn’t close to the level of his Spectre, but I always appreciate creators putting the personal into a creative project.

  • Thom H. says:

    Oh wow — that is definitely heavy stuff. Thanks for letting me know. I didn’t even realize she had died. I’m glad Ostrander had an outlet for some of his grief, at least.

  • Oliver says:

    Mandrake’s style was a bad fit for the post-Crisis Shazam reboot but looked much better on Batman and the Spectre.

  • Garrie says:

    Look forward to rereading the Spectre series! Such a wonderful piece of work! I remember being irked by some of the letters to the editor expressing the theory the book could be improved if it was done under the Vertigo banner so the gore could be gorier and four letter words could be allowed. *#@/![!

  • Snark Shark says:

    “Spectre”

    good one! Never read their MM series.

    “Mandrake’s style was a bad fit for the post-Crisis Shazam reboot”.

    Agreed!

    “the Vertigo banner”

    It got pretty heavy without being under Vertigo, I think they knew what they were doing.

  • Sean Mageean says:

    @Oliver

    Agreed that Mandrake’s style was not a great fit for post-Crisis Shazam!

    And overall his style is more well suited to dark and mystic characters. It would have been funny if DC had acquired the license to Mandrake the Magician during the ’90s and Tom Mandrake had been the artist on it. Mandrake the Magician could have encountered Zatara, Sargon, Ibis, Dr. Occult, Dr. Fate, The Spectre, The Phantom Stranger, The Demon, Madam Xanadu, John Constantine, etc. –all drawn by Tom
    Mandrake.

    Regarding Wonder Woman, I was recently re-reading the DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest no. 3, which reprints the only time in the Golden Age that honorary JSA members Batman and Superman participated in a complete JSA adventure (as opposed to having cameos)–from All-Star Comics no. 36, August 1947. Basically, in this story Supes is subbing for Johnny Thunder, and Bats is subbing for Al Pratt/Atom. Anyway, one thing that caught my attention was th panels where Wonder Woman first encounters Bruce Wayne and Batman. Superman has just introduced himself to the JSA , next Batman walks in and Wonder Woman says: “That’s wonderful(regarding Superman helping out)! But–er–who are YOU ( She says as slick Bruce Wayne makes the scene)? Bruce explains that he knows Al Pratt and just came from the hospital where Pratt is at and knows someone who could help. Dr. Mid-Nite and Alan Scott are dubious, but Wayne ducks out the door, changes into his Bat-suit, and re-enters to Wonder Woman’s delight as she says: “BATMAN! Wayne certainly DID get a substitute!” Batman retorts with: “Think I’ll do, eh? Good” So, there we have it; the first time Wonder Woman met Batman she was crushing on him–which ultimately lead to the Wonder Woman/Batman romance in the
    Justice League animated series! By coincidence I also happened to read Brave & The Bold no. 78 the other day–the first appearance of Copperhead. It features a zany Bob Haney plot where Batman convinces Wonder Woman and Batgirl to fight over him a la an Archie, Betty, and Veronica live triangle –but by the end of the story both Wonder Woman and Batgirl confess that they have fallen for him. So, that’s a Silver Age example of Wonder Woman crushing on Batman. Also, Bob Brown’s art is great–he draws a strong and muscular Wonder Woman–perhaps it influenced Gilbert Hernandez’s depiction of Wonder Woman? Anyway, it would be interesting if the writers for the Justice League animated series has read either of these comics as part of establishing the Wonder Woman/Batman romance.

    Also, on a sidenote, I recently noticed that All-Star Comics no. 24, 25, and 26, all say “All-American Publishing” on the cover emblems instead of a “DC Superman Publication.” I guess M.C. Gaines was pulling away from DC for a few months before he just decided to sell his share in All-American Publications and form E.C. Comics. What is also interesting is that in All-Star no.24, the DC characters The Spectre and Starman do not appear –they are replaced by Mr. Terrific (his only Golden Age JSA appearance) and Wildcat (who only appeared in two Golden Age JSA adventures, no. 24 and no. 27.–which is funny because from the Silver Age on Wildcat appeared so frequently in JSA stories that one would think he was in lots of Golden Age adventures). Anyway, for the rest of All-Star Comics run of the Golden Age and Atomic Age, only characters who were part of All-American Publications appear in the JSA stories (with the exception of that Superman and Batman guest Star issue)–so, no more Dr. Fate, Spectre, Sandman, Starman, or Hourman appearances, as they were all DC characters.

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