“Oh right, I can fly.”
Transformers: The Reign Of Starscream #5
FINAL ISSUE
IDW Publishing (August, 2008)
WRITER/LETTERER: Chris Mowry
ARTIST: Alex Milne
COLORIST: Josh Perez
EDITOR: Denton J. Tipton
December 19, 1942 – January 2, 2019
Well, I see 2019 didn’t take long until we got our first celebrity passing. Of course the first one depends on what your interests are but for me it’s Eugene “Mean Gene” Okerland, famed interviewer for the AWA, WWE (back when it was still the WWF), and WCW, who passed away on Wednesday at 76 years old. The name was given to him because he wasn’t afraid to ask the hard questions, although he was one of the nicest people in the business. He had a long career of celebrating pro wrestling through various other works outside of his in-ring persona. He even tag-teamed once with Hulk Hogan. Okerland is survived by a wife and sons. Please pray for them.
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Oddly enough this is the only train image I have in the library right now.
A long time ago (or so it feels) I showcased James Farr’s Trains-Formers, a fun mashup of Transformers and Thomas The Tank Engine. Farr created it for his son Vector, who was a fan of both at the time. However, the people behind Thomas wasn’t too thrilled about it and had it taken down. While this led Farr to other mash-up and original projects (oddly some of them not for kids), we assumed the combining robot trains were long gone.
New Year’s Day 2019 showed that not to be the case. By taking out all of the Thomas references (and Transformers just to be sure I guess), a new generation of Trains-Formers made their debut. In a Christmas special. And I thought the last Captain Yuletide was late. Still, I hope this is a preview of things to come.
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“You can’t be a party crasher. I’m not throwing a party.”
Doctor Who Classics Series 2 #8
IDW Publishing (July 2009)
“The Stockbridge Horror” part 1
reprints the strips in Doctor Who Monthly #70-72
WRITER/PENCILER/CO-INKER: Steve Parkhouse
CO-INKER: Paul Neary
EDITOR: Alan McKenzie
IDW COLORS: Charlie Kirchoff
IDW EDITOR: Denton J. Tipton
IDW DESIGNER: Amauri Osorio
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It may not be the right month but it is the year Blade Runner takes place in. While I’m sure nobody is sad that we aren’t in that future, especially if you live in Los Angeles–the place is a mess, science fiction can make a good prediction or two, or occasionally inspire others to create their future tech. Here’s an article taking a loot at what Ridley Scott and screenplay writers Hampton Fancher & David Peoples (nobody remembers to credit the screenwriters in these kinds of articles, just the director) got right and wrong about the 2019 we’re headed for. I assume someone will follow this up in November like they did for Back To The Future.
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Eventitis. It’s been one of DC’s huge problems in recent years. Dan DiDio seems to be giving the DCU a terminal case of it. Sure, events have been part of larger comic universes ever since Marvel’s Secret Wars but in recent years it has gotten so bad that “status quo” is nonexistent in the DC Universe. Events used to be an annual event, something to bring readers in for the summer and promote titles people might not have known about, especially the smaller titles, or a point to create new titles. However, they were rare while nowadays DC is flooded with them. And in the case of Doomsday Clock in eternal “we’ll get it done, we promise” mode. It was more important to do one around Batman than finish the one they’re on. They’re like chain smokers now.
(Not to be confused with The Chainsmokers. I should warn you that’s a link to “Selfie” because that’s the song I know them most by.)
Anyway, I’m surprised a comic celebrating the various crises the DC Universe has undergone wasn’t done in DiDio’s time as editor-in-chief but in 1998. As part of our ongoing look at Secret Files & Origins (or just Secret Files depending on what page or cover you’re on), we’re up to “JLA In Crisis”, a book that came out just after the event “DC One Million“. You won’t be surprised that a story set in the 853rd century starring new incarnations of the Justice League was created by Grant Morrison if you followed comics in recent years. The Hourman of that period came back with the original…well, this version anyway…JLA, which ties into the story. I’m not sure why it’s called “One Million” though.
And there is only one story this time. The usual “Lost Pages” just runs around the solar system of One Million but there is an adventure in the beginning, as the Flash starts reliving those earlier events. Good thing he gets that out of his system in this book because in the future there would be a lot more to deal with. Although since DiDio and Tom King just killed him off I guess that doesn’t matter for old Wally. White Wally’s dead because DiDio hates legacies…or at least the ones he didn’t grow up with since technically Barry Allen is a legacy Flash as well. But enough about Danny, let’s talk about something more interesting.
Wasn’t there a breakfast cereal mascot with this gimmick?
JLA In Crisis: Secret Files
DC Comics (November, 1998)
Origin Story: “The Flash’s Infinite Crises”
WRITER: Tom Peyer
PENCILER: Rags Morales
INKER: Dave Meikus
COLORIST: John Kaliz
SEPARATIONS: Digital Chameleon
COVER ART: Rodolfo Damaggio & Robert Camanella with Digital Chameleon
There is no letterer listed, even for the profile pages. For this book the profiles aren’t about characters but a short synopsis of the events. I’m just going to focus on the story.
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Johnny just really hates long ponytails.
Contest Of Champions II #2
Marvel Comics (September, 1999)
“Process of Elimination”
WRITER: Chris Claremont
PENCILER: Oscar Jimenez
INKER: Eduardo Alpuente
COLORING: Atomic Paintbrush
LETTERING: Comicraft
EDITOR: Ruben Diaz
