Month: May 2022

Written by Devin K. Grayson

Art by Jim Balent; John Stanisci; Buzz Setzer; & Albert DeGuzman

Cover Art by Jim Balent; Sherilyn Van Valkenburgh; & Tasty Fried Color

SUMMARY:

Entitled “Shared Mentality,” DC Comics released this issue for March 1998.  Selina Kyle is mortified that her privacy is under siege by creepy millionaire Warner Samson, who is a high-profile security systems tycoon.  Seeking vengeance against her taunting stalker, Selina goes undercover to swipe Samson’s covert access codes for some well-deserved looting payback.  Still, Selina must decide what she is willing to lose to halt Samson’s incessant degradation of women.

REVIEW:

Though the art squad delivers consistently terrific visuals, Devin Grayson’s routine plotting is disappointingly hollow.  Though Selina is presumably an equal master-of-disguise to Bruce Wayne, her resourceful adversary is depicted as too much of a misogynistic moron to be believed. 

The first few pages are promising, in terms of Selina’s slimeball stalker clearly having the upper hand.  Yet, Grayson makes revenge look far too easy for Selina flipping the advantage against the sleazy Warner Samson, without better exploring his motive for harassing her (beyond presumably clichéd macho arrogance).

Case in point: Selina’s current nemesis evidently knows more than where she lives and where she shops, let alone has illegal access to Selina’s unlisted phone number.  Especially after confirming his identity to Selina, wouldn’t Samson logically anticipate potential retaliation, i.e. be on the lookout for her potential disguises?  In other words, shouldn’t her tech-savvy stalker have already have researched her notorious modus operandi/reputation and anticipate Catwoman’s effort at retribution? Hence, his idiotic lack of suspicion amidst Selina’s undercover work is less-than-credible.    

Though the issue’s intriguing premise falls far short, Grayson partially delivers on Selina’s conscience surpassing her innate greed.  Yet, one is left wondering why doesn’t Catwoman earlier take greater offense upon spying Samson’s battered spouse?  Making a defiant stance against spousal abuse would have made this plot seem far less flimsy.

Though it’s an okay read, excellent artwork can’t overcome an abundance of plot holes in Catwoman # 55.  

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

There’s a two-page “Copy Cats” letters-and-answers column, including hype from editor Denny O’Neil for the next major Bat-event: “Cataclysm.”    

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                     5½ Stars

Written by Chuck Dixon

Art by Jim Balent; Bob Smith; Buzz Setzer; & Albert DeGuzman

Cover Art by Jim Balent; Jordan B. Gorfinkel; Electric Crayon; Curtis King; & John Wren

SUMMARY:

Entitled “Here Comes the Bride,” DC Comics released this issue for February 1995.  Forced into a shotgun wedding with the nefarious Prince Willem, a captive Selina Kyle schemes to escape ASAP.  Yet, at Willem’s castle evidently somewhere in the snowy Alps, heavily-armed, rival hit squads converge to object to the nuptials. 

One is a peeved Galiant’s commando team seeking to eliminate a double-crossing Catwoman while the other intends to assassinate the prospective ‘groom.’  All a tenacious Selina knows is that she had better skedaddle fast once the crossfire ensues.  

REVIEW:

Anchored by the art squad’s reliably terrific visuals, writer Chuck Dixon serves up a predictably chaotic Cat-caper.  No matter its assortment of plot contrivances, the undemanding Catwoman # 18 delivers a fun (if not quickly forgettable) read for fans.

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

There’s a two-page “Copy Cats” letters-and-answers column.  

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:               6 Stars

‘Zatanna’ Written by Len Wein & Art by Gray Morrow.

‘Flash’ Written by John Broome & Art by Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella.

Cover Art by Gray Morrow.

First Page Art by Mike Nasser & Terry Austin.

SUMMARY:

DC Comics released this 48-page issue for January 1977.  First up is an untitled 17-page Zatanna Zatara adventure serving as a sequel to Justice League of America # 51.  On a dark and stormy night, at the Zatara family mansion known as Shadowcrest, sorcerer John Zatara is corrupted by an unknown supernatural threat.  Under such ominous influence, he banishes his beloved daughter, Zatanna, and her business manager, Jeff Sloane, to a bizarre prehistorical locale. 

Taken captive, Zatanna & Jeff face imminent execution by a warlock’s goons in the ‘Tower of the Dead.’  Against seemingly impossible odds, it’s up to the Mistress of Magic to save Jeff, Zatara, and Earth itself from an old foe wreaking vengeful havoc.  No matter the heartbreaking consequences, Zatanna must even be willing to kill her mind-controlled father in magical combat to thwart his reign of terror.     

From May 1962’s The Flash # 128, the 13-page back-up feature is the frequently-reprinted “Case of the Real-Gone Flash!”  Though the story is oddly identified as their third encounter, Barry Allen’s Flash tangles with the formidable 64^th Century rogue, Abra Kadabra, for the first time. 

REVIEW:

This long-forgotten DC anthology title serves up two worthwhile capers.  Len Wein’s reliable scripting and Gray Morrow’s engaging visuals concoct Zatanna’s fun lead feature that amply earns its cover image.  Though dated as a Silver Age relic, the Flash’s face-off vs. Abra Kadabra is still worth a quick read. 

Along with the bonus materials as kid-friendly padding, DC Super-Stars of Magic Giant # 11 is a nostalgic treat serving up classy, all-ages DC Comics-style entertainment.

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

A single-page biography summarizes ‘The Great Houdini.’  Though the author isn’t identified, the facial close-up is illustrated by Mike Nasser & Terry Austin.  A second full-page article is entitled “Conjuring Through the Ages.”  Neither its writer nor the illustrator of a Merlin image are identified.  There are also page-length instructions for three magic tricks: ‘The Coin in the Glass;’ ‘The Disappearing Coin;’ and ‘The Magical Prediction.’     

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                6 Stars