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FIRST IMPRESSIONS - MILLENIUM EDITION - Part 2 Quick takes on the remainder of our Millenium picks. This time all reviews by Brent A. Keane (BK) and Alex Bernstein (AB). ALL STAR COMICS #3 Before the X-Men. Before the FF, JLA - before even the Invaders - there was the Justice Society. (Awful name.) Behind perhaps the single greatest (and most imitated) cover ever - you've got the first teaming of the first super-team in comics history. Sure, the art is crude and blocky and they don't do anything except sit around a table and swap stories. But then that was the whole point, wasn't it? They were fantastic and buddies. You got eight - count 'em - eight! - of DC's most exciting heroes for a dime (or a dollar if you bought the treasury edition like I did) - and that's not even including Sheldon Mayer's Johnny Thunder and Red Tornado, for gosh sakes! And the team is still going strong. Every superhero fan alive should own a copy of this book. Get up! Go! Right now! Hurry!!! (AB) THE MAN OF STEEL #1 'The Comics Event Of The Century!'? Hardly. Necessary? Definitely. Superman, one of DC's Major Characters (icons?), is re-invented as a down-home country boy (his persona is rooted in Americana - Mom, apple pie, and the girl next door), with both his alien origins and upbringing re-tooled, resulting in a more likeable character. Clean art by Byrne, and an interesting (if familiar) plot that serves as a wonderful springboard for a renewed legend. Yes, Virginia, you'll believe a man can fly. (BK) 
OUR ARMY AT WAR #81 Not a great introduction to Sgt. Rock, but an interesting Kanigher/war sampler nevertheless. Without even reading the liner notes, you can immediately tell that, by '59, the focus of DC war books (most written and edited by Kanigher) was no longer the gung-ho, pro-War excitement of the 40's. Instead you find emotional, unsettling stories - usually of lone, isolated men ("Umbrella Pilot" and "Fighting Footsteps" being two solid examples). Simple stories, but effective. And I guess kids were buying it? Today, we'd call it Vertigo. Biggest disappointment: the Kanigher/Kubert story listed in the notes, but not actually in the book. Too bad. (AB) WATCHMEN #1 The future ain't what it used to be, and nostalgia can only go so far... WATCHMEN broke new ground, set new standards, and ulimately has a lot to answer for. As a story, the first chapter is impressive in and of itself; as an opening salvo, it's absolutely staggering. And to think, both the best and worst was yet to come...(BK) 
GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW #76 I actually sent 60¢ in change in the mail for a yellow paperback copy of this back in '72-'73? The ad for it was in the newspaper, "The Monster Times." Remember that? (The same place I got my Planet of the Apes belt buckle.) And the book actually came! On the back cover a poor, black man admonished GL. What exactly was Mr. super-hero doing about racism and social injustice? Behind them loomed incredibly lifelike illustrations of Martin Luther King Jr. and JFK. Something important was happening here - and Lantern seemed as clued out as I was. Good thing Green Arrow was around to help him find out. Adams and O'Neil. Breathtaking. (AB) ACTION COMICS #1 Cabbages, cabbages, cabbages. I have absolutely nothing new to say here. But could we really not include a picture of ACTION #1? Beyond S-guy, almost worth checking out for the back-up features, all extremely influenced by comic strips of the day. (AB) 
THE SANDMAN #1 Millennium Edition One-shot It was the stuff of nightmares. Ponderous prose, garish art, horrid colors. You could sense magic in the story, however, just below the surface of things. The promise of a tale to rival the best of the old myths was yet to be fulfilled, but truly it has been said: in dreams begin responsibilities...(BK) 
NEW GODS #1 "Kirby's Fourth World is Coming!" I still don't really know what it means - but that promo ignited fans and ushered in Kirby's groundbreaking early-70's run for DC. After his split with Marvel, the King created THE FOREVER PEOPLE, MISTER MIRACLE, recreated JIMMY OLSEN (yes, that's what I said) and interwove them all in a heady, mythological tapestry of sheer power. All the books were killer - but the heart of the storm was NEW GODS. Kirby peaked here, surpassing even his FF/Galactus stuff. But like all great books of the early '70's, the whole thing was murdered by low sales after less than 20 issues. Where was the direct market when we needed it?! Conceptually, Kirby never reached these heights again (though OMAC was a nice try). But the books themselves remain timeless and outstanding. And to this day, Darkseid remains the cornerstone villain of the entire DC universe. Stunning. (AB) BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS #1 Rapid-fire storytelling; lean dialogue; razor-sharp characterization: DARK KNIGHT is the zenith of modern superhero comicbooks. DC's other Major Character is re-imagined at the twilight of his career, becoming a far more powerful presence in a world that needs him, like it or not. Miller's tour-de-force is outstanding in every respect. (BK) 
WHIZ COMICS #2 "Speak my name, Billy Batson!" "Kimota! - no - uh! Shazam!!" The Big Red Cheese? The World's Mightiest Mortal? Or just Fred MacMurray in red longjohns? You decide! DC put him out of business, then bought up the rights. But once upon a time Captain Marvel and Co. were a unique, exciting, imaginative industry unto themselves - with sales, for a time, outstripping even Supes. You're still not sure who he is? Go ask the FCA, they'll tell you. Or just pick up this book. Okay, there's no cool Mac Raboy art, no Hoppy the Marvel Bunny or Mr. Tawky Tawny the talking tiger (my personal favorite). But Spy Smasher and Ibis the Invincible are here! And a real old guy with a big big block over his head! Not bad for $3.95.(AB)
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