We were pretty limited in the amount of stuff we were able to bring over, and the packing was something of a whirlwind process. As a result, only a small stack of comics from the seemingly-endless backlog made the trip. I've got a baker's dozen comics with me...
... Plus about five graphic novels. After that, I'll have to find them locally.
In the meantime, let's start with a classic American issue: A Justice League comic from 1970.
Title: Justice League of America
Issue: 80
Date: May, 1970
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Denny O'Neil
Artist: Dick Dillin, Joe Giella
Thanagaran bad guy Norch Lor is stealing souls with something he calls a Ghenna box, and the JLA mostly stumble around trying to stop him. Lor's motivations are a bit fuzzy here, but basically he is out to preserve souls due to some impending universal apocalypse.
He is one of those pesky villains that gives the League more trouble than he has any right to. And unfortunately, the plot is loaded with little inconsistencies, down to the effects of his Ghenna thingee. It puts some victims into a coma while it leaves others in a kind of zombie-like condition.
I did like the fact that it is Canary who finally gets the upper hand on the bad guy (with a sleeper-hold, no less!), but the plot holes here were just a bit too frequent and too large. There was also a rather tired "an unprotected person can survive for 10 seconds in space" bit, which I have seen done in at least two other comics from this general time period. And the story hinted on the cover bears little resemblance to what actually occurs.
I did like to science facts backup features which took up a couple of pages of the book.
But a bad villain and a bad weak plot don't make for much entertainment value.
Rating: 4.5/10
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