Dinosaur vs. Unicorn

"Dinosaur vs. Unicorn" from Warlord vol.4 #3 (DC, 2009) by Mike Grell, Chad Hardin, Wayne Faucher, Dan Green and Walden Wong

PLACE YOUR BETS!!! (The odds are on the raptor's side, I have to warn you.) Mike Grell returned to Warlord a few years ago, to resounding ambivalence. No one cares about Skartaris anymore, despite it being the only place dinosaurs fight unicorns.

Young Fafhrd vs. the Midgard Serpent

"Young Fafhrd vs. the Midgard Serpent" from Sword of Sorcery vol.1 #4 (DC, 1973) by Denny O'Neil and Walt Simonson

When the New52 came out with a Sword of Sorcery, I thought the name was really peculiar (why not Sword AND Sorcery, for example), but it's an old DC title! For five whole issues, comics greats-in-becoming like Denny O'Neil, Walt Simonson and Howard Chaykin lent their pens to new adventures for Fritz Leiber's popular fantasy anti-heroes, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. No Young Mouser tales as far as I know though.

Wonder Woman Vs. Doomsday

"Wonder Woman Vs. Doomsday" from Superman/Wonder Woman #1 (DC, 2013) by Charles Soule, Tony Daniel and Matt Banning

Is this a scene from the upcoming DC film? I'm not a fan of the Superman-Wonder Woman relationship, but I still really wanted to like this series because I AM a fan of Soule's work. The action beats work, and Soule is the first writer to use the characters from Azzarello's Wonder Woman series (to date, practically a world isolated from the rest of the New52), but the relationship stuff just doesn't work. Pretty art, but way too splash-happy (despite this blog's focus, I'd rather comics not be one splash after another). I won't be getting the third issue.

Supergirl vs. Blackstarr

"Supergirl vs. Blackstarr" from Supergirl vol.2 #14 (DC, 1983) by Paul Kupperberg, Carmine Infantino and Bob Oksner

When Daring New Adventures of Supergirl wasn't new anymore, and not so daring I guess, it turned into Supergirl vol.2 (from #14-23). If it lasted that long, it's probably because the Supergirl movie would soon come out, but neither the book, nor the film were very good. Because I've only ever had dim memories of the movie, I'd always connected its villain, Selena, with Blackstarr, which I only really knew from Who's Who, though they have nothing to do with one another. The weird connections kids make in their heads.

Superboy vs. Kid-Flash

"Superboy vs. Kid-Flash" from Superboy vol.4 #5 (DC, 2011) by Jeff Lemire and Pier Gallo

Spinning out from Geoff John's fine little run on the character in Adventure Comics, Kon-El's pre-52 book was a sweet little affair painting Smallville as a weird superhero Twin Peaks/Eureka/Univille, and Jeff Lemire was the perfect writer for it. The book had a nice supporting cast too, including Luthor's brilliant niece and a non-timber wolf Krypto. One of the great losses of the New52, since Superboy became nigh unreadable  after the jump.

The Phantom vs. the Super-Friends

"The Phantom vs. the Super-Friends" from Super Friends vol.1 #6 (DC, 1977) by E. Nelson Bridwell, Ramona Fradon and Bob Smith

Ok, Menagerie Man isn't the Phantom. He's the Phantom during Movember, slumming it in the DCU. Well, the almost-DCU since Super-Friends was not technically part of DC continuity. But if you're looking for light-hearted fun, or perhaps back stories for Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog, or a secret identity for the Wonder Twins, then you've got to read these books (I think most if not all have been collected). Am I right in thinking the ethnic heroes introduced on the show (Apache Chief, Samurai, El Dorado, etc.) didn't appear in the comic? Or do I only think that because the book introduced a large ethnic cast as the Global Guardians to - I thought - compensate. Many of THOSE guys did go on to have a big impact on the post-Crisis DCU, which puts Super-Friends' canonicity in question.

Liberty Belle vs. the Axis

"Liberty Belle vs. the Axis" from Star Spangled Comics #33 (Detective, 1944) by Don Cameron and Chuck Winter

Liberty Belle is an old favorite from All-Star Squadron and her Golden Age stories seem to have a nice, sleek style. She wasn't Star Spangled Comics's only, or even main, feature of course. The headliners were Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy, the Newsboy Legion and eventually, Robin in solo stories, giving the book a distinctly youthful flavor. Of course, there were more adult heroes, like Belle, but also Tarantula, TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite, and Robotman. The book eventually phased out superheroes in favor of strips like Tomahawk and horror stuff, until it became Star Spangled War Stories with #131.

Shade Showdown

"Shade Showdown" from Shade, the Changing Man vol.2 #16 (DC, 1991) by Peter Milligan, Chris Bachalo and Rick Bryant

Mature Readers Shade faces off against the American Scream in the first mega-story arc of the series that would become on the first books in DC's new Vertigo imprint. Trademarks: Crazy covers, a memorable supporting cast, and Shade "changing" each time Milligan killed him off, at one point turning the book into Shade the Changing Woman. I should reread the whole thing some day.

Not the First Robin vs. Not the First Batman

"Not the First Robin vs. Not the First Batman" from Robin vol.2 #1 (DC, 1993) by Chuck Dixon, Tom Grummett and Scott Hanna

After a number of mini-series, Tom Drake was finally ready to take the plunge (or, looks like, get pushed) into monthly series-dom, and he had an incredible 185-issue run. That's almost 16 years! Looking through my long box, its flow keeps getting interrupted by Batman and DC events, but I remember getting enjoyment out of it at the time. Still, I quit a bit after Final Night, when I guess I'd had enough of crossovers and had deserted the other Bat-books as well.

Ray Versus Brimstone

"Ray Versus Brimstone" from The Ray vol.2 #1 (DC, 1994) by Christopher Priest, Howard Porter and Robert Jones

As a fan of Golden Age characters, and thus of newer heroes following in those heroes' footsteps, I obviously was drawn to the new Ray. The mini-series with art by "newcomer" Joe Quesada(!) and the Priest series that followed. But my memories of it are really vague. Doctor Polaris... the ghost of his father the Golden Age Ray... flipping through these, I think they may be worth a re-read at some point. Or perhaps the mnemonic hole in my head means I shouldn't bother.

Manhunter vs. Green Arrow

"Manhunter vs. Green Arrow" from Power Company #9 (DC, 2002) by Kurt Busiek, Tom Grummett and Prentis Rollins

Been slowly assembling issues of Power Company, which I missed the first time around (I was out of comics in the early 00s). If I'd been a bit more solvent at the time, I'm sure I would have been all over this. Kurt Busiek and Tom Grummett. Obscure characters that interest me, like Manhunter, Doctor Cyber... Bork from Brave and the Bold!! And Firestorm too. When I complete the run, I hope to review the whole thing on that other blog I run.

Spectre vs. Phantom Stranger

"Spectre vs. Phantom Stranger" from The Phantom Stranger vol.4 #5 (DC, 2013) by Dan DiDio, J.M. DeMatteis, Brent Anderson, Phillip Tan and Rob Hunter

So after 1976, the Stranger had a Mike Mignola-drawn mini-series in '86, and a Vertigo one-shot in '93, but it's this year that he came back to the monthly grind in the New52. I hear good things, mostly about DeMatteis' contribution, but it's hard to get over the Phantom Stranger's new origin, or the fact that he even HAS one. One of my favorite issues of Secret Origins was the Stranger's, because it gave four possibilities and refused to give a definitive answer. In the New52, not only is there a definitive origin, un-Strangerizing the Stranger (we KNOW who he is/was), but they've made him into the historical/biblical Judas Iscariot! Which to me, borders on the offensive. I mean, Christ's traitor as a supernatural superhero? As a lapsed Catholic, I'm no religious prude, and in fact subscribe to Borges' opinion that Judas is a hero in the New Testament, the guy chosen by Jesus to do the deed that had to be done so he could die on the cross, who didn't want to do it, and committed suicide rather than spend those pieces of silver, ironically dying before humanity (and his own soul) was saved by Christ. But I don't think a New52 comic is the platform to explore any of that. It just seems completely off. Now that the book is part of this Trinity business, I don't even care to find out if I'm right.

Katana vs. her Husband: Rematch

"Katana vs. her Husband: Rematch" from Outsiders vol.4 #24 (DC, 2010) by Peter J. Tomasi, Fernando Pasarin, Scott Hanna and Prentis Rollins

My dislike for the Outsiders is well documented, but DC really, really, really wanted to keep the name in the the public eye, and they returned as a new Batman and the Outsiders at the end of the volume 3. From issue 15, Batman inevitably left and the book became Outsiders vol.4, reaching issue 40 this time around. In all, that's about 200 issues about people I find neither competent or "outsiders". Sad.

Big Barda vs. Wonder Woman

"Big Barda vs. Wonder Woman" from Mister Miracle vol.3 #6 (DC, 1996) by Kevin Dooley, Mike Collins and Barbara Kaalberg

The third series tried to more or less continue the story of Scott and Barda's marriage/destiny. Barda goes to Paradise Island after some marital strife, and then the story continues in the New Gods book of the time, fighting premature cancellation after #7.

Green vs. White

"Green vs. White" from Martian Manhunter vol.2 #4 (DC, 1999) by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake

He was a member of the early Justice League of America, of JL Detroit and the JLI, and there was the really awesome Jones/Barreto American Secrets mini-series that put J'Onn J'Onzz in the 50s at the height of McCarthyism, and then there was the strange-looking Mark Badger mini, but it would be the success of Morrison's JLA that would finally give the Martian Manhunter a shot at his own monthly series. I loved the premise Ostrander was working with, having J'Onn live his life in several secret identities, which made for a book that was more than just the "green Superman". And with the White Martians at the center of the first JLA arc, it meant J'Onn finally had villains of his own that weren't forgotten Silver Age comedy goons. Three years isn't a bad run, but I'm sure it could have gone longer. I wasn't around to read the '06-'07 8-issue mini-series, but I do know it didn't propel the character back into stardom.

Legion vs. Legion

"Legion vs. Legion" from Legion of Super-Heroes vol.3 #3 (DC, 1984) by Paul Levitz, Keith Giffen, Steve Lightle and Larry Mahlstedt

In 1984, DC decided to tap the blossoming direct market to relaunch a number of its best-selling team books, including the LSH, with better paper and printing. The "Baxter series" would last 63 issues plus four annuals, and get reprinted with a year's delay in the newsstand book Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes where I personally experienced most of the run. That's what happens when you live at least 4-hours drive from the nearest comic book shop. Having experienced a year of Tales' "lame-duck Legion" where little of import happened (still, Dan Jurgens art, I wasn't complaining), the Baxter series upped the ante considerably. The first arc, pitting the Legion against the Legion of Super-Villains was epic and ended in the dramatic death of Karate Kid, creating fall-out (including one of those Legion lost storylines that have become a tradition) that would last through the rest of that first year. Giffen, Lightle and Greg Larocque handled most of the art through the end of the series, creating a slick and modern 30th century and a Legion I could call my own. I've liked other eras, but when I think of the Legion, I think of this one.

Batman vs. the Cavalier

"Batman vs. the Cavalier" from Legends of the Dark Knight #34 (DC, 1992) by James Robinson and Tim Sale

Currently the title of one of DC's digital comics AND the subtitle of one of their worst print comics, LotDK was, in its day, a brilliant idea. How do you capitalize on Batman Year One's success? How about a whole series dedicated to Batman's VERY BUSY first year? And further, how about a different creative team of big names and/or auteurs on each arc like Miller and Mazzucchelli had been? The result was a pretty great anthology, though it sort of lost its way after the 50th issue or so (and it ran to 160 issues!). At least, to my recollection. Some of my favorites include the Matt Wagner Two-Face/Freaks story "Faces", and the above "Blades", but I always thought Grant Morrison's "Gothic" was a little overrated.

Historical Figures: Good vs. Evil

"Historical Figures: Good vs. Evil" from Kid Eternity vol.1 #15 (Quality, 1949) by William Woolfolk and Pete Riss

I love love love the idea of Kid Eternity summoning up historical figures to help him, and Master Man, who summons bad guys from hell itself should have been a recurring villain. Sadly, modern takes on the Kid haven't captured the charm or educational remit of the idea. Also see the Star Trek episode The Savage Curtain.

Karate Kid vs. Cavemen

"Karate Kid vs. Cavemen" from Karate Kid #11 (DC, 1977) by Jack C. Harris and Ric Estrada

DC's attempt to get into the 70s kung fu craze is rather odd. A 30th-century Legionnaire whose unique power is "super-karate" goes back in time to "find himself" in the 20th century. It's about two layers too complicated. There's nothing about the Karate Kid solo series that's especially interesting, either in the writing or the art, and it's no surprise it lasted only 15 issues. Same as Marvel's original Iron Fist, I suppose, though the Fist continued his adventures with a partner, and very much short of Shang-Chi reaching #125. No, the character's longest-lasting legacy is that the Karate Kid movies have to acknowledge DC Comics in their credits.

Isis vs. Cephalopod

"Isis vs. Cephalopod" from Isis #4 (DC, 1977) by Jack C. Harris, Mike Vosburg and Vince Colletta

DC produced 8 issues of this comic tying in with the live action TV series, the second half of the Shazam/Isis Hour. Like Captain Marvel, she calls on the powers of a gods (well, a single goddess), and there lies the thematic link. After her 15 episodes, she became an animation hero, one of Jason's Super 7 (a major part of my Saturday morning viewing). It's only very recently that DC brought her back, as part of their mainstream universe. She was basically in limbo from 1979 to 2002, but kids my age now writing comics would have remembered her... I'm just surprised she was owned by DC all along.