Comic Book Review: From Beyond the Unknown Giant #1

Comic Book Review: From Beyond the Unknown Giant #1 by Various

When I was a lad in the 1970s, comic books had become thin. In an effort to save costs and keep prices within the allowance of kids, the major publishers had shaved off page count, and thus story content. I didn’t fully understand the reasons why, but often a comic book just wouldn’t feel satisfying. But every so often, DC Comics would put out a “100-Page Giant.” These issues would have a short new story at the front, and then several fun reprints, making for a fuller reading experience.

Recently, DC has started printing hundred page “giants” again. Apparently this was part of a deal with Wal-Mart so they appeared on sale there first, but now regular comic book stores have them too. This particular issue has a loose theme of “science fiction.”

The cover story is “In Gloom” by writer Dave Wielgosz and artist Kenneth Rocafort. It stars Hal Jordan as Green Lantern. As most of my readers will know, the Green Lantern Corps are basically space cops, even if it translates into being a superhero while Hal’s on Earth. Which he is at the beginning of the story. The Guardians of the Universe, his bosses, telepresence in to remind Hal he’s got an entire space sector to take care of. He’s a bit dismissive, as Earth has an abundance of supervillains and monsters to deal with…even if there are other superheroes.

When destructive bounty hunter Bolphunga the Unrelenting arrives on Earth, Green Lantern goes to stop him. But as it turns out, Bolphunga is fleeing the Gloom, a team of murderous space vigilantes with a grudge against the Green Lantern Corps. It turns out the Gloom are recruited from survivors of worlds that were not saved by a Green Lantern because that GL was somewhere else at the time. Ouch.

Hal decides to go out and actually be a space cop for a while, but one of the Gloom lampshades that he’ll soon be back to just dealing with Earth problems.

Next up is Kamandi in “The Butler” by writer Tom Sniegoski and artist Eric Gapstur. Kamandi is “The Last Boy on Earth” after the Great Disaster wiped out most humans and caused various animal species to change into intelligent humanoids. Interestingly, in the introduction to the story, the disaster is listed as a “natural catastrophe” rather than the nuclear war it traditionally has been.

In this tale, Kamandi is chased through a storm by hungry rat people, and finds shelter in a mostly intact manor house. The robot butler is a bit run down, but it still faithfully waits for its masters to return. Can Kamandi return the favor he owes it?

The last of the new stories is “Stealth Mode” written by Dan Jurgens with art by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund. This one features the Levitz-era Legion of Super-Heroes, a group of young people from across the galaxy who work for justice in the Thirtieth Century. Two of their members have been kidnapped, and a small group of the Legion must infiltrate the abductors’ planet to find and rescue their friends. However, the job’s not done until the problem that required the kidnapping is fixed.

It certainly is nice to see this version of the characters again. On to the reprints!

“The Riddle of Little Earth Lost” written by David Michelinie and art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez teams up Superman and Adam Strange. This is set during a period when Adam’s Zeta-Beam teleportation was modified to let him stay on his adopted world of Rann, but at the cost of killing him if he returned to his home planet Earth.

Except that Adam’s old enemy Kaskor (a sleazy-looking fellow) has found a way to sabotage this, causing Rann in the Alpha Centauri system and Earth in the Sol system to change places in the universe! The villain was smart enough to make sure the effect trapped the Justice League in their satellite headquarters, but Superman was late to the meeting and is free.

The two heroes first battle separate menaces created by the switch, but then team up to defeat Kaskor. Except that Kaskor’s a sore loser, so he’s set it up to have both planets materialize in the same space, destroying Rann and Earth at one stroke! It will require both Adam Strange’s fast thinking and Superman’s enormous power to solve this dilemma.

“The 50-Story Killer!” with story by Bob Haney and art by Jim Aparo is another team-up tale, this one featuring Batman and the Metal Men. The new mayor of Gotham City has decided it’s time to retire old crimefighters Commissioner Gordon and Batman and replace them with a new commissioner and a team of shapeshifting robots.

Bizarrely, Bruce Wayne obeys the court order forbidding Batman to operate in Gotham City…until a blackmailer fills the Wayne Enterprises building with deadly gas and demands millions. The criminals have figured out a way to stymie the Metal Men, but aren’t aware that Batman is one of their hostages! Bob Haney was notorious for not following other people’s continuity or characterization, so the Metal Men are a bit off here.

And to fill out the issue, writer Alan Moore, penciller Bill Willingham and inker Terry Austin bring us the short tale “In Blackest Night.” Green Lantern Katma Tui has been assigned to recruit a new member for the Corps to work in the starless zone known as the Obsidian Deeps. But how can she make someone who comes from a species with no concept of color or light want to become a Green Lantern? The best story in the issue.

Overall, a decent collection of stories that makes for a satisfying read. I suspect that future issues will explore the Gloom concept a bit more; but the backup stories are likely to vary.