peter john rios

Covers of comics that are (or have been) in my collection at one point or another.

The great #100th edition!

Two things to note before we kick off the festivities: First, I use www.comicbookdb.com as a reference guide to the madness that is my 365 Tumblr series. It’s user generated content, which means if there’s a particular 100th issue that hasn’t been posted there yet, then it will be (unfortunately) absent from this post (and all posts before and after this one actually). While I’ve been enjoying this countdown (and trying furiously to catch up), I like the one-stop-shopping aspect of going just to ComicBookDB without having to go to multiple sources. Second, I’m sure are many, many 100th issues I haven’t read or owned that have significant noteworthy events. For the sake of space and time, I’ll no longer be adding the “never read/never owned” sections. To be blunt, if I want to catch up, I gotta cut that sh*t out. Haha.

With all that said, Here we go with part one!

Avengers West Coast: Special embossed red foil cover! All to celebrate the death of Mockingbird! I found this in a back issue bin years after it was released and since it’s an anniversary issue, and has a shiny Ooooo look at me cover, I picked it up. But it’s still West Coast Avengers to me! (1993)

Birds of Prey: This issue marks the first time the art of Nicola Scott graces the title. I like this issue especially for the opening sequence where Oracle offers up invitations to the group to various female DC characters as potential replacements for Black Canary. It’s all the first appearance of a new Spy Smasher, granddaughter of the original Golden Age espionage character. (2007)

Excalibur (1996)

Firestorm: The 100 issue (plus Annuals) run of Firestorm joins this series. It’s one of those 80s runs that I really enjoyed although the final fourth of the run is a bit wonky, especially at this point where Firestorm is more of an elemental than anything else. Thankfully that eventually went away. By the end of this run, John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake were part of the creative team, paving the way for their eventual collaboration on the Spectre and Martian Manhunter. (1990)

Flash: I no longer have the Terminal Velocity storyarc that includes issue 100, but somewhere in all of this is the first appearance/mention of the Speed Force! And in this issue, the cliffhanger is Wally West learning how the Speed Force can change a speedster. (1995)

Green Arrow: Several titles turned 100 at the same time in DC’s line around the same time. To celebrate, they gave them similar cover treatments. This issue marks the penultimate chapter in the eventual death of Green Arrow story. (1995)

Green Lantern: Including the first appearance of the new, younger Air Wave, son of the Golden Age version. To add to the oddity of the character, the new Air Wave is part of the Hal Jordan family tree, even though the original is from Earth-2 and Hal is from Earth-1. Go look it up. It’s too convoluted to explain here. (1978)

Green Lantern: The current GL, Kyle Rayner, winds up in the past and meets a younger Hal Jordon. After a battle with Sinestro, the Guardians send Kyle back to his proper future. Only, Sinestro manages to send Hal there as well kicking off a short run where a younger Hal shows up in a time where his older self has long since died as his evil Parallax counterpart. (1998)

To be continued in part 2…

Covers of comics that are (or have been) in my collection at one point or another.

#123

Part 2 (I have a feeling these posts are going to double up quite often from here on out):

New Titans (1995)

New X-Men (2002)

Nightwing (2006)

Scooby-Doo: Picked this issue up for the CGS easter egg dropped in by artist Scott Neely. (2007)

Wonder Woman (1997)

X-Factor (1996)

.

And from the never read/never owned file:

Superman: Months before Superman’s cousin hit the scene, there was… Super-Girl! (1958)

.

Superman: Although this isn’t the first appearance of Superman Blue, this might be his first appearance on a cover. (1997)

.

But most importantly:

Flash: Here it is. The Gardner Fox/Carmine Infantino/Julius Schwartz issue that would change the DC Universe forever! Or at least until 1985 and the Crisis. Earth-1 meets Earth-2, Silver Age meets the Golden Age. And nothing will ever be the same! (1961)

Covers of comics that are (or have been) in my collection at one point or another.

#131

Defenders (1984)

Flash (1997)

Hellblazer (1998)

New X-Men: Scott and Emma. The future begins. (2002)

Nightwing (2007)

Wonder Woman: A World War II-era JSA series by Byrne? I might’ve read that. (1998)

X-Factor (1997)

Covers of comics that are (or have been) in my collection at one point or another.

#133

Defenders (1984)

Flash (1998)

Hellblazer (1999)

New X-Men: First appearance of Dust. (2002)

Nightwing: It’s the start of storyline taking a look at Dick Grayson’s past after he dropped out of college and before joining the New Teen Titans. It’s by Marv Wolfman, so it should feel more important, more canonical than it actually turns out to be. Great Ryan Sook cover. Although he chose to include rat-tail costumed Nightwing over disco-color Nightwing in the reflections. Yikes! (2007)

Wonder Woman: Hippolyta is cast as the Golden Age Wonder Woman, living during the JSA heyday and basically restoring all the “Earth-2” adventures of Wonder Woman. And I was totally okay with it at the time. DC’s heroes are about legacy - and even though this means Diana is not the first Wonder Woman - it still works for me. (1998)

.

From the never read/never owned file:

Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen: Jack Kirby returns to DC after leaving Marvel setting the stages for his final lasting creations: the Fourth World. (1970)

Covers of comics that are (or have been) in my collection at one point or another.

#184

Avengers: Under Henry Peter Gyrich’s orders, the Falcon finally joins the team in this issue making fun of the situation as he goes. Hilarious. (1979)

Cerebus (1994)

Daredevil: Good Guys Wear Read. (1982)

Fantastic Four: I wonder if the Eliminator is a riff on the Asgardian Destroyer? (1977)

Flash: Picked up this storyline probably because of Cyborg’s appearance. I wasn’t reading the Johns/Kollins run, just a handful of issues here and there before Howard Porter joined the book post-200. Crossfire is the Flash against a bevy of new and old Rogues and the new Thinker. Good story. (2002)

Green Lantern (1985)

Justice League of America: George Perez’s first JLA cover and interior art due to the passing of regular artist Dick Dillon. Perez has stated in interviews that he wanted to work on the JLA title, but the way it came about was unfortunate. He would go on to draw only ten issues and do the cover art for twenty-five and they will have a permanent place in my collection. (1980)

Superman (2002)

Uncanny X-Men: First appearance of Forge. Plus, following her reappearance in a recent New Mutants issue, Rachel Summer returns to Uncanny after last seeing her during the Days of Future Past storyline in issues 141 and 142. (1984)

Wonder Woman: Diana goes to the Golden Age and meets up with her mother - reflecting an actual Golden Age story where Amazon Diana meets a normal Diana - except in this issue, Diana dons the Miss America identity to hide her own. Love it. (2002)

Covers of comics that are (or have been) in my collection at one point or another.

#193

Green Lantern: Featuring the obscure alien “villain” known as Replikon! The character won’t be seen again for twenty years when Greg Rucka pulls him out of limbo for an Adventures of Superman story. One of those characters, or aliens actually, that could make for an interesting revamp as the DCU’s version of Skrulls. (1985)

Justice League of America: This issue is already great with Perez art, a focus on Red Tornado, Adam Strange. And then it gives us a 16-page preview! Love love love DC’s 16-page previews and this one is the buildup for the All Star Squadron series. The previews were new stories, mostly prologues, to an eventual series or mini-series and this one would blow open Earth-2 Golden Age history by Roy Thomas. A must have if you’re collecting 80s Earth-2 comics. (1981)

Superman (2003)

Wonder Woman: If that cover was by anyone else other than Adam Hughes it would be called dirty or sexist. You know, cause only Adam Hughes can have random boob and crotch shots and still be high art. Adam Hughes makes it okay. Pffft… Whatever. (2003)