Stories You Love That Most People Never Heard Of

[MikeandRaph87]

Fanastic dynamics and a well characterized short arc. The best to come out of this unfortunately cut short title of endless potential. Not to mention the art is amazing in the battle for Nanaporbat with Green Arrow, Hawkman, Nightwing, and Deadman. Highly recommended! I am sorry about the long delay. Life has been busy. I am also close to the end of my long list.

[Leo656]

I really liked that run of Brave and the Bold. Really great showcase for all the characters in the DCU, and it worked without having to drastically retcon or ignore continuity. In fact, the homages to established canon are part of what made it so great. Great pick.

I'm gonna make mention of one of my all-time favorite mini-series, starring one of my all-time favorite characters: GUY GARDNER REBORN!





The backstory, in brief: Guy Gardner, for quite some time, was one of the only Green Lanterns assigned to Earth (sector 2814), including longstanding membership in the Justice League while Hal Jordan was generally either off in space recruiting new Lanterns or otherwise occupied. Hal and Guy could never get along, and one day, Hal more or less decided that he wanted to be Earth's only GL again. So Guy being himself, he challenged Jordan to a winner-take-all fistfight in the pages of Green Lantern #25, loser quits the Corps. "Spoilers", he lost, and gave up his ring.

If you think he took it well, you don't know much about Guy Gardner. His obsessive drive to be a hero with or without super-powers has always been one of his defining characteristics (for reasons that would be explored in much greater detail in his fantastic solo series later on). That leads us directly into this mini-series, which begins almost immediately after GL #25.

The first issue is almost a parody of early-90s "Tits N Guns" books, with Guy deciding that without powers, the best he can do is become a gun-toting vigilante. Dressed all in black, armed with a completely ridiculous amount of automatic weapons, and calling himself "The Gardner", he begins a one-man war on "scum", demolishing strip clubs and drug dens, which doesn't go very well once the "scum" start fighting back. Guy realizes that guns are for wimps and that his new "persona" doesn't fit him, so he decides that he needs a Power Ring in order to ascend to his former glory. Problem is, he had quit the GL Corps, and at that point in DC history, there had only been one non-GL to ever wield a Power Ring... Sinestro, the former "greatest GL of all time" and Jordan's former mentor. Sinestro was dealing with a crippling case of Being Dead at that moment, making things even more complicated.

Guy reasons that all he has to do is find his way to the Anti-Matter Universe of Qward, since the Qwardians had originally crafted Sinestro's yellow ring, and force them to make one for him. He decides that he needs some "muscle", so he manipulates G'Nort (look it up, I don't feel like explaining G'Nort) into taking him to fetch Lobo so the two of them can go to Qward and wreck house.

Lobo being Lobo, he refuses to team up at first and decides that he'd rather just beat Guy to a pulp, until Guy promises to give him the Yellow Ring once they get it. The two of them end up on Qward, and they tear through a bunch of the Qwardian Thunderers in search of someone who can make him a new ring; meanwhile, the Qwardians are planning an invasion of Oa, and a full-frontal assault against the entire Green Lantern Corps.

Guy eventually learns that only ONE Yellow Ring had ever been made, and it had exhausted all of their resources, thus making the creation of another ring impossible (although this was eventually retconned into a lie; eventually there would be an entire "Sinestro Corps" of Yellow Ring-bearers, but that was many, many years after this story was written). The Qwardians also tell him that Sinestro's Ring was with him when he died, so it must still be with his corpse, on Oa, in the Crypts of the Green Lantern Corps. The Qwardians trick Guy into leading them to Oa so their attack on the Corps can commence.

Issue #3 is basically Guy, Lobo, and the entire GL Corps against the entire Qwardian army in a savage bloodbath. During the fight, Guy slips away into the crypts so he can find Sinestro's body and steal his ring. He is caught by John Stewart, who realizes what Guy is planning to do and swears that they'll never let him wield such power on account of his already-abrasive nature and the possibility that it could turn him completely into a villain. As they argue, Stewart is possessed by the spirit of Sinestro himself, and they fight. A battle of wills begins, with Guy and Sinestro's "ghost" both trying to pry the ring off of Sinestro's corpse; Guy Gardner happens to possess the strongest will in the entire DCU except for maybe Superman, so SPOILERS, he wins. Sinestro's ghost is banished (until the end of "Emerald Twilight"), Guy takes the yellow ring and immediately saves the rest of the Green Lanterns from the Qwardians, beating back their army as the Lanterns look on in both relief and horror, realizing that their "savior", an abrasive pain in the ass who they had thought they were rid of forever, was now wielding the most powerful weapon in all of creation.

Hal more or less tries to warn Guy to behave himself with his new toy, and Guy tells him to get f*cked. Lobo demands that Guy give up the ring, as promised, and Guy tells him to get f*cked as well, because he's now far beyond anyone telling him what to do. The ending leads directly into the first issue of Guy's FANTASTIC solo series, which I'll talk more about another time. Everything from this mini-series ended up being hugely important later on in the solo book, especially when Lobo shows up on Earth to demand Guy hand over the damn ring... at a moment when the ring happens to be out of power, with Guy completely unaware how to recharge it, no less, leading to a bloody fistfight between "The Main Man" and a powerless Guy Gardner.

It's all kind of been lost to history, but this series and Guy's solo book was by FAR some of the best stuff to come out from DC in 1992-1993. I'll be honest, as a kid, before reading this book and only reading Guy in the Justice League book, I really didn't like him at all, but this mini and the solo book immediately elevated him into my Top Three Favorite Characters, right behind Superman and Batman. At the time, reaction to the series was so popular that Guy was literally EVERYWHERE in the DCU that year, right behind only Lobo in total number of guest-star appearances. He even got to be the one to save Superman from Eclipso during that year's "Darkness Within" cross-over (which happened parallel and in-between the "Reborn" mini-series). He went from C-Lister to Heavy Hitter almost overnight, thanks to this mini-series.

Guy Gardner F*cking Rules, end of story.

Highest possible recommendation. Non-stop action and completely hilarious from start to finish. It's easy to find, so track it down, ya fraggin' bastich!

[MsMarvelDuckie]

What the heck, I'll add one. Spider-Man: Blue. Nice recap of his entire life, through the lens of a recording he made as a memorial to Gwen. All while going through the attic as he and M-J were moving Aunt May into a new home. It has a lot of very poingant moments, deep character insights for all of the main cast (Peter, M-J, Harry, Gwen, Flash, even Jameson) and makes for a great jumping-in story for those who only know his basic origin and little else. I loved it, and it still stands as one of my favorite Spidey books.

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by MsMarvelDuckie

What the heck, I'll add one. Spider-Man: Blue. Nice recap of his entire life, through the lens of a recording he made as a memorial to Gwen. All while going through the attic as he and M-J were moving Aunt May into a new home. It has a lot of very poingant moments, deep character insights for all of the main cast (Peter, M-J, Harry, Gwen, Flash, even Jameson) and makes for a great jumping-in story for those who only know his basic origin and little else. I loved it, and it still stands as one of my favorite Spidey books.

I read that one a little over a year ago, I do not believe it was followed up either which is a shame. I love the Jeph Loeb Batman stories even if they are formulaic. It was a solid call back to classic stories, but also great character development for Mary Jane Watson, one of the most successfully developed supporting characters in comic history.

[MikeandRaph87]

Detective Comics#526,"All My Enemies Against Me" from June 1983 is a huge turning point for Batman and the end of an era. It closes out the six part arc weaving between Batman and Detective Comics that introduces both Killer Croc and Jason Todd. Its the last time that Dick Grayson appears as Robin in regular continuity in a Batman title and the same goes for Barbara Gordon,well at least until the New 52 more than 28 years later. Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon team up while Catwoman and Talia both assist Batman after being invited to a villain gathering which Joker sets up in an attempt at a triple cross to get over Killer Croc who seized the underworld from his boss The Squid that he had been using. Classic villain like the Tweeds, The Spook, and Cavalier appear as well as Gentleman Ghost getting an invite. An oddity is how Dick offers to adopt Jason despite only being 19. Beautiful art, beautiful cover. I believe it inspired many holofoils of the 1990s'. It is the anniversary issue to beat all anniversary issues. It is also the end of an era, its the classic Batman transitioning into modern era Batman as the next issue being Doug Moench's first run and would serve as a bridge to modern Batman and COIE hitting soon. Its the end of a comic era and run that I love.

[MikeandRaph87]

Spectacular Spider-Man#102, "A Life for A Life". I read it for the first time recently. It was definitely made of a coincidence, but it was a human story. Luck had it that talitive Donna Gardner talks to Peter on a 20 minute bus ride only for her to get hit by a car when leaving the bus station. Peter takes the information the talkative girl gave her to track down her suicidal twin brother to save both of their lives and teach the value of life. It was a touching human story. I don't believe we ever see the twins again and see if they made it in the big city, but despite the plot convinces it was a nice human story.
https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Peter...-Man_Vol_1_102

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Saturday in the Park With May. Speaking of nice human stories. It takes place on a park bench, told by Aunt May through flashbacks to what happened after she discovered Peter's secret. It deals with her fear, confusion, and eventual acceptance and understanding of what he does, as told to a "friend" in the park. Very heartfelt and hopeful, as well as a wonderful depiction of how others see Peter, especially those closest to him.

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by MsMarvelDuckie

Saturday in the Park With May. Speaking of nice human stories. It takes place on a park bench, told by Aunt May through flashbacks to what happened after she discovered Peter's secret. It deals with her fear, confusion, and eventual acceptance and understanding of what he does, as told to a "friend" in the park. Very heartfelt and hopeful, as well as a wonderful depiction of how others see Peter, especially those closest to him.

What title and issue is that story?

[MikeandRaph87]

This is the rare Bruce Wayne focused story especially for the Golden Age. I recently came across Detective Comics#154, " The Park Avenue Kid". A scheme reminiscent of The Riddler in Batman (1966) fixing boxing matches and the perfect chance for common sense to kick in and people realize that Bruce Wayne is Batman.Bruce saves a woman from being mugged and to cover his newly realized fight ability by doing a celebrity boxing match for charity only to run into the fixer he had been looking for, The Dagger. Not to be confused with either Marvel's character or the twice used character from 30 years later . Interesting read if you want to look at a Golden Age Batman story.
https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Detective_Comics_Vol_1_174

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Originally Posted by MikeandRaph87

What title and issue is that story?

Amazing Spider-Man, I don't recall the exact number, but it was in volume 3 of the JMS run TPB's. It was the very last issue in the book, iirc, and was directly tied to the earlier plot of her discovery of his secret and subsequent confrontation in the volume 2 TPB, "Revelations" That entire arc was actually what really got me hooked on comics in the first place- up to that point, I'd only ever read a few random issues of X-Men/New Mutants and a couple of very old Spidey and Hulk issues my mom gave me. The Revelations volume in particular, also contained one of my favorite issues ever- the 9-11 tribute issue.

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

Read this last night. Very rarely do i ever sit and read anything front to back in one sitting. This was an exception.

This is basically the Shadow's equivalent of Batman's Dark Knight Returns. From front to back it's pretty much full on Noir mystery goodness. Even though the weakest apart for me was the art, I still preferred it over Watchmen visually (which always seemed to have every character having pretty much the same facial expression in almost every panel)

If anyone hasn't read any Shadow story, I think this is a great one to start with

[MikeandRaph87]

My younger brother has that very Guy Gardner mini-series, in fact he gave it to me to read through today. Its alright,but I prefer reading Hal Jordan. I was told "it is highlight that the character ever got" to standout .

I never read The Shadow beyond the recent Batman team up mini-series and the two appearances he made in Batman in 1974 (Batman#253 and #259) usurping Zorro's role in Batman's origin in DC's brief attempt to bring The Shadow into DC under O'Neil's pen.

[MikeandRaph87]

I have issues with One Year Later and the core that made up the Secret Society of Super Villains (two were neutral characters which make the threat weak). However, one of the highlights of the long weaving tie-ins was a character issue with Dick Grayson and the Superboy clone as Dick sends out an all call from Sna Franscscio for anyone to help him face Alexander Luthor Jr. and only the Superboy clone arrives to Dick's plea.
https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Teen_Titans_Vol_3_33

[MikeandRaph87]

I have a 2019 entry and yes it is another Batman story. I really liked the recent Detective Comics #1009- 1011 storyarc featuring Deadshot hunting for Wayne Foundation employees on a mostly deserted island with help from an American and Japanese WWII veterans who were stranded there decades before. A well paced and character driven character driven story.
https://tldrcomics.com/2019/09/22/de...ics-1009-1011/

[Voltron]

A little companion piece for the cover.

[Leo656]

I've talked about that mini-series at length before. One of my all-time favorites.

That mini-series through the first 18 or so issues of Guy Gardner's solo series (right up until whenever he got flipped to "Warrior") are low-key one of the greatest runs of any mainstream comic book in history. "Yesterday's Sins", especially. Jesus, that sh*t was good.

[MikeandRaph87]

https://batman-news.com/2019/08/14/d...s-1009-review/

'The Brave and the Old' was published in 2019 in Detective Comics # 1009-1011. I just read it again and love it. It's not often a fun character driven story sees print these days that really strikes me. This story which Deadshot hijacks a plane of Wayne Enterprises executives for ransom under a contract. He takes the airplane down stranding everyone on an island in the Pacific where Bruce is forced to improvise to apprehend Deadshot and get back to civilization. It also has a cool side story of an American and Japanese soldiers stranded there all the way back in World War II. If you are looking for a recent fun Batman story then this is it!

[Coola Yagami]

There was a Halloween annual a few years back for Batman, I think during the era of Gordon being Robo-Bats or whatever, though he wasn't in it.

Basically Penguin, Scarecrow and Two-Face were tricked into going into some creepy abandoned building. They realize it was a trap from Batman but are too scared to do anything because they assume he's about to jump in from anywhere. The comic leads to them being paranoid about Batman leaping out from any corner, to them picking fights with each other, to them getting lost in the creepy abandoned building and trying to find a way out.

In the end it's revealed it was all a set up by Batman and he is never coming. He's watching them from the BatCave as Bruce Wayne, just chilling and taking the night off by making sure the main bad guys at the time are busy bumping into each other than actually committing crimes.

My favorite part was when Penguin makes fun of the Batarangs and the others chime in on how stupid it sounds that he adds 'bat' to everything.

[Allio]

“Tomboy” it’s a comic from the same company as Zombie Tramp.

Despite it’s title it really is a “magical girl” series but instead everything goes Creepypasta.

[MikeandRaph87]

I was recommended JSA: The Golden Age. From there I found a couple of gems. There is The Last JSA Story one-shot that closed out the pre-crisis Earth-2 continuity, but the second to last is even better and seems unknown to comic collectors. It is inspired by the then recent fake Hitler diaries. Definitely worth a read if you like either or both comic history or history.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amer...ustice_Society