Retro Review: Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane #15 (1960) Review and **SPOILERS**

Super Birds Do It, Super Bees Do It

Written By: Otto Binder 

Art By: Kurt Schaffenberger 

Cover Artists: Curt Swan, Stan Kaye 

Editor: Mort Weisinger 

Cover Price: 10 cents 

Cover Date: February 1960 

Publisher: DC Comics

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

One of the most frustrating things about reading issues of Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane is that theirs is a romance forever unrequited. Oh, there are plenty of “imaginary stories” and other switcheroos…not to mention the actual marriage that they did have decades later. But for a hundred-some-odd issues of this series, Lois and Clark never do get hitched. Until now! Read on and find out about the time that A Super Man would marry his brunette dream girl (wink, wink) in Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane #15, commencing now!

Teen Titans Giant #3 Review

Let Me Reintroduce Myself

Written by: Dan Jurgens
Art by: Scot Eaton, Wayne Faucher, Jim Charalampidis, and Tom Napolitano
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 6, 2018

This is a review of the original Dan Jurgens Teen Titans story, "Dead Reckoning".  Also included are Adventures of the Super Sons #3 (2017), Sideways #3 (2018) and Teen Titans #3 (2003).  Click on Super Sons and Sideways to read our reviews of those issues.

I have really enjoyed the Teen Titans Giant issues.  dan Jurgens has set up the team in a way that anyone can jump on this book and be right up to speed.  Its a team that's part rebirth, part Go! And that is just fine with me.  So, does this third issue continue the good times?  Let's find out…

Justice League Giant #4 Review

The Island that is Mysterious

Written by: Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti
Art by: Chad Hardin, Alex Sinclair, and Travis Lanham
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: October 21, 2018

This is a review of the original Conner/Palmiotti story, “COME BACK TO ME PART 2: THE TRIANGLE”.  Also included in the Giant are reprints of  Justice League #4 (2011), The Flash #4 (2011) and Aquaman #4 (2011).

I really enjoyed the first issue of this Wonder Woman heavy Justice League Giant story.  It was all-ages friendly and that is something that I approve of with these stories.  Seeing Wonder Woman save some firefighters with the help of some woodland friends was nice, but it was obvious that Steve Trevor's dangerous test flight would be pushing the story forward.  So, how is the second part of the story?  Let's find out…

DC Comics January 2019 Solicitations

The DC Comics January 2019 Solicits have hit and there are a bunch of big things happening as the new year hits.  Brian Michael Bendis' Wonder Comics imprint starting up and an actual solicit for Batman: Creature of the Night!  That's right, Creature of the Night is finally back!  There are plenty of other things going on, so check them out...

Early Look at John Ridley's The Other History of the DC Universe #1 Solicit

DC Comics has released the full solicit for John Ridley’s anticipated The Other History of the DC Universe.  For those worried that it might be stalled out as the higher-ups try to figure out when and what to do with the Black Label line of books, this is very good news indeed.  Plus, we get a peek at some of the characters that will be featured throughout the limited series.  Check it out...

Justice League Giant #3 Review

On Fire

Written by: Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti
Art by: Chad Hardin, Alex Sinclair, and Travis Lanham
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 7, 2018

This is a review of the Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti story, "Come Back to Me Part 1".  The issue also includes Justice League #3 (2011), The Flash #3 (2011) and Aquaman #3 (2011).

It's the Harley Quinn trio of Palmiotti, Conner, and Hardin and that is just fine with me.  I love them, but do they bring their A-game to this Wonder Woman-centric story?  Let's find out...

Weird Science DC Comics Podcast Ep 197: DC Comics, Retro Con, and Horror Tropes…Man!

Hey everyone, we are back for another week of comic book discussion and nonsense.  Eric went to Retro Con and Shocktoberfest might continue. We hope you enjoy yourself and check out our Patreon (www.patreon.com/weirdscience) and for as little as $1 a month, you can help support the podcast and get a bunch of shows! This Week's Patreon Spotlight: Catwoman #4 and Red Hood Outlaw #27, as well as a bonus Marvel sneak peek Captain America #4 and X-23 #5 if that is your thing. 

Batman Giant #3 Review

Riddle Me That

Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Art by: Nick Derington, Dave Stewart, and Josh Reed
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 21, 2018

Also includes:

Batman - Hush Part 3: The Beast
Nightwing - Past and Present
Harley Quinn - Love Stinks!

This is another one of those big issues that were pushed the minute these Walmart 100-page issues were announced.  Brian Michael Bendis on Batman!  Was it worth the hype and the wait?  Let's find out...

Teen Titans Giant #2 Review

Give me Five

Written by: Dan Jurgens
Art by: Scot Eaton, Wayne Faucher, Jim Charalampidis, and Tom Napolitano
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 6, 2018


This is a review of the original Dan Jurgens Teen Titans story, "The Fearsome Five".  Also included are Adventures of the Super Sons #2 (2017), Sideways #2 (2018) and Teen Titans #2 (2003).  Click on Super Sons and Sideways to read our reviews of those issues.

I really enjoyed the first issue of Dan Jurgens' story.  He eased new and old readers into the team and the story with a basic premise that still was an enjoyable read.  So, was this second part as enjoyable?  Let's find out...

Weird Science DC Comics Best Books of the Week 10/14/18

It is time for the Weird Science Best Books of the Week once again and we have some big ones here for you all this week.  While we may go by the idea that nothing is perfect, we still love DC Comics and here are the ones we liked a little bit more than the others this week...

Superman Giant #3 Review

Dark Universe

Written by: Tom King
Art by: Andy Kubert, Sandra Hope, Brad Anderson, and Clayton Cowles
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 7 2018

This is a review for the Tom King/Andy Kubert original story Superman: Up in the Sky Part One. 

One of the biggest selling points for these 100 page Giants was getting to see Tom King write a full Superman story.  Well, here it is!  Is it any good?  Let's find out...

Teen Titans Giant #1 Review

Welcome to the Jungle

Written by: Dan Jurgens
Art by: Scot Eaton, Wayne Faucher, Jim Charalampidis, and Tom Napolitano
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: July 01, 2018

This is a review of the original Teen Titans story by Dan Jurgens.  Also included are SUPER SONS #1 (2017), SIDEWAYS #1 (2018), and TEEN TITANS #1 (2003).  You can click on the Super Sons and Sideways links to read the reviews we did for those when they originally came out.  So, did Dan Jurgens kick off the Teen Titans Walmart stories with style?  Let's find out...

Chick Tract #032: Happy Halloween Review

Produced by: Chick Publications

Price: Free

Release Date: 1996

*Spoilers ahead, score at the bottom*

AND BY “HAPPY HALLOWEEN” I MEAN “FEEL LIKE SHIT ABOUT YOURSELF”

I have received the millions and even billions of messages from my loyal readers, clamoring for my head and threatening to drink the blood of my children because I sort of pulled your legs for the last two weeks of Chick Tract reviews. See, this was purported to be a special Halloween Just For the Hell of It Mondays Reviews event, but the last two tracts didn’t have anything specific to do with Halloween at all—they were about Hell’s corporate policies and what it’s like to join team Satan as a demonic employee. So for this, the last Chick Tract of my all-Chick Tract month of reviews, I present to you a pamphlet that is so Halloween, it’s practically covered in toilet paper and shaving cream. How Halloween is it? Well, it’s titled Happy Halloween! And considering Jack Chick’s established thoughts on the holiday, I’m sure it will be a gas. Read on if you want to confirm that the previous sentence was sarcastic!

Chick Tract # 1053: The Devil’s Night Review

Produced by: Chick Publications

Price: Free

Release Date: 2004

*Spoilers ahead, score at the bottom*

BEWARE THE DEVIL’S NIGHT!

Jack T. Chick is an American illustrator whose company, Chick Publications, has published a variety of materials in nearly every form of media evangelizing for Christian fundamentalism since 1970. The most well-known of Chick’s products are small, twenty-four page black and white comics known as “Chick Tracts,” which are commonly given away by like-minded Christians, then received and giggled over by deplorable sacrilegious monsters like myself. Of course, Chick doesn’t support the secular celebration of Halloween and has published several tracts explaining its evil. For the month of October, I’ll be looking at four such tracts and reviewing them for art, story, and general spookiness! How does The Devil’s Night fare? Read on!

Chick Tract # 004: A Demon’s Nightmare Review

Produced by: Chick Publications

Price: Free

Release Date: 2005

*Spoilers ahead, score at the bottom*

WORKPLACE ANXIETY IS A REAL PROBLEM IN HELL

We learned last week that Hell is sort of a crummy corporate situation, where demons have to give regular performance reports seated around a conference table as an overhead projector displays charts and graphs to the Lord of Lies and probably lawyers. But what, wondered no one, is the average workday of a rank-and-file demon like? How do the demons that punch in and out perform their jobs? What do they do? And is there a lunch break? Well Jack Chick has revealed all of that and more in this very early tract, A Demon’s Nightmare, which you’ll learn more about if you read on!

Chick Tract # 045: Bewitched? Review

Produced by: Chick Publications

Price: Free

Release Date: 2000

*Spoilers ahead, score at the bottom*

IN HELL THERE IS NO 401K PLAN

I confess: last week’s Chick Tract was sort of a bait-and-switch. We thought we were going to see a slasher film put to comic, but it was mostly a retelling of the hoary, pagan origins of Halloween and how we can avoid Christ by accepting Hell. Or was that avoid Hell by accepting Christ? I forget, I wasn’t really paying attention. This week’s special spooky Halloween review is going to keep you gripped because it involves a story about the occult, drugs, and…forecasting the fiscal quarter? Will I get struck by lightning or struck by boredom? Read on and find out!

Chick Tract # 058: Boo! Review

Produced by: Chick Publications

Price: Free

Release Date: 1991

*Spoilers ahead, score at the bottom*

TRICK OR TREAT YOURSELF TO ETERNAL DAMNATION

Okay, okay, I’ll admit that last week’s Special Halloween Just For the Hell of It Monday review wasn’t very scary. Sure, it dealt with the secret history of All Hallow’s Eve, but it was really just a creepy conversation between two little girls. This week’s Chick Tract is a true horror story with all the great 1980s slasher film trappings like foolhardy teens, an unstoppable killer in a mask, and ritual animal sacrifice. I knew I was leaving all of those Halloween parties too early! How can you protect yourself from the day known as “Satan’s birthday” by exactly no one? Read on to find out!

DC Comics Best Covers of the Week: October 10, 2018

Red and Black and Red and Black

Hey! A little bit late this week, but I've got a list of covers this week so robust that you'll crap your pants. It's worth mentioning that the regular covers this month are foiled--pretty tastefully, I might add--which explains some of the similarity between them. Let's quit with this cagey intro and get right to the list!

Chris and Reggie's Cosmic Treadmill ep. 110 - Spider-Man and Batman: Disordered Minds (1995)

Your Archenemy Killed My Daddy

Hello, brand loyalists! In this episode, dimensional transversers Chris (@AceComics) and Reggie (@reggiereggie) subvert time and space to read a once rare, now extinct crossover between Marvel and DC Comics: Spider-Man and Batman by J.M. DeMatteis and Mark Bagley from 1995! After the necessary creator bios, our duo subvert the concept of intellectual property and read all of the story "Disordered Minds," which also features villains Carnage and the Joker. Then, after an informative break, they return to the creators and talk about the other crossover titles co-published by DC and Marvel–and why we don't see them anymore! It's a crazy episode with its own internal logic and continuity...so it won't really matter to Chris and Reggie's personal story arcs if you miss it. But you still shouldn't!

Throwback Thursday: Superboy #23 Review

Writer: Justin Jordan
Artist: RB Silva, Rob Lean
Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: August 14, 2013
Cover Price: $2.99
Review by: Eric

We pick up where we left off in the last issue of Superboy. Superboy is surrounded by monsters. Even a monster Krypto, and a monster Dr. Psycho. Superboy uses his TK to knock the surrounding monsters back, also making everyone human and Kryptonian dog again. But he sees one girl who looks suspicious and Krypto and him are on the hunt.

Throwback Thursday: Damian: Son of Batman #1 Review

What Could Have Been

Written and Art by: Andy Kubert
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: October 30, 2013
Review by: Eric

What a strange title to jump into.  I haven't stopped bitching about the death of Damian Wayne since it happened, and here I am reading, and writing about a grown-up version of the character.  It's very odd but very rewarding.  So nothing here to catch the reader up on except, Damian never died in Batman Inc.  So let's dive right in.

Throwback Thursday: Swamp Thing #23.1 Arcane Review

Extremely Rotten

Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Jesus Saiz
Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: September 18, 2013

Cover Price: $3.99

I will admit it right off the bat, I haven't read much of Swamp Thing.  I know, I know.  It's usually the best-reviewed book of its week and it has a loyal following.  I just never connected with the character. Please forgive me.  However, after going back-and-forth deciding whether to read Swamp Thing #23.1 I gave it a go.  Fortunately, it was so good that I decided to review it.

Throwback Thursday: Survivors’ Club #1 Review

Video Killed the Radio Star and Several Bystanders

Written by: Lauren Beukes and Dale Halvorsen

Art by: Ryan Kelly, Eva de la Cruz, and Clem Robins
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 7, 2015

Review by: Reggie

*Non spoilers and score at the bottom*

Video games and the year 1987 will always be inextricably linked, in my mind, because that was the year I plunked down $110 of my hard-saved allowance money and bought my own Nintendo Entertainment System. It was also the yearThe Legend of Zelda was released, meaning I would have no trouble logging the initial eight-hundred hours playing my NES that are required to call oneself a Game Master, a title that still earns me nothing despite my announcing it whenever I enter a room. What if, while tromping around the pixelated lands of Hyrule, I had unwittingly cursed myself to a cruel death? What if, on some long-forgotten screen in an obscure dungeon, I’d garnered some kind of unspeakable evil that would manifest itself thirty years into my future? That’s sort of where we are with issue number one of Survivors’ Club, though it is only a first issue and the story could go nearly anywhere. Where did this individual story go? Read on and find out!

Throwback Thursday: Unfollow #1 Review

Life Is But A Meme, Sweetheart

Written By: Rob Williams

Art By: Mike Dowling, Quinton Winter, Clem Robins

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 4, 2015

Review by: Reggie

*Non-Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

What if we lived in a world where people were mesmerized by handheld liquid crystal display screens that constantly beamed news and the whereabouts of our friends and family to our flickering eyes? What’s that you say? “Too long; didn’t read?” That’s the problem with the world today, if you can’t condense your thoughts into nine or fewer syllables, then they’re not even worth being thunk. Why, when I was a boy we’d have to read a thousand words of preamble just before we got to the Nutrition Information panel on our breakfast cereal, and we liked it by gum! If you’ve only got enough attention span to read either this review or the comic book Unfollow, then go read Unfollow. But if you’ve got it in you to know my thoughts about the issue, then read on!