The world of comic books have been thrust to the mainstream within the last ten years. People crave the stories of those who do what an average person cannot for the sake of good or evil. What seems to be forgotten, though, in this superhero renaissance, is the comic books themselves. We at Two Thirds have dipped our toe in the pool of comics before, but now we are ready to strip down and dive in headfirst. The DC Universe subscription service has opened its doors to almost its entire catalog and history of comic books and we are here and willing to take it all in. We have found that it is incredibly easy to become overwhelmed with the comic world, whether it’s the changing of timelines, perspectives, or alternate realities. We are ready to take a step back and keep it slow and simple. One or two comics every single day. We have found that it’s a realistic and accessible goal, and every month we are going compile all the stories that we finished and we are going to rank them, and talk about them. We hope people will enjoy coming along with us on this cosmic and heroic adventure, and maybe give us some recommendations along the way. THIS is the Two Thirds Comic Society
-FYI we may spoil some stuff... sorry in advance
7. The Flash: Born to Run
The Flash #62-65
Author: Mark Waid
Artist: Greg LaRocque
Brandon: After a week or so of reading some darker toned comics we decided to switch it up and read something a little more light hearted. Then I saw this was the birth of Wally West and picked it instantly. Origin stories can be really hit or miss and sadly this one was a huge wiff. It did have some moments, mostly in the last two issues, but overall it was fine. I do have to give them props for making such a realistic Nebraska.
Jon: I really like the Flash. Well I think I do at least. Honestly after this storyline, I started to question it a bit. Wally is a little kid and he loves his aunt Iris, and really dislikes being with his parents in his home of Nebraska. They really sell you on the plot point of Nebraska sucking, and as this is the birthplace of Two Thirds, I can say they make some valid points, but hey, it’s home. So my issues with this are the fact that I came in with the expectations of meeting funny Wally West, the jokester speedster I’ve seen in my limited ventures with the Justice League. Rather, I get whiny Wally, and I kind of got sick of him right away. The action was okay, but it didn’t have much in the way of actual stakes. It was filled with cheesiness and the characters were overall okay. Wally becomes the Flash by the same exact freak accident as Barry, so a lot of creativity there. I was just pretty ready for this one to end right when I started it, and I’m hoping to pick up a more exciting Flash story later on, but for now, this didn’t do much for me.
6. Doom Patrol: Crawling from the Wreckage
Doom Patrol #19-22
Author: Grant Morrison
Artist: Richard Case
Brandon: I've been taking advantage of my time with the DC Universe not only with it's comics but also the shows. It didn't take long for the show to not only introduce me to, but cause me to fall in love with the oddballs that make up the Doom Patrol. Therefore my first pick had to be a Doom Patrol story. This particular story was on the top of everyone's list to read so I thought it was a good jumping point. I got to say I think the show both helped and hurt my feelings on this series. I knew the characters, which seemed like it'd be confusing to jump in here if you don't. I also expected a little more umph that didn't really hit until the 3rd issue or so. The character moments in of themselves are tragic, believable (for the situations), but I felt like I needed a little more. Once the scissormen came I became a little more invested in this team and the challenges ahead. It was a slow burner when I wasn't expecting it. However, I do want to keep going with Doom Patrol at some point because I feel there is a lot of potential there
Jon: This one took a little time to grab me. A lot of that is because Morrison has to clean up some of what happened in the twenty or so issues before, in order to create the Doom Patrol team that he desires. It was basically just a lot of confusion for a couple of issues as I learned who everyone was. After all that, it became a cool story of people being cut out of existence. Now that sounds cool right? Well the downfall, for me at least, is that they are being cut out of existence by… the scissormen. Don’t worry, you’ll know which ones are the scissormen based on the giant pair of scissors that take the place of their forearms. If you also think this sounds pretty silly, then you and I are in agreement. Aside from that though, the story builds up and the character interactions are entertaining once they start warming up to each other so it leads to an overall solid read.
5. The Question: The Bad News
The Question #1
Author: Dennis O'neill
Artist: Denys Cowan
Brandon: Apparently we messed up and by we I of course mean Jon. This may or may not be more than just a stand alone issue in the way we hoped. Either way I still enjoyed it quite a bit. I've been making some picks based on characters that I've been intrigued by but know very little bit about. The Question is on the forefront of that list. The gritty noir like crime fighter with no face has been someone I wanted to know more of. Needless to say I was happy enough with what I read in this issue to continue going forward at some point in the very near future. The setting, characters, and overall style of this comic is something I'm extremely into. Oh...oh you mean the Question we know is dead in the end? But...oh sooooo what now?
Jon: Okay, yeah I got conflicting reports on whether it’s a standalone or should be grouped in with some of the following issues. In the end we may end up finishing out the full storyline, but for now it worked well enough as its own story. The Question is a news reporter by day and a hero by night, but sometimes also day, and actually his news is at night sometimes too. So The Question goes back and forth between his job as a newscaster and his side gig as an ass kicker, and I honestly really dug this comic. It has a little grit, and it has a little humor. The action is fine, and the story is pretty intriguing and the ending sets the rest of the series up to go anywhere. It was quite good and everyone should at least check this one out. We will let you know later on the rest of the story.
4. Animal Man: The Coyote Gospel
Animal Man #5
Author: Grant Morrison
Artist: Chas Truog
Brandon: One issue is all it took for me to care about the creature from another dimension and the man drove crazy hunting it. I felt the pain of both. The Coyote stuck in a place it doesn't belong with nobody to talk to. The Hunter who has lost everything. From beginning to end (seriously that last page) this issue is packed with raw emotion, sans the little Animal Man had to do with it. It seems like he was in there to give it that known character thrown into the scene by coincidence. However, I love bizarre comics and this one is a beautiful mixture of insanity and reality that I fully get behind. At some point a cartoon character meets his unforgiving god/creator. Like how cool is that? I haven't read much Animal Man besides the first six or so issues of the New 52 (which is a real good read). But if this is off the wall kind of stories I've missed out on then I have done a disservice to myself by not reading more Animal Man.
Jon: This won’t be the first time that I say this throughout this comic book journey of ours, but Grant Morrison is way smarter than me. It’s amazing to me that he has such mainstream popularity with some of the depth that goes into his stories. In this single Animal Man issue, he pulls a cartoon Coyote out of his world and in order to give peace to cartoon land, he drops wolfy into the human world to consume all the misery that he can take. Or something? I could even be way off on that honestly. By the end, I was entertained, and intrigued, and confused. I will end up going back and reading this again to see if it makes more sense, but even without that, this was my first single issue storyline I had ever read. Honestly I was surprised by how effective it ended up being. Being able to compact such an intricate little story into one issue is pretty impressive. Also Animal Man is in here for roughly three pages. I still don’t know anything about him from this issue, but feels worth mentioning. He’s there.
3. Superman: Brainiac
Action Comics #886-870
Author: Geoff Johns
Artist: Gary Frank
Brandon: I will start this off by saying I'm not a huge fan of Superman, but I’ve heard he has some cool comic book arcs. This one is no exception. It does a great job balancing the cheese I would expect from a Superman comic and the threat of Brainiac. The first couple pages are an instant buy in. Seeing how ruthless Brainiac is for knowledge kind of caught me off guard. I guess I wasn't expecting a lot of murder and death from a Superman comic especially in the first issue. Speaking of death, I had a feeling Papa Kent was going to die at some point, but I still wasn't ready for it once it happened. One of the best parts of this arc is how much we get to see Clark Kent be Clark Kent, and that blow at the end really hit hard.
Jon: Superman. Everyone knows him. He’s been a cultural icon for decades, and yet, I’ve never found myself having read any comics starring the Man of Steel before. This was the first story we chose for our comic club and overall, I thought it was really good. The art was amazing, the overall plan by Brainiac was interesting, and some of the interactions between Superman and the other characters were cool. Geoff Johns really brought the comic book cheese with this one though, and I know it’s a part of the world, but at some points was over the top. It also happened that Brainiac had this really interesting plot of stealing cities, consuming their culture, and destroying their planet so that only he has access to that world’s history. My only issue with the villain was that it basically led to a conclusion where we just have two jacked guys punching each other. Granted, that’s always a fun time, but with Brainiac being so all knowing, I wouldn’t have minded a little bit more complex resolution. These are nitpicks though, and all in all this story started us off on our little journey and it was good enough to keep us excited, and led to us choosing to do this whole thing.
2. Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters
Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters #1-3
Author: Mike Grell
Artist: Mike Grell
Brandon: For a three issue story it took me a while to get invested. It starts off rather slowly with Oliver seemingly done with the superhero game while Black Canary isn't. While that is an interesting dynamic it didn't do a whole lot right off the bat. I love Dinah being the one to tell Ollie straight up that she's not ready and her line, “I'd love to make babies with you but I don't want to make orphans,” gave me chills. It's yet another instance of showing how much these characters sacrifice to do what they do. The realness of this comic is what helped push it to the top. It manages to still bring in Ollie's charm while arrows are going thru people's throats a couple pages later, in a way that I can respect. The same can be said about the art work for me as well. I was pretty indifferent on it at first, but later on it contained some of, if not, my favorite panes this month. It was a slow grow from bottom of the barrel to almost being my favorite of the month.
Jon: This story took a little bit to grab me. After the first issue, I wasn’t quite sold yet. I enjoyed the darker and more violent feel that it gave off, but the art, while different and cool, took a little bit of time to get used to, and there was something in the communication between Oliver and Dinah that seemed confusing. That could have very well just been a me thing, but by the end of the second issue, all those negatives had been pushed aside to make away for the very big positive that is this story. Once Shado became more involved and we see her background and the reason she is on this murder mission, I became hooked. While my interest in the cocaine smuggling part of the story was remarkably lukewarm, I grew more and more interested in Shado and her eventual interactions with Oliver. Call me naive, but I feel like there’s a certain kinship between those who spend their free time shooting arrows at bad people. There isn’t a big group of those and the only main difference between them is that Oliver’s arrows go through the hand or the leg, while Shado’s go through the heart. Seeing some realistic, relationship altering conversations between Dinah and Oliver added to my affection for this story as well. This is the goriest comic we read this month, and you really feel the pain of an arrow puncturing the body after reading this. It’s a darker read, but it’s a great one.
1. Batman: Year One
Batman #404-407
Author: Frank Miller
Artist: David Mazzucchelli
Brandon: Origin stories can be pretty hit or miss, especially in the movies. This one is definitely more than a hit, it's a knockout punch. As a reader, seeing not only just the evolution of Batman and Jim Gordon is fascinating, but you also see Catwoman's start up. I loved reading about the complicated man that is Jim Gordon as Gotham tries to knock him down and keep him down. He's not perfect by any stretch but deep down you know he cares about the city and his family. Bruce Wayne slowly slipping into his new role as Batman makes for an interesting time. He returns to a city dying and feels like he must be the one to save it. Speaking of, I really enjoyed seeing Gotham evolve as the giant bat made his rounds striking fear into anyone he deemed corrupt. Year One has been on my list of comics to read FOREVER so I'm glad I finally got around to it.
Jon: Wowza this one was good. It’s the only one we read this month that I didn’t really have any sort of gripe with. It’s just a flat out, kick ass origin story. And it’s not just an awesome Batman origin story, it’s also an amazing Jim Gordon story. I know the origins of Batman and I’ve seen it done quite a few times in quite a few ways and Year One hits it right on the head. The star of this, though, and the reason I think it is going to take one hell of a comic story to top it, is Jim freaking Gordon. He’s such a badass and I didn’t even know it. The story shows him coming to Gotham, whose police department is riddled with filth. Cops and commissioners just taking bribes and doing illegal shit all over the place. First class bad ass mofo Jimmy comes into town and doesn’t take to all the corruption going around. He fights the good fight and refuses to give in to the rest around him. He gets hit by his fellow compadres, but he hits back twice as hard. His arc really shows the scummy farthole that is Gotham City, and it takes a special kind of person to live there and remain on the right side of justice.
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