Book of the Week: DC Showcase Presents: Green Lantern Volume 5

This week's book of the week is a collection of some of the most moving, and award-winning comics in the series that highlight issues like racism, pollution, violence and drugs. Written by Denny O'Neal and drawn by amazing artists Mike Grell and Neal Adams - this collection of issues totally remade Green Lantern and it was the best of the best. Today's Blog is about the book and how I love the character (and dressed up as him!).

One of the superheroes I love is the Green Lantern. This character has been around since the 1940s, but in a different interation. When he was created, he was Alan Scott, who worked in broadcasting. He found a mysterious green lantern and a power ring that gave him the ability to construct anything he thought of with his ring. It had the weakness of wood, so anything with wood could resist the powerbeam. - In the 1960s, Green Lantern was reimagined as Hal Jordan, test pilot, with the same green ring, powered by a green lantern from a space corps known as the Guardians of the Galaxy. I loved the character and the costume and dress up as him during some comic-cons! 

(Photo: Rob at the Baltimore Comic-Con dressed as Green Lantern/Hal Jordan)

DC SHOWCASE PRESENTS: GREEN LANTERN VOL. 5

Green Lantern's SHOWCASE PRESENTS series continues with issues #76-100, including the famed stories that teamed Green Lantern with Green Arrow, in which the two heroes face issues of the day including women's rights, political corruption, religious intolerance and more — all while battling evil. This volume also includes adventures from GL's 1976 relaunch, collected here for the first time!

SUMMARY: Over 500 pages of classic super hero adventure are collected in this valuepriced volume! Green Lantern – a.k.a. test pilot Hal Jordan – battles evil as a member of the star-spanning Green Lantern Corps. This new Showcase volume collects the famed stories by writer Dennis O’Neil and artist Neal Adams that teamed Green Lantern with Green Arrow, in which the two heroes face issues of the day including women’s rights, political corruption, religious intolerance and more — all while battling evil.

Good collection of Weird 50s & 60s Sci-Fi Comics Tales of the Unexpected Vol 1

 One of the 500 page black and white trade paperback collections that DC Comics published in the early 2000s was about a science fiction series called "Tales of the Unexpected." I never got to read them as a kid, so I bought the trade paperback that collected the first 20 issues of the series. It was entertaining, although in every issue of 3 stories, one of them was usually about aliens coming to destroy Earth, and how one guy outsmarted them... so it was pretty formulaic. Although there were other odd stories in the collection that were more entertaining.  So, for DC Showcase Presents: Tales of the Unexpected, Vol 1, I would give it a 3+ of 5 stars. 

   If  you're a big sci-fi fan of the 50s and 60s you'll love it. Otherwise you'll be entertained.  

ABOUT THE BOOK:  Collecting TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED #1-20! • Mysterious tales of the weird including: • “The Secret of Cell Sixteen” •“The House Where Dreams Come True” • “The Man Nobody Could See” • “The Man Who Ate Fire” • “The Living Locks” • “The Gorilla Who Saved The World”

******************************** 

Cover Date: Aug 2012 

Cover Price: $19.99 

ISBN/UPC: 978-1401235208

DC Showcase Presents: Secrets of Sinister House - 1970s Horror comic Collection

Back in the 1970s when I was a kid and was reading comics, I was only interested in superheroes. But after I turned 13 and had my first paranormal experience, ghosts began to interest me. Although I didn't read the paranormal-tinged comics then, I've enjoyed them as an adult in collections like DC Showcase Presents: Secrets of Sinister House.

In the mid-late 2000s, DC Comics published 500-page volumes of classic comic books in black and white under the "DC Showcase presents" title, giving new fans a chance to read classics. It was a great idea, and sadly, now they are out of print. Fortunately, I was able to get a copy of "Secrets of Sinister House, a 1970s Horror comic collection of comic book issues #1-18 that only ran from 1972 to 1974.

The series was originally titled "Sinister House of Secret Love" and was a Gothic grotesquery. By issue number five it changed titles to "Secrets of Sinister House" and became more of a horror comic without the gothic romance (and a much better comic!).

It's a great collection, and after issue #5 once the title changed, the stories are short and imaginative! Well worth a read.

Great collection of short Supernatural Comics: DC's House of Mystery Vol. 1

Having been a big fan of comics since the 1970s, I (Rob) had always read superhero comics.  However, since I developed my abilities as a medium, I've been buying collections of comics about supernatural stories including ghosts.
   One great collection is from DC Showcase called "The House of Mystery" volume 1. It reprints the comic book of the same name in 500 plus pages from 1968 to 1971. They're in black and white (which made the book more affordable at $16.99).
  The stories include ghosts, witches, voodoo, gargoyles that come to life, monsters in the closet, haunted houses and other weird things. All very creative, illustrated short stories.
  Many of the original covers were done by Neal Adams, who is one of my favorite illustrators in the comics industry (he does an amazing Batman).
  The book isn't in print anymore, sadly, but you can find used copies. This is one I'll read again and again.