Comic Reviews: From Beyond the Unknown

Continued from previous post

I never quite figured out the theme for the stories in this DC 100-page book, From Beyond the Unknown.  Perhaps it’s characters and continuities that have been wiped out in all the multi-versal reboots.  I never noticed this comic being solicited.  I probably would have been interested in picking it up.

First up was a new preachy Hal Jordan Green Lantern story.  If there was an allegory to it, I didn’t figure it out.  (That might be for the best.)  In any case, the artwork and story were otherwise pretty good.

Another new story was a Kamandi tale.  He’s the last boy alive on a devastated earth.  If it’s possible to have a sweet horror story, this was it.

The next new story was a short classic Legion of Superheroes tale.  By “classic,” I mean the Levitz era line up in their classic outfits.  It was pretty good.  Why can’t they just do these kind of LSH stories now!  Why do they keep rebooting it and re-conceptualizing them!  It was just right to begin with!         

The rest of the issue was classic reprints.  There was a team-up between Superman and Adam Strange.  I have very little experience with Strange, but a dude with a rocket pack, a laser gun, and a finned helmet is irresistible.  What is also irresistible is Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez’s stunning artwork.  The story itself was a bit incomprehensible.  That’s even with an Adam Strange consultant listed in the credits.

Next up was a team-up between Batman and the Metal Men.  Okay, this story really feels like a random insert into the comic.  I suppose the weirdness of this story is how unbelievably passive Batman was in this story.  He’s told he’s been replaced and forced to retire, and he just accepts it.  As Bruce Wayne in the story, he basically gives up when a group of armed thugs invades his building and threaten his employees.  Thankfully, everything is put back to normal by the end.  Good God!

The last story is my favorite of the comic.  It features Green Lantern, Katma Tui, trying to give a ring to a sightless creature to make him a Green Lantern.  This turns into a tougher task than you’d think.  For a six-page story with no real conflict, I really enjoyed the mental exercise contained within.  This was written by Alan Moore with art by Bill Willingham.  I wonder if this was early in their careers.

  

Here, we have a winner.  I’ll recommend this Beyond title that momentarily restored my faith in new comics.