Tuesday, July 30, 2013

365 Comics...211: Action Comics Weekly #615 (1988)

Okay, who the hell is artist Richard Howell and how did he suddenly (well, suddenly in 1988) get to be the co-plotter on the ever-more-terrible-by-the-issue Green Lantern feature?  This has to be Peter David's worst professional work.  But I blame this Howell dude fully for these super-villian travesties: Siphon and Castle...ugh.

Siphon is able to steal the power from electronics (I think... it wasn't very clear....also not clear, what these two are doing hijacking a self-defense product trade show).  Castle can teleport but only by changing places with someone else.  I'm guessing by his chess puns "Castle" refers to the chess move of switching the king's position with the rook? Bleh.  Doesn't explain his Stayin' Alive workout wardrobe though.

Good lord, would you look at these two?  Actually probably best if you don't.

My "readers poll" submission for this issue:
1. Blackhawk (plenty of innuendo and violence, with outstanding Rick Burchette art)
2. Black Canary
3. Wild Dog
4. Nightwing (revealing the whole Speedy/Cheshire baby thing for the first time...)
5. Superman (in which he accidentally kills someone... a hot Superman topic these days)
6. Green Lantern

2 comments:

KENT! said...

I did a poke around Comic Book DB and I see that Howell has had a fairly active career through the 1980's and early-to-mid 1990's as penciler, inker and writer, although this ACW appears to be an early professional effort on his part. He's currently the Editor of Claypool Comics
http://claypoolcomics.com/editor/

KENT! said...

Also iFanboy had a solid recap of ACW last week:
http://ifanboy.com/articles/dc-histories-action-comics-weekly/.