Air Fighters: Valkyrie! (1987)

I have been absolutely itchin' to cover another aviator here on I'm the Gun - and a recent Eclipse Comics reading binge has given me just the excuse I needed to talk about Golden Age/80s revial fighter ace, Valkyrie!

In this episode I'll be recapping the 3-issue Valkyrie(!) mini-series from 1987 written by Chuck Dixon and gorgeously illustrated by Paul Gulacy & Willie Blyberg.

Download HERE!

One of the great things about this mini-series was a pin-up section in the back of each issue - below I'll reproduce a handful of those illustrations (by the likes of Brian Bolland, Bruce Jones, Steve Leialoha & more), as well as a couple choice Gulacy pages from the story.

Theme created using a sample of 'Shotgun' by Duran Duran,

The quiet power of Paul Gulacy - Steelfox arrives on the scene

Introducing the new Black Angel

Steelfox derails Valkyrie's escape attempt

Chilling epilogue: Misery claims another pilot

Pinup section! Illustrations by Fred Kida, Steve Leialoha, Brian Bolland, William Stout, Bruce Jones, and Bo Hampton & Tom Yeates.

And final bonus - Valkyrie paper doll by Trina Robbins!

Bloodlines: Best Event Ever pt. 2! - Justice League International Annual #4 (1993)

Back for more?  Me too!  Continuing the 'acknowledgement' of DC's 1993 Annuals x-over BLOODLINES, in this episode I'll be taking a look at Justice League International Annual #4!

Download HERE!

Check out some images from the issue below, previous I'm the Guns on iTunes, and more coverage of Bloodlines: Best Event Ever at these fine sites:

Between the Pages:
http://betweenthepagesblog.typepad.com/

Coffee & Comics Blog:
http://coffeecomicsreading.blogspot.com

DC Bloodlines Podcast:
http://dcbloodlines.blogspot.com/

Relatively Geeky Network:
http://relativelygeekypodcast.blogspot.com/

Resurrections - An Adam Warlock/Thanos Podcast:
http://resurrectionsadamwarlock.tumblr.com

Feedback is welcome!  Please leave a comment below, or email me: imthegun@gmail.com.  Thanks for listening!

Theme created using a sample of 'Shotgun' by Duran Duran

Lionheart about to get 'Whack-A-Moled'

2 page gag, 1-upping the scare factor

Good sequence showing what Lionheart can do

Put in the customary Bloodlines attack position

Bloodlines: Best Event Ever! - Lobo Annual #1 (1993)

This time out, I'm the Gun is pleased to participate with some other brave bloggers & podcasters in a celebration -erm- ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of DC Comics' landmark(?) 1993 x-over event running through that year's Annuals - Bloodlines!

Not looked back upon with much fondness, among Bloodlines most heinous crimes against comics seems to be the introduction of a rafter of new turkeys cut from the same cloth as many other 'extreme' 90s characters from companies such as Marvel & Image.  But was this the worst of Bloodlines' legacy?  I wanted to re-visit a couple of chapters in this saga to see if they held up - held up to the level of suckiness I remember - would I be pleasantly surprised?

In this episode I'll be taking a look at the Annual that started it all - Lobo Annual #1!

Download HERE!

Check out some images from the issue below, previous I'm the Guns on iTunes, and more coverage of Bloodlines: Best Event Ever at these fine sites:

Between the Pages:
http://betweenthepagesblog.typepad.com/

Coffee & Comics Blog:
http://coffeecomicsreading.blogspot.com

DC Bloodlines Podcast:
http://dcbloodlines.blogspot.com/

Relatively Geeky Network:
http://relativelygeekypodcast.blogspot.com/

Resurrections - An Adam Warlock/Thanos Podcast:
http://resurrectionsadamwarlock.tumblr.com

Feedback is welcome!  Please leave a comment below, or email me: imthegun@gmail.com.  Thanks for listening!

Theme created using a sample of 'Shotgun' by Duran Duran

1st contact with the Giger-inspired aliens

Lobo put in his place

Meet the Parasites

Blood bath - just the kind of sci-fi horror Christian Alamy excels at

Layla's found herself some super powers

Hooked by the House Ad: Elongated Man: Europe '92 (Jan.-Apr. 1992)

I'm the Gun is back with a new Hooked by the House Ad!  In this episode, I'll be taking a look at Elongated Man: Europe '92 a really fun series by the team of Gerard Jones, Mike Parobeck & Ty Templeton!

Spinning out of the JLI titles at the tail end of the Giffen/DeMatteis run, this series provides a kind of bridge between Justice League eras, and I consider it a real early 90s DC gem!

Download this episode HERE!

If you read this series, liked this series or hated it, please let me know!  Comments are welcome below, or email me at imthegun@gmail.com.  Previous episodes are available here or on iTunes.

Thanks for listening - Arrivederci!

Theme created using a sample of 'Shotgun' by Duran Druan

Reboot Review 13: Legionnaires Annual #2 (1995)

Welcome back to the future!  In this episode of Reboot Review, I'll be wrapping up coverage of the 1st year of the reboot Legion's adventures!  Things really come to a head in this double-sized annual, as the Legion makes a final stand against the hateful White Triangle!

Who will live?  Who will die?  Who will guess the Legion's secret plan to end the White Triangle's threat?

Download this episode HERE!

Also, check out images from this issue below, and look for older episodes of Reboot Review on iTunes!  Feedback is welcome!  Please leave a comment below, email me at imthegun@gmail.com, or find me on Twitter!

Thanks for listening, and LOL (Live on Legion)!

Theme created using a sample of 'Shotgun' by Duran Duran

The appearance of this Daxamite, Fethro Jorn, and its similarity to that of Invisible Kid's, annoys me

Reunion & hertbreak

The founders unite for their last stand, while the 4 horsemen gather in the sky

Sign of Valor to come - a phantom in the stargate

Reboot Review 12: Legion of Super-Heroes #71 & Legionnnaires #28 (Aug. 1995)

Tragedy strikes the 30th Century in this episode of I'm the Gun's Reboot Review! I continue my recapping of the adventures of the Legion of Super-Heroes, as the team begins taking the fight to the specist group, The White Triangle - but that horribly misguided group takes the violence to the next level, and an entire world pays the price! Plus, the introduction of (possibly) a new team member!

Download this episode HERE!

You can find previous episodes of Reboot Review here on the blog, or on iTunes. Feedback is welcome - leave a comment below, email me at imthegun@gmail.com, or send me a tweet (a link to Twitter should be at the top of the page on the right). Thanks for listening & LOL (Live on Legion)! Theme created using a sample of 'Shotgun' by Duran Duran.

Greetings on Trom

1st meeting of the Espionage Squad

Tragedy on Trom

Double page destruction

Espionage Squad in disguise

VR interrogation

Shanna Showcase 14: Marvel Comics Presents #s 74-77 (Apr.-May 1991)

This episode of I'm the Gun finishes up my recap coverage of Shanna's longest adventure to date, the 10 part serial 'The Bush of Ghosts' which ran through the anthology title Marvel Comics Presents.

This time out, I'll be covering chapters 7-10, which finds Shanna in final confrontation with would-be master of African magic, Sir Guy Cross-Wallace.  This is a great Shanna story, one of her best, and it's criminal that it hasn't been collected (though that might have disqualified it for I'm the Gun treatment)!

Download HERE! And be sure to check out previous episodes of Shanna Showcase on iTunes.

Praise or pans are welcome!  Leave a comment below, or email me at imthegun@gmail.com.

Theme created using a sample of 'Shotgun' by Duran Duran.

 

Africa crumbles & bleeds

The wedding get-up is a little ridiculous

The most graceful dive I've ever seen depicted in comics

Complementary juju rituals

This odd coloring choice doesn't reproduce very well

Shanna's panther power kicks in

Reboot Review 11: Legion of Super-Heroes #70 & Legionnaires #27 (July 1995)

The 1st year of reboot Legion stories hurtles toward an explosive conclusion!  The issues covered in this episode of Reboot Review contain a confrontation between super-girl Andromeda & super-genius Brainiac 5!  A Legion traitor revealed!  Cosmic Boy v. Bureaucratic Red Tape!  And the reintroduction of one of the Legion's greatest foes!

Download HERE!

Please check out I'm the Gun on iTunes, and be sure to scroll down on this page to see images from the issues covered this time out.  Feedback is welcome - leave a comment below, email me at imthegun@gmail.com, or send me a tweet (a link to Twitter should be at the top of the page on the right).

Thanks for listening & LOL (Live on Legion)!

Theme created using a sample of 'Shotgun' by Duran Duran.

Laurel's nice child drawing - punching out a Durlan; notice the astromech hanging out in the White Triangle settlement

Amateur psychology from Brainiac 5

Those darn drones

Laurel gets a tongue lashing from Roxxas

Fashion flashback in a nice easter egg panel