Ragman #2 - A Ragged Revenge!

A green cloaked figure alights on a rooftop above the snow covered slums of Gotham. After peering down intently on his destination, the old 'Rags N Tatters' pawn shop, this quiet crusader leaps from his perch and silently enters the darkened storefront.

Awww yeah. How about them apples? Not bad for being away for a bit right? RIGHT?! Psh, I knew it. Anywho, so the Ragman Blog is BACK folks! And it's high time I posted up the review for issue #2 of the 1991 eight issue Ragman mini-series by Keith Giffen and Pat Broderick.

When last I left you, Rory had gotten into a scrape and his father suffered a worse fate. Seeking to take vengeance on those who killed his father, Rory returned to his fathers junk shop (now occupied by drug dealers) and stumbled upon a box of rags which supernaturally coalesced around him into a suit.

And, alongside that bit of theatrics I indulged in above, that is where we re-enter the story.

Awakened by a rustling sound, Stu gets up, grabs his handgun and is off to hunt some rats. Whilst hunting, his partner in “drug stuff” (I mean, I don't know. Are they dealers? Do they MAKE the stuff? IDK) Mabel wakes up and asks him what he's up to. He tells her to go back to bed and then “SNAP!” Ragman uppercuts the living snot outta Stu (breaking his neck and killing him?). His timing is off though as Mabel has heard the ruckus (a word I enjoy, for the record) and steps out and puts four slugs (that'd be bullets for you uninformed types) in his chest.

Assuming, as anyone would, that he's dead, Mabel indulges in momentary gloating until she notices movement from Rags. Suddenly shes completely washed over with rags...

Rags then sets about searching the place until he discovers the drugs. Meanwhile Betty is attempting to confront random people in alleyways and force seasonal greetings out of them. On another side of town, One-Shot is selling drugs to a customer and, upon leaving him, stumbles across a large bag of “our best stuff”. Rags immediately pummels the guy into a confession of everything that's been going on (but doesn't mention killing Rory's father) and off Rags goes. It's at this point that the shadowy faced stranger Betty attempted to coerce a little holiday cheer from comes upon the battered and bloody One-Shot and just keeps walking, brushing a wayward rag off his shoulders.

At the local bar, the menacing Jimmy Olson (alright, alright! Vorst.) partakes of his last drink of the evening before heading off to find One-Shot...all of which is being observed by Rags...

So Vorst enters 'Rags N Tatters' to check on things when he discovers Stu and Mabel dead (hooray for confirmation). Drawing his gun, he wanders towards an open closet and peers inside. It then promptly slams in his face. So he tells whomever is in there to come out on the count of three.

1...2...

Hey, you can't complain man. He did as you asked. It's not his fault you didn't specify HOW. Anyways, stunned gunman is stunned and attempts to shoot Rags which, surprise surprise, fails. So Rags tosses him through a wooden door and out into the snow. Thus begins a pursuit up to the roof where a cornered Vorst says, “Let me go!! I didn't do anything! An' if I did, then I'm SORRY!” Rags responds after a pause...

Well at least there is SOME slight hesitation from Rory in the way he seems to be going about this. Cut to Betty observing a crime scene as officials wheel away a body (whose mouth had be stuffed with cocaine) and overhearing that it would take “a miracle” to save that part of town. Cut back to Rags as he enters the apartment of the man who killed his father. It's then that the inner monologue of Rory clarifies exactly what happened to Mabel earlier, “I was led to this apartment by the evil woman whose black soul is now a part of my suit.” Hence...SUIT OF SOULS! Boom.

Back to the action. So, Rory sneaks up on the man and suddenly the man wheels around in bed and aims a gun at Rags and fires...four times. Is that all these clips hold? Regardless, it doesn't work, so Rags grabs a pillow and, despite the mans adamant protests...

So that brings Rory's body count to a total of five in just one issue. Calm down dude. Just a bit. But moving on, the next day Rory is awakened by a knock at his door by the police as they inform him that his “Aunt and Uncle have been murdered” (Stu and Mabel who assumed the role of Aunt and Uncle to gain control of 'Rags N Tatters'). We are then thrown into a scene with zero information where a business man in a high rise is angrily attempting to contact Vorst then, all atypical villain like, looks over a model of his “old neighborhood” and sinks into villainous contemplation.

Back at 'Rags N Tatters', Betty is congratulating Rory on re-acquiring the Junk Shop. After she leaves, Rory examines his suit, thinking his father “shirked the responsibility of the suit”. However he discovers within the suit the word “EMET”, the very same word that had been habitually appearing in his dreams/nightmares. Rory recalls the memory of the Legend of the Golem but remarks that, “I'm not a clay man with letters carved in my head! I'm only flesh and blood!” Suddenly a voice speaks up from behind him...

And that's that. Whoa nelly. What an issue. I admit, part of me didn't look forward to reviewing this series. Mostly because of the 9 panel layout per page. Makes things...longer I guess. But I've gotta admit, it's a pretty great origin story thus far. And we STILL haven't learned everything about the suit! Love that. I also love that Rory killed a bunch of people. War veteran haunted by his service witnesses his father being murdered while he himself is beaten into a coma. Man then stumbles upon supernatural suit and uses it in his pursuit of vengeance. You can't deny, you could very well do the same thing if driven by anger and grief and endowed, in THAT MOMENT, with powers. I like that “humanity” in my heroes. I like that, forgive the use of the word, they fuck up in the beginning.

I'm also really growing on the 9 panel layout as it relates to Pats artwork. As stated before, I love Pats work, but thought it suffered in the use of this layout. But stretching one image across three panels from time to time helps.

Also enjoying the “slow reveal” of things here. Like how you're not CERTAIN Stu is dead until later. Or they don't tell you (but they hint at it) until later what happened to Mabel. Same with One-Shot, you just kinda think Rags beat the snot out of him an left him in the snow. I like the follow through.

So...ONTO THE ADS!!!! (Click on Image to Enlarge!)

Alright folks, that's it! Next time we either have issue #3 or we're doing something else (probably related to New 52 Ragman). Either way, look forward to it! I'm back babydoll! Don't forget to follow the blog, share it with your friends and ABOVE ALL comment on the post! I LOVE hearing back from you guys and the comments is the best way to do it!

NEWS: Ragmans New 52 Debut!

I'm BACCCKKKKKKK! Ok, first things first. Sorry I've been gone so long. Since I've last posted, Jim and Dan (founders of The LanternCast and my co-hosts on the show) have stepped down. Myself and my new co-host Mark Marble have taken over the LanternCast duties. Recording, editing and posting have consumed much of my free time. HOWEVER, two things have sparked my return to my favorite Tatterdemalion:

1) I found a torrent online of nearly all of Ragman's comic appearances. I know there are those of you out there who condemn torrents, I feel comfortable in admitting that I downloaded this one because I already OWN all of the appearances AND there are no digital copies available for purchase. So there. Plus, scanning EVERY SINGLE PAGE is one of the BIG reasons I let this blog fall by the wayside. Seriously, you try it. It's an awful task. But no more! The largest part of the legwork is already DONE!

2) The news that Ragman will RETURN to the pages of DC comics with Batwoman #35! (by the by, that's what that image up there is from. It's the cover for that issue. Guess which one is Ragman? :P)

Anywho, I've poked around on the interwebs and discovered the following tidbits o' information:

From San Diego Comic Con 2014:

"A reader excited to see Ragman return asked whether the shared Judaism of Batwoman and Ragman would play a role in the series. Andreyko  (writer) joked that "We're going to be doing a Passover special" before giving a more serious response that the character's background will remain intact from his pre-New 52 version and that he has long term plans for Ragman's inclusion in the book. The writer also revealed that the mystery character in the Unknowns team will be called Red Alice."

(Reported by Comic Book Resources)

"Q: Seeing Ragman teamed up with Batwoman - Ragman's classic stories deal with his being Jewish; since she is also Jewish, will you be doing anything about the fact that two of the Jewish heroes are teamed up together?

Andreyko: "We're doing a passover special (laughs). His Judaism is really important to the character, so there will be an arc with him that I think you'll really like, with the origins of his costume.""

(Reported by Newsarama)

So there you have it. You know what I know. Not much information, but hey, we're all just happy to have Rags return aren't we? By the way, I reached out to Batwoman #35 artist Georges Jeanty and writer Marc Andreyko on both Facebook and Twitter. It's my hope to involve them in the Ragman discussion so long as Rags appears in their title. No ass kissing here folks, I just think the conversation has a greater meaning when creator and fan have an avenue to discuss things. Plus, who doesn't like hearing the creator side of things? Hopefully they respond. If not, worry not! Follow them both on Twitter! I'm certain they'll be posting things there from time to time about their Batwoman collaboration!

(Click on their names below to follow their twitter pages!)

Georges Jeanty

Marc Andreyko

And YES, I will be covering Ragmans appearances in Batwoman so long as he appears there! Additionally, Ragman posts will CONTINUE! Retro-reviews and more coming your way SOON!!!!

Ragman #1 - Bones of the Defenseless!

Well, well my friends. We meet again. This time around we're done with the random "one off" appearances for a bit. Now we've OFFICIALLY moved on to what's known as the "Post Crisis" Ragman!

*pause for fanfare*

That's right folks. We're about to enter the era of Ragman where things went from simply "odd" to SUPERNATURAL. When Ragman was no longer just the tatterdemalion of justice, but the wearer of the suit of souls (from which this blog derives its name). But I'm getting ahead of myself.

This eight issue mini-series was written by Keith Giffen with art by Pat Broderick. Now, normally I would hold my opinions on the art for during the actual review, or in the wrap-up at the end. In this case, I wanted to get in front of what some of you may consider negativity regarding the art.

Pat Broderick is responsible for the art on a great many things I enjoy such as Firestorm and Green Lantern. I've encountered early Pat Broderick artwork; I've encountered later Pat Broderick artwork. I've enjoyed it all. That being said...

The art in this series suffers. NOT from Pat's efforts, but because of the confines in which Pat was working. Let me explain, this series is presented to the reader in a 9 panel 'grid' layout per page in rows of three. This layout gave Pat small panels in which to place his artwork. It didn't always come off so well. Again, that's not a criticism of Pats work, but a commentary on the confines to which he was restricted.

I've debated about leaving out those thoughts for the sake of not sounding negative about one of my favorite artists. But I want to strive to be always honest with you guys. The honest truth is the 9 panel grid layout hurt the look of this book. When we get to the few splash pages, you'll notice the difference immediately.

Moving on.

We open with Rory in the throes of a nightmare where he is a solider carrying the body of his friend, Rory Regan, through the streets of war torn Gotham. Suddenly he wakes up and we get a brief but appropriate introduction to this character and his history. The back-story here is pretty much the same. Rory is a veteran and his father is a junkman who just won't let the place go.

Outside of 'Rags N' Tatters' a 'Boss' and a hood named one-shot plot and scheme about the apparent plans to convert the junk shop into a drug front...while the plot itself is fairly standard and obviously meant to inspire some dread, I can't help but snicker to myself just a little, particularly because the "boss" looks like Jimmy Olson to me. And who can be scared of Jimmy Olson? lol

Then a page turn and we're quickly introduced to Jerry Regan (Rory's father) and (UGH!) Bette Berg.

Seriously, the ONLY bad thing about the original Ragman series was what a COMPLETE...well, I've said it before, Bette was and now shes BACK?! Needless to say when I read that, I was a bit perturbed. It felt a bit like karma though to have her homeless and broke. Like the powers that be (in the DCU, not in the REAL world) were reconfiguring the cosmos after Crisis and got to Bette and said, "Well, this woman is terrible. How can we screw up her life? Oh I've got it!"

With the players now on the board, we're into the story. One thing I like is that Rory is still portrayed as a man following his fathers moral "code".

Granted, Rory it seems, is a little weary of the whole process and more than a little unconvinced at it's value, but the man does it anyways. That's got to be worth something.

Suddenly his father comes in beaten and bloody...

The whole "It's up to YOU Rory" theme is pretty prominent in this issue actually. Rory hears it in his dreams and experiences it first hand (like he does here) during the whole tale. We cut back to the BIG boss making plans to get rid of the Regan boys once and for all, then back to Rory as his father falls asleep. Rory thinks, "Right. I'm gonna die defending a junkyard. If those guys want to turn this dump into a coke house so bad, let 'em! I'll sell it to them! Then they'll be sorry. Pop'll just have to understand. I've been trapped here long enough..." and then goes to bed.

While he's sleeping (and again dreaming of war) one-shot and big bad Jimmy Olson (who's real name is Vorst, but I insist on calling Jimmy just because it makes me giggle) sneak into the junk shop and kill Rory's father and beat Rory half to death. Rory slips back into his 'dream war' and it's here that the word 'EMET' first pops up. Rory slides in and out of consciousness and then slips fully into his dream state. Now, I know I've already posted a lot of panels from this ONE issue, but I'm going to post the following two pages in their entirety just so you get the feel of how the 9 panel layout CAN be used properly, for a more cinematic feel...

 

Rory then wakes up to Bette shaking him awake. Apparently four weeks have passed. Bette found him and brought him to a doctor who stitched him up. Rory is then informed of his fathers death and goes to visit his tombstone.Rory then returns to his neighborhood to seemingly gather intelligence on what's been going on in his fathers shop while he was unconscious.

Supposedly members of 'Jimmy's' organization gained control of the place by posing as Rory's aunt and uncle. The place is now a front for drugs. The next day, while out for a run in the snow, Rory thinks on the meaning of his dreams and comes to the conclusion that it really is all up to him and he must follow his instincts wherever they lead. He goes back to the doctor and Bette to inform them of this (they obviously disagree) and then strikes out into the night on his own in a ski mask.

As his faux aunt and uncle go to sleep, Rory begins to break into 'Rags N' Tatters' only to find a new alarm system has been installed...when suddenly he notices a glint in the darkness out of the corner of his eye. He crawls towards it, pulling a box out from amidst the junk. Opening it he discovers it's full of...RAGS?

 

And that, as they say, is that. Now on to the most important question: Why, of all the 'retcons' that could have been made to Ragman, did they choose to root his mythos in Jewish lore?

The answer is: I don't know.

The letters pages hint at upcoming explanations, but I have all of the issues and I have yet to see it. But, fear not dear reader. I'm attempting to reach out to both Keith and Pat to get an interview to ask all of the questions we ALL have. Whether or not the interview happens is up to DC Comics. But I'm trying my friends.

Personally? I like the change. Granted, I've never known Ragman outside of the suit of soul’s concept. And I didn't start reading comics until about 5 years ago. But, having read the original series, I can understand needing to breath new life into this character. Now that is not a condemnation of Kanigher, Kubert or the Redondo studio. It's more of a commentary on who Ragman was.

Ragman was a costumed vigilante in an impoverished section of Gotham fighting against local corruption. Now, Gotham is HUGE. Batman can't do it all. Another vigilante fighting against Gotham’s influence could have all types of adventures. But he didn't have Bruce’s money, he was (seemingly) restricted to a certain section of Gotham, and his powers came from an ambiguous place (electrical wire influenced transition). There were many stories that could have been told with the pre-Crisis Ragman. But eventually those stories would run out fast without drastically changing SOMETHING.

Making Ragman a supernatural character added that something.

Now the origin of the suit will come later in the series. We'll get to it. I know it, and maybe you do too, but let's take it issue by issue.

And, while we wait for the issue two reviews, enjoy (as always) some classic 90's comic ads!

Don't forget to like, comment and share the content on this blog! We Ragman fans are a small group, so we can't afford to not try and build a community devoted to the Ragman! Thanks for reading and tell your friends! See you next time!

Infinity INC. #22 - Uncivil Wars!

*whew*

I'm back. No excuses or long winded stories. Suffice it to say that life happened and now I'm back.

Onward and upward!

Alright THIS time out we've got a whale of a tale for you! And I don't mean whale as in size. More of in the tradition of 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'...

...by that I mean: "utterly pointless."

Anywho. Remember Crisis? Yeah that big DC event that took place somewhere in the mid 80's and made things crazysauce for a little while? Well, before it was all said and done with, Ragman made at least ONE more appearance before the end.

Oddly enough, this appearance came in the pages of 'Infinity INC.' #22.

Rags didn't have a thing to say in the issue and barely even appeared. But he was THERE and that's ALL that matters to this tracker of the Tatterdemalion!

Now according to some sources this is a hard and fast Ragman appearance and others call it a Spectre appearance. I'm going to obviously go with the former and I'll explain why. Two reasons is all I need:

1) When it came to crowd shots during Crisis, the artists of various tie-ins liked to maintain the scene from the main Crisis issue/panel/double page spread. I say that for this reason: remember this panel from Crisis #5?

Note the three characters right next to Ragman. Jonni Thunder (white suit), Star-Spangled Kid and Wonder Girl. When you get to 'Infinity INC' #22, note who is around Ragman yet again.

2) If you read Crisis at all, Spectre didn't get involved until right about...

Oh yeah. There. And he and the other mystical, magical, ghostly characters were just puttering about before then taking in the sights and not in other places...like crowded asses to elbows in a spaceship with other heroes and villains.

So you see? That HAS to be Ragman because it sure as heck ain't the Spectre.

Now what about the rest of the issue? Well, honestly it's just a close up of the confusion that characters are experiencing as a result of suddenly appearing on the Monitors satellite. But since you asked nicely, here are my favorite moments...

First up we've got a duo of awesomeness: Plastic Man and Elongated Man goof off in the background AND Starfire catches the gaze of yet ANOTHER man...

 

Next up we've got a member of the Helix team (Arak) with a SICK taste in music (hey, it matches MY tastes)...

And then, from the page that brought you a Ragman appearance, we've got a character who's relentless pursuit of women might rival that of the (still to come at this point) adolescent clone Superboy! No seriously, Star-Spangled Kid just DOESN'T stop. But hey, Wonder Girl IS pretty freakin hot. Married or not.

 

And last but not least, a Scott family team up fight against Solomon Grundy! Hey, I'm a Green Lantern fan remember? How could I NOT showcase a fight between Grundy, Alan, Todd and Jade? Too good to be true and yet here it is!!!

 

And that's all folks!

Well, not quite. The second half of this issue is some off the wall story about a version of Dr. Midnight and Hourman that I've never heard of in my entire life and, quite honestly, couldn't force myself to read. For all I know these are the best, most underused characters in all of DC comics (second to Ragman of course) but I couldn't care less. So I didn't read it. Sorry.

But that concludes this appearance. Honestly I wish I could have given you more here. 'All Star Squadron'/'Infinity INC.' are two series that I WISH I had every issue to. I've been wanting to read those stories ever since I got into comics, but somehow never found a single issue. I'd love to be a walking encyclopedia on these stories and characters but I've got nothing for you. Maybe someday I'll finally get my comics wish and have the entire run. Here's hoping...

So thats it for this time! Don't forget to comment, share, tweet, etc. this post and join/follow the blog! Ragman needs all the help he can get and showing your support for his home on the internet is definitely a good place to start! Comments are epic because it lets me know you guys are out there and interested and sharing spreads the word! So run the full gambit and go nuts! See you guys next time!

Red Tornado #3 - Eye of the Storm!

During the massive DC event "Crisis on Infinite Earths" our favorite Tatterdemalion of Justice made a small handful of other appearances (besides Crisis itself). One of those appearances was in the Red Tornado four issue mini-series from 1985 written by Kurt Busiek with art by the great Carmine Infantino.

Yeah I know, obscure character A showing up in obscure character B's mini series DURING Crisis?! What insanity!

Truth be told, I have no special love for the character of Red Tornado (or Reddy as fans and even some DC characters call him). I don't hate the guy, but androids have never really been my thing. Same with Vision over at Marvel. Just not my thing. But, luckily for you, I found someone who IS a huge fan of Reddy! In fact, he runs a blog about the guy!

So rather than expose you to me struggling halfheartedly to fake some passion for this mini series (which has nothing at all to do with the quality of the story), and then forcing you to read my uninteresting dispassionate re-cap, I decided to shirk my responsibility altogether and extend an invite to someone who DOES have excitement for this mini-series and can absolutely give you more info on it than I could! Doug Zawisza from the Red Tornado blog know as Ulthoon!

Take it away Doug!

"A little while ago, I was invited to appear on the Fire and Water Podcast and graciously accepted the offer from awesome co-hosts Rob Kelly and the Irredeemable Shag. We talked about “Justice League of America” #192 and 193 from 1981. Those were among the first comics I bought with my hard-earned allowance. They also empowered me to discovering comic book universes for myself rather than relying on others to guide me.

Shortly after that conversation, I received a lovely invitation from this blog’s esteemed host, Chad Bokelman. Chad reached out to me and issue me a challenge: talk about Ragman’s appearance in the Red Tornado miniseries. The first Red Tornado miniseries. Written by Kurt Busiek. With art by Carmine Infantino. Do the sentence fragments make it any more dramatic for you? They do for me.

Think about this for a moment: a guy who runs a blog about Ragman asked a guy who has a Red Tornado blog for a few thoughts about the former’s appearance in the latter’s first miniseries. Yeah. It hurts my head too. Neither of us has been able to celebrate our characters making anything resembling regular appearances in comics since 2011. Yes, admittedly it seems like there might be some Red Tornado goodness coming soon, but for now: no Red Tornado and no Ragman.

But we DO have back issues!

I will say this, though: Ragman is one of those “Who is THAT guy?!” characters. I first encountered Rory Reagan – and had no idea who he is – among the ocean of characters aboard the Monitor’s satellite in “Crisis on Infinite Earths” #5. Yes, the very same, “Crisis on Infinite Earths” #5 that Chad blogged about just under a month ago. At this point in “Crisis,” I recognized a few characters, but there were far more I did not. Ragman stood out to me as he was moving across the spread, one of very few characters the great George Pérez chose to put in motion. So much awesomeness was in the comic book for me. So much, as it opened with Red Tornado being tormented by an off-panel voice. Flash tried to defend Reddy, but to no avail. Most importantly, “Crisis on Infinite Earths” #5 sparked my enthusiasm to learn more about the DC Universe.

I would later learn much more about Ragman through his adventures with Batman in “Brave and the Bold” and even in his own 1991 miniseries. Somewhere in between I would discover the Joe Kubert-Robert Kanigher series from 1976 and rejoice in its artistry.

But that’s neither here nor there. Chad asked me for some thoughts on Ragman’s appearance in the Red Tornado miniseries. He showed up for a panel. The end.

(click to enlarge)

The first issue of “Red Tornado” hit in April of 1985 and boasted a cover of Superman threatening some serious harm on Reddy. While the series came out around the same time as “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” like “The Shadow War of Hawkman” it chose to tell its own tale, rather than get wrapped up in the events of “Crisis.” Naturally, all of that would lead to disaster later on, but for the sake of the series, it allowed Kurt Busiek to tell his Red Tornado tale and Carmine Infantino to draw it in all of his angular awesomeness. As for the consequences it would bring to Hawkman, that’s another story for another time and place.

I wasn’t a big fan of Infantino’s art back then. He’s an acquired taste, like beer, especially if you’re more accustomed to artwork in the style of George Pérez or John Byrne. To a certain extent, I see the rationale behind having Infantino work on this series, but his choices for drawing technology still leave something to be desired.

 The Red Tornado miniseries pulled the Construct out of mothballs and set him against the world. As the only machine immune to the Construct’s control, Red Tornado had to be dealt with otherwise. Through available technology, the Construct was able to briefly control the Justice League of America long enough for them to expel Red Tornado and sow the seeds of doubt in the android’s circuits. From there conquest awaited the Construct. Along the way he would possess humans, further expanding his hold on the world leading to a climatic battle with Red Tornado.

Red Tornado #3, however, gave the heroes of the DC Universe a chance to battle the Construct, including the two-page spread where Ragman shows up. In that image, with Green Lantern, Flash, Superman, Batman and more fighting alongside him, Ragman is the only character capable of actually destroying any of the Construct’s drones. For me, that solidified the character’s validity and piqued my curiosity all the more when I found this character again, crossing the sea of humanity on-board the Monitor’s satellite. Unfortunately, this plot thread is left dangling in the Red Tornado miniseries. The Construct (spoilers!) is eventually defeated and humanity returned to normal, but Busiek and Infantino never circle back around to this scene, which would have been a beautiful piece o closure.

Hindsight being twenty-twenty, we can call for that conclusion now, but at the time Kurt Busiek was keen on giving the Red Tornado a new life to grow into. Ragman would have to find his own way home and his own series to star in.

Thanks, Chad, for giving me this chance to chat up one of my favorite characters in Red Tornado while drawing a quick connection to Rory Reagan in the meantime."

Absolutely Doug. Thanks for taking a moment to breathe some life into that old rusted bucket of bolts. haha! All kidding aside folks, alot of us DC bloggers like to refer to out little community as the "Justice League of Bloggers". There's a very simple reason for it, a mantra if you will, "Every character deserves to have their own blog dedicated to them."

Not everyone is a huge fan of Red Tornado (myself included) but I firmly believe every character deserves their spotlight and to have it be positive wherever possible. So thanks to Doug for educating my readers on Reddy and sharing his passion for the character.

Well, my work here is done folks. Any more rambling and I might end up trying to upstage Doug! lol In the meantime, go on and share, follow/join, like and comment on this entry and all others here at the Suit of Souls blog! Comments are my absolute favorite as it lets me know what you folks are thinking!

Next review we get one final "Crisis" era appearance before we move on to Post Crisis Ragman! (I'm pretty sure, I'll be sure to research more just in case I missed something) Anyone venture a guess as to what comic that appearance was in? (NO SEARCH ENGINES!)

Crisis On Infinite Earths #5 - Worlds in Limbo!

Twenty eight years ago, there was an event that destroyed universes. Entire universes, every galaxy, every solar system, every planet and every being was destroyed by a white wall of anti-matter. When one universe was destroyed, anothers destruction began...all at the hands of the being known as the Anti-Monitor.

At least, in DC comics that is. Twenty eight years ago DC comics set about attempting to rectify a "convoluted" line of continuity for its characters. As fun of a concept as alternate universes was, and as thrilling as unbridled creative story telling was, DC got it in their head that their universe was just too confusing. So they set about trying to change all of that.

They concocted a story called "Crisis on Infinite Earths". Crisis (as it would come to be known)  was a 12 issue series that ran alongside the series called "Who's Who in the DC Universe" (which, ironically, set about to attempt to supply a history for their characters set in stone). But, focusing on Crisis, the story was meant to "fix" the errors in DC continuity...merging the alternate universes and characters into ONE universe.

The breakdown for those unfamiliar is as follows: Long ago on a planet called Maltus (or Oa, can't specifically remember, doesn't matter) a race of beings that would come to be known as the Guardians existed. One of these beings, Krona, became obsessed with discovering the beginning of all things. This knowledge was long considered to be forbidden among his race, but Krona pushed on anyways. He built a device that allowed him to see into the past and he pushed his device until he saw the very beginning...


That bolt rippled throughout the cosmos and created the Multiverse, a nearly endless expanse of alternate universes...and one universe of pure anti-matter...appropriately deemed the anti-matter universe. On the moon of Oa, a creature was born known as the Monitor. The Monitor drew his power from the existence of the amount of positive matter universes in existence. Similarly, on the anti-matter universe side, Oa's sister planet Qwards moon birthed a similar creature...the Anti-Monitor. Whose power was drawn from the existence of Anti-Matter. They fought until their fighting brought about an extended slumber.

Eons passed and something happened to awaken them. (I know what it was but seriously this is a complicated story) The Anti-Monitor set about destroying universes with anti-matter to increase his own power, while at the same time sapping his brothers. But, before the Monitor could die, he banded about a group of heroes to protect what was left of the multiverse. After multiple attempts, the Anti-Monitor was defeated...but not before all of the remaining reality and timelines from a handful of alternate earths were merged into one. (that is a VERY watered down explanation of the events in this historic series, but you get the gist)

One of the cool things Crisis did was feature, at least once, every single character the DC universe had in its arsenal at the time...Ragman was no exception.

Remember how I said that it took a few attempts to defeat the Anti-Monitor? Well, in one of the gatherings to plot the defeat of the Anti-Montior and his plans...there Ragman stood...

(click to enlarge)

Can't find him? Aww come on! Nobody wants to play "Where's Ragman"?

Eh fine...

Now, he didn't have anything to do with the Crisis story...BUT he was there. Oh well. Props for appearing in a massive part of DC Comics history I suppose...

AND he DID appear on the Alex Ross cover specifically made for the collected edition of Crisis...

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Ok, ok, he's hard to spot here. I'll help ya out...

So that's the Ragman appearance in Crisis (appearances I guess). Ragman had more appearances around the time of the Crisis, but that's for another time and blog entry. But here's just a little sneak peak/hint as to what is to come...

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Don't forget to comment, like, share and follow/join the content on this blog! Always happy and thrilled to receive new and old fans of Ragman! And comments specifically are always a thrill! Special thanks to Diabolu Frank (fellow blogger and author of the 'Idol Head of Diabolu' blog and many others) for his recent comments. They did not go unnoticed or under appreciated!

(PS: For those of you who love the Crisis, I encourage you to read this extensive document by a friend of mine and fellow podcaster Adam Murdough. Adam possesses an expansive knowledge of the comics genre and the DC Universe and, in fact, wrote his college thesis on Crisis. The man is an encyclopedia DC Universia. You can read it by clicking HERE.)