G’nort’s Swimsuit Edition #1 variant cover, via DC Comics.
G’nort’s Swimsuit Edition #1 — Julie & Shawna Benson, Steve Orlando, Writers; Meghan Hetrick, Paul Pelletier/Norm Rapmund, Artists; Marissa Louise, Adriano Lucas, Colorists
Ray — 7.5/10
Ray: This is easily the oddest book DC has put out in some time — a collection of summery pinup covers of our favorite DC characters. But unlike the other cover one-shots like this week’s Catwoman: Uncovered (which only have a few lines of dialogue) this one has two anthology stories included, one an original. How do they stack up, and where does the fuzziest Green Lantern Good Boy fit into all this?
Baewatch sample page. Via DC Comics.
The first story, “Baewatch” by the Bensons and Meghan Hetrick, focuses on a crew of Black Canary, Batgirl, Huntress, Vixen, and Poison Ivy as they enjoy a day at the beach — interrupted by Penguin, who had his beachfront property seized and turned into a public beach. He’s out for revenge and is looking to sabotage a pipeline — which means the girls have to spring into action. As the title indicates, this is a very tongue-in-cheek story, which feels more like an Elseworlds where the girls just hang out on the beach and have 1980s teen-comedy adventures. It’s pretty slight, but very funny and surprisingly action-packed at times. Overall, this feels like it could have fit right into any fun summer anthology.
“Out There” sample page. Via DC Comics.
After a long collection of pin-ups and a G’nort centerfold combined with a very funny spotlight for the Green Lantern, we get to the second story “Out There” by Orlando and Pelletier. This is a reprint from a past summer special, and focuses on Midnighter and Apollo as they try to enjoy a summer vacation — which is rudely interrupted by a conflict between ARGUS and Monsieur Mallah and the Brain. Naturally, the two villainous lovebirds have a sympathetic reason for their latest crime-spree and an arrangement is worked out. I remember this story from when it was originally published and it was a lot of fun.
Is this a fun issue? Yes, but with only about twenty pages of story, ten or so being original, it’s not exactly a great package for the price. I’m hoping DC continues to crank out excellent oversized anthologies that have a lot of stories of this quality.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
