Justice Machine Annual #1
Published and © by Texas and Noble, 1983
Title: “An Echo of T.H.U.N.D.E.R.”
Synopsis: The Justice Machine teams with the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents to battle General Von Geist’s super-powered, “ultrablitz” stormtroopers.
Writer: William Messner-Loebs (as Bill Loebs)
Penciler: Bill Reinhold
Inkers: Jeff Dee and Bill Anderson
Review: Stuck between a striking Michael Golden cover and the excellent debut of Bill Willingham’s Elementals, this lead feature struggles to find professional competence. The art is uneven but not awful, and there are a few fun character moments. But there are too many characters even for this story’s 43 pages.
•••
Title: “The Shape of Things to Come”
Synopsis: Four people who have returned from the dead with elemental powers find themselves attacked by a shapeshifting villainess.
Writer: Bill Willingham
Penciler: Willingham
Inker: Bill Anderson
Review: This strong debut outing for the Elementals establishes the franchise’s foundational concepts and showcases Bill Willingham’s excellent art.
Grade (for the entire issue): B+
Second opinion: “Mediocre.” – William Schoell, “Superheroic: The Bronze Age of Comics Volume 2,” 2022
Cool factor: The Elementals deserve their own series (and would soon have one over at Comico).
Not-so-cool factor: The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents deserve better (a recurring refrain over the years).
Notable: First appearance of the Elementals.
Character quotable: “I set up surveillance of the estate and discovered the source of the supernatural emanations: This group of individuals known as… The Elementals.” – Shapeshifter, sans Destroyers
Editor’s note: This review was written Feb. 19, 2022.
