Justice League America Breakdown #13 and Detective Comics #628 (ZAK Comic Week)

Holy blogging, Batman! What a week this past week has been ZAK Comic Week has been a blast to edit and write. I had no idea Free Comic Book Day would produce three days of vlogs, comic book discussions and maybe after today some nostalgia. This is the final day of ZAK Comic Week but I’ve loved doing this so much that I’ve decided to make this a yearly occurrence so next year, after Free Comic Book Day you’ll be getting ZAK Comic Week: The Sequel. I’m hoping to vlog at some different comic book locations maybe in a different state and I’ll obviously have different comics to talk about. Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 of ZAK Comic Week Below!

Free Comic Book Day 2017 at Excalibur Comics! (ZAK Comic Week)

Free Comic Book Day 2017 at 2nd & Charles! (ZAK Comic Week)

Before I dive into the main topic today I have one last video for you guys to watch. I wasn’t sure if I was going to post this or not as it’s kind of out of date at this point but on Free Comic Book Day after I returned home from my trip to Excalibur Comics and 2^nd & Charles I recorded a video of my showing off my FCBD Comic Book Haul. I’ve already discussed my entire haul here on the blog in written form, with much more knowledge regarding the comics but this’ll be interesting for anyone looking for my first impressions. Oh yeah be sure to watch the video to the end… I made a certain joke that I’m hoping will not get me copyright-striked.

Did you see the end part? I’m sorry I had to, this will probably be the one and only time I make a JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures To Be Continued joke like that but I couldn’t resist. Thought it was a funny way to end this series of vlogs. Hope you enjoyed that everyone! Sorry I wasn’t more informative I probably should have re-filmed it after reading through all the comics, which I have at this point. After this series of vlogs I absolutely want to do more videos for you guys so I’ll brainstorm a bit and try to find some new locations to film at in the future! (Before that I have a certain new ZAK Knits Episode in production… Keep an eye out for that.)

Now I don’t have any more of my Free Comic Book Day haul to discuss but I figured why not end ZAK Comic Week with a little nostalgia? I don’t have a huge comic book collection like some do (I wish.) but today I’ll be featuring these two gems that I’ve had for… I actually don’t remember how long I’ve had them.

While I’ve kept these sealed and in a safe location sadly they’re not the best of wear and just doing this blog means I have to be absolutely careful when handling them, which is also a bummer when I actually want to READ these comics. First off I have Justice League America: Breakdowns Part 13.

This baby is issue #59 of the Justice League America series from the early 1990s which is also a part of the Justice League International series which ran from May 1987 to 1996. This JLI series began with Justice League #1 from May 1987. This is apparently Part 13 of the Breakdowns storyline which is a crossover between the Justice League of America and Justice League of Europe.

The Justice League is in shambles after Maxwell Lord is shot and the United Nations withdraws support for the JLI forcing them to disband. After a series of events leading to this part 13 (Dubbed Ex-Factor) now the Justice League are operating out of a cave and must pull what’s left of the team together for their on the final stretch towards defeating Dreamslayer (Who has actually possessed Max’s body after he falls into a coma.) before he ravages earth. Led by the Martian Manhunter a group of Justice Leaguers head to KooeyKooeyKooey an island in the South Pacific where Dreamslayer in Max’s body is currently located attempting to revive his old terrorist group, the Extremists.

This was my first time reading this comic in years (Reason for that being I was scared of making it worse wear then it already was but I managed to read it safely.) and this issue ends with a big twist in the whole JLI vs Dreamslayer storyline and pits friends against friends. Only problem is now I want to read the entire Breakdowns storyline and unless you pay out a lot it’s not going to be very easy. Hoopla doesn’t have this storyline available yet either (If you’re reading this Hoopla could you look into that, for me? Haha.) so I guess I’ll just have to be left in the dark. I probably should have tried looking for the other issues years ago.

Oh yeah this issue has to be an original print because it actually has some old 1992 ads in them such as a promotion for the FIRST Wayne’s World movie and Castlevania II for the Nintendo Gameboy.

Check out this Fun Factory Super Gifts & Gimmicks Ad too.

Did this stuff really work? I have no idea, a lot of this stuff looks like it would be instantly banned in this day and age like the Atomic Mini Pistol. Money Maker? Nobody told me it was that easy back then, haha. Of course the Talking Teeth and the Whoopee Cushion are some of the most classic items on this ad. It’s cool to look back in these comics and see these old ads.

Well that’s it for JLA #59. I’m putting it back into my plastic protector and storing it away once again. It was nice reading it but it would be a shame if it were to get anymore damaged, especially when I’ve lost a few good classic comics in the past for this reason.

It’s time to get a little batty because now we’ll be discussing another classic comic I own, Detective Comics 628. I know number 628 doesn’t make this as old of a classic as say Batman’s original Detective Comics #27 debut in May of 1939 but this issue is a classic to me and I’ve had it for years now. (I’m pretty sure these two comics come from my Dad.)

As with the nature of Detective Comics this story is far more self contained then the JLI comic and focuses on Batman as he works to solve a crime involving… Someone stealing hearts? Yeah apparently someone is stealing living hearts in Gotham City, doves, cows you name it. Penguin would be pretty peeved if he found this one out, speaking of Penguin these heart stealers start by stealing the hearts of Cobblepot’s doves from his Aerie. Basically there’s a LOAD of death in this comic. Luckily it’s not gruesome or over detailed otherwise I would probably be turned away from this comic. (Not saying the CCA Comics Code was a good thing, it wasn’t. I’m just saying this could have been a pretty gruesome comic, which I’m not a huge fan of.)

This comic is a pretty dark but wild ride from beginning to end so It was worth re-reading after all these years. Detective Comics have been around for a long time now and while New 52 rebooted it started from #1, DC Rebirth like the amazing child it is has brought back the old numbering starting with #934, which means the New 52 is being counted in that as well as Detective Comics originally ended on #881 before rebooting to New 52. I’ll be diving into the new Detective Comics from DC Rebirth soon so be on the lookout for discussions on that.

It’s time for one final Comic Book knitting pattern… Ever wanted to be a Super Soldier like Captain America? Well you’re dreams are about to come true if you feel like knitting this pullover sweater… This is the “Captain America Knit Hoodie” by Beth Kluckhohn.

Photo Provided by Beth Kluckhohn

Similar to the Wonder Woman sweater I featured on Day 2 last Wednesday this is a colorworks sweater and it looks just like good ol Cap’s outfit. I don’t see many knitted hoodies so it’ll be interesting to see how that’s knitted up. The pattern seems easy enough to follow so it should be challenging by fun. The size of this sweater is a medium-sized sweater but as long as you know your gauge with the materials you’re using and how wide around you want your sweater to be it should be easy to make a smaller or larger sweater. To follow this pattern to a point though you’ll need Size US 7 Circular Needles with a 29” cord and two pairs of US 7 circular needles with 16” long cords.

Ready to get started? Check out this pattern on Raverly! I was a tad bit confused about the fact that there are 3 download versions but I believe Version 1.1 is the correct version to download. I thought when you updated a pattern on Ravelry it removed the old version but this has three different versions to download. I believe 1.1 is the right revision so go ahead and download that one. Also be sure to check out Beth Kluckhohn on Ravelry!

Well ZAK Comic week is coming to a close sadly, it’s been a fun ride and I’m very eager to keep this as a yearly theme. Who knows maybe I can come up with some other specialized weeks to bring you guys, we’ll see what the future brings. I swear this whole Comic Week was only born because my video footage from my Free Comic Book Day trip was too long for one video. Next week I’ll be returning to my usual blogging, where the topics usually vary depending on what’s happening in my life or what I’m interested in writing. I can’t say Videos will be consistent but I might be able to bring you guys a new video next week, of what though I can’t disclose just yet. Go back up and read Part 1 and 2 for my FCBD Comic Book Haul!

If you want to read more comic discussions be sure to click “Comic Books” at the top of the page, I’ve already discussed quite a bit on Comics. Until next time…

That’s a wrap folks!