The Darkstars #34

Stranger in a Strange Land

Michael Jan Friedman ~ Writer
Mike Collins ~ Penciller
Ken Branch ~ Inker
Bob Pinaha ~ Letterer
Stu Chaifetz ~ Colorist
Jason Hernandez-Rosenblatt ~ Stranger than truth
Paul Kupperberg ~ Stranger than Jason
Darkstars created by Michael Jan Friedman and Larry Stroman

Our lackluster cover by Collins and Branch gives us Supergirl, Darkstar, Green Lantern, Minion, and (very small in the background) Terra, Mirage, Arsenal and Damage. And that is everybody in the New Titans except for Impulse, who missed out on the whole Siege of Zi Charam because he forgot his Game Boy.

And since Impulse does not partake in the space adventures, I won't really talk about them. Just know that it's full of Collins' disappointing art, and Friedman takes an inordinate amount of time to tell a completely non-related side story involving a Darkstar named Colos. The Titans have lots of fun on their space adventure, and only toward the end of the issue does anyone bring up Impulse. Once again it's Green Lantern, saying, "Too bad Impulse is missing all the fun." Damage then gloats at the prospect of telling Bart about the great mission he missed out on. Oh, Damage! What did Bart ever do to you? I'll tell you what he did — he saved your angsty butt several times without expecting anything in return. So be nice!

Anyway, on Page 20, we return to the Titans headquarters in New Jersey, where Annie Bonelli and her two boys are attacked by her ex-husband. I suppose Donna arranged for Annie to stay with the Titans to protect her from this deranged lunatic, who has pulled a gun on his own children to make a point. I am quite disappointed by the Titans security. You'd think they would have beefed things up after the possessed Changeling nearly killed them all. But I suppose security isn't necessary when you've got Impulse around ... oh wait, he's busy playing a video game.

But don't worry about those little boys. In a later issue, Rose Wilson will pop out of nowhere to save the day. Impulse isn't in that issue, so I figured I'd tell you now.

And thus ends perhaps the worst Impulse appearance I've covered so far. This issue itself is mildly interesting, but the handling of Impulse is inexcusable. He's only seen in one panel, actively removing himself from a threatening situation. I can't imagine that video game being so loud as to drown out Annie's cry for help. He could have heard her and disarmed the guy before he realized what was happening. I know they wanted to set up Rose to be a hero, but I wish they would have not done so at Impulse's expense. Just say he went home to Alabama.

There's only one very long letter in Mugla Mail, and it doesn't mention Impulse. So here are the new ads:

The devil and the devourer. Darkseid vs. Galactus: The Hunger. Written and drawn by John Byrne.

Star Trek: The Next Generation. Friedman, Purcell, Pallot. Once, the entire Federation was brought to its knees by a single threat — the Borg. The Borg return.

Sins of the child. Starman. Robinson, Harris, Von Grawbadger.

Mega City's most wanted. Judge Dredd action figures.

Next time, we get more Michael Jan Friedman in ... The Flash #105.