Impulse #6

Secret Identity

Mark Waid Writer
Humberto Ramos Pencils
Wayne Faucher Inks
Chris Eliopoulos Letterer
Tom McCraw Colorist
Alisande Morales Assistant Editor
Brian Augustyn Editor
Special thanks to Joyce Porter, E.T. Richardson Middle School
Impulse created by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo

The cover by Ramos and Faucher shows Impulse, his friend Preston, and a ... monster?! This is a pretty exciting and intense cover, but as we'll soon find out, the real monster might not be who we expect. Joyce Porter, who was thanked in the credits, is a child abuse advocate. So we're entering a very special issue of Impulse, but I promise you, it's not cheesy at all!

Our story begins in the office of Assistant Principal Randall Sheridan, who is speaking with Preston Lindsay. Mr. Sheridan notes that Preston has come to school quite often looking a little scuffed up, but Preston simply says he fell. Mr. Sheridan tells him his teachers are concerned, and they can help with any problems he has at home, but only if someone can verify the situation. Preston insists there's no situation and leaves.

Up next is Bart Allen, whose pencil is on fire because he's finishing his homework. Mr. Sheridan overlooks this bit of absurdity to ask him to hang a little closer to Preston. At first, Bart thinks Mr. Sheridan is just trying to get him to make more friends, but he explains that Preston is going through some tough times and he wants Bart to keep an eye out for anything weird.

So Bart goes out to the swamp with Preston to try to catch some swamp lights and monsters on film. Preston has big plans to film a movie and go to Hollywood and be loved by the whole world. He asks Bart what his dreams are, but all Bart can think about is smashing a pie into Max's face. Suddenly a pair of bright lights spook the kids, and Preston decides to protect Bart by pushing him off their rowboat.

When Bart emerges from the water, Preston is gone, so Bart turns into Impulse to find him. He runs into a bunch of snakes, and politely asks them, "Do you mind? I'm trying to think." He then runs into Preston's dad, who's looking for him with a flashlight and is very angry. Bart soon finds Preston, and takes off his Impulse outfit to join him. When Preston's dad finds them, he yells at Preston for disobeying his mom's instruction to get home before dark, and he tells his son he'll get it when they get home. Bart and Preston load up in the back of his truck, and once they get home, Preston's mom tells him that she warned him about making his father angry and now he has to take his punishment.

The next day, Bart is training with Max, who is throwing a bunch of weapons Bart must vibrate through. But Bart's distracted by Preston's problems, and he asks Max why a kid should be so afraid of a grownup. Max says it sounds like life is unfair for Preston — if, indeed, what Bart thought he saw was what was really happening. Max warns him he could destroy a family with a false accusation, and all he really saw was a boy being threatened with punishment for breaking his curfew. Bart complains that Max is giving him too much to think about, so he tells him to make sure Mr. Lindsay is guilty before accusing him of anything — even if that means keeping an eye on Preston day and night. Bart worries about seeing something as Impulse, which would expose his secret identity. All Max can say is they have to hope it doesn't come to that.

The next day, Bart pays attention to Preston getting dressed in gym class, and he is quite worried by what he sees. At lunch, Bart realizes Preston's missing, and Carol tells him he's cutting the rest of the day. Apparently he said something about doing anything to complete his movie after what he went through last night. So Bart quickly runs off to find him.

We see Preston running through the swamp with his camcorder, being chased by the monster on the cover. Impulse arrives just in the nick of time to push the monster away from Preston, and he tells him to go home. But Preston says he can't go back to what's waiting for him. The monster then retaliates, so Impulse takes advantage of the many snakes in the swamp and throws a bunch on the monster. He then grabs a large branch to continue to battle the beast, when he's interrupted by a man asking him to leave his son alone.

The man explains that his son, Hector, suffers from a severe case of acromegaly, which causes him to grow uncontrollably. The doctors don't expect him to live more than a year, and they just want to keep living quietly in the swamp. Impulse tells him he should warn people, since everybody thinks Hector is a monster. But the man kind of likes that idea, since it keeps people away and allows him to provide his son with the love he — and all other sons — deserve.

Impulse then decides to pay Preston's dad, Tom, a visit. He catches him right before he enters his house and tells him to leave Preston alone. Tom brushes him off, but Impulse is adamant, saying he's protecting Preston from a monster. Again Tom tries to laugh him off and enters his house with Impulse trying to hold him back. When he opens the door, he finds his wife beating Preston, yelling at him for threatening their family happiness. Tom is just as shocked as Impulse, who quickly runs away. Tom stops the beating and embraces Preston.

The next day, Bart decides to tell Mr. Sheridan what he saw, even though doing so would expose his secret identity. But when he enters his office, he sees Preston is already in there with a police officer and a social worker. Bart waits outside for him, who later tells him he'll be staying in school and can still live with his dad, although he'll be receiving some counseling. Preston says his dad always just left the punishment to his mom, and never realized how bad it got. His mom, meanwhile, has been placed under observation in a social services house, and Preston is allowed to see her on weekends. Bart asks him if that's what he wants, and Preston says his mom is still his mom and he just wants her to get some help. Bart then returns Preston's camera, which he thought was lost forever in the swamp. Preston's dad comes to pick him up, and Preston decides to let Bart keep the camera. Bart records Preston walking away arm-in-arm with his dad, and says, "Cool."

Wow.

What a powerful issue. My recap can't do this issue justice. The silent page of Impulse and Tom walking in on the beating is stunning. Tears are steaming down Preston's face, and Humberto Ramos did a fabulous job with everybody's expressions. Watching a parent beat her child was more terrifying than almost any other comic book super villain. And I never felt Mark Waid got too heavy-handed with this story. I think he did a marvelous job of showing how real and common child abuse can be, while also teaching that things aren't always as they appear. This is the power of comics — taking a fun, goofy kid like Impulse and using him to deliver an important message.

Well, that's all I can say about this amazing issue. Let's see what the letter writers have to say about Impulse #3.

Andrew Joseph, of Islington, Ontario, said he's been reading comics for 24 years, and this is the first time he's had a desire to communicate with the creators. He loved how Impulse took care of the bullies, and he also loved the artwork, saying it's similar to Japanese manga.

Mike Aragona, of Montreal, said he laughed so much at the issue that he lost track of time and was late for work. He said Waid's writing is top-notch and Ramos and Faucher create simple, yet highly effective visuals. Mike said Bart's view of the world is so uncomplicated that it makes the reactions of this around him seem so much more off-the-wall.

Jeremy Grossman, of Indianapolis, said he likes Bart Allen's cocky, yet quiet attitude. He also said he likes seeing a superhero live through a day of public schooling, which was more entertaining with Impulse than Robin, who plays the part of "cool wuss" and the girl-crazy Superboy. Jeremy also asks for the return of the black boy only known as "Lardo," feeling someone with emotion will help bring out the dialogue in the book.

Charles Skaggs, of Columbus, Ohio, said Waid created a wonderful self-contained story, which he calls a true rarity in comics today. He also points out the character named XS in the Legion of Super-heroes, who is Bart's cousin, and he asks if we'll ever have a family reunion. Editor Brian Augustyn confirms such a reunion, saying XS will show up in issue #9. Now on to the ads:

There are some days you'll never forget. Bon Jovi (These Days). The new album featuring the hit single "This Ain't a Love Song" in stores now!

The chase is on. Capture DC villains and uncover a new secret message. DC Villains trading cards.

So big. So fast. So close to home. Wherever you are — there's a Six Flags near you. I have been to the Six Flags in Los Angeles twice, and I really enjoyed it both times. They have some amazing roller coasters, although it's not a complete, well-rounded theme park like Disneyland.

Can you match the meal with the fit of the jeans? The food: Sloppy Joe, peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a hotdog. The jeans: Classic 505, Relaxed 550, Loose 560. Levi's.

Playoff football cards. Pigskin included. This ad shows a picture of a pig, which is pretty funny, I guess, but this is the same football card company that repeatedly runs ads without pictures of football players or even football cards.

Next time, we begin October 1995 with The New Titans #126.

The Flash #105

Through a Glass, Darkly

Mark Waid and Michael Jan Friedman – Writers
Ron Lim – Penciller
Mark Stegbauer – Inker
Tom McCraw – Colorist
Kevin Cunningham – Letterer
Alisande Morales – Asst. Editor
Brian Augustyn – Does it with mirrors

So Impulse leaves The Flash for a little bit and look what happens — the art falls to pieces! No offense to Lim and Stegbauer, but this is not the quality I've come to expect on this title. But from what I understand, this was just a fill-in issue, which didn't even warrant the full attention of Waid. And that is a shame, since the premise of this issue is so great.

So here's some comic book history for those who may not know. This is the second issue to be called The Flash #105. The first one came out in 1959, and was notable for being the first appearance of Mirror Master. Of course that was a different Flash (Barry Allen) and a different Mirror Master (Sam Scudder). This story involves Wally West and Evan McCulloch, but history tends to repeat itself, especially in comics.

Our story begins with Flash falling helplessly through the Mirror World. I'm not exactly sure how he got here other than the Mirror Master simply pulling him in. As it stands, Flash can't find his way out and needs Mirror Master's help. And Evan is willing to help Wally, but only if the speedster is willing to help the Rogue first.

Evan launches into a tragic backstory of how he once had a girlfriend named Emelia. He loved her so much, he even considered giving up a life of crime for her. But suddenly, tragedy struck, and Emelia died. But recently, Evan spotted a reflection of woman who looks just like Emelia — the double that everyone has. Evan was able to make a holographic image of this woman, but has since lost that reflection. He knows she isn't his girlfriend, but he wants to visit her to say the goodbyes he would have said to Emelia. But to do so, he needs the Flash to check each mirror until he finds her.

Wally is overcome by this love story, and he starts looking for this woman. He can't find her, but he does find his girlfriend, Linda Park. So he has Mirror Master help send a message to Linda to have Oracle track down this mystery woman. Evan then suggests they contact the original Flash — the one in the shiny helmet — to bring the woman to a neutral location to meet her. But Wally insists that Jay Garrick is retired, and says he'll have Impulse retrieve the woman instead.

So we return to the real world, where Impulse is waiting on Linda and Oracle, who are both taking way too long for him.

Luckily, Bart doesn't have to wait too much longer, as Oracle identifies the woman as Mary Anders, of Costa Grande, Calif. So Bart picks up Linda and runs her to the address, explaining that Linda isn't too heavy for him as long as he maintains his momentum. When they arrive, they find an isolated house with all the windows covered up. Mary barely peeks out the door, demanding Linda remove her earrings, watch and purse, leaving nothing shiny. Bart's goggles got pretty dirty on the journey from Kansas to California, so he took them off.

Linda and Bart explain the situation of the Flash and Mirror Master, which causes Mary to go into hysterics. She admits that her real name is Emelia and she really was Evan's girlfriend. But when she learned her boyfriend was a criminal, she turned him in to the police and testified against him in court. The police then placed her in witness protection, and she has lived in isolation ever since, removing all reflective surfaces from her house.

Bart notes that Emelia is a prisoner and then, without thinking (surprise, surprise) he cleans the gunk off his goggles, making them bright and shiny again. Mirror Master immediately appears in the goggles and switches places with Impulse.

Bart is reunited with Wally, who immediately begins chewing him out for falling into such an obvious trap and endangering Linda. But Bart points out that Wally fell for Mirror Master's trick first. And then, because we need some action, the two speedsters are attacked by giant mirror monsters. Apparently, whenever a mirror breaks in Mirror World, the shards reform themselves into a monster because ... I don't know. It's all very strange.

Anyway, Wally notes that each time they smash a monster, another is created, and if they keep going at their current pace, all the mirrors will be converted into monsters. Wally then realizes that's exactly what he needs — to eliminate all the mirrors to leave the one non-mirror portal to escape. So Wally quickly smashes everything in sight, and escapes with Bart before the mirror shards reform into an unstoppable army.

Meanwhile, an enraged Evan knocks out Linda and begins beating Emelia. But before he gets too violent, he notes the look of terror in Emelia's face, and realizes he never wanted to scare her or treat her badly. In this moment of hesitation, Flash and Impulse arrive on the scene and knock out Mirror Master. The cops soon arrive and take him away, while Bart asks to return to Mirror World because it was so cool. Linda also tells Wally that she asked Bart to take her to California, so he can stop blaming the teen.

So that wasn't a bad little story. This was Impulse's first encounter with one of Flash's classic Rogues, and this story did a good job of showing just how terrifyingly powerful Mirror Master can be. If he has a grudge against you, you need to avoid all mirrors, glass, chrome, aluminum — anything that could possibly be reflective. Mirror Master is the ultimate stalker, but as with all Rogues, he's not 100 percent evil.

I think Impulse was handled very well in this issue, although I doubt we'll ever hear him complain about his goggles getting dirty on a cross-country trip. It is realistic — he would get a lot of bugs and dirt splattered on his face — but I think most comic book writers don't want to spend valuable time delving into minutia like that. I would have liked this issue a lot more had all the Mirror World stuff made more sense. What is the purpose of the monsters? And if all the mirrors break in the Mirror World, wouldn't they break in the real world, too? And how come there's only one way out, which happens to not be a mirror? I'd say I expect more from Mark Waid, but he wasn't the solo writer on this issue, so Michael Jan Friedman gets some of the blame as well. And Ron Lim gets all the blame for the awful artwork. This was almost as bad as some of those Darkstars and New Titans issues I can't stand.

Well, I only own the digital copy of this issue, so you won't get any letters or ads this time. Next time, we'll return to the main series, with Impulse #6.

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.

Impulse #5

Lightning Strikes

Mark Waid – Story
Humberto Ramos Pencils
Wayne Faucher Inks
Chris Eliopoulos Letterer
Tom McCraw Colorist
Alisande Morales Assisstant Editor
Ruben Diaz Associate Editor
Brian Augustyn – Editor
Impulse created by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo

This cover is a direct continuation of how Impulse #4 ended, with the exception of Bart wearing his Impulse outfit. But since this is the cover, I'll accept that. I'll also accept the speech bubble on the cover — a practice I usually frown upon. But in this case, Impulse calmly saying, "Cool," is absolutely perfect for the situation.

Our story begins with Bart driving Matt's dad's car off a cliff. He was trying to chase after White Lightning, but figured out the hard way that he doesn't know how to drive. Matt has a panic attack and passes out. And although Bart did catch a glimpse of Max earlier, Max's sudden appearance on the top of the car does startle him.

I just love the facial expressions on that page. Anyway, Bart tells Max this is his fault because he scared him by running alongside him on the road. Max tells Bart to not argue and asks him to help save Matt and the car. The two speedsters hang on the sides of the car and Max tells Bart to pump his legs at super speed to create an air cushion under the car. Bart starts early, which causes the car to spin wildly for a moment, but they soon right it and land safely. Bart offers to drive Matt home, but Max takes that responsibility and sends Bart home, reminding him it is a school night.

The next day, Matt tells everyone at school how he and Bart were driving 110 miles per hour and went flying off a cliff. Nobody believes him, especially since the car didn't get a scratch on it. Matt admits he passed out during the fall, and he asks Bart to corroborate his story. Bart honestly tells everyone he created an air pocket under the car, but everyone assumes he was joking. Bart then eats lunch with Carol, who is still mad at him for running off with White Lightning's gang. Again, Bart tells the truth, saying he was trying to infiltrate the gang. Carol chastises him for lying and tells him to just be himself. Bart says he'd love to, but Max keeps telling him to be somebody else. This only makes Carol angrier, and she leaves.

After school, Bart finds Max in a deep meditative state with eyes glowing and crackling with energy — very similar to what happened to Wally when he got too close to the Speed Force, but in a more controlled environment. Bart sneaks around Max, who then scares the teen again by suddenly speaking to him. Max explains he was probing the Speed Field for ... something ... but nothing that concerns Bart ... yet. Bart's then surprised to see his "uncle" the coach potato reads newspapers from around the world, and he's even more surprised that Max hasn't yelled at him about last night yet. Max admits Bart didn't have a bad plan, and it's a shame he didn't infiltrate White Lightning's gang. But Bart says he did at least see the guys she picked for her job, knowing at least one of them plays "feetball" for the school. So Bart decides to find him after practice and tail him while Max goes on his date with Helen Claiborne.

So Bart follows the football player around, wearing the worst possible disguises on top of his Impulse outfit. But he somehow manages to go unseen all the way to White Lightning's hideout — an isolated cabin in the woods. White Lightning, however, does see the top of Bart's head and recognizes his hair. So Bart quickly, and wisely, ditches the Impulse outfit and poses as an ordinary kid still eager to join the gang. White Lightning is impressed by his gumption and decides to let him tag along, figuring she could use him as a hostage if all else fails.

So White Lightning loads Bart on the motorcycle behind her — even making sure to give him a helmet — and they take off for her big heist. On the way, they briefly talk about Lightning's motivations, and she asks Bart if he has some father figures he'd like to see get smeared. Wally and Max come to mind, but Bart doesn't say anything. They soon arrive at the Minhota Reservation Casino, which happens to be where Max and Helen are.

White Lightning crashes through the window and asks Bart to help her rob the charity. But Bart is mysteriously gone. Suddenly, Impulse arrives on the scene and starts taking out the henchboys. Helen recognizes Impulse from the paper and asks, "Whoever in the world would've expected him to come to the rescue?" Max says, "Certainly not me ..." Impulse then pulls Max aside, proudly showing off how well he's been keeping his secret identity. Max sarcastically calls him a master of disguise, then tells Impulse to take out White Lightning.

A security officer then gets a clean shot at White Lightning's head, but Impulse pulls her out of the way, saving the villain. She ends up on her back at the feet of another guard, who calls her princess. This kind of throws White Lightning for a loop, and she calls the guard daddy. But she quickly recovers, becoming even more violent than before, and shoots the chandelier. Lightning then takes off on her motorcycle, and Impulse asks Max what he should do. Max motions to the crashing chandelier, so Bart protects everyone in the casino, letting Lightning escape.

Impulse then races out to the highway, but he can only find a big semi-truck, not realizing White Lightning is on it with her mother. Lightning tells her mom she thought she saw her dad, but realizes he couldn't be here. The mother-daughter team proceed to carry out their plan of punishing him.

Max goes home that night to find and angry Bart sitting in the dark and scowling. Max tells him his face will freeze that way, and Bart believes him. He then practically asks Max to lecture him for letting White Lightning get away, but Max tells him he did a pretty good job. He had a bit of a plan and no one got hurt. He just needs to accept that sometimes the bad guys get away. But Bart's still skeptical, saying, "You're being nice to me just to keep me off-balance, aren't you?" Max says, "Pretty much. 'Night."

So that concludes Impulse's first adventure with his first super villain. And I guess we can call this a draw. True, Impulse did prevent White Lightning from stealing any money, but she got away, with the promise to return. And since I know the future, I can promise that she will return. I really like the concept of White Lightning, and I want to know more about her backstory. And overall, I really enjoyed this issue. Max making Bart scream is deliciously wonderful. And there's even a certain degree of humor to a skulking Bart sitting in the dark. You just can't take him seriously! Well, with that said, let's get on with the letters.

Phil Rhein, of Manitowoc, Wis., talks about his dissatisfaction of mainstream comics, but grew to like Impulse because of the good art, Mark Waid's writing, and the promise that the title would explore themes of growing up, fitting in and life at school. He then asks a very awkward question about Bart having sex, but Brian Augustyn assures him that Bart is still far too young for anything like that.

Stuart Brynien, of Brooklyn, N.Y., says he didn't like Impulse at first, not wanting Flash to have a sidekick. But then he grew to love the character, and followed him over to his own title. Stuart compares Bart to Tim Drake, saying they both face the same challenges as teenage boys, but Bart is at a considerable disadvantage, having grown up in a virtual reality in the 30th century. He says Bart is great because he is different, and he also praises the Bart-Max relationship.

T. Paul Lehman, of Fort Collins, Colo., reminds us that spoilers were just as common 20 years ago as they are today. He says the announcement of the Impulse title told him that Bart would not die or become the next Flash in Terminal Velocity. But he says he likes Bart's costume, attitude, ability to vibrate through objects, and the fact that he has a secret identity. He then gives a list of very specific requests for how Wally is to make a cameo in the book, as well as Jesse Quick and Superboy, and for Bart to get a pet dog.

Charles Skaggs, of Columbus, Ohio, praises the lightheartedness of the book in the midst of all the other angst-ridden comics. He says he enjoys the innocent brashness of Bart, and likes Max so much he wants him to get his own mini-series. Charles then requests that Bart learn a bit about his grandfather, Barry Allen, and he asks for some clarification on his age. And luckily, Augustyn does provide that clarification, saying Bart is 14 and in the ninth grade. In Alabama (and other states, like my home Utah), grads 7 through 9 are in junior high. So that means a mistake was made in Impulse #2, when Max told Bart he was 15.

Scott Vogt, of Green Bay, Wis., says there is no way he should like Impulse this much, but Waid has accomplished the impossible. Like many of the other letter-writers, Scott was worried Bart would ruin Flash, but the character gradually grew on him. He goes on to praise everything about the book, even calling out inker Wayne Faucher. Like Scott, there is no logical reason for my love of Impulse, but I've embraced it and am here for good. Now on to the ads.

Gotham City's most wanted ... captured on video! The Adventures of Batman & Robin. If you bought two videos, you'd get a free Batman action figure with some stupid extra stuff strapped onto his back.

To face his future, he must destroy the shadows of his past. Nightwing. Four issues of intrigue and action beginning in July. By Dennis O'Neil, Greg Land and Michael Sellers.

Green Arrow #100. Where angels fear to tread. Aiming beyond! Coming in July. Dion, Aparo & Fernandez and Damaggio & Campanella.

The winner and still champion. Wonder Woman. Written & drawn by John Byrne.

A two-page ad for The Adventures of Batman & Robin on Game Gear and Genesis.

For the first time ever! The Justice League Task Force faces their greatest enemy ... themselves. For Genesis and Super Nintendo. This doesn't look anything like the Justice League Task Force Impulse recently visited, but rather the classic Justice League everyone thinks about, including Superman, Batman, the Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Green Arrow.

Next time, we enter the month of September 1995 to find out what Impulse was doing while everybody was out in space in The Darkstars #34.

The New Titans #124

Prometheus Gathering

Marv Wolfman & Michael Jan Friedman Story
William Rosado Pencils
Keith Champagne & Jason Martin Inks
Joshua Myers Colors
Albert DeGuzman Letters
Keri Kowalski Asst. Edits
Pat Garrahy Edits
Created by Marv Wolfman & George Pérez

So William Rosado returns after a two-issue hiatus, and once again, Michael Jan Friedman had to help Marv Wolfman with the writing — something that always makes me uncomfortable. Something that also makes me uncomfortable is a complete lack of Impulse on the cover. Everybody else gets to be sucked into the black hole leading to the Siege of the Zi Charam, except for my favorite little speedster.

Our story begins with Sargent Steel and a random scientist visiting the Titans in their satellite to tell them about a mysterious and disturbing gravity well that has been discovered near Jupiter. Arsenal and Terra are curious as to why the Titans are being asked to investigate this instead of the Justice League, and Damage yells at Impulse to pay attention, since he's too busy blasting aliens on his Game Boy.

Steel lays down the law with the Titans, saying the government has been paying the Titans' bills for several months, and now they want something in return. Arsenal reminds him of the stipulation in their contract that allows the Titans to choose their own missions, but everybody else seems real excited at the prospect of visiting Jupiter. Jarras suspects Psimon could be the cause of the well, Damage thinks it could be Dr. Polaris, and Impulse celebrates reaching level 63,387.

So everybody starts to load up Darkstar's puddle jumper, and we get to finally see some fringe characters who have been floating around in the background for the past couple of issues. These include Rose Wilson, daughter of Deathstroke, and Annie Bonelli, Darkstar's friend, along with her two boys, Thomas and Benjamin. The boys are thrilled to meet Jarras, calling him a Vulcan and an elf, and asking if he rides a wolf. Impulse, meanwhile, is excitedly running around, chanting over and over again, "I'm going to Jupiter. I'm going to Jupiter."

Everybody gets into the ship, and there's a pretty funny, awkward moment between Jarras and Arsenal. Jarras, a small, blue elf with a squeaky voice comes hovering up to Arsenal in the Omegadrome in its condensed egg form, politely apologizing for being late. It's a wonderfully absurd moment. Impulse, meanwhile, realizes he left his Space Legion Vid on the satellite and can't leave it behind since he's way past level 100,000. So he decides to hurry and grab it, but nobody realizes he left and they take off without him.

The rest of the Titans then go off to have their own adventure without Impulse. And none of them realize he's not there until they get sucked into the black hole and reappear somewhere very far away. I wonder if the omission of Impulse is the work of Marv Wolfman, who didn't seem to appreciate having new characters forced upon him. But whatever the cause, I think Impulse will be fine. Impulse's own series is taking off and he doesn't depend on the New Titans for a monthly adventure. And since Impulse's friendship with Damage has been fractured, the only character I'll miss from this team will be Jarras Minion.

The letters to the editor finally return without explanation, and unfortunately, they all are about the Forever Evil event, which did not include Impulse.

Paul Sampson, of Sydney River, Nova Scotia, said he enjoyed Forever Evil so much, he didn't even notice the absence of Damage and Impulse. Well, I did; but then again, this is an Impulse blog, not a New Titans blog. Well, let's get on to the ads now.

Gotham City's greatest hero. Mega-City One's toughest lawman. The ultimate showdown's about to begin. Batman-Judge Dredd: The Ultimate Riddle. Alan Grant, John Wagner, Carl Critchlow, Dermot Power.

Super Karts. To make it more realistic, we'd have to kick dust in your face! On CD-Rom for IBM PC & Compatibles.

New MTV cards from Fleer. Fresh, tasty and anything but wholesome.

Gotta rock. Radiohead The Bends. Our Lady Peace Naveed. Musicland and Sam Goody. I don't know anything about Our Lady Peace, but I do like Radiohead. The big hit on The Bends is Fake Plastic Trees, which is a pretty great song.

Live from the House of Blues on TBS.

Year One. They were legends from the beginning. Flash Annual #8 by Waid, Peyer, Brewer & Stegbauer. Deathstroke Annual #4 by Wolfman, O. Cariello & McCain.

Two decades ago scientists sent a message to space ... this ... is the reply. Species. Be intrigued. Be seduced. Be warned. Starring Ben Kingsley, before he played the Mandarin in Iron Man 3, and Alfred Molina, before he became Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2.

Next time, we get back to basics with Impulse #5.

Justice League Task Force #26

Klakk

Priest • Writer
Jim Cheung • Guest Penciller
Chip Wallace • Inker
Adrienne Roy • Colorist
Kevin Cunningham • Letterer
Alisande Morales • Ass't Ed.
Ruben Diaz • Editor
Cover by Sal Velluto & Chip Wallace, colored by Jean Segarra
Special thanks to Mark Waid for rescuing Priest once again.

The writer, Priest, was originally James Owsley, but from what I heard, he changed his name to Priest after his wife divorced him because of a joke that he would become a priest if she ever left him. I'm not sure exactly why Priest gave special thanks to Mark Waid in this issue — perhaps he was just thanking Waid for letting him use his character, or Waid could have helped with the actual writing of this issue. As for the cover, I am very happy to see Impulse take front and center, although we will see that's not necessarily accurate for the story inside. I also wish Jim Cheung could have drawn this cover, since he drew Impulse very well on the inside pages.

The title of the story, "Klakk," is an onomatopoeia of a shotgun being cocked, which is how the story begins. We're in a bar in Boston, and a couple of thugs, apparently named Jethro and Anvil, are holding up the place. However, these guys don't realize that the Justice League Task Force just happens to be sitting in a table in the corner. Also with the team is Damage and Impulse, sitting on the table, wearing a Task Force uniform that's a bit too big for him.

Ray, an older, moodier teen with various light-related powers, decides to confront the robbers. The Martian Manhunter, in disguise as a normal human, also attempts to ease tensions, and Impulse laughs at the stupidity of the robber. Damage, meanwhile, wants Impulse to give him his suit back.

We then get a series of flashbacks to explain how everybody ended up in this bar, but the only one I care about involves Impulse and Damage. Twenty minutes ago, Martian Manhunter paid a visit to the Titans headquarters in New Jersey. J'onn arrives right as Bart has decided to play a prank on Grant by stealing all the toilet paper in the building while he's in the bathroom. Bart is thrilled to meet Martian Manhunter for the first time, but J'onn says he has a package for Grant. Bart takes the package, saying he'll make sure Grant gets it, then he realizes that J'onn is offering Grant a spot on the Justice League Task Force. Bart immediately starts begging J'onn to choose him instead, boasting of his speed and superior haircut to Grant's. But J'onn says this is not an audition, and that he is pressed for time.

As J'onn leaves, Bart realizes he kind of put his foot in his mouth, but decides to keep playing pranks on Grant. Before he gets out of the bathroom, Bart puts on his Task Force uniform and activates the teleporter to the Task Force headquarters. Bart lies to Grant, saying he was "drafted by the pros," and teleports away. But Grant soon finds the note left by J'onn, saying he wants to help Grant with his trouble with Vandal Savage. So Grant takes off chasing Bart.

J'onn takes off to find a team member named Triumph, who doesn't seem to be anything more than a whiney rich kid who wants to prove himself by beating up thugs in a bar. Impulse soon arrives at the Task Force headquarters, and excitedly checks out all their equipment, marveling at their "wicked ancient technology" of touch screens. (Touch screens really were state-of-the-art in 1995. I remember seeing my first touch screen around this time and being blown away by it.) Damage follows close behind Impulse, and apologizes to the Task Force for the "squirt." But Impulse doesn't want to leave yet, and decides to go find the Martian Manhunter to let him decide whether Impulse or Damage should join the team.

J'onn finds Triumph in the bar where we began our story, and Triumph whines and complains about being treated like a kid. It's not too long before everybody else shows up and ruins what I suspect was supposed to be a touching moment. Damage immediately turns down J'onn's offer, saying he and Impulse are committed to the Titans. But even Damage doesn't want to join the Task Force, he still seems to want their suit, or at least not let Impulse wear it. Ray then takes the opportunity to announce his decision to quit the team, and then the little armed robbery we saw at the beginning happens.

Ray is too busy pouting to notice a third gunman behind him, who actually pulls the trigger. But the gun goes "klaakk," and Impulse snickers, saying, "Can't shoot a gun — without bullets!" He then reveals that he stole all the bullets from the three robbers, and asks J'onn if he can join the team now. But J'onn says no.

Well that wasn't a half-bad guest appearance. In fact, it was pretty good. I really suspect Waid may have helped Priest write the Impulse scenes, because he got that character spot-on. His attitude and power set were perfect, and his relationship with Damage seems to be improving. Although they still don't feel like as good of friends as they once were. Priest's writing was fairly decent, but I really couldn't stand all the references to past issues. It seemed like every other page had an asterisk referring to something or explaining that this happened before that but after this. And whenever there was more than one editor's note on a page, they'd just use more asterisks to distinguish the notes. But one page in particular stacked up five asterisks together, which looks more like a censored swear word in a speech bubble than an editor's note.

At the end of the story, I was actually relieved that Impulse was denied a spot on the team. None of these characters seem like a good match for him, and the only reason I would be interested in returning to Justice League League Task Force would be to see more of Jim Cheung's art. But since he was a guest penciller, I have no desire to see Martian Manhunter hang out with a bunch of nobodies.

I only have the digital copy of this issue, so there'll be no letters or ads this time.

Next time, Impulse will return to his current team in The New Titans #124.

Impulse #4

Bad Influence

Mark Waid – Story
Humberto Ramos – Pencils
Wayne Faucher and Brad Vancata – Inkers
Chris Eliopoulos – Letterer
Tom McCraw – Colorist
Ali Morales – Assistant Editor
Brian Augustyn – Editor
Impulse created by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo

The cover by Ramos and Faucher is historically significant because it shows the first super villain created specifically for Impulse. Yes, there was a corrupt businessman in the first two issues of Impulse, but he was quite generic and, as far as I know, doesn't ever come back. But White Lightning is the perfect villain for a teenage boy superhero. I mean, how is he supposed to fight a beautiful teenage girl? Well, let's find out.

Our story begins with Bart attempting to acclimate to life in Alabama by watching reruns of the Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle. (Perhaps he was inspired after meeting those Andy Griffith look-alikes in The New Titans Annual #11.)

Max tells Bart to avoid stereotypes, and he changes the channel to public television, which is airing a telethon hosted by Scooter the Funosaur (basically an orange Barney). As our heroes watch the live event, a girl named White Lightning stages an armed robbery with a handful of boys at her side. Impulse quickly arrives at the TV studio and begins to take out the henchboys, but he gets a bit excited with the prospect of being on TV himself, and grabs a camera, calling it an "Impulse cam."

White Lightning tells her boys to run away, and Impulse catches them by rolling Scooter the Funosaur like a log to knock them down. Some of the boys are worried about being grounded, but when they realize they're on TV, they all become excited at the idea of being famous. Impulse thinks they're a bit weird, and one of the cops tries to handcuff Impulse. He says, "Don't you guys have TV news down here, or is it all farm reports? You might have heard of me, y'know: I'm here to help!" He then vibrates out of the cuffs and tries to find Lightning, but she carefully hid herself and managed to escape.

The next day at school, Preston is selling videotapes of the big school-wide brawl that happened last issue. Bart, who's being treated like a movie star, notices Preston has a black eye and asks him if he got it during the fight. Preston hesitates, then says yes, although careful readers will remember that Preston wasn't involved in the fight at all, as he was on the sidelines taping the thing the whole time.

But the talk of school soon shifts to White Lightning, as a nerdy kid with a laptop notices that the super villain is recruiting a new gang over the Internet. Bart doesn't understand why everybody is so excited about a crook. Carol tries to explain the appeal and glory of taking part in her thefts and not getting caught, and she adds that she really admires boys who don't fall for that stuff. As usual, Bart doesn't realize he's being flirted with. Matt Mason, one of the many kids who wanted to beat up Bart yesterday, declares Bart king of the daredevils and a perfect candidate to join White Lightning. His friends agree, adding that Bart is quick and really good-looking — at least, according to their girlfriends. Bart realizes meeting White Lightning will give him a chance to catch her, so he agrees to go with Matt, much to Carol's disappointment.

Bart goes home after school to find Helen Claiborne visiting Max. Turns out, she lives just across the street and still wants to take Max to the Indian reservation. Bart immediately thinks they'll be a great couple, and he interjects himself into their conversation, telling Helen that Max would be thrilled to go out with her. After she leaves, Max glares at Bart, only saying that the situation with Helen is unusual. Nevertheless, Max decides to go on the date anyway, and Bart decides to keep a secret himself by not telling Max about his plans to infiltrate White Lightning's gang.

That night, Bart arrives at the big White Lightning meeting, not realizing that Max was secretly following him. White Lightning picks out all the biggest and toughest boys from the crowd, deeming Bart too small for her crew. She then takes off on her motorcycle, leaving all the leftover junior high kids behind. Bart then suddenly jumps in Matt's dad's fancy car and chases after White Lightning. Matt quickly gets in the car with Bart, and yells at him, but Bart says he thought Matt wanted to follow her, too. Matt then asks Bart if he at least has a license, to which Bart asks, "A license for what?"

Bart drives way too fast and erratically, and doesn't understand that he needs to shift the gears of the car, likely destroying the vehicle. Matt begins to panic and fear for his life, especially when Bart starts heading for a cliff. Bart catches a glimpse of Max out the corner of his eye, and he assures Matt that they'll be OK as the car heads off the ledge.

How about that for a cliffhanger? Literally! This was another fun issue, full of plenty of great moments of Bart at school, plus a fun chess match brewing between Bart and Max. And I am really happy Impulse has a real, original villain to fight. White Lightning doesn't have super speed or strength — just an irresistible appeal to stupid teenage boys. Luckily, Bart is still too young to be interested in girls, so he might have a chance against her — as long as his own stupidity and impulsiveness doesn't get in the way.

Luckily, this is the first Impulse issue with a letters column, so here we go!

Chris Karnes, of Naperville, Ill., says he enjoys the uniqueness of Impulse, and really likes Max Mercury's role in the book. He asks for Iris Allen and Jesse Quick to make guest appearances, and he hopes the book will continue to take advantage of being placed in the South. He also asks for some teen villains and an Impulse crossover with Robin or Superboy.

Shawn Lesser, of Aurora, Colo., praises Impulse as the cure for all the dark and gritty comic book heroes, including many of the teen heroes such as Robin and Damage. Shawn says this title brought back the fun to comics he first experienced when he started reading 25 years ago. He says Bart is much more likable in his own title than he was on Flash, and he enjoys Ramos' cartoony style and ability to make Bart an awkward-looking teenager with big feet. His only request is to keep Bart innocently suffering from the single synapse syndrome.

Rich Hohenrath, of Franklin Square, N.Y., admits he had uncertainties about giving Bart a series of his own, but he instantly fell in love with it after the first issue. He says Waid makes you feel comfortable with his characters, but he also continues to come up with fresh ideas. Rich also praises Ramos' art, especially his ability to draw boyish, realistic expressions. He also says he's excited to learn more about Max and eagerly looks forward to seeing Bart develop and play a role in the Flash mythos.

Jeremy Grossman, of Indianapolis, demands more Impulse stories. He wants more scenes of Bart in school, and would like to see a few girls thrown his way. He also compliments DC for being up to date on current teenage lingo.

Bryan Miller, of Murray, Ky., says Impulse embodies all the great things he's come to look forward to in Waid's writing. He feels Impulse wonderfully carries on the legacy of the growing Flash family, and he says the art is the glue that holds the exciting story together. He also says that Max is the coolest.

Jeff DeMos, of New York, says all young superhero comics are similar in that they deal with a rite of passage and a gradual evolution into responsibility — except for Impulse. Jeff says Bart is victimized by his virtual-reality upbringing, which serves as torture for him, but humor for the reader. He also finds the contrast between Bart and Max to be interesting and promising.

Monica L. Tittle, of Pelham, Ala., thanks DC for putting the series somewhere other than the eastern seaboard, but she does point out that several of the buildings drawn in the background of Manchester actually belong in Birmingham. Monica also admits she didn't like Impulse in Flash, but decided to try this book out just because of Waid. And now she likes it, especially because of Max.

I completely agree with the praise from each letter writer. This Impulse series has been wonderful, which has been huge for me, since The New Titans has become rather lackluster as of late, and Bart hasn't made an appearance in The Flash since issue #100. Anyway, let's get on to the ads.

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The movie event of the year in a spooktacular card set from fleer! Caspar trading cards.

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OK. You've had a year to get ready. The Blockbuster World Video Game Championship II. This is a two-page ad for a company that is now virtually nonexistent.

Batman Forever trading cards.

Well, that does it for all the Impulse appearances in comics with a July 1995 publication date. Next time, we enter the month of August with a surprise cameo in Justice League Task Force #26.