By request: Phantom Stranger!

[kingrockwell]

We start with the last page of Animal Man #22, story by Grant Morrison, art by Paris Cullins and Steve Montano.
With Buddy's family dead, he's borrowed a time machine from Rip Hunter to fix things (and changed his outfit to a ridiculous black leather number). Unfortunately, the malfunctioning unit has rendered him little more than a ghost, slowly skipping backwards in time until he finds himself stranded in the '60s, lost and alone.
Fortunately, a compassionate stranger takes note of him.

A compassionate Phantom Stranger.

We continue with seven pages from the next issue, with art by Chas Truog and Doug Hazelwood.
Stranger's headed to a meeting with a few other immortal-types, so he brings Buddy along. Stranger ends up mostly listening while Immortal Man and Jason Blood talk to Buddy about his problems.








Don't worry about Buddy, though. Things turn out alright for him in the end.

So, on to Stranger's part in Solomon Grundy! We start with three pages from the Faces of Evil one-shot, story by Geoff Johns, with art by Scott Kolins.
Solomon Grundy has had a rough week. Getting in a car wreck, resurrecting in a morgue, having a fight with Killer Croc (wearing a silly trenchcoat that makes him look like the Lizard), and all this turning human business. The guy just needs a rest, so he makes his way to Slaughter Swamp.
But someone is watching him!




We pick up the story with even pages from Solomon Grundy #1, with Scott Kolins trooping through both story and art duties. Stranger opens the issue with a story that seems almost reminiscent of the possible origin Alan Moore wrote for him (though that angel looks maybe a bit more like The Spectre), but is actually the history of Slaughter Swamp.





A few pages later, Cyrus runs into Stranger and Alan Scott again after being a jerk to some innocents.



We don't see Phantom Stranger again until #4, when Cyrus is getting desperate after finding his old knife in the swamp.



Nobody tells him, but Amazo comes in having some things to say. They are not nice things.
Anyway, there you have it!

Comments

[ulf_boehnke.insanejournal.com]

I never got why Jason Blood was so confused when Buddy asked for a Perrier. It's like he has never noticed that people constantly create new drinks.

(Yes, I know that Perrier is a water, but for someone who has never heard the name, it could be any kind of drink.)

[yaseen101.insanejournal.com]

Considering the dickery Scott is displaying here, I've labeled it as plot-induced dickery.

[kingrockwell]

Oh no, it's not unwarranted dickery on Scott's part. When he's grabbing him with the chains, Cyrus had jut killed a dude. Phantom Stranger's just trying to get him to stop thinking short-term (Solomon Grundy pays for his crime) so he can start thinking long-term (no more Solomon Grundy).
His reaction there's perfectly justified.

[kusonaga.insanejournal.com]

Just to add to that, Solomon Grundy is one of his oldest (if not his oldest) enemies. Also Alan Scott's always been a bit of a dick.

[yaseen101.insanejournal.com]

he has?

[kusonaga.insanejournal.com]

Well, there's a definite dickish streak to his early interaction with Jade and Obsidian, seen in the first few issues of Infinity, Inc. He's also not very nice to Hal Jordan in Fast Friends, the Barry Allen/Hal Jordan companion to JLA: Year One. As it stands, he's an awesome character and a good guy, but - to me at least - he's the dick of the JSA big three (Jay Garrick, Ted Grant and Alan Scott). Then again, anyone looks like an asshole standing next to Jay Garrick, who might well be the nicest superhero around.

[kd_the_movie.insanejournal.com]

This. Based on several stories i've read (many you've named), i've always assumed Alan is a bit moody all the time(tho i'd like to think he's lightned up with time).

But it makes sense doesn't it? Alan got his powers in a terrible tragedy (survivor's guilt) + the fact that he's insanely powerful is enough pressure for anyone to be a tad pissy( there was A Batman Black and White story on s_d 1.0 that kind of hinted toward this).

[yaseen101.insanejournal.com]

It's not the chains, it's him flying off after the Stranger tells him to help Cyrus.

[kingrockwell]

Ah! See, he took Cyrus with him! They went to Slaughter Swamp to try and figure the whole mess out.

[leikomgwtfbbq.insanejournal.com]

Hooray! Thanks for the Phantom Stranger goodness. :D

I particularly liked the Animal Man bits.

[xlineartx.insanejournal.com]

Long-haired Jason Blood is fabulous.

[zordboy.insanejournal.com]

I'm impressed they were plotting the Blackest Night this far back. I mean, that's not too far, but still. I wonder how Grundy's gonna fit into the wider story.

But yay for the Phantom Stranger.

[kingrockwell]

Well, the Faces of Evil books were only January or February (i really don't know because i wasn't buying new books till March), by which time Blacket Night was already being set up in GL and GLC. Plus, considering Grundy's one-shot was written by Geoff Johns, it's kind of a given he'd know what was going down.

Really, they usually have major story arcs, especially crossover-types, generally on the board pretty well in advance.

[strangething.insanejournal.com]

I love that bit from Animal Man. I think Morrison's run was some of the best comics I've ever read.

I love the meta, and the parts that aren't meta are so well done.