Wednesday Comics: DC, August 1982 (week 1)

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! Today, I'm looking at the comics at newsstands on the week of May 6, 1982. 

Arak Son of Thunder #12: Thomas and Colon/Acala continue Arak's adventures in Greece. After getting shot by the arrow of a soldier of Byzantium last issue, Arak's new friend Khiron the Centaur is dying must reach the river Styx and cross into Hades. He's followed on that journey by the soldiers, but also by Arak and Satyricus. The soldiers enter the Underworld after Brutius kills one of his own men to distract the guardian Cerberus. Satyricus uses his pipes to put Cerberus to sleep, then he and Arak use a coin from the dead soldier to pay for passage over the Styx. In the end, Arak kills Brutius by drowning him in the river. Khiron is then allowed final peace, while his friends depart once again toward Byzantium.

The backup in this issue is the origin of Valda by the Thomases and Colon. Valda is revealed to be the daughter of Bradamante and a protege of Malgigi. She was taught warrior's skills by the spirit of a dead knight. 

DC Comics Presents #48: Mishkin/Cohn and Novick/McLaughin turn in a lackluster effort about alien octopoids invading Earth, and Superman and Aquaman being on-hand to stop them. Between this and the recent backup stories in Action, Aquaman has dealt with a lot of octopoid aliens lately.

The backup by Thomas and Alcala deals with the Black Pirate and has his son convincing him to side with the Puritans over the Crown.

Fury of Firestorm #3: Conway and Broderick/Rodriquez are doing the Spider-Man thing where our hero just can't get a break. Firestorm tracks down the muggers responsible for the death of John Ravenhair's grandfather, and Stein has to keep Ronnie in check to keep him from hurting them. Then, Ronnie goes home and his father is angry that he was kicked off the basketball team. When Ronnie can't explain why, his dad slaps him. Ronnie's girl also breaks up with him. 

Meanwhile, Killer Frost has escaped at her trial. She goes to the Bronx reservoir and freezes it solid. Then she turns her power onto the rest of the city and coats the five Burroughs with a thick sheet of ice. Firestorm finds Killer Frost sitting atop a custom-made ice throne on the roof of City Hall. Frost forces Firestorm to bow down before her and acknowledge her as the Queen of New York.

Justice League #205: Conway and Heck/Tanghal bring the Royal Flush Gang arc to well-needed close. Elongated Man and Black Canary capture the Ten aboard the satellite, but not before Green Arrow joins the ranks of comatose JLAers in the hospital. Batman and Flash join Elongated Man and Black Canary for an attack on the Royal Flush Gang's hideout, only to be taken out of action, one by one. In the end, the villains are predictably (it was setup in the first issue) betrayed by the Jack, who has conspired with Black Canary to take down King and Queen and reveal Ace as a robot. The hospitalized League members are saved when the astral self of Hector Hammond, the Royal Flush Gang's secret organizer, Wild Card, is unexpectedly attacked by the mental persona of  Prof. Stein, the only one aware of Hammond's psychic presence.

Weird War Tales #114: Kanigher and Carillo have the Creature Commandos seemingly beaten, forced to perform in a circus for the Nazi leadership, including Hitler. The Commandos allowed themselves to get captured, though, so they could get into the concentration camp where a French scientist they were looking for had been sent. The Commandos liberate the camp, but the scientist chooses to stay and fight as a partisan rather than coming with. There's a pretty good sequence in this issue where the parachuting commandos have to fight with a German fighter squadron attacking them.

Wonder Woman #294: Thomas/Wolfman and Colan/McLaughlin start a new story that seems to involve mind controlling hand held video games--probably something of a topic de jour in 1982. First Wonder Woman rescues a trucker who wrecked his rig because of a compulsion to play the game. Then a copy of the game gets into the hands of the Blockbuster, who is staying with the Macon family in Bleak Rock. When Mr. Macon tries to take the game away, Blockbuster gets angry and, resorting to savagery for the first time since meeting the Macons, smashes out of their house and runs off. While Diana Prince is at her surprise birthday party (the day is actually the fake birthdate she gave the U.S. Army), she hears on the news that Blockbuster is attacking missile silos in the Appalachians. AS Wonder Woman, she goes to the Appalachians and battles Blockbuster until little Carrie Macon gives him the broken video game, which calms him right down. Wonder Woman allows Blockbuster to go back with the Macons, which seems a bit dangerous, but okay. Later, Wonder Woman tells Steve that there is something sinister about the "Commander Video" game, but after she leaves, he takes the game out of his desk drawer and starts playing it.