Wednesday Comics: DC, October 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 July 1, 1982. 

Adventure Comics #492: The Adventure Comics digest is again mostly reprints, but there's the continuation of the Captain Marvel story by Bridwell and Newton. The Marvel Family and Kid Eternty must contend with "gods of evil"--Set, Cernabog, Ahriman, and Tezcatlipoca--summoned by Master Man. Kid Eternity offers to summon some "good gods" to help out, but the Marvels want to do it on their own. And they do! Kid Eternity gets into the act by defeating Ahriman by taking him back to the Big Bang.

Arak Son of Thunder #14: As we saw at the end of last issue, Arak finds a tapestry which depicts the story of his life in this eldritch cavern in Greece. Following the tapestry leads him to its weaver, the Fate Lachesis. She's taken with ol' Arak and we get a sexy interlude. After that business, Arak and Lachesis are greeting by the other fates Clotho and Atropos, who are none too happy. Atropos wants cut his thread and kill him, but Arak says they should at least allow him to die in battle. She summons the Ker, but Arak beats him. It's revealed that he is indeed the son of a god. He-No is of the same spirit as Zeus. Arak cuts his own life thread with the knife of Atropos to prove he controls his destiny. Clotho restores the thread, and two out of three Fates agree, Arak has earned the right to follow his own path. In a sign that he has now accepted his own Quontaukan heritage, Arak is given a mohawk, and he struts out of the cave with Satyricus.

In the Valda backup by the Thomases and Colon, after the Huns failure the assassinate Carolus Magnus, a battle breaks out between the forces. After the battle, Valda takes the opportunity to bathe in the River Istir. She sees a beautiful horse on the opposite bank and swims (in chain armor) to investigate. She finds the bodies of three scouts--and a group of man-eating horses! Valda kills one of them, but she falls and is knocked unconscious. A guy in a horse mask arrives on the scene and calls off the horses before they kill her.

Blackhawk #251: The Blackhawks are back and back in World War II after a modernizing revamp that ended in 1977. Evanier, the writer of this run, has admitted it was done for licensing purposes (Spielberg was rumored to be interested in doing a Blackhawks movie), but I've read most of the run before, and I think it's pretty good. Spiegle provides the interior art and Cockrum does this first cover. 

During the Nazi invasion of Holland, the Blackhawks try to help the people of a small town whom the Germans have forced to hold a plebiscite to determine whether the people will willing accept occupation. The vote is of course, a "no win" for the town: Should they vote for the Germans, the Nazis will use it for propaganda purposes, but should the town reject the occupation, the Germans will destroy them. The town leader is initially for playing along, despite Blackhawk's arguments.

Blackhawk is captured and questioned under hypnosis by his old nemesis, Von Tepp.  The other Blackhawks trick the Germans into revealing his location and stage rescue, but not before Blackhawk apparently gives  up resistance plans, as well as recapping his origin. Luckily,  he fed them false information.

When the Blackhawks get back to the Dutch village they find that it is partially destroyed. The town leader has changed his mind and chosen the path of resistance.

DC Comics Presents #50: Mishkin/Cohn and Swan spin an unusual yarn with the wayward Miracle Machine, that happens to be lodged on a meteor Superman is moving, secretly granting his subconscious wish to be split into two beings, Clark Kent and Superman. No one can figure out why Superman is so cold to his friends and just keeps flying around to natural disasters, until ace reporter Clark Kent solves the case. And just in time in time, too because the Atomic Skull is up to some nefarious plot. It's Clark that saves the day by getting Superman to pay attention and thwart the Skull, then he reminds Superman of his connection to the now deceased Kents to get him to realize his human side is important and unite with Clark again.

Fury of Firestorm #5: Conway and Broderick/Rodriquez have Ronnie feeling sorry for himself due to personal setbacks and deciding that Firestorm should take Lorraine Reilly, the Senator's daughter he rescue previously, up on her dinner offer. Afterwards, he returns to Bradley High School where he begs Coach Mason to allow him back onto the basketball team.

Meanwhile, Senator Reilly buys an ancient artifact, the Pipes of Pan. The Pied Piper is interested in getting his hands on those, so he invades the Senator's home. He steals the pipes then uses then to hypnotize all Manhattan. Firestorm flies into action. The Piper commands his legion of subservient citizens to attack Firestorm. Realizing that the hypnotized people are just innocent victims, Firestorm is reluctant to use his powers against them. As the Piper continues to play, New Yorkers swarm over Firestorm.

Justice League #207: It's time for a Crisis! No, not that one, one of the periodic crossovers between the JLA and JSA. Conway has already done one, but I guess he's hungry for more as he and Heck/Tanghal present, "Crisis on Earth-Prime!" Members of the JLA are preparing to receive guests from Earth-Two, but instead the transporter somehow brings them the Crime Syndicate from Earth-Three. The League is taken by surprise and defeated by the Syndicate who then steal an experimental space shuttle from the JLA's hangar and fly towards Earth-One, intent on establishing a foothold on the planet from which to stage their revenge against Per Degaton.

The JSA members, meanwhile, appear in the limbo between worlds and find the abandoned prison of the Syndicate. Green Lantern uses his ring to follow the Syndicates trail, and they arrive on Earth-Prime, but it has been devastated by a nuclear war years before. Dr. Fate picks up Per Degaton's psychic vibration all over this. 

The recovered JLA goes looking for the missing JSA and winds up on Earth-Two on October 2, 1982, but not one they recognize. It's a fascist state where 40s styles never went away. Escaping the cops, they decide the only way to solve this mystery is to head into the past, so they do. In January 1942, they go to the JSA headquarters, but instead of the JSA they know, they encounter the All-Star Squadron.

Warlord Annual #1: I reviewed this annual by Grell and Rodriquez here.

Wonder Woman #296: Thomas/Mishkin and Colan/McLaughlin conclude the Commander Video story. Wonder Woman, is captured by General Electric. He tries to brainwash her as he has the others, but she's more resistant, so he resorts to the psychic dual within the Commander Video game that ultimately gave him control over the others. Wonder Woman's will is too strong, and he decides his only recourse is to kill her. Wonder Woman beats him though and joins the counter-offensive by Etta Candy and Steve Trevor. Electric is defeated and his mental thralls are freed.

In the Huntress backup by Levitz and Staton/Ordway, the Huntress "status quo" is represented: her boss, her job, her boyfriend (though he's feeling the pressure of keeping her secret). She also does some musing over the advantages of her vigilantism over her legal work in dealing with crime. That's about it.