I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! Today, I've looking at the comics released the week of August 11, 1983.
Superman #389: Bates/Kupperberg and Swan/Hunt bring back Cory Renwald, Clark Kent's sort of foster brother, who we last saw in issue 369. This is his final appearance. He's got amnesia and has been framed as a traitor and is on the run from enemy agents. I wonder if Cory has shown up post-Crisis? Looks like no. Meanwhile, Lois and Lana have patched things up, but Perry and his wife Alice still seem headed toward divorce. Also, in the last panel we see Vartox is heading to Earth.
This week also saw the release of DC Graphic Novel #1 "Star Raiders." I won't review it in detail, but I thought it deserved mentioning. It's an Atari tie-in by Elliot S. Maggin and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.
Batman #365: It's been interesting to see how Moench's approach to Batman differed from his approach to Moon Knight, a character most people would consider very similar, I think. This issue feels fairly different from Moench's typical Moon Knight story. Vicki Vale is in Guatemala investigating illegal weapons dealing by Cuba and the USSR but gets captured by the criminal running the operation. Batman into a trap as he comes to Guatemala to rescue Vicki, but that's falling right into the trap the criminals set for him. After confronting indigenous peoples and trained jaguars, Batman comes face to face with the mastermind of this whole thing who is (surprisingly) the Joker!
Omega Men #8: The whole Vega System seems to be celebrating the Omega Men's victory over the Citadel, but there are signs of trouble ahead. First off, the remnant of the Citadel isn't about to give up and their wily, human advisor, Harry Hokum, plans a new offensive. On Euphorix, there are indications the guy Kalista left in charge, Dulak, plans to keep the throne--and maybe seize her with it.
G.I. Combat #259: In the first Haunted Tank story, Stuart's Raiders finally get back from their sojourn in the past, but only after Jeb's warrior woman bride is killed by the Huns, and the ghost of Atilla again does battle with the ghost of a Confederate general. This has been the weirdest detour in the history of this title. The second HT yarn is so mundane, I can't even remember it, other than it involves a kid in Italian mountain town saving our heroes with a 50-gallon drum full of kerosene.
There's an O.S.S. story by Kanigher and Cruz where a French chef struggles with finding the courage to assassinate a German Colonel, but in the end, he doesn't poison the Colonel's wedding cake. Instead, the bride, a French partisan, activates an explosive cake topper. Kashdan and Trinidad have a malfunctioning artillery piece getting loose and rolling down a hill to destroy a bridge and an advancing contingent of Germans. Finally, Kashdan, this time with Henson, has a small group of Americans holding a desert oasis against a German force, in the end the oasis is revealed to be a ruse to play for time, but the explosives that kill the German actually do reveal a spring.
New Teen Titans #36: Wolfman and Pollard/Tanghal follow-up with Thunder and Lighting, who had been left with S.T.A.R. Labs back in issue 32 with the hope of a cure for their condition. They've had no luck, so Raven has to use her power to find their missing father, whose blood holds the promise of saving them. It turns out he's in the hands of H.I.V.E. who've been using his power--and he's an alien. The Titans and the brothers attack H.I.V.E. but badguys control the duo's father to fight them, ultimately forcing Thunder and Lightning to kill him. Using the deceased extraterrestrial's blood, S.T.A.R. scientists are able to cure Thunder and Lightning, allowing them to control their powers, and they choose to return to Vietnam. I wonder was this whole alien storyline planned when they introduced the two? Seems like the Vietnam bit is extraneous, if so.
Saga of the Swamp Thing #18: Pasko and Bissette/Totleben provide a framing sequence where Swamp Thing, Matt, and Abby are overwhelmed by the monsters from Matt's brain and Arcane tells a captive Kripptman the story of his last encounter with Swamp Thing--which is a reprint of Swamp Thing #10 (1974) by Wein and Wrightson. That story involves the ghosts of mistreated slaves attacking Arcane and his Un-Men.
I remember being fascinated by the early series of graphic novels by both DC and Marvel. They were often very experimental, with DC doing adapting scifi novels, Atari games, and original stories set outside their normal shared universe. Marvel did a lot more stories featuring their existing stable of characters but still had quite a few wholly original books, including the Futurians, Star Slammers, Starstruck, and many others...including Super Boxers. Mustn't forget Super Boxers. :)
ReplyDeleteUnusually creative time period for the Big Two, they don't seem anywhere near as willing to try new, out-there ideas any more.
Ah yes, Superboxers. Good times!
ReplyDeleteIt really was a period where a lot of things were being tried.
ReplyDelete"Star Raiders" is beautifully illustrated by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. It's a great looking graphic novel although the story is a little silly.
ReplyDeleteMarvel published a lot of 'graphic novels' that were essentially the first issue or two of a comic printed bigger and on better paper. New Mutants was one of these, as well as a lot of stuff that came out of Epic.
Is "The Dark Knight Returns" the first 'graphic novel' from DC featuring DCU characters? I remember it was promoted as a series of graphic novels prior to being collected. They were squarebound, like a European graphic novel, but printed American funnybook size.
Graphic Novel #4: Hunger Dogs was the only one of the series that used DC characters.
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