I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! Today, I've looking at the comics released the week of September 15, 1983.
Batman #366: Great cover here by Simonson. Moench and Newton/Alcala continue the story from last issue. Despite the destruction of his site model and Batman's escape, the Joker moves ahead with his plans to foment even greater conflict between the rebels and the military. Batman is pretty much apolitical here. The rebels expect him to be against them, but it isn't, even after one of their number tries to kill him. His main goal seems to be preventing further violence by letting both sides know they are being played. It's shallow from a real-world political context, sure, but it's not really the Batman you would expect from social media discourse that paints him as an authoritarian figure.
Somewhat unrealistically, Jason Todd manages to make it to Central America just in time to help defeat the Joker dressed as Robin. Given that the Robin identity isn't one Grayson has given up yet, Batman is angry about that.
New Teen Titans #37: Wolfman and Barr co-write this team-up between the Titans and the Outsiders. It starts when the Fearsome Five breakout of prison and go after Dr. Jace to get her to empower some minions for Psimon. The two hero teams initially start to fight, but it doesn't go on long enough to stretch credulity. Too much. The dynamic between Batman as leader and Robin as leader is interesting and not as forced to create tension as Wolfman has written the two in the past. Terra worries having to interact with her brother may reveal some of the lies she told the Titan, and Changeling at least does note some discrepancies. All in all, a solid team-up whose resolution will come in the Outsiders.
Superman #390: Bates is joined by new scripter Elliot S! Maggin. As seen last issue, Vartox is on his way. He was inside a comet but has no memory of how he got there. He's intent on resuming his relationship with Lana Lang, though he seems take it ok when he finds out she's seeing Clark Kent now. Well, except he keeps getting struck with these vivid, intrusive daydreams where he kills Superman. Meanwhile, Lana is dealing with a serious stalker. Like, when the guy surprises her, she accidentally kicks him off her balcony, yet he finds a way to survive but keeps on pursuing her serious.
Arak Son of Thunder #28: Riding animated statues supplied by the priestess Dyanna, Arak and Satyricus are spirited far away from Byzantium to the ruins of the Temple of Diana in Ephesus. Dyanna enters the forest and warns them not to follow but gives them a golden arrow for their trouble. While Arak uses the arrow to get them some horses (he plans to go to Baghdad to secure passage to the New World), Satyricus wonders off. Arak goes looking for him and winds up in the middle of a strange grove, where he's forced to kill a raving man protecting a golden bough. Turns out he was a priest, and according to the Amazons, Arak can't leave the sacred grove and must assume the priest's duties as protector.
In the Valda backup by the Thomases and Randall/Yeates, it turns out Creston was killed not by an archangel but by the evil wizard Baledor, who has taken over the monastery at Mount Saint Michael. Malgigi heads there to fight the wizard, sending Valda to report to Charlemagne. The King is too busy in war to listen, so Valda heads Mount St. Michael herself, but gets attacked by evil monks.
Omega Men #9: Slifer and Smith/DeCarlo lay bare the trouble with a lot of rebellions: the folks that are good fighters to overthrow a regime aren't always good at follow through. While the Omega Men try to get their individual lives back in order vulnerable worlds are again conquered or drawn under the influence of the resurgent Citadel masterminded by Harry Hokum. In the end, many Omega Men have been captured, and Primus' only recourse seems to be to make a deal with Lobo that may mean his death.
Flash 328: Similar to last month's Swamp Thing, the story here gets dragged out--delaying Superman's response on the Flash's expulsion from the League--another month while the Flash has a flashback. Which means we get a reprint of Flash #165 by Broome and Infantino/Giella with a brief frame. The night before Barry is to marry Iris, he's transported to the 25th century by Professor Zoom. Zoom disguises himself with Barry and switches places to wed Iris. Meanwhile, the real Barry is in Zoom's cell in the future. Barry escapes, of course, and the Flash and Reverse Flash do battle, until the future law catches up with Zoom and takes him back to his own time.
G.I. Combat #260: The cover story (which is the second Haunted Tank story this issue), finally addresses the issue of Stuart's Raiders flying the Confederate Battle Flag. It's doesn't go anywhere satisfying, but some acknowledgement of the issue is, I guess, better than none. We finally get a window into the feelings of Gus, the only black member of the crew, about that flag. He isn't happy, and coincidently, neither is a visiting general who demands they remove it and destroy it. Stuart isn't happy about that particularly, but he's a soldier and will do as ordered. Gus volunteers to burn it, but before he can, the wind (actually J.E.B. Stuart's ghost) whisks the flag away. Later, the ghost drops the flag, so it obscures a Panzer gunner's vision, allowing the Haunted Tank to prevail in a firefight. After their victory, the general drops his objections to the flag and Gus isn't consulted but suggests it must be God's will or something. Of course, the reader knows it was the actions of a racist ghost so I don't know how Kanigher expects us to feel about all that. It feels like a lampshade of a story, but an ineffective one.
The other Haunted Tank story involves them loosing 2 commanding officers in a row to repetitive trauma as they crack having to send men to their deaths and write so many letters to families about it. Beyond that, there's one about a pacifist medic who saves a soldier by accidentally (and unknowingly) killing a German gunner, and one where a soldier from a future World War III helps his ancestor in World War II.
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.
2 comments:
Flash 328: I've seen this cover lampooned somewhere with added panels where "Zoom" peels back his cowl to reveal another red one and that no, he was actually Barry, just kidding - followed by multiple further panels where he keeps shedding masks Scooby-Doo style, turning out to be various characters including Ambush Bug, Ronald Reagan, Alfred E. Neuman and wrapping up with Porky Pig and "Th-th-th-that's all, folks!"
New Teen Titans #37: When you do the Outsider issue you really ought to show both covers side by side for the full effect. Stunning piece of art.
G.I. Combat #260: Much as I generally enjoy seeing what lunacy has crawled out of Kanigher's head now, this issue was pretty disturbing even when I was a young kid, and even worse now. If he had a message he was trying to relay I'm pretty sure I don't want to know what it was.
And yet you still occasionally hear people arguing that Gus' ahistorical role on a tank crew in the comic somehow makes it inclusive and respectful. I don't want to know what their real message is either.
That's a great Batman cover. I know I bought that issue but don't remember much of it.
Titans was certainly on a roll at this point.
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