Batman and the Outsiders #27: Barr and Davis have Halo getting a new, short, and very 80s haircut. Meanwhile, Sapphire and Rex are on their honeymoon, and Rex is kidnapped by men who appear to pull his soul or consciousness into a palm-sized sphere. Katana's co-worker Emily Briggs pays her a visit at the Wayne Foundation, but as she's leaving, she's kidnapped by thugs. Batman and the Outsiders think the gangster, Morgan Jones, is responsible, but it turns out not to be the case. The thugs that kidnapped Emily were mind-controlled. Elsewhere, Emily's strange captor with glowing eyes tells her she will be queen of the world.
Blue Devil #19: Mishkin/Cohn and Kupperberg/Maygar give this issue prominently featuring Kid Devil a retro feel with several short stories alternating protagonists between Kid Devil and Blue Devil. The Blue Devil ones call him "Kid Devil's Pal." The joke wears thin pretty quickly, unfortunately. There's a segment with the Trickster manipulating both Captain Cold and Kid Devil in an attempt to one-up his Roguish rival. My favorite is probably the one where Kid Devil and his pen pal Robin realize they both fought the same bicoastal villain who relies on public air travel to get back and forth. The Blue Devil sequences deal with him bouncing around some alternate realities before getting home.
Green Lantern #194: This is another Crisis crossover by Englehart and Staton. Guy is transported to Oa and as he meets with the Guardians, we get his backstory as well as Krona's history. Hal had followed part way, but then he was deposited on Oa, not in the Guardians' sanctum. He heads off to the Guardians' citadel, finding that since Oa itself has absorbed energy he is able to fly, but there are also monsters released by loss of the Power Battery's energy.
Meanwhile, Katma Tui is fighting natural disasters on Earth, but her ring suddenly shuts off. John Stewart is in the 19th Century fighting Shadow Demons with Cyborg, Jonah Hex, Bat Lash and Scalphunter, and his ring shuts off, as well.
Infinity, Inc. #20: The Thomases and McFarlane/Montano/DeZuniga formally introduce the two new heroes they've been telegraphing were on the way for the past few issues, and they both have pretty bad costumes. After the wedding of Green Lantern and the Harlequin, Harbinger appears to take the JSA and Infinity, Inc. to the Monitor's satellite. Rick Tyler, left behind, has already decided to become the new Hourman. He heads to South Carolina (hitchhiking) to check on Beth Chapel, who lost her sight in the daytime but now, like Dr. Mid-Nite, can see in the dark. After she and the new Hourman are attacked by the Anti-Monitor's shadow-demons, she decides to her adopt her own superhero identity, designs a costume and becomes "Dr. Midnight." The Chapel family home is hit by a cannonball, so Dr. Midnight and Hourman are immediately thrown into action.
New Teen Titans #15: Arella tracks Raven to a Louisiana leper colony that has been holding her captive, but both are abducted and the lepers killed by Mother Mayhem and the Church of Blood.
Meanwhile, the Titans in space arrive at Tamarran, and discover what Captain Karras hasn't been telling them: the royal family expects Kory to wed to end the civil war, and the person she must wed is the heir of Kalapatt, Karras. Apparently, none of them know that Blackfire is on Tamarran fomenting unrest.
Sgt. Rock #407: Two stories this issue with three shorter, humor pieces. In the main story, Kanigher and Catan have Easy get a new kid (a shiny "new penny"), but after the first engagement the kid is shellshocked into near catatonia. The lieutenant (who never sees the kid's face. This is important!) demands Rock take the kid to the MPs and wants him court martialed for cowardice. On the way to find MPs in a warzone, the new penny finds his courage and saves Rock by firing an artillery piece at the cost of his own life. When the lieutenant arrives, he finds not only that he was wrong about the kid, but the kid is his own son, just 16, who lied about his age to enlist.
The second story involves pie laced with rat poison being fed to German soldiers, saving two captured G.I.s. The interesting thing here is that it was written, drawn, and colored by Scott Madsen, and so far as I can tell, it's his only comics credit anywhere.
Saga of Swamp Thing #43: Hippie naturalist and sometime drug dealer Chester, happens to pick up one of the tubers that dropped from the Swamp Thing. Examining it, he cuts it into 3 parts. One eventually goes to a woman dying of cancer, who experiences psychedelic visions of her oneness with the Earth and cycles of life, and dies free of pain and at peace. Another is stolen by a bully and dealer who has a bad trip wherein he relives the horrific events of the Swamp Thing's life before he's hit by a car. Chester, hearing these stories, decides the plant must reveal a person's true morality. He considers taking the last bit himself, but them decides against it.
Who's Who #9: We are in "G-H" now. Newer characters Gypsy and Halo show up, courtesy of Patton and Aparo. Harbinger is here by Perez, but her first appearance is wrong. She doesn't even appear in in New Teen Titans (1980) #21. We get the Hawks of two Earths with Hawkgirl (Earth-Two) being drawn by Steve Rude. McFarlane provides the art for Infinity, Inc. antagonists, Helix. With the debut of Hourman II this month, both Rex and Rick Tyler appear here, with art by Murphy Anderson and Denys Cowan, respectively. The newly married Harlequin is here by Nodell/Giordano. There's also the Haunted Tank by regular penciler Sam Glanzman.
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