Wednesday Comics: DC, March 1983 (week 3)

My mission: read DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! This week, I'm looking at the comics at newsstands around December 23, 1983.

Night Force #8: I got this issue in a comics collector set when I was a kid. The Night Force is back from Russia, but all of them have changed. Caine realizes he was wrong to have attempted to use Vanessa to help make a weapon. He lost an arm and a leg and his wife for his crimes, but now he intends to be a better father to his son. Gold is forced by fear of unleashing her demons again (which is not a concern, but Jack doesn't know that) to play the dutiful lover to Vanessa. There are wedding plans. Vanessa doesn't really deserve to be stuck with him, but she's out of the psychiatric hospital where she's spent most of her life and no longer tormented by demons, so improvement. Meanwhile, a woman comes to the Baron for help. An alien horror is holding the residents captive within a Manhattan brownstone. The Baron somehow contrives to send a criminal on the run, Paul Brooks, into the building to investigate.

Sgt. Rock #374: This is a goof one from Kanigher and Redondo present a much better main story than last issue. Afte Easy finds paratroopers strung up, Rock heads out on solo recon to locate the SS murder squad responsible. First he finds a boy missing a leg, an escapee from a death camp. After an encounter with a tank they make it to a village with a doctor who will treat the sick boy. There are some tense moments where it appears the doctor and his wife may betray them. Rock finds a picture that shows their now-dead son was in the SS. But in the end, the scissors the wife had been holding behind her back so ominously the whole time get buried in the back of a Nazi soldier that discovers them. Rock believes he can leave the boy with them, and they promise to keep him safe. Later, Easy ambushes the SS murder squad and gets retribution for the paratroopers' deaths.

Then there are two shorts. The first involves a sailor who can't manage to roll a 7 in craps. Then when he's trapped in the sinking carrier, his luck turns around. The last story is short of pointless, being an extended joke (I guess) about the driving skills of New York cabbies as one distinguishes himself as a tanker in the War.

Brave & the Bold #196: Kanigher and Aparo team Batman up with Ragman, and it's an okay basic story of a kidnapping of a young woman by a terrorist group, inspired by Patty Hearst, but it's standard team-up book story is made silly by two costume switcheroos where Ragman plays Batman for a while, then Batman plays Ragman. Ragman gives me feel early 80s Moon Knight vibes here, but the thing that stands out the most about him in this issue to me, is how tall Aparo draws his hood. It looks silly, like he has a conehead, and I can't imagine what Aparo thought was going on under they to make it stand up so high.

Camelot 3000 #4: We're still in the "getting the band together" phase as Arthur assembles his knights as the new round table, but now the governments of Earth (their leaders burlesqued as an American president in a sort of futuristic star-spangled cowboy suit, a Soviet dictator, and an African military strongman) are nervous about the popularity of this King Arthur. Lucky for them the U.N. security director has got the problem sorted as he sends a team lead by the guy Tristram jilted at the altar to attack them. Tristram puts a shot through his head, and the knights defeat his troops. Not much to warrant a whole issue here, but it looks good.

Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #5: Kupperberg and Infantino/Oksner continue her conflict with the Gang, who have kidnapped her acquaintance, John Ostrander so he will give them the money they are owed. Supergirl's parents clue her in that she was only hallucinating when she thought her secret identity was revealed. The Gang forces John Ostrander to take them to the theater where he was auditioning and apparently left their payment. While there, Ms. Mesmer gets shot by a security guard. Supergirl, still fighting Mesmer's hypnosis, shows up to fight the Gang, and captures all of them but Brains. She also gets Ms. Mesmer to release her from her hypnotic suggestion in return for a quick flight to the hospital.

In the Lois Lane backup by O'Flynn and Oksner, Jimmy's precognition is revealed to be a side-effect of Brainstorm's previous influence on him. He' s nabbed by some of Brainstorm's former gang, who hope to force him to use that power to their advantage. The power has worn off, though. and Lois makes an attempt to rescue Jimmy.

Green Lantern #162: Barr and Pollard/Hoberg have Jordan take the liberated people of Garon to the planet Aoran (which Evil Star had wiped of life) to settle on, with Dorine as their new leader. When Hal and Dorine go to his space cruiser so Hal can recharge his ring, he finds his power battery gone. They find a kid running around, but he doesn't have anything to do with it. It turns out the ship's artificial intelligence has gone roque. So roque, that when the kid innocently enters an airlock, he sends him into space, killing him! In anger, Jordan smashes one of the ship's viewscreens, but then the ship sends food shooting out at them in the galley.

Meanwhile on Earth, a guy finds a crystal on the street and, when he picks it up, the mineral starts growing up his arm. On Oa, the Guardians see this, but they note the Guardian of Earth is in exile.

In the Tales of the Green Lantern Corps backup by Snyder and Gibbons, Harvid, a retired Green Lantern is tending his garden as a storm approaches, when he gets a surprise visit from his brother. A brother he sent to 100 years of solitary confinement during his time of service. The two old men begin to fight while around them the storm gathers strength. When the storm causes the dam to break, neither man has the strength to fix it alone, forcing them to work together. In the end, the exhausted brothers make peace and head to Harvid's house for some wine.

House of Mystery #314: In "I...Vampire" Mishkin and Sutton have Deborah and Dimitri captured with a vampire named Edward Trane with a grudge against. Bennett. It seems Trane was a former human ally of Bennett's, but when they both were captured by the Blood Red Moon, a ravenous Bennett drank his blood then abandoned him. Trane has hungered for revenge against the man that made him a monster ever since. Bennett falls into his trap, and Trane plans to hold Bennett until he is so hungry he attacks Deborah. Bennett tricks him and escapes, and Deborah stakes Trane. Bennett reveals to his former ally that it was a vampire of the Blood Red Moon that turned him, and they made Bennett believe Trane had died.

That's followed by an update to Hansel & Gretel by Rosenberg and Janes where children are lured to their doom by a magical fast food joint in the woods. The last story by Mishkin and Trinidad is a Twilight Zone-esque yarn about a couple who narrowly avoid a head-on collision with a semi to wind up on a strange highway with vintage cars, pursued by a white sedan (which is actually colored purple). The woman steals a map from a gas station and they manage to make their way out of this limbo back into the land of the living.

Legion of Super-Heroes #297: Following last issue, Levitz and Giffen/Mahlstedt focus on Cosmic Boy. With his mother dead and his father and brother injured, He's struggling with a desire for revenge. The first time he attempts it, the Legion sort of stands back to "let him make the choice" which doesn't really seem like the best play, however, after reviewing his origin, he goes back again and comes close to killing the terrorists before backing off. This issue has a rather Marvel feel, particularly with the "we never knew he was so powerful until he cut loose in anger" angle.

Warlord #67: I reviewed the story in this issue here. The Barren Earth backup returns. Jinal and her new companion make it Skinner make it to Skinner's city after an encounter with a giant, mutant honey badger. Jinal finds the city folk primitive and unprepared for a Qlov invasion, but there is more pressing concern as folk from the desert attack.

A Meeting with the Compulsor

 

Parth Trantlor

Our Gnydrion game in Grok?! continued last night. The party on hand:

• Jerfus Grek (Jason) - A Vagabond with the item everyone wants, but no clear idea how to make it pay.
• Nortin Tauss (Aaron) - An arcane dabbler who doesn't want to be tracked by telesthetic hounds.
• Yzma Vekna (Andrea) - A grubby teamster who wonders how she got into this mess.

Jerfus Grek watched the events of the previous adventure unfold from a dark alley across the street from the Shreev's office and with the mysterious item secreted under his colorful cloak. In the morning when his confederates emerge, he accosted then and learned of the compulsion the Eminent Compulsor had put them under. 

There followed much discussion of just what to do. Jerfus argued for carefully consideration of all options: Perhaps they could yet turn this to their advantage? Yzma, mindful of the invisible brand on her hand, argued for immediate surrender of the item to the Shreev so they could be done with this. Given there was the shop of a purveyor of talismans and other magics nearby, Jerfus prevailed on the other two to at least inquire there first for possible magical remedies.

The talisman merchant was an unctuous individual named Parth Trantlor. He said he could acquire an obscuring enchantment which would theoretically keep one from the senses of a telesthetic hound, but it would cost a smaragdine scintilla--a price considerably more than any of them possessed. They also tried to surreptitiously inquire about the mirror. Trantlor hadn't heard of such a device and after consulting a tome proclaimed it must be an artifact of some sort, worth at least a purpure scintilla.

After leaving the talisman shop, Nortin examined the container tube using his arcane-honed senses. He "detected magic," to use the vernacular. Nortin and Yzma were firm it must be given to the Compulsor. Seeing the way of things, Jerfus agreed with the provision that he would be able to present it to the Compulsor along with his narrative of events. The two agreed.

At the Compulsor's office, Jerfus related to his Eminence and the Shreev that he had only taken the item with the safety of the populace in mind, and when he had learned of the items potential power, he had sought to put it in the rightful hands. 

Compulsor Wungar commended Jerfus' civic-mindedness and suggested there was a way he and his friends could be of service to the Panarch as they were obviously people of principle. He conscripted them on the spot and charged them with going undercover to meet the person Kreik was to take the tube to. When the individual was identified, they were to summon the authorities.

Sensing no way out, the group acquiesced, only arguing for some sort of stipend. The Compulsor agreed to provisioning, and allowed there might be some reward in the future. Not as hopeful an answer as they miight of wished, but it was something. They left with the Shreev to prepare. 

An Alternate Star Wars

 

As the Republic spread throughout the galaxy, encompassing over a million worlds, the GREAT SENATE grew to such overwhelming proportions that it no longer responded to the needs of its citizens. After a series of assassinations and elaborately rigged elections, the Great Senate became secretly controlled by the Power and Transport guilds. When the Jedi discovered the conspiracy and attempted to purge the Senate, they were denounced as traitors. Several Jedi allowed themselves to be tried and executed, but most of them fled into the Outland systems and tried to tell people of the conspiracy. But the elders chose to remain behind, and the Great Senate diverted them by creating civil disorder. The Senate secretly instigated race wars, and aided anti-government terrorists. They slowed down the system of justice, which caused the crime rate to rise to the point where a totally controlled and oppressive police state was welcomed by the systems. The Empire was born. 

- Adventures of the Starkiller (2nd Draft), George Lucas 

Reading Christopher Ruocchio's Sun Eater series and having the internet offer me trailers for Rebel Moon and Andor Season 2, I've been thinking about space opera, and had a Star Wars (or maybe it would be better for Star Wars-inspired) idea. Readers of this blog are aware that I'm a fan of the pulp aspects of Star Wars, but in recent years my favorite SW media has been the stuff with a grittier, more realistic take like Rogue One, Andor, or some episodes of Tales of the Jedi. 

This sort of thing isn't really new. It shows up in earlier drafts of Lucas' Star Wars script:and of course, political maneuvers and the fate of the Republic are at the heart of the prequel trilogy. But it could be emphasized more and handled better.

The idea, in brief: Take the political maneuvering, grittiness, and shades of gray of these latter-day Star Wars works but strip the mythos back to the earliest stages, maybe taking inspiration from the best of everything that came after.

The jedi would still be fairly central to the whole thing, but as a sort of Lensmen or Green Lantern Corps adhering to a philosophy generally based around nonaction and stillness, they are ill-equipped to deal with a failing, corrupt Republic. This leads to fracturing and internal conflict. The separatists have a point, but separatism is also a way for megacorporations and commercial concerns to gain power and freedom from governmental restraint.

I suppose Palpatine is still a Sith lord, but if the conflict were ever just with him, the problem could be solved. The real danger is the systematic issues for which the Empire is a seductive solution.

A couple of things I would change that aren't essential to the premise, but I might as well change them while I'm changing stuff. The Clone Wars are a series of conficts fought with clones, but that's not why they are called that. Rather, the ethical issue raised by the clones' existence and the appearance of government cover-up are the "straw that breaks the tauntauns back" for many. The clones' conscription is an act of desperation on the part of the Republic. Or cynical maneuvering by a Sith Lord.

While I'm at it, I would certainly ignore things that definitively position droids as sophont or sentient beings such as Jabba's use of torture and the ridiculous droid bar from Mandalorian. I think the possibility that droids are fully sophont should exist--and the people of the Republic are generally blind to it--but they shouldn't be treating them as if they already know they are.

As an aside, I think the origins of droids and clones can easily point to the Republic being a purposely limited technological region not unlike the Empire in Dune or in the Sun Eater series. Canon sort of supports this by the droid foundries of Genosis or the Kamino clone facilities as being on the periphery of galactic civilization. I would suspect must of the high tech industry is on the Rim where the restrictions of the Republic are weaker.

Wednesday Comics: DC, March 1983 (week 2)

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 December 16, 1982. 

Batman #357:  Conway and Newton bring back a minor villain they introduced back in Detective Comics #497, the Squid. Batman is looking for the associates of the crimelord Tony Falco, who is already in custody. He learns that most of them are being recruited by the Squid, a former spy turned would-be kingpin. The Squid is trying to take out all the competition and become the crimelord of Gotham.

The Squid snatches Falco from a prison transport, but it's really Batman in disguise. In his abandoned aquarium hideout, Squid reveals that he knows about the deception. Batman fights Squid's henchmen, but he's outnumbered. The Squid has Batman thrown inside a tank where his giant squid will devour the Dark Knight.

Meanwhile, Dick Grayson goes to a circus in New Jersey, where his friend Waldo the Clown introduces him to the Todds, the circus' trapeze artists. At the same time, Mr. Sloan, the circus owner, is being shaken down by the goons of the mysterious Croc for protection money.

Flash #319: We open where we left off last issue with Flash and Captain Invincible plunging to their deaths from Creed's highrise apartment. Bates and Infantino do one of those ridiculous comic book things were the fall, which would be maybe 10 seconds in the real world, is long enough for cops on the ground to have a brief conversation about the fall, Captain Invincible to try the rouse Flash first with words and then a series of slaps, and Flash to save them both. 

The issue stays ridiculous, really. Invincible goes after Eradicator over the Flash's protests. He is almost disintegrated too, but the Flash snatches him out of his clothes at the last second to save him. 

In the Creeper backup from Gafford and Gibbons. The Creeper hauls himself out of the river, his bullet wounds already healing thanks to his healing factor. It appears a corrupt doctor is tied to both Tamblin and the crimelord Winterborn. And Jack Ryder's new boss' son is a drug addict connected to the doctor. All this crime drama seems more suited to 80s Daredevil or Vigilante than Creeper, really.

 

G.I. Combat #251: This first Haunted Tank story is the sort of thing you'd get in TV dramas of the era, but its done in a kid's comic in 15 pages, so it doesn't work as well as it might have. Sgt. Craig's estranged son joins the tank crew, which leads to a bit of a reconciliation between father and son before the son is shipped off to another crew, likely never to be mentioned again. The second story involves the crew each looking to get a souvenir to take home from the war, but the fortunes of combat continuously thwarting their efforts.

The Mercenaries are back and in Central America where a General Ramos hires them to "liberate" his country from the Juanistas who apparently gained power through popular support but are now oppressing the people (according to the general). The trio are to swim to the island and take out the guns on Fortress Fuego so the General's force can make a beachhead. They've got two problems: Their path is littered with underwater mines, and the General betrays them and sends divers to kill them. They prevail of course, and lure the General in to be destroyed under the Fortress' guns.

The non-series tales by Kashdan with Catan and Talaoc aren't bad. In the first, a G.I. teased for his belief that the message on a pinup of Betty Grable he received was a personal one, goes AWOL to meet the actress, but winds up foiling a German attack (which he can't mention because he was AWOL at the time) and getting Grable's monogrammed handkerchief to shut up the other dogfaces. In the second, the German's still a map cannister from two couriers only to find it's a dummy that has been boobytrapped. 

 

Saga of the Swamp Thing #11: Pasko and Yeates reveal that Kripptman (Kay) was a Jewish kapo at Dachau. Barclay sneers at him as a collaborator. Feldner for his part reveals that Karen Clancy is the herald of the Beast, the "antichrist" foretold in the Book of Revelation. To stop her, Kay and his aide Alan reconstruct the Golem, but it senses Casey's presence in the locket on Swamp Thing's body and attacks him! 

In the Levitz/Carrillo Phantom Stranger backup, The Phantom Stranger makes the case for an advanced healthcare directive as Millicent Bedford wishes to help her aged, comatose mother by disconnecting her from a life-support system. But the Phantom Stranger shows her the fate that might await both of them if her mother dies.

New Teen Titans #29: Brother Blood continues to be a villain I don't really get, but at least he's involved here in an interesting villain-on-villain clash with the Brotherhood of Evil who just struck Zandia. The Brotherhood heads to New York to kidnap Raven, whom the Brain believes is the key to overcoming Blood. Back at Titans HQ, Dick is still being a mood,  angry jerk for no good reason, which worries Kory and Donna. Wally and Raven talk about how they can't have a relationship. Changeling keeps trying to make Terra his personal project. The visiting Speedy is mused by all of this. Frances Kane, again dealing with unwanted magnetic powers, comes to Titans Tower to see Kid Flash. When the Brotherhood of Evil attacks, Speedy and Frances manage to stop them, but not before Phobia causes Raven to attack and almost kill Kid Flash, who decides he isn't so into the Goth chick after all.

Superman #381: Bates and Swan continue the Superman/Superboy Freaky Friday mix up. A by-product of the self-contained stories of the era: every issue of this crossover must spend pages retreading how it happened. They can't seem to just recap it in a caption. Superboy in 1982 is kind of making a mess of thing. He does manage to defeat three Superman-hating cranks empowered by emotion-siphoning baddie Euphor, but he snubs Lois so badly she becomes Euphor's next anti-Superman soldier, and makes a pass at Lana who slaps him and sends him away.

Gnydrion Chargen Tables for Grok?!

The lite rpg Grok?! uses random tables for character generation, but the standard ones weren't entirely suitable to my Gnydrion setting. I made my own for the columns where I thought it mattered. These were done quick to have something to use in play but if I ever were to publish them, they would probably get a more thoughtful review.

Background and an Asset

1. Fringe Theorist - a map detailing the location of fae vortices
2. Wastrel - a pillbox with an assortment of calmatives, excitants, analeptics, and euphoriants
3. Gambler - a deck of marked cards
4. Civil Servant - impenetrable but official looking documents
5. Academician - reference works
6. Rogue - dagger
7. Fugitive - shiv
8. Itinerant Mystic - worn mat for meditation and begging bowl
9. Dilettante - servant
10. Veteran - scars, each with a colorful story
11. Freelance Scrutinizer - sap
12. Mountebank - traveling case of tonic elixirs
13. Rhabdomancer - crystalline rod carried in a velvet-lined case
14. Vagabond - tinder pouch and firestone
15. Teamster - blunderbuss
16. Traveling Merchant - case full of wares
17. Entertainer - essential implement for your act
18. Arcane Dabbler - talisman with one spell
19. Artisan - trade tools
20. Mercenary - a good sword

Asset 2

1. outlandish hat
2. cape of shifting colors
3. muff pistol
4. nonnig
5. armor
6. throwing dagger
7. cracked eidolon crystal showing the image of a beautiful, desperate seeming woman
8. round trip first class airship ticket
9. magic spyglass
10. portable writing desk with pen, ink, and stationary
11. stylish rapier
12. vial of hwaopt intoxicant scent, malodorous to humans
13. letter of credit from a hohmmkudhuk craftsman
14. cage with fighting zegej
15. pouch of cured meat
16. invigorating elixir 
17. 25 feet of rope
18. lantern
19. pouch of dried mushrooms
20. stun wand

Asset 3

1. small jar of cured glount roe, sealed
2. guardsman's baton
3. velvet-lined case of military medals
4. punch dagger
5. voice altering oral lozenge stone
6. leather case with two syringes of thrall slime
7. Wurvulb's Primer on Ieldri Language
8. jar of analgesic linament
9. broad-brimmed hat concealing steal skullcap
10. signet ring with enigmatic but portentous engraving
11. brass knuckles
12. sedative powder (2 beast of burden calibrated doses)
13. hatchet
14. box of cheep cheroots
15. medallion authorizing operation of a commercial paddle boat in Whulggan Sound 
16. basket of two candy manikins
17. Offical pardon for a Jeng Turly signed by the Provincal Governor
18. toiletry kit with mirror, tweezers, straight razor, and coagulating powder
19. pistol ballester
20. scratch and smell pamphlet map of the library of Ao-Dweb

Names, Female:

1. Nurila Tambrol
2. Tobrana Velth
3. An Morold
4. Inerva Alanx
5. Fanora Zriol
6. Pema Rheest
7. Nima Ermot
8. Yzma Vekna
9. Alux Vrys
10. Raiga Mehtaloon
11. Syara Wanzor
12. Irallene Tark

Names, Male:

1. Glismo Nadok
2. Reet Ulam
3. Antor Hogus
4. Ger Vortin
5. Zamo Thrase
6. Druf Ombry
7. Nortin Tauss
8. Grevan Calo
9. Trane Durnur
10. Mulz Thomber
11. Jerfus Grek
12. Sy Kamor

Wednesday Comics: DC, March 1983 (week 1)

My goal: read DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! Today, I'm looking at the comics at newsstands on the week of December 9, 1982. 

Superman Special #1: We get 52 pages written and drawn by Gil Kane which is kind of special, I guess, but the story doesn't really seem to merit that treatment. A scientist who admires Superman and seeks accelerate human evolution in order to create a vanguard of superior beings to protect the planet. Naturally, he experiments on himself to make himself the Ultimate Man. As happens in these sorts of situations, his goals shift as his perspective changes, and he comes into conflict with Superman. In the end he evolves himself to his on defeat, as also tends to happen. This really reminds me of the sort of thing one might have read in a 70s Marvel title.

Wonder Woman #301: Mishkin takes over writing duties with Colan still on art. Sofia Constantinas, the former terrorist from the Aegeus arc, is undergoing Amazon training. She has to do a half-mile swim to an island, but on her way, she is grabbed and dragged underwater by a skeleton wielding a sword--and wearing a tiara like Wonder Woman's. Wonder Woman jumps in to help her and does battle with the skeleton. The skeleton follows Wonder Woman to shore, and Queen Hippolyte cries out its name: Artemis. The skeleton, which is able to communicate, demands that the queen call her by the name she was known by 3000 years ago, and Hippolyte does: "It--it was Wonder Woman!"

Arak Son of Thunder #19: The Thomases and Gonzales/Alcala pick up with Arak and friends along the Black Sea on the way to White Cathay. A powerful storm sinks their ship. Arak, and Valda, Satyricus, and Johannes are the only survivors. They wash up on the sandy shores of the coast. Johannes points to a gleaming spot on a mountainside that represents their destination. As they get closer, he warns them not to look directly at the light, lest they be blinded.

When they are distracted by the appearance of a roc, Valda accidentally looks at the gleaming city and is blinded. Johannes tells them the only cure for her is a gem that can conveniently be found in the roc's nest.

Satyricus and Arak climb the cliffs to get the jewel. The satyr gets there first and grabs the gem, but the roc grabs him. Arak jumps on the bird and do battle. He prevails and returns with Satyricus and the gem. Johannes uses the gem to restore Valda's eyesight.

In the Valda backup, Valda and Malagigi attend a yule feast held by the king. His sons give him gifts. His illegitimate son, Pip the hunchback, presents a finer gift than the others, a tree that grows many varieties of fruit even in winter. The king views it as sorcery and an abomination and destroys it.

In anger, Pip throws wine into the fire, and accidentally extinguishes the yule logs. It's a bad omen. Seeking to capitalize, Baron Ovis, the last surviving Merovingian, uses a tiny bell to summon some sort of berserkers from the cold. Valda fights her way through them and helps Malagigi reignite the fire. Once restarted, the fire banishes the berserkers. Carolus Magnus disowns Pip for his careless actions.

Blackhawk #256: Evanier points out in the letter column that this is the first chronicling of the Blackhawks adventures on Earth-One. All the previous ones where on Earth-Two or Earth-X. While Blackhawk is still recovering (and still apparently victim of the nightmare transmitting medallion), Stanislaus leads a raid on a Nazi research bunker in Czechoslovakia where they have projects going to create Hitler duplicates and to make monstrous super-soldiers. One of these reject super-soldiers has been sent to kill Blackhawk in the hospital, and two more are sent after the raiding part, capturing four of the team. Six Blackhawks wind up in the same cell. Only Stanislaus is still free.

The next day, he gets captured after killing a Reject with a grenade, so von Tepp and Merson seek to turn him into a replacement. The other Blackhawks escape, killing another Reject with a bazooka in the process. Von Tepp and Merson leave with their subjects and the bunker is destroyed.

 

DC Comics Presents #55: Rozakis and Saviuk manage to have Superman encounter both Air Waves, the original when he was Superboy and the "Hal Jordan," teen Air Wave in the modern day. Superboy and the first Air Wave had a brief encounter in the past, where Air Wave is brusque with the young hero, but it's revealed he was doing so for a good reason. In the present, while tracking down some of that gold kryptonite, Superman tries to help the young Air Wave, whose powers have mysteriously disappeared, and they team-up to take down the Parasite.

Fury of Firestorm #10: Broderick is back and so is the Hyena. Firestorm goes to the airport to meet Summer Day who has been often having therapy for being the Hyena. (Wonder what modality works best for that?) Anyway, the family and Ronnie meet Summer's therapist, Jivan Shi. Later that night, Doreen Day discovers that Summer is missing. She goes to Ronnie's house and asks for his help. Ronnie secretly transforms into Firestorm and flies towards Eastside Hospital. He suspects that Summer may have returned there, as this was the one other locale that she was most familiar with. At the hospital, Firestorm encounters the Hyena and they fight. The Hyena gets burned by some chemicals in the hospital.

Ronnie goes to tell the day family about Summer. She returns home but has no memory of her whereabouts of the past few hours. Mr. and Mrs. Moments after Summer goes inside, the Hyena appears outside and scratches Ronnie across the back of the neck. 

Justice League #212: Conway and Buckler/Tanghal bring the X-Element story to a conclusion, as the League (with the help of Phantom Stranger) battle the invading War-Kohn on multiple fronts and free Arthur Stuart. The JLA learns that Stuart's unique genetic code holds the cure for the transformed humans and animals. With everyone cured, David Dorfman is reunited with his fiancée, and all is well. Well, except for the ominous stinger where the Leaguers recall that there will come a day when the X-Element begins to decay again. Good thing Crisis wiped out this continuity!

Adventure Comics #497: The only new story here again is the expanded origin of the Challengers of the Unknown by Rozakis and Toth/Giacola, which concludes this issue. The Challs to-be are still investigating the sabotage of their plane. Red Ryan is in Vegas with an old friend, Johnny Green, when a car tries to run them down! Johnny reveals he was the target of the plane sabotage, not our heroes. Johnny won a lot of money from the mob but hadn't collected. He was planning to fly to Vegas with Red, so the mob put a device on the plane to keep him from collecting. The heroes confront the mobsters in a casino and win the day. Our heroes finally get their TV appearance as "Challengers of the Unknown!" And that's it. There was apparently going to be more Challenger stories here, but they decided to go full reprint instead.

Under Compulsion in Phaelorn Gap

 

Our Gnydrion game using Grok?! continued last night. The party on hand:

• Antor Hogus (Paul) - Vagabond with a stun gun and a dislike of authority, worse now than ever!
• Nortin Tauss (Aaron) - An arcane dabbler just trying to get by.
• Yzma Vekna (Andrea) - A grubby teamster watching things spiral out of control.

Having rashly summoned the law last adventure, the party must now deal the consequences. Var Nee the deputy is out of his depth and aware of it once he hears the story of the quaklu and the double Kreik Gelmots. He wisely goes to summon the Shreev while leaving the bleary-eyed innkeeper to watch them.

Shreev Molok is in no mood for the situation that confronts him. He rounds them all up and takes them back to the jail. The original (presumed) Gelmot, still stunned, is locked in a cell, while the others are invited to be guests until the matter can be sorted out. They protest this confinement and while they argued with the Shreev, two things happen. The first is that Gelmot wakes up and more or less confirms their story (while trying to present himself in the best light). The remaining mystery is what has become of the mirror. While they are contemplating this, the other happens, which is that the Fake Gelmot tries to leave.

Molok and Var Nee try to confine him, but his limbs do not appear to be made of mundane flesh. He twists free and scuttles out the door on four limbs. Molok pursues him, ballester in hand, while Var Nee continues to watch the others.

Var Nee shares some liquor with Hogus which serves to moderate the latter's ill-temper for a while. Molok returns and tells them that the other Gelmot dissolved after stumbling into a fumarole and being shot in the head by Molok's ballester.

He tells everyone that they will likely be released, however, they must tell their stories to his superior, Eminent Compulsor Briszm Wungar. Var Nee had already hinted that Wungar is a man much concerned with personal enrichment.

Not having any place else to go, the party takes Molok up on his offer to sleep in the jail, only to consider they might have made an error when the building is locked from the outside and they are trapped. The recriminations fly, then, both from and to Gelmot (who Hogus eventually stuns again) and between Tauss and Hogus. They consider breaking out in some way, but ultimately decide to play it cool and not become fugitives.

The next morning, Briszm Wungar arrives to speak with them, the small man riding some alien creature. He suggests the way to ensure their freedom from any legal suspicion is to locate the mirror and return it to him. Gelmot blames its absence on their also conspicuously absent friend, Jerfus Grek. The Compulsor releases them to find Grek and the mirror (though Gelmot must await their efforts in jail) but has their hands marked with a device that will allow telesthetic hounds to track them, should they choose to shirk this charge.