Wednesday Comics: DC, February 1986 (week 2)

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis! This week, I'm looking at comics that were published on November 14, 1985.

Aquaman #1: Pozner and Hamilton/Montano bring Aquaman back for his first substantial (and post-Crisis) appearance since he left the Justice League. He's got a cool new costume, which I loved (and still do) in this, but it will turn out Hamilton seems to be one of the few that can draw it convincingly, so it's probably for the best it didn't last. This is the first series to really incorporate the fantasy elements of Arion in Aquaman's lore, something that continues (as far as I know) to this day. 

Ocean Master attacks New Venice, drawing his brother into action, but Aquaman finds Orm stronger than he ever has been. Before he can solve this mystery, he's summoned to Atlantis by Vulko who tells him that the royal seal has been stolen. There have been mass demonstrations and unrest as the populace is caught up in anti-terrestrial sentiment, as they blame the surface world diplomats Aquaman invited in for the theft. Vulko believes the theft was magical and blames the secret city of Thierna Na Oge. There has been a coup there with King Bres overthrowing her sister, Nuada Silverhand.

Aquaman heads to Thierna Na Oge in a new, camouflage costume but he gets caught entering the city and is imprisoned with Nuada.

Amethyst #13: In this Crisis crossover issue, the series gets a sort of new direction as the exodus of the original writers is complete, and Giffen and Fleming take over. In the service of this direction which ties in more directly with DC's Order and Chaos mythos, Dr. Fate guest stars to reveal (in "Anatomy Lesson"-fashion) that Amethyst doesn't know the truth of her origins, and what we got before included some polite fictions from Citrine. Amethyst is a Lord of Order incarnate in human form, being the child of her mother and a Lord of Order who possessed (and sort of cukolded) her father. Dark Opal's background also gets some retconning to make him an agent of Chaos.

This new background does cleave Amethyst more tightly to established mystical elements of the DCU and it works well enough, but I feel like it's mostly here because it aligns the series more with Giffen's interests (This Order/Chaos stuff comes up again in his Dr. Fate limited series in '87.). It doesn't take away a whole lot, but I find I like what came before better than this twist.

'Mazing Man #2: Rozakis and DeStefano/Kesel continue with 2 more sort of charming, amusing (I wouldn't go so far as to say humorous, but the intent is clear) slice-of-life stories about the cast of regular folks who share their neighborhood with a friendly weirdo who thinks he's a superhero. In the first story, married couple Eddie and Brenda return to the old neighborhood to check in on Denton on their way to a movie but instead get drawn into local meathead Guido's attempts to figure out just where 'Mazing Man gets his money. They don't find out.

In the second story, Denton sells his script for the comic Splendiddog, K.P. and 'Mazing Man relate how they went to the mall to buy shoes and ran into Guido at two different shoe stores (making him imagine K.P. is into him). Throughout this storytelling 'Mazing Man keeps telling people the bathroom is occupied. When everyone compares notes, they confront him on this, and he reveals he's keeping a family of skunks in the bathroom, which Guido mistakes for cats.

Batman #392: Moench and Mandrake/Duursema begin the issue with a caption declaring "the Crisis is over," and also give the extended storylines a break with a done-in-one story. This is a fun issue about Batman and Catwoman trying to have a date night and continuously being interrupted in multiple locations by crimes. There is also a Lady and the Tramp homage (which they acknowledge in dialog) where the owner of an Italian restaurant sets up a table in the alley behind his place for them and serves spaghetti. All of this is interspersed with Bullock trying to convince an uninterested Gordon that Catwoman still has a criminal past, which shouldn't just be forgiven. In the end, the Bat and the Cat present the captured crooks to Gordon and bring him a pizza from the Italian restaurant, and he announces his willingness to forget Catwoman's previous misdeeds.

Legion of Super-Heroes #19: Levitz and LaRocque/Mahlstedt snip off a dangling plot thread. When five Legionnaires just disappear, their teammates can't help but notice that this was the crew formerly lost in Limbo. The group has been taken by a Controller who needs their help to stop the war-world Tyrraz since they destroyed the Sun-Eater he had been building to do just that (see LSH #7 from last year). 

Omega Men #35: Klein and McManus have the Omega Men depart their crossover with the Titans to deal with the menace of X'Hal and Auron. I don't think I've said this before, but I feel like title has gotten better under Klein/McManus, or at least, more interesting. The Silfer/Giffen Omega Men was oddly toned space fantasy, like Starlin's stuff without any of the gravitas. Moench's tenure was more fantastical and lost the space opera narrative drive. What this run delivers is the American comic book space opera epic sort of filtered through 2000AD. However you want to describe it, the difference is clear in the change in character designs, and emblematic of that is X'Hal.

Where the Perez X'Hal was a beautiful young woman, McManus's is a mad cosmic mother like a monstrous Venus of Willendorf. Her transformation makes her backstory seem more genuine tragedy and horror instead of sensationalized exploitation. With a ploy to trick her, the Omega Men end her existence and bring the long-suffering spirit peace at last. They offer the same thing to Auron, but he declines. They have the hope that, freed of X'Hal's influence, he might return to sanity.

In the backup story by Klein and Randall, Harry Hokum ships the Omegans they have come to him for help with Gordanians to Slagg, but they end up (by his design) in the hands of the Spider Guild.

 

Star Trek #23: Isabella and Sutton/Villagran continue the story from last issue with Kirk and friends facing down Bryce who is possessed by Redjac. They manage to keep her distracted long enough for Saavik to knock her out with a hypo, but Redjac boasts it is in control of the whole planet. It sends wave after wave of the Enochians against them, but the crew figures out its power is limited. As it controls multiple people, it's power to control their phasers decreases. Ultimately, they manage to beam back up to Excelsior, where Scotty has devised a plan to reconfigure the shields to keep Redjac out at the price of making them vulnerable to regular attacks. Redjac pummels the ship, but can't get in. Scotty and Saavik devise a plan to open a wormwhole temporarily and get Redjac to follow them in. It works and they close the portal, hopefully trapping Redjac forever inside.

Super Powers #6: Kupperberg and Kirby/Theakston bring this toy tie-in limited series to a conclusion. The Super Friends attack Darkseid's base on the moon and defeat his subordinates, but wind up getting captured by the lord of Apokolips himself. They escape thanks to Martian Manhunter then race to stop Darkseid from destroying the Earth. Ultimately, Darkseid is thwarted by the betrayal of DeSaad in a bid for power, allowing the heroes to take them both down. Darkseid appears to be destroyed, but the final panel casts doubt on that.

Superman #416: I think I may own this issue by Maggin and Swan/Williamson. This is another of those Silver Age throwback, mostly late Bronze Age rejecting stories the Superman titles often have, but Maggin cleverly links the two stories together. In the first, Superman nabs Luthor doing weirdly non-criminal things (even for this anodyne version of Luthor its odd!) around the same time each year, and ultimately, he figures out Luthor is observing the birthday of his hero, Einstein, by re-enacting events of Einstein's life. Superman gives Luthor a little grace after the criminal genius saves a kid from drowning who inadvertently got caught in a distraction he built for Superman.

In the second story, old man Superman of the future is questioned about his relationship with the Luthor after the genius villian reformed. Superman has to take a break from the interview to appear as a hologram to his 20th century self. That Superman, at first, thinks the apparition is some trick by Luthor, but winds up delaying his capture of Luthor on Einstein's birthday as future Superman suggests, anyway. Back in the future, we learn that the boy Luthor saved will be grow up to cure Luthor's criminal monomania, allowing him to use his genius to benefit mankind.

Q&A On Elvish Metaphysics

This grew out of my thinking about Greyhawk, but like my post on the religion of Law, it certainly can exist outside of that setting. It also might be modified a little bit when I finally reference it in a Greyhawk post.

When talking about the belief system of an entire people it's necessarily to do so in very broad strokes. Elves as individuals believe a lot of different things, and elven cultures have different understandings and expressions of beliefs that they share with other elven cultures. 

Where did the world come from? The multiverse is shadow of the source, the singular truth. It developed from a series of emanations, the cause of which is a mystery, but it is neither in error nor permanent structure.

How do elves differ from other beings? Elves are unlike the souled. We are not matter shaped by the Powers to serve and amuse them. We are, like the Powers, beings of the prima materia, Spirit.

Why is there death? Impermanence is part of the source. Death and rebirth, cessation and resumption.

What happens after elves die? Elves are beings of spirit and spirit flows in a cycle because it remembers that it is one with the source. Unlike the created souls, it will never cease its motion until the multiverse remembers its oneness. Elven spirits migrate to a new birth, a new life.

Why we here? The source is both here and not here, because it is all. We are here because the multiverse has forgotten its oneness with the source.

Who are the Seldarine of the tales? The humans and some ignorant elves think the Seldarine gods, but what is a god? The Seldarine are what it means to elven. They preceded elves, and are closer to the source. Learn from them and seek to understand the virtues they teach.

What are the beliefs of the...

...Gray Elves? The Gray tend to reject the material world, seeking a life of contemplation and arcane study to achieve oneness with the source in fewer lifetimes.

...Sylvan Elves? The Wood elves seek to find the movement of the source within the natural world and to act in harmony with it. By becoming one with the world they see the truth behind it.

...Dark Elves? The Drow have fallen under the sway of the demon goddess Lolth. Instead of pursuing action without thought to move within the source, they seek drastic rupture of multiverse, believing that intensity of experience and transgression is the shortest path to oneness with the source. 

The Executioner's Diary

From 1573 to 1617, Franz Schmidt was the head executioner for first Bamberg and then Nuremberg, Germany. He kept a work journal, tersely (in most cases) recording the criminals, their offenses, the means of execution and the results. It opens a limited window into the criminal justice system of that place and time.

In The Faithful Executioner, Joel Harrington offers a biography of Schmidt, filing in the unusual circumstances that led him to this career, and uses the journal entries to attempt to build a picture of what kind of man Schmidt was. To give the story context, Harrington highlights some interesting aspects of early modern German history and society and the functioning of the criminal justice system in Nuremberg, in particular.

The Faithful Executioner is an interesting read for anyone interested in history but should prove inspirational for fantasy rpgs with its little details on the criminal underworld, the workings of city law enforcement and incarceration. Harrington even provides a simple map of Nuremberg in the period:

Wednesday Comics: DC, February 1985 (week 1)

My mission: to read DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis. This week, I'm looking at the comics that were on stands in the week of November 7, 1985. 

Hex #6: Fleisher and Texeira/Garzon pickup up with Hex and Stiletta in the hands of the Conglomerate. The Conglomerate agents provide some backstory on Soames, the currency of the future. These tablets are the only thing able to purify the water supply in this post-apocalyptic age. They were developed by a Tanzanian scientist who intended to give them away for free, but the Conglomerate took over the manufacture and distribution, and that's what gives them their power. They are very concerned that Borsten is close to figuring out how to make a substitute and break their monopoly, so they want Hex to kill him, then they'll let him go back to his own time. 

Hex agrees but runs into trouble. First, he wants to leave Stiletta behind and she, surprisingly given Borsten is her father, wants to be a part of the action. He has to run off, leaving her very angry at him. The plan to have him appear to be captured by Borsten's men goes awry when one of the squad of soldiers turns out to have a personal grudge against Hex and just wants to kill him.

DC Comics Presents #90: Though when individual character chronologies are established, there are some issues prior to this one that must be post-Crisis, this is the first issue that is obviously so because Kupperberg and Cowan/Hunt have Captain Atom (the one that appeared in Crisis, not the post-Crisis version that won't appear until the end of '86) on the same Earth as Superman and Firestorm with no hint of dimensional travel. To save an astronaut from the shuttle Atlantis, the three must battle and solve the mystery of a radioactive man called Rayburn. In a Marvel Bronze Age manner, Rayburn is in the end a pitiable character, but doomed. Kupperberg adds and interesting wrinkle to the team-up in that Atom and Firestorm have to keep their distance as their powers weaken the other.

Fury of Firestorm #44: The editorial announces this will be Kayanan's last issue as he moves on to other projects. Firestorm destroys a massive tornado threatening Pittsburgh (unbeknownst to him, created by Typhoon), but the effort causes Ronnie and Stein to spontaneously separate and leaves them unable to reform Firestorm. Luckly for them, after talking with his kids, Typhoon decides not to destroy Firestorm now but instead heads back to New York to deal with the situation with his wife. Meanwhile, Felicity Smoak's lawsuit against the hero proceeds and she and her boyfriend (Ronnie's dad, Ed) decide to go to Pittsburgh for a visit.

Justice League of America #247: Conway and McDonnell/Wray have the JLA head to their old cave Secret Sanctuary to re-open it to serve as their base. The issue doesn't make mention of its location in Happy Harbor, RI. Instead, it only refers to it as "near Metropolis." Anyway, Elongated Man, Vixen, and Gypsy are left to clean up, and they encounter an amorphous alien creature that knocks out everyone but Gypsy. When pushed too far, the young hero easily defeats the alien and has the realization it may only be a baby.

While all this is going on, we see a criminal, their identity obscured, escape from Takron-Galtos.

Outsiders #4: Barr and Aparo continue the story from last issue as the Outsiders and the Force of July separately follow the stolen bank plates to the USSR. The two teams are ultimately forced to team up, but in the end, Gorbachev just hands over the plates, surprising the Bad Samaritan that went to such trouble to steal them. After the two American teams depart, Gorbachev explains that what he was really after was close-up examination of the supers, with the implication with he plans to make his own team.

There's a Metamorpho backup story by Barr and Staton, with art in the cartoony style Staton used for Plastic Man stories back in Adventure Comics. It's also written in a throwback style to the Haney-Fradon 60s. The Thugg brothers try to steal a matter transmutation ray that Dr. Berner is creating for Simon Stagg, but Metamorpho with the help of Sapphire foils their plans.

Vigilante #26: Adrian Chase is still really stressed out by his work and his inability to catch the killer Vigilante who he can't help but feel responsible for. His bailiff, Dave, takes a real interest in Chase's mental health, but Adrian keeps rebuffing him as Dave tries to get him to open up about what's bothering him. Adrain decides to take some time in the country to relax so he heads to the upstate, but that just happens to be where the drug dealer Santiago is, and where Vigilante and the Electrocutioner are hunting him.

Adrian, in fact runs across the Vigilante and two start fighting, only to get interrupted by the Electrocutioner's arrival.

Nonhuman Deities

While I like some of the "classic" nonhuman deities (meaning those in AD&D Deities & Demigods and in Roger Moore's Dragon articles), their existence raises some questions for the world, some of which I have been thinking about as I consider them as part of my detour into the religions of the Flanaess in my Greyhawk series. 

First of all, the suggest nonhumans are monocultural or at least were monocultural at some point in the relatively recent past because all of them have the same gods, or their gods are very activist and keep their worshippers on the right path by constant intervention. Admittedly, this might not be that much of a problem given we're discussing a fantasy world where the gods (at default) are demonstrably real.

The other problem is that how these deities relate to the human deities isn't clear. In Greyhawk, though the human deities have various cultural origins, many are now worshipped by people of multiple ethnicities and cultures. While neither the Folio nor the boxed set goes into this sort of detail, I would assume that this means their mythologies are likewise intermingled. Where does this leave the nonhuman deities that aren't even mentioned in those works?

One solution to this problem (and one I'm sure I'll employ it to a degree if I write on the topic) is to assume a degree of interpretatio humana so that the nonhuman deities are seen as the elvish or dwarvish names or aspects of gods the various human cultures are already familiar with. Another would be the demonization of the deities of groups with whom hostilities exist, so that orcish or trollish gods might be seen as known demons/devils, or simply as yet another of those legions.

The other side of this would be new humans cults emerging that would incorporate nonhuman deities, sometimes with new (and perhaps even erroneous) interpretations. How would one have an erroneous interpretation when the gods and clerical magic are real? Well, again, I think it depends on how you believe those things work. 

The Book of the Weird Revisited

I was revisiting this book the other day, then I remembered I had written a post about it in 2017. If you read that one, well, this is pretty much it again.

It has been argued before, that Barbara Ninde Byfield's 1967 "Lexicon of the Fantastical," The Glass Harmonica (republished in 1973 as The Book of the Weird) was an influence on D&D. It's easy to understand why, given Byfield's atmospheric illustration and whimsical prose. While it would certainly be a variant, more fairytalish world, I think you could do a lot worse than basing a campaign on the details from the book.

Here's a few tidbits:

"If times are not propitious for battle, Berserkers tend to sink into lethargy and untidiness and show interest in little save becoming Werewolves."

"Dragons drag; they are lazy and sluggish and prefer to live on their reputations...Like Nobility they take place names for their own."

"Dwarves own all treasure underground and all treasure that originated underground. Dwarves do not steal; they reclaim what belonged to them in the beginning."

"Frogs live under a Monarchy."

"Gnomes have an unfortunate tendency to become transformed into toads; their King is particularly prone to this enchantment."

"[Witches and Warlocks] lead disorderly lives, hate salt, and cannot weep more than three tears."

Wednesday Comics: DC, January (week 5)/February 1986

My mission: to read DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis. This week, I'm looking at the comics that were on stands in the week of October 31, 1985. 

Legionnaires Three #1: This issue is one of three this week that have February 1986 cover dates, rather than January. Giffen/Newell and Colon/Kesel begin the Time Trapper's evolution to a major villain status. The Time Trapper on Takron-Galtos (i.e. the one we've seen in previous issues) was just a lackey who is killed by his boss for failure this issue. The real Time Trapper hatches a plot to defeat the Legion (specifically the 3 original Legionnaires) by kidnapping Lighting Lad's and Saturn Girl's infant son. He succeeds in doing that through trickery, but the three legionnaires know he's responsible and are coming after him.

The Colon/Kesel art looks great on this issue, though I think I see a hint of Giffen at times. Assuming it isn't my imagination, I think Colon is aping his style slightly on some character designs.

Crisis on Infinite Earths #11: Another February dated issue. Creation re-occurs and a single universe is born. In the modern day, Clark Kent of Earth-Two wakes to find himself on an Earth not his own and gradually, with his fellow superheroes, he discovers his Earth doesn't even exist anymore. In various places, other heroes gather and this same truth is discovered. Wolfman's dialogue lampshades the fact they don't have this merged universe quite worked out yet: Why are Huntress and the Earth-Two Robin completely forgotten by the world, but Power Girl remembered? How can Power Girl and Earth-Two Superman be remembered but not their Krypton? While we don't have long to linger on this, the grief the characters feel at erasure or the erasure of their world is addressed to a degree I didn't remember. 

It's addressed but not allowed any emotional resolution. The heroes discover to their dismay that the single Earth has been shifted into the Anti-Matter Universe. The Anti-Monitor still lives and makes one last play for vengeance!

DC Challenge #3: Moench and Infantino/Smith take the baton. We find out part of the Viking Prince's soul was trapped in the tablet Batman has been puzzling over. He gets the help of the archeologists Carter and Sheira Hall. Their attempt to investigate the truth leads Hawkman and Adam Strange back to Rann, while Batman and Hawkgirl face peril on Earth. Jonah Hex manages to get the speeding car from crashing and gets returned to his own time. Meanwhile, Aquaman is saved from dying in the desert by what he believes to be his fellow JLAers, but turn out the be aliens in disguise.

With all the twists and turns, I can't say with any confidence I know what's going on in all of the scenes. I would say this probably rewards reading in a collection, but I think while it would be easier to follow, I'm not sure it's going anywhere in the end. 

MASK #3: Chaykin's second cover this month here. Well, in the release month of October; This issue carries a February cover date, though. The team escapes being entombed alive as a traitor in their midst intended and calls in to their supervisors to complain about the vetting of that guy. The reader knows what they do not: their command structure has been compromised by VENOM. With a couple of new operatives taking over for some others, the team heads to England where most male characters sport elaborate 19th century or older facial hair and wear bowlers. VENOM breaks a guy who believes he's Guy Fawkes out of an asylum and appears to be going after Parliament, but it's a ruse. Instead, the Crown Jewels are their ultimate goal. Good thing MASK is on hand.

Nathaniel Dusk II #4: McGregor and Colan bring the second and final Nathaniel Dusk limited series to a close. At the start, Dusk must escape from a locked steam room in a scene that has definitely showed up in some fashion in detective media before. After tracking down one of the goons that nearly killed him before, Dusk lays out the solution to the mystery: It was Valentine that made the first attempt on Clement's life and tried to frame an employee, and Valentine who got Rothberg to send his goons. The guy with the tommy gun shows up, and after a struggle that ends with both goons dead, Dusk is off to Coney Island to try to stop Valentine from killing his wife, Amanda. He succeeds, though only after climbing up a rollercoaster to shoot at Valentine who's riding in an on-rushing car. The climatic fight is on Valentine's seaplane as he attempts to take off.

This serious was a well-done detective story like the first, differing from its literary models only in how over-the-top the action is at times. It's more reminiscent, in that regard, of contemporary film than older detective fiction.

V #12: Bates and Infantino/DeZuniga continue the story from last issue. In the wake of the rash Visitor assault Lydia ordered on the ranch the Resistance was using as a base, she's called to account by Diana. Meanwhile, Donovan and Juliet escape with Prince Bron, all of them disguised as farm folk. Bron's inhuman comes in handy saving some trapped miners. In the Visitor ship, Diana interrogates Willie and sends another Visitor wearing Willie's human face to infiltrate the Resistance.