World's Finest Comics #302: The cover story here is a reprint from issue 176 (1968) by Bates and Adams where two aliens in conflict from the same species appear to recruit a Batman and Superman to their respective sides, pitting the heroes and their allies against each other. It's all a trick with a twist ending, of course, though Batman does appear to punch Superman with kryptonite gloves, so the cover is only mildly misleading.
The interesting story, though, is the second one by Kraft and Mazzucchelli/Rodriquez which serves as a coda to the Pantheon saga that concluded in issue 300. As the other heroes depart, Batman asks Superman if he'd like to get a drink with him. The two go to a pub full of African colonialist scum and villainy and a couple of them don't believe these funnily dressed strangers who order milk and talk about their feelings are real superheroes and decide to challenge them. Humorously, the two heroes defeat the tough guys without leaving their seats and only barely disrupting their conversation. The strange thing about this story from the modern perspective is seeing Batman talk to his friend about his feelings. He references his loneliness and concern that the two of them seldom get to talk because they are always dealing with some crisis. I can't say Kraft's script completely sells me on it, but it's kind of refreshing to see a time where friendship was important to these characters.
The interesting story, though, is the second one by Kraft and Mazzucchelli/Rodriquez which serves as a coda to the Pantheon saga that concluded in issue 300. As the other heroes depart, Batman asks Superman if he'd like to get a drink with him. The two go to a pub full of African colonialist scum and villainy and a couple of them don't believe these funnily dressed strangers who order milk and talk about their feelings are real superheroes and decide to challenge them. Humorously, the two heroes defeat the tough guys without leaving their seats and only barely disrupting their conversation. The strange thing about this story from the modern perspective is seeing Batman talk to his friend about his feelings. He references his loneliness and concern that the two of them seldom get to talk because they are always dealing with some crisis. I can't say Kraft's script completely sells me on it, but it's kind of refreshing to see a time where friendship was important to these characters.
Action Comics #554: This is another story that appeared in that formative comic fan experience for me, Best of DC #61 (1985). While it isn't as memorable as "Anatomy Lesson" or "Guess What's Coming to Dinner?" it is a pretty good story of the "importance of these characters" type that comics fans (and writers) like. Wolfman and Kane pick up where last issue left off with Superman's destruction of the ancient pyramid temple, which we now learn was made by aliens as a tool of conquest, creating an alternate timeline where humans don't have violent tendencies and have been easily conquered by the aliens. Two children (named Jerry and Joe, naturally) imagine a hero, Superman, coming into existence to defend them--and their belief makes him manifest. Superman conquers the aliens and sets things right.
Batman Special #1: I read this one in Best of DC #62 (1985), "The Year's Best Batman Stories," and it's the only one from that volume that stuck with me. In this story by Barr and Golden/DeCarlo we're introduced to the Wrath, sort of a criminal opposite number of Batman's whose origin parallels that of his nemesis. On the same night when Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered, he was made an orphan, too, as the police killed his parents in a gun battle after the commission of a crime. He also became a dark avenger of the night, but one that preyed on the representatives of law and order.
As the anniversary of his parents' death approaches, the Wrath is coming for the man who killed them: the now-Commissioner Gordon. As Batman keeps Gordon safe, Wrath investigates his foe and deduces Batman's identity. he destroys the Waynes' grave marker, invades Wayne Manor, and brutally beats Alfred. On the anniversary of the Waynes' (and his parents') murders, the Wrath kidnaps Leslie Thompkins, offering to release her in exchange for Gordon.
They meet on a Crime Alley rooftop. The Wrath shoots Gordon three times, but Batman and the Commissioner have worked out a ruse beforehand and he's protected by a bulletproof vest. Batman and Wrath fight one on one. Eventually, the Wrath is engulfed by a fire he started, leading him to fall from the rooftop and presumably (since he didn't re-appear) die.
The Wrath is definitely a villain designed for one story, and once it's told, he's of limited utility. (Though he does show up in The Batman (2004) animated series and even gets a kid sidekick, Scorn, which I thought was a clever addition.) Still, it's a good single story with nice Golden art.
Arion Lord of Atlantis #18: Continuing form last issue, Garn Daanuth has successfully broken free free from Arion's body and is terrorizing the land of Khe-Wannantu. Chian and Wyynde leave the palace to look for Mara, who they find, while Garn wracks the village with a powerful storm. Desperately, Arion makes mystic contact with his father's crystal back in Atlantis. He's able to draw on the power Caculha's spirit and use it to fight Garn. However, the villain unleashes a tidal wave that drowns Khe-Wannantu. Arion binds Garn underwater with a magic chain. He returns to the surface to find that his friends may have survived, but nearly all of Wyynde's people are dead.
Batman and the Outsiders #9: Barr and Aparo debut a new villain team, the Masters of Disaster. In their introduction their leader gets to say "Punk is over. I'm New Wave!" so we know it's still the 80s. The Masters are in the hire of the Shelton family (out for revenge on Black Lightning for the accidental death of their daughter) and approach gang boss Morgan Jones offering to kill Black Lightning for him. They attack a Wayne Foundation benefit for a new housing project to draw the Outsiders to them. During the fight, the Masters of Disaster make their goal clear, so Black Lightning surrenders to them to keep anyone else from getting hurt. Batman and the rest of the Outsiders vow to get their friend back.
All-Star Squadron #32: The origin of the Freedom Fighters continues. This issue is a whole lot of characters giving backstory to the All-Stars. First, Uncle Sam, then it's Midnight, and finally Doll Man. Midnight and Doll-Man also went to Earth-X and fought Baron Blitzkrieg. They learned about a new attack being planned on America--one that is supposed to occur at Santa Barbara on two Earths. The Spectre sends Sam and a new group of Freedom Fighters (the one's we know) back to Earth-X, while the Squadron flies to Santa Barbara to protect their own Earth from attack.
Detective Comics #537: Intriguing cover this month. Robin, Bullock, and Gordon try to locate Dr. Fang, but get nowhere. Alfred tries gets some time to bond with Julia, but also has to keep her from uncovering Batman's secrets, Out on patrol, Batman encounters a homeless man from Mexico living in the sewers who tells him about a murder. Batman follows him to his camp. He recognizes the body as a known gang member. Batman helps him against a group of criminals who came looking for the body of the man they killed and ultimately convinces the man to leave the sewers.
In the Green Arrow backup by Cavalieri and McManus, Ollie sends guys moving his stuff out of his apartment and discovers his landlord is forcing all the tenants out of the building. He organizes the tenants into a protest. The landlords goal in all this is to kill Sammy, one of the tenants who could I.D. him as a hitman when he killed Sammy's parents years before. Green Arrow tricks the former hitman into shooting a dummy, then captures him, revealing that Sammy was institutionalized and had his memories of his mother and the murder destroyed by electroconvulsive therapy.
Jonah Hex #83: Mei Ling rejects Jonah once again after he punches out Hart. He returns to his hotel to find Emmylou gone. All the women in his life having forsaken him, he crawls into a bottle, only pausing to outgun a couple of punks who think they can challenge him while he's drunk. He later throws his guns into a pond, then is taken in by an old woman whose sort of a temperance crusader. He works on her farm and dries out but then has to deal with the usual owl-hoots coming after him for revenge. The old woman, fearing further trouble, asks him to leave her farm.
Nathaniel Dusk #3: It's typical for the gumshoe in detective fiction to endure a lot of hardship in solving a case, put MacGregor and Colan really heap it on Dusk. He manages to escape the cliffhanger at the end of last issue, by sending "Big Mouth" plummeting to his death from the elevated train after a melee. He goes Joyce's apartment to find clues about her murder and discovers Abrahams waiting to arrest him for Squire's murder. He manages to convince his friend to let him go, but now the heat his own. He finds out from her daughter that Joyce's mother (despite what he had been told) is still alive. Before he can investigate that, he gets a call from a woman he will tell him who killed Joyce if he meets her on the Staten Island ferry. He does, and she tells him who did it--"Blondie." She's about to tell him who Blondie works for, but the killer shows up and he and Dusk get into a fight, and we end (again) with Dusk being thrown from a height to likely death.
New Adventures of Superboy #52: Superboy discovers the town hermit who has been around since before his father was a kid, is actually an alien with teleportation powers whose been stranded on Earth. Superboy is unable to help him at the current time, but he promises to find a way. Meanwhile, Lana seems to be jealous of Clark and his new girl.
The interesting thing about this title is, despite the "retro" nature of the stories typically, Kupperberg pays attention to continuity and character stuff in a way that is definitely of the era. Johnny Webber, the former Dyna-Mind, shows up in this issue, and is still facing some (perhaps understandable) ostracization for his former behavior.
Saga of Swamp Thing #23: Swamp Thing is still inert, dreaming within the Green and dealing with the fact he is Alec Holland. Meanwhile, the Floronic Man begins to reign terror through his control over the plant kingdom across Terrebone Parrish. Abbie is caught up by some of his murderous vines, and her cries rouse Swampy from his reverie. We get a full-page illustration by Biessette/Totleben of the new, leafier design of the character. He rescues Abbie, having recognized Woodrue's malign presence in the Green, and goes to confront the Floronic Man.
4 comments:
Swamp Thing and that Batman Special were the outstanding comics of this lot. I also bought Detective, Batman and the Outsiders and Nathanial Dusk out of this bunch. Hard to believe that there were 4 Batman comics out that week (the above plus World's Finest) in those pre-Frank Miller days.
I wonder if that Batman Special was meant to be published in European album format like the Superman specials around this time. If it had been Marvel they would have published it as a 'graphic novel'.
Arion Lord of Atlantis #18: Only one of these books I bought. My freshman year in college was looming large and my money was increasingly going to other things.
Detective Comics #537: "Intriguing cover this month."
It is, but every time I see a "giant cape" Batman drawing I have to wonder how he walks in the fool thing without needing an assistant. The aesthetic is cool, but strains my disbelief a lot less when its applied to someone with actual (preferably mystical) superpowers like the Specter or Spawn.
Jonah Hex #83: Speaking of covers, that one's up there with the Iron Man "Demon In A Bottle" issue when it comes to selling the fact the protag's a drunken lush. Really pretty effective, that.
DC's cover game here is way better than it was at the beginning of the 1980's. These are good looking comics.
@Dale Houston Can't really argue that, but I do miss all the lovely Kaluta covers we were getting in earlier years.
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