Wednesday Comics: DC, July 1984 (week 4)

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! This week, I'm looking at the comics on April 26, 1984.

Super Powers #1: This is an out of continuity tale (though it doesn't outright say so) to tie-in with the Kenner Super Powers action figure line. Kirby gets a plot credit and providers a cover with inks by Royer. The story is scripted by Cavalieri with art by Gonzales/Marcos. Darkseid imbues four Apokolipsian champions to recruit agents and give them power to defeat his enemies. The four each chooses a super-villain, giving them powers they've never had before, allowing Luthor, Brainiac, Penguin, and the Joker to each defeat the members two members of the Justice League.

Thriller #8: This issue actually came out last week, but I forgot to include it. Bill DuBay comes on board as new writer with Fleming exiting due to conflict with editorial (though of course that isn't mentioned here). Von Eeden is still on art but this is his last issue. The story takes a dramatic shift but feels like DuBay is trying to stay loosely consistent with the sort of stories presented before. Janet is shot down over the USSR and captured. The Soviets have a living super-computer in the form of a child and its aware of Thriller and the Seven Seconds and wants lure them in for its own purposes. The team takes the bait. Janet is rescued at it turns out the super-computer only wants out of its existence in servitude. Somehow, Angie seems to convert its child-self to energy like her and bring it along.

Action Comics #557: There are two stories this issue. The first by Kupperberg and Swan/Hunt involves Terra-Man stealing the same Rembrandt paintings three times in an effort to lure Superman into a showdown, which of course, he loses. In the second by Rozakis and Bender/Hunt, when Superman finds out he inadvertently helped a murderer escape 7 years ago, he recreates the crime scene as it was to catch the crook. It's unclear to me exactly how that all happens but the story didn't seem worth re-reading to see if it sticks together or not.

Arion Lord of Atlantis #21:  Still hanging with the pirate crew, Arion and friends get in on the game, until an angry sea god challenges them and Arion has to dig deep to access his magic that is now only available as plot contrivance. Wyynde must accept that Fawndancer, being a mermaid now, lives in a different world, and he says goodbye to her forever.

All-Star Squadron #35: Thomas and Hoberg/Collins continue to milk this Earth-X arc. Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle are saved from Tsunami by Starman and Firebrand. Neptune Perkins does battle with the Japanese agent (and loses), while the All-Stars head to Santa Barbara. On Earth-X, the Red Bee shows up just in time die heroically and distrace Baron Blizkrieg long enough for Hourman to escape. Hourman frees Freedom Fighters, while Uncle Sam bashes Blitzkrieg.

The Baron escapes back to Earth-2 with three Nazis from Earth-X. The Spectre shows up, and tells them all this world-hopping is wreaking cosmic havoc and 3 of them must stay behind to maintain balance. Uncle Sam, Ray, and Black Condor volunteer.

Blue Devil #2: Cohn/Mishkin and Cullins/Martin pick up with Cassidy in Metropolis, trying to figure things out now that he's trapped in the Blue Devil suit which is essentially a part of him now. Complicating matters, Shockwave, a mercenary villain who has just stolen some synthetic kryptonite from S.T.A.R. Labs, destroys his brownstone. Once again, Cassidy is forced against his inclination to play superhero. Shockwave is defeated but gets away--without the kryptonite. the STAR Labs' scientist is grateful to Cassidy and agrees to help him find a cure for his condition. However, Verner Studios has sent him a cease-and-desist order, telling him he can't appear in public because the Blue Devil is their property!

Detective Comics #540: Moench and Newton/Smith conclude the Scarecrow story. Batman and Robin separately manage to avoid the surprises Scarecrow had in store for them. They meet-up again in Scarecrow's hideout, and Batman thinks he knows a way to block the villain's fear signal. After some adjusts it appears they are both protected, and they go on to confront and defeat Scarecrow. Only when this is done does Robin realize only he was protected, and Batman was really only controlling his fear and bluffing. Meanwhile, Bullocks clumsiness saves him from an assassin's bullet, but the assassin doesn't know that and reports to Mayor Hill that the job was done.

In the Green Arrow backup by Cavalieri and McManus/Trapani, Green Arrow uses one of the Printer's Devil's fires to burn through the net, then puts out the fire before it can reach the gas pumps, escaping the predicament we left him in last issue. The Printer's Devil escapes, but in a confrontation the next day at the Daily Star's offices, the two tangle again. Green Arrow captures him and reveals him to be not an agent of Burdick but fellow columnist Thomas Doyle. He hoped to devalue the Star through his Scooby Doo-ish, costumed terrorism and make it less valuable to Burdick. He sort of succeeds because Burdick decides not to buy the paper.

Legion of Super-Heroes #313: Levitz and Giffen/Mahlstedt have the Legion, and the Science Police still trying to track down the bomber who has now threatened to bomb the United Planets Council Building and kill the President — Colossal Boy's mom. After multiple attacks they are able to thwart the Legion finally gets a break that leads them not to a member of the Science Police but a civilian contractor that happened to do some computer programming for them. We also get a map of "Metropolis" this issue, but it's confusing because it's just New York City. I don't mean a stand-in, but literally New York. It seems like Levitz is saying New York City will be called Metropolis in the future, but what about Superman's Metropolis in the present? The DCU can't just be an alternate world where Metropolis is NYC, because both clearly exist in published stories. Anyway, we also get another remind of the impending shift to two books for this title.

New Adventures of Superboy #54: The chubby, canary-yellow Klingon type, Harzz, from last issue initiates his plan for revenge against Superboy with Superboy Revenge Squad along to observe by using artificially created disasters to manipulate Superboy into destroying the Earth. Superboy doesn't fall for it, and the Revenge Squad leader executes Harzz as a competitor. Kupperberg and Schaffenberger/Giella keep juggling the other plotlines from previous issues: Lana escalates her selfish attempt to get Clark's attentions back by using Superboy to make him jealous, while Jonathan Kent stands defiant in the face of increasing pressure to drop his bid for city council, acceding to the demands of crooked developer, Gary Simmons.

This is the last issue of this title. The letter column asserts that Superboy's adventures will continue in another title, DC Double Action, in the future, but that series never materialized, likely in part due to the changes wrought by Crisis. I don't mourn the loss of Superboy, but the core concept, the teen superhero, is obviously one with a lot of promise which (for Superman, at least) we had to wait for TV to exploit.

Sun Devils #1: This is a space opera by Conway and Jurgens/Maygar. Conway tells us that the basic idea was a joint effort between him and Thomas, mixing his love of space stuff and Thomas' love of history. It shows in that there has perhaps never been so blatant a sci-fi version of the lead up to World War II. The leaders of the free worlds think peace has been achieved through appeasement, but Karvus Khan and his Sauroids want war, as a surprise attack on the planet Wolfholme demonstrates. Rik Sunn, former aspiring diplomat, is thrust into fighting a renegade war against the empire that destroyed his home, but he looks like he's going to find an eclectic group of allies. The World War II and Star Wars influences are obvious, but what is perhaps less apparent but still pretty clear when you think about it, is that this is a space opera re-imaging of Blackhawk, with Rick Sunn in the Blackhawk role and the Sun Devils his cadre.

Tales of the Teen Titans Annual #3: Wolfman and Perez/Giordano get us to the end of "The Judas Contract." H.I.V.E. has the Titans and they are again help suspend by their limbs, their powers siphoned. Lucky for them Nightwing and Jericho have infiltrated H.I.V.E.'s base to come to their rescue. Thanks to Terra, they are captured, but when the Terminator recognizes his son, the distraction gives Jericho the opportunity to possess him. Using the Terminator's body and weaponry, he frees the Titans, and they all start fighting the H.I.V.E. 

Terra goes a little crazy, not understanding the situation and feeling betrayed by Slade, she fights both him and the Titans. The Titans are hampered in their ability to take her down by their refusal to believe she is truly their enemy and it's being mind-controlled in some way. Terra's emotions and powers get out of control, and she winds up burying herself under earth and debris.

The Titans take her body back to New York where there's a funeral with the Outsiders in attendance. They don't tell her brother the truth, that she was a villain who betrayed them, letting him believe she died in the line of duty.

Though it seems like this was the point to Wolfman and Perez, the lack of any sort of motivation for Tara's behavior other than she's "crazy" or "evil" is a weakness with this story to me. The Terminator becomes, if not sympathetic at least understandable after we have his backstory, but Terra isn't provided with the same depth.

World's Finest Comics #305: I still don't know what Kraft sees in Null and Void, but here we are on part 2 of their return with von Eeden on art. The international scramble to claim the mysterious frozen figures ends up with they split up and the Russians getting the woman and the Swedes the man. Batman is caught in the middle of all this. He confronts Null and Void again, and Null decides to surrender, but Void escapes into the Void where he previously sent Superman, allowing the Man of Steel to escape from that surreal realm. 

The Russians take the frozen woman into Cuban waters, but Batman and Null go after the figure in the hands of the Swedish. In a firefight, Null touches hands with the figure who has the same tattoo and awakens the pirate-dressed guy who calls himself Swordfish. Swordfish has no idea how many years he has been trapped, but he joins Null and Batman on their quest to free his companion, Barracuda.

Meanwhile, Peter without his Void powers and trapped in the other realm, encounters X'ult, the enemy of Swordfish and Barracuda.

A Pantheon from Kirby's New Gods

Art by Alex Ross

Jack Kirby's so-called "Fourth World," an interconnected group of series at DC Comics from 1970-1973, posits a new group of god-like beings emerging from Ragnarok. These beings are presented and engage in action largely like other modern-era superheroes, but I've been thinking about whether one could make a pantheon from them usable in a traditional, medievalish fantasy game.

A notable trait of the so-called New Gods is that they are arranged in a sort of dualistic polytheism (not unlike the gods of Tekumel in Empire of the Petal Throne). The gods of New Genesis are the "good" gods and those Apokolips are the "evil" gods. 

As presented in the comics, the portfolios of the Apokolipsian gods (to the extent they are clear) are modern evils. They are mostly related to concerns of its author in post-World War II West, rather than traditional concerns of ancient or Medieval peoples. They will require some modification. They work better as devils or demons, probably, as Apokolips is pretty much Hell.

Interestingly, the stories that take place on Apokolips regarding the escape of Mister Miracle and friends have an almost gnostic dimension. Darkseid is a Demiurge sort of figure, while the Promethean Himon is the serpent in the stifling, poisonous Garden of Apokolips leading Mister Miracle to freedom.

In contrast, the gods of New Genesis are a bit more straightforward, harkening in many cases to Norse or Greek polytheistic figures. The problem is they just don't always have really clearly portfolios. 

Anyway, here's what I've got:

New Genesis:

• Highfather - Patriarchal leader of the gods of New Genesis. God of Wisdom, Diplomacy, and Rulership.
• Lightray - God of light, probably the sun too.
• Orion - God of War; given to berserker rages.
• Mister Miracle - A dying and rising god, probably with a mystery cult.
• Big Barda - Warrior goddess; defector from Apokolips
• Black Racer - Psychopomp and god of Death.
• Lonar - the Wanderer; god of horses and hospitality
• Metron - God of knowledge and travel.

Apokolips:

• Darkseid - Supreme god of evil.
• Kalibak - Monstrous son of Darkseid; god of violence and destruction.
• DeSaad - Lord of torture and cruelty
• Doctor Bedlam - God of Madness
• Female Furies - A (more) evil version of Valkyries
• Glorious Godfrey - God of Lies
• Granny Goodness - The cruel mother; a stealer of children, perhaps a Baba Yaga sort?
• Kanto - God of assassins
• Mantis - Vampiric lord of plagues and pestilence
• Steppenwolf - Dark lord of the hunt

Setting Folklore

I was on vacation last week and visited Antwerp where I saw the Brabofontein in the Grote Markt. It depicts events related to the legendary founding of Antwerp, where Roman soldier Silvius Brabo defeated Druon Antigonus, who had been demanding tribute to use a bridge over the River Scheldt. Brabo's killing of the giant provides the folk etymology of the origin of the name Antwerp as Brabo did to Druon what the giant had done to unfortunates who couldn't pay his toll: he cut off his hand and threw it across the river. Hence, the name Antwerp is supposed to come from handwerpen (throwing hands).

Anyway, the legend and the statue caused me to consider why isn't there more of this sort of folklore and folk etymology in settings? I sort of did some of this with the City and Weird Adventures (see "Thraug's Head", and perhaps "Saint Joan of the City" and "Short People, Big Worm"--admittedly, these blur the lines because they are depicted as relating history, not folklore, but I think they serve a similar purpose in their fancifulness and mostly not direct applicability to adventuring), but I haven't really done much of that in other settings.

I feel like little details like this both make places feel more real, but also potentially provide springboards for adventure because in fantasy worlds, even the strangest details might well be true. I suppose some people might think this sort of thing is excessive or maybe even unhelpful because it might confuse player's about what's true and what isn't, but I would argue a ruthless economy of setting details, limiting them to only things relevant to adventuring/dungeoncrawling and the need for every one of those details to be literally true or at least definitively falsifiable loses an aspect that differentiates rpgs from other sorts of games, that is, the ability to truly explore an imagined world.

Wednesday Comics: DC, July 1984 (week 3)

Join me as I read DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! This week, I'm looking at comics that were published on April 19, 1984.

Green Lantern #178: Thanks to the mysterious Monitor's actions as a go-between, Jason Bloch is introduced to the Demolition Team in a great two-page spread. He sends them to destroy Ferris Aircraft, then tries to call them off when he finds out Green Lantern is out of his coma and could mop the floor with them. The Monitor refuses to help him out, but the agent of Con-Trol who's been listening in decides to do Bloch a solid, without Bloch knowing.

Just as the Demolition Team attacks, Jordan is called away by the Guardians. He has to go save an alien planet that appears about to explode--exactly the sort of mission the great Tomar-Re failed at with the destruction of Krypton. As Jordan is puzzling out what to do, Carol and friends make a brave, but likely futile stand against the Demolition Team, only to have a third force enter the fight: the black and silver clad Predator!

Themed villain teams are definitely an 80s thing, but the Demolition Team is a weird one for those. Despite their construction worker-oriented theme, none of them actually have a background in construction/demolition. They all have various other specialties loosely related to what they use their equipment for. So why'd they pick the theme? 

Batman and the Outsiders #12: I was suspicious last issue, but I didn't want to comment until I was sure: Aparo doesn't know what a katana looks like. The Japanese swords in this issue and the last often look like fanciful, broad-bladed scimitars, sometimes even held with the curve the wrong way. 

Anyway, in the story continued from last issue, Katana reveals her whole, tragic backstory, and the Outsiders take on the warriors forced to work for the Yakuza since being freed from the blade.  At the Yakuza base, the resurrected souls are defeated and returned to the sword and Takeo, Katana's criminal brother-in-law, is also killed in a duel with Katana. With the battle over, the Outsiders return home, only to discover on the flight back that Batman has been poisoned by a dart and is dying.

Infinity, Inc. #4: The Thomases and Ordway/Machlan take some time to reveal the origins of Jade, Obsidian, and Northwind as the three fly to Feithera to have Solomon Grundy imprisoned there. In a bold move that hopefully he didn't get full page-rate for, Thomas incorporates the first appearance of Feithera from Flash Comics #71 in the form of a reprint. After all that, the three meet up with the other Infinitors and learning that five members of the JSA have been found dead, apparently drowned.

Saga of Swamp Thing #26: I wouldn't call this a misstep exactly, but this issue certainly isn't on the level of what we've gotten from Moore before, primarily because it is almost entirely setup. It reads fine in the trade (which is how I've always read it before) but as a standalone issue it is obvious that Swampie and Abbie spend most of the issue just running or gaping accompanied by Jason Blood's semi-sinister narration. Besides narrating, Jason spends the issue just getting ready to fight the evil. Only the kids in the home and Matt Cable do anything definitive. The kids are starting to be prey for the Monkey King and the kid Paul clues Abbie in to how it works. Matt gets drunk and wrecks his car. Despite my gripes about this one, the ending promises a big confrontation next issue.

New Talent Showcase #7: The cover feature is a new one called "Mirrage" (extra "r" intended) by Tillman and Shoemaker about a guy who got super-powers from living on a farm whose water was contaminated with toxic waste. He apparently can become intangible and also forces toxins out of his system to sicken others. The other new ongoing is actually a return of "Class of 2164" by Klein and Showmaker, which now appears to be envisioned as an anthology of future stories. This is the best story of the issue with good art and a story about interplanetary travel via solar sails that's pretty hard sci-fi for comics.

There's a couple of shorts that seem like inventory stories left over from the anthology books of a few years earlier. One by Weaver/Grindberg involves a video game that apparently provides a conduit for near mystical contact with an alien species of unclear intent, and the old man who doesn't understand why he wasn't chosen in his youth. The other by Newell and Orzechowski/Alexander involves a future where a human being competing in an athletic competition with androids is a novelty and a triumph for the human race. It's a story that doesn't go anywhere beyond its premise.

Dragonknights comes to its end and is sort of underwhelming. Likewise, the comic strip throwback "The Mini (Mis)Adventures of Nick O. Tyme" continues to be tedious, though I do sort of admire the intent.

Sgt. Rock #390: This title has had some cool stories, but Kanigher's tendency to rely on "war is heck" (Comics Code approved) as the theme for them all, and his reliance on gimmicky stories gives us instead stuff like Rock apparently getting saved by the obligatory new guy who in this case appears to be the ghost of the Unknown Soldier--not the DC character as far as I can tell but the guy in the tomb. 

The backup story with art by Auck, is also typical Kanigher fare of the Weird War Tales variety with two warriors on a battlefield continuing their struggle through many conflicts and generations.

Supergirl #21: Kupperberg and Barreto continue the story from this month's Superman. When Supergirl is attacked out of nowhere by alien spacecraft, which turn out to be the cult known as the Seeders). She tracks them to Metropolis, where Superman is fighting the Kryptonite Man. The Seeders are a third side in the conflict, as their commander, Lord Sed, has lost a hand in battle with the Kryptonite Man and is out for revenge. Superman tries to convince the Kryptonite Man that they aren't responsible for Krypton's destruction, but to no avail. Supergirl and Superman battle both Seeders and Kryptonite Man, but the latter two parties eventually destroy each other, with Kryptonite Man perhaps sacrificing himself to save the Earth in the end.

Warlord #83: I reviewed the main story here. In the Barren Earth backup by Cohn and Randall, Jinal hears a bit about Barasha's time among the people of the sky city, but it doesn't give her anything in the way of real answers. Meanwhile, she and her friends are being surveilled by a group of robed figures with advanced technology who view Jinal as a potential threat.

Wednesday Comics: DC, July 1984 (week 2)

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! This week, I'm reviewing the comics released on the week of April 12, 1984. 

Omega Men #16: Cavalieri and Nino deliver the last of the fill-in issues before the new, regular creative team arrives. On Euphorix, the warrior in training Katydid rashly follows her teacher Skokiaan to the moon of Tallgrass. Skokiaan was sent there on a mission by Primus to check out reports of Branx activity but has failed to return. When Katydid arrives, she is captured by warriors and imprisoned in the Killing House, a parasite entity designed by the Psions. There she must fight the other captives, including her teacher. Katydid defeats her with a power surge that shorts out the Killing House's symbiotic nerve center. Now free of the House's control, the warriors make peace with one another and decide to set up an outpost on Tallgrass.

The cover says this is a "very special" issue. I don't know if that's the case, but it's an interesting side-story.

Tales of the Teen Titans #44: Wolfman and Perez/DeCarlo present part 3 of "The Judas Contract." Adeline Kane reveals to Dick Grayson the origin of her ex-husband, Slade Wilson, who was a top soldier until an experimental drug left him incapacitated for a time but ultimately gave him super-powers. He because an assassin for hire, an occupation that endangered his family, resulting in an injury to his son Joshua that left him mute.

After hearing her story, Grayson agrees to her help in rescuing the Titans and taking the Terminator down. First, though, he needs a new superhero ID. He decides on Nightwing as an homage to both Batman and Superman--and maybe because that's a costume he had on hand, for some reason. Joshua reveals his super's get-up and his codename of Jericho. He's a mutant with the power to take control of people's bodies.  The two fly off in the T-Jet on the trail of the Terminator and Terra.

Batman #373: Moench and Colan/Alcala bring back the Scarecrow who we last saw in Detective Comics #526. Moench has to do a bit of retconning as Detective 503 had left Crane mentally incapacitated, so in this story he's out for revenge against the villains that basically brough him along as a sort of prop in 526. Scarecrow's got a new device that emits waves (electromagnetic? sonic? It's unclear.) that activates fear centers in the brain. 

When he fails to get to the Joker thanks to the actions of Batman and Robin, he decides he'll have to take out Batman first. He lures Batman into a trap at the Gotham Zoo. Jason, who was already having nightmares causes his school performance to suffer before the Scarecrow shows up, disobeys Batman and goes investigating on his own and finds the Scarecrow's lair--and the Scarecrow himself!

Meanwhile, Commissioner Gordon and the reformed Bullock have finally come to good terms, but Gotham is still a corrupt system. Mayor Hill has cut a deal have Doctor Fang released from prison in exchange for a hit on Bullock.

Arak Son of Thunder #35: The Thomases and Randall/DeZuniga bring Arak and his companions to Damaskos where Alsind hopes to rejoin his family. As they approach the city, Arak sees a giant flaming sword in the sky above. Nobody else sees it, though. After a scuffle with Alsind's uncle's guards, the family is reunited, and they sit down to a meal. Alsind's uncle, Abu, enlists Arak to find the sword he saw in his vision, which is said to grant power to the man who wields it.

The Wandering Jew shows up. He gives some backstory on the sword (it's Gabriel's) and issues a warning regarding its dangers, but then he gets a spear in the back as assassins burst into the room. Arak and fight back and the survivors flee. Arak notices that they are serpent men! 

This is an interesting issue marred a bit by the really phoned in depiction of Damaskos and its culture. It's like the laziest sword & sandals, low budget version of 1001 Arabian Nights.

There's another "Young Arak" backup with art by Forton where Arak attends ritual with his shaman grandfather around the death of a young woman. Arak decides he will be a warrior, not a shaman, but his grandfather suggests he may not have a choice in the matter.

Flash #335: Bates and Infantino/McLaughlin pick up right where last issue left off with the Pied Piper's manipulation having made the Flash look dangerous and violent on TV. The next phase of the Piper's plan involves the mayor of Central City vilifying the Flash on television, but the mayor's loyalty to the Flash proves too powerful for the Piper's conditioning to overcome. So, the Piper sends the Mayor to kill himself in a plane crash, and the Flash has to save him. In another plot, men hired by a voice on a tape recorder set off a bomb, causing an avalanche onto Peter Farley's house where Cecile Horton is staying.

G.I. Combat #267: This issue is notable for a story with art by Giffen, as advertised in the masthead on the cover. Giffen's crowded, many-paneled layouts are certainly very different from what readers of this title are used to. The Kanigher story, however, is more inline with expectations. A G.I. gets his fortune told, revealing he will die on the street of the Griffin. As he heads into an Italian valley to destroy a dam, that seems unlikely, until the area drained by the dam's destruction reveals a long-submerged Roman settlement and an ancient street were the soldier's body comes to rest.

The Haunted Tank story involves Stuart's Raiders getting captured and forced to act as scouts for a German contingent trying to cut a path for panzers through a mountain. Jeb tricks them and the Nazis get killed in their own trap. Then there's a story about a fictional woman aviator who is captured by the Japanese trying to solo fly around the world and is captive in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb is dropped. It says it's written by "Jan Laurie" but that's Kanigher.

The remaining story is set in Vietnam and appears to be an attempt to start another series as it's branded as being about "Bullett's Bravos," Marine's in Bravo Company. It deals about with the psychological toll the war taking, revealing the coporal's nightmares and paranoia about the Vietnamese citizenry. In the end, though, it's mostly about how Kanigher presents the death of celebrity Benny Berger (who I'm sure is a stand in for someone) as the real tragedy. He dies under fire with Bravo and leaves Sgt. Bullett weeping.

Star Trek #6: Ironically. the Sutton/Amendola cover of this sixth issue prefigures a scene in Star Trek VI. Barr's story is again very on-brand for Star Trek and has a number of call-backs to TOS episodes: Kirk and crew must transport ambassador Fox to Babel for a peace conference with the Klingons. However, the shape-shifting agent of an Orion terrorist group has already infiltrated Enterprise with the goal of disrupting the conference. The twist is that the agent is Fox's own daughter! Overall, a solid, Trekian issue. It's done-in-one nature, I think, makes it work a little better than the Organian/Excaliban stuff in the preceding issues.

Superman #397: A rather Hulkish, green brute of an alien shows up on Earth looking for revenge against the last survivor of Krypton. He purports to be of an ancient Kryptonian species from before the colonization by the "human" Kryptonians. He's absorbed large amounts of Green Kryptonite radiation, and he believes Superman's people to be responsible for Krypton's destruction and is looking for revenge. There's another group of aliens, though, pursuing the Kryptonite Man for some reason.

This is a very Marvel seeming story from Kupperberg. Some of that feel is no doubt due to the greater amount of physical violence in the issue, and the way it's dynamically portrayed by Barreto, but I think the core concepts of unrevealed secrets from Kryptons history, a misguided villain with an understandable grievance, that unfortunately, no peaceful accommodation may be possible seems very much the stuff of the Marvel Bronze Age. 

A continuity tidbit: Superman tells the Kryptonite Man that Krypton was destroyed by natural processes, but this contradicts Superman #205 (1968) which says the villain Black Zero was responsible.

Weird Revisited: Robot Dungeon

The original version of this post appeared in March of 2015...

I've written previously about a world where the dungeoneering was an done by androids who were the remnant of human civilization (all that's here). Well, there's another way to get dungeons crawling with robots, and that's by having a future, post-apocalyptic world that's been overrun by them. Instead of apes, or fairies, or vampires, let the robots take over something like Screamers (and the Philip K. Dick story it's based on "The Second Variety"), Terminator, or Magnus: Robot-Fighter. Unlike those examples though, human civilization can have been pushed back to pseudo-Medieval levels.

Say the robots have moved mostly underground, leaving humans to limp along on a damaged surface world. The underground bases of the robots would be a lot like dungeons. Robots would have made various robotic or bio-robotic guardians--monsters, of sorts. Maybe the robots are even aliens? A post-sentient, techno-organic swarm that landed and buried itself into the earth, spreading underground like roots, building robotic creatures in a myriad of forms as it went. You'd have a whole underground ecology of robots. Add "magic" (really psionic powers in disguise) and you've got a fantasy world, or close enough.

For a real fantasy world, assume that the alien robotic swarm invaded a fairly D&Dish world (except with maybe less conflict to begin with).

Wednesday Comics: Vigilantes & Warlords

Last week, in my Wednesday Comics post, I accidentally left off one comic, the issue of Vigilante from April 5, 1984:

Vigilante #8: Wolfman brings his Electrocutioner vigilante over from Batman #331, presumably so he can continue to clarify Vigilante's previously murky stance on where he draws the line regarding killing. We are also treated to a renewed examples of criminals getting off on pesky technicalities like illegal searches as Adrian Chase's friends try to convince him to become a judge.  There's the issue of a mysterious microchip that the Controller is after. There's a nice sequence in the beginning where Vigilante is pursued by a guy in a mini-copter that really showcases the talents of Andru/DeCarlo.

In other news perhaps of interest to longterm readers of this blog...

We finally have a solicitation for the Warlord Omnibus. It supposedly only has a price of $75.00, which seems low given the page count (1040 pages).

In any case, it's supposed to include 1st Issue Special #8, Warlord #1-50, and Amazing World of DC Comics #12. For a volume 2 (if there is one) that leaves the non-backup stories from Warlord #52-71 (#51 is a reprint), Warlord Annual #1, Warlord (1992 limited series) #1-6, and Warlord (2009) #1-16 for a total of around 1005 pages in that one, by my count.

Arduin Got It

I don't know much of anything about Dave Hargrave or his inspirations for Arduin but the art and content suggest Hargrave's inspirations (or at least his artists inspirations) were much closer to mine and my friends' early influences than the likes of Gygax, Arneson, or Barker. 

I had read a few works off Appendix N in the first couple of years I played (some Howard, some Lieber. Tolkien) but it would probably be well into the 90s before fantasy comic books, art by Frazetta, Vallejo, and Whelan, etc., and animation weren't bigger influences that literary fantasy.

The things I see in Greyhawk now that I think were informed by Gygax's interest in historical wargaming would have been over my head when I first encountered it, and were not something I would have sought to add to a setting. Barker's world has a bit of Sword & Planet vibe but would have felt too bound by propriety and protocol. Greenwood's Realms seem geared toward trilogy novel so of play, but Tolkien's was the only trilogy I was interested in at that point. Hargrave, on the other hand, had insect people like Bug from Micronauts and Amazon warriors of the sort that were all over comics and seem de rigueur for fantasy worlds.

I can't say that (beyond the art) I've ever been particularly interested in Arduin. I came to it too late. Had I discovered it around age 12-13, it might have been a different story.

[Greyhawk] The Wild Coast

In the waning days of the Great Kingdom, folk who were faced with debts they could not pay or disagreements with the legal authorities that might see them imprisoned or facing the hangman often found it convenient to flee narrow area of flatwood, sandhill, and wetland along the Northwest edge of Wooly Bay. There, they would be, if not welcomed, at least accepted into the independent community that had grown up among the several, squabbling towns. The region had an infamous reputation and was known as the Wild Coast.

Primarily, the Wild Coast served as a safe haven for brigands and outlaws from the woodlands west and smugglers and pirates from Wooly Bay to the east. Trade went on between the groups without fear of Dyvers' or Greyhawk's tax agents. The towns grew up to crater to the needs of these clientele but also drew others in search of freedom: escaped serfs and slaves, political dissidents, fringe religionists, and more than a few nonhumans. 

The freedom of the Wild Coast was just as often manifest as lawlessness. Existence was precarious when local powers shift quickly and much of the population is transitory. Humanoids raided up from Pomarj and monsters driven out of other areas sometimes found this sparsely populated region ideal.

It seems like Gygax wanted the Wild Coast to evoke a bit of the American "Wild West." I drew inspiration from a number of places: the Romagna during the late Middle Ages/early modern period, Barataria Bay in the early 19th Century. Mostly, it's just a fantasy region though.

Wednesday Comics: DC, July 1984 (week 1)

My mission is to read DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis. This week, I'm looking at the comics that were at newsstands on the week of April 5, 1984. 

Sword of the Atom Special #1: The captions in this issue purport to be from the book all of Ivy Town is talking about, The Atom's Farewell by Norman Brawler. We get a recap of the Sword of the Atom limited series, with Jean's affair, and Ray's trip to the Amazon and encounter with the Kartarthans. Since Ray's return from the Amazon, he's been having trouble with his size-change abilities. He goes to a dinner with Jean, Paul Hoben and Paul's date, but things are clearly strained. After dinner, Jean and Ray go to the Ivy Town Overlook, have an honest discussion of their relationship, and decide to split amicably.

Ray heads back to the Amazon with Norman Brawler in tow, determined to find Morlaidh. Despite a group of cocaine smugglers getting in his way, he succeeds. The Atom bids Norman farewell and goes to live with Laethwen and her people. Brawler returns to the U.S. and finishes his book.

I intuit the existence of this story as a one-shot to mean that the response to the limited series was good, but not so good that the powers that be wanted to greenlight Strnad and Kane for a full series. Unfortunately, that makes this issue all set up. Not a single sword is in the hands of the Atom, except on Kane's cover. There's a continuity glitch here too, in that the story definitely suggests Ray hasn't really been able to use his size-changing ability effectively since returning from the Amazon, but he's been appearing in the Justice League in stories that clearly take place between the two SotA books.

Atari Force #7: Tempest is being tortured on the Destroyer's ship, while Dart and Packrat are fighting against tough odds to avoid capture. Martin does the only thing he feels like he can and surrenders himself to the enemy.  Morphea turns out to be the wild card that turns the tide for our heroes. After Psyklops' psychic attack brings up painful memories of her upbringing, she unleashes her full power, defeating him and rescuing Tempest. Meanwhile, Dart and Packrat have managed to take the engine room. With the choice to either let our heroes go or risk destruction, the Destroyer lets them go and lets them take Martin's probe with them. Maybe it all seems a bit too easy, though? We'll see!

Conway and García-López/Villagran really deliver this issue. Morphea's backstory is interesting, and the layouts are amazing.

Blackhawk #271: Evanier and Spiegle resolve the Ted Gaynor storyline. A chance meeting with a British officer reveals some bad behavior on Gaynor's part from his academy days. Given the suspicions he already has, it prompts Chuck to do some digging, requiring him flying into German-held territory. While he's gone, the rest of the Blackhawks must stop a Merson-designed, giant worm-like war machine. When that's done, they confront Gaynor with the truth that he has killed German prisoners and noncombatants including children. Gaynor is unapologetic. He's kicked out of the Blackhawks, and we're told he later dies at Sevastopol between German and Soviet lines in unclear circumstances.

In the solo "Detached Service Diary" backup with art by Staton, it's back to the French town of "La Resistance," which the Germans seek to destroy for its symbolic value. The Blackhawks defend the town, even though Allied Command has given up on it as a lost cause, but eventually they run out of supplies and ammunition and are forced to evacuate the citizenry. The German's overrun it and level it to ground.

DC Comics Presents #71: On Bizarro World, Bizarro (No. 1) creates a Bizarro-Amazo who steals the powers from super-powered people and gives them to the non-super. After acquiring the powers of the Bizarro Justice League, the android heads to Earth. Bizarro No. 1 pursues him and enlists the help of Superman and an impowered Jimmy Olsen to stop him.

Bridwell and Swan/Hunt are the creative team on this one. It presents the multi-"hero" version of Bizarro World that appears in Who's Who but was a relatively recent invention, having debuted in Superman #379. Like many Bizarro stories, its inconsistent in just what being "backwards" means and to what degree bizarros stick to that. Still, for its type of rather Silver Age-y story, it's not bad at all.

Fury of Firestorm #25: Conway and Kayanan/Tanghal bring back the Black Bison. This comes about through the actions of Silver Deer, a woman with shape-changing powers who wants to get back to the old ways but wears fishnet stockings and high heels. Anyway, after framing John Ravenhair for murder she reawakens Black Bison within him to start his project of revenge against the white man. Firestorm winds up in dire straits having been bitten by Silver Deer in the form of a venomous snake and then buried under a mound of toys animated by Black Bison.

Before all this, we get a bit of character drama stuff. Ronnie is confronted by his friends about being seen with Lorraine. A mobster tries to bribe Lorraine's father the senator who is about to face an ethics hearing. Martin shares a kiss with Belle (mother to Byte and Bug) before he's whisked away to be Firestorm.

Justice League of America #228: Conway's back as writer with Tuska/Nino on art in what is billed as "back to basics" on the credits page. The Martian Manhunter races back towards Earth with a squadron of Martian warships in pursuit. After buzzing the JLA satellite, he crashes in New York and at first gets into a scuffle with the League in that superhero "I don't have time to explain, so let me punch you" way until they capture him and force him to explain. He reveals that the Martians of Mars II are on their way to conquer Earth.

The robotic Challenger, sent by the Marshall of the Martian forces, issues an ultimatum to the United Nations demanding that Earth surrender itself to Martian control within one "terrestrial revolution." The Justice League realize it's going to be a war between the two worlds.

Conway's story brings some high Bronze Age energy back, but Tuska and Nino aren't the most pleasing artistic pairing. The Patton/Giordano cover is good, though.

Wonder Woman #317: I can honestly say I have no idea where Mishkin is going with all this. Sofia Constantinas is mesmerized into entering the gates of the Underworld, but Steve Trevor and Glitch the alien gremlin manage to rescue her. Their visit also seems to revive Eros who was a statue. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman meets a splinter group of Amazons in South America, and learns from their queen, Atalanta, that Hippolyta was given her directive of separation from the world as a trial by Aphrodite to teach her how to love not as a permanent condition. In Atalanta's telling, Hippolyta refused to do so, at least until the birth of Diana. All of this leaves Diana really confused about who to trust and who is right.

The Huntress backup is looking good under Beachum/Martin with some very 80s clothes and hairstyles on display. Cavalieri's story involves Helena heading out to California by train for a vacation but winding up trying to solve the murder of an old college friend who's now an antiquities dealer. It involves a ninja named Nightingale.