Wednesday Comics: DC, December 1985 (week 4)

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis! This week, I read the comics on sale on September 26, 1985.

Action Comics #574: In the first story, Boldman and Schaffenberger/Hunt present one of those Silver Age style stories, but this one has more of a bite than is typical for that genre. Rad Zonon, a native of the world of Ostok in the same star system as Krypton comes to Earth to get Superman to compete against him in a reenactment of the Olympic-style games the Kryptonians and Ostokians used to compete in. Ultimately, Zonon is the victor, but Jimmy, having noticed Superman act strangely around the Ostokian, thinks something is fishy, and figures out there's a surge of energy in the last contest that could mean Zonon cheated. Superman reveals that Ostok is a dead world, devastated by radiation from the destruction of Krypton. Only Zonon survived of his people because he was traveling to Krypton to compete at the time. To be in shape to compete with Superman, the much older Ostokian was forced to fortify his body with energy, but in doing so, he killed himself. Superman knew what Zonon was doing, but also knew what victory meant to him. The last panel is Zonon, dead beneath his victory flag on his dead world.

The second story by Greenberger/Kesel and Bender/Hunt brings back Mr. Mxyzptlk. The imp comes to Earth to celebrate the birth of his son. Not only does he force the festivities, but he keeps making the day repeat. Jimmy tries to trick him into saying his name but fails. Clark reminds him that if tomorrow never comes, his son will never get any older. Realizing his mistake, Mxyzptlk agrees to say his name backwards to go home, but he can't make himself say it voluntarily, so Superman has to "trick" him.

Detective Comics #557: Moench and Colan/Smith follow-up up on the events of last issue. The Crisis related storms continue while Batman waits fretfully at the hospital the injured Catwoman now convinced that he loves her after all. When she awakens, she contradicts him, supporting Nocturna's theory. Bullock fills Gordon in that they are after Night Slayer, not Nocturna or Catwoman. Night Slayer moves in to kill Nocturna at the observatory, first confronting Robin who has appointed himself her guard.

In the Green Arrow backup by Cavalieri and Moore/Patterson, Lars captures Onyx and nearly gets Green Arrow. He takes the key to the container holding the Book of Ages from her, then leaves her in a deathtrap on the monastery's bell. Green Arrow shows up to rescue her. They go after Lars, but he opens the container before they can stop him. In A Raiders of the Ark-esque turn, he's reduced to a skeleton by the energy from within in.

 

All-Star Squadron #52: Another Crisis crossover. It turns out Captain Marvel rushing at the All-Stars angrily at the end of last issue was a red herring. He was actually aiming for the shadow demons behind them. The group is on Earth-S, but they don't know how they got there. Green Lantern's ring is running out of juice, so he and Captain Marvel go to China to find the twin of the meteor that got carved into the lantern on Earth-Two to recharge it. Meanwhile, Liberty Belle has a dream about Firebrand in the Old West with a black Green Lantern, which is something that is (unbeknownst to her) actually going on. Or did go on. Time travel! 

Captain Marvel introduces the All-Stars to Shazam who is able to send them home via the Rock of Eternity, though presumably for continuity reasons, Cap isn't able to see the Rock yet.

The second story is a solo Hawkman with art by Dellinges, imitating and adapting a Golden Age yarn (All-Star Comics #13) drawn by Kubert. Hawkman gets a Planetary Romance sort of adventure on Saturn 

DC Challenge #2: Wein and Patton take over this issue. First, they briefly recap where Evanier/Colan left things, then move into their own story. Batman stops the bomb from going off at Wayne Manor by cutting lines at the power plant with a batarang, but the mysterious pointed-eared, red man disappears. He does leave a numerical clue, though. Meanwhile, Superman discovers it was Mongul who walloped him on the moon and manages to defeat the villain. Elsewhere, Congo Bill and Bwana Beast have to deal with escaped zoo animals and a manticore released by an earthquake who battles the jinn we saw in the first issue. Jonah Hex takes a blue stone tablet from some robbers and is transported to 1985. He winds up being forced into a car by some crime film lookalike thugs where the red-skinned, pointed ear guy is driving. While Hex scuffles with the thugs, the driver disappears, leaving the car careening toward danger.

Nathaniel Dusk II #3: MacGregor and Colan have Dusk escape getting perforated by a tommy gun by jumping from the top of a moving bus onto the face of a street clock. Dusk finds an employee of Amanda's stepfather has a gun that matches the description of the one first used to shoot at Clement, and recalls the assailant was wearing a Malone uniform. Valentine Cooper supposedly confronts the man, and the man winds up shot in the struggle. Later, Dusk figures out that within the fake apple on his cart, Clement has hidden a clue to where the documents in his possession are. It turns out to be a locker at the train station. Dusk retrieves the folder but has another close escape from the tommy gun wielding gangster. It turns out Clement had photos of Amanda's stepfather meeting with gangster Arthur Rothberg. Nothing criminal, but embarrassing and a potential blow to his reputation. Malone denies hiring the gangsters, but that's when the tommy gun guy shows up and says Rothberg sent them. Dusk manages to escape again.

V #11: Bates and Infantino/DeZuniga get the resistance leaders back to California where they leave L.A. for a base at an old ranch in the desert. Unfortunately, there's a traitor among them, and the Visitors under Diana know their whereabouts and are planning an assault. Around the same time, a young Visitor Prince is inbound to get some military experience. Factional conflict among the Visitors leads to his suspended animation pod crashing in the desert where the Resistance finds it. They treat the young Prince well (knowing it would cause an escalation to harm him) and save his life when Lydia foolishly okays an attack on the Resistance base with the Prince there. Willie is captured in the raid, but the others escape. The Prince is outwardly grateful, but his true intentions are unclear.

World's Finest #322: This issue is a fill-in by Zimmerman and Giffen/Kesel. Superman is seriously injured by some sort of ray gun in the hands of the Mob. As the condition could eventually kill him, Batman comes to Metropolis to track down the source. Meanwhile, a woman named Helena arrives in town to try and find her sister, Astrid, who got involved with the mob and has perhaps been killed. Batman meets Helena and decides to help her find her sister.

Helena stumbles upon where the mobsters are using the ray to attack Superman, while elsewhere, Batman encounters Astrid. She tells him the mob's plan but asks him not to reveal to Helena she is still alive. Helena and Batman, working in toward the same end, if not together, foil the mob's scheme and save Superman. Batman, with some reservation, fulfills his end of the bargain with Astrid and tells Helena that her sister is dead.

De Camp's Pusadian Cycle

 

Lately, I've been furthering my exploration of L. Sprague de Camp's fantasy work, with the Novarian stories, but I've also dipped into some of his earlier Pusadian series. It has sort of a similar relationship to the Howard's Hyborian Age stories that de Camp's Krishna novels have to Burroughsian Sword & Planet. That is, it's an attempt to do the same thing more "realistically" or at least in a concerted and methodological sort of way. For instance, de Camp uses current (to the 1950s) understanding of geologic change to inform his design of his landforms, and more rigorously derives his imagined countries and their names from Greek myth (mostly).

Whether any of that is necessary, every reader will have to decide for themselves, but I appreciate the thought behind it, at least. As I've said before, I find de Camp a very Gygaxian writer, though this is perhaps less true of the Pusadian series than the Novarian one. Still, the humor, and the pragmatic, if not venal characters are there. I also appreciate the less "standard fantasy" sort of setting. It's mostly a Bronze Age level of technology, with iron being the bane of magic.

I discovered that a number of the older Pusadian stories published in the pulps are available on the Internet Archive:

"The Eye of Tandyla" (1951)

"The Owl and the Ape" (1951)

"The Stronger Spell" (1953)

"The Hungry Hercynian" (1953)

"Ka the Appalling" (1958)

Let's Do the GRIDSHOCK Again!

Paul Vermeren's game of futuristic, super-powered resistance fighters on the run is back in a new edition! The standalone game GRIDSHOCK ZERO, powered appropriately enough by Free League's Year Zero Engine is being crowdfunded now on Gamefound.

I've talked about my appreciation for GRIDSHOCK before. Paul has a familiar-but-fresh vision not really like anything else out there and he's assembled artists for this version (Simon Roy, Giannis Milonogiannis, and the returning Steven de Waele) to really give a great visual style.

I may even get a chance to pitch some adventure scenarios for it, so back it and stay tuned!

Wednesday Comics: DC, December 1985 (week 3)

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis! This week, I read the comics on sale on September 19, 1985.

Warlord #100: Warlord hits 100 issues and Grell provides the cover. I reviewed it here.

Batman and the Outsiders #27: Barr and Davis have Halo getting a new, short, and very 80s haircut. Meanwhile, Sapphire and Rex are on their honeymoon, and Rex is kidnapped by men who appear to pull his soul or consciousness into a palm-sized sphere. Katana's co-worker Emily Briggs pays her a visit at the Wayne Foundation, but as she's leaving, she's kidnapped by thugs. Batman and the Outsiders think the gangster, Morgan Jones, is responsible, but it turns out not to be the case. The thugs that kidnapped Emily were mind-controlled. Elsewhere, Emily's strange captor with glowing eyes tells her she will be queen of the world.

Blue Devil #19: Mishkin/Cohn and Kupperberg/Maygar give this issue prominently featuring Kid Devil a retro feel with several short stories alternating protagonists between Kid Devil and Blue Devil. The Blue Devil ones call him "Kid Devil's Pal." The joke wears thin pretty quickly, unfortunately. There's a segment with the Trickster manipulating both Captain Cold and Kid Devil in an attempt to one-up his Roguish rival. My favorite is probably the one where Kid Devil and his pen pal Robin realize they both fought the same bicoastal villain who relies on public air travel to get back and forth. The Blue Devil sequences deal with him bouncing around some alternate realities before getting home.

Green Lantern #194: This is another Crisis crossover by Englehart and Staton. Guy is transported to Oa and as he meets with the Guardians, we get his backstory as well as Krona's history. Hal had followed part way, but then he was deposited on Oa, not in the Guardians' sanctum. He heads off to the Guardians' citadel, finding that since Oa itself has absorbed energy he is able to fly, but there are also monsters released by loss of the Power Battery's energy.

Meanwhile, Katma Tui is fighting natural disasters on Earth, but her ring suddenly shuts off. John Stewart is in the 19th Century fighting Shadow Demons with Cyborg, Jonah Hex, Bat Lash and Scalphunter, and his ring shuts off, as well.

Infinity, Inc. #20: The Thomases and McFarlane/Montano/DeZuniga formally introduce the two new heroes they've been telegraphing were on the way for the past few issues, and they both have pretty bad costumes. After the wedding of Green Lantern and the Harlequin, Harbinger appears to take the JSA and Infinity, Inc. to the Monitor's satellite. Rick Tyler, left behind, has already decided to become the new Hourman. He heads to South Carolina (hitchhiking) to check on Beth Chapel, who lost her sight in the daytime but now, like Dr. Mid-Nite, can see in the dark. After she and the new Hourman are attacked by the Anti-Monitor's shadow-demons, she decides to her adopt her own superhero identity, designs a costume and becomes "Dr. Midnight." The Chapel family home is hit by a cannonball, so Dr. Midnight and Hourman are immediately thrown into action.

New Teen Titans #15: Arella tracks Raven to a Louisiana leper colony that has been holding her captive, but both are abducted and the lepers killed by Mother Mayhem and the Church of Blood. 

Meanwhile, the Titans in space arrive at Tamarran, and discover what Captain Karras hasn't been telling them: the royal family expects Kory to wed to end the civil war, and the person she must wed is the heir of Kalapatt, Karras. Apparently, none of them know that Blackfire is on Tamarran fomenting unrest.

Sgt. Rock #407: Two stories this issue with three shorter, humor pieces. In the main story, Kanigher and Catan have Easy get a new kid (a shiny "new penny"), but after the first engagement the kid is shellshocked into near catatonia. The lieutenant (who never sees the kid's face. This is important!) demands Rock take the kid to the MPs and wants him court martialed for cowardice. On the way to find MPs in a warzone, the new penny finds his courage and saves Rock by firing an artillery piece at the cost of his own life. When the lieutenant arrives, he finds not only that he was wrong about the kid, but the kid is his own son, just 16, who lied about his age to enlist.

The second story involves pie laced with rat poison being fed to German soldiers, saving two captured G.I.s. The interesting thing here is that it was written, drawn, and colored by Scott Madsen, and so far as I can tell, it's his only comics credit anywhere.

Saga of Swamp Thing #43: Hippie naturalist and sometime drug dealer Chester, happens to pick up one of the tubers that dropped from the Swamp Thing. Examining it, he cuts it into 3 parts. One eventually goes to a woman dying of cancer, who experiences psychedelic visions of her oneness with the Earth and cycles of life, and dies free of pain and at peace. Another is stolen by a bully and dealer who has a bad trip wherein he relives the horrific events of the Swamp Thing's life before he's hit by a car. Chester, hearing these stories, decides the plant must reveal a person's true morality. He considers taking the last bit himself, but them decides against it.

Who's Who #9: We are in "G-H" now. Newer characters Gypsy and Halo show up, courtesy of Patton and Aparo. Harbinger is here by Perez, but her first appearance is wrong. She doesn't even appear in in New Teen Titans (1980) #21. We get the Hawks of two Earths with Hawkgirl (Earth-Two) being drawn by Steve Rude. McFarlane provides the art for Infinity, Inc. antagonists, Helix. With the debut of Hourman II this month, both Rex and Rick Tyler appear here, with art by Murphy Anderson and Denys Cowan, respectively. The newly married Harlequin is here by Nodell/Giordano. There's also the Haunted Tank by regular penciler Sam Glanzman.

Weird Revisited: In Deep Crimson Shadows

This past week, I had a brief vacation in Michigan and picked up a book on Colonial-era French folklore. It had a chapter on Nain Rouge, which reminded me of this Weird Adventures related post from 2011.

Check out the great art above from Chris Hűth for Weird Adventures. This is, of course, the Red Dwarf--the malign genius loci of Motorton in the Steel League.

Since the days when the site of Motorton was a plague-pit for Old Fort Narrows, the area has been the home of the dwarf. He’s a harbinger of calamity; doom in a dapper, red suit.

Rumor says that those unlucky enough to have an audience with the dwarf are brought to a Room with Red Velvet Curtains (sometimes just “The Red Room”). Visitors--survivors--describe the room as located in the basement of a ritzy old hotel, but no one has been able to relocated the building or provide directions to it later.

What comes from a meeting with the dwarf can’t be predicted. Sometimes, he’ll tell his visitor’s future. Other times, he’ll ask them for a favor, or tell them how they can get their heart’s desire. However it starts, it always plays out badly.

It’s worth noting that the infernal criminal organization known as the Hell Syndicate stays out of Motorton.  It’s the dwarf’s city.

Characters may have heard other rumors about the dwarf:

1. He can only be harmed by magical weapons.
2. The tea he sometimes offers visitors can bring strange visions, and cause madness
3. He carries a pocket watch whose hands only move when someone dies--or maybe when someone particular dies.
4. Bones excavated from the old, mass plague graves can be used to ward against him.
5. He’s only dangerous because Motorton’s sick. If the city could be healed, the dwarf would be benevolent.
6. The dwarf is only a midget human sorcerer cashing in on an old legend. It’s all smoke and mirrors.
7. There’s a red leather journal of a young girl, who died in an asylum, that contains, in its ramblings, the Red Dwarf’s true name, and the ritual to bind him to service.
8. The dwarf is always accompanied by the same gang--a black-haired moll in a red dress with a silky voice, and twin bruisers with the same first name.
9. The Red Room is actually the lowest level of Hell. The Dwarf is actually Morningstar in disguise.
10. The Dwarf isn’t a real entity at all, just the physical representation of the death curse of a Native shaman on the Ealderdish invaders. Treating it like a real being only increases its power.

Wednesday Comics: DC, December 1985 (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 September 12, 1985.

Shadow of the Bat #1: This is not, of course, the post-Crisis series. That Batman: Shadow of the Bat doesn't debut until 1992. This is another reprint limited series focusing on the work of Englehart and Rogers, whose late 70s collaboration on bat-titles is celebrated. These first couple of issues, though, are pre-team-up of those creators. Here we have 3 Batman stories with Englehart and Simonson from 1977, and a House of Mystery story with Rogers on art written by DeMatteis. In keeping with my policy on reprints, I won't be reviewing it, but I'm noting it was out there. It runs for 5 issues.

Amethyst #12: Newell and Doran/Kesel fill-in on this issue. Amy is babysitting neighbor kids and tells them a previously unrevealed adventure of Amethyst and Prince Topaz where they must find a way to stop the onyx plague that turns its victims to stone. The solution involves a quest to the Emissaries of Varn. It's a shame Doran didn't draw more Amethyst as her art fits the material well. 

Batman #390: The skies are still red as Moench's and Mandrake's story veers into high melodrama. After their kiss in the Gotham Observatory, Batman and Nocturna have a talk. She feels her theft is justified and won't give it up, but Batman can't just let it slide. Nocturna points out that Batman is attracted to "dark and dangerous" women, but he feels compelled to stop them from being that way. If they change to suit him, he can't love them. Batman, perhaps stung by the truth, leaves. Meanwhile, the Night Slayer is still stalking the night, and Catwoman's quest to clear her name by catching him brings her to the Observatory. Robin intervenes to stop her from taking in Nocturna, and as she is fighting him, Batman shows up. He likewise tells her to stand down. Catwoman realizes Batman has feelings for Nocturna and is hurt, and in her anger, vows again to bring in Night Slayer, whatever it takes. 

Then she's struck by lightning.

Batman in anger and guilt blames Nocturna and carries Catwoman's body (dead or alive, it's unclear) away with Robin coming after him. Another earthquake in the series that has been shaking Gotham creates a rift between the observatory and where they stand. 

All that aside, we get more of the buddy relationship Moench is developing between Bullock and Robin. It's really a shame that that will all go away following Batman: Year One.

Legion of Super-Heroes #17: This is the second issue of Legion (not counting the Subs) I remember reading, though technically I read it in its reprint in Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #342 in 1986. LaRocque comes on as penciler this issue. Super-wealthy Leland McCauley wants to get his rival RJ Brande out of the way. Charon, the man he's hired to do that, says that the only way is to get the Legion of Super-Heroes out of way. Then we cut to Dream Girl awaking form one of her precognitive dreams saying RJ Brande is going to die and it's the Legion's fault! 

The Legion rushes to the rescue and deals with the assassin, then confronts McCauley. Brande refuses to press charges, though so they have to let him go. Brande decides to give up his public persona and this petty squabbling and head on into space on his own, anonymously, thus making Dream Girl's prediction sort of true.

Omega Men #33: In the first story, Klein and McManus bring most the Omega Men to a planet Nimbus is imprisoned on where they hope to settle the refugees of the Spider Guild invasion. Meanwhile, the other group that we last saw in Blue Devil has an audience with Harry Hokum.

In the second story by Parkhouse and Gibbons, an escaped, "mad android" hiding among the folk dwelling in the sewer system becomes a healer, but he's still hunted.

 

Star Trek #21: Rozakis Tom Sutton/Villagran give Spock a spotlight story in his new command. The Surak arrives at an unexplored planet. Beaming down with two crewmembers, Spock finds himself alone, and in a dream-like environment. He realizes it is a dream and manages to breakout by force of will. He then has to employ the Vulcan mind meld to help the other crew escape and finds the monster in the mind of Commander Brinks, who isn't fond of her captain, bears a resemblance to him.

Super Powers #4: Superman and Firestorm are investigating one of the "Seeds of Doom" and encounter a Roman gladiator and Steppenwolf. They follow Steppenwolf into the past, Firestorm and the Gladiator having to be wrapped in Superman's somehow expanded cape for the journey.  In the Roman era, our heroes are captured and rendered powerless by Steppenwolf, then forced to fight in the arena. Firestorm manages to save both himself and Superman by separating into his component identities to escape the inhibiting device. The heroes defeat Steppenwolf and return to their own time to find the seed shriveled and dead.

Superman #414: Maggin and Swan/Williamson continue the story from last month's DCP #87. The Man of Steel is the captive of the Superman Revenge Squad. They take him to New Krypton, the home of the Kandorians, and forced to watch their conquest of the planet. Though they aren't able to win militarily, they employ means to mind control the Kryptonian population. They even bring them in to beat up Superman, and the poor guy seems so defeated he winds up sitting in a corner with his cape over his head. That's a ruse though, because when Sylvia (the human wife of Superman's cousin Van-Zee) shows up, she gives Superman a Phantom Zone Projector he had told her a little while ago to carry, predicting just such a Revenge Squad plot. The alien leaders are sent to the Zone. Before leaving New Krypton for what will be the last time thanks to Crisis, Superman retrieves Supergirl's body from space and brings it to her parents, Zor-El and Alura. 

This is the last story where any of those Kryptonian survivors (or the Superman Revenger Squad) appear for some time, though many have ultimately been reintroduced in one form or another.

[Greyhawk] Veluna

The Velunans pride themselves on being the first people to adopt the faith of Nomism. Whether or not this is true, it is certain that the Velunan branch predates the Aerdian church. In fact, it may be that, as is popularly claimed, the religious communities of Veluna predate the nation itself. When Veluna was organized as a part of the Viceroyalty of Ferrond, the archimandrites of the church were treated as fiefholders.

In the Velunan version of the religion, Rao is considered the personification of divine law. He is a serene and distant god, and the monks spend much time in meditation upon his glory. The common folk are more interested in the earthier Saint Cuthbert who is believed to intercede with Rao and allow those who achieve less than spiritual oneness with the Law to enter Heaven.

The Canon is the spiritual and temporal head of Veluna. The Canons are held to delay their own spiritual perfection so that they may minister to the needs of the people. The Canon is supported in the task of managing the country a council by ministers, but also has a council formed from the remaining nobles of the country whose fealty the Canon commands.

Veluna has at times been controlled by Keoland, though that land too recognizes the spiritual authority of the church.