Wednesday Comics: DC, January 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 October 10, 1985.

Elvira's House of Mystery #1: The horror anthology returns to the DC lineup with this tie-in with Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Elvira (played by Cassandra Peterson) debuted as a horror host in 1981 on a Los Angeles TV station but had begun to reach national popularity with an MTV Halloween special in 1984 and some Rhino record releases. In 1986, she'd be in a beer commercial and in 1988, she'd star in a feature film. This comic is, I suppose, another step in that rise.

Outside of the framing sequence by Cavalieri and Wagner/Oksner that has Elvira (running from an angry mob) arriving at the House of Mystery, the stories feel like they were likely left in inventory after the demise of the anthology books rather than newly written for this. Some have narrators (including Cain) that aren't Elvira, suggesting she was a later addition. 

In the first, by Clarke, Grindberg, and Hasen, a sort of fantasy LARPing family of witches faces real dangers when a pouting youngster tries to get even for his early elimination. In the next story by Kanigher/Geroche, a kidnapper who tries to make good his escape by burying his victim alive is haunted to death by the children's lullaby she kept singing to self-soothe. Yee's and Fern's fantasy story set (I guess) in ancient China about a young man and his wizardly sage advisor saving his girl from a sorcerer seems like it might have once been destined for Talent Showcase. Finally, Harris/Spiegle present a tale of young amateur filmmakers where the mistreated boy forced to play the monster somehow makes the monster real, getting revenge on his tormentors and winning a prize.

'Mazing Man #1: As darker superheroics are beginning their rise in comics, and certainly very serious works are garnering the most attention, this book by Rozakis and DeStefano (graduate of New Talent Showcase) is an odd one. It's a mildly humorous, charming enough, I suppose, story about a guy in Queens who dresses in a homemade superhero costume and does good deeds and his friends and neighbors. I don't know who they thought the market was for this, and the only thing I can figure is that they didn't know, they just knew mainstream comic sales were declining. This was just as much an experimental shot in the dark as a lot of others in the DC graveyard: Thriller, Night Force, Captain Carrot, etc. It definitely shows DC's willingness to try new stuff, as it seems to me like something one might have seen as a comic from Eclipse or another small publisher. It likely wouldn't have lasted long or garnered much attention there either, but the sort of creative freedom that gets you books like this is much more common in at those publishers than at the Big Two.

Batman #391: Moench and Mandrake bring this arc to a conclusion. A frantic Robin calls Batman to tell him that Night Slayer has got past him and is planning to kill Nocturna. Batman leaves off trying to convince Catwoman he loves her and not Nocturna (because Nocturna is "a thief") to try and recuse her. He arrives just in time to take Night Slayer's second knife stab himself. Robin helps the already wounded Nocturna escape into the red skies in her balloon. The injured Batman seems likely to lose to Night Slayer, but then Catwoman shows up. Another earthquake puts an end to this conflict. Night Slayer falls, but he grabs Catwoman's cap and drags her down, too. Batman and Robin later locate those two, unconscious on the riverbank. They also sight wreckage of Nocturna's balloon still being tossed by the storm. She is presumed dead, and for all practical purposes, she is, as this is her last pre-(technically intra-)Crisis appearance. There have been other versions of the character, though, but the next won't appear until 2002. 

G.I. Combat #281: The Mercenaries ought to change their name to "The Philanthropists" because they do a lot of good deeds for free, it seems like. After overhearing an old man lamenting that he can't get his son's body back from a covert operation in Cambodia, the trio agree to go and retrieve it. Posing as filmmakers they get help from a Khmer Rouge general (who of course tries to betray them). They fail to find the body they are looking for, but do find a G.I.'s remains, so they bring it back figuring the parents won't know the difference. The father does know but keeps it from the mother, rationalizing it as some soldier son.

The main Haunted Tank story puts Stuart's Raiders up against kids trained as ruthless Nazi assassins. By poisoning Jeb, they force the crew to get them close enough to kill Eisenhower. The U.S. forces open fire on the tank, spoiling their plans, that's to the substitute of a Nazi flag for the Confederate one they typically sport. In the "Bravos of Vietnam" feature, Bravo 7-8 tries to make a landing to save a Green Beret staked out by the VC, but it's a trap. The pilot and gunners are killed, but the Marines make it to another LZ and get out, making a detour to rescue the Green Beret.

Legion of Super-Heroes #18: Levitz and LaRocque/Mahlstedt address why the Legion's 30th Century hasn't been in more turmoil due to the Crisis, and perhaps why they have little history of the event occurring in earlier historic eras. Turns out, it's "the Infinite Man did it," though I'm not entirely clear on how. Somehow, his presence has been stifling, if not entirely removing, their everyone's memories regarding the Crisis and their participation in it. In dealing with the aftermath of the anti-matter wave's disruption of Takron-Galtos the Legionnaires also have to defeat and depower the Infinite Man. Validus escapes recapture here, which is likely going to pay off in the future.

Omega Men #34: Crossover with the Teen Titans by Klein and Buckler/Marcos. The Omegans are attacked by Auron who reveals he is helping his mother with her plan to destroy Vega. When the freedom fighters get to Tamaran, they are unaware that Auron has gotten their beforehand and convinced the Titans and the royal family that the Omegans have had their minds altered by the Psions and are not to be believed. Unbeknowst to either group, Auron is also working with Blackfire.

Parkhouse concludes his Tales of Vega story, where the android is revealed to be the very torturer he supposedly escaped from, though he had originally been a healing android reprogrammed by the Citadel. His identity revealed, he goes out in a blaze of glory taking out badguys.

 

Star Trek #22: Isabella and Sutton/Villagran start with Excelsior receiving a message from Starfleet detailing a first contact mission to Enoch IV that discovered an evil-worshipping civilization where Kirk is the mythological antagonist. The Admiral threatens Kirk with charges for violating the Prime Directive if he doesn't sort this out. The "god" of the Enochians is named Redjac (from the TOS episode "Wolf in the Fold" by Robert Bloch). This weird message turns out to have been faked by Redjac, but Excelsior heads to Enoch IV anyway. Some mysterious murders occur on the ship in route the killer stays one step ahead, but the survivor of the first attack, Konom, should be able to help when he recovers consciousness. Arriving at Enoch IV, Kirk discovers (naturally, just as Konom wakes up on the ship) that Bryce is inhabited by Redjac as she raises her knife to strike.

Super Powers #5: The art is kind of rough in places in this issue, on par with a few spots in the Fourth World series of the 70s when I think Kirby was rushed. Anyway, the Super Friends continue to fall for Darkseid's Seeds of Doom trap (which Darkseid soliloquies to the reader about at the start), as Batman and Robin travel to the future dominated by Apokolips. Luckily, the Flash is there too, and when the heroes reunite, they are able to return to their own time. But Darkseid has enough seeds in place to bring about Apokolips on Earth,

Superman #415: Bates and Swan/Williamson bring us another story dealing with the aftermath of Supergirl's death. An alien, Salkor, arrives on Earth and takes a strange object from Supergirl's quarters. Ultimately, Superman discovers that Supergirl had met Salkor when she was dying an amnesiac thanks to exposure to Kryptonite. Salkor nursed her back to health and the two had a whirlwind romance, even marrying. Then, a powerful invader, Naxx, attacked. After he was defeated, Supergirl left without explanation. Naxx, in fact, has traced Salkor to Earth out for a rematch, but with Superman's help it is defeated. In the hokku, the device she took from Salkor's homeworld, Supergirl left a message for Superman and Salkor. She reveals Naxx's blast restored her memory but wiped out her recent memories of life with Salkor. Her encounter with Blackstarr restored those, so she had rigged the hokku to signal Salkor and well as Superman if she died.

Wednesday Comics: DC, January 1986 (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 October 3, 1985. 

Crisis on Infinite Earths #10: It turns out Brainiac is not so dead as Psimon thought. As the Titan foe prepares to kill a startled Luthor, Brainiac blasts away Psimon's brain-in-a-glass from behind. On various Earths, the tide begins to turn against their villain army, though, as the heroes start fighting back, sometimes brutally. The Spectre appears, though, and puts an end to this conflict. He tells both sides that the Anti-Monitor still lives and is at the dawn of time preparing to wipe out the matter universes entirely. The Spectre and the toughest heroes of all the Earths (including Superboy of the now-destroyed Earth-Prime) journey back in time thanks to the running powers of Kid Flash and Jay Garrick to battle him directly, while the villains are tasked with traveling in time to the past of Oa and stopping Krona from opening up a conduit. The villains fail, and the heroes can't seem to hurt the Anti-Monitor, but the Spectre, channeling the power several of Earth's mystic masters, closes the conduit and engages the Anti-Monitor in combat. An explosion is unleashed and it looks as if everything might have been destroyed!

Running in every page of this issue, we have Harbinger's narration of the Monitor's records, which is sort of a proto-History of the DC Universe. Here we get some updates on places beyond Earth and other eras. We find out Starman (Prince Gavyn) and Immortal Man were both Crisis casualties. 

DC Comics Presents #89: ARozakis/Klein and Saviuk/Villagrain have Tigorr, Harpis, and the Changralynian bard, Oho-Besh, of the Omega Men vacationing on the planet Kuraq, only to discover a city of stone in duplicating Metropolis on Earth is being built there by a being who appears to be a brain-addled Superman. It turns out it isn't Superman but a deep-cut creature from a 1954 story, who sacrifices himself to save the Omega Men, acting like Superman, at least. Superman only shows up at the end to give some exposition.

Fury of Firestorm #43: Conway and Kayanan/Machlan have Typhoon awaken from the coma he's been in since last time he fought Firestorm, then confront his ex-wife and abduct his children, apparently with the intention of heading to Pittsburgh for a confrontation with Firestorm. Meanwhile, Ronnie tries out form college football since he thinks he's too short to play college basketball and makes the team. Also, Smoak's lawsuit against Firestorm moves forward.

Hex #5: Texeira/Garzon is back on art as we pick up where last issue left off. Hex and Stiletta manage get the better of the Conglomerate goons and steal their flier. Meanwhile, Borsten is still making trips to the past to try to harvest technological secrets to give him the upper hand over his rivals, but the process is taking its toll on his health. While he's recovering from his latest trip, a bit of industrial espionage by a Conglomerate agents inform them that Hex is loose in 21st Century. Given Hex's anti-Conglomerate actions, the group wrongly assumes he's working for Borsten. They send an armored hitman with a chainsaw weapon named Chain Gowan after him.

Gowan catches up with Hex soon enough, and his armor and weapons make him impossible to shake, until their fight takes them to an old junkyard where Stiletta shows Hex how to use the giant magnet and compactor to take care of the assassin. Unfortunately, the two find themselves surrounded by a gang. 

Justice League of America #246: Conway and McDonnell/Wray take the JLA out of Detroit, as old man Heywood evicts them. It makes sense in a story context, but I feel like it happened because the Detroit location just wasn't being a source of stories (or at least not stories that provided what JLA readers were looking for) in the way Conway had hoped when he put them there to begin with. The team winds up in New York City, and we follow various members as they look for work or places to live. J'onn tries for a job on the police force but seems to land himself a PI job. Steel becomes a personal trainer but perhaps has a shot at the movies. Zatanna returns to her apartment she was subletting to a friend. The friend's absence seems a bit ominous. We'll see if that pays off later. 

MASK #2: My brother or I had this issue when we were kids. Chen's art remains pleasing, while Fleisher's script is, well, up to the task of a kid's cartoon tie in. Following last issue, Matt Trakker and friends are still looking for Scott and T-Bob who have been kidnapped with only some Egyptian symbols left behind as a clue. When some Egyptologists have disappeared exploring a newly discovered tomb, Trakker goes to investigate. Soon, they are battling mummies and jackal headed Anubis who shave magical powers and are trying to get ahold of antiquities. Of course, it's Mayhem and the VENOM guys in disguise. There's an all-out battle at the pyramids with new vehicles called in and the powers of the masks employed in all their toyetic glory. I would say VENOM's plan makes no sense and is overly elaborate but that's beside the point.

In passing, we see a TV broadcast about how nuclear weapons are obsolete thanks to the new orbital missile defense system.

Outsiders #3: Gorbachev's American comic portrayal, like I think, the view of him in the American consciousness, is mostly positive, but in '85 when he had just come to power, we get stories like this where he is just the "leader of the enemy nation." The shadowy Bad Samaritan offers to help Gorbachev with his country's economic woes, and Gorbachev accepts. In disguise, the Bad Samaritan steals the printing plates for Markovian money, which the U.S. has helpfully been handling for Markovia. The Force of July is on the case for the U.S. government, but Brion feels like the Outsiders should be too, which of course, leads to the two groups fighting each other, allowing the Bad Samaritan to escape. 

In between these events, Black Lightning visits his ex, Lynn, who is involved with the recent F.A.M.I.N.E. record for humanitarian relief when she gets a visit from Edward Bentama, head of the EurAfrican Nations Council. The import of this subplot, I'm sure will become clear.

We also get the finale of the Looker solo outing by Barr and Lightle. Looker easily defeats the Untouchable gang once she figures out other intangible objects can touch them.

Vigilante #25: Kupperberg and Smith/Maygar have the Vigilante going after cops who are revealed to have tortured an innocent man to get him to confess. From the moment the event hits the news, Chase is angry about the cops' behavior, but the Vigilante is essentially supportive of them until he finds out the victim was innocent. Then, he hunts the cops down and kills them, though he appears to be severely wounded himself. Meanwhile, Marcia's psychiatrist has figured out Chase was the Vigilante. Trinidad Santiago is still in hiding, but both the Electrocutioner and the Vigilante are still after him.

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.

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.

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 and 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.

Wednesday Comics: DC, December 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 September 5, 1985. 

Outsiders #2: Barr and Aparo continue the story from last issue. The Outsiders realize Looker is likely captured and use the Mom android to lure out the rest of the Nuclear Family. The confrontation doesn't go well for them, and the Nuclear Family heads flies off to cause a nuclear explosion in L.A., leaving the Outsiders unconscious. Luckily, our heroes run into the scientist studying fear who had previously helped Shanner but is now getting out of town to escape the nuclear threat. She lets them know what the Nuclear Family is up to. The Outsiders race to stop them. In a fight at the nuclear plant, it looks like the Outsiders will lose again until a desperate but clever attack by a combo of Geo-Force and Metamorpho shorts out the androids.

Infinity, Inc. Annual #1: This Crisis crossover has very little Crisis in it. We get a reference to the red skies, and Obsidian returns to the group, but (unlike everyone else summoned by Harbinger so far) he only has vague memories of what happened while he was gone. The Thomases and McFarlane/Harris spend most of the issue dealing with the villainess Thorn and revealing the mysterious backstory of Jade and Obsidian. This mostly consists of Alan Scott or Harlequin narrating (and retconning, I imagine) the events of past issues. To summarize what we learn: Thorn the other personality of Rose, and both were also Alyx, the supposedly deceased wife of Scott. Obsidian and Jade are indeed their children, whose existence Scott was unaware of. Harlequin is revealed to be his co-worker Molly Mayne who has had a crush on him since forever. Those Mayne and Scott get married at the end of the issue.

DC Comics Presents #88: An editorial comment at the start of this issue by Englehart and Giffen/Kesel says something like "this is how things are going to be here from now on," but I'm not sure what they mean by that. Anyway, the Crisis is more part of the setting for this issue than actually crossing over with the story in any significant way. Because of the Crisis, sensationalist newsman Jack Ryder, is giving airtime to the cranks and crackpots who claim the end of the world is nigh. Stodgy, old mainstream media moguls are worried this is freaking people out and so ask America's most trust newsman, Clark Kent, to have a talk with Ryder and get him to tone it down. Ryder says no. The stodgy old guys seem to have a point here, as Ryder's most recent guest, the Hermit, uses his media exposure to form a psychic link between an ancient demon and Ryder's viewers. Superman and the Creeper have to team-up to defeat the demon.

It's interesting that, even at this point, Engelhart suggests (at a Comics Code approved, kid's comic level) Ryder is sort of a conservative shock jock (he has him call Kent "left" as an insult). I would have thought that characterization came later.

Fury of Firestorm #42: Conway and Kayanan/Akin pick-up Firehawk's and Wonder Girl's quest from this month's COIE #9 except that (much like with the Red Tornado thing) the accounts don't quite match. Here, the two are looking for both Terry and Lorraine's father, who wasn't mentioned before. Also, Firehawk thanks Wonder Girl and the Titans for being there for her as she was freaking out over this whole Crisis thing, but we haven't seen or got mention of any such breakdown in COIE #8 or #9. All that aside, this issue mostly deals with expanding Firehawk's character and shows her working through some uncertainty about being a hero in a very patriotic way: by joining Wonder Girl to play havoc with the British forces that have Washington and his troops pinned down in Brooklyn. Thanks to the Crisis, to travel through the New York City area is the travel through time, so in addition to helping Washington they meet Tomahawk and Dan Hunter. In the end, our heroes still haven't found Terry or Senator Reilly, but Firehawk has found something out about herself.

Hex #4: Wagner fills in for Texeira this issue. Poor Jonah Hex just can't get a moment to stop and catch his breath in this future. He crashes his stolen flier, barely escaping a fall into a canyon, and then he's forced to trek across the wastes without supplies. He's saved from drinking out of a contaminated puddle by the timely re-appearance of Stiletta--the real one. She explains that the Conglomerate has a stranglehold on society (such as it is) by controlling the supply of "Soames," pills used to purify the tainted water supply. She also reveals that she's the daughter of Borsten, who is a time traveler from 2042 who found out a nuclear war was coming in 2045. He jumped into the future two years farther with a cache of technology so he could rule amid the ashes. So far, the criminal Conglomerate has been an impediment to his plans.

Hex and Stiletta have a narrow escape from oversized leech-like worms, but then the guys who supplied the drug dealer Hex killed find them. Meanwhile, Harris is being interrogated in a Vietnam simulation by Bortsen's men to get him to tell them where Hex is.

Justice League of America #245: Luke McDonnell comes onboard as penciler in this Crisis crossover that followed directly from COIE #9 last week. Thanks to Warp, Steel is sent into the far future of the year 1,000,000. There he's helped by a woman named Olanda as they are pursued by the robotic servitors of the mysterious Six. The woman takes Steel to her father who turns out to be the aged Lord of Time, who last fought the Justice League as a younger man in '81 in JLA #199. He also appears in the background of COIE #9-10. The Lord of Time reveals he took refuge in the far future and cloned children from his genetic material to form a family. Eventually, his six sons rebelled, jealous of his favoritism for his daughter, and stole his Chrono-Cube, brought killer robots from the past, and attacked. Only their slow decision-making due to their reliance on consensus among themselves as kept them from overwhelming their father and Olanda. 

Steel helps Olanda and the old man get back the Chrono-Cube. The Lord of Time then uses it to go back and prevent his younger self from making the Six. 

Vigilante #24: Cover by Dan Day this month. Kupperberg and Smith/Maygar have a middle-aged mother whose daughter is killed in Time Square threatening to go Death Wish after Judge Chase lets the men go free that she believes are responsible. Chase, feeling a kinship with the woman, ultimately takes a bullet to stop her. It's revealed that the two men aren't responsible after someone else confesses to the crime. Meanwhile, the Vigilante hunts the drug dealer whose lawyer he killed last issue, and the Electrocutioner is also still on a rampage. Also, Marcia's psychiatrist thinks he knows the identity of "the friend" she told him was the Vigilante.

Wednesday Comics: DC, November/December 1985

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 August 29, 1985. 

DC Challenge #1: Though most comics this week are cover dated December 1985, this one carries a November date. This was one I bought off the stands, but well, despite the heavy advertising this series got, I didn't find it particularly interesting at the time. This is a high concept sort of endeavor: a "round robin" story with a number of ground rules each creative team has to follow. They are outlined here. The tagline "Can You Solve It Before We Do?" makes it sound like there's a mystery, but so far as I am aware, they were making it up as they went along, so what's to solve?

Anyway, Evanier and Colan/Smith introduce the strange happenings where demonic entities seem to be possessing people and there are unexplained appearances by phantom, celebrity lookalikes (Bogart, Groucho Marx). Rereading it, I do find it a bit intriguing, but we'll see where that goes.

Wonder Woman #328: This is our only Crisis crossover this week. Notably, Newell and Heck really evoke the apocalyptic feel of Crisis--and perhaps with good reason. The shadow-demons of the Anti-Monitor imperil the realms of the Greek gods themselves, so they interrupt the political machinations on Paradise Island (ending that subplot) and carelessly reveal Wonder Woman's secret ID to Diana's co-workers as they draft the Amazon's into the war. The forces arrayed against them and the need for all-out war cause Hippolyta to lose hope: She believes the dream of peace that led to Paradise Island's founding is over. She urges the Amazons to join her in pray and appears to withdraw from the battle, leading the Olympians to conclude they may have to go it alone.

Meanwhile, we get a bit of General Darnell's backstory and learn that he's been engaged in some Oliver North-esque behavior in Tropidor. It turns out a jilted ex-lover is the one threatening to reveal his misdeeds. Darnell reveals his crimes to his subordinates, taking full responsibility.

Well, the end approaches for Darnell, the Olympians, and the Amazons, too, as the next issue blurb announces that it will be the final issue of the series!

Action Comics #573: This one also is dated November. We continue with what I remain convinced is the burning through a bunch of inventory stories as the ongoing Crisis shortens their shelf-life. In the first one, Boldman and Schaffenberger/Oksner have that W.C. Fields stand-in J. Wilbur Wolfingham think he's pulling a master scam by selling the Earth to an alien visitor, but instead the alien realtor appears to have scammed Wolfingham, when he comes back and takes possession of the planet, evicting humanity.

In the second story, Campiti (only story for the Big Two)/Juaie (only story for the Big Two outside of New Talent Showcase) and Saviuk/Barreto have a street corner hotdog vendor castigate Clark Kent for ordering ketchup on a hotdog, then fantasize about how he would do all the super-problem-solving he hears Superman doing on the radio, if he were Superman.

Crisis on Infinite Earths #9: As the Crisis appears to be abating, the villains assembled by Brainiac and Lex Luthor strike. There is some dissension at first, though, and Brainiac has to disintegrate Earth-Two Luthor. After that, the villains quickly take Earth-4 and Earth-S and are making a serious assault on Earth-Two when the heroes rally and start to fight back. Brainiac and Luthor didn't necessarily intended that the villains would win; they were using this assault as a means to power for themselves. However, Psimon stayed behind on the station and overhears their plans. He blasts Brainiac to bits and prepares to take down Luthor to claim the rulership for himself.

Meanwhile, the World War II era characters get back to just fighting their usual war as the red skies recede. On modern day Earth-One, though, Wonder Girl and Firehawk prepare to enter an area of Manhattan where time is still confused to try to find Terry.

MASK #1: For a number of years, this 80s toyline would have been utterly forgotten, but I hear the toys are coming back and Skybound's Energon Universe has a MASK comic out now. The version here pretty much works like the cartoon, so far as I can recall, though Fleisher and Chen/DelBeato have a Cold War stand-in element that I don't remember in the animated series. MASK seem to be independent but closely aligned with the PNA (Peaceful Nations Alliance--peaceful but still with aircraft carriers!), and trying to help them construct a laser-powered missile defense system, while VENOM is the "mercenary arm" of Contraworld who are the bad guy alliance, and they're trying to stop MASK and steal the tech. The backgrounds of the MASK members seem weird for their government roles (Sato is listed as toy designer first and engineer second, Brad Turner's primary job is rock singer/guitarist, and Dusty Hayes is listed as pizza chef/delivery man), but then I remember DOGE happened, and it seems more plausible.

Anyway, I assume this appealed to the kids who liked the cartoon. The art nicely bridges an animation style with a standard comic book one.