Wednesday Comics: DC, September 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 June 27, 1985.

Detective Comics #554: The cover by Janson actually goes with the backup story by Cavalieri and Moore/Patterson. It proclaims this is the debut of the new Black Canary costume "the first time anywhere," but as I've mentioned is this series, it has appeared in both Who's Who and Crisis prior to this.  

Following the events of last issue, Black Canary searches for the reason she froze in the battle with Bonfire and comes to believe it was imprinted memories of her mother's fear when she fought a villain named Pyra. Deciding that the only way conquer her fear is to break with the past, Dinah designs a new Black Canary costume for herself, then goes out looking for Bonfire. After a difficult battle she defeats the villain with her canary cry--something her mother couldn't do. She and the late-arriving Green Arrow take Bonfire into custody and discover the fire marshal Ollie was sure was corrupt was doing his job all along.

The main story is an unexceptional but well-crafted action/crime piece by Moench and Janson. Batman, Robin, and Bullock team-up to deal with an ocean liner from Sicily that is being held in Gotham Harbor under suspicion of smuggling. Forces on the liner are trying to get the police cordon opened with a scuba diver with a bomb. Batman and friends win the day, and it's discovered the whole plot was for nothing. The plan was not to smuggle anything in but to smuggle a person out--a person ordered deported on that ocean liner.

We also see an ad in this issue for Outsiders that explains that that group will be getting the same treatment as the Teen Titans and the Legion and receiving a direct market book on better paper, too. No mention of why Batman is no longer in the title, though.

Action Comics #571: Great cover by Bolland for a mediocre issue. The editorial note at the beginning of this story by Maggin and Saviuk/Hunt helpfully tells us that this story takes place before the "Clark Kent--Fired" storyline appearing in Superman. It starts by paralleling a robotic alien scientist on another world with an Earth genius, both of whom are attempting a breakthrough to benefit their people. The robot scientist winds up coming to Earth to find an essential element to save his people, and it turns out to be in the formula the other scientist invented. Meanwhile, the Earth scientist is embittered by her perception that she was snubbed for the Nobel Prize and winds up causing havoc. There's also a subplot about a robot appearing on TV to fill-in for Clark Kent which is where the cover comes from.

Ambush Bug #4: Giffen, Fleming, and Oksner bring this series to an end with some goofing on Thriller facilitated by an appearance by Scabbard. When Scabbard storms off, embarrassed to have been in the wrong book, the creative team is forced to improvise, giving us some one-page gags. Then, we get a second story, one of the most amusing in the series, where Ambush Bug must face the villainous singlet sock in a metal mask, Argh!yle. Finally, Ambush Bug gets his long-promised confrontation with Darkseid--an inflatable Darkseid that he just deflates. 

Rereading the series, I think it holds up today in that it's still amusing. I do think 4 issues might be a bit much, but maybe that's an artifact of how many of these old comics I have to read week after week. Regardless, I think a one-shot might have been the right amount.

Arion Lord of Atlantis #35: Kupperberg and Duursema continue the story from last issue. After Arion was engulfed by the shadow bat, the evil sorcerer, Rhajeem, wastes no time in declaring himself king of Atlantis. He's counted Arion out too soon, though. He comes bursting out of the shadow being and two again engage in magical combat until Rhajeem casts Arion through a portal. He begins to declare himself ruler in front of the populace, but no, Arion is back again this time being followed by a monster from the other realm. It gobbles up Rhajeem before Arion banishes it. With the threat ended, the conclave selects D'Tilluh's recently returned son M'Zalle as the next king.

The last page reveals the next issue (coming in two months) is the double-sized conclusion of the series. It seems likely this came as something of a surprise to the creative team as they were steadily introducing new characters and subplots up to the end.

All-Star Squadron #48: Dr. Occult makes an appearance for the first time since 1938. Like the All-Stars, he's a captive of Wotan. Wotan is in league with Hitler and unleashes the Shining Knight and his Camelot robots on British troops. Hourman and Blackhawk manage to snap Shining Knight out of it by waving a Union Jack at the right moment. 

World's Finest #319: Cavalieri and Delbo/Alcala have Superman seeking help from Batman as his sleep is continuously disrupted by disturbing dreams. Using a Kryptonian device, Batman enters Superman's dreams and finds out the culprit is Rem who looks like the evil cousin of Rainbow Brite and sneakily quotes a lot of stuff in his dialog, including Shakespeare, the Beatles, Eurythmics, and Catch-22. Rem has a plan to drop a bunch of psychedelics in the Metropolis reservoir so he can get control of the populace's dreams too, and the issues cliffhanger has him dropping Batman into the reservoir from the airplane, as well! Meanwhile, the surviving members of the Network have the feeling that Cathode is still alive within them somehow, and a shadowy figure called the Powerbroker (not the Marvel one) makes his move.

Batman and the Outsiders Annual #2: Barr and Ross/Adkins invite us to the wedding of Rex Mason and Sapphire Stagg. The cover had me a little worried, but it's just a tease. Sapphire isn't killed and the wedding goes on. Things don't go smooth, though. Before the ceremony, the venue is attacked by a power-stealing android on a mission for a Maxwell Tremayne, an old foe of Simon Stagg. Sapphire is kidnapped, and our heroes must pursue. The other Outsiders and Batman do battle with the Masters of Disaster (last seen in issue 10) while Metamorpho rescues his fiancée. 

V #8: I've never seen this issue, but I remembered the ads DC ran promoting it with the tagline "I could have had a V 8!" which I suppose they thought was too good to pass up. The actual story involves a group of our protagonists making contact with a printing facility in a rural area that went from printing comics to churning out resistance literature. Unfortunately, it's got a problem with Visitor infiltrators. The team has to flush them all out before they can sabotage the presses. 

The editorial addresses fan concerns that NBC might cancel the TV series. It reassures us the series will finish the storyline whether  there's a TV show or not. As it turns out, the show had already aired its last episode on March 22.

Vigilante Annual #1: My brother and I had this issue as kids. It was our first introduction to the character. Kupperberg and Cown/Maygar tell an untold story of "times past" before the current craziness in the ongoing title. This is a bit more grounded in style that that series and uses detective fiction inspired first-person narration like Miller would do in Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One. That and Cowan's artwork make Vigilante seem a more "realistic" Batman without the gestures at meditations on vigilantism and the psychological breakdown of the main character like in the series.

When a college friend of Marcia's is arrested for the murder of a neighbor, Chase helps out by investigating as Vigilante. He discovers it was a mob hit, and must race against time to stop another crime boss from mistakenly having an assassin hit Marcia's friend in jail as reprisal.

Wonder Woman #327: This is the second ever Crisis crossover, but the tie-in is pretty weak.  Newell and Heck just use the red skies and cosmic storm as a convenient explanation for why Wonder Woman loses control of her plane and somehow ends up in the Central American jungle where Tezcatlipoca is. In some weird either other dimension or timeless realm, she and a group of pre-Columbian Indians witness the "death" of Keith Griggs three times, as the god demonstrates his power to create a time loop for some reason. Wonder Woman manages to break the loop and free herself and her three friends from Tezcatlipoca's grasp. Meanwhile, on Paradise Island, the Amazons begin debating whether or not to choose a new queen.

Wednesday Comics: DC, September 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 June 20, 1985.

Hex #1: Here at last is the series that's been teased (in the pages of Jonah Hex, at least) for the past few months. Fleisher and Texeira have Jonah Hex plucked from the 19th century and brought to some unspecified, post-apocalyptic near future (far enough away that capes and big metallic shoulder pieces have come into fashion, though). Hex was brought to the future by rich geezer, Borsten, who collects historical warriors--quite literally. He promptly escapes, though, and winds up teamed with a woman wasteland raider named Stilletta. He falls in with her gang of Road Reapers, who raid settlements to steal water in the radioactive deserts in the vicinity of Seattle. Hex has his doubts about the morality of all this, but before he can formulate a plan, fate steps in. Someone has tipped off the next target, and there's an ambush, and the gang's leader Falcon takes a dislike to him, so Hex winds up on his own with a stolen hover cycle and a costume out of Road Warrior. Then he almost has a head on collision with a Vietnam-era military helicopter!

Westerns were at an ebb in the early 80s and sales were apparently poor on Jonah Hex, so with post-apocalyptic films a fad in the wake of Mad Max, this new direction makes some sense. As a kid, I hadn't been a regular reader of Jonah Hex, but this title got my attention for its subject matter and the dynamic art of Mark Texeira.

Batman and the Outsiders #25: Barr and Davis have most of the Outsiders out of costume this issue as they go about the arrangements for the wedding of Metamorpho and Sapphire Stagg. Meanwhile, Halo is becoming part of the religious cult community she had stumbled into and doesn't notice anything sinister at first. She misses when the father of Brother David visits the community to try get his son to return home, and he's surreptitiously drugged by "Brother Abraham's" second in command. We learn later that he's a general working with "Star Wars," but I'm sure that's a coincidence.

Ultimately, David asks Halo to marry him, and he plans for them to leave the community. The cult leaders catch them, and Brother Abraham is revealed as Kobra. He recognizes Halo as a member of the Outsiders. Under threat of David's death, Kobra forces her to reveal Batman's secret identity. 

Blue Devil #16: Mishkin/Cohn and Kupperberg/Maygar continue the Vanquisher story from last issue. Marla,in the hands of the Vanquisher, Verner's chauffeur, Vance, whose brain is being affected by his super-suit, has to figure out a way to get him to calm down and keep herself out of danger. When the Vanquisher isn't reacting to unreal enemies, he starts to get rational. Then Dan shows up and almost blows things, but Marla quickly clues him in, and they've got things settled down when Kid Devil shows up and again stirs things up. Ultimately, Vance returns to his normal self, and Marla agrees to a date with him.

Green Lantern #192: Engelhart and Staton/Patterson spend most of this issue giving some background on Star Sapphire and her relationship to Carol, explaining how we got to this point. I don't know Star Sapphire's history well enough to know if any of this is retcon or not. After Star Sapphire tells her story, she leaves Hal and travels to Zamaron. Green Lanterns John Stewart, Katma Tui, and Dalor, following some Zamaron raiders, arrive on Zamaron in time to witness Star Sapphire's coronation as the new queen.

Infinity, Inc. #18: Either the Thomases are trying to make the Helix into a big deal or this issue is padded, because in addition to getting the Helix's origin (as victims of illegal in utero experimentation) and a fight between them and Infinity, Inc., we get a whole sequence of them robbing a store for "humor" and to showcase their powers and personalities. There's also a pin-up of them in the back of the issue. McFarlane is still leaving a lot of space in the layout that he's filling with character logos instead of just making the story panels bigger. Anyway, the issue ends on a cliffhanger or two with Jade poisoned with Mr. Bones's cyanide and the Harlequin confronting Thorn.

New Teen Titans #12: Wolfman and Woch/Tanghal give us a ghost story as Nightwing's and Cyborg's encounters with a ghostly little girl lead the team on an investigation that uncovers a murder of a family by the mob 50 years ago in Dick's apartment. It's not a bad bit of investigative storytelling, but it seems sort of out of place in a superhero team book. It would have worked better as a solo Nightwing story.

Sgt. Rock #404: Kanigher and Kubert bring us a reprint from Our Army at War #158 in 1965 repackaged with cool new Kubert cover. It tells the story of Rock's first meeting with the Iron Major, who's a bit of a different character here (commandant of a prison camp thanks to his injury and prosthetic) and pretty clearly intended to be a one-off. We also get an interesting detail about Rock's past: He and his brother were originally paratroopers involved in a test of gliding techniques to reduce mortality in cases of parachute failure over water. In a test of these techniques in a jump from the Golden Gate bridge, his brother Josh (Josh Rock?) is killed. Strangely, Josh calls his brother "Rock" throughout the flashback instead of "Frank." I wonder if Kanigher envisioned Rock as the Sargeant's first name in 1965? 

Saga of Swamp Thing #40: Moore and Bissette/Totleben bring us a feminist werewolf story. Swamp Thing follows Constantine's direction and goes to Maine where a woman named Phoebe has been transformed into a wolf creature under the moon by the lingering anger of the Pennamaquot Indian women who were forced to stay in a lodge while menstruating on the site where Phoebe's house is now located. Swamp Thing speaks with her but is no match for her rage. Ultimately, she kills herself on a knife display in a supermarket. Constantine shows up again, and Swamp Thing angrily tells him he's going home to Louisiana, but that's exactly where Constantine wants him to go.

Warlord #97: I reviewed this issue here.

Superman Annual #11: This is the second Moore scripted Superman story this month, this one with art by Gibbons. It's certainly the more famous of the two, having been adapted to an episode in the first season of Justice League Unlimited, and being reprinted as soon as 1988 in Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told. Interestingly, like the DC Comics Presents story, it involves Superman being taken over by an alien, non-animal organism. 

Batman, Robin, and Wonder Woman arrive at the Fortress of Solitude for Superman's birthday to find the Man of Steel seemingly insensate with an alien plant attached to his chest. This is the work of Mongul, who steps up to explain that the plant can psychically project a person's heart's desire, trapping them in a dream. While Wonder Woman fights Mongul, Batman and Robin try to remove the plant. Meanwhile, Superman experiences a world where Krypton survived, and he has a wife and child there.

With help from his friend's and his own force of will, Superman escapes the dream, though losing his son is emotional wrenching. Batman is briefly caught in his own dreamworld, but Robin saves the day, throwing the plant on Mongul before the alien can defeat Superman in a fight.

Who's Who #7: We finish off the D's here with a number of characters that haven't appeared a lot. Dr. Regulus last appeared in 1982 in Legion of Super-Heroes #286, while Dr. Psycho appeared in an arc in'82, but last showed up in Wonder Woman #325 earlier in '85. Dr. Thirteen had a run in Ghosts in 1981 and was last seen in a bit part in Batman #354 in '82. The others are more obscure, except for Dolphin who gets a sultry illustration by Dave Stevens and did appear as one of the Forgotten Heroes. 

Then, we're into the E's. There are bit players from now-ended titles: Earthworm from the never-satisfactorily solved storyline in the Huntress backup stories, and Eradicator from Supergirl. Then, Easy Company gets a 2-page spread by Kubert. The Eclipso entry has art by Gibbons, presumably because he drew him recently in Green Lantern. Elongated Man shows up in a costume he hadn't yet worn in the comics ny Infantino. With end the issue with two F's, one of which is Fastback from the Zoo Crew.

Wednesday Comics: DC, September 1985 (week 2)

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! This week, I'm looking at comics that were published on June 13, 1985.

Legion of Super-Heroes #14: Levitz and Lightle/Mahlstedt have the Legion auditioning new members. After a routine call for testing purposes turns into an encounter with Ontiir of the Dark Circle, another candidate appears in the form of the diminutive alien, Quislet. As the Legionnaires gather to make their decision, Saturn Girl comes in and requests they give consideration to a mysterious masked candidate she vouches for: Sensor Girl. In the end, Polar Boy, Tellus, Quislet, Magnetic Kid, and Sensor Girl become Legionnaires.  

Batman #387: Moench and Mandrake conclude the Black Mask arc. I had this issue and the one before as a kid, but not the part in Detective. It's interesting how the story is crafted so that you really don't need that other issue for the most part to make sense of things. Here, Bruce Wayne announces a masquerade party to lay a trap for Black Mask. Black Mask knows it's a trap and knows Bruce and the police know he know's it, but his analysis of Bruce's psychology is fault as he doesn't know the wealthy playboy is Batman, so he comes. He and his goons fail to kill Bruce, of course, and Robin tracks them to their lair. Batman and Robin fight through the False Face Society to get to Black Mask who has gone just a bit crazier and is burning everything left of his life as Roman Sionis. Batman is barely able to get the villain out of the fire in time, and not before the black pigment from the coffinwood mask is seared onto his face. Black Mask ends up in jail, repeating the word "Janus" to himself. Circe leaves her mask with a guard to give to Sionis, and disappears into the night.

This was a good arc, one of the best of Moench's run, I think.

Amethyst #9: Cohn and Colon/Kessel reveal secrets of Gemworld's creation as an impish creature called the Dream Weaver visits Amy Winston on Earth and takes her on a dream voyage to Gemworld's past. The creature's version of events is that Citrina made a pact with the Ancient Ones allowing the creation of Gemworld, but only as long as she was alive. When she died, the Ancient Ones got to consume the magic generated in the world. In this version, Citrina broke the deal and now Amethyst must honor it. Amethyst thinks she knows the truth, though. The Ancient Ones (through Dark Opal and others) have worked behind the scenes to end Citrina's life early so they can collect. Amethyst vows to stop them, but she will have to physical return to Gemworld to do it.

Arak Son of Thunder #48: The Thomases/Loifficiers and Infantino/DeZuniga have Arak and Valda contend with the warrior woman Mu-Lan, who's a lot fiercer than her Disney counterpart. When they hold their own, Mu-Lan says it was only a test. She takes them to meet her grandfather who reveals the dragon of Canton is no dragon at all. Later, at a dinner, after Haakon tries to drug Arak, but is thwarted by Brunello, the grandfather reveals the dragon is a creature summoned by a sorceress. Arak and Valda are sure that sorceress is Angelica.

Flash #349: This issue shows that Bates and Infantino/McLaughlin have a few twists left, at least. After being found guilty, Flash basically just gives up and asks they take him to jail. Soon, though, he's visited by Nathan Newbury, who this issue reminds me we first met back in issue 338, so Bates has had this laid out for a while. Newbury is from the future and came back in time to observe Flash's trial because the death of Reverse Flash before he was ever born is something of a temporal anomaly. He reveals that Flash, according to the hsitory record was acquited, so his conviction points to further disruption. He also tells how Reverse Flash came out of the timestream to ensure Flash's conviction when Newbury had thought he ensured Flash's acquittal.

Meanwhile, the Reverse Flash appears to have captured all the Rogues. It's that group that manages to work out how all this is possible. Someone is involved that has access to greater technology than the Reverse Flash (or Newbury) is doing this: Abra Kadabra.

G.I. Combat #279: Kanigher and Glanzman give is two Haunted Tank stories, though one is more a vignette. The cover story, Stuart's Raiders are tasked with assaulting a cache of stolen gold and recovering it so that it can be used to fund an insurgency in Germany. Faced with gold bars worth $30,000 each, the crew are tempted to take one, but Jeb keeps them in line. It's a good thing too, because a portion of the bars are booby-trapped. As luck would have it, another group of Germans tries to take the gold back and winds up catching the brunt of the explosion.

In the other story, the Raiders go swimming and wind up having to deal with an ambush while they're in the water.

Kana is back courtesy of Kanigher and Cruz, and this time is "transcendental meditation" takes him into a Mad Max-ian future where he helps the civilized Survivors fight against the hostile Wasters. Finally, there's a Mercenaries story by Kanigher/Catan where the three are hired to help an opposition leader return safely to a Latin American country for an election. An assassin disguised as a flight attendant almost ends his life, but the Mercenaries are there to save the day.

Omega Men #30: Klein and McManus bring this arc to a close. Artin/Primus reveals the answer to one of the Psion's Four Questions. It's an answer the Psions have discovered more than once before but their ego hasn't allowed them to accept and so they have forgotten it. The Psions were uplifted from reptiles by experiments of the species that would be the Guardians of the Universe. Learning the technology these ancients left behind, the Psions "improved" themselves, then went out seeking their creators. When they found them, the Guardians were disappointed in their creations and exiled them to the Vega system until they learned something more than soulless science. While the Psions are reeling from these revelations, the Omegans escape and help some of the inhabitants in their experimental domain do likewise. The robots who have now gained sentience vow to take care of the rest.

Red Tornado #3: The Construct has taken over the world. What few superheroes are left take their last stand and the free human population is down to a scattered few in hiding. It's all very Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Meanwhile, Red Tornado is out on a mountain in Wyoming being aloof from humanity. Sulking really. Kathy who is one of the last free humans finds him. At first Tornado rebuffs her, but she offers that the very fact he can question his humanity means that he has it. He's convinced by this argument and reconnects with his human side, deciding to save humanity. 

Star Trek #18: Kupperberg is writer on this issue with Sutton/Villagrain still on art. We get a Scotty solo story. He visits an old from who is commander of Starbase 7. When an assault by armed men appears to be only related to theft of the station's new shipment of paper towels, Scotty and a cadet wind up investigating. They discover a plot by a cabal of Starfleet officers (including Scotty's friend) to manufacture and sell a dangerous drug of abuse. Interesting, this is exactly the sort of story element (a Starfleet officer selling drugs) than Roddenberry objected to in Ellison's original City on the Edge of Forever script. 

Super Powers #1: Series Two of the Super Powers toys have hit shelves, so we get another out-of-continuity (in fact, from this issue, it's unclear if it's in continuity with the first limited) limited series. This time, Kirby does the penciling himself with Theakston on inks and Kupperberg scripting. Due to the revolt depicted in Hunger Dogs, Darkseid flees from Apokolips. He uses his last boom tube and so constructs a new star gate once he's in his secret base. Darkseid plans to conquer Earth using the Seeds of Doom. The Justice League stands in his way, and this issue is mostly about Martian Manhunter and Aquaman going up against his plans.

Superman #411: The cover proclaims this "a very special issue" and the title of the story by Maggin and Swan/Anderson nods to at least one way that's true. This is "The Last Earth-Prime Story." On Earth-One, former science fiction agent and editor Julie Schwartz is a homeless in the Bowery on his 70th birthday. After attempting suicide by jumping off a building, but being rescued by Superman, he is kidnapped by a forgettable super-villain, Olaf. Perry White's concern for his old friend leads to Superman looking for him and rescuing him from Olaf. The ordeal has been too much though, and Schwartz is dying. He has Superman transport him to Earth-Prime where they arrive at an office birthday party for that universe's Julie Schwartz, editor at DC Comics. Bringing two versions of the same person together as one is dying apparently causes them to merge into one. Schwartz and Superman have a brief conversation alluding to Crisis and the end of multiple worlds, then Superman says goodbye. Back on Earth-One, Clark Kent adds a bust of Julie to his apartment next to the bust of Mort Weisinger.

New Teen Titans Annual #1: Wolfman and Hannigan/DeCarlo present a backdoor pilot for a Vanguard series. The Vanguard is a group of space-themed alien super-heroes. We meet them in the reveal of a previously untold adventure of the Titans when Raven and Terra were still with them. The Titans intervene when the Vanguard appear to chase and apprehend Superman on Earth, but the truth is that Superman is a robot created by Brainiac who has captured the real Superman and is using him to power a planet-scorching weapon. The Titans help (well, mostly just watch) the Vanguard rescue the Man of Steel, and the combined power of the group defeats Brainiac--for now.

Apparently, the comics reading public wasn't all that keen on the Vanguard, because they have only appeared in-story one other time in the DCU (and even then, basically in a cameo).

Wednesday Comics: DC, September 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 June 6, 1985. 

Losers Special #1: With this, the first of the Crisis Specials, I think we hit a new phase of the event. We saw the Losers die in Crisis #3, but this issue gives them more of a sendoff and introduces a lot of readers to the characters, probably--if they bothered to buy the issue. Easy Company and a town of civilians are pinned down by German rockets. Bravo company was supposed to take those out, but they're all dead. The Losers take up the mission. Along the way, they reminisce about their individual pasts, catching the reader up on the characters that originally had solo strips, but were brought together as a team. The Losers take out the emplacement, but they are separated into two groups by smoke. Separately, Sarge and Captain Storm are killed. The smoke clears and Gunner, Pooch, and Johnny Cloud manage to regroup, but then a German plane strafes the area, killing them. The Navajo Johnny Cloud prays to the sky as he dies and sees an image of a Native American deity. Then, something strikes the hill. When Easy arrives, there is no trace of the Losers' bodies.

This story is a better death for a group of war comic characters, but it doesn't fit perfectly with their death as depicted in Crisis. Presumably we're meant to assume they were taken from the battlefield just before death to truly die in Markovia at the hands of shadow demons. But how did they get moved and healed? This story can't take place essentially at the same time as that part of Crisis #3, because Rock and Easy appear in that issue in 1944 Markovia, too. I suppose it's possible this issue was retconned out of existence before it was ever published. This is how they would have died, had not the Crisis occurred transtemporally.

Crisis on Infinite Earths #6: The Monitor's adversary gets a name this issue (Well, two, since the Psycho-Pirate just calls him "Monitor."): The Anti-Monitor. He gives the whining Psycho-Pirate enough power to control the emotions of the populaces of multiple Earths. Pirate starts pushing the peoples of Earth-S, X, and 4 to suicide in the anti-matter wave. 

Meanwhile, the Monitor's satellite is falling apart. The heroes scramble to save themselves while Alex gets read to attempt to bring the other surviving Earths into the Netherverse. Harbinger knocks him out and takes on the risk herself. Disparate groups of heroes (somehow, it's not clear) are transported to the 3 battleground Earths where they are forced to contend with the mind-controlled heroes of those worlds. Black Canary is wearing her new costume here that we haven't seen before outside of her Who's Who entry. 

In the Anti-Monitor's base, the Psycho-Pirate suffers feedback, and he loses control of the Earths' people. Harbinger manages to link Earths S, X, and 4 with the merging Earths 1 and 2 in the Netherverse, but she burns out her power, leaving her just Lyra. On Earth-2, a new Wildcat debuts and a group of villains mysteriously disappear. On Earth-1, Brainiac scoops up Luthor from and tells him he has a plan...

DC Comics Presents #85: This is the first of two Alan Moore Superman stories this month. Here he teams him up with Swamp Thing with Veitch and Williamson on art. A patch of still-surviving fungus from Krypton known as the bloodmorel infects Superman causing hallucinations and overheating. It will eventually lead to death from overexertion, and the Last Son of Krypton seems powerless in his delirious state to do anything about it. Trying to get away from people, Clark luckily encounters the Swamp Thing, who manages to link Superman to the Green through the remaining fungus. Immersed in cool calm, Superman is able to sleep and when he awakes the fever is broken. He returns to his life, unaware of the help of Swamp Thing.

Fury of Firestorm #39: Conway and Kayanan/Chen finish up the Weasel story from last issue. Firestorm manages to escape Weasel's death trap but can't capture the villain. Ronnie does some sleuthing and figures out that the connection of the people killed and those attacked is that they were all at Standford in the 60s. Even knowing that, Stein still can't figure who the Weasel might be. The Weasel attacks again and Firestorm manages to best him this time. The villain is unmasked as John Monroe...some guy nobody remembers. Ronnie heads back to New York and graduation.

Justice League of America #242: Conway and Tuska/Machlan continue the story from last issue. Aquaman finds Mera, and they make up surprisingly easily. Meanwhile, the rest of the League splits up and blunders around the Canadian woods like teens in a slasher film and get taken out by Amazo. There's even a ridiculous sequence that seems perhaps a riff on a similar scene in Temple of Doom where Elongated Man just keeps talking utterly oblivious to Gypsy dealing with an irritated grizzly bear behind him. In the end, Amazo throws most of the League in a deep hole and covers it with a Boulder.

There's a MASK preview insert "Assault on Mount Mayhem" in this issue, Superman, and Tales of the Teen Titans as well, but I don't have a copy of it.

Tales of the Teen Titans #57: Cyborg's surgery is a success, and he's more human appearing than ever. He's sent to rehab and meets a tough physical therapist who I feel like should be named Sarah Potential Love Interest unless I'm totally misreading Wolfman's intentions. Meanwhile, the other Titans are hanging out at the pool then doing a little training, oddly unconcerned that the Fatal Five are out there with a new member the Titans failed to stop them from busting out of prison. 

That new member is Jinx, an Indian sorceress from who only speaks Urdu until Psimon gives her telepathic language lessons. The Fatal Five come for Cyborg's doctor, and grab him too, not recognizing the hero with his makeover. They want the scientist to awaken Neutron. Cyborg sabotages Neutron's containment vessel to a degree, causing an explosion they we are assured didn't hurt the guy inside. All the strain causes his new plastic veneers to start melting down, though.

Later. Psimon interrupts a press conference by the Major to demand ransom from the city, boasting the Fatal Five now has Neutron on its side.

Vigilante #22: Wolfman/Kupperberg and Smith/Maygar continue the story from last issue with Nightwing and Chase in a running fight across multiple locations, each saying tough guy things to each other and demanding the other stand down. Meanwhile, a guy with a heroin addiction sets out to commit a burglary on condo with no one home and winds up, through a series of bad breaks and worse choices, killing 3 people with a stolen pistol and causing a police car to wreck. He ends up out of bullets and executed on a rooftop by the Vigilante. When that makes the TV news, Nightwing and Chase overhear it and both realize that Chase isn't the current killer vigilante. Chase hadn't even known for certain. Nightwing leaves agreeing to hold off his hunt for the other vigilante so Chase (who feels responsible for inspiring the guy) can handle it, which given the murders and Chase's mental state seems a bit irresponsible. but bro code and all that. 

Wednesday Comics: DC, August 1985 (week 5)

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 May 30, 1985.

The "Meanwhile..." feature this month mentions work continuing on new Batman project that isn't named but is clearly Dark Knight Returns. There's also discussion of a Matt Wagner project that is the forthcoming Demon limited series from the following year. Interestingly, there's also mention of a Jason's Quest revival that never came to fruition.

Detective Comics #552: Moench and Janson pick up the Black Mask story from this month's Batman. Black Mask recruits more members into his gang and takes more deadly reprisals against people he feels have wronged him, which are mostly newly installed Janus execs. He also has Circe, the model who jilted Sionis when his fortunes turned, kidnapped and subjects her to a diluted portion of the cosmetic. After that torture, he gives her an ultimatum: join him or get the full treatment. Circe accepts a mask without the tainted cosmetic in it. Batman figures out Sionis is Black Mask just as the False Face Society, but he can't find out where his hideout is or what his ultimate plans are.

Cavalieri and Moore/Patterson have Green Arrow and Black Canary facing a rash of tenement fires, arsons that Arrow believes were committed by the owners for the insurance and redevelopment. The meat of the story, though, is about what happens when Black Canary confronts a fire-throwing super-villain arsonist, Bonfire, and the Canary is strangely frozen with fear. After her rescue, she later tells Ollie that she had a strange episode of deja vu while in the blaze. Later, she's looking through her scrapbook at old pictures of her mother, the first Black Canary, and she's struck by a revelation.

Jonah Hex #92: The cover promises a "gut-wrenching final issue, but that it isn't. Instead, Fleisher and Morrow pretty much give us the same sort of story we've gotten for the past year: Hex goes after some bank robbers and picks up a teenage girl sidekick for the adventure, before returning her to her parents. Emmylou escapes the pit we saw her fall into and gets help from an old man, but then he's killed by Brett, and she's on the run again. Emmylou and Brett finally meet up with Hex in a saloon, but just as things might get some resolution, he disappears in a flash of origin light. One might be suspicious this surprise has something to do with the Hex ads we've been seeing...

Action Comics #570: The first story by Kupperberg and Schaffenberger/Hunt has a Superboy vibe, except that it has Jim Olsen as its focus instead of some random Smallville kid. A blast of cosmic energy splits off Jim's inflated ego into a super-villain who calls himself Alter Ego. The bit of mystery here isn't in Alter Ego's identity. Superman figures that out early on. Rather it's in how Jim got split and how to fix it.

The second story by Boldman and Bender/Marcos is more "humorous" than the first. One might say "silly," even. After saving a man's life, Superman accepts the guys invitation to dinner for beef bourguignon, but then stays and stays, making a complete annoyance of himself. This could have easily turned to horror as having a super-powered bore for a house guest might in real life, but once the man blows his top at the super-freeloader, Superman drops the act and reveals the truth: the man had been infected by some alien something or other in the initial incident and only making him angry could cure him. 

I mention the "stuck in the past" nature of this era of Superman a lot but should also point out this isn't inertia or ossification. Superman was different at points in the 70s ("Kryptonite No More," and all that). Superman was different just a few years prior with stories by Wein and Starlin and Wolfman. This was a choice editorial made.

Ambush Bug #3: Giffen, Fleming, and Oksner deliver their funniest issue yet, provided you like silly, absurdist humor goofing on silly DC characters of the past. It's actually kind of clever, structurally, we get vignettes in text and comic form uncovering what happened to a lot of obscure and best forgotten in the estimation of Fleming and Giffen DC characters like Egg Fu, The Green Team, and Binky. It's also sneakily taking a swipe at Crisis on Infinite Earths and the rationale for it, as all of the segments point to a mysterious woman being involved in their disappearances or deaths. In the end, we find out who is responsible: Jonni DC, Continuity Cop. Just as she confesses, she's blasted by Darkseid for the recurring "next issue, a fight with Darkseid" gag.

Arion Lord of Atlantis #34: Kupperberg and Duursema get Arion and Chian back to the City of the Golden Gate and into the business of selecting a new king. In Atlantis, that's done by a council of wizards presided over by Arion. These days the wizards have only the barest magic except Arion, but still tradition. There's one scheming wizard up to no good, though, and he disrupts the proceedings and gets Arion trapped by shadow bat things. Meanwhile, Wyynde is reunited by Mara. He finally returns her affections in a leering sort of way which puts her off. Apparently, having a dog head for a while changes a guy! Who isn't put off by the new Wyynde is the princess and potential successor to the king, T'Galla. She and Wyynde get along quite well to the irritation of Mara.

All-Star Squadron #48: Mike Harris takes over as artist. This is his first work for the Big Two. He goes on to do a fair amount of work at Marvel in the '90s on grittier titles like The 'Nam, The Punisher, and Cops: The Job. Here, the All-Stars travel to the UK, meeting the Blackhawks on the way. Churchill wants them to find the Shining Knight who disappeared investigated something at the site of Camelot. The All-Stars find Shining Knight in the company of other Arthurian characters who turn out to robots. Our heroes are captured, and they learn that Dr. Fate's old enemy, Wotan, is behind it all.

World's Finest #318: Cavalieri and Delbo/Alcala bring back Sonik who had his debut and only appearance to date back in issue 310. Beyond that the issue is very much of its era. Lilanne Stern is now on RTV. There's a wealthy popstar named Marlon Monroe (a Michael Jackson stand-in) who is menaced by robots made by one of his staff, and a boy in a bubble with an immunodeficiency syndrome someone may be trying to kill. Superman and Batman are on the case though, and everything works out in the end.

Tales of the Legion #326: We start the reprint era this month, so I won't be reviewing this title anymore, but I wanted to note it. 

V #7: Newell steps in as writer, and we an issue that focuses solely on Julie as she goes back to her now empty hometown, trying to get some time to herself to go to terms with everything that has happened. A mother and father get mentioned and the implication is that perhaps both are dead due to the Visitors, though based on the V wiki, this appears to be new material. Anyway, she's followed by an assassin that has the appearance of a high school friend, but when a Visitor patrol attacks them, the assassin seems to have a change of heart and saves her life. The issue is rather ambiguous on several points, which was perhaps Newell's intention.

XNOO is Nearly Upon You!

The latest Kickstarter from the Merry Mushmen is XNOO #1, a 276 page "aperiodical" fantasy comics anthology. It features work by several rpg and comic artists, among them James West, Stefan Poag, and Jason Sholtis. Of interest to readers here, it also features the debut of the Land of Azurth comic "The Runaway Shadow" written by me and featuring art by comics veteran Mike Kazaleh. There's also great stuff by artists like Alexey Gorboot. Kennon James and Tim Molloy, and more!

In addition to the comics stories, it's filled out with articles by the likes of James Maliszewski and myself on related topics. My text piece is on comics adaptations of literary Sword & Sorcery characters.

You're going to want to check it out.

Head over to Kickstarter now to be notified on launch tomorrow.