Category: DC Superhero

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OMAC – One Man Army Corps by Jack Kirby



By Jack Kirby with D. Bruce Berry, Mike Royer, Joe Kubert & various (DC)
ISBN: 978-1-7795-1026-6 (TPB) 978-1-4012-1790-7 (HB/Digital edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

There’s a magnificent abundance of Kirby collections in print, but none seem more prescient than this compact gem of dark prognostication that “The King” (perhaps thankfully) never lived long enough to see come true in all the ways that most matter…

This oft-compiled collection re-presents possibly his boldest, most bombastic and most heartfelt creation after the comics landmark that was Jack Kirby’s Fourth World cycle.

Famed for larger than life characters and gigantic, cosmic imaginings, “King” Kirby was an astute, spiritual man who had lived through poverty, gangsterism, the Depression and World War II. He experienced pre-war privation, post-war optimism and opportunism, Cold War paranoia, political cynicism and the birth and death of peace-seeking counter-cultures, but always looked to the future while understanding human nature intimately. In OMAC: One Man Army Corps, he gave his darkest assumptions and prognostications free rein, with his “World That’s Coming” now proving far too close to the world we’re frantically trying to escape or save right now…

In 1974, with his newest creations inexplicably tanking at DC, Kirby tentatively considered a return to Marvel, but – ever the consummate professional – he scrupulously carried out every detail of an increasingly onerous and emotionally unrewarding DC contract. When topical supernatural star turn The Demon was cancelled, the King needed another title to maintain his Herculean commitments (he was legally obliged to deliver 15 completed pages of art and story per week!) and returned to an idea he had shelved back in 1968. That was to re-interpret Captain America for a possible future where all Kirby’s direst suspicions and fears could be made manifest. In 1974 he revisited those anxieties: producing a nightmare scenario that demanded not a hero but a warrior.

Dubbing his Day-After-Tomorrow dystopia “The World That’s Coming”, Kirby let his mind run free – and scared – to birth a frighteningly close appreciation of our “Now”, where science and wealth have outstripped compassion and reason, whilst circumventing law and ethics, as humanity teeters on the brink of self-inflicted global annihilation. His thoughts then are represented here in the editorial that accompanied the premier issue…

OMAC #1 launched with a September/October 1974 cover-date, introducing the Global Peace Agency, a world-wide Doomwatch-style police force who manufactured a super-soldier to course-correct mankind and crisis-manage the constant threats to a species with hair-trigger fingers on nuclear stockpiles, chemical weapons of mass destruction and made-to-measure biological horrors. Base, uncontrolled human nature is the true threat manifested in this series, and that was first demonstrated by decent young man Buddy Blank who – whilst working at Pseudo-People Inc. – discovers that their euphemistically entitled Build-A-Friend division hides a far darker secret than merely pliant girls who come in kit-form (I believe we finally have those now, too, for those with much money but no moral compass…)

Luckily Buddy has been singled out by the GPA’s resident genius Professor Myron Forest for eternal linkage to sentient satellite Brother Eye. His atoms shifted and reconstructed, Buddy is fundamentally restructured and rebuilt to become a living God of War, and the new-born human weapon easily destroys his ruthless employers before their murderous plans can be fully realised. ‘Buddy Blank and Brother Eye’ was followed by a truly prophetic tale, wherein impossibly wealthy criminal Mister Big purchases an entire city simply to assassinate Professor Forest in ‘The Era of the Super-Rich!’

Kirby’s tried and trusted approach was always to pepper high concepts throughout blazing action, and #3 was the most spectacular yet. OMAC fought ‘One Hundred Thousand Foes!’ to get to murderous Marshal Kafka, terrorist leader of a rogue state and a private army, arsenal of WMDs and solid belief that the United Nations can’t touch him. Sound familiar…? That incredible clash carries on and concludes in #4’s ‘Busting of a Conqueror!’, whilst in #5, Kirby moved on to other, newer crimes for the new world. The definition of a criminal tends to blur when you can buy anything – even law and justice – but rich old people cherry-picking young men and women for brain-transfer implantation is (hopefully) always going to be a no-no. Still, you can sell or plunder specific organs even now…

Busting the ‘New Bodies for Old!!’ racket took two issues, and after the One-Man-Army-Corps smashed ‘The Body Bank!’ he embarked on his final adventure. Ecological disaster and water shortage was the theme of the last tale, but as our hero trudges across a dry, desolate lake bottom amidst the dead and dying marine life he is horrified to discover the disaster is the work of one man. ‘The Ocean Stealers!’ (#7) introduced scientific madman Doctor Skuba, who mastered atomic manipulation techniques that had turned feeble Buddy Blank into an unstoppable war machine.

Joe Kubert crafted the cover to final outing OMAC #8. ‘Human Genius Vs Thinking Machine’ was an epic ending seeing Brother Eye apparently destroyed with Skuba and Buddy perishing together in a cataclysmic explosion. But that final panel was a hasty, last-minute addition by unknown editorial hands, for the saga never actually finished. Kirby – his contract completed – had promptly returned to Marvel and new challenges such as Black Panther, Captain America, 2001, Devil Dinosaur, Machine Man and especially The Eternals.

Hormone treatments, Virtual Reality, medical computers, satellite surveillance, genetic tampering and all the other hard-science predictions in OMAC pale into insignificance against Kirby’s terrifyingly accurate social observations in this bombastic and tragically incomplete masterpiece. OMAC is Jack Kirby’s Edwin Drood: an unfinished symphony of such power and prophecy that it informs not just the entire modern DC universe and inspires ever more incisive and intriguing tales from the King’s artistic inheritors but still presages more truly scary developments in our own mundane and inescapable reality. As always in these wondrously economical collections it should be noted that the book includes many Kirby pencilled pages, confirming his artistry was always a match for his imagination.

Jack Kirby is unique and uncompromising. If you’re not a fan or simply not prepared to see for yourself what all the fuss has been about then no words of mine will change your mind. That doesn’t alter the fact that Kirby’s work from 1937 to his death in 1994 shaped the entire American comics scene, affected the lives of billions of readers and thousands of creators in all areas of artistic endeavour around the world for generations and still wins new fans and apostles every day, from the young and naive to the most cerebral of intellectuals. His work is instantly accessible, irresistibly visceral, deceptively deep whilst being simultaneously mythic and human: and just plain Great. Let’s hope there will be future generations around to enjoy them…
© 1974, 1975, 2021 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Robin Archive Edition volume 1 & 2



By Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Win Mortimer, Jim Mooney, Curt Swan, Jack Burnley, Sheldon Moldoff, Charles Paris, John Fischetti, John Giunta, Fred Ray, Don Cameron, David Vern Reed, Jack Schiff & various (DC Comics)

ISBN: 978-1-4012-0415-0 (HB/vol 1) 978-1-4012-2625-1 (HB/vol 2)

These books include Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

Robin the Boy Wonder debuted in Detective Comics #38, cover-dated April 1940 and on sale from March 6th of that momentous year. He was created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger & Jerry Robinson, introducing a juvenile circus acrobat whose parents were murdered by a mob boss. The story of how Batman took the orphaned Dick Grayson under his scalloped wing and trained him to fight crime has been told, retold and revised many times over the decades (some of which we’ll revisit over the next 12 months) and still regularly undergoes tweaking to this day.

In chronological DC comics continuity Grayson fought beside Batman until 1970 when, as an indicator of those turbulent times, he flew the nest, becoming a Teen Wonder college student and ultimately leader of a team of fellow sidekicks and young justice seekers: the Teen Titans. He graduated to his own featured solo spot in the back of Detective Comics from the end of the 1960s, where he alternated and shared space with Batgirl, holding a similar spot throughout the 1970s in Batman, before winning a starring feature in the anthological Batman Family and Giant Detective Comics Dollar Comics. During the 1980s he led a New Teen Titans team, initially in his original costumed identity, but eventually reinvented himself as Nightwing, whilst (re)establishing a turbulent working relationship with his mentor Batman.

Robin’s groundbreaking creation as a junior hero for young readers to identify with inspired an incomprehensible number of costumed kid crusaders, and Grayson continues in similar innovative vein for the older, more worldly-wise readership of America’s increasingly rebellious contemporary youth cultures. However, his star potential was first realised much earlier in his halcyon career…

From 1947 to 1952 (and issues #65-130), Robin the Boy Wonder carried his own solo series – and regular cover spot – in Star Spangled Comics at a moment when the first superhero boom was fading and being replaced by traditional genres like crime, westerns, war and boys’ adventure stories. His exploits blended in-continuity action capers with more general youth-oriented fare, reducing adults Batman, Alfred and Commissioner Gordon to minor roles or indeed rendering them entirely absent, allowing the kid crusader to display not just his physical skills but also his brains, ingenuity and guts.

Long out of print and crying out for modern reissue in some form as well as completion of the full run, these stellar Archive compilations re-present the first 21 tales from Star Spangled #65-85 (covering February 1947 to October 1948) in volume 1 before adding the exploits from ASC #86-105 (November 1948-June 1950) as a second tome.

Compelling but uncomplicated, these yarns recapture the bold, verve and universal appeal of one of fantasy literature’s greatest youth icons, opening with volume 1’s fascinating Roy Thomas penned Foreword, discussing the origins and merits of boy heroes and history of the venerable anthology title before offering some insightful guesses as to the identity of the generally un-named writers of the Robin strip. Although almost universally unrecorded, most historians consider Batman co-creator Bill Finger to be author of most if not all of the stories and I’m going to happily concur here with that assessment until informed otherwise…

Star Spangled Comics #65 starts the ball rolling with ‘The Teen-Age Terrors’ illustrated by Win Mortimer (with the inking here misattributed to Charles Paris) in which the Caped Crusaders’ faithful butler happens across an unknown trophy and is regaled with Dick’s tale of that time when he infiltrated a Reform School to discover who inside was releasing the incarcerated kids to commit crimes on the outside…

That tale segues seamlessly into ‘The No-Face Crimes’ wherein the Boy Wonder acts as stand-in to a timid young movie star targeted by a ruthless killer, and #67 reveals ‘The Case of the Boy Wonders’ as our hero becomes part of a trio of boy geniuses kidnapped for the craziest of reasons. In #68 an outrageously flamboyant killing results in the pre-teen titan shipping out on a schooner as a cabin boy, spending ‘Four Days Before the Mast’ to catch a murderer, after which modern terror takes hold when Robin is the only one capable of tracking down ‘The Stolen Atom Bomb’ in a bombastically explosive contemporary spy thriller. Star Spangled Comics #70 then introduced an archvillain all his own for the junior crime crusher, as ‘Clocks of Doom’ premiered an anonymous criminal time-&-motion expert forced into the limelight once his face was caught on film. The Clock’s desperate attempts to sabotage the movie Robin is consulting on inevitably leads to hard time in this delightful romp (this one might possibly scripted by Don Cameron)…

Chronal explorer Professor Carter Nichols succumbs to persistent pressure and sends Dick Grayson back to the dawn of history in #71’s ‘Perils of the Stone Age’ – a deliciously anachronistic cavemen & dinosaurs epic with Robin kickstarting freedom and democracy, after which the Boy Wonder crashes the Batplane on a desert island, encountering a boatload of escaped Nazi submariners in ‘Robin Crusoe’ – a full-on thriller illustrated by Curt Swan & John Fischetti. In SSC #73 the so-very-tractable Professor Nichols dispatches Dick to revolutionary France where Robin battled Count Cagliostro, ‘The Black Magician’ in a stirring saga drawn by Jack Burnley & Jim Mooney, after which the Timepiece Terror busts out of jail set on revenge in ‘The Clock Strikes’ as illustrated in full by Mooney – who would soon become the series’ sole artist. Before that Bob Kane & Charles Paris step in to deliver a tense courtroom drama in #75 as ‘Dick Grayson for the Defense’ finds the millionaire’s ward fighting for the rights of a schoolboy unjustly accused of theft. Then cunning career criminal The Fence comes a cropper when trying to steal 25 free bikes given as prizes to Gotham’s city’s best students in ‘A Bicycle Built for Loot’ (Finger & Mooney).

Prodigy and richest kid on Earth, Bert Beem is sheer hell to buy gifts for, but since the lad dreams of being a detective, the offer of a large charitable donation secures the Boy Wonder’s cooperation in a little harmless role play. Sadly, when real bandits replace actors and Santa, ‘The Boy Who Wanted Robin for Christmas’ enjoys the impromptu adventure of a lifetime…

Another rich kid is equally inspired in #78, becoming the Boy Wonder of India, but soon needs the original’s aid when a Thuggee murder-cult decides to destroy ‘Rajah Robin’, after which ‘Zero Hour’ (illustrated by Mooney & John Giunta) sees The Clock strike again with a spate of regularly-scheduled time crimes before Star Spangled #80 reveals Dick Grayson as ‘The Boy Disc Jockey’, only to discover the station is broadcasting coded instructions to commit robberies in its cryptically cunning commercials. Robin is temporarily blinded in #81 whilst investigating the bizarre theft of guide dogs, but quickly adapts to his own canine companion and solves the mystery of ‘The Seeing-Eye Dog Crimes’, but has a far tougher time as a camp counsellor for ghetto kids after meeting ‘The Boy Who Hated Robin’. It takes grit, determination and a couple of escaped convicts before the kids learn to adapt and accept…

A radio contest leads to danger and death before one smart lad earns the prize for discovering who ‘Who is Mr. Mystery?’ (#83), after which Robin investigates the causes of juvenile delinquency by going undercover as new recruit to ‘The Third Street Gang’, before the outing ends on a spectacular high as the Boy Wonder sacrifices himself to save Batman and ends up marooned in the Arctic. Even whilst the distraught Caped Crusader is searching for his partner’s body, Robin must respond to the Call of the Wild, joining Innuits and capturing a fugitive from American justice in #85’s ‘Peril at the Pole’…

The second hardback Archive Edition re-presents more tales from Star Spangled recapturing the dash, verve and universal appeal of one of fantasy literature’s greatest youth icons – albeit with a greater role for Batman – and opens with a Foreword by Bill Schelly adding layers of historical perspective and canny insight to the capers to come.

Every beautiful cover is included – although most of the later ones feature colonial-era frontier sensation Tomahawk – lovingly rendered by Mooney, Mortimer, Paris, Bob Kane and Fred Ray. Although unverified, writers Bill Finger, Don Cameron, David Vern Reed and Jack Schiff are considered by most comics historians to be the authors of these stories. Easier to ascertain is Mooney as penciller of almost all and inker of the majority, with other pencil and penmen credited as relevant.

Action-packed, relatively carefree high jinks recommence with Star Spangled Comics #86 and ‘The Barton Brothers!’ (inked by Mortimer, who remained until #90) as the Boy Wonder seeks lone vengeance, hunting a trio of killers whose crime spree includes gunning down Batman, after which racketeer Benny Broot discovers he’s related to aristocracy and patterns all his subsequent vicious predations on medieval themes as ‘The Sinister Baron!’…

In defiance of his mentor Robin goes AWOL to exonerate the father of a schoolmate in ‘The Man Batman Refused to Help!’, although his good intentions clearing an obviously framed felon almost upset a cunning plan to catch the real culprit, after which SSC #89 has ingenious hoods get hold of ‘The Batman’s Utility Belt!’ and sell customised knock-offs until the Dynamic Duo crush their racket. Then the murder of a geologist sends the partners in peril out west in #90 to solve ‘The Mystery of Rancho Fear!’, acting undercover as itinerant cowboys to deal with a gang of extremely contemporary claim-jumpers.

With Mooney now handling all art chores, #91 sees the Boy Wonder instigating a perplexing puzzle to stump his senior partner in ‘A Birthday for Batman!’ It would have been a perfect gift if not for genuine gangsters who stumble upon the anniversary antics. The crimebusting kid played only a minor role in #92’s ‘Movie Hero No. 1’ wherein Batman surreptitiously replaces and redeems an action film actor who is a secret coward, but resumes star status for ‘The Riddle of the Sphinx!’ when a mute, masked mastermind seemingly murders the Dark Knight and supplants Gotham’s criminal top dog Red Mask.

Entertainment motifs abounded in those days and Star Spangled Comics #94 heralds ‘The End of Batman’ as the Dynamic Duo stumble on a film company crafting movie masterpieces tailored to the unique tastes and needs of America’s underworld, after which greed and terror grip Gotham’s streets when a crook employs an ancient artefact to apparently transform objects – and even the Boy Wonder – to coldly glittering gold in #95’s ‘The Man with the Midas Touch!’

Indication of changing times and tastes came with September 1949 Star Spangled Comics as Fred Ray’s Tomahawk took over the cover-spot with #96. Inside, Robin’s solo saga ‘The Boy Who Could Invent Miracles!’ – pencilled by Sheldon Moldoff with Mooney inks – saw the kid crusader working alone whilst Batman recovers from gunshot wounds, encountering a well-meaning bright spark whose brilliantly conceived conceptions revolutionise the world… prior to almost exposing the masked avenger’s secret identity. With Mooney back on full art, The Clock returns yet again in #97 in ‘The Man Who Stole Time!’: determined to publicly humiliate and crush his juvenile nemesis through a series of suitably-themed crimes

… but with the same degree of success as always. Next, Dick Grayson’s classmate briefly becomes ‘Robin’s Rival!’ after devising a method of travelling on phone lines as Wireboy.

Sadly, his ingenuity is far in excess of his fighting ability or common sense and he’s wisely convinced to retire, after which gambling gangster Sam Ferris breaks jail, turning his obsession with turning circles into a campaign of ‘Crime on Wheels!’ until Robin sets him straight again in advance of SSC #100’s powerfully moving tale of the Boy Wonder giving shelter to ‘The Killer-Dog of Gotham City!’ and proving valiant Duke can shake off his criminal master’s training to become a boon to society. In #101, High School elections are being elaborately suborned by ‘The Campaign Crooks!’ employing a bizarre scheme to make an illicit buck from students, whilst ‘The Boy with Criminal Ears!’ develops super-hearing: making his life hell and ultimately bringing him to the attention of sadistic thugs with an eye to the main chance…

Star Spangled Comics #103 introduces ‘Roberta the Girl Wonder!’ as class polymath Mary Wills follows her heart and tries to catch the ideal boyfriend by becoming Robin’s crimefighting rival, before #104’s ‘Born to Skate’ shows classmate Tommy Wells’ freewheeling passion leading Robin to a gang using a roller-skate factory to mask crimes as varied as smuggling, kidnapping and murder. Then the wholesome adventures end with a rewarding tale blending modelmaking and malfeasance, as guilt-wracked Robin comes to the aid of a police pilot who has been crippled  and worse whilst assisting on a case. As part of his rehabilitation, the Junior Manhunter devises high-tech models for Bill Cooper’s aviation club, but when ‘The Disappearing Batplanes!’ are purloined by cunning air pirates, the scene is set for a terrifying aerial showdown…

Beautifully illustrated, wittily scripted and captivatingly addictive, these rousingly traditional superhero escapades are a perfect antidote to teen angst and the strident, overblown, self-absorbed whining of so many contemporary comic book kids. Fast, furious and ferociously fun, these superb Fights ‘n’ Tights classics are something no Bat-fan, Robin-rooter or fun-fan will want to miss.
© 1947, 1948, 2005 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved. © 1948, 1949, 1950, 2010 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Showcase Presents Blue Beetle


By Len Wein, Joey Cavalieri, Paris Cullins, Gil Kane, Ross Andru, Don Heck & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-5147-5 (TPB)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

The Blue Beetle premiered in Mystery Men Comics #1, released by Fox Comics and dated August 1939. The pulp-inspired hero was created by Charles Nicholas and possibly initially scripted by Will Eisner. “Charles Nicholas” was a shared pseudonym used by Chuck Cuidera (Blackhawk), Jack Kirby (everything) and Charles Wojtkowski (Blonde Phantom, Young Allies, Nyoka, Iron Corporal) with that last one generally attributed with inventing our remarkably resilient Azure Avenger.

The Cobalt Crimecrusher was inexplicably popular from the start: translating his comics venues into merchandise, a radio show and even a newspaper comic strip. Constantly traded and acquired by numerous publishers, BB survived the extinction of most of them: blithely undergoing many revisions to his origins and powers. By the mid-1950s he ended up at Charlton Comics, appearing sporadically in a few long-inventoried tales before seemingly fading away. However, that was only until the superhero resurgence of the early 1960s when Joe Gill, Bill Fraccio, Tony Tallarico and, latterly, neophyte scripter/devoted Golden Age acolyte Roy Thomas revised and revived the character. Technically, it resulted in a 10-issue run cover-dated June 1964 to 1966 (actually two separate 5-issue runs), but if you also check out our Action Heroes Archive review you’ll see that it wasn’t quite that simple…

Pulling together many disparate strands from previous incarnations, former cop and valiant troubleshooter Dan Garrett was reshaped into an archaeologist gifted with a mysterious and magical ancient Egyptian scarab recovered from lost tomb. This trinket would transform him into a lightning-throwing, flying superman whenever he touched the scarab and uttered the trigger phrase “Khaji Dha!”

After another brief sojourn in comic book limbo, Garret (note the different spelling, it varies from issue to issue, but we’ll stick to double “r”, double “t”, okay?) resurfaced as Steve Ditko took on the concept, tweaking it to construct a fresh new, retooled hero. This one started as a back-up feature in Captain Atom #83 (November 1966) before graduating to his own solo title. Ted Kord was a troubled scientist with mystery and undisclosed tragedy in his past, as well as an unspecified connection to Garrett. In fact, he was the police’s prime suspect in the academic’s disappearance and possible murder…

The Ditko version was sublime but short-lived: an early casualty when the Sixties Superhero boom reversed and horror again ruled the newsstands, Charlton’s “Action Hero” experiment was gone by the close of 1968, leading a long line of costumed champions into limbo and clearing the decks for a horror renaissance.

Time passed and reading tastes changed again. After the cosmos-consuming Crisis on Infinite Earths re-sculpted DC’s universes in 1986, a host of stars and even second stringers got floor-up rebuilds to fit them for a tougher, uncompromising, straight-shooting, no-nonsense New American readership of the Reagan era. In the intervening years, DC had pursued an old policy: acquiring characters and properties of defunct publishers. A handful of Charlton buy-outs had featured in Crisis and now Captain Atom, The Question and two Blue Beetles seamlessly slotted into the new DCU, ahead of the rest of the lost contingent…

Primarily scripted and steered by Len Wein (Swamp Thing, New X-Men, Batman, almost everything else), this massive monochrome compilation gathers the entire 24-issue run of Blue Beetle volume 6 (cover-dates June 1986 through May 1988) plus a superb crossover origin/restated backstory from Secret Origins (volume 2) #2, originally released as a vanguard to the series. Sans preamble, a steady diet of light-hearted swashbuckling begins with Len Wein, Paris Cullins & Bruce D, Patterson’s ‘Out from the Ashes!’ wherein a Chicago office building burns down. Suddenly, above the roaring flames a giant mechanical bug floats into view and from it plunges rookie hero Blue Beetle. He is desperate but determined to help the beleaguered firefighters… but not with the conflagration. His target is deranged super-arsonist Firefist, but the glorified acrobat’s tricky gadgets seem to be no match for the heavily armoured foe’s ferocious firepower. Barely escaping with his life, Beetle takes some comfort from the fact that even if he didn’t stop the bad guy or save the skyscraper, he has rescued an imperilled fireman…

In the aftermath, the masked man heads back to work: revealed to us as junior genius Ted Kord who has just (most reluctantly) assumed control of his tyrannical father’s technological innovations and manufacturing business. Ted doesn’t like business but loves inventing, which is why he spends as much time as possible with the company’s quirky thinktank geniuses Jeremiah Duncan, Melody Case and Murray Takamoto. Now he learns the company is sitting on a discovery of Earth-shattering importance. What Ted doesn’t know is that someone nefarious and extremely close wants it, or that far, far away someone has broken into the crypt on Pago Island where Ted’s mad scientist uncle Jarvis Kord killed Dan Garrett – the original Blue Beetle. An archaeological rival, Conrad Carapax is seeking the fabled something that cost his competitor his life…

Suddenly, Firefist attacks again and the neophyte hero rushes off to challenge him. The woefully one-sided battle gets serious in ‘This City’s Not for Burning!’ as the arsonist almost kills our hero again, forcing Ted to get smart and investigate where and why; not how. Despite catastrophic collateral their final clash leads to victory of sorts but leaves the hero open to betrayal from within his trust circle and targeted by a major supervillain seeking the modified wonder element Promethium undergoing modifications in Kord Inc’s labs…

Also adding to Ted’s woes and generally amping up tensions is slowly circling – and rapidly spiralling – cop Lt. Max Fisher who cannot shake the conviction that the glib scientist in his sights knows something about the Garret disappearance…

With Firefist apparently dead, two separate evil masterminds amp up their plans with the disguised janitor at affiliate/partner S.T.A.R. Labs convincing career criminal Farley Fleeter to revive his old gang The Madmen to attack Kord Inc. in BB #3’s ‘If This Be Madness…!’ As the melee is interrupted by the handily close-by Blue Beetle, corporate machinations and untrustworthy trusted friends all further their own treacherous schemes against Ted, allowing one of those villains in the shadows to make a move, revealing ‘The Answer is Alchemy!’ Here old Flash-foe Al Desmond/Mr. Element/Doctor Alchemy steals the hotly contested Promethium sample to reenergise his failing, matter-reshaping Philosopher’s Stone, but the battle to reclaim it is wild and violent, and against all odds the Beetle triumphs…

With a plethora of soap opera subplots in place, the tales assume a more action-driven shape and pace in the Azure Avenger’s first team up. ‘Ask the Right Question!’ introduces DC’s remodelled iteration of Ditko’s other, Other, OTHER immortal creation – albeit prior to his reinvention by Denny O’Neil & Denys Cowan. As up-&-coming masked mobster The Muse organises Chicago’s disparate gangs into an army a well-dressed but faceless vigilante in a powerplay to seize control from reigning Don Vincent Perignon. After the customary introductory confusion-clash Beetle and Question (AKA investigative journalist Vic Sage) set about dismantling the organisation and usurpation in ‘Face-Off!’ (BB #6) and blockbusting, Dell Barras-inked conclusion ‘Gang War!’

A delightful sentiment-soaked divertissement comes in BB #8 as ‘Henchman!’ sees Ted Kord reject job applicant and former criminal minion Ed Buckley, inadvertently driving him back to lawlessness and a position with evil genius The Calculator: a tragic mistake that the hero is happy to pay for when reformed-&-honest Ed subsequently saves the Beetle’s life…

The other lurking super-villain reveals himself at last in #9 & 10 as ‘Timepiece!’ (Cullins & Barras art) and sequel ‘Time on his Hands!’ (Chuck Patton & Barras) – both tie-ins to crossover event Legends. They see America’s superheroes outlawed by Presidential decree as part of New God Darkseid’s plan to destroy the very concept of heroism. As Ted’s conscience and desire to save innocents compete, another close friend falls foul of time bandit Chronos, and he suits up to settle the matter with the villain, law or no law. Meanwhile elsewhere, the Kord Promethium project has advanced to a point where it’s ready to be stolen by more lurking fiends, whilst on Pago Island, Carapax has uncovered a terrifying menace…

Guest-starring the New Teen Titans (Nightwing, Cyborg, Wonder Girl, Starfire, Jericho & Changeling/Beast Boy) ‘Havoc is… the Hybrid’ (#11, Cullins & Barras) sees deranged former Doom Patrol member Mento (Steve Dayton) unleash a personal pack of Promethium-mutated villains against the super-team with Blue Beetle caught as ‘Man in the Middle’ (co-scripted by Joey Cavalieri) before Wein, Cullins & Barras reveal the final fate of another unlucky unfaithful Kord collaborator in ‘Prometheus Unbound!’

Simultaneously, Carapax finally recovers and is subsumed by the maverick tech he accidentally unleashed. In BB #14 to Ted makes a momentous decision. Set on finally confronting Max Fisher about the death of Garrett, Ted is unaware that the cop is already facing ‘The Phantom of Pago Island!’ after travelling to the atoll and meeting a monster which promptly slaughters his entire party. Resolved to deal with Fisher, Blue Beetle arrives in time to join him ‘In Combat with… Carapax!’ (pencilled by Ross Andru) with both escaping believing the killer robot gone for good. As they form a tenuous new relationship with Fisher increasingly exploiting the fact that he knows Kord is a superhero, another manic supervillain (Catalyst) and megalomaniacal business competitor (Klaus Cornelius) lurk in the wings, kidnapping Jeremiah Duncan for info on Kord’s business secrets…

In ‘Anywhere I Hang my Head is Home!’ – art by Andru & Danny Bulanadi – cop and vigilante unite to catch a ruthless “Skid Row Slasher”, before Fisher oversteps by picking targets for the Beetle, even as the gallant hero is battling new masked menace Overthrow in #17’s ‘The Way the Brawl Bounces!’ (Cullins & Bulanadi) before and inevitably the original Blue Beetle returns to reclaim his mantle in ‘…And Death Shall Have No Dominion’ (all Cullins art): a grim and brutal clash with a shocking sting in the tale.

Exposing criminality and deceptions at S.T.A.R. Labs, Ted hunts a potential heir of Dan Garrett and clashes with a bizarre mechanoid organism in #19’s ‘A Matter of Animus!’ (as Andru & Bulanadi begin a sustained run), prompting a trip to Kord’s middle east facility as ‘Iran Scam!’ (another company crossover event component – this time for Millennium) reveals how a close enemy is actually an agent for ancient alien cabal the Manhunters, in a sly cover for a worthy pop at how women are oppressed under the Ayatollahs. It’s counterbalanced and leavened by purer superheroics in follow-up Millennium chapter ‘If This Works, It’ll Be a Miracle!’ (BB #21) wherein Ted and Justice League International take on a nest of Manhunters.

Crisis successfully averted, Ted is blindsided by vengeful Chronos who traps the Blue Beetle millions of years in the past before Kord turns the tables on him in #22’s ‘A Question of Time!’ (Andru, Gil Kane & Bulanadi art) before returning to now and a second episode with the Madmen in ‘Don’t Get Mad, Get Even!’ (Don Heck & Bulanadi). Now the series abruptly terminates on a cliffhanger as – in the midst of battling Carapax again – Ted’s dad Thomas Kord reclaims “his” company from the son and heir who’s ruining it in ‘If At first, You Don’t Succeed…!’

With the solo series ended, Ted made a welcome home as a beloved but underestimated comedy foil in various Justice League iterations, whilst this book closes on that promised origin yarn ,as seen in Secret Origins #2. Crafted by Wein & Kane, ‘Echoes of Future Past!’ spectacularly traces valiant Dan Garrett’s life, career and ultimate sacrifice in a bravura masterclass on superheroism as a humble college professor becomes a divinely chosen wonder man saving Earth from undead giant mummies, corrupt governments, scientific madmen, supervillains and worse before paying the final price and inspiring a lineage of heroes…

With covers by Cullins Patterson, Barras, Terry Austin, Patton, Andru, Bulanadi, Steve Bové, Dick Giordano, Mike Mignola, Chris Wozniak, Keith S. Wilson, Garry Leach, Gil Kane & Ricardo Villagran this bold bonanza of Fights ‘n’ Tights delights is a book no superhero lover should miss – unless DC finally get around to giving one of comics’ grandest brands the archive treatment he/they deserve…
© DC 1986, 1987, 1988, 2015, DC Comics All Rights Reserved.

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The Batman Annuals volume 2 – DC Comics Classic Library


By Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Edmond Hamilton, Ed France Herron, Jerry Coleman, David Wood, Sheldon Moldoff, Lew Sayre Schwartz, Dick Sprang, Curt Swan, Charles Paris, Stan Kaye, Ray Burnley & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-2791-3 (HB)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

There’s a lot of truly splendid 1940s and 1950s comics material around these days in a lot of impressive formats. DC’s Classics Comics Library hardbacks were a remarkably accessible, collectible range of products – inexplicably still not available in digital editions! – and one of the best is this wonderful aggregation of four of the most influential and beloved comic books of the Silver Age of American comic books.

Batman Annual #1 was released in June 1961, a year after the phenomenally successful Superman Annual #1. The big, bold anthology format was hugely popular with readers. The Man of Steel’s second Annual was rushed out before Christmas and the third came out a mere year after the first. That same month a Secret Origins compilation and the aforementioned Batman Blockbuster all arrived in shops and on newsstands. It’s probably hard to appreciate now but those huge comics – 80 pages instead of 32 with practically no advertising except other comics – were a magical resource with a colossal impact on kids who loved comics. I don’t mean the ubiquitous scruffs, oiks, scofflaws and scallywags of school days who read casually before chucking them away (most kids were comics consumers in the days before computer games) but rather those quiet, secretive few of us who treasured and kept them, constantly re-reading, listing, discussing, pondering, and even making our own. Only posh kids with wicked parents read no comics at all: those prissy, starchy types who were beaten up by the scruffs, oiks and scallywags even more than us bookworms. But I digress…

For budding collectors the Annuals were a gateway to a fabulous lost past. Just Imagine!: adventures your heroes had from before you were even born…

Those fantastic innovative aggregations in the early 1960s changed comics publishing. Soon Marvel, Charlton, and Archie were also releasing giant books of old stories, then came new ones, crossovers, continued stories. Annuals proved two things to publishers: that there was a dedicated, long-term appetite for more material – and that punters were willing to pay a little bit more for it. This hardback compendium completes a set by gathering Batman Annuals #4-7 (from 1963-1966) in their mythic entirety: 33 terrific complete stories, stunning pin-ups and especially all those magnificently iconic compartmentalized covers. Also included are original publication details and credits (the only bad thing about those big books of magic was never knowing “Who” and “Where”); creator biographies and another reminiscing Introduction from Michael Uslan, putting the entire nostalgic experience into perspective.

Way back then editors sagely packaged Annuals as themed collections, the first here being The Secret Adventures of Batman and Robin (released November 8th 1962) which started the ball rolling with ‘The First Batman’ (by Bill Finger & Sheldon Moldoff as originally seen in Detective Comics #235, September 1956): a key story of this period, introducing a strong psychological component to Batman’s origins by disclosing how, when Bruce Wayne was still a toddler, his father had clashed with gangsters whilst clad in a fancy dress bat costume…

‘Am I Really Batman?’ (Finger, Moldoff & Charles Paris; Batman #112, December 1957) saw bona fide mad scientist Professor Milo poison the hero with a rare plant, forcing Robin and Alfred to put the Masked Manhunter through a baffling psychological ordeal to counteract the toxin…

Today fans are pretty used to a vast battalion of bat-themed champions haunting Gotham City and its troubled environs, but for the longest time it was just Bruce, Dick Grayson and occasionally borrowed dog Ace keeping crime on the run. However, with Detective #233 (July 1956, and 3 months before The Flash’s debut officially ushered in the Silver Age) editorial powers-that-be introduced vivacious heiress Kathy Kane who – for the next eight years – incessantly suited-up in chiropteran red & yellow. Edmond Hamilton, Moldoff & Paris premiered ‘Origin of the Batwoman’ with a former circus acrobat bursting into Batman’s life, challenging him to discover her secret identity at the risk of exposing his own…

The Boy Wonder began very publicly working solo after ‘The Vanished Batman’ (Hamilton, Moldoff & Stan Kaye, (Batman #101, August 1956) saw the Gotham Gangbuster declared dead and presumed gone by the underworld whilst ‘The Phantom of the Bat-Cave’ (Hamilton, Moldoff & Paris, Batman #99, April 1956) offered a genuine mystery as persons unknown began somehow stealing/replacing items from the heroes’ sacrosanct trophy room. ‘Batman’s College Days’ (Finger, Moldoff & Paris, Batman #96, December 1955) saw Bruce Wayne on a sea cruise with three fellow alumni, one of whom planned murder and had deduced his alter ego, after which ‘The Marriage of Batman and Batwoman’ (Finger, Moldoff & Ray Burnley, Batman #122, March 1959) depicted Robin’s nightmares should such a nuptial event occur whereas ‘The Second Boy Wonder’ (France Herron, Moldoff & Burnley, Batman #105, February 1957) was all too real as a stranger apparently infiltrated the Batcave by impersonating the kid crimebuster. The Annual ended with ‘The Man who Ended Batman’s Career’ (Finger, Moldoff & Paris; Detective #247, September 1957) presenting a significantly different-looking Professor Milo using psychological warfare and scientific mind-control to attack the Dark Knight by inducing a fear of bats…

The next Annual, released in summer 1963, highlighted The Strange Lives of Batman and Robin, opening with ‘The Power that Doomed Batman’ (Finger, Moldoff & Paris, DC #268 June 1959) as exposure to a comet gifts the Dark Knight with super-strength. Sadly, the effect is also cumulatively fatal, forcing them into a desperate hunt for a missing man possessing a cure. The same creative team dredged up ‘The Merman Batman’ (Batman #118, September 1958) wherein an lightning strike transforms the Caped Crimebuster into a water-breather, aroused ‘Rip Van Batman’ (Batman #119, October 1958) who fell into a plant-induced coma to seemingly awake in the future and corralled ‘The Zebra Batman’ (Detective Comics #275, January 1960) when the hero becomes an uncontrollable human magnet…

‘The Grown-Up Boy Wonder’ (Finger, Moldoff & Kaye, Batman #107, April 1957) details what happens when space gas turns the likely lad into a strapping young man – but only in body, not mind – after which World’s Finest Comics #109 (May 1960) reveals Robin & Superman’s tense race to save Gotham’s Guardian from an ancient curse in ‘The Bewitched Batman’ by Jerry Coleman, Curt Swan & Moldoff. ‘The Phantom Batman’ (Hamilton, Dick Sprang & Paris, Batman #110, September 1957) shows how an electrical mishap reverses the polarity of the Caped Crusader’s atoms, relegating him to helpless intangibility, before the uncanny yarns end with ‘The Giant Batman’ (DC #243 May 1957, by the same team and originally entitled ‘Batman the Giant!’). Here our hero is exposed to a well-meaning scientist’s “Maximizer” ray and grows too large to catch the thieves who stole it and the antidote…

Six months later Batman Annual #6 (Winter 1963-1964) featured Batman and Robin’s Most Thrilling Mystery Cases, kicking off with ‘Murder at Mystery Castle’ (Finger, Moldoff & Paris, Detective #246 August 1957) as visitors – Batman & Robin included – to a reconstructed medieval fortress witness a devilish remote control killing and must deduce who set the fiendish trap…

‘The Gotham City Safari’ (Finger, Moldoff & Paris; Batman #111, October 1957) saw the Dynamic Duo hunting a hidden killer through a fabulous theme-park of exotic locales whilst ‘The Mystery of the Sky Museum’ (Hamilton, Moldoff & Paris; Batman #94, September 1955) finds them at an aviation museum on the trail of sinister smugglers. Next, Hamilton, Sprang & Paris’ ‘The Mystery of the Four Batmen’ (Batman #88, December 1954) is a seagoing enigma with the Partners in Peril seeking a mysterious smuggler with a tenuous connection to bats in one form or another, after which a movie monster makes trouble on location, compelling the crimebusting champions to tackle ‘The Creature from the Green Lagoon’ (David Wood, Moldoff & Paris; D C #252 February 1958)…

A stunning chase to expose a killer searching for a lost golden hoard involved solving ‘The Map of Mystery’ (Hamilton, Sprang & Paris; Batman #91, April 1955), before a disgruntled family member seemingly threatens to kill every member of ‘The Danger Club’ (Hamilton, Lew Sayre Schwartz & Paris; Batman #76, April/May 1953). The astounding sleuthing only ceases after uncovering ‘Doom in Dinosaur Hall’ (Finger, Moldoff & Paris, Detective Comics #255 May 1958) where the curator’s murder at Gotham’s Mechanical Museum of Natural History led to a fantastic chase and a surprise culprit…

Summer 1964 spawned Batman Annual #7 and Thrilling Adventures of the Whole Batman Family: beginning by introducing the hero’s most controversial “partner” – a pestiferous, prank-playing extra-dimensional elf – in ‘Batman Meets Bat-Mite’ (Finger, Moldoff & Paris; Detective #267 May 1959), after which eponymous masked dog Ace narrates ‘The Secret Life of Bat-Hound’ (Finger, Moldoff & Paris; Batman #125, August 1959) and his part in capturing the nefarious Midas Gang. Finger, Moldoff & Paris enlarge the clan in Batman #139 (April 1961), ‘Introducing Bat-Girl’ as Kathy Kane’s niece Betty starts dressing up and acting out as an unwanted assistant, eventually proving adults and boys wrong by taking down the deadly King Cobra and his crew, before Hamilton delivers the only adventure of ‘The Dynamic Trio’ (DC #245 July 1957), with a very old friend donning cape and cowl as Mysteryman to help combat a smuggling ring facilitating the escape of Gotham’s fugitives. Courtesy of Finger, Moldoff & Paris, faithful manservant Alfred personally reveals an early failure and shocking resolution in ‘The Secret of Batman’s Butler’ (Batman #110; September 1957) before ‘The New Team of Superman and Robin’ (Finger, Swan & Moldoff; WFC # 75, March/April 1955) depicts how disabled Batman can only fret and fume as his erstwhile assistant seemingly dumps him for a better man…

When Bat-Mite elects himself ‘Batwoman’s Publicity Agent’ (Finger & Moldoff; Batman #133, August 1960), the result is chaos and unbridled craziness, but not as much as an “Imaginary Story” devised by Alfred debuting ‘The Second Batman and Robin Team’ (Finger, Moldoff & Paris: Batman #131, April 1960) which would inevitably emerge after Bruce and Kathy wed and Dick assumes the mantle of the bat…

Moldoff’s unforgettable back page pin-up ‘Greetings from the Batman Family’ wraps up this final glimpse at simpler but wilder times. Strange, addictive and still potently engrossing, these weird wonder tales typify a lost era of gentler danger, more wholesome evil and irresistible fun. They’re also impossibly compelling, incredibly illustrated and undeniably influential. A perfect treat for young and old alike and anyone who came to the characters via Saturday morning cartoons…
© 1962, 1963, 2010 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Batman Story Book Annual 1967 (with Robin the Boy Wonder)


By various and Mick Anglo studios (World Distributors)
No ISBN ASIN: ?B000V5MSY0

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

Before American publishers began exporting directly into the UK in 1959 our exposure to their unique brand of fantasy came from licensed reprints. British publishers/printers like Len Miller, Alan Class and others bought material from the USA – and occasionally Canada – to fill 68-page monochrome anthologies – many of which recycled those same stories for decades. Less common were the flimsy, strangely coloured pamphlets reprinting the same stuff, produced by Australian outfit K. G. Murray and exported and distributed here in a rather sporadic manner. They also produced sturdily substantial Christmas Annuals which had a huge impact on my earliest years (I strongly suspect my adoration of black-&-white artwork stems from seeing supreme stylists like Curt Swan, Carmine Infantino, Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson uncluttered by cheap, flat colour).

The first Batman Annual (comic strips and features) came out in 1960, but in the heyday of “Batmania” two separate publishers were releasing competing (or maybe complementary?) hardback Holiday editions here. Today’s first delightful oddment comes from just after Batman began ruling the Earth, thanks to the power of the Adam West/Burt Ward Batman TV show. Another publisher had the rights to reprint the current crop of DC comic strips – which bore only superficial resemblance to the TV iteration anyway – but World Distributors secured a license to publish prose-based books directly based on the screen escapades. British comics have always fed heavily on other media and as the popularity of television burgeoned during the 1960s – especially children’s shows and cartoons – those shows increasingly became a staple source for the Seasonal Annual market. There would be a profusion of stories and strips targeting not simply readers but young viewers and more and more often the stars would be American not British…

After three seasons (perhaps two and a half would be closer) the overwhelmingly successful Batman TV show ended in March, 1968. It had clocked up 120 episodes and a movie since the US premiere on January 12th, 1966 and triggered a global furore for all things zany and mystery-mannish. At this time DC, Dell/Gold Key, Marvel and Charlton all had limited overseas licenses – usually in dedicated black-&-white anthologies. Another factor to consider was the tradition nature of the UK market. US comics had been primarily picture-strip based since the 1930s, but British weeklies had been providing Boy’s & Girl’s “papers” that were prose-based for all that time and longer. DC Thompson persevered with illustrated text periodicals until well into the 1960s and every British company continued to shave costs by padding comics and annuals with text stories and features well into the 1970s.

Seasonal annuals provided a vital promotional peak in the publishing year and guaranteed sales push (see Alan Clark’s superb The Children’s Annual for more details). Any comic worth its salt needed a glossy hardback on the shelves over the Christmas period, but they didn’t have to be picture-packed…

Not yet, at least. In future years various outfits would publish DC and Marvel Annuals: mostly full colour reprint strip extravaganzas with a little UK-originated material, but in the 1960s the prose tradition was still worth pursuing – especially if another company had the licences to publish strips but had neglected to secure rights to storybooks and text tales…

Thus this peculiar and delightful novelty: a comfortingly sturdy 96 page parcel of bold illustrations, games, puzzles and prose stories featuring the Dauntless Dynamic Duo in exceedingly British, goggle-box inspired tales of skulduggery and derring-do, flavoured with the OTT wackiness of the TV show at its madcap height.

This was the first of four, released in 1966 by Manchester-based World Distributors. The company was formed by Sidney, John and Alfred Pemberton after WWII and their main business was licensed Annuals; usually released in Autumn for the Christmas trade and ranging over the decades from Doctor Who to Star Trek to Tarzan, as well as choice selections of comics properties like Fantastic Four, Superman and The Phantom. They became World International Ltd in 1981, but changing market conditions put them out of business by the end of the decade.

This entire package – like most of their 1960s offerings – was produced in the cheap & cheerful, quirky mix of monochrome, dual-hued and weirdly full-coloured pages which made the Christmas books such a bizarrely beloved treat. As for the writers and artists of the material your guess is, sadly, as good as or better than mine, but it was all generated by Mick (Marvel Man) Anglo’s publishing/packaging company Gower Studios. They delivered a delightfully eclectic mix of material far more in keeping with the traditionally perceived interests of British boys than the suited-&-booted masked madness which usually followed in the Caped Crusader’s scalloped wake. Lengthy prose exploits are augmented by full-colour illustrations – of an uncomfortable standard – as the overnight sensations are retrofitted to a standard UK seasonal format, complete with supplementary puzzles, games and feature pages.

Here, the madcap all-ages mayhem opens with ‘Slaves of Terror Syndicate’ as a grimly efficient Dynamic Duo (smacking greatly of Sexton Blake & Tinker, Raffles & Bunny or any other British crime or spy-busting sleuth partnership) tackle a cabal of would-be atomic blackmailers kidnapping teen geniuses – including Dick Grayson – and threatening to melt the polar ice caps… as if any of that could possibly happen…

The humour and satire of the show are entirely absent from these tales (whether that’s good or bad is up to you), with generic child-appropriate action plots, themes and motifs adapted to what was clearly an insufficient amount of research and reference material. The eccentrically charming yarns resume with sci fi drama ‘The Night of the Crab-Men’ as Gotham Gangbuster and Boy Wonder foil a plot by foreign agent/evil scientist/master of disguise Carl Zaptan to take over a radio telescope and invite alien conquerors to attack Earth. Following a ‘Batcave’ pin-up, ‘The Wings of Nemesis’ pits the power-packed pair against nefarious aviators who steal a super-jet carrying $25,000,000 in gold bullion (back when that was quite a lot), before Robin is lost at sea and Batman stumbles into a mass mind-control experiment in ‘Captain Midnight’s Last Crime’.

Activity pages were big back then and Ludo-style board game ‘To the Batcave’ (still got those counters and dice from last year?) offers a change of pace and sharing moment, prior to drama roaring back with ‘Copperhead’ as a passenger plane mishap exposes the world’s most deadly spy and poisons experts, setting the Caped Crusaders to foiling his sinister scheme to sabotage America’s defences, after which we learn all about bat-gadgets and crime-crushing gimmicks in ‘Batman’s Equipment’ in advance of a moment of true terror as Batman is abducted to ‘The House of Horrors’ run by a vengeful convicted felon torturing the judge, jury, cops and superheroes who dared to jail him. The prose fun-fest concludes with ‘Snakes Alive’ as a hunt for a kidnapped banker leads the Dynamic Duo into a swamp plagued by robot serpents and a second case of kidnapped US scientists and traitorous unpatriotic gangsters…

In deft deference to the growing trend, this book ends with a double-page spread inviting enthralled readers to join the Official Batman Fan Club (“Zowie!! Powie!! Voomp!!”). I wonder if they’re still holding meetings up there in Heanor, Derbyshire?

Oddly eccentric when not truly daft, this titanic tome is probably only of interest to comics completists and incurable Bat-nostalgics, but I’ll bet there are more of us than anybody suspects out there and what’s wrong with a little sentiment-soaked reminiscing today of all days, anyway?
© MCMLXVI by National Periodical Publications Inc. All rights reserved throughout the world.

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Dear DC Super-Villains


By Michael Northrop & Gustavo Duarte, coloured by Cris Peter & lettered by Wes Abbott (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1779500540 (PB/Digital edition)

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Ideal to Steal Stocking Stuffer… 9/10 (just give it back after reading, okay?)

Superheroes are purely iconic embodiments if not “perfectualisations” of a whole bunch of deep things about humans. Ask any psychologist or modern philosopher. Sadly, such pristine intellectualisations don’t cut much ice (just ask Captain Cold) in the stories-for-money racket; and every hero from Gilgamesh to the Scarlet Pimpernel and every sleuth and super-doer since mass entertainment began owes a huge recurring debt to the bad lurking in the shadows or monster rampaging down main street.

DC have a particularly fine stable of misguided miscreants, justifiable revengers and thieving psychotic loons – just look at how many have their own titles, shows and films – and their antics as much as the heroes we’re supposed to admire are part of children’s awareness and maturing processes (even boys, who I’m forced to admit frequently grow up by a different set of metrics to girls or other flavours of kids).

Reprising or rather expanding their 2019 hit, Michael Northrop (Trapped, Plunked, Gentlemen, TombQuest) and Gustavo Duarte (Bizarro, Monsters! and Other Stories link both please), turn their delightful comedic eyes on the bad guys who might well be a Legion of Doom but still have it in them to answer a few salient questions from some curious kids with a really good search engines…

In Cairo, a major heist is capped by a relaxing moment of downtime as Selina Kyle responds to a ‘Dear Catwoman’ query about getting caught, whilst Earth’s most maximumly imprisoned mad scientist accepts a rash challenge from a heckler who thinks he’s safely anonymous in ‘Dear Lex Luthor’ and ‘Dear Harley Quinn’ shares her experiences of stand-up comedy and chaotic behaviour…

All these messages come courtesy of the Legion of Doom forwarding service but the would-be world conquerors are generally fretful and bad tempered while trying to find a new leader. Those tensions a painfully apparent in ‘Dear Gorilla Grodd’ as the Super-Ape shares school memories – but never bananas – even as ‘Dear Giganta’ offers advice on bullies and being the tallest girl in class.

When a disabled girl challenges ‘Dear Sinestro’ to examine his motivations, it sparks an unexpected sentimental response, and even ruthless hardcase rogue ronin ‘Dear Katana’ also reassesses her life after opening a succinctly sharp email question, whereas the modern-day pirate king only gets “fished” after clicking on ‘Dear Black Manta’, leading to a long-awaited calamitous convergence, supervillain showdown and inevitable big battle with the JLA in concluding chapter ‘Dear DC Super-Villains’…

Big, bold, daft and deliriously addictive, this in another superb all-ages action romp packed with laughs and delivering a grand experience for any who red it. Extra material includes ‘Who’s Who in the Legion of Doom’ of the heroes, and creator biographies in ‘Auxiliary Members!’ plus an extract from Metropolis Grove by Drew Brockington. If you love comics and want others to as well you couldn’t do more that point potential fans this way. Actually, just show, tell, or email them: pointing is rude…
© 2021 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Dear Justice League


By Michael Northrop & Gustavo Duarte, coloured by Ma Maiolo & lettered by Wes Abbott (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-8413-8 (PB/Digital edition)

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Comic Perfection and Ideal Stocking Stuffer… 10/10

Keystone of the DC Universe, the Justice League of America is the reason we have a comics industry today. After the actual invention of the comic book superhero – for which read the launch of Superman in June 1938 – the most significant event in the industry’s progress was the combination of individual sales-points into a group. Thus, what seems blindingly obvious to everyone blessed with four-colour hindsight was irrefutably proven: a number of popular characters combining forces can multiply readership. Plus of course, a whole bunch of superheroes is a lot cooler than just one – or even one and a sidekick…

The Justice Society of America is rightly revered as a landmark in industry development but faded and failed after tastes changed at the end of the 1940s. When Julius Schwartz began reviving and revitalising the nigh-defunct superhero genre in 1956 the true turning point came a few years later with the (inevitable?) teaming of his freshly reconfigured mystery men. When wedded to relatively unchanged costumed big guns who had weathered the first fall of the Superhero, the result was a new, modern, Space-Age version of the JSA and the birth of a new mythology.

The moment that changed everything for us baby-boomers came with The Brave and the Bold #28 (cover dated March 1960): a classical adventure title recently retooled as a try-out magazine like Showcase. Just in time for Christmas 1959, ads began running…

“Just Imagine! The mightiest heroes of our time… have banded together as the Justice League of America to stamp out the forces of evil wherever and whenever they appear!”

When the JLA launched it cemented the growth and validity of the genre, triggering an explosion of new characters at every company producing comics in America and even spread to the rest of the world as the 1960s progressed. Superheroics have waned since, but never gone away, and remain a trigger point for all us kids. However, comics have grown serious and mature, and we increasingly left the kids out of the equation, letting TV cartoons pick up the slack. Even the roster in this tale is informed as much by animation adventures as potent printed page-turners…

Well, superheroes are still kids’ stuff as this superb book – and its sequel – attest. An early entry in DC’s project to bring their characters back to young readers, Dear Justice League takes all the iconic riffs and paraphernalia attached to the team and comedically runs wild with a core conceit: the heroes individually answering emails – or other, older, lesser communications – from young fans with problems to share or questions needing answers.

Played strictly for laughs by Brazilian illustrator/slapstick maestro Gustavo Duarte (Bizarro, Monsters! and Other Stories link both please), the segmented saga is composed by author and journalist Michael Northrop (Trapped, Plunked, Gentlemen, TombQuest) who blends charm with wit and a great deal of heart for maximum effects.

It begins as long-suffering little Ben Silsby gets under some steel-hard skin by texting ‘Dear Superman’, whilst ‘Dear Hawkgirl’ distracts the winged wonder so much during an alien bug battle that she neglects her beloved hamster. Although old foe Black Manta is no problem, the Sea King reads a ‘Dear Aquaman’ question and must ponder hygiene issues to the point of upsetting Hall of Justice roommate Purdey (his goldfish)…

As the team convene to discuss big bug activity, a ‘Dear Wonder Woman’ direct message send the Amazing Amazon off on an embarrassing memory moment whilst ‘Dear Flash’ takes on bullies, poor concentration and bad parenting, ‘Dear Green Lantern’ trades fashion tips and colour swatches with grade school diva-to-be Shalene and ‘Dear Cyborg’ finds a different kind of opponent online and ready to rock…

Ultimate paranoid the Dark Knight doesn’t do email and must find another way to respond to a ‘Dear Batman’ that sets his sentimental heart and brutal boyhood into perspective, which all sets the scene for ET extermination excitement as the bug subplot rattling through all the vignettes boils over into all-ages cartoon action in blockbuster finale ‘Dear Justice League’…

Pure comics nostalgia writ large and hard hitting. Enjoy all you oldster kids…

Extra material includes creator biographies, the ‘Hall of Justice Top Secret Files (No Peeking!)’ of our heroes, and their animal ‘Auxiliary Members!’ before concluding with come-hither extracts from other kid-friendly books in the line (specifically the sequel plugged next) and Superman of Smallville by Art Baltazar & Franco.

Fun, deceptively thrilling and infinitely re-readable, this old school treat is a must have item for anyone who loves superheroes.
© 2019, DC Comics All Rights Reserved.

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Tales of the Batman: Archie Goodwin


By Archie Goodwin with Jim Aparo, Sal Amendola, Howard Chaykin, Alex Toth, Walter Simonson, Dan Jurgens, Dick Giordano, Gene Ha, José Muñoz, Gary Gianni, James Robinson, Marshall Rogers, Bob Wiacek, John C. Cebollero, Scott Hampton & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3829-2 (HB/Digital edition)

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: A Knight in Darkness Forever Missed… 9/10

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

Cartoonist and writer Archie Goodwin (September 8th 1937 – March 1st 1998) was working as an assistant art director at Redbook magazine when his comics career truly began. A passionate EC fan, he had sold a speculative script to Warren Publishing that appeared in Creepy #1. He was the editor by #4, and, despite writing non-stop for some of the greatest artists in comics at that time, was offered a similar leading role on Warren’s latest brainstorm: the astonishing and legendary Blazing Combat. All while officiating and writing for Eerie and Vampirella too.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Goodwin grew up in a succession of small towns, hunting down old EC comics and contributing to comics’ earliest fanzines. From the University of Oklahoma, he transferred to what became the School of Visual Arts in New York City, went freelance in 1960, and occasionally assisted Leonard Starr on newspaper strip Mary Perkins on Stage. In later life his own strip contributions (on Star Wars, Captain Kate, Flash Gordon, Secret Agent X-9 and Star Hawks) would make him popular with an entirely separate sort of comics fans. After leaving Warren in 1967, Archie wrote for Marvel (Iron Man, Fantastic Four, Luke Cage, Hero for Hire, Tomb of Dracula, Spider-Woman, Spider-Man, Dazzler, The Hulk, Star Wars and many more), had several stints as group editor and co-created its New Universe. He scripted landmark early graphic novels Blackmark and His Name is Savage with Gil Kane and adapted the movie Alien for Heavy Metal , one of the first best-seller graphic novels. An astute editor and sublime nurturer of new talent, he was Editor in Chief of Marvel, its Epic imprint, and twice at DC. The second run began in 1989, overseeing innovative titles like Starman shine. The assorted Batman titles under his aegis included The Long Halloween and Dark Victory. These and the regular boutique of Bat-books cemented the Dark Knight’s position as the industry’s top star, but it was very much an encore performance.

He was bloody marvellous and never once let me pay for lunch.

Obviously, I’m not at all neutral on this matter, but that doesn’t stop this collection of all the Batman stories Archie wrote being something every fan should see. The compilation gathers material from Detective Comics #437-438, 440-443, Manhunter Special Edition, Detective Comics Annual #3, Showcase ‘95 #11, Batman: Black and White #1 & 4, Legends of the Dark Knight #132-136 and Original Graphic Novel Batman Night Cries, spanning November 1973 through August 1992. Back in the early1970s Archie had been a writer/editor who set the company on fire. His tenure on War titles G.I. Combat, Our Fighting Forces and Star Spangled War Stories generated tales – and sales – still talked about today. However it was his astounding recreation of Batman in Detective Comics that is most remembered and revered.

After taking over the editor’s desk from Julie Schwartz, Archie became writer/editor of Detective Comics with his first style-shattering tale coming in #437 (November 1973). He devised a stunning run of experimental yarns, beginning with a brace of gripping thrillers magnificently depicted by Jim Aparo (The Phantom, The Phantom Stranger, Aquaman). ‘Deathmask!’ is a brilliant murder-mystery featuring glittering social soirees, tough cop chatter, Aztec curses, supernatural overtones and an apparently unstoppable killer. Following that, the same team made ‘A Monster Walks Wayne Manor!’, wherein the abandoned stately pile – Batman having relocated to a bunker under the Wayne Foundation building – briefly becomes home to a warped and dangerous old adversary…

Editor Goodwin started Steve Engelhart’s Bat-folio in #339 (for which see elsewhere) before writing DC #440, as Sal Amendola (Phoenix, Archie Comics, Tarzan) & Dick Giordano (Sarge Steel, Rose and the Thorn, Human Target) limned a creepy tale of weaponised superstition and cruel, cunning criminality as the Dark Detective survives a ‘Ghost Mountain Midnight!’ after tracking hillbilly kidnappers to a murderous mountain-folk enclave, whilst Howard Chaykin (American Flagg, Star Wars, The Stars My Destination) illustrates a manic game of cat-&-mouse in #441’s ‘Judgment Day!’ Here a deranged judge kidnaps Robin and lays down his own brand of law until hard stopped, after which a stylistic masterpiece confirmed Alex Toth (Zorro, Green Lantern, The Witching Hour, Space Ghost, Bravo for Adventure, Torpedo, Johnny Thunder, Eclipso, X-Men) as one of the most unique stylists in American comics. With Goodwin’s collaboration, ‘Death Flies the Haunted Skies!’ (Detective Comics #442, September 1974) is a magnificent barnstorming thriller of aviators seemingly picked off by an assassin and a high point in an era of landmark tales.

While reshaping Batman and war comics, Goodwin was making history with a relative newcomer on a mere backup strip: Manhunter. Now one of the most celebrated superhero series in comics history, it catapulted fresh-faced Walt Simonson (Metal Men, Thor, Star Slammers, X-Factor, Ragnarök, Fantastic Four) to the front rank of creators, revolutionised the way dramatic adventures were told and remains one of the most lauded strips ever produced. Concocted by genial genius Goodwin as a supporting strand for Detective Comics (#437-443 (October/November 1973 to October/November 1974) the seven episodes – 68 serialised pages – garnered six Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards during its one year run. If you’re wondering they were: Best Writer of the Year 1973 – Goodwin; Best Short Story of the Year 1973 for ‘The Himalayan Incident’; Outstanding New Talent of the Year 1973 – Walter Simonson; Best Short Story of the Year 1974 for ‘Cathedral Perilous’; Best Feature Length Story of the Year 1974 for the conclusion ‘Götterdämmerung’ and Best Writer of the Year 1974 – Goodwin.

Paul Kirk was a big game hunter and part-time costumed mystery man before and during WWII. As a dirty jobs specialist for the Allies, he lost all love of life and died in a hunting accident in 1946. Decades later, he seemingly resurfaces, coming to the attention of Interpol agent Christine St. Clair. Thinking him no more than an identity thief, she soon uncovers an incredible plot by a cadre of the World’s greatest scientists who combined over decades into an organisation to assume control of the planet after realising humanity had the means to destroy it.

Since WWII’s end The Council infiltrated every corridor of power, made technological advances (such as stealing the hero’s individuality by cloning him into an army of enhanced, rapid-healing soldiers), gradually achieving their goals with no one the wiser. The returned Paul Kirk, however, had upset their plans and was intent on thwarting their ultimate goals…

Coloured by Klaus Janson and lettered by Ben Oda, Joe Letterese, Alan Kupperberg & Annette Kawecki, it tells of St. Clair and Kirk’s first meeting in ‘The Himalayan Incident’, her realisation that all is not as it seems in ‘The Manhunter File’ and their revelatory alliance beginning with ‘The Resurrection of Paul Kirk.’ Now fully part of Kirk’s crusade, St. Clair discovers just how wide and deep the Council’s influence runs in ‘Rebellion!’ before opening the endgame in the incredible ‘Cathedral Perilous’, and gathering one last ally in ‘To Duel the Master’. With all the pieces in play for a cataclysmic confrontation, events take a strange misstep as Batman stumbles into the plot, inadvertently threatening to hand the Council ultimate victory. ‘Götterdämmerung’ fully lives up to its title, wrapping up the saga of Paul Kirk with consummate flair and high emotion. It was a superb triumph and perplexing conundrum for decades to come…

In an industry notorious for putting profit before aesthetics, quality or sentiment, the pressure to revive such a well-beloved character was enormous, but Goodwin & Simonson were adamant that unless they could come up with an idea that remained true to the spirit and conclusion of the original, Manhunter would not be seen again. Although the creators were as good as their word DC weakened a few times. Rogue Kirk clones featured in Secret Society of Super-Villains and The Power Company, but were mere shabby exploitations of the original. Eventually, however, an idea occurred and the old conspirators concocted something feasible and didn’t debase the original conclusion. Archie provided a plot, and Walter began to prepare the strip. After years of valiant struggle, the master plotter finally succumbed to the cancer that had been killing him. Anybody who had ever met Archie will understand the void his death created. He was irreplaceable. Without a script the project seemed doomed until Simonson’s wife Louise suggested that it be drawn and run without words: a silent tribute and last hurrah for a true hero. Manhunter: the Final Chapter reunites the characters and brings the masterpiece to a solid, sound resolution. As that final wordless word appeared in Manhunter: The Special Edition (1999), it really was all over…

A subtle strand neatly added to Batman’s origin shapes ‘Obligation’ (illustrated by Dan Jurgens (Superman, Sun Devils, Thor, Captain America) & Giordano from Detective Comics Annual #3 1990), as the hero meets a man whose life was also shaped by the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne. However, the grim story, crimebusting career and bloody redemption of Mark Cord and his estranged children also draws Bruce Wayne and Batman into all-out war with the Yakuza before any honour can be truly satisfied…

Next, Gene Ha (Top 10, Mae, The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix) draws whilst Ted & Debbie McKeever colour chilling short shocker ‘Escape’ (Showcase ’95 #11, November 1995) as an Arkham inmate finds the only way to survive the madness, bolstered by a brace of tales from Batman: Black and White (#1 June 1996 and #4 September 1996). The first offers eerily memorable Jazz murder thriller ‘The Devil’s Trumpet’ – as rendered by astounding stylist José Muñoz (Alack Sinner) – before Gary Gianni (MonsterMen) pulls out all the period stops for his pulp-era paean period piece ‘Heroes’…

Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths, new Bat-title Legends of the Dark Knight employed star guest creators to reimagine the hero’s history and past cases for modern audiences. Devised by Goodwin, James Robinson (Starman, Earth 2), Marshall Rogers (Demon With a Glass Hand, G.I. Joe, I Am Coyote, Doctor Strange, Detectives Inc.), Bob Wiacek & John C. Cebollero, issues #132-136 (August-December 2000) explore Wayne family history in story arc ‘Siege’ as an elderly mercenary and his elite entourage return to Gotham in ‘Assembly’. Colonel Brass has a multi-layered plan for profit and personal gratification that harks back to the old days when he was a trusted aide and virtual son to Bruce’s grandfather Jack Wayne. Regrettably, as seen in ‘Assault’, ‘Breach’, ‘Battle’ and ‘Defense’, that involves not only duping business woman Silver St. Cloud and plundering the city, but also taking over Wayne Mansion, and digging down to some old hidden caves (now fully-inhabited and packed with Bat paraphernalia).

Of course, if that entails wiping out any surviving Waynes who might keep Brass from his long-awaited revenge and reward, that’s just a well-deserved bonus…

This titanic tribute closes with what might not be Archie’s best story but certainly ranks as his most important: opening a mature conversation on a terrifyingly pervasive social atrocity we’re all still trying to come to terms with even now. Released in August 1992, Batman: Night Cries addressed a social issue that very much plagues us still, but was then becoming a ubiquitous plot maguffin, poorly handled by contemporary creators in all narrative arts media that it threatened to become just another fashionable story device, and a weakened, trite one at that.

That issue was child abuse and, despite being at first glance a horror fantasy, Night Cries is one of the most effective stories to maturely tackle it that comics has ever produced. This is not a polemical or attention-seeking tale. The subject is key to the narrative, affects characters fundamentally, and is dealt with accordingly. There is no neat and tidy solution. This isn’t a soap-box subject and neither victims nor perpetrators are paraded as single-faceted ciphers. This is a serious attempt to tell a story in which child abuse is an integral factor and not cause nor excuse for violence and pain. It is illustrated by prestigious painter Scott Hampton (Silverheels, Simon Dark, The Upturned Stone, Star Trek, Black Widow, Hellraiser, American Gods, Wicked) who had crafted other high end, mature-themed DC projects such as Batman: Gotham County Line and Sandman Presents: Lucifer. Hampton also contributed heavily to the final script.

Gotham City is a pit of everyday horrors but when a serial killer is identified who apparently targets entire families even Batman and Police Commissioner James Gordon are troubled by unacknowledged, long-suppressed feelings the killings dredge up within themselves. Suspecting a link between the killings and a new child abuse clinic funded by Bruce Wayne, detectives harshly interview a traumatised little girl, a sole survivor who saw the killer in action. She identifies The Batman…

Moody, dark and chilling, this examination of family ties and group responsibilities exposes a complex web of betrayals and shirked duties that weave and cut all through contemporary American culture. When a connection to US servicemen, used, abused and betrayed by their own government is revealed, the metaphor for a system that prefers to ignore its problems rather than deal with them is powerfully completed…

With Covers by Aparo, Michaela Kaluta, Simonson, George Pratt, Jim Lee & Scott Williams, Toth, Rogers & Cebollero, and Hampton, the brilliant Bat-tales in this magnificent compilation confirm the compelling primal force and charisma of the Dark Night and cap a stunning career by an irreplaceable creator. Tales of the Batman: Archie Goodwin is an unmissable time capsule of comics mastery no fan of the medium or lover of stories can do without.
© DC Comics 1973, 1974, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2013. All Rights Reserved.

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Superman: The Dailies volume III: 1941-1942


By Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster & the Superman Studio (Kitchen Sink Press/DC)
ISBN: 978-1-56389-462-9 (TPB)

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Up, Up And Forever Away …10/10

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

The American comic book industry – if it existed at all – would be utterly unrecognisable without Superman. Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster’s unprecedented invention was fervidly adopted by a desperate and joy-starved generation and quite literally gave birth to a genre if not an actual art form. Spawning an army of imitators and variations within three years of his 1938 debut, the intoxicating blend of breakneck, breathtaking action and wish-fulfilment which epitomised the early Man of Steel grew to encompass cops-&-robbers crimebusting, socially reforming dramas, sci fi fantasy, whimsical comedy and, once the war in Europe and the East sucked in America, patriotic relevance for a host of gods, heroes and monsters, all dedicated to profit through exuberant, eye-popping excess and vigorous dashing derring-do.

From the outset, in comic book terms Superman was master of the world. Moreover, whilst transforming the shape of the fledgling funnybook biz, the Man of Tomorrow irresistibly expanded into all areas of the entertainment media. Although we all think of the Cleveland boys’ iconic invention as epitome and acme of comics creation, the truth is that very soon after his springtime debut in Action Comics #1 the Man of Steel was a fictional multimedia monolith in the same league as Popeye, Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes and Mickey Mouse.

We parochial and possessive comics fans too often regard our purest and most powerful icons in purely graphic narrative terms, but the likes of Batman, Spider-Man, Avengers and their hyperkinetic kind long ago outgrew four-colour origins to become fully mythologized modern media creatures familiar in mass markets, across all platforms and age ranges…

Far more people have seen and heard the Man of Steel than have ever read his comic books. His globally syndicated newspaper strips alone were enjoyed by countless millions, and by the time his 20th anniversary rolled around, at the very start of what we call the Silver Age of Comics, he had been a thrice-weekly radio serial star, headlined a series of astounding animated cartoons, become a novel attraction (written by George Lowther) and helmed two films and his first smash, 8-season live-action television show. Superman was a perennial sure-fire success for toy, game, puzzle and apparel manufacturers all over the planet.

Although pretty much a spent force these days, for the majority of the previous century the newspaper comic strip was the Holy Grail that all American cartoonists and graphic narrative storytellers hungered for. Syndicated across the country – and often the planet – it was seen by millions, if not billions, of readers and generally accepted as a more mature and sophisticated form of literature than comic-books. It also paid better, and rightly so. Some of the most enduring and entertaining characters and concepts of all time were created to lure readers from one particular paper to another and many of them grew to be part of a global culture. Mutt and Jeff, Flash Gordon, Dick Tracy, Buck Rogers, Charlie Brown and so many more escaped their humble tawdry newsprint origins to become meta-real: existing in the minds of earthlings from Albuquerque to Zanzibar. Most still do…

The daily Superman newspaper strip launched on 16th January 1939, augmented by a full-colour Sunday page from November 5th of that year. Originally crafted by luminaries like Siegel & Shuster and their studio (Paul Cassidy, Leo Nowak, Dennis Neville, John Sikela, Ed Dobrotka, Paul J. Lauretta & Wayne Boring), the mammoth task required additional talents like strip veteran Jack Burnley and writers including Whitney Ellsworth, Jack Schiff & Alvin Schwartz. The McClure Syndicate feature ran continuously until May 1966, appearing, at its peak, in over 300 daily and 90 Sunday newspapers; a combined readership of more than 20 million. Eventually, Win Mortimer and Curt Swan joined the unflagging Boring & Stan Kaye whilst Bill Finger and Siegel provided stories, telling serial tales largely divorced from comic book continuity throughout years when superheroes were scarcely seen.

This superb, long overdue for re-release collection comes from 1999, re-presents strips #673-866 (episodes 20-28) and is preceded by Steve Vance’s informative, picture and photo-packed introduction ‘Superman Goes Hollywood’, focussing on the hero’s spectacular early triumphs on the big screen in animated and live action formats. If I live long enough, next year I’ll move on to the IDW American classics volumes…

The never-ending battle resumes with Siegel & Shuster attempting something quite spectacular. Although daily strips were never meant to be packaged as units of entertainment but rather present an ongoing, non-stop reading experience, all funnies features incorporated an internal “beginning-middle-end” structure that allowed new readers (preferably in new client regions) to hop aboard the adventure bus. With these tales, however, the creators built in a serial within a serial motif as one deadly enemy enlisted a horde of foes to face the Man of tomorrow, each in his/their own tale…

The saga began on March 10th 1941, as sequence #20, with the initial chapter playing out until April 19th by launching ‘The League to Destroy Superman’ (episodes #673-708). It begins as Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent investigates shady property tycoon Ralph Roland and uncovers a viper’s nest of thugs and bandits resulting in the news hound’s attempted murder. However, after applying his usual heavy-handed solutions, Superman is accused of the manslaughter of one of Roland’s staff – the honest, “nice guy” partner Horace Danvers…

Shocked by the accusation and now doubting himself, the Man of Steel is unaware outraged, affronted, arrogant Roland has convened a forum of crime bosses, enemy spies, mad scientists and professional killers, offering $1,000,000 to anyone who can eradicate the vigilante riff-raff…

First to try is Spanish self-proclaimed “super-scientist” Carlos who – with ferocious flunky Rolf – unleashes a wave of diabolical inventions between April 21st and May 22nd in ‘The Scientists of Sudden Death’ (#709-736), all based around luring the caped champion into lethal traps baited with abducted person of interest Lois Lane…

The League had also agreed to a gentlemanly running order of attempts, but fiery murderess the Blond Tigress keeps jumping the gun due to her hidden personal stake in the contest…

After epically failing, Carlos is readily replaced by overconfident technologist Block whose weapon can derail trains and shoot planes from the sky but also falls short in ‘The Death Ray’ (#737-774 May 23rd – July 5th).

While the Action Ace is drawing fire, Lois and the Tigress individually and jointly address the bigger mystery of who killed Danvers, and why organised crime is seemingly acting on some hidden mastermind’s agenda: an investigation that keeps both fully in harm’s way all year long…

Evil engineer Coker comes next, but although confident his electro-dart gun can do the job, its short range requires an extra effort and employment of deadly doppelganger ‘The Pseudo-Superman’ (#775-798, July 7th – August 2nd) to get his high-flying target into range. Cue a confusing comedy of errors, twisty twin tumult, and sudden deaths before next contender Slag – AKA ‘The Deadly Dwarf’ – (#799-840 August 4th – September 20th) tries his shaky old hand by deploying his incredible gift for hypnotism. Despite provoking a wave of suicides, terrorism and destruction, Slag too fails to collect the bounty, prompting chemist Fant to modify his plans to kill the hero via a hyper-capsule ‘Explosion’ (#841- 854 September 22nd – October 7th). However, even recruiting Blond Tigress to vamp and distract the caped wonder has no appreciable effect, and last genius standing Sleez orchestrates a crimewave and employs lethal ultimate weapon ‘The Electric Rod’ (#855-876 October 8th – November 1st) with as little success as all his competitors. With the field clear the deeply conflicted final contestant at last officially strikes, but ‘The Blond Tigress Regrets’ (#877-888, November 3rd – November 15th) that she might be playing on the wrong team. That’s confirmed when Lois solves the murder mystery and exposes the big shot behind Superman’s frame up…

The compendium concludes with a slice of justified infomercial bragging as – in loose conjunction with the Man of Tomorrow’s screen triumphs – ‘Superman’s Hollywood Debut’ (#889-966, November 17th 1941 – February 14th 1942) follows Lois & Clark to Lala Land where an impending movie biopic is being hampered by a dearth of suitable leading men. Even after that problem is fixed when klutzy Kent takes off his glasses, a rash of weird accidents seems to indicate someone doesn’t want this Super-flick released…

Cue lights! Action! Cartoonists….

Offering timeless wonders and mesmerising excitement for lovers of action and fantasy, the early Superman is beyond compare. If you love the era or just crave simpler stories from less angst-wracked times, these are perfect comics reading, and this a book you simply must see.
Superman: The Dailies volume III co-published by DC Comics and Kitchen Sink Press. Covers, introduction and all related names, characters and elements are ™ & © DC Comics 1998, 1999. All Rights Reserved.

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Batman: Harley and Ivy The Deluxe Edition


By Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, Ty Templeton, Shane Glines, Dan DeCarlo, Ronnie Del Carmen, Rick Burchett, Stéphane Roux & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-6080-4 (HB/Digital edition)

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Psychosis and Spice and Everything Nice… 9/10

This book includes Discriminatory Content included for comedic effect.

Created by Paul Dini & Bruce Timm, Batman: The Animated Series aired in the US from September 5th 1992 to September 15th 1995. Ostensibly for kids, the breakthrough TV animation series revolutionised everybody’s image of the Dark Knight and immediately began feeding back into the print iteration, leading to some of the absolute best comicbook tales in the hero’s many decades of existence.

Employing a timeless visual style dubbed “Dark Deco”, the show mixed elements from all iterations of the character and, without diluting the power, tone or mood of the premise, reshaped the grim avenger and his extended team into a wholly accessible, thematically memorable form that the youngest of readers could enjoy, whilst adding shades of exuberance and panache that only most devout and obsessive Batmaniac could possibly object to. In fact, so many didn’t object over the years that in August 2024 we got a fresh bite of the cherry. If you love Batman, are steeped in the vast mythology of Gotham City and adore stylish animated wonderment, you owe it to yourself to watch the Reinvented-But-Just-As-Good show Batman: Caped Crusader…

Thirty-plus years ago (!) the original TV series offered a superbly innovative retro makeover for many classic supervillains and even added one unexpected candidate to the Rogues Gallery. Harley Quinn wasn’t supposed to be a star – or even an actual comic book character. As soon become apparent, however, the manic minx had her own off-kilter ideas on the matter…

Harley was first seen as the Clown Prince of Crime’s slavishly adoring, abuse-enduring assistant in Joker’s Favor (airing September 11th,1992) where she instantly captured the hearts and minds of millions of viewers. From there on she began popping up in the licensed comic book and – always stealing the show – infiltrated mainstream DC comicbook continuity and into her own title. Along the way a flash of inspired brilliance led to her forming a unique relationship with toxic floral siren and plant-manipulating eco-terrorist Poison Ivy – a working partnership that delivered a bounty of fabulously funny-sexy yarns, and has brought the pair film and TV fame as a romantic power couple…

Collecting the eponymous 3-issue miniseries from 2004 plus cool stuff from Batman Adventures Annual #1 (1994), Batman Adventures Holiday Special #1 (1995), Batman and Robin Adventures #8 (July 1996), Batgirl Adventures #1 (1998) and material from Batman: Gotham Knights #14 (April 2001) and Batman Black and White #3 (2014), this spiffy deluxe hardback/eBook is an amazing cornucopia of comic treasures to delight young and old alike, and a perfect reminder why Batman & Co. remain so popular even after 85 years (and counting…).

It begins with a global-spanning romp written by Dini, illustrated by Timm & Shane Glines from Batman: Harley & Ivy #1-3 as the ‘Bosom Buddies’ have a spat that wrecks half of Gotham before escaping to the Amazon together to take over a small country responsible for much of the region’s deforestation and spreading a heady dose of ‘Jungle Fever!’. Once Batman gets involved the story suddenly shifts to Hollywood and the very last word in creative commentary on Superheroes in the movie business. ‘Hooray for Harleywood!’ delivers showbiz a devastating body blow Tinseltown will never recover from…

As we all know, Harley is (certifiably) insanely besotted with killer clown The Joker and next up Dini, Dan DeCarlo & Timm wordlessly expose her profound weakness for that so very bad boy when she’s released from Arkham Asylum only to be seduced back into committing crazy crimes and stuck back in the pokey again, all in just ‘24 Hours’…

‘The Harley and the Ivy’ comes from Batman Adventures Holiday Special #1 wherein Dini & Ronnie Del Carmen depict the larcenous ladies on an illicit shopping spree thanks to a dose of Ivy’s mind-warping kisses and up-close-and-personal close encounter with Bruce Wayne…

‘Harley and Ivy and… Robin’ (Batman and Robin Adventures #8, by Dini, Ty Templeton & illustrator Rick Burchett) features more of the same, except here the bamboozled sidekick becomes an ideal BoyToy Wonder: planning their crimes, giving soothing foot-rubs and bashing Batman until a little moment of green-eyed jealously spoils the perfect set-up…

Batgirl Adventures #1 was the original seasonal setting of ‘Oy to the World’ (Dini & Burchett) as plucky teen Babs Gordon chases thieving, thrill-seeking Harley through Gotham’s festive streets and alleys only to eventually team up with the jaunty jester to save Ivy from murderous Yakuza super-assassins. Next up, Batman: Gotham Knights #14 gifts us brilliantly dark yet saucily amusing tale ‘The Bet’ (Dini & Del Carmen). Incarcerated once more in Arkham, the Joker’s frustrated paramour and irresistible, intoxicatingly lethal Ivy indulge in a small wager to pass the time: namely, who can kiss the most men whilst in custody. This razor-sharp little tale manages to combine “innocent sexiness” with genuine sentiment, and packs a killer punch-line after the Harlequin of Hate unexpectedly pops in…

The madcap glamour-fest finishes with a late arriving moment of monochrome suspense (from Batman Black and White #3, by Dini & Stéphane Roux) as ‘Role Models’ sees a little girl escape her manic kidnapper and find sanctuary of a sort with the pilfering odd couple…

For years DC sat on a goldmine of quality product before finally unleashing a blizzard of all-ages collections and graphic novels such as this one: child-friendly iterations (and others not-so-much) of key characters stemming from the Paul Dini/Bruce Timm Batman series. These adventures are consistently some of the best comics produced of the last four decades and should be eternally permanently in print, if only as a way of attracting new readers to the medium.

Now a bone fide Christmas tradition – just like arguing about Die Hard or pondering what to do with brussels sprouts (eat them if you like them, pass if you don’t?), Batman: Harley and Ivy is a frantic, laugh-packed hoot that manages to be daring and demure by turns. An absolute delight and an irresistible seasonal treasure to be enjoyed over and over again.
© 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2014, 2016 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.