Category: DC Superhero

Posted on

Showcase Presents the Doom Patrol Volume 1


By Arnold Drake, Bruno Premiani, Bob Brown & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-84856-218-9

1963 was the year when cautious comicbook publishers finally realised that superheroes were back in a big way and began reviving or creating a host of costumed characters to battle outrageous menaces and dastardly villains.

Thus it was that at National Comics venerable anthology-mystery title My Greatest Adventure dipped its toe in the waters with a radical take on the fad and introduced a startling squad of champions with their thematic roots still firmly planted in the B-movie monster films of the era that subtly informed the parent comic.

No traditional team of masked adventurers, the cast comprised a robot, a mummy and an occasional 50-foot woman, who joined forces with and were guided by a brusque, domineering, crippled mad scientist to fight injustice in a whole new way…

Covering June 1963 to February 1966, this first quirky monochrome compilation collects the Fabulous Freaks’ earliest exploits from My Greatest Adventure #80-85 and thereafter, issues #86-101 of the renamed title once overwhelming reader response compelled editor Murray Boltinoff to change it to the Doom Patrol.

The dramas were especially enhanced by the drawing skills of Italian cartoonist and classicist artist Giordano Bruno Premiani whose highly detailed, subtly humanistic illustration made even the strangest situation dauntingly authentic and grittily believable as with the premier tale ‘The Doom Patrol’ scripted by Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, which saw a mysterious wheelchair bound scientist summon three outcasts to his home promising to change their miserable lives forever.

Competitive car racer Cliff Steele had died in a horrific pile up, but his undamaged brain had been transplanted into a fantastic mechanical body. Test pilot Larry Trainor had been trapped in an experimental stratospheric plane and become permanently radioactive, with the dubious benefit of gaining a semi-sentient energy avatar which could escape his body to perform incredible stunts for up to a minute at a time.

To pass safely amongst men Trainor had to constantly wrap himself in special radiation-proof bandages.

Ex-movie star Rita Farr had been exposed to mysterious gases which gave her the unpredictable and, at first, uncontrolled ability to shrink or grow to incredible sizes.

These outcasts were brought together by brilliant but enigmatic Renaissance Man The Chief, who sought to mould the solitary misfits into a force for good and quickly proved his point when a mad bomber attempted to blow up the city docks. The wheelchair bound savant directed the trio of strangers in defusing it and no sooner had the freaks realised their true worth than they were on their first mission…

In the second chapter ‘The Challenge of the Timeless Commander’ an incredibly ancient menace tried to capture a fallen alien ship, intent on turning its extraterrestrial secrets into weapons of world conquest, culminating in ‘The Deadly Duel with General Immortus’ which saw the Doom Patrol dedicate their lives to saving humanity from all threats.

My Greatest Adventure #81, solely scripted by Drake, featured ‘The Nightmare Maker’ combining everyday disaster response – saving a damaged submarine – with a nationwide plague of monsters. Stuck at base, The Chief monitored missions by means of a TV camera attached to Robotman’s chest, and quickly deduced the uncanny secret of the beasts and their war criminal creator Josef Kreutz.

A clever espionage ploy outed the Chief – or at least his image, if not name – in #82’s ‘Three Against the Earth!’, leading the team to believe Rita a traitor. When the cabal of millionaires behind the scheme were revealed as an alien advance guard who assumed the wheelchair-bound leader to be a rival invader, the inevitable showdown nearly cost Cliff what remained of his life…

‘The Night Negative Man Went Berserk!’ in #83 spotlighted the living mummy when a radio astronomy experiment interrupted the Negative Man’s return to Larry Trainor’s body, pitching the pilot into a coma and sending the ebony energy creature on a global spree of destruction. Calamity piled upon calamity when crooks stole the military equipment constructed to destroy it and only desperate improvisation by Cliff and Rita allowed avatar and host to reunite…

Issue #84 saw ‘The Return of General Immortus’ as ancient Babylonian artefacts led the team to the eternal malefactor, only to have the wily warrior turn the tables and take control of Robotman. Even though his comrades saved him Immortus escaped with the greatest treasures of all time…

My Greatest Adventure #85 was the last issue and featured ‘The Furies from 4,000 Miles Below’, monstrous subterranean horrors fuelled by nuclear forces. Despite having tricked Elasti-Girl into resuming her Hollywood career, the paternalistic heroes were pretty grateful when she turned up to save them all from radioactive incineration…

An unqualified success, the comicbook transformed into The Doom Patrol with #86 and celebrated by introducing ‘The Brotherhood of Evil’, an assemblage of international criminals and terrorists led by French genius-in-a-jar The Brain and his greatest creation, a super-intelligent talking gorilla dubbed Monsieur Mallah. The diametrically opposed teams first crossed swords after brotherhood applicant Mr. Morden stole Rog, a giant robot the Chief intended for the US military…

DP #87 revealed ‘The Terrible Secret of Negative Man’ when Brotherhood femme fatale Madame Rouge tried to seduce Larry. When the Brain’s unstoppable mechanical army invaded the city, Trainor was forced to remove his bandages and allow his lethal radiations to disrupt their transmissions…

An occasional series of short solo adventures kicked off in this issue with ‘Robotman Fights Alone’, wherein Cliff was dispatched to a Pacific island in search of an escaped killer, only to walk into a devastating series of WWII Japanese booby-traps…

All the mysteries surrounding the team’s leader were finally revealed in issue #88 with ‘The Incredible Origin of the Chief’, a blistering drama which told how brilliant but impoverished student Niles Caulder received unlimited funding from an anonymous patron interested in his researches on extending life. Curiosity drove Caulder to track down his benefactor and he was horrified to discover the money came from the head of a criminal syndicate who claimed to be eons old…

Immortus had long ago consumed a potion which extended his life and wanted the student to recreate it now that the years were finally catching up. To insure Caulder’s full cooperation, the General had a bomb inserted in the researcher’s chest and powered by his heartbeat …

Building a robot surgeon, Caulder tricked Immortus into shooting him, determined to thwart the monster at all costs. Once clinically dead, his Ra-2 doctor removed the now-inert explosive and revived the bold scientist, but tragically the robot had been too slow and Caulder lost the use of his legs…

Undaunted, the Man Who Lived Twice then destroyed all his research and went into hiding for years, with Immortus unaware that Caulder had actually succeeded in the task which had stymied history’s greatest doctors and biologists…

Now, under the alias of super-thief The Baron, Immortus had captured the Doom Patrol and demanded a final confrontation with the Chief. Luckily the wheelchair-locked inventor was not only a biologist and robotics genius but also adept at building concealed weapons…

In #89 the team tackled a duplicitous scientist who had devised a means to transform himself into ‘The Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Menace’ and ‘The Private War of Elasti-Girl’ saw the Maid of Many Sizes use unsuspected detective skills to track down a missing soldier and reunite him with his adopted son before ‘The Enemy within the Doom Patrol’ saw shape-shifting Madame Rouge infiltrate the team and almost turn them against each other.

Issue #91 introduced multi-millionaire Steve Dayton who created a superhero persona solely to woo and wed Rita Farr. With such ambiguous motivations ‘Mento – the Man who Split the Doom Patrol’ was a radical character for the times, but at least his psycho-kinetic helmet proved a big help in defeating the plastic robots of grotesque alien invader Garguax…

DP #92 found the team confronted by a temporal terror in ‘The Sinister Secret of Dr. Tyme’ with the abrasive Mento again saving the day whilst ‘Showdown on Nightmare Road’ in #93 saw The Brain’s latest monstrous scheme result in the evil genius being planted inside Robotman’s skull and poor Cliff transplanted into a horrific beast, until the Chief out-played the French Fiend at his own game…

Bob Brown stepped in to illustrate #94’s lead feature ‘The Nightmare Fighters’ with an eastern mystic’s uncanny abilities swiftly debunked by solid American science but Premiani was around to render the solo-feature ‘The Chief “Stands” Alone’ wherein Caulder eschewed his deputies’ aid to bring down bird-themed villain The Claw with a mixture of wit, nerve and weaponised wheelchair.

When The Chief attempted to cure Rita and Larry in DP #95 it resulted in switched powers and the ‘Menace of the Turnabout Heroes’, so naturally that would be the very moment the Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man would pick for a return bout, whilst in #96, on ‘The Day the World Went Mad!’, the Patrol’s frantic investigations revealed that the global wave of insanity was caused by a deadly alliance of the Brotherhood, Garguax and Immortus, which they were helpless to counteract…

In issue #97 that sinister syndicate attacked Earth by transforming innocent citizens into crystal, spectacularly resulting in ‘The War against the Mind Slaves’, the return of Mento and a stunning showdown on the moon, after which #98 saw both ‘The Death of the Doom Patrol’ – a grievous over-exaggeration on behalf of transmutational foe Mr. 103, who was actually compelled to save Caulder from radiation poisoning – and the Brown-drawn solo-thriller ’60 Sinister Seconds’ in which Negative Man had to find and make safe four atomic bombs in different countries within as minute…

Brown also handled both tales in Doom Patrol #99, starting with an old-fashioned battle against a deranged entomologist whose mechanical insects delivered ‘The Deadly Sting of the Bug Man’ and proceeding to the groundbreaking first appearance of shape-shifting juvenile delinquent ‘The Beast-Boy’ who burgled than saved the team with his incredible ability to become any animal he could imagine.

A vast extended storyline began with #100 and ‘The Fantastic Origin of Beast-Boy’ (illustrated by Premiani) wherein the obnoxious kid was revealed as orphan Gar Logan, a boy being slowly swindled out of his inheritance by his ruthless guardian Nicholas Galtry.

The conniving accountant had even leased his emerald-hued charge to scientist Dr. Weir for assorted experiments, but when the Patrol later tackled rampaging dinosaurs, the trail led to Gar who at last explained his uncanny powers.

Whilst in Africa as a toddler Logan had contracted a rare disease and his scientist father tried an experimental cure which left him the colour of cabbage but with the ability to change shape at will.

Now it appeared that Weir has used the lad’s altered biology to unlock the secrets of evolution… or had he?

Despite foiling the scheme the team have no choice but to return the boy to his guardian, but Rita is not prepared to leave the matter unresolved… The anniversary issue also saw the start of an extended multi-part thriller exploring Cliff’s early days after his accident and subsequent resurrection beginning with ‘Robotman… Wanted Dead or Alive’. Following Caulder’s implantation of Cliff’s brain into the mechanical body the shock drove the patient crazy and Steele went on a city wide rampage…

This first fantastic collection concludes with Doom Patrol #101 and the riotous romp ‘I, Kranus, Robot Emperor!’ wherein an apparently alien mechanoid had a far more terrestrial and terrifying origin, but the real meat came from the subtle war between Galtry and the Chief for possession of Beast Boy.

The tale ended on a pensive cliffhanger as the Patrol then dashed off to rescue fellow adventurers the Challengers of the Unknown – a tale for the next volume, I’m afraid…

There was still however the second instalment of the Robotman saga, saw the occasionally ration, if paranoid Cliff Steele hunted by the authorities and befriended by crippled, homeless derelicts in ‘The Lonely Giant’…

Although as kids we all happily suspended disbelief and bought into the fanciful antics of the myriad masked heroes available, somehow the exploits of the Doom Patrol – and their surprisingly synchronistic Marvel counterparts the X-Men (freaks and outcasts, wheelchair bound geniuses, both debuting in the summer of 1963) always seemed just a bit more “real” than the usual caped and costumed crowd.

With the edge of time and experience on my side it’s obvious just how incredibly mature Drake and Premiani’s take on superheroes actually was and these superbly engaging, frantically fun and breathtakingly beautiful tales should rightfully rank amongst the finest Fights ‘n’ Tights tales ever told.
© 1963, 1964, 1965, 2009 DC Comics, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

Batman and the Outsiders: The Chrysalis


By Chuck Dixon, Julian Lopez, Carlos Rodriguez & Bit (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-84856-070-3

Following the forcible dissolution of Nightwing’s covert and pre-emptive strike force, Batman once again took over the leadership of the Outsiders and, after a daunting series of auditions, settled on a core squad comprising the Martian Manhunter, Metamorpho, Grace, Katana and Catwoman, with standby options on a number of others and rejecting mass-moving powerhouse Thunder mooching about on probation…

This first slim tome collects issues #1-5 of the second run of Batman and the Outsiders, and is the initial book of a triptych of volumes (the last still forthcoming) covering an epic struggle against a terrifying extraterrestrial plot which threatened to engulf the Earth; eventually growing to involve a goodly portion of the planet’s metahuman protectors…

Written throughout by Chuck Dixon and inked by Bit, the breakneck action erupts in ‘The Chrysalis’, illustrated by Julian Lopez, wherein master strategist Batman dispatches Katana, Metamorpho and Catwoman to infiltrate the skyscraper HQ of mystery Eurotrash money-man Mister Jardine, whose corporate conglomerate has been making some very peculiar purchases – items dubious enough to set alarms roaring in the Bat-computer…

With the Martian Manhunter inserted as a psionic Trojan Horse inside the building, the infiltrators discover the enigmatic billionaire has not only illegally stockpiled radioactive and fissionable materials but also unearthed a deadly anti-metahuman weapon of the sort which nearly overran the world during the Infinite Crisis…

The Observational Metahuman Activity Construct – or Omac – is a nanotech-purposed cyborg designed to overcome any super-powered foe, and in ‘Infestation’ (pencilled by Carlos Rodriguez) the freshly repurposed death-machine goes after the Outsiders whilst the Manhunter plunders Jardine’s data.

With the situation rapidly going south, Thunder defies Batman and rushes to the rescue, proving his assertion that she is not professional enough for the team. Already en route, rowdy Amazon Grace Choi is preparing an escape route for the sorely pressed team when, in a desperate move, the Element Man channels all the citadel’s power through his own unique body and immobilises the Omac…

‘Throwdown’ (with Lopez returning to the pencil art) sees the terrified and self-preserving Catwoman quit and replaced by Cassandra Cain, the reformed assassin who was briefly the third Batgirl, as Batman and the Outsiders defy the Justice League by refusing to destroy the captured nano-nemesis.

When it suddenly reactivates itself, both teams are simultaneously attacked and only a tremendous joint effort subdues it once more.

In the aftermath, JLA-er Geo-Force quits and rejoins his old Outsider allies, unaware that the Dark Knight has manipulated his former comrades, allowing his science squad Francine Langstrom and Salah Miandad time to reprogram the death machine as another member of the covert team…

In ‘Mission: Creep’ a pair of mysterious strangers also enlist, as does radical wild card Green Arrow, before the Outsiders invade French Guiana to stop a commercial space launch. Langstrom’s investigations have revealed that the sinister Jardine has been using Omac technology to create new biological species designed to live off-Earth…

Whilst the billionaire moves to take over the site, eliminating the launch personnel and loading two ships with his mysterious payloads, in the surrounding rainforest wildly differing perspectives and methodology have set the Outsiders at each others’ throats…

Meanwhile in Gotham, Salah has finally erased the captured cyborg’s protocols and dubbed the reformed member Remac, blissfully unaware that the giant automaton still has a measure of its old sinister sentience…

And in the jungle, Batman and his squad close in on the launch-pad determined to stop whatever Jardine wants rocketed into space, blithely oblivious to the cadre of metahuman mercenaries waiting to ambush them…

This first cliffhanging chronicle concludes with ‘Ghosts’ as Batman’s ethereal emissaries Ralph and Sue Dibny (dead but still battling evil as Ghost Detectives) scuttle the trap, allowing Metamorpho, Katana, Green Arrow and Batgirl to overcome murderous assassins Gunhawk, Militia, Bunny and Camorouge, whilst even Jardine’s personal Omac bodyguard is unable to withstand the gravity-warping power of Geo-Force.

Nevertheless, the mission is not a success as one of the ships manages to launch, carrying with it into appalling unknown dangers the valiant but vastly over-matched Metamorpho…

To Be Continued…

Fast and furious, beautifully illustrated and totally mesmerising, this spectacular romp is a fabulous Fights ‘n ‘Tights thriller to delight fans of the genre and art-lovers will also adore the gallery of covers and variants by Doug Braithwaite, Ryan Sook, Eric Battle & Art Thibert.

Straightforward action adventure at its very best…
© 2007, 2008, DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

Batman: Turning Points


By Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, Chuck Dixon, Steve Lieber, Joe Giella, Dick Giordano & Bob Smith, Brent Anderson, Paul Pope & Claude St. Aubin (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-1360-2

Over the many decades of Batman’s existence, almost as important as the partnership between Dark Knight and assorted Boy Wonders has been the bizarrely offbeat yet symbiotic relationship between those caped and costumed vigilantes and Gotham City’s top cop James Gordon.

In this collection, compiling five individual pastiches released as the miniseries Turning Points in 2001, readers saw revealed significant moments in the development of that shadowy alliance produced, as an added bonus for long-term aficionados, in tribute to key eras in Batman’s waxing and waning career by veteran artists and the toast of the new wave creators…

It all begins with ‘Uneasy Allies’ by Greg Rucka & Steve Lieber, set in the days – and style – of the mysterious vigilante’s stormy debut in Frank Miller & Dave Mazzucchelli’s Batman: Year One.

Police Captain Gordon is still the only honest cop in a corrupt and brutally gung-ho force, reeling from the shock of his wife divorcing him. When bereaved, heartsick and crazed college professor Hale Corbett takes a wedding hostage, Gotham’s SWAT team commander is champing at the bit to storm in and rack up the body-count, but wanted felon The Batman offers Gordon a slim hope of ending the siege without loss of life…

All the masked nut-case wants in return is a sympathetic ear at the GCPD…

A working relationship established, ‘…And Then There Were… Three?’ (by Ed Brubaker & Joe Giella – who drew many of the 1960s stories and the Batman newspaper strip) celebrates the era of TV’s “Batmania” as, about a year after their first meeting, reports of a garishly garbed boy assistant to Batman begin to filter in. As deadly psychopath Mr. Freeze rampages through the city, Gordon demands to why the now-tolerated Caped Crusader is recklessly endangering a child…

In a romp filled with such past icons as giant props and gaudy villains, a decidedly deadly outcome makes Gordon realise the true nature of Batman and Robin’s relationship…

‘Casualties of War’ (Brubaker, Dick Giordano & Bob Smith) is set in the bleak aftermath following the death of second Robin Jason Todd, the crippling of Barbara (Batgirl) Gordon and the torture of her father, all at the bone-white hands of The Joker.

A solitary, driven Dark Knight haunts the streets and allies, ceaselessly crushing criminals with brutal callousness, whilst sinister serial killer The Garbage Man prowls unchallenged…

When the wheelchair-bound Barbara fails in an attempted intervention to calm a Batman pushing himself near to breaking-point, it takes a rooftop heart-to-heart with now Commissioner Gordon to finally crack the Gotham Guardian’s shell and begin the healing process…

Years later, as a result of a strategically systematic attack by would-be crime-lord Bane, an exhausted and broken Batman was replaced by another, darker hero. Set during the Knight-Fall publishing event, ‘The Ultimate Betrayal’ (by Chuck Dixon & Brent Anderson) describes the moment Gordon realised that his enigmatic ally had become a remorseless machine and exterminating angel hunting criminals with no regard to life anymore.

If only third Robin Tim Drake could have told him that the man behind the cowl – and claws and razor-armour – was actually Azrael: hereditary and murderously programmed living weapon of an ancient warrior-cult…

The journey comes full circle with ‘Comrades in Arms’ by Rucka, Paul Pope & Claude St. Aubin, wherein a mysterious stranger and his family hit Gotham on a mission to find Gordon and Batman, just as the Commissioner introduces his destined successor Michael Akins to the Major Crimes Unit.

Word on the street is that the Russian mob are planning a huge retaliatory strike and every cop is waiting for the hammer to fall when Hale Corbett walks into Police HQ demanding to see Gordon and the masked manhunter who changed his life all those years ago…

Filtered through gritty modern sensibilities but still able to revere past glories and the Batman’s softer side, this superbly readable collection also includes a cover gallery by artistic all-stars Javier Pulido, Ty Templeton, Joe Kubert, Howard Chaykin, Pope & Tim Sale.
© 2001, 2007 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

Superman: World Without a Superman


ISBN: 978-1-56389-193-9
By Dan Jurgens, Karl Kesel, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonson, Roger Stern & various (DC Comics)

Although largely out of favour these days as all the myriad decades of Superman mythology are inexorably re-assimilated into one overarching all-inclusive multi-media DC continuity, the stripped-down, gritty post-Crisis on Infinite Earths Man of Steel as re-imagined by John Byrne, and marvellously built upon by a stunning succession of gifted comics craftsmen, produced some genuine comics classics.

Most significant of them was a three-pronged story-arc which saw the martyrdom, loss, replacement and eventual resurrection of the World’s Greatest Superhero in a stellar saga which broke all records and proved that a jaded general public still cared about the venerable, veteran icon of Truth, Justice and the American Way…

This second landmark collection features material which originally appeared in Adventures of Superman #498-500, Action Comics #685-686, Superman: the Man of Steel #20-21, Superman #76-77 plus material from Superman: the Legacy of Superman and Superman #75, covering cover-dates January-March 1993 and originally published as the braided saga “Funeral for a Friend”.

After a brutal rampage across Middle America the mysterious monster dubbed Doomsday had only been stopped in the heart of Metropolis by a supreme and fatal effort on Superman’s part. Our story begins moments later in ‘Death of a Legend’ (scripted by Jerry Ordway and illustrated by Tom Grummett & Doug Hazlewood) as Lois Lane and still-standing survivors Guardian, Dubbilex and the JLA attempt vainly to resuscitate the fallen victor.

Elsewhere in the rubble Lex Luthor II (actually the original evil entrepreneur in a cloned body) recovers the still-living remains of Supergirl. Her intimate relationship with the Man of Steel a closely guarded secret, Lois is compelled to revert to journalist mode, unable to explain why she isn’t rushing to the aid of her fiancé Clark Kent, who is still numbered among the missing.

Superman’s ultimate sacrifice affects everyone deeply. Retired costumed crusader Jose Delgado considers returning to the Gangbuster role which almost killed him. Inventor Emil Hamilton and ex-prizefighter Bibbo Bibbowski dedicate their merely mortal gifts to carrying on the Man of Tomorrow’s work. With genetics research lab Cadmus and Metropolis authorities squabbling over the Kryptonian’s remains and the still-living Doomsday, in Smallville, Kansas an elderly couple sit in stunned shock, horror and disbelief…

‘Re-Actions’ by Roger Stern, Jackson Guice & Denis Rodier sees Project Cadmus Director Paul Westfield  thwarted in his efforts to harvest Superman’s corpse by Luthor, who intends to finally bury the Man of Steel in a fitting public mausoleum in Centenniel Park. As the news spreads and the world mourns, the recuperated Supergirl becomes the public face of Team Luthor’s expanded role as protectors of Metropolis…

In a place outside of time, temporal custodians Waverider and the Linear Men perpetually review the final battle but can find no viable way to turn back time…

‘Funeral Day’, by Louise Simonson, Jon Bogdanove & Dennis Janke, follows the World’s Greatest Heroes as they pay final homage to their valiant comrade amidst a world expressing its unceasing grief in respectful dignity… but not the whole world…

In Kansas, bereft Jonathan and Martha Kent, unable to attend their own son’s interment, hold a private ceremony in the field where he first fell to Earth…

In honour of Superman, the Justice League and other heroes gather to perform good deeds in his name, divined from the vast sacks of letters left for Superman every day in ‘Metropolis Mailbag II’ (Dan Jurgens & Brett Breeding), whilst young runaway Mitch, whose family were amongst the first victims of Doomsday, makes his own pilgrimage to the site of the Action Ace’s death, convinced that by saving him Superman had forfeited his own life…

In a quiet part of the city, Lois and Ma and Pa Kent and Lana Lang convene. As the only people privy to Superman’s secret they must decide whether to reveal his identity to a public already flooded by shysters and charlatans claiming to be the fallen champion’s intimates and legal heirs…

Meanwhile, beneath the mausoleum, Westfield’s agents are working: digging ever closer to the Kryptonian’s cadaver…

Although nobody can fathom why, Luthor had placed security sensors in the crypt and sends Supergirl to investigate the disturbance in ‘Grave Obsession’ (Ordway, Grummett & Hazlewood). She discovers the body gone and a huge hole leading down to the subsurface enclave of the dropouts, alien dregs and mortal monsters known as Underworlders who have carved out a tenuous home for themselves beneath the streets of Metropolis. With Police Inspector Dan “Terrible” Turpin she battles a number of the realm’s bizarre inhabitant’s but find no trace of the Man of Steel.

Frustrated, they return to the surface, but the veteran cop is suspicious. Why would young Luthor build a crypt with monitors and access tunnels…?

‘Who’s Buried in Superman’s Tomb?’ (Stern, Guice & Rodier) quickly answers the question by revealing the Man of Steel’s corpse on a slab at Cadmus, unbenownst to Project’s security chief Guardian (a clone of murdered cop and part-time superhero Jim Harper), who is patrolling Metropolis to honour his departed friend. Meanwhile Luthor is plagued with doubt: since cheating certain death himself, he is painfully ware – and afraid – that his greatest enemy might have done the same…

At Cadmus, Dubbilex, Guardian and the Newsboy Legion (juvenile clones of a 1940s crimebusting team whose “Originals” are now Project scientists) discover Superman’s body and confront Westfield…

And at the tomb a new religious cult has manifested, predicting the rise and return of the Last Son of Krypton, whilst Luthor rushes over to Cadmus determined to stop Westfield at all costs…

‘The Guardians of Metropolis’, by Karl Kesel & Walter Simonson, reveals how Superman’s genetic code is finally broken, but before the maliciously ambitious Westfield can capitalise on it, Guardian and the Newsboy remove the data and consign it to deep space in the care of augmented Jim Harper clone Auron, whilst in ‘Ghosts’ (Simonson, Bogdanove & Janke) the deep tunnels beneath Metropolis flood, driving many Underworlders to the surface and Lois down to the depths to investigate possible deliberate sabotage. Meeting the Newsboy Legion there, she backtracks to Cadmus and discovers her beloved Clark’s corpse. She determines to make the defilers pay with the power of the Press…

And in Kansas, bereaved and broken, Jonathan Kent collapses under the agony of a massive heart attack…

After Supergirl and Lois furiously invade Cadmus to retrieve the body, ‘The End’ (Jurgens & Breeding) sees a murderously triumphant Luthor reclaim Superman’s body “for Metropolis” and finally bury his arch-foe, whilst in Smallville Clark Kent’s Pa succumbs and passes from this world…

This powerful if ponderous epic concludes with ‘Life after Death’, by Ordway, Grummett & Hazlewood, as doctors frantically attempt to resuscitate Jonathan Kent, who has passed beyond Mortal Realms and met his cherished son. As Gangbuster bites off more than he can chew in the alleys of Superman’s city, Jonathan battles ghosts, memories and demons in a last-ditch struggle to save his boy. With the opportune aid of cosmic entity Kismet the elder Kent finally convinces Superman to leave the light and return to Earth…

He awakes in the ER, mumbling “Clark is back”…

And all over Metropolis, as fresh sightings of the hero begin to circulate, Lois and the police discover Superman’s coffin is open and the tomb is empty again…

To Be Concluded…

Relatively short on action but bursting with tension, drama and emotion, the brooding mood here served as a valuable and necessary palate-cleansing pause before the stunning epic conclusion introduced a plethora of Supermen in a bold and long-term push to revitalise the Superman franchise, but the positively manic public interest beyond the world of comics even embraced this distinctly downbeat interlude, taking everyone by surprise and making the Man of Tomorrow as vital and vibrant a sensation as in the earliest days of his creation.
© 1993 DC Comics, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

Showcase Presents Wonder Woman volume 4


By Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru & Mike Esposito, Irving Novick & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-84856-474-9

Wonder Woman was created by psychologist and polygraph pioneer William Moulton Marston and uniquely realised by respected illustrator and co-creator Harry G. Peter just as the spectre of World War II began to directly affect America.

Using the pen-name Charles Moulton, Marston scripted all her adventures until his death in 1947, whereupon Robert Kanigher took over the writer’s role. H. G. Peter soldiered on with his unique artistic contribution until he passed away in 1958. Wonder Woman #97, in April of that year, was his last hurrah and the end of an era.

With the exception of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and a few innocuous back-up features, costumed heroes had all but vanished at the end of the 1940s, replaced by mostly mortal champions in a deluge of anthologised genre titles until Showcase #4 rekindled the public’s interest in costumed crime-busters with a new iteration of The Flash in 1956.

From that moment the fanciful floodgates opened wide once more, and whilst re-inventing Golden Age Greats such as Green Lantern, Atom and Hawkman, National/DC gradually updated all the those venerable veteran survivors who had weathered the backlash and none more so than the ever-resilient Amazing Amazon …

Artists Ross Andru & Mike Esposito, who had illustrated every script since Wonder Woman #98 in May of 1958, finally bowed out during the dog-days of this pivotal monochrome collection (re-presenting issues #157-177, October 1965-August 1968), graduating to Superman, Brave & the Bold, The Flash and eventually new Kanigher combat creation The Losers, whilst the Amazing Amazon floundered on the edge of cancellation – as indeed she had done for much of the 1960s.

Writer/editor Kanigher had constantly reinvented much of the original mythos, tinkering with her origins and unleashing her on an unsuspecting world in a fanciful blend of girlish whimsy, rampant sexism, strange romance, alien invasion, monster-mashing and utterly surreal (some would say-stream-of-consciousness) storytelling…

By the time this volume opens the Silver Age superhero revival was at its peak and, despite individual stories of stunning imagination and excellence, the format and timbre of Wonder Woman was looking tired and increasingly out of step with the rest of National/DC’s gradually gelling – and ultimately shared – continuity but, by its close, costumed characters were again in decline and a radical overhaul of Diana Prince was on the cards…

While all the other champions and defenders were getting together and teaming up at the drop of a hat – as indeed was the Princess of Power in Justice League of America – within the pages of her own title a timeless, isolated fantasy universe was carrying on much as it always had.

The madcap mythological mayhem began with the first of a two-part shocker from Wonder Woman #157 when Diana followed her beloved on a suicide mission to Red China – or Oolong Island, at least – where an insane and obnoxious giant cybernetic menace was planning to launch Nuclear Armageddon against the West.

Captured and transformed into ‘I – the Bomb!’ Steve Trevor was only saved by Amazon science but still had to endure separation and ‘The Fury of Egg Fu’ in #158 before crushing the ovoid outlaw once again.

Kanigher never forgot he was writing comicbooks and he took pains to constantly point it out to the readership – even though their preference might not be to have narrative rules, and suspension of disbelief flouted whilst fourth walls were continually broached. With ‘The End – or the Beginning?’ which closed out the issue, he gathered all the vast cast of the series in his office and told them that most of them were fired. Readers were then challenged to guess who would be back for the Big Change in #159…

The promised reboot consisted of a full switch to the faux 1940’s stories road-tested in #156 (see Showcase Presents Wonder Woman volume 3) and began with ‘The Golden Age Secret Origin of Wonder Woman’ wherein we saw the humbling and self-exile of the Amazons, and how thousands of years later baby Diana was shaped from clay and given life by goddesses Athena and Aphrodite. Growing to mighty maturity, the girl then rescued downed Air Force pilot Steve Trevor and after winning a divinely-ordained contest travelled back to “Man’s World” to conquer injustice and aggression through Amazon strength and ideals.

There was even room for a follow-up tale in which their journey was interrupted by enemy agents who brought down Wonder Woman’s Invisible Plane on ‘Doom Island’, only to discover the staggering power of America’s latest defender…

Issue #160 found her battling deranged bandit The Cheetah who took her Amazonian Bracelets of Submission and inadvertently unleashed all Diana’s pent-up hostility in ‘The Amazon of Terror’ before arch foe Mars psychically prompted a brilliant if misogynistic mutant midget to attack her in ‘Dr. Psycho’s Revenge’…

WW #161 opened with a convoluted clash against freelance spy Countess Draska Nishki whilst rival film companies battled to produce the ultimate filmic Pharaonic epic. Happily ‘The Curse of Cleopatra’ proved to be industrial espionage and not ancient Egyptian evil and, undaunted, Diana then foiled a crooked attempt to steal Steve’s knowledge by Nishki and Angle Man who shrank inside his skull. Determined to save her beloved’s honour the Amazon had to win an incredible ‘Battle Inside of a Brain!’

‘The Startling Secret of Diana Prince’ opened #162 and disclosed how the Paradise Island Émigré purchased the identity and papers of lovelorn Army Nurse Diana Prince in order to be close to Trevor at all times before ‘The Return of Minister Blizzard’ pitted Wonder Woman against an icy usurper determined to steal the throne and heart of a polar princess by giving her Manhattan as a gift…

Psycho returned in #163 and used an evolutionary advancement device to turn a two-ton anthropoid into curvaceous eight-foot tall blonde berserker. ‘Giganta – the Gorilla Girl’ then attacked the Amazon, determined to have Steve as her mate… ‘Danger – Wonder Woman’ then reintroduced the Machiavellian Paula von Gunta – also inexplicably hot for Trevor – who used thugs, hypnosis and the Amazon’s own magic weapons in her campaign to remove her romantic rival.

Issue #164 featured a full-length thriller wherein the Power Princess was almost bamboozled into marrying Steve’s commanding officer General Darnell, before being compelled by Angle Man and her own magic lasso into attacking America in ‘Wonder Woman… Traitor’ whilst in #165 ‘Perils of the Paper Man’ found an incredible parchment pariah turn to crime in an effort to win the Amazon’s heart before ‘The Three Fantastic Faces of Wonder Woman’ were made manifest by the irrepressibly evil Dr. Psycho.

In #166 ‘The Sinister Schemes of Egg Fu, the Fifth’ to steal US submarines were quickly scrambled by the Amazing Amazon whilst in ‘Once a Wonder Woman…!’ Diana’s attempts to win Steve in her unglamorous mortal persona were accidentally foiled by the perfidious Cheetah and WW# 167 offered up ‘The Secret of Tabu Mt.’ when the real Diana Prince needed help rescuing her new husband from a lost Aztec tribe, after which Steve shamefully used the ‘Strange Power of the Magic Lasso’ to make the Amazon his slave for a day…

After inexplicably forgiving the sod, in #168 Diana almost lost her magical lariat in ‘Three Hands on the Magic Lasso’ when a ruthless collector hired Giganta, Dr. Psycho and Paula von Gunta to steal it for him whilst ‘Never in a Million Years’ found Diana back on Paradise Island attempting to forcibly dissuade a love-struck Amazon from following a man back to America.

The Golden Age veneer was gradually slipping and it once again seemed that the series was sliding towards oblivion. Middle period fantasy elements began to reappear, so when Mars created an almost unstoppable menace in #169, guile and passion at last won the day when ‘Wonder Woman Battles the Crimson Centipede’ after which General Darnell renewed his romantic campaign when the Amazon was trapped in ‘The Cage of Doom!’

A duplicate of Steve created by Dr. Psycho in #170 psychologically tortured and almost destroyed ‘The Haunted Amazon’ and unconquerable alien apes could only be stopped by ‘Wonder Woman – Gorilla’ after which WW#171 saw vacationing Amazons sucked into the ‘Terror Trap of the Demon Man-Fish’ before a malign miniscule malcontent reared his furry head again in the crime caper ‘Menace of the Mouse Man!’

Veteran war artist Irv Novick took over the art with #172 (October 1967) and ‘A Day in the Life of an Amazon’ presented a slightly more realistic edge, even though the portmanteau tale saw Diana crush costumed criminals, fight a giant baby and blitz an alien invasion whilst ‘The Amazing Amazon Crime!’ found her hard-pressed to defeat a felonious android facsimile…

Firmly re-established back in the late Sixties, #173 revealed ‘Wonder Woman’s Daring Deception’ when a jealous Amazon tried to usurp her position as ambassador to Man’s World after which she briefly became ‘Earth’s Last Human’ until a neat time-travel trick enabled her to go back in time and foil a Martian sneak attack. In #174 her boyfriend at last got to outshine Diana when mysterious power-pills (courtesy of Angle Man) enabled the Air Force pilot to become a superhero in ‘Steve Trevor – Alias The Patriot’ whilst ‘Wonder Woman vs. the Air Devils!’ ended the issue in a tense duel between the Princess of Power and the self-proclaimed King of Crime…

With the end in sight and after decades at the helm, Kanigher managed one last genuine surprise twist in #175 when ‘Wonder Woman’s Evil Twin!’ from a parallel Earth attacked, determined to take everything our heroine cherished, but his final script was something of an anticlimax when the ‘Threat of the Triple Stars’ (#176 June 1968) found the Amazon seriously outmatched by three brothers whose sibling rivalry extended to seeing whom could out-power, woo, overwhelm and wed her. Apparently she had no say in the matter…

The final tale in this volume – and indeed of the old Amazing Amazon – was a fill-in by Bill Finger, J. Winslow Mortimer & Jack Abel, and one of the best tales of the entire run.

‘Wonder Woman and Supergirl vs. the Planetary Conqueror!’ (August 1968) detailed how interplanetary marauder Klamos had briefly tired of battle and sought a mate. Abducting the most powerful females from a host of worlds, the astral emperor forced them to battle for the “honour” of being his bride. In a thrilling, gritty tale, the Girl of Steel and Amazing Amazon at last showed their mettle – and feminist credentials – by trashing everything and exposing a colossal deception at the heart of an evil empire that spanned a dozen galaxies.

It was a splendid high note to end on. With the next issue Mike Sekowsky would begin a root and branch overhaul that would see Steve murdered, Diana stripped of her powers and the Amazons gone from the Earth. A whole new kind of Wonder Woman was coming… and can be seen in the magical quartet of full-colour collections Diana Prince: Wonder Woman, and hopefully one day in an equally stunning monochrome Showcase edition such as this one…

Always wild, bold, action-packed, thrilling and utterly delightful, whilst often mind-boggling and practically incomprehensible by modern narrative standards, these exuberant, effulgent fantasies are usually illogical and occasionally just plain bonkers, but in those days adventure in the moment was paramount and if you could put rationality and consistency aside for a moment these utterly infectious romps simply sparkled then and now with fun, thrills and sheer spectacle.

Wonder Woman is rightly revered as a focus of female strength, independence and empowerment, but the welcoming nostalgia and easy familiarity of such innocuous imaginative fairytales must be a magical escape for open-minded readers, whilst the true, incomparable value of these stories is the incredible quality entertainment they still offer.
© 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 201 DC Comics, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

Outsiders/Checkmate: Checkout

New expanded Review

By Greg Rucka, Judd Winick, Joe Bennett, Matthew Clark, Eddy Barrows, Ron Randall, Jack Jadson & Art Thibert (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-84576-737-2

Finally exposed to a world which had believed them all dead and now also blamed for setting off a nuclear explosion which had devastated a large part of Russia, the underground metahuman coalition known as The Outsiders – “rogue” superheroes who proactively sought out threats and ignored political boundaries or repercussions – found themselves on the edge of oblivion as their series hurtled towards a blistering climax and a major reboot.

Set after and resulting from the earth-shaking events of 52, this slick, fast-paced thriller co-written by Greg Rucka & Judd Winick combined the daily devious duplicity of Checkmate (a covert UN agency tasked with overseeing superhuman activity) with the take-no prisoners-and-make-no-excuses crusade of the Outsiders for an epic of unrealpolitik and edgy, cynically grim-and-gritty nastiness…

Collecting a six-part crossover (Checkmate #13-15 and Outsiders #47-49, June-September 2007) it all began in ‘Checkout part 1′ illustrated by Joe Bennett & Jack Jadson, with off-the-grid fugitives Captain Boomerang, Katana, Metamorpho, Thunder and Grace attacked and subdued by Checkmate operatives. It didn’t go strictly to plan however and Nightwing soon turned the tables by invading the agency’s HQ and capturing Black Queen Sasha Bordeaux…

Part two, with art by Matthew Clark & Art Thibert, saw him liberate his comrades and set about trashing the place until the Queen convinced the Outsiders to work with them on a mission far too dirty for their own rule-bound agents; namely invading Oolong Island, a rogue state peopled by criminal absconders and the mad scientists of many nations.

Checkmate wanted the deranged tinkerers stopped, but the new nation had hidden international allies and its proximity to China and North Korea made the situation a political powder-keg…

The Outsiders accepted the offer, but knew they were being played…

Illustrated by Bennett, Eddy Barrows & Jadson, the third chapter opens when a combined force which included Bordeaux, Count Vertigo, Fire, Thomas Jagger, Josephine “Mlle. Marie” Tautin and disembodied electronic intellect The Thinker infiltrated the fortress of evil, and Boomerang let slip that he’d worked with some of the agents before – on illegal, unsanctioned missions – compelling White Queen Amanda Waller to sabotage the mission and save herself from the censure of the Checkmate Royal Council…

Trapped on Oolong the squad desperately fought free of a bucket load of technological terrors and retreated, but Boomerang, Nightwing and Bordeaux were left behind after the Black Queen ordered her operatives to escape with crucial data and evidence that Waller was a traitor, in a blistering all-action chapter from artists Clark, Ron Randall & Art Thibert.

However, apparent proof of Chinese involvement in the malignant Rogue State appeared when symbionic super-fighter Immortal Man in Darkness intercepted the fleeing Outsiders jet, whilst far behind them monstrous scientific sadist Chang Tzu AKA Egg Fu prepared to vivisect and examine his prisoners under the supervision of the People’s Hero August General in Iron…

‘Checkout Part 5’ (Bennett & Jadson) saw terse diplomatic double-dealing almost disclose China’s role before that nation cut loose all its embarrassing ties. As a rescue mission began, Chang’s appalling investigations brought Boomerang and Bordeaux to the edge of a merciful death before Nightwing finally broke free…

‘Checkout: Conclusion’ (by Clark, Randall & Thibert) saw the united forces of Checkmate and the Outsiders roar to the rescue only to find they’d be played for fools. Happily White King Mr. Terrific and Batman had a better grip on matters and tracked Chang to his true sponsors in North Korea…

With the battered team survivors rather than victors, the Dark Knight then decided to take charge of the Outsiders and run things his way again…

If you love outrageous action, sexy heroes and truly vile bad-guys (many of them working for “our side”), this dark, utterly Gung-Ho blockbuster has great pace, superb dialogue, loads of gratuitous violence and beautifully cool art.

Brutal, uncompromising and savagely action-packed, the dark saga the Outsiders inevitably led to a big finish long ago, yet these painfully plausible superhero sagas are still gripping, shocking and extremely readable: compelling tales which will enthral older fans of the genre.
© 2007, 2008 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

Plastic Man Archives volume 1


By Jack Cole (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-468-8

Jack Cole was one of the most uniquely gifted talents of American Comics’ Golden Age, crafting landmark tales in horror, true crime, war, adventure and especially superhero genres. His incredible humour-hero Plastic Man remains an unsurpassed benchmark of screwball costumed hi-jinks: frequently copied but never equalled. As the Golden Age faded, Cole could see the writing on the wall and famously jumped into gag and glamour cartooning, becoming a household name when his brilliant watercolour gags and stunningly saucy pictures began running in Playboy with the fifth issue. Ever-restless, Cole eventually moved into the lofty realms of newspaper strips and, in May 1958, achieved his life-long ambition by launching a syndicated newspaper strip, the domestic comedy Betsy and Me.

On August 13th 1958 at the moment of his biggest break he took his own life.

The unexplained reasons for his death are not as important as the triumphs of Cole’s artistic life and this captivating paperback (reprinting a rare hardback compilation from 2004) provides a fascinating insight into a transitional moment in his artistic development.

Without doubt – and despite great successes with other heroic characters as well as in the crime and horror genres – Cole’s greatest creation was the zany, malleable Plastic Man who quickly grew from a minor B-character into one of the most memorable and popular heroes of the Golden Age and seemed to be the perfect fantastic embodiment of the sheer energy, verve and creativity of that era when anything went and comics-makers were prepared to try out every outlandish idea…

This premier deluxe hardback collection reprints the first twenty episodes of the Stretchable Sleuth’s astounding exploits from anthology title Police Comics covering the period August 1941- June 1943, culled from a time when nobody really knew the rules, creators, publishers and readers were prepared to try literally anything and by sheer Darwinian processes the cream of the crop always rose to the top…

After a fulsome Foreword by legendary comics genius Will Eisner and the appreciative Introduction ‘Plastic Man and Jack Cole’, the magic begins with the first of twenty stories, most of which originally appeared without individual titles.

The debut and origin of Plastic Man happened in the middle of Police Comics #1, a brief but beguiling six-pager which introduced mobster Eel O’Brian, shot during a factory robbery, soaked by a vat of acid and instantly, callously, abandoned by his partners in crime. Crawling away, Eel was found by a monk who nursed him back to health and proved to the hardened thug that the world was not just filled with brutes and vicious chisellers all after a fast buck.

His entire outlook altered and somehow gifted with incredible malleability (he surmises it was the chemical bath mingling with his bullet wounds), Eel decides to put his new powers to use cleaning up the scum he used to run with. Creating the identity of Plastic Man he thrashes his own gang and begins his stormy association with the New York City cops…

Police #2 saw Plas apply for a job with the cops and only to be told he could join up if he accomplished the impossible task of capturing the notorious and slippery Eel O’Brian, currently the Most Wanted crook in eight states… Ever wily, the Rubber-Band Man bided his time and won the position anyway by cracking an international dope racket (that’s illegal narcotics, kids) reaching from Canada to Chinatown, whilst in #3 he fully capitalised on his underworld reputation and connections to bust up a Pinball Racket led by a cunning crook with ears inside the Police Department itself.

‘Madame Brawn’s Crime School for Delinquent Girls’ pitted the Silly Putty Paladin against a brutal babe intent on taking over the City’s mobs, and despite getting a thorough trouncing she and her gang of gal gorillas returned in the next issue, having turned her burly hand to a spot of piracy.

Police Comics #5 (December 1942) also marked a major turning point for Plastic Man as with that issue he took the cover-spot away from fellow adventurer and failed superstar Firebrand, a position he would hold until costumed heroes faded from popularity at the end of the 1940s.

In issue #6 Plas’ burgeoning popularity was graphically reflected in a spooky mystery involving murderous disembodied hands, in #7 – as Eel – he infiltrated and dismantled the massed forces of the ‘United Crooks of America!’ whilst #8 found the hero seriously outmatched but still triumphant when he battled a colossal, city-crushing giant ‘Eight Ball!’ and its decidedly deranged inventor, and #9 reached an early peak of macabre malevolence as Plastic Man foiled a traitorous little mutant dubbed Hairy Arms in ‘Satan’s Son Sells Out to the Japs!’, a darkly bizarre thriller which saw the regular story-length jump from six to nine pages.

The carnival of cartoon grotesques continued in #10 as hayseed wannabe-cop Omar McGootch accidentally involved the Malleable Mystery-man in a Nazi plot to steal a new secret weapon, whilst #11 found Plastic Man in mortal combat with the spirit of a 17th century London alchemist whose brain was unearthed and accidentally transplanted into a wounded spitfire pilot, suddenly gaining incredible mystic powers in the process…

In Police #11 a desperate blackmailer joined forces with a criminal astrologer who predicted perpetual failure unless Plastic Man was killed, before Cole introduced his second most memorable character in #13’s ‘The Man Who Can’t be Harmed’…

Woozy Winks was an indolent slob who accidentally saved a wizard’s life and was gifted in return with a gift of invulnerability: all the forces of nature would henceforth protect him from injury or death. Flipping a coin the oaf decided to get rich quick with his power. Unable to stop him Plas was forced to appeal to his sentimentality and better nature and, once Woozy repented, was compelled to keep him around in case he strayed again…

Unlike Omar, Woozy Winks – equal parts Artful Dodger and Mr. Micawber, with the verbal skills and intellect of Lou Costello’s screen persona – would prove to be a perfect foil for Plastic Man: the lazy, venal, ethically fluid reprobate with sticky fingers who got all the best lines, possessed an inexplicable charm and had a habit of finding trouble. It was the perfect marriage of inconvenience…

As the page count jumped to 13, they were soon on the trail of Eel O’Brian himself in issue #14, but during the chase Woozy stumbled onto a slavery racket which soon foundered against his insane luck and Plastic Man’s ingenuity. In a hilarious twist Plas then let Woozy arrest him, but then escaped from under the smug cops’ very noses…

When war scientists investigated Plastic Man and Woozy’s uncanny abilities in #15 it led to murder, a hot pursuit to Mexico City and almost a new Ice Age, whilst in #16 disgruntled Native Americans organised a ‘Revolt against the USA’ and a movie cast succumbed one by one to a murderous madman in #17 before the hilarious #18 revealed what happened after ‘Plastic Man is Drafted’…

The blockbusting dilemma of all branches of the Armed Services fighting to recruit him was only solved when the President seconded Plas to the FBI, and his first case – with Woozy in tow – found the Stretchable Sleuth investigating ‘The Forest of Fear!’ in a 15 page terror-tale involving a cabal of killers and an army of animated oaks.

This initial deluxe outing ends with #20 and the ‘Woozy Winks Detective Agency’ as, with Plastic Man temporarily laid up wounded, the rotund rascal took centre stage to solve a robbery in a frantic, madcap and surreal extravaganza reminiscent of the screwball antics of the movie Hellzapoppin’ and the anarchic shtick of the Marx Brothers…

Exciting, innovative, thrilling, funny, scary and still visually intoxicating over seven decades later, Jack Cole’s Plastic Man is a truly unique creation that has only grown in stature and appeal. This is a pure comics experience that no fans should deny themselves.
© 1941, 1942, 1943, 1998 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

Superman Archive volume 5


By Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, Fred Ray John Sikela & Leo Nowak, Ed Dobrotka & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-602-8

By the time of the tales re-presented in this fifth classic hardcover compendium (collecting Superman #17-20, July/August 1942 to January/February 1943), the Man of Tomorrow had evolved into a thrilling and vibrant media icon and spawned a host of imitators, a genre and an industry. His antics and take-charge can-do attitude had won the hearts of the public at home and he was embraced as a patriotic tonic for the troops across the war-torn world.

Behind the stunning covers by Fred Ray and Jack Burnley – depicting Superman thrashing scurrilous Axis War-mongers and reminding readers what we were all fighting for – scripter Jerry Siegel was producing some of the best stories of his career, showing the Man of Steel in all his morale-boosting glory, thrashing thugs, spies and masters of bad science whilst America kicked the fascists in the pants…

Co-creator Joe Shuster, although plagued by crushing deadlines and rapidly failing eyesight, was still fully involved in the process, overseeing the stories and drawing character faces whenever possible, but as the months passed the talent pool of the “Superman Studio” increasingly took the lead as the demands of the media superstar grew and grew…

Following a fulsome Foreword by scribe/editor Mike Carlin describing the lengthy list of “Firsts” ascribed to the ever-growing heroic legend, the action begins with the splendid contents of Superman #17 and ‘Man or Superman?’ illustrated by John Sikela, wherein Lois Lane began to put snippets of evidence together, at last sensing that Clark Kent might be hiding a Super-secret whilst the subject of her researches tangled with sinister saboteur The Talon, after which in ‘The Human Bomb’, with art from Leo Nowak, a criminal hypnotist turned innocent citizens into walking landmines until the Action Ace scotched his wicked racket.

In ‘Muscles for Sale!’ the Fortress of Solitude and Trophy Room debuted as the Man of Steel battled another mad mesmerist who turned ordinary men into dangerously overconfident louts, bullies and thieves whilst ‘When Titans Clash!‘ saw a frantic and spectacular duel of wits and incredible super-strength when Luthor regained the mystic Power Stone and became Superman’s physical master (both illustrated by Sikela)…

Issue #18 led with Sikela’s ‘The Conquest of a City’ wherein Nazi infiltrators used a civil defence drill to infiltrate the National Guard and conquer Metropolis in the Fuehrer’s name until Superman single-handedly led the counter-attack, whilst in Nowak’s ‘The Heat Horror’ an artificial asteroid threatened to burn the city to ashes until the Metropolis Marvel defeated its ingenious master.

‘The Man with the Kane’ provided a grand old-fashioned and highly entertaining espionage murder mystery for Ed Dobrotka & Sikela to illustrate before Superman battled his first fully costumed super-villain as ‘The Snake’ perpetrated a string of murders during construction of a river tunnel in a moody masterpiece drawn by Nowak.

A classic (and much reprinted) fantasy shocker opened Superman #19 as the ‘Case of the Funny Paper Crimes’ (by Dobrotka & Sikela) saw the bizarre Funnyface bring the larger-than-life villains of the Daily Planet’s comics page to terrifying life in a grab for loot and power, after which ‘Superman’s Amazing Adventure’ (Nowak) found him battling incredible creatures in an incredible extra-dimensional realm – but all was not as it seemed…

Some of the city’s most vicious criminals were commanded to kill a stray dog by the infamous Mr. Z in ‘The Canine and the Crooks’ (Nowak again) and it took all of Clark and Lois’ detective skills to ascertain why before ‘Superman, Matinee Idol’ broke the fourth wall for readers when the reporters went to the cinema to see a Superman cartoon in a shameless but exceedingly inventive and thrilling “infomercial” plug for the Fleischer Bros cartoons then currently astounding movie-goers, perfectly limned by the marvellous Dobrotka & Sikela.

That sterling art team drew all but one story in issue #20, starting with ‘Superman’s Secret Revealed!’ as Lois plays a joke on Clark and her fake headline accidentally exposes the Man of Steel’s alter ego to the World. Forced to extraordinary measures to fix the problem, Superman even manages to capture a gang of robbers, and this sharp and witty face-saving yarn also includes the first cameo appearance of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson…

Hitler himself ordered the dastardly Herr Fange to unleash an armada of marine monstrosities on Allied shipping and coastal towns in the blistering ‘Destroyers from the Depths’, but they proved no match for the mighty Man of Steel, whilst the Sikela illustrated ‘Lair of the Leopard!’ pitted our hero against a feline themed criminal genius, whilst his attention was distracted by a buffoonish but well-intentioned copycat dubbed Herman the Heroic…

This volume concludes with a genuinely chilling murder spree as old foe The Puzzler returns in ‘Not in the Cards’, by Dobrotka & Sikela, to fiendishly slaughter gamesmen and champions who had the temerity to beat him in competition, with the Action Ace forced into playing a deadly game of catch-up…

Ageless and evergreen, endlessly re-readable, these epic hardback Archive Editions fabulously frame some of the greatest and most influential comics stories ever created, and taken in unison form a perfect permanent record of breathtaking wonder and groundbreaking excitement. How can any dedicated fan resist them?
© 1942, 1943, 2000 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

Batman Archives volume 4


By Bill Finger, Don Cameron, Joseph Greene, Dick Sprang & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-414-9

Debuting a year after Superman, “The Bat-Man” (and later Robin, the Boy Wonder) cemented National Comics as the market and genre leader of the nascent comicbook industry, becoming the epitome of swashbuckling derring-do and keen human-scaled adventure.

This fourth scintillating deluxe hardback chronicles Batman yarns from Detective Comics #87-102 (cover-dated May 1944-August 1945) and is particularly special since it almost exclusively features the artwork of unsung genius Dick Sprang, revealing how he slowly developed into the character’s primary and most well-regarded illustrator during a period when most superhero features experienced a gradual downturn and eventual – albeit temporary – extinction.

Sprang even drew the lion’s share of the stunning covers reproduced here – the remainder being divided between Jerry Robinson, Bob Kane, Jack Burnley and inker George Roussos…

No less crucial to the Dynamic Duo’s ever-burgeoning popularity were the sensitive, witty, imaginative and just plain thrilling stories from an exceedingly talented stable of scripters such as Joe Greene, Don Cameron, Edmund Hamilton, Mort Weisinger, Alvin Schwartz and original co-creator Bill Finger: all diligently contributing as Batman and Robin grew into a hugely successful media franchise.

One final point of possible interest: Sprang actually began drawing Batman tales in 1941 and editor Whitney Ellsworth, cognizant of his new find’s talent and the exigencies of the war effort, had the 26-year old former Pulp illustrator frantically drawing as many stories as he could handle, which were then stockpiled against the possibility of one, some or all of his artists being called up.

Thus many yarns were published “out of order”, and when read now it might seem as if Sprang’s style occasionally advanced and regressed. It’s no big deal – I just thought you’d like to know…

Sprang pencilled, inked, lettered and coloured most of his assignments during this period, aided and abetted by his wife Lora, who used the professional pseudonym Pat Gordon for her many lettering and colouring jobs on Superboy, Superman and Batman stories.

After a fond reminiscence from Sprang himself in the Foreword, the dramas begin to unfold in Detective #87’s ‘The Man of a Thousand Umbrellas’ written by Joseph Greene.

The Penguin had a bizarre appeal and the Wicked Old Bird had his own cover banner whenever he resurfaced, as in this beguiling crime-spree highlighting his uncanny arsenal of weaponised parasols, brollies and bumbershoots.

As World War II staggered to a close and home-front fears subsided, spies gradually gave way to more home-grown threats and menaces. Issue #88 offered a nasty glimpse at true villainy when ‘The Merchants of Misery’ – also by Greene – pitted the Dynamic Duo against merciless and murderous loan sharks preying on poverty-stricken families, whilst ‘Laboratory Loot!’ by Don Cameron in #89, saw the return of flamboyant crime enthusiast The Cavalier, forced to join temporarily forces with Batman to thwart petty gangsters stealing loot he’d earmarked as his own…

Detective Comics #90 featured ‘Crime Between the Acts!’ (Greene) as the Caped Crusaders followed a Mississippi Riverboat full of crooked carnival performers from one plundered town to another, before Edmond Hamilton scripted a terrifically twisty tale in ‘The Case of the Practical Joker’, wherein some crazy and wisely anonymous prankster began pulling stunts and have fun at the Harlequin of Hate’s expense.

Greene revealed ‘Crime’s Manhunt’ in #92, with a particularly nasty band of bandits turning to bounty hunting and turning in all their friends and associates for hefty rewards. Once they’d run out of pals to betray they simply organised jailbreaks to provide more crooks to catch: a measure the Dark Knight took extreme umbrage with…

Bill Finger scripted the next two issues beginning with ‘One Night of Crime!’ in #93. Ed Kressy laid out the art – which leads me to suspect that this was one of the earlier Sprang inventory tales – and the story itself is a cracker: a portmanteau human interest yarn in actuality starring the ordinary folk who got on a Gotham Tour Bus just before it was hijacked by brutally casual killers. Cue Batman and Robin…

‘No One Must Know!’ in #94 was another poignant and moving melodrama with the Gotham Gangbusters tracking a pack of thugs to the little hamlet of Meadowvale, where they recognised the village’s most decent, beloved and respected patriarch as an escaped convict…

Next comes an originally untitled yarn here dubbed ‘The Blaze’, written by Mort Weisinger and outlining the short and fantastically impressive career of a brilliant criminal mastermind who organised all Gotham’s gangsters and almost outsmarted Batman. Almost…

In #96 Cameron and Sprang showed their flair for light comedy with ‘Alfred, Private Detective!’ as Bruce Wayne’s dedicated manservant finally realised his ambition to set up as a crime-busting Private Eye – with bombastically mixed success – whilst in #97 ‘The Secret of the Switch!’, by Greene, offered a baffling mystery when a dead criminal confessed from beyond the grave and led the Caped Crusaders into a deadly trap.

A bored banker tried to become an idle philanthropist in #98’s ‘The King of the Hoboes!’ (Cameron) but found that his money was too big a lure for a couple of crafty conmen – until Batman stepped – in whilst the perfidious Penguin’s cool, cruel and preposterous scheme to commit ‘The Temporary Murders!’ (#99 and Cameron again) proved once more that the Darknight Detective was far too slick for him…

Issue #100 featured ‘The Crow’s Nest Mystery!’ by Cameron, Jack Burnley & Charles Paris (although the art seems more reminiscent of young Winslow Mortimer to me) with Batman and Robin exposing a cunning smuggling scam in a spooky old house, after which a desperate mother left her appallingly badly-behaved babies with Bruce and Dick in ‘The Tyrannical Twins!’

The hilarious result was the exposure and capture of a gang of ruthless jewel thieves and a near nervous breakdown for long-suffering babysitter Alfred in a wry cracker from Cameron and Sprang before the Joker returned to close this volume on a spectacular high note in #102’s ‘The House that was Held for Ransom!’ (written by Alvin Schwartz) wherein the Clown Prince of Crime astoundingly abducted a recluse’s mansion, lock stock and barrel, and led Batman a merry chase to near disaster before his eventual, inevitable defeat…

These spectacular yarns provide a perfect snapshot of the Batman’s amazing range from bleak moody avenger to suave swashbuckler, from remorseless Agent of Justice to best pal to sophisticated Devil-may-care Detective in timeless tales which have never lost their edge or their power to enthral and beguile. Moreover, this supremely sturdy Archive Edition is indubitably the most luxurious and satisfying way to enjoy them over and over again.
© 1944, 1945, 1998 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

The Flash: the Secret of Barry Allen


By Geoff Johns, Howard Porter, Livesay & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-0723-6

Created by Gardner Fox and Harry Lampert, Jay Garrick debuted as the very first Scarlet Speedster in Flash Comics #1 (January 1940). “The Fastest Man Alive” wowed readers for over a decade before changing tastes benched him in 1951. The concept of speedsters and superheroes in general was revived in 1956 by Julie Schwartz in Showcase #4 when police scientist Barry Allen became the second hero to run with the concept.

The Silver Age Flash, whose creation ushered in a new and seemingly unstoppable era of costumed crusaders, died heroically during Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985-1986) and was promptly succeeded by his sidekick Kid Flash. Of course Allen later returned from the dead – but doesn’t everyone?

Initially Wally West struggled to fill the boots of his predecessor, both in sheer ability and, more tellingly, in confidence. Feeling a fraud, he nonetheless persevered and eventually overcame, becoming arguably the greatest hero to bear the title.

There are now many super-speedsters populating the DCU and the majority congregate in the conjoined metropolis of Keystone and Central City. Wally West lives there with his true love Linda Park, his Aunt Iris – Barry’s widow – and fellow fast-fighters such as the apparently tireless Jay Garrick.

Bart Allen, grandson of Barry & Iris, is a juvenile speedster born in the 30th century and has recently taken up Wally’s old role as Kid Flash.

This volume reprints issues #207-211 and #213-217 (issue #212 being a tale devoted to the Mirror Master which was bumped to the next compilation) of the monthly comic and opens with an absolutely crucial scorecard and checklist of characters…

In the aftermath of a staggering extended war of attrition that plagued the Twin Cities for over a year the Scarlet Speedster disappeared and, thanks to the intervention of nigh-omnipotent spirit The Spectre, everyone who knew Wally West was the Flash forgot the secret: friends, foes and even Linda and Wally too…

In The Flash: Ignition Wally recovered his memories but lost his wife as the attack of evil speedster Zoom caused her to miscarry unborn twins and the constant life of turmoil compelled Linda to take a desperately needed time-out. Wally, heartbroken, didn’t even have time to grieve. The Rogues Gallery of Flash-foes were still making trouble and, thanks to the Ghostly Guardian’s spell, all the Scarlet Speedster’s old Justice League allies felt that they could no longer trust a comrade who could so casually meddle with their memories…

Now, with the again anonymous hero back, the Twin Cities have declared a celebratory Flash Day against the wishes of the man himself – who feels that it’s a provocation to the super-villains haunting Central and Keystone. He’s proved right in ‘Rush Hour!’ as Plunder, the new Trickster, Tarpit, Abra Kadabra and a herd of Golden Giants crash the parade intent on much mayhem…

Meanwhile in super-penitentiary Iron Heights, Ashley Zolomon, criminal profiler and estranged wife of Zoom, is trying to see her comatose former spouse, determined to cure him of his murderous obsession, but she’s getting little help from draconian warden Gregory Wolfe.

When Jay Garrick and Kid Flash appear the three speedsters quickly drive off the party crashers in ‘Red Carpet’ before taking a tour of the newly refurbished Flash Museum, whilst in Chicago FBI Special Agent James Jesse – the original Trickster – is forming a task force of reformed Rogues intent on arresting his former criminal associates. Suddenly Wally vanishes, teleported to the JLA citadel and a brusque confrontation with his angry team-mates…

The stories in this collection were first seen during the shocking Identity Crisis crossover event when DC heroes were forced to re-assess their careers and procedures whilst hunting down the murderer of Sue Dibny, wife of the Elongated Man.  As the investigation progressed, heroes – and villains – were forced to challenge many of their bedrock principles, especially when it was revealed that a cabal of heroes had indulged in involuntary, illegal brain-wiping and behaviour modification of criminals in their custody…

Thus the understandably antsy reaction of the JLA in ‘Fast Friends’, when the assembled heroes demanded answers from Wally regarding their own enforced selective amnesia, resulting in a speedy clash with Superman and an agreed rapprochement with the entire heroic community.

In ‘Reconnected’, Captain Cold puts the Rogues on a war footing as Wally reminisces with Nightwing and reconnects to his former Teen Titans chums. Whilst Ashley finally gets her time with Zoom – which everybody will come to regret – The Penguin briefly and painfully relocates into and out of the Twin Cities, courtesy of the Flash and Nightwing, just as the FBI’s reformed Rogue unit (Jesse, Heatwave and Pied Piper) turn their attention to the murderous Flash-foe Murmur…

When Wally gives Dick Grayson an after-hours tour of the Flash Museum they are ambushed by the horrific Gorilla Grodd in ‘Animal House’ resulting in a devastating battle and the super-ape’s crushing defeat. Returning the beast to Iron Heights, Flash clashes with Ashley, whose husband he holds responsible for Linda’s leaving.

Later that night Zolomon almost dies when her car brakes mysteriously fail…

‘Slow Motion’ sees events spiral out of control. Although nobody remembers that Wally is the Flash, Zoom’s attacks on him and Linda are common knowledge and, in his job of police motor mechanic, West was the last person to service her vehicle. However during his interview with Detectives Chyre and Morillo, time literally stands still as The Turtle – Slowest Man Alive – escapes custody by stealing the city’s kinetic motion and the Vizier of Velocity is compelled to stop him between ticks of the clock…

In ‘The Secret of Barry Allen’ chapter 1 the ongoing crisis and pitched metahuman battles of the Identity Crisis begin to hit home as more heroes’ family members are targeted. When Flash discovers that his comrades and idols – particularly his uncle Barry – had crossed a line with their mind-control tactics, he confronts the JLA-ers originally involved and is given a letter written before the second Scarlet Speedster’s death…

In ‘Reformed’ Wally learns that his sainted predecessor was a mere man, filled with fears and foibles who, in a moment of weakness, took the behaviour modification a stage further and attempted not to merely neuter an implacable foe, but, with the aid of magician Zatanna, turn him into a force for justice.

Thus deadly, psionic phantom menace The Top became a man compelled to “do good” but with catastrophic results and, plagued by guilt and remorse, Barry’s last wish was that Wally undo this well-meaning mistake and rectify any harm the ill-advised procedure had caused…

As The Top Roscoe Dillon tapped into incredible mental powers and in ‘Spinning’ his full lethal potential was restored, with terrifying results. Possessed once more of evil free will, Dillon disclosed that he had carried on Barry’s mistake: forcibly making many of his fellow Rogues defenders of society. Almost all of Barry’s Rogues had tried to reform after his death for different lengths of time and with qualified success. Some even became FBI operatives…

Now the vengeance-crazed Top intends to undo his past mental manipulations and see just how many poachers-turned-gamekeepers actually changed their spots…

This volume concludes with ‘Post-Crisis’ and yields the spotlight to the Rogues as they prepare to bury Captain Boomerang and induct his son Owen Mercer as his replacement. Meanwhile Flash is put on final warning by Batman, but isn’t too fussed since Linda has finally returned.

What nobody knows is that the FBI have stolen Boomerang’s corpse (another casualty of the Identity Crisis) in preparation for an all-out war against Captain Cold and the Rogues…

With a cover gallery by Michael Turner, Peter Steigerwald, Howard Porter & Livesay and including a photo-feature revealing how Turner’s cover was converted into a statue of Flash triumphant over Gorilla Grodd, this tome is a captivating reaffirmation of the strength and vitality of the Flash as a fan-favourite who always delivers the goods.

Fast, furious and fabulous, the numerous Scarlet Speedsters have always epitomised the very best in costumed comic thrills and these spectacular yarns are among the very best. Moreover, this entire book is just a prologue for a blockbusting epic still to come…

© 2004, 200s DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.