Category: Flash

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Kingdom Come – New Edition



By Mark Waid & Alex Ross, with Todd Klein & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-9096-2 (TPB/Digital edition)

With documentary The Legend of Kingdom Come out and another commemorative edition scheduled for early next year, it’s time to revisit this modern classic once more and prep for all the furore to come. It’s also a damn fine read to amble into the festive season with…

In the mid-1960s a teenaged Jim Shooter wrote a couple of stories about the Legion of Super-Heroes set some years into the team’s own future. Those stories of adult Legionnaires revealed hints of things to come that shackled the series’ plotting and continuity for decades as eager, obsessed fans (by which I mean all of us) waited for the predicted characters to be introduced, presaged relationships to be consummated and heroes to die. By being so utterly impressive and similarly affecting, Kingdom Come accidentally repeated the trick decades later, subsequently painting the entire post Crisis on Infinite Earths DC Universe into the same creative corner until one of the company’s periodic continuity reboots unleashed possibility and uncertainty again…

Envisaged and designed by artist Alex Ross as DC’s answer to groundbreaking epic Marvels, Kingdom Come was originally released as a 4-issue Prestige Format miniseries in 1996 to rapturous acclaim and numerous awards and accolades. Although set in the future and an “imaginary story” released under DC’s Elseworlds imprint, it almost immediately began to affect the company’s mainstream continuity.

Set approximately 20 years into the future, the grandiose saga details a tragic failure and subsequent loss of Faith for Superman and how his attempt to redeem himself almost leads to an even greater and ultimate apocalypse. The events are seen through the eyes and actions of Dantean witness Norman McCay, an aging cleric co-opted by Divine Agent of Wrath the Spectre after the pastor officiates at the last rites of dying superhero Wesley Dodds. As the Sandman, Dodds was cursed for decades with precognitive dreams which compelled him to act as an agent of justice.

Opening chapter ‘Strange Visitor’ reveals a world where metahumans have proliferated to ubiquitous proportions: a sub-culture of constant, violent clashes between the latest generation of costumed villains and vigilantes, all unheeding and uncaring of the collateral damage they daily inflict on the mere mortals around and in all ways beneath them. The shaken preacher sees a final crisis coming, but feels helpless until the darkly angelic Spectre comes to him. Taken on a bewildering voyage of unfolding events, McCay is to act as the ghost’s human perspective whilst the Spirit of Vengeance prepares to pass final judgement on Humanity.

First stop is the secluded hideaway where farmer Kal-El has hidden himself since the ghastly events which compelled him to retire from the Good Fight and the eyes of the World. The Man of Tomorrow was already feeling like a dinosaur when newer, harsher, morally ambiguous mystery-men began to appear. After the Joker murdered the entire Daily Planet staff and hard-line new hero Magog consequently executed him in the street, the public applauded the deed. Heartbroken and appalled, Superman disappeared for a decade. His legendary colleagues also felt the march of unwelcome progress and similarly faded from sight.

With Earth left to the mercies of dangerously irresponsible new vigilantes, civil unrest escalated. The younger heroes displayed poor judgement and no restraint, with the result that within a decade the entire planet had become a chaotic arena for metahuman duels.

Civilisation was fragmenting. The Flash and Batman retreated to their home cities and made them secure, crime-free solitary fortresses. Green Lantern built an emerald castle in the sky, turning his eyes away from Earth and towards the deep black fastnesses of space. Hawkman retreated to the wilderness, Aquaman to his sub-sea kingdom whilst Wonder Woman retired to her hidden paradise. She did not leave until Armageddon came one step closer…

When Magog and his Justice Battalion battled the Parasite in St. Louis, the result was a nuclear accident which destroyed all of Kansas and much of Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. Overnight the world faced starvation as America’s breadbasket turned into a toxic wasteland. Now with McCay and the Spectre invisibly observing, Princess Diana convinces the bereft Kal-El to return and save the world on his own terms…

In ‘Truth and Justice’ a resurgent Justice League led by Superman begins a campaign of unilateral action to clean up the mess civilisation has become: renditioning “heroes” and “villains” alike, imprisoning every dangerous element of super-humanity and telling governments how to behave, blithely unaware that they are hastening a global catastrophe of Biblical proportions as the Spectre invisibly gathers the facts for his apocalyptic judgement.

In the ensuing chaos, crippled warrior Bruce Wayne rejects Superman’s paternalistic, doctrinaire crusade and allies himself with mortal humanity’s libertarian elite – Ted (Blue Beetle) Kord, Dinah (Black Canary) Lance and Oliver (Green Arrow) Queen – to resist what can only be considered a grab for world domination by its metahuman minority. As helpless McCay watches in horror, Wayne’s group makes its own plans; one more dangerous thread in a tapestry of calamity…

At first Superman’s plans seem blessed to succeed, with many erstwhile threats flocking to his banner and his doctrinaire rules of discipline, but as ever there are self-serving villains with their own agendas. Lex Luthor organises a cabal of like-minded compatriots – Vandal Savage, Catwoman, Riddler, Kobra and Ibn Al Xu’ffasch (“Son of the Demon” Ra’s Al Ghul) – into a “Mankind Liberation Front”. With Shazam-empowered Captain Marvel as their slave, this group are determined the super-freaks shall not win. Their cause is greatly advanced once Wayne’s clique joins them…

‘Up in the Sky’ sees events spiral into catastrophe as McCay, still wracked by his visions of Armageddon, is shown the Gulag where recalcitrant metahumans are dumped. He also witnesses how it will fail, learns from restless spirit Deadman that The Spectre is the literal Angel of Death and watches with growing horror as Luthor’s plan to usurp control from the army of Superman leads to shocking confrontation, betrayal and a deadly countdown to the End of Days…

The deadly drama culminates in a staggering battle of superpowers, last moment salvation and a second chance for humanity in a calamitous world-shaking ‘Never-Ending Battle’…

Thanks to McCay’s simple humanity, the world gets another chance and this edition follows up with epilogue ‘One Year Later’ ending the momentous epic on a note of renewed hope…

This particular edition – released as a 20th Anniversary deluxe hardback, a standard trade paperback and in digital format – came with an introduction by author and former DC scribe Elliot S. Maggin, assorted cover reproductions and art-pieces, an illustrated checklist of the vast cast list plus a plethora of creative notes and sketches in the ‘Apocrypha’ section, and even hints at lost glories in ‘Evolution’: notes, photos and drawings for a restored scene that never made it into the miniseries. We will have to see what Kingdom Come DC Compact Comics Edition additionally offers when it’s released next May…

Epic, engaging and operatically spectacular, Kingdom Come is a milestone of the DC Universe and remains to this day a solid slice of superior superhero entertainment, worthy of your undivided attention.
© 1996, 2006, 2008, 2016, 2019 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Because Quality Counts …9/10

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Teen Titans: The Silver Age volume One


By Bob Haney, Bruno Premiani, Nick Cardy, Irv Novick, Bill Molno, Sal Trapani, Jack Abel & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-7508-2 (TPB/Digital edition)

Although primarily concerned with celebrating Pride Month and simultaneously prepping for a really big blowout/hunkering down for the new dystopia following our imminent election, I couldn’t let the month end without shouting out to an anniversary celebrating a publishing landmark that truly changed the comics landscape. Here you go, Groovers and True Believers…

The concept of kid hero teams was not a new one when the 1960s Batman TV show prompted DC to entrust their big stars’ assorted sidekicks with their own regular venue in a fab, hip and groovy ensemble as dedicated to helping kids as they were to stamping out insidious evil. The biggest difference between the creation of the Teen Titans and earlier wartime youth teams like The Young Allies, Newsboy Legion, Boy Champions and Boy Commandos or even 1950s holdovers such as The Little Wise Guys or Boys Ranch was quite simply the burgeoning phenomena of “The Teenager” as a discrete commercial and social force. These newcomers were kids who could – and should – be allowed to do things themselves without constant adult help or supervision.

This quirkily eclectic compilation re-presents the landmark try-out appearances from The Brave and the Bold #54 & 60 and Showcase #59 – collectively debuting in 1964 and1965 – as well as the first 11 issues of the Teen Titans solo title, spanning January/February 1966 to September/October 1967.

As early as April 30th – albeit cover-dated June/July – 1964, The Brave and the Bold #54 saw DC’s Powers-That-Be test the waters in a gripping tale by writer Bob Haney superbly illustrated by unsung genius Bruno Premiani. ‘The Thousand-and-One Dooms of Mr. Twister’ initially united Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin the Boy Wonder in desperate battle with a modern wizard-cum-Pied Piper who sought to abduct every teen of scenic Hatton Corners. The young heroes accidentally meet in the town by chance after involved students individually invite them to mediate in a long-running dispute with the town’s adults…

This element of a teen “court of appeal” was the motivating principle in many of the group’s subsequent cases. One year later the team reformed for a second adventure (B&B #60, by the same creative team) and introduced two new elements. ‘The Astounding Separated Man’ features more misunderstood kids (weren’t we all?): this time in coastal hamlet Midville and threatened by an outlandish monster whose giant body parts detach and move independently. Wonder Girl was added to the roster (not actually a sidekick, or even a person at that juncture, but rather an SFX incarnation of Wonder Woman as a child – a fact the writer and editor of the series seemed blissfully unaware of (or simply ignored) but most importantly the kids finally had a team name: ‘Teen Titans’.

Their final try-out appearance was in Showcase (#59, November/December 1965) and the birthplace of so many hit comic concepts. It was also the first drawn by the brilliant Nick Cardy (who became synonymous with the 1960s series). ‘The Return of the Teen Titans’ pits the neophyte team against teen pop trio ‘The Flips’ who are apparently also a gang of super-crooks. As was so often the case, the grown-ups had got it all wrong again…

One month later Teen Titans #1 debuted (cover-dated January/February 1966 and released mere weeks before the Batman TV show aired on January 12th), with Robin very much the point of focus on the cover… and most succeeding ones. Haney & Cardy crafted an exotic thriller entitled ‘The Beast-God of Xochatan!’ which sees the team acting as Peace Corps representatives in a South American drama of sabotage, giant robots and magical monsters. The next issue held a fantastic mystery of revenge and young love involving ‘The Million-Year-Old Teen-Ager’ who was preserved by accidental entombment and revived in the 20th century. He might have survived modern intolerance, bullying and culture shock on his own, but when his ancient blood enemy also turned up, the Titans were ready to lend a hand…

‘The Revolt at Harrison High’ in #3 cashed in on a contemporary craze for drag-racing in a tale of bizarre criminality. Produced during a historically iconic era, many readers now can’t help but cringe when reminded of such daft foes as Ding-Dong Daddy and his evil biker gang, and of course the hip, trendy dialogue (it wasn’t that accurate then, let alone now) is pitifully dated, but the plot is strong and the art magnificent.

‘The Secret Olympic Heroes’ guest-starred Green Arrow’s cocky teen partner Speedy in a very human tale of parental pressure at the Olympics, although there’s also skulduggery aplenty from a terrorist organisation intent on disrupting the games. Next TT #5’s ‘The Perilous Capers of the Terrible Teen’ finds the Titans facing the dual task of aiding a troubled young man and capturing elusive super-villain The Ant, despite all evidence indicating that they’re the same person, after which another DC sidekick made his Titans debut.

Illustrated by Bill Molno & Sal Trapani ‘The Fifth Titan’ then brings aboard Beast Boy (the obnoxious juvenile know-it-all from the Doom Patrol). Feeling unappreciated by his adult mentors, the young hero wrongly assumes he’ll be welcomed by his peers. Rejected again, he falls under the spell of an unscrupulous circus owner and the kids need to set things right…

Slow and overly convoluted, it’s possibly the low-point of a stylish run, but many fans disagree, citing #7’s ‘The Mad Mod, Merchant of Menace’ as the biggest stinker. However, beneath painfully dated dialogue there’s a witty, tongue-in-cheek tale of swinging London, cool capers and novel criminality, plus the return of magnificent Nick Cardy to the art chores.

It was back to America for ‘A Killer called Honey Bun’ (illustrated by Irv Novick & Jack Abel): another tale of intolerance and misunderstood kids, played against a backdrop of espionage in Middle America, and featuring a deadly prototype robotic superweapon in the menacing title role…

TT #9’s ‘Big Beach Rumble’ finds the Titans refereeing a swiftly-escalating vendetta between rival colleges on holiday when modern day pirates led by the barbarous Captain Tiger crash the scene. Novick pencilled it and Cardy’s inking made it all very palatable in a light and uncomplicated way. Editor George Kashdan clearly concurred as the art teem continued for the next few issues, beginning with ‘Scramble at Wildcat’: a rowdy crime caper featuring dirt-bikes and desert ghost-towns, with skeevy biker The Scorcher profiting from a pernicious robbery spree…

Wrapping up this first outing, Speedy returned in #11’s spy-thriller ‘Monster Bait’, with the young heroes going undercover to save a boy being blackmailed into betraying his father and his country…

Although dated in delivery now, these tales were an incomprehensibly liberating experience for kids when first released. They betokened a new empathy with increasingly independent youth and sought to address problems that were more relevant to and generated by that specific audience. That they are so captivating in execution is a wonderful bonus. This is absolute escapism and absolutely delightful and you absolutely should get this book.
© 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 2017 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Harley Quinn: A Rogue’s Gallery – The Deluxe Cover Art Collection


By Bruce Timm, Terry & Rachel Dodson, Amanda Connor & Paul Mounts, Tim Sale, Jim Lee, Frank Cho, Alex Ross and many & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-7423-8 (HB/Digital edition)

Comic books aren’t just stories. So often the cover is as important and thrilling as the contents – if not more so. Let’s face it; we’ve all gone for something for its appearance only to be disappointed by its interior. So it’s a relief and a delight to thoroughly recommend a comic cover-art compilation where the visuals are as extraordinary as the material they were promoting.

Harley Quinn was never supposed to be a star – or even actual comics character. As soon became apparent, however, the manic minx always has her own astoundingly askew and off-kilter ideas on the matter – and any other topic you could name: ethics, friendship, ordnance, coffee, cuddle bunnies…

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 television cartoon revolutionised everybody’s image of the Dark Knight and immediately began feeding back into the print iteration, consequently leading to some of the absolute best comic book tales in the Dark Knight’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 universally accessible, thematically memorable form even the youngest of readers could enjoy, whilst adding exuberance and panache that only the most devout and obsessive Batmaniac could possibly object to…

Harley was initially the Clown Prince of Crime’s self-destructive, slavishly adoring, extreme abuse-enduring assistant, as seen in “Joker’s Favor” (airing September 11th 1992). She instantly captured the hearts and minds of millions of viewers and began popping up in the incredibly successful licensed comic book. Always stealing the show, Harley soon graduated into mainstream DC continuity. Along the circuitous way, Quinn – AKA Dr. Harleen Quinzel – developed a support network of sorts in living bioweapon Poison Ivy and a bizarre love/hate relationship with some of Gotham’s other female felons…

After a brief period bopping around the DCU, she was re-imagined as part of the company’s vast post-Flashpoint major makeover: subsequently appearing all over comics as cornerstone of a new iteration of the Suicide Squad, in those aforementioned movies and her own adult-oriented animation series. At heart, however, she’s always been a comic glamour-puss, with big, bold, primal emotions and only the merest acknowledgement of how reality works…

Harley Quinn: A Rogue’s Gallery – The Deluxe Cover Art Collection is a giant collection of some of the best comic covers from her first quarter century of existence spanning her first print appearance in Batman Adventures #12 (1993) to 2017: charting her progress from frolicsome cartoon felon to comic book big draw, movie magnate and all around gay icon.

Of course, you could just take my word for it and accept there are gathered here 170 fabulous eye-grabbing images (plus a few bonus sketches and such) by 92 stellar artists – mostly stripped of verbal clutter and text livery – but I suspect many will also study the huge shopping lists of names and numbers assembled below.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO READ THEM – they are for obsessive completists like me, okay?

If you’re still here and not off shopping now, what’s here are the covers from Batman Adventures: Mad Love #1, Batman Adventures #12; Gotham Adventures #12;  Batman: Harley Quinn #1;  Harley and Ivy: Love on the Lam #1; Harley Quinn #1, 3, 4, 9, 11, 13, 19, 38; Batman Adventures #3, 16; Gotham Girls #3; Harley and Ivy#1-3; Detective Comics #831, 837; Batman #613; Joker’s Asylum II: Harley Quinn #1; Gotham City Sirens #1, 5, 15, 20; Gotham City Sirens Book II; Suicide Squad #1, 6, 7, 14, 15, 21; Detective Comics volume 2 #23.2, 39; Harley Quinn volume 2 #0-3, 6-9, 11-13, 15-19, 23, 24, 26, 29, 30; Harley Quinn Invades Comic-Con International: San Diego #1; Harley Quinn Holiday Special #1; Harley Quinn Valentine’s Day Special #1; Secret Six #5; Action Comics volume 2 #39; Aquaman volume 2 #39; Batgirl volume 4 #39; Batman volume 2 #39; Batman and Robin volume 2 #39; Batman/Superman #19; Catwoman volume 4 #39; The Flash volume 4 #39, 47; Grayson #7; Green Lantern volume 5 #39, 47; Green Lantern Corps volume 3 #39; Justice League volume 2 #39, 47; Justice League Dark volume 1 #39; Justice League United #9; Sinestro #10; Supergirl volume 6 #39; Superman volume 3 #39, 47, Superman/Wonder Woman #19; Teen Titans volume 4 #7; Wonder Woman volume 4 #39, 47; New Suicide Squad #4, 22; Green Arrow volume 5 #47; Justice League of America volume 3 #6; Harley Quinn and the Suicide Squad: April Fool’s Special #1; Harley Quinn and the Suicide Squad: April Fool’s Special #1; Harley Quinn and Her Gang of Harleys #1; DC Comics Bombshells #27, 32; Harley Quinn volume 4 #1, 4, 6, 10, 11, 13, 17-19, 21, 22; Harley’s Greatest Hits; Harley Quinn Volume 1: Die Laughing; Justice League Vs Suicide Squad #1, 3; Suicide Squad: Rebirth #1 and Suicide Squad volume 7 #1-2, 4, 8, 13, 16, 20.

These are chronologically delivered, fully listed and accredited on the contents pages, so I’m also going to list the creators in case someone’s a particular favourite. Represented here by single images or many bites of the cheery cherry are Bruce Timm, Mike Parobeck & Rick Burchett, Alex Ross, Shane Glines, Joe Chiodo, Terry Dodson & Rachel Dodson, Tim Sale, Scott Morse, Kelsey Shannon, Simone Biachi, Jim Lee & Scott Williams, Claudio Castellini, Guillem March, Ryan Benjamin, Paul Renaud, Ivan Reis, Eber Ferreira & Rod Reis, Greg Capullo & FCO Plascencia, Ken Lashley & Matt Yackley, Jason Pearson, Chris Burnham & Nathan Fairbairn, Amanda Connor & Paul Mounts, Dave Johnson, Alex Sinclair, Stephane Roux, Adam Hughes, Clay Mann, Tommy Lee Edwards, Mike Allred & Laura Allred, Ant Lucia, Darwin Cooke, Dan Panosian, Eduardo Risso, Ben Caldwell, Emanuela Lupacchino & Tomeu Morey, Chad Hardin, Neal Adams, Ryan Sook, Jeromy Cox, John Timms, Nicola Scott, Danny Miki, Cliff Chiang, Jill Thompson, J.G. Jones, Jim Balent, Mike McKone & Dave McCaig, Marco D’Alfonso, Dustin Nguyen, Joe Quinones, Mikel Janin, Ian Bertram, Matt Hollingsworth, Joe Benitez, Peter Steigerwald, Francis Manapul, Sean Galloway, Phil Jimenez & Hi-Fi, Jeremy Roberts, Juan Ferreyra, Brennan Wagner, Joe Madureira, Nei Ruffino, Lee Bermejo, Frank Cho, Mirka Andolfo, Joseph Michael Linsner, Minjue Helen Chen, Tony S. Daniel, Jason Fabok, Babs Tarr, Rafael Albuquerque, Yanick Paquette, Paul Pope & Lovern Kindzierski, Tyler Kirkham, Jae Lee & June Chung, Ed Benes & Dinei Ribeiro, Aaron Lopresti, Tom Raney & Gina Going, Khary Randoph & Emilio Lopez, Michael Turner, Carlos D’Anda, Laura Martin, Sabine Rich, Bill Sienkiewicz, Ashley Witter, Dawn McTeigue, Jonboy Myers, Sunny Gho, Philip Tan & Jonathan Glapion, Paul Pelletier & Sandra Hope, Joshua Middleton. Liam Sharp, Billy Tucci, John Romita Jr & Dean White, and Otto Schmidt.

This collection is exciting, lovely to look upon, deliriously daft, happily hilarious and will provide hours of delighted deliberation as we all dip in, reminisce and ultimately disagree on what should and shouldn’t be included. Enjoy, Art-lovers, Bat-Fans and proud Harley-queens!

If you are utterly absorbed and crave still more, you might want to also see companion volume The Art of Harley Quinn by Andrew Farago.
© 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Showcase Presents World’s Finest volume 4


By Cary Bates, Bob Haney, Robert Kanigher, Denny O’Neil, Mike Friedrich, Curt Swan, Ross Andru, Dick Dillin, Mike Esposito & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3736-3 (TPB)

For decades Superman and Batman were quintessential superhero partners: the “World’s Finest team”. The affable champions were best buddies as well as mutually respectful colleagues, and their pairing made sound financial sense since DC’s top heroes could happily cross-pollinate and cross-sell their combined readerships.

This fourth monochrome compendium re-presents cataclysmic collaborations from the dog days of the 1960’s into the turbulent decade beyond (World’s Finest Comics #174-202, spanning March 1968 to May 1971), as shifts in America’s tastes and cultural landscape created such a hunger for more mature and socially relevant stories that even the Cape & Cowl Crusaders were affected – so much so in fact, that the partnership was temporarily suspended: sidelined so that Superman could guest-star with other icons of the DC universe.

However, after a couple of years, the relationship was revitalised and renewed with the “World’s Finest Heroes” fully restored to their bizarrely apt pre-eminence for another lengthy run until the title was cancelled in the build-up to Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1986.

The increasingly grim escapades begin with ‘Secret of the Double Death-Wish!’ by Cary Bates, Pete Costanza & Jack Abel from #174 (cover-dated March 1968, so actually the last issue of 1967) wherein mysterious voyeurs seemingly kidnap the indomitable heroes and psychologically crush their spirits such that they beg for death.

Smart and devious, this conundrum was definitely old-school, but a New Year saw subtle changes as, post-Batman TV show, the industry experienced superheroes waning in favour of war, western and especially supernatural themes and genres. Thus 1968 saw radical editorial makeovers at National/DC. Edgier stories of the costumed Boy Scouts began as iconoclastic penciller Neal Adams started turning heads and making waves with his stunning covers and two spectacularly gripping Cape & Cowl capers. It began in WFC #175 with ‘The Superman-Batman Revenge Squads!’, scripted by Leo Dorfman and inked by Dick Giordano. The story details how an annual contest of wits between the crimebusting pals is infiltrated by alien and Terran criminal alliances intent on killing their foes whilst they are off guard.

Issue #176 featured beguiling thriller ‘The Superman-Batman Split!’ (Bates, Adams & Giordano). Ostensibly just another alien mystery, this twisty little gem has a surprise ending for all and guest stars Robin, Jimmy Olsen, Supergirl and Batgirl, with the artist’s hyper-dynamic realism lending an aura of credibility to the most fanciful situations, and ushering in an era of gritty veracity to replace the anodyne and frequently frivolous Costumed Dramas.

Jim Shooter, Curt Swan & Mike Esposito also edged closer towards constructive realism with #177’s ‘Duel of the Crime Kings!’ as Lex Luthor again joins forces with The Joker. This go-round the dastardly duo used time-busting technology to recruit Benedict Arnold, Baron Hieronymus Carl Friedrich von Munchausen and Leonardo Da Vinci to plan crimes for them, only to then fall foul of the temporally displaced persons’ own unique agendas…

WFC #178 began a 2-part Imaginary Tale with ‘The Has-Been Superman!’ (Bates, Swan & Abel) which has the Action Ace lose his Kryptonian powers and subsequently struggle to continue his career as Batman-style masked crimebuster Nova. More determined than competent, he soon falls under the influence of criminal mastermind Mr. Socrates – a brainwashed stooge programmed to assassinate Batman…

The moody suspense saga was interrupted by #179 – a regularly scheduled, all-reprint 80-Page Giant featuring bright-&-shiny early tales from the team’s formative years – represented in this collection by its striking Adams cover – before the alternate Earth epic concludes in #180 with ‘Superman’s Perfect Crime!’ courtesy of Bates and new regular art team Ross Andru & Mike Esposito.

During the late 1950s when the company’s editors cautiously expanded the characters’ continuities, they learned that each new tale was an event which added to a nigh-sacred canon, and that what was printed was deeply important to the readers – but no “ideas man” would let all that aggregated “history” stifle a good plot situation or sales generating cover.

Thus “Imaginary Stories” were conceived as a way of exploring non-continuity plots and scenarios, devised at a time when editors knew that entertainment trumped consistency and fervently believed that every comic read was somebody’s first and – unless they were very careful – potentially their last…

Bates, also scripted #181’s ‘The Hunter and the Hunted’ wherein an impossibly powerful being from far away in space and time relentlessly pursues and then whisks away the heroes to a world where they were revered as the fathers of the race, whilst in the next issue ‘The Mad Manhunter!’ depicted a suspenseful shocker which found Batman routinely rampaging like a madman due to a curse. Naturally, what seemed was far from what actually was…

Another massive con-trick underscored #183’s Dorfman-scripted drama as apes from the future accused the Man of Steel of committing ‘Superman’s Crime of the Ages!’ and Batman and Robin had to arrest their greatest ally. In WFC #184 Bates, Swan & Abel concocted another bombastic Imaginary Tale which revealed ‘Robin’s Revenge!’, tracing the troubled teen sidekick’s progress after Batman is murdered, with Superman powerless to assuage the Boy Wonder’s growing hunger for revenge…

Robert Kanigher joined old collaborators Andru & Esposito from #185 onwards, detailing the bizarre story of the ‘The Galactic Gamblers!’ who press-ganged Superman, Batman, Robin and Jimmy to their distant world to act as living stakes and game-pieces in their gladiatorial games of chance, before taking the heroes on a time-tossed 2-part supernatural thriller.

In #186, anecdotal stories of Batman’s Colonial ancestor “Mad Anthony Wayne” prompt the heroes to travel back to the War of Independence where the Dark Knight is accused of infernal deviltry as ‘The Bat Witch!’ and sentenced to death. Of course, it’s actually the Action Ace who is possessed to become ‘The Demon Superman!’ in the follow-up before all logic and sanity are restored by exorcism and judicious force of arms…

After the cover to World’s Finest #188 – another reprint Giant – Bates returns in #189 with a (still) shocking 2-parter opening in ‘The Man with Superman’s Heart!’ wherein the Caped Kryptonian crashes from space to Earth and is pronounced Dead On Arrival. As per his wishes, many of his organs are harvested (this was 1969 and still purely speculative fiction at that time) and bequeathed to worthy recipients. When Batman refuses to accept any organic bequests, Superman’s eyes, ears, lungs, heart and hands (yes, I know… just go with it) are simply stored …until Luthor steals them to auction off to gangland’s highest bidders…

Concluding episode ‘The Final Revenge of Luthor!’ sees a quartet of crooks running wild as the transplants bestow mighty powers Batman and Robin cannot combat, but the tragedy has a logical – if rather callous – explanation as the real Man of Steel appears to save the day…

Bates, Andru & Esposito then explore ‘Execution on Krypton!’ in WFC #191, as incredible events on Earth lead Superman and Batman back to Krypton before Kal-El was born. Here he learns how his revered parents Jor-El and Lara became radicalised college lecturers, and why they were teaching their students all the subversive tricks revolutionaries needed to know…

Bob Haney joined Andru & Esposito from #192 for a dark, Cold War suspense thriller as Superman is captured by the Communist rulers of Lubania and held in ‘The Prison of No Escape!’ When Batman tries to bust him out, he too is arrested and charged with spying by sadistic Colonel Koslov, utilising brainwashing techniques to achieve ‘The Breaking of Superman and Batman!’ in the next issue. However, the vile totalitarian’s torturous treatment disguises an insidious master-plan which the World’s Finest almost fail to foil…

Popular public response to Mario Puzo’s phenomenal novel The Godfather most likely influenced Haney, Andru & Esposito’s next convoluted 2-parter. WFC #194 sees Superman and Batman undercover ‘Inside the Mafia Gang!’ and hoping to dismantle the organisation of “Big Uncle” Alonzo Scarns from within. Sadly, a head wound muddles the Gotham Gangbuster’s memory and Batman begins to believe he is actually the “Capo di Capo Tutti”, condemning Robin and Jimmy to ‘Dig Now, Die Later!’ Helplessly watching, Superman is almost relieved when the real Scarns shows up…

An era ended with #196 as ‘The Kryptonite Express!’ (Haney, Swan & George Roussos) details how a massive meteor shower bombards the US with tons of the deadly green mineral. After countless decent citizens gather up the Green K, a special train is laid on to collect it all and ship it to somewhere it can be safely disposed of. Superman is ordered to stay well away whilst Batman takes charge of the FBI operation, but they have no idea master racketeer and railway fanatic K.C. Jones has plans for the shipment and a guy on the inside…

After #197 – another all-reprint Superman/Batman Giant – a new era launches (for the entire experiment you should see World’s Finest: Guardians of Earth please link to 2021, June 3rd) as the Fastest Man Alive teams with the Man of Tomorrow. DC Editors of the 1960s generally avoided questions like who’s best/strongest/fastest for fear of upsetting a portion of their tenuous and assuredly temporary fanbase, but as the tide turned against superheroes in general and upstart Marvel began making serious inroads into their market, the notion of a definitive race between the almighty Man of Steel and Scarlet Speedster became increasingly enticing and sales-worthy.

They had raced twice before (Superman #199 and Flash #175 – August & December 1967) with the result deliberately fudged each time, but when they met for a third round a definitive conclusion was promised – but please remember it’s not about the winning, but only the taking part. As World’s Finest became a team-up vehicle for Superman, Flash again found himself in contrived competition. ‘Race to Save the Universe!’ and conclusion ‘Race to Save Time!’ (#198-199, November and December 1970, by Denny O’Neil, Dick Dillin & Joe Giella) up the stakes as the high-speed heroes are conscripted by the Guardians of the Universe to circumnavigate the cosmos at their greatest velocities thereby undoing the rampage of mysterious Anachronids: faster-than-light creatures whose pell-mell course throughout creation is unwinding time itself. Little does anybody suspect Superman’s oldest enemies are behind the entire appalling scheme…

In anniversary issue #200, Mike Friedrich, Dillin & Giella focus on brawling brothers on opposite sides of the teen college scene, abducted with unruly youth icon Robin and “Mr. Establishment” Superman to a distant planet. Here undying vampiric aliens wage eternal war on each other in ‘Prisoners of the Immortal World!’ Green Lantern then pops in for #201, contesting ‘A Prize of Peril!’ (O’Neil, Dillin & Giella) which will give either Emerald Gladiator or Man of Steel sole jurisdiction of Earth’s skies.

Batman returns for a limited engagement in #202. The final tale in this compilation, O’Neil, Dillin & Giella’s ‘Vengeance of the Tomb-Thing!’ sees archaeologists unearth something horrific in Egypt as Superman seemingly goes mad: attacking his greatest friends and allies. A superb ecological scare-story, this tale changed the Man of Tomorrow’s life forever…

These are gloriously smart, increasingly mature comic book yarns whose dazzling, timeless style informed the evolution of two media megastars, which still have the power and punch to enthral even today’s jaded seen it-all audiences. The contents of this titanic team-up tome are a veritable feast of witty, gritty, pretty thrillers packing as much punch and wonder now as they always have. Utterly entrancing adventure for fans of all ages!
© 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 2012 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Showcase Presents the Trial of The Flash


By Cary Bates, Joey Cavalieri, Carmine Infantino, Frank McLaughlin, Dennis Jensen, Rodin Rodriguez, Gary Martin, with John Broome & Joe Giella & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3182-8 (TPB)

Barry Allen was the second costumed champion called The Flash, and his debut was the Big Bang which (finally) triggered the return of superheroes in the Silver Age of American comic books. He followed a series of abortive remnant revivals (Stuntman in 1954 and Marvel’s “Big Three”, Human Torch, Sub-Mariner and Captain America from 1953 to 1955) and a few all-original attempts such as Captain Flash, The Avenger and Strongman during 1954-1955. Although none of those – or other less high-profile efforts – had restored or renewed the popularity of masked mystery-men, they presumably piqued some readers’ consciousness, even at conservative National/DC. The revived human rocket wasn’t quite the innovation he seemed: after all, alien crimebuster Martian Manhunter had already cracked open company floodgates with a low-key launch in Detective Comics #225, November 1955.

In terms of creative quality, originality and sheer style however, The Flash was an irresistible spark. After his landmark debut in Showcase #4 (cover-dated October 1956) the series – eventually – became a benchmark by which every successive launch or reboot across the industry was measured. Police Scientist – we’d call him a CSI today – Allen was transformed by a simultaneous lightning strike and chemical bath into a human comet of unparalleled velocity and ingenuity. Yet with characteristic indolence the new “Fastest Man Alive” took three further try-out issues and almost as many years to secure his own title. When he finally stood on his own wing-tipped feet in The Flash #105 (February-March 1959) though, he never looked back.

Comics back then were a faddy and slavishly trend-dominated business, and following a manic boom for superhero tales prompted by the Batman TV show, fickle global consciousness fixated on supernatural themes and merely mortal tales, triggering a huge revival of spooky films, shows, books and periodicals. With horror ascendent again, many superhero titles faced cancellation and even the most revered and popular were threatened. It was time to adapt or die: a process repeated every few years until the mid-1980s when DC’s powers-that-be decided to rationalise and downsize the sprawling multi-dimensional multiverse the Flash had innocently sparked into existence decades previously.

Barry had been through the wringer before: in 1979’s Flash #275 his beloved wife Iris was brutally murdered and thereafter the Scarlet Speedster became a darker, grittier, truly careworn hero. Slowly over four years the lonely bachelor recovered and even found love again but a harshly evolving comics industry, changing fashions and jaded fan tastes were about to end his long run at the top. The Vizier of Velocity was still a favoured, undisputed icon of the apparently unstoppable Superhero meme and a mighty pillar of the costumed establishment, but in times of precarious sales and with very little in the way of presence in other media like films, TV or merchandise, that just made him a bright red target for a company desperate to attract attention a larger readership.

It soon became an open secret that he was to be one of the major casualties of the reality-rending Crisis on Infinite Earths. The epic maxi-series was conceived as an attention-grabbing spectacle on every level and to truly succeed it needed a few sacrifices which would make the public really sit up and take notice. With such knowledge commonplace, long-time scripter Cary Bates went to extraordinary lengths to ensure the Crimson Comet and the comic title which inspired a super-heroic revolution went out in a totally absorbing blaze of glory. This momentously massive stand-alone monochrome collection gathers all pertinent chapters of an astonishingly extended, supremely gripping serial which charted the triumphs and tragedies of the Monarch of Motion’s last months (and I think they really meant it at the time) and savoured the final moments of the paramount hero and symbol of the Silver Age.

Contained herein and spanning July 1983 to October 1985 are Flash #323-327, 329-336 and 340-350, written by Bates and pencilled by originating artist Carmine Infantino. It opens sans preamble on the day Barry is supposed to marry his new sweetheart Fiona Webb. As the nervous groom dresses for the ceremony, however, an Oan Guardian of the Universe appears with appalling news. Professor Zoom, the Reverse-Flash has escaped from the timeless hell the vengeful Vizier of Velocity banished him to for murdering Iris…

Inked by Rodin Rodriguez, ‘Run Flash – Run for your Wife!’ sees a distraught hero pursuing and battling his ultimate enemy all over the world as the clock ticks down, culminating in #324’s ‘The Slayer and the Slain’ (Dennis Jensen inks) with the police issuing a missing persons alert for Barry Allen. Crushed and seemingly jilted, Fiona finally gives up on her man and is leaving the church just as Zoom dashes in with Flash hard on his winged heels. The maniac boasted he would repeat himself by slaughtering his archenemy’s second love, but with femto-seconds to spare Barry goes into overdrive and grabs his foe. When the dust settles the wedding guests see Flash trying to comfort the bride-to-be, but Police Captain Darryl Frye and Detective Frank Curtis are distracted by something the speedster has not noticed: Zoom’s lifeless corpse…

The media circus begins in #325 as ‘Dead Reckoning’ sees the guilt-racked speedster go into heroic overdrive all around the world, yet somehow never quite outrunning the Press or his own remorse. As friends and allies wonder where they stand, The Flash Rogues’ Gallery come together to steal Zoom’s cadaver. Captains Cold and Boomerang, Pied Piper, Weather Wizard and Trickster actually despised the Reverse-Flash and need to desecrate his corpse for the utter embarrassment he has brought upon their association: letting himself get killed by the scarlet Boy Scout. Their heartbroken foe meanwhile has stopped running, as Barry visits Fiona in hospital. The shock of Barry’s abandonment has traumatised and perhaps even deranged her, but worse is in store. After leaving her room in his Flash persona, the hero is reluctantly arrested by Captain Frye on a charge of manslaughter…

Inked by Gary Martin, ‘Shame in Scarlet’ opens on the arrest and arraignment. The madhouse of raving pressmen and downhearted cops is just what the recently captured Weather Wizard needs to mask a bold getaway scheme and – ever dutiful – Flash eludes custody long enough to stop the rogue before surrendering himself again. Meanwhile, Fiona’s doctors refuse to believe the still-missing Barry Allen came to see her and diagnose a delusional breakdown, whilst out on the streets Frank Curtis is further distracted by teenaged Angelo Torres; a kid barely surviving in a tough gang-controlled area of Central City.

Released on his own recognizance, Flash sneaks into his own apartment where realisation of his destroyed life finally sinks in. Losing control, he trashes the place in an explosive outburst but by the time his terrified neighbours break in he has gone and the suspicion that someone has targeted the missing Police Scientist seems confirmed. Roaming the streets, the fallen hero reacts typically to Angelo fleeing from a mugging, but is soon appalled to realise he has tackled the wrong guy. Torres was chasing the real thief…

Still reeling at how far he has fallen (racial profiling!), the shellshocked speedster is barely aware he is bleeding badly (from self-inflicted wounds incurred when destroying his home), and allows a cop to take him to hospital. The good deed does not go unpunished. When he arrives, Fiona is there and suddenly flares into a state of total hysteria…

Horror piles on in ‘Burnout’ (#327, inked by Jensen) as Flash reconciles with Angelo, unaware the kid has been targeted by the malign super-gorilla Grodd as part of a convoluted vengeance scheme. Flash is also too preoccupied by his next personal crisis as the Justice League of America holds a special session to judge his actions and conduct. A nail-bitingly close vote by his crestfallen best friends will determine whether or not he can remain a member of the august group…

Flash #328 was a partial reprint exploring the Flash/Professor Zoom vendetta and is not included here, so the saga resumes with ‘What is the Sinister Secret of Simian and Son?’ (#329, with new regular inker Frank McLaughlin climbing aboard). As Grodd uses Angelo and other kids to perpetrate bold raids, in front of the maddened media’s cameras unscrupulous, publicity-hungry celebrity criminal defense attorney Nicholas D. Redik attempts to insert himself into the “Case of the Century”, claiming to be Flash’s lawyer and only chance of acquittal…

The oblivious, deeply troubled human thunderbolt has other ideas. He has already contacted “Barry’s” old friend Peter Farley to act on his behalf, blithely unaware that back home Grodd has taken over Angelo, and Fiona has succumbed to total mental breakdown…

The final confrontation with the ultra-ape begins in ‘Beware the Land of Grodd!’ (scripted by Joey Cavalieri over Bates’ plot) as Redik manipulates the media to force Flash to switch lawyers whilst Captain Frye pushes the ongoing search for still “missing” Barry to even greater heights. With all these distractions the Vizier of Velocity is easily ambushed by Grodd before Angelo, at the moment of truth in #331’s ‘Dead Heat!’, has a change of heart and mind. By a supreme effort of will the remorseful lad breaks the super-ape’s conditioning, allowing the speedster to triumph.

Returning the renegade to futuristic Gorilla City, Flash leaves the mental monster in the custody of his old comrade Solovar, returning to America just in time to hear Farley being murdered during a phone conference. Bates rejoins Infantino & McLaughlin as ‘Defend the Flash… and Die?‘ sees the Scarlet Speedster hurtle across the country to save his lawyer from a colossal explosion, although even he is not fast enough to prevent the victim incurring massive injuries. As speculation runs riot in the media that someone is targeting Flash’s defenders, old enemy Rainbow Raider takes advantage of the chaos to instigate a string of robberies, but even at his lowest ebb our hero is too much for the multicoloured malefactor…

Redik is now publicly offering to take the case for free, but Farley’s absentee business partner has already taken up her ailing associate’s celebrity caseload…

In #333, as inexplicably hostile attorney Cecile Horton confers with her inherited client, ‘Down with the Flash!’ reveals how sections of Central City have seemingly turned on their formerly adored champion. Fiona too is still drawing trouble, as a petty thug and his crazy brother break into the asylum treating her, looking for a little one-stop emergency therapy. Sadly for them, the Monarch of Motion is still keeping an eye on his tragic fiancée…

Redik then attempts to bribe and/or bully Horton off the case, but despite clearly despising her crimson client, Cecile is determined to honour Peter’s wishes and save the speedster, even as the mastermind stirring up anti-Flash sentiment is revealed in ‘Flash-Freak-Out!’ Just as the pre-trial manoeuvrings begin, the formerly supportive Mayor suddenly becomes the disgraced hero’s biggest detractor and Pied Piper’s mind-altering influence makes the hero apparently go berserk on live TV in ‘How to Trash a Flash!’, leaving even his most devoted fans wondering if their beloved champion has in fact gone crazy…

…And whilst Flash is saving the Mayor, at her secluded retreat Horton is caught in an explosive blast like the one that took out her partner…

‘Murder on the Rocks’ (#336) finds Flash arriving too late for once, but the ecstatic speedster is astounded to discover his lawyer has saved herself through quick thinking – although another woman has been killed. A tabloid reporter had been bugging the supposed “safe house” and inadvertently fallen foul of killers-for-hire. The trail of death leads forensically-trained Flash inexorably to a man whose arrogant determination to be a star in the tragedy costs him everything…

Annoyingly, the next three chapters are absent here. They would have shown how Flash finished the Piper and incurred the wrath of the Rogues who subsequently turned a hulking simpleton into programmed super killer Big Sir and unleashing him on the Scarlet Speedster. We rejoin the saga with Flash #340 as ‘Reach Out and Waste Someone!’ has the hurtling hero turn the tables on Cold, Boomerang, Weather Wizard, Trickster and Mirror Master by befriending Big Sir. Imminent danger averted, Flash surrenders himself to the courts…

After months, #341 sees proceedings finally open in ‘Trial and Tribulation!’, only for the weary defendant to discover that go-getting District Attorney Anton Slater has dropped the charges. The wily attention-seeker has abandoned his manslaughter case in favour of a charge of Second Degree Murder. With the still at-large Rogues rampaging through Central City, the opening arguments quickly and convincingly paint the stunned Flash as a cunning killer. Whilst he reels in open court, Captain Cold and Co again take control of now-docile Big Sir. When the shattered speedster leaves after his first bruising day, the Brobdingnagian brute ambushes him, wrecking his face with a massive mace…

Dazed, reeling and severely maimed, Flash flees in pure panic, leaving Sir to assault the gathered media in ‘Smash-Up!’ Barely thinking, the wounded warrior heads for Gorilla City where the super simians’ miraculous medical technology saves his life. Recovered and ready to return, Flash is certain he has made the right decision by asking Solovar to use that science to enact a certain alteration for him. On his return the Vizier of Velocity again deprograms Big Sir and the odd couple make sure the Rogues can’t hurt anyone else…

Flash #343 kicks the drama into even higher gear in ‘Revenge and Revelations!’ as the secret of why Cecile hates her crimson-clad client is exposed whilst merciless mobster monster Goldface attacks, even as – in the far future – another Flash foe escapes an unbeatable prison and heads for our present, intent on adding to the doomed hero’s historic woes. ‘Betrayal!’ in #344 was a partial reprint (Bates & John Broome, Infantino, McLaughlin & Joe Giella) which combines the first appearance and an early exploit of Kid Flash with that devoted protégé’s reluctant but devastating expert testimony under oath on the witness stand. The heartbroken lad’s damaging evidence is then compounded when Cecile makes an explosive mistake which exposes ‘The Secret Face of the Flash!’ to the courtroom and the world…

Confusion reigns in #346 as the shocking revelations are upstaged in ‘Dead Man’s Bluff!’ by reports the “victim” might not be dead. A merciless yellow-&-red blur has been seen all over Central City, attacking civilians and destroying police records. Reverse-Flash has escaped certain death many times before but as he mercilessly attacks the other Rogues – with even the Jurors narrowly escaping certain doom – it is clear that something is not right.

The trial concludes in #347’s ‘Back from the Dead!’ but even with the thoroughly thrashed Rogues and Police Captain Fry attesting the victim is still alive, more than one malign presence in the courtroom is affecting the jurors’ minds and ‘The Final Verdict!’ comes back “guilty”. However the story is not over and #349 unleashes a cascade of staggering revelations revealing clandestine agents acting both for and against the harried Human Hurricane in ‘…And the Truth Shall Set him Free!’ before the extended extravaganza of #350 declares ‘Flash Flees’ and thereafter shows the Scarlet Speedster defeating his ultimate nemesis, clearing his name and even living happily ever after… until that predestined final moment in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Staggering in scope, gripping in execution and astoundingly suspenseful, these last days of a legend make for stunning reading: a perfect example of the kind of plot-driven Fights ‘n’ Tights fiction we just don’t see enough of these days. If you feel a need for a traditionally thrilling kind of speed reading, this is a chronicle you must not miss and one DC should release in full colour and digital editions ASAP.
© 1983, 1984, 1985, 2011 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Showcase Presents: The Teen Titans volume 1


By Bob Haney, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Bruno Premiani, Nick Cardy, Irv Novick, Bill Molno, Lee Elias, Bill Draut, Jack Abel, Sal Trapani & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-84576-677-1 (TPB)

The concept of kid hero teams was not a new one when DC finally opted to entrust their big heroes’ assorted sidekicks with their own comic. The result was a fab, hip and groovy ensemble as dedicated to helping kids as it was to stamping out insidious evil; ready to capitalise on the growing independence of modern kids.

The greatest difference between underage wartime groups like The Young Allies, Newsboy Legion and Boy Commandos or 1950s holdovers like The Little Wise Guys and Boy Explorers and the birth of the Teen Titans was quite simply a burgeoning social phenomenon popularly dubbed “Teenagers”: a whole new thing regarded as a discrete cultural and commercial force. These were kids who could – and should – be permitted to do things themselves free from constant adult “help” or supervision. This quirkily eclectic compilation re-presents landmark try-out appearances from The Brave and the Bold #54 and 60 and Showcase #59 – collectively debuting in 1964 and1965 – plus the first 18 issues of a Teen Titans solo title, running January/February 1966 to November/December 1968.

As early as the June/July 1964 cover-dated issue of The Brave and the Bold (#54), DC’s Powers-That-Be tested choppy unknown waters in a gripping tale by writer Bob Haney superbly illustrated by unsung genius Bruno Premiani. At that juncture B&B was exploring a succession of superhero combinations and ‘The Thousand-and-One Dooms of Mr. Twister’ united Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin the Boy Wonder in a bizarre battle against a modern wizard/Pied Piper who had stolen the teens of provincial Hatton Corners. The young heroes had met in the town by chance when students there invited them to mediate a long-running dispute with the adults in charge. Hey Kids! Happy 60th Anniversary!

This element of a teen “court-of-appeal” was the motivating factor in many of the later group’s cases. One year later the lads met again for a second adventure (The Brave and the Bold #60, by the same creative team) but introduced two new elements.

‘The Astounding Separated Man’ featured more misunderstood kids – this time in coastal hamlet Midville – threatened by an outlandish monster whose giant body parts could move independently. They added Wonder Girl (not actually a sidekick, or even a person, at that time but rather a magical/digital artificial avatar of Wonder Woman as a child, but a fact writers and editors seemed blissfully unaware of) and finally earned a name: Teen Titans.

Their final test appearance came in Showcase (issue #59, cover-dated November/December 1965): birthplace of so many hit comic concepts. It was the first drawn by the brilliant Nick Cardy – who became synonymous with the 1960s series. ‘The Return of the Teen Titans’ pitted them against teen pop trio The Flips who were apparently also a gang of super-crooks… but as was so often the case, the grown-ups had got it all wrong…

One month later their own comic launched. Dated January/February 1966, TT #1 was released mere weeks before the first Batman TV show aired on January 12th. Robin was point of focus on the cover – and most succeeding ones – as Haney & Cardy produced exotic thriller ‘The Beast-God of Xochatan!’ with the youngsters acting as Peace Corps representatives in a South America-set drama of sabotage, giant robots and magical monsters.

The next issue held a fantastic mystery of revenge and young love involving ‘The Million-Year-Old Teen-Ager’ who was entombed and revived in the 20th century. He might have survived modern intolerance, bullying and culture shock on his own, but when his ancient blood enemy turned up, the Titans were ready to lend a hand…

TT #3’s ‘The Revolt at Harrison High’ capitalised on the craze for drag-racing in a tale of crazy criminality. Produced during a historically iconic era, many readers now can’t help but cringe when reminded of such daft dastardly foes as Ding-Dong Daddy and his evil bikers, and of course the hip, trendy dialogue (it wasn’t that accurate then, let alone now) is pitifully dated, but the plot is strong and the art magnificent.

‘The Secret Olympic Heroes’ guest-starred Green Arrow’s teen partner Speedy in a very human tale of parental pressure at the peak end of sporting endeavour, although there’s also skulduggery aplenty from a terrorist organisation intent on disrupting the games. In #5’s ‘The Perilous Capers of the Terrible Teen’ the Titans faced dual tasks: helping a troubled young man and capturing a super-villain called The Ant, despite all evidence indicating that they were the same person, before another DC sidekick made his Titans debut in ‘The Fifth Titan’. Here obnoxious juvenile know-it-all Beast Boy from the Doom Patrol falls under the spell of a wicked circus owner and the kids must set things right. Painfully illustrated by Bill Molno & Sal Trapani, it’s the absolute low-point of a stylish run.

Many fans would disagree, however, citing #7’s ‘The Mad Mod, Merchant of Menace’ as the biggest stinker, but beneath painfully dated dialogue there’s a witty, tongue-in-cheek tale of swinging London and novel criminality, plus the return of the magnificent Nick Cardy to the art chores. It was back to America for ‘A Killer called Honey Bun’ (illustrated by Irv Novick & Jack Abel): another tale of adult intolerance and misunderstood youth, set against a backdrop of espionage in Middle America featuring a deadly prototype robotic super-weapon in the title role, whereas #9’s ‘Big Beach Rumble’ saw the Titans refereeing a vendetta between rival colleges before modern day pirates crashed the scene. Novick pencilled and Cardy’s inking made it all very palatable.

The editor obviously agreed as the artists remained for the next few issues. ‘Scramble at Wildcat’ was a crime caper featuring dirt-bikes and desert ghost-towns with skeevy biker The Scorcher profiting from a pernicious robbery spree whilst Speedy returned in #11’s spy-thriller ‘Monster Bait’ with the young heroes undercover to save a boy being blackmailed into betraying his father and his country. Twin hot-topics the Space-Race and Disc Jockeys informed whacky sci fi thriller ‘Large Trouble in Space-ville!’ with #13 a true classic as Haney & Cardy produced a seasonal comics masterpiece ‘The TT’s Swingin’ Christmas Carol!’: a stylish retelling that has become one of the most reprinted Titans tales ever. At this time Cardy’s art opened up as he grasped the experimental flavour of the times. The cover of TT #14, as well as the interior illustration for grim psycho-thriller ‘Requiem for a Titan’ are unforgettable. The case introduced the team’s first serious returning villain (Mad Mod does not count!): The Gargoyle is mesmerising and memorable. Although Cardy only inked Lee Elias’s pencils for #15’s eccentric tryst with Hippie counter-culture, ‘Captain Rumble Blasts the Scene!’ is a genuinely compelling crime thriller from a time when nobody over age 25 understood what the youth of the world was doing…

Teen Titans #16 returned to more fanciful ground in ‘The Dimensional Caper!’ when aliens infiltrate a rural high school (and how many times has that plot resurfaced since this 1968 epic?). Cardy’s art reached dizzying heights of innovation both here and in the next issue’s waggish jaunt to London in ‘Holy Thimbles, It’s the Mad Mod!’: a cunning criminal chase through Cool Britannia including a command performance from Her Majesty, the Queen!

This initial volume ends with a little landmark as novice writers Len Wein & Marv Wolfman got their big break introducing Russian superhero Starfire and setting themselves firmly on a path of teen super-team writing. ‘Eye of the Beholder’ is a cool cat burglar caper set in trendy Stockholm, drawn with superb understatement by Bill Draut, acting as the perfect indicator of changes in style and attitude that would infuse the Titans and the comics industry itself.

Although perhaps dated in delivery, these tales were a liberating experience for kids when first released. They betokened fresh empathy with independent youth and tried to address problems more relevant to and generated by that specific audience. That they are captivating in execution is a wonderful bonus. This is absolute escapism and absolutely delightful.
© 1964-1968, 2006 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Justice League of America: Zatanna’s Search


By Gardner F. Fox, Murphy Anderson, Bob Kane, Joe Giella, Gil Kane, Sid Greene, Carmine Infantino, Mike Sekowsky & various, with Gerry Conway, Romeo Tanghal & Vince Colletta (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-0188-3 (TPB)

The Silver Age of Comic Books changed many things, but its longest lasting revolution was in how it introduced more women and to the pantheon of costumed characters. Here in one long-neglected package is the story of a character who has never looked back, and this year celebrates sixty years of magic…

With Julius Schwartz and John Broome, writer extraordinaire Gardner F. Fox laid the foundations of all comic book continuities. He was a lifelong creator and champion of strong female characters (like Dian Belmont, Hawkgirl/Hawkwoman, Inza Nelson, Barbara –Batgirl/Oracle – Gordon and Sue Dibny), a canny innovator and one of the earliest proponents of extended storylines which have since become so familiar to us as “braided crossovers”.

A lawyer by trade, Fox began his comics career in the Golden Age toiling on major and minor features, working in every genre and for most companies. One of the second-string strips he scripted was Zatara; a magician-hero in the Mandrake mould who fought evil and astounded audiences in the pages of Action and World’s Finest Comics for over a decade, beginning with the very first issue. To be completely accurate, the latter’s premiere performance was in the one-shot World’s Best Comics #1, but whatever the book’s name, the top-hatted, suavely tailed and tailored trickster was there. Zatara fell from favour as the decade closed, fading from memory like so many other outlandish crime-crushers…

In 1956 Editor Schwartz reinvented the superhero genre, reintroducing costumed characters based on the company’s defunct costumed cohort. Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman and The Atom were refitted for a sleek, scientific atomic age, with their legendary predecessors latterly reincarnated and returned as denizens of an alternate Earth. As experiments became a trend and then inexorable publishing policy, surviving heroes like Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, Aquaman and Wonder Woman were retrofitted to match the new world order.

The Superhero was resurgent and public appetite seemed inexhaustible. For their next trick Fox & Schwartz turned to the magician of yore and presumably found him wanting. Rather than condemn the mage to Earth-Two, they instead created the first “legacy hero” by having Zatara vanish from sight as precursor to debuting an unsuspected daughter, before setting her on a far-reaching quest to find him.

Zatanna premiered in 1964 in Hawkman #4 (cover-dated October/November), illustrated by the magnificent Murphy Anderson in a beguiling thriller entitled ‘The Girl who Split in Two’. Following a mystical trail and wearing a variation of Zatara’s stage garb, the plucky, impatient lass had mystically divided her body in two and travelled simultaneously to Ireland and China, but lapsed into paralysis until Hawkman and Hawkgirl answered her ethereal distress call.

Although nobody knew it at the time, the “winsome witch” appeared next as the villain in Detective Comics #336 (February 1965). ‘Batman’s Bewitched Nightmare’ saw a broom-riding old crone attacking the Dynamic Duo at the command of mutant super-threat The Outsider in a stirring yarn limned by Bob Kane & Joe Giella. Current opinion posits this wasn’t originally intended as part of the quest epic, but when the search storyline was resolved at the height of TV-inspired “Batmania” in Justice League of America #51, some slick back-writing was necessary to bring the high-profile Caped Crusader into the resolution.

Gil Kane & Sid Greene illustrated the next two chapters of the saga: firstly in ‘World of the Magic Atom’ (Atom #19, June/July 1965), wherein Mystic Maid and Tiny Titan battled Zatara’s old nemesis The Druid on microcosmic world Catamoore, and then with the Emerald Gladiator in an extra-dimensional realm on ‘The Other Side of the World!’ (Green Lantern #42, January 1966). Here the malevolently marauding, potentially Earth-dominating Warlock of Ys is overcome after a mighty struggle and compelled to reveal further clues in the trail.

The Elongated Man starred in a long-running back-up feature in Detective Comics, and in #355 (September 1966, pencilled & inked by Carmine Infantino) ‘The Tantalizing Trouble of the Tripod Thieves!’ revealed how the search for a pilfered eldritch artefact brought the sorceress closer to her goal, before the search concluded in spectacular and fabulously satisfying fashion with aforementioned JLA tale ‘Z – As in Zatanna – and Zero Hour!’ (#51, February 1967).

With art by incomparable team Mike Sekowsky & Sid Greene, all heroes who previously aided her were transported to another mystical plane to conduct a classic battle of good against evil, with plenty of cunning surprises and a happy ending for all concerned.

Here is a triumphant early experiment in continuity that remains one of the best adventures of the Silver Age, featuring some of the era’s greatest creators at the peak of their powers. This slim volume also carries an enticing encore: following the mandatory cover gallery is a rare 10-page tale. ‘The Secret Spell!’ – by Gerry Conway, Romeo Tanghal & Vince Colletta – was only originally seen in DC Blue Ribbon Digest #5 (November-December 1980): revealing ‘Secret Origins of Super-Heroes’ and exploring the hidden history of both father and daughter in a snappily informative manner. Although a little hard to find now – and a still a prime candidate for arcane transmogrification into digital formats – this is a superlative volume for fans of costumed heroes and would make a wonderful tome to bring newcomers to the genre.
© 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1980, 2004 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Legends of the DC Universe Carmine Infantino


By Carmine Infantino, with Arthur Peddy, Alex Toth, Joe Giella, Frank Giacoia, Frank McLaughlin, Joe Kubert, Bernard Sachs, John Giunta, Sy Barry, George Roussos, John Celardo, Dave Hunt, Tony DeZuñiga, Joe Orlando, Klaus Janson, Carl Gafford & Linda Kachelhofer: written by Gardner F. Fox, Robert Kanigher, John Broome, Joseph Greene, Arnold Drake, Len Wein, Gerry Conway, Cary Bates & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-6054-9091-5 (HB)

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: A Shining Star Remembered… 10/10

Born on May 24th 1925, Carmine Michael Infantino was one of the greatest comic artists America ever produced: a multi award-winning innovator there when comic books were born, he reshaped the industry in the Silver Age and was still making fans when he died in 2013.

As an artist he co-created among others Black Canary, Detective Chimp, King Faraday, Pow-Wow Smith, the Silver Age Flash, Elongated Man, Strange Sports Stories, Deadman, Batgirl and The Human Target whilst placing his unique stamp on characters such as Adam Strange and Batman. Infantino worked for many companies, and at Marvel ushered in a new age by illustrating the licensed Star Wars comic whilst working on titles and characters such as The Avengers, Daredevil, Ms. Marvel, Nova, Star-Lord and Spider-Woman. His work on two separate iterations of Batman newspaper strips is fondly remembered and whilst acting as Art Director and Publisher of National DC, Infantino oversaw the most critically acclaimed period in the company’s history, overseeing the “relevancy” era and poaching Jack Kirby from Marvel to create the Fourth World, Kamandi, The Demon, OMAC and more…

Very much – and repeatedly – the right man at the right time and place, Infantino shaped American comics history in a manner only Kirby ever equalled, and this long overdue bumper compendium barely touches all his contributions to DC’s history. Hopefully we’ll be seeing a few more in future…

After appreciative and informative Introduction ‘Carmine the Icon’ by author/ historian J. David Spurlock, this small sampling from decades of triumphs opens with hard-hitting social commentary as ‘The Plight of a Nation’ details how the Justice Society of America (The Flash, Hawkman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Dr. Mid-Nite, The Atom and Black Canary) hunt a gang of thieving hoodlums whilst tackling the true threat – how charismatic hoods like the Crimson Claw Gang have become insidious role models for youngsters…

Scripted by John Broome, and limned in collaboration with Arthur Peddy, Alex Toth & Bernard Sachs, the saga from All-Star Comics #40 (April/May 1948) tackled head-on the glamour of crime, goad of poverty and contemporary obsession with “juvenile delinquency” but still offered spectacular action and drama to sweeten the harsh message…

Black Canary was one of the first of the pitifully few female heroes to hold a star spot in the DC Universe – or indeed any comics before 1980s. She followed Wonder Woman, Liberty Belle, antihero Harlequin and Red Tornado (who masqueraded as a man to comedically crush crime – with a couple of kids in tow, too!). The Canary predated Merry, the Gimmick Girl – remember her? No, you don’t – and disappeared with the majority of costumed crusaders at the end of the Golden Age: a situation that was not remedied until her revival with the Justice Society of America in 1963.

Created by Robert Kanigher & Infantino in 1947, the Canary echoed worldly, dangerous women cropping up in crime novels and Film Noir movies better suited to the more cynical Americans who had endured a World War and were even then gearing up for a paranoiac Cold one. Clad in a revealing bolero jacket, shorts, fishnet stockings and high-heeled pirate boots, the devastating shady lady – who looked like Veronica Lake – began life as a thief…

In the desperate days of post-war uncertainty, continuity was negligible and nobody cared much about origins. All that mattered was pace, plot, action and spectacle. Flash Comics #86 (August 1947) was just another superhero anthology publication, suffering a slow sales decline wherein perennial B-feature Johnny Thunder had long since passed his sell-by date. Although a member of the Justice Society of America, Johnny was an old-fashioned comedy idiot; a true simpleton who just happened to control a lightning-shaped genie – Thunderbolt.

His affable, good-hearted bumbling had carried him through the war, but changing fashions had no room for a hapless (adult) hero anymore. In the tale presented here, when he meets a seductively masked female Robin Hood who stole from crooks, the writing was on the wall. In debut yarn inked by Joe Giella, ‘The Black Canary’ tricks him and T-Bolt into acquiring an invitation to a crime-lord’s party, where she lifts the ill-gotten loot and leaves Johnny to mop up the hoods. It was lust at first sight and the beginning of a legend…

In the same issue Infantino allowed his wacky sense of humour full expression in another tale of The Ghost Patrol – three French Foreign Legion aviators who were killed in the early days of WWII but somehow stuck around to fight Nazis and other evils. Scripted by John Wentworth ‘The Case of the Extra Ghost!’ finds ectoplasmic trio Fred, Pedro and Slim in post-war America investigating a haunted house and scuppering a scheme to defraud its latest inheritor…

Flash Comics #90 (December 1947, written by Kanigher & inked by Joe Giella) featured a sporty tale for lead hero The Flash to shine in. Scientist Jay Garrick was exposed to fumes of “Hard Water” to become the first “Fastest Man Alive” – one of the Golden Age’s leading stars. In this instance he uses his gift to save a baseball team from defeat and their mangers from death by despair by filling ‘Nine Empty Uniforms!’ after which fellow superstar Green Lantern/Alan Scott solo stars in Kanigher-scribed tale ‘The Unmasking of the Harlequin!’ (All-American Comics #95, March 1948) wherein the Emerald Gladiator again clashes with the mesmerising super thief when mysterious imitators frame them both for vicious crimes…

Tiny Titan and eternal apparent underdog The Atom was solid B-Feature throughout the Golden Age and here – courtesy of Infantino and writer Joseph Greene – solves the ‘Mystery of the Midway Tunnel!’ (Comic Cavalcade #28, August/September 1948) as college student Al Pratt resorts to his masked persona when his professor – a former GI turned civil engineer – finds his dream project is being sabotaged by gangsters.

Times were changing and superheroes vanishing as the forties closed and new times called for fresh ideas. Created by Kanigher & Bob Oksner, Lady Danger appeared in Sensation Comics#84-93: determined, safety-averse crime reporter Valerie Vaughn who regularly risked life and limb in pursuit of a scoop. Infantino and an unknown author produced another gripping tale for #87 (cover-dated March 1949), uncovering skulduggery at a charity bazaar whilst looking for ‘The Needle in the Haystack!’

Crime comics were not the only beneficiary of the decline of Mystery Men. Science fiction also enjoyed renewed public popularity and DC responded with two themed anthologies: Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space. Each combined stand-alone tales of fantastic imagination with continuing character features such as Captain Comet or – as here – Future Paladins The Knights of the Galaxy. Scripted by Kanigher as “Dion Anthony” and inked by Frank Giacoia, Joe Giella & John Giunta, Mystery in Space #3 (August/September 1951) led with ‘Duel of the Planets!’ as Round Table champion Lyle finds his comrades divided over Mercurian member Millo when the first planet declares war on the rest of the galaxy…

The biggest trend of the era was Romance Comics as almost every publisher jumped on the bandwagon created by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby in 1947. Amongst National/DC’s tranche of tearjerkers was Secret Hearts and in #8 (February/March 1952) Infantino (& Giacoia) limned a case study of Ann Martin, counsellor for Romance, Inc. Anonymously scripted, ‘Condemned Love!’ details how a client responds to learning her current beau is married…

Infantino regularly claimed his favourite character was not human but an hirsute anthropoid crimebuster. In The Adventures of Rex the Wonder Dog #4 (July/August 1952) readers were first invited to ‘Meet Detective Chimp!’ in charming comedy thriller by Broome and inked by Giacoia. The first outing of seminal comics lunacy saw Oscaloosa, Florida sheriff Chase solve a murder at the Thorpe Animal Farm with the help of Bobo and consequently adopt and deputise the super-smart simian. Bobo was assistant sheriff right up until the final issue (#46, November 1959) and has enjoyed new fame in the 21st century when a new generation of creators and fans rediscovered him.

Despite years when superheroes all but vanished America’s comic book industry never really stopped trying to revive the genre. When Showcase #4 was released in 1956 it was on the back of two successful DC launches: Captain Comet (December 1953-October 1955) and Manhunter from Mars (November 1955 until the end of the 1960’s and almost the end of superheroes again!) What made the new Fastest Man Alive stand out and stick was style!

Cover-dated September/October 1956, the epochal issue was released in late summer and from it stems all today’s print, animation, games, collector cards, cos-play, TV and movie wonderment.

Once DC’s powers-that-be decided to try superheroes once more, they too moved pretty fast. Editor Julie Schwartz asked office partner, fellow editor and Golden Age Flash scripter Kanigher to recreate a speedster for the Space Age: aided and abetted by Infantino & Joe Kubert, who had also worked on the Jay Garrick incarnation.

The new Flash was Barry Allen, a forensic scientist simultaneously struck by lightning and bathed in exploding chemicals from his lab. Supercharged by the accident, Barry took his superhero identity from a comic book featuring his childhood favourite. Now a major talent rapidly approaching his artistic and creative peak Infantino designed a sleek, streamlined bodysuit, as Barry Allen became point man for the spectacular revival of a genre and an entire industry.

Scripted by Kanigher & inked by Kubert, ‘Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt!’ sees Barry endure his electrical metamorphosis and promptly go on to subdue bizarre criminal mastermind and “Slowest Man Alive” Turtle Man, after which ‘The Man Who Broke the Time Barrier!’ – scripted by Broome – sees the Scarlet Speedster battling a criminal from the future: ultimately returning penal exile Mazdan to his own century, and proving the new Flash was a protagonist of keen insight and sharp wits as well as overwhelming power.

The return of costumed heroes was cautious and gradual and Infantino continued drawing his regular fare extraordinarily well. For Western Comics #73 (January/February 1959) he illustrated “Indian Lawman” Pow-Wow Smith with this example – ‘The Return of the Fadeaway Outlaw!’ scripted by Gardner Fox, with Sioux sleuth Ohiyesa again outwitting a bandit who specialises in astounding escapes…

Inevitably the superhero boom dominated comic books with the Scarlet Speedster in the vanguard of the revolution. A new star was born in The Flash #112 (April/May 1961 by Broome, Infantino & Giella) as ‘The Mystery of the Elongated Man’ introduced an intriguing super-stretchable newcomer to the DC universe, who might have been hero or villain in a beguiling tantaliser. The continuing adventures of the Scarlet Speedster were the bedrock of the Silver Age Revolution, with key writers Broome and Fox setting an unbelievably high standard for superhero adventure in sharp, witty tales of technology and imagination, illustrated with captivating style and clean simplicity by Infantino.

Fox didn’t write many Flash scripts at this time, but the few he did were all dynamite; none more so than the full-length epic which changed the scope of US comics forever. ‘Flash of Two Worlds’ (Flash #123, September 1961 and inked by Giella) introduced the concept of alternate Earths to the continuity which grew by careful extension into a multiversal structure comprising Infinite Earths. Once established as a cornerstone of a newly integrated DCU through a wealth of team-ups and escalating succession of cosmos-shaking crossover sagas, a glorious pattern was set which would, after joyous decades, eventually culminate in the spectacular awe-inspiring Crisis on Infinite Earths…

During a benefit gig, Flash accidentally slips into another dimension where he finds the comic book hero upon whom he based his own superhero identity actually exists. Every ripping yarn he’d avidly absorbed as an eager child was grim reality to Jay Garrick and his comrades on the controversially designated “Earth-Two”. Locating his idol, Barry convinces the elder to come out of retirement just as three old foes make their own comebacks.

It was a time when anything was worth a punt, and Schwartz’s dream team indulged in in a truly bizarre experiment combining tried-&-tested science fiction tropes with America’s greatest obsession. Try-out title The Brave and the Bold dedicated five issues (#45-49) to testing the merits of Strange Sports Stories and here #49 (August/September 1963) sees a unique conquest by stealth as ‘Gorilla Wonders of The Diamond!’ sees an all-anthropoid team play baseball with a hidden agenda in a captivating coup by Fox, with Infantino producing some of his most innovative drawing for Giella to ink.

By the end of 1963, Julius Schwartz had spectacularly revived much of DC’s line – and the entire industry – with his modernisation of the superhero, and was then asked to work his magic with the creatively stalled and nigh-moribund Caped Crusaders. Bringing his usual team of top-notch creators with him, Schwartz stripped down and back to core-concepts, downplaying aliens, outlandish villains and daft transformations to bring a cool modern take on crimebusting. He even oversaw a streamlining and rationalisation of the art style itself.

The most apparent innovation was a yellow circle around the Bat-symbol, but far more importantly, the stories also changed. A subtle aura of genuine menace re-entered the comfortable and absurdly abstract world of Gotham City. Infantino was key to the changes that reshaped a legend – but this was while still pencilling The Flash – so, despite generating the majority of covers, Infantino’s interior art was limited to alternate issues of Detective Comics with the lion’s share of narrative handled by Bob Kane’s then-uncredited deputies Sheldon Moldoff, Giella, Chic Stone & others, plus occasional guest artists like Gil Kane…

Infantino’s part in the storytelling revolution began with Detective #327 – written by Broome and inked by Giella at the peak of their own creative powers. ‘The Mystery of the Menacing Mask!’ is a cunning “Howdunnit?”, long on action and moody peril, as discovery of a criminal “underground railroad” leads Gotham Gangbusters Batman & Robin to a common thug seemingly able to control them with his thoughts…

When Schwartz took editorial control he finally found a place for a character who had been lying mostly fallow ever since his debut and six subsequent walk-ons in The Flash. Designed as a modern take on Golden Age great Plastic Man, The Elongated Man was Ralph Dibny, a circus-performer who discovered an additive in soft drink Gingold which granted certain people increased muscular flexibility. Intrigued, Dibny refined the drink until he had a serum bestowing the ability to stretch, bend and compress his body to an incredible degree.

When the back-up spot opened in Detective (a position held by Martian Manhunter since 1955 and only vacated because J’onn J’onzz was promoted to lead in House of Mystery) Schwartz had Ralph slightly reconfigured as a flamboyant, fame-hungry, brilliantly canny globe-trotting private eye solving mysteries for the sheer fun of it. Aided by his equally smart but thoroughly grounded wife Sue, the vignettes were patterned on classic Thin Man films starring Nick and Norah Charles, blending clever, impossible crimes with slick sleuthing, garnished with outré heroic permutations and frantic physical antics.

The complex yet uncomplicated sorties, drenched in sly dry wit, began in Detective #327 with ‘Ten Miles to Nowhere!’ (by Fox & Infantino, who inked himself in early episodes). Here Ralph, who publicly unmasked to become a celebrity, discovers someone has been stealing his car every night and bringing it back as if nothing had happened. Of course, it must be a criminal plot of some sort…

Almost all of Infantino’s Silver Age stories have been collected somewhere but as he was transitioning to managerial levels he co-created one last landmark character just as DC faced an existential crisis. As the 1960s ended and costs spiralled, the superhero boom became a slow but certain bust, with major stars no longer able to find enough readers to keep them alive. The taste for masks was again diminishing in favour of traditional genres, and one rational editorial response was to reshape costumed characters to fit evolving tastes.

Publishers swiftly changed gears and even staid, cautious DC reacted rapidly: making masked adventurers designed to fit the new landscape. Newly revised and revived costumed features included roving mystic troubleshooter The Phantom Stranger and Golden Age colossus The Spectre. Supernatural themes and horror-tinged plots were shoehorned into the superhero titles that weathered the trend-storm. Arguably, the moment of surrender and change arrived with the creation of Boston Brand in the autumn of 1967, when science fiction anthology Strange Adventures was abruptly retooled as the home of an angry ghost…

Without fanfare or warning, Deadman debuted in #205 with ‘Who Has Been Lying in My Grave?’ by Arnold Drake, Infantino & George Roussos wherein we attend the funeral of high wire acrobat Brand: a rough, tough, jaded performer who had seen everything and masked a decent human heart behind an obnoxious exterior and cynical demeanour. As “Deadman”, he was the star attraction of Hills Circus and lover of its reluctant owner Lorna Carling, as well as a secret guardian for the misfits it employed and sheltered. That makeshift “family” included simple-minded strongman Tiny and Asian mystic Vashnu, but also had some bad apples too… like alcoholic animal trainer Heldrich and chiselling carnival Barker Leary. The aerialist kept them in line… with his fists, whenever necessary…

One fateful night, Brand almost missed his cue because of Leary and Heldrich’s antics but also because he had to stop local cop Ramsey harassing Vashnu. It would have better if he had been late, because as soon as he started his act – 40 feet up and without a net – someone put a rifle slug into his heart…

Despite being dead before he hit the ground, Brand was scared and furious. Nobody could see or hear him screaming, and Vashnu kept babbling on about the chosen of Rama Kushna – “the spirit of the universe”. The hokum all came horribly true as that entity made contact, telling Brand that he would walk among men until he found his killer…

The sentence came with some advantages: he was invisible, untouchable, immune to the laws of physics and able to take possession of the living and drive them like a car. His only clue was that witnesses in the audience claimed that a man with a hook had shot him…

Outraged, still disbelieving and seemingly stuck forever in the ghastly make-up and outfit of his performing persona, Deadman’s first posthumous act is to possess Tiny and check out the key suspects. Soon the dormant Hercules finds that the cop and Heydrich are involved in a criminal conspiracy, but they definitely are not Brand’s murderers…

Eventually Infantino returned to his drawing board – primarily for Marvel – but returned to DC in the 80s. The House of Mystery #296 (September 1981) shows his mastery of horror themes and short stories in ‘Night Women’: written by Gerry Conway, with John Celardo inking and Carl Gafford colouring, but the move was primarily to draw The Flash again (from 1981 with #296), but here we see a lesser known yarn from DC Comics Presents #73 (September 1984) teaming the Vizier of Velocity with Superman in ‘Rampage in Scarlet’. Written by Cary Bates, with Dave Hunt inking and Gafford on hues, it sees the heroes unite to save an alien civilisation from an army of Phantom Zone villains, after which Secret Origins #17 (August 1987) reprises ‘The Secret Origin of Adam Strange’, with Conway, Tony DeZuñiga & Joe Orlando joining Infantino in revisiting the artist’s other signature Silver Age star.

This book closes with a complete miniseries similarly reviving one of Infantino’s lost 1950’s triumphs. King Faraday debuted in Danger Trail #1 (July 1950): a two-fisted globe-trotting US spy co created by Kanigher & Infantino. The book was cancelled with the fifth issue and one last tale was published in Worlds Finest Comics #64 (May/June 1953). An attempt to revive The Intercontinental Operative failed in early 1964 when reprints of his adventures appeared in Showcase #50-51 under the code title I… Spy! King eventually joined the integrated DCU in 1979 as a guest in Batman #313, scripted by Len Wein.

In 1993 the writer gave the spy a second shot in a 4-issue miniseries spanning cover-dates April to July, inked by Frank McLaughlin & coloured by Linda Kachelhofer. Danger Trail (volume 2) #1-4 comprises ‘The Serpent in the Garden File’ as the aging agent chases a mystery schemer around the world in ‘Chapter One: On the Road Again!’, drops a growing pile of bodies in ‘Chapter Two: Hot Pursuit!’ and discovers his quarry is not the usual ideological adversary and that no friend can be trusted in ‘Chapter Three: Coiled to Strike’.

With the world at stake, Faraday – and notional ally Sarge Steel – at last confront the pitiless hidden enemy in ‘Chapter Four: Into the Snake Pit’ and barely save the day again…

Although the book features every pertinent cover by Infantino, the comic delights conclude with a stellar ‘Cover Gallery’ of graphic glories inked by Giacoia, Giunta, Giella, Drake, Roussos & Orlando plus a brief biography.

These tales are pure comics gold: must-not-miss material any fan would be crazy to miss.
© 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1993, 2023 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Bizarro


By Heath Corson, Gustavo Duarte, Pete Pantazis, Lee Loughridge & Tom Napolitano, with Bill Sienkiewicz, Kelley Jones, Michelle Madsen, Francis Manapul, Fábio Moon, Gabriel Bá, Darwyn Cooke, Raphael Albuquerque, Tim Sale, Dave Stewart & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-5971-6 (TPB/Digital edition)

One of the most consistent motifs in fiction is the “Dark Opposite” or “player on the other side”: a complete antithesis of the protagonist. Rock yourself to sleep at night if you wish, listing deadly doppelgangers from Professor Moriarty to Sabretooth to Gladstone Gander…

The Caped Kryptonian’s “imperfect duplicate” Bizarro either debuted as a misunderstood freak and unwilling monster in Otto Binder & George Papp’s captivatingly tragic 3-part novel ‘The Battle with Bizarro’ (Superboy #68, cover-dated October 1958) or in the similarly titled Superman newspaper strip sequence written by Alvin Schwartz (episode 105/#6147-6242 spanning August 25th – December 13th 1958) with the latter scribe claiming that he thought up the idea months earlier. The newsprint version was certainly first to employ those eccentric reversed-logic thought-patterns and idiomatic speech impediment…

Although later played primarily for laughs, such as in his short tenure in Tales of The Bizarro World (June 1961 to Aug 1962 in Adventure Comics #285-299), most earlier comic book appearances – 40 by my count – of the dippy double were generally moving, child-appropriate tragedies, unlike here where we commemorate his 65th anniversary with possibly the funniest book of the last twenty years… at least if you’re a superhero fan.

Post Crisis on Infinite Earths, he was a darker, rarer beast, but this tale by screenwriter and comics scripter Heath Corson (Justice League: War, Nightwing/Magilla Gorilla, Super Pets: The Great Mxy-Up) & Gustavo Duarte (Monsters! & Other Stories, Guardians of the Galaxy, Dear Justice League) stems from DC’s brief New 52 continuity sidestep and refers almost exclusively to his earlier exploits and character.

Collecting 6-issue miniseries Bizarro and material from DC Sneak Peek: Bizarro #1, the saga starts as another misunderstood and deeply unappreciated visit to Metropolis – augmented by a new origin – sees the lonely, bored, eternally well-intentioned living facsimile teamed up with boy reporter Jimmy Olsen on a road-trip to “Bizarro-America” (we call it Canada)…

It’s ostensibly to prevent a disastrous super-battle but more importantly, someone suggested that the journey could provide enough candid material for a best-selling coffee table book that could liberate the eternally cash-strapped kid from his financial woes…

Jim’s certain he can handle the big super-doofus, but not so sure that applies to a pocket alien Bizarro picked up somewhere. After ‘The Secret Origin of Colin the Chupacabra’, the story truly starts with ‘Bizarro-America: Part 6’ and a weary ‘Welcome to Smallville’ where the need to fix the car leads to a clash with a dynasty of very familiar villains at King Tut’s Slightly Used Car Oasis. It all goes without incident until some other ETs give papa Tut a reality-altering staff and he seeks to achieve his great dream – selling everyone a used car…

Having navigated their way out of that bad deal, the Road Worriers further embarrass themselves in ‘Bizarro-America: Part 5’ with stopovers and pertinent guest stars in Gotham, Central, Starling and Gorilla City, before doing more of the same in Louisiana, Chicago and all points lost. Somewhere along the way they pick up a tail and in seeking to ditch their pursuers drive into Ol’ Gold Gulch: a ghost town with real spooks and a distant descendant of a legendary gunfighter. Chastity Hex is a bounty hunter too, which comes in handy when Bizarro is possessed by an evil spirit in ‘Unwanted: Unliving or Undeaded’ and a destructive rampage triggers the spectral return of great grandpa Hex as well as Cinnamon, Nighthawk, Scalphunter and El Diablo…

Another issue (‘Bizarro-America: Part 3’ if you’re still counting) and another city sees the automotive idiots catching mystic marvel Zatanna’s act in ‘Do You Believe in Cigam?’ and fresh disaster as Bizarro’s backwards brain allows him to accidentally access the sorceress’ backwards spells, prompting diversions to many, many alternate DC realities and Jimmy and Bizarro trading bodies (sort of) before order – if not sanity – is restored…

As they near their final destination, the covert shadows finally move in. A.R.G.U.S. agents Stuart “chicken Stew” Paillard and Meadows Mahalo get their X-Files on: compelling the travellers to infiltrate Area 51, but aren’t happy with the outcome once the idiots unleash every alien interned or interred there…

Ultimately the voyage concludes with ‘Bizarro-America: Part 1’ and long-deferred meeting with Superman (drawn by Tim Sale & Dave Stewart) in ‘Who Am on Last?’ The last of the Tuts returns for another stab at vengeance and high-volume marketing and as chaos reigns Colin comes up trumps, before assorted former guests coagulate as the never to be reformed Bizarro League to save the world in a way it has never been saved before.

All that’s left is to get Bizarro into Canada but there’s one last surprise in store…

This outrageous romp is punctuated with a round-robin of guest illustrators (Bill Sienkiewicz, Kelley Jones, Michelle Madsen, Francis Manapul, Fábio Moon, Gabriel Bá, Darwyn Cooke, Raphael Albuquerque and more) adding to the manic madness via their signature characters, and a variant cover gallery provides more boffo yoks courtesy of Kyle Baker and Kevin Wada. Topping off the fun is an unmissable sketch section by Duarte, packed with many scenes and moments somebody was too nervous to publish…

Fast, funny, fantastic and far too long forgotten, Bizarro is a superb romp that would make a magnificent movie. Do not miss it.
© 2015, 2016 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Blue Beetle Graduation Day


By Josh Trujillo & Adrián Gutiérrez, with Wil Quintana, Lucas Gattoni & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-7795-2324-2 (TPB/Digital edition)

As the most recent incarnation of the vintage and venerable Blue Beetle brand at last makes the jump from comic book limbo and kids’ animation into live action movie madness, the event sparked a new comics miniseries bridging the teen hero’s old life and new comic book series. Here that is…

The Blue Beetle first appeared in Mystery Men Comics #1, published by Fox Comics and cover-dated August 1939. The eponymous lead character was created by Charles Nicholas (AKA Charles Wojtkowski) as a pulp-styled mystery man and born nomad. Over years and crafted by a Who’s Who of extremely talented creators, the Beetle was also inexplicably popular and hard to kill: surviving the collapse of numerous publishers before ending up as a Charlton Comics property in the mid-1950s.

After a few issues sporadically published, the company shelved him until the superhero revival of the early 1960s when Joe Gill, Roy Thomas, Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico revised and revived the character in a 10-issue run (June 1964, February 1966). Cop-turned-adventurer Dan Garrett was reinvented an archaeologist, educator and scientist who gained super-powers whenever he activated a magic scarab with the trigger phrase “Khaji Da!”

Some months later, Steve Ditko (with scripter Gary Friedrich) utterly reimagined the Blue Beetle. Ted Kord was an earnest and brilliant young researcher who had been a student and friend of Professor Garrett and when his mentor seemingly died in action, Kord trained himself to replace him: a purely human inventor/combat acrobat, bolstered by ingenious technology. This latter version joined DC’s pantheon during Crisis on Infinite Earths, earning a solo series and quirky immortality partnered with Booster Gold in Justice League International and beyond…

When Kord was murdered in the run up to Infinite Crisis, it led to all-out war across realities and at the height of the linked catastrophes El Paso high-schooler Jaime Reyes found a weird blue jewel shaped like a bug. That night, as he slept, it invaded him and turned him into a bizarre insectoid warrior. suddenly gifted with great powers, and revealed how some heroes are remade, not born – especially when a sentient scarab jewel affixes itself to your spine and transforms you into an armoured bio-weapon. Almost instantly, he was swept up in the chaos, joining Batman and other heroes in a climactic space battle.

Inexplicably returned home, Jaime revealed his secret to his family and tried to do some good in his hometown but had to rapidly adjust to huge changes. Best bud Paco had joined a gang of super-powered freaks, he learned the local crime mastermind was the foster-mom of his other best bud Brenda, and scary military dude named Christopher Smith (The Peacemaker) started hanging around. He claimed the thing in Jaime was malfunctioning alien tech, not life-affirming Egyptian magic that he also had an unwelcome and involuntary connection to…

That led to a secret war against an alien collective of conquerors called the Reach whose shady dealings and defeat have been covered in Blue Beetle: Jaime Reyes volumes One & Two. You should get those also.

Gathering Blue Beetle: Graduation Day #1-6 (cover-dated January to June 2022), and including an excerpt from the new Blue Beetle series it leads into, this collection is also quite rightly available in a Spanish language edition.

In an effort to maximise your fun and save time let’s briefly hit the high notes here.

Crafted by scripter Josh Trujillo (Adventure Time, Captain America, Rick & Morty), illustrator Adrián Gutiérrez (Batman, The Flash), colourist Wil Quintana and letterer Lucas Gattoni, ‘Graduation Day’ is set following recent DC megaevent Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths with our neophyte champion at long last getting a handle on his other life. He’s even become pals with his sentient passenger bug Khaji Da, allowing them to seamlessly work together.

With school days practically done, as the story opens Jaime is currently wrecking downtown El Paso battling magical thief Fadeaway and worrying about his non-superhero future. After almost missing his own graduation ceremony, Reyes suddenly finds it all going wrong again when he receives a terrifying vision of The Reach and loses control, uncontrollably shifting to his blue battle form…

His family share his secret, but aren’t happy about it and when he returns to his own party hours later, the festivities are long over and his furious mother wants to know what he’s doing with his life. So does Superman, who “just” popped by to see if the alien conquerors had regained control of their greatest weapon…

Intel confirms that The Reach are coming back and the (adult) superhero community feels it might be prudent if Jaime doesn’t use his powers for the foreseeable future…

Benched, grounded, jobless and not destined for college any time soon, the frustrated lad is summarily packed off to toil in his aunts’ diner in Palmera City, but fate has other plans. Repeatedly targeted by extremely Reach-like and savage Beetle-morphs Dynastes and Nitida, BB is forced to fight back until the Justice League shut him down again…

Some salvation comes when mentor Ted and his terrifying older smarter sister Victoria Kord offer him an (unpaid!) internship at Kord Industries. Ted is laid back and cool but Jaime can’t stop thinking how Victoria has the largest collection of alien tech on Earth and keeps looking at him funny…

As Beetle catastrophes keep coming, Reyes and still-on-the-fritz Khaji Da encounter a splinter faction of The Reach. Unable to trust The Horizon, they instead put themselves in the hands of Teen Titans Starfire, Cyborg and their allies. At least they can keep Batman and his private superhero goon squad off their collective shiny blue buggy back. Or Not…

And that’s when Paco and Brenda show up, begging Jaime to help their new best buddy Fadeaway. That does not go well…

With imminent doom encroaching and everybody telling him what” they” should do, Jaime and Khaji Da finally unlock the root problem that’s been jamming them up, consequently evolving into whole new Blue Beetle able and ready to fix their own problems…

And that’s when the aliens all come screaming into Earth’s atmosphere…

An enticing extra offers an extract and sneak peek from the new Blue Beetle #1 (‘Scarab War!’) due for release in September 2023, before a gallery of covers and variants by Cully Hamner, Rafael Albuquerque, David Marquez & Alejandro Sánchez, Ramon Villalobos, Gutiérrez & Quintana, Joe Quinones, Chokoo!, Danny Miki & Ivan Plascencia, Serg Acuña, Ricardo López Ortiz, Baldemar Rivas, Daniel Sampere & Alejandro Sánchez, Bruno Redondo, Jorge Corona & Sarah Stern segue into an extensive and expansive sketch gallery from Gutiérrez.

Here’s another smart, fast and joyous fun ride to delight fans of comics and other, lesser, media forms. So few series combine action and adventure with all-out fun and genuine wit, or can evoke shattering tragedy and poignant loss on command. Now read this even before you wallow in film fun…
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