Category: Batman

Posted on

Batman: Scarecrow Tales


By Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson & George Roussos, Gardner F. Fox, Dennis O’Neil, Elliot S! Maggin, Gerry Conway, Mike W Barr, Peter Milligan, Devin Grayson, Sheldon Moldoff, Joe Giella, Ernie Chan & Dick Giordano, Irv Novick & Tex Blaisdell, Don Newton & Dan Adkins, Alan Davis & Paul Neary, Duncan Fegredo & Bjarne Hansen, Roger Robinson & John Floyd, with Paul Gulacy, Carmine Infantino, George Pratt, Mike Mignola, Arthur Adams, Dermot Power, Mark Stutzman, Jim Balent & Bill Sienkiewicz & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-0443-3 (TPB)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

As is only sensible, when filmmakers unleash a comic book villain of any vintage, savvy publishers collate, curate and commercialise. Thus in 2007 when The Scarecrow was named a villain du jour on Batman Begins DC dashed out a fine volume of reprints featuring a few key and generally accessible comic book appearances. Although having a much shallower well to draw from, there are some wonderful tales on offer (and the occasional dog, it must be admitted) with various pin-up pages and a cover gallery closeted here in this out of print and begging for resurrection tome…

The obvious kick-off is the first appearance by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson & George Roussos. Alternatively entitled ‘The Riddle of the Human Scarecrow’ or simply ‘The Scarecrow’ from World’s Finest #3 (1941), it spookily introduced rather odd, painfully poor and book-obsessed college psychology professor Dr. Jonathan Crane (no relation to any comedy shrink). His ill-considered classroom antics forced him out of the teaching profession and started him pursuing his nefarious dreams by making his wealthy victims afraid… at least until Batman & Robin stepped in and stepped up…

Crane only appeared once more in the Golden Age and here is reintroduced in the Silver one, after patiently serving his time in jail, in ‘Fright of the Scarecrow’ (Batman #189, cover-dated February 1967) wherein scripter Gardner Fox – despite being rather handcuffed by the overwhelming popularity of the comedic TV show – introduced the Master of Terror’s abiding modern Modus Operandi of chemically or artificially inducing anxiety, fear and screaming heebie-jeebies. This has ever since stayed the way as Crane followed the twisting path of a deranged mad scientist rather the greedy crime bandit style which consisted mostly of shooting at you until you wet yourself and coughed up the valuables…

The spooky sage’s resumed rampage through Gotham was ultimately quashed here by the daredevil Dynamic Duo as fabulously finessed by illustrators Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella.

Then from a far less frightening but more carefully inclusive era come a brace of arguably lesser and decidedly off-kilter efforts. From Batman #262 (April 1975), Denny O’Neil, Ernie Chan & Dick Giordano ‘The Scarecrow’s Trail of Fear!’ finds the hero victim of a fear inducer machine whilst racing to uncover hidden loot squirreled away by a crook literally scared to his death. Then comes a frankly bizarre duel with Gotham’s other contender for Most Scary Villain (not counting Batman!). In The Joker #8 (August 1976). Gotham’s self-acclaimed Master of Terror instigates ‘The Scarecrow’s Fearsome Face-Off!’ by stealing from his rival and reaping the revolting results in a weird war tale crafted by Elliot S! Maggin, Irv Novick & Tex Blaisdell…

For Detective #503 (June 1981) Gerry Conway wrote ‘The 6 Days of the Scarecrow’, beautifully illustrated by sorely missed Don Newton, and inked by Dan Adkins, wherein The Deacon of Dread turns Batman into a being who can literally scare those around him to death. However, Crane foolishly discounts the fact that his foe has allies such as Robin & Batgirl willing to do anything to save him… not that the Gotham Gangbuster needs them to…

Then, in a revitalised new world stemming out of Crisis on Infinite Earths, a fresher Dynamic Duo (with young, callow Jason Todd as the second Robin), Mike W. Barr, Alan Davis & Paul Neary pursue lighter, more liberating tales but still convincingly convey the tragedy of ‘Fear For Sale’ in Detective #571 (February 1987), after Scarecrow charges desperate sports stars to remove their caution and ability to fear consequences and triggers a storm of callous carnage…

Next is ‘Mistress of Fear’ by Peter Milligan & Duncan Fegredo from one-shot New Year’s Evil: Scarecrow #1 (February, 1998): a truly exceptional low key, high-octane psychological thriller wherein Crane kidnaps law student Becky Albright. She had previously testified against him and still isn’t afraid, even after he begins the torturous process of converting her into his sidekick and accomplice…

Devin Grayson, Roger Robinson & John Floyd then display ‘Fear of Success’ (Gotham Knights #23, January 2002) to round out these scary stories with a swipe at corporate greed, as Dr. Crane is paroled from Arkham Asylum to lecture Gotham’s Movers & Shakers thanks to the sponsorship of business paragon Mulitigon. Thankfully, Bruce Wayne (and his new bodyguard Sasha Bordeaux) are invited as Scarecrow again unleashes his Fear Toxins just to see what happens. Although Batman quickly ends the threat, he is not quick enough to avoid a potentially deadly dose of the hallucinogenic horrors…

Also on show are a moody cover gallery and bonus material including pages from Who’s Who – The Definitive Directory of The DC Universe #20 (1986) & Who’s Who in the DC Universe #21 (1990) by Art Adams and George Pratt respectively; Mike Mignola’s Saga of the Dark Knight trading card (#51); Batman: Masterpieces (1998) by Dermot Power and an original pin-up by Mark Stutzman.

Some of these scurrilous scare-sagas made it into the 2015 compilation Batman: Arkham – Scarecrow but that book has enough different and darkly desirable material to warrant its own review… possibly even before the month is out…

As a trawl through the changing nature of the industry, Batman: Scarecrow Tales is quite illuminating although one glaring omission is the utter shunning of the numerous exploits featuring the creepy character that appeared in assorted issues of the TV cartoon based Batman Adventures comic book. Now those were thrilling…

Absolutely worth re-issuing with a few of the newer tales (especially those sublime all-ages versions Batman Animated franchise), perhaps DC could award the other, OTHER Dr Crane his own 85-year Celebration album, like all those other A-lister Bat-villains. Now that’s a scarily comforting thought…
© 2005 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

Deadman: Book Three


By Cary Bates, Gerry Conway, Arnold Drake, Bob Haney, Paul Levitz, Martin Pasko, Dick Dillin, Jim Aparo, Fred Carillo, Mike Grell, Kurt Scaffenberger, Romeo Tanghal, Tex Blaisdell, Vince Colletta, Dick Giordano, Bob Layton & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3728-8 (TPB), 978-1-4012-4198-8 (Digital edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced during less enlightened times.

Deadman debuted in Strange Adventures #205 cover-dated October 1967 and on sale from August 29th. He heralded a new kind of superhero comic at a time when costumed crusaders were in their second decline in 20 years, and edgy if not actually scary supernatural stories were increasingly attracting the attention of the entire world.

In his wake TV introduced Dark Shadows, sci fi anthologies Outer Limits and Twilight Zone segued into Rod Serling’s Night Gallery whilst movies like Rosemary’s Baby revolutionised scary cinema. In literature, a revival of Gothic romance set pulses racing and hearts fluttering once more. However, in many ways it was business as usual as horror stories had been a top seller since books began and plays, comics, radio, and TV since its earliest incarnations had dwelt heavily upon tales of the unknown…

As the 1960s ended, its colossal superhero boom became a slow but certain bust, with formerly major successes no longer able to find enough readers to keep them alive. The appetite for costumed clowns was paling in favour of a resurgence of more traditional genres, and one rational editorial response was to reshape comic characters to fit evolving contemporary tastes.

Publishers swiftly changed gears and even staid, cautious DC reacted rapidly, making masked heroes fit the new landscape. Newly revised and revived costumed features included roving mystic troubleshooter The Phantom Stranger and golden age colossus The Spectre, whilst resurgent traditional genres spawned atrocity-faced WWII spy Unknown Soldier and cowboy bounty hunter Jonah Hex, spectral western avenger El Diablo and game-changing monster hero Swamp Thing, spearheading a wave of new formats, anthologies and concepts.

Moreover, supernatural themes and horror-tinged plots were shoehorned into those superhero titles that weathered the trend-storm. Arguably, the moment of surrender and change had already arrived with the creation of Boston Brand in the autumn of 1967, when venerable science fiction anthology Strange Adventures was abruptly retooled as the haunted home of an angry ghost…

This third Deadman collection (of five) again proves that changing times and tastes demand different heroes, with pertinent material from World’s Finest Comics #223 & 227: The Phantom Stranger #33, 39-41; Brave and the Bold #133, Superman Family #183 and DC Super-Stars #18, cumulatively spanning cover-dates May/June 1974 to Winter 1978, and confirming that as tastes vacillate, the valiant dead can keep on going simply by changing a bit of perspective…

High wire acrobat Boston Brand was a rough, tough, jaded performer who had seen everything and masked his decent human heart behind an obnoxious exterior and cynical demeanour. As “Deadman”, Brand had been the star attraction of Hills Circus and lover of its reluctant owner Lorna Carling. He also acted as a secret guardian for the misfits it employed and sheltered. One fateful night, Brand almost missed his cue because he had to stop a local cop harassing circus mystic Vashnu. It would have better if Brand 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 that he was the chosen of Rama Kushna – “the spirit of the universe”. The hokum all proved horribly true when that entity astonishingly made contact, telling Boston that he would walk among men until he found his killer.

The gig came with some advantages. He was invisible, untouchable, immune to physical laws and able to take possession of the living and drive them like meat cars. His only clue was witnesses in the audience who claimed that a man with a hook had shot him…

Brand’s hunt brought him into contact with killer mystic The Sensei – a master murderer who has dealt with ghosts before – and helplessly, frustratingly, experienced the end of the Hook. When the Sensei executed Boston’s quarry, Rama Kushna asked if a balance has been struck and capitalised on Brand’s furious negative response. Brand demanded true justice for everyone and inadvertently elected himself the agent of its enactment…

The search had brought him into contact with Batman (and other superheroes) and together they saved a Tibetan spiritual paradise on Earth. Sensei’s League of Assassins deemed benevolent Shangri La Nanda Parbat bad for the business of murder, and Deadman’s efforts to save the city from invasion were coloured by the fact that within its boundaries he becomes a living, breathing person again…

By the time of this outing, and thanks to a rapprochement with his aerialist twin brother Cleveland Brand, Deadman has found his killer, but only uncovered infinitely more injustice and innate rottenness at the heart of the world. Now he roams aimlessly, despondent and nearly mad…

Opening in World’s Finest Comics #223, Superman & Batman recruit Brand to help in their search for a serial killer. Shocks abound when all evidence points to the culprit being the brain-damaged, secretly institutionalised, unsuspected older brother of Bruce Wayne! When the whole truth emerges in ‘Wipe the Blood Off My Name’ (Bob Haney, Dick Dillin & Vince Colletta), the lonely, isolated ghost goes off the rails and decides to keep on possessing mentally vacant Thomas Wayne Jr.

Batman has other ideas though…

Apparently ignoring these events, Deadman then clashes with The Phantom Stranger (#33, November 1974 by Drake & Mike Grell) during the Man with No Name’s war against spiritual mad scientist Dr Zorn. In ‘Deadman’s Bluff!’, the ghost’s protracted, and apparently obsessively pointless hunt for his own murderer is exploited by the villain. As ever, the chase ends in frustration and fury for Boston, even though Zorn fails to spark war between the ethereal avengers, and instead causes an antagonistic partnership to be formed between them. After months of relentless manhunting, Batman’s search for Thomas Wayne culminates in ‘Death Flaunts its Golden Grin’ (WFC #227, February 1975 by Haney, Dillin & Tex Blaisdell), as the caped crusaders accidentally find the fugitives whilst tracking global smugglers. That moment of triumph is brief and ends in tragedy for all concerned, after which the guy in the hat gets reacquainted with the spectre in skin-tights for Phantom Stranger #39’s ‘Death Calls Twice for a Deadman’: a last-ditch effort to revive dwindling sales as horror stories faced their own decline.

Guest-starring The Sensei, it signalled a belated return to the company’s over-arching continuity, but was too little, too late. Deadman similarly co-starred in PS #40’s ‘In the Kingdom of the Blind’ and #41’s concluding chapter ‘A Time for Endings’(February-March 1976 and both by Paul Levitz & Fred Carillo). Now modern mage Dr Nathan Seine sought to bring Elder Gods to Earth using blind psychic Cassandra Craft as a medium…

With that tale’s finish, his series ended and the Phantom Stranger all-but-vanished until the winter of 1978 and a giant-sized Deadman team-up tale from DC Super-Stars #18 that is happily forthcoming.

First, though, Deadman – by Haney & Jim Aparo – remanifests in Brave and the Bold #133 to deliver ‘Another Kind of Justice!’ to aging rum-runner Turk Bannion when his heir and murderer turns to a more modern form of smuggling with Dark Knight & Wandering Wraith objecting. Uncanny events hit a lighter note next as Cary Bates, Kurt Schaffenberger & Colletta explore inexplicable somnolent excursions on ‘The Day Lois Lane Walked All Over Superman!’ (Superman Family #183, May June 1977). Here, though, Brand invisibly aids all concerned as a monomaniacal psychic messes with mind-control and body-borrowing…

Closing this grimoire of the dead-&-gone is that epic clash from DC Super-Stars #18. Concocted by Gerry Conway, Marty Pasko, Romeo Tanghal, Dick Giordano & Bob Layton, ‘Phantom Stranger and Deadman’ was an extended Halloween extravaganza seeing the moribund supernatural champions – with venerable vintage ghost-breaker Dr. Terrence Thirteen and necromantic nemesis Tala, Goddess of Evil in attendance – attempting to eradicate an infestation of demons lethally infiltrating the comic book Mecca of the season: Rutland, Vermont (long associated in both Marvel and DC titles as the only place to be on the Eve of All Hallows). The war was for humanity’s survival and no-one escaped unscathed…

With covers by Aparo & Neal Adams, this graphic grimoire perfectly captures the echoes of an era in transition through a delirious run of comics classics no ardent art lover or fanatical fear aficionado can do without.
© 1964, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 2012 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

Batman: A Celebration of 75 Years


By Bob Kane & Bill Finger, Gardner F. Fox, Don Cameron, Edmond Hamilton, John Broome, Bob Kanigher, Dennis J. O’Neil, Archie Goodwin, Steve Englehart, Mike W. Barr, Peter Milligan, Doug Moench, Chuck Dixon, Greg Rucka, Paul Dini, Scott Snyder, Brad Metzer, Jack Burnley, Sheldon Moldoff, Jerry Robinson, Dick Sprang, Lew Sayre Schwartz, Win Mortimer, Carmine Infantino, George Roussos, Charles Paris, Murphy Anderson, Joe Giella, Sid Greene, Neal Adams, Dick Giordano, Alex Toth, Marshall Rogers & Terry Austin, Frank Miller & Steve Mitchell, Michael Golden & Mike DeCarlo, Alan Davis & Paul Neary, Tom Mandrake, Jim Aparo, Graham Nolan & Cam Smith, Rick Burchett & Rodney Ramos, J.H. Williams III, Simone Bianchi, Greg Capullo & Jonathan Glapion, Chip Kidd & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-4758-4 (HB) 978-1-4012-5186-4 (Digital edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

Somehow, I never got around to covering many of the best anthologised DC “Celebration” collections, and with another (possibly last!) Christmas coming, what better time to explore the delights of genuinely guaranteed comic book good times? This one’s a cracker too…

Batman is a creature of the night. Batman is the world’s greatest detective, escapologist and master of disguise. Batman fights criminals, madmen and bad women, aliens and monsters. Batman is all that and more. He apparently sees in black-&-white in world of fabulous hues and constantly shifting blinding colour – mostly red.

Batman is in many ways the ideal superhero: uniquely adaptable and able to work in any type or genre of story, as is clearly evident from the dazzling plethora of vintage tales collected in so many captivating volumes over the years. These vie equally with immediately recent tales collected into albums scant moment after going off-sale as periodical comic books.

Launching a year after Superman, “The Bat-Man” (and latterly Robin, the Boy Wonder) cemented DC/National Comics as market frontrunner and conceptual leader of a burgeoning new publishing industry: comic books.

Having established the fantastic parameters of metahumans with their Man of Tomorrow, the strictly mortal physical perfection and dashing derring-do of DC’s Dynamic Duo became the swashbuckling benchmark by which all other four-colour crimebusters were measured. The epitome of swashbuckling, Batman bloomed at this time and the impetus enabled him to endure and survive the decline of superheroes at the end of the 1940s.

Although he’s frequently played second fiddle to his pioneering predecessor Superman (who debuted in Action Comics #1, June 1938), the Dark Knight has, over his 87 years, grown to become the planet’s most popular superhero. He does have some bragging rights to longevity, however, as he debuted in the company’s most prestigious – and arguably premiere – comics title.

Detective Comics #1 had a March 1937 cover-date and was the third and last anthology title devised by luckless pioneer Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. In 1935, the entrepreneur had seen the potential in Max Gaines’ new invention (comic books) and quickly conceived and released packages of all-new material entitled New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine and follow-up New Fun/New Adventure (which ultimately became Adventure Comics) under the banner of National Allied Publications. March 30th 1939 saw Batman‘s debut in May cover-dated Detective Comics #27. About one year after that dynamic debut Batman’s resounding growth in popularity resulted in a bombastic bold boy sidekick and the launch of Batman #1 (cover-dated “Spring” 1940 and released on April 25th of that year). At that time, only precursor/stablemate Superman was more successful…

This book was compiled in 2014 to celebrate The Dark Knight’s 75th Anniversary and still only scratched the surface. Imagine the page count in 13 years’ time when it’s a centenary! Seen here are contents and extracts from Detective Comics #27, 33, 83, 211, 216, 327, 359, 395, 442, 474, 574, 633, 711, 757 & 821; Batman #1, 49, 181, 497, 608; Batman (vol. 2) #2; World’s Finest Comics #94, DC Series #21, Batman Special #1 plus Detective Comics #27 – an all-new vintage treat that we’ll get to in due course…

Divided into category-chapters preceded by a text overview, we begin Part I (1939-1954): The Dynamic Duo with originating escapade ‘The Case of the Chemical Syndicate’ by Bob Kane and as yet still anonymous close collaborator/co-originator Bill Finger. A spartan, understated yarn introduced dilettante playboy criminologist Bruce Wayne, drawn into a straightforward murder-mystery as a cabal of industrialists were successively murdered. The killings stop when an eerie figure dubbed “The Bat-Man” intrudes on Police Commissioner Gordon’s stalled investigation, ruthlessly exposing and dealing with the hidden killer.

Following on, Batman’s first ever origin moment. It came in Detective Comics #33 (November 1939, on sale from September 30th), scripted by Gardner F. Fox and Finger in lead story ‘The Batman Wars Against the Dirigible of Doom’ . This cunningly included 2-page prologue ‘The Legend of the Batman – Who He Is and How He Came to Be’ and revealed how a young boy witnessed his parents’ hold-up and murder by a petty thug, consequently dedicating his life to becoming a perfect human specimen to avenge them and punish all criminals. Those 12 panels were reprinted at the beginning of Batman #1 (Spring 1940 and included here) and, with occasional minor tweaking, stayed the official version for 50 years.

Next – and taking as read years of baroque villain debuts and the heroes’ war efforts – we jump to Detective Comics #83 (January 1944) when the team supreme are growing comfortable in their endeavours and the mysteries are often cosy and gently humorous. Here, courtesy of Don Cameron, Kane & George Roussos, Wayne’s portly British butler Alfred augments his diet regime with exercise and an abrupt disappearance, leading the Gotham Guardians to a murderous mesmerising medic and criminal insurance scam in ‘Accidentally on Purpose!’, after which we close-up on two debuts in one sitting as seen in Batman #49, (October 1948, by Finger, Kane & Lew Sayre Schwartz). When a madman called the Mad Hatter goes on a crime spree, newly arrived press photographer Vicki Vale is on scene to capture evidence that the mighty hero might also be socialite Bruce Wayne… and nothing our heroes can do will dissuade her from enjoying ‘The Scoop of the Century!’

The archest of archfoes briefly gains the upper hand in ‘The Jungle Cat-Queen!’ (Detective #211, September 1954 and written by Edmond Hamilton) when the Caped Crusaders are trapped on a wild atoll without their modern tools and must face wild beasts and furious feline felon Catwoman. Thanks to artists Dick Sprang & Charles Paris, she never looked better…

Dick Sprang (July 28th 1915 – May 10th 2000) began earning money from art and narrative as a designer and illustrator in Ohio whilst still in high school. He edited and contributed art to magazines and pulps from the early 1930s onwards. On graduation in 1934 Sprang joined the bullpen of Toledo, Ohio publishing chain Scripps-Howard delivering deadline-busting ads, editorial cartoons and illustrations. Working with the company engravers Sprang mastered every aspect of print technology before moving to New York City in 1936 to illustrate pulps; everything from westerns to detective to general adventure yarns. Regular clients included Popular Detective, Popular Western, Phantom Detective, G-Men, Detective Novels Magazine, Crack Detective & Black Hood Detective/Hooded Detective, for which he also wrote stories. In 1937, Sprang began ghosting/assisting on newspaper strips including Secret Agent X-9 and The Lone Ranger, which led to his writing episodes of the latter’s radio show.

As pulps declined and comic books proliferated, he capitalised on the trend, forming a studio shop with Ed Kressy (Fact Finders, The Lone Ranger, Power Nelson) & Norman Fallon (Speed Comics, Shock Gibson, World’s Finest Comics). In 1941 they were hired by DC supremo Whitney Ellsworth who anticipated with dread Bob Kane being drafted. The trio began crafting inventory material to offset that inevitable day, which gradually slipped out over the course of the conflict. His first newsstand appearance was on part of the cover for Batman #18 (August/September 1943) whilst his first full outing was the next issue.

For Batman #19, he pencilled all four stories and the cover, but only inked the first three (!) leaving Fallon to embellish the fourth yarn. By 1946, and although utterly uncredited, Sprang was the leading artist on Batman comic book material, which marrying and moving to Sedona, Arizona barely impacted. In fact, he taught commercial photographer/new bride Lora Ann Neusiis to letter and colour his pages and, as “Pat Gordon”, she took off some of the load until their divorce in 1951. Gordon carried on working for DC until around 1961…

In 1955, despite still being unknown to fans, Sprang took on the Superman/Batman team-up feature in World Finest Comics and soldiered on with it, as well as newspaper strips, countless covers and more. His astounding artistry enhanced DC titles for 20 years, including Real Fact Comics #1-3, 18, Strange Adventures #1, Superman, Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane & Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen, and he fully recreated Batman’s look for the forward-facing 1950s, with a new Batplane, Batmobile and other paraphernalia. Sprang’s Joker was definitive and he co-created the Riddler and prototype of Supergirl.

That all ended on his retirement in 1963. When he wasn’t beguiling sedentary adventure fans, Sprang had become a noted explorer and historian of Arizona, Utah and Colorado, and happily commenced a career that brought him the fame comics hadn’t. His many celebrated discoveries and contributions are on show at Northern Arizona Universities Cline Library Special Collections in Flagstaff and the Utah Historical Society in Salt Lake City.

More of his wonders adorn Part II (1955-1969): The Caped Crusader which assesses that evolution via further fascinating examples. Next comes Hamilton, Sprang & Paris’ sold gold sci fi crime masterwork. ‘The Batman of Tomorrow!’ (DC #216, February 1955) visits the 20th century from his home in 3054 to save injured Bruce Wayne from Vicki Vale’s latest exposé and catch a cunning crook in a fast paced and fantastical romp.

‘The Origin of the Superman-Batman Team’ was seen in original team up title World’s Finest Comics (#94 by Hamilton, Sprang & Stan Kaye, June 1958) showing how the Man of Tomorrow seemingly replaces the Caped Crusader with a new partner, thereby provoking a close review of facts and a startling revelation for all concerned…

The Silver Age of US comic books utterly revolutionised a flagging medium, bringing a modicum of sophistication to the returning sub-genre of masked mystery men. However, for quite some time, changes instigated by Julius Schwartz in Showcase #4, which rippled out to affect all National/DC Comics’ superhero characters, generally passed Batman & Robin by. Fans buying Batman, Detective Comics, World’s Finest Comics and even Justice League of America would read adventures that in look and tone were largely unchanged from the safely anodyne fantasies that had turned the grim Darknight Detective into a mystery-solving, alien-fighting costumed boy scout as the 1940s became the largely non-superhero 1950s.

Although individual yarns could still amaze, the Gotham Gangbusters were in a perilous rut and risked being forgotten, even as they were being readied for small screen stardom. Change was needed and stolid, stable Batman scripter-turned-editor Jack Schiff was moving on to more amenable pastures and editorial environs.

By the end of 1963 Schwartz had revived much of DC’s superhero line – and the entire industry – with his modernized masked champions and costumed characters. Now he was tasked to work his magic with the Caped Crusader.

Bringing his usual team of creators with him, he stripped down the trappings and returned to the core-concept, bringing a modern take to the capture of criminals, whilst downplaying all the aliens, outlandish villains and daft transformation tales. He even oversaw a streamlining and rationalisation of the art style itself. The most apparent change to us kids was a yellow circle around the Bat-symbol, but more fundamentally the stories themselves changed. Subtle menace re-entered the comfortable and abstract world of Gotham City. The revolution began with Detective Comics #327 (May 1964, by John Broome, Carmine Infantino & Joe Giella) as ‘The Mystery of the Menacing Mask!’ presented a baffling “Howdunnit?” steeped in action and suspense.

Tracking an underground pipeline of missing crooks and encountering a wise guy who was literally untouchable underlined the renewed intention to emphasise the “Detective” part of the title for the foreseeable future. This comic was to be a brain-teaser from now on, and the advent of the Batman TV show soon followed… and the world went Bat-manic. The series inevitably influenced the comics and, as well as a lightening of tone, threw up new characters. The next new villain was not one of them…

‘Beware of… Poison Ivy!’ in Batman #181 (June 1966) introduced a deadly damsel seeking to be top banana in the ladies criminal ranks and an addition to the Caped Crusader’s Rogues Gallery that owed much to her appearance in the Batman syndicated newspaper strip of the era. However, in this tale she’s only a criminal boss using sex appeal and hallucinogenic perfumes as her tools to split up the Dynamic Duo and defeat rival villainesses in a sly tale from Robert Kanigher, Moldoff & Joe Giella.

The TV show had premiered on January 12th 1966 and ran for 3 seasons (120 episodes in total), airing twice weekly for its first two seasons. It was a monumental worldwide hit sparking a wave of trendy imitation. Resultant media hysteria and fan frenzy generated an insane amount of Bat-awareness, no end of spin-offs and merchandise (including a still-fabulously watchable movie) while introducing us all to the phenomenon of overkill. Batmania exploded across the world and then as almost as quickly turned toxic and vanished. To this day, no matter how much we might squeal and foam about it, or what has occurred since in terms of comics, games or movies, to a huge portion of this planet’s population Batman is always going to be that “Zap! Biff! Pow!” costumed buffoon…

This next innovation was the biggest change in Bat-lore for decades. ‘The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!’ (Detective Comics, #359, cover-dated January 1967, by Fox, Infantino & Sid Greene) introduced Barbara Gordon, mousy librarian and daughter of the venerable Police Commissioner into the superhero limelight. By the time the third TV season began on September 14, 1967, she was well-established.

A previous different Batgirl (Betty Kane, niece of the 1950s Batwoman), was already a comics fixture, but for reasons far too complex and irrelevant to mention, was conveniently forgotten to make room for the new, empowered woman in the fresh tradition of Emma Peel, Honey West and the Girl from U.N.C.L.E. She was pretty hot too, which is always a plus for television…

Whereas she fought the Penguin on the small screen, Batgirl’s paper premiere features the no less ludicrous but at least visually forbidding Killer Moth in a clever yarn that still stands up today. The Lethal Lepidopteran was about to kidnap Bruce Wayne until Babs – dressed up for a fancy dress party – stumbles in and busts up his scheme…

Part III (1970-1986): Creature of the Night shows how – in purely comic book terms – after the TV show did terrible things to Batman’s reputation, the efforts to return respect, awe and majesty to the character begam almost as soon as the show stopped. The efforts were greatly aided by another phenomenon beyond editorial control.

When superheroes waned in the 1950s reader tastes turned to traditional genres like westerns, war, science fiction, romance and especially horror. That cycle repeated again as the 1960s closed, with supernatural themes primary piquing the interests of jaded readerships. It took very little effort to shift Batman back into the gothic shadows of his own early days…

Dennis O’Neil’s script for Detective #395’s ‘The Secret of the Waiting Graves’ (January 1970, limned by Neal Adams & Dick Giordano and recoloured for this edition by Cory Adams) instituted a far more mature – even sinister and almost gothic – take on the Caped Crusader here. In central Mexico the hero finally tracks down and barely survives confrontation with psychotic, nigh-immortal lovers Juan and Delores Muerto… whose passion for each other was fuelled by deadly drugs and sustained by a century of murder…

Adams’ captivating dynamic hyperrealism was a key cog in the reconstruction of the epic Batman edifice but it was also an irresistibly compelling one, and worked well against eerie backdrops of the resurgent horror boom, but all trends tail off. Now confirmed as a truly scary mortal manhunter, Batman’s scope widened and straight crime and adventure sagas also featured heavily. When Archie Goodwin became writer/editor of Detective Comics he generated a string of top tales (for the rest, check out Tales of the Batman: Archie Goodwin) of which the next item is indisputably the best. A stylistic masterpiece, Goodwin’s ‘Death Flies the Haunted Skies!’ (DC #442, September 1974) is a magnificent barnstorming thriller of aviators apparently picked off by a random assassin and a high point in an era of landmark tales. It is illumined by the unique Alex Toth (Zorro, Green Lantern, The Witching Hour, Space Ghost, Bravo for Adventure, Torpedo, Johnny Thunder, Eclipso, X-Men) and is as potent today as it ever was.

With the supernatural fading for fans, action-adventure and retro were the next big deal and ‘The Deadshot Ricochet!’ (DC #474, December 1977) was the penultimate exploit of dream team Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers & Terry Austin, who had utterly revitalised the Batman mythos with a string of sharp thrillers reinventing the hero’s classic rogue’s gallery.

The single-issue saga updates an old loser for the second ever appearance of a murderous high society dilettante sniper (after his initial outing in Batman #59, 1950). The tale so reinvigorated third-rate trick-shooter Floyd Lawton that he’s seldom been missing from the DC Universe since, starring in series such as Suicide Squad and Secret Six: in a couple of eponymous miniseries and on both silver and small screens.

The tradition of Batman Christmas Miracle tales (maybe we should say “mystery plays”?) is seen next in a short punchy redemption yarn about a bad man who sees the light in ‘Wanted: Santa Claus – Dead or Alive’ by O’Neil, Frank Miller & Steve Mitchell from DC Special Series #2/Super-Star Holiday Special (April 1980) after which Mike W. Barr, Michael Golden & Mike DeCarlo deliver an epic stand-alone saga via Batman Special #1 (April 1984) by introducing the hero’s ultimate antithesis in ‘…The Player on the Other Side!’

The night Bruce Wayne’s parents died, elsewhere two career criminals were killed by police patrolman Jim Gordon. As young Bruce trained himself to be the enemy of all crime, so too did the son of those thieves, becoming over decades the exact equivalent and moral opposite of the hero who would one day safeguard Gotham. Now, as assassin and nemesis of decency and lawmen everywhere, the greatest criminal on Earth comes for Commissioner Gordon. The Wrath will let nothing and no-one get in the way of his vengeance and only Batman even knows he exists…

After fifty years, DC rewrote and reinvented itself with a company-wide reboot. Landmark maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths streamlined and retconned the entire ponderous continuity; rejecting the concept of a vast multiverse and re-knitting timelines so that there had only EVER been one Earth. For new readers, this solitary DC world provided a perfect place to jump on at a notional starting point: a planet literally festooned with iconic heroes and villains draped in a clear and cogent backstory that was now fresh and newly unfolding. Many of their greatest properties got a reboot, all enjoying the tacit conceit that the characters had been around for years and the readership were simply tuning in on just another working day.

As witnessed in Part IV (1986-2011): The Dark Knight with Batman’s popularity at an intoxicating peak, Crisis on Infinite Earths transformed the entire DC Universe and reinvented big guns like Superman and Wonder Woman, but left the Bat corners of it all largely untouched apart from some careful tweaking. Robin Dick Grayson had still been followed by new recruit Jason Todd, but this new kid was now a troubled runaway plucked off the streets and a true wild card. His exploits were seen as way to imbue verve and a bit of fun into the mythology as well as revive the classic villains, primarily in a strand from Detective Comics by Barr and “British Invaders” Alan Davis & Paul Neary.

From DC #574 (May 1987) the introspective ‘…My Beginning… and My Probable End.’ sees Batman on deathwatch and pondering so many bad decisions as his confidante Dr. Leslie Thomkins struggles to save Todd from his own bravado, prior to Peter Milligan & Tom Mandrake detailing a case of duplication, deception and impossible substitution in ‘Identity Crisis’ Detective #633 (August 1991).

The Nineties were filled with eye-catching publishing stunts and in 1992 DC began their epic Death of Superman story-arc, and its instant success led to a similar tradition-shaking, continuity-shattering epic for their other iconic household-name property. Groundwork had already been laid with the introduction of steroid-pumped archvillain Bane and Jean-Paul Valley, a mild-mannered student programmed since birth by an ancient warrior-cult to be their hereditary instrument of assassination, so all that was needed was to sort creative personnel and decide just how best to shake up the life of the Gotham Guardian. KnightFall and the subsequent arcs KnightQuest and KnightsEnd follow the brutal fall, replacement and inevitable return of Bruce Wayne as the indomitable, infallible Batman and was another spectacular success from the old guard which showed all the comic book upstarts and Young Turks the true value of proper storytelling. It also proved the unshakable power of established characters, as the world was gripped by the Dark Knight’s horrific defeat at the hands of a blatantly superior nemesis.

The crossover publishing event impacted many comics outside the usual Bat-book suspects, spawned a bunch of toys, three novelisations, many (necessarily incomplete) trade paperback collections and even jumped the pond to Britain’s staid BBC who turned it into a serialised audio-play on Radio One. You can find the saga in its own triptych of collections, but here we sample the shock and awe through 11th chapter ‘Broken Bat’ (Batman #497, July 1993, courtesy of Doug Moench, Jim Aparo & Giordano) wherein the brutal Bane utterly defeats and destroys the overmatched hero…

Returned reinvigorated, Batman blossomed in many directions thereafter and next Chuck Dixon, Graham Nolan & Cam Smith reveal a relatively peaceful party-going Bruce enjoying a clandestine ‘Knight Out’ (Detective #711 (July 1997), tackling opportunistic thieves without breaking out the batsuit, whilst DC #757 (2001, by Greg Rucka, Rick Burchett & Rodney Ramos) sees the hero under pressure to catch murdering bandits and rescue a family trapped at the bottom of the river in ‘Air Time’.

Paul Dini & J.H. Williams spectacularly expose ‘The Beautiful People’ (DC #821, September 2006) working for merciless, murderous identity-stealing maniac Facade as the High Society predator overreaches himself facing the Dark Knight…

Bringing us up nearly to date, Part V (2011 and Beyond): Rebirth focuses on 2011 and DC’s New 52: a second continuity-wide reboot revising the opposing forces into even grimmer, Darker Knight and sundry. The Batman of this hellish vision debuted in Detective Comics volume 2 #1 with what might then have been assumed to be the last Joker story, whilst here from Batman (vol. 2 #2 December 2011) ‘Trust Fall’ by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo & Jonathan Glapion sees Bruce Wayne meeting Gotham’s Mayor (who will turn out to be hugely significant to his family life) and discovering his beloved city is actually ruled by a secret society dubbed “The Court of Owls”…

Adapted from 2014’s anniversary release Detective Comics (vol. 2 #27) this book concludes with a tasty treat as Brad Metzer adapts his own updated script for the tribute to the original Kane & Finger tale. Here, however, thanks to super-designer Chip Kidd, ‘The Case of the Chemical Syndicate’ weds the modern words to the original pictures for a truly stunning marriage of old and new: the spartan, understated yarn introducing again dilettante playboy criminologist Bruce Wayne, drawn into a crime-caper as a cabal of industrialists are successively murdered. The killings only stop when eerie figure “The Bat-Man” intrudes on Police Commissioner Gordon’s stalled investigation to ruthlessly expose and deal with the hidden killer.

Augmented by covers by Kane, Burnley, Win Mortimer, Moldoff, Curt Swan, Stan Kaye, Infantino, Anderson, Giella, Adams, Aparo, Rogers & Austin, Davis & Neary, Golden, Jones, Nolan, Tom Palmer, Dave Johnson, Simone Bianchi, Capullo & Glapion, this crime compendium is a true wonder of wit and wild times and you should not be without it.
© 1939, 1940, 1944, 1942, 1948, 1945, 1954, 1955, 1858, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1984, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2011, 2014 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Timeless Ever-Evolving Wonderment… 9/10

Posted on

Batman’s Mystery Casebook


By Sholly Fisch, Christopher A. Uminga & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-7795-0586-6 (TPB), 978-1-7795-0878-2 (Digital edition)

In recent years DC opened up its shared superhero universe: generating Original Graphic Novels featuring its many stars in stand-alone adventures for the demographic so sadly misnamed Young Adult. To date, results have been rather hit or miss, but when they’re good, they are very good indeed…

One sublime example of the process at its best is this cheery practical class in crimefighting which picks the brains and capitalises on the experience of Gotham’s gaggle of gangbusters and delivers life-defining details in the form of a comics activity book for all ages…

Author Sholly Fisch is no stranger to comics, having splendidly scripted Scooby Doo in various print incarnations and almost every DC superhero in All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold and other animation-based spin-offs, Superman, Star Wars and so much more. When not doing that, he’s a developmental psychologist consulting for companies making digital games and toys, with clients including Sesame Street, Cyberchase, The Magic School Bus Rides Again and The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That. If you love fun superheroics and vintage comics trivia, you should seek out his work.

Cartoonist/designer/visualiser Christopher A. Uminga has worked for numerous media giants including DC Comics/Warner Bros., Lucasfilm, Foot Locker, Disney’s WonderGround Gallery and more, and is assisted in making this complex and arresting tome work by colourist Silvana Brys and lettering entity Andword Design (Morgan Martinez, Justin Birch & Deron Bennett)…

A quick word to the wise: Although for years DC’s mainstream continuity has depicted the Dark Knight as a driven, tormented borderline(?!) sociopath doing good for what seems to be all the wrong reasons, Batman has always been a heroic archetype who works for all ages and on vastly differing levels of intensity. This version is far more Caped Crimecrusher than Bat out of Hell, and reaffirms his reputation as “the World’s Greatest Detective” in a series of “fair play mystery” vignettes with the reader invited to pay close attention and participate at every moment of each case. Kids can enjoy alone or with the grandparents who watched the 1966 Batman TV phenomenon unfold and parents who watched the 1990s movies and stunning Batman: The Animated Adventures series they spawned…

It begins in ‘Prologue: Whodunit?’ as Batman, Robin & Batgirl examine a crime scene and talk the readers through the clues left behind that lead to their deft deduction of the culprit…

With every reader fully briefed ‘Chapter 1: The Case of the Perilous Puzzles’ sees The Riddler running riot, obsessively dropping his verbal hints for us to solve, but don’t get so caught up that you miss the cunning visual clues scattered around, since the Dynamic Duo might be too busy escaping death traps to spot them…

Each adventure is augmented by a quick lesson in historical criminology, deduction and data gathering (just like the old Dick Tracy Crime Stoppers feature) beginning with a foundation in forensic science courtesy of ‘Batcave Crime Lab: Crime Scene Investigation’ with Clayface inadvertently assisting enquiries…

Of course Two-Face stars in piratically-positioned second chapter ‘The Case of the Dual Identity’ and the hunt offers many chances to study modus operandi before the boom is lowered, after which ‘Batcave Crime Lab: Fingerprints’ reveals the secrets of the ancient and hallowed system.

World-weary cop Harvey Bullock and Catwoman are involved in third chapter ‘The Case of the Art Attack’ but Batgirl – and the reader! – can’t be rushed to hasty conclusions if they think things through, before ‘Batcave Crime Lab: Tracks’ offers a quick refresher on Locard’s Exchange Principle (weren’t you paying attention last chapter?) as we learn to watch where we – and everybody else – steps…

Bruce Wayne & Alfred Pennyworth show off their sleuthing skills in civilian style for ‘The Case of the History Mystery’, taking us back to WWI and an encounter with Enemy Ace Hans von Hammer, augmented by some modern milestones in ‘Batcave Crime Lab: DNA’.

We’re back in supervillain territory for chapter 5 as ‘The Case of the Cold Cash’ seems to prove chilly Mister Freeze is the bad guy… until our heroes take a closer look; all complemented by the Terrific Trio taking stock of fraud in ‘Batcave Crime Lab: Fakes and Phonies’.

Batgirl and Robin have their wits truly tested in ‘The Case of the Digital Ghost’ before ‘Batcave Crime Lab: Eyewitness Testimony’ wonderfully tests every reader’s memory and visual acuity – with helpful hints from Commissioner Gordon – as we rush to the conclusion in Chapter 7 as The Joker & Harley Quinn threaten appalling consequences for all in ‘The Case of the Perilous Parade’: a thrilling manhunt that literally demands your full attention…

‘Epilogue’ then provides a summation wrap-up from Batman, plus a so-cool poster to declare “Case Closed!” on this vivid and vibrant anticrime primer… for now!

The caseload is done-in-one (hopefully only until we get a sequel and series puh-leeeze!) but this thrilling tome also offers a tantalising peek at Sara Farizan & Nicoletta Baldari’s Gotham-set tale of bullying and being the new kid My Buddy Killer Croc that’s also worth some of your time and attention.

Smart, compelling, brilliantly entertaining, astoundingly infectious and deliciously addictive, Batman’s Mystery Casebook is a superbly challenging activity and adventure romp packed with charm and wit to captivate fans and nervous neophytes alike: one introducing a new wondrous world with a rousing reminder that all is never as it seems…
© 2022 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

Batman: Terror of the High Skies


By Joe R. Lansdale, Edward Hannigan & Dick Giordano (Little, Brown & Co.)
ISBN: 978-0-316-17765-8 (TPB)

September 19th is the 12th Annual Batman Day and this year it coincides with the 32nd International Talk Like A Pirate Day. That’s gonna be some strange dinner party conversation, right there, me Hearties! Moreover, World Police expect to deploy specially trained penguins to keep rival marchers Ap-Aarrrrrt!

Prior to the days of all-out Superhero cinema, we parochial comics fans tended to regard and measure our greatest assets in purely graphic narrative terms, but truthfully characters such as Superman, Spider-Man and especially Batman have long-since grown beyond their origins and are now fully modern mythological creatures who inhabit a mass of medias and even age ranges. A precious case in point is this superbly rowdy, rollicking. rousing and rather rare “Boy’s Own adventure” released in November 1992 as part of the perennial and hopefully never-ending drive to get kids reading.

Terror of the High Skies was written by the brilliant and joyously prolific Texan Joe R. Lansdale, whose credits range from novels to screenplays (Bubba Ho-Tep, Hap and Leonard) and cartoons (Superman: The Animated Series, DC Showcase: Jonah Hex) to comic books (Jonah Hex: Two Gun, Molo & Shadows West, Red Range, Pigeons From Hell, The Steam Man, Batman) in genres as broad as horror, comedy, westerns, crime-thrillers, fantasy science fiction and all points in between. He is as adept at challenging adult audiences as he is beguiling – far harder to impress – young readerships… and he knows kung fu too!

The illustrated prose tale begins as young Toby Tyler slowly adjusts to life in Gotham City after growing up in Mud Creek, East Texas. One night, as his parents play host to old friend – and Police Commissioner – Jim Gordon, Toby hears a cat in distress and climbs out of his bedroom window onto the roof of his building. Once there, he finds a flying galleon heaving-to and infamous criminal The Joker capering about all gussied-up in the guise of a movie pirate.

Toby’s a big fan of films and keeps up to date on the news, so when the Mountebank of Mirth makes the kid walk the plank off the roof he overhears some clues that will eventually lead to the Clown Prince’s defeat. It’s also where and when he first meets the daring Dark Knight, as Batman swoops out of the darkness to save him before racing off to confront Joker and his gang of plundering sky-pirates…

Already deeply involved in solving taunting card-clues to the raucous rogue’s future crimes, Batman comes close to ending the case right there, but the wily Harlequin of Hate hastily hightails it to embarks on a campaign of pirate-themed plundering, unaware that plucky Toby has deduced where and when he will strike next.

With the focus very much on the valiant boy – just as young Jim Hawkins is the narrative voice of Robert Louis Stevenson’s genre-founding Treasure Island – readers are treated to a splendid adventure as Toby is allowed to join Batman’s search for the Joker in a fantastic chase encompassing a visit to the Batcave; meeting and rescuing his favourite horror-film actor; stowing away aboard the cloud-soaring marauder; facing a (mechanical) sea monster and eventually foiling a spectacular scheme to unleash a wave of madness on unsuspecting Gotham City.

Boldly boisterous, fast-paced and engaging; delivered very much in the manner of Batman the Animated Series (for which Lansdale also wrote a number of episodes), this delightful text escapade is enhanced by eight breathtaking full-page action-illustrations by Batman veterans Ed Hannigan & Dick Giordano and would make a perfect primer for younger fans to begin their – hopefully – life-long love affair with reading… once some forward-thinking editorial bigwig has it re-released and commissions a new one too…
© 1992 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved. Published under license from DC Comics.

Posted on

I… Vampire!


By J.M. DeMatteis, Bruce Jones, Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn, Mike W. Barr, Tom Sutton, Ernie Colon, Adrian Gonzales, Paris Cullins, Dan Day, Jim Aparo, Joe Kubert, Michael Wm. Kaluta, Tatjana Wood, Adrienne Roy & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3371-6 (TPB), 978-1-4012-5507-7 (Digital edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

Scary times ahead so let’s ease in to the season of mists mellow fruitfulness and spine sucking terror! with a guaranteed classic grimoire of reasonably family oriented ghoulish gore and wonder…

When superheroes entered their second decline at the end of the 1960s, four of the six surviving newsstand comic book companies (Archie, Charlton, DC, Gold Key, Harvey & Marvel) increasingly turned to horror and suspense anthologies to bolster their flagging sales. Even wholesome Archie briefly produced Red Circle Sorcery/Chillers comics, diverting a portion of their teen-comedy core gently into superb tales of witchcraft, mystery and imagination.

DC’s first generation of mystery titles blossomed at the end of the Golden Heroic Age when most comic book publishers of the era started switching to Crime, Romance, Western, Sci Fi and Horror genre anthologies to recapture an aging readership which was drifting away to other mass-market entertainments like TV and movies. Intriguingly, 1950’s TV also adopted en masse the anthological mystery tale model as seen in a wealth of repertory company anthology shows like The Veil, One Step Beyond, Tales of Tomorrow, and later, better remembered classics like The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone.

After a few tenuous attempts with supernatural-themed heroic leads in established titles (Johnny Peril in Comic Cavalcade, All-Star Comics and Sensation Comics; Dr. Terry Thirteen, The Ghostbreaker in Star-Spangled Comics) by 1951 National Comics had bowed to the inevitable and launched a comparatively straight-laced anthology sans recurring lead stars… which nevertheless became one of their longest-running and most influential titles. It all began on October 3rd with the launch of The House of Mystery (cautiously cover-dated December 1951/January 1952).

When a hysterical censorship muck rake led to witch-hunting hearings attacking comic books and newspaper strips (just type Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency, April-June 1954 into your search engine at any time), the industry panicked and hurriedly adopted a castrating straitjacket of stringent self-regulatory rules and admonitions. Despite mystery/suspense titles produced under the aegis of the Comics Code Authority being sanitised, anodyne affairs in terms of Shock & Gore, the readership’s appetite for mystery and suspense stayed high, and in 1956 National introduced sister titles Tales of the Unexpected & House of Secrets.

Supernatural thrills and spooky monsters were dialled back into marvellously illustrated, genteel, rationalistic fantasy-adventure vehicles which nonetheless dominated the market until the end of the 1950s when the super-hero returned in force – having begun a renaissance in 1956 after Julius Schwartz reintroduced The Flash in Showcase #4. Revivals of Green Lantern, Hawkman, The Atom and new costumed cavorters generated a gaudy global bubble of masked myrmidons which even forced these dedicated anthology suspense titles to transform into super-character split-books with J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter from Mars and Dial H for Hero in House of Mystery and paranormal investigator Mark Merlin (latterly Prince Ra-Man) sharing space with anti-hero Eclipso in HoS. When caped crusader craziness peaked and popped, Secrets was one of the first casualties, folding with the September/October 1966 issue. House of Mystery carried on with its eccentric costumed cohort until #173, and Tales of the Unexpected endured until #104.

However, nothing combats censorship better than plunging profits, and as the Sixties ended the superhero boom busted again. With once-popular titles promptly perishing and many of the industry’s most prestigious series circling the drain, this real-world Crisis led to surviving publishers agreeing to loosen their self-imposed restraints against horror (and crime) comics. Nobody much cared about gangster titles at the time, but as this liberalisation coincided with another bump in global public interest in all aspects of the Great Unknown, the resurrection of spooky story comics was a foregone conclusion and obvious no-brainer…

Thus, with absolutely no fanfare at all, House of Mystery and Unexpected switched back to tales of magic, mystery and imagination whilst already cancelled House of Secrets rose again with #81, (cover-dated August/September 1969), retooled to feed a seemingly insatiable appetite for terror and suspense…

Before long, an expansive battalion of supernatural thriller titles dominated DC’s – and competitors’ – publishing schedules again. This time, however, although the initial impetus died out by 1978, horror comics had secured a dedicated audience, soldiering on despite declines in sales into the turbulent 1980s. During that period, the venerable periodical experimented with varying formats and became a springboard for many creative careers, but never returned to established, recurring characters until the reign of publishing whiz kid Karen Berger who officially assumed control with HoM #292. Some issues earlier, a new longform miniseries (we used to call them “serials”) had debuted, detailing the exploits of a reluctant monster seeking to atone for past sins…

The full groundbreaking, tragic, idiosyncratic saga was gathered into a chilling chronicle recounting the afterlives of the bloodsucker and his human allies and re-presents here pertinent material from House of Mystery #290-291, 293, 295, 297, 299, 302, 304-319, plus a guest-shot in The Brave and the Bold #195, cumulatively spanning cover-dates March 1980 to August 1983. It opens without fanfare or preamble in ‘I… Vampire’ by co-creators J.M. DeMatteis & Tom Sutton.

In 10 tightly-packed yet smoothly inviting pages we meet English noble Sir Andrew Bennett, who died at the hands of a nosferatu during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Beloved by his fiancée Mary Seward, Bennett succumbed to her desperate pleas to be similarly infected, so that their love might last forever. Only afterwards did he realise that the transformation generally creates soulless monsters, even though, somehow, he has retained his conscience and personality…

Over four centuries, “Bloody Mary” becomes a prestigious leader of massed vampires in an insidious, influential covert global cult dubbed the Blood Red Moon. They sow chaos and destruction whilst working towards the ultimate goal of vampires ruling a world of human cattle. Heartbroken and guilt ridden, Bennett has opposed her schemes for all that time, aided by human allies such as his most recent “daywalkers”: aged Russian warrior Dimitri Mishkin and go-getting “Eighties Woman” Deborah Dancer…

Blessed with all the traditional gifts of the undead (shapeshifting, supernatural vigour, hypnosis, etc) and similarly afflicted by their weaknesses (sunlight, crucifixes, Holy Water, stakes, et al) Bennett staves off his insatiable hunger for blood by sheer willpower and the determination that he will not die until he has ended Mary’s depredations…

The introductory episode covers all that even as Mary’s minions lose another running battle with Bennett’s team but escape to instigate their latest plan…

The adventure concludes in ‘Night of the Living Undead’ as team Bennett expose and end a proposed alliance between the cult and New York’s biggest drug dealer, after which ‘The Burning’ sees the hunters scotch a scheme to infiltrate the White House once Mary affiliates with a race-hate spouting demagogue whose influential links include the KKK and US President. The closure of that case tears open old wounds, as Mishkin subsequently clashes with one of Mary’s lieutenants, only to discover a dreaded family connection in ‘Mother Love/Mother Hate’, leading to a look into how Bennett recruited him as a boy just as the 19th century became the 20th…

DeMatteis moved on after the dark heroes foil Mary’s attempt to destroy an ashram and its spiritual guru in ‘Zen Flesh! Zen Bones!’ after which Bruce Jones moves in, offering a more fanciful approach in ‘The Sun Also Burns’. Here Bennett and his human friends are ambushed and left to die in a mine. As time passes, the valiant vampire – deprived of bottled blood – must battle his irresistible thirst before abandoning them. Resolved never to endanger them again, he sets out on a solo quest for vengeance…

In HoM #302 ‘Blood Ties’ sees that lonely walkabout take him to Eudora, Kansas where odd events culminate in Bennett accidentally causing the deaths of an entire family of innocents before stumbling across a predatory circus abducting innocents for profit, and sponsored by Mary. His war against the ‘Carnival of Souls’ lasts until #304 where – with Ernie Colon substituting for Sutton – Bennett learns ‘The Night Has Eyes’ and proves that he has no pity for child stealers…

Jones then offers a lengthy saga in ‘Blood and Sand’ as the still-solo Bennett tracks Mary’s agents to Egypt in the wake of a global anti-cancer vaccine rollout that has the unexpected side-effect of making human blood toxic to the undead. Meanwhile, and for all this time, Mishkin & Dancer have been hunting for their leader, and are finally closing in…

Made unwilling allies by fate, Andrew and Mary invade a lost tomb, where the cult queen steals the time-travelling Rings of Anubis from a mystic mummy before setting off into the past to undo the creation of the vaccine. In hot pursuit, thanks to a second ring, Bennett arrives in Whitechapel, London at the height of history’s most infamous serial killer spree.

Crafted by Jones and the returned Sutton, ‘A Rip in Time’ sees all Mary’s efforts thwarted, and the ancestor of mysterious vaccine creator Dr. Barr escape unharmed, even as the vampires are hurled back into the time stream. Bennett washes ashore in Maine in November 1964, just in time to save a little girl from drowning. ‘Lovers Living, Lovers Dead’ reveals that in the present Deborah Dancer has developed a psychic link and can “see” vampires’ past actions as they happen. She is suitably horrified to observe Mary attack the child and aghast to realise that the child is herself…

After heroic intervention from Bennett saves the child, the time chase pauses as the undead knight battles a crew of revenant Nazi submariners in ‘Mirrors That Look Back’ before his pursuit resumes, depositing him and his quarry in Elizabethan England mere days before their first deaths. A bewildering succession of time-tossed doubles and mistaken identity switches culminates in a deadly ‘Witch Hunt’ with religiously enflamed peasants running riot before the chronal paradoxes dump them both back in the 20th century where new writers Dan Mishkin (no relation) & Gary Cohn concoct a ‘Manhattan Interlude’ (#310, November 1982) foe penciller Adrian Gonzales and ever-faithful Tom Sutton to render. Here Bennett encounters another vampire who has retained both soul and innocence and regretfully helps her meet her final end on her own terms…

Paris Cullins joins Mishkin & Cohn, Gonzales & Sutton for a dark peek at Deborah Dancer’s teen years in ‘By the Time We Got to Woodstock…’, revealing how she “first” stumbled into the Blood Red Moon’s schemes of conquest after losing all her friends to hippy bloodsuckers at the legendary festival, only surviving thanks to an old Russian and an eerie, red-eyed Englishman…

HoM #312 reunites the trio in time to tackle ‘The Thing in the Tunnel’ (Mishkin, Cohn, Gonzales & Sutton), a predatory beast escaped from the familiar-sounding Barr Research Laboratories and leading to a deadly clash with an enigmatic, extraordinarily long-lived (hint, hint) biologist in ‘Side Effects’, before ‘I.. Edward Trane, I… Vampire’ in #314 (illustrated solely by Sutton) sees a tragic reunion for Bennett with one of his own Victorian acolytes who fell in battle, but never fully died…

Mishkin, Cohn, Cullins & Sutton then detail an untitled exploit wherein the vampire hunters are targeted by sanctimonious religious zealots hunting the unholy. Sadly, their leader’s top aide is not only undead herself, but also Dimitri’s mother, and the Presidency is once more the glittering prize being sought…

Although the plot is foiled, the cost is high, compelling Bennett to turn eastwards, and ‘Back in the U.S.S.R.’ he uncovers a KGB program to weaponize vampirism and extend the joys of eternity to the aging Politburo. The result is open warfare between Mary’s cult and a Soviet secret army, ultimately proving in ‘Blood is Thicker…’ that not all military spending is pointless, and not every hero gets to ride off into the sunset…

Despite a long run, changing times and tastes were indicating that the title and, indeed, entire genre were not a viable contemporary comics option. With the series building to climax, #318 offered another untitled yarn (with Dan Day pencilling) wherein a freshly bereaved Andrew Bennett employs stolen Soviet technology to force a final confrontation with Mary and the Blood Red Moon, resulting in his final demise and birth of a new kind of hero in climactic last episode ‘Dreams of Death’ by Mishkin, Cohn & Sutton in House of Mystery #319 (August 1983).

Aggravatingly, that big finish isn’t the end here, as there follows a solid but painfully out-of-continuity tale taken from The Brave and the Bold #195 (February 1983). For ‘Night of Blood’ (Mike W. Barr & Jim Aparo) Bennett’s perpetual hunt for Mary brings him to Gotham City after a gangster’s daughter becomes the latest victim of a vampire. Batman is firmly convinced the attacks are fake – and he’s right – until an actual magic-accursed blood drinker shows up. At least this time the standard misunderstanding doesn’t result in pointless battle before reason prevails and the mismatched heroes unite to catch the real culprits…

Graced with staggeringly compelling covers by Joe Kubert, Michael Wm. Kaluta, Aparo, Tatjana Wood & Adrienne Roy, this is a genuine slice of engaging, unorthodox and vastly entertaining horror action that predates – and probably influenced – later hits like Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel. A hugely enjoyable edgy romp, well-scripted, imaginative and gorgeously illustrated I… Vampire is a timeless tome for all lovers of dark delight and one no arcane aficionada can afford to be without.
© 1981, 1982, 1983, 2012 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

DC Finest: Justice League of America – Crisis on Earth X


By Len Wein, Cary Bates, Elliot S! Maggin, Denny O’Neil, Gerry Conway, Martin Pasko, Bob Rozakis, Mark Hanerfeld, Dick Dillin, Dick Giordano, Frank McLaughlin, Nick Cardy, Mike Grell, Ernie Chan, José Luis García-López, Tatjana Wood, Glynis Oliver, Neal Adams, & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-79950-883-0 (TPB)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

Keystone of the contemporary DC Universe, the Justice League of America is the reason we still have a comics industry today. The day the first JLA story was published marks the moment when superheroes truly made comic books their own particular preserve. Even though the popularity of masked champions has waxed and waned repeatedly since 1960, and other genres have re-won their places on published pages, in the minds of America and the world, Comics Means Superheroes and the League signalled that men – and even a few women and less definable options – in capes and masks were back for good…

When editorial legend Julius Schwartz began reviving and revitalising the nigh-defunct superhero genre in 1956, his Rubicon move came a few years later with the uniting of his reconfigured mystery men into a team. Cover-dated March 1960, the JLA debuted in The Brave and the Bold #28, cementing the growth and validity of the revived subgenre, and consequently triggering an explosion of new characters at every company publishing funnybooks before spreading to the rest of the world as the decade progressed.

Spanning cover-dates December 1972 to July 1976, this classic-crammed, full-colour paperback compendium re-presents issues #103-132 of the epochal first series, as a new wave of scripters provided steadfast illustrator Dick Dillin with increasingly challenging concepts he had no trouble bringing to vivid vibrant life. While we’re showing our gratitude, lets also salute stalwart letterer Ben Oda (and occasionally Milt Snappin) for herculean but unsung efforts to make the uncanny and obscure clear to us all, colourists Glynis Oliver, Tatjana Wood and anonymous colleagues as well as cover specialists Nick Cardy, Dick Giordano, Mike Grell, Ernie Chan, José Luis García-López and the others…

Richard Allen “Dick” Dillin (17th December 1928 – 1st March 1980) started in the 1940s at Quality Comics, limning Blackhawk, Plastic Man and their war anthologies. Utterly reliable and prodigiously prolific, the draughtsman moved to DC when the company bought out Quality. He spent over a decade drawing their Blackhawk and when Mike Sekowsky left, he would draw every JLA issue for the next twelve years, as well as countless outings of DC’s top characters and even a wealth of horror stories when DC started scaring kids for money again…

These yarns begin after a major JLA/JSA team up returned the Golden Age Seven Soldiers of Victory to the expanding continuity. Appetites unsatisfied, the revival and expansion continued by adding more as yet unaffiliated mystery men to the team. Returned to their own planet the Justice League teamed up with and then inducted one of the few heroes who hadn’t accompanied them to Earth-2 in ‘A Stranger Walks Among Us!’ (#103 by Len Wein, Dillin & Giordano) as cross-genre horror hero The Phantom Stranger foils a plot to slaughter six Leaguers during the annual Halloween carnival in Rutland, Vermont, after which Green Lantern’s arch-enemy Hector Hammond orchestrates an attack on his oldest foe by setting an unstoppable monster loose on the team in ‘The Shaggy Man Will Get You if You Don’t Watch Out!’ The “More-the-Merrier” recruitment drive continued in #105 as Elongated Man signs up to save the day against marauding, malignant putty-men in ‘Specter in the Shadows!’, albeit anonymously aided by a miraculously resurrected robotic Red Tornado who joins the party in #106, unaware that he has been reprogrammed into becoming a ‘Wolf in the Fold! Justice League of America #107’s ‘Crisis on Earth-X’ ( Wein, Dillin & Giordano) was the first chapter of another landmark crossover with their Earth-2 counterparts and antecedents in the JSA.

Following the revival of a forgotten superteam during their previous get-together, this time the annual get-together reintroduced another band of Golden Age warriors (from corporate acquisition Quality Comics) newly redesignated The Freedom Fighters. It began when a recreational trip across the dimensional divide is accidentally sabotaged by android stowaway Red Tornado, depositing Batman, Green Arrow & Elongated Man from Earth-1 and Superman, Sandman & Doctor Fate of Earth-2 into another alternate universe – one where the Nazis had won World War II. Trapped and outnumbered, the seven displaced heroes were rescued by the last liberty-loving champions of a world dominated by fascist super-science and a secret dictator. Joining forces with embattled champions Uncle Sam, The Ray, Doll Man, Phantom Lady, Black Condor & The Human Bomb, the newcomers ended the Nazi threat forever in sinister sequel ‘Thirteen Against the Earth!’…

With everybody returned to their home planes #109 brought back a cultish guest star as ‘The Doom of the Divided Man!’ revived the dormant career of 1960’s hero/villain Eclipso, who attempted another cunning plan to conquer Earth. However, the real focus of this tale was the unexpected resignation of Hawkman following his recall to home planet Thanagar. Wein, Dillin & Giordano then got to deliver a delightful but potent seasonal present in #110 as Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, Black Canary & Red Tornado had to adapt to abrasive substitute Green Lantern John Stewart. A controversial “angry black man” conceived at a time when non-Caucasian heroes could be counted on the fingers of one hand he turned up mid-mission, just as the League gathered to hunt down ‘The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus!’

Murderous psychopath The Key had set up the heroes for ambush and destruction, with the callous assassination of an actor hired to cheer orphaned kids, but his horrific deeper scheme was only foiled thanks to the supernatural intervention of another almost forgotten League member…

For that issue, Bob Rozakis designed a ‘JLA Puzzle’ which follows accompanied by the answer page before JLA #111 introduced a seminal villain who became, decades later, a pivotal player in The Final Crisis. Here however, enigmatic Libra merely uses his incredible abilities to revive the dormant Injustice Gang of the World. Although his stated goal is to imbue Chronos, Mirror Master, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Shadow Thief & Tattooed Man with energies stolen from Aquaman, Superman, Batman, Flash, Elongated Man and fully recovered GL Hal Jordan, the ‘Balance of Power!’ he truly seeks actually entails keeping all the purloined might for his own incomprehensible use…

Those stolen super-powers feature in #112’s follow-up ‘War with the One-Man Justice League!’ as the entire team gather to help restore their diminished comrades. The high risk solution is to resurrect power-stealing android Amazo to collect the stolen energies and abilities… but nobody considers what the mechanoid might do after it absorbs Batman’s vast intellect and suspicious mind…

Justice League of America #113 (September/October 1974) proved how desperate were the times for the spandex set as the epic annual collaboration with the JSA was restricted to a single issue. Nevertheless, ‘The Creature in the Velvet Cage!’ proved to be one of the very best team-up tales ever, as a JLA visiting party to Earth-2 (Batman, Superman, GL Jordan & Elongated Man) share the shame and horror of The Sandman when his greatest, most shameful secret was catastrophically revealed.

Years ago the Master of Dreams had accidentally transformed sidekick Sandy, the Golden Boy into a ravening silicoid monster and been compelled to sedate and imprison his best friend. Now after three decades the beast is awake and free, seemingly intent on destroying the world. At least that’s what Hourman and the Golden Age Flash & Wonder Woman believe when they join their old comrade on his tragic manhunt…

Wein, with the plotting assistance of Mark Hanerfeld, ended his run as scripter with a smart and decidedly effective little thriller in #114:‘The Return of Anakronus!’ During a League-sponsored telethon, an enigmatic time-bending villain takes disgraced JLA team mascot Snapper Carr and his family hostage. Although definitely dangerous, the crazed felon’s ranting doesn’t make much sense: after all, why would a man who claims to have repeatedly defeated the JLA stoop to demanding a mere cash ransom?

The tone turned cosmic in #115 as Denny O’Neil provided a fill-in yarn bringing back retired hero J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter from Mars who implores his former allies to save the dying remnants of his people from ‘The Last Angry God!’ who has imprisoned them on a far-distant world. Cary Bates then contributed ‘The Kid Who Won Hawkman’s Wings!’ in #116, as sightings of Hawkman in Midway City lead Elongated Man, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Flash & Batman into a deadly duel against Matter Master. Closer inspection reveals the Pinioned Paladin to be a baffled kid Charley Parker, who has no idea why he suddenly changed into a Golden Eagle, whilst the actual mastermind behind the plot is a shock to all concerned. The tale is followed by another Rozakis ‘JLA Puzzle’ and a picture posing ‘JLA Super-Villain Quiz’…

After just over a year’s absence the true Winged Wonder returned in #117. ‘I Have No Wings and I Must Fly!’ was scripted by Elliot S! Maggin, with Giordano’s protégé Frank McLaughlin assuming regular inking chores over Dillin’s sleek and effective pencils. It saw alien cop Katar Hol resurface to warn Earth of a deadly extraterrestrial menace dubbed The Equalizer. This ineffable terror was driven to achieve pure balance in the universe, and to achieve this he somehow homogenised entire civilisations, making life forms exactly identical to each other. His Equalizer plague weapon was overwhelmingly contagious and – after reducing the population of Thanagar to imbecilic, four-foot tall clones of each other, (including Hol’s beloved wife Shayera) – the unfathomable voyager turned his single eye upon Earth…

With his homeworld quarantined and after defeating the appalling threat as part of the JLA, Hawkman had no other refuge than our planet and promptly joined Aquaman, Black Canary, Flash, Red Tornado & Superman in resisting the ‘Takeover of the Earth-Masters!’ (#118 by Maggin, Dillin & McLaughlin). This revealed a misguided attempt by trans-dimensional beings who sought to save our world from super beings by despatching eerie hyper-evolving Adaptoid organisms. With even the Man of Steel unable to face the ghastly invaders, Hawkman devises a risky strategy involving his Equalization-infected wife, which happily turns out in Humanity’s favour in #119’s concluding clash ‘Winner Takes the Earth!’

Another old friend reappeared in #120 as ‘The Parallel Perils of Adam Strange!’ (written by Bates) sees the Earth-born champion of Planet Rann forced to re-fight his greatest battles after despotic Kanjar Ro murders his beloved Alanna.

Even though Ro has cruelly stacked the deck, Strange and his newly arrived Earth allies triumph before pulling a rabbit out of the hat to restore the Rannian heroine in time for her own magical wedding in blistering conclusion ‘The Hero Who Jinxed the Justice League!’

In #122 Marty Pasko delved into the team’s private lives and revealed why the JLA shared their civilian secrets with each other in ‘The Great Identity Crisis!’ when old foe Dr. Light used photonic super-science and the too-good-to-be-true mineral Amnesium (guess what it causes?) to mess with the heroes’ minds and lure them into what should be inescapable death-traps…

Another year gone, it was time for the annual JLA/JSA yarn and Bates, Maggin, Dillin & McLaughlin stepped far off the reservation with ‘Where on Earth Am I?’ & ‘Avenging Ghosts of the Justice Society!’ from issues #123 & 124. Back in Flash #179 (‘The Flash – Fact of Fiction?, May 1968) Bates & Gardner Fox first took the multiple Earths concept to its illogical conclusion by trapping the Monarch of Motion in “our” Reality (Earth-Prime!) where the Sultan of Speed was just a comic book character. Now and here Bates and co-scripter Maggin return to the conceit as a story conference in editor Julie Schwartz’s office leads to the oafish goons playing with Flash’s hastily-constructed and long abandoned Cosmic Treadmill, before catapulting one of them between dimensions.

Transformed and empowered by the trip, Bates becomes the most dangerous villain alive, leading Earth-2 criminals The Wizard, Shade, Sportsmaster, Huntress, Icicle & The Gambler in a lethal assault on JSA heroes Robin, Hourman, Wildcat, Wonder Woman, Johnny Thunder and Dr. Mid-Nite. Maggin has followed his friend but ends up on Earth-1.

Undaunted, he recruits Batman, Black Canary, Aquaman, Hawkman, Green Arrow & Flash to save three imperilled universes but it eventually requires the Divine Might of the supernal Spectre to truly set everything and everybody back to their assigned places and times…

Gerry Conway began his long association with the Justice League in #125, in a smart 2-parter concerning dumping of toxic energy from an outer dimension onto Earth. ‘The Men Who Sold Destruction!’ craftily employ schizophrenic villain Two-Face as their wily broker to expend these deadly forces, but the super-minds of Dronndar completely underestimate double-dealing Harvey Dent‘s capacity for betrayal. Almost as bad is the opportunistic action of the Weaponers of Qward, and thus the JLA are easily – but only initially – fooled by the Machiavellian multi-visaged maniac in #126’s Byzantine conclusion ‘The Evil Connection!’

JLA #127 confirmed that ‘The Command is “Chaos!”’ after The Anarchist discovers a way to tap Green Lantern’s power battery and desperate Hal Jordan begs his fellow champions to stop him recharging his ring at any cost, after which Pasko popped back to author a sharp, smart reintroduction for the Earth-1 Amazing Amazon in #128’s ‘Death-Visions of the Justice League!’

For a period “our” Wonder Woman had lost her powers and fought crime as a martial artist, but once her supernatural gifts returned she underwent a self-imposed set of trials before rejoining the team. Sadly her readmission coincided with the team disbanding following a cataclysmic, psychologically punishing assault by alien fear-eater Nekron, and even she seemed unable to galvanise the Leaguers before ‘The Earth Dies Screaming!’in #129.

The next issue explored the revelatory early days of the team’s orbiting satellite HQ as ‘Skyjack at 22,300 Miles!’ (scripted by Pasko) disclosed how an intergalactic interloper attempted to turn the space base into a spawning ground, putting the nonplussed heroes through a gamut of ghastly trials before order and equilibrium were unconventionally restored.

This mammoth tome ends with a clever mystery double-bill from Conway, Dillin & McLaughlin. In #131’s ‘The Beasts Who Thought Like Men!’ a new credit card currency for America somehow enhances the minds of animals and insects, simultaneously decreasing human brainpower to such a low point that bugs can enslave deadly villains like Sonar & Queen Bee. The tale takes a stranger turn in #132 as Superman vanishes and Supergirl steps in to help against animals organised enough to conquer the country. Even then there was still one more tangled twist in the tale of ‘The Beasts Who Fought Like Men!…’

To Be Continued…

The Justice League of America was always the keystone of US comics and these tales are still among the most thought-provoking, controversial and purely entertaining episodes in their six and half decade history. These classical compendia are a dedicated fan’s delight: an absolute gift for modern readers who desperately need to catch up without going bankrupt. They are also perfect to give to youngsters as an introduction into a fabulous world of adventure and magic.

Come see for yourself…

© 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 2026 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Today in 1946 cartoonist/scripter/letterer Rick Parker (Beavis and Butt-Head, Deadboy, Tales from the Crypt) was born, with mangaka Yumiko Ōshima (Gū-gū datte Neko de aru, Wata no Kuni Hoshi) arriving one year later and Brazilian Underground Commix exponent Arnaldo Angeli Filho AKA “Angeli” coming on scene in1956 and writer G. Willow Wilson (Air, Invisible Kingdom, Ms. Marvel, Poison Ivy) born in 1982.

Swedish cartoonist turned diplomat Jan Romare (Pyton) died today in 2017, and the day also marks Scott McCloud’s first 24-hour comic in 1990 and DC’s controversial relaunch The New 52 in 2011.

 

Posted on

Wonder Woman: The Twelve Labors


By Martin Pasko, Elliot S! Maggin, Cary Bates, Len Wein, Curt Swan, John Rosenberger, Irv Novick, Dick Dillin, Kurt Schaffenberger, Dick Giordano, José Delbo, Tex Blaisdell, Phil Zupa, Vince Colletta, & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3494-2 (PB/Digital edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

The Princess of Paradise Island originally debuted as a special promotional feature in All Star Comics #8 (cover dated December 1941/January 1942 and on sale from October 21st 1941). Happy 85th birthday Princess Diana!

Officially, she was conceived by psychologist/polygraph pioneer William Moulton Marston and realised and nigh-exclusively illustrated by Harry G. Peter, in their calculated attempt to offer girls a positive and forceful role model and, on forward-thinking Editor M.C. Gaines’ part, to sell more funnybooks to girls. Later research has since disclosed much of her genesis was thanks to Moulton’s wife – attorney turned psychologist Sarah Elizabeth Marston (née Holloway) who had worked with him to create the systolic lie detector process – with further input provided by their live-in partner Olive Byrne.

Wonder Woman catapulted into her own series and the cover-spot of new anthology Sensation Comics a month later. An instant hit, the Amazing Amazon won her own eponymous supplemental title a few months later, cover-dated Summer 1942.

Once upon a time on a hidden island of immortal superwomen, US aviator Steve Trevor of US Army Intelligence crashed to Earth. Near death, he was nursed back to health by young, impressionable Princess Diana. Fearful of her besotted child’s growing obsession with the creature from a long-forgotten and madly violent world, Diana’s mother Queen Hippolyte revealed the hidden history of the Amazons: how they were seduced and betrayed by men but rescued by the goddess Aphrodite on condition that they forever isolated themselves from the mortal world and devoted their eternal lives to becoming ideal, perfect creatures.

However, with the planet in crisis, goddesses Athena and Aphrodite instructed Hippolyte to send an Amazon back with the American to fight for global freedom and liberty. She would be chosen by triumphing over all her sisters in a grand tournament. Although forbidden to compete, Diana clandestinely overcame all other candidates to become their emissary. On arriving in the Land of the Free, she purchased the identity and credentials of lovelorn Army nurse Diana Prince, elegantly allowing the Amazing Amazon to stay close to Steve whilst enabling the heartsick but poverty-stricken care-worker to join her own finance in South America. Diana gained a position with Army Intelligence as secretary to General Darnell, ensuring she would always be able to watch over her beloved. She little suspected that, although the painfully shallow Steve only had eyes for the dazzling Amazon superwoman, the General had fallen for the mousy yet supremely competent and capable Lieutenant Prince…

That set up set the Star-Spangled Siren to weather the vicissitudes of the notoriously transient comic book marketplace and survive the end of the Golden Age of costumed heroes along with Superman, Batman and the few lucky second-stringers who inhabited the backs of their titles. She soldiered on until the end of the Silver Age revival, mostly under the auspices of Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru & Mike Esposito, but by 1968 superhero comics were in decline again and publishers sought new ways to keep audiences interested as tastes – US society – changed. Back then, the entire industry depended on newsstand sales and if you weren’t popular, you died. Editor Jack Miller & Mike Sekowsky stepped up with a radical proposal and made a little bit of comic book history with the only female superhero to still have her own title in that turbulent marketplace.

The superbly eccentric art of Sekowsky had been a DC mainstay for nearly two decades, and he had also scored big with fans at Gold Key with Man from Uncle and Tower Comics in T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and war title Fight the Enemy! His unique take on the Justice League of America had cemented its overwhelming success, and in 1968 he began stretching himself further with a number of experimental, young-adult oriented projects. Tapping into the teen zeitgeist with Easy Rider style drama Jason’s Quest and resurgent sci fi and western genres in Manhunter 2070 proved ultimately unsuccessful, but with the Metal Men and the hopelessly outdated and moribund Wonder Woman he had much greater impact. Sekowsky would subsequently work the same magic with equally stalled icon Supergirl…

The big change came when the Amazons were compelled to leave our dimension, taking with them all their magic – including Wonder Woman’s powers and all her mystic weaponry. Now no more or less than human, she opted to stay on Earth permanently, assuming her own secret identity of Diana Prince, dedicated to fighting injustice as a mortal, very much in the manner of TV’s Emma Peel, Honey West and crimebusting comics siren Modesty Blaise…

Blind Buddhist monk I Ching rather rapidly trained her as a martial artist, and she soon became embroiled in the schemes of would-be world-conqueror Doctor Cyber. Most shockingly, her beloved Steve was branded a traitor and murdered! Sekowsky’s root & branch overhaul offered a whole new kind of Wonder Woman, but as I’ve already said fashion ruled and, in a few years, without fanfare or warning, everything that had happened since Diana lost her powers was unwritten. Her mythical origins were revised and re-established as she returned to a world of immortals, gods, mythical monster and super-villains with a new nemesis… an African (or perhaps Hellenic?) American half-sister named. Nubia. It took decades for her to find her place in the modern DC but that’s a tale for another day and review…

Such abrupt reversal had tongues wagging and heads spinning in fan circles. Had the series offended some shady “higher-ups” who didn’t want controversy or a shake-up of the status quo?

Probably not. Sales were never great even on the Sekowsky run and the most logical reason is probably Television. The Amazon had been optioned as a series since the days of the Batman TV show in 1967, and by this time (1973) production work had begun on the original 1974 pilot featuring Cathy Lee Crosby. An abrupt return to the character most viewers would be familiar with from their own childhoods seems perfectly logical to me…

By the time Lynda Carter made the concept work in 1975, Wonder Woman was once again “Stronger than Hercules, swifter than Mercury and more beautiful than Aphrodite”, but as Diana returned to mainstream DC continuity, readers and fans expected her to fully reintegrate, leading to this early and impressive example of a comics miniseries which ran in Wonder Woman #212 through 222 (cover-dates July 1974 to March 1976), detailing how the Amazing Amazon reclaimed her confidence and rejoined the JLA.

Scripter Len Wein and artists Curt Swan & Tex Blaisdell got the ball rolling with ‘The Man Who Mastered Women!’ wherein the Hellenic Hellion thwarts a terrorist attack at New York’s United Nations building… where Diana Prince now works as a translator. In the aftermath she surprisingly meets old friend Clark Kent. Over the course of a conversation she suddenly realises that her memories have been tampered with and understands why her JLA colleagues haven’t called her to any meetings. She had resigned years ago…

Although her former comrades beg her to re-enlist, Diana declines, fearing her memory lapse might endanger the team and the world. After much insistent pleading, she relents enough to suggest the League must covertly monitor her next dozen major cases – in the manner of Hercules’ twelve legendary tests – until she proves herself competent and worthy, for her own peace of mind, if not the JLA’s.

Once they grudgingly agree, she leaves and Superman begins surveillance, observing her flying to Paradise Island in her Invisible Plane. Correctly deducing she has been subjected to Amazonian selective memory manipulation, Diana confronts her mother and learns of her time as a mere mortal and of Steve’s death. Although the past has been excised by her well-meaning Amazon sisters, Diana now demands every recollection removed be returned…

Back in “Man’s World”, a crisis is already brewing as chauvinist costumed crazy The Cavalier exerts his uncanny influence over women to control female Heads of State. Ultimately, however, his powers prove ineffectual over the Amazing Amazon. As a result of that case, Diana Prince changes jobs, going to work as a troubleshooter for dashing Morgan Tracy at the UN Crisis Bureau, and her first mission isn’t long in coming…

Crafted by Cary Bates, Irv Novick & Blaisdell, Wonder Woman #213 details how an alien robot removes all aggression from humanity in one stroke. As The Flash helplessly observes, however, ‘The War-No-More Machine!’ also quashes all bravery, determination, confidence and capability. The species faces imminent – if long and drawn out – extinction. Happily, Diana, a teenaged girl and a murderous criminal are all somehow immune to the invader’s influence. Elliot S! Maggin, Swan & Phil Zupa then share Green Lantern Hal Jordan‘s undercover observations after a lost Amazon gem in unwitting, unscrupulous hands almost triggers World War III with the Princess of Power barely averting nuclear holocaust spawned by a ‘Wish Upon a Star!’

Inked by Vince Colletta, the superb and vastly undervalued John Rosenberger pencilled Bates’ tale of the ‘Amazon Attack Against Atlantis’ as Aquaman watches Wonder Woman unravel a baroque and barbaric plot by Mars, God of War to set Earth’s two most advanced nations at each other’s throats, after which #216 boasts Black Canary uncovering the Amazon Sisterhood’s greatest secret in ‘Paradise in Peril!’ (Maggin, Rosenberger & Colletta). The tale concerns an obsessed multi-millionaire risking everything… including the collapse of civilisation… to uncover exactly what would happen if a man set foot upon the Amazons long-hidden Island.

One of Diana’s oldest foes resurfaces in ‘The Day Time Broke Loose!’ (Maggin, Dick Dillin & Colletta) and Green Arrow is caught in the crossfire as the Duke of Deception attacks the UN, with temporally torturous images and hallucinations designed to generate madness and death on a global scale.

Produced by Martin Pasko & Kurt Schaffenberger, WW #218 offers two short complete tales. Firstly Red Tornado reports on the ‘Revolt of the Wonder Weapons’ as an astrologer with influential political clout uses mind-control techniques to gain power and accidentally undermine Diana’s arsenal, after which The Phantom Stranger stealthily surveys her foiling a mystic plot by sorcerer Felix Faust to animate and enrage the Statue of Liberty in ‘Give Her Liberty – and Give Her Death!’

This was a time when feminism was finally making inroads into American culture and Pasko, Swan & Colletta slyly tipped their hats to the burgeoning movement in a wry and fanciful sci-fi thriller. Thus, #219 sees Diana preventing a vile incursion by the dominating males of Xro, a ‘World of Enslaved Women!’, with stretchable sleuth Elongated Man covertly traversing the parallel dimensions in Wonder Woman’s wake.

With the epic endeavour almost ended, scripter Pasko added a patina of mystery to the affair as The Atom watched Diana tackle ‘The Man Who Wiped Out Time!’ Illustrated by Dick Giordano, WW #220 found temporal bandit Chronos eradicating New York’s ability to discern time and time pieces: a plot foiled with style and brilliance by the on-form, in-time Power Princess. The only problem was that during that entire exacting episode Hawkman was simultaneously watching Diana tackle another potential disaster hundreds of miles away.

The Feathered Fury’s report (illustrated by Swan & Colletta) shows how Crisis Bureau operative Diana Prince was targeted by Dr. Cyber & Professor Moon – old enemies from her powerless period – who combined their craving for vengeance with a plan to steal a UN-controlled chemical weapon in ‘The Fiend with the Face of Glass’

How she could be in two places simultaneously was revealed by Batman, who wraps up the twelve trials in ‘Will the Real Wonder Woman Please… Stand Up Drop Dead!’ (illustrated by José Delbo & Blaisdell), detailing how a beloved children’s entertainment icon was subverted into a monster feeding off people whilst replacing them with perfect duplicates.

Even this was not enough to deter Diana who triumphed again before taking up her leading role in the World’s Greatest Superheroes again…

With covers by Bob Oksner, Nick Cardy, Mike Grell, Dick Giordano & Ernie Chan, this is a spectacular slice of pure, uncomplicated, all ages superhero action/adventure starring one of comics’ true all stars.

Stuffed with stunning art and witty, beguiling stories, here is Wonder Woman at her most welcoming in a timeless, pivotal classic of our medium: one that still provides astounding amounts of fun and thrills for anyone interested in a grand old time.
© 1974, 1975, 1976, 2012 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Today in 1867 primal and insalubrious British Comics icon Ally Sloper first appeared in the magazine Judy. Coincidentally on the same day in 1932, Frederick Burr Opper’s descendant strip itinerant Happy Hooligan made his final bow.

Real people sharing the day include Golden & Silver Age Bill Draut (genre anthologies, The Fly, Teen Titans, Phantom Stranger, Weird War Tales) born in 1921; impossibly prolific French Shakespeare René Goscinny in 1926; artist letterer John Costanza (Tales of the Green Berets, Swamp Thing, The Dark Knight Returns, everything!) arriving in 1943’ master mangaka Jiro Taniguchi (A Distant Neighborhood, The Summit of the Gods, A Journal of My Father, K, Guardians of the Louvre) in 1947; cartoonist Gary Larson (The Far Side) in 1950; British musician/cartoonist Peter Blegvad (Leviathan) in 1951 and writer/inker Jimmy Palmiotti (Ash, Painkiller Jane, Daredevil, Jonah Hex, Supergirl, Harley Quinn) in 1961.

Posted on

Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls


By Paul D. Storrie, Jennifer Graves & J. Bone, with Brad Rader, Rick Burchett, Patricia Mulvihill, Phil Felix & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-9971-2 (TPB) 978-1-4012-9972-9 (Digital edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

Harley Quinn wasn’t supposed to be a star – or even an actual comic book character. As soon became apparent, however, the manic minx always had her own astoundingly askew and off-kilter ideas on the matter… and any other topic you could name: ethics, friendship, ordnance, coffee…

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

Employing a timeless visual style dubbed “Dark Deco”, the show mixed elements from all eras and aspects of the character and, without diluting power, tone or mood of the premise, reshaped the grim avenger and his extended team into a wholly accessible, thematically memorable form that the youngest of readers could eagerly enjoy, whilst adding shades of exuberance, sophistication and sheer panache that only most devout and obsessive Batmaniac could possibly object to…

Harley was initially the Clown Prince of Crime’s slavishly adoring, abuse-enduring assistant in Joker’s Favor (airing on September 11th 1992) wherein she instantly captured the hearts and minds of millions of viewers. From there on she began popping up in the licensed comic book and – always stealing the show – soon graduated to mainstream DC continuity.

Along the circuitous way, Harley – AKA Dr. Harleen Quinzel – developed an outrageous support network of sorts including living bioweapon Poison Ivy and settled into a bizarre love/hate relationship with some of Gotham’s other female felons.

After a period bopping around the DCU she was re-imagined as part of the company’s vast post-Flashpoint, major makeover and appeared as part of a new iteration of The Suicide Squad. Now with numerous motion picture, TV animation and live action small screen presence all in play, let’s look back at one particularly fruitful and significant phase, At heart, Harley’s always been a cartoon glamour-puss, with big, bold, primal emotions and only the merest acknowledgement of how reality works…

Amongst the plethora of comic books generated by the original cartoon show was this smartly sassy romp featuring those aforementioned crime cuties as well some mismatched if not openly antithetical law enforcers. Crafted by Paul D. Storrie, Jennifer Graves & J. Bone, 5-issue miniseries Gotham Girls was released between October 2002 and February 2003: opening with ‘Cat’s Paw’ as super-thief Selena Kyle undertakes a commission to steal something very nasty from agricultural conglomerate Zehn Chemicals.

The Feline Felon’s still determined to open a lion sanctuary with her fee and doesn’t appreciate when the supposedly simple caper is interrupted by juvenile do-gooder Batgirl. However, as they trade kicks, punches and quips, overworked, under-appreciated and overlooked GCPD detective Renee Montoya is taking a closer look at the supposed victims and sees something dirty in the company…

Then, as Bat & Cat ferociously but inconclusively throw down all over town, the masterminds paying for the heist make their move, and it becomes clear that there’s a lot going on that needs to be properly unearthed…

‘Ivy League’ exposes murderous eco-terrorist Pamela Lillian Isley as bankrolling the caper, claiming justifiable and benevolent motives to reclaim her own property from unscrupulous, world-endangering corporate creeps. However, because her bestest pal Harley is as erratic and excitable as ever, a potential Bat/Cat/Plantgirl/Dingbat alliance is thwarted by mutual mistrust and excessive, utterly unnecessary violence. Montoya, meanwhile, is diligently following clues, interviewing greedy biologists and uncovering something at rival agri-company Kayle Corporation…

The fast-moving melee ends in leafy Robinson Park, with Batgirl holding the stolen chemical soup, until ‘Harlequinade’ sees manic, attention-starved Quinn pull a martial masterstroke, delivering the bio-booty to her disturbingly abusive gal-pal and a heavy defeat to Catwoman & Batgirl. Naturally, that’s just when solid police practice explosively brings Montoya to their secret lair for penultimate power struggle ‘I Carry a Badge!’…

Brilliant deduction and a standard-issue firearm aren’t much use against supervillains and giant carnivorous vines though, so it’s a good thing Batgirl & Catwoman have both independently tracked Harley & Ivy. With action amped to maximum, good girls and bad girls clash yet again, and sides are finally drawn for a climactic conclusion, with frustrated cop and masked vigilante hero united at last and resolved to end the chaos in ‘Bat Attitude’.

Of course, that means not just Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn are going to jail…

A superbly riotous rollercoaster ride for kids of all ages, each chapter also deftly explores the interior life, history and motivations of successive stars; offering canny character building and definition most mature-reading tales would be proud to deliver.

Coloured by Patricia Mulvihill, lettered by Phil Felix and with additional layouts by Rick Burchett and Brad Rader, this classy, classically cops ‘n’ robbers riot plays very much like a 1940s movie chapter-play – albeit with outrageous gags, biting dialogue and a blend of black humour and bombastic action. A frantic, frenetic hoot, this is an absolute delight, well worth the price of admission and an irresistible treasure to be enjoyed over and over again.
© 2002, 2020 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Today in 1927, Charlton Comics editor and Popeye illustrator George Wildman was born, as  was letterer Cory Petit in 1976; both all-star creators Lee Bermejo (Batman: Noel, Lex Luthor: Man of Steel, Rorschach) and Leinil Francis Yu (Superman: Birthright, X-Men, Wolverine) in 1977 and Graphic Novelist Nate Powell (March, The Silence of Our Friends, Swallow Me Whole) in 1978.

In 1933 today Milt Caniff’s Dickie Dare strip launched, and Neal Adam’s Ben Casey folded, albeit in 1966. Ten years later Mickey Finn ended, having run continuously since Frank Leonard began it in 1936.

In 2000 we lost Lars Jansson, brother of Tove and continuer of the magnificent Moomin strip (1954 to 1975 in The Evening News and sundry other newspapers). In 2003 controversial Italian comics maestro Guido Crepax (Valentina, Emanuelle, Anita, The Man from Harlem) died, followed three years later by countryman Mario Faustinelli (Asso di Picche, The Adventures of Topo Gigio, Kolosso).

Posted on

Tiny Titans volume 4: The First Rule of Pet Club…


By Art Baltazar & Franco with Geoff Johns & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-2892-7 (TPB), 978-1-4012-4528-3 (Digital edition)

DC’s Cartoon Network imprint was a potent and fun-filled bastion of children’s comics in America and consolidated the link between TV and 2D jollies and thrills with stunning interpretations of television landmarks like Ben 10, Scooby Doo, Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory and others. The comics line also generated truly exceptional material based on screen iterations of their proprietary characters such as Teen Titans Go!, Legion of Super Heroes, Batman: Brave and the Bold and Krypto the Super Dog as well as original material like Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam!, which were merely indistinguishable in tone and content.

Arguably the imprint’s finest release was a series ostensibly aimed at early readers but which quickly became a firm favourite of older fans – and a multi-award winner too. Superbly mirroring the magical wonderland inside a child’s head where everything is happily mixed up together, Tiny Titans became a sublime nostalgia-weaponised antidote to continuity cops and slavish fan-boy quibbling by reducing the vast cast of successive Teen Titans animated series, the greater boutique of mainstream comic books and, eventually, DC’s entire Universe to little kids and their parents/guardians in the wholesome kindergarten environment of Sidekick City Elementary School – a scenario spring-loaded with in-jokes, sight-gags and beloved yet gently mocked paraphernalia of generations of strip readers and telly-watchers…

Art Baltazar and co-creator Franco (Aureliani) mastered a witty, bemusingly charming style of storytelling that just happily rolls along, with assorted characters getting by, trying to make sense of the great big world and just coincidentally having “Adventures in Awesomeness”. The method generally involves stringing together smaller incidents and moments into an overall themed portmanteau tale and it works astoundingly well. Rounding up issues #19-25 and spanning cover-dates October 2009 – April 2010 of the magically madcap, infinitely addictive all-ages mini-masterpiece, this fourth volume begins on a romantic note by looking at the kids ‘Deep in Like’.

After a handy and as-standard identifying roll-call page, ‘Imagine Me and You…’ finds scary blob Plasmus and tiny winged Bumblebee brightening up each other’s drab day, before a similar cupid moment affects The Brain and best-est pal M’sieu Mallah, even as diligent overachiever Robin (accompanied by faithful Bat-hound Ace) finds his earnest attempts to finish his homework disturbed by a succession of pesky young ladies including Starfire, Batgirl & Duella all caught up in a ‘Like Triangle’. ‘Dates’ then sees Bumblebee & Plasmus inadvertently causing chaos during an afternoon movie monster mash – and even in the ‘Intermission’ – after which a sly sight gag for us oldies highlights the company’s many Wonder Girls in ‘Jump Rope’.

DC’s hallowed anthropoid obsession is highlighted in ‘New Recruits’ when Beast Boy chairs a meeting of the Titans Ape Club before regular feature The Kroc Files depicts ultimate butler Alfred, roguish reptilian star Kroc and Plasmus each demonstrating ‘How to Enjoy a Lollipop’ in their own signature manner. The issue closes with a word puzzle whilst the next promises to disclose The Hole Truth about Raven: beginning with a daybreak disaster at ‘Home with the Trigons’. Raven’s dad is an antlered, crimson transdimensional devil-lord as well as a teacher at Sidekick Elementary, so when he oversleeps, his sorceress scion gets him to work on time by simply opening a few wormholes. Of course, leaving those dimensional doors around is just asking for trouble…

Meanwhile, it’s washday at Wayne Manor, but Alfred won’t let Robin, Beast Boy or Aqualad go down ‘To the Batcave’. Sadly, even the dapper domestic can’t withstand united pester-power and eventually gives in… and learns to regret it. Following a perplexing maze game-page, the All Pet Club Issue! launches as Starfire and mean sister Blackfire write home for their beloved critters Silky & Poopu, so they can go to the oh-so-secret social event, whilst can-do kid Cyborg actually builds himself a brace of chrome companions in ‘Pet-Tronics’…

With ‘Club Hoppin’, the entire school gathers with their accommodatingly and uniquely compatible pets to interview potential new members – specifically tongue-tied-&-thunderstruck Captain Marvel Junior and his fuzzy pal Hoppy, the Marvel Bunny. With so many members, the club must find roomier quarters, leading to a painful tryst for Beast Boy and Terra in ‘Meanwhile, on the Moon…’

There’s a brilliant vacuum-packed bonus pin-up of the Tiny Titans in space by Franco before ‘Hot Dogs, Titans, & Stretchy Guys!’ presents the kids back on solid ground and wrapped up with the DCU’s many flexible fellows as ‘Offspring into Action’ introduces Plastic Man’s excitably boisterous bonny boy. Then, ‘Just Playing and Bouncing’ sees Bumblebee spend some time with the diminutive Atoms Family but lose control of their Teeny-Weeny, Super Duper Bouncy Ball and accidentally get Plastic Man, Offspring, Elongated Man and Elastic Lad all wound up, before helplessly watching it bowl over Principal Slade and Coach Lobo in ‘Coffee Dog Latte’.

Thankfully, Robin has exactly the right gimmick in his utility belt to set things straight, but can’t stay long as he’s en route to his Bird Scouts meeting where potential new members Hot Spot and Flamebird are trying out for Hawk, Dove, Raven & Talon. Distressingly, when shiny Golden Eagle turns up, the girls all want to make him the new leader…

The semi-regular ‘Epilogue’ page often supplies one more punch-line to cap each themed issue and this one leads directly into a convoluted and confounding Elastic Four pin-up/cover which in turn precedes a spookily uproarious tale of Bats, Bunnies, and Penguins in the Batcave! Oh My!...

It all begins in ‘Ice to Meet Ya!’ when Wayne Manor’s extraordinarily if not excessively large penguin population get into a turf war with the house rabbits, displacing the Batcave’s regular inhabitants in ‘Driving Me Batty’. The conflict escalates in ‘All in the Batman Family’ before Robin gets a rather stern admonition from his senior partner to put things right… or else.

Happily, ever-so-cute & capable Batgirl is willing to lend a hand. Unfortunately, so too are the kids she’s baby-sitting (Tim & Jason: you’ll either get that or you won’t, bat-fans) and impishly infuriating Batmite. With even Batcow helping out, things soon start calming down, but ‘Meanwhile, at the Titans’ Treehouse…’ not all of the fugitive Bat-bats have heard the good news…

Once your ribs have stopped hurting you can then enjoy a Tiny Titans Aw Yeah Pin-up from Franco before ‘The All Small Issue!’ opens with assorted big kids accidentally drinking ‘Milk! Milk!’ from the Atoms’ fridge and shrinking away to nearly nothing. Good thing the Atomic nippers think to call their dad, who’s with fellow professional dwindlers Ant, Molecule and substitute Atoms Adam & Ryan (another in-continuity howler targeting old fogey fans) for a Team Nucleus meeting…

That compressive cow-juice causes more trouble in the ‘Epilogue’ before a Blue Beetle puzzle clears the mind in advance of an outrageous ending as ‘Superboy Returns!’ in a fairly cosmic crossover – and requiring some additional scripting by Geoff Johns.

When Conner Kent shows up, all the girls are really impressed and distracted, whilst – across town – Speedy is trading a lot of junk he shouldn’t be touching to Mr. Johns’ Sidekick City Pawn Shop and Bubblegum Emporium in ‘Brightest Day in the Afternoon!’ When Starfire & Stargirl then buy the seven different coloured “mood rings” from the shop, they and BFFs Duella, Batgirl, Wonder Girl, Terra and Shelly, are turned into Green, Red, Yellow, Orange, Blue, Violet and Indigo Lanterns! Soon, the Tiny Titans are up in the air again and annoying The Guardians of the Universe and their super-serious Green Lantern Corps.

It all ends well, though, in an Emerald ‘Epilogue’ and a lavish pin-up of a posse of pistachio-painted interplanetary peacekeepers…

Despite being ostensibly aimed at super-juniors and TV kids, these wonderful, wacky yarns – which marvellously marry the heart and spirit of such classic strips as Peanuts, The Perishers or Calvin and Hobbes with something uniquely mired and marinated in pure comic-bookery – are deliciously hilarious tales no self-respecting or self-indulging joy-lover should miss: accessible, entertaining, and wickedly intoxicating. Go mellow out with some kids’ stuff, now, okay? Why should they have all the fun?
© 2009, 2010 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Today in 1948 cartoon gadfly Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury) was born, followed in 1950 by scripter and gamed developer Bill Kunkel (Doorway to Nightmare, Vigilante, Marvel Team-Up, Richie Rich). In 1942, Italian artist Giove Toppi died. He was the first cartoonist to draw Mickey Mouse in comics.