Category: Graphic Novels

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Marvel Team-Up Marvel Masterworks volume 8


By Chris Claremont, Steven Grant, Bill Mantlo, Mark Gruenwald, Bill Kunkel, Allyn Brodsky, Sal Buscema, Mike Vosburg, Herb Trimpe, Don Perlin, Bob McLeod, Gene Colan, Michael Netzer, Rich Buckler, Alan Kupperberg, Frank Giacoia, Gene Day, Steve Leialoha, Frank Springer, Eduardo Barreto, Josef Rubinstein, Jack Abel, Bruce Patterson, Bill Sienkiewicz & various (MARVEL)
ISBN: 978-1302955571 (HB), 978-1-3025-2987-1 (Digital edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times

The concept of team-ups – an established star pairing or battling (usually both) with new or less well-selling company characters – has been with us since the earliest days of comics, but making those brief encounters/temporary alliances a key selling point really took hold with DC’s The Brave and the Bold in the 1960s before being taken up and industrialisedby their biggest competitor.

Marvel Team-Up was the second regular Spider-Man title, launched as 1971 ended. A big hit, it confirmed that the time had finally come for Arachnid expansion, offering a venue for uncomplicated action romps to supplement the character’s – and company’s – complex subplot fare in regular books. However, even in an infinite Marvel Multiverse, certain stars shone more brightly than others and some turned up in team-ups more often than others…

This compelling compilation gathers the contents of Marvel Team-Up #78, 80-90, MTU Annual #2 and material from Marvel Treasury Edition #25, collectively covering February 1979 through February 1980. It opens with an overview Introduction from editorial ace Ralph Macchio before plunging into a peerless parade of peril action/adventure…

In Marvel Team-Up #78, courtesy of Bill Kunkel, Don Perlin & Frank Giacoia, ‘Claws!’ sees the webslinger and Wonder Man unite to fight hyper-evolving, yet increasingly bestial man-made monster The Griffin, a done-in-one palate-cleansing fight fest, after which an embarrassment of chronological proportions occurs…

When the series was originally published, MTU #79 featured a rather tasty pairing of the Amazing Arachnid with barbarian hot property Red Sonja in a brutal, time-bending battle with long-dead Hyborian sorcerer Kulan Gath. Unfortunately, the key word here is “property” and as Marvel did not at this publishing moment have rights to the “She-Devil with a Sword” that epic encounter has been embargoed for this book. Thus we rejoin the fun with #80 in itself a continuation of an earlier tag-team-up (seen in the last volume). Then & there Dr. Strange, Clea, Ms. Marvel/Carol Danvers & Spidey fully believed they had foiled a mage-murdering plot by Christian extremist Silver Dagger and Marie Laveau, Witch Queen of New Orleans.

Here & now in MTU #80, however, Chris Claremont, Mike Vosburg & Gene Day depict ‘A Sorcerer Possessed!’ as Strange finally succumbs to Laveau’s subtle, long-festering enchantment and turns into a werewolf in advance of the entire dimension falling prey to her demonic masters. With the wallcrawler, Clea and Wong unable to counter the encroaching cataclysm, salvation comes from a most unlikely source as Satana, Daughter of the Devil invites herself to the party for ‘Last Rites’ (inked by Steve Leialoha), spearheading a counterattack she does not expect or intend to survive…

Back in Marvel Team-Up #57 Claremont & Sal Buscema laid groundwork for a re-definition of superspy The Black Widow. It was the opening shot of an extended thriller embroiling Spider-Man in a devious and deadly espionage plot and resulted in the wallcrawler being saved from a lethal ambush by Natasha Romanoff. In the aftermath, he took reluctant possession of a strange statuette for her. In #82 (cover-dated June 1979) the scheme comes to fruition as Claremont, Sal B & Leialoha craft a 4-part, multi-operative conclusion that begins with Spidey saving Natasha from mere street thugs, but all is not as it seems…

‘No Way to Treat a Lady’ reveals that the lethal superspy has escaped capture and torture by retreating into a timid, ineffectual cover personality, so the hero must keep “schoolteacher Nancy Rushman” alive until he learns how and why. That task gets even harder after S.H.E.I.L.D.’s Strike Force – led by hot-headed wildcard La Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine – come mercilessly gunning for her…

The original (old/white) Nick Fury joins the fray in ‘Slaughter on 10th Avenue!’, “shooting” Spider-Man and capturing Nancy before discovering – after the webspinner steals her back – that his entire peacekeeping espionage organisation has been taken over by hidden death-dealing anarchist mastermind Viper. Now her deadly hench-thugs Silver Samurai and Boomerang are loose and seeking to “clean house”…

In #84 ‘Catch a Falling Hero’ reveals the purpose of that long-forgotten statuette, as Viper consequently targets Washington DC and President Jimmy Carter. Meanwhile Spider-Man and slowly recovering Nancy infiltrate the fatally-compromised flying fortress Helicarrier even as Fury calls in a clean pair of hands – belonging to occasional British asset Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu – for a deliberately distracting frontal assault that culminates in all-out war above the Capitol and the closest of close shave conclusions for all concerned in concluding chapter ‘The Woman Who Never Was!’

At this juncture the 31st century Guardians of the Galaxy were guests of The Avengers and resident in (or rather far above New York). However, before the time-lost titans finally departed for their own era again they injudiciously interacted with a few 20th century stars. MTU #86 (October 1979) reveals how undercover Guardians Starhawk, Nikki & Martinex stumbled over Spider-Man whilst attempting to eradicate history-threatening evidence of their existence. The main threat as delineated by Claremont & Bob McLeod comes from nefarious armaments company Deterrence Research Corporation who want to steal their colossal space station/timeship Drydock. The toughest  part of the mission is saving ambitious reporter “Rap Reynolds” from DRC’s super-flunkies Hammer and Anvil whilst preventing him from exposing the mission of the future heroes and publishing the ‘Story of the Year!’

Steven Grant, Gene Colan & Frank Springer then expose the webspinner and Black Panther to shady business practice in conglomerate Roxxon Oil’s latest scheme to acquire Wakanda’s vibranium. It begins by framing T’Challa for illegally renditioning a shady businessman on US soil and then sending in superpowered mercenary Hellrazor to save the poor entrepreneur and American prestige. Since Spider-Man has been an outraged observer from the start, his immediate intervention blunts ‘The Razor’s Edge!’ but greed never rests and more plans are afoot for another day…

Invisible “Girl” Susan Richards appears next, as MTU #88 – by Claremont, Sal Buscema & Eduardo Barreto – depicts a fighting mad mother on a rampage in ‘A Child is Waiting’. When toddler Franklin Richards is kidnapped, parvenue plunderers “the Hole in the Wall gang” think they can get rich by safely having superheroes steal from established rivals like Boss Morgan of Harlem and The Maggia. Sadly, with Spider-Man and NYPD detective Jean DeWolff secretly aiding Sue, they haven’t got a chance in hell…

Mutant madness erupts in Marvel Team-Up #89 as Claremont, Michael Nasser/Netzer, Rich Buckler & Josef Rubinstein choreograph action extravaganza ‘Shoot-Out over Center Ring!’ as the webspinner and former circus acrobat Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler reunite and combine against anarchic showman-hitman Arcade and obsessed assassin Cutthroat in a vengeance-fuelled Big Top thriller before #90 unites brainy acrobatic heroes Spider-Man and The Beast in frantic battle against merciless mercenary Killer Shrike and disembodied maniac Modular Man. When their raid of a science fair and purloining of a device that might eradicate the entire city with microwaves triggers countdown thriller  ‘Death on the Air’ (Grant, Vosburg & McLeod) our embattled champions are barely able to prevent catastrophe… and only at tragic cost…

The regular monthly pairings pause here but a brace of extra-sized bouts remain to enjoy, beginning with Marvel Team-Up Annual #2, wherein Claremont, Sal Buscema, Alan Kupperburg & Jack Abel pair Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk against Soviet super-agents Crimson Dynamo, Darkstar & Vanguard in Cold Wat chiller ‘Murder in Cathedral Canyon!’ The Russians want US scientist Daniel Ironwood to build an antimatter bomb and think kidnapping his daughter Cissy is the best way to achieve their aims, Sadly, she’s Peter Parker’s current girlfriend…

Elsewhere, fugitive Bruce Banner is seized/recruited by KGB Colonel Vahzin. He needs an exotic ordnance expert to stop rogue element Nikolai Kutzov and his super-powered dupes blowing up the world, and it’s extremely fortuitous that his ally can become the strongest being on Earth. All the elements are in play at a distant beauty spot when the wallcrawler meets the Jade Juggernaut, but although they do a save the world, the cost is far too high…

Less dramatic but just as bombastic, the fun concludes with Marvel Treasury Edition #25 (1980) and opportunistic tie-in ‘Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk at the 1980 Winter Olympics’: an utterly bonkers banding together of Marvel’s then top TV sensations to stop subterranean tyrants The Mole Man and Kala, Queen of the Netherworld, hosts of moloids, a band of fiery Lava Men and mutant troublemakers ‘The Outcasts’ sabotaging the games by kidnapping athletes…

The entire package comes courtesy of scripters Bill Mantlo, Steven Grant & Mark Gruenwald with Herb Trimpe & Bruce Patterson scoring big on interior art and Al Milgrom, Jack Abel, Bill Sienkiewicz & Patterson handling the covers.

The Bonus material this time includes the gallery of covers by Milgrom, Buckler, Leialoha, McLeod, Sienkiewicz, Abel & Patterson, as well plentiful original art pages by Vosburg, Leialoha,, Buscema, Milgrom; the covers for Marvel Treasury Edition # 22 (1979, by Bob Budiansky & Je Sinnott); the covers from Marvel Tales #242 & 244 by Marshall Rogers August and October 1990.

These tales are generally superb examples of Marvel’s Second Wave; Bronze Age yarns fans will find little to complain about. Although not perhaps a book for casual or more maturely-oriented readers there’s lots of fun on hand and young readers – or Marvel Cinema-goers – will have a blast, so why not consider this tome for your “Must-Have” library?
© 2025 MARVEL.

Today in 1880, komics genius and Krazy Kat Kreator George Herriman was born, followed by comics pioneer and packager Jerry Iger in 1903; African-American political cartoonist Chester Commodore in 1914; comic book star artist Bob Brown (Tomahawk, Batman, Space Ranger, Daredevil, Superboy, Avengers, Challengers of the Unknown) in 1915 and Silver/Bronze Age letterer Shelly Leferman in 1922. Post-war comics creators born today include Britain’s unique Kevin O’Neill (Ro-Busters, ABC Warriors, Captain Klep, Nemesis the Warlock, Metalzoic, Marshal Law, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) in 1953; writer Daniel G. Chichester (Daredevil, Batman, Dr. Zero, Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, Terror Inc.) in 1964; artist animator Duncan Rouleau (Venom, X-Factor, Metal Men, Ben 10, The Nightmarist) in 1965 and Spanish illustrator Alberto Jimenez Albuquerque (Les Fugitifs de l’Ombre, Inca, Skull Kickers, Letter 44, Mystery Girl, Generation X) in 1982.

This day in 2011 German cartoonist Bernhard-Viktor Christoph-Carl von Bülow (Wum, Odipussi, Pappa Ante Portas) died.

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Master of Kung Fu Epic Collection volume 2: Fight Without Pity


By Doug Moench, Paul Gulacy, Sal Buscema, Keith Pollard, Jim Craig, Dan Adkins, Jack Abel, Pablo Marcos, Mike Esposito, Sal Trapani, John Tartaglione, Duffy Vohland, Tom Sutton & various (MARVEL)
ISBN: 978-1-3029-0135-6 (TPB/Digital edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times Comic books have always operated within outworld popular trends and fashions – just look at what got published whenever westerns or science fiction dominated on TV – so when the ancient philosophy and discipline of Kung Fu made its mark on western entertainment, it wasn’t long before all those kicks and punches found their way onto four-colour pages of America’s periodicals. Early starter Charlton Comics added Yang and House of Yang to their pioneering Judo Joe title and Frank McLaughlin’s Judomaster; DC debuted Richard Dragon and rebooted Karate Kid; Atlas/Seaboard opened (and as quickly closed again) The Hands of the Dragon and Marvel converted an already in-development proposed literary adaptation into an ongoing saga about a villain’s son…

A month after it launched, a second orient-inspired hero debuted with Iron Fist: combining combat philosophy, high fantasy and magical forces with a proper superhero mask and costume…

Although largely retrofitted for modern times, inspirational Master of Kung Fu star Shang-Chi originated with lots of tricky baggage. He kicked off in the autumn of 1973, cashing in on the contemporary West’s craze for Eastern philosophy and martial arts action that had already generated an avalanche of “Chop Sockey” movies and a controversial TV sensation entitled Kung Fu. You may recall that the lead in that cowboy-set saga was a half-Chinese Shaolin monk, played – after much publicised legal and industry agitation – by a white actor…

At Marvel, no one at that time particularly griped about the fact that Shang-Chi was designed by editor Roy Thomas and artisans Steve Englehart, Jim Starlin & Al Milgrom as a naive innocent (also half Chinese, with an American mother) thrown into tumultuous modern society as a rebellious yet involved counterpoint to his father: an insidious scheming fiend intent on global domination. Back then, securing rights to a major literary property and wrapping new comics in it was an established practise. It had worked spectacularly with Conan the Barbarian and horror stars Dracula and The Monster of Frankenstein. The same process also brilliantly informed seminal science fiction icon Killraven in War of the Worlds and plenty more…

These days we comics apologists keep saying “it was a different era”, but I genuinely don’t think anyone in the editorial office paused for a moment of second thoughts when their new Kung Fu book secured the use of one of literature’s greatest villains as a major player. Special Marvel Edition #15 (cover-dated December 1973) launched to great success, with Fu Manchu an overarching villain already a global personification of infamy.

Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward AKA Sax Rohmer’s ultimate embodiment of patronising mistrust and racist suspicion had been hugely popular since 1913’s The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu. The prime archetype for mad scientists and remorseless “Yellow Peril” threatening civilization, the character spread to stage, screen, airwaves and comics (even appropriating the cover of Detective Comics #1, heralding an interior series that ran until #28), but most importantly, became the visual affirmation and conceptual basis for countless evil “Asiatics”, “Orientals” and “Celestials” dominating popular fiction ever since. In recent years we’ve all (well, mostly all) acknowledged past iniquities and Shang-Chi has been fully reimagined, with that paternal link downplayed and ultimately abandoned – as much for licensing laws as social justice. And cultural respect, naturally…

Like most comics companies, Marvel employed plenty of “Yellow Peril” knock-offs and personifications – including Wong Chu; Plan Tzu (AKA the Yellow and latterly Golden, Claw); Huang Zhu; Silver Samurai; Doctor Sun, ad infinitum: all birds of another colour that are still nastily pejorative shades of saffron. Perhaps this is just my white guilt and fanboy shame talking. These stories, crafted by Marvel’s employees were – and remain – some of the best action comics you’ll ever encounter, but never forget what they’re actually about -distrust of the “other”. Without making excuses, I should also state that despite the casual racism suggested by legions of outrageously exotic, inscrutable lemon-hued bad guys haunting this series at every level, Master of Kung Fu did sensitively address issues of race and honestly attempt to share non-Christian philosophies and thought whilst – most importantly – offering potently powerful role models to kids of Asian origins. So at least there’s that…

Packed with stunning exotic adventure and compellingly convincing drama, this collection gathers Master of Kung Fu #29-53 and Master of Kung Fu Annual #1 (spanning June 1975 to August 1977). Written entirely by Doug Moench and primarily showcasing the developing graphic realism of Paul Gulacy, surrendering to his love of spy fiction it opens without a preamble in the middle of a mighty struggle…

Previously: the series inauspiciously launched in bimonthly reprint title Special Marvel Edition as The Hands of Shang Chi: Master of Kung Fu, but by the third issue (April 1974) became exclusively his. The origin episode introduced a vibrant, brilliant young man raised in utter isolation in the style and manner of imperial China. Reared by monks and savants, the boy was the result of a match between a physically perfect American woman and “misunderstood patriot” Fu Manchu. The boy was raised to accept that his sire was a noble hero unfairly hunted and slandered by corrupt western governments and the communist usurpers now blasphemously controlling the world’s greatest empire.

Fu’s son was schooled to respect and obey his father, trained to perfection in martial arts and designed as the ultimate warrior servant: the doctor’s devoted personal weapon against lifelong enemies Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and Doctor Petrie.

On reaching maturity, Shang – whose name means “the rising and advancing of a spirit” – was despatched to execute Petrie. However, after the obedient weapon completed his mission, he subsequently questions his entire life and the worldly benefit of killing an elderly, frail, already dying man. An emotional confrontation with Nayland Smith (who endured daily agonies from being maimed at the Devil Doctor’s command) further rattled the boy’s resolve and eventually Shang’s sublime education demanded he reassess everything his father had taught him…

After invading the villain’s New York citadel and crushing an army of freaks and monsters, Shang Chi faced his father and rejected all he stood for. The battle lines of an epic family struggle had been drawn. Banished from his cloistered childhood home and environs, the philosophically minded innocent adapted rapidly to the constant violence of the modern world. eventually accepting shelter with Nayland Smith in return for (espionage) services rendered…

Now, a turning point in his rising and advancement comes in MOKF #29 as Shang finds reason to abandon his pacifistic aspirations and get involved in western affairs after seeing firsthand the harm drugs cause, joining Nayland Smith’s team to cripple the drug trade. The unwelcome allies include veteran heavy Blackjack Tarr, and Petrie – not dead at Shang’s hand after all and subsequently rescued from his father’s clutches – working with British agent Clive Reston. He is, by his own account, a descendent of a famed “Consulting Detective” and a Double-0 operative “on Her Majesty’s Secret Service”)

The entire series was slowly morphing into a James Bond pastiche and with this mission to end effetely urbane drug dealer turned nuclear terrorist Carlton Velcro, illustrator Gulacy began a ballistic visual progression that would make him one of most watched and admired artists of the era as he referenced movie star and set pieces throughout the saga.

‘The Crystal Connection’ begins with Reston undercover at Velcro’s French coast fortress, playing heroin buyer Mr Blue until Shang & Tarr can infiltrate and secure the dope stocks. No one expected such massive defences; an army of killers led by deadly assassin Razor-Fist and a nuclear arsenal hidden below ‘A Gulf of Lions’ (#30, inked by Dan Adkins), with the pitched battle ranging far and wide as Razor Fist’s defeat leads to Shang clashing with whip-wielding panther woman Pavane before a truly explosive conclusion in ‘Snowbuster’…

‘Assault on an Angry Sea!’ was a hasty fill-in illustrated by Sal Buscema & Mike Esposito as Shang returns to London by ship and is drawn into the hunt for an undercover courier who is unaware that counteragents intend to intercept and end them. In this traditional mystery yarn, Chi finds too many suspects and can’t tell friend from foe from target, but triumphs nonetheless, before MOKF #33 resumes the Moench/Gulacy filmic fun-fest with ‘Wicked Messenger of Madness!’ This introduces seductive, conflicted agent Leiko Wu as both romantic interest and wedge between Shang Chi and his colleagues, and sees a robotic mannequin fail to assassinate Nayland Smith thanks to martial arts mastery but opens the door to a complex web of lies, double-dealing, insane artificial intelligences and a doomsday weapon.

The robot was a literal tool of missing agent Simon Bretnor, revealed far too late as narcissistic hired killer and would-be world conqueror Mordillo, who wants a space weapon using the ozone layer and sunlight to ravage sites on Earth. The plans for it are encoded in Wu’s brain, but by the time she realises her current boyfriend Bretnor is the bad guy, Leiko’s his prisoner on a manically murderous version of Fantasy Island…

As Shang & Reston race to the madly modified atoll-turned-playground-of-peril, Wu attempts to reason with the crazed Mordillo, but gets more sense from his Pinocchio-like AI robot sidekick Brynocki, who is trying to mediate a ‘Cyclone at the Center of a Madman’s Crown!’ She does, however, learn that her captor had a connection to Pavane and Velcro and now holds Chi responsible for a huge loss of face and fortune. Another spectacular conclusion comes when maniac and martial artist clash in the skies above the island as the villain briefly unleashes his stolen Solar Chute to rain destruction down on the island in ‘Death-Hand and the Sun of Mordillo’…

What feels like a reformatted leftover from the Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu era follows in #36 & 37 (January & February 1976, by Moench, Keith Pollard & Sal Trapani) with Shang entering a magical maze of mystery. He seeks to defend from ninjas and their leader Darkstrider a carnival of hapless freaks voluntarily living in ‘Cages of Myth, Menagerie of Mirrors!’ but is initially hard-pressed saving anyone from the villain who subtly weaves a ‘Web of Dark Death!’ Moench, Pollard, John Tartaglione & Duffy Vohland continue fantasy themes in Master of Kung Fu Annual #1 during a team-up with fellow transplanted warrior Iron Fist. Here Danny Rand and Shang are tricked into entering another dimension to invade ‘The Fortress of S’ahra Sharn!’ The culprit is trickster wizard Quan-St’ar, whose true goal is the destruction of immortal city K’un-Lun, but he makes one huge mistake…

At their creative peak Moench & Gulacy started an epic, ambitious, truly sophisticated and industry-changing run in MOKF #38 (March 1976). Here Shang Chi reluctantly accepts a rescue mission to extract an agent from Hong Kong, meeting lies, passion, disinformation and deadly love in ‘Cat’. Nayland Smith has again orchestrated events to satisfy his own agenda and saving Julia leads Chi into a ‘Fight Without Pity’ against an opponent who might well be his superior in combat ability… and also holds the moral high ground.

The landmark clash is simply prologue to an extended, character driven serial that opens at ‘The Murder Agency’ (#40 with Gulacy inking himself) as on-fire creators pioneer storytelling techniques later seen in Christopher Nolan’s Memento. A traitor in British Intelligence is murdering agents and the information Nayland Smith wanted from Julia should have given them vital advantage. However, as Shang again quits all “games of death and deceit” he, Tarr & Leiko Wu are attacked by (apparent) Chinese agents masquerading as “Oriental Expediters”.

After helping to defeat the attackers, Wu leaves on a similar extraction mission and suggests that the embattled operatives re-enlist disgraced former agent/current drunken sot James Larner. When they try, he’s got a new pal also boozing himself to death: lovelorn abandoned Clive Reston. That’s when another heavily-armed gang burst in guns blazing, laying down their lives simply to bait a trap the agents can’t afford to avoid…

With the spy saga solidly underway, everything suddenly screeched to a halt as a deadline crunch necessitated another fill-in moment, with Moench, Sal B & Esposito revealing a childhood moment in ‘Slain in Secrecy, and by Illusion!’ Here Shang recalls reluctant clashes with childhood companion M’nai – AKA Si Fan super-assassin Midnight – to prove Fu Manchu’s hallowed home harboured a thief and traitor…

Inked by Tom Sutton, the main event resumes in #42 in a welter of flashbacks, crosscuts and flash forwards as ‘The Clock of Shattered Time’ introduces a mechanically augmented, electrically-enhanced martial arts assassin who almost kills Chi. Shock-Wave has a strong but top-secret connection to Nayland Smith and nearly succeeds in blowing up the spy chief too…

As the MI5 mole and Shock-Wave set more bombs, MOKF #43 sees a changed and vengeful Shang win a rematch with the amplified assassin in ‘A Flash of Purple Sparks’. As Wu escorted her own living package across Europe with the Oriental Expediters chasing them all the way to an MI5 safehouse in Switzerland, Shang was waiting, but his triumph was short-lived as Leiko’s charge revealed who was behind all the deaths – and the Oriental Expediter organisation – and that, in London. another of his allies had fallen…

The drama kicked into overdrive with a long-anticipated event. Cover-dated September 1976, #44 heralded ‘The Return of Fu Manchu, Prelude: “Golden Daggers (A Death Run)”’ with the scattered British agents heading for home under a hail of gunfire and assorted ambushes. Crucially revealed now is how the Devil Doctor’s recalcitrant first-born Fah Lo Suee is at war with their father for control of his empire…

She originally debuted in third novel The Si-Fan Mysteries /The Hand of Fu-Manchu in 1917 (or fourth outing The Daughter of Fu-Manchu in 1931, depending on who you ask) and became a minor character here in Master of Kung Fu #26, but now steps into the full spotlight after Nayland Smith is finally downed… by his most trusted ally! On the back foot and losing, Fah Lo Suee seeks alliances and her brother’s aid in ‘Part One (Shang Chi): “The Death Seed!”’ while Fu Manchu is occupied with resurrecting his founding ancestor to be his new – loyal – son/enforcer.

In London, Larner saves Nayland Smith even as Reston, Shang & Wu reunite and rebuff the “daughter of the Devil”… and that’s when Clive makes a big mistake and is taken by Fah Lo Suee. Inked by Pablo Marcos, ‘Part Two (Clive Reston): “The Spider Spell!”’ splits attention between the British agent’s trial and eventual triumph and Fu resurrecting legendary warlord Shaka Kharn, before ‘Part Three (Leiko Wu): “Phantom Sand”’ details how she & Shang infiltrate a fantastic city at the north pole in advance of what’s left of the team joining them to destroy the citadel. Before that, though, the final clash between father and daughter again confirms the total mastery of the malevolent mandarin…

The true appalling scope of the Devil Doctor’s ambitions are exposed in ‘Part Four (Black Jack Tarr): “City in the Top of the World”’ as the schemer prepares to leave Earth and cull its population by 90%! Meanwhile Shang duels revived revenant Shaka Kharn, and battles his way aboard his sire’s space shuttle even as his companions destroy the base at the cost of another valiant soul in ‘Part Five (Sir Dennis Nayland Smith): “The Affair of the Agent Who Died!”’ The astounding saga – and Gulacy’s interior involvement – ends with #50 as the villain speaks for himself with his plans and perhaps his over-extended life ended for real in ‘Part Six (Fu Manchu): “The Dreamslayer!”’

Master of Kung Fu #51 saw Jim Craig join Moench & Marcos, taking over pencil duties for ‘Epilogue: “Brass and Blackness!” (A Death Move!!)’ infilling details of interments and getting back to Earth where our unhappy reluctant warrior again quits the spy world. The final tale here (#52, May 1977) is one more fill-in as Moench & Pollard reintroduce Groucho Marx knock-off Rufus T. Hackstabber who invites our baffled battler to ‘A Night at the 1001 Nights!’ in search of family (such as reprobate/WC Fields analogue Quigley J. Warmflash); riches and safety from mercenaries led by Si-Fan general Tiger-Claw.

Ernie Chan’s cover to MOKF #53 (which reprinted #20) leads into an bonus section including Gil Kane & Adkins’ covers to Savage Fists of Kung Fu tabloid collector’s edition; house ads: 10 pages of original art plus unused and modified covers. The published ones throughout were crafted by Kane, Adkins, Sal Buscema, Rich Buckler, Dave Cockrum, Marie Severin, Chan, Gulacy, John Romita Jr., Ron Wilson & Jack Abel, Al Milgrom, Esposito, Joe Sinnott, Frank Giacoia and Klaus Janson.

In recent years, Shang Chi’s backstory has been adapted and altered. His dad was understandably reinvented as Zheng Zu, Mr. Han, Chang Hu, Wang Yu-Seng and The Devil Doctor, so, depending on your attitude, you have the ultimate choice and sanction of not buying or reading this material. If you do – with eyes wide open and fully acknowledging that the past is another place that we can and should now consign to history – your comics appreciation faculties will see some amazing stories incredibly well illustrated: ranking amongst the most exciting, visually beguiling and enjoyable in Marvel’s canon.
© 2018 MARVEL.

Today in 1987 the final issue of British toddlers weekly Playhour was published, ending a 1700+ run that had commenced on 16th October 1954, whilst on this day back in 1982 cartoonist and master of minimalism Ernie Bushmiller (Mac the Manager, Fritzi Ritz, Nancy) died.

The day saw the birth of Golden Age Superman artist Ed Dobrotka in 1917; Indian cartoonist Pran Kumar Sharma (Billoo, Chacha Chaudhary) in 1938; realist action artist Paul Gulacy (Sabre: Slow Fade of an Endangered Species, Master of Kung Fu, Batman: Prey, Black Widow, Slash Maraud, Six From Sirius, Sci-Spy, James Bond 007) in 1953; writer/Conspiracy historian Lamar Waldron (Lightrunner, M.I.C.R.A.: Mind Controlled Remote Automaton) in 1954; artist Terry Shoemaker (X-Men, Spellbound, Legion of Super-Heroes) in 1960 and “Bad Grrrl” artist Jim Balent (Catwoman, Purgatori, Vampirella, Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose) in 1963. Also blowing out candles today are Iron Man, XO Manowar, Elektra & Wolverine artist Sean Chen and quite rude Norwegian cartoonist Frode Øverli (Pondus, Riskhospitalet, Rutetid, Deep Shit Junkies) – both in 1968, and artists David Nakayama (City of Heroes, Big Hero Six, Proximity) in 1978 and Clay Mann (Magneto: Not a Hero, X-Men: Legacy, XO Manowar, Gambit, Heroes in Crisis) in 1990.

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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.

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Namor, the Sub-Mariner Epic Collection volume 5: The Invasion of New York 1972-1974


By Bill Everett, Steve Gerber, Mike Friedrich, Marv Wolfman, Howard Chaykin, Steve Skeates, Bill Mantlo, Dan Adkins, Alan Weiss, Sam Kweskin, Don Heck, George Tuska, Win Mortimer, John Tartaglione, Jim Mooney, Frank Giacoia, John Sinnott, Syd Shores, Don Perlin, Frank Chiaramonte, Frank Bolle, Vince Colletta, John Romita Sr., Gil Kane, Marie Severin, Franc Reyes & various (MARVEL)
ISBN: (TPB/Digital edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

In his most primal incarnation (other origins are available but may differ due to timeslips, circumstance and screen dimensions) Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner is the proud, noble and usually upset offspring of the union of a water-breathing Atlantean princess and an American polar explorer. That doomed romance resulted in a hybrid being of immense strength and extreme resistance to physical harm, able to fly and thrive above and below the waves. Over decades, a wealth of creators added to the fishy tale and today’s Namor is hailed as Marvel’s First Mutant as well as the original “bad boy Good Guy”. He was created by young, talented Bill Everett, for non-starter cinema premium Motion Picture Weekly Funnies: #1 (October 1939) so – technically – Namor predates Marvel, Atlas and Timely Comics.

The Marine Miracleman first caught the public’s avid attention as part of an elementally appealing fire vs. water headlining team-up in the October 1939 Marvel Comics #1 (which renamed itself Marvel Mystery Comics from #2 onwards). The amphibian antihero shared honours and top billing with The Human Torch, having debuted (albeit in a truncated, monochrome version) in the aforementioned promotional booklet designed to be handed out to moviegoers earlier in the year. Our late-starter antihero rapidly emerged as one of the industry’s biggest draws, winning his own title at the end of 1940 (cover-dated Spring 1941).

His appeal was baffling but solid and he was one of the last super-characters to vanish at the end of the first heroic age.

In 1954, when Atlas (as the company then was) briefly revived its “Big Three” line-up – the Torch and Captain America being the other two – Everett returned for an extended run of sublimely dark, mordantly moody, creepily contemporary fantasy fables. Even so, his input wasn’t sufficient to keep the title afloat and eventually Sub-Mariner sank again. In 1961, as Stan Lee & Jack Kirby were reinventing superheroes with their Fantastic Four, they revived and reimagined the awesome, all-but-forgotten aquanaut as a troubled, angry semi-amnesiac. Decidedly more bombastic, regal and grandiose, this returnee despised humanity: embittered and broken by the loss of his subsea kingdom, which had been (seemingly) destroyed by American atomic testing. His urge for rightful revenge was infinitely complicated after he became utterly besotted with the FF’s Susan Storm…

Namor knocked around the budding Marvel universe for years, squabbling with star turns such as The Hulk, Avengers, X-Men and Daredevil before securing his own series as one half of Tales to Astonish. From there he graduated in 1968 to his own solo title again.

Cumulatively spanning cover-dates June 1972 to September 1974, this subsea selection trawls Sub-Mariner #50-72, signalling the end of another era and rising dominance of genre fare in the superhero-saturated market of that period. Also dredged up and tipped in is a tentative attempt to revive his solo star status as seen in Marvel Spotlight #27 (April 1976) just as horror-heroes began to wither away in the light of shiny space operas and resurgent superheroes as we all unwittingly bided our time until the advent of Star Wars unleashed a wave of Science Fiction sagas. Here, however, we see the triumphant glorious last hurrahs of originator Everett in salty sagas and dry land dramas…

Previously, Namor had endured months of escalating horror as old enemies including Prince Byrrah, Warlord Krang, Attuma, Dr. Dorcas and sinister shapeshifter Llyra perpetually assaulted his sunken kingdom. They were soundly defeated, but these constant clashes led to the murder of Namor’s bride-to-be Lady Dorma. He had been betrayed by his most trusted ally and, heartsick, angry and despondent, abdicated the throne, choosing to pursue the human half of his hybrid heritage as a surface dweller. The decision was fraught with more potential grief, leading to battles with surface world authorities; deranged psionic hermit Stephan Tuval and mind-tyrant Turalla; monster-maker Aunt Serr, M.O.D.O.K. and AIM. Namor seldom fought alone and initial clashes with old friends like Diane Arliss and Walt Newell (part-time undersea Avenger Stingray), Spider-Man, Daredevil and Human Torch Johnny Storm ultimately resulted in refreshed alliances, culminating in a poignant but brief reunion with his long-lost father Leonard McKenzie, a man Namor had for his entire life believed killed by Atlanteans in 1920.

When that tragic hostage to fortune was murdered by post-human horror Tiger Shark & Llyra, twice-orphaned, traumatised Namor lost his memory again, and was exploited as cannon fodder by Doctor Doom before eventually breaking free to retrench in bitter confusion and ponder his future…

Thus , a fresh start begins in #50 as Everett resurfaces to ask ‘Who Am I?’, with the bewildered amphibian reeling in confusion at the beach until his heroic instincts kick in and he saves a drowning teenager from seaweed and pollution. His actions are completely misunderstood and she savagely attacks him, before swimming off right out to sea…

Lesson learned, Namor concentrates on his own woes and sets off for Antarctica, eventually fetching up in the Ross Sea to explore the crumbling remains of the original Atlantis. His reveries are shattered when he is attacked by mutant crab creatures guarding the tomb of his beloved long-lost cousin and WWII partner in crimefighting Namora…

Confronting sinister leader Salamar the Sustainer, Namor discover a bizarre scheme to exploit the vast oil reserves under the ocean floor, and learns old foes are shaping events: treacherous cousin Byrrah and seemingly unkillable Llyra. He also meets again that abrasive teenager and discovers she is Namora’s wayward daughter…

As all hell breaks loose, former prince and newfound cousin Namorita make a break for it in a hail of blaster fire as ‘Armageddon… at Fifty Fathoms Full!’ (scripted by Mike Friedrich) exposes a scaly hidden hand behind the carnage. Byrrah is allied with the alien Brotherhood of Baddoon, who want the (radioactive!) oil reserves, albeit not for the reasons they share with the usurper. Ultimately, the aliens, Byrrah, and Salamar’s savage crab people can’t agree and the seagoing cousins are participants in a shattering showdown that results in environmental catastrophe…

Seeking to confirm Namorita’s account of how Namora died whilst dumping her with his old girlfriend Betty Dean Prentiss, Sub-Mariner cruises into a clash with ultra-nationalist Japanese mutant and future X-Man Sunfire as ‘The Atomic Samurai!’ – ever receptive to deranged patriotic ranting – falls under the sway of war criminal demagogue Dragon-Lord, last of the samurai. He plans to unleash his new Nipponese army and deadly defoliants upon America, a tactic that might destroy the oceans…

After a spectacular new incidence of the classic Golden Age “Fire vs Water” duel, Everett took full creative control for follow-up ‘…And the Rising Sun Shall Fall!’ wherein Sunfire sees sense and switches sides to save the seas, leading to all-out war in concluding half-chapter ‘Now Comes… the Decision!’,: a brief battle that leaves room in #54 for a “Mighty Marvel Mini Classic!” with Friedrich & Alan Weiss detailing how ‘Namor the First, Prince of Atlantis battles The Mer-Mutants’: a light but lovely puff piece involving a mermaid acting as a subsea honey trap for her hungry kin…

NtSM #55 sees Namor at last wave goodbye to “Nita” & Betty before revisiting Antarctica and enduring an unexpected and brutal encounter with scavenging wrecker ‘The Abominable Snow-King!’ The literally monstrous Torg’s ambition is to pit enslaved sea life against humanity but sinks once the Sub-Mariner gets involved, after which Friedrich & veteran illustrator Dan Adkins steer the abdicated Prince back to his forsaken kingdom in ‘Atlantis, Mon Amour!’ Sadly, he’s too late to stop his former subjects making a tragic fear-fuelled mistake that results in atrocity and genocide after aquatic alien refugee beg for aid…

When Everett returned he opened the doors to Marvel’s Atlas era-past with a tempestuous yarn that would eventually affect the entire continuity. ‘…In the Lap of the Gods’ reintroduced 1950s sensation Venus, whose impact would ripple out across the MU and ultimately reveal her hidden history as part of the Agents of Atlas sub-franchise.

It begins in a shattering storm as Namor rescues a lovely mystery woman stranded on a rock and stumbles into a long-running grudge match between the Hellenic gods of Love and War. A contemporary tale of dissent and unrest, the story reunites him with Namorita, who, in his absence, has become a college student and activist. Moreover, her favourite lecturer – Humanities Professor Victoria N. Starr – also has a concealed alter ego and lethal stalker: malign divinity and former pantheon mate Ares…

Having held at bay one angry god, Namor returns to Atlantis, resolved to restore the undersea nation to forefront of civilisation but his program of changes is stalled when ‘Hands Across the Waters, Hands Across the Skies…’ (Everett supervising, steering and inking dialoguer Steve Gerber & layout artist Sam Kweskin) uncovers a survivor and witness to the recent massacre of alien ambassadors by Atlanteans. Tamara of the Sisterhood claims to offer forgiveness and seek understanding, but many of the perpetrators would rather there were no testimony or recriminations to deal with. Most tellingly, the superstrong survivor and her pet monster have their own plans and soon the prince is sucked into more pointless battle…

With John Tartaglione inking Everett’s plot, Gerber & Kweskin forecast ‘Thunder Over the Seas!’, a tale of tragic miscomprehension as Namor again clashes with the surface world. As the Sub-Mariner’s new advisor, Tamara is targeted by Atlantean scout Lorvex – who is driven wild by her exotic beauty and rarity. Obsessively stalking and assaulting her, Lorvex drives her into Russian trawler nets where the rubicund refugee becomes a prized possession after the vessel and its contents are impounded by the US Coast Guard. Now Tamara is a cause célèbre and topic of heated debate at the United Nations…

Having dealt with Lorvex, Namor seeks out his new friend, and crashes into chaos as the war of words over the alien mermaid triggers the usual bellicose response amongst humans. By the time surface-dwelling Namorita summons her cousin to rescue Tamara, founding Avenger Thor has stepped in to keep the peace. Sadly it’s too late to stop ‘The Invasion of New York!’ (Everett, Gerber, Kweskin & Jim Mooney), with Lorvex exploiting the campaign to regain position and secretly abduct Tamara from UN custody. Enraged and resigned, Sub-Mariner acts decisively and violently to end the crisis, and accepts at last the fate he has been really fighting, finally accepting once more the throne and responsibilities of ruling Atlantis.

It was an open secret that Everett was dying at this time, but his Marvel friends and employers allowed him to work on until he couldn’t. Thus Sub-Mariner #61’s The Prince and the Pirate!’ – credited to Gerber, Everett, Win Mortimer & Mooney – opens with the old master pictorially revealing revelry in the subsea kingdom as Namor’s coronation ends before a new storyline starts on page 4 as Namorita and human guardian Betty Prentiss are abducted along with an entire passenger plane. The voyagers are victims of deranged geneticist Dr. Hydro who mutates them all (bar already amphibian Nita) into human-merman hybrids to populate his army of environmental conquest. When Namor tracks the ongoing abductions and invades mobile island Hydrobase to save his cousin, he is soundly defeated by the maniac’s super science. Moreover, the failed assault inspires Hydro to invade Atlantis and make it his new stronghold from which to convert the rest of humanity…

The drama plays out in #62 as Gerber, Sam Kweskin & Frank Giacoia explore ‘A Realm Besieged!’ before Tamara in Atlantis and Nita on Hydrobase thwart Hydro’s schemes; leaving the Sub-Mariner to ponder what to do with the hundreds of innocent, unwilling scaly amphibian freaks that neither Atlanteans or surface-dwellers want anything to do with…

Steve Gerber was a uniquely gifted writer who combined a deep love of Marvel’s continuity minutiae with dark irrepressible wit, incisive introspection, barbed socio-cultural criticism, a barely reined-in imagination and boundless bizarrely wilful surrealism. His stories were always at the extreme edge of the company’s intellectual canon and never failed to deliver surprise and satisfaction, especially when he couched his sardonic sorties in thinly veiled attacks on burgeoning cultural homogenisation and commercial barbarity.

With critical success Man-Thing he was holding up a mirror to many cordoned-off and taboo subjects and weaving history from scattered snippets of Marvel’s continuity. With his final stint on Sub-Mariner, Gerber expanded that universe exponentially, building by exploring pre-cataclysm history, aided by Howard Chaykin in back-up series ‘Tales of Atlantis!’ Here the first chapter – inked by Joe Sinnott – sees antediluvian, human-built Atlantis losing its war with rival superpower Lemuria and Emperor Kamuu and his bride Zartra prepare for the bloody end…

Over Everett’s posthumous plot, Gerber, Kweskin & Syd Shores produce #63 as ‘…And the Seas Shall Explode!’ sees seemingly dead Dr Hydro return to destroy the Atlanteans by triggering a volcano under their city and compelling Namor to take no chances and offer no mercy to save his subjects once and for all, Tales of Atlantis resumes as Gerber, Chaykin & Sinnott reveal how the fate of the first Atlantis is sealed by ‘Cataclysm!’ As hand-to-hand combat peaks, the city sinks beneath the seas, but its heritage is saved, carried away by missionary sorceress Zered-Na and her devout disciples; for which you need to scope out Gerber’s other contemporaneous assignments: Son of Satan in Marvel Spotlight and Man-Thing in Adventures into Fear. We’ve covered them elsewhere so feel free to scroll away in the search engines…

Here, though, and wading off at a weird tangent, Gerber, Don Heck & Don Perlin play with satire and pop culture in #64’s ‘Voyage into Chaos!’ When intolerant Atlanteans intern the aimless, despondent amphibian victims of Dr. Hydro, furious, ashamed Namor responds with a fit of fury, just as cool heads are needed to assess another astounding incursion. Soon, a quartet of strange visitors from magical dimension Zephyrland – Ariel the Musician, Ibbar the Scolar, Kabal the Wizard & Zargus the Warrior – are petitioning the Sub-Mariner to hop in their Golden Submarine and help them liberate their enslaved homeland from bestial, tone-deaf horror Virago the She-Beast. Willing and even eager to go for many reasons Namor joins them but is ambushed and defeated as soon as arrives in the land of golden meanies…

Third Tales of Atlantis episode ‘In the Wake of the Warriors!’ reveals how, five millennia later, nomadic clans of water-breathing Homo Mermanus settle in the ruins of the sunken city-continent and clash constantly, thanks to the enmity of sworn enemies Widow-Queen Elanna and King Stegor. They cannot see waves of destiny pushing their battle-hardened children towards an incredible coalition. Successive instalments ‘The Lurker in the Ruins!’ (Gerber, Mooney & Frank Chiaramonte in #65 and concluding chapter ‘The Sword in the Throne!’ inked by Sinnott in #66) ended the series abruptly as those children – destiny- touched Kamuu and Elanna’s daughter Zartra – after meeting ghosts and battling demons, unite the tribes to create the dynasty of sunken Atlantis that will lead millennia later to the coming later of Namor…

Back in the now, the series was struggling, sparking a rapid radical rebrand as Prince Namor, the Savage Sub-Mariner and #65 offering ‘The Cry of the She-Beast!’ as Gerber, Heck & Perlin detail how Virago crushes resistance at home, physically humiliates Namor and launches an attack across dimensions upon Atlantis. Her departure sparks a successful but so-costly revolution in Zephyrland and (with valiant Namor clinging to her hurtling Golden Submarine) provokes a shocking resurrection after splashing down on Earth in #66. ‘Rise, Thou Killer Whale’ (Gerber, Heck & Perlin) sees Virago driven away from Atlantis at great cost, only to stumble upon the tomb of defeated – but apparently only dormant – Orka the (humanoid) Killer Whale – who unites with a clearly kindred spirit to devastate the sunken city with an armada of crazed cetaceans…

The catastrophic clash leads to the Sub-Mariner again falling, but this time amidst toxic nerve gas dumped by surface dwellers. The chemical poisons alter his body chemistry, making it impossible to breathe air or maintain body moisture. Moreover, as the cloud of death expands currents wash it over Atlantis, plunging all within the perimeter – Virago and Orka included – into comas in landmark tale ‘Seawinds of Change!’ (Gerber, Heck & Frank Bolle).

Thankfully, whilst dying Namor heads for the surface to be found by old ally Triton of The Inhumans, who brings Namor to former foes the Fantastic Four. Smartest Man Alive Reed Richards swiftly diagnoses and rapidly constructs a bodysuit to provide constant artificial respiration – over Namor’s churlish and violent protests – and he heads home to finish his fight. Sadly, what he finds in #68 (January 1974, Mooney inks) leaves him ‘On the Brink of Madness!’ Only Tamara, Nita and Hydro’s amphibians escaped the nerve agent’s effects and now must calm down the bereft monarch. To stabilise the crisis, they relocate to vacant Hydrobase and direct Namor to a human scientist whose forcefield researches might provide a means to protect dormant Atlanteans from predators and further harm.

After seeking spiritual guidance from patron god Father Neptune, Namor sets off, but when the king without a kingdom seeks out Dr Damon Walthers, he discovers the genius’ works stolen by his assistant. Shot from the sky by neophyte supervillain Force, their initial clash is inconclusive but does draw the attention of passing student Peter Parker…

Meanwhile in Zephyrland, the war goes badly and the survivors consider calling in Sorcerer Supreme Stephen Strange…

George Tuska & Vince Colletta illustrate Prince Namor, the Savage Sub-Mariner #69 as Gerber rapidly wraps up his hanging plot threads in anticipation of a sudden cancellation. ‘Two Worlds …and Dark Destiny!’ sees Dr Strange offer aid, a pointless battle between spider hero and fishman and a final encounter with Force that leaves Namor victorious, in control of Walthers’ forcefield tech and Atlantis safely stored “under glass” until a cure can be found – an inauspicious but satisfactory stopping point. Confoundingly the series still had three issues to run with Marv Wolfman, Tuska & Colletta depicting ‘Namor Unchained!’ in #70 whilst adding further safeguards to sleeping Atlantis, until targeted by now-independent mutated fishmen grown by Dr. Dorcas under the guidance of an ambitious aquatic atrocity. The brutal duel delivers more deaths and butchery as #71 clamours ‘Comes the Pirahna!’ and the series finally sank with #72 (dated September 1974 and on sale from 18th June) as Steve Skeates, Dan Adkins & Colletta catered an alien encounter as Namor faced obnoxious humans and a lost interstellar shapeshifter in ‘From the Void It Came…’

The antihero resurfaced in Giant-Sized Super-Villain Team-Up #1 (cover-dated March 1975), revived as one half of a tag-team with fellow misunderstood autocrat Doctor Doom whilst seeking a cure for his people and his own condition. That sustained momentum led to the last tale here, a solo exploit taken from Marvel Spotlight #27 (April 1976) as Bill Mantlo & Mooney revealed ‘Death is the Symbionic Man!’ Incorporating Prime Earth’s military industrial villain Captain Simon Stryker (of alternate Earth epic Deathlok the Demolisher) the pacy yarn saw Sub-Mariner hunted for potential spare parts and powers by the messianic maniac and battling Stryker’s most deadly killer-cyborg yet…

Bonus material includes covers by Everett, John Romita, Rich Buckler, Sal Buscema, Al Weiss, Jim Starlin, Larry Lieber, Joe Sinnott, Gil Kane, Frank Giacoia, Mike Esposito, Vince Colletta, & Al Milgrom, supplemented with original art pages and personal commissions by “Wild Bill”. Also on view are House ads; the editorial page from #67 wherein Gerber explained the costume change plus Romita’s original designs for the new outfit. Special treats comprise Everett’s unused cover watercolour rough for Marvel Comics (1939) #2; the Everett cover and Franc Reyes frontispiece of Marvel Index #7b (1978); a stellar Venus pinup from Marvel Spotlight #2 (1972) and – following the announcement of Everett’s death – a visual memorial from editor and friend Thomas, limned by Marie Severin & Giacoia as it appeared in Sub-Mariner #65 (September 1973).

In comics, the best thing about “the Mighty falling” is that so often another time throws up fresh ideas and creators who will regenerate faded concepts. It a cycle as timeless and relentlessly repeating as the tides. The venerable Sub-Mariner always comes back stronger and more appetising, and you owe it to yourself to be ready for the next wave by getting to know these classics. Many early Marvel Comics are more exuberant than qualitative, but this volume, especially from an story-lover’s point of view, is a wonderful exception: historical treasures with narrative bite and indescribable style and panache that fans will delight in forever.
© 2025 MARVEL.

Today in 1923 French creator Jean Graton (Michel Vaillant) was born, sharing natal celebrations with comics genius Eddie Campbell (Alec, Bacchus, From Hell) in 1955 and colourist Christie Scheele in 1957.

Losses include cartoonist Virgil Partch in 1984; Belgian writer Henri Gillain (Il y a un sorcier à Champignac, Le Trésor d’Alaric, Nègre Blanc) in 1999; Mad mainstay Jerry DeFucchio in 2001 and Filipino artist Mar Amongo (DC anthologies, Noli Me Tangere, The Tiger’s Fang, Talons of Time) in 2005.

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Green Lantern John Stewart: A Celebration of 50 Years


By Neal Adams, Dennis O’Neil, Len Wein, Steve Englehart, Christopher Priest, Jim Starlin, Ron Marz, Judd Winick, Geoff Johns, Tony Bedard, Peter J. Tomasi, Van Jensen, Robert Venditti, Stuart Moore, Derek Fridolfs & Dustin Nguyen, Dave Gibbons, Joe Staton, Gil Kane, Mike Mignola, Darryl Banks, Dale Eaglesham, Ed Benes & Maros Marz, Tyler Kirkham, Fernando Pasarin, Igor Lima, Rodney Buchemi & Geraldo Borges, Pat Broderick, Doug Mahnke, John Delaney, Eric Nguyen & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-7795-1125-6 (HB/Digital edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

Now a cornerstone underpinning the entire DC Universe, the many heroes called Green Lantern have waxed and waned over eight decades and are now much more Concept than Character. This stunning compilation – part of a dedicated series introducing and exploiting the comics pedigree of veteran DC icons – offers a brief but astoundingly enticing sequence of snapshots detailing how one particular Emerald Gladiator broke many boundaries whilst battling evil and injustice for the entertainment of millions across many generations.

This book features material from Action Comics #601; Batman Beyond Unlimited #4-5; Cosmic Odyssey #2, Green Lantern (volume 2) #87, 182, 185; Green Lantern (vol. 3) #74, 156; Green Lantern (vol. 4) #49; Green Lantern Corps #211; Green Lantern Corps (vol. 2) #60,; Green Lantern Corps (vol. 3) #9; Green Lantern: Futures End #1; Justice League #1 (vol. 4) #6, 40; Justice League Adventures #22; Justice League of America #110 and Secret Origins (vol. 4) #9. These span cover-dates January 1971 to April 2020, with the groundbreaking appearances are preceded by brief critical analysis of the significant stages in his development. The emerald exploits begin with Part I: 1971-1985 – A Sign of the Times and a revelatory essay by legendary activist/comics iconoclast Neal Adams who shares the secret origin of the first Green Lantern of colour, before we enjoy that seminal classic…

Originally created by Martin Nodell & Bill Finger, the first Emerald Avenger – Alan Scott – debuted in All-American Comics #16 (July 1940), just as superheroes started to take hold, and supplanting newspaper strip reprints and stock genre characters in still primarily-anthologised comic books. He was a white guy with a magic ring and an icon of his era.

After superheroes vanished and returned in the early 1950s, another GL was created: once again a symbol of his era. After the hugely successful revival and reworking of The Flash, DC/National Periodicals were keen to build on the resurgent superhero trend. Showcase #22 hit the stands at the same time as the fourth issue of the new Flash comic book (#108) and once again the guiding lights were editor Julie Schwartz and writer John Broome. Assigned as illustrator was action ace Gil Kane, inked by Joe Giella.

A vivid Space Age origin revealed how young test pilot Hal Jordan was plucked from his Californian aircraft factory by an alien policeman who had crashed his spaceship on Earth. Mortally wounded, Abin Sur commanded his power ring – a device to materialise thoughts – to seek out a replacement officer who was honest and without fear. Scanning the planet, it selected Jordan and brought him to the crash-site. The dying alien bequeathed his ring, lantern-shaped Battery of Power and his professional vocation to the astonished Earthman.

In six pages ‘S.O.S Green Lantern’ established characters, scenario and narrative thrust of a series that became the spine of DC continuity, leaving room for another two adventures in that premiere issue. Unlike the debut of The Flash, the editors were now confident of their ground. Two more Showcase issues carried even greater exploits, and six months later Green Lantern #1 was released.

For the new iteration, emerald ring-wielders were a members of a universal police force and Jordan’s “beat” – which included planet Earth – was Space Sector 2814. Having introduced the cosmic peacekeepers, Broome, Gardner Fox and others carefully expanded the concept throughout the 1960s, adding alien – and even female(!) GLs – as well as alternate human Lanterns like Charlie Vicker and Guy Gardner. They even brought back the original as Alan Scott (now designated Green Lantern of alternate world Earth-Two) became a semi regular cast member…

Over many traumatic years, Jordan emerged as one of the greatest members of a serried band of law-enforcers. For billions of years, the Green Lantern Corps protected and served the cosmos, policing countless sentient beings under the severe but benevolent auspices of immortal superbeings who deemed themselves Guardians of the Universe. These undying patrons and enforcers of Order were one of the first sentient species to evolve and dwelt in sublime, emotionless security and tranquillity at the very centre of creation on the small world of Oa. Primarily chosen for a capacity to overcome fear, Green Lanterns are equipped with a ring that forms solid constructs from emerald light. The miracle weapon is fuelled by the strength of the user’s willpower, making it one of the mightiest tools imaginable. For eons, a single individual from each of 3600 sectors of known space was selected to patrol their, his, her, or its own beat. Cautious, meticulous supervisors, Guardians laid contingency plans and frequently appointed designated reserve officers to inherit the office of their peacekeeping representatives.

Jordan’s originally assigned substitute was quiet, steadfast PE teacher Gardner, but when the other white Guy was critically injured and required long-term recuperation, the Oans’ fallback option was somewhat worrying to staid, by-the-book Hal. In GL #87 (cover-dated December 1971/January 1972 and crafted by Adams, his scripter of choice Denny O’Neil & inker Dick Giordano), ‘Beware My Power!’ introduced a bold new character to the DCU, conceived at a time when non-Caucasian heroes could be counted on the fingers of one hand…

The time was more than ripe for change. With superhero titles in decline, O’Neil & Adams had been asked to try something different to save the title and responded by assaulting all the traditional monoliths of contemporary costumed dramas with tightly targeted, protest-driven stories. The series was re-titled Green Lantern/Green Arrow with the loudly Liberal avenging Archer constantly mouthing off as a hot-headed sounding-board and platform for a generation-in-crisis, whilst staid, conservative, quasi-reactionary Hal Jordan played the part of the oblivious but well-meaning old guard. America had become a bubbling cauldron of social turmoil and experimentation. Everything was challenged and with issue #76 (April 1970 and the first issue of the new decade), O’Neil and comics iconoclast Adams utterly redefined superhero strips with relevancy-driven stories; transforming complacent establishment boy scouts into uncertain, questioning champions and strident explorers of the revolution.

Racial disparity had been the crux of the creators’ first outing. ‘No Evil Shall Escape My Sight!’ (not included here) broke the mould of the medium, utterly re-positioning the very concept of a costumed crusader as newly-minted ardent rebel/social justice warrior Oliver Queen challenged Jordan’s cosy worldview after the lofty space-cop painfully discovered real villains wear business suits, operate expense accounts, hurt people just because of skin colour and will happily poison their own nests for short-term gain…

Here, from GL/GA #87, that tone and strident attitude manifested as unemployed architect and full-time “radical” activist John Stewart “made the scene”. This angry black man was spoiling for a fight and would to take guff from no-one, making Jordan certain his bosses had grievously erred when selecting the rash, impetuous Stewart as Sector 2814’s official GL stand-in. However, after seeing how his proposed pinch-hitter handled a white supremacist US presidential candidate trying to ride into the Oval Office by fomenting race war, he was happy to change his tune…

Once established, Stewart was almost immediately forgotten. His next appearance came in Justice League of America #110 (March 1974) where Len Wein, Dick Dillin & Giordano delivered a delightful and potent seasonal present as Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, Black Canary and Red Tornado had to adapt to the abrasive substitute mid-mission, when the team gathered to hunt down ‘The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus!’ Murderous psychopath The Key had set up the heroes for ambush 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 almost forgotten Leaguer The Phantom Stranger, after which rebellious Stewart “finessed” his bosses’ cosmic rules and protocols to give destitute and impoverished ghetto dwellers a Christmas present that changed their lives forever…

Time passed and Stewart popped up occasionally as the Guardians’ motives and ineffability were increasingly called into question by many of their once-devoted operatives. Frequently, the grunts began seeing their formerly infallible little blue gods exposed as venal, ruthless, doctrinaire and even capricious. As his repute grew, headstrong Hal Jordan enjoyed an extremely tempestuous and fractious relationship with the Guardians, which eventually led to them accusing him of neglecting his space sector to concentrate on Earth’s problems and criminals. When he couldn’t reconcile his love for Carol Ferris with his offworld duty to the Corps, Jordan quit.

In Green Lantern #182 (November 1984), Wein, Dave Gibbons & Mark Farmer confirmed a landmark reshaping of the legend as ‘It’s a Dirty Job, But…!’ saw now merely mortal Jordan second-guessing his decision as he revisits Abin Sur’s remote resting place. Meanwhile, across the universe, the Guardians have moved swiftly, promoting Stewart to the full-time position in Space Sector 2814. At this time, the architect was working on rebuilding the shattered Ferris Aircraft complex and had no idea Jordan was the alter ego of his abruptly “retired” predecessor, nor that his predecessor’s old enemy Major Disaster was back and looking for a fight…

In Green Lantern #185, Wein & Gibbons took another brave step as ‘In Blackest Day…!’ found 2814’s newest ringslinger fully acclimated to his responsibilities. Overnight celebrity/media sensation Stewart is courted by TV reporter Tawny Young but only earns her enmity after refusing to divulge the circumstances of his origin and promotion. Meanwhile, in the wings evil energy entity Eclipso lays his own plans…

At that time, many fans and critics felt the substitution of Jordan with Stewart was little more than a PC stunt, but time and the quality of the stories proved the decision to be brilliant one. It certainly offered a cruelly underserved portion of the readership another solid role model but as time progressed and the different personalities and approaches coalesced, the move led to an expansion and re-evaluation the nature of being a DC hero…

Part II: 1987-1996 – More Than Just the Back-up Guy opens with John (12 Years a Slave; The Other History of the DC Universe; Future State: The Next Batman) Ridley’s discussion of Stewart’s evolution from experiment in “measured progressiveness” to uniquely individualist major character prior to another tantalising of tranche revolutionary tales.

In the mid-1980s, DC’s editorial hierarchy felt their vast 50-year continuity was deterring new readers. The solution was a colossal braided-mega series to streamline, redefine and even add new characters to the mix. The worlds-shattering, reality-altering Crisis on Infinite Earths resulted in such spectacular commercial success, those movers-&-shakers must have felt more than justified in revamping a number of their hoariest icons for their next fifty years of publishing. As well as Superman, Flash, Wonder Woman and Justice League of America, Green Lantern was earmarked for a radical revision, with the Guardians removed from existence and most of their surviving agents setting up a far smaller shop on Earth. Stuart, Jordan & Gardner were joined by a number of alien GLs, and John found unlikely romance with his former training officer Katma Tui of Korugar in Steve Englehart, Joe Staton & Farmer’s ‘Pink Elephants’ (Green Lantern Corps #211, April 1987). However, doom lurked in the wings in the form of Hector Hammond and Star Sapphire Carol Ferris…

Signature DC title Action Comics became a weekly anthology in May 1988, with the GL’s a key feature. Pulling no punches, first chapter ‘…And the Pain Shall Leave My Heart’ (#601, by Christopher Priest as James Owsley & Gil Kane) opened years of heartache for Stewart as Star Sapphire murdered his beloved…

Thanks to Jim Starlin, Mike Mignola & Carlos Garzon, the Emerald Gladiator’s troubles peaked as the year ended. Cosmic Odyssey was a stellar melodrama teaming Superman, Batman, Doctor Fate, a cadre of alien superheroes and many of Jack Kirby’s greatest DC creations in an interplanetary slugfest to save the Milky Way galaxy from malevolent and predatory sentient concept The Anti-Life Equation. Here from Book Two of the 4-part miniseries, unfolding events reveal how Green Lantern Stewart’s arrogance and unwarranted overconfidence causes the obliteration of inhabited world and rising civilisation Xanshi…

Years later, after the GL Corps was utterly destroyed by Hal Jordan as Parallax, only one hero remained. Youthful Kyle Rayner wielded the last power ring to keep the green flame burning until the peacekeeper force could rebuild. During that interim, Stewart joined rival paramilitary organisation The Darkstars, and in Ron Marz, Darryl Banks & Romeo Tanghal’s ‘Stand’ (Green Lantern vol. 3, #74, June 1996) unites with Rayner, Donna Troy/Troia and space veteran Adam Strange to save planet Rann from annihilation by Grayven, son of Darkseid…

Screenwriter/comics author Geoff Johns (JSA, The Flash, Superman, Green Lantern, Stargirl) then discusses Stewart’s modern major league status in Part III: 2003-2020 – The Identifiable Hero, which begins here in the aftermath of many changes to the history of DC’s first black superhero.

Courtesy of Judd Winick, Dale Eaglesham & Rodney Ramos, Green Lantern volume 3 #156 (January 2003), Stewart is again ‘Walking Tall’: a restored, reactivated ring-wielder freshly healed from wheelchair-bound paraplegia thanks to arch enemy and understandably aggrieved Xanshi survivor Fatality. Sadder, wiser and resolute, he’s ready to resume the duties he was born for. Ongoing continuity revisions had remade him as a former elite soldier, and ‘Semper Fi’ (Green Lantern #49, February 2003 by Johns, Ed Benes, Marcos Marz & Luciana del Negro) samples epic event Blackest Night as combat flashbacks and fallen Lantern buddies seek to wear Stewart down, after which an increasing breakdown of trust between the Guardians and their agents leads to all-out rebellion as seven different shades of the emotional power spectrum clash.

With Rayner empowered by blue hues of Hope and Stewart employing indigo shades of Compassion against reborn rogue Oan Krona, the odd couple embark on a suicide mission to assassinate a beloved emerald comrade suborned to ultimate evil in ‘War of the Green Lanterns, Part Eight’ (Green Lantern Corps #60 July 2011, by Tony Bedard, Tyler Kirkham & Matt Banning). Months later DC rebooted its entire line for a second time in high profile stunt “The New 52”. The mostly cosmetic changes barely affected the assorted GL boutique titles, which had been merrily dismantling and rebuilding the Master & Servant relationship between ring-wielders and their obsessively controlling bosses. With civil war rending the organisation, ‘Alpha War: Tried and True’ (Peter J. Tomasi, Fernando Pasarin & Scott Hanna, GLC #9 July 2012) saw rapidly ascendant figurehead Stewart railroaded and held for judgement by the Guardians’ new secret police, before scoring ultimate victory by embracing his sins and accepting his guilt…

In 2014, as the New 52 staggered to its conclusion, a company-wide event offered speculative glimpses at the eventual demise of its heroes. Green Lantern Corps: Futures End #1 (Van Jensen, Igor Lima, Rodney Buchemi, Geraldo Borges & Ruy José) detailed how, five years from “now” Stewart goes rogue: ruthlessly enforcing a Green Peace as ‘The Death Dealer’. He has no inkling of how one last sanction will change him…

Secret Origins #9, March 2015, by Jensen & Pat Broderick related his latest modified backstory in ‘The Architect’, after which Robert Venditti, Doug Mahnke & Richard Friend bring us relatively up to date with Justice League #40 (April 2020) and ‘Invasion of the Supermen Part One: Impact!’ with Stewart taking point for his earthly teammates when The Eradicator leads an army of Daxamites (each mightier than Superman) in a war of ruthless conquest…

This celebration concludes with a personal memoir from celebrated actor Phil LaMarr who played Stewart in TV shows Justice League & Justice League Unlimited: discussing the hero’s out-world impact in Part IV: The Animated Years – Voicing an Icon. It’s supported by tales from assorted DC comics based on animated shows adapted from the original DC comics – Whoa! Infinity moment! – and opens with ‘Second Contact’ from Justice League Adventures #22 (October 2003). Here Stuart Moore, John Delaney & Robin Riggs reveal how John leads a JL squad against the Shayol, perpetrators of a Green Lantern massacre five years previously and which only he survived. They claim to have changed, but can he trust himself to trust them?

The compulsive comics classics close with a yarn from 2012, culled from the thrilling and expansive sub-universe based on the animated Batman Beyond show. Set in the days when Gotham’s Dark Knight is troubled teen Terry McGinnis, it includes an elderly Superman and a new Justice League populated with the children and legatees of the originals. Taken from Batman Beyond Unlimited #4-5, back-up strip ‘Beyond Origin: Warhawk’ by Derek Fridolfs, Dustin Nguyen & Eric Nguyen details the doomed love story of Stewart and Thanagarian teammate Hawkgirl, his rebound romance with African superhero Vixen and the tragedy and terrors that led to the birth of his son and heir, before this celebratory chronicle closes with a ‘Poster Pinup’ from Green Lantern: Mosaic by Cully Hamner & Dan Panosian. The tome is immeasurably enhanced throughout by a superb collection of covers by Adams, Giordano, Gibbons, Banks & Tanghal, Ariel Olivetti, Benes, Kirkham & Banning, Fernando Pasarin & Scott Hanna, Francis Portela and Bryan Hitch. This is not a sop to minorities or appeasement to diversity, but a solid reminder that heroes and superstars come in all colours.

Green Lantern has a long, proud history of shaking things up and providing provocative, dynamic drama wedded to outstanding artwork. This compelling assortment of snapshots is staggeringly entertaining, titanically tantalising and a monolithic testament to the inestimable value of a strong core concept matured over decades of innovation.
© 1971, 1974, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988,1996, 2003, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Today in 1934 arrived Spanish-born artist of British & international comics Jesús Redondo Román (El Capitán Trueno, SOS Dossier Ecológico, Suzette of the Silver Sword, Mind Wars, Dan Dare, Motormouth and Killpower, Star Trek, Kitty Pryde), with Swiss raconteur & illuminator Claude de Ribaupierre AKA Derib (Yakari, Buddy Longway) popping by in 1944 and underground comix pioneer Rory Hayes (Arcade, Weirdo, Bijou Funnies, Snatch Comics, Bogeyman) in 1949. In 1952 prolific colourist Janice Cohen (Howard the Duck, Godzilla. Spider-Man, Warp, Starslayer, Jon Sable) was born, with German cartoonist Ralf König (The Killer Condom, Der bewegte Mann, Lysistrata, Pretty Baby, Wie die Karnickel, Santa Claus Junior) proudly joining the parade in 1960; master mangaka Kit? Mohiro (Noririn, Shadow Star, Bokurano) and in 1966; comic book artist Carlo Barbieri (Impulse, Harley Quinn, Gen13) in 1972 & Ryan Ottley (Invincible, Haunt, Amazing Spider-Man,) in 1975.

The date also marks the deaths of writer, screenwriter and poet Joseph Patrick “J.P.” McEvoy (Dixie Dugan) in 1958 and Mexican writer of Memin Pinguin Yolanda Vargas Dulché de la Parra in 1999.

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Yoko Tsuno volume 21 – The Celestial Boat


By Roger Leloup, coloured by Studio Leonardo & translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-80044-187-3 (PB Album)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

On September 24th 1970, freelance electronics engineer Yoko Tsuno first began her troubleshooting career as an indomitable intellectual adventurer. Her debut in Le Journal de Spirou was initially realised in “Marcinelle style” cartoonish 8 page short ‘Hold-up en hi-fi’ and although she is still delighting readers and making new fans to this day, for a while it looked as if she wasn’t going anywhere soon. Thankfully, her astonishing, astoundingly accessible exploits were revised and she soon evolved into a paragon of peril, helming a highpoint of amazingly authentic pseudo-realistic fantasies numbering amongst the most intoxicating, absorbing and broad-ranging comics thrillers ever created.

Tsuno’s globe-girdling mystery cases and space-&-time-spanning epics are the brainchild of Belgian maestro Roger Leloup who launched his own solo career in 1953 whilst working as studio assistant/technical artist on Hergé’s Adventures of Tintin. Compellingly told, sublimely imaginative and – no matter how implausible the premise of an individual yarn – always firmly grounded in hyper-realistic settings underpinned by solidly-constructed, unshakably believable technology and unswerving scientific principles, Leloup’s illustrated escapades were at the vanguard of a wave of strips revolutionising European comics. Early in the journey, he switched from loose illustration to a mesmerising realism that is the series’ signature. The long-overdue sea-change in gender roles and stereotyping his eastern star heralded led to a torrent of clever, competent, brave and formidable women protagonists taking their rightful places as heroic ideals and not romantic lures. That small revolution consequently elevated Continental comics in the process.

Masterful Miss Tsuno’s first outings are sadly STILL unavailable Hold-up en hi-fi, and co-sequels La belle et la bête and Cap 351, were introductory vignettes prior to epic authenticity taking a firm grip in 1971 when the unflappable problem solver met valiant but lesser (male) pals Pol Paris and Vic Van Steen. Instantly hitting her stride in premier full-length saga Le trio de l’étrange (in LJdS’s May 13th edition), from then on, Tsuno’s exploits encompassed explosive errands in exotic corners of our world, spy-&-crime capers, devastating deep-space sagas and time-travelling jaunts such as this one. There are 32 European bande dessinée albums to date, with 21 translated into English thus far, albeit – and ironically – none are available in digital formats…

Initially serialised in LJdS #3138 to 3148, spanning June 29th – 12th August 1998, La Jonque céleste became Europe’s 22nd collected Yoko Tsuno album at year’s end. It finds our tireless trouble-finder back on Earth and striving to separate history from myth – and legend from harsh political truth – in a cold case of child abuse and apparent mysticism that spans a millennium…

Aboard a commercial jet, Tsuno is flying to China with adopted daughter Morning Dew when an onboard incident involving an ailing archaeologist abruptly leaves “Dew” in accidental possession of an antique doll and mysterious ivory globe. These the afflicted passenger was delivering to an unspecified address. The aged items are apparently clues to a fabulous treasure and the lost location of the “seventh tooth of the dragon” but further information is unavailable after he is seemingly struck down by an invisible force…

Attentive Yoko’s instincts and suspicions are further aroused when they disembark and officials attempt to confiscate the items. Naturally, they are deftly foiled and diverted by Ms. Tsuno’s clever misdirection. With Dew in tow, she tracks down the ailing man’s intended destination and meets fading historical scholar Professor Fung at his riverside residence. Welcomed graciously, she learns of his studies into – and reconstruction of – an ancient multi-lensed “signal device” and the accompanying legend of the lost tomb of The Emperor Zhen-Zong’s Fourth Wife.

That bizarre episode saw said emperor spend years and vast resources seeking to erase the unhappy bride from history…

Fung is delighted when Yoko hands him the ivory sphere that completes his reconstructed contraption, and – after the doll also provides hidden components – deduces that his courier’s mishandling of the “The Spheres of Yin Shi” caused his collapse and continuing malady. With the highly-polished lens in his possession, Fung demonstrates the incredible mirror-gadget to be a weapon Emperor Zhenzong employed back in 11th century Song China…

Dew & Yoko also befriend Fung’s personal doctor Lin Po. Although dedicated, she is clearly at odds with and mistrusts her prestigious patient on many issues, but gradually, cautiously she becomes embroiled in the unfolding adventure after Yoko’s sentimental heartstrings are tugged by the physician’s sharing brushed-over further details of the ancient tale of injustice cruelty and imperial abuse.

With Dew staying at Fung’s house, Yoko and Lin Po voyage by houseboat to an isolated but gloriously beautiful mountain region. Here long ago, ambition and human greed fomented rebellion and tragedy, compelling the august ruler to marry 6-year old Xin Yi for political expediency. Now, Lin Po shows Yoko the hidden tomb she accidentally stumbled upon. It contains the child-bride’s ceremonial barge and a sealed funerary urn resembling the doll of the wife. Shockingly, it somehow generates a steady heartbeat!

Fascinated, the adventurer and moved mother resolves that neither history nor imperial power will stop her from saving the Fourth Wife. Enlisting faithful pals Vic & Pol (plus the latter’s recently migrated 16th century Flanders-born fiancée Mieke) and cherished comrade Monya – from AD 3872 and possessing a time machine (see The Time Spiral),Yoko and Lin Po ready a factfinding/rescue mission and set out for “the 49th day after the Lantern Festival in the 61st year of the Song Dynasty” (March 29th 1021 CE for short) to thwart fate, cheat history and save a tragic child…

Of course, history is a deceiving liar, and the team are soon embroiled in complex local politics, armed revolt and assassination plots, with their well-intentioned but reality-risking meddling actually shaping the official (but erroneous) account they had studied in the 20th century whilst revealing – and concealing – the truth of the affair. As benevolent Imperial Counsellor Lord Chou and peasant boy Yu war with rioting peasants, bandits, river pirates and corrupt overlord Prince Wang, to save obnoxious brat Xin Yi, everyone seeks to exploit or scapegoat the Fourth Wife for personal advantage, before the crisis erupts into open warfare when Wang attempts to use a black powder and his diabolical mirror weapon to end the conflict and remove potential hostile witnesses. Thankfully, Yoko has a “dragon” of her own and the savage rebellion is quashed in record time and with the happiest ending fate will permit…

As always, the most potent asset of this historical drama is its astonishingly authentic settings, as ever benefitting from Leloup’s diligent research and meticulous attention to detail. The Celestial Boat is a sweeping tale of passion, deception, good intentions and indomitable human spirit: a tense yet action-packed thriller, taut and compelling, and absolutely appealing as much to fans of blockbuster fantasy epics as spectacle-starved comic addicts.
Original edition © Dupuis, 1998 by Roger Leloup. All rights reserved. English translation © 2026 Cinebook Ltd.

Today in 1895 French comics star Alain Saint-Ogan (Zig et Puce, Mitou et Toti, Prosper l’ours, Monsieur Poche, Touitoui) was born, sharing birthdays with Belgian maestro Maurice Tillieux (Gil Jourdan, Félix, Marc Lebut, Tif et Tondu, Hultrasson, Yoko Tsuno, Jess Long) in 1921; artist Mark Bagley, (Amazing Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man, New Warriors, Thunderbolts, Venom, Carnage) & writer Paul Dini (Zatanna, Harley Quinn, Jungle Belle, Detective Comics The Batman Adventures, Superman Adventures, Batman: Harley and Ivy, Shazam! The Power of Hope, Krypto the Superdog) both born in 1957 and scripter Dan Jolley (Aliens, Terminator, Micronauts, Purgatori) in 1971.

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Superman vs The Flash


By Jim Shooter, E. Nelson Bridwell, Dennis O’Neil, Marty Pasko, Dan Jurgens, Geoff Johns, Curt Swan, Ross Andru, Dick Dillin, José Luis García-López, Rick Burchett, Carmine Infantino, Neal Adams, George Klein, Mike Esposito, Joe Giella, Dan Adkins, Art Thibert, Prentiss Rollins & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-0456-3 (TPB)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced during less enlightened times.

The comic book experience is littered with eternal questions that can never really be satisfactorily answered. The most common and most passionately asked always begin “who would win if…?” or “who’s strongest/smartest/fastest…?” Teenaged scripting wunderkind Jim Shooter knew that very well when he pitched and subsequently scripted a Superman story in 1967 that created a subgenre of comic-plots and led inevitably and delightfully to the graphic compilation under review here.

DC Editors in the 1960s generally avoided such questions as who’s best for fear of upsetting some portion of their tenuous and supposed-transitory fan-base, but as the superhero boom slowed and the upstart Marvel Comics began to make genuine inroads into their market, the notion of a definitive race between the almighty Man of Steel and the Fastest Man Alive became an increasingly enticing and sales-worthy proposition. This sporty curated chronicle catalogues material from Superman #199, Flash #175, World’s Finest Comics #198-199, DC Comics Presents #1-2, Adventures of Superman #463 & DC First: Flash/Superman: collectively spanning cover-dates August 1967 through July 2002.

Long overdue for re-release – fully updated and translated to digital formats – this compendium and sporting almanac gathers together that initial contest and numerous rematches between the heroic speed-demons, but if you’re seeking a definitive answer you won’t find it here. These are splendid costumed entertainments; adventures designed to catch your breath and quicken your pulse. It not about the winning: it’s all about the taking part…

‘Superman’s Race with The Flash’ (Superman #199, August 1967) gets the ball rolling in a stirring saga by Shooter, limned by Curt Swan & George Klein, wherein the two speedy champions are asked to compete in an exhibition contest by the United Nations, to raise money to fight World Hunger. Naturally they agree, but the clever global handicap, circling the planet three times, is secretly and insidiously subverted by rival criminal combines attempting to stage the greatest gambling coup in history…

Of course, the vile gamblers are foiled and justice and wholesome charity triumph in the end, but the stakes are catastrophically raised in the inevitable rematch from The Flash #175 (December 1967). ‘Race to the End of the Universe!’ finds the friendly rivals rocketing across the cosmos after ruthless alien gamblers threaten to eradicate Central City and Metropolis unless the pair settle who was fastest.

Scripter E. Nelson Bridwell added an ingenious sting in the tale, whilst Ross Andru & Mike Esposito delivered a sterling illustration job in this yarn, but once more the actual winning was deliberately fudged. Presumably to prevent hurt feelings on the part of partisan young readers…

When World’s Finest Comics became briefly a team-up vehicle for Superman the first guest-star was the Flash, who again found himself in speedy if contrived competition. ‘Race to Save the Universe!’ and its conclusion ‘Race to Save Time’ (by Denny O’Neil, Dick Dillin & Joe Giella in WFC #198-199, November & December 1970) once again upped the stakes as the Guardians of the Universe conscripted our high speed heroes to circumnavigate the entire cosmos at their greatest velocities to undo the rampage of the enigmatic Anachronids: faster-than-light creatures whose pell-mell course throughout the galaxies was actually unwinding time itself.

Little did anybody suspect that Superman’s oldest enemies were behind the scheme…

‘Chase to the End of Time!’ & ‘Race to the End of Time!’ opened new team-up series DC Comics Presents (#1-2, July/August & September/October 1978) as Marty Pasko, José Luis García-López & Dan Adkins rather reprised that World’s Finest tale with two eternally-warring alien races tricking Superman & Flash into speeding through the time-stream to prevent Earth’s history from being corrupted and destroyed. As if that wasn’t dangerous enough, nobody could predict the deadly intervention of the Scarlet Speedster’s most dangerous foe: Professor Zoom, the Reverse-Flash…

After the continuity-shattering Crisis on Infinite Earths mega-event, DC heroes got a sound refitting, and the frankly colossal power levels of the costumed community were suitably downscaled to more believable limits. Some stalwarts even died, and so when ‘Speed Kills!’ appeared in Adventures of Superman #463 (February 1990 by writer/artist Dan Jurgens and inker Art Thibert), the issue was touted as the first race between the fastest men on Earth. Of course, there was a new kid in the Flash’s uniform: former sidekick Wally West had graduated to the role after his mentor Barry Allen perished saving the universes in that aforementioned epic.

The story itself is a delightfully whacky romp wherein 5th dimensional gadfly Mr. Mxyzptlk coerces the pair into running a race everybody knows is fixed from the get-go…

This selection concludes with a spectacular saga unerringly aimed at older fans. ‘Speeding Bullets’ (from one-shot DC First: Flash/Superman July 2002) is by Geoff Johns, Rick Burchett & Prentis Rollins, and features futuristic villain Abra Kadabra who challenges the Man of Steel and 1940s Flash Jay Garrick to catch the current Vizier of Velocity – currently running amok at hyperspeed and rapid-aging with every step he takes. If they can’t catch him then the Fastest Man Alive won’t be for long…

With the inclusion to this book of some of the very best covers the company has ever produced – courtesy of Carmine Infantino, Murphy Anderson, Mike Esposito, Curt Swan, Neal Adams, García-López, Jurgens & Brett Breeding and Kevin Nowlan – readers casual and deeply devoted alike are guaranteed a joyous thrill-ride from some of the most entertaining stand-alone stories in DC history.

On your marks, get set, Go for it!
© 1970, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2005 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Today in 1951 comic book all-rounder Ed Hannigan (Black Panther, The Defenders, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Green Arrow, Spectacular Spider-Man) was born, sharing the birthday with US artist Don Kramer (Detective Comics, JSA, Nightwing, Doctor Fate, Wonder Woman) and Swedish cartoonist Tony Cronstam (Provet, Bamse, Elvis) in 1969 and comic book writer/colourist Jordi Bellaire (Absolute Wonder Woman, The Nice House, G.I. Joe, Catwoman, Detective Comics, Hawkeye, Batman, The Vision, Black Widow) in 1988.

Today in 1989 Berke Breathed took a decades-long sabbatical from Bloom County as the strip “ended” to be replaced by whole bunches of other fabulous comics stuff. The day also marks the death of Dick Tracy artist Richard Earl “Dick” Locher in 2017.

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Black Widow Epic Collection volume 2: The Coldest War 1981-1998


By Ralph Macchio, Gerry Conway, D.G. Chichester, Jim Starlin, Cefn Ridout, Mindy Newell, Scott Lobdell, Paul Gulacy, George Pérez, George Freeman, Larry Stroman, Joe Chiodo, Charlie Adlard, Bob Layton, Butch Guice, John Stanisci, Sergio Cariello, Randy Green & various (MARVEL)
ISBN: 978-1-3029-2126-2 (TPB) Digital edition

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced during less enlightened times.

Natasha Romanoff (sometimes Natalia Romanova) was a Soviet Russian spy who came in from the cold and stuck around to become one of Marvel’s earliest female stars, reusing a nomme de guerre first coined for a golden age supernatural Timely Comics star. Today’s Black Widow started out as a svelte, sultry honey-trap during Marvel’s early “Commie-busting” days, targeting Tony Stark and battling Iron Man in her debut (Tales of Suspense #52, April 1964). She was subsequently redesigned as a torrid tights-&-tech supervillain before defecting to the USA, falling for an assortment of Yankee superheroes, including Hawkeye and Daredevil, before finally enlisting as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. In the meantime she established herself as a freelance do-gooder and joining (and ultimately leading) The Champions and The Avengers.

Throughout her career, she has always been considered ultra-efficient, coldly competent, deadly dangerous and yet somehow cursed to bring doom and disaster to her paramours. As her backstory evolved, it was disclosed that Natasha had undergone experimental processes which enhanced her physical capabilities and lengthened her lifespan, as well as assorted psychological procedures which had messed up her mind and memories…

Traditionally a minor fan favourite, the Widow only really hit the big time after Marvel’s cinematic franchise was established, but for us unregenerate comics-addicts, her print escapades have always offered a cool, sinister frisson of delight. This expansive, explosive and wide-ranging compilation gathers contents of Bizarre Adventures #25; Marvel Fanfare #10-13; Solo Avengers #7; Black Widow: The Coldest War; Punisher/Black Widow: Spinning Doomsday’s Web; Daredevil/Black Widow: Abattoir; Marvel Comics Presents #135; Daredevil Annual #10; Fury/Black Widow: Death Duty & Journey into Mystery #517-519, cumulatively covering cover-dates March 1981 to April 1998.

Preceded by prose recaps ‘The Black Widow and Daredevil’ and ‘We are The Champions’, the clandestine actions open with an iconic appearance from 1981, first seen in monochrome mature-reader magazine Bizarre Adventures #25 which featured short tales starring female heroes. Here Ralph Macchio scripts a far more devious traditional espionage-steeped yarn of double and triple-cross with agents betraying each other while trying to ascertain who might be working for “the other side”. ‘I Got the Yo-Yo… You Got the String’ sees the Widow despatched by S.H.I.E.L.D. to assassinate her former tutor Irma Klausvichnova in an African political hot spot. However, as the mission proceeds, Natasha learns that she can’t trust anybody and everything she knows is either a lie or a test with fatal consequences…

The chilling, twist-ridden tale is elevated to excellence by the powerful tonal art of Paul Gulacy who fills the piece with sly tributes to numerous movie spies and the actors – such as Michael Caine and Humphry Bogart – who first made the genre so compelling.

Next up is a saga seen in Marvel Fanfare #10-13 (August 1983, March 1984), wherein Macchio & George Pérez – with inkers Brett Breeding, Jack Abel, Joe Sinnott, Al Milgrom & John Beatty – depict the spy in extreme peril as ‘Widow’ finds her recalled by S.H.I.E.L.D. to extract an abducted asset – her beloved mentor Ivan Petrovich. As she tracks and trashes assorted killers and crazies, we get an inworld review of her complex origins before arriving ‘Back in the U.S.S.R.’ to infiltrate a top-secret science project and face the assembled killer elite of a mystery mastermind with a grudge…

‘The Web Tightens!’ as the assassins close in, until a last-minute rescue by S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jimmy Woo and a frenzied clash with deranged killer Snapdragon leads to revelation and full disclosure as ‘The Widow… Alone!’ faces a foe long believed dead and spectacularly triumphs…

A short from Solo Avengers #7 (June 1988, by Bob Layton & Jackson “Butch” Guice) sees the Widow brave unimaginable peril to return to her old dancing teacher ‘The Token’ she no longer feels worthy of before intriguing superhero spy Original Graphic Novel The Coldest War unfolds. Set in the last days of the US/Soviet face-off – with what looks to be an epilogue added to address the collapse of the Soviet State – the tale was clearly meant as a contemporary thriller (probably for fortnightly anthology Marvel Comics Presents) before events overtook the time-consuming process of printing a comic. The afterword – set after the fall of the Berlin Wall – doesn’t jar too much and lent an air of imminent urgency to the mix at the time it was finally released.

Gerry Conway provides a typically complex, double-dealing tale set in the dog-days of Mikhail Gorbachev’s government, during his radical policy of Perestroika (“openness”). It begins as an ambitious KGB upstarts undertake a plan to subvert Natasha and return her to Soviet control. Their leverage and bait is husband Alexei Shostokoff – whom she has believed dead for decades. Naturally, nothing is as it seems, nobody can be trusted and only the last spy standing can be called the winner…

Low key and high-tech go hand in hand in this sort of tale, and although there’s much reference to earlier Marvel classics, it can be easily enjoyed by the casual reader or movie convert. And what art! George Freeman is a supreme stylist, whose drawing work – although infrequent – is always top rate. Starting out on Captain Canuck, he has excelled on Jack of Hearts, Green Lantern, Avengers, Batman Annual #11 (with Alan Moore), Wasteland, Elric, Nexus  and The X-Files (for which he won an Eisner Award). Here, inked by Ernie Colon, Mark Farmer, Mike Harris, Val Mayerik & Joe Rubinstein, with colours from Lovern Kindzierski, he renders a subtle and sophisticated blend of costumed chic and espionage glamour to make this tale a “must-have” item all by itself.

It’s followed by 1992’s OGN Punisher/Black Widow: Spinning Doomsday’s Web by D.G. Chichester, Larry Stroman & Mark Farmer. Action-packed but plot-lite, it sees Frank Castle clash with the super-agent as she tracks rogue killer Peter Malum: an atomic scientist with a taste for slaughter and an insatiable hunger to test the deadliest weapon he’s ever built…

Presumably her spicy spy cachet wasn’t deemed enough to win a regular series but warranted plenty of guest shots. In 1993, Jim Starlin & Joe Chiodo reunited her with an old lover for OGN Daredevil/Black Widow: Abattoir wherein a duo of depraved psionic predators inflict the tortures of the damned upon the Widow until the Man Without Fear saves her… and she subsequently rescues him.

Released in Late August 1993, Mindy Newell, John Stanisci & Sergio Cariello’s ‘Legacy’ was one quarter of Marvel Comics Presents #135 and saw Natasha touch base with her roots in New York’s Russian enclave, only to uncover prejudice, murder and hidden KGB agents, before 1994’s Daredevil Annual #10 with ‘Dead End’ offering a sort-of sequel by Newell, Cariello & Rich Rankin as Natasha retrieves a lost bio-agent and is unexpectedly forced into reviewing her own defection to find a supposedly long-deceased old enemy…

Presumably crafted under the aegis of the much-missed Marvel UK subdivision, 1995 OGN Fury/Black Widow: Death Duty is by Cefn Ridout & Charlie Adlard and is a bit of a misnomer.

Don’t be fooled by the title and brace yourself for a disappointment if you’re a huge fan of the World War II Howling Commando and irascible erstwhile leader of the planet’s most advanced espionage agency. Although he gets top billing, Fury is largely absent from these post-Cold War proceedings in this pacy thriller that is in actuality the spiritual conclusion to the saga of the mysterious Night Raven.

That enigmatic wanderer was a masked vigilante who fought crime in New York and Chicago between World Wars I & II. In later years, he was locked in a bloody, pitiless vendetta with immortal villainess Yi Yang, Queen of the Dragon Tong. Here, when a S.H.I.E.L.D. asset is murdered inside Moscow’s US embassy soon after the fall of the Soviet system, expatriate Russian super-agent/Avenger Natasha Romanoff is dispatched to unravel the secrets the new bosses don’t want revealed.

What she discovers is the incredible fate of the fearsome urban legend now known as Black Bird as he slaughters his way through bureaucrats and Russian Mafia alike in his single-minded mission to destroy the woman who kept him from a peaceful grave.

Superbly illustrated and tightly scripted, this is nonetheless an uncomfortable blending of genres, with a strange pace to it: as if a propose serial was savagely trimmed and pruned with no thought to narrative cohesion.

Closing the files is a 3-part exploit from Scott Lobdell, Randy Green & Rick Ketcham as first seen in Journey into Mystery #517-519 (February- April 1998). ‘The Fire Next Time… parts 1-3’ offers a convoluted hunt for a Far Right terror group’s hidden leader: someone whose scheme to simultaneously murder every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent on Earth revolves around a hidden traitor. However as the plot unfolds, it’s clear to the embattled and beleaguered Black Widow that absolutely nobody is who or what they seem…

Closing with a wealth of graphic revelations, the art show opens with Gulacy’s stunning 1982 Black Widow Portfolio (six monochrome plates and the cover image); and also offers pages from the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. These are supplemented by pin-ups and posters by Al Milgrom, Kevin Nowlan, Terry Austin, June Brigman & Jim Lee and Joe Chiodo, and also contains original art pages from Chiodo, Stroman & Farmer and covers by Yancy LaBat, Mark Morales, Pérez & Layton taken from previous collections of Black Widow: Web of Intrigue combining to create a suspenseful dossier of devious delights no fan should miss.

This is a genre-crossing dark delight to seduce movie buffs, armchair spyhunters and any superhero sucker in need of a wholly traditional yet wildly novel change of pace…
© 2020 MARVEL.

Today in 1932 Argentine mastermind of silent mirth & madness Guillermo Mordillo (Crazy Cowboy, Crazy Crazy, Las Girafes) was born, followed a year later by Indonesian-Dutch cartoonist Thé Tjong-Khing (Arman & Ilva, Oliver B. Bumble) and by Italian maestro Sergio Zaniboni (I Reporters, Il Campione, Diabolik) in 1937. In 1942 Comics Revue writer/editor Rick Norwood arrived, with editor turned co-founder/director of communication of America’s National Runaway Switchboard Mike Gold (First Comics, DC Comics) coming along in 1950; Canadian scripter screenwriter Martin Pasko (Superman, Wonder Woman, Star Trek, Metal Men, Swamp Thing, Blackhawk, Gargoyles) in 1954 and British illustrator Charlie Adlard (White Death, The Walking Dead, X-Files, Savage, Astronauts in Trouble) popping up in 1966.

This day in 1989, veteran Walt Disney comics artist Paul Murry (Mickey Mouse, Super Goof, Uncle Scrooge, The Phantom Blot, José Carioca, Panchito) died.

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Showcase Presents Martian Manhunter volume 2


By Jack Miller & Joe Certa & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-2256-7 (TPB)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

As the 1950’s opened, comic book superheroes were nearing the lowest point of a steep decline, having given way to a steady stream of genre-based he-men and “Ordinary Joes” in extraordinary circumstances. By the time “Red-baiting”, witch-hunting Senate hearings and media investigations into causes of juvenile delinquency had finished, the industry was further depleted by the self-inflicted excision of any kind of reference to mature themes or content. The self-imposed Comics Code Authority took all the hard edges out of the industry output, banning horror and crime comics whilst leaving their ghostly, sanitised anodyne shades to inhabit the adventure, western, war and fantasy titles that remained.

US comics could have the bowdlerised concept of evil and felonious conduct, but not the simplest kind of repercussion: a world where mad scientists plotted to conquer humanity without killing anybody, and escaped imprisonment whilst cowboys shot guns out of opponents’ hands and severed gun-belts with a well-aimed bullet, without ever drawing blood. Moreover, no civil or government official or public servant could be depicted as anything other than a benevolent saint…

With corruption, venality and menace removed from the equation, comics were forced to supply suspense and tension to their works via mystery and imagination – but only as long as it all had a rational, non-supernatural explanation…

A sci fi series with cop show trappings, John Jones, Manhunter from Mars depicted the clandestine adventures of stranded alien J’onn J’onzz; an eccentric, frequently formulaic (weren’t they all?) yet never disappointing B-feature strip, it debuted in Detective Comics #225 (November 1955), at the height of America’s Flying Saucer fever. Excluding mutant adventurer Captain Comet (premiering in Strange Adventures #9, cover-dated June 1951) and beating by a year the new Flash – who launched in Showcase #4 (October 1956) – Jonzz was arguably the first superhero of the Silver Age.

Hardly evolving at all – except for finally going public as a superhero in Detective #273 (November 1959) – the police-based strip ran there until #326 (1955 to 1964), before migrating over to The House of Mystery and a whole new modus vivendi, beginning with #143. He stayed there until #173, finally fading away during the Great Superhero Cull of 1968-70.

In Showcase Presents Martian Manhunter volume 1 ‘The Strange Experiment of Dr. Erdel’ revealed how a reclusive Earth genius built a robot-brain which could access Time, Space and the Fourth Dimension, and accidentally plucked an alien scientist from his home on Mars. After a brief conversation with his unfortunate guest, Erdel succumbed to a heart attack whilst attempting to return J’onn J’onzz to his point of origin.

Marooned on Earth, the Martian discovered that his new home was riddled with the ancient and primitive cancer of Crime and, being decent and right-thinking, resolved to use his natural abilities (which included telepathy, psychokinesis, intangibility, shape-shifting, invisibility, super-strength, speed, flight, vision, super-breath, invulnerability and so many others) to eradicate the evil, To facilitate the crusade he adopted human form and became a detective, working clandestinely as an “ordinary” policeman. His only concern was the commonplace chemical reaction of fire which sapped Martians of all their mighty powers. With his name Americanised to John Jones he enlisted as a Police Detective in Middletown and worked tirelessly to improve his new home; fighting evil secretly using his inherent powers and advanced knowledge with no human even aware of his existence.

This second & final Silver Age selection reprints in moody monochrome Detective Comics #305-226 (July 1962-April 1964) and the Manhunter’s entire House of Mystery career exploits (#143-173, spanning July 1964 to March/April 1968), almost all of which were written by Jack Miller and illustrated by the indefatigable Joe Certa.

One of the longest tenures and partnerships in DC comics’ history (although creator records are sadly incomplete), Miller – and perhaps occasionally Bob Haney – produced a wealth of scripts for veteran illustrator Certa, who had previously worked for the Funnies Incorporated comics “Shop” and all over the industry. His other credits included Captain Marvel Junior and assorted genre titles for Magazine Enterprises (Dan’l Boone, Durango Kid); Lev Gleason’s crime comics, Harvey romance titles and others. At DC he drew nautical sleuth Captain Compass and genre anthology tales for such titles as Gang Busters and House of Mystery. Certa also drew the newspaper strip Straight Arrow and ghosted the long-lived boxing legend Joe Palooka. In the 1970s, he moved to Gold Key, working on mystery tales, TV adaptations and all-ages horror stories.

This traditional all-ages delight opens with ‘J’onn J’onzz vs. Futureman’ from Detective Comics #305, wherein a cop from the 30th century follows a Martian lawbreaker back to 1962 and mistakes J’onzz for his fugitive quarry. When malign B’enn B’urnzz then aligns with ruthless earth criminals, the stage is set for a spectacular super-power showdown…

In #306 crooks using fantastic robot animals are given an unexpected boost when a blazing meteor saps the Manhunter’s life force and almost augurs ‘The Last Days of J’onn J’onzz’, whilst a bewildering display of disguises and quick-changes are necessary to save John Jones’ police partner Diane Meade when the detective – ‘Alias Scarface Scanlon’ – goes undercover to expose a criminal safe-house in #307.

DC #308 revealed how a visit to a feudal European county finds the Alien Avenger embroiled in a coup and battling ancient magic on ‘The Day John Jones Vanished!’ after which he foils an alien invasion whilst wearing the form of a reclusive human in ‘The Man Who Saved Earth’ before overcoming a cunning crook with a shrinking ray in #310’s ‘The Miniature Manhunter!’ Vacationing Diane is on Jade Island when it becomes the beachhead for ‘The Invaders from the Space Warp’ (DC #311) but to defeat uncanny extra-dimensional thieves, J’onzz also needs the aid of friendly alien R’ell and his uncanny talking pet. When the war was over, however, bizarre beastie Zook is trapped in our world forever…

A new era opened in #312 as the cute E.T. became ‘J’onn J’onzz’ Pesky Partner’. Zook could change shape and generate extreme heat and cold but had the mind of a five-year old, and thus posed a frequent threat to our hero’s secret identity by slavishly trailing him as he stalked villains…

The kid learned quickly though and by #313, wherein ‘The Wizard who Conquered J’onn J’onzz’ almost killed the Martian with a stolen magic wand, Zook had adapted to a life of seclusion on Earth as J’onzz’s secret weapon. The extra-dimensional ET proves his worth in #314 when a shape-shifting Saturnian steals the detective’s identity in ‘J’onn J’onzz vs. John Jones’, and helps defeat a villain as powerful as Manhunter himself, and does so again in #315 when his uncanny senses penetrate the various identities of a crooked stage performer who is ‘The Man of 1000 Disguises!’

Bizarre mutagenic meteors were commonplace at this time and another one transferred the hero’s abilities to ‘The Bandits with Super-Powers’ in DC #316, but Zook and a now Martian-powered Diane prove up to the task of thwarting them, after which J’onzz, Diane & Zook have their hands full facing ‘The Challenge of the Alien Robots’ delivered by greedy human bandit Jasper Dowd in #317. When the terrific tyke takes a blow to the head he briefly acts as ‘J’onn J’onzz’ Enemy – Zook’ before being restored by another bash on the bonce, after which the vacationing detective strolls through a time warp and into a war of succession in mediaeval Auvergne, eventually restoring rightful ruler Prince Charles to his stolen throne as ‘J’onn J’onzz – Wizard of 1463!’.

Back in the 20th century, #320 saw Detective Jones and Zook solve ‘The Case of the Golden Eagle’ to restore a lost treasure to France, after which #321 has the Martian and his pal battling the fantastic shape-shifting threat of ‘The Cosmic Creature’, and in #322 an old Batman villain migrates from Gotham to Middletown becomes intent on being ‘The Man who Destroyed J’onn J’onzz’. Professor Arnold Hugo had enlarged his intellect – and cranium – to become a cerebral supervillain whose devices enabled him to steal the alien’s powers. However, the wily mastermind did not realised that ludicrous-looking “pet” Zook was privy to his fallen friend’s weaknesses too…

For Detective #323 Manhunter flew solo on ‘The Hobby Missions’ wherein a charity auction for his services is suborned by a vicious criminal seeking lost artefacts bestowing awesome power, whilst in #324 the hero tackles a bizarre rampaging monster and is trapped in its hideous form as ‘The Beast who was J’onn J’onzz’ until Zook intervenes. Then, a crook’s time-ray banishes the Manhunter to Ancient Greece where he helps ‘The Hero of 500 B.C.’ crush incredible creatures… until Zook saves him.

Big changes were in the air at DC, and by the end of 1963 Julius Schwartz, who had revived much of their line – and the entire industry – with his modernization of the superhero, was asked to work his magic with the creatively stalled, nigh-moribund Caped Crusader. Bringing his regular team of top-notch creators with him, Schwartz stripped down the core-concept, downplaying all the aliens, outlandish villains and daft transformation tales, bringing a cool modern take to the capture of criminals and even overseeing a streamlining rationalisation of the art style itself. The most apparent change to us kids was a yellow circle around the Bat-symbol but, far more importantly, the stories changed. A subtle aura of genuine menace had re-entered the comfortable and absurdly abstract world of Gotham City.

The “New Look” Batman debuted in Detective Comics #327 and changed the shape of the industry, but as part of the makeover the increasingly fantastical Martian Manhunter was no longer welcome in his first home. In a rare move for the time, former Bat-Editor Jack Schiff, who was taking J’onzz with him to his new post, opted to shake up everything and end the era in style. Detective Comics #326 (April 1964) saw ‘The Death of John Jones, Detective’ with the veteran cop dispatched to investigate the theft of The Idol-Head of Diabolu to discover the outré relic is actually a terrifying portal to countless trans-dimensional terrors. When it transforms its purloiner into a deadly menace, it also unleashes a dreadful beast which apparently kills the valiant cop before Manhunter can end the twin threats. However. In the aftermath the unleashed Idol-Head is lost, but swears to unleash a new menace at every first full moon, forcing the Manhunter to surrender his human identity and leave Middletown, determined to track down the mystic menace whatever the cost…

The pioneering Silver Age superhero moved to House of Mystery from #143, June 1964 – finally getting to feature on the covers – where, in keeping with the title and context of his new home, he became a wandering monster-hunter.

But don’t panic, chums, Zook came with him…

J’onzz’ new adventures began as the Idol disgorged ‘The Giant-Maker’, a beast that mutated men – and poor Zook – into rampaging colossi and freed the wicked wizard Malador from millennia of bondage until Manhunter stops the dual dangers, whilst one full moon later in HoM #144 the peripatetic skull opened a voracious spacewarp sucking people into ‘The Weird World of Gilgana’ before J’onzz plunged in to seal the breach. Next month revealed the ‘Secret of the Purple People’ as the Idol allowed metamorphic Venomee to ravage Egypt until Zook and the Martian stopped them, and #146 saw the weary wanderers find and lose the Diabolu head to fantastic cat-beast Aroo but still save Earth from life-sucking, monstrous Chulko in ‘The Doom Shadow’…

In #147 the Idol vomits forth living, malevolent musical instruments to mesmerise humans as ‘The Orchestra of Doom!’, whilst #148 unleashes ‘The Beings in the Color Rings’ to warp reality in ghastly ways. An unwary beachcomber becomes ‘The Man-Thing That Unearthed Secrets’ in #149, changing into a succession of incredible creatures compulsively retrieving lost mystic artefacts, before #150 finds artist’s brushes ensorcelled and permitted to craft ‘The Supernatural Masterpieces!’ with calamitous results. Then, ‘The Doom from Two Worlds’ splits J’onzz and Zook as the Martian confronts horrors in a trans-dimensional nightmare world whilst his pal is left to defend Earth from a rapacious fire-demon prior to HoM #152’s‘Iwangis – Creature King’ spotlighting a brutal stone giant leading an army of monsters against humankind…

There’s a brief busman’s holiday in #153 as Professor Hugo again rears his outlandish, honkin’ big head to awaken and enslave ‘The Giants Who Slept 1,000,000 Years’ and precipitate an orgy of destruction and profit, whilst in #154 convict Orry Kane uses a stolen magic looking-glass to manifest ‘The Mirror Martian Manhunter’ – a distorted, devilish doppelganger requiring the Manhunter to exercise wits as well as his powers to exorcise it…

Diabolu’s Idol-Head returned in #155, unleashing ‘The Giant Genie of Gensu’ to grant the wishes of evil men, but again comic book fashions were changing and the Manhunter was about to be relegated to a B-Feature once more. In the mid-Sixties, the whole world went crazy for costumed crusaders and every comic book publisher keenly sought new ways to repackage an extremely exciting yet intrinsically limited concept. Perhaps its ultimate expression came with the creation of teenaged everyman Robby Reed who battled crime and disaster in his little town with the aid of a fantastic wonder-tool in Dial H for Hero.

Taking the lead spot from House of Mystery #156 (January 1966), this outlandish new hero pushed J’onzz into the back half for ‘Look What Happened to J’onn J’onzz!’: a position he maintained until #173 (March-April 1968) when the comic book disappeared for a few months to re-emerge as DC’s first of many modern anthological supernatural mystery titles addressing the global growth of interest in actual horror stories. In that truncated tale a sinister snake-beast almost absorbs and consumes the Martian (irony, or what?), whilst in #157 Professor Hugo is back to mesmerise and humiliate his alien nemesis in ‘Manhunter, World’s Greatest Clown!’ HoM #158 ended the long-running and increasingly tired saga by revealing ‘The Origin of the Diabolu Idol-Head’ after plunging Manhunter back in time to Ancient Babylonia where he finally learns how to destroy it, after which J’onzz marked the occasion by returning to his roots and foiling an invasion by ‘The Devil Men of Pluto’ in #159.

Apparently helpless against rising trends, ‘Manhunter’s New Secret Identity’ debuted in #160 (July 1966) with the hero tapping into the global superspy fad and assuming the identity of a glamorous international playboy and suspected criminal to penetrate the inner echelons of sinister secret society Vulture. Soon he is popping up all over Europe, hot on the trail of mysterious leader Faceless (AKA Mr. V) and forced to undertake increasingly suspect tasks and missions threatening to compromise his ethics and integrity if not end his life…

He was almost immediately rumbled in #161 when ‘The Unmasking of Marco Xavier!’ sees him battling Vulture’s top op Abba Sulkar with only a tragic accident saving his stolen face. A devious courier mission for Xavier in #162 allows Manhunter to raid ‘The Lair of Mr. V!’ but Faceless proves to be a truly capable foe who easily eludes him, whilst in #163 an alliance between Vulture and a fugitive Mercurian results in the Martian becoming ‘The Doomed Captive!’ … until the hero’s brains triumph over the bad guys’ brawn and super-science. In #164 the undercover agent is placed in an impossible position when Faceless orders a hit on J’onn J’onzz and expects his playboy pal to carry it out. ‘Marco vs. Manhunter!’ offered a bewildering display of the hero’s disguise dexterity, whilst the next devilish ploy of Professor Hugo provides an unwelcome break as the rogue genius uses nuclear blackmail and atomic science to transform the hero into ‘The Deadly Martian’…

When the infiltration campaign had begun Zook was abandoned in America, but he pops up again in #166 after Marco is dispatched to the US to secure the secret of turning men into monsters in ‘Vulture’s Crime Goliaths!’ On arrival back in Europe, Faceless tasks his playboy pawn with ingratiating himself to the enemy. ‘Marco Xavier, Manhunter’s Ally!’ proves to be a complex and ultimately unrewarding mission whereafter Zook calls J’onzz back home to tackle the alien predations of ‘Thantos – the 3-in-1 Man!’ (#168) before ‘The Manhunter Monster!’ has our hero infiltrate Mr. V’s secret lab before becoming stuck in the form of the gang’s latest horrific bio-weapon…

Events in the real world were starting to affect comic books, and after #170’s ‘The Martian Double-Cross!’ – which saw “Xavier” wrongly deduce Manhunter’s weakness and only narrowly survive his failure – House of Mystery underwent radical remodelling to display a slightly darker tone. The writing was on the wall for exuberant, angst-free adventurers. With #171, Zook was back for good (or not) and in ‘The Martian Marauders’ the odd couple faced an expeditionary force of invaders from the Martian’s homeworld, before #172 found the hero mind-swapped and prisoner in the body of a Vulture assassin even as the killer wore his alien frame in ‘Manhunter’s Stolen Identity!’

In those distant days series ended abruptly, without fanfare and often in the middle of something – and such was the fate of Robby Reed – but for J’onn J’onzz at least, HoM#173 (March/April 1968) managed – admittedly in an abbreviated manner – to wrap up the undercover agent’s mission in the climactic and explosive ‘So You’re Faceless!’…

And that was that. The series was gone, the market was abandoning Fights ‘n’ Tights fiction, and on the horizon a host of war, western, barbarian and horror comics were emerging…

Exciting, fun, engaging and silly in equal amounts (heck, even I couldn’t resist a jibe or too and I genuinely revere these daft, nostalgia-soaked gems) J’onn J’onzz has been subsequently re-imagined many times since these innocent odysseys first ran, but never with the clearcut, unsophisticated, welcoming charm displayed here.

Although absolutely dated and definitely formulaic, these complex yet uncomplicated adventures are drenched in charm and still sparkle with innocent wit and wonder. Perhaps not to everyone’s taste nowadays, these “retro” exploits of the Manhunter from Mars are still an all-ages buffet of fun, thrills and action no fan should miss.
© 1962-1968, 2009 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Today in 1920 comics veteran Ken Bald (Dark Shadows, Dr. Kildare, Captain America, Sub-Mariner, Blonde Phantom, The Destroyer, Namora, Sun Girl, Miss America, Millie the Model, Patsy Walker) was born, joined by Italian strip star Dino Battaglia (Mark Fury, Till Eulenspiegel, Inspector Coke) in 1923 and Ziggy strip creator Tom Wilson in 1931.

In 1923 Otto Mesmer’s first strip of animated movie icon Felix the Cat premiered, as did Tom Armstrong’s still-going-strong strip phenomenon Marvin today in 1982. But the date also marks the deaths of Dutch cartoonist “WiBo” AKA Wim Boost (Volkskrant) in 2005 and Frank and Ernest creator Bob Thaves in 2006.

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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).