Category: Science Fiction

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Doctor Who volume 11: Cold Day in Hell


By Simon Furman, Mike Collins, Grant Morrison, John Freeman, Dan Abnett, Richard Alan & John Carnell, Alan Grant, John Ridgway, Kev Hopgood, Tim Perkins, Geoff Senior, David Hine, Bryan Hitch, John Higgins, Lee Sullivan, Dougie Braithewaite & Dave Elliott, Andy Lanning, Martin Griffiths & Cam Smith & various (Panini Books)
ISBN: 978-1-84653-410-2 (TPB)

Despite the volatile vagaries of quantumly entanglementation, if you generally experience reality in a sequential manner, this year remains the 60th Anniversary of Doctor Who. Thus there is/has been/will be a bunch of Timey-Wimey stuff on-going as we periodically celebrate a unique TV and comics institution…

The British love comic strips, adore “characters” and are addicted to celebrity. The history of our homegrown graphic narratives includes an astounding number of comedians, Variety stars and television actors: such disparate legends as Charlie Chaplin, Arthur Askey, Charlie Drake and so many more I’ve long forgotten and you’ve likely never heard of.

As much adored and adapted were actual shows and properties like Whacko!, Supercar, Thunderbirds, Pinky and Perky, The Clangers and literally hundreds of others. If folk watched or listened, an enterprising publisher made printed spectacles of them. Hugely popular anthology comics including Radio Fun, Film Fun, TV Fun, Look-In, TV Comic, TV Tornado, and Countdown readily and regularly translated our light entertainment favourites into pictorial joy every week, and it was a pretty poor star or show that couldn’t parley the day job into a licensed strip property…

Doctor Who premiered on black-&-white televisions across Britain on November 23rd 1963 with the premiere episode of ‘An Unearthly Child’. In 1964, a decades-long association with TV Comic began: issue #674 heralding the initial instalment of ‘The Klepton Parasites’.

On 11th October 1979 (although adhering to the US off-sale cover-dating system so it says 17th), Marvel’s UK subsidiary launched Doctor Who Weekly. Turning monthly magazine in September 1980 (#44) it’s been with us – in various names and iterations – ever since. All of which proves the Time Lord is a comic star of impressive pedigree and not to be trifled with.

Panini’s UK division ensured the immortality of the comics feature by collecting all strips of every Time Lord Regeneration in a uniform series of over-sized graphic albums.

Each concentrates on a particular incarnation of the deathless wanderer and this one gathers stories originally published in the early 1990s (from Doctor Who Monthly #130-150): a time when regular illustrator John Ridgway gave way to a succession of rotating creators as part of the company’s urgent drive to cut costs – although there’s no appreciable drop in quality that I can see.

These yarns feature the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy): an all monochrome compendium that kicks off with the eponymous ‘Cold Day in Hell!’ by writer Simon Furman, Ridgway and inker Tim Perkins: a 4-part thriller featuring an attack by Martian Ice Warriors on a tropical resort planet, which leads directly into the moody, single story ‘Redemption!’ care of Furman, Kev Hopgood and Perkins.

At that time and in this book Marvel sanctioned some controversial crossovers with other Marvel UK characters. The first of these is Death’s Head: a robot bounty hunter from the Transformers comic guest-starring in Furman & Geoff Senior’s ‘The Crossroads of Time’ (DWM #135), before it’s back to sounder stuff with freak-filled 3-part Victorian Great Exhibition epic ‘Claws of the Klath!’ (Mike Collins, Hopgood & David Hine).

Fresh-faced scribe Grant Morrison wrote of charmingly different ‘Culture Shock!’ for equally neophytic ascending star Bryan Hitch to draw, before John Higgins limned Furman’s ‘Keepsake’: a classy space opera about an indigent salvage man. John Freeman & Lee Sullivan started a long association with the magazine in 2-parter ‘Planet of the Dead’ (DWM #141-142), featuring an ambitious, spooky team-up of all seven Time Lord regenerations, on a world filled with Companions who had died in their service…

Dan Abnett & Ridgway delivered ‘Echoes of the Mogor!’ (DWM #143-144) – an eerie chiller set on a mining planet where Earth workers are mysteriously dying, whilst ‘Time and Tide’ by Richard Alan & John Carnell, illustrated by Dougie Braithewaite & Dave Elliott (DWM #143-144), maroons the Doctor on a drowning world amongst aliens who don’t seem to care if they live or die…

Carnell wrote the other crossover previously mentioned, a far less well-regarded romp with imbecilic detectives The Sleeze Brothers. ‘Follow that Tardis!‘ was illustrated by Andy Lanning, Higgins, Braithwaite & Elliot, before the strip content concludes with Alan Grant’s 3-part ‘Invaders from Gantac!’, wherein a colony of alien torturers invade 1992 London by mistake in a tale as much comedy as thriller, drawn by Martin Griffiths & Cam Smith.

Supplemented with tons of text features, pin-ups, creator-biographies and commentaries, this is a grand book for casual readers, a fine shelf addition for fans of the show and a perfect opportunity to cross-promote our particular art-form to anyone minded to give comics one more go…
All Doctor Who material © BBCtv. Doctor Who, the Tardis and all logos are trademarks of the British broadcasting corporation and are used under licence. Death’s Head and The Sleeze Brothers © Marvel. Published 2009. All rights reserved.

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Evil Emperor Penguin: The World Will Be Mine!


By Laura Ellen Anderson, with Kate Brown (David Fickling Books)
ISBN: 978-1-78845-299-1 (Digest PB)

A lifetime ago in 2012 Oxford-based family publisher David Fickling Books launched an “old school” weekly comics anthology aimed at girls and boys between 6 and 12. It revelled in reviving the grand old days of British picture-story entertainment intent whilst embracing the full force of modernity in its style and content. This comprised comic strips, humour, adventure, quizzes, puzzles, educational material and activity pages in a joyous parade of cartoon fun and fantasy.

In the years since, the periodical has gone from strength to strength, its pantheon of superbly engaging strips generating lines of superbly engaging graphic novel compilations, the latest of which is this riotous romp starring a gloriously malign and inept arch-wizard of scientific wickedness who delights readers with a profound sense of mischief and unbridled imagination…

Conceived and created by illustrator and author Laura Ellen Anderson (Kittens, Snow Babies, My Brother is a Superhero, Amelia Fang!, Rainbow Grey, I Don’t Want…), these are the revived, remastered and extended exploits of Evil Emperor Penguin!

The bad bird lives in a colossal fortress beneath the Antarctic, working ceaselessly towards total world domination, assisted by his stylish and erudite many-tentacled administrative lackey Number 8 and cutely fuzzy, passionately loyal Eugene. The latter is an endlessly inventive little abominable snowman clone. EEP had whipped up a batch of 250, but none of the others are quite like Eugene…

The penguin potentate appointed the hairy, bizarrely inspired tyke Top Minion, but somehow never managed to instil him with the requisite degree of evilness. Still, he is a dab-hand with spaghetti hoops, so it’s not a total loss.

Following an crucially informative  pin-up of ‘the Gang’ and some recurring rivals and foes with an info-packed double-page map of the Evil Underground Headquarters (disclosing all you’ll need to know) another assortment of vile vignettes begins with ‘Quantum EEP’ as a mishap with time travelling commodes send the penguin and his tentacular deputy back in time to meet their younger hippie selves – and make them evil if they want to get home and conquer the world. If only their earlier selves weren’t so seductively content…

Back in the present, Eugene and his substandard substitute assistant Neill are trying to fix the glitch but it’s tricky with chunks of reality fading away as you reach for them.

Ultimately, the wrong real is put right and EEP resumes his plans, leading to exploiting a radical new power source in ‘Pomme de Terror’ – which then evolves into a marauding horror made even worse by arch World Domination rival Evil Cat popping in for a spot of smug mockery…

Eugene’s secret passion for footwear inspires the Bad Bird’s next plan for global enslavement in ‘Shoe-Gene’ and results in the good servant being captured by the moustachioed, top-hatted, perfidious puss whose ‘Big Fat Doom-Button’ seems certain to eradicate the top minion’s benevolent guardian jolly unicorn Keith and all his wondrous kin.

Even an unprecedented team-up of EEP and the horned horsey isn’t enough to quell the crisis and it needs the last-minute intervention of valiant narwhal Norman and his finny chums to end the cat’s plans, but at least the rescue has laid the groundwork for a future romance…

Fully restored and ready for more evil, ‘Marshminion Surprise’ sees EEP attempting to turn humanity into gooey taste treats, but instead transforming Eugene after Evil Cat interferes again. No sooner is abnormality restored than reality television inspires even greater horror when the penguin produces hyper-judgemental talent show ‘The Yay Factor’ before Eugene’s love of a Farmer’s Market leads to EEP’s invention of brain-shrinking fruit in ‘An Epple a Day’. Naturally, nothing goes right and Antarctica soon is imperilled by a giant hairy head…

‘A Penguin’s Christmas Carol’ sees the villain forced to examine his own past present and future in the traditional spoofish yet moving manner before a new year welcomes fresh terror as EEP unleashes carnivorous wheelie-bins in ‘Time to Take Out the Trash’, prior to the debut of the politest murderous minion ever as ‘Flegburt’ introduces himself and Evil Cat’s scheme to destroy the penguin’s beloved Invention Room of Evil. Of course, even good manners can’t compensate for Eugene’s unique charm…

A critical postal cock up triggers ‘The Great Chase’ across the icy continent – consequently disrupting Keith and Norman’s first date – before the status quo between potential world tyrants is restored and EEP attempts to subjugate elected world leaders with genetically modified ‘Flower Power’.

The threat level then drops as the penguin suffers a dearth of inspiration in ‘Evil Block’ and takes out his frustrations on everybody until he builds a relaxation machine and really goes off the deep end. Drenched in chaos and worse, EEP must join with Evil Cat and unknown rival Evil Rat enduing countless terrors and discovering the awful truth about pigeons…

With Flegburt having turned turncoat and now minioning for the Evil Penguin, ‘Plan Poover’ finds young unicorn Colin doing his work experience placement with Number 8, thanks to a recommendation from his uncle Keith. It soon looks like he’ll never get that precious Sparkle Scouts Career Badge after designing the Super Epic Human Rainbow Vacuum…

More upset occurs after the unwary penguin plugs in the ‘Evil Printer’ and reality starts rebelling, even as the discovery of ‘Flegburt’s True Calling’ triggers fashion, shopping and a major career change after which brainwash chemical ‘Shampoogene’ is unleashed. It’s meant to clean humanity’s heads… and brains!… but there’s a little unwelcome side effect…

Eugene’s love of blowing bubbles sparks ‘The Unpoppable Plan’ and almost ends everyone until Keith and Norman intercede, before – with “bubblegeddon” averted – master and servants settle back for ‘A Christmas to Remember’ when the bird decides to steal Santa’s job and position…

Rocket-paced, hilariously inventive, wickedly arch and utterly determined to be silly at all costs, this tome of terror also has educational merit as it offers lessons on ‘How to Draw EEP’.

Evil Emperor Penguin: The World Will Be Mine! is a captivating cascade of smart, witty funny adventure, which will delight readers of all ages.
Text and illustrations © Laura Ellen Anderson 2023. All rights reserved.

Evil Emperor Penguin The World Will Be Mine! will be released (but not for good behaviour) on September 7th 2023 and is available for pre-order now.

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Showcase Presents Legion of Super-Heroes volume 3


By Jim Shooter, E. Nelson Bridwell, Otto Binder, Curt Swan, George Klein, Pete Costanza, Jim Mooney & George Papp (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-2185-0 (TPB)

Once upon a time, in the far future, a band of super-powered kids from a multitude of worlds took inspiration from the greatest legend of all time and formed a club of heroes. One day those Children of Tomorrow came back in time and invited their inspiration to join them…

And thus began the vast and epic saga of the Legion of Super-Heroes, as first envisioned by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino in early 1958, just as the revived comicbook genre of superheroes was gathering an inexorable head of steam. Since that time the fortunes and popularity of the Legion have perpetually waxed and waned, with their future history tweaked and rebooted, retconned and overwritten over and over again to comply with editorial diktat and popular whim.

This third sturdy, action-packed monochrome compendium gathers a chronological parade of futuristic delights from October 1966 to May 1968, as originally seen in Adventure Comics #349-368, and includes a Legion story from Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #106 (October 1967).

During this period the Club of Champions finally shed the last vestiges of wholesome, imaginative, humorous and generally safe science fiction strips to become a full-on dramatic action feature starring a grittily realistic combat force in constant, galaxy-threatening peril: a compelling force of valiant warriors ready and willing to pay the ultimate price for their courage and dedication…

The main architect of the transformation was teenaged sensation Jim Shooter, whose scripts and layouts (usually finished and inked by veterans Curt Swan & George Klein) made the series accessible to a generation of fans growing up in the Future…

The tense suspense begins with Adventure #349’s ‘The Rogue Legionnaire!’ (Shooter, Swan & Klein) wherein Saturn Girl, Colossal Boy, Shrinking Violet, Chameleon Boy and Brainiac 5 hunt hypnotic villain Universo through five periods of Earth’s history, aided by boy-genius Rond Vidar, a brilliant scientist with a tragic secret…

This is followed by a stellar 2-parter from #350-351 scripted by E. Nelson Bridwell which restores a number of invalided or expelled members to the team. In ‘The Outcast Super-Heroes’, a cloud of Green Kryptonite particles envelope Earth and force Superboy and Supergirl to retire from the Legion just as demonic alien Evillo unleashes his squad of deadly metahuman minions on the universe.

The Kryptonian Cousins are mind-wiped and replaced by armoured and masked paladins Sir Prize and Miss Terious in ‘The Forgotten Legion!’ but quickly return when a solution to the K Cloud is found. With Evillo’s eventual defeat, the team discover the wicked overlord has healed one-armed Lightning Lad and restored Bouncing Boy’s power for his own nefarious purposes, and together with the reformed White Witch and rehabilitated Star Boy and Dream Girl, the Legion’s ranks grow and might swell to bursting point.

That’s a very good thing as in the next issue Shooter, Swan & Klein produce one of their most stunning epics. When a colossal cosmic entity known as the Sun Eater menaces the United Planets, the Legion are hopelessly outmatched and forced to recruit the galaxy’s most dangerous criminals to help them save civilisation.

However, The Persuader, Emerald Empress, Mano, Tharok and Validus are untrustworthy allies at best and form an alliance as ‘The Fatal Five!’, intending to save the galaxy only so that they can rule it…

Adventure #353 reveals how the Five seemingly seal their own fate through arrogance and treachery with the true cost of heroism paid when ‘The Doomed Legionnaire!’ sacrifices his life to destroy the solar parasite…

Issue #354 introduced ‘The Adult Legion!’ when Superman travelled into the future to visit his grown-up comrades – discovering tantalising hints of events that would torment and beguile LSH fans for decades to come – before the yarn concluded with #355’s ‘The War of the Legions!’ as Brainiac 5, Cosmic Man, Element Man, Polar Man, Saturn Woman and Timber Wolf, accompanied by the most unexpected allies of all, battled the Legion of Super-Villains.

The issue also included an extra tale in ‘The Six-Legged Legionnaire!’ (by Otto Binder, Swan & Klein) wherein Superboy brings his High School sweetie Lana Lang to the 30th century, where she joins in a mission against a science-tyrant as bug-based shape-shifting Insect Queen. Disaster soon strikes though when the alien ring which facilitates her changes is lost, trapping her in a hideous insectoid incarnation.

Issue #356 sees Dream Girl, Mon-El, Element Lad, Brainiac 5 and Superboy transformed into babies to become ‘The Five Legion Orphans!’: a cheeky, cunning Bridwell-scripted mystery leading into darker matters as repercussions and guilt of the Sun-Eater episode are explored and survivors of that mission are apparently haunted by ‘The Ghost of Ferro Lad!’ (#357, by Shooter, Swan & Klein), after which ‘The Hunter!’ (Shooter & George Papp) sees the LSH stalked by a murderously insane sportsman with a unique honour code.

Adventure #359 depicts the once-beloved champions disbanded and on the run as ‘The Outlawed Legionnaires!’ (Shooter, Swan & Klein) thanks to manipulations of a devious old foe, only to rousingly regroup, counter-attack and triumph in #360’s ‘The Legion Chain Gang!’.

Illustrated by Jim Mooney, and with the superhero squad once more a key component of United Planets Security, the Legion are assigned as secret service to protect alien ambassadors The Dominators from political agitators, assassins and a hidden traitor in tense thriller ‘The Unkillables!’, before ‘The Lone Wolf Legion Reporter!’ (from Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #106, October 1967, by Shooter & Pete Costanza) finds the young newsman seconded to the 30th century to help with the club newspaper. Sadly, he’s far better at making news than publishing it…

The team is scattered across three worlds in Adventure Comics #362 as mad scientist Mantis Morlo refuses to let environmental safety interfere with his experiments in ‘The Chemoids are Coming!’, culminating in a lethally ‘Black Day for the Legion!’…

Shooter & Costanza then top that gripping 2-parter by uncovering ‘The Revolt of the Super-Pets!’ in #364, when the crafty rulers of planet Thanl seek to seduce the animal adventurers from their rightful – subordinate – positions with sweet words and palatial new homes.

When the isolated world of Talok 8 goes dark and becomes a militaristic threat to the UP, their planetary champion Shadow Lass leads Superboy, Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy and Karate Kid on a reconnaissance mission which results in the cataclysmic ‘Escape of the Fatal Five!’ (illustrated by Swan & Klein). The vicious quintet then nearly conquer the UP itself: only frustrated by the defiant, last-ditch efforts of the battered heroes in blistering conclusion ‘The Fight for the Championship of the Universe!’

In grateful thanks, the Legion are gifted a vast new HQ but before the paint is even dry, a vast paramilitary force attempts to invade, slowly reconstructing planet Earth in #367’s ‘No Escape from the Circle of Death!’ (Shooter, Swan, Klein & Sheldon Moldoff), before this volume ends on a note of political and social tension as a glamorous alien envoy attempts to suborn the diminished and downtrodden female Legionnaires in #368’s ‘The Mutiny of the Super-Heroines!’

The Legion of Super-Heroes is unquestionably one of the most beloved and bewildering creations in comic book history and largely responsible for the growth of the groundswell movement that became American Comics Fandom. These scintillating, seductively addictive stories, as much as Julie Schwartz’s Justice League, fired up the interest and imaginations of a generation of readers to underpin the industry we all know today.

If you love comics and haven’t read this stuff, you are the poorer for it and need to enrich your future life as soon as possible.
© 1966, 1967, 1968, 2009 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Doctor Who volume 7: The Flood


By Scott Gray, Gareth Roberts, Roger Langridge, David A. Roach, Mike Collins, Robin Smith, Adrian Salmon, Anthony Williams, Martin Geraghty, Faz Choudhury, Daryl Joyce, John Ross & various (Panini Books)
ISBN 978-1-905239-65-8 (TPB)

This year is the 60th Anniversary of Doctor Who so there is/has been/will be a bunch of Timey-Wimey stuff on-going as we periodically celebrate a unique TV and comics institution…

The British love comic strips and they love celebrity and they love “characters.” The history of our homegrown graphic narratives includes a disproportionate number of radio comedians, Variety stars and television actors: such disparate legends as Charlie Chaplin, Flanagan & Allen, Arthur Askey, Winifred Atwell, Max Bygraves, Jimmy Edwards, Charlie Drake and so many more I’ve long forgotten and you’ve likely never heard of.

As much adored and adapted were actual shows and properties like Whacko!, ITMA, Our Gang, Old Mother Riley, Supercar, Thunderbirds, Pinky and Perky, The Clangers and literally hundreds of others. If folk watched or listened, an enterprising publisher would make printed spectacles of them. Hugely popular anthology comics including Radio Fun, Film Fun, TV Fun, Look-In, TV Tornado, TV Comic and Countdown readily translated our light entertainment favourites into pictorial joy every week, and it was a pretty poor star or show that couldn’t parley the day job into a licensed strip property…

Doctor Who premiered on black-&-white televisions across Britain on November 23rd 1963 with the first episode of ‘An Unearthly Child’. In 1964, a decades-long association with TV Comic began: issue #674 heralding the initial instalment of ‘The Klepton Parasites’.

On 11th October 1979 (although adhering to the US off-sale cover-dating system so it says 17th), Marvel’s UK subsidiary launched Doctor Who Weekly. Turning into a monthly magazine in September 1980 (#44) it’s been with us – under various names and iterations – ever since. All of which only goes to prove the Time Lord is a comic star not to trifled with.

Panini’s UK division ensured the immortality of the comics feature by collecting all strips of every Regeneration of the Time Lord in a uniform series of over-sized graphic albums.

This is actually the forth – and final – collection of their strips featuring the Eighth (Paul McGann) Doctor. Whether that statement made any sense to you largely depends on whether you are an old fan, a new convert or even a complete beginner.

None of which is relevant or pertinent if all you want is a darn good read. The creators involved have managed the ultimate ‘Ask’ of any comics creator – producing engaging, thrilling, fun strips that can be equally enjoyed by the merest beginner and the most slavishly dedicated fan.

Writer Scott Gray provides a smart script for Roger Langridge & David A. Roach’s potent art with ‘Where Nobody Knows Your Name’ as the errant Time-Lord fetches up at a bar and meets some old friends, before Gareth Roberts spoofs the entire British Football comics industry in ‘The Nightmare Game’. Pictorial fun and thrills in equal measure are provided by Mike Collins & Robin Smith on this nostalgia-drenched 3-parter.

Gray writes everything else in the book, starting with a short adventure in ancient Egypt. ‘The Power of Thoueris!’ is stylishly illustrated by Adrian Salmon, and is followed by an extended Victorian romp illustrated by Anthony Williams & Roach concerning ‘The Curious Tale of Spring-Heeled Jack’.

‘The Land of Happy Endings’ is a touching and engagingly heartfelt tribute to the days of the TV hero’s earliest strip outings. Writer Gray, penciller Martin Geraghty, inkers Roach and Faz Choudhury with painter/colourists Daryl Joyce & Salmon all tip their collective hats to Neville Main (illustrator of the first graphic adventures of the Doctor beginning in 1964 in TV Comic) in a charming retro-romp, which clears the palate for a horror-fest set in 1875 Dakota.

‘Bad Blood’ has werewolves, shamanism, ghost-towns, cowboys, George Armstrong Custer and Sitting Bull as well as the requisite aliens and evil technology rioting through its five chapters, all ably illustrated by Geraghty, Roach & Salmon in an enthralling thriller leaving the Time Lord with brand new Companion Destrii.

Drawn by John Ross and coloured by Salmon, ‘Sins of the Fathers’ deals with the aftermath of that conflict. The severely wounded Destrii must be rushed to a deep-space hospital just in time for it to be attacked by Zero-G terrorists. Both this 3-parter and follow-up epic ‘The Flood’ have extended endings that had never been published before.

The latter is the real gem of this book; a huge, 8-chapter saga originally intended to conclude the McGann Doctor adventures and bridge the gap to the new TV series with incoming Christopher Eccleston as the new resurgent Time Lord. Just how that all worked out makes for fascinating reading in the wonderful text section at the back, but Gray, Geraghty, Roach, Salmon & Langridge go out with a bang as Cybermen invade Camden on their way to world domination. This is an absolute joy, full of action, suspense, humour and the kind of cameos all fan-boys die for.

We’ve all got our little joys and hidden passions. Sometimes they overlap and magic is made. This is a great set of strips, about a meta-literally immortal and timeless TV hero. If you’re a fan of only one, this book might make you an addict to both.

All Doctor Who material © BBCtv. Doctor Who, the Tardis and all logos are trademarks of the British Broadcasting Corporation and are used under licence. Death’s Head and The Sleeze Brothers © Marvel. Published 2007. All rights reserved.

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No Need For Tenchi!


By Hitoshi Okuda, translated by Fred Burke (Viz Graphic Novel)
ISBN: 978-1-56931-180-6 (tank?bon PB)

The one real problem with manga is that translated past triumphs seldom stay in print. There are dozens of classic collections that demand rediscovery by a casual rather than otaku audience and many minor masterpieces languish lost when they could be appreciated and adored…

This bright and breezy adventure comedy from 1987 is a rare reversal of the usual state of affairs in that a TV anime came first and the manga serial was its spin-off. Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki debuted as a 6-part TV show (termed an OVA or Original Video Animation in Japan) that proved so blisteringly popular that even before the original season concluded further specials and episodes were rushed into production. Over the next decade or so two more seasons appeared as well as spin-off shows and features (for a total of 98 episodes all told), plus games, toys, light novels and, of course, a comic book series.

The translation most commonly accepted for the pun-soaked title is No Need For Tenchi, but equally valid interpretations include Useless Tenchi, No Heaven and Earth and This Way Up.

The assorted hi-jinks of the show resulted in three overlapping but non-related continuities, with the Hitoshi Okuda manga serials stemming directly from the first season. Okuda eventually produced two comics sagas in this format: Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-oh-ki which began in 1994 and features here – and follow-up Shin Tenchi Muyo! which I’ll get to one fine day…

The strip debuted in the December 16th 1994 Sh?nen anthology (comics pitched at 10-18 year old males) Comic Dragon Jr. It ran until Jun 9th 2000, generating 12 volumes of classic laughs and thrills. The stories are generally regarded as non-canonical by fans of the various TV versions, but of course we don’t care about that since the printed black and white tales are so much fun and so well illustrated…

This first volume collects the first seven issues of the Viz tome Tales of Tenchi, which did so much to popularise Manga in the English-speaking world, and opens with a thorough and fascinating recap of that first TV season – from which all succeeding manic mirth and mayhem proceeds – before cracking on to bolder and better bewilderments starring the entire copious cast on all new adventures and exploits…

Tenchi Masaki is an ordinary lad living peacefully in the countryside with his father Nobuyuki and grandfather Katsuhito, until one day he breaks opens an ancient shrine and lets a demon out. Hell-fiend Ryoko tries to kill him but a magic “Lightning Eagle Sword” helps him escape. The demon follows though, demanding the sword and things get really crazy when a spaceship arrives, revealing Ryoko is in fact a disgraced alien pirate from the star-spanning Jurai Empire.

Starship Ryo-oh-ki is full of attractive, shameless, immensely powerful warrior-women including Princess Ayeka, her little sister Sasami and supreme scientist Washu. This gaggle of violently disruptive visitors moves in with Tenchi and family, causing nothing but trouble and embarrassment. Soon the boy and his sword are being dragged all over the cosmos in the sentient Ryo-oh-ki (who, when not on duty, prefers the form of a cute rabbit/cat hybrid critter).

Ayeka and Sasami both harbour feelings for hapless Tenchi but things get really complicated when grandfather Katsuhito is revealed to be Yosho, a noble Prince of the Jurai. It appears Tenchi and those darned space girls are all related…

Tales of Tenchi opened with ‘The Genius’ as the star, currently studying Jurai warrior training under his grandfather’s diligent tutelage, falls foul of the princesses’ growing boredom. Ryoko attacks again, precipitating a devastating battle that threatens to burn the entire landscape to ashes, but is the aggressor really the demon pirate?

In ‘Double Trouble’ the other Ryoko tries to take Tenchi’s sword – in actuality a puissant techno-artefact known as the Master Key – before being defeated by the original, but at the cost of shock-induced amnesia. As the refugees all decompress, ‘Under Observation’ depicts outrageous and inadvisable potential cures for the distressed Ryoko but when the defeated doppelganger’s master Yakage arrives, the entire extended family are endangered. The terrifying star-warrior challenges Tenchi to a duel…

Part 4 ‘Plunder’ is one colossal hi-energy clash as the boy valiantly demonstrates all he has learned to drive off the intruder, but only after the villain takes Ayeka hostage, demanding a rematch in 10 days’ time…

Intensifying his training in ‘Practice Makes Perfect’ Tenchi prepares for the upcoming clash whilst Ryoko pursues Yakage into space, unaware that super-scientist Washu has hidden herself aboard the pursing ship…

‘A Good Scolding’ reveals intriguing history regarding the assorted super-girls whilst Tenchi trains for the final confrontation before concluding chapter ‘Relationships’ brings things to a spectacular climax whilst still leaving a cliffhanger to pull you back in for the next addictive instalment…

Blending elements of Star Wars: A New Hope with classic Japanese genre themes (fantasy, action, fighting, embarrassment, loss of conformity and hot chicks inexplicably drawn to nerdy boys), this rousing romp also includes comedy vignettes starring ‘The Cast of No Need For Tenchi’, and fourth-wall-busting asides, to top off a delightfully undemanding fun-fest to satisfy not just manga maniacs but also any lover of fanciful frivolity and sci fi shenanigans.
© 1994 by Hitoshi Okuda/Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co Ltd., Tokyo. NO NEED FOR TENCHI! is a trademark of Viz Communications Inc.

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Ironwolf: Fires of the Revolution


By Howard Chaykin, John Francis Moore, Michael Mignola & P. Craig Russell (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-56389-063-5 (HB) 978-1-56389-065-9 (TPB)

In the early 1970s, when Howard Chaykin and other luminaries-in-waiting like Bernie Wrightson, Walt Simonson, Al Weiss, Mike Kaluta and others were just starting out in the US comics industry, it was on the back of a global fantasy boom. DC had the comic book rights to Fritz Lieber’s Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser tales (beautifully realised in 5 issues of Swords and Sorcery by Denny O’Neil and many of the above-mentioned gentlemen) as well as the more well-known works of Edgar Rice Burroughs – Tarzan, Korak, John Carter of Mars, Carson of Venus, Pellucidar and even Beyond the Farthest Star. Marvel had some old pulp called Conan and a bunch of others…

Those beautiful fantasy strips began as back-up features in DC’s jungle books but quickly graduated to their own title – Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Weird Worlds – where they enthralled for just 7 magnificent issues before returning to back-up status in Tarzan and Korak. Dropping ERB’s strap line the comic itself ran for three more issues before folding in 1974. Those featured an all-new space opera scenario by O’Neil and Chaykin – The Saga of Ironwolf.

Predating Star Wars by years, and seductively blending hard sci fi and horror tropes, it only just began the story of a star-spanning empire fallen into dissolution and decadence and the rebellion of one honest aristocrat who threw off the seductive chains of privilege to fight for freedom and justice. Artificial vampires, monsters, vast alien armies and his own kin were some of the horrors Ironwolf tackled, leading a loyal band of privateers from his gravity-defying wooden star-galleon the Limerick Rake.

With impressive elan Ironwolf mixed post-Vietnam, current-Watergate cynicism with youthful rebellion, all flavoured by Celtic mythology, Greek tragedy, the legend of Robin Hood and pulp trappings to create a rollicking, barnstorming unforgettable romp. It was cancelled after three issues.

In 1986, those episodes were collected as a special one shot which obviously had some editorial impact, as soon after, this slim but classy all-star conclusion was released in both hardcover and paperback.

In the Empire Galaktika no resource is more prized than the miraculous anti-gravity trees of Illium – ancestral home of the Lords Ironwolf. These incredible plants take a thousand years to mature, can grow on no other world, and are the basis of all starships and extraplanetary travel in the Empire.

After untold years of comfortable co-existence, the latest Empress, Erika Morelle D’Klein Hernandez – steeped in her own debaucheries – declares that she is giving the latest crop of mature trees to monstrous aliens she had welcomed into her realm. Disgusted at this betrayal, nauseated by D’Klein’s blood-sucking allies and afraid for the Empire’s survival, Lord Brian of Illium destroys the much-coveted trees and joins the revolution.

With a burgeoning republican movement, he almost overthrows the corrupt regime in a series of spectacular battles, but was ultimately betrayed by one of his closest allies. Ambushed, the Limerick Rake died in a ball of flame…

Ironwolf awakes confused and crippled in a shabby hovel. Horrified he learns he has been unconscious for eight years, and although the Empire has been replaced with a Commonwealth, things have actually grown worse for humanity. The Empress still holds power and men are no more than playthings and sustenance – not only for the vampiric Blood Legion but also the increasingly debased aristocrats he once called his fellows.

Clearly he has a job to finish…

After decades away, much of the raw fire of the young creators who originated Ironwolf has mellowed with age, but Chaykin has always been a savvy, cynical and politically worldly-wise story-teller and still had enough indignant venom remaining to make this tale of betrayal and righteous revenge a gloriously fulfilling read, especially with the superbly beguiling art of Mike Mignola & P. Craig Russell, illustrating his final campaign to liberate the masses.

Since the tale (which links into Chaykin & Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez’s DC future-verse Twilight epic – and no, that one has nothing to do with fey vampires in love: stayed tuned for our review of the sci fi classic) is not available digitally and physical copies are a bit pricy, I think the time has never been better for reissuing the entire vast panoramic saga in one complete graphic novel.

Let’s see if somebody at DC is reading this review…
© 1992 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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The Spider’s Syndicate of Crime vs. the Crook From Space


By Jerry Siegel & Reg Bunn (Rebellion)
ISBN: 978-1-78618-971-4 (HB/Digital edition)

Part of Rebellion’s Treasury of British Comics strand, The Spider’s Syndicate of Crime vs the Crook From Space is another sublimely cool collection celebrating an all-but forgotten sub-strand of the 1960s comics experience.

Until the 1980s, UK comics operated on an anthological model, offering variety of genre, theme and character on a weekly – or sometimes fortnightly – basis. Humorous periodicals like DC Thomson’s The Beano were leavened by thrillers like Billy the Cat or General Jumbo, and adventure papers like Amalgamated Press/Fleetway’s Lion or Valiant always carried gag strips such as The Nutts, Grimly Feendish, Mowser and a wealth of similar quick laugh treats.

British comics also notoriously enjoyed a strange, extended love affair with what can only be described as “unconventional” (for which feel free to substitute “creepy”) heroes. So many of our stars and potential role models of serials and strips were just plain “off”: self-righteous, moody voyeurs-turned vigilantes like Jason Hyde, sinister masterminds like The Dwarf, deranged geniuses like Eric Dolmann, jingoistic (and racist) supermen like Captain Hurricane and a plethora of reformed criminals/menaces like Charlie Peace, The Steel Claw or this guy…

… And don’t get me started on our legion of lethally anarchic comedy icons or that our most successful comic symbol of justice is an Eagle-bedecked, jack-booted poster boy for a fascist state. Perhaps that explains why these days we can’t even imagine or envision what a proper leader looks like and keep on electing clowns, crooks and blinkered over-privileged clueless simpletons…

All joking aside, British comics are unlike any other kind and simply must be seen to be believed and enjoyed. One of the most revered stars of the medium is being progressively collected in archival editions, perfectly encapsulating our odd relationship with heroism, villainy and in particular that murky grey area bridging them…

Mystery criminal genius and eventual superhero The Spider debuted in peerless weekly anthology Lion (June 26th 1965 issue), reigning supreme until April 26th 1969. He has periodically returned in reprint form (Vulcan) and occasionally new stories ever since.

As first introduced by Ted Cowan (Ginger Nutt, Paddy Payne, Adam Eterno, Robot Archie) & Reg Bunn (Robin Hood, Buck Jones, Captain Kid, Clip McCord), the moody malcontent was an enigmatic super-scientist whose goal was to be acclaimed the greatest criminal of all time.

The flamboyantly wicked narcissist began his public career by recruiting crime specialists – safecracker Roy Ordini and genteelly evil genius inventor Professor Pelham – before attempting a massive gem-theft from America’s greatest city. He was foiled by cruel luck and resolute cops Gilmore and Trask: crack detectives cursed with the task of capturing the arachnid arch-villain.

Cowan scripted the first two serialised sagas before handing over to comics royalty: Jerry Siegel (Superman, Superboy, The Spectre, Doctor Occult, Slam Bradley, Funnyman, The Mighty Crusaders, Starling), who was forced to look elsewhere for work after an infamous dispute with DC Comics over the rights to the Man of Steel.

This eagerly anticipated collection covers the Lion’s share of arachnid amazement from 25th June 1966 to 28th January 1967: two extended and interlocking epics crafted as Britain and the entire, but less fab & groovy world succumbed to “Batmania”.

In case you’re not old, that term covers a period of global hysteria sparked by the 1966 Batman TV show, which launched in January in the USA, with the UK catching the madness from 21st May until September 11th 1966. A second season ran here from September 17th to April 2nd 1967. The planet went crazy for superheroes and an era dubbed “camp” saw humour, satire, and fantastic psychedelic whimsy infect all categories of entertainment. It was a time of peace, love, wild music and radical change, and I believe there were lots of drugs being experimented with at the time…

British comics were not immune, and a host of more conventional costumed crusaders sprang up in our traditionally unconventional pages. Scripted by the godfather of the genre – and an inveterate humourist – The Spider skilfully shifted gears without a squeak and the first epic ‘The Spider v. The Exterminator’ saw the uncrowned king of crime preying upon and at war with the gathered mob lords of America, who called themselves Crime Incorporated.

The hooded leader – The Silhouette – had acted upon their behalf and hired a superpowered villain to destroy the wicked webspinner, but in numerous weekly clashes, only vividly spectacularly stalemates had been achieved. Eventually, after learning what the Silhouette really was, the foes became partners: resolved to impoverish and crush all other major criminals, and divide the planet between them. The crime lords struck back, leading to the return of old Spider enemies Dr. Mysterioso and The Android Emperor in extraordinary extended clashes until only two remained. Then abruptly, announcing there was more challenge and greater fun in fighting evil, The Spider declared himself a hero, ruthlessly betrayed the Exterminator and set out to be a world saver…

He got his chance the very next week whilst fighting devious and decrepit tech bandit The Infernal Gadgeteer, as their duels were interrupted by a marauding pillage from the stars.

‘The Spider versus the Crook From Outer Space’ played out for months, with manic combats and crazy inventions peppering a madcap competition that begins when the attention-seeking shapeshifter abducts the Gadgeteer so he/it can be centre of attention. Constantly attacking humanity in the guise of villains from history, the alien runs the Spider and his team ragged, upping the stakes with monsters and super-weapons whenever the make-believe hero frustrates him/it. The duel takes its emotional toll too, and when an alien invasion armada interrupts the games, the space crook petulantly but pitilessly destroys them for their temerity…

Despite breakneck pace, the story positively bulges with imaginative ingenuity, as when a hidden aquatic race from the oceans also foolishly disrupts the bout and pays the price, or when the sworn foes both change sides and trade moral perspectives…

As the end nears, Dr. Mysterioso returns leading a microscopic militia and sowing chaos but the coup de grace comes when the alien at last decides to battle his implacable antagonist as another, better Spider…

These retro/camp masterpieces of arcane dialogue, insane devices and rollercoaster antics are perhaps an acquired taste but no one with functioning eyes can fail to be astounded by the artwork of Reg “crosshatch king” Bunn which handles mood, spectacle, action and Siegel’s frankly unbelievable script demands with captivating aplomb.

This titanic tome reaffirms that the King is back at last and should find a home in every kid’s heart and mind, no matter how young they might be, or threaten to remain. Batty, baroque and often simply bonkers, The Spider proves that although crime does not pay, it always provides a huge amount of white-knuckle fun…
© 1996, 1967 & 2023 Rebellion Publishing IP Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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Sky Masters of the Space Force: The Complete Dailies


By Jack Kirby, Dick & Dave Wood, Wally Wood & Dick Ayers (Hermes Press)
ISBN: 978-1-61345-129-8 (HB) 978-1-61345-211-0 (TPB) 1-56685-009-6 (Pure Imagination)

Sky Masters of the Space Force was – and remains – a beautiful and eminently readable newspaper strip but one with a chequered and troubled back-story. How much so you can discover for yourself when you buy this book.

Even ever-upbeat and inspirational comics god Jack Kirby spent decades trying to forget the grief caused by his foray into the newspaper strip market during the height of the Space Race before finally relenting in his twilight years and giving his blessing to collections and reprints such as this one from Hermes Press.

Be grateful that he did because the collected work is one of his greatest achievements, even with the incredible format restraints of one tier of tiny panels per day, and a solitary page every Sunday. Decades later this hard-science space adventure is still the business!

And that’s despite the acrimonious legal manoeuvrings that poisoned the process of creating the strip from start to finish. That can of worms you can read for yourself in Daniel Herman’s forthright ‘Introduction: Jack Kirby, Wally Wood, and Sky Masters’ which precedes the astronautical adventures contained herein…

Just for context though: against a backdrop of international and ideological rivalry turned white-hot when the Soviets successfully launched Sputnik in 1957, the staid George Matthew Adams newspaper syndicate decided to finally enter the 20th century with a newspaper feature about space.

After approaching a reluctant DC Comics (then National Periodicals Publications) a deal was brokered. The project was steered by editor Jack Schiff who convinced Jack Kirby, inker Wally Wood (later replaced by Dick Ayers) and scripters/brothers Dick and Dave Wood (no relation to Wally) to begin bringing the conquest of the cosmos into our lives via an all-American astronaut, his trusty team of stalwart comrades and the philanthropic largesse of the newly-minted US Space Force (who knew Donald Trump could read back then?).

The daily strip launched on September 8th 1958 and ran until February 25th 1961; scant months before Alan Shepherd became in reality the first American in Space on May 5th.

The Sunday colour page told its five extended tales (The Atom Horse, Project Darkside, Mister Lunivac, Jumbo Jones and The Yogi Spaceman) in a separate continuity running from February 8th 1959 to 14th February 1960. They are sadly not included in this monochrome archival collection, but at least that gives us fans something to look forward to…

This tense, terse and startlingly suspenseful foray into a historical future begins with ‘The First Man in Space’ (September 8th – November 21st 1958) as Major Schuyler “Sky” Masters becomes the second man in space. Romantically involved with Holly Martin, he is hurled into orbit to rescue her astronaut father after the bold pioneer encounters, in the pitiless reaches above Earth, something too horrible to contemplate…

Human tragedy and ever-impinging fear of the unknown of that moody tale informs all the tales that follow, and as Holly Martin’s feisty brother Danny and burly Sgt. Riot join the cast (who do they remind me of?) for ‘Sabotage’ (22nd November – 7th March 1959), the quintessential components of all great comics teams are in place.

In this second encounter the stage expands enormously and a member of the vast Space Force contingent sinks into derangement: convinced colonization of the void and abandonment of Mother Earth is an unholy abomination.

That’s bad enough, but when he’s despatched as one of the six pathfinders constructing America’s first permanent orbiting space station, disaster is assured unless Sky can expose him and stop his deadly machinations…

Even as grim yet heady realism slowly grew into exuberant action and fantastic spectacle, the strip moves into high dramatic gear as woman pilot (or “aviatrix”) ‘Mayday Shannon’ (9th March – 9th May) joins the squad. The Brass have high hopes that she will prove “females” can thrive in space too. They didn’t reckon on her publicity-hungry greed and innate selfishness. Happily, the magnetic allure of the stars ultimately overcomes her bad side and Sky is on hand to deal with her ruthlessly unscrupulous manager…

A medical emergency tests the ingenuity of our dedicated spacers when project instigator and patriarch Doctor Royer is taken ill and Sky must ferry a surgeon to him in ‘To Save a Life’ (11th May – 10th June) after which the tireless Major and an unsuspected rival for Holly’s affections are stranded together on a New Guinea island of cannibals after losing control of ‘The Lost Capsule’ (11th June – 23rd September)…

During that heady meeting of ancient and modern cultures, inker/finisher Wally Wood was replaced by Dick Ayers (although the signatures remained “Kirby & Wood” for years more. Maybe the credit was for the writers?).

The incalculable terrors of space manifested with the next saga as ‘Alfie’ (24th September 1959 to 13th January 1960) carried the heroes of the New Frontier into the next decade. When young astronaut crewman Marek joins the orbiting space wheel, he begins periodically suffering bizarre fits. Every four hours for seven and a half minutes, the young American seems to channel the personality of aging East End cockney thief Alfie Higgins. With the fear that it might be some kind of infectious space madness, Sky and Riot head for London to link up with Scotland Yard in a gripping mystery drama blending jewel robbery and murder with the eerie overtones of Dumas’ Corsican Cousins…

The constant tensions of the Cold War and Space Race come to the fore in ‘Refugee’ (14th January – 19th February) as Sky and the US Space Force aid a most unlikely and improbable Soviet defector’s escape to the West…

Now a fully-trusted and dedicated member of the squad, Mayday Shannon returns to solve an astronaut’s romantic dilemma by arranging a ‘Wedding in Space’ (20th February – 20th April), before the true threat of the outer depths is tackled when Sky meets astronautical guru and maverick Martin Strickland. A tempestuous but invaluable asset of the Space program, the intellectual renegade has proof of alien life but won’t share the ‘Message from Space’ (21st April – 22nd June) unless military and civil authorities give him carte blanche to act on humanity’s behalf…

Counterbalancing such speculative sci fi aspects, the penultimate adventure is very much Earthbound and grounded in contemporary science and economics. ‘Weather Watchers’ (23rd June – 27th December) finds greedy capitalist entrepreneur Octavius Alexia realise he can make huge profits by scamming insurers if he has access to advance weather predictions afforded by the growing web of satellites orbiting the world.

To monopolise on that valuable information, he targets Mayday with the latest in espionage technologies and male honey trap J. Mansfield Sparks III. It might have all gone his way too if the woman hadn’t been so smart, and his mercenary gigolo had remained unencumbered by conscience…

The series ended in a rather rushed and rapid manner with ‘The Young Astronaut’ (28th December 1960 – 25th February 1961) wherein a new recruit proved to be too good to be true. Excelling at every aspect of the harsh training, Frederick T. “Fission” Tate had ulterior motives for getting into space. Luckily, suspicious Major Masters was right beside him on that first flight into the Wide Black Yonder…

As well as these stellar tales of stellar wonder, this volume also contains an abundance of visual extras such as a numerous covers and samples of Kirby’s contemporary comic book work, plus original art panels in a ‘Focus’ section, which almost compensates for the absence of the Sunday colour pages. Almost…

This compilation comprises a meteoric canon of wonderment that no red-blooded armchair adventurer could possibly resist, but quite honestly, I simply cannot be completely objective about Sky Masters.

I grew up during this time period and the “Conquest of Space” is as much a part of my sturdy yet creaky old bones as the lead in the paint, pipes and exhaust fumes my generation readily absorbed. That it is also thrilling, challenging and spectacularly drawn is almost irrelevant to me, but if any inducement is needed for you to seek this work out let it be that this is indisputably one of Kirby’s greatest accomplishments: engaging, beguiling, challenging and truly lovely to look upon. Now go enjoy it.

Back in 2000, Pure Imagination Publishing released The Complete Sky Masters of the Space Force, which also contains an abundance of essays; commentary and extras such as sketches and unpublished art, as well as those omitted Sunday pages, albeit printed in black and white. If you have the resources and that completist bug it’s worth hunting down, until such time as modern publishers finally catch on and print everything.

© 2017 Herman and Geer Communications, Inc. d/b/a Hermes Press. Introduction and Focus © 2017 Daniel Herman.

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Showcase Presents Legion of Super-Heroes volume 2


By Otto Binder, Jerry Siegel, Edmond Hamilton, Jim Shooter, Curt Swan, John Forte & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1- 4012-1724-2 (TPB)

Once upon a time, in the far future, a band of super-powered kids from a multitude of worlds took inspiration from the greatest legend of all time and formed a club of heroes. One day those Children of Tomorrow came back in time and invited their inspiration to join them…

And thus began the vast and epic saga of the Legion of Super-Heroes, as first envisioned by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino in early 1958, just as the revived comicbook genre of superheroes was gathering an inexorable head of steam. Since that time the fortunes and popularity of the Legion have perpetually waxed and waned, with their future history tweaked and rebooted, retconned and overwritten over and again to comply with editorial diktat and popular whim. Happy 65th Anniversary, teams!

This splendid, charm-soaked, action packed second monochrome collection continues to re-present those early tales from assorted Superman Family titles in chronological order: the sagas from their own feature spanning Adventure Comics #316, 322-348, and 365 with guest-shots from Superboy #117, 124-125 and pertinent portions of Superman Annual #4, covering July 1964 to September 1966.

From Adventure #322 the fun-filled futurism opens with ‘The Super-Tests of the Super-Pets!’ by Edmond Hamilton, John Forte & Sheldon Moldoff, wherein the Legion’s mighty animal companions – Krypto, Streaky the Super Cat, Beppo, the monkey from Krypton and magical Super-horse Comet – are left to guard Earth as the humanoid players continue to pursue the elusive Time Trapper. When Chameleon Boy’s pet Proty II applies to join the bestial bunch, they give him a series of extremely difficult qualification tasks…

‘The Eight Impossible Missions!’ (#323 by Jerry Siegel, Forte & George Klein) see the incomprehensibly smart Proty setting the human Legionnaires a set of challenges to determine their next leader, after which the tone switches to deadly danger for ‘The Legion of Super-Outlaws!’ (Hamilton & Forte), as a grudge-bearing mad scientist manipulates a super-team from far distant Lallor into attacking the United Planets champions…

Issue #325 reveals how ‘Lex Luthor Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes!’ (Siegel & Forte) in a cunning tale of deadly deception whilst a ‘Revolt of the Girl Legionnaires!’ (Siegel, Forte & Klein) finds the female heroes attempting to eradicate their male comrades. Of course, they don’t mean it and a sinister mastermind is behind it all…

Superboy #117 (cover-dated December 1964) offers a classy thriller wherein Chameleon Boy, Invisible Kid, Ultra Boy, Element Lad and Brainiac 5 seemingly travel back 1000 years to attack the Boy of Steel in Siegel, Curt Swan & Klein’s ‘Superboy and the Five Legion Traitors!’ whilst over in Adventure #327 ‘The Lone Wolf Legionnaire!’ introduces bad boy Brin Londo in a clever thriller from Hamilton, Forte, Klein & Moldoff. This troubled teen is framed for appalling crimes but will one day become a valued member of the team…

Siegel & Jim Mooney began an engaging run of tales in #328, opening with ‘The Lad who Wrecked the Legion!’ as insidious Command Kid joins the superhero squad to dismantle it from within.

Narrowly escaping that fate, the heroes confront the topsy-turvy threat of their own imperfect doppelgangers in #329’s ‘The Bizarro Legion!’ after which another evil juvenile infiltrates the organisation, intent on destroying them all in ‘Secret of the Mystery Legionnaire!’. The dastardly plan proceeds without a hitch until victorious Dynamo-Boy recruited malevolent Lightning Lord, Cosmic King and Saturn Queen and falls victim to ‘The Triumph of the Legion of Super-Villains!’ in #331.

Rescued and restored, the good kids are back in Adventure #332, facing ‘The Super-Moby Dick of Space!’ (Hamilton & Forte) as recently resurrected Lightning Lad suffers crippling injuries and an imminent nervous breakdown…

‘The War Between Krypton and Earth!’ (#333, by Hamilton, Forte & Klein), has the time travelling wonders flung back into Earth’s antediluvian past and split into internecine factions on opposite sides of a conflict forgotten by history, after which Hamilton, Forte & Moldoff’s ‘The Unknown Legionnaire!’ poses a perilous puzzle with an oppressed race’s future at stake.

The same creative team introduce sinister super-villain ‘Starfinger!’ in #335, framing one luckless Legionnaire for incredible crimes before ‘The True Identity of Starfinger!’ (inked by Klein) reveals the real culprit.

Superboy #124 (October 1965, Otto Binder & George Papp) features Lana Lang as ‘The Insect Queen of Smallville!’: rewarded with a shape-changing ring after rescuing a trapped alien. Naturally, she uses her new abilities to ferret out Clark Kent’s secrets…

Adventure #337 highlights ‘The Weddings that Wrecked the Legion!’ (Hamilton, Forte & Moldoff) as two couples resign to marry. However, there’s serious method in the seeming marital madness…

Long absent Bête Noir Time Trapper at last returns in #338, as Siegel & Forte expose ‘The Menace of the Sinister Super-Babies!’, with sultry siren Glorith of Baaldur using the Chronal Conqueror’s devices to turn everybody but Superboy and Brainiac 5 into mewling infants. When they turn the tables on the villains a new era dawns for the valiant Tomorrow Teens…

Cover-dated November 1965 and by Binder & Papp, Superboy #125 signals darker days ahead by introducing a legion reservist with a tragic secret in ‘The Sacrifice of Kid Psycho!’, after which Hamilton, Forte & Moldoff tell a bittersweet tale of disaffected, tormented Lallorian hero Beast Boy who turns against humanity in Adventure Comics #339’s ‘Hunters of the Super-Beasts!’…

The slow death of whimsy and light-hearted escapades culminates in #340 when Brainiac 5’s latest invention goes berserk, with ‘Computo the Conqueror!’ (Siegel, Swan & Klein): attacking humanity and killing one of the superheroes before ‘The Weirdo Legionnaire!’ (inked by Moldoff) begins the team’s fight-back and eventual triumph.

‘The Legionnaire who Killed!’ (#342, Hamilton, Swan, Moldoff & Klein) sees Star Boy forced to take a life and facing the harshest of consequences, whilst ‘The Evil Hand of the Luck Lords!’ (Hamilton, Swan & Klein) finds the bold band of heroes assaulting the stronghold of a sinister cult claiming to control chance and destiny.

The same creative team ramps up tensions in Adventure #344 in ‘The Super-Stalag of Space!’, wherein the Legion – and many other planetary champions – are incarcerated by malicious alien overlord Nardo; an epic thriller completed in #345 with ‘The Execution of Matter-Eater Lad!’…

With Adventure #346 (July 1966) the dramatic revolution culminated in ‘One of Us is a Traitor!’ as Jim Shooter – barely a teenager – sold script and layouts (finished and inked by veteran Sheldon Moldoff) for a spectacular Earth invasion yarn. Here the sinister Khunds attack the UP, and the depleted Legion inducts four new members to bolster their strength. Sadly, although Princess Projectra, Nemesis Kid, Ferro Lad and Karate Kid are all capable fighters, it is soon apparent that one is an enemy agent…

With Earth all but fallen, ‘The Traitor’s Triumph!’ (Shooter, Swan & Klein) seems assured, but there’s one last surprise to come in a spectacular debut yarn from one of the industry’s most innovative creators…

This superb second compendium concludes with a tense thriller by Shooter & Papp from Adventure #348, as the secret origin of Sun Boy is revealed when radioactive rogue Dr. Regulus attempts unjustified vengeance in ‘Target-21 Legionnaires!’

But wait! There’s more!

Before the end, an expanded illustrated pictorial check-list and informational guide to the entire team by Swan, Klein & Al Plastino, culled from Superman Annual #4 (1961), Adventure Comics #316 and #365 (January 1964 & February 1968, respectively) reveals all you need to know about the youthful champions.

The Legion is one of the most beloved and bewildering creations in comic book history and largely responsible for the growth of the groundswell movement that became American Comics Fandom. Moreover, these sparkling, simplistic and devastatingly addictive stories as much as the legendary Julie Schwartz’s Justice League fired up the interest and imaginations of a generation of young readers and built the industry we all know today.

These naive, silly, joyous, stirring and utterly compelling yarns are precious and fun beyond any ability to explain – even if we old lags gently mock them to ourselves and one another. If you love comics and haven’t read this stuff, you are the poorer for it and need to enrich your future life as soon as possible.
© 1961, 1964, 1965, 1966, 2008 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Night and the Enemy


By Harlan Ellison & Ken Steacy (Dover Comics & Graphic Novels/Graphitti Designs)
ISBN: 978-0-486-79961-2 (Dover TPB/Digital edition) 978-0-936211-07-7 (Graphitti Designs Limited Editions HB)

Harlan Ellison’s dark and chilling space war tales are always eminently readable. This gloriously impressive re-issued volume – good luck on getting your hands on the 1987 premium hardback! – gathers five of the best and most celebrated, taken from the long-running sequence of novellas and short-stories detailing Mankind’s extended intergalactic struggle against a race of star-spanning rivals. They’re adapted and interpreted in a variety of visual formats by air-brush wizard and aviation-addict Ken Steacy, together with a new prose framing-sequence from the author.

Humanity’s literary battle against the Kyben spanned ten generations and involved all manner of technologies, up to and including time-travel. Probably the most famous of them is the award-winning Demon with a Glass Hand, adapted as both an episode of The Outer Limits TV show in 1964 and as one of the very best of the long-gone and much-lamented DC Graphic Novel series, but that’s a graphic extravaganza we’ve already covered elsewhere…

Right here, right now, this classy full-colour album-sized paperback resurrects a glorious artefact first released by Comico and Graphitti Designs in 1987, just as the market for English-language graphic novels was taking off. It also piles on the treats by adding a brace of fabulously informative and keenly reminiscent Introductions: ‘In these Pages, the War Still Wages’ from author Ellison and ‘…As We Go Forward, Into the Past!’ by astoundingly multi-talented adaptor Ken Steacy.

Closing down the show are more goodies: an eye-popping glimpse at Steacy’s visual virtuosity in the feature ‘Afterwords & Pictures’, sharing unpublished art, roughs, layouts and finished covers, as well as working models and more, and the original Afterwords ‘War Artist’ and ‘Whispers from the Telling Box’ by Steacy & Ellison respectively from the 1987 edition.

Following a specially created ‘Prologue’ by E & S, the pictorial panoply shifts seamlessly into the earliest tales of the epic conflict, beginning with the apocalyptic ‘Run for the Stars’: a traditional panels and balloons strip describing life and its imminent end on Deald’s World after the hordes of Kyba drop in. It’s followed by ‘Life Hutch’, a grim survival tale combining blocks of text with big bold images in both lavish colour and stark monochrome, highlighting a soldier-survivor’s battle against a malfunctioning robot…

‘The Untouchable Adolescents’ is a bright and breezy art job disguising a tragic and powerful parable of good intentions gone awry, whilst sardonic 2-pager ‘Trojan Hearse’ rates just one powerful, lonely illustration for its cunning tale of invasion. ‘Sleeping Dogs’ is a moody epic which fittingly concludes the short sagas with the story of a force of liberating Earthmen who trample all over a few aliens in their rush to defeat the Kyben… and realise too late they’ve poked the wrong bear…

Fans will be delighted to find this volume also carries an original entry in the annals of the Earth-Kyba conflict with prose & picture piece ‘The Few… The Proud’: at the time of this collection’s original release, Ellison’s first new story for the sequence in 15 years.

This epic tome was a groundbreaking landmark at the time of its original release and remains an innovative, compelling treat for both old and new fans of the writer, lovers of seductively unconventional graphic narrative and of course comic readers in general.

Written by Harlan Ellison ®. © 1987, 2015 The Kilimanjaro Corporation. All Rights Reserved. New material by Harlan Ellison®. © 2015 The Kilimanjaro Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Cover and illustrations © 1987, 2015 Ken Steacy. All Rights Reserved.