{"id":29124,"date":"2023-12-19T16:51:58","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T16:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=29124"},"modified":"2023-12-19T16:51:58","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T16:51:58","slug":"legends-of-the-dc-universe-carmine-infantino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2023\/12\/19\/legends-of-the-dc-universe-carmine-infantino\/","title":{"rendered":"Legends of the DC Universe Carmine Infantino"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-29125\" src=\"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Legends-of-the-DC-Universe-Carmine-Infantino-bk-250x383.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Legends-of-the-DC-Universe-Carmine-Infantino-bk-250x383.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Legends-of-the-DC-Universe-Carmine-Infantino-bk-150x230.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Legends-of-the-DC-Universe-Carmine-Infantino-bk-768x1176.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Legends-of-the-DC-Universe-Carmine-Infantino-bk-1003x1536.jpg 1003w, https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Legends-of-the-DC-Universe-Carmine-Infantino-bk.jpg 1009w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-29126\" src=\"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Legends-of-the-DC-Universe-Carmine-Infantino-frt-250x384.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Legends-of-the-DC-Universe-Carmine-Infantino-frt-250x384.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Legends-of-the-DC-Universe-Carmine-Infantino-frt-150x231.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Legends-of-the-DC-Universe-Carmine-Infantino-frt-768x1180.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Legends-of-the-DC-Universe-Carmine-Infantino-frt-999x1536.jpg 999w, https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Legends-of-the-DC-Universe-Carmine-Infantino-frt.jpg 1002w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><br \/>\nBy <strong>Carmine Infantino<\/strong>, with <strong>Arthur Peddy<\/strong>, <strong>Alex Toth<\/strong>, <strong>Joe Giella<\/strong>, <strong>Frank Giacoia<\/strong>, <strong>Frank McLaughlin<\/strong>, <strong>Joe Kubert<\/strong>, <strong>Bernard Sachs<\/strong>, <strong>John Giunta<\/strong>, <strong>Sy Barry<\/strong>, <strong>George Roussos<\/strong>, <strong>John Celardo<\/strong>, <strong>Dave Hunt<\/strong>, <strong>Tony DeZu\u00f1iga<\/strong>, <strong>Joe Orlando<\/strong>, <strong>Klaus Janson<\/strong>, <strong>Carl Gafford<\/strong> &amp; <strong>Linda Kachelhofer<\/strong>: written by <strong>Gardner F. Fox<\/strong>, <strong>Robert Kanigher<\/strong>, <strong>John Broome<\/strong>, <strong>Joseph Greene<\/strong>, <strong>Arnold Drake<\/strong>, <strong>Len Wein<\/strong>, <strong>Gerry Conway<\/strong>, <strong>Cary Bates<\/strong> &amp; various (DC Comics)<br \/>\nISBN: 978-1-6054-9091-5 (HB)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Win\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: A Shining Star Remembered\u2026 10\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Born on May 24<sup>th<\/sup> 1925, Carmine Michael Infantino was one of the greatest comic artists America ever produced: a multi award-winning innovator there when comic books were born, he reshaped the industry in the Silver Age and was still making fans when he died in 2013.<\/p>\n<p>As an artist he co-created among others <strong>Black Canary<\/strong>, <strong>Detective Chimp<\/strong>, <strong>King Faraday<\/strong>, <strong>Pow-Wow Smith<\/strong>, the Silver Age <strong>Flash<\/strong>, <strong>Elongated Man<\/strong>, <strong>Strange Sports Stories<\/strong>, <strong>Deadman<\/strong>, <strong>Batgirl<\/strong> and <strong>The <\/strong><strong>Human Target<\/strong> whilst placing his unique stamp on characters such as <strong>Adam Strange<\/strong> and <strong>Batman<\/strong>. Infantino worked for many companies, and at Marvel ushered in a new age by illustrating the licensed <strong>Star Wars<\/strong> comic whilst working on titles and characters such as <strong>The<\/strong> <strong>Avengers<\/strong>, <strong>Daredevil<\/strong>, <strong>Ms. Marvel<\/strong>, <strong>Nova<\/strong>, <strong>Star-Lord<\/strong> and <strong>Spider-Woman<\/strong>. His work on two separate iterations of <strong>Batman<\/strong> newspaper strips is fondly remembered and whilst acting as Art Director and Publisher of National DC, Infantino oversaw the most critically acclaimed period in the company\u2019s history, overseeing the \u201crelevancy\u201d era and poaching Jack Kirby from Marvel to create the <strong>Fourth World<\/strong>, <strong>Kamandi<\/strong>, <strong>The Demon<\/strong>, <strong>OMAC<\/strong> and more\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Very much &#8211; and repeatedly &#8211; the right man at the right time and place, Infantino shaped American comics history in a manner only Kirby ever equalled, and this long overdue bumper compendium barely touches all his contributions to DC\u2019s history. Hopefully we\u2019ll be seeing a few more in future\u2026<\/p>\n<p>After appreciative and informative Introduction <em>\u2018Carmine the Icon\u2019<\/em> by author\/ historian J. David Spurlock, this small sampling from decades of triumphs opens with hard-hitting social commentary as <em>\u2018The Plight of a Nation\u2019<\/em> details how the <strong>Justice Society of America<\/strong> (<strong>The Flash<\/strong>, <strong>Hawkman<\/strong>, <strong>Wonder Woman<\/strong>, <strong>Green Lantern<\/strong>, <strong>Dr. Mid-Nite<\/strong>, <strong>The Atom<\/strong> and <strong>Black Canary<\/strong>) hunt a gang of thieving hoodlums whilst tackling the true threat &#8211; how charismatic hoods like the Crimson Claw Gang have become insidious role models for youngsters\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Scripted by John Broome, and limned in collaboration with Arthur Peddy, Alex Toth &amp; Bernard Sachs, the saga from <strong>All-Star Comics<\/strong> #40 (April\/May 1948) tackled head-on the glamour of crime, goad of poverty and contemporary obsession with \u201cjuvenile delinquency\u201d but still offered spectacular action and drama to sweeten the harsh message\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Black Canary<\/strong> was one of the first of the pitifully few female heroes to hold a star spot in the DC Universe &#8211; or indeed any comics before 1980s. She followed <strong>Wonder Woman<\/strong>, <em>Liberty Belle<\/em>, antihero <em>Harlequin<\/em> and <em>Red Tornado<\/em> (who masqueraded as a man to comedically crush crime &#8211; with a couple of kids in tow, too!). The Canary predated <em>Merry, the Gimmick Girl<\/em> &#8211; remember her? No, you don\u2019t &#8211; and disappeared with the majority of costumed crusaders at the end of the Golden Age: a situation that was not remedied until her revival with the <strong>Justice Society of America<\/strong> in 1963.<\/p>\n<p>Created by Robert Kanigher &amp; Infantino in 1947, the Canary echoed worldly, dangerous women cropping up in crime novels and Film Noir movies better suited to the more cynical Americans who had endured a World War and were even then gearing up for a paranoiac Cold one. Clad in a revealing bolero jacket, shorts, fishnet stockings and high-heeled pirate boots, the devastating shady lady &#8211; who looked like <em>Veronica Lake<\/em> &#8211; began life as a thief\u2026<\/p>\n<p>In the desperate days of post-war uncertainty, continuity was negligible and nobody cared much about origins. All that mattered was pace, plot, action and spectacle. <strong>Flash Comics<\/strong> #86 (August 1947) was just another superhero anthology publication, suffering a slow sales decline wherein perennial B-feature <strong>Johnny Thunder<\/strong> had long since passed his sell-by date. Although a member of the <strong>Justice Society of America<\/strong>, Johnny was an old-fashioned comedy idiot; a true simpleton who just happened to control a lightning-shaped genie &#8211; <em>Thunderbolt<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>His affable, good-hearted bumbling had carried him through the war, but changing fashions had no room for a hapless (adult) hero anymore. In the tale presented here, when he meets a seductively masked female Robin Hood who stole from crooks, the writing was on the wall. In debut yarn inked by Joe Giella, <em>\u2018The Black Canary\u2019<\/em> tricks him and T-Bolt into acquiring an invitation to a crime-lord\u2019s party, where she lifts the ill-gotten loot and leaves Johnny to mop up the hoods. It was lust at first sight and the beginning of a legend\u2026<\/p>\n<p>In the same issue Infantino allowed his wacky sense of humour full expression in another tale of <strong>The<\/strong> <strong>Ghost Patrol<\/strong> &#8211; three French Foreign Legion aviators who were killed in the early days of WWII but somehow stuck around to fight Nazis and other evils. Scripted by John Wentworth <em>\u2018The Case of the Extra Ghost!\u2019<\/em> finds ectoplasmic trio <em>Fred<\/em>, <em>Pedro<\/em> and <em>Slim<\/em> in post-war America investigating a haunted house and scuppering a scheme to defraud its latest inheritor\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Flash Comics<\/strong> #90 (December 1947, written by Kanigher &amp; inked by Joe Giella) featured a sporty tale for lead hero The Flash to shine in. Scientist <em>Jay Garrick<\/em> was exposed to fumes of \u201cHard Water\u201d to become the first \u201cFastest Man Alive\u201d &#8211; one of the Golden Age\u2019s leading stars. In this instance he uses his gift to save a baseball team from defeat and their mangers from death by despair by filling <em>\u2018Nine Empty Uniforms!\u2019 <\/em>after which fellow superstar Green Lantern\/<em>Alan Scott<\/em> solo stars in Kanigher-scribed tale <em>\u2018The Unmasking of the Harlequin!\u2019<\/em> (<strong>All-American Comics<\/strong> #95, March 1948) wherein the Emerald Gladiator again clashes with the mesmerising super thief when mysterious imitators frame them both for vicious crimes\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Tiny Titan and eternal apparent underdog The Atom was solid B-Feature throughout the Golden Age and here &#8211; courtesy of Infantino and writer Joseph Greene &#8211; solves the <em>\u2018Mystery of the Midway Tunnel!\u2019<\/em> (<strong>Comic Cavalcade<\/strong> #28, August\/September 1948) as college student <em>Al Pratt<\/em> resorts to his masked persona when his professor &#8211; a former GI turned civil engineer &#8211; finds his dream project is being sabotaged by gangsters.<\/p>\n<p>Times were changing and superheroes vanishing as the forties closed and new times called for fresh ideas. Created by Kanigher &amp; Bob Oksner, <strong>Lady Danger<\/strong> appeared in <strong>Sensation Comics<\/strong>#84-93: determined, safety-averse crime reporter <em>Valerie Vaughn<\/em> who regularly risked life and limb in pursuit of a scoop. Infantino and an unknown author produced another gripping tale for #87 (cover-dated March 1949), uncovering skulduggery at a charity bazaar whilst looking for <em>\u2018The Needle in the Haystack!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Crime comics were not the only beneficiary of the decline of Mystery Men. Science fiction also enjoyed renewed public popularity and DC responded with two themed anthologies: <strong>Strange Adventures<\/strong> and <strong>Mystery in Space<\/strong>. Each combined stand-alone tales of fantastic imagination with continuing character features such as Captain Comet or &#8211; as here &#8211; Future Paladins <em>The Knights of the Galaxy<\/em>. Scripted by Kanigher as \u201cDion Anthony\u201d and inked by Frank Giacoia, Joe Giella &amp; John Giunta, <strong>Mystery in Space<\/strong> #3 (August\/September 1951) led with <em>\u2018Duel of the Planets!\u2019<\/em> as Round Table champion <em>Lyle<\/em> finds his comrades divided over Mercurian member Millo when the first planet declares war on the rest of the galaxy\u2026<\/p>\n<p>The biggest trend of the era was Romance Comics as almost every publisher jumped on the bandwagon created by Joe Simon &amp; Jack Kirby in 1947. Amongst National\/DC\u2019s tranche of tearjerkers was <strong>Secret Hearts<\/strong> and in #8 (February\/March 1952) Infantino (&amp; Giacoia) limned a case study of <em>Ann Martin<\/em>, counsellor for Romance, Inc. Anonymously scripted, <em>\u2018Condemned Love!\u2019<\/em> details how a client responds to learning her current beau is married\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Infantino regularly claimed his favourite character was not human but an hirsute anthropoid crimebuster. In <strong>The Adventures of Rex the Wonder Dog<\/strong> #4 (July\/August 1952) readers were first invited to <em>\u2018Meet Detective Chimp!\u2019<\/em> in charming comedy thriller by Broome and inked by Giacoia. The first outing of seminal comics lunacy saw Oscaloosa, Florida sheriff <em>Chase <\/em>solve a murder at the Thorpe Animal Farm with the help of <em>Bobo<\/em> and consequently adopt and deputise the super-smart simian. Bobo was assistant sheriff right up until the final issue (#46, November 1959) and has enjoyed new fame in the 21<sup>st<\/sup> century when a new generation of creators and fans rediscovered him.<\/p>\n<p><em>Despite years when superheroes all but vanished<\/em> America\u2019s comic book industry never really stopped trying to revive the genre. When <strong>Showcase<\/strong> #4 was released in 1956 it was on the back of two successful DC launches: <strong>Captain Comet<\/strong> (December 1953-October 1955) and <strong>Manhunter from Mars<\/strong> (November 1955 until the end of the 1960\u2019s and almost the end of superheroes again!) What made the new Fastest Man Alive stand out and stick was style!<\/p>\n<p>Cover-dated September\/October 1956, the epochal issue was released in late summer and from it stems all today\u2019s print, animation, games, collector cards, cos-play, TV and movie wonderment.<\/p>\n<p>Once DC\u2019s powers-that-be decided to try superheroes once more, they too moved pretty fast. Editor Julie Schwartz asked office partner, fellow editor and Golden Age Flash scripter Kanigher to recreate a speedster for the Space Age: aided and abetted by Infantino &amp; Joe Kubert, who had also worked on the Jay Garrick incarnation.<\/p>\n<p>The new Flash was <em>Barry Allen<\/em>, a forensic scientist simultaneously struck by lightning and bathed in exploding chemicals from his lab. Supercharged by the accident, Barry took his superhero identity from a comic book featuring his childhood favourite. Now a major talent rapidly approaching his artistic and creative peak Infantino designed a sleek, streamlined bodysuit, as Barry Allen became point man for the spectacular revival of a genre and an entire industry.<\/p>\n<p>Scripted by Kanigher &amp; inked by Kubert, <em>\u2018Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt!\u2019<\/em> sees Barry endure his electrical metamorphosis and promptly go on to subdue bizarre criminal mastermind and \u201cSlowest Man Alive\u201d <em>Turtle<\/em> <em>Man<\/em>, after which <em>\u2018The Man Who Broke the Time Barrier!\u2019<\/em> &#8211; scripted by Broome &#8211; sees the Scarlet Speedster battling a criminal from the future: ultimately returning penal exile <em>Mazdan<\/em> to his own century, and proving the new Flash was a protagonist of keen insight and sharp wits as well as overwhelming power.<\/p>\n<p>The return of costumed heroes was cautious and gradual and Infantino continued drawing his regular fare extraordinarily well. For <strong>Western Comics<\/strong> #73 (January\/February 1959) he illustrated \u201cIndian Lawman\u201d <em>Pow-Wow Smith<\/em> with this example &#8211; <em>\u2018The Return of the Fadeaway Outlaw!\u2019<\/em> scripted by Gardner Fox, with Sioux sleuth <em>Ohiyesa<\/em> again outwitting a bandit who specialises in astounding escapes\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Inevitably the superhero boom dominated comic books with the Scarlet Speedster in the vanguard of the revolution. A new star was born in <strong>The Flash<\/strong> #112 (April\/May 1961 by Broome, Infantino &amp; Giella) as <em>\u2018The Mystery of the Elongated Man\u2019 <\/em>introduced an intriguing super-stretchable newcomer to the DC universe, who might have been hero or villain in a beguiling tantaliser. The continuing adventures of the Scarlet Speedster were the bedrock of the Silver Age Revolution, with key writers Broome and Fox setting an unbelievably high standard for superhero adventure in sharp, witty tales of technology and imagination, illustrated with captivating style and clean simplicity by Infantino.<\/p>\n<p>Fox didn\u2019t write many Flash scripts at this time, but the few he did were all dynamite; none more so than the full-length epic which changed the scope of US comics forever. <em>\u2018Flash of Two Worlds\u2019<\/em> (<strong>Flash<\/strong> #123, September 1961 and inked by Giella) introduced the concept of alternate Earths to the continuity which grew by careful extension into a multiversal structure comprising Infinite Earths. Once established as a cornerstone of a newly integrated DCU through a wealth of team-ups and escalating succession of cosmos-shaking crossover sagas, a glorious pattern was set which would, after joyous decades, eventually culminate in the spectacular awe-inspiring <strong>Crisis on Infinite Earths<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n<p>During a benefit gig, Flash accidentally slips into another dimension where he finds the comic book hero upon whom he based his own superhero identity actually exists. Every ripping yarn he\u2019d avidly absorbed as an eager child was grim reality to Jay Garrick and his comrades on the controversially designated \u201cEarth-Two\u201d. Locating his idol, Barry convinces the elder to come out of retirement just as three old foes make their own comebacks.<\/p>\n<p>It was a time when anything was worth a punt, and Schwartz\u2019s dream team indulged in in a truly bizarre experiment combining tried-&amp;-tested science fiction tropes with America\u2019s greatest obsession. Try-out title <strong>The Brave and the Bold<\/strong> dedicated five issues (#45-49) to testing the merits of <strong>Strange Sports Stories<\/strong> and here #49 (August\/September 1963) sees a unique conquest by stealth as <em>\u2018Gorilla Wonders of The Diamond!\u2019<\/em> sees an all-anthropoid team play baseball with a hidden agenda in a captivating coup by Fox, with Infantino producing some of his most innovative drawing for Giella to ink.<\/p>\n<p>By the end of 1963, Julius Schwartz had spectacularly revived much of DC\u2019s line &#8211; and the entire industry &#8211; with his modernisation of the superhero, and was then asked to work his magic with the creatively stalled and nigh-moribund Caped Crusaders. Bringing his usual team of top-notch creators with him, Schwartz stripped down and back to core-concepts, downplaying aliens, outlandish villains and daft transformations to bring a cool modern take on crimebusting. He even oversaw a streamlining and rationalisation of the art style itself.<\/p>\n<p>The most apparent innovation was a yellow circle around the Bat-symbol, but far more importantly, the stories also changed. A subtle aura of genuine menace re-entered the comfortable and absurdly abstract world of Gotham City. Infantino was key to the changes that reshaped a legend &#8211; but this was while still pencilling <strong>The<\/strong> <strong>Flash<\/strong> &#8211; so, despite generating the majority of covers, Infantino\u2019s interior art was limited to alternate issues of <strong>Detective<\/strong> <strong>Comics<\/strong> with the lion\u2019s share of narrative handled by Bob Kane\u2019s then-uncredited deputies Sheldon Moldoff, Giella, Chic Stone &amp; others, plus occasional guest artists like Gil Kane\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Infantino\u2019s part in the storytelling revolution began with <strong>Detective<\/strong> #327 &#8211; written by Broome and inked by Giella at the peak of their own creative powers. <em>\u2018The Mystery of the Menacing Mask!\u2019<\/em> is a cunning \u201cHowdunnit?\u201d, long on action and moody peril, as discovery of a criminal \u201cunderground railroad\u201d leads Gotham Gangbusters <strong>Batman<\/strong> &amp; <strong>Robin<\/strong> to a common thug seemingly able to control them with his thoughts\u2026<\/p>\n<p>When Schwartz took editorial control he finally found a place for a character who had been lying mostly fallow ever since his debut and six subsequent walk-ons in <strong>The Flash<\/strong>. Designed as a modern take on Golden Age great <strong>Plastic Man<\/strong>, The Elongated Man was <em>Ralph Dibny<\/em>, a circus-performer who discovered an additive in soft drink Gingold which granted certain people increased muscular flexibility. Intrigued, Dibny refined the drink until he had a serum bestowing the ability to stretch, bend and compress his body to an incredible degree.<\/p>\n<p>When the back-up spot opened in <strong>Detective <\/strong>(a position held by <strong>Martian Manhunter<\/strong> since 1955 and only vacated because <em>J\u2019onn J\u2019onzz<\/em> was promoted to lead in <strong>House of Mystery<\/strong>) Schwartz had Ralph slightly reconfigured as a flamboyant, fame-hungry, brilliantly canny globe-trotting private eye solving mysteries for the sheer fun of it. Aided by his equally smart but thoroughly grounded wife <em>Sue<\/em>, the vignettes were patterned on classic <strong>Thin Man<\/strong> films starring <em>Nick and Norah Charles<\/em>, blending clever, impossible crimes with slick sleuthing, garnished with outr\u00e9 heroic permutations and frantic physical antics.<\/p>\n<p>The complex yet uncomplicated sorties, drenched in sly dry wit, began in <strong>Detective<\/strong> #327 with <em>\u2018Ten Miles to Nowhere!\u2019<\/em> (by Fox &amp; Infantino, who inked himself in early episodes). Here Ralph, who publicly unmasked to become a celebrity, discovers someone has been stealing his car every night and bringing it back as if nothing had happened. Of course, it must be a criminal plot of some sort\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Almost all of Infantino\u2019s Silver Age stories have been collected somewhere but as he was transitioning to managerial levels he co-created one last landmark character just as DC faced an existential crisis. As the 1960s ended and costs spiralled, the superhero boom became a slow but certain bust, with major stars no longer able to find enough readers to keep them alive. The taste for masks was again diminishing in favour of traditional genres, and one rational editorial response was to reshape costumed characters to fit evolving tastes.<\/p>\n<p>Publishers swiftly changed gears and even staid, cautious DC reacted rapidly: making masked adventurers designed to fit the new landscape. Newly revised and revived costumed features included roving mystic troubleshooter <strong>The Phantom Stranger<\/strong> and Golden Age colossus <strong>The Spectre<\/strong>. Supernatural themes and horror-tinged plots were shoehorned into the superhero titles that weathered the trend-storm. Arguably, the moment of surrender and change arrived with the creation of <em>Boston Brand<\/em> in the autumn of 1967, when science fiction anthology <strong>Strange Adventures<\/strong> was abruptly retooled as the home of an angry ghost\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Without fanfare or warning, <strong>Deadman<\/strong> debuted in #205 with <em>\u2018Who Has Been Lying in My Grave?\u2019<\/em> by Arnold Drake, Infantino &amp; George Roussos wherein we attend the funeral of high wire acrobat <em>Brand<\/em>: a rough, tough, jaded performer who had seen everything and masked a decent human heart behind an obnoxious exterior and cynical demeanour. As \u201cDeadman\u201d, he was the star attraction of Hills Circus and lover of its reluctant owner <em>Lorna Carling<\/em>, as well as a secret guardian for the misfits it employed and sheltered. That makeshift \u201cfamily\u201d included simple-minded strongman <em>Tiny<\/em> and Asian mystic <em>Vashnu<\/em>, but also had some bad apples too\u2026 like alcoholic animal trainer <em>Heldrich<\/em> and chiselling carnival Barker <em>Leary<\/em>. The aerialist kept them in line\u2026 with his fists, whenever necessary\u2026<\/p>\n<p>One fateful night, Brand almost missed his cue because of Leary and Heldrich\u2019s antics but also because he had to stop local cop <em>Ramsey<\/em> harassing Vashnu. It would have better if he had been late, because as soon as he started his act &#8211; 40 feet up and without a net &#8211; someone put a rifle slug into his heart\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Despite being dead before he hit the ground, Brand was scared and furious. Nobody could see or hear him screaming, and Vashnu kept babbling on about the chosen of <em>Rama Kushna<\/em> &#8211; \u201cthe spirit of the universe\u201d. The hokum all came horribly true as that entity made contact, telling Brand that he would walk among men until he found his killer\u2026<\/p>\n<p>The sentence came with some advantages: he was invisible, untouchable, immune to the laws of physics and able to take possession of the living and drive them like a car. His only clue was that witnesses in the audience claimed that a man with a hook had shot him\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Outraged, still disbelieving and seemingly stuck forever in the ghastly make-up and outfit of his performing persona, Deadman\u2019s first posthumous act is to possess Tiny and check out the key suspects. Soon the dormant Hercules finds that the cop and Heydrich are involved in a criminal conspiracy, but they definitely are not Brand\u2019s murderers\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Eventually Infantino returned to his drawing board &#8211; primarily for Marvel &#8211; but returned to DC in the 80s. <strong>The House of Mystery<\/strong> #296 (September 1981) shows his mastery of horror themes and short stories in <em>\u2018Night Women\u2019<\/em>: written by Gerry Conway, with John Celardo inking and Carl Gafford colouring, but the move was primarily to draw The Flash again (from 1981 with #296), but here we see a lesser known yarn from <strong>DC Comics Presents<\/strong> #73 (September 1984) teaming the Vizier of Velocity with <strong>Superman<\/strong> in <em>\u2018Rampage in Scarlet\u2019.<\/em> Written by Cary Bates, with Dave Hunt inking and Gafford on hues, it sees the heroes unite to save an alien civilisation from an army of Phantom Zone villains, after which <strong>Secret Origins<\/strong> #17 (August 1987) reprises <em>\u2018The Secret Origin of Adam Strange\u2019<\/em>, with Conway, Tony DeZu\u00f1iga &amp; Joe Orlando joining Infantino in revisiting the artist\u2019s other signature Silver Age star.<\/p>\n<p>This book closes with a complete miniseries similarly reviving one of Infantino\u2019s lost 1950\u2019s triumphs. <em>King Faraday<\/em> debuted in <strong>Danger Trail<\/strong> #1 (July 1950): a two-fisted globe-trotting US spy co created by Kanigher &amp; Infantino. The book was cancelled with the fifth issue and one last tale was published in <strong>Worlds Finest Comics<\/strong> #64 (May\/June 1953). An attempt to revive The Intercontinental Operative failed in early 1964 when reprints of his adventures appeared in <strong>Showcase<\/strong> #50-51 under the code title <strong>I&#8230; Spy!<\/strong> King eventually joined the integrated DCU in 1979 as a guest in <strong>Batman<\/strong> #313, scripted by Len Wein.<\/p>\n<p>In 1993 the writer gave the spy a second shot in a 4-issue miniseries spanning cover-dates April to July, inked by Frank McLaughlin &amp; coloured by Linda Kachelhofer. <strong>Danger Trail<\/strong> (volume 2) #1-4 comprises <em>\u2018The Serpent in the Garden File\u2019<\/em> as the aging agent chases a mystery schemer around the world in <em>\u2018Chapter One: On the Road Again!\u2019<\/em>, drops a growing pile of bodies in <em>\u2018Chapter Two: Hot Pursuit!\u2019 <\/em>and discovers his quarry is not the usual ideological adversary and that no friend can be trusted in <em>\u2018Chapter Three: Coiled to Strike\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>With the world at stake, Faraday &#8211; and notional ally <strong>Sarge Steel<\/strong> &#8211; at last confront the pitiless hidden enemy in <em>\u2018Chapter Four: Into the Snake Pit\u2019 <\/em>and barely save the day again\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Although the book features every pertinent cover by Infantino, the comic delights conclude with a stellar <em>\u2018Cover Gallery\u2019<\/em> of graphic glories inked by Giacoia, Giunta, Giella, Drake, Roussos &amp; Orlando plus a brief biography.<\/p>\n<p>These tales are pure comics gold: must-not-miss material any fan would be crazy to miss.<br \/>\n\u00a9 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1993, 2023 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Carmine Infantino, with Arthur Peddy, Alex Toth, Joe Giella, Frank Giacoia, Frank McLaughlin, Joe Kubert, Bernard Sachs, John Giunta, Sy Barry, George Roussos, John Celardo, Dave Hunt, Tony DeZu\u00f1iga, Joe Orlando, Klaus Janson, Carl Gafford &amp; Linda Kachelhofer: written by Gardner F. Fox, Robert Kanigher, John Broome, Joseph Greene, Arnold Drake, Len Wein, Gerry &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2023\/12\/19\/legends-of-the-dc-universe-carmine-infantino\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Legends of the DC Universe Carmine Infantino&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,10,258,305,235,91,28,148,210,169,9,99],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-batman","category-black-canary","category-dc-horror","category-deadman","category-flash","category-jsa","category-romance","category-sport","category-spy-stories","category-superman","category-westerns"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-7zK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29124"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29128,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29124\/revisions\/29128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}