The Vibe Piper of Empire City

"The Vibe Piper of Empire City" from C.O.P.S. #3 (DC, 1988) by Doug Moench, Bart Sears and Pablo Marcos

C.O.P.S. (Central Organization of Police Specialists) was a comic book tie-in with a toy line and cartoon series, which managed to last 15 issues thanks to writer Doug Moench, and in the case of those issues I picked up, covers and sometimes interiors by Pat Broderick. The series also featured early DC work from Bart Sears who would go on to put his stamp on Justice League Europe and later, Eclipso, before moving on to Valiant. This kind of book must be the most thankless kind of assignment - they're not all going to be G.I. Joe or Transformers - but making it last more than a year deserves some respect at least.

The Barren Earth

"The Barren Earth" from Conqueror of the Barren Earth #3 (DC, 1985) by Gary Cohn and Ron Randall

The only time I bought Warlord was to support the Barren Earth back-up, which had a smokin' hot lead and an interesting techno-fantasy world to explore. The story ended in the pages of a 4-issue mini-series, and the whole thing was well outside the DC Universe. Can't the New52 work it back in? Or does Earth HAVE to survive as a civilized place for century upon century?

There's an Actual Dragon in It

"There's an Actual Dragon in It" from Connor Hawke: Dragon's Blood #5 (DC, 2007) by Chuck Dixon and Derec Donovan

I thought that since the Green Arrow portion of our experiment would favor Ollie, I'd throw Connor a splash through his mini-series. Connor Hawke came at a time (specifically, Zero Hour) when DC was really building the legacies of its top tier heroes. The Flash had long been Wally West, Green Lantern was Kyle Rayner, and we'd had Reign of the Supermen, Knightfall, Artemis as Wonder Woman, etc. which created lasting legacy characters beyond those events. So when Green Arrow "died", it seemed inevitable that one of his illegitimate children would come out of the woodwork and take up his name. Not since GL John Stewart had a high-profile name been given to a non-white character - Connor's mom was half-Korean, half-Black - but that did seem to cause problems for artists and colorists, and at times, it seemed like Connor's features and coloring were more Caucasian than others. Dragon's Blood restored his ethnic background, but also introduced mild superpowers like regeneration, speed and strength from bathing in dragon blood - perhaps a necessary step to differentiate him from the original Green Arrow who had returned from the dead - but this was pretty much ignored by other writers. Poor Connor.

And like everything else that made DC's heroes "old", he was wiped from the face of creation by the Flushpoint.

Lions vs. Elephants

"Lions vs. Elephants" from Congo Bill vol.1 #2 (DC, 1954) by Nick Cardy

Hey, Congo Bill used to be a big deal. Even got his own movie serial. And that was before he ever got the magic ring that made him exchange minds with the golden ape we call Congorilla. Though his series lasted only 7 issues, he'd been a regular feature in various DC books, including More Fun where he debuted, and Action Comics, until the Silver Age forced him into that more fantastical role. I think he got a better deal than, say, the Blackhawks. And the Congorilla stories continued for a couple years in Action before moving to Adventure. He's an explorer! He gets around!

After that, though, not much. By the 80s, he was considered obscure enough to score a place in the Forgotten Heroes, and in the 90s, they tried to give him a "DC Dark" treatment with a Congorilla mini-series that corrupted his sidekick Janu, and by the end of the decade, they tried again, this time with the Vertigo imprint. It would take 10 more years for the character to return, and I'm sad to say, it was as part of the Cry for Justice Justice League. Just before the DCU rebooted, Congorilla went back to Africa to serve as one of the continent's protectors. Maybe he'll show up in Batwing.

Swordfishfighting

"Swordfishfighting" from Comic Cavalcade #21 (DC, 1947) by William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter

So there was a time when Wonder Woman not only starred in her own book AND a side-book, Sensation Comics, but also a THIRD. The Comic Cavalcade anthology in fact featured stories by other early DC stars who also got lots of exposure elsewhere - Green Lantern and the Flash. Obviously, that wasn't all, not at the original 96-page size. Cavalcade had the Ghost Patrol and Red, White and Blue and Hop Harrigan and the Black Pirate and Johnny Peril and... what, you want me to name a bigger star? Ok, and the ATOM!

In 1949, with issue 30, the book turned to funny animals as the superheroes' star waned, and featured the Fox and the Crow, Doodles Duck, Blabber Mouse, Goofy Goose, Nutsy Squirrel, and... what, you want me to name a bigger star? I CAN'T!!!

The Eater of Souls

"The Eater of Souls" from Claw the Unconquered vol.1 #10 (DC, 1978) by David Michelinie, Keith Giffen and John Celardo

In the 70s, DC tried to capture a little of Marvel's Conan success with a number of sword & sorcery comics, none of which were particularly successful except Warlord, I guess, but Claw was definitely the closest in look to Conan. The twist, a cursed demon hand. Originally conceived by Michelinie and Ernie Chua, Keith Giffen took up the reins very early in his career with #8, drawing it to the end of its run and beyond (the last two issues, 13 and 14, saw limited print later in Canceled Comics Cavalcade). His story would wrap up in a short Warlord back-up. Prior to the bargain bin, I'd only seen Claw in Who's Who (by Giffen), but a version of him would join Primal Force, yet another would get a mini-series at Wildstorm, and the original(?) would finally appear alongside Gail Simone's Wonder Woman in a story arc that also included other 70s fantasy stars like Beowulf and Stalker. Might he now show up in Sword of Fantasy?

Chronos Meets his Destiny

"Chronos Meets his Destiny" from Chronos #9 (DC, 1998) by John Francis Moore, Paul Guinan and Steve Leialoh

Walker Gabriel, the second Chronos, was another of those offbeat and thus short-lived series that used the DC Universe as a grand playground. I've really got to re-read its dozen issues some time because I seem to remember it being timééé-wiméééééé. I mean, dude has to wipe his own existence from history and gets to break the Vertigo partition when Destiny of the Endless takes an interest. Plus, Chronopolis? Yeah. Putting it on the list for sure. Walker was last seen during Final Crisis in Morrison's Limbo, but if there's a character who could make his way out, it's him.

Egg Fu Disturbia

"Egg Fu Disturbia" from Checkmate vol.2 #15 (DC, 2007) by Greg Rucka, Judd Winick, Joe Bennett and Jack Jadson

While I didn't read the original series, I did enjoy the second, which featured a mix of characters from Suicide Squad, the JLI, the JSA, and new characters besides, many named after historical DC stars like Cinnamon and Gravedigger. The chess metaphor was pretty well used as well, and the idea of maintaining a balance both in the team and out between humans and metahumans was an interesting one. Where else could I get my fix of Amanda Waller, Mister Terrific, Fire, ANYONE named Mademoiselle Marie, and wait... Egg Fu? Awesome! Oh, and Snapper Carr died in this. Say thank you to Mr. Rucka, everyone.*

*If you're the one Snapper fan I keep hearing about, thank him sarcastically.

Some Targets Are Easier to Hit Than Others

"Some Targets Are Easier to Hit Than Others" from Checkmate! vol.1 #21 (DC, 1989) by Paul Kupperberg, Steve Erwin and Al Vey

The original Checkmate! book is one I had real trouble getting into, despite several tries and an important link to Suicide Squad. It was something that interested me more in concept than in execution, I guess. It perhaps didn't help that this New Format series was first released to comic book stores only at a time when I had no access to such (which would remain true for 2-3 years), and that it spun out of Vigilante (where is started as the Agency), a book equally unavailable to me. Then again, this was true of Animal Man and LEGION, and it didn't stop me from gorging myself on back issues as soon as I moved to a bigger town. My collection has only a few examples of its 33-issue run, including the one above and the Janus Directive crossover with Firestorm, Manhunter, Captain Atom and the Squad (all books I regularly read), of course.

Tales of the Acro-Bat

"Tales of the Acro-Bat" from Chase #6 (DC, 1996) by D. Curtis Johnson, J.H. Williams III and Mick Gray

The mid-90s saw a number of really cool, offbeat and thus short-lived series coming out of DC, including the well-regarded Chase, about a Department of Extranormal Operations operative tasked with monitoring superhumans, but who might possibly have powers of her own. It was one of those "tour of the DCU"-type books where anyone and anything might show up, and featured art by fan favorite J.H. Williams III before he was a star. Williams certainly has a fondness for Cameron Chase, and brought her into his New52 Batwoman book, but she should also thank Marc Andreyko who kept her alive in Manhunter, another offbeat book with cancellation issues. Chase's own book lasted only 9 issues, 10 if you count the 1,000,000 issue. But who knows, she might get another shot.

The above splash is an example of creating a new character for the obscure corners of the DCU, something I enjoy tremendously (see the recent Shade mini-series for the same kind of thing). We're always focusing on the same cities and times, but it stands to reason that in a universe where all that is possible, there's more of the same in every nook and cranny. Acro-Bat and the Justice Experience are characters that would have run around in the 60s, filling the void left by the sliding time scale, and gee, I want a mini-series exploring their weird adventures RIGHT NOW.

Tyrannosaurus X

"Tyrannosaurus X" from Challengers of the Unknown vol.3 #16 (DC, 1998) by Steven Grant, John Paul Leon and Bill Reinhold

In the late 90s, DC tried to start some non-Vertigo horror books (the "Weirdoverse") to fill the niche left empty by Swamp Thing, Sandman, et al. getting trapped behind a mature readers partition. Among these, a new Challengers title featuring a different cast. I found that disappointing, but I can't exactly argue with ideas like Tyrannosaurus X, can I?

Magic Is Ace

"Magic Is Ace" from Challengers of the Unknown vol.2 #5 (DC, 1991) by Jeff Loeb and Tim Sale

The early 90s revival was craaa-zy, riding the wave started by other weird strips like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, Shade the Changing Man, etc. when DC was reviving some of its older properties as proto-Vertigo books. It also featured some beautiful art by Tim Sale (no surprise there). Loeb apparently had plans for a monthly, or at least a second mini, but the book seems not to have done well enough. Who knows, had things been different, the Challs might have been among Vertigo's first books along with the rest, and become a standard fixture of quality trade paperback shelves at comic book stores. Well, I liked it, and would have bought in. Note that it turned Prof and June into ghosts, beating the Dibneys to it.

The Birdman of Djiizari

"The Birdman of Djiizari" from Challengers of the Unknown vol.1 #5 (DC, 1958) by Jack Kirby and Wally Wood

I always think of Jack Kirby when I think of the Challengers of the Unknown, despite the fact he only drew the first dozen issues of its 75 ish run, but that's the power of the King! Only a couple years later, he would go on to co-create the Fantastic Four with Stan Lee, which certainly look like they're BASED on the Challs. Rocky the strongman (come on!), Red the hotshot, Prof the scientist, June the girl... Only Ace doesn't really get an FF analog, folded as he is into Ben Grimm. The FF are the Challs if the accident that brought them together working on "borrowed time" had given them powers.

The Crooked Man

"The Crooked Man" from Chain Gang War #8 (DC, 1994) by John Wagner, Dave Johnson and John Dell

With the rise of the anti-hero in the early 90s, every superhero publisher was trying out variations on the Punisher. So while Marvel's Punisher would kill criminals, Image's Shadowhawk would only cripple them for life. DC's answer was the Chain Gang, gritty street vigilantes who would IMPRISON criminals in their basement. It was a lot better than it sounds, and weirder too thanks to John Wagner's strange and grotesque gangsters (the Crooked Man, above, being on example). Dude was a major Judge Dredd writer, so no surprise there. It's a series that I want to reread some time, if only for the satisfaction of seeing the Gang drag stupid Deathstroke into a cell.

Slash Option (Obvious): Batman/Catwoman

"Slash Option (Obvious): Batman/Catwoman" from Catwoman vol.4 #2 (DC, 2011) by Judd Winnick and Guillem March

The sex scene heard 'round the world in the New52's version of Catwoman. I don't really want to talk about it again. I see Ann Nocenti is now writing the Cat. I didn't stick to her Green Arrow, but she still has some good will left over from her awesome Daredevil run, so I'm trying it. I also like to give a shot to women writing female characters. I realize I didn't like Jo Duffy's Catwoman, but I'm still very interested in women writing female protagonists and what is hopefully some kind of gender authenticity. Of course, some men can't write men, so it's not a foolproof formula, just one that you don't see enough in today's mainstream comics.

Whipped

"Whipped" from Catwoman vol.3 #4 (DC, 2002) by Ed Brubaker, Darwyn Cooke and Mike Allred

Catwoman's next phase is very different, and is something I really want to sample when I find the time. The animated series aesthetic, hearing good things about Brubaker and later, Pfeiffer, and... Slam Bradley in the supporting cast? I feel like I really missed something by not being a bigger Catwoman fan. I like the IDEA of the character, but every time I've given one of her series a shot (including Gotham Sirens), I've been left wanting. So is the one Selina Kyle series I skipped entirely the one that was done for me?

It's Catwoman!

"It's Catwoman!" from Catwoman vol.2 #1 (DC, 1993) by Jo Duffy, Jim Balent and Dick Giordano

Though unkindly referred to as the "top-heavy Catwoman", that's probably in hindsight after artist Jim Balent had moved on to bigger things (if you know what I mean). She's not THAT well-endowed here. Though I sampled the first few issues of Catwoman's first monthly, it didn't really grab me, though I had a friend who read it and ONLY it. She made no secret that it was all about the character's sex appeal (yes, she was gay), so Balent may have been on to something. This series would last 94 issues before Selina Kyle was apparently assassinated by Deathstroke (as if!), but she'd return the very next month in Detective Comics, and 6 months later, would have her own series again, though with a drastically different look. Check back in tomorrow for more!

Manning the Torpedoes

"Manning the Torpedoes" from Capt. Storm #14 (DC, 1966) by Robert Kanigher and Irv Novick

PT Boat Commander, Captain Storm, spent 18 issues in the mid-60s fighting Ratzies and Japs on the open seas, and the fact he had an eyepatch AND a wooden leg made him the perfect character to lead the Losers a couple years later (also created by Kanigher). The book also featured reprints of inventory war stories from the previous decade. Capt. Storm is a bit of an oddity really, seeing as DC was big on anthology-type titles at the time, and they hadn't premiered a character in his own solo title in probably more than a decade, and he's not even a superhero or SF character! The last feature to do the same was The Sea Devils in 1960, and that was a team book.

Crisis on Earth-C-Minus!

"Crisis on Earth-C-Minus!" from Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew #15 (DC, 1983) by Scott Shaw! and E. Nelson Bridwell

A series I picked up only occasionally, but that I like a lot more now than I did as a "too cool for funny animals" teenager, Captain Carrot was filled to the brim with puns, fun art and silly concepts. The most mind-boggling thing, which I found out in the letters' page probably is that Pig-Iron's secret identity if Peter Porkchops, who had his own funny animals series in the 50s! It's all connected, kids, and every piece matters.

Know. See. Feel. Truth.

"Know. See. Feel. Truth." from Captain Atom vol.3 #10 (DC, 2012) by J.T. Krul and Freddie Williams II

I was, I think, one of the few fans of the New52 version of Captain Atom, and I'm as surprised as you are about that given how critical I've been of Krul's writing in the past (and concurrently). His work, to me, has been either outrageously sensationalistic (Arsenal) or ordinary and dull (Green Arrow). Here, it's neither. Maybe it was more Doc Manhattan than it was Captain Atom in areas, but it was somewhat experimental, had a story to tell about yielding ultimate power, some really weird ideas about the Captain's future, and some really neat art by Williams. RIP Captain Atom volume 3.

Captain Atom Hands in His Resignation

"Captain Atom Hands in His Resignation" from Captain Atom Annual #1 (DC, 1988) by Cary Bates, Greg Weisman, Pat Broderick and Bob Smith

Though I stuck with Captain Atom through DC's entire 57-issue run, it's really the first 2½ years of the book, by Bates and Broderick that I love and still remember fondly. Captain Atom has a cool look, an at-the-time rare and intriguing connection to the U.S. military, a fake "public" origin that paid tribute to the Charlton original, his own Catwoman-type love interest in Plastique, a fish out of water element as he bounced to our time from the 60s, and actually fought villains adapted from his Charlton foes, as well as memorable new opponents created for the series, like Major Force (above). I'm still struck at how important Captain Atom became through the 80s. He commanded the superhero force in Invasion!, led Justice League Europe, and was to become Monarch in Armageddon 2001. That, sadly, even if it didn't actually happen, screwed up the character royally, something he never actually recovered from. Time for a reboot..? (See tomorrow.)

Captain Atom: Always Been a Menace to Society

"Captain Atom: Always Been a Menace to Society" from Captain Atom vol.1 #83 (Charlton, 1966) by David A Kaler, Steve Ditko and Rocke Mastroserio

Like Blue Beetle, I first discovered Captain Atom in Modern Comics' reprints of 60s Charlton superhero fare. The first one I got my hands on was in fact Blue Beetle's first appearance in the back-up. It may seem like Captain Atom was around for a long long time when you note this series ended at #89, but in reality, he started out in Space Adventures for 8 issues, then moved to Strange Suspense Stories in that series' 75th issue, and THAT became Captain Atom with #78. So the Captain's original journey basically spans the period between 1960 and 1967 (still pretty good), with a couple appearances up through the early 80s. The origin isn't all that different from the one you know from the DC version(s), though the metal skin was something that evolved midway through his own title to protect people from his innate radioactivity.

Dr. Evil

"Dr. Evil" from Captain Action #4 (DC, 1969) by Gil Kane

For a bit of Captain Action vs. Superman action, see the splash from issue 1. Captain Action was an action figure of the 60s who could "turn into" other action figures, basically, including Spider-Man and Captain America, which wouldn't do for a DC comic, so that concept was entirely dropped from this version. Dr. Evil, his archenemy, was ALSO an action figure with "master of disguise" abilities, and it remains funny to me that despite looking like a gross alien, he was the Captain's father-in-law. Lasting only 5 issues in the 60s, the license was eventually taken up by Moonstone Comics in the late 2000s, but of course, the two comics series have nothing to do with one another. The Captain is still around, with toys still being developed and this year a pulp novel seeing publication. Nostalgia must be a strong factor, but having been born in the early 70s, I guess I just missed that window of fandom.

Merlin's Scream

"Merlin's Scream" from Camelot 3000 #12 (DC, 1984) by Mike W. Barr, Brian Bolland and Terry Austin

In their last Who's Who podcast, Firestorm Fan's Shag and Aquaman Shrine's Rob! talked about this famous 12-issue maxi-series, Rob! having read it and admired it, and Shag, like me, never having done so, but really interested in it while also avoiding any spoilers. On the one hand, it's Brian Bolland art and it looks amazing. On the other, it's written by Mike Barr who gave us the Outsiders! I realize that it's entirely possible for a writer to phone in some work-for-hire monthly business, while knocking it out of the park on an exciting project like this. But still, Mike Barr...

I do wonder if the Sir Tristan character, a male knight reincarnated as a woman, had any role to play in Grant Morrison's re-imagining of the Shining Knight as a gender-ambiguous character in his 7 Soldiers of Victory, an interpretation still appearing today in Demon Knights.

What Might Have Been: Hippie Freaks

"What Might Have Been: Hippie Freaks" from Brother Power, the Geek #1 (DC, 1968) by Joe Simon and Al Bare

Frankenstein's Monster by way of Silver Surfer's wandering philosopher and the whole hippie cultural phenomenon, Brother Power was almost called the Freak, but DC got cold feet because that name seemed to imply drug use (as opposed to eating the heads off live chickens). In any case, DC never really felt comfortable with a series that featured a "Psychedelic Circus" and a youth movement some editors equated with drugs, so they canned it after only two issues. Judging from a lot of 70s comics I've read, Brother Power was just a little bit ahead of his time, that's all.

The straw pacifist has since appeared many times, often as an inside joke, or else in darker, Vertigo form. Most recently (2009) he's appeared alongside Batman in a an issue of The Brave and the Bold.

Mars LIVES!

"Mars LIVES!" from Brightest Day #12 (DC, 2010) by Geoff Johns, Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason and Irwin

A dream sequence that sees Mars reborn is very representative of Brightest Day series/event. After all, whatever Brightest Day established, it was as fleeting at J'Onn J'Onzz's vision with the coming of the Flushpoint. What a waste of time this was. They took a whole year (the same with the JLI series on the off-weeks) setting up a new status quo for a number of resurrected stars, even left some threads dangling for upcoming projects. And then, pfft. A whole year setting up a new Aqualad - pffft. A whole year re-shuffling the identity of Firestorm and turning him into a time-bomb - pffft. Even the return of the Swamp Thing was immediately subverted by a mini-series in the Old52. Brightest Day really puts the lie to the idea that the New52 was well-planned ahead of time. Or if you're cynical about it, it was planned, but they still wanted your cash so made us believe this stuff was "important".

I Scream to Be Free

"I Scream to Be Free" from Breach #3 (DC, 2005) by Bob Harras, Marcos Martin and Alvaro Lopez

Never read it, but flipping through, it looks like a redress of the Captain Atom story. Let's look at Wikipedia... Ah! They confirm it. According to the online encyclopedia, though it was retooled to star a new character, the first issue calls him Major Adams (instead of Major Zanetti) a couple times. Oops! I'm only interested because, well, Marcos Martin art! Possibly because it WASN'T Captain Atom, it was cancelled after only 11 issues (as the New52 proved, a Captain Atom reboot can be expected to last to 13 issues. Cough.

Breach has appeared here and there since, in some form or other, dying in Infinite Crisis, zombie walking in Blackest Night, alternate Earthing in Arena, and Son of-ing in Superman's Project 7734 stuff.

The Guest-Star Continuum

"The Guest-Star Continuum" from The Brave and the Bold vol.3 #6 (DC, 2007) by Mark Waid, George Perez and Scott Koblish

Skipping right over the forgettable 90s B&B mini-series, we get to a Waid/Perez revival in the late oughts. Instead of one-offs, the book's first year was dominated by a single arc through which various characters teamed up, often in a chain (A meets B, then in the next issue, B meets C, and so on). It was TOTALLY in the spirit of the original (and to some extent, the cartoon series of the same name), as discussed yesterday, with appearances by such varied characters as Supergirl, Lobo, the Legion, and the Boy Commandos. Great stuff. The series didn't do so well after Waid left, giving up the ghost at #35, by then limply written by boring old JMS.

A Cannon for Batman

"A Cannon for Batman" from The Brave and the Bold vol.1 #171  (DC, 1981) by Gerry Conway and José Luis Garcia Lopez

Running 200 issues between 1955 and 1983, The Brave and the Bold started out as an anthology series, briefly turned into a springboard for new superhero concepts (like the Justice League of America, Metamorpho and the Teen Titans), before resolving into Batman's team-up book. Over the years, the book had some seminal runs by Neal Adams and Jim Aparo, but my choice of splash (while by the superlative JLGL) is more based on the outrageousness of the chosen guest star. As I wrote in an article entitled Dynamic Duos: The Allure of the Team-Up Book, that is one of the elements that makes team-up books WORK. Scalphunter isn't just a hero from another time (the American Civil War), but a rather obscure one as well. That's what's so magical about a team-up book in a large and varied shared universe.

The Knights Wore Khaki

"The Knights Wore Khaki" from Boy Commandos #2 (World's Best, 1943) by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon

Simon and Kirby had had some success following the sidekick trend with "kid gangs" comics, including the Sentinels of Liberty (AKA the Young Allies) for Timely, and then the Newsboy Legion at what would resolve into DC Comics, but the Boy Commandos would prove their most enduring hit in the genre. They started out in Detective, then moved to World's Finest, and soon got their own series in 1942. Believe it or not, they were part of DC's top three bestsellers, right behind Superman and Batman. The Boy Commandos took the fight to the Ratzies four years past the actual end of the war, and benefited, as you can see above, from Kirby's considerable imagination for mashing up all manner of material.

The most famous of the Boy Commandos? Brooklyn. Post-Crisis (and animated series) Superman fans know him better as "Terrible" Dan Turpin (who was drawn AS Kirby on the cartoon). The rest did appear as adults as well, in a short Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) arc. Not the same. The Superman books back then were really good at keeping Kirby's legacy alive (the Newsboys and Project Cadmus too).

Boo.

"Boo." from Booster Gold vol.2 #9 (DC, 2008) by Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz, Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund

A great badass (JLI) moment for Booster Gold in his most recent series, which turned the fact he was something of a joke to its advantage by making him "the greatest hero you've never heard of". Great tagline. Linking him to another favorite, Rip Hunter Time Master, was also a stroke of genius. For a couple years there, Booster was going back in time to DC's hot spots both to protect history and revisit cool old events (like DC One Million, to name one example), all under the cover of being a selfish screw-up so that no evil time traveler would know to try to bump him off as a baby. Rip's blackboard, full of teases for various upcoming stories all across the DCU, was a really cool feature, and great marketing too. So it's a great shame that the series was never allowed to run its course, and that apparently, Booster failed in his mission to protect continuity when Flashpoint happened. Especially given that the revelations about the link between Rip and Booster weren't explored fully or given closure.

Or is it not too late? The New52's JLI ended on a story featuring a time traveling Booster from the future, working with Rip Hunter, so... Could this be a way back into DC's former history? Is there a Booster Gold, out there, fighting to put back what has now gone wrong? Perhaps futilely? Or are they thinking of doing a New52 Booster Gold book with a similar set-up? With a history-less DCU, it's kind of hard to do that justice, though it could be used to fill in some gaps. What did YOU make of the JLI finale?

Dusk - Fragrance for Men

"Dusk - Fragrance for Men" from Booster Gold vol.1 #9 (DC, 1986) by Dan Jurgens and Mike DeCarlo

You're welcome, beefcake lovers!

Booster Gold was post-Crisis DC's first new star and I'm glad he's still around in roles of some importance today (well, until very recently at least). The selfish, marketing-conscious superhero truly is a product of the 80s, but truth be told, the idea hasn't fallen out of fashion 25 years later. The original series featured nice art and a great story up to about issue 21 (fighting the 1000, Booster's origin, and up through his sister's first appearance) before running out of steam. But by then, the call had likely been made. There were only 4 more issues, two of them Millennium (ugh) tie-ins.

At least Booster didn't slip into comic book limbo from there, joining Blue Beetle as the other half of the Justice League's best comedy double act. Tomorrow: A look at the latest Booster series.

Faerie Market

"Faerie Market" from The Books of Magic vol.1 #3 (DC/Vertigo, 1991) by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess

Before the Books of Magic was a MacGuffin in Justice League Dark, they were a Prestige format mini-series that had the Trenchcoat Brigade act as guides to magician-in-becoming Tim Hunter*, featuring gorgeous art by four painterly artists. Vess' issue, focusing on Faerieland, is perhaps the most like what the monthly series would be like. The Royal Court of Faerie in fact became regular supporting stars in the book, and even got mini-series of their own under The Books of Faerie heading. By then, I'd stopped reading, so I more or less missed out on developments in sequels like The Names of Magic, Age of Magic and The Books of Magick: Life During Wartime. Tim Hunter's made an appearance in the new DC, so his book might be tapped for a DC Dark title. I'd welcome it, because I think he would benefit from a more mainstream tone and format. The Vertigo series really struggled to find its legs, I seem to remember.

*And yes, The Books of Magic is why I never responded positively to Tim's clone Harry Potter. To me, the only thing that kept DC Comics from suing J.K.Rowling was that Warner Bros. was involved in both projects. Yes, I know Neil Gaiman later gave Harry his blessing - I'm not at all rational about this. Nor do I actually care. It's just that when people ask if I've read Harry Potter, I usually say something smart-alecky like "I liked it when it was called The Books of Magic".

Image Is Everything

"Image Is Everything" from The Book of Fate #4 (DC, 1997) by Keith Giffen, Ron Wagner and Bill Reinhold

I was too much of a Dr. Fate fan to get into the new Fate book, or consequently, the follow-up "The Book of Fate". It's kind of funny to me that the caption on this Fate/Two-Face wrestling match is "Image is everything", because the Jared Stevens character always seemed to me like one of those 90s re-inventions that instantly turned me off. The Image Comics aesthetic of the time.

The Most Dreaded Place on Earth

"The Most Dreaded Place on Earth" from Bomba the Jungle Boy #5 (DC, 1968) by George Kashdan and Jack Sparling

Bomba was a 1920s Tarzan rip-off set in South America featured in 20 boy's adventure books, a dozen movies between 1949 and 1955, and a 7-issue comic book series from DC Comics. The books were pretty overtly racist (the white Bomba has an "open soul" while dark-skinned natives have "closed" ones), but the comics are ok. After the series failed and the license lapsed, DC re-used some of the material with minor art and lettering changes for the Sinba back-up in their Tarzan comics. Waste not, want not.

The Origin of Nebiros, Updated Edition

"The Origin of Nebiros, Updated Edition" from Blue Devil #4 (DC, 1984) by Gary Cohn, Dan Mishkin, Paris Cullins and Gary Martin

I only bought the occasional issue of the DCU's "weirdness magnet" (a mantle later taken on by Animal Man), but given my tastes in comics today, I regret I wasn't more of a fan at the time. Ah well, now bargain bin favorites.

What Would You Do?

"What Would You Do?" from Blue Beetle vol.7 #15 (DC, 2007) by J. Torres and Freddie Williams II

I've gotten the trades and expect to read the much-lauded (original) Jaime Reyes series as part of my Old52 reading experience (which I am late with because, damn it, WORK), but I've liked every appearance the character has made outside that series, whether that be guest appearances in other comics, his role in the awesome Brave and the Bold cartoon, or the hope he would star in a new Justice League International series (as Ted Kord's legacy) following Brightest Day. Of course, that chapter came to a close thanks to the Flushpoint, rebooting the Beetle in the New52 for no discernible reason (he was already young and inexperienced) and either retreading old ground or turning the Beetles into Lanterns. At least, as far as I can tell from perusing the present series on the stands. (In other words, I don't think it's necessary to splash volume 8 tomorrow.)

Out From the Ashes

"Out From the Ashes" from Blue Beetle vol.6 #1 (DC, 1986) by Len Wein, Paris Cullins and Bruce D. Patterson
Ted Kord joined the DC Universe right after the Crisis with a two-year stint in his own book. This was a solid, if standard, superhero book written by Len Wein, with pleasant, friendly art by Paris Cullins (I didn't care as much for other artists). Wein was big on setting up future threats in subplot pages, sometimes to the book's detriment (some of these moved slow indeed), and he created lots of villains who would never appear anywhere else (Firefist, Overthrow, the Muse...). At least Carapax made it into the Suicide Squad. So not the most memorable run, but not terrible either. It had the distinction of taking place in Chicago, not a place previously explored much in the DCU, and it introduced DCU versions of the Question (as the Charlton series had, and before the dark, mature readers make-over) and the Golden Age Beetle. By the time Beetle's series was done for, he had already been inducted into the Justice League and was on the road to comedy gold...

Buggy Plans

"Buggy Plans" from Blue Beetle vol.4 #2 (Charlton, 1967) by Steve Ditko
My favorite Charlton era splash is actually his fight with the Squid, but I've already shown it on this blog. It was my first exposure to the Blue Beetle, actually in a Modern Comics reprint (in fact, the same flea market visit yielded both his first issue and his first appearance in Captain Atom). I found [reprints of] almost every issue (there weren't many), so you can well imagine I was surprised and happy to find Ted Kord in the DCU as of Who's Who and Crisis! But that's a much longer story... for tomorrow!

Introducing Sparky, Kinda

"Introducing Sparky, Kinda" from Blue Beetle vol.1 #14 (Holyoke, 1942) by Allen Ulmer
Until I started doing research on the Golden Age Blue Beetle, I did NOT know he had a sidekick! This is the first appearance of Sparky, on both this page and the issue's cover. HOWEVER, he was not allowed to join Blue Beetle Dan Garret until the NEXT issue, which is a pretty ridiculous scheduling snafu!

The original Blue Beetle was a relatively big deal in the 40s, spawning comic strips and a radio serial, but he fell on hard luck when his original publisher, Fox, collapsed and sold him off to Charlton. Charlton couldn't keep him in print either, and created a new version instead, which was in turn picked up by DC some time later. Though I'd seen the original Blue Beetle in Rovin's Encyclopedia of Superheroes, I never saw him in a story before he showed up in a couple of issues of DC's Blue Beetle. It was pretty exciting.

Switching Masks

"Switching Masks" from Blood of the Demon #4 (DC, 2005) by John Byrne, Will Pfeifer and Nekros
In the mid-00s, John Byrne, ever the Kirby fan, cooked up a short-lived and kinda really gory Demon series. Anyone read it and like it or not like it? I'm saving all my Demonic content for the Kirby and Alan Grant series. Because those ruled.

The Enemy

"The Enemy" from Blitzkrieg #1 (DC, 1976) by Bob Kanigher and Ric Estrada
Blitzkrieg was a 5-issue attempt in 1976 to do a war comic that starred the soldiers of Nazi Germany, and not in a particularly good light (like, say, WWI's Enemy Ace) either. Another feature called The Huns looked at their Germanic ancestors and wasn't any sweeter to the German people. Still, nice art (and of course, Joe Kubert covers).

Just Resting Our Wings

"Just Resting Our Wings" from Blackhawks #8 (DC, 2012) by Mike Costa, Cafu and Bit
Remember when artists used to have full names? Anywho... In the New52, the Blackhawks were turned into a secret, international paramilitary organization, somewhere between Checkmate and Doctor Who's UNIT, which might have been a worthy expansion of the Blackhawks mythos, except that none of the characters were recognizable revamps of the original characters. It's like being a fan of some old tv series or movie, then seeing a remake of it featuring Brandan Fraser. The book didn't survive the first First Wave and ended at issue 8, but with a promise to return (above).

Face It Blackhawks, You Just Hit the Jackpot

"Face It Blackhawks, You Just Hit the Jackpot" from Blackhawk vol.1 #133 (DC, 1959) by Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera
One of the problems facing the Blackhawks, even under Quality Comics, was their divorce from the World War II era. As they headed into the 50s, their adventures became more and more ludicrous, and when DC got a hold of them in 1956, the company's brand of Silver Age madness took them more and more into the realm of science fiction (they basically became the Challengers of the Unknown with planes), at their most extreme, being turned into ridiculous superheroes (from #288 to #241). Among DC's contributions to the strip were the humanization of Chop-Chop and the character seen above in her first ever appearance, Lady Blackhawk! She would eventually become their coolest and most popular member.

Blackhawks ended in 1968 with #243, then briefly returned in the 70s (through #250), then again in the 80s (through #273), this time returning to the WWII adventures. This is when Blackhawk himself was reinvented as a Pole rather than an American. This was followed by a Howard Chaykin mini-series for mature readers, a look and premise (without adult elements) follow-up in Action Comics Weekly, which in turn continued in a short-lived series (once again "mature") in the 90s. Since then, appearances have been pretty meager, with the exception of Zinda's as a member of the Birds of Prey. So here's to Lady Blackhawk!

The Blackhawks vs. the Iron Emperor

"The Blackhawks vs. the Iron Emperor" from Blackhawk vol.1 #42 (Quality, 1951) by Reed Crandall
Did you know the Blackhawks were co-created by Will Eisner, and had both a movie serial and a radio series? Certainly one of the more marketable concepts of the Golden Age! While the Blackhawks were, I think, pretty unusual for Golden Age war comics in that the team featured representatives of different allied nations AND INDEED its leader wasn't an American, but rather, Polish (or more exactly, he WAS identified as American early on, but that changed in the 80s). Unfortunately, it doesn't mean the book's original creators portrayed each of those nationalities with sensitivity, as can be seen with the Chinese character Chop-Chop, clearly a racist caricature. Sure, Andre the Frenchman has a stereotypical thin mustache and love or women, but that's hardly on the same level.

Quality Comics actually premiered Blackhawk in Military Comics (1941), which became Modern Comics before its cancellation in 1950. In '44, in any case, they started publishing a dedicated Blackhawk book, which Quality would publish for 5 issues more than Military/Modern (to #107) before the company folded. No worries, DC would integrate the book into its own releases and even keep the numbering. (To be continued...)

The Suicided Squad

"The Suicided Squad" from Blackest Night #4 (DC, 2009) by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert and Joe Prado

Blackest Night or Marvel Zombies? There can only be one.

(I ask the question, but I already know the answer.)

The Orchids

"The Orchids" from Black Orchid vol.1 #3 (DC/Vertigo, 1989) by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean

I first caught sight of Black Orchid in Who's Who and was immediately intrigued. So I was pretty tickled to see her show up in Suicide Squad! Alas, her story pretty much ended when Neil Gaiman gave her the Vertigo treatment (before the word Vertigo was coined), turning her into a female version of Swamp Thing, a human flower. The Dave McKean art was beautiful, but I still felt like we lost a cool character. And still, I got every issue of the Vertigo monthly that followed (by writer Dick Foreman), from some kind of Vertigo or Black Orchid loyalty, but the fact I've wiped almost everything about it from my mind can be taken as an indictment.

So as you can guess, I'm rather stoked that the Orchid is back in play in Justice League Dark, and in her original(?) form too.

The Praying Angel of Death

"The Praying Angel of Death" from Black Magic #3 (DC, 1974), originally published in Black Magic # 9 (Prize, 1952) by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
When I was a kid who only really read French, my mom used to get me these Jumbo superhero books, which reprinted in black and white (and in French) a number of DC and Marvel comics, more or less randomly. The same book might have an issue of the Flash right next to Thor or Hands of Shang-Chi Master of Kung Fu. In between the superhero "chapters" were short horror tales from a number of sources like House of Mystery/Secrets and I BELIEVE Black Magic. At least, I seem to remember the look of these Simon & Kirby stories. I never appreciated these dark, twisted tales at age 10. At age 41, I'm pretty happy they can be found in a 70s reprint book!

Action Comics Starring Black Lightning

"Action Comics Starring Black Lightning" from Black Lightning vol.2 #5 (DC, 1995) by Tony Isabella and Eddy Newell

Is there a Black Lightning curse? Maybe the ghost of the distasteful Black Bomber he replaced? I only ask because he's had a pretty bad publishing track record. The first series fell victim to the DC implosion before its last issue saw print. Lightning then squandered his shot at joining the Justice League and was instead inducted in the Outsiders, a series I think I poke fun at with reason. And then he scored a second monthly, again by Isabella who was fired after 8 issues. He claimed, on Newsarama, that the editor did so to bring in another writer and consolidate his power base at DC Comics. Whatever the truth, the book folded after 5 more issues. And the more recent Year One mini by Jen Van Meter and Cully Hamner? I really liked it, but of course, like all the Year Ones that came out around 2009, it was all for naught because of the reboot. Black Lightning has yet to show up in the New52. Static filled his niche, I guess, but his was one of the series axed at issue 8...

Spider-Man and the Kingpin--No, Wait

"Spider-Man and the Kingpin--No, Wait" from Black Lightning vol.1 #8 (DC, 1978) by Tony Isabella, Trevor von Eeden and Vince Colletta

You gotta admit. Black Lightning is in an odd pose (for him), and Tobias Whale is the Kingpin type! Easy mistake to make!

As the story goes, DC's first African-American headliner was going to be the Black Bomber, a white racist only posing as a black man, and offensive on about every level. When the editor responsible left the company, writer Tony Isabella jumped in and convinced the powers that be that his creation, Black Lightning, was a much better way to go. They paired him up with a 16-year-old African-American artist called Trevor von Eeden and a legend was born. And then was cancelled 11 issues in, though the 12th issue did eventually see print in a couple of anthology comics. Even so, Black Lightning would live on, first in World's Finest and Detective back-ups, then after refusing the join the Justice League, in the Outsiders (yeah I know, not much of a life, but he was definitely one of the better characters in there) and eventually get enough traction for another solo book... but that's tomorrow's tale.