JIMMY OLSEN #133 / Nov’70 “Jimmy Olsen Brings Back The Newsboy Legion”
Someone (?) at DC wanted Jack to do SUPERMAN-- or at least, A Superman book-- right? Was it that JO was losing its then-regular team, or did it have the lowest sales, and this was a way of showing what Jack could do, take ANY lousy piece of junk and turn it into a success? (He had tried that before with GREEN ARROW, heh.)
I believe the Superman line in general was being, or about to be, revamped about that time. Any knowledge one way or the other? I find it wild that such a MAJOR change as transferring Clark Kent from his NEWSPAPER office to becoming a TV ANCHORMAN should happen first in, of all places, "SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN". Did it never even occur to anybody at DC to change to NAME of that book, at least, to something less unwieldy, like, say... "JIMMY OLSEN"?
I love how Jack had fun with the book's hokey title, plastering "Superman's EX-PAL, Jimmy Olsen" on several covers, and later, on the inside, "Jimmy Olsen's Pal, Superman". THAT's putting big blue in his place!
How likely-- or believable-- was it really, to have a newspaperman suddenly become-- AGAINST HIS WISHES-- a TV anchorman? Was his boss aware of his dual identity? We know he had ultirior motives for much of what he did. After all, in Jack's very 1st issue, the guy tries to have Clark Kent KILLED by having him run down by a car. What kind of management-employee relationship was this?
Morgan Edge-- apparently-- was NOT meant to be a clone (as later revealed), despite all the focus on clones in so many of these issues. He was supposed to be a VILLAIN, period. Why did DC back off from this? In a way, Edge (or whichever real-life person may have inspired him) may have been the inspiration for the villain in the James Bond movie, "TOMORROW NEVER DIES". That title doesn't make any sense, by the way. You can tell because it was originally gonna be "Tomorrow Never LIES", a reference to the name of the newspaper, "Tomorrow".
The Whiz Wagon naturally reminds one of the "next generation" of the Fantasti-Car. While John Buscema was stripping the edges off the vehicle in the FF book (to make it easier to draw-- WHAT OTHER possible reason could there have been?), Jack was unveiling what Johnny Storm PROBABLY would have, if Stan hadn't been so insistent on POINTLESSLY giving him heartbreak by coming up with a totally-contrived reason for Crystal to no longer be able to stay in NYC. Stupid SOAP-OPERA writing!
MY question in all this is... WHAT is the point-- if any-- of The NEW Newsboy Legion? Teaming a "Newsboy Legion" with a reporter like Jimmy sounds like an idea that works when you say it, but not when you try to think it thru. Plus, there's TWO "Newsboy Legions" in this story. The new kids, who, AS FAR AS I CAN TELL, don't sell newspapers-- and the originals, who no longer do that either, as-- against any rational expectations-- they've ALL become genetic scientists. HUH????? Also, is it reasonable at all to call the originals the "fathers" of the younger ones? Maybe I'm putting too much thought into this. After all... it's "just" a JIMMY OLSEN comic!
Now, let's get to the cover. "JIMMY JOINS A BIKER GANG!" might have made a better title. It would have fit in perfect in Uncle Mortie's run, wouldn't it? Meanwhile, while one may "gun" an engine, it would have made more sense for Jimmy to say "RUN him down", as that's what you do to pedestrians. An earlier, unpublished version of the cover had someone HOLDING a gun, and in that case, "GUN him down" would have made sense... but only if it shot energy rays or kryptonite bullets.
I'd also like someone to explain how those bikes are TURNING to the right in mid-air after they leave the take-off ramp.
Annnnnnnnnnnd... WE'RE OFF!
Posted by profh0011 on :
JIMMY OLSEN #133 / Nov’70 “Jimmy Olsen Brings Back The Newsboy Legion” (Part 2)
Yesterday, I did an off-the-cuff review of JIMMY OLSEN #133... without actually bothering to RE-READ the thing.
This morning, before I even put on the TV, I dug out the 1st volume of JIMMY OLSEN ADVENTURES from 2003, and re-read the 1st episode. With help from the list in AMAZING HEROES, I got ahold of most of the Fourth World books back in the early 80's (before NEW GODS was reprinted), but I never quite tracked down several of the books. This included the first 2 JIMMY OLSENs. Most frustrating. Starting to read with the 3rd episode is like walking into a 2-hour movie 40 MINUTES LATE. I finally managed to read the 1st episode when it was reprinted in SUPERMAN IN THE 70's (2000), but they only included the 1st one, not the 2nd.
What a JOLT this must have been. As awkward & stilted as the book's regular logo was, it got worse when the words "EX-" and "THE NEW" were added, making it "SUPERMAN'S EX-PAL, THE NEW JIMMY OLSEN". Of course, that wasn't the REAL name of the book... You know, these 2 JIMMY OLSEN ADVENTURES books actually show how good a JO cover can look when it isn't bogged down by "too much", and when the "SUPERMAN'S PAL" sub-loto is removed.
Jack tosses the readers into the deep end RIGHT from page 1! No prologue, no segue, no symbolic splash, no preparation of any kind. Jimmy's in a garage in a slum neighborhood, where, INEXPLICABLY, he's having a meeting with a group who are-- GET THIS!-- the SONS of THE NEWSBOY LEGION, a group of kids who had adventures in the early 1940's. I suppose in a JIMMY OLSEN books, "unlikely" is NEVER a consideration. I mean, think about it-- 4 guys who are friends, all have kids, and the 4 kids ALL hang out as friends 30 years later. Only in the DC Universe?
It gets stranger, because one of them has designed a vehicle that would give The Fantastic-Car a run for its money-- "THE WHIZ WAGON". It's quickly explained that Jimmy's new boss, media mogul Morgan Edge, on seeing the plans, had the car BUILT, and offers it as a gift to its designer, IF the "story" he sends them & Jimmy out to get works out. Strange-- but not completely inconceivable.
Shock follows shock, as we learn the Daily Planet has been BOUGHT by Edge (yes, the day of "corporate buy-outs" had arrived). Edge is a DEAR RINGER for Kevin McCarthy, and if you've ever seen him in the Weird Al Yankovic film "UHF", you have a good idea what this guy is like. (Funny thing, that movie came out 19 YEARS after this comic.)
There's a lot of set-up in this initial episode, and a number of mysteries tossed out which aren't explained right away (or even in this issue at all). Like, WHAT is Edge after when he sends Jimmy & these teenagers on what apparently is a DANGEROUS story? Clark Kent, who comes across as a nice guy here (what else), shows concern, and the immediate result is Edge calling up "INTER-GANG" (shades of 8TH MAN and "INTER-CRIME"!) and putting out an order to have Kent BUMPED OFF! Is this any way to treat the "star reporter" of a newspaper you JUST acquired?? Shocklingly, Clark Kent becomes the victim of a viscious, deliberate HIT-AND-RUN... but while a crowd of onlookers is astonished that he wasn't killed, he's so focused on what happened and why, he doesn't even attempt to come up with the usual lame-A** excuse.
In the tradition of Jules Verne's "The Terror", the WHIZ WAGON proves itself capable of operating on land, in the air, and in the water! (I don't believe the Fantasti-Car was ever shown having the latter ability.) It's arrival and immediately being spied upon reminds me a bit of the scene in "RETURN OF THE MOLE MAN" (seen on TV as "MENACE OF THE MOLE MAN") when the F.F. arrive at that island. Quickly, our heroes are under attack, and wind up in a life-or-death struggle. I might take this a bit more seriously, except I'm trying to figure out WHY the BLACK kid goes around wearing a scuba-diving suit-- ALL THE TIME. Maybe he has a super-hero fixation?
It is almost funny when 2 outlandish BIKERS named "Yango" and "Flek" show up, and when Jimmy insists on talking to their leader, he's told it was their leader he just beat the CRAP out of! And so... JIMMY is now their leader. That's right! "JIMMY OLSEN-- BIKER GANG LEADER!" Hey, maybe this isn't so different from all those earlier issues of this book after all?
Clark switches to his Superman identity, and exhibits a talent I've never seen him use in ANY other story-- using his "heat vision" to trace "after-images" of things, like the WHIZ WAGON. Anybody know-- has this talent EVER turned up in ANY other comics, before or since?
Supes discovers an hidden entrance to an underground tunnel (straight out of BUCK ROGERS or THE TIME TUNNEL), and then encounters some very peculiar characters. I'm a bit confused as to the topgraphy, as it seems there's grass and plants underground, but the way the sky is colored, it looks like he's still outside. First there's some "hippie" type who's meditating, then a pair of soldiers hunting hippies, who-- and I find this hilarious-- mistake HIM for one of them, who just happens to be wearing a "Superman" suit.
Things get all crazy when the BIKE GANG arrives, and like a scene right out of "THE WILD ONE" with Marlon Brando, they ride in circles around Supes, stopping only to reveal that Jimmy's is the one in charge. It's at this point big blue develops a REALLY bad attitude. there's an entire website devoted to the theme of "Superman Is A Dick", showcasing endless examples of how badly the big "S" has treated Jimmy (and just about every other "friend" he's ever had in his long history), and it gives one the impression of some seriously BAD relationships. Presumably, Supes & Jimmy have known each other for HOW long by now? --yet, Supes comes across with the attitude that Jimmy is TOTALLY out of his depth, and ONLY HE (Superman) can handle-- WHATEVER it is they're looking for (even though, at this point, almost nobody seems to have any idea what that might be).
Al Plastino seems to have goofed up on page 18, as Supe's EYES are wide open even though it's clear the guy has been knocked unconscious by Kryptonite gas!
On page 20, we see "The Habitat", a small town built entirely out of GIGANTIC tree trunks. I've always figured Metropolis was on the East Coast, but this would make more sense if it was taking place on the WEST coast. In fact, the whole thing with hippies and bikers feels like a West Coast thing, especially as that's where Jack & Roz were living when he was doing this story. I've actually SEEN a mobile home built into the trunk of a giant redwood tree. THEY EXIST! Kirby took this to further extremes, obviously.
What's interesting is Supes' comment, "I can't conceive of a DROPOUT SOCIETY being THAT industrious!" As "Big Words" explains, it was built by someone else we haven't seen yet, and the bikers just took it over. As Supes leans against the wall and says, "Go on--" you can just SEE the "attitude" on his face. Only Yango has a clue what they're looking for, and this makes Supes exclaim, "I'm more the ever CONVINCED that it's my duty to do everything to STOP you." What a JERK! Or... is it possible he knows MORE than he's letting on???
It took me so long to get my hands on the whole thing, but when I did, I was completely blown away. This story does not read like any normal, average kind of comic-book or comic-book serial. It doesn't feel like anyone else's type of multi-part story. It actually reads like A MOVIE!! But this only becomes obvious when you've read all 6 parts. This wasn't the last time Jack managed something like this, either. I got the same feel of reading a "MOVIE" with the first 5 chapters of the "MADBOMB" story, the first 6 issues of CAPTAIN VICTORY, and the 6 issues of SILVER STAR. In effect, these stories could easily be turned into feature films-- AS IS.
The cover used was re-worked and re-worked, and an earlier, unused version actually turned up as the cover of JIMMY OLSEN ADVENTURES Vol.2 (but would have made more sense on Vol.1!). On that, Yango is pointing a GUN at Superman, so when Jimmy says, "GUN him down!", it makes MORE SENSE. All the changes and endless fix-ups, and somehow, someone at DC let the finished cover go out without fixing that ONE word on the cover so it would read, "RUN him down!" (which is what you DO to pedestrians).
I dug out my Fourth World comics today. It wasn't easy, there was about a 2-foot-high STACK of magazines piled up on top of it that I had to move first before I could open the long box. Anyway, it's free now. It was already several years ago I started a chronological re-reading of ALL the Jack Kirby comics in my entire collection, and after about a 2-YEAR break (not counting the time I spent reading early-70's Marvels AFTER Jack had left the company), I FINALLY got back to Kirby today.
One thing that surprised me, flipping thru a couple issues of JIMMY OLSEN... when the JO ADVENTURES books came out, I said I thought they looked BETTER than the originals. I take it back. The coloring is more intense, but while the line reproduction is VERY good, it's a BIT darker than the originals. So, yes-- the originals DO look better. If you ignore the paper slowly turning yellow.
Most of these comics I have only ver read ONCE, a little under 30 YEARS ago. Having read endlessly about them, in THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR, and at the Kirby-L yahoo group (now gone), I'm really looking forward to experiencing these again, now that I'm older and have a much more highly-developed sensibility with regards to art and writing-- especially the latter.
Posted by Dave Hackett on :
quote: Someone (?) at DC wanted Jack to do SUPERMAN-- or at least, A Superman book-- right? Was it that JO was losing its then-regular team, or did it have the lowest sales, and this was a way of showing what Jack could do, take ANY lousy piece of junk and turn it into a success? (He had tried that before with GREEN ARROW, heh.)
In the Omnibus additional text (can't remember which forward or afterword), they said that Kirby didn't want to displace anyone, and Olsen was the only book without a regular team on it at the time.
I think DC certainly didn't want Kirby near Superman at all as they had him redrawn by another artist closer to "House" style in all of the early Olsen stories. Oy.
Posted by Emily Sivana on :
I think you hit something with them being read like a movie. That might partly explain why I like Fourth World comics so much.
Posted by profh0011 on :
Some years back, I noticed the SAME thing with Frank Thorne's GHITA OF ALIZARR. I loved his art and enjoyed the x-rated stuff, but wasn't too impressed when it was serialized in Warren's 1994 magazine. When I got ahold of the reprint collection, and was able to read the whole thing in one go, SUDDENLY, I was completely blown away by it. Rather than the individual episodes being plotted and paced to be read that way, it's almost as though the entire thing was paced out as ONE single thing, then (almost) arbitrarily cut up into 8-page sequences.
Posted by profh0011 on :
JIMMY OLSEN #134 / Dec'70 -- "THE MOUNTAIN OF JUDGEMENT!"
This was, ironically, the LAST issue of Jack Kirby's run of JIMMY OLSEN I got ahold of. I never found the first 2, and got the 1st one in SUPERMAN IN THE 70's (2000). 3 years later, JIMMY OLSEN ADVENTURES came out, and despite having all but one of the episodes already, I spring for both books. They turned out to be wonderful packages, and between having all the episodes in one place, NO ads, brighter paper, and no Golden Age reprints to get in the way, I enjoyed the run MUCH more than I had years earlier. (Of course, as of yesterday, I've confirmed it for myself, the line reproduction IS better in the originals-- but the difference isn't nearly as bad as 95% of Marvel's reprints over the years.
Once again, the cover reads "Superman's EX-Pal, The NEW Jimmy Olsen". It would go back to normal with the next issue, once this initial part of the "biker" storyline ended. It also has "A King-Sized KIRBY Blockbuster!" on the top. Was there anyone else at DC who got this kind of promotion? I keep reading how some of the old-timers who remembered the late 50's (or even the early-40's) felt resentment against Jack in general, for the special treatment & he & Joe Simon got way back when, for the way they TWICE failed to show "company loyalty", for the way Jack DARED to try standing up to Jack Schiff (who was screwing Jack out of money on the SKY MASTERS newspaper strip), and for the way Jack had done so much to make that miserable upstart of a company, Marvel, into such a TOP competitor. Having Jack back at DC, and having his NAME plastered in ads and on covers must have REALLY rubbed some of those guys the wrong way.
In a complete reversal from the wild kinetic energy of #133's cover, #134 is dark, moody and solemn. And for the 2nd issue in a row, I find the word balloons really work well. "Now our road is fast and clear!", says Jimmy. Not your average dialogue, but seeing as this story is centered on "counter-culture" types, very fitting. A LOT of people, in real life, talked "FUNNY" in the late 60's!! Check out any TV show from the period that did episodes about hippies or bikers for proof.
Looking at this cover, I can't help but wonder... would DC and its readers have been happier, in the long run, if Jack had done what he really wanted-- WRITING-- and NEAL ADAMS had done the art? (Let's face it, while Jack is one of the BEST-- and certainly most unique-- writers in comics, Neal is one of the WORST-- and teaming up 2 guys as different as they were might have had very interesting results.)
This is funny, but seeing those vehicles gathering on that huge tree stump on page 2 reminds me of part of The Batcave from the Tim Burton movies. Kinda dangerous place to park your car, if the brakes ever give out!
Once again, Superman sticks his nose in where it isn't wanted, and this time pays for it. He certainly DOES seem to know more than he's letting on, although as the story progresses, we find that there's a LOT about "The Wild Area" he DOESN'T know, and I suppose the differences are telling.
The 2nd panel on page 6, where Yango blasts Supes, is so slick, it almost reminds me of something Frank Giacoia might have done. Throughout this run, I feel, is some of the BEST-looking inks Vince Colletta ever laid down over Jack's pencils. Although, according to Mark Evanier, he had HELP on some episodes.
The scene on page 7 where the Whiz Wagon drives at full-speed right INTO the side of that mountain reminds me of 2 things I've seen in movies many years later. One, the scene in BUCKAROO BANZAI where he uses his "Oscillation Overthruster" to penetrate another dimension; and two, when Michael Keaton's BATMAN, with Vicki Vale in the passenger seat, drove into the Batcave.
From the moment they enter the underground road, "The Zoomway", the book becomes NON-STOP HIGH-SPEED action!!! The comparison I made to Jules Verne's "The Terror" (from the book MASTER OF THE WORLD) continues as we find the Whiz Wagon ALSO operates UNDER water! Reed Richards could have sure used a vehicle like this one-- might have saved him a lot of room taken up by all those different flying machines.
The photo-collages on pages 12-13 are nothing short of mind-blowing. The reproduction in the reprint book is INCREDIBLY clear. Usually, when Marvel would reprint something like this, it'd wind up looking even worse than it did the first time. I wonder if someone one of these days might take the trouble to re-photograph the collages (if they still exist) and actually print them IN COLOR? the only time I've seen this done so far was in the final issue of CAPTAIN VICTORY, and THE HUNGER DOGS.
A friend of mine, more than once, told he he "heard" that Jack Kirby "couldn't draw pretty women". Look at the first panel on page 14 to put the lie to THAT belief!!
I LOVE the sequence on pages 15-17 when Superman first encounters "THE MOUNTAIN OF JUDGMENT"!!! For the first time, Superman actually came in handy being around in this story. It becomes clear at this point that Supes DOES know some of what's going on, but obviously not all. After he saves everyone from the bomb, at last Jimmy shows some gratitude. Of course, it might have helped if Superman had CONFIDED in his "pal" a lot earlier than this. This attitude of his about being the "only one" who can handle certain things has continued and increased over the decades, to the point where under some writers, he's become insufferable. (Then again, that's nothing compared to what certain editors & writers have done to Batman. Remember when both those guys used to be LIKEABLE?)
After all these years, it finally hit me that "Hairies" is somewhat of a variation on the word "Hippies", except in this case referring to "hippies" who are super-geniuses.
It now becomes clear that the entire first 2 episodes were nothing less than a plot by Morgan Edge to DESTROY The Mountain Of Judgement (and possibly most of The Hairies as well), with no regard to how many others might get killed along the way (specifically, Jimmy & The Newsboy Legion). Superman seems VERY aware of this fact-- I'm wondering, will he DO anything about it?
From 1986 on, when SUPERMAN was completely rebooted from scratch, Lex Luthor was changed from being a scientific genius to the evil head of a corporation. Seems to me Jack Kirby beat Marv Wolfman to that by 15 years. Unlike the Post-Crisis Lex, who seems self-made, in this case, we find out Edge is working for someone else, who appears in exactly ONE tiny panel, on a tv screen... "DARKSEID".
As Jack says, "The outline of a VAST, OMINOUS intrigue begins to take shape!"
Apparently, the first thing Jack did when he started at DC was the first issues of his new books. But then, for "commercial" reasons, he was asked to do something that was a "sure thing" FIRST, to help justify his contract. Drastic changes to a series are often done when sales are plumetting, but often don't work out. I wonder, did sales of JIMMY OLSEN go up when Jack took over-- stay the same-- or continue to drop? The book DID continue after he left it... but not for that much longer (well, 15 more issues, I guess that's longer than some books' ENTIRE runs!).
[ June 13, 2011, 12:46 PM: Message edited by: profh0011 ]
Posted by profh0011 on :
JIMMY OLSEN #135 / Jan’71 – “EVIL FACTORY”
Although the previous 2 issues feel like the end of a sequence, it’s really just the first part of a longer storyline. As Jack tells us on page 1, “They are just the top of the iceberg”. Before the 3rd chapter even starts, he hits us with “”FILE 202”. But what is it?
The first 4 pages of “EVIL FACTORY” serve as an amazing introduction to a pair of very bizarre characters, who are engaged in some kind of “genetic” research, and have somehow created miniaturized clones of Superman, Jimmy Olsen, and the Newboy Legion! I can almost see the first 2 but the 3rd? In somewhat of a replay of the CAPTAIN AMERICA episode “THEM!” from TALES OF SUSPENSE #78 / Jun’66, we see evil scientists creating their own forms of artificial life, wholesale, “to use as we wish!” Further, it’s clear they’re NOT from Earth, but are part of some advanced fifth column invasion. Unmasked, we find “Mokkari” looks like some kind of circus clown, while “Simyan” sort of resembles a Neanderthal man.
Returning to Superman, he, Jimmy & The Newboy Legion finally arrive at “The Project”, a top-secret government scientific military research installation straight out ot THE TIME TUNNEL. It’s very obvious Supes has been here before, which makes his lack of knowledge about some of the surrounding areas a bit odd. After trying to hard to keep Jimmy out (for his own good or just to maintain the top-top-secrecy that ONLY Superman could be trusted with?), Supes finally explains to Jimmy what’s going on. The Project is doing genetic research into DNA, and have discovered the means to create duplicates of any living being. It also seems The Hairies were among their early successes!
Still seemingly out-of-place (to my point-of-view, anyway), are the original NEWSBOY LEGION, now adults and all working at The Project in some advisory capacity. Big Words has become a geneticist, Gabby a teacher, Scrapper a social worker, Tommy a Medical Doctor. Since it’s not explained here, I’ll take a guess Big Words got involved as a scientist, and probably recruited his longtime friends to help “bring up” the results of their research. What also isn’t explained, however, is that their sons seem to have no knowledge of this. Maybe understandable, considering its top-secret nature, but we’re also never told where the boys are living or who’s taking care of them while all of their fathers are away, working at this secret installation.
One almost amusing moment is when Jimmy runs into a soldier who’s a clone of himself—and who doesn’t realize Jimmy is the original. When Supes introduces him as “Jimmy Olsen—Number One!”, I was reminded of “Bizarro No.1”. How very Mort Weisinger-ish. I must admit, the scene where the original Newsboys describe their jobs has to be the most “awkward” dialogue I have run across in this entire story so far. It ALMOST makes me suspect that THEY might not be the originals, either.
We learn the baddies are from some planet named “Apokalips”—and we get a more extended view of Darkseid, which makes it clear Morgan Edge and these guys are working for the same person. But Mokkari & Simyan must know Darkseid more intimately, as they’re seen bowing and grovelling before his televised image. “DARKSEID is hard, naked TRUTH!” “WHO can deny it?” “Yes. But who can deny the POWER of the OTHER side?” Holy cow—this sounds like a line right out of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK or RETURN OF THE JEDI—a decade early! “A GREAT lie can SMASH truth!” Sounds like this guy and Hitler have something in common.
The remainder of the episode has a oversized (and GREEN!) clone of Jimmy, programmed to KILL Superman, unleashed, and teleported to the heart of The Project. In response, Big Words and his friends decided to unleash a clone of their own—“The Golden Guardian”, a modern-day recreation of the Golden Age costumed hero The Guardian! I suppose Jack just can’t resist doing a hero who carries a shield. I just can’t help but think that both sets of Newsboys and The Guardian seem totally out of place in this story. I wonder how this might have gone over if Perfect Film hadn’t driven Jack away from Marvel into the arms of DC?
Posted by profh0011 on :
JIMMY OLSEN #136 / Mar’71 – “THE SAGA OF THE D.N.ALIENS”
On the cover, a huge GREEN Olsen is slugging Superman, while the Newsboys look on. Flippa says, “Not even SUPERMAN can stop the GIANT JIMMY!” Now why does that make me think of pistachio ice cream?
On page 1 “The Project” is finally referred to BY that name. Also, the gasped “WOW!” is twice as big as the entire story title. Unless, of course, “The Saga Of The D.N.Aliens” was the overall story title, and “WOW!” was the name of this episode?
Another TWO-PAGE SPREAD on pages 2-3! And Supes is ALREADY out of the action, which, for once, makes this issue’s cover look like it’s really part of the story, since it seems to lead directly into pages 1-3. “KILL! DESTROY!” What—no “CRUSH!” ? Pages 4-5 are an interesting variation on Stan Lee-scripted fight scenes. There’s dialogue in every panel, but it’s the spectators doing it, not the combatants. The only words coming from the fight itself are, “KILL! KILL!” --which I suppose is more believable than some of the near-Shakespearean stuff spouted by characters when Lee is involved. The dialogue also serves to bring readers up to date on the story, which I guess is better than having them talk while just standing around, or having unnecesary flashbacks (or just long, long narration blocks).
The Jimmy green giant (somebody had to say it) sees the real Jimmy and is confused. Then Supes rescues his “pal”, but before The Guardian can get back in the brawl, it’s ended, instead, by a miniature “Scrapper” trooper. Scrapper himnself seems flattered at having a whole squad of micro-sized soldiers who all share his face. Tommy is more impressed by The Guardian. HEY—wouldn’t coating the giant with LIQUID NITROGEN certainly KILL him? (I suppose that’s what Lando Calrissian was worried about when Han Solo got covered in carbonite.)
We get to see more of Darkseid this time, despite his being limited to only 2 panels. He’s clearly not pleased that his FLUNKIES sent the giant to attack The Project without any planning of forethought—merely because it had gotten loose and was about to destroy THEIR “project” (and them with it). Somehow both Simyan & Mokkari seem “toned down” this issue—the one looking less brutish, the other less circus clown-like. Wha’ hoppen?
If the scale model of “The Project” is to be believed, it’s built in a huge cavern INSIDE a mountain, with “The Wild Area” and “Habitat” nearby. I got confused in an earlier episode, apparently when Superman first stepped into that tunnel, he came right back out again, as near as I can tell, “Habitat” is not underground. Page 14 shows the baddies have created their own slave labor force, presumably with little or no intelligence. Despots thruout history have gone to great elengths to limit the intelligence of their people, so they can more easily be “used” by the “masters”. It’s also clear in this episode that Darkseid intends to foment enough chaos so he can move in and take over the ENTIRE PLANET.
There is some weird stuff going on here with The Project that, if you think about it for more than two seconds, hardly gets delved into at all. The Newsboys don’t realize at first The Guardian is a clone, while the elder Tommy insists he’s “as REAL as the ORIGINAL”. Supes decides to give Jimmy a tour of The Project, despite a reporter being the very last thing the government would want snooping around. (Gee, they don’t know about Clark Kent, DO they?) Jimmy is surprised to figure out that Supes KNEW about The Project all along, and further, seems to have been involved from the very beginning. How long has this been going on? Talk about “retroactive continuity”—it’s like we’ve just stepped into a slightly-different version of “Earth-1” than the one that existed only a few months earlier.
The wall chart that reads “Normals”, “Step-Ups” and “Aliens” reminds me of the 3 races in THE ETERNALS—Man, Eternals, and Deviants. Except here, they’re all co-existing side-by-side, nicer and cozy. Maybe it’s his extra-terrestrial origins and long experience dealing with the unusual, but Supes really doesn’t seem to have any problem with The Project—EXCEPT, for what their “hidden enemy” might be making of it. It’s Jimmy (the star of the book, let’s not forget), who asks, “Do you realize what WEIRD, and perhaps DANGEROUS channels are being PROBED here?”
The last page shows the baddies watching their latest creation hatching. One hand—TWO. Suddenly—FOUR!! They weren’t expecting THAT! You know, this made me wonder... and sure enough, I checked the dates... This was the Mar’71 issue. The Sep’71 issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ended with HIM suddenly having 6 ARMS! Since it was specifically mentioned by Roy Thomas that THAT was Stan Lee’s idea, do you suppose Stan saw this and decided to out-do it?
Posted by profh0011 on :
JIMMY OLSEN #137 / Apr’71 – “THE FOUR-ARMED TERROR!”
After 3 Neal Adams covers in a row, at last Jack does another one himself... although, like #133, Neal Adams once again inks Superman. “That ressurected rat-pack of rollicking rowdies” sounds like Jack is making fun of Stan Lee. Wouldn’t surprise me. That logo—and the corner pic of Jimmy & Supes—continue to drag down the overall look of these things. If they wanted a “NEW” JIMMY OLSEN, why on Earth didn’t they replace that logo the minute Jack took over?
The structure and pacing of this story almost reminds me of HALLOWEEN 4. We start out with the MONSTER on page 1. He’s heading for The Project. But he takes a good chunk of the issue before he gets there. And all the while, the tension mounts higher and higher.
A GREAT splash page—very moody, and which includes the phrase “the being with no name!”—is followed by a 2-page scene which finally brings back The Outsiders, Yango and Gandy. In a bit of dialogue I found particularly amusing, Yango says, “It looks like we ‘OUTSIDERS’ had better forget Olsen and elect a NEW leader! Too bad, though! Olsen was the best yet! --a real GROOVY cat!” Considering how at DC, JIMMY OLSEN had long been the epitomy of all that was hopelessly un-cool, that’s one heck of a compliment! The pair of bikers narrowly escape a brief encounter with the monster, before fleeing for their lives. Their bikes weren’t so lucky. “The WILD AREA’s getting wilder! LET’S SPLIT!” “We’ve got to alert everyone in HABITAT!” In a strange way, this scene reminds me of the story from the Bible of how, on Easter morning, a pair of Jesus’ followers had an encounter with him on the road, while he was on his way to see the full group later that night. Nobody believed their story—until he showed up. It’s probably just my own mind playing a funny trick on me here.
Back at The Project, Jimmy, Supes, the Newsboys and a group of Hairies take part in an experiment using a “Solar-Phone” which allows their minds to tune in directly to “radio signals from the stars”. Jack goes completely wild here, with 3 consecutive full-page panels followed by a 2-page spread, the last 3 pages of which all involve collage work! WHOA! This far-out “scene” is interrupted when tremors shake the entire complex, and Supes is alerted that The Project is apparently under attack. Although these issues seem to be structured as a set of 2-parters, overall, the story involving “The Project” can also be viewed as a 6-parter, broken down into 3 “acts”—with the 3rd act starting now.
As a good chunk of Habitat is destroyed via explosives and tremors, Superman races to the scene as fast as possible, determined to KEEP Jimmy & The Newsboys OUT of the action (and out of danger, but he’s not even trying to give them a chance, he’s just flaunting his power & attitude here). One thing’s sure, when Superman confronts and takes on the monster, it’s probably the single MOST-EXCITING fight scene the Man Of Steel has been involved in in any comic-book since the early-1940’s! NOBODY did ACTION as good as Kirby, and it was long past time for DC’s number-one costumed hero to go up against something that could really test his physical limits.
As the monster gets closer and closer to its goal—The Project’s NUCLEAR POWER facility—his progress is followed from afar by Mokkari & Simyan, who look forward to a chain-reaction taking out not only The Project, but the entire Wild Area as well, AND even the city of Metropolis! Once again, the geography of these locations is a bit confusing. In the first installment, The Wild Area seemed to be somewhere on the outskirts of Metropolis. At first, it appeared that Habitat AND The Project might both be underground, but the visuals went completely against this. Now, the area map and Simyan’s words seem to indicate that not only is everything underground, but that it all lies almost directly UNDERNEATH the city! What’s going on here?
While The Four-Armed Terror was initially a surprise to the pair at the “Evil Factory”, they’re now satisfied and ready, and look on as a small ARMY of identical creatures hatch from their “eggs”, all poised to “challenge humanity”. As Jack tells us, “The FINAL COUNTDOWN is on!!”
I can’t comment on this issue without mention of the fact that on many pages, the inks are VASTLY better than anything seen on the book so far. According to Mark Evanier, one of Vince Colletta’s assistants, Art Cappello, who usually did backgrounds, apparently did “much more than usual” on this story. IT SHOWS! Man, some of these pages (2, 3 and 21 in particular) look SO good, it makes me wish DC had gotten Art Cappello to ink the ENTIRE RUN!
Posted by Emily Sivana on :
Professor, I think since Kirby was using alot of religious and mythological metaphors that the underground city may be a reference to hell. It could also be linked to the hollow Earth theories that were popular; especially with the Third Reich.
Posted by profh0011 on :
I'm a bit frustrated that at the moment, Nick Simon's SILVER AGE MARVEL website continues to be offline. The people who "host" it have physically moved the equipment, and were suppoised to have it back up and running within 2 weeks. It's been over 2 MONTHS now. Nick doesn't know what's going on, he says they haven't been replying to his e-mails.
I mention this because one of the last things I set up there was a DON HECK page to display his NON-Marvel covers. As you might imagine, a page for JACK KIRBY's early-70's DC covers was also very much on my mind (as is one for his late-70's Marvel covers).
As I re-read these books and write reviews, I'm also scanning in covers & certain interior pages, and doing clean-ups as I go. I've been posting the restored images at a pair of Yahoo Groups, but that only works for people who are members of the groups.
To think, all this got kick-started because over at MASTERWORKS someone started a "Hunger Dogs" thread that consisted of nothing but vileness and hatred toward the book's creator.
Posted by profh0011 on :
JIMMY OLSEN #138 / Jun’71 – “THE BIG BOOM!!”
Jack Kirby concocts the wildest JO cover yet, with a big image of Superman (once again, inked by Neal Adams) flying in front of a collage of machinery being blown to pieces in a big explosion, with a inset spotlighting Jack’s version of Jimmy. The text at the bottom really stands out: “Everybody’s in this one! It’s a BLAST! THE BIG BOOM” –the title being in a nice font that really pops off the cover and grabs your attention. The more ragged line at the top, however, “Don’t be chicken! Read all about Doomsday!”, I could have done without... and that logo and corner pic are STILL managing to drag the cover down and dilute its impact. (sigh)
With page 1, we’re plunged into high-tension CHAOS. Inside The Project, the original Newsboys, the new Guardian, and possibly every soldier on duty are all rushing around at once, hell-bent on reaching their Atomic Power Plant, which is under attack by The Four-Armed Terror, and is in danger of going up in a atomic EXPLOSION in just 15 minutes!
We get another 2-page spread on pages 2-3 (this really became a trademark of Kirby after awhile, and years later, was swiped by Mike Grell, who made it part of HIS repertoire as well, notably on his WARLORD series). Visually, I’m reminded of some of the shots from the pilot episode of THE TIME TUNNEL, except we get to see part of the cavern that this entire installation was built inside of. From this long-shot of the racing personnel carriers, we cut to follows another full-page shot showing them in close-up. THIS shot, oddly enough, calls to my mind an often-repeated shot from the 1978 tv series BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, of the personnel carriers that ran on rails inside the collosal space ship, which transported the warriors from their quarters down to the Viper launch bays. The way Tommy is standing, with one arm stretched out and pointing in the direction they’re already going, also brings to mind a shot from the DOC SAVAGE movie, with Ron Ely in the same pose while standing on the car’s running board.
As the tension mounts, we get three pages of Superman, Jimmy & the new Newboys, trapped inside an organic “egg” which stretches in every direction but refuses to crack. At this point, Jimmy is becoming a bit annoyed at some of the Newsboys’ ideas of humor. (Maybe he was reflecting the annoyance of some fans—and DC editors?)
2 more pages—including another full-page shot—continue the building suspense as the monster gets ever closer and closer to its goal of total DESTRUCTION!
Superman figures out a very novel way of escaping from the egg. Jack seems to have been putting a lot more thought in Supers’ powers and ways he could utilize them than anyone had done for some years. I kept expecting he’d just use his HEAT VISION to burn a hole thru the thing. As soon as he’s free, he races ahead, once more leaving his colleagues behind, which annoys them no end.
At this point we get one page with an old friend, unseen in Jack’s story until this point—Perry White! Anyone who thinks Jack couldn’t draw pretty women should take a look at Terry Dean, ‘cause she’s a LOOKER. Since I don’t have any of the previous issues in the series (I can’t imagine myself getting my hands on them for ANY reason—can you?), I have to guess she was someone introduced not long before Jack took over the series, as she seems to know Jimmy, but only recently. From what she tells Perry, he figures out that Jimmy has disappeared on the orders of new Daily Planet owner Morgan Edge—and given Edge’s reputation for ruthlessness, Perry figures the guy has no scruples when it comes to “gambling with human life”. Nice guy to work for, hmm?
The scene-changes are starting to come faster. Page 13 confirms what I originally thought, that The Project is underground while The Wild Area ISN’T. But as the troops, The Guardian and the old Newsboys reach the outside, I find myself wondering, WHY does The Project have its atomic power plant located so far away? After all, nuclear submarines carry their atomic piles around with them.
Back at the Evil Factory (whose location we still don’t have a clue about), Mokkari & Simyan send all the other “Four-Armed Terrors” by matter-transmitter direct to the location of the Atomic Power Plant, its position apparently have been discovered by tracing the first of the monsters.
Over in Metropolis, Morgan Edge gets a call from Inter-Gang, warning him of the entire city’s imminent DESTRUCTION. With a smile on his face, he casually bids farewell to the people in his offce, before racing to a rooftop helicopter for a quick escape. Like I said, nice guy to work for, hmm? Between appearances, he seems to have become another “generic” character, and no longer resembles Kevin McCarthy (as he did back in JO #133).
The last 6 pages of the issue have the story finally reach its literally EXPLOSIVE climax, as Superman takes on the monster, the rest of the monsters arrive to join the fray, followed by The Project troops, The Guardian, and the original Newsboys! With its damper rods removed, Superman realizes there is NO chance of preventing the reactor from overloading in a colossal explosion. But then, seemingly from left-field (and a vaguely-related plot point in the then-current issue of SUPERMAN), he realizes that very close-by is an open shaft plunging deep into the Earth that was dug as part of an experiment looking into geo-thermal power. Quick as you can imagine, he RIPS the machinery of the atomic pile loose from its foundations, CARRIES it to the pit, and hurls it down into the abyss—where it’s immediately followed by the entire army of monsters, still bent on “eating” its unleashed atomic energy. Seconds later, it EXPLODES... and one can only marvel (sorry) at Kirby’s restraint in NOT even including a sound effect.
“Thousands of feet below, an immense, fiery blast occurs—which sends seimograph needles waving hundreds of miles away.” I think that says it all!
A quick epilogue shows Jimmy & The Newboys angry at Supes for keeping them out of the action Considering the situation, you’d think they’d be grateful to be alive at all—and what could THEY have done in any case? Still, I guess it’s worth a laugh when The Guardian points out that Supes “saved us all”, and Gabby replies, “SO? What does he WANT?—a GOOD-CONDUCT MEDAL?” (Just this moment, that somehow reminds me of my Dad... who for many years, seemed to feel that people should not be complimented for doing a job they were supposed to do anyway. Sheesh.)
According to Mark Evanier (in his JO ADVENTURES intro), the story in this issue was planned to take place over 2 issues. However, a call from E. Nelson Bridwell concerning plot points in the other SUPERMAN titles caused this to be changed at the last minute, with several already-drawn pages scrapped in the process, and the entire thing wrapped up in one issue instead. Apparently, decades later, Evanier’s notes for the unused versionof the story led to the creation of a story in LEGENDS OF THE DC UNIVERSE, illustrated by uber-Kirby fan Steve Rude! (Maybe I should dig that out?)
Posted by profh0011 on :
FOREVER PEOPLE #1 / Mar’71 – “IN SEARCH OF A DREAM!”
When Jack Kirby went to DC in late 1971, the first thing he did were the first issues of FOREVER PEOPLE, NEW GODS, and MISTER MIRACLE. However, in order to get a quicker return on their “investment”, the higher-ups at DC insisted that he take over some established book, and they apparently didn’t care which one. They gave him his choice of any one he wanted. He looked over them all, and felt none were right for him. (CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN, which he had started himself, was about to be cancelled, and apparently was out of the running.) Kirby asked for whichever book didn’t have a regular team, and as JIMMY OLSEN was in the midst of switching creative teams, JIMMY OLSEN it was. Also, several people apparently suggested Jack revive his NEWBOY LEGION, and since Jimmy was already a “newsboy”, it seemed to make sense to somebody. Anyway, this is how Jack got on JO, and how his 1st JO arrived 4 MONTHS before any of this other brand-new series.
Jack had a long tradition of creating “group” books, going back to “kid gangs”. In the tradition of the “Dead End Kids” (who themselves eveolved into the East Side Kids and then The Bowery Boys), Jack, together with Joe Simon, had done The Young Allies, The Newsboy Legion, Boy Commandos, Boy Explorers, Boys’ Ranch, and finally the more grown-up CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN. With Stan Lee, he did FANTASTIC FOUR (who only acted liked kids), THE AVENGERS, X-MEN (definitely a return to “young” heroes with an adult mentor). And so it was, when he returned to DC, the very first thing he did (apparently) was a new “kid gang”, but one geared toward the modern-day of the late-60’s youth and counter-culture movement. THE FOREVER PEOPLE were not quite hippies, not quite bikers, and not quite super-heroes either. More like a little bit of each. I always had the most restrictive, conservative upbringing anyone could imagine, and yet, in the late 60’s, while I admit I probably shook my head in dismay at some of TV’s depictions of “hippies”, there was something about the attitude, the philsophy, and the design and dress sense that I found appealing... and still do.
The cover of FP #1 shows the group racing toward the readers in their “Super-Cycle”. Between the characters and the bike, the colors are as wild and glaring as you could get. Probably for commercial reasons, Superman is a guest-star this issue (in a similar way that Spider-Man kept turning up early in the runs of new Marvel Comics). If ever a costuimed hero’s whole personal screamed “conservative”, by the late 60’s, Superman was it. So how curious to see he’s racing after the young heroes of the book, apparently desperately in NEED of help only they can give him! Like so many DC Comics of the 60’s (never mind that this probably came out right at the end of 1970), here was an image sure to pique any potential reader’s curiosity.
If you look close, it’s also very obvious the cover was inked by Frank Giacoia. I always thought Frank did more work for Marvel than DC (in fact, I was somehow under the impression he worked exclusively for Marvel), so it was a surprise to realize he’d done this. Apparently, he only did it because the cover was the very 1st piece of art Kirby turned in—and Vince Colletta hadn’t worked his back-office deal to ink ALL of Kirby’s books. (Jack was FAST—so was Vince. I guess SOMEBODY must have thought having them together was a good idea. Oy.)
The book opens with 3 consecutive panels which show—SOMETHING—appearing from nowhere. A glowing light, radiant energy, a cylinder-shape, accompanied by a steadily-increasing high-pitched noise. And then—“RRRABOOOOM”—a strange, multi-colored multi-wheeled “bike” (it’s got handlebars, what the heck else would one call it?), with 4 equally-colorful teenagers (presumably) riding the thing, roaring out of the energy cylinder and into our reality. The title reads, “In Search of A Dream!”, which suggests a combination of 2 different Moody Blues album titles, “In Search Of The Lost Chord” and “On The Threshold Of A Dream” (1968 & 1969, respectively). “Biker” movies were a big fad in the late 60’s, the most famous and successful perhaps being EASY RIDER. If that film had Steppenwolf’s “Born To Be Wild’ as its theme song / anthem, looking over these first 4 pages, The Moodies’ “Departure” and “Ride My See-Saw” come to mind. I can easily picture them being used over the opening credits of a possible FP feature film, as they seem to perfectly reflect the style, the attitude, and even the philsophy of the comic.
Teenagers will be teenragers (wherever they might come from), and sure enough, no sooner does this wild bunch arrive on Earth than they almost cause a traffic accident. But here they display some amazing talents, first by shifting their atoms to avoid a head-on collision (Barry Allen’s FLASH would be proud), but then to catch a plunging car in mid-air after it’s soared off a cliff. Whoever these guys are, they’re definitely not baddies.
The large group shot on page 6 for some reason makes me think of the cast of THOR, as filtered thru an entirely different generation. Something in their various appearances and personalities remind me of Hogun (Vykin), Thor (Mark Moonrider, the obvious leader), Volstagg (Big Bear) and Fandral (Serifan). As if, if those guys had kids, this might be what they’d look like. (I’m reminded that right around this time, Hanna-Barbera had a short-lived series on Saturday mornings, PEBBLES AND BAMM BAMM.) By luck, the 2 people they saved after running them off the road are friends of JIMMY OLSEN (small world?) and intent to pass on their story, with pictures.
With the introductions out of thbe way, we’re plunged right into the drama, as Serifan collapses, exhibiting psychic power which clues him in on ther location of their missing friend, “Beautiful Dreamer”. And while this is going on, they’re being watched by some underworld types, members of a group called “Inter-Gang”, who in turn are working for some nasty-looking character called “Darkseid” (nothing subtle about some of these names, is there?).
Meanwhile, in Metropolis, Clark Kent has just finished interviewing a fighter named “Rocky” (who doesn’t look like Sylvester Stallone—heh). Rocky’s upset, because despite his fame and success, he points out how, with someone around like Superman, the whole “fight game is a farce”. After he leaves, Clark (who, of course, IS Superman) finds himself pondering, does the general public fear, resent, or even hate Superman? And after 30 years of comic-book stories, he suddenly begins to feel alone in the world.
Just then, Jimmy pops in with news and a photo of the “Boom Tube”, and, incredibly, his microscopic vision actually allows him to see something in the photo invisible to any other eyes—the sight of a CITY in the far, far distance, at the other end of the dimensional tunnel. He’s suddenly overcome with the desire to find this “Supertown”, where, he hopes, he might find others like himself. (I guess his buddies in the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA wouldn’t be too flattered by his attitude here.)
Things happen fast for the rest of the story. Supes is shot out of the sky by a helicopter that’s trailing the teenagers, who, after seeing him take out the copter, mistake him for being someone from the same place they come from! As famous as Supes is, this clearly demonstrates they’ve never been to Earth before. Then, attacked by a group of monsters, Supes seems helpless—until the kids gather as one around their “Mother Box” (apparently a sentient, living computer), and shouting a certain word—“TARRU!”—disappear, and are replaced by a super-hero type called “The Infinity Man”. He makes short work of the critter, when suddenly, Darkseid appears in person. He reveals he was after the girl, Beautiful Dreamer, because he believes she’s one of the few can fathom “The Anti-Life Equation”. However, her mind somehow refuses to “interpret” it, making her useless to Darkseid, who nonetheless reveals there aree “others” who can—“and when the secret is MINE, I shall TEST it here! --snuff out ALL life on Earth—with a WORD!” With that, he vanishes. WHOA. Heavy stuff!
That’s when they notice Dreamer is laying atop some bombs which will detonate if she’s moved. Supes quickly figures out the only way to save her is to move SO fast he can OUT-RUN the blast—and he DOES, taking her and Infinity Man with him to safety. The hero vanishes, replaced by the kids, who offer to help him find “Supertown”, while telling him the fight is HERE, and he’s needed HERE as much as they are. As Big Bear puts it, “You’ve earned the trip! But I hope you can LIVE with your CONSCIENCE—LATER!” He flies into the re-materialized Boom Tube, and almost makes it thru, before he realizes whatever is going on behind him is too important to put aside for personal reasons.
This is one WILD comic-book. Kirby creates a non-stop thrill ride, and Vince Colletta doesn’t do all that badly (though I thought he did MUCH better work on the JIMMY OSLEN series). There’s a few problems, though, and most of them center on Superman—and Jimmy. For the most part, I didn’t mind when Murphy Anderson re-drew Supes & Jimmy in JO, as he’s just so good, and somehow the difference between him and Kirby isn’t as glaring as it might be. But Al Plastino, who did the redraws on the first 2 JO issues, also did this one, and Supes is in SO much of this book (the teens are almost reduced to guest-stars in their own mag), it’s really glaring, especially as Plastino did both pencils AND inks with no regard to how the rest of the book looked.
Also, when Jimmy walked into Clark’s office—all smiles and wearing his BOW-TIE, I suddenly realized, THIS issue MUST take place before the story in JIMMY OLSEN #133-138. Has to! Aside from anything else, there’s no mention of Morgan Edge, who, presumably, took over the Daily Planet JUST before the events in JO #133. Also, Supes & Jimmy do not leave “The Project” until JO #139, and there’s NO obvious break between issues or during the issue wherehis other appearances should take place. (Having no knowledge of Supes’ OTHER books, I’m not even gonna try to figure out the continuity between Jack’s stories and the rest of them.)
This may seem odd, considering how slowly, subtly, Darkseid is introduced and built up, a bit at a time, over those JO issues, while HERE, he gets a full-blown personal appearance, and actually SPELLS OUT what his goal is. I know this was done FIRST, but I imagined the JO issue (since they came out first) were designed as a “prologue”. Now, I feel THIS is the prologue, and the JO issues are the first act, though in the beginning, it’s not apparent to everyone involved.
The funny thing about that is, in the JO story, Supes repeatedly shows no care for the fact that he’s up-staging everybody (Jimmy, The Newsboys, etc.), and that becomes a deep concern of his here. Also, in this issue, Darkseid talks about “the war”, and the “Anti-Life Equation”, and the fact that there are “others” he will find who can put it into effect for him. Which of course, makes this story serve as a direct lead-in to NEW GODS #1, which came out a couple weeks after this comic did! In effect, FOREVER PEOPLE #1 can be seen as a direct lead-in to JIMMY OLSEN #133, NEW GODS #1, and of course, FOREVER PEOPLE #2. Take yer pick!
Before I finish, I’d just like to mention two things that struck me re-reading this time. One, the way the Forever People say “TARRU!”, disappear and are replaced by The Infinity Man (and vice-versa), seems like nothing less than a modern-day (1970) version of the Billy Batson-Captain Marvel transformation! In current comics, writers have completely re-interpreted “Captain Marvel” as being Billy himself, in a grown-up body (but still with the mind of a child). Apparently, for the characters’ entire existence at Fawcett Comics, this was NEVER the case. Secondly, when I look at Beautiful Dreamer, especially when she’s sleeping, she reminds me a young Shelly Winters. So there!
Posted by profh0011 on :
Oh yes. and one more thing (that I FORGOT to include in my review). As far as I can recall, FP #1 is the ONLY time Darkseid is wearing a CAPE. You know, WITH the cape, all of a sudden those boots make me think of something out of some tiny European country from the middle ages. Not sure I ever noticed that before. Sort of like in THE PRISONER OF ZENDA. As far as I know, he was NEVER seen with a cape again... until Kenner gave him one with their SUPER POWERS line action figure! (It still butg me how those IDIOTS packaged those things. In a crate, they'd have like 10 SUPERMANs, 10 DARKSEIDs, and 1 of each of all the others. And specialty dealers who were pals with the guys who worked at the toy stores would have access to them FIRST, so a lot of the figures NEVER even got on the shelves. Is it any wonder they wound up going for SO MUCH per figure at conventions?)
Posted by profh0011 on :
NEW GODS #1 / Mar’71 – “ORION FIGHTS FOR EARTH!”
In the late 60’s, when Carmine Infantino got “pushed upstairs” from penciller to Art Director, he began designing the bulk of DC’s covers. As a result, most of them went from dull and staid & dynamic and gripping. Many wound up illustrated by the likes of Neal Adams. But, as someone put it, inside, it was still the same old thing. Talk about false advertising. All the same, I doubt DC fans had EVER seen anything on the cover of a DC book like they did on NEW GODS #1. Whoa!!! The mechanical fonts used to “KIRBY IS HERE!”, “DC THE NEW GODS” and “When the old gods died—there arose the” were very unusual. The font (picked by Kirby himself apparently) for the book’s logo—“NEW GODS”—which takes up a full THIRD of the cover—is a real stand-out. Rather Roman-looking, like something from a Biblical epic. And what does it say here—“An Epic For Our Times”. No kidding! (But why did they hedge and have that done with hand-lettering?)
We see an image like that of a Gemini astronaut taking a space-walk—but filtered thru a mad, science-fiction filter, combined with a late-60’s “Peter Max” or “Ralph Bakshi” color sense. You didn’t need any radical re-coloring to create a “black light” wall poster of this—all they’d have had to do was print it real big, AS-IS. (Gee, why didn’t they? Where was DC’s marketing department when this ball was dropped??) Also, I keep staring at the background. How was that done? By hand—or was it something borrowed from some existing piece of work? Did DC’s production whiz, Jack Adler have anything to do with this—or did Jack Kirby do it himself? (I just read the other day that Adler considered Kirby some kind of “egotist”. Gee, it’s nice to be working in such a friendly environment, isn’t it? Reminds me of all my years in drafting.)
“There came a time when the old gods died”. I think a real unsung hero of this comic must be the colorist. This is the most muted page in the book, somehow suggesting an older age even as the image depicts just that. The first thing that crossed my mind was, it looks like the coloring you’d see in a 60’s Marvel Comic. “The FINAL moment came with the FATAL release of INDESCRIBABLE POWER—which tore the home of the old gods asunder—SPLIT it in great halves—and filled the universe with the BLINDING death flash of its DESTRUCTION!” The result is 2 flaming spheres which eventually become planets. The funny thing is, what gets ripped in half does NOT look like a planet, so much as it does the “floating island” with moutains we’ve seen time and again in Marvel’s THOR comic—Asgard! The suggestion is, think not of any “Marvel Universe” which goes on regardless of who’s writing or drawing it. Think only of Jack Kirby’s comics. The question has long been pondered, DID Kirby intend to actually destroy Asgard and replace it and its inhabitants with a mostly-new cast? Some fans foolishly have complained over the years (COMPLAINED!) that Kirby’s THOR was not “accurate” to Norse legends. I’ve seen the same nonsense at the Internet Movie Database site, countless reviewers who judge films solely on whether they follow the book or not, blind to how many films are vastly superior to their source material. Anyway, Kirby’s THOR had alway been a wild mix of ancient and futuristic design, a seemingly-mythological society which often employed futuristic weaponry. With NEW GODS, Kirby takes the next logical step, and gives us an ENTIRELY futuristic society—but which exists NOW.
From deep space (but is it “our” space or that of some other galaxy—or even dimension?) comes Orion, riding a bizarre contraption only Kirby (or perhaps someone at NASA) might have conceived. I wonder if readers were disappointed that his outfit was “only” red and gray, rather than the more bizarre color scheme depicted on the cover? Looking at him on pages 2-4, I’m reminded by his helmet and the “black sun” emblem on it of Marvel’s “Captain Mar-Vell”, and wonder what that space hero’s uniform might have looked like if Jack had designed it, rather than someone else. His Helmet has WINGS—not unlike THOR (or Captain America), though from the front, they almost remind me more of the “ears” of Batman’s cowl, or the antenna on Air-Wave’s helmet.
Orion is returning from—somewhere—answering a summons. It never occured to me before, but I found myself wondering, WHERE is he coming from? Has he, like the Silver Surfer, been roaming freely around space, exploring, enjoying the wonders of the universe, until such time as he’s called for action? For the first time, we here the name “New Genesis”—and while it’s nothing less than Asgard reborn, as a purely technological construction—a city HOVERING, “orbiting” high above a planet, it also harkens back to the city of the Hawkmen from FLASH GORDON, except, presumably, this would be a far brighter, happier, less barbaric edifice, one not kept aloft by the forced labor of enslaved prisoners. No, not THIS place. The planet below is described as “a sunlit, UNSPOILED world of green forests, white mountains, and bright waters”. A dream of many, which seems to have been cast aside in the decades since this book was made.
As Orion flies into the city, he passes a colossal statue, which brings to mind those seen in the 2 BATMAN films made by Joel Schumacher. I always thought they seemed completely out-of place in “Gotham City” (any version of it), but here, they seem a natural fit.
We get to meet 2 members of our cast. Orion is serious, somber, gloomy, even he admits he seems of “two worlds”. By comparison, Lightray is all joy of life and laughter. He kinda reminds me of Simon Templar (as portrayed by Louis Hayward). The two are good friends despite—or perhaps because—of their differences in temperment. Without his helmet, and with that flaming red hair (especially in the last panel on page 8), Orion kinda reminds me of James Cagney!
Lightray refers to their people as “Celestials”—a name Marvel fans would no doubt associate with the faceless “gods” who wandered the universe in Kirby’s later series, THE ETERNALS. Orion has been summoned by High-Father—who looks like nothing less than Charlton Heston’s “Moses” from the movie THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, complete with staff.
We hear for the first time of “The Source”, apparently the one thing left from the time of the old gods. Orion refers to it as “The Life Equation”. Next we meet Metron, a being whose entire life is the obsession with gaining knowledge, at all costs. He clearly represents in one person every scientist who put knowledge before responsibility, and as someone pointed out, was apparently based on J. Robert Oppenheimer (“the father of the atomic bomb”). He travels around in a “Mobius Chair” which “rides the dimension winds of time-space”. Visually, he and the chair may have been the inspiration for “The Keeper Of Traken” in the 1981 Tom Baker DOCTOR WHO story.
High-Father reveals that while The Source gives counsel, it does not decide. “The right to of choice is OURS. That is the LIFE EQUATION.” Metron mentions “The ANTI-LIFE EQUATION was undiscovered until these days.” Now, anyone who read FOREVER PEOPLE #1 before this (and anyone reading this SHOULD have!) would realize that when Darkseid said he intended to “snuff out all life”, he was NOT speaking literally!
As Orion leaves for his mission, Metron reveals something Orion does NOT know—and which High-Father angrily insists be kept secret—that Orion is none other than Darkseid’s SON! Talk about palace intrigue.
We get our first-ever view of Apokalips. Though mentioned repeatedly in JIMMY OLSEN, I doubt anyone could have conceived in advance of what a horrible, wretched, gloomy place it is. Zooming in close, Orion describes it as “an ARMED CAMP where those who LIVE with weapons RULE the wretches who BUILD them.” It’s a vision of a Nazi Concentration Camp, expanded to cover an entire planet!
No sooner does he arrive but Orion is attacked by flying “Para-Demons”. Like everything else in this book, they’re the result of technology, not “supernatural” power (as seen by the devices they wear strapped to their shoulders). After so many pages of necessary set-up, Kirby finally gets to go wild with an actionscene, during which Orion learns that Darkseid and his “elite warriors” are all missing, save for a “Mass-Director Unit”, and—“Kalibak The Cruel”, a huge, savage brute who brings to mind the trolls of THOR (particularly Ulik), or any number of modern-day professional wrestlers.
With the unexpected (and unwelcome) help of Metron, Orion learns Darkseid & his crew have already gone to Earth. Darkseid seeks the human mind that holds the secret of the Anti-Life Equation (this plot point picking up directly where FOREVER PEOPLE #1 left off), but he’s left behind 4 “test humans”, whose capture & transport to Apokalips was in direct defiance of High-Father’s rule concerning humans (which reflects the way “mortals” were forbidden to ever enter Asgard in the THOR comic).
As Metron describes it, “When the old gods died, their BRIDGE to Earth was destroyed. It was I who found a way to create what our young ones call THE BOOM TUBE!” In one panel, Kirby neatly ties in the current story with both THOR’s “rainbow bridge” and the young heroes we met in FOREVER PEOPLE #1. (It’s kinda neat that while the city of the Celestials is called “New Genesis”, the kids calls it “Super-Town”. How very young of them!)
Orion manages to rescue the humans and escape with them back to Earth, using a Boom Tube, seconds before Kalibak is able to stop him. Two of the humans introduce themselves as Victor Lanza, insurance broker, and Claudia Shane, secretary, who says she’s “NOT a pawn in some SPY game!” –which brings to mind the early seasons of MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., where each story had “innocent civilians” recruited to help the heroes’ causes.
Finally, at last, on page 23, after an entire issue building up to it, we see Darkseid again, in person, in a magnificent, awesome, omninous FULL-PAGE shot, as he and his minions , on some stormy rooftop, look down at the city. “As it was in the time of the old gods, the TITANIC struggle for the fate of mankind is to rage once again!! The NEW GODS wield greater power—for in our day, it’s we who live in the ark shadow of the outcome!” WOW.
Before I end, I’d just like to comment a bit on Vince Colletta’s inks. This may be some of his best-ever work. In particular, the “cosmic” stuff, the fight scenes, all are really well-done. All the same, when I look at the “quiet” scenes, with characters interacting, especially when it gets to the “regular” humans, I find myself wishing someone, almost anyone else, had inked this book. DC had a long rep of having some of the best inkers in the 60’s—although, a number of them (including George Klein) were “let go” when someone decided to “weed out the old guys”. Would some of DC’s best have been MORE up to the challenge than the man whose inking was AS FAST as (if nowhere near AS GOOD as) Kirby? Naturally, I’d have preferered to see JOE SINNOTT ink a book of such epic, “cosmic”, science-fiction proportions. Considering this may have been Jack Kirby at his absolute best, his all-time peak, his most-inspired EVER... hell, “even” Mike Royer would have been more welcome.
The only part of the book not inked by Colletta was the figure of Orion on the cover. It may be difficult to see under ALL that color, but those were DON HECK’s inks, as the drawing of Orion was apparently done SEVERAL YEARS before the rest of the book.
From here, things REALLY pick up. I can hardly wait!
Posted by profh0011 on :
At first glance, MISTER MIRACLE must have seemed the most “different” of the 4 books Jack Kirby did at DC in 1971. While JIMMY OLSEN, FOREVER PEOPLE and NEW GODS all featured huge casts, MM apparently starred a solo superhero—although, one with a profession, “Super Escape Artist”. I suppose, looking back at Jack’s long career (most of which most of his fans at the time may have been completely unaware of), MM might be seen as a latter-day variation on the short-lived STUNTMAN. One thing’s for sure—Stan Goldberg would never have given MM a color scheme like this—red, yellow AND green! Traditionally, Goldberg preferred primaries for heroes, secondaries for villains. Mixing the two was virtually unheard of at Marvel, and mixing red and green in particular makes him almost look like a Christmas tree.
The initial episode actually features two Mister Miracles. The first is Thaddeus Brown, an older, white-haired, bearded gent who apparently has been around quite some time, and is coming out of retirement, to the chagrin of his assistant, Oberon (a dwarf who may have been based on then-popular actor Michael Dunn). The other is the incredibly-named Scott Free, a mysterious young drifter who talks of having been brought up in an orphanage. Scott happens across the pair while they’re rehearsing a particularly-dangerous escape act, and the three are interrupred by a bunch of thugs from “Inter-Gang”.
Shortly after befriending the newcomer, Thaddeus is murdered while setting up another death-trap, and only after he’s gone does Oberon tell Scott the rather convoluted back-story of the whole mess. It seems Thaddeus once shared a hospital bed with a man who made a bet that he could stop Thaddeus with an “escape-proof trap”, and wagered ten thousand dollars on it. Years later, however, the man became a high-ranking member of “Inter-gang”, and his position there would NOT allow him to lose the bet or lose face—so he had Thaddeus killed.
Apart from the presence of Inter-Gang, this series would not seem to have any immediate link with the other 3 books Kirby was doing... until we see Scott using impossibly-advanced scientific gadgets to aid in his own death-trap escapes. Also, the device he uses to ease Thaddeus’ pain as the old man passes away, “ping”ing as it does, would indicate a possile connection with the youngsters from “Super-Town”. The gang-leader, “Steel Hand”, reminds me of either SARGE STEEL from Charlton Comics, or “Iron Hand”, a member of KAOS on GET SMART.
Steel Hand manages to put Scott into the most impossibly deadly trap yet, and is assured of his utter demise (and destruction)... until Scott shows up at his house, alive and whole, and the two square off one-one-one. With a small crowd of police officers on hand to witness Steel Hand’s confession, it seems an entire area division of Inter-Gang has just been put out of business. Wow—that’s more than all the characters in the other 3 books combined have managed so far.
At the end, Scott’s background is still a mystery, but he & Oberon have now become a team, ready to go on stunning audiences all across the country.
I’d like to say I enjoyed this more than I did, but the truth is, just on the basis of this one issue, this was the LEAST-entertaining of Jack’s new books so far. I also strongly suspect it must have been a RUSH-job. After 6 GREAT-looking issues of JIMMY OLSEN, and GREAT-looking first issues of FOREVER PEOPLE and NEW GODS, the interior art on this one—by comparison—looks like CRAP. I blame the inks. There’s “Vince Colletta”, and then there’s this, and by the looks of it, Vince either inked this entire book over a weekend, or not at all. It’s known Vince worked with assistants, but none of them were ever credited, and it’s often difficult or impossible to know who did which pages, or books. Overall, the look of this entire issue reminds me of the “Vince Colletta” look from the 80’s, when his quality really went to hell... except for something like page 16, which I would SWEAR was inked by KLAUS JANSON! I’ve seen tons of Janson’s work, and that page in particular SCREAMS of being his. It’s possible. I know Janson started out as one of Dick Giordano’s assistants (and had a similar, if “rougher” look early-on), and Dick was at DC at this time.
I know Kirby originally wanted to create new series and then hand them off to others to illustrate under his control. It really makes me wish John Romita had taken up his invitation. I could really see MISTER MIRACLE being done by (or even INKED by) Romita. Especially once a certain female joined the cast.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
I miss the New Gods stuff. Barda was my favorite character, and not because of the Byrne supes/porn story like it seems so many reference, but because of the twist on her relationship with Scott. She was the big bruiser, but certainly wasn't unfeminine, Scott was the smaller and more levelheaded. Barda was certainly attractive. They had a marriage that wasn't retconned out, she wasn't burned or raped in some retcon storyline, and they actually loved each other as a married couple.
something very rare in today's comics.
Posted by profh0011 on :
[ June 19, 2011, 09:27 PM: Message edited by: profh0011 ]
Posted by profh0011 on :
As Nick Simon's site is STILL down, today I started my very 1st "blog" (what a silly word) and have now uploaded the first 9 Fourth World covers-- ALL my own "restorations". Take it from me, NOBODY else online has images anywhere as good as these!
hey, Lainie was smokin' hot in her day. Works for me as Barda.
Posted by profh0011 on :
Yeah. I read it was her PLAYBOY appearance that inspired Jack.
Flipped me out when I realized Barda was based on Fran Fine's Aunt Freida!
Now I wonder if any comic-book artist has ever based a character on Fran Drescher? (she cracks me up)
Posted by profh0011 on :
FOREVER PEOPLE #2 / May’71 – “SUPER WAR!”
A title like that and no sign of Superman? Outrageous!
Since arriving at DC, Jack had gone collage-happy again. With this issue, he does his first cover with a collage in quite a lot of years. It could have worked... except this cover is copy-heavy. I mean, even Stan Lee’s copy-heavy covers have nothing on this! You’ve got a HUGE blurb at the top—a whopping-big word balloon on the side (with really big lettering!)—and head-shots (with text) of all 5 of the regular cat at the bottom. Can you say... “OVERKILL”??
Our teenage Super-Towners turn up in the middle of a busy downtown street, interrupt traffic, get into a philsophical exchange while wondering “WHAT’s a hippie?”, leave one obnoxious passer-by breathless and nearly-unconscious, then “PHASE OUT!” right in front of a traffic cop, leaving him confused. “Kids!”
But then things get REALLY serious—and downright WEIRD—as we meet this issue’s Apokaliptan baddie, “Mantis”. Between his powers and his costume, he almost seems like what you’d get if you crossed The Banshee (from X-MEN) and Electro (from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN). With a little bit of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS tossed in, as it seems this electrical-charged villain does his charging while sleeping in a man-sized “power-pod”. Darkseid’s on the scene, and Mantis actually argues with him how “EARTH IS MINE! MINE! I came here FIRST! You have NO right—“ It’s sort of like a Field Marshall argueing with Hitler that, no, I invaded Poland, it’s MINE, NOT yours! I don’t think that would go over well. (Is this guy SUICIDAL—or just REALLY stupid??)
However, just like how, in the previous issue, Darkseid didn’t seem to care at all about the girl he kidnapped or her rescuers (apart from the fact that he left a bomb to kill all of them anyway), in this case, he tells his high-strung underling that the guy can HAVE Earth—he doesn’t want it—he’s after something else—which is HIS alone. And so, later in the book, Mantis attacks a major city, causes a lot of destruction and wholesale panic—all of which, from his boss’s POV, is just a means to somehow locate the one mind which contains “The Anti-Life Equation”.
Meanwhile, our teens arrive in a slum neighborhood, and quickly make the acquaintance of Donnie, a young crippled boy who walks on crutches and is thrilled to meet those he believes came from a “UFO”, and his Uncle Willie, a far more suspicious gun-toting type who mistakes them for your more garden-variety biker gang—at least, until Beautiful Dreamer plants an image in his mind that they’re more wholesome types, as might have been seen on 1950’s TV shows. As they begin to set up shop in one of the less burnt-out empty houses in the area, Serifan demonstrates one of his “Cosmic Cartridges” which are “sensitive the universe”. I’m telling you, this book just gets weirder on every page!
Before long, Serifan recognizes Mantis on the news, and The Infinity Man goes into action. The whole time, Darkseid watches, along with a rather sick-looking underling of his—Desaad—whose field of expertise seems to be FEAR. Though there’s a few tense moments, Infinity Man prevails, and Mantis is forced to literally CRAWL back to his “pod” to recharge. For a menace reputed to be regarded almost as highly as Darkseid, he comes across as kinda pathetic. Darkseid resigns himself to waiting.
A bit uneven episode, story-wise. Also, unless my eyes are deceiving me, there’s evidence of no less than 3 DIFFERENT inkers on this book, despite Vince Colletta being the only one credited. Much of it, like the splash page, looks like “typical” Colletta. But then there’s stuff like pages 2-3 which look a lot more rushed, even sloppy. And then again, there’s stuff like pages 4-5 which are MUCH SLICKER, dare I even say more “professional”-looking. I mean... this can’t ALL be the work of only ONE guy—can it? And of course, I can’t help but wish the WHOLE BOOK had looked like those “slicker” pages.
Legend has it, when Wally Wood heard that Jack Kirby was coming to DC and was gonna be doing no less than 4 books at the same time, he approached DC and practically BEGGED for the chance to ink one of the books, and work once more with the guy whose SKY MASTERS newspaper strips he’d inked in the 50’s. DC turned him down, FLAT—because Vinnie had worked out an agreement with them to do ALL 4 books. What a guy—he said—SARCASTICALLY.
Posted by Emily Sivana on :
Comic book physics tells me those "Cosmic Cartridges" probably mess with quantum mechanics and maybe the strings in string theory.
Desaad is name after the Marquis de Sade who had a really interesting life, including time in the Bastille. He wrote a book that is banned in many countries.
Posted by profh0011 on :
NEW GODS #2 / May’71 – “O’ DEADLY DARKSEID”
For the 2nd cover in a row, we see Orion and his flying harness over a B&W background. But this time, it’s a photo of a city, and the design of the cover is very offbeat. The logo is shrunk, jammed into the MIDDLE of the cover, and with “ORION of the” added (apparently at some point Jack concisidered just naming the book ORION), and the book’s villains appear in BIG vignettes ABOVE the logo. Man, you just never knew what to expect from Kirby at this point!
For the 2nd episode in a row, Jack opens the story with a long narrative intro. The splash page this time reveals that the two planets, New Genesis and Apokalips, apparently are in orbit NEAR each other—the latter perpetually in the shadow of the other! The visual reminds me a LOT of the image of the two planets Iskandar and Gammilon on the first season of STAR BLAZERS. On that show, that image was seen regularly from the very beginning, but it wasn’t until the climax of the season-long epic storyline that the heroes realized that for the entire length of their long space trip, they’d been heading straight for their enemies’ stronghold!
Another 2-page spread has nothing to do with the story, but shows a group of “Celestial” children at play, as the city of New Genesis hovers peacefully in the background.
High-Father and a group of others observe The Source Wall, which indicates others must follow Orion to Earth, and the war between the planets. High-Father argues with Lightray, who wishes to be with his friend, but who High-Father feels is “too young”yet. Gee—does he KNOW about Mark Moonrider and his pals?
On Earth, Orion & the 4 rescued Earth-people arrive at Dave Lincoln’s apartment, only to discover Darkseid is waiting for them there! Orion accuses Darkseid of breaking the peace by kidnapping the four, and threatens he can “finish” him now. Darkseid coldly replies, “Finish ME—and you finish YOURSELF! You HESITATE, ORION! You can SENSE why—but you DON’T KNOW—do you? But DARKSEID is FREE of mysteries! He can ACT!” At that instant, Brola, an underling, attacks Orion with a “shock-prod”, and is amazed that it doesn’t KILL him. A battle commences, until Brola is hurled straight thru a brick wall... only to vanish, along with his master. It’s clear Darkseid knows the truth that Orion doesn’t—that Orion is his SON.
At their base under the city, Darkseid chastises Brola. “Enough, DOG! Find your KENNEL and nurse your well-deserved wounds!” Gee, great guy to work for. Desaad, briefly introduced in FOREVER PEOPLE #2, is working on a “Fear Machine”, and wearing protective clothing to shield himself from its rays. He uses several of Darkseid’s loyal thugs as test subjects. As with the incident with Mantis, Darkseid hopes by unleashing terror among an entire city, it may help him locate the person whose mind will “yield” the Anti-Life Equation.
Using a Mother Box (a nickname Orion explains was created by “the young of New Genesis”), Orion shows his four new associates visions of Darkseid’s various schemes—Apokalips warriors invading Earth via Boom Tubes; a group operating underwater known as “The Deep Six”; Mantis, “whose mammoth power rivals that of Darkseid himself”, and is tunneling somewhere under the city; as well as a view of the “dropout society” in The Wild Area who citizens may possess the secret Darkseid seeks. In quick succession, the events in NEW GODS are tied in with both FOREVER PEOPLE and JIMMY OLSEN, as well as giving a glimpse of future events. But where does MISTER MIRACLE fit in? Not a clue—yet!
As the Fear Machine’s power is unleashed, Orion races thru the city and finds a generator disguised as a billboard. Destroying it, he almost falls to his doom, but recovers and flies off. Far below, looking quite like a stock broker checking a teletype readout, Darkseid tells Desaad his machine has yielded nothing—“not the SLIGHTEST trace of the thought waves we seek.” Desaad wants to capture Orion, but Darkseid, angered, tells him Orion is the kind who could never be captured alive. Desaad notes how quickly Darkseid defends his enemy. “It is strange how very like US he is—in his FIERCENESS and—“ “SILENCE, DESAAD!” WAS ORION MY OWN SON-- he would mean NOTHING to the purpose of our MISSION!” Obviously, Desaad may suspect something—but he doesn’t know the truth.
Back at Lincoln’s apartment, the four resolve to help Orion in his struggle—though they can’t imagine how they can.
Generally, the art on this issue is TERRIFIC—though some pages are better than others, notably the ones with bigger panels, or that feature Darkseid or other denizens of Apokalips. I’d almost swear there’s at least 2 different inkers at work here, and maybe 3, as the “feel” of the lines is somewhat different between, say, pages 4-5 and pages 6-9, while something like page 10 looks like “typical” Vince Colletta. I’ve read of so much research having been gone into by fans trying to discrearn which of a small army of inkers worked on Jack Kirby’s CAPTAIN AMERICA from the early 1940’s, but looking at these books again, I wonder if we’ll ever know exactly WHO did WHAT on the Fourth World?
Posted by profh0011 on :
Some general comments from another group...
These days, so many "bad" things have been done to Kirby's characters by later writers, more and more I tend to just IGNORE all the later stuff and consider it as "never happened". (This includes Hank & Jan getting divorced... or Johnny & Crystal NOT getting married when they should have.)
Considering the 2 people involved were apparently such HUGE fans of Jack (Mark Evanier & Paris Cullins), it kinda makes me wonder, "WHAT HAPPENED HERE?" I ran into Paris right in front of my art school one day, in between series, and he was raving about his upcoming book-- NEW GODS. Comparing it to FOREVER PEOPLE, he said, "And THIS is gonna be EVEN BETTER!"
Ever since, Mark Evanier talks about it like HE wishes it had never happened.
Frankly, and I'm not even sure about this one, but at the moment, the ONLY later "retcon" I don't mind was finding out that The Infinity Man was really Darkseid's BROTHER. But even there, I bet Jack might have come up with something very different...
In other Fourth World things... yesterday I downloaded no less than 7 music albums by Lanie Kazan-- the inspiration for BIG BARDA! As far as I know, at least 5 of them are out-of-print, which makes me grateful for fellow music fans, blogs, and hi-speed internet.
Posted by profh0011 on :
MISTER MIRACLE #2 / Jun’71 – “X-PIT!”
A lot of comics covers show a hero in danger. This book may be one of the only series that tends to show the hero in a danger of his own making! Another thing that makes this stand out is the text. There’s SO MUCH OF IT! Seems like Jack Kirby may have been deliberately trying to out-do both Stan Lee and Roy Thomas in the “excessively wordy” department.
The first 3 pages of this story are bizarre, to say the least. We see Scott & Oberon putting together a robot version of Mister Miracle, called a “Follower” for its ability to imitate precisely his movements. It’s a tool to help Scott fine-tune a new escape trap, this one involving a straight-jacket, a very difficult balancing act, and high explosives. But SOMETHING is watching them from afar, and judging from the hi-tech on display, it’s something not human. Sure enough, when we turn to page 4, abruptly we get a FULL-PAGE close-up of a robotic entity called “Overlord”, who sets off the explosive before Scott’s ready. And when it comes to “tech” design, NOBODY does it like Kirby!
Scott & Oberon survive, partly with the aid of Scott’s Mother Box, which he explains, is alive—in a way—though weakened after absorbing so much of the blast. As they recover, Scott plans for the next escape—which doesn’t make Oberon happy.
Meanwhile, somewhere nearby, apparently in an old mansion, we meet the ones responsible for the explosion. Surrounded by hi-tech equipment and “soldier boys” wearing futuristic outfits (that would be right at home in STAR WARS), is an old lady with “big” white hair—“Granny Goodness”. Under her flowing robe we find she’s wearing a suit of armor, and uses a metal pipe to take out on her “boys” her frustration for not killing Scott yet. She’s like a sci-fi variation on Shelly Winters’ Ma Barker from the film BLOODY MAMA. It’s obvious she knows Scott, and refers to him as having “run away from her institution”. If she’s the one who was in charge of the “orphanage” Scott says he grew up in, she definitely out-does “Sister Mary Stigmata” (alias “The Penguin”) from the movie THE BLUES BROTHERS.
As Scott prepares his next trap—being shackled to a wooden wall with his arms going thru holes in it, and a trio of large spears set to be fired at him automatically-—Oberon comments that if Thaddeus Brown ever saw the things Scott was attempting, he’d have gotten into another line of work. Incredibly, Scott escapes again, once more with help from Mother Box. Oberon feels sure Scott isn’t from anywhere on Earth, and sure enough, Scott mentions he arrived by Boom Tube, another device used by the teenagers in THE FOREVER PEOPLE.
As Oberon is cleaning up outside, the “Follower” robot seems to come back to life, and by dumb luck, is mistaken for the genuine article by 3 of “Granny’s Raiders”, as Scott calls them (removing all doubt that he KNOWS who’s out to get him). The trio subdue & kidnap Oberon and “Scott”, but the real Scott follows them, using a pair of “Aero Discs” attached to his feet, something apparently used by Granny’s “Flight Troops” (and which much later turned up verbatim in the movie HIGHLANDER 2). On their return to base, we learn that—sure enough—Granny works in the service of DARKSEID. “Love HIM! Serve Great DARKSEID! Wear your pointed helmets proudly where he leads! DIE for him—and REWARD Granny!”
Of course, then she finds out they’ve snatched a robot, but before she can vent her wrath a second time, the real Scott intrudes, knocking her “boys” down and snatching his friend in high-speed flight. But before they can vamoose, a trap door opens and both are sucked thru the floor into “THE X-PIT”, a hi-tech creation of Overlord, which has a transparent box at the bottom containing multiple dangers, including flames, electric charges, a river of hardening mud...
High above, Granny relaxes and laments, “POOR Scott Free! How he must be suffering! It’s too bad he COULDN’T learn to see things—Granny’s way.” One of her soldier boys brings her a small box which she says was a gift from Darkseid, and is capable of creating anything she wishes (hmm, sounds like a variation on “The Cosmic Cube”). But just then, the box is FRIED, and Scott & Oberon stand before her, having somehow escaped from the X-PIT. Granny seems genuinely distressed at what’s happened to her box, but it soon turns to murderous rage. Scott explained how he realized that the atoms of the X-Pit, which kept reforming, proved it was linked directly to Overlord—so he used Mother Box to strike back directly at the trap’s creator. It’s then we learn that the very impressive-looking Overlord was really quite tiny (about the size of a Cupie Doll) and fit neatly into the small box Granny was so upset about. It seems one form of miniaturized artificial life took out another one.
Granny threatens, “You—you’ll pay DEARLY for this!” Scott replies, “And that brings me to my parting words!!! DRY UP AND BLOW AWAY, GRANNY GOODNESS!” Scott & Oberon fly off, Oberon urging him, “Fly faster, Scott! I’ve got an EERIE feeling that she’s warming up for the SECOND round!”
And so, with the second installment, we’ve learned that Scott is definitely involved with Apokalips—but can he really be a product of that planet, from all the others we’ve seen so far? Perhaps the clue is on page 11, when Scott said, “I had to SURVIVE as an individual—as MYSELF!” Shades of Number Six on THE PRISONER!
I must say, this is one UGLY-looking comic-book! The art is AWFUL, despite Jack Kirby knocking himself out as usual. I’ll tell you what—despite what it says in the credits on page 5, I don’t believe Vince Colletta touched a single page of this comic. I’m not sure if the pages in the previous issue were done by the same inker or not—they’re similar, but a bit different, somehow. But if I had to guess (AND I AM), I’d say the inks this time look like the work of FRANK McLAUGHLIN! They’re dark, they’re HARSH, they’re OVER-POWERING. And I know Dick Giordano was at DC at this time, and Frank often worked with him. Why not with Colletta as well? I’m surprised that, in ALL I’ve read over the years about these books, including in THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR, that I have never once run across any reference to anyone other than Colletta inking all these books. Am I the only one who’se really noticed this?
Posted by profh0011 on :
JIMMY OLSEN #139 / Jul’71 – “THE GUARDIAN FIGHTS AGAIN!!!”
Not many comics ask the questions that matter in today’s world. Like... “Are you ready for defoliants in your succotash? Are you ready for landmines in your lunchbox?” Yes, there’s no doubt, there’s only ONE comic in the history of the medium that posed THESE questions, and I’ve arrived at it: JIMMY OLSEN #139. As madcap and INSANE as the cover is, who’d believe the story inside has such a “normal, regular” title as, “The Guardian Fights Again!!!” ???
You gotta understand... JIMMY OLSEN was like “king of the dorks” when it came to superhero comics. Jack Kirby was single-handedly trying to raise his book out of the mire or maddening mediocrity. But let’s face it, it was still “JIMMY OLSEN”. So readers should have expected at least the occasional bout of literary looniness. Also, it might help to remember, DC Comics used to publish BOB HOPE comics. And, JERRY LEWIS comics! Both were clearly very popular in their time, as evidenced by how long they lasted. So, in 1971, someone may have asked... why NOT a DON RICKLES comic? And if Arnold Drake was no longer at DC to do one, then hey, it might as well be Jack Kirby.
At The D.N.A. Project, Tommy is testing The Guardian, concerned that, like all products of their genetic research, he appears to have something “elusive” in his brain waves. Nevertheless, he becomes the first clone given clearance to go into the outside world. Next thing, Supes, Jimmy & The Guardian, the latter two in The Whiz Wagon, are zooming along The Zoomway headed for Metropolis. The young Newsboys are left behind—as one of them has caught what appears to be a cold. But in a place involved with so much scientific research, everyone feels it’s best to be sure.
The shot of the Whiz Wagon coming out of a tunnel entrance reminds me of The Batmobile leaving The Batcave. I’m still a bit confused here, as after passing the now-deserted “Habitat”, they go thru ANOTHER underground tunnel. So—is Habitat actually in a huge underground cavern, or does the road just go thru a tunnel in between it and Metropolis? Supes flies on ahead, so he can switch to being Clark Kent, then act concerned that he hasn’t heard from Jimmy in so long. When the two get together, confronting Morgan Edge is much on their mind, for all the obvious shenanigans they suspect he MUST be involved with that happened over the prevous 6 issues.
Back in The Project, a miniature Scrapper Trooper turns up, and helps the boys “escape”. They make it to an abandoned tunnel containing an underground river, and use the motorboat conveniently left there to continue on.
But meanwhile, on page 10, things go COMPLETELY nuts. Oh, you thought the last 6 issues were crazy? HAH! Think again! Morgan Edge returns to his office, where he casually tells his secretary, Miss Conway, that he left earlier because the city was in danger of an atomic explosion. As she doesn’t respond, we have to guess she figures he’s joking (he wasn’t). On hearing Kent & Olsen want to see him, he gives orders to say he’s STILL not in. And then—what kind of a segue is this??—he askes about the contracts for Don Rickles. Okay, he’s an entertainment mogul. It makes sense he’d be concerned with known celebrities. But then Miss Conway reminds him of Don’s “look-alike”—“Goody Rickels”—who’s on their research staff. And Edge looks about to have a heart attack. “DEMONS OF DARKSEID! If the REAL Don Rickles and this yo-yo ever bump into each other—it’ll be UTTER CHAOS!!”
At that moment, Goody appears in his office, dressed in a super-hero suit, saying some producer told him to wear it in connection with a “pilot film”. Edge’s hidden reaction is anything but normal. “The solution is obvious! This man must be KILLED!” SAY WHAT??? There’s what’s known as “slipping into The Twilight Zone”—and then there’s THIS. As nutso as it may seem, the entire plot of the rest of the comic stems from this utterly screwball motivation.
Next thing, Miss Conway hands Kent & Olsen a note about a UFO in Cronin Park. Once there, they find one—and stepping out of it, Goody, still in the union suit. Kent goes inside, Goody pushes a button—“FZOMP” The entire UFO vanishes, taking Kent with it. And before anyone can bat an eye, a group of what The Guardian calls “Assault Troops”, armed with wooden clubs, attack. Surprisingly, things go well for our side, until the leader of the baddies—an UGLY thug named—whatta ya know—“Ugly Mannheim”, grabs Jimmy at gunpoint and forces Goody & The Guardian to surrender. “Ugly” reminds me somewhat of “Roman Troy Moronie” (Richard Dimitri) from JOHNNY DANGEROUSLY.
Shortly, the group is sitting around a table eating—AT GUNPOINT. “You either eat—or you DIE!” “Finish it, Guardian, or else Olsen gets it!” Not your typical dining table conversation. But then comes the HORROR. Yes—HORROR. Ugly tells them they’ve all just eaten food laced with “pyro-granulate”—“fine, deadly grains just waiting for the right time to ignite”. As he tells them, “You’re DEAD men! ALL of you! In twenty-four hours—you’ll FLARE UP like torches!” Jimmy’s shocked—he can’t believe it!! (Considering this is an issue of JIMMY OLSEN, it does seem completely against the grain—and even more so considering what a goofy story it’s been up to this moment.) The Guardian wants to know WHY he wants them dead. But Ugly AIN’T SPILLING IT! “I DON’T have to explain that! I DON’T even have to keep you any longer! You’re LEAVING! NOW!” And with that, he DUMPS them out of the back of his MOBILE HOME right onto a street “in the worst part of town”. And he doesn’t even SLOW DOWN when he does it! That’s not nice!
HOLY COW! What a CLIFF-HANGER!!! It says here... “SPINE-CHILLING! BLOOD-FREEZING! HEART-STOPPING! Only those adjectives can describe the INCREDIBLE roaring climax in the NEXT ISSUE! For MANY lives hang in the balance—when a strange question is answered!! WILL THE REAL DON RICKLES PANIC??” Now let me explain this—sort of. As I said, DC used to publish a very-popular JERRY LEWIS comic. Back when, there was a Saturday morning TV cartoon named—I’m not kidding—“WILL THE REAL JERRY LEWIS PLEASE SIT DOWN?” (It ran from 1970-72—you can look it up! Honest!!) So I figure—and I have never run across even a single reference to this before I put two and two together myself—that Jack’s title for the next episode was a take-off on that. Makes PERFECT sense to me!
What DIDN’T make sense was the way—according to Mark Evanier—Jack’s 7-parter somehow got truncated to 6, and ended last issue instead of in this one. Because—see—NEXT issue is a REPRINT ANNUAL. So, instead of a break between stories, Jack started the 2nd story... then, readers had to wait TWO issues before they could read Part 2! That’s NOT FAIR!
A few comments about the art. Unlike MISTER MIRACLE #2, this issue CLEARLY was inked by Vince Colletta. Mostly. And he did a NICE job, mostly. That’s if you don’t count the usual Clark, Jimmy & Superman faces re-pencilled & inked by Murphy Anderson, who did such a NICE job, you almost wish he’d done THE WHOLE ISSUE. And then of course, some pages look BEWTTER than the rest, making me wonder if somebody (like, I dunno, Jack Abel maybe?) inked here and there. Goody also looks better-inked than the rest of the book. Murphy Anderson, or someone else? But then there’s page 14—panel 4, to be specific. Unless my eyes are deceiving me, in that ONE panel, whoever inked Clark Kent DID NOT redraw him. So in that ONE panel, it’s Jack Kirby’s Clark Kent we see. Looks good to me...
Posted by profh0011 on :
FOREVER PEOPLE #3 / Jul’71 – “LIFE VS. ANTI-LIFE!”
Now THIS is a disturbing comic-book. This comes across right on the cover, which, although it once again has TOO MUCH text on it, has a limited color scheme—the heroes entirely in shades of magenta, the background another B&W photo, this one appears to be a shaft of light cutting thru couldy darkness. Hovering over the scene, a figure wearing a metal helmet, who declares, “Live by MY rules—or DIE!”
The splash page shows a crowd of people, all with totally blank expressions (I mean really blank—none of their eyeballs are visible!). The page opens with a quote from ADOLPH HITLER, where he commented on how his followers all had the “same expression”. Pages 2-3 are a reverse shot showing what the crowd is so entranced by—bright-faced, red-haired, robe-wearing Glorious Godfrey, a fantasy version of an evangelical preacher, combining Medieval fashion with futuristic organ-pipes, spouting out a message about “ANTI-LIFE”, and how he can give his followers “the power to wield DEATH!”
Godfrey openly proclaims that Darkseid and a “Holocaust” is coming to Earth, and he begins passing out armor helmets to those who will be “UNIFIED! GLORIFIED! JUSTIFIED!” The scene quickly switches to the slum where one of the “Justifiers” is assaulting young crippled Donnie, demanding to know where his friends are. Rescuing the boy, the teens from New Genesis barely escape when the entire building is blown up, taking with it the one who set off the charge. We never see Donnie’s uncle, nor is he mentioned, so we have to assume he wasn’t home when this happened. Mark Moonrider deduces that “All from NEW GENESIS, who have come to EARTH—are being sought out—for DEATH!” After using Mother Box to surround the area with a protective shield against other Justifiers, the group departs in search of their attackers.
Page 11 is where the book REALLY takes a frightful turn, as a rectangular flying transport lands on a rooftop, depositing a squad of Justifiers. “This is the part of town we want! The people we’ve chosen as TARGETS live here! “Move in SWIFTLY! Before the swine REALIZE what’s happening! SIEZE as many as you can! DON’T bother to discriminate! The women and children are as hated as the men! Break in the doors! Waste NO time on mercy! DRAG them out! Treat them ROUGH! LISTEN to their cries! I’ve been WAITING to do this for years! Get going! We’ll SHOW what we do with your kind!” It’s a scene right out of Nazi Germany—but it’s happening HERE—NOW! “SHUT UP! You’re nothing but animals! ANTI-LIFE WORKS! We’re JUSTIFIED in ridding the city of this human trash! The city should thank us!” Following this mass-kidnapping of innocent people, the next 2 panels show a public library being burnt out. “The NONSENSE stored in this place shall NEVER pollute another mind! You need know no more that the PROPER things!”
I’m guessing since all the victims in these scenes were white, that it was probably a Jewish neighborhood that was attacked. The real horror of this is not only that it COULD happen here, but that this kind of thing has CONTINUED to happen in various countries over the years since this comic came out. Time and again, despots turning people against people to further their own aims, often murdering the most learned and intelligent people and making sure the rest remain as ignorant as possible, the better to control them with.
Godfrey (who somewhat resembles TV evangelist Billy Graham), becomes aware that one of his followers failed, as the Forever People are approaching. Sure enough, they arrive where he’s set up a tent for people to hear his “revelations”. Using the ritual, they switch places with The Infinity Man, who uses control over atoms to slip in thru the ground itself, before attacking and taking out the “Demon’s Organ”. But just as he confronts Godfrey, DARKSEID shows up in person. In seconds, by force, he sends Infinity Man back where he came from, to be replaced by the teenagers. “It would PAIN me to deal HARHSLY with you! That is why I keep such as DESAAD at my side!” “I DON’T mind playing games in the slightest! HERE! Try this toy! FUN, isn’t it?” Using a bizarre hand-weapon (which reminds me of the guns used on SPACE: 1999), Desaad knocks the group unconscious, before having them loaded into an Aero-Van.
“We’re taking them where we took the OTHERS! To the CAMP OF THE DAMNED! It is NOT the first of its kind seen on Earth! But DESAAD is the master of THIS one! Even as Justifiers make a MOCKERY of life—DESAAD plays with DEATH as if it were a FINE ART! I wonder what sort of MAETERPIECES he’ll make of THESE brats!” Amidst all this enthusiastic SICKNESS and DEPRAVITY, Darkseid reminds Desaad that the main purpose of the camp MUST remain uncovering the secret of the Anti-Life Equation. Godfrey doesn’t seem to believe in its existence. As he says, in a magnificent full-page close-up shot, “If one could MASTER such an equation—he could CONTROL the minds of ALL living things in the universe—with a MERE word! I-I BELIEVE in ANTI-LIFE, great DARKSEID—but it can only be induced in others by the means of INVENTIVE SELLING!” Darkseid, of course, dismisses this.
As Hitler kept his various commanders at each others’ throats, to keep any one of them from becoming too powerful, so does Darkseid with his. “You favor HIM always, Great DARKSEID! Thing of what my JUSTIFIERS do in your cause!” “I beg to depart from this PETTY situation, sire!” Amazing how without batting an eye Desaad manages to so totally belittle Godfrey in front of both him and his master. In a SCARY clopse-up, Desaad continues, “You’re a loud, petulant BUMPKIN, Godfrey! Like all REVELATIONISTS, you’ve got imagination—but not finesse! But I, good Godfrey, have BOTH! I leave you now for my “camp”, which DARKSEID knows is TERROR, refined to PERFECTION!” Although I rather doubt Kirby had ever seen him, in that one panel Desaad reminds me an awful lot of English actor Milton Johns, who appeared in 2 Tom Baker DOCTOR WHO stories, “The Android Invasion”, and “The Invasion Of Time”. In the latter, he played “Kelner” the head of Time Lord security, who always seemed to be too sneaky for his own good, spying on EVERYONE, and slyly siding with whatever side would be most to his advantage at any given moment. In other words, someone you really couldn’t trust.
Jack ends with the following: “Their DESTINATION is the most BIZARRE and TERRIFYING structure ever seen by the eyes of man! It is DESAAD’s own little domain on Earth—a pilot project of Purgatory—where torment is computed—death is controlled—and escape impossible! DON’T MISS—KINGDOM OF THE DAMNED!” Wow. What a CLIFF-HANGER! While JIMMY OLSEN began with 3 2-parters that together formed a 6-parter, Jack was wise to begin each of his other 3 brand-new books with stand-alone episodes for the first 2 issues apiece. Now, having set the stage, he finally begins to expand into multi-parters in the other books. It’s gonna be rough waiting to plow thru the other books before getting to the next episode of this one.
Although it’s clear Vince Colletta inked much of this issue, once again I can’t shake the feeling someone else was involved, mostly in the second half—possibly Frank McLaughlin. Some of the linework just looks too “harsh” and heavy for Vince’s lighter, cleaner style, and Frank did a TON of work at DC over the years.
NEW GODS #3 / Jul’71 – “DEATH IS THE BLACK RACER!”
And now, I’ve reached possibly one of the most controversial comic-books Jack Kirby ever did in his entire career. No kidding!
For the 2nd issue in a row, the logo reads “ORION OF THE NEW GODS”, and it’s shrunk even smaller than last time. It’s been suggested that different issues or stoylines in this book might spotlight different characters, and have their names on the covers, not unlike what happened for a few issues when the X-MEN split up. After several of the most excessively copy-heavy covers in the history of comics, this one’s kind of sedate. “Is he after ORION—or YOU? RUN! RUN! DEATH is the BLACK RACER!” In front of another photo background, this one more effective than most, perhaps because this time we can see what we’re looking at, and, the subtle use of color, we see a man driving a vehicle, looking behind him as he points a gun at someone who’s chasing him. It’s... no, I’m NOT making this up... a black man in a Medeival suit of armor and cape—FLYING—on SKIS! Wow. As someone online recently said, Jack Kirby absolutely did NOT do drugs. Ralph Bakshi & Gray Morrow have nothing on this. Talk about imagination run riot!
In case anyone’s forgotten about him, the first 3 pages spotlight Lightray—who’s flying in space, chased by The Black Racer. WHY? It seems the Racer is the living personlification of DEATH (as most of the NEW GODS seem to be the living personlification of one concept or another). I would think out of all the characters in these books, Lightray would be the LAST one Death should be pursuing. But what the hey.
On Earth, in Lincoln’s apartment, Orion changes into Earth-clothes, “another masquerade” as he puts it. And we learn something very interesting about him. His face—described by the redhead as “positively beautiful—like a living statue modelled by the ancient Greeks”—is NOT really his. It’s a construct created by Mother Box “in her mercy” by rearranging the atoms of his face. Briefly, he restores his true face—and it’s FIERCE!—before returning to his kinder guise.
Something that occured to me as I read this scene, is that the 4 Earth-people Orion rescued, who become his allies, and who next issue take on the nickname “The O’Ryan Gang”, seem uncannily like counterparts of The Fantastic Four. Lincoln, the sort-of leader, smokes a pipe, as Reed Richards did early-on, and it’s his apartment they meet at. Then there’s the girl, with the “Mrs. Peel” hairstyle so favored by Sue after she got married. There’s also the younger guy wearing a sweater—and, Lanza, who’s shorter, stockier and more expressive than the others. He looks a bit Jewish to me—I could easily picture him as someone from Jack’s neighborhood, or even an older, more laid-back version of Ben. Suggests some interesting ideas and possibilities, as far as, WHAT IF Jack had stayed at Marvel, and used FANTASTIC FOUR to tell part of his “Fourth World” story?
I did notice that Jack neglected to even once mention the girl or the young guy by name ANYWHERE in this issue. I know at least one editor who got very upset about this sort of thing, and INSISTED that EVERY character be identified BY NAME in EVERY issue of EVERY comic-book... but there’s subtle ways to work this sort of thing in. THIS is where Jack could have used some editorial “help”. Just a bit of fine-tuning here and there, aiding without getting in the way.
Out in space, Lightray is about to bite the big one, when unexpectedly, a Boom Tube appears, sending the Racer elsewhere. It’s Metron’s doing, and he chastises his younger associate. “You could have done the same thing, Lightray! You must learn to think more COOLLY.” As for where—and why—perhaps the Racer says it best. “So, Destiny has changed my course and takes me here—to EARTH!” Yep, now a guy in red, yellow & blue Medieval armor ON SKIS is flying over Harlem. Gotcha.
It’s a bit jarring, but we suddenly find ourselves thrust into what looks like a scene from some “Blaxploitation” film. On a rooftop, a colorful killer in shades named “Sugar-Man” guns down an apparent stoolie named “Screamer”. But there’s a witness—former Police Officer & crippled Viet Nam War vet Willie Walker. The name is ironic, as Willie is confined to his bed, unable to walk, talk or even feed himself. Sugar-Man decided to take no chances, and eagerly prepares to silence this witness, too... when suddenly, the armored hand of the Racer blocks his shot, causing Sugar-Man’s gun ot explode in his face! In pain, he runs from the scene.
And then it gets even more bizarre. The Racer walks right THRU the wall into Willie’s apartment, and understands why Destiny has brought him here. Perhaps Lightray wasn’t meant to die after all, but merely to draw Metron into acting as he did. (My own thughts.) The Racer takes Willie’s hand—and Willie finds he’s no longer crippled! Just as suddenly, the Racer is gone—nothiong left inside his armor but ashes. And Willie—BECOMES—The Black Racer.
Not far away, Orion (now using the Earth-name “O’Ryan”—how can anyone tell the difference?) and, as he reminds us, “Special Investigator” Lincoln, track down the members of Inter-Gang who earlier kidnapped Lincoln and his 3 new friends. A thug named Badger—short, heavyset, balding—has a very strange-looking bomb he wants planted at a Communcations Building. Its purpose, to melt “every bit of communication metal witrhin a radius of thousands of miles—no telephones—no television—not even radios or telegraph!” It would mean “total chaos”.
Orion susprised the gang by smashing right thru the wall, but Sugar-Man escapes with the bomb and drives off at high speed. Orion uses Mother Box to somehow send the bomb—truck, driver and all—into SPACE!!—where it explodes. The strange thing is, as far as the readers—and Sugar-Man—could see—this was accomplished by The Black Racer, who was chasing the truck, used one of his ski-poles to penetrate the truck and activate “anti-gravity circuits” built into the bomb (SAY WHAT?). And yet, Orion gives the credit to Mother Box. What REALLY went on here?? His mission completed, the Racer returns to Willie’s apartment, and is transformed back into Willie. And so, more irony, as we have a man who is alternately crippled, yet at times now has “the freedom of the farthest dimension”.
I have to admit, parts of this book feel like they might have been taken from two completely unrelated stories, then jumbled together at the last minute. The scenes of The Racer—the embodiment of Death-- walking thru walls reminds me a lot of the earlier Kirby story, “AND FEAR SHALL FOLLOW!” from CHAMBER OF DARKNESS #5 (Jun’70).
Once again, I believe I see no less than 3 different inkers’ hands at work here. The cover, pages 1-3 & 22-23 are clearly Vince Colletta’s work (a very nicely-rendered splash, too). Pages 4-8 and 16-21 all look like Frank McLaughlin to me—dark, “harsh”, and exhibiting his habit of excessively THICK outlines in places. Page 13 looks much slicker, cleaner. Art Cappello, perhaps? The rest, it’s hard to be sure. I’m beginning to suspect that a lot of the hatred tossed at Vince Colletta over his work on these books may actually be aimed at work he DIDN’T EVEN DO, but got others to do FOR him. Tsk!
Most of the criticism of this issue over the years, as you might expect, focused entirely on The Black Racer. The most typical comments being, that he was “a rip-off of The Silver Surfer!” Hey, what artist DOESN’T rip off HIS OWN ideas from time to time? The simple idea of a flying man—ON SKIS!!!—has been the center of ridicule. That he wears a totally incongruous Medieval suit of armor has also come under fire. I dunno... the concept is SO bizarre, SO totally “out there”... in a way, it kinda works. I do think it might have gone over a lot better if, instead of looking like one more late-60’s/early-70’s technicolor fever dream, if he’d been done in some monotone shades... black, gray, dark blue, dark red... something. In Roger Corman’s MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, the many forms of Death all had brightly colored robes... but EACH one had only ONE color per outfit.
I guess the real question may be a toss-up. Who was the most bizarre character Jack introduced in the Jul’71 issues? The Black Racer—or Goody Rickels?
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Prof, I just want to say you are doing a great job with this.
Posted by profh0011 on :
Here’s one I bet you weren’t expecting...
LOIS LANE #111 / Jul’71 – “THE DARK SIDE OF THE JUSTICE LEAGUE!”
At the same time that Jack Kirby was doing his thing in JIMMY OLSEN, the rest of the SUPERMAN books were also undergoing their own little Rennaisance, each one under a different editor, apparently. According to the indicia, E. Nelson Bridwell has SUPERMAN’S GIRL FRIEND, LOIS LANE. Right off the bat, Lois has a better logo than Jimmy. Also, from what I know about Lois in the 60’s, it seems they tried to upgrade her hairstyle, her wardrobe, and her personality. If you look around online, you’ll find a ton of LL stories where she is—to be it lightly—a SHREW. The be-all and end-all of her entire existence seemed to revolve around trying to PROVE that Clark Kent was Superman, so she could proclaim it on the front page of The Daily Planet. Never mind how this would destroy his effectiveness as a crime-fighter, allowing super-criminals world-wide to attack Clark, the Planet, all his friends... gee, even HER!
Well, the 70’s Lois seemed to get a hefty dose of brains, and sensitivity. Like a number of TV shows I remember from the same period, she became a “kindler, gentler” Lois. She was in love with Superman—and acted like it! He was also in love with her—but could not marry her, for fear it would put her life in danger. I’m not sure this makes any more sense, since it seems everyone in the world KNOWS they love each other. Of course, it never seemed to occur to Clark back then to TELL her his secret, then have THEM marry, leaving Superman, to thre eyes of the public, a confirmed bachelor.
Anyway... I have the strongest feeling the cover of LL #111 was another one of those where someone came up with a cover idea, then wrote a story based on it. The cover shows Lois, in a red-and-black tiger-skin bikini, laying on her back, sleeping on the beach... while miniature versions of the Justice League of America stake her down to the sand! Yep, it’s a scene right out of GULLIVER’S TRAVELS. How did this happen? Wouldn’t you like to know? Well, then—buy the comic! That’s what the cover was created for. The thing is, the cover scene takes up so little of the story, it feels like a rip-off... like the vast majority of Superman-related comics from the 50’s & 60’s no doubt did.
The story opens with Lois, on her way to beach, ignoring wolf-whistles, and eager to relax and “dream about SUPERMAN... in private.” (What, she couldn’t have done this at home?) No sooner is she asleep, then the min-JLA appears, ties her down, and while she’s helpless, the mini-Black Canary uses an eye-droper to coat Lois’s lips with some chemical that will prove deadly to Superman. Then, they free her, and leave. She’s back at the office by page 4, with NO knowledge of what happened. You SEE why I think the cover is a CON—and was done FIRST?
While this is going on, the writer explains—in narration, and in some very awkward dialogue, that the mini-JLA are the result of DNA samples donated to The Project by the JLA when Superman took them there for a visit, and which were then stolen by Mokarri & Simyan, and used to create mini-clones. This is a LOT of explanation for not a lot of payoff. In effect, this is the kind of writing that made Marvel fans look down their noses at DC at the time. It’s... it’s... it’s like the comic was done in a BANK, or something.
And who is responsible for this exercise in tedium? Why, none other than that DC legend himself, Robert Kanigher. I’ve read a lot about this guy. Some say he was extremely talented, some say he was a monster to work with. All I know from this is, his writing is BORING.
Back at the office, Lois leaves for a story, and Clark finds she’s left a sheet of paper in her typewriter, which reads “I love Superman!” over and over and over and over. Shades of THE SHINING! Touched, he takes it and thinks, “I’ll keep it next to my heart.” Won’t she wonder who stole it?
While interviewing a group of mothers in need of a day-care center so they can get jobs, an armored car driven by crooks almost runs down the group. After saving them, Superman flies off, leaving love-sick Lois in tears. Two of the women she’s intrerviewed encourage her that he’ll be back. Later, when mysterious statues of wild animals go wild (and prove to be robots), Lois manages to plant one on Supes... who immediately goes crazy and starts wrecking things. “The touch of my LIPS... seems to have DRIVEN SUPERMAN MAD!” (It is Lois, it was bound to happen... hee hee.)
Now it seems Lois was ALSO taken by Superman for a visit to The Project, and she calls them on the phone for help. I ask you... HOW likely is this? Supers went to such lengths to keep Jimmy out of the loop, but he takes the world’s number one busybody to visit a top-top-top secret government-military research complex? The Commander tells her to go to her office and wait for a package to arrive. It does—but before she can open it, the mini-JLA attacks her! And then, we find that The Project hase sent a squad of mini-LOISes, to do battle with the mini-JLA, each one with special skills or weapons designed to take out a specific member. If you think it’s awkward trying to describe this, you should try reading it. When it’s over, Superman is cured by another chemical-enhanced kiss, and remembers nothing. Now Lois has to start on her campaign to get him to marry her ALL OVER AGAIN. Oy.
The art on this book is “nice”... but nothing to brag about. Dick Giordano does the cover, while the story is illustrated by TWO of the guys who were doing X-MEN before Neal Adams ran it into the ground... I mean, took it over. Yep, it’s Werner Roth and Vince Colletta! The one word that best describes Roth’s work tends to be “NICE”. His Lois is very pretty, and Colletta, who spent most of his time doing romance comics before being forced into the superhero genre, seems a perfect fit. Still, I’m not too sure about that. Without Don Heck’s dynamic layouts (which helped to “crank up” Roth’s work during the latter part of his X-MEN run), the layouts and storytelling are... there’s only one word for it... DULL. And Colletta’s inks do NOTHING to “jazz it up”. I don’t think they’re doing any harm, but they’re not helping much either.
The feeling I have is, these guys might be much better if they were actually doing a ROMANCE comic, instead of a SUPERMAN comic trying to pass itself off as one.
The back-up is a ROSE AND THORN story, once again written by Robert Kanigher, with art by GRAY MORROW! Wow. I’d completely forgotten about this. Morrow has a “realistic” style that is gorgeous to look at, and quite on the “moody” side. Unfortunately, the story and writing on this is a DULL as the lead story is! Just a lot less complicated and awkward. Looking at these pages, I’m reminded again that Morrow supplied the storyboards for the 2nd & 3rd seasons of the SPIDER-MAN cartoons (1968-70), but years later, was TURNED DOWN by Marvel art director John Romita when he tried to get on the SPIDER-MAN comic-book, because Romita felt his style “wasn’t dynamic enough”. Just think... if it wasn’t for Romita’s narrow-mindedness, we could have had Gray Morrow on AMAZING SPIDER-MAN... instead, we got Ross Andru. (WRETCH! GAG!) Many years later, Morrow did a 2-issue LOIS LANE mini-series. I can’t remember much about it, but it HAD to be better than anything in this issue.
Posted by profh0011 on :
MISTER MIRACLE #3 / Jul’71 – “THE PARANOID PILL!”
“It’s a simple trap!! A fifty-story building—with doors, windows, exits—and people!! Can he leave it—ALIVE?? DR. BEDMAN tests MISTER MIRACLE Super Escape Artist Between him and escape are—FIVE THOUSAND SCREAMING MANIACS!” Wow. What a cover.
A Boom Tube deposits several featureless humanoid beings called “Animates” in a room somewhere, and a “Mind-Force”—a “living, thinking being that exists as pure energy”—is transmitted to one of them, which takes the form and features of Doctor Bedlam. This refugee from Apokalips is after our hero. “NOTHING can be hidden from one such as I, SCOTT FREE! Your telephone number is known to me.” There’s just something kinda funny about going from this fantastic situation to having the baddie pick up the phone.
At home, Scott is trying out yet another impossible escape trap. How he gets out of those heavy-duty metal restraints and escapes being crushed by a huge granite block—“by a FULL SECOND”-- is anybody’s guess.
Naturally, the phone rings while Scott is trying to esape his own death trap. After, he takes the call—“that voice—I’d know it ANYWHERE—it’s like the sound of RATS digging beneath the floor!” He accepts a challenge to meet Bedlam, then reluctantly tells Oberon what he’s up against. Based on what Scott tells him, Oberon concludes that Bedlam is “some sort of SUPER-HYPNOTIST” who attacks the mind, and that without a Mother Box, anyone would be helpless. Scott demonstrates what Bedlam can do, and the mental images conjured up are terrifying—and, according to Scott, “real”. He leaves to face Bedlam alone.
On the top floor of The Chandler Towers, Scott confronts Bedlam, who advises he surrender himself for punishment, for having “dared to reject the powers that rule his world”. Bedlam reveals that the entire building is the trap—and to defeat him, he must merely “descend to the lobby level and exit to the street”. But then Bedlam drops a “paranoid pill” into the building’s ventilation system, “vapor that will turn every human between you and freedom below—into a HOSTILE, DANGEROUS, RAVING MANIAC!” Scott clobbers Bedlam—only to find his force has gone, leaving only the “animate” behind.
Sure enough, everyone in the building starts acting crazy, paranoid and attacking whatever they fear—including him, mostly because of the strange costume he’s wearing. He flies over a crowd of them, makes it to an elevator, but is cornered by a gun-toting maniac before he can get more than 5 floors down. As he escape the elevator, he’s grabbed by another mob, and locked inside a trunk. He hopes to rest until they calm down, but it’s not to be—as the trunk is encircled by heavy chains, punctured by a sword, rolled end-over-end, and then—HURLED down into an open staircase!
“DIE, DEMON, DIE! Send him back to Hades! TOSS HIM DOWN! This is the LAST of you, demon! You’ll NEVER trouble the world again! LOOK OUT BELOW! Satan is waiting to RECEIVE his own! GOOD RIDDANCE! We’re SAFE!” While, inside the trunk... “I waited TOO LONG! The chances of my escaping from THIS—are ten past ZERO!”
Talk about a cliff-hanger!! As with FOREVER PEOPLE, after 2 stand-alone introductory episodes, Jack Kirby now expands MISTER MIRACLE to his first 2-parter. And this one is like something straight out of a 1930’s action movie serial. My favorite part of the book may be the blurb on the letters page. “Next issue, Scott Free and Oberon encounter the one-and-onlyh Big Barda! Even Jack Kirby had to read this one twice... He didn’t believe it the first time and he wrote it! Don’t say we didn’t warn you!”
Once again, I see at least 3 different inkers at work here. The cover, pages 1-3, 7 & 18 scream Frank McLaughlin to me. Intense, and a lot of fat holding lines. Page 4-5, 9-16 & 19-22 all look like Vince Colletta to me. Very nice work from him too. Now, pages 6 & 17 each look like someone else, and not necessarily the same someone else. Some of the detail on page 6, especially Scott’s sideburns, look too “fine” to be any of the other guys’ work, while page 17 almost seems a patchwork of 3 different inkers on the same page. Page 8, however, looks like Klaus Janson again, especially if you look at Scott’s face in panel 1. There’s a very Giordano/McLaughlin-like intensity to the linework on this page, but somehow darker, rougher.
As for Jack, he did some of his most expressive people in this issue. Check out Oberon on pages 5-6, Scott as he confronts Bedlam on page 11, or how about Scott at gunpoint in panel 4 of page 17! What a fun book! I’m dying to read the next one.
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JIMMY OLSEN #141 / Sep’71 – “WILL THE REAL DON RICKLES PANIC?!?”
“RUSHING toward the GREATEST climax ever seen in comics”, it says here, as we see Superman and The Guardian (with Jimmy and Goody behind them) running straight at the readers holding a big round something with Don Rickles’ smiling face on it. WTF, you say? KIRBY SAYS: “Don’t Ask! JUST BUY IT!” I think that says it all. The NERVE of some guys!
The story opens with 3 consecutive pages of photo-collage depicting the tiny vessel Clark Kent is trapped in journeying thru “a strange galaxy never before seen by man!” “Unable to CONTROL his capsule-prison, CLARK KENT gazes HELPLESSLY as he drifts past awesome wonders that STAGGER all imagination!” Hey! I just got it—this whole sequence is a tribute to the “Star Gate” sequence from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY ! Mind you, Gary Friedrich already did that in CAPTAIN MARVEL—twice!! (Issues #11 AND #15. Some nerve!)
Back on Earth, Jimmy, The Guardian and Goody have been dumped on a street by Ugly Manheim, after being fed a lunch laced with a deadly chemical that will IGNITE in 24 hours, killing the trio in horrible fashion. Suggesting Jimmy & Goody get back to the Network office, The Guardian races across rooftops trying to catch up with Manheim’s mobile home HQ. This scene may be the closest Jack got during his 3rd DC run to drawing CAPTAIN AMERICA in action.
Meanwhile, the eagerly-awaited Don Rickles arrives at the Network, and is assualted by a mob of fans. “Oh, INSULT ME, DON! Say ANYTHING! A sentence—a word!” “Okay! HERNIA! Get off me, you RUNAWAY LOCOMOTIVE! Go out and sit on the CHICAGO BEARS!” Morgan Edge breaks it up, then invites Don into his office. “SAVAGES! I’ll send you thirty pounds of RAW MEAT tomorrow morning!” Don meets the ever-smiling Miss Conway... “Who’s THIS broad? What is she playing?—“NURSEY-NURSEY?” “You’re GREAT, honey! You’re WASTED here! You deserve something BETTER than a typewriter and this sneaky crumb! Get yourself a bikini and start a chain of HEART ATTACKS at a garden party!” Then Don turns his attention to Edge... “I heard about’cha! Mister Smoothie on the outside—“MAC THE KNIFE” on the inside! Be YOURSELF, lad! Say something FILTHY!” “MONEY! LOTS of it!” That’s gotta be my favorite exchange in the whole book. You know, I can’t remember the last time anyone used the term “broad” in a comic-book.
Out in space (is it another star system, another galaxy, or another dimension?), Clark meets Lightray, who tells him he’s about to land on Apokalips! “WOW! That HARDLY looks like a desirable vacation spot!” He realizes he’s heard of this place before, from “some STRANGE KIDS” who also mentioned “DARKSEID!” (see FOREVER PEOPLE #1) As a group of “para-demons” approach (last seen in NEW GODS #1), Lightray says it’s time he got Kent back to Earth!
Back on Earth, Jimmy & Goody ride the subway, annoying most of the passengers, one of whom Goody calls a “HOCKEY-PUCK!” (I guess he doesn’t just LOOK like Don, he talks like him, too.)
In a 2-page sequence, The Guardian crashes in on Mannheim’s mobile-HQ, smashes up the place, and gets into a battle with a group of his thugs.
Back in Edge’s office, he & Don are working out contract details. “”Just one moment, Don! Let me try to SIMPLIFY my proposition!” “Yeah! DO that, o DEVIOUS one! You can hide a platoon of ASSASSINS in a complex deal!” Just then, Goody arrives, causing much confusion between him and Don, and giving Edge a headache. ALL the trouble Edge went thru just to have Goody, Jimmy & The Guardian bumped off, JUST to prevent this moment, and it happens ANYWAY. As Jimmy & Goody suddenly begin to flare up, Don wonders if he’ll get out of the office alive. Edge thnks, “UGLY MANNHEIM has made a SHAMBLES of my scheme to rid myself of these dolts! And this is a result of his DISOBEYING my orders to kill them QUICKLY!” Isn’t that always the way? A baddie just can’t shoot someone, NO, they have to get all FANCY-SCHMANZY about it! And sure enough, it backfires. Mind you, for a chemical that’s suppose to ignite in 24 hours, this feels more like many an HOUR, TOPS, has gone by.
Just then, The Guardian arrives—apparently having successfully beaten Mannheim’s thugs and gotten ahold of the antidote—and saves Jimmy & Goody’s lives. Next thing, Clark arrives via a Boom Tube, and he & Jimmy are about to finally confront Edge about everything they’re sure he’s done over the last 8 issues that involved attempts to KILL them, as well as destroy The Project (Jack doesn’t mention this in dialogue, but it’s pretty implied). Edge has the nerve to brush it off with a mere, “Fine, Kent! We’ll discuss it—LATER!” And just THAT moment, the bomb disposal squad arrives, too late to help—but Don races at them, insisting HE’s about to blow up, and gets them to remove him from the whole crazy scene. Figuring he’s gone nuts, one of the squad comments, “POOR GUY! With your routine—this HAD to happen!”
Well, THAT was fun. Amidst all this lunacy, I’m wondering, had Jimmy heard the phrase “Boom Tube” before? Also, it was a bit of a surprise NOT to see Ugly Mannheim and his men taken out. One more page with that would have been welcome. Also, I’m dumbfounded that after 8 issues of this, and despite Clark & Jimmy giving Edge the evil eye, he had the NERVE to just dismiss them so casually.
This was the month, presumably, that both Marvel & DC expanded from 15c to 25c. Although for DC it was their “SEP” issue and Marvel it was their “NOV” issues, presumably this is just Marvel having their comics advanced-dated 2 months more than DC.
Marvel went all-new, but DC padded out the bigger size with reprints—from the Golden Age. I can’t help but feel this was a serious mis-step. Here they are, presumably trying so hard to upgrade and modernize their image, and what do they do? Step BACK 30 YEARS. In this issue, we have a reprint of the very first appearance of THE NEWSBOY LEGION and THE GUARDIAN from STAR SPANGLED COMICS #7 (Apr’42), by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. But it’s such a drastically, shockingly-DIFFERENT Jack Kirby doing the art, it’s jarring, no matter how you look at it. Plus the line-reproduction is AWFUL (not to mention the art is shrunk slightly from its original print-size, NEVER a good thing).
I have to admit... I did NOT enjoy these reprints the first time around. Many years later, when I was still early in my chronological Jack Kirby re-reading project, I actually dug out all these Fourth World books JUST to re-read the Golden Age stories, all together in publication sequence. And I enjoyed them MUCH more than when I read them as back-ups in 1970’s Kirby books. I never like mixing new and reprint material. I’ve always felt, and still do, that you should have all-new, or all-reprints. A collection entirely made up of 1940’s Simon & Kirby stories, that I would have gone for a lot more than this. (Plus, every time they put a blurb on the cover advertising the Golden Age reprints, it just ruins the designs.)
On the letters page, Randy Hiteshew discusses the ramifications of The D.N.A. Project and their cloning people, without their knowledge or consent, and usually for questionable purposes. This was discussed at some length not that long ago at the Kirby-L yahoo group (now gone), and the main point seemed to be, it’s something that Jack Kirby should have been delving into deeper when he wrote the stories. Then again, considering it’s DC, and it’s JIMMY OLSEN, maybe what he did was already more and better than anyone had a right to expect?
Unlike several other Kirby books of late, this one seems to only feature the work of 2 inkers—Vince Colletta on every page (doing a very nice job as usual on this series), and Murphy Anderson (on Clark & Jimmy). Although Vince may be doing his best work from this time on JO, at times I kinda wish Anderson had done the whole book.
Before I go, something I forgot to mention last time... JIMMY OLSEN #139 was the first Kirby comic to feature the phrase “Kirby’s Fourth World” on the cover. As it happens, that issue also features a mention of “The Fourth Estate” in the story, a reference to the news media. Connection, or coincidence? You can try what I did, and look up both terms at Wikipedia. Each phrase has several meanings or interpretations.
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FOREVER PEOPLE #4 / Sep’71 – “THE KINGDOM OF THE DAMNED”
The last time we saw the Forever People, they were rendered unconscious and hauled away to Desaad’s concentration camp. The cover of FP #4 marks the 2nd time the phrase “Kirby’s Fourth World” appears on a cover. It’s folowed by, “Meet DESAAD! He KNOWS what he is—and LOVES it!!” It makes it sound like it’s his first appearance, but he’s already appeared in FP #2, NEW GODS #2 and FP #3 (which leads directly into this). The cover shows the teenagers being dumped into some sort of prison, by a pair of armored guards (who are, for visual interest, done with a “color hold” effect), as Desaad watches.
For once, the story title appears right at the top of page 1, though it may not be immediately obvious, as it’s part of a block of narration. We witness a group of innocent people who’ve been kidnapped from their homes in the previous issue, crowded together in a cell, while they pound their fists against a glass window and yell for help. In a jarring 2-page spread, we find the reason no one notices them is that their image is being distorted by the glass—and the window is part of a garish, cheerful display at an amusement park, named “HAPPYLAND”, filled with innocent paying customes, all unaware that the attraction hides a sinister secret. All the while, the entire scene in turn is watched over on a huge screen (which frames the 2-page panel) by Desaad’s technical crew.
Darkseid arrives via one of the rectangular hovercraft used to transport victims last time, and his craft landing and his stepping out as Desaad’s troops bow before him is very similar to the scene in RETURN OF THE JEDI when Darth Vader arrived at the 2nd Death Star to supervise its completion.
Page 5, as usual for Jack by this time, is where the story rerally starts, this time with a close-up of his 5 young heroes, and a lot of narrative text. The large blank BLACK area at the bottom suggests to me that someone in the lettering or production departments FORGOT to include the STORY TITLE!! Oddly enough, the “Forever People” logo at the top of the page is rather similar to the 4th “FANTASTIC FOUR” logo, the one used when George Perez was on the book.
Jack spends the next 2 pages filling us in on what happened last time, before the guards enter and use “vertigo grenades” to once again subdue their captives. The next several pages are among the most impressive of the issue, as Darkseid watches Desaad attempt to “murder” a Mother Box. The result is, it vanishes! Desaad insists it disintegrated, in effect, comitted suicide. But Darkseid points out that they hae no way to be sure! He decides to leave then, as, “When one campaigns for control of all living creatures, he DOESN’T stop to toy with a FEW!” He then brazenly walks thru Happyland, in full view of the paying customers, and proudly tells a father whose young grand-daughter is frightened by him that, despite the man’s doubts, “NO, Grandpa! I’m the REAL thing! All young humans RECOGNIZE the real thing when they see it. But you elders hide me with “COCK AND BULL” stories to keep the premises smelling sweet!” After the man and child have run off, he continues. “And still, the cosmic joke ELUDES him!! For how can he cope with me—by shunning me—HIS OTHER FACE.” And he laughs. Deep stuff, no doubt open to much interpretation.
The rest of the book is taken up with Desaad putting each of the young heroes thru their paces, as he presents various mental tortures designed to break down their defenses and possibly reveal the Anti-Life Equation, if it exists within them. This goes on until page 22, where we switch to somewhere else. The vanished Mother Box materializes out of thin air, and is found by a stocky, bald, Asian character, who senses the box somehow radiates awareness—and life—and is calling out for help! As Jack tells us, “You won’t forget his name, friends! He is what happens next to the FOREVER PEOPLE! Meet SONNY SUMO, The Banzai Express!” Yep. We’ve just run into the first 3-parter in the epic, and we’ll have to wait ‘til next time to see how this awful situation turns out.
This is the month DC expanded to 25 pages, and in addition to a Sandman And Sandy The Golden Boy reprint from ADVENTURES COMICS #85 (Apr’43), Jack has included 3 pin-ups: The Forever People, Beautiful Dreamer and Darkseid, and The Infinity Man! Spiffy.
As for the art... fine-looking issue, although as usual, I’m convinced there’s at least 2 different inkers on this, the other one possibly being Frank McLaughlin, who appears to have done the cover, pages 1, 6, 9-12, 15, and 17-18, with Colletta doing the rest. The difference in quality (and in some cases, STYLE) is just too noticeable. And if it WAS all the work of one guy, well, he wasn’t being very consistent, quality-wise.
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NEW GODS #4 / Sep’71 – “O’RYAN GANG AND THE DEEP SIX”
Not long before this issue came out, DC published a pair of B&W magazines put together by Jack Kirby—IN THE DAYS OF THE MOB, and SPIRIT WORLD. This was (more or less) around the same time that Marvel also took a brief, tentative stab at the B&W magazine market with SAVAGE TALES. Both companies backed off after only one issue apiece, due to spotty distribution. However, Jack may have really enjoyed returning to “CRIME” comics, a genre he excelled in back in the late 40’s while working at Hillman and Crestwood, in such series as REAL CLUE CRIME STORIES, PRIZE COMICS, HEADLINE COMICS, and JUSTICE TRAPS THE GUILTY. The cover of NG #4 seems a cross between the crime and superhero genres, and spotlights “The O’Ryan’s Mob and the Deep Six!”
But the story opens, surprisingly, with a 4-page sequence in which Metron, the cold, detached scientist with the flying time-and-space machine “Mobius Chair”, is taking a young boy from New Genesis, Esak, on a visit to a prehistoric planet inhabited by both dinosaurs and warring ape-like humanoids. It’s like a scene out of Kirby’s later 2001 series. The pair return home just in time for High-Father to inform them that “The war to keep Apokalips from Earth goes badly! ONE OF US HAS FALLEN!”
Sure enough, on Earth, police are pulling the body of “Seagrin”, an apparently-aquatic denizen of New Genesis, out of the river. They’re interrupted by the arrival of P.I. Dave Linoln—and Orion, who gives an improptu eulogy from his fallen comrade, then steps back as the entire pier erupts in an explosion and fireball, as Seagrin’s Mother Box “takes him to—THE SOURCE!” As they depart, the cops see what they fail to—“leaping from the heart of the flames”—The Black Racer. Death has called again. He returns to Willie Lincoln’s apartment and sick-bed, where his sister is confused by the smoke and fumes his return has caused.
Unseen by all at the pier is its “EVIL ARCHITECT”—Darkseid. “Oh, how heroes LOVE to flaunt their nobility in the face of DEATH! Yet THEY know better than most that war is but the COLD game of the BUTCHER!”
Back at Lincoln’s apartment, Orion tells his new friends that Mother Box has computed that an “instrument” is shielding from her the movements of all those from Apokalips—and Inter-Gang is guarding it. He proposes they pose as a rival gang to infiltrate and find it, and suits up, in a scene not very unlike when Stallone prepared for battle as RAMBO. I’m afraid some of the dialogue of the Earth-people in this scene strikes me as VERY awkward and unnatural. It’s one thing to have alien gods from a planet in some other dimension speaking in a highly-stylized fashion—that fits. But normal people from New York City is a different matter. “But I’m Victor Lanza! An insurance executive!” He says this as if the other people in the room haven’t already known him for some time. “I’m CLAUDIA SHANE, simple but worried secretary! What am I involved in this time?—“ “And me, young but cool, HARVEY LOCKMAN!” Say what?? Critics of Kirby have complained about his writing for decades now. I really enjoy most of it, but there are rare instances—like these—where just the smallest amount of fine-tuning might have really helped.
“O’Ryan’s Gang” accosts a lowly Inter-Gang member, “Snaky Doyle”, telling him they’re moving in on his territory—then, follow him back to an old mansion perched on a cliff above the ocean. With the help of some paralyzing gas to get rid of the lookouts, Lanza goes in, posing as O’Ryan’s money-man. Unimpressed, the leader of the local branch, “Country Boy”, foolishly decides to show off the “Jammer”—a large computer-like device hidden behind a wall. At that moment, Orion reveals himself, flies in and TAKES OUT the Jammer. With it destroyed, Mother Box can now track the invaders from Apokalips—and he quickly follows a hidden tunnel down into the ocean, where he confronts “SLIG! Dog of Apokalips!” –the leader of The Deep Six (another clever name with a double-meaning). But before Orion can do anything, he’s ensnared by huge tentacles, while Slig reminds him they have the power to “MUTATE organic sea life so it does our BIDDING!” Orion’s Astro-Force barely allows him ot escape, however... “what he SEES when he wheels to attack is the SHOCKING, MIND-SHATTERING threat which The Deep Six have kept secret! WHAT DOES ORION FACE? IT HAS DESTROYED A GOD—AND THREATENS THE ENTIRE EARTH! DON’T MISS SPAWN”
Wow! And so, we begin on the Fourth World’s 1st 3-parter. This first expanded issue also features pin-ups of Lightray and Kalibak, plus reprints of the Manhunter story from ADVENTURE COMICS #73 (Apr’42), and “Coast Guard Reconnaissance” from BOY COMMANDOS #12 (Fall 1945).
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JIMMY OLSEN #142 / Oct’71 – “THE MAN FROM TRANSILVANE!”
“It’s the VAMPIRE bit! But like you’ve never seen it before!” --it says here. No kidding. On the cover, Supes faces the GOOFIEST-looking “vampire” ever seen, while a really, REALLY shaggy-looking “werewolf” is pawing poor Jimmy. It’s a JIMMY OLSEN comic, after all, not HOUSE OF SECRETS—or CREEPY. Hey—SUPER FRIENDS should have been THIS good.
A bit of background... the Comics Code DEMASCULATED comics in the mid-50’s, and between it and the “witch-hunt” that spawned it, nearly destroyed an entire once-thriving industry. Well, 15 years had come and gone, and it was decided to make some changes in the Code. One of those changes was to allow vampires, werewolves, mummies, and the like, all figures of “horror” which, originally, the Code had been apparently designed to stamp out! (They still refused to allow zombies—you had to draw the line somewhere, you see.) And so, there was a mad race by both Marvel & DC to be the FIRST to feature a vampire. Marvel had planned a DRACULA comic, and Gene Colan wanted it real bad. With the Code prohibiting vampires, it was planned as a B&W magazine. But when the Code was revised, and with the initial failure of SAVAGE TALES, they changed their plans, and decided to make it a regular color comic instead. However, the art needed to be re-formatted, and somehow, it must have seemed easier to put together a vampire story somewhere else.
Thus it was that while Stan Lee took a vacation from writing for a few months, Roy Thomas stepped in with “A Monster Called... Morbius!” in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #101 (Oct’71). He just barely beat Jack Kirby (And DC) to the punch by a month or two (as I’ve realized, Marvel’s cover dates were 1 or 2 months ahead of DCs). Marvel’s TOMB OF DRACULA #1 finally debuted 6 months later, with an Apr’72 cover date. The writing was AWFUL—at first. The art was INCREDIBLE. Eventually, the writing would catch up. But that’s another story.
If Morbius was a “superhero” version of a vampire, Count Dragorin was more like a Saturday morning cartoon version-- like something you might see on SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? This comparison is quite valid, because you see, Jack Kirby, as possibly the single most creative person the comics biz has ever seen, had this amazing ability to take any idea, no matter how mundane, no matter how derivitive, and do something innovative and unexpected with it. And so it was here. As Jack puts it right on page 1, “But WAIT!!!!—Your writer advises you to expect something MORE than the same old routine”. See?
“The night is the SAME on any world, eh, Lupek?!! Ahead lies the city—and the ONE we seek!!” This is one strange-looking vampire—and strange, period, as beams shoot out from his eyes and strike the sleeping Laura Conway—leaving twin punctures in her neck. That’s not how Bela Lugosi used to operate!
The next day, Clark & Jimmy are once more being put off by Laura when they try to see Morgan Edge (who still has a lot to answer for, namely, trying to kill BOTH of them). But they sense something is wrong—her face has changed, her make-up has gotten weird, he teeth have become POINTED—and after she collapses, Clark, holding her in his arms, notices she’s not casting a reflection in a mirror! So when a BAT flies in thru the window, they’re not exactly surprised when someone calling himself “Count Dragorin of Transilvane” materializes in front of them. After using his power to knock Clark & Jimmy senseless, the Count awakens Laura, and begins asking of her the whereabouts of one Dabney Donovan, who Laura used to work for. All she knows is the NASA Science Research Center, which Dragorin suspects must have “records, files—a trail!!” “Donovan is an evil, clever one! But I’LL hunt him down!” Laura says she never met her previous boss, and only knew him by a voice on an answering machine. Just then Clark lunges, but Dragorin vanishes in a puff of smoke, leaving Laura her completely her old self again.
What follows must have surprised EVERYONE who read this comic originally. Clark & Jimmy go to the Research Center, long closed-down since its heydey in the 50’s (back when they made science-fiction horror movies more than old-fashioned horror movies). Their specialty was “simulating conditions that might be found to exist on other planets”, or, “reproduce the atmosphere of Mars—right HERE ON EARTH!” I never picked up on what Jack was doing until I read this the 2nd time. Following a battle with Lupek, in which Supes appears and save Jimmy’s life, the pair sift thru the leftover ruins of a lab and file room. Supes explains “Anything that involves the SAFETY of man—involves ME!!” He goes on to say, “Dabney Donovan is the closest thing to a MAD scientist that we have!” Supes knows Donovan had a rep for hiding things in plain sight, and on a photograph of an alien planet, “Transilvane”, finds, like a micro-dot, a note about “Bloodmoor” being destroyed on a certain date. As it happens, Bloodmoor is a cemetery, and racing there, they brifly spot Dragorin. In a hidden room underneath a mausoleum, they also find—incredibly—“A SMALL PLANET! WELCOME TO TRANSILVANE, JIMMY!” And there, before them, is a miniature planet, about 20 feet in diameter, with what looks like film cameras—or projectors—aimed at it. The planet itself must be EVIL, too—‘cause it’s got HORNS!
Now allow me to explain what, to me, is the obvious inspiration for all this. A few years back, I was watching episodes of THE OUTER LIMITS on late-night cable, and ran across one I’m not sure I ever saw before—“WOLF 359”. From the IMDB: “A scientist creates a tiny model of another solar system's planet, seeding it with life, to study planetary development. The miniaturization allows the simulation's evolution to advance much faster. A ghostly bat-like creature hovers on the in-closed model watching the humans, while emitting waves of fear terrifying them.” By the wildest coincidence, I was also reading my copy of JIMMY OLSEN ADVENTURES, and the very next day, I got to THIS story!! I couldn’t believe it. A lot of Kirby fans are well aware of how, late in his run of FANTASTIC FOUR, he did stories inspired by THE PRISONER, and STAR TREK episodes “A Piece Of The Action” and “The Gamesters of Triskellion”. And here, so blatent, so obvious I can’t believe nobody has ever mentioned it before, was a tribute to a 2nd-season OUTER LIMITS episode. In many ways, this almost feels like it could be a SEQUEL to it!!
I mean look at this. You’ve got the research center, the miniature planet, the cameras pointed at it, the “bat-like creature”. And if that wasn’t enough, are you ready for this? One of the actors who appeared in it was DABNEY Coleman!!!
I bet nobody reading this comic expected it to start with Bram Stoker and wind up with Seeleg Lester (he wrote WOLF 359).
Meanwhile, in a completely unrelated sub-plot, The Newboy Legion reach the end of the underground river, find an opening with the help of Flippa-Dippa, discover a cylindrical elevator, and come up in the still-underground hideout of some gangland type, who, while talking on the phone (talk about INCREDIBLE timing), reveals that HE’s the one who shot and killed Jim Harper (the original Guardian). WHAT ARE THE ODDS??? Honest, the way the Newsboys sub-plots are plotted, Kirby’s entire run of JIMMY OLSEN feels like one SINGLE storyline, rather than several smaller ones. Which kinda makes it tough to fit it in with any of the other Superman books.
You know, this issue actually LOOKS to me like the whole thing was inked by Vince Colletta... except for the Clark, Supes & Jimmy faces by Murphy Anderson, and the Superman figure on the cover by Neal Adams. Oh, and the rest of the cover was clearly inked by Mike Royer—who, shortly, was to REPLACE Colletta on the bulk of the Fourth World books.
There’s a 2-page back-up, “Strange Stories Of The D.N.A. PROJECT!!”, this one, ““HAIRIE SECRETS REVEALED!!!” isn’t so much a story as a feature detailing The Hairies, The Mountain Of Judgement, and The Wild Area. This issue’s reprint back-up stars The Newsboy Legion and The Guardian in “LAST MILE ALLEY”, from STAR SPANGLED COMICS # 8 (May’42).
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MISTER MIRACLE #4 / Oct’71 – “THE CLOSING JAWS OF DEATH”
“SEE IT!! In the heart of a great city—a medieval DEATH TRAP!!!” On the cover, we see Scott, in what looks like an ancient dungeon, bound by ropes and chains, and standing inside an iron maiden, whose spikes-laden lid is about to be slammed shut on him—and INTO him! Yikes!! But oddly enough, this hardly prepares you for what’s inside...
At the house, Oberon worries about Scott. Suddenly, an amazon-like armored warrior woman appears, claiming to be a friend. “I’m not so bad! –a little ROUGH, maybe—but once you get to KNOW me—I can be a real PUSSYCAT!” “The kind that stalks you in a JUNGLE, I’ll bet!” She reveals she’s “Barda!! Of DARKSEID’s female task force!” “Maybe a sandwich and some milk will make you purr! How come you’re all so MEAN?” When Oberon mentions Doctor Bedlam, Barda becomes very concerned, and uses her Mega-Rod to teleport herself to the office building where Scott is trapped inside a trunk that’s plunging 50 floors down an open stairway.
Incredibly, Barda catches the trunk, then tears it open with her bare hands—but is surprised to find Scott is no longer inside! Still tied up, he greets her from one of the balconies above, but is quickly grabbed by more of the crazed tenants of the building, intent on his death. Before long, he runs across a movie studio shooting a historical film, and is shoved into an iron maiden, complete with spikes. Barda uses her Mega-Rod to jet upward to the studio floor, and tries to rescue Scott, only to find he’s escaped another trap by himself.
Despite her amazing strength and tough demeanor, it’s clear Barda cares a lot for Scott, and was involved in his escape from Granny Goodness’ orphanage. “There’s lots to talk about, Barda—that is—IF we walk out of this building in ONE PIECE!” Instead of more raving maniacs, the pair find themselves confronting Bedlam himself, in pure energy form. And then, abruptly, they show up back at Oberon’s house, alive and intact. Scott explains how Barda helped him escape “Granny’s institution”, to which Oberon replies, “If you ask me, it would have done the girl a world of IMPROVEMENT if she’d left with you, Scott!” Barda seems ready to clobber Oberon, but Scott tells her, “This is a house of FRIENDS, BARDA! The strong DON’T rule here!”
Later, as the pair prepare dinner, Scott lays out a few hints about how he may have escaped the various death traps. Meanwhile, Oberon’s concerned about their new guest. “That female “ATTILA THE HUN” has really taken over here, Scott! If she decides to stay-—t may seem very IMPROPER—“ “Oh, Barda’s all right! She’s just a CHILD, you know! A POWERFUL, DEADLY child—playing soldier!” Scott doesn’t see her enter, wearing a revealing bikini whose style would not be out of place in a SINBAD movie. “What’s for CHOW, boys? Mmmff! Smells GOOD! In fact, it looks GREAT! Let’s EAT! I’m hungry as a BEAR!” “I take it all BACK, OBERON! That’s a big, BEAUTIFUL WOMAN playing soldier!” “Whoever made that gal wear a UNIFORM should be HORSE-WHIPPED!”
No question—this is my favorite issue of MISTER MIRACLE so far. Jack may have started this series out slow—setting the foundation for what was to come—but in the last 3 issues, he’s revealed details about Scott’s background, showed us the fiend that doubled as his warden and teacher—and now, very surprisingly, shown us a close friend who may prove much more. I have to admit, the first time I read these issues, I raced thru them too fast, and the impact they might have had was blunted further by comparisons with the late-70’s revival series by Englehart and Rogers, then Gerber and Golden. So it’s nice, especially after having read ABOUT these stories for decades now, to finally go back and re-read them, in sequence, from the beginning, and see everything from a much fresher perspective.
One big thing I wasn’t aware of in the old days was that Jack based Barda on a real person—singer & actress Lainie Kazan. It seems she appeared NUDE in the October 1970 issue of PLAYBOY, and that inspired Jack to create a character based on her. As it happens, just about a week before writing this review, I watched the movie LADY IN CEMENT again, where she appeared as a go-go dancer. While not that tall, she had a VERY voluptuous figure, and almost made Raquel Welch (who appeared in the same film) look like a BOY by comparison! With her mixed Russian Jewish and Turkish Jewish background, she had a very unusual look, and Jack became very concerned that whoever was inking the book NOT change her face to make her look “generic pretty”, but to keep the face Jack drew her with intact. I don’t blame him! Althought I’d seen the 1968 film way back, I first became aware of Kazan when she played the recurring role of “Aunt Frieda” on THE NANNY. If I hadn’t read about her, I might never have made the connection, as she changed a LOT over the years, including her voice. Anyway, it figures that Jack would cast a Jewish gal as his own version of a “Wonder Woman”!
This time around, the first 15 pages look like Vince Colletta’s inks to me. But after that, it’s either Giordano, McLaughlin, or Janson—or someone whose style looks a lot like that. Of especially bizarre note is page 16, where the figures are covered in so many shadows, facial features are completely blanked out. I mention this because Keith Giffen, that chameleonic goofball who includes Kirby in his repertoire of artists whose styles he’s done takes on, spent a couple of years doing a style that seems to have been based on this ONE dark, murky, UGLY page! (Somebody STOP that loony before he pencils again!!!)
On the letters page, Richard Morrissey complains about Jack giving Granny Goodness such an “imbecilic” name, while Mark Gruenwald, later to become an editor known for his outspoken attitudes and belief that he and only he knew the one and only “right” way to do comics, urges that DC make sure it keeps Jack’s universe “incorporated into the rest of the DC world”. Decades later, it’s all too easy to realize how this narrow attitude has done untold damage to countless series.
This issue’s reprints are “PIRATE OR PATRIOT?” from REAL FACT COMICS #1 (Mar’46) and the Boy Comandos story, “THE ROMANCE OF RIP CARTER” from DETECTIVE COMICS #82 (Dec’43). The latter is the one that features the bomber plane named “Rosalind K.”
[ July 09, 2011, 09:07 AM: Message edited by: profh0011 ]
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LOIS LANE #115 / Oct’71 – “MY DEATH ...BY LOIS LANE”
Kirby trivia question: who was the 2nd artist to draw The Black Racer? TIME’S UP! It was Werner Roth. No, really!
Lois visits Ray & Verna Johnson, in Metropolis’ “Little Africa”, saying she’s proud to help care for Verna’s brother Willie Walker, who was paralyzed while serving his country. As soon as they leave... Willie transforms into The Black Racer—“the one who is... DEATH!” – as he has another mission to carry out.
Meanwhile, Morgan Edge secretly gives Lois a new typewriter, which comes with a gift card that reads, “From a secret admirer—guaranteed to type scoops only”. To her astonishment, somehow, she’s compelled to type on it, and the result predicts someone’s death—which then comes to be! First a man plunged off a bridge, then a woman is found exphixiated in her apartment. Each time we see The Black Racer on the scene. Before long, Lois is drawn to the typewriter again—and seems to see tiny skulls where each of the keys are. This time, she types out her own obituary! She feels only Superman can save her, but he’s in the Arctic on a mission. Since her death is supposed to take place in her apartment, she goes to a movie theatre, intent on staying there until the time of her predicted death has passed. But a fire breaks out at the theatre, Lois is knocked out—and when she comes to, someone has brought her back to her apartment!
It’s at this point we learn the typewriter is part of an Inter-Gang plot, was created by scientists on Apokalips, and is part of a scheme to destroy Superman! (Well there had to be SOME logical reason for all this... however complex and convoluted.)
Fortunately, though groggy from the smoke, Lois is able to let Superman know about the typewriter. Sure enough, HE’s drawn to it, and it types his own obituary—from an explosion in Lois’ apartment. He suddenly realizes the obituaries typed so far had used every letter on the keyboard except “J”—and he was supposed to type a story about the fire at the Jewel Theatre. He quickly flies up and hurls the typewriter into the upper atmosphere, where it explodes harlmessly. Comforting Lois back at her apartment, Superman swears he’ll find the killer responsible. Meanwhile the Racer returns home, and to being Willie again.
It seems like other writers tried to incorporate some of Jack Kirby’s characters and concepts into their stories, but so far, at least in LOIS LANE, Robert Kanigher just isn’t cutting it.
Kanigher does it twice in this same issue. The Rose And The Thorn story, “THE COMPUTER CROOKS, PART I” involves a plot by Morgan Edge to “use” both Lois Lane and The Thorn to wreck “The 100” so he can secretly take over the city’s rackets. I’d say more, but having just read the story, the thing is so convoluted and confusing, it hardly seems worth it. Suffice to say it involves, among other things, a robot named “K.A.R.L.1” built of the same “living” technology used in Mother Boxes, and Poison Ivy. Dick Giordano’s art is nice, but as usual, Kanigher’s writing just does NOTHING for me.
Two reprints this time: Lady Danger in “THE SHAKESPEARE CLUE” from SENSATION COMICS #84 (Dec’48), art by Bob Oksner, and Lois Lane, Girl Reporter, in a story where she tries to save a heart-broken man from jumping off a building, from SUPERMAN #28 (May’44). It really says something about DC in general when stories from the 1940’s have more life, pep and general interest in them than “modern” stories from the early 70’s. I can’t help but note that Bob Oksner’s art reminds me a lot of several other artists’ work from the same period, including Carmine Infantino, Alex Toth and Frank Robbins, which tells me it must have been considered DC’s “house style” of the late 40’s.
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JIMMY OLSEN #143 / Nov’71 – “GENOCIDE SPRAY!”
Filling in for “Control Voice” Vic Perrin, Kirby says it better than I could... “Of all the early involvement in aero-space technology, the one most OVER-LOOKED was “E.T.A.S.” (EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL ATMOSPHERIC SIMULATION!) In charge of it was one DABNEY DONOVAN!! A NEVER-SEEN, brilliant, WILD, WILD scientist! Forgetting him was a mistake!! FOR WHAT DABNEY HATH WROUGHT MUST NOT BE RENT ASUNDER!! OR MILLIONS WILL DIE FROM “GENOCIDE SPRAY!”
In a hidden chamber below a crypt in Bloodmoor Cemetery, Supes & Jimmy confront an unexpected sight. As Jimmy says, “Even LOOKING at it is a sensation with NO known frame of reference”. Kirby continues, “Well, now, dear reader! In this NEW era of REMOTE experimentation and ENLARGED bureaucracy, turn the page and see what the taxpayer’s money can pay for—in the day of the TRILLION DOLLAR NATIONAL PRODUCT!” “And HERE IT IS, FRIENDS!! Why bother experimenting with duplicating the ATMOSPHERE of another world—when you can get the money to duplicate ANOTHER WORLD?” As Superman observes, “TRANSILVANE! A REAL world—upon which REAL people have evolved! Only Dabney Donovan’s people look like the cast in a VAMPIRE movie!!” “Maybe those ORBITING CAMERAS have something to do with that!” Kirby replies, “You can BET your Aunt Mamie’s double-dyed doiles they have!! And that’s because scientists are HUMAN BEINGS!! And it’s when they play “GOD”—that human beings make their WORST mistake!!”
Talk about “high concept”. Even working on a book with a long tradition of being among DC’s lamest, JIMMY OLSEN, Jack Kirby threw in everything but the kitchen sink when it came to wild, unrestrained imaginative ideas. Really makes Robert Kanigher’s efforts in LOIS LANE seem EVEN LAMER than they already were, doesn’t it?
Who but Kirby would do a story combining elements of an overlooked 2nd-season episode of THE OUTER LIMITS with a tribute to 1930’s and 40’s Universal horror monsters? Jimmy & Supes confront creatures resembling Dracula, the Frankenstein monster, the Wolf Man, Kharis the Mummy, Luna Mora (from MARK OF THE VAMPIRE) and the Executioner (from TOWER OF LONDON). And as usual with Kirby, he does it with an original twist.
The “monsters”, it turns out, are desperate to save their world and the lives of everyone on it. A truly “mad” scientist, Dabney Donovan created the miniature world of Transilvane, as well as those living on it—and by use of movie projectors casting images from old horror movies onto its atmosphere, caused them to evolve into the likeness of characters from the films. But he now desires to wipe the slate clean for a new experiment... except, the test-subjects he gave life to don’t want to DIE just because he’s bored and ready to move on. After being mistaken for an ally of Donovan, Supes manages to convince them of his sincerity in time to save the day from a flying, robotic “Demon Dog” armed with enough acid to wipe out all life on the miniaturized planet. Afterwards, the grateful denizens return home, via flying, shrinking coffins, and Supes replaces the horror movies in the projectors with something he hopes will bring a new tone to the planet... the musical OKLAHOMA.
This is the 3rd time I’ve read these JO stories, and only now is it occuring to me that in the “Transilvane” story, Jack managed to combine the themes of genetic experimentation he’d already explored in his Captain America stories in TALES OF SUSPENSE and his first 6 issues of JIMMY OLSEN with the longer-standing concept of the “Bottle City of Kandor” which became such an integral part of Mort Weisinger’s expanded SUPERMAN mythos of the 1960’s. In those stories, the miniaturized residents of an equally-tiny alien city, more and more as time went by, would grow to full size and have adventures in our world, before shrinking back to to return home. Combining this with the Universal monsters and the relatively-obscure “WOLF 359” episode of OUTER LIMITS made for one wild, roller-coaster ride of a story. The biggest surprise, for me, was the NON-appearance of Dabney Donovan, who was referred to throughout. He made frequent, increasingly-annoying appearances in Karl Kesel & Tom Grummett’s much-later 2nd run of SUPERBOY, much of which was inspired by and designed as a tribute to Kirby.
By comparison, the Newsboy Legion sub-plot, where they confront the killer of Jim Harper (who comes to a fitting end, blown to bits by an Inter-Gang bomb), seems superfluous and intrusive. Maybe the Newsboys should have been given their own spin-off back-up feature, so the two plots would not feel like they’re getting in the way of each other.
Back-ups this time include another installment of Strange Stories Of The D.N.A. Project, “THE ALIEN THING!!!”, about the very first result of their genetic experiments; and another Newsboy Legion reprint, “THE ROOKIE TAKES THE RAP”, from STAR SPANGLED COMICS #9 (Jun’42).
On the letters page, Gerald Triano says, “I went into near-convulsive hysteria. Don Rickles is my favorite master of insult, and I can’t wait till he appears next issue. Everything about Goody was appealing, from his references to John Wayne to that ridiculous costume.” However, future Marvel hotshot editor Mark Gruenwald said, “I am not amused. To say that JIMMY OLSEN #139 was a letdown is an understatement. To say I can’t believe Kirby would foist such an atrocious tale on his literate reading public is putting it mildly. To say that Kirby has betrayed my confidence in the fertility of his imagination is sad but true. The story in JO #139 was self-parodying, which is one of the worst possible sins for a serious fantasy comic. In the seventh Kirby-produced issue, Jack seems to be saying, “I don’t take my comic magazines seriously. They’re just a joke to me.” If the creator doesn’t take his work seriously, how can we be expected to?” It’s pretty obvious to me that this over-opinionated person doesn’t “get” that Jack was writing a COMEDY. Sheesh. He probably never read an issue of JERRY LEWIS in his life, either.
The inks this time looks to be Vince Colletta throughout, apart from the usual Murphy Anderson Superman & Jimmy heads, and possibly page 10, which looks like either a different hand (McLaughlin?), or, a REALLY bad stat. The cover was inked by Mike Royer, who was announced as taking over the 3 main Fourth World books this month, but not this one.
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FOREVER PEOPLE #5 / Nov’71 – “SONNY SUMO”
“To oppose the power of evil gods—Mother Box finds the most incredible man on Earth!! SONNY SUMO!! For the first time!!! See THE ANTI-LIFE EQUATION in ACTION!” Whoa. With a teaser like that, how could I not be all worked up to read this?
Somewhere, muscle-bound “Sonny Sumo” prepares to do battle with “Sugatai”—a ten-foot-tall ROBOT. Al Fisher, a fight promoter, wonders, “It’s a good gimmick! But is there a SHOW in it?” It seems one-sided—in fact it seems downright SUICIDAL. And yet, after an absolutely incredible, astounding fight, Sonny Sumo emerges triumphant. Thru the sheer power of concentration and will, he causes serious injuries to vanish... at least, until it’s all over, then he has his manager call for a doctor. But before he arrives, the Mother Box that appeared in Sonny’s dressing room activates again, and permanently heals his wounds via atomic restructuring. It communicates with him, informs him of who (or what) it is, and that he’s needed. And then... the two VANISH from sight!
Back at Happyland Amusement Park, Desaad has all 5 Forever People completely in his power, and is taking great pleasure in dishing out his own brand of mental torture. He doesn’t even seem interested in finding what his lord desires anymore, he just seems to be doing it for its own sake. Until Sonny & Mother Box arrive, and one by one, rescue the teenagers from their predicaments. His equipment failing, Desaad quickly fathoms a Mother Box is at the root of it, and angered that he failed to destroy it earlier, decides to MURDER his prisoners, so it will self-destruct.
Things look really bleak, as our heroes are corned by an entire squad of Desaad’s armed, armored soldiers. Until, suddenly, still holding Mother Box, which begins smoldering, Sonny tells them, “LOWER YOUR WEAPONS!!” Then, with a crackling of energy, “SLEEP!” With that one word, the entire squad DROPS to the floor—UNCONSCIOUS! Seriafin & Vykin quickly note, “The OUTSIDE CONTROL of the mind!” “And we’ve just seen it HAPPEN! HE HAS THE POWER!” Big Bear continues, “Yes! Mother Box sought out and FOUND the man with the power! This man knows the ANTI-LIFE EQUATION! This man can control ALL living beings!” But Sonny is confused, and has no idea what they’re talking about. Beautiful Dreamer & Mark Moonrider explain, “Why, the very OPPOSITE of living! If someone possesses ABSOLUTE control over you—you’re not really alive!” “Without independant will—you may just as well be a ROBOT!”
Mark suggests the Equation is hidden deep in Sonny’s mind, and Mother Box helped bring it to the surface. Big Bear realizes that Sonny will now be at the top of Desaad’s “capture” list, and Vykin suggests they all get to know each other. As Big Bear explains their only objective is to live the way they choose, and stop the forces who won’t let them. Mark suggests they begin by freeing the rest of Desaad’s prisoners.
Not far away, Desaad and Darkseid watch & listen. “You know, Desaad, I must admit they have a point! We MUST be what we ARE! And of course—that’s the pity of it. It’s the very core of our conflict! To FULFILL ourselves—we must KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM! AND TAKE SUMO! I want the Anti-Life Equation!”
According to Jack, “What happens next will astound you! I’ve seen it—and I’m STILL shaking! In the Next Issue!! The OMEGA EFFECT!” Wow.
Re-reading all these stories, one at a time, carefully, in sequence, the development seen in this issue feels like it’s come at a perfectly natural stage of the game. I’ve seen too many “epics” where nothing ever seems to get anywhere—“problem-based” series where the writers are forever dancing in circles, held back by the knowledge that, if you ever “solve the problem”, the series will be over. I think that’s what sets Kirby’s Fourth World epic apart from most. He fully intended to work toward an ENDING, so the longer it went on, the more things developed. This was quite common in Japanese TV shows, and Patrick McGoohan managed it (almost by accident) in THE PRISONER. Even THE FUGITIVE reached a finale, despite its premise being dragged on at least a year or two longer than it should have (and the ending coming only when someone realized that nobody wanted to do yet another season). Glen Larson’s BATTLESTAR GALACTICA was another series that, to my shock on first seeing it, actually did evolve and develop as it went. That show has in common with Kirby’s story that, in both cases, they were cancelled before their creators were able to finish the story.
The characters and situations in Kirby’s epic have been revived—repeatedly—since its initial cancellation, but unfortunately, NOBODY seems to realize the initial story was meant to have a definite ENDING, and so they keep spinning more pointless episodes out, to no end, to no purpose, except to sell more books that usually aren’t even worth reading.
This issue contains the back-up, The Young Gods Of Supertown—“INTRODUCING LONAR”. “In all of New Genesis, HE alone shuns the satellite city and WANDERS continuously among the natural wonders of the mother world!!” Quite surprisingly, this includes the ruins of a city apparently left behind by the Old Gods, destroyed in the wake of the Great conflict. As Jack puts it, “the unbelievable survival of a small place of the Elder Gods!!” No kidding. My impression from NEW GODS #1 was that the entire planet was turned into a smoldering fireball, and SPLIT in two, to cool and form two NEW planets. For anything to be left intact, even in rubble, from that, is kind of mind-boggling. And among the ruins, Lonar finds the broken half of a sword—and, most curiously, a WINGED HELMET. Gee—where have we seen THAT before??? Lonar’s Mother Box locates something in the ruins, and generates small shock waves to free it. Abruptly, there’s an explosion of energy, and from it, a “Battle horse” emerges—alive—and Lonar mounts it and escape from a firey blaze the explosion started.
An all-too-brief episode (4 pages), with wonderous images and ideas. Where will this go? One can only wonder, as Kirby seems to have so many inter-related concepts to bring out, and slowly develop as time goes by.
I have to say it looksd like at LEAST 3 different inkers worked on this issue’s lead story (again). Some of it looks like “typical” Colletta, some of MUCH sharper, but then there’s the splash page, which looks like a much “softer” hand—it appears the entire page was done with a brush, not a pen. I’d almost guess page 1 was the work of Joe Rubinstein, exscept this was 6 years before I ever saw his work. Still, you never know. The back-up story, truth to tell, looks like a 4th inker’s hand was involved, a bit rougher, cruder than anything else in the book. And then of course, the cover was inked by Mike Royer. No mistaking that!
The Sandman And Sandy The Golden Boy reprint this time is “CRIME CARNIVAL”, from ADVENTURE COMICS #84 (Mar’43).
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NEW GODS #5 / Nov’71 – “SPAWN”
“2 super-beings locked in battle! 1 must die!” You know, if this was the cover of a Marvel Comic, that would turn out to be nothing but meaningless hype in the long run. NOT HERE.
For the 2nd issue in a row, the story opens with Metron out in deep space somewhere exploring. This time, he’s headed to “The Final Barrier”—“The Promethean Galaxy—the place of the giants!!” He finds two huge beings who, like himself, driven by insatiable hunger for knowledge, tried to pierce the “barrier” and reach The Source directly. As our narrator puts it, “There were others with Metron’s boldness and hunger!! THIS one tried to engult the barrier by enlarging his own atomic structure! What happened is NOT known! He FAILED! He drifts endlessly—LARGER than a star cluster—FUSED! LIVING! Taking a BILLION Earth years to feel one heartbeat!! And somewhere BEYOND—lies The Source! THE GREATEST OF MYSTERIES!!” If this is accurate, then in the impressive 2-page spread, Metron’s Mobius Chair is really in the foreground, not the background as it seems, and the giant is an infinite distance away from us, while it takes up our entire view. Metron ponders that The Source, while “serene—omnipotent—all-wise”—does “make contact with us—in New Genesis”—thru High-Father’s Staff (to which he returns at that moment). Wild stuff.
Back in New York, Dave Lincoln is watching a film of Orion in battle in the company of Police Detective Sergrant Turpin— who prefers the nbickname “Terrible Turpin”. Stocky, middle-aged, cigar-smoking, dressed in a pin-stripe suit and derby hat, he give new definition to the term “hardb-boiled”. Between the film, the evidence found at the waterfront house seen last issue, and the statement made by one of his men, seriously injured in the hospital from an encounter with “a BIG fish—with a face like BLUE GRANITE”—Turpin believes a GANG WAR has come to his city—one between “super-spooks”. As he tells two of his men, “Those old times are BACK! They just look a little WEIRDER, that’s all!!”
In Lincoln’s apartment, the foursome, relieved to have come out of their encounter intact, still wondering what they can really contribute to the cause, go their separate ways until they hear from Orion again.
Meanwhile, “far beneath the Inter-Gang hide-out, in a cavern leading to the sea”, we find Orion a prisoner of Slig, leader of The Deep Six. Held prisoner in the grip of a giant mutated clam-shell, Orion listens while Slig shows off their prowess with mutating sea creatures. But as soon as Slig walks off, Orion uses the Astro-Force to ESCAPE—and begins wreaking violent, brutal havoc among his enemies. First the mutant clam is destroyed—then a half-man/half-shark is taken out. He then finds a gigantic harness—empty—which housed the monstrous juggernaut created by The Deep Six.
While this is going on, Kalibak, huge, muscle-bound, ugly-as-sin, brutal, arrives in the city via Boom Tube. I guess he got tired of being left being on Apokalips by Darkseid.
In the cavern, Slig returns to find the bodies of his soldiers strewn all over the place. What follows is some of the BEST dialogue I’ve read from Kirby yet! “Only ORION could have caused this carnage! But HOW did that savage free himself!!” “COME IN, SLIG! I was just RECLAIMING my equipment! One of your mutates FINALLY volunteered to show me where it was stored!!!” (“Volunteered”—oh, I love that.) “Allowing you to LIVE was a MISTAKE, Orion!!!” “How RIGHT you are, Slig!!! I HAVEN’T enjoyed being your guest!! This blast of ASTRO-FORCE is just a HINT of my displeasure!!” “AAAAAAA” “ZOM!” “That- didn’t-- --finish me—off—Orion!! I’m still going to get my hands on you! – and, then!!-- Then---!!” “HAHAHAHAHAH!!! THAT’s the kind of talk I LIKE to hear, Slig!! Tell me!! Tell me how I will DIE at your hands!” “BLAMM!” “Your reply is SLOW in coming!! Perhaps you need a bit of URGING!! Talk, slig, TALK!! You seemed so FOND of it when I seemed to be at YOUR mercy!!! You dogs of Apokalips are ELOQUENT when destiny FAVORS you!” Great, great stuff! I was enjoying this so much, I wound up going back and reading the scene over OUT LOUD. I could just picture what Orion’s voice would sound like, going into berzerker mode.
Ripping off Slig’s helmet, he finds Slig’s Mother Box inside, which, under pressure, self-destructs. Slig, still barely alive, notes that Orion love of destruction has “forced” his true face from hiding—as the fierce visage we saw briefly in NEW GODS #3 has returned. “YOU’RE A MAD, TORMENTED ANIMAL, ORION!!” ‘I WOULD be, Slig!! I would be! –if it were not for the MOTHER BOX!! Mother Box PROTECTS me! She CALMS and RESTRUCTURES and keeps me PART of NEW GENESIS!!” “HAHAHA!! ORION IS HIS VERY OWN MONSTER!! HAHAHA!!!” Then, as Orion once more uses Mother Box to restore his “beautiful face”... “That revelation shall DIE with you, Slig! --for between beings of POWER like ourselves—there can only be ONE survivor!!!”
Slig tries to attack once more, but to no avail. “Once STIRRED in the fires of HATE and INNER FEAR, there’s no stopping the arrival of DEATH!!!” Orion lifts Slig above his head, then hurls him into the depths of the caves below. “It’s DONE! Slig has PAID the price he exacted from others! It’s time to see what the HANDS of his kin have MOLDED!!” In anyone else’s book, one might expect Slig to have survived this episode. NOT HERE. This is WAR, and Slig, who was responsible for the death of Seagrin before last issue began, now shares his fate.
Orion mounts his harness, and, underwater, goes in search of the still-unseen monster. The next page reveals all. “And at that moment, the THING spawned by the powers of the Deep Six hurls itself into view, like an ARMORED MOUNTAIN given angry life!! --easier to revive the DREADED myths which have TERRIFIED sea-men since ages lost!!!” In one collosal full-page shot, we see it. And boy, is this thing UGLY! Like a huge magenta-colored sperm whale, only with HORNS—lots of them—and a stone-like battering ram somehow protruding forward from under its mouth. YEESH!
This issue’s reprint is a Manhunter story, “SCAVENGER HUNT”, from ADVENTURE COMICS #74 (May’42). And all the way in the back, where you might almost miss it, is another Young Gods Of Supertown spotlight, “INTRODUCING FASTBAK!" It seems the Forever People aren’t the only young residents of the satellite city, as we meet “Fastbak”, whose obsession is using flying shoes to zip around town thru the air at high speeds and cause a lot of consternation among others. As one puts it, “GROWING UP is more of a trial to the ELDERS than the young!” Pursued by uniformed “Monitors” (clearly the police force of New Genesis), he’s soon joined by others of his age, each using their own outlandish flying vehicle to race about town. Its like a “beach party” movie has crossed paths with a science-fiction/fantasy film. However, before any real harm is committed, Fastbak suddenly finds himself drawn against his will back down to the ground, where he’s quickly rushed into his duty as a lectern speaking on a podium. I guess even in New Genesis, they have Sunday services!
The big change this issue is the arrival of Mike Royer on both inks and lettering. A lot has been made about Vince Colletta’s work being rushed, making too many changes to Kirby’s art and sometimes leaving out details. Having re-read so many of these Kirby-Colletta books recently, what I see is more like some of Colletta’s best work ever—particularly on JIMMY OLSEN. But I’ve also noticed what few have ever mentioned—the glaringly obvious fact that Vince had SEVERAL different people helping him on these books, some of them with noticeably different styles to his. The quality has also varied greatly, sometimes from page to page. From here on, ONE person did the inks. And by all accounts, Royer’s main focus was to be as “faithful” to Kirby’s pencils as possible. After decades of inkers who took it for granted that their job included bringing their own style to inks, this must have been a SHOCK to many longtime Kirby fans. Apart from a coujple issues of CAPTAIN AMERICA inked by Dan Adkins, this may be the first time Kirby fans got to see what Kirby’s art REALLY looked like, without it being heavily filtered thru someone else’s style.
I’ll be honest... it’s a mixed batch. Some pages are STUNNING—but some are downright UGLY. In particular, the pages with “Terrible Turpin” look almost amateurish compared to just about anything I’ve seen over the course of this epic, so far. Some faces, and even moreso, hands, look so crude, it’s hard to believe any professional inker would have left them that way. And certain panels seem severely lacking in “depth”, everything, foreground, middleground, background, looking like it’s all on one level. But overall, most of the book looks very good, and I’m willing to give Royer the benefit of the doubt, considering this was his FIRST time inking a Kirby story. Still, some of the linework is so inconsistent, if I didn’t KNOW with some certainty it was all Royer’s work, I’d almost swear HE was using assistants, as Colletta had been. Incidentally Colletta did ink the back-up story, and he continued to do most JIMMY OLSEN issues, so he wasn’t gone entirely.
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LOIS LANE #116 / Nov’71 – “HALL OF 1000 MIRRORS”
It looks like this time—apparently—they got Werner Roth & Vince Colletta to do their own cover for once. What a concept! The same artists doing the inside and outside. This one, showing Supes getting pulled apart by a fun-house mirror, looks like “typical DC” nonsense to me. The surprise, this issue, is that this is the first 70’s LOIS LANE I’ve read that wasn’t bad.
Following a terrific splash page (much better than the cover), the story starts with Morgan Edge staring at a mirror... until he turns away from it. Except, the reflection doesn’t move as he does. WHAT’s going on??? We never find out this issue. Lois arrives to drive him to her latest “People U.S.A.” TV broadcast. En route, he asks where her “boyfriend” is, and she laments that she never knows when Superman will be called away on some emergency. Lois’ guest on the show is Dave Stevens, “the Daily Planet’s new crusading columnist”, who uses his appearance to attack “The 100”, the crime gang that’s running the rackets in Metropolis. The broadcast is interrupted when a pair of “100” hit men appear to put a stop to Stevens’ crusading—and again when Superman arrives in time to SAVE him! However, in the skuffle, Dave disappears, and Lois, Supes & Dave’s “right-hand”, Tina Ames, fly to a “teenage clubhouse” set up by Stevens to help keep young people from falling prey to crime. Outside, Supes stops a drug pusher, but just then, a bike gang attacks and kidnaps Lois.
Following the scent of Lois’ perfume, Supes tracks them down to—get this—Happyland Amusement Park, recently seen in FOREVER PEOPLE #4 & 5. It seems the bikers were agents of Desaad, and he uses scientifically-tricked-up mirrors to distort and torture Superman. He manages to break free, and rescues both Lois and Dave, but the baddies escape, leaving Superman wondering (quite inexplicably) if the “mastermind” behind this might be Darkseid. Desaad reports to his master, sitting in a large chair, who ponders that, “Perhaps, in the end, I shall have to deal with Superman!”
Since I’ve begun this project, it’s come to my attention that writer Robert Kanigher had been stripped of his editorial position, and that his editor on LOIS LANE, E. Nelson Bridwell, MAY have been driving the plots, and even re-writing the dialogue. Which makes it a real question as to who’s really responsible for the quality (or lack thereof) in some of the stories I’ve read in these books recently. Anyway, this one was FAR less convoluted and awkward, and as a bonus, Werner Roth did the NICEST job I’ve seen from him so far. He used more large panels this time out, and this issue kinda looks more like his X-MEN work than anything I’ve seen from him at DC so far. Was this his idea—was it suggested by the editor (because of the Jack Kirby plot elements), or was it simply spelled out in the script? Either way, this was a VERY nice-looking issue, and his Lois is certainly very pretty. I just keep wishing the guy in the blue suit and red cape wasn’t involved. (Oh, and unless I’ve missed something, this issue made Roth the 2nd DC artist to draw Darkseid!)
Rose and the Thorn this time is “COMPUTED TO KILL”, the 2nd half of the story involving The 100, the robot-computer named “K.A.R.L.”, and Poison Ivy, who seems utterly superfluous, as she doesn’t get to show off her usual gimmicks even once anywhere in the episode. An eccentric artist is employed in the murder-plot, as he puts out an offer to pay The Thorn for posing for a statue. This sounds like something that stepped right off the ’66 BATMAN tv show. Further, she’s doused in a clear yellow solution which is supposed to harded to form a mold from which her likeness can be cast. When it harded almost instantly (seriously, didn’t David Wayne to this to Adam West once?), she’s suddenly concerned that there’s not much air trapped inside—but since she was told it was suppsoed to take “hours” to harden, WHY didn’t that occur to her then? For that matter, WHY would a mysterious vigilante be interested in posing for a statue ANYWAY? There’s such a complete breakdown of logic here, it drags down any hope of the story being worthwhile. When, at the end, “K.A.R.L.” decided it wants its payment to BE The Thorn—and leaps into the river to rescue her from death—well, you begin to wonder who’s smoking what when they wrote this.
The art by Dick Giordano is nice, but I have some serious problems with his storytelling in spots. Curiously, the credits read, “with a special thank you to Jeff Jones”—was this for story or art elements? More curious is page 4—especially the last panel—which I would SWEAR was drawn by GIL KANE! I’m not sure the concept of this series or the characters are all that hot, but between the stories, the writing and the visual storytelling, it’s going NOWHERE—fast.
This issue’s reprint is the 1st installment of DR. PAT, about a woman physician, from SENSATION COMICS #94 (Nov’49). According to the GCD (info taken “from index of original printing”), this was written by Robert Kanigher, and if so, is by a WIDE margin the BEST thing I’ve read by him lately. Sad to think a guy should do such good work early in his career, then let it slide so badly years later. Art is by Carmine Infantino and Frank Giacoia. Nothing flashy (heh) but nice, solid, low-key storytelling. The reproduction’s not so hot, but then NONE of DC’s Golden age reprints look that good. Apparently, nobody bothered to hold onto original stats or negatives back then, since, after all, for decades, comics were considered just “disposable junk”.
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JIMMY OLSEN #144 / Dec’71 – “A BIG THING IN A DEEP SCOTTISH LAKE!”
I really like the cover of this issue of JO, with a sea monster knocking the raft containing Jimmy & The Newsboys all over the place, while Supes flies overhead. Too bad about the logo & text. DC really had “bad design” back then.
Following a brief prologue in which a speedboat is destroyed in Scotland’s Loch Trevor, we cut to Morgan Edge’s office, where the Newboys finally report back to him after their adventure at The D.N.A. Project. The problem is, since The Project is top-secret, they can’t report the story. But Edge says if they want to “earn” The Whiz Wagon, he has another assignment for them—and sure enough, it’s investigating the sea monster. As Flippa-Dippa says, “Wouldn’t THAT be somethin’ else!! My scuba cells are VIBRATIN’, Jimmy!!” (Jimmy’s silent response is to cover his face and think, “Oh, no—“)
No sooner do they agree, and depart, than Edge contacts Inter-Gang, still bent on having them killed! “Listen, CLOSELY! They’re on their way!!! –and this time, do the job RIGHT! It’s a SIMPLE task! There’s NO reason to slip up!! So DON’T fail! Do you hear me? DON’T FAIL!!” (Gee—would YOU want to work for a boss like this?) Jimmy plans to “do a little MORE checking on Morgan Edge, himself” when they return, but it’s almost unbelieveable that he and Clark haven’t done so already, after everything that’s happened in recent issues.
Meanwhile, Superman and The Guardian, responding to a newspaper ad inviting them to a discotheque, the “Cosmic Carousel”, find it run by Terry Dean, who contacted them on Jimmy’s suggestion. After being mobbed for autographs, the pair take a ringside table and see “The San Diego Five String Mob”, a rock band who play VERY strange-looking, other-worldy instuments. Among the other guests is Dubbilex, who reveals he arrived by a tunnel beneath the building that stretches all the way back to The Project. Just at that moment, the band proves they’re not what they seem, when they attack Superman, their musical instruments turning out to be high-tech weapons!
Over in Scotland, the boys meet Felix MacFinney. It’s a humorous moment when he comes face-to-face with Scrapper, dressed in a kilt, and comments that the boy’s clothes are totally at odds with his accent. After meeting MacFinney’s daughter Ginny, the groups settles down for a dinner, while Scrapper advises Jimmy that Ginny is giving him the eye. “I t’ink she goes for you!!! Why don’tcha try DATIN’ ‘er!!!” “Why don’t you try a little more tact!! WOW! I just CAN’T want for you to grow up!!”
The next day, the group goes out on the lake in a raft, while far below, Flippa runs into an unexpected intruder, who tries to yank off his breathing equipment. Above, MacFinney reveals his true colors—he’s working for Inter-Gang, and has orders to kill the lot of them! They’re only saved when the unobserved Scrapper Trooper activates MacFinney’s “sonar whistle”—causing the sea monster to surface, knocking everyone into the water! Only MacFinney is a victim of the attack, and onshore, they find Flippa waiting for them, along with his assailant—Ginny, who’s NOT really MacFinney’s daughter, but his parter-in-crime. Baffled as to why Inter-Gang has twice tried to kill them, Jimmy resolves to stick around until he can figure out what’s going on.
Strange Tales Of The D.N.A. Project this time features “THE TORN PHOTOGRAPH”, a 2-page account of the time, years before, when the cave The Project was eventually built in was first being explored. A survey team, “Probe Six”, encountered an underground swamp, as well as some sort of “missing link” creature right out of the movie TROG. In defense against a mass attack, dynamite was set off, but unfortunately the entire survey team was lost in the process. A strange, tragic incident, and one I can’t help but feel would have been better served if it had been expanded to 4 or even 8 pages.
As usual, Vince Colletta is aided by Murphy Anderson on all the Supes & Jimmy faces. The rest all looks like Colletta to me this time, even though the quality is very inconsistent. Morgan Edge & the “band” are all on the rough side, while the 2 girls—Terry & Ginny—are both VERY beautifully rendered, which should put to rest any rumors that Jack Kirby couldn’t draw attarctive women.
By the way, I know the band were based on real comic-book fans, and MacFinney on a known comic actor (long forgotten by the time Kirby wrote this story), but don’t expect me to look up the exact into.
This issue’s Newsboy Legion & Guardian reprint is “KINGS FOR A DAY” from STAR SPANGLED COMICS #10 (Jul’42). On the letters page, Gerard Triano points out that JO #141 was the first time Clark Kent did NOT appear as Superman since a story in SUPERMAN #203 (Jan’68).
[ July 18, 2011, 05:18 AM: Message edited by: profh0011 ]
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MISTER MIRACLE #5 / Dec’71 – “MURDER MACHINE!”
“It’s like a diabolical CAR-WASH!! It traps you on the way in—and kills you on the way out! It’s mechanized murder!!” Holy cow! What a teaser.
Two guys deliver a Civil War-era cannon to Scott’s house, and are distracted by Barda exercising on the lawn. “What is it, fellas? Business, or GIRL WATCHING?” Annoyed at the “chatter”, Barda brushes them aside, grabs the cannon and single-handedly carries it to the house! “I could exercise until I’m MUSCLE-BOUND!! –and NEVER do THAT!!!” “This ‘woman’s lib’ thing is getting more SERIOUS than I thought!!”
Elsewhere, another foe from Apokalips has arrived to take down Scott—permanently. It’s Doctor Virman Vundabar, a short, stocky character with a monocle whose wardrome and manner seems to have stepped straight out of 19th Century-Prussia. Testing a “Centri-Spin” device designed to kill Scott, his sidekick, Hydrik, is “seriously impaired” when it explodes right next to him. “It’s just as well, Hydrik!! You know the PENALTY for IMPERFECTION!” Following an audible gunshot, Vundabar steps out of the lab and tells the two guards, “This section has FAILED! Order the laboratory CLEANED UP!!” “It will be SPOTLESS, excellency!”
While Scott & Oberon are practising a new escape routine with the cannon, Barda enjoys a momentary peace in a nearby pond. “Apokalips is TOTALLY devoid of spots like this!! I hope the people of Earth APPRECIATE these places! It’s a joy to be free of the grey and smelly air of a world filled with DESTRUCTIVE machines!! I’ve had ENOUGH of great Darkseid’s world! –they’ll have to FIGHT to get Big Barda to rerturn there!!” Sure enough, at that moment, a flying craft drops a squadron of soldiers, who approach with guns drawn. It’s at this point we learn Barda’s “side-clips” transform almost magically into her full armor and Mega-Rod! However, after a short battle, an “energy-dispenser” brings her down.
Scott explains to Oberon that the inmates of Granny’s orphanage all were given descriptive names not unlike those in the book OLIVER TWIST. On seeing the craft depart, Scott realizes that Barda has been captured, and further, that she was “allowed” to leave Apokalips, to serve as bait to draw him out. Using his aero-discs, Scott flies into a rugged canyon, where he finds Vundabar’s death-trap waiting. On a viewscreen, Vundabar invites Scott inside. “WHAT if I tell you to go blow your nose?” He finds a conveyor belt running down a long corridor, and the instant he steps on it, he’s encased in a titanium coffer, and held on the conveyor belt by foot clamps. “That little SWINE! He’s devised a trap that runs me through a murder-machine like an Earth-CAR WASH!!”
As the coffer goes down the corridor, it’s hit by multiple hammers, then has a pair of electrodes clamped on, which generate a “controlled atom blast”. As Vundabar and his sidekick Klepp watch, the captive Barda objects. “That’s why I deserted Apokalips! I can NO longer soldier in the company of TWISTED fiends like yourself—who worship their POWER—more than DARKSEID!” “SILENCE! I want no further BLASPHEMY!” At the end of the conveyor belt, the metal coffer sinks into a tank containing “the most POWERFUL of ACIDS”—and dissolves. HORRORS!!!
Klepp, Vindabar and one of the soldiers all laugh at the sight. As they do, they fail to notice the figure standing directly behind them, ALSO smiling—Scott! “How did you do it? How did you escape!?” Scott explains that he used powerful lasers built into his boots to burn a hole in the bottom of the coffer, and the conveyor belt beneath it, so that while all eyes were fixed on the front of the container, no one saw the gaping hole in the floor behind it. He then used the lasers to blast a tunnel underneath the conveyor, until he came up behind them. “There’s only ONE thing to do, excellency! GIVE US THE ORDER!!” “YES! YES! --at my command—SHOOT TO KILL!!—“ And at that instant, the floor beneath the villains collapses, taking them down with it. “As I said before, boys!! You SHOULD’VE been watching my FEET!! That tunnel is very DEEP!!!”
Scott lifts Barda in his arms. “SCOTT--!! Scott—forgive me!! I-I was AFRAID! –for US! I—A WARRIOR—“ “You’re BETTER than that, Barda!! You’re a WOMAN!!” Holding her in his arms, Scott flies the pair of them out and away.
But even greater horror may await... “-NEXT ISSUE- You know him!! I KNOW HIM!! EVERYBODY gets to know a “FUNKY FLASHMAN” The question is—“DO WE NEED HIM?” This can be a DESPERATE issue—if a “Funky Flashman” can decide your fate!!! WATCH MISTER MIRACLE GET TAKEN!!!--- by the con’s con-man!! – THE FUNKIEST AGENT OF THEM ALL!!!” This can’t be good...
Mike Royer takes over the inks this issue, and it looks to me like he did a better job overall than in NEW GODS #5. However, it seems Jack Kirby had a particular, severe problem with something Mike did. Jack based Barda on singer-actress Lainie Kazan, who has a very particular face—and it seems Royer CHANGED her face, in order to “pretty her up”. PISSED, Jack went back and RE-pencilled—and INKED her faces—himself! –pasting the results down over Mike’s work, and making sure Royer knew not to ever change the faces again. The results are a bit mixed, if only because the line quality on the faces tends to be thicker than on much of the detail in the rest of the book.
Meanwhile, this issue’s back-up feature is the first installment of “YOUNG SCOTT FREE”, detailing his younger days in Granny’s orphanage, where he was trained to be a soldier, and visciously brutalized for proving to be too human. It’s a very unpleasant episode, and adding to the it are the inks, apparently done by Jack himself! At the end of this installment, Scott, his face horribly disfigured from a terrible beating, witnesses the arrival of Metron on his Mobius chair, who he mistakes for one of “Darkseid’s heirarchy”. I’m reminded of a scene in the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA episode “Greetings From Earth”, where a refugee from totalitarian-run “Luna Seven” mistakes the colonial warriors for members of the Nazi-like -Eastern Alliance—especially the civilian security team, who, like his real enemies, are dressed head to toe in black.
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JIMMY OLSEN #145 / Jan’72 – “BRIGADOOM!”
All this time, I wondered how it would look if Murphy Anderson (who was inking all the Superman & Jimmy faces) inked the WHOLE thing. Now I know. People say Wally Wood and Joe Sinnott were “over-powering”. NAH. They’ve got NOTHING on Murphy Anderson! Unless I squint to see the layout, there’s NOTHING of Kirby here at all! It looks NICE... but, geez. I bet some guys at DC would have preferred if all Jack’s books had looked this way.
Still in Scotland, Jimmy & The Newsboys are shown by Scotland Yard Inspector Robert McQuarrie a variety of very strange animals found in the Loch Trevor area. They include a griffin, a chimera, a unicorn, an entire group of basilisks, and—most strange of all—something that defies description, which they’ve nicknamed “Angry Charlie”. No one knows where they come from, but their point of origin is referred to as “Brigadoom”, inspired by a Scottish fairy tale of a city that only appears once a year, then vanishes after a day. Figuring the sea serpent might point them in the right direction, they take the Whiz Wagon down underwater in Loch Trevor, and soon find themselves confronting the beastie again. Only, with the vehicle’s “mini-shock missiles”, they’re on more even terms this time.
As soon as I saw the Whiz Wagon dive, it hit me, they may be The New Newsboy Legion, but in spirit, they seem to be closer to Jack’s BOY EXPLORERS, a series cut short far too soon by bad market conditions in 1946.
Having split into two groups, one in water, the other on land, the latter consists of Jimmy & Scrapper, who’s brought the Scrapper Trooper with him. I dunno... there’s something CREEPY about the way Scrapper carries this minature “army”-style clone of himself around in a box, as if he were a pet frog or something. While napping, a strange “compressor ray” sweeps over the spot where the pair are sleeping... and when they wake up, find themselves SHRUNK to the size of Scrapper Trooper! As he puts it... “In short—you’ve been SHORTENED!!” But this may be a serious mis-step on the part of the baddies, for it’s only at this reduced size that they locate an equally-miniature scientific research complex, whose design mirrors that of The D.N.A. Project’s. Yep—after so many episodes, Jimmy & Scrapper have found THE EVIL FACTORY! But that’s when they’re knocked unconscious again by “paralysis beams”, fired by Mokkari, who, along with Simyan, are revealed to have been miniature in size all this time!
I’m reminded a bit of the 1969 SPIDER-MAN cartoon, “THE BIRTH OF MICRO MAN”, in which the villain, Professor Pretorius, had threatned to use his “Kingdom Come Machine” to blow New York City off the face of the map. It was revealed that both he and his machine had been miniatured to only a few inches in height, but, as Spidey explained, “When you’re dealing with atoms, size doesn’t matter!”
Meanwhile, in Metropolis, Superman & Terry Dean explore the tunnel underneath her now-wrecked club, and find Dubbilex, who has not only caught up with the culprits—but is exhibiting, for the first time, a strange “kinetic” power (not unlike that used by Marvel Girl of THE X-MEN). He holds the “band” aloft in mid-air, but on letting them free, the group suddenly cause a Boom-Tube to materialize, thru which they make their escape. Superman quickly figures they were connected with Apokalips, and Darkseid, while Dubbilex realizes from Supes’ expression that he must know more than he’s telling.
Back in Scotland, The Whiz Wagon and its occupants find themselves shrunk to the size of guppies, then make it inside a pipe which leads to the baddie’s shrunken lair. Scrapper & Scrapper Trooper find themself facing death by dinosaur attack, until the Trooper uses a mace dispenser hidden in his helmet to knock it out. But the worst is reserved for Jimmy. He’s strapped to a table, while a ray machine is used to perform a “gene nuclei” experiment on him, intent on regressing him backwards until he becomes a caveman! The scene mirrors at least 2 stories I’ve seen on TV—THE OUTER LIMITS episode “The Sixth Finger”, but moreso, the DOCTOR WHO story “Vengeance On Varos”, especially with the way Jimmy is subjected to it while strapped down against his will. (Maybe writer Philip Martin was a Jack Kirby fan?)
The inks appear to be all Colletta’s this time (barring the usual Anderson work). Once again, Terry Dean is a real BABE. One outstanding feature this time is, before they head for the Loch, the Newboys are actually wearing different clothes for once—INCLUDING Flippa-Dippa, who for the first time is not only seen wearing “regular” clothes (and very stylish at that), but is reffered to simply as “Flip” throughout the entire issue. Nice.
On the letters page, David Vereschagin had the following to say about Goody Rickels: “How the great Jack Kirby could produce something as lowly and insulting to his intelligence is beyond me! I felt like tearing up the whole issue there and then, burning all my Nationals and quitting comics for life.”
This issue’s Newboy Legion & Guardian reprint is “PARADISE PRISON”, from STAR SPANGLED COMICS #11 (Aug’42). The plot somewhat mirrors that of the 2nd Dead End Kids movie, CRIME SCHOOL, in that they get caught in the act of committing a crime and sent up the river... except, unlike those rotten scum in the movie (they really were, before they got better in later installments), here, it’s not what it seems, and The Guardian eventually figures it out.
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FOREVER PEOPLE #6 / Jan’72 – “THE OMEGA EFFECT!!”
This episode’s opening 4-page sequence features a squad of Glorious Godfrey’s “Justifiers” trying to destroy The Super-Cycle. Trying. As Jack puts it, “Programmed to ward off death, the Super-Cycle DEFENDS itself!” The whole thing completely re-configures, and becomes one big weapon. I’m reminded of TRANSFORMERS, but more than a decade early. I feel sure something like this probably showed up in some Japanese comics or cartoons, but someone else would have to nail down the details for me. Godfrey, making only his 2nd appearance so far (it was somewehat surprising after his intro that he disappeared from the narrative the way he did), sends some newly-recruited “Justifiers” to “Destroy that abomination!” One of his followers notes how really eager these Earthmen are to follow whatever orders they receive.
Back at Happyland, Sonny Sumo continues to use The Anti-Life Formula to order Desaad’s goons to free all remaining prisoners, while Mark Moonrider uses one of their weapons to take out the control center, which sets off a chain-reaction that winds up destroying the entire amusement park! As more prisoners are surprised to find themselves suddenly free, police are drawn by the explosions, and are shocked to hear stories of people having been held prisoner in the place.
As shuttles race to escape, one is stopped by Big Bear, who really gets to show off his special “powers” for the first time. “POWER is my game! I store an EXCESS of free atoms and send them where they’re NEEDED!!” The shot of one of the guards being propelled upward out of the shuttle is somewhat reminiscent of an old Warner Brothers cartoon!
Well, things turn NASTY when Darkseid, who, along with Desaad, is still hanging around Happyland, decides to strike back at the youths who are frustratng his plans. He uses... “THE OMEGA EFFECT”—which manifests in the form of twin eye-beams that seek out their prey and cause them to VANISH. One by one, The Forever People (and Sonny Sumo) fall victim to its power, and they and Desaad seem convinced they’ve been killed. However, Darkseid assures otherwise. “What you said about the others ISN’T true!! They DO exist!! --but NOT HERE!! NOT NOW!!”
Only Serifan remains, no longer considered a threat by Darkseid, who says, “I do no more than what HAS to be done!!” Serifan escapes just as the police are breaking in, and uses the Aero-Van to return to The Super-Cycle, which doesn’t recognize him without Mother Box. Finally convincing it by using one of his Cosmic Cartridges, he takes refuge in it, saddened and demoralized by the loss of his friends. Unseen, a group of Justifiers still hanging around prepare to strike.
Overall, the simplest episode so far, as it was mostly an action-filled interlude in the middle of what is proving to be one long, multi-part sequence.
“The Young Gods Of Supertown” back-up this time is “RAID FROM APOKALIPS”, a flashback showing a group of Darkseid’s troops using a Boom-Tube to invade New Genesis in an attempt to destroy the floating city, but stopped by the pair of Serifan and Big Bear.
I must commend Mike Royer for his inks this issue, in general he continues to do very sharp, slick work, with the notable exception of page 7, which is so BRUTAL in spots, I wanna scream at the guy, “DON’T JUST TRACE, DAMMIT!!!” In the midst of knocking out SO MANY pages of brilliant storytelling, action and visuals, I seriously doubt Jack Kirby ever meant for every single line to be treated as (you’ll forgive the expression) “Gospel”. Meanwhile, both the back-up story, and, surprisingly, the cover, were inked by Vince Colletta. (Somebody should tell the GCD, they have it listed wrong.)
This issue’s Sandman story is “THE VILLAIN FROM VALHALLA!”, from ADVENTURE COMICS #75 (Jun’42).
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NEW GODS #6 / Jan’72 – “THE GLORY BOAT!!”
“When the STORM OF BATTLE is over—who will be left on the GLORY BOAT?” Beneath a green sky filled with crackling energy, a rough-hewn wooden boat is being boarded by 2 green, scary alien warriors—while a figure, resembling a mummy, is tied to the mast. A pair of insets spotlight Orion and Lightray. (I’m really glad I’m doing a comprehensive restoration project on all of these covers; the GCD has some of the worst I’ve ever seen of NEW GODS.)
““BRING APOKALIPS TO EARTH!!” This terrible command by Darkseid has been done!! The DEEP SIX—MYSTIC MUTATORS OF THE DEEP have ressurected “Leviathan”, symbol of ancient disasters!! Which can only be stopped by THE GLORY BOAT!!” The splash shows a reverse shot of the last panel of the previous episode, as the gigantic PINK monster heads for a ship at ramming speed. (In the 1984 reprint, both full-page shots were side-by-side.) The 2-page spread shows devastation!! “This is a sea beast which dwarfs ANYTHING seen in the oceans since the dawn of time!! Beneath its throat is a GIANT ram!—which CRUELLY pierces the ship, as its gargantuan tusks follow to RIP aprt the remaining tonnage of steel!!” The following page reveals the monster destroying several other ships, including an atomic submarine, and a “private yacht of the rich”.
The 3 survivors of said yacht, business tycoon Farley Sheridan, his son Richard and his daughter Lynn, adrift on a rubber raft, witness Orion and his Astro-Harness rocketing straight up out of the water, the sight resembling a Polaris missile being fired. (It also bears an uncanny resemblance to the devices used by Sean Connery & Bernie Casey in the film NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, 11 years later. Once again Jack Kirby is many years ahead of the curve.)
Mother Box has led Orion to this area, and, with the family in tow, finds the “UGLY misshapen craft made of aged wood”, and discovers the figure imprisoned there is Lightray. “Well- well well--!! So the SMILING LAMB decided to try his hand among the WOLVES, after all!!” Lightray admits he broke his word to High-Father not to come to Earth, then ran afoul of “light absorbing kelp” created by The Deep Six. While investigating the craft, we discover that Farley (whose face and manner somewhat remind me of Ed Begley Sr.) is a World War 2 veteran who was on Normandy beach during the D-Day invasion, while his son is a conscientious objector. It seems the entire Viet Nam War era generational and idiological conflict is being played out between just this father and son.
Inside the craft, Orion & Lightray discover a horrible mutation being used to guide the Leviathan. Lightray stops Orion from simply killing it, choosing instead to use his own powers to mutate it further—first, into a cube-shaped “living basic life form”, then, as it continues to grow, into something else. “What did you guys DO??” “We’ve arranged a BATTLE—fit for the NEW GODS!!” I found this rather jarring. As far as I know, this was the first time any character in Kirby’s epic used the name of the book to refer to themselves.
Elsewhere, moments before it takes out another victim, the Leviathan, accmpanied by The Deep Six (well, five of them anyway), hear the “sonic call” now being sent by their mutate, and the monster is forced to return, followed by its masters. Inside the craft, Farley & Richard find the mutate “is shooting strange, MACHINE-LIKE forms through the walls and decking of the ship!! THIS must be what Lightray meant by the cube being—TECHNO-ACTIVE!!” Outside, Jaffar arrives, and gung-ho Farley finds himself scared out of his wits!!! He’s only saved from sudden death by his son Richard, who rushes in without hesitation—and pays for it with HIS life! Jaffar horribly mutates Richard in the process, leaving him with NO face, just as Orion returns to give battle. “COMPLETE DESTRUCTION Jaffar has PAID for his viscious acts!!! Anbd poor, young Richard—what did HE pay for?”
Orion uses his Astro-Harness to whisk Lynn to safety, while her father, whose mind seems shattered, refuses to leave. The remaining members of The Deep Six attack, but are brutally driven off. For his own safety, Lightray has tied Farley to the same mast he was lashed to earlier, and after revealing that Richard has been changed back to his previous appearance, they prepare for the final confrontation. As the Leviathan and its masters race toward them at high speed, Orion, Lightray, the dead Richard and the now fully-mutated creature, which has turned itself into a living missile, meet them in a massive collision and explosion!!!
“The trumpets blast on IMPACT with the enemy! THUNDEROUS notes!- WHITE-HOT, ELEMENTAL and ALL CONSUMING!! A Wagnerian offering to the SOURCE!!” But our hereos escape unscathed... “You DID it, Lightray! Only YOU could time ESCAPE at LIGHT SPEED!”
Behind, still alive, Farley comes to his senses. “When daylight comes, what is left in the wake of grand tragedy is MERE drifting wreckage!! A young man of conscience has chosen a warrior’s death!! The old warrioir has found NEW feelings in his suffereing!!! WHAT is MAN in the last analysis—his PHILOSOPHY- or HIMSELF!?” Wow.
This episode barely made a dent when I first read it around 30 years ago. Apart from racing thru the entire 4W saga in mere days, there’s also the fact that I was missing NEW GODS #5 at the time (and only picked it up a couple years later), and so, without the 2 issues that led into this, was probably left wondering what the HELL was going on. Since then I’ve read a great deal about the 4W, and about this episode in particular, a rather HUGE section of a JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR issue being devoted exclusively to 3 of the most long-winded reviews I have ever read of a single comic-book. (And considering how long-winded I can be, that’s really saying something.) This is still not a favorite of mine by any means, but at least now I have a greatly-improved appreciation for it.
Mike Royer does another GREAT job on the inks. Only page 16 rubs me the wrong way, and the figures of Farley & Richard cold be taken as simply jack letting his drawing be more “expressive” than usual, the wild, out-of-control linework matching the moment. Maybe. On just the previous page, the close-up of Lynn shows one of the prettiest women I’ve seen Jack draw, and that makes me wonder if it’s what Jack intended, or did Mike “clean her up” (something he caught hell for when he did it with Big Barda in MISTER MIRACLE). Meanwhile, Vince Colletta inked the cover. Nice job, too.
2 reprints this time: Manhunter in “BEWARE OF MR. MEEK” from ADVENTURE COMICS #75 (Jun’42), fun storytelling with some really HORRIBLE inks (as usual), and a “Just Imagine” feature, “THE ROCKET LANES OF TOMORROW”, from REAL FACT COMICS #1 (Mar’46). You know, from some of the stories I’ve seen in Greg Theakston’s THE COMPLETE JACK KIRBY books, this actually reminds me of some of Jack’s work from before he and Joe Simon were at Marvel. Very “FLASH GORDON”-inspired.
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LOIS LANE #118 / Jan’72 – “EDGE OF DARKNESS!”
On Dick Giordano’s cover, Superman flies away from a smiling Lois, warning her, “Careful, Lois! That madman’s loose somewhere in this area!” She replies, “Don’t worry, SUPERMAN! I can take care of myself!” (Decades of her being rescued by him have proven this. Heh.) She clasps a copy of the the Daily Planet in her hand, whose headline reads, “MADMAN AT LARGE!” And a few feet away, in an alley, we see a menacing shadow and a pair of shaking hands apparently waiting to grab her. Wave bye-bye, Lois! Heh heh heh.
Page 1 shows us Morgan Edge escaping from his own apartment. As the narrator says, “What gives?”
The next day, in a scene that could only happen in a SUPERMAN book (or one if its spin-offs, anyway), Lois is kidnapped in broad daylight by—no, I’m NOT mkaing this up!!—a gymnastic team building a human pyramid, and a helicopter. Doesn’t this woman ever have any “normal” days? They’re working for “The 100”, and Morgan Edge, secretly a boss of “Inter-Gang”, is happy when Superman stops his “rivals”.
And then, he thinks back, giving us an excuse to witness a strange flashback, to events we never saw before. That is, when Morgan Edge was KIDNAPPED, taken to The Evil Factory, and an EVIL CLONE was created by Mokkari & Simyan. An EVIL CLONE who would be loyal to DARKSEID!! What a shocker. Jack Kirby creates a character who’s a crook, and SOME EDITOR decides to completely re-think the concept, so, NO, Morgan Edge, the new owner of The Daily Planet, isn’t REALLY a crook—it’s his EVIL TWIN!!! Oy. Does this mean Werner Roth is DC’s “answer” to John Buscema?
The EVIL Edge’s 1st assignment was to KILL the original... but, somehow, he COULDN’T bring himself to do it. So, instead, he had a secret room in his penthouse built, and has kept the real Edge a prisoner, for months. (Wouldn’t a better use for such a room be to keep a “Penthouse Pet” as a houseguest?) But now, he finds out the real Edge has escaped! After some quick thinking, he recruits a bogus psychiatrist and some fake orderlies, and sets about having them convince Superman and Lois that Edge is under their care, mentally unstable, and dangerous. So Superman tracks down the REAL Edge, who doesn’t realize everything he says will be taken as the ravings of a demented mind. It works... until later, when the EVIL Edge gets a phone call from the bogus shrink, telling him the REAL Edge has escaped, by causing the ambulance they were in to run off a bridge into a river, where the guy swam to safety. Gee, just like Michael Myers in HALLOWEEN 4, except without all the bloody gory violence.
So now the EVIL Edge is in deep trouble. “I’ve got to find him before DARKSEID discovers I’ve disobeyed orders!” Like that would really make us feel bad.
My problem with all this is that neither version of “Morgan Edge” in this comic—the good one OR the bad one—feels like the “Morgan Edge” Jack Kirby has been portraying in JIMMY OLSEN all this time. Shades of “Norrin Radd”...
The Rose And The Thorn story this time is “HAND OF DEATH!” This one involves scuba-diving, sharks, a “ghost ship”, and stolen loot dumped at sea to be picked up by “Inter-Gang frogmen”. Oh yeah, and a Halloween party, at which Rose’s friend Danny Stone shows up dressed as The Thorne, while Rose comes dressed as Black Canary. As usual, Robert Kanigher doesn’t deliver much of a plot, but at least this time, the art, by Rich Buckler and Dick Giordano, is more impressive than usual. Giordano really is better as an inker than a penciller, and he & Buckler prove a better team than many I’ve seen.
The reprint this time is Dr. Pat In “DR. PAT’S FIRST LOVE!” from SENSATION COMICS #95 (Jan’50), art by Carmine Infantino & Frank Giacoia. There’s also an ad for a brand-new feature debuting in ALL STAR WESTERN-- Jonah Hex!
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JIMMY OLSEN #146 / Feb’72 – “HOMO-DISASTROUS!”
“Stay back, SUPERMAN!! Jimmy has turned into a CAVEMAN! AND, he’s STRONGER than a wild bull! He’ll DESTROY YOU!!” Did someone let Mort Weisinger in here again?
I’ll blow this for you now. Jack Kirby was VERY sneaky this issue. Because, see, once again, that cover is NOT, strictly speaking, accurate. (NO!!!) Because—believe it or not—Supes only appears in 3 PAGES in the entire story, and it’s a completely separate sub-plot! But then, this is the 3rd issue in a row like this.
Personally, I think it’s cool how Kirby managed to turn JIMMY OLSEN and the New Lewsboy Legion into an early-70’s reincarnation of BOY EXPLORERS. For the 3rd issue in a row, Jimmy & the boys are in Scotland, and the action builds to a head here. In The Evil Factory, Simyan & Mokkari have captured Jimmy, and mutated him into a super-strong caveman. But he’s gotten loose, and attacks, stopped by Simyan’s stun gun only after Mokkari was in deadly danger. A not-so-friendly rivalry seems to be building between these two.
Back in Metropolis, Dubbilex’s mental powers are continuing to develop, and he practices lifting Terry Dean into the air and twirling her around upside-down. I just love the way Jack draws her, she’s currently my favorite female in the Fourth World books. (It’s kinda like comparing Cathy Gale to Venus Smith on THE AVENGERS. Cathy, like Barda, I’m very impressed with. But Venus, like Terry, I’d want to ask out to dinner!) Meanwhile, Superman is concerned by The Guardian’s report that the mysterious underground tunnel beneath the city seems to extend for miles, and Supes feels it’s connected to the war between New Genesis and Apokalips. Flying off to explore, he’s suddenly confronted by a bright light...
Back in Scotland, The Newsboys, in their Whiz Wagon, have been captured by the baddies, and attached to a moving chain dragging it down a tunnel into a FURNACE!! I think these guys must have gone to the same school of interior design as Vermin Vundabar from MISTER MIRACLE #5. In this case, it actually IS a car being dragged to its doom. However, Scrapper & Scrapper Trooper have found Jimmy, who, on awakening, picks up a small vehicle and smashes it against a cage containing monsters created by mutation. The first one to get free is a sabre-tooth tiger—and as it confronts Jimmy, one can’t help but think of Ka-Zar and Zabu! But there’s no love between this pair, and caveman Jimmy clobbers the colossal kitty.
Back in the death-trap, Flip wakes up just in time to take control of the car, free them with a concussion bomb, and get the HELL out of there! Seeing a crowd of people (technicians? prisoners? we never find out) running the other way, they soon confront a scene like something right out of a nightmare version of a Johnny Weismuller TARZAN film. Caveman Jimmy is riding herd over an army of unleashed monsters, bent on destroying the Evil Factory. Amid the chaos, Jimmy jumps down and tackles Mokkari & Simyan single-handedly, causing more and more damage as he goes. Next thing, a series of explosions start, and Jimmy vanishes thru an “ray screen”. The Whiz Wagon follows, and, as Jack puts it, “The EVIL FACTORY is torn asunder by one HUGE destructive blast!!” In the aftermath, we see Jimmy lying unconscious, and the front of the Whiz Wagon embedded into the side of a hill, both having returned to their full size.
“As for The Evil Factory—its atoms had LITTLE time to expand!! The crater where it once stood is SMALL!! And with PROPER magnification one could easily discern the SCATTERED remains of a complex structure, destroyed by its OWN evil!!!” I would say the baddies bought the farm—just like in NEW GODS #5 & 6. Except I know they came back many years later... but then, that was Post-CRISIS, so, in a way, it doesn’t really count here.
Meanwhile, Jack lets us know what’s in store next issue... “SUPERMAN GETS THE CHANCE TO REALLY LIVE IT UP!!! AND WHAT DOES HE DO—WITH THIS DREAM COME TRUE??? It’s all in the next issue!! Read--- A SUPERMAN IN SUPERTOWN!!” Oooh.
Tales Of The DNA Project brings us “ARIN THE ARMORED MAN!!!” In a mere 2 pages, we meet Arin, a being created to live in a completely airless envirnoment—space—and Professor Packard, the scientist who not only “engineered” Arin, but also trained him, in effect, brought him up as thugh he were his own son. Moments before Arin leaves on the mission he was created for, they have a sad, painful parting, and then, Arin is sent by rocket into deep space. According to Jack, his mission is to carry a container with Superman’s “cell tissue and genetic code”, “Where no enemy of Earth can find it”. Apart from yet another set of characters, concepts and circumstances that barely get the kind of development they deserve, what really strikes me about this is the two characters involved. Their relationship reminds me a lot of Aaron Stack and HIS scientist-creator-“father”, from Jack’s later MACHINE MAN series.
Something quite unexpected this issue was Mike Royer filling in for Vince Colletta. Vince would be back next time. When I re-read these in the JIMMY OLSEN ADVENTURES book (2003), it struck me that Royer’s inks looked VERY out-of-place in the collection. Not only were they jarring, surrounded on both sided by Colletta, but there seemed a definite lack of “visual depth”. They seemed FLAT. Oddly enough, I don’t get that looking at the original comics now. I guess the line quality in the reprints wasn’t as good as I thought they were.
This issue’s Newsboy Legion reprint is “PREVUE OF PERIL” from STAR SPANGLED COMICS #12 (Sep’42). In the back, there’s a full-page ad for “KIRBY UNLEASHED!” a portfolio “assembled from Jack Kirby’s personal collection”. WOW.
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Here we go...
MISTER MIRACLE #6 / Feb’72 – “FUNKY FLASHMAN!”
Scott’s involved in another death-deying “Super Escape Artist” stunt on the cover, one where he’s manacled to a high-speed high-powered rocket-sled chair, which appears to have jumped its tracks. Oberon, cluthing the edge of a high cliff in the background, watches. How will Scott escape? But this is nothing compare to what awaits within...
“In the shadow world between success and failure, there lives the DRIVEN little man who dreams of HAVING IT ALL!!! --the opportunistic SPOILER without character or values who preys on all things like a cannibal!!!” In a rundown southern mansion, a skinny, bald guy in a robe, accompanied by a short, skinny, somewhat-long-haired bespectacled butler, wait for a statue’s mouth to open and spew out the first man’s “weekly allowance”. It seems the previous, deceased owner of the mansion liked lording it over others, and there seems to be mutual hate going round among all involved. And hypocrisy.
“By the POWER and the GLORY and the PATHOS that’s Funky Flashman, it’s TRUE, Houseroy!! It’s when you LITTLE people reach out to me that my spirits SOAR!!” “To KNOW you is to LOVE you sir!! When you go on to bigger things, as you so richly deserve, --and SIGN this place over to ME, I shall carry on here, with the standards you hold so DEAR!”
It turns out “Funky Flashman” is a talent agent—one who uses others’ skills for his own benefit and without any care. “So he breaks a leg or DIES!! I’ll just sip my martini by the ocean—and wait for the NEXT fish to jump!” He puts on a toupee and false beard and admires himself in a mirror. “IMAGE is the thing, Houseroy! Why—I look almost –HOLY! I’m ready for you AGAIN—world!!” “The world will take you to its HEART, sir--- that’s if you DON’T make too many slip-ups!! I must tell you that there are times whrn the REAL Master Funky comes through with SHOCKING results!!” At which point Funky grabs his butler by the THROAT! “And DON’T you forget it, SWEETIE! Just keep your place and don’t bug Master Funky with advice!!” “A-a-a-s-s-s- you wish, sir!” You’d think the guy would be angry that someone suggested he wasn’t sincere. NO! He KNOWS he’s insincere—he’s just annoyed that someone working for him should rise above their place.
This seems a good point to interject. The first time I read this, apart from some very bizarre character studies and commentary about sleazy Hollywood-type agents, I had no idea what the heck Jack Kirby was doing here. I mean, “weird” is par for the course in a Kirby comic, and sometimes I just shrug and go along for the ride. But in the decades since I read this, I have run across a multitude of articles and interviews referring to this one specific story, which I had very little memory of, and the more I read, the more I looked forward to eventually plowing thru this again. Well, here it is. And man, is this thing DISTURBING. It may looks like some kind of a dark comedy, but there’s more to it than that. In truth, it’s a viscious character attack, a shockingly all-too-accurate portrayal of a SPECIFIC person, who Jack got to know far too well for his own liking. The face, the personality, the mannerisms, the deviousness, the self-serving behavior, and the excessively-flowery language, it’s all a very finely-rendered (if fictionalized) portrayal of Jack’s ex-boss—Marvel Comics editor Stan Lee.
Not only that, but Funky’s flunky—er, butler—“Houseroy” (what a great name!!) is apparently based on Stan’s right-hand man, Roy Thomas. Except, while SHIELD recruit Jasper Sitwell was at times a dead ringer for Roy (in both appearance and diction), in this story, he looks like Woody Allen.
Funky’s former boss, the late “Colonel Mockingbird” is clearly a reference to Martin Goodman. There’s some more strange things, here. On page 1, we see Funky and what appears to be a crude, ancient statue of a bust. This rather brings to mind the UNUSED splash page of the intended (unpublished) FANTASTIC FOUR #102, the story Stan REJECTED as being (supposedly) “un-dialogue-able”. The method of Funky getting money could almost be seen as a visual play on the idea of “taking food out of someone else’s mouth”. The reference to Funky hoping to move onto “bigger things” reflects Lee’s long-stated attitude that, from the beginning, he always saw comics as just a temporary thing, to be discarded as soon as he wrote “the great American novel”, or was able to go to Hollywood and get involved in the movie business. And of course, the way he keeps insulting asnd even physically threatening his closest companion (and employee) shows just how thin the veneer of smiles and charm really are with someone this artificial. It’s sad. I used to LIKE Stan...
Elsewhere, Scott is trying out another suicidal death trap (previously seen on the cover). It kinda makes me think of the “rocket sled” seen in Jim Steranko’s NICK FURY AGENT OF SHIELD #1, except this one’s designed to kill, not rescue. Of course, Scott escapes, and Oberon says he’s just lost another twenty years off his allotted life span.
At home, Barda, in her fabulous bikini outfit, toys with a revolver while waiting with Funky for Scott’s return. “EARTH WEAPONS!—primitive on Apokalips!!-- but EFFECTIVE here!!! --EASY to handle, too!” “Make LOVE! --NOT war, chicky!! You’re packing MORE ammo than you can put in that gun!!” Barda begins twirling the gun. “If you’ve come to see Scott Free, Mister—just keep your THOUGHTS on Scott Free!!!” “Oh, that’s GOOD, chicky! That’s GOOD! “Women’s lib” dialogue an’ Bonnie Parker talent!! Great, chicky! Great ACT!!” Does it seem like this fool is just asking for trouble, talking to her that way? “But I CAN’T use you!! Perhaps you can audition for me again, sometime! –when you acquire more—CLASS!!” “Anything hanging on a meat-hook would meet YOUR standards, MISTER WONDERFUL!” I’m suddenly reminded of how, in Stan’s comics, most women are portrayed (at least in the dialogue) as being weak, helpless, frivolous, and overly-emotional. Even initially-tough-and-independant Sharon Carter, once Stan got through with her. One suspects Stan would write Princess Diana / Wonder Woman as a helpless wimp.
Barda suddenly wonders if Funky might be another spy from her home planet, but his blank expression at the mention of a Boom Tube clears that worry. In quick succession, Funky goes from making smarmy, sleazy comments, to showing surprise and worry at how she broke a gun in her bare hand, to being excessively friendly, to blurting out angry insults when he doesn’t get his way. “AAAA!! Why don’t you go and report to your DRILL SERGEANT?!” GEEZ. Who the hell would ever wanna work for someone like that? “You’re a CLASSIC, Funky!! Ego—ignorance—and hostility!! --A REAL powerhouse!! If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go and take a BATH!!” Presumably, to wash off the stench of his company. (It bothers me that her description exactly matches someone I once knew in the engineering field—who spent three whole years trying to have me fired, because he was afraid for HIS job.)
The next 2 pages are incredible. While talking with Scott about setting up a tour around the country, Funky never shuts up, never stops spewing absurdist flowery lingo, and keeps switching posture and demeanor between overly-friendly, philosophical, and angrily threatening physical violence toward Oberon (does he just not like short people, or is it that he just likes pushing around those he has a physical advantage over? --WHY am I even asking??).
In a page apparently suggested by Mark Evanier, Barda takes a bath, THIS time wearing a LOT LESS than she did in the previous issue. I also get the strong feeling someone other than Mike Royer inked that page. The lines are much more delicate than usual. It actually reminds me a LOT of some of the Kirby-inspired work I’ve seen mnore than 15 years later from Keith Giffen & Al Gordon (the “good” stuff, not the wretchedly-awful stuff), but someone suggested it may have been the work of Dave Stevens, who lived in the same area as Kirby and liked to stop in from time to time. Oh yeah, page 15 also looks like it may have been done by someone else (maybe the same someone else, maybe not). It just has a very different “feel” to it than the rest of the story.
Well, things never stay quiet for long, and next thing you know, Barda’s own “Battle Unit” shows up, assigned to kill her and Scott. They include such wild-and-scary characters as “Mad Harriet”, with a nightmarishly-painted face, wild green hair and brass knuckles with 3-inch pointed spikes; “Stompa”, a heavy-duty figure whose boots can smash Barda into the floor; “Lashina”, a “bondage”-inspired terror whose belt can rip thru steel girders; and “Burnadeth”, who uses a dart-like “fahren-knife” which can “penetrate dimensionally” and barbecue someone “from the inside”!!
After driving off the first two, the following day, Scott, in costume again, shows off 2 new death-traps for Funky, who’s turned up in a “safari” outfit. When Scott foolishly shows Funky his Mother Box, Funky acts like he knows what the heck it is. “So THIS is a “Mother-Box”, eh? Heh-heh! I KNOW that they are!! It’s just that I’ve NEVER seen one this close before!” Scott clearly knows is a “transparent second-rater”, and doesn’t even react to this obvious lie. After a third attack, Scott & Barda realize they’ve been tracked via the Mother-Box—and Oberon finds it very amusing that Funky’s got it on him just now.
Funky has returned home, taking the Mother-Box with him. “If it ISN’T a musical SARDINE-CAN –what the hell is it?” Bored quickly, and totally full of his own overblown ego, Funky actually tosses it aside... moments before ALL FOUR of the hit-squad materialize, and determine that, “The death order COULD include ANY who befriend him!!” Showing the kind of loyalty to staff that has run America completely into the ground in my lifetime, Funky TOSSES Houseroy at the killers, then leaps thru a window to escape, seconds before the entire old mansion explodes in a colossal fireball!
“THERE IT GOES! –everything—up in flames! The Mockingbird Estate—and its HAPPY memories! Mint JULIPS! COTILLIONS! HAPPY slaves singing for the FAMILY!!! Looks kinda PRETTY, though—PASSION-RED flame against UNDULATING CYCLOPEAN BLACK smoke! A MARVEL of CONTRAST!” As the narrator tells us... “Whistling, with rising spirits, like all his endless kind, Funky Flashman strides with new hopes—new schemes—inthe the night!” “Oh, well! Got to cut AWAY from Scott Free!! LOVE the lad—but HATE his friends!! On t NEW conquests, Funky Flashman!! You WINNER, you!!!”
Scott, Barda and Oberon have arrived just in time to save the butler’s life, having seen how the man’s boss tossed him to his fate. Despite plans to travel around, Scott decides to change his tactics. “Our battle is with the forces of APOKALIPS! --and with OURSELVES!! We had the courage to break free of them! --Do we DARE to return—and FACE THEM DOWN!!” “If we dare—we DIE!! “Well, I’m a soldier, Scott!! I’m trained to die!! But, you—you’re beautiful inside!! They never got to you!! And now they’ll do things to you—“ “ENOUGH, Barda! There is NO freedom is running! I’m going BACK and win it THEIR way!! --in TRIAL BY COMBAT!!” Holy cow.
Another Young Scott Free installment shows Metron, unseen by all but Scott, advising him not to eat food saturated with “Brain Drain Chemical”. In the back, there’s a Boy Commandos reprint of “SATAN WEARS A SWASTIKA” from BOY COMMANDOS #1 (Winter 1942-43). This is a real stand-out, as it features cameos by Jim Harper, The Newsboy Legion, The Sandman, and, at their office, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby!!
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LOIS LANE #119 / Feb’72 – “INSIDE THE OUTSIDERS!”
On the cover, we see Lois & Superman at an outdoor arena, watchng a “Sky-Jump Contest”. One of the jumpers is having a problem. “SUPERMAN! My sister Lucy... her parachute won’t open!” “And I can’t possibly get there in time! What can I do?” Those Lane sisters...
Before the event, Lois tries to talk her sister out of jumping, but to no avail. “Don’t be a square, Lois! You only live once! I’m living now! Today! Tomorrow doesn’t count!” Lucky for her, Superman used his super-breath to straighten out Lucy’s knotted parachute lines, AND, his heat-vision to create warm up-drafts to slow Lucy’s fall. Good thing it’s Superman and not Ultra Boy, who can only use one power at a time, or she’d have been a goner. Afterwards, Lois is terribly upset, but Supes reminds her she’s a professional, so she fights back tears to go on-camera and report the story. “That’s my girl!”
The main story focuses the fake Morgan Edge still trying to get his hands on the original. In a 2-page flashback, we see Darkseid observing the work of Mokarri and Simyan at the Evil Factory when the Edge clone was created. While the editor notes this takes place before The Evil Factory was destroyed in the recent JIMMY OLSEN, what it doesn’t mention is how the place and everyone in it is miniaturized. Apparently Darkseid was also SHRUNK for the purpose of his visit.
We then see how Edge caused the ambulance he was in to run off the road into a river... and on climbing on to shore, we discover he was picked up by—The Outsiders! NO, not that later bunch of second-rate heroes led by a tyrannical hand by Batman... the BIKER gang, last seen in JIMMY OLSEN. “We’re searching for PEACE and LOVE in a world living on the edge of a volcano! Would you like to JOIN us, brother?” It’s been pointed out that, traditionally (if such a word has any meaning here), “bikers” and “hippies” are two very different things. But not here!
The fake Edge figures out that the real Edge might try hiding out in a crowd. So he gives Lois an assignment to take “documentary” photos of people in “groups”, hoping she’ll stumble on the real Edge. Lucy goes along to take the pics. In an incredibly unlikely twist, The Outsiders decide to start a farm community. And sure enough, the fake Edge recognizes the real Edge in one of the photos he gets back from Lois. (Why the real Edge didn’t contact Lois directly while she was there is just another one of those plot contrivances that can’t be explained.)
The former leaders of the gang, Iron Mask and Vudu, briefly show up, determined to take back the reins of leadership. However, faced with an attitude of peace and love and brotherhood, they’re unable to deal with it, and flee! Robert Kanigher quotes Proverbs at this point: “If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; if be thirsty, give him ater to drink; for thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.”
Without telling them what he’s up to, the fake Edge visits the Evil Factory and has Mokarri & Simyan run off a batch of non-living human bodies. Assumng he’s working on Darkseid’s orders, they follow his. Soon, the local cops discover a mass grave near The Outsiders’ commune, and mistakenly conclude are somehow running a “murder cult”!! But Superman arrives and notes the bodies are too perfect, and in fact, were never alive in the first place.
Lois reports back to her boss, who, after she leaves, flies into a fit. “The real Morgan Edge is still alive—thanks to SUPERMAN, who doesn’t even KNOW he saved his life! I’ve got to get him, somehow—before DARKSEID finds out!”
This issue’s Lady Danger reprint is “LADY DANGER FIGHTS SEA PIRATES!” from SENSATION COMICS #85 (Jan’43). One annoying thing about almost every book from this period is, there’s this 2-page ad for DC subscriptsions, and they ALWAYS put it in the middle of a story, rather than in between stories where it wouldn’t be so intrusive.
Rose And The Thorn this time is “THE SILENT SNIPER!”, which features 2 rifle-weilding killers. One has been hired by The 100 to take out Danny Stone, the other, a criminal who hid stolen loot in the very costume shop where Rose switches identities to become The Thorn. She’s unaware the loot has been hidden somewhere in the shop since years before The Thorn came into being, while the sniper mistakenly thinks she does know about it, and has somehow made off with it. Lois cameos as a volunteer nurse’s aide at the hospital where Danny recovers from his bullet wound.
Rich Buckler & Dick Giordano do a nice job on the art this time, Buckler’s storytelling a noticeable improvement from the last one I saw. Giordano also does the book’s cover, while Werner Roth & Vince Colletta continues to do a VERY “nice” job on the lead feature.
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JIMMY OLSEN #147 / Mar’72 – “A SUPERMAN IN SUPER-TOWN!”
In a pose strikingly similar to that seen on last month’s LOIS LANE #119, Superman & Jimmy witness several flying figures, a woman using some kind of telekinetic power, and another figure actually lifing up a skyscraper. “Jimmy—this is IMPOSSIBLE! Every man, woman and child is as super as I am!” The LL cover was by Bob Oksner; this one is by Neal Adams and Murphy Anderson. I wonder if the same person might have designed both covers?
Still in Trevor, Scotland, Jimmy is recovering from his ordeal in the previous issue while the Newsboys relate how the Evil Factory was atomized. Just then, the monstrous “Angry Charlie”, said to be the “only survivor” of the creatures produced by the scientists from Apokalips, bursts into the room, and it’s up to Gabby to pacify him. For unknown reasons, Gabby’s presence calms the beast, and he then gives him a special tablet to knock him unconscious, so they can more easily transport him back to The D.N.A. Project near Metropolis. Jimmy once again looks forward to confronting Morgan Edge for having sent them on what very nearly was a suicide mission. It’s hard to believe this hasn’t come to a head yet.
Meanwhile, deep below Metropolis, Superman is following the mysterioius tunnel, when a Boom Tube appears, spewing out another oddly-garbed figure. But when Supes tries to tackle him, “Magnar” flips him into the Tube, and he winds up being pulled by a great force all the way through, until he winds up in a green pasture. “This CAN’T possibly be Apokalips!”, he thinks. He’s right! Attacked by security forces, then Magnar again, Superman eventually convinces them he’s NOT from Apokalips, the Magnar realizes they both mistook the other for an enemy. (This became a running theme in at least the first 2 entire years of MARVEL TEAM-UP, but here, at least, this sort of mistaken identity or intentions made sense.) And then he sees the “Satellite City”. “Of course! It CAN’T be anything else--!! It’s SUPERTOWN!!! I saw it once –for ONE fleeting moment!!” “Well, it’s open to FRIENDS! This is a WORLD of friends!!” “If you’re a friend to ALL—you BELONG among us!!”
While this is going on, Jimmy and the Newsboys finally depart Scotland in the Whiz Wagon, with the unconscious Angry Charlie strapped down on the hood of the flying car. But halfway across the Atlantic, something really inexplicable occurs, as a volcanic island seems to rise out of the water, and from the crater, a huge mechanical platform, which magnetically grabs the car and pulls it and its occupants down into its gaping maw. A group of flying robotic sentries attacks, stunning all into unconsciousness. On awaking, they find someone’s changed their clothes for them, and they’re the in the presence of Professor Victor Volcanum. He’s eight feet tall, dressed in old-fashioned clothes, and somehow drinks fire from a goblet! He’s also, as he tell them, “--soon to be your most belevolent and respected sovereign—THE KING OF EARTH!!”
Back on New Genesis, Superman stumbles into one situation after another where he mistakes normal occurances for trouble, and realizes he’s being more of a nuisance than a help. As this begins to sink in, he’s invited to rest on a bench beside an old man with white hair, a beard and a long, white staff. “To be frank, I’m a NEW arrival to New Genesis! And by EVERY rule I should belong here! --Yet, I-I’m finding it DIFFICULT to adjust---“ “There was a FIERCE young one with your problem! But we found a NEED for him here!! And it HELPED him mightily!!” “Well, I can see very LITTLE need for ME here!! Everyone’s doing fine without MY help!!” “And what of this place you left behind!?” “Earth is a TERRIFIC planet!! But it needs ALL the help it can get!! Including MINE!!” “”I think THAT’s your problem! You’ve left good friends ---in TROUBLE! To serve a friend is certainly to serve NEW GENESIS!! It would be a simple task to return you to Earth! –you have only to grasp the WONDER STAFF!” “You mean—ALL I have to do is--- ??”
And the next second, “POP!” –Supes finds himself, not just on Earth, but deep inside the volcanic island, where he finds Jimmy & the Newsboys trapped in a suspended metal cage. “That old JOKER!! He sent me to Earth, all right! INSIDE IT!!” “LOOK, FELLAS! THE MARINES HAVE LANDED! WE’RE SAVED!!” But before he can do anything, a pair of stone walls CLOSE tightly on Superman, pinning him. “KLOMP!” “UGH!” What a cliff-hanger!
It was quite amusing to see Superman in a place where he wasn’t needed, and where his every action was a result of misjudging the circumstances. Naturally, though he wasn’t mentioned by name, the “old joker” was High-Father. It’s also very obvious that High-Father was referring to Orion when he told Supes the story of the “firece young one”. As it happens, Orion’s story is finally recounted in THIS SAME MONTH’s issue of NEW GODS. I suppose the only question might be, did that revelation come out before or after this story? Was this a hint of what was about to come, or a reference to what readers had just seen?
This issue was almost a reverse of the last few, in that Supes & Jimmy had separate, parallel adventures, except this time, Supes got more of the spotlight, instead of a mere squeezed-in cameo. Victor Volcanum strikes me as one of Jack’s wildest ideas, and he may have been over-reaching himself with this one. But more on him next time. The scene where Supes is instantly teleported to the volcanic came beneath the Earth reminds me of a similar scene in the classic ancient legend, “ALLADIN AND THE MAGIC LAMP”. Jack sure loves mixing influences!
The Newsboy Legion reprint is “THE SCOOP OF SUICIDE SLUM!” from STAR-SPANGLED COMICS #14 (Nov’42). On the letters page, Bob Rozakis complains about Kirby creating “too many worlds”, while both Rich Morrissey and Harold May are working overtime trying to reconcile the continuity between Earth-2 and Earth-1 with regards to The Newsboy Legion, The Guardian, and The Boy Commandos.
Mike Royer inked this issue, and assuming he’s following Jack’s pencils closely, it would seem the quality of Jack’s pencils varied depending on the scene. Some of the panels with the Newsboys in Scotland are very cartoony, panels spotlighting Victor Volcanum have a rougher, cruder look about them (similar to some of the books Jack did for Marvel during his last year there), while the pages with Superman and the New Genesis crew are VERY sharp-looking.
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FOREVER PEOPLE #7 / Mar’72 – “I’LL FIND YOU IN YESTERDAY!!”
“WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WERE LOST IN TIME???” In the background, we see Big Bear, Vykin, Mark & Dreamer , racing toward us, while in the foreground, Serifan, laying on the ground, is being attacked by several “Justifiers”, while on stage left, the Super Cycle shoots back. Despite Serifan’s cowboy get-up, he’s the only one NOT “lost in time”.
On New Genesis, in one of the most visually spectacular scenes yet, Highfather is implored by a crowd of young people to find and help The Forever People. It seems their having gone to Earth has only just come to his attention! Metron is there, and according to him, in space, they could return home easily via Boom Tube. But, “The road back through time is a MAZE in which they could ETERNALLY stumble!!” Only when the youngest of the assembly—little blonde Esak (previously seen travelling thru time and space with Metron) adds his reqeust does Highfather agree to do something. “Esak—what is it that makes the very young –so very WISE--?” “TEE HEE!! It’s our DEFENSE, Highfather, against the very OLD!!”
Mark & Dreamer find themselves in Ford’s Theatre the night President Lincoln was assassinated. Vykin finds himself in Florida facing Ponce De Leon. Big Bear finds himself in England just at the point where the Romans decided to pull out of the country, leaving behind a native named “Arta” they trained in their ways. But rather than remain loyal to the departed invaders, “Arta” is accepted as the new leader of the natives—and is clearly the inspiration for the myth of King Arthur. While, back in the present, Glorious Godfrey’s squad of “Justifiers” decide to attack Serifan & The Super Cycle, intend in murder and destruction. It doesn’t work out. And before things are done, all 4 missing friends are abruptly returned to the present, and reunited with Serifan, thanks to Highfather’s use of the “Alpha Force”. They wonder what happened to Sonny Sumo... and discover a statue of him in Japan. Apparently, he was happy to find himself in the past, and lived out his days there, becoming a hero and legend in the process.
A very unusual episode in the saga, and the first time The Forever People have had to catch their breath since FP #3. (making this effectively the end of a 5-part sequence). The idea of a group of people, each thrust into a different time period, is a popular one among sci-fi writers. I’ve seen it used on episodes of THE TIME TUNNEL (“Chase Through Time”), STAR TREK (“All Our Yesterdays”), and, perhaps closest in actual plot to this one, LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES (“The Rogue Legionnaire”). Funny to see Jack Kirby somewhat doing a variation on an idea Jim Shooter did in another DC book several years earlier. Jack would return to the multiple-time-period type story when he did CAPTAIN AMERICA’S BICENTENNIAL BATTLES in 1976.
Although some of the linework bugs me (if I were Mike Royer, I probably would have “smoothed out” some of Jack’s more rough-looking, craggy hands for example), this is nonetheless one of the most stunning, beautiful 4W issues so far. From the really slick action cover, to the 2-page shot of the grand hall where the young of New Genesis ask Highfather for help, the profile shot of Abraham Lincoln, the wonderful, light-hearted action romp in ancient England, the full-age shot of the Roman Legions departing the country (WOW!!!), and the battle between the Super Cycle and the Justifiers, this is one DAMN good-looking comic!
And now that this sequence has finally come to a close, it looks like Jack’s gearing up for the next step. “EXPOSED IN ALL ITS HORRIFYING AND MALIGNANT MACHINATION!! --THE MIND SOUGHT BY GREAT DARKSEID HIMSELF!!! SEE THE STRANGE AND TRUE POSSESSOR OF THE ANTI-LIFE EUQATION!! THE MIND THAT WEILDS—THE POWER!” Ooooh.
This issue’s back-up is Lonar Of New Genesis and his Battle-Horse THUNDERER!!! In another flashback set before the outbreak of the current war, Lonar and his new companion (and steed) cross paths with Orion. Thinking at first the horse is a “construct” modeled in the image of the real thing, he then tries to pet Thunderer—only for the creature to rear up and race off at his touch. Clearly the battle-horse can sense more that is seen on the surface. Once again, as with this month’s JIMMY OLSEN, a teaser of what was coming up in NEW GODS #7.
This issue’s Sandman and Sandy The Golden Boy reprint is “THE MAN WHO COULDN’T SLEEP!” from ADVENTURE COMICS #80 (Nov’42).
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Just thought I'd pass this on... It suddenly hit me a couple days ago, as I was nearing the end of the stack (I'm way ahead on reading, and behind on reviewing), that, contrary to what I believed for quite a few years, I actually DO have EVERY ONE of the Fourth World issues!!!
See, what happened was, initially, I used a checklist in AMAZING HEROES to go buying back-issues. But there were several I wasn't able to get before I read thru the entire stack the first time (in the eatly 80's).
However, as I check the stack, and the stickers on the bags, it's become evident that I actually was able to find ALL the ones I was missing at my 2nd store (after the 1st one closed up). The exceptions being, JIMMY OLSEN #133 & 134. Those I never found.
I finally got to read JIMMY OLSEN #133 when it was reprinted in SUPERMAN IN THE 70'S (2000), and then #134 when it was reprinted in JIMMY OLSEN ADVENTURES (2003). I still remember what a huge charge it was being able to read that initial 6-parter all in one go for the first time!
But apart from those 2, I have ALL the others in the original printings. Wow.
Guess I won't have to go looking for back-issues when I do find my next job...
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NEW GODS #7 / Mar’72 – “THE PACT!”
This issue is a bit different—to say the least. The cover shows a scene of battle—utter carnage, in fact. Bodies lay strewn about, an eerie green flame burns in the background, while in the foreground, we see 2 warriors facing each other. One dressed in green with a tall, pointed hat (similar to early depictions of Elric) with strange yelow skin swinging an oddly-shaped sword and riding what appears to be a huge hound from hell; the other, garbed entirely in red armor, stands, waiting, with a long golden rod in his hands. The text reads: “A GREAT MYSTERY is explained—in the greatest battle ever fought by the—NEW GODS”.
As with issues #1 & #2, #7 opens with a flashback... “IN THE BEGINNING—“ (Shades of Dino DeLaurentis & John Huston!) But this one it turns out, is book-length. “The NEW GODS were formless in image and aimless in deed!!! On EACH of their TWO new worlds, their races had sprung from the SURVIVOR of the old!! The living atoms of BALDUUR gave nobility and strength to one!! –and the shadow planet was saturated with the cunning and evil which was once a SORCERESS!!” Gee, the only figures of myth who come to mind here would be Baldar of Asgard, and Karnilla, Witch Queen of the Norns (well, in Kirby’s mythology, at least). How does that work, I wonder? Wouldn’t it take 4 people to spawn 2 new races? Or did they somehow spring full-blown from the very beings of the survivors? Could be...
“For an age these new gods pursued their own destines—until the time of the GREAT CLASH!!! It would start on NEW GENESIS—with these two—IZAYA THE INHERITOR and his wife AVIA—and happiness—the FIRST sign of coming tragedy—in an IMPERFECT state!!!” At this moment we learn (if we’re looking close enough) that Izaya is the same warrior on the cover who was encased in red armor. (He carries the same staff.) Now I’m trying to remember if it was mentioned before that High-Father’s name was really Izaya. Here’s his hair’s still jet black, clearly much younger than we’ve seen him before.
Their relaxation is interrupted by a murderour “hunting” party. “STEPPENWOLF OF APOKALIPS—AND HIS DEMON RAIDERS!! Can’t you find enough of your BRUTAL sport among your foul kind!!” “He’s MY kill!! I’ll hang his SKULL in my TROPHY hall!! I hunt WHERE and WHAT I wish, Izaya! And I claim even LEADERS as my quarry!!” Is this man deluding himself into thinking he’s a warrior, when it would appear he’s little more than a blood-lusting murder-crazed mad animal? The Romans saw it as sport to set men against men or animals in a arena to fight to the death. Here, you have someone going around hunting and murdering other people, and calling it “sport”. Madness indeed!
Avia is caught in a blast meant for Izaya and killed. Before her husband can strike back, he’s taken out by Steppenwolf’s nephew—Darkseid, using what he refers to as “killing-gloves” designed by his “good friend”, Desaad. His uncle is suspicious that someone who “thrives on living victims would produce a device which kills with such SPEED”—yet he refuses to check for signs of life. His mistake—Izaya is alive, and his first move on recovering is to declare all-out war on Apokalips. Obviously, nobody on either side saw the value in having open diplomatic channels, or criminal extradition proceedings.
Well, war breaks out, and New Genesis attacks first, sending “monitors” (seen in some back-up stories) and “de-energizer” bombs which are dropped into the “planetary pits” which power the planet—although, if I went just by the artwork, it looks like the bombs CREATED the pits with their blasts. After 3 pages of carnage, we switch to a protective bunker (shades of WW2) where we see the ruling elite. Among them are Desaad, Darkseid, Steppenwolf, and Heggra, the Queen of Apokalips, who is Steppenwolf’s sister and Darkseid’s mother. She berates her brother for “constantly” forgetting to address her by her proper title. It suggests he must resent her being in charge rather than him—makes me wonder how THAT came about.
While Steppenwolf raves about smashing the enemy, Heggra praises her son for being “cool” and “wise”. Steppenwolf says to him, “Well, Darkseid! It seems you WANTED this war!! It might be well to LEARN how your interference would DEAL with it!!” A real perverse situation if ever there was one. Heggra doesn’t seem to have wanted the war, yet takes no actions against the TWO of her family who caused it. I also found myself wondering who her husband was, and what happened to him. (Perhaps she became Queen only because her husband was the ruler, so Steppenwolf was NOT in the running when the former ruler died?)
It gets even more perverse when he find Darkseid is obsessed with new technologies, including an unstable element created by accident, which can vanish and reappear on its own. Suddenly, Metron bursts into the room, demanding the element from Darkseid, on his word from an earlier “private” meeting. Metron wants the element so he can build his dimension-spanning Mobius Chair—Darkseid agrees to give it to him, on condition that metron supply Apokalips with a “Matter Threshold” thru which their troops can walk through and instantly invade New Genesis. In the pursuit of science and knowledge, Metron seems to care nothing for who reaps the benefits of his discoveries, or how much chaos and destruction and death may result. Was there ever a more pure expression of how amoral some scientists allow themselves to be?
Just thought I’d interject, while it’s mostly common knowledge that Metron was based on J. Robert Oppenheimer, who developed the atomic bomb (and look how much better the world is since thenm, right?), something that never occured to me before reading this story again today was how much Darkseid is beginning to remind me of Bela Lugosi. I know with 2 different TV cartoons featuring him you’d never think of Lugosi’s voice in connection with the character, but just looking at both his short stature and that FACE (under the dark color and craggy skin) is beginning to make me think Lugosi might have been the ideal actor to play him, had a film been made based on this story back in the 1930’s.
The war escalates. In 3 pages, we go from 5 panels to 3 panels to 1, with the climax for the sequence coming on a page with 6 panels. Izaya confronts Steppenwolf, who’s surprised to learn he’s still alive, moments before being killed by him. In any kind of sane world, this would have been the END of the war. In fact, this would have BEEN the war—period. But because Izaya launched a full-scale assault against an entire planet—just to kill ONE man—it can’t end here. And it doesn’t. He meets Metron on the battlefield, and the scientist tells him, “Darkseid knew he’d meet YOU here!! DARKSEID!! How I want HIM destroyed! And yet, he LIVES! He CLIMBS! Step by step! By intrigue, he got WAR! By war, he got POWER!! By power, he got STEPPENWOLF!!” And thus is the entire story explained up to this point. More or less.
And the war CONTINUES to escalate!! Until the man who started it can take no more. “We are WORSE than the old gods! They destroyed THEMSELVES!! We destroy EVERYTHING!! This is DARKSEID’s way! I am INFECTED by Darkseid!! To save New Genesis—I must find IZAYA!! WHERE is IZAYA?? –not the warrior!—the General!!—but, the TRUE servant of those he leads!!” I’m a bit reminded of Michael Reeves film WITCHFINDER GENERAL, which he apparently intended as a cautionary warning about the dangers of violence, and how it can infect everyone in touches. (I sometimes think if he’d been older when he made that, and had more self-control and restraint, he might have been able to get his “message” across better without actually offending most of his potential audience.)
Izaya, like Moses—or Jesus—walks out into the desert, alone, in search of answers. “I TEAR OFF MY ARMOR! I REJECT THIS WAR-STAFF AS A WEAPON!!! I REJECT THE WAY OF WAR!! DARKSEID’S GAME IS NOT MINE!! WHERE IS IZAYA!!!?? WHERE IS IZAYA!!!??” As the narration states, “The dry wind RISES and the elements DISTURB the sky!! Violent electrical flashes twist and STAB across the DARKENED land!!! The echo bnecomes a ROAR! The roar becomes a THOUSAND drums beating to the mad music of the wind-storm!!! – DRIVING—DRIVING the questing spirit-- ---TO THE WALL!!! Ageless, inscrutable!!!-- it stands—as if waiting—waiting in the sudden calm—for Izaya to communicate!” In the desert, Izaya finds a blank wall standing, crackling with mysterious energy. It’s like that early scene in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: SPACE ODYSSEY, transferred to a high plane, a more fantasy landscape, and certainly, a more LITERATE storyline. Kirby is taking elements from ancient mythology, religions, and modern science-fiction, and combining them into somethng NEW and EXCTIING!
And then, everything changes. The war is OVER. It was started with a murder and an excessive retaliation. It ends, with something very old-fashioned, from Earth history... the exchange of hostages to ensure peace. Izaya has contacted Darkseid, and the aggreement they reached—“THE PACT”—involves the exchange of their SONS. As we learn, like Henry II and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine (see the film THE LION IN WINTER), Darkseid’s wife, Tigra—a “fighting, snarling KILLER-CAT”—who was chosen for him against his will by his mother (who is NOW DEAD—gee, how convenient!) has been living in EXILE for years, along with her son, who has never even met his father.
Darkseid surveys the ruins of his planet, and says, “Izaya wants PEACE! I—want—TIME!!--- time to RE-DEFINE power!!—to make this “bombed-out” waste a MEANINGFUL pursuit!!” What a monster. He doesn’t want to rebuild his planet, so much as leave it a ruined nightmare of a landscape, for his own sick, depraved, twisted purposes. (Gee, why am I reminded of East Berlin? –or much of the Soviet Union?)
In one of the most disturburbing—but revealing—scenes in the entire Fourth World epic to date—we see Granny Goodness take charge of Izaya’s very young son. “There is a SERENE and FRAGILE quality in his features!!” “We’ll STAMP that out, won’t we, Granny!!? We’ll JAM him into that CLANKING mechanism you call an ORPHANAGE!! All the rigors and trials heaped upon the training warrior shall be DOUBLED for HIM!! His spirit will flag and his bones will ache!! –until—“ “UNTIL—sire??” “He may CONVENIENTLY decide to ESCAPE from Apokalips, Granny! Of course, on that day—the PACT I agreed to—will be BROKEN!!” “That fine day will be DEAR to your heart, sire! Therefore, in its honor, I shall name the lad—SCOTT FREE!!! Ha ha hah---“ Horrors!!!
Meanwhile a squad of soldiers, beaten and bloodied, desperately shove Darkseid’s son, a “murderous little monster”, thru the dimension threshold. Knife in hand, he confronts an old man who’s bent over a table in grief. But his attack is stopped. “Hate is NO longer a word in this place!! PUT DOWN THAT WEAPON!! –son--!” “You! YOU are—my father??” “Only if YOU wish me to be! I am HIGHFATHER!! And you—are ORION!! We have NEED of each other, Orion!! This is a place of FRIENDS!! Here is my hand--!!” “NO! I—I—“ “The hand, or the WEAPON, Orion!! I, TOO, had to make that choice!!--- DECIDE!!” “Y-you speak to my liking! I-I TRUST you—for now!” “FIRST, trust, Orion! THEN—who knows-- ? A GREAT destiny, perhaps!!” As the narrator says, “THUS IT BEGAN!!! –AND WE MOVE FORWARD ONCE MORE!!!” Wow.
While it was revealed as far back as NEW GODS #1 that Orion was Darkseid’s son (but only certain people knew it), until here there was NO clue that Scott Free was Highfather’s son. I doubt the terms of The Pact were supposed to include Scott being mis-treated so terribly for the whole of his life growing up. But it surely casts a different light on Highfather, who must have known—or at least suspected—what might happen to him.
The art in this entire issue is a masterpiece. Not only is Jack Kirby at the top of his game, but Mike Royer, after a few shaky, inconsistent issues, did what could easily be called a “perfect” job this time. Amazing!
The Young Gods of Supertown this time is a 2-page spotlight on Vykin The Black, set before the new war, where he tackles an ugly mutation left behind from The Great Clash. This would serve to set up a story coming up in a few issues. This issue’s Manhunter reprint is “The Legend Of The Silent Bear”, from ADVENTURE COMICS #76 (Jul’42). Also in the back is “Here Come The Robots” / “A World Of Thinking Machines” from REAL FACT COMICS #2 (May’46).
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JIMMY OLSEN #148 / Apr’72 – “MONARCH OF ALL HE SUBDUES!”
The cover shows Superman struggling with the hanging metal cage Jimmy and The Newsboy Legion are trapped in. Tommy says, “SUPERMAN—it’s too strong for you! WE’RE FINISHED!” How absurd. Like mere metal could stop him!
Sure enough, inside, Supes first frees himself from the crushing pressure of the rock walls, then tears the metal cage to shreads, while casually telling its prisoners, “You rascals DESERVE a bit of shaking up!” Some friend he is!
In the long tradition of tacky villains, Victor Volcanum, now dressed in old-fashioned psuedo-military “royal”attire, gets on the video monitor to gloat, telling Supes & his pals “I am finally embarking on my campaign to CLAIM my planetary dominion!” He then proceeds to spill his “origin” story. It’s here that it most feels like Jack Kirby’s wild imagination not just goes into hyperactive overdrive, but completely off the deep, demented end. A balloonist who crashed onto the volcanic isle (shaeds of Jules Verne’s THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND), Volcanum, apparently a scientist, somehow used his “meagre equipment” to create “a method to DISTILL live-giving extracts from the FIERY energies about him!!” Wild enough for you? Wait! There’s more!
Using materials salvaged from wrecked ships, he forged a “mechanical servitor”—which he taught to build others—until he had a “sizable security-labor force”. Over the course of one hundred and ten years, he built his entire domain, within the heart of the volcano, including its numerous security devices, weapons, and scientific marvels.
Now, I’m sorry. I might accept the extrememly wild stretch of the imagination of the guy finding a way to “distill life-giving extracts”, and that it might somehow mutate him physically or mentally. But it’s just TOO MUCH to accept that he was able to build everything else seen on this island, COMPLETELY by himself, no matter how long he’s been there! Beginning with those robots! I have to suspect that any other writer, inspired to do a follow-up on this, might feel compelled to reveal that Volcanum wasn’t telling the entire truth. Like, that either he had outside help, or that he wasn’t from this planet in the first place. Had Kirby revealed that he was actually an exile from Apokalips, I could have more easily accepted it, and it would have tied this story in more neatly with the rest of Kirby’s JIMMY OLSEN issues.
Anyway, an army of robots attacks, and Supes pitches a rock at them as if it were a baseball, sending it THRU the heads of all of them (they just happened to be stupid enough to all stand in a straight line—hilarious!). Next, a flow of lava erupts toward them, apparently under the control of the baddie. Supes manages to divert it by creating a deep trench. Up next is a pale blue robot guarding their escape path named “Boxxa”. Four times I read this before it hit me how this thing reminds me of the similar robot named “Box”, also guarding an escape tunnel, in the movie LOGAN’S RUN. That robot was NOT in the book that movie was loosely based on, which makes me suspect whoever came up with it may have been reading this Kirby comic! Jimmy barely takes it out by finding its “de-activator” button. How convenient.
But then Volcanum uses a “brain blocker” ray to knock everyone unconscious, before preparing to depart in his flying gondola. It took this guy 110 years to build his domain, and now, not only is he leaving it, but for no apparent reason (other than being completely insane) he plans to destroy it when he leaves. Awakening, Jimmy, Supes & the Newsboys stumble across a miniature model of a city, set up to demonstrate how Volcanum’s weapons will destroy it. It’s a scene uncannily similar to one seen in the Richard Brooks film WRONG IS RIGHT, more than a decade later!
The boys barely manage to find the Whiz Wagon and escape, just as the island goes up in a collosal explosion (shades of MYSTERIOUS ISLAND again, not to mention YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE). The Whiz Wagon fires missiles at the gondola, which are brushed off with a force field, but Superman manages to break thru to confront their foe. Supes has some choice dialogue in this episode. “All those years of isolation have driven you to PARANOIA!” “GIVE UP your mad dream to dominate all things, Volcanum! You can be useful and productive in the SERVICE of humanity! It HASN’T hurt MY ego!!” But it doesn’t get through... “What I build, I build for MYSELF! For my OWN view of the world! To form the world in the shape of VICTOR VOLCANUM! But now that I’ve been frustrated, I’ll END things—and take YOU with me!” One switch pulled, and he blows up the gondola—and himself. “And so ends Volcanum’s madness!” NO KIDDING. The group head for Metropolis, and if you look real close, you can read, in tiny text at the bottom... “The End”. It’s like Jack was sneaking out the back door so no one would notice...
Although both Supes & Jimmy came across okay this time, the rest of the Newsboys were reduced to ciphers. Oy.
Tales Of The DNA Project this time is “GENETIC CRIMINAL”, a 2-pager in which a “DNA-human” seems to go berzerk, but really is stopping a spy disguised as one of the security guards. As revealed at the end, “Model Four” never turned anti-social, despite being grown from the cells of Floyd “Bullets” Barstow—a gangster executied for murder!
Vince Colletta returns this issue, and does another fantastic job (for him). Neal Adams flies solo on the cover.
The Newboy Legion with The Guardian reprint is “The Meanest Man On Earth”, from STAR SPANGLED COMICS #14 (Nov’42). You know, it’s a strange thing, but of all the Golden Age Kirby reprints included in this period, The Newsboy Legion was the ONLY series re-rpesetned chronologicaly from the beginning. In sequence, they did SSC #7-14. Even so, I’d have much rather seen them put out a single reprint volume with the entire series in one book. I just don’t like mixing new and reprint material in the same package.
On the letters page, both Dane Kalis and Matt Graham feel Jimmy would be better off without Supes, but those in charge apparently feel he’s needed to boost sales. Meanwhile, it’s announced Jack feels he’s stretched himself to thin, and so, next issue Joe Orlando is taking over as editor, with a new creative team. Well, there goes my reason to buy any more of these! Elsewhere, DC takes over publishing TARZAN comics, with Joe Kubert doing the art. I’ve never read a single one of these, but I can’t imagine them in any way holding a candle to the Russ Manning version then currently in the newspapers.
Posted by profh0011 on :
MISTER MIRACLE #7 / Apr’72 – “APOKALIPS TRAP!!”
The latest over-crowded cover shows Scott in another of those patented metal-frame body-jackets attached to a metronome as a firing squad of armored troopers uses crossbows to fire explosive missiles at him. Gee, you’d think as close as they’re standing to the target, they’d get blown up when he does. Oh, yeah, and some dandy in Middle Ages-style clothes has Barda on her knees, forcing her to watch the hero’s execution. Is he kidding? “VISIT APOKALIPS AND DIE! Only a fool or a super-being would try!! You pin the label on... MISTER MIRACLE Super Escape Artist!” Here we go again...
Our first glimpse of Apokalips was in NEW GODS #1, and we just got to see more in NEW GODS #7. Now, we return there, to witness what happens when “the worms” (new recruits) arrive for Granny’s “Finishing School”. It’s mean, it’s viscious, it’s brutal, and it’s obviously Kirby commenting on everything from real-life orphanages to public schools to army basic training, and the way they tend to de-humanize people in order to strip them of their individuality and whatever makes them human in favor of people who simply obey whatever orders they’re given without question.
A very interesting scene is when Granny Goodness pulls aside “Hoogin”, one of her “Harrassers”, and reminds him she had to “break” him down in rank when Scott Free escaped. “For reasons of my OWN, I’ve been trying to recapture him, Hoogin! And I’ve got a hunch that Scott will VOLUNTEER –to come BACK!!” “I CAN’T wait—Granny!” I find this intriguing. As explained only last month in “THE PACT”, Darkseid deliberately had Granny brutalize Scott more than any of the other recruits, to inspire him to escape—knowing that, when he did escape, “The Pact” would be broken, giving him the excuse to resume the war. Granny admitting that every attack on Scott we’ve seen has been on her orders, NOT Darkseid’s, makes me wonder about her motivations. Is it purely personal? Does she resent his attitude and behavior toward her? Does she see herself as more important than Darkseid? Does she resent having to have a black mark on her record, just to satisfy Darkseid’s nebulous long-term plotting and scheming? Or is it just sadism as a matter of habit or principle?
Sure enough, as we saw last issue, Scott & Barda are planning to return to Apokalips. “You escaped from Apokalips ONCE! Do you think that Granny Goodness and her creepy pets will let you do an ENCORE??” “NO!! But STRANGELY enough—like all organized societies, Apokalips exists by RULES!!—made by Darkseid—and KEPT by his subjects!! This time I MUST escape from Apokalips—WITHIN those rules!!”
Oberon can’t stand to see them go, and Barda is also upset, in her way. “GET OUT! GET OUT! –you little sawed-off drip!” “I’m going!! For just a little while, I—I thought you were really a BIG, BEAUTIFUL WARM-HEARTED GIRL!! –instead of a LOUD-MOUTHED, MILITARY, MAN-KILLING HARPY turned out by those terrible Darkseiders!!” “Oh, SHUT UP—or I’ll—I’ll—“ As Barda is down on her knees giving Oberon a HUG as she says this, it’s obvious her words are not matching up with her true feelings. What a wonderful scene!
Scott wants Barda to stay behind, since he’s the one Granny wants. “No deal, MISTER MIRACLE! We’ll go down that old shark’s mouth TOGETHER!! --then I’ll beat her to death from ther INSIDE!!” “MORE than that, Barda! Living, or dead—you and I are PROOF to all of Apokalips –that it can FALL!!” “Well, then!! Victory BEFORE the battle leaves little left but to enjoy it!! Let’s tear the top off Apokalips!” Wow. What a build-up. This whole thing feels like the a natural step in the evolution of the “big story”, and an indication that, as planned, it would eventually come to a conclusion, where Apokalips would no longer be as it is here. (And such a shame not only that Jack Kirby was unable to finish the story originally, but, WORSE, that DC, to this day, has PERSISTED in keeping the status quo going!)
The pair use Barda’s Mega-Rod to make the trip. “It’s the LATEST from ordnance! Better than the BOOM TUBE!” “Yes!! It’s SMALLER and packs as much ENERGY BUILD-UP!!” Between this and last month, we’ve now seen at least 4 different ways of instantaneous travel—the Matter Threshold, Metron’s Mobius Chair, the Boom Tube, and now the Mega-Rod. I suppose it makes sense that Apokalips should develop newer, smaller, better ways of invading, but only give them to certain officers. It takes an entire page for the pair to depart Oberon’s house, which emphasizes how important this entire sequence is in the larger scale of things.
Materializing on Apokalips (so similar to how the crew of the Enterprise “transport” on STAR TREK), they’re instantly seen and challenged. “MEGA-ROD MATERIALIZERS!! STAND FAST! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!!” “LOWER your voice, you pompous GNAT!!” “I said DON’T MOVE FROM THAT SPOT!!” “Barda, you UNPREDEICTABLE wildcat! If he runs a check on us, we may NOT make it to the orphanage!!” “Quiet!! YOU UP THERE!! I want some transportations, and none of your lip!! YOU RECOGNIZE AND OFFICER’S UNIFORM –DON’T YOU?” Talk about nerve! But the guard isn’t buying it, and opens fire with a warning shot. Whereupon Barda grabs hold of the guard-tower. “ARROGANT DOG OF A BORDER GUARD!! I’ll TEACH him the meaning of taking a shot at the uniform of the SPECIAL POWERS FORCE!!!” “KRAK!” “AAAAAA!” “KAARAAASSHH!!” “Run a check on THIS, you clod!!!—that is—if you can CRAWL out of the rubble!!” Seconds later, Barda flags down a Magna-Car, then stomps it with her foot, sending its occupants flying. “You’ve gone MAD, Barda! But I LIKE your style!!” “It’s all I’ve got left!!—and I’m going to RAM it down the throats of all Apokalips!!” This is probably my favorite scene with Barda since her introduction.
Kirby spends the next page showing just how nightmarish a place Apokalips really is, as wretched-looking workers wearing rags slave away while guards watch over them, amidst a dismal, dreary, burnt-out ruin of an area. It’s clear that in all the years Darkseid has ruled over the planet, he’s spent every moment of his time enforcing his power, and not the slightest effort on rebuilding or trying to improve the place.
The pair are attacked by Kanto, “The Weapon-Master”—“PERSONAL assassin to the great Darkseid himself”. Looking like something out of the Middle Ages, he’s a smiling dandy who apparently enjoys his work, and allows himself the luxury of admiring his opponents and their weaponry. After getting Barda out of the way by using her own Mega-Rod to weight her down with increased gravity, he has Scott captured and deposited in an obscene metronome, swinging back and forth in front of a large, painted target, while a squad of men take pot-shots at him. Scott only barely escapes death, and Kanto laughs, revelling in his skills. After then being dragged all over a courtyard by his ankle, Scott escapes again, only to be confronted by Kanto. Rather than fight, they talk, Kanto revealing he’d rather “mingle with Darkseid’s retinue”, but he’s “content” to have a “dominion and command” of his own. Kanto then actually hands over the Mega-Rod, with the advice, “Use this on yourself and the female—NOW!! Death at Kanto’s may be CLEANER than death fashioned by GRANNY GOODNESS!!”
“INTRIGUE, my friend! It’s my LIFE-STYLE!! Like yourself, I’m a student of Earth!!—and I live with all the daring phantoms who peopled and PLOTTED the Earth-years of the Renaissance!!” “ADMIRABLE!! You’re influential –and you can plot!! When I release Barda from mass gravity—I shall ask a BOON of you—DEAR FELLOW!”
Next thing, Scott & Barda have snuck aboard the latest transport to the orphanage, revealing themselves when they arrive. “Tell Granny I’m BACK!! Tell Granny I claim freedom—by RIGHT OF COMBAT!!” In her chamber, Granny sits, “taking her medicine”, dressed up in an absurd, old-fashioned set of night-clothes, yet her venom is not a bit diminished. “Granny’s been WAITING for this day, Scott Free!! –the day you would march back here and FLAUNT your impudence!! Well, you forget, sir!! – a trap made by Granny—is a trap of the GODS!!!” And sure enough—in “Section Zero”—a monstrous figure, “The Lump”, lays on a table, next to another, empty table loaded up with strange equipment. “I WOULDN’T like to be the one to occupy this table!” says one of the robed technicians at work. And in the narrative box below, Kirby promises for next time—“THE BATTLE OF THE ID!!”
This issue’s Young Scott Free installment shows his training as an aero-trooper, tanking on “The Mangle Machine”—the name given to a squad of murderous Para-Demons. He surprises everyne by being the only one in his squad to escape completely unscathed, with the help of some early escape-devices.
The Boy Commandos reprint is “Who Is Agent Axis?” from BOY COMMANDOS #3 (Summer 1943).
Posted by profh0011 on :
FOREVER PEOPLE #8 / May’72 – “THE POWER!”
In a gloomy underground cavern, our heroes are being marched along in heavy chains or worse, by a groups of strange-looking characters who remind me the creatures Alec Baldwin & Geena Davis turned themselves into to scare that family in the movie BEETLEGUISE. I’m not makin’ this up! Pretty wild colors on this cover—I wonder if Jack did them himself?
In an opening page that reminds me of something Will Eisner might have done in one of his later SPIRIT stories, Jack shows us a vast, sprawling estate emptied of all people except for armed security guards, described in narration that pays tribute to the nursery rhyme “The House That Jack Built”. But in the bowels of the Earth under the estate, things are not even as the reclusive millionaire or his hired “army” plan. A group of strangely-costumed characters attack and kill one of the “soldiers”, then dump his body in a pit with many others. It seems “Mister Bates” is involved with some sort of mysterious group known as “The Sect”—except, someone has systematically been replacing its members, and then, doing the same with his guards! A millionaire and a recluse Mister Bates may be—but even that isn’t ensuring his safety.
“Shot after shot blasts through the damp, cold DARKNESS of the EERIE hollows that reach out like crooked spiders in the Earth below!! The secrets that surround the name of Bates are under ASSAULT by strange INVADERS—FOR THESE SECRETS HIDE A MAN IN POSSESSION OF A FORCE OF TERRIFYING MAGNITUDE—THE MAN WITH—THE POWER!” Wow. Sheer poetry. It’s funny, just last night, I was watching KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE, and the phrase “extraordinary magnitude” kept being repeated during the “FISTFUL OF YEN” sequence. Of course, when I hear the phrase “The Man With The Power”, I tend to think of THE OUTER LIMITS episode, but this has nothing to do with the school-teacher played by Donald Pleasence.
It seems the imposters in the caverns “materialized” there. And, above ground, in the nearby town forcibly emptied of all its former residents, The Forever People also materialize, to the extreme agitation of the armed thugs guarding the place. A few questions are quickly followed by attempted MURDER—but when Big Bear gets involved, these poor saps don’t stand a chance. With his “excess of free atoms”, he’s bulletproof—and strong enough to pick up and hurl a truck at his attackers! They eventually flee, saying, “The ONLY answer to these weirdos is MISTER BATES!” But just then, Serifan arrives, from Japan, retrieved Mother Box in hand. A happy reuinion is interrupted when the image of “Billion Dollar Bates” appears on a tele-screen. He tells them, “In the next few seconds, one of my officers will contact you!! YOU’RE TO OBEY ANY ORDER HE GIVES YOU!! ANY ORDER!!” They laugh it off, until the man arrives, tells them to get in single file and follow him... AND THEY DO!!!
In his mansion, we meet Bates in person. He’s a big, heavy-set, boisterous, arrogant, bossy personality, and he’s holding court over four members of a Senate Committee who were investigating his activities. That is, until he called them on the phone, and TOLD them to come to his home. One by one, he toys with them, his every order obeyed without hesitation, even though nobody there WANTS to. It’s like Killgrave, The Purple Man from the 60’s DAREDEVIL comics, reborn in the image of Ed Begley Sr. (see the Michael Caine / Harry Palmer film, BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN).
Bates gloats that he always had this power, but for years didn’t know it, until he met “The Sect”, and they explained it to him, and helped him develop it. Now, he plans to undergo a “ceremony” which will increase his power a thousandfold, and use it to take control of everyone on Earth!
In the caverns, our heroes know what’s going on. Big Bear tells Mark, “There’s NO doubt that he possesses the ANTI-LIFE EQUATION!! Don’t you realize the DANGER we’re in?” But Mark realizes that if they don’t find a way to stop Bates, Darkseid will get to him first. So they stay, allow themselves to be shackled, even when they realize that Earthmen have a tradition of mystic ritual that may involve “living sacrifice”.
As the ceremony begins, one of The Sect, then Bates, raves on and on about power, and how mankind if “free and aimless, shackled by disunity”, which the heroes compare with George Orwell’s “1984”. All goes as planned until a “Stimulus Hat” is placed on Bates’ head—at which point, its energy output sends him to unconsciousness. One of The Sect leans over him, saying, “PERFECT! He’s still in shock!--- but the ANTI-LIFE EQUATION lies ready to be PLUCKED from that living brain!” Uh oh... now WHY do these words sound familiar?
However, things go wild when Bates appears to float away, then The Sect discover they don’t really have the heroes in shackles—it was all an illusion created by Beautiful Dreamer! Racing away with the unconscious Bates, they suddenly find their path blocked by the leader of The Sect, who they realize must be none other than Darkseid! “If you still fear the OMEGA EFFECT you’ll hand over Bates!” But Big Bear thrusts Bates in front of him, at the exact instant one of the guards fires 3 shots. “Mister Bates—when I saw him in their hands—I—I—reacted—TOO FAST--!” “KRAK!” One unconscious (dead?) thug later... “That PRICELESS brain—with its anti-life equation—LOST!!” Desaad replies, “Forgive me, Sire! I brought the guard! I knew he was given POWER over The Forever People!! I—“ Ohhhh, I think there’s gonna be hell to pay over THIS bungled job...
Darkseid removes his disguise, then is confronted by The Forever People, who arrogantly defy him... until he orders them to be SILENT. “Are you warriors of NEW GENESIS—or some prattling, gaggle of half-grown fowls? STRAIGHTEN UP! LOOK LIKE WHAT YOU PRETEND TO BE!!!” Absurdly, what follows is a mock “inspection of the troops”—perhaps the youths being cowed into obeying showing they really are more out of their depths than they tend to think. It goes on until Mark decides to use his Megaton Blast—but it fails to have any effect, as he and his friends fade from sight at that very moment! “Th-they’re GONE sire! I-I hate to say this—but those brats managed to get too close to us! They could have—“ “I know, Desaad! We were in DANGER! Thus, my little act!--- my little MOCK troop inspection—Moonrider realized it too late!--- But I had already saturated his unit with INVIVISBLE Omega rays—and they began to vanish—even as this stone!” “But somehow I feel that you’ve SPARED The Forever People AGAIN!” “Greatness does NOT come from killing the young! I’m willing to WAIT until they grow!! NOW, WE DEPART!”
The Senate Committee wanders in, finds Bates’ body and the helmet, and realize they have a lot to report to Washington. Elsewhere, our heroes find themselves in the Super-Cycle. “Tricky Darkseid! We’ll meet AGAIN!” “We could have fared worse! He’s a STRANGE enemy!!” As they fly off... “This has been a STAND-OFF! And that’s better than DEFEAT!”
The Kirby-Royer art this issue is, for the most part, STUNNING on every page. But here and there I sense a bit more looseness in the figure-drawing, as if Jack’s attention is being lost. In some ways, due to behind-the-scenes manipulations, this would be the LAST issue of THE FOREVER PEOPLE that really continued the main story effectively. Since the beginning, Darkseid has been searching for the Anti-Life Equation, and in this issue, for only the 2nd time, he found it—then lost it. The first tme was due to his own actions, this time, due to Desaad’s. That can’t be making him too happy. Knowing what’s coming next, I almost find myself wishing the book had gone on hiatus HERE. Ah well...
The Sandman (with Sandy The Golden Boy) reprint this time is “Dreams Of Doom” from ADVENTURE COMICS #77 (Aug’42). It’s got more big panels in it than usual from that era, which only shows how constrained Jack was by having to cram too much story into a pitiful 10 pages. I wonder why they couldn’t be bothered to reprint these things in any sequence that makes any sense at all (not that there was much continuity to worry about).
Posted by profh0011 on :
NEW GODS #8 / May’72 – “THE DEATH WISH OF TERRIBLE TURPIN!”
Now this is one BRUTAL cover. A rooftop has been turned into a battle-zone, rubble everywhere, flames in the background, and, while a squad of police watch, we see Kalibak, club held in upraised hand, facing Dan Turpin, who looks like he’s been thru a meat-grinder, his clothes in shreads, and Orion, warning the cops to keep their distance. “I’m placing you under arrest—even if I DIE for it!” “STAY BACK, you men!! It’s forbidden to interfere in personal combat!” Holy cow!
3 issues back, in NEW GODS #5, we met Detective Dan Turpin. In that same issue, Kalibak arrived on Earth! The focus shifted due to the Leviathan at sea, and then the flashback to “The Great Clash”. But now that they’re out of the way, we pick up, right where we left off (even if it was 6 months earlier!). In search of Orion, Kalibak rampages thru Dave Lincoln’s building, finding and cornering him and Claudia Shane (those two seem to be spending a lot of time together!). Bullets have no effect... “HAHAHAHA! Your weapon barks but has NO bite!!—NOT against one breed in the SPECIAL POWERS FORCE!” You know, we keep hearing about this from Barda (over in MISTER MIRACLE). It makes me wonder, is there some kind of artificial / scientific process used on Apokalips to endow certain individuals with super-strength? If so, it would have been interesting to see it. (Perhaps it’s something like that used by The Inhumans, as seen in their back-up series in THOR.)
In the office of the Police Commissioner of Metropolis, Dan Turpin is having a meeting with his superior, Matt Kiernan. With a gang-war involving “super-weirdos” in progress and casualties mounting, Turpin’s determined to bring one of them in, but his boss would prefer he turn it over to one of the men he trained, so Turpin can retire with his “hide intact”. Despite threats to be busted down to street-crossing safety-guard, Turpin heads for the crime scene.
Meanwhile, Orion & Lightray arrive (perhaps direct from the battle seen in “THE GLORY BOAT”), and en route to Victor Lanza’s home, have a run in with a pair of rootop lovers, and a neighbor of Lanza’s. “So it is with the romantic young, Lightray! Part FANTASY, part TRUTH—ALL COMEDY!!” “Not to them, Orion! It’s REALITY to them!” Dolly Jarvis invites Lightray to a party she’s giving, and tells him “Bring HUMPHREY BOGART with you, too!”
Turpin arrives at the panic scene. “King Kong on a rooftop is no more dangerous than a nervous punk with a pistol!! The idea is to GIVE as good as you GET!!” Only a moment after spotting Kalibak in his binoculars, the patrol car is blasted by his war-club. Amidst the rubble, Turpin thinks, “That did it, SUPER-RAT! I’m gonna haul you in—or DIE trying!”
Lightray charms Victor Lanza’s wife to allay her nervousness, and winds up reminding her of her son away at law school. Just then, Orion sees Kalibak on the TV news report, and the pair knows where they must go next.
Now up on the rooftops, Turpin defies all logic and reason by first demanding Kalibak turn himself in, then racing to attack him with a machine-gun. Kalibak hurls a brick chimney at Turpin, and he responds by hurling a pair of high-powered shock grenades! The explosion manages to knock Kalibak off the roof, but not the building, and he strikes back brutally. “Had ENOUGH, Earthling? Destroying Kalibak is NOT an easy task! But finishing what’s left of you will be as simple as crushing a worm!” He fails to see Orion & Lightray arriving behind him. Orion manages to make Kalibak drop Turpin, then the two engage in viscious combat! Lightray’s solar-thermo-beams also prove useless against Kalibak’s club, so Orion grabs his wrist and nearly breaks it forcing the club from his hand.
“Now, by what I DO, you may well get a GLIMPSE of INNER fires that burn with forces UNMATHCED by your fire-pits!!” “My club—i-it’s beginning to—“ “To BEND! To CRACK! To break loose from the sinister energies that bind its atoms as ONE unit!” “NO! NO! IMPOSSIBLE! IT CAN’T BE HAPPENING!” “KRAAK!” “Behold a more PAINFUL truth! –the BROKEN fragments of your club!!” “It would take all the might of DARKSEID himself to do that!! You’re a MONSTER, Orion!!” “SKKATTTCH!” “See if you can survive your OWN fires, Kalibak!” “AAAAA” “All the pain and torment in the universe CAN’T stop what drives us!! I’m your EQUAL, Orion!!” “—but—NOT—my better---“ “Only your DEATH can prove that!! And you will DIE, Orion! You will—UGH!!!” “We fought when young, Kalibak! We fight FULLY GROWN! And we shall fight till death takes ONE of us!! There’s something we SHARE that’s always driven us to each other! ---what it is, I CANNOT say!! But we shall seek each other until it’s DONE! “Let it be NOW, then!! LET IT BE NOW!!” “KRAAASSH!!” Whoa.
Impossibly, Turpin tries to get to his feet, muttering, “Y-you’re--- under--- arrest---“ Lightray helps him to his feet, and observes, “How like THOSE two you are! Kalibak, Orion, and yourself—SEEKING DEATH—out of pride—fear—or thirst for immortality! Which---? Here come your men! This question must remain UNANSWERED for now!”
As the police set up the special equipment they’ve brought, the battle increases in ferocity. Orion is briefly knocked backwards and slowly climbs back up the side of a rooftop sign... “FIENDS OF THE PITS! No being on New Genesis ever spawned one like YOU!! You’re something OUT of any known realm!!” “HAHAHAH—I smell the seeds of FEAR sprouting in your stone heart, Kalibak!” “Let me see that handsome NEW GENESIS face—before it VANISHES in one blow—WHA!!??” “WHY do you retreat, Kalibak? You DID want to see my face!!” Orion’s “true face” has returned, and it’s clear Kalibak has never seen it before! “SUDDENLY, at that moment—“ Lightray flies by, yanking Orion away, seconds before the electric power of the entire city is used against Kalibak. “SKAZZZAASSKKK!!!”
“WOW! We almost “blacked out” the city to get this bird! –a-and he’s only stunned!” “TAKE HIM IN! We found a way to BUST him! Now, we’ll find a way to HOLD him!” Turpin collapses just as Dave & Claudia arrive. One of the cops observes, “Until we broke it up, my money was on the main eventer!!! –the muscle bender with the Irish name—O’RYAN!!” Claudia hopes he’s not hurt.
On another rooftop, Lightray & Orion brood alone. “You know, I somehow NEVER viewed the Earth individual as being that resourceful!!” “DON’T hide the real issue, Lightray! YOU SAW MY FACE!!!” “Yes! Er-I-I ALSO picked up your fallen helmet while in flight!” “YOU SAW MY FACE!!” “I saw SCARS—both new and old—taken in the cause of NEW GENESIS!” “You’re a good friend, Lightray!” So beautifully understated. Wow.
The Young Gods Of Supertown spotlights Fastbak in “BEAT THE BLACK RACER!!” It seems Apokalips has sent technological “traps” to orbit New Genesis, and young Esak has become caught in one. Fastbak races against The Black Racer and through a squad of Para-Demons to rescue him. At a mere 3 pages, one wishes if Jack was gonna do these at all, he could have taken more pages to flesh them out.
This issue’s Manhunter reprint is “The Stone Of Vengeance!” from ADVENTURE COMICS #77 (Aug’42). Meanwhile, a half-page ad promotes KORAK, SON OF TARZAN, which also features “Pellucidar” and “Carson Of Venus”.
[ October 09, 2011, 12:27 PM: Message edited by: profh0011 ]
Posted by Invisible Brainiac on :
Wow. I always knew Dan Turpin was bad-ass, but...!
Posted by profh0011 on :
Forgot to mention about NEW GODS #8... there's signs Kirby wasn't quite on his game when he did this, art-wise. For the most part, it's pretty good, but there are a few pages that seem really "off", where it's getting looser, more impressionistic, more "cartoony". Page 6, the arrival of Orion & Lightray really stands out. And while the writing and storytelling is absolutely TO-NOTCH, none of the finishes are quite up to earlier standards here.
I wonder exactly WHEN, in terms of production, Jack found out things were going bad behind-the-scenes?
Posted by profh0011 on :
JIMMY OLSEN #150 / Jun’72 – “WHERE’S CHARLIE NOW?”
Back in 1958, determined to make some extra money, Jack Kirby managed to take over the Green Arrow series, which was then running in both ADVENTURE COMICS and WORLD’S FINEST COMICS. Typically for Jack, although he was told DC editor Jack Schiff already had “commitments” to other writers, he made as many modifications to the scripts of others as possible, in order to improve the series and “turn it into something exciting”. A mere 7 months and 11 episodes later, Kirby had his infamous falling out with Schiff, and his DC work evaporated. As one might expect, no sooner was Kirby gone, then Green Arrow returned to its previous style as one of DC’s dullest strips, and stayed that way for a decade.
Well, in 1970, Jack Kirby, at the request of DC, wound up taking over an existing series of his choice, and he picked JIMMY OLSEN because it was between creative teams at that moment. As anyone who’se read my previous reviews has seen, the change in look, tone, style, approach, EVERYTHING, was the equivalent of an atomic bomb going off on a monthly basis. 18 months and 15 issues later, Jack left JIMMY OLSEN to begin other projects. Editors Joe Orlando & E. Nelson Bridwell took over, and the main feature was put into the hands of writer John Albano & artist Bob Oksner. I’m gonna take a guess the SAME thing that happened to Green Arrow happened to Jimmy when Jack left. I have to guess, because I’ve never read any of the post-Kirby episodes. And judging by Oksner’s covers, well, let’s just say I think he was MUCH better when he was doing JERRY LEWIS. It’s no shame to do “cartoony” art—especially when you’re REALLY good at it! I’m afraid Oksner was wasting his time doing superheroes (but that’s just my opinion).
ANYWAY... in addition to Jimmy, this issue (according to the GCD) contained a Plastic Man reprint from POLICE COMICS #20 (Jul’43). It also contained a NEW episode starring The Newboy Legion, by E. Nelson Bridwell & artist Win Mortimer (who had illustrated LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES from 1968-70).
“WHERE’S CHARLIE NOW?” opens with the boys discovering that “Angry Charlie”, the creature they brought back from The Evil Factory in Scotland, has somehow escaped from his cage. Now, follow me here... his cage isn’t in The D.N.A. Project where you’d expect—it’s not even in a zoo. It’s in someone’s back yard in Brooklyn. WHAT th’...? Big Words quickly figures out someone opened the cage and let him loose. Scouring the neighborhood, they find an 18-wheeler and several cars overturned, evidence that he’s been by.
Meanwhile, as a neighborhood candy store (anybody remember these?), a little girl named Kathy is telling the owner, her grandfather, that she’s found a stray and wants to know if she can keep him. He berates her for repeatedly freeing stray dogs from the dog-catchers and filling the basement with every stray animal she runs across. Just then, some local toughs demand service, despite a long habit of never paying for their food. When the owner objects, they get rough—at least, until (who didn’t see this coming?) Angry Charlie wanders out of the basement and sends them packing.
Sometime later, Gabby is telling a policeman he’s been searching for “the animal” all day, and once he finds it he’s sure Superman will see to it it never gets loose again. At that point, the store owner calls Gabby over, and shows him Charlie, who’s been eating candy to his heart’s content. Gabby leads Charlie away on a leash... but moments later, Charlie gets loose again, without Gabby even noticing. OY!
I’m not sure, but I suspectr this was the LAST appearance of The Newboy Legion, or Angry Charlie, until they were revived in the Post-CRISIS / New DC Universe, sometime in the late 80’s. Probably just as well, if this was how they might have been handled.
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MISTER MIRACLE #8 / Jun’72 – “THE BATTLE OF THE ID!”
“APOKALIPS! --- a world without mercy! A jungle of the super-strong!! The creation of evil gods whose code is SHAPE UP—OR DIE!!! Unable to escape the long arm of that code, Scott Free and Big Barda have returned—to face... THE BATTLE OF THE ID!” And under this intro, we see a squad of 4 soldiers who’ve just taken a terrible beating... “I can find my way to my barracks WITHOUT a military escort from GRANNY GOONESS!” Barda approaches the “Female Furie Battalion Special Powers Force” bunker.
Inside, a 2-page spread shows us chaos as the wild, dangerous-looking members of the unit battles amongst themselves to choose a new leader. They’re so busy, they don’t even notice Barda until she speaks up. “BREAK IT UP, YOU BLOODTHIRSTY HARPIES! I’ve come back! --- and I’m in no mood for noise! I’m STILL in command, make NO mistake about THAT!! But DON’T let me cool your battle fever! We’re going to FIGHT tonight! ---we’re going to attack and invade SECTION ZERO!!”
Which ends the 4-page intro, and brings us to the splash page beginning the main story... “SECTION ZERO!! In the grim world of Granny Goodness Orphanage, these words alone conjure up the deep underlying fear and secrecy that shroud a function of Granny’s operation which is never talked about! Those who vanish into Section Zero are never seen again!! But their cries are heard! ---and what is done to their bodies—is hidden by seething gases!! --- unidentified vapor rising from deep pits --- crossing spiny catwalks --- assaulting the senses of --- SCOTT FREE --- MISTER MIRACLE”
Armed guards escort Scott across a catwalk, and from below, horrible mutations reach up to grab him. The image of them reminds me of THE OUTER LIMITS episode, “A Feasibility Study”. This is some sick S*** going on here. Next, Scott’s strapped down to a table next to one of the mutates, a huge mass known as “The Lump”. He’s prepared for “psycho-merge”—the “mind hook-up”. Scott winds up facing his foe entirely in his mind, where anything The Lump imagines becomes real, actually happens, and if he dies in there, Scott will die for real! It’s a situation so IDENTICAL to the one seen in the DOCTOR WHO story “The Deadly Assassin” one can’t help but wonder if writer Robert Holmes (one of the best that show ever had) hadn’t read this story first.
Granny arrives to watch, and is joined by Kanto and Virmin Vundabar. Refering back to his earlier defeat, Vundabar brags it took him little time to climb out of that deep pit Scott dropped him into. Kanto, meanwhile, dismisses the idea of failure, and claims he decided “not to succeed”, since he knew Scott was headed for his current fate. But then a robed, hooded figure is escorted in by armed guards—descibred as being “of HIGH rank” but bearing the status of “Non-Being”. The prisoner, who is not allowed to talk with anyone, speaks anyway. “I WOULDN’T ordinarily leave my upholsetered cell for one of Granny’s ROTTEN little amusements, but the loneliness of the passing years is WORSE!” “DON’T MAKE ANY REPLY! She is to talk to NO ONE!” “That jackal barks in the safety of his pack! But this caged “killer-cat” WAITS! She lives and WAITS. For somewhere outside roams her own kind—HER SON!!” Pulling off her hood, she is revealed as Tigra—who we know from NEW GODS #7 is none other than Darkseid’s wife—and Orion’s mother!
As the battle continues, Granny notes admiration in Kanto’s reactions. “Perhaps, Madam! We are --- what we ARE---“ She suggests that perhaps someday Darkseid may order him to kill HER,m and he replies, “It would fill me with INFINITE sadness, sweet Granny!! ---Still, I should be discreetly silent, ---respectful--- THOROUGH!” “You CHARMING swine!! On such a day, BEWARE! The pupil shall face --- his TEACHER!!”
The battle continues, and the pacing and ferocity is a tribute to Kirby’s skills as a storyteller. But while it’s going on, Barda & her troops invade Section Zero, and we see Gilotina (one of the less scary-looking Female Furies) get cozy with a guard before laying him out. What follows is a violent free-for-all between 2 opposing armed squads. Makes you wonder about how discipline and chain-of-command works on Apokalips when one Commanding Officer orders their people to attack another one, and they follow the command without hesitation!
Just when it looks like Lump has beaten Scott, Tigra comments, “How FAR has this kingdom fallen that such DEGRADING combat should be tolerated!?” An interesting comment on Apokalips in general, I think, as Tigra represents a period from before “The Great Clash” when perhaps there was more honor and less mindless brutality for its own sake there. Perhaps this helps to explain why Darkseid, who was forced to marry Tigra against his will by his mother, so utterly despised his own mother (smiling and sucking up to her all along) that he had her bumped off, and then had his wife exiled and imprisoned? She represents a path all of Apokalips might have taken, had it not been for Darkseid’s single-minded lust for power regardless of the cost to everyone and everything on the entire planet.
Just then The Female Furies arrive, and all hell breaks loose. One exchange is particularly revealing... “Care to TEST my blade, Kanto?” BERNADETH! I find the sister of the Great Darkseid incredibly DISARMING!” Who would have guessed—especially this is apparently the ONLY time in the entire 4W series this bit of information is ever mentioned? (No endlessly beating readers over the head with it issue after issue after issue like most writers or editors would insist.)
Barda confronts Granny... “SCOTT FREE IS DEAD! Unlike yourself, he UNDERSTOOD the rules laid down by Granny—and died an HONRABLE death!! As for YOU, traitor—“ “TRAITOR? YOU DARE CALL ME TRAITOR? Why, I’m the PUREST, most SUPERIOR product you ever turned out! When they find Scott--- I’m going to KILL you—Granny!” “Y-you-re- MAD! Defy ME--- and-you-defy--- DARKSEID!” “I’m DOING it! With Scott dead—I’m going to DESTROY everything that KILLED him!!” “URRRGHH—“ “HAG!! You taught me HOW to hate! But you COULDN’T teach me WHOM to hate!!” (Gee, even in the midst of such rage, correct grammer!)
But just them, Scott calls out, “NO, BARDA! YOU MUSTN’T!! In HERE, Barda! I’ve WON my trial by combat!” “SCOTT!! SCOTT!! YOU’RE ALIVE! Scott! I should have known!- I should have stayed COOL with Mister Miracle—instead of being PANICKED by Granny!” “It’s the secret of her power! ---the ability to SHAKE our self-confidence!!” Oh, do I know how true that is—whether it refers, in my own life, to my FATHER, the CHURCH I used to go to for 30 years, or half the BOSSES I’ve worked for.
Scott reveals he used a reflective surface to force the Lump to face the one thing he couldn’t stand—“THE HORRIBLE SIGHT OF HIMSELF!” As Barda notes, “He’s a STRANGE creature indeed! ---with a MONUMENTAL inferiority complex!!” As more and more years go by, I find myself noting that about a LOT of individuals who spend most of their time mis-treating other people.
This actually pretty much wraps up the entire “first act” of MISTER MIRACLE. Although there’s one more very important episode coming (up next, too!), after this, the book veers off in a new and different direction.
For the most part, Kirby & Royer’s art this time has bordered on perfection—although there were a few pages, particularly during the “Battle of the Id” that seemed more cartoony than usual, and almost remnded me of watching a TV cartoon! Actually, it makes me wish more TV cartoons had art THIS good!
This issue’s Golden Age reprint is the very 1st appearance of THE BOY COMMANDOS, from DETECTIVE COMICS #64 (Jun’42).
Posted by Dave Hackett on :
It's a crazy cool story. I thought Morrison did well by it when he re-used the Lump in his Batman story.
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FOREVER PEOPLE #9 / Jul’72 – “MONSTER IN THE MORGUE!”
Near the end of their disastrous 25-cent format, DC began to imitate Marvel’s horrific 3-sided border cover design, with a 2-sided border even more cramped, over-loaded and oppressive-looking. In addition to the usual word balloons and blurbs in the art panel, they continued to shove too much test above the logo, and added a line of character portraits (not one but a whole set of them!) running down the left side of the cover. Man. There sure was a lot of BAD design going on in the 70’s. This issue has close-ups of all 5 Forever People, along with their names, making that upper-left corner circle with all 5 of their faces kind of redundant. And shoved up at the top, another close-up portrait, together with the line: “SEE The Eerie Return Of DEADMAN!!” Good grief. What’s HE doing here?
“Laboring in NAMELESS places everywhere are the OBSCURE dreamers, the LONE WOLVES who take the SIMPLISTIC road to fulfillment! Some succeed and go down in history—others generate nightmares that almost drown history! In every age they’ve made mankind tremble in the dark! Now meet “DOC” GIDEON, who produces more than he bargained for, with his --- MONSTER IN THE MORGUE!” You know, another odd thing I’m seeing a lot is covers being overly similar to splash pages—or is that just on Kirby comics? Makes me almost think Jack was aware of the market for illegal half-price comics with half or all of the covers torn off. This way, if you’re missing the cover, you’re not missing anything important.
Working in the city morgue, “Doc” Gideon follows in the footsteps of Dr. Frankenstein, but his experiment with trying to imbue a dead body with life via electrical stimulation fails. Or... does it? In some inexplicable fashion, the energy unleashed calls the spirit of murdered sideshow carny aerialist Boston Brand—alias DEADMAN—back from wherever he’s gone, in the wake of presumably finding his killer and avenging his death. (Nobody bothers to mention in what comic this story took place.)
“For those who came in late...” DEADMAN was created by Arnold Drake, with a costume designed by Carmine Infantino. He debuted in STRANGE ADVENTURES #205 (Oct’67) in a story titled “Who’s Been Lying In My Grave?” Arnold wrote a 2nd installment, but before it went any further, his editor, Jack Miller, asked HIS boss if he could pick up some extra money writing more stories, and managed—CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS??—to have Drake KICKED OFF his own series only one episode had been published! CRIMINAL!!! Not only that, but in the original printing, Miller got credit AND pay for the 2nd episode, which Arnold wrote. (This was corrected in subsequent reprints.) The next 11 episodes were illustrated by Neal Adams, who was making a HUGE splash at the time (although Mike Sekowsky did a DYNAMITE cover for the 2nd story in SA #206). Adding insult to injury, Miller only got paid for the next 6 episodes (only 5 of which he actually wrote) before HE was replaced, by Neal Adams. But, of course, Drake NEVER came back. (Like I said—CRIMINAL!!!)
Although I did see that 2nd cover when it was originally onsale (“This is crazy—they sent us to kill a DEAD man!” “Here’s something crazier—he grave is EMPTY!”), I never read any of his stories until he turned up as a feature in ADVENTURE COMICS in the late 70’s. Later, I managed to read the original run thanks to the 1985 “deluxe” reprint series. I recall a detailed article in there describing his history, and if memory serves, there was some mention of how his appearance in FOREVER PEOPLE did not seem to fit in with the already-existing stories. Hmm. (For that matter, in 1986 a 4-issue mini-series was published which presented the “REAL” conclusion of his story, retroactively INSERTED in between 2 of his early-70’s appearances! I gotta go back and re-read these one of these days...) So basically, I’m not sure where—or if—this story is supposed to fit or follow or whatever. But, it’s Kirby, so... onward!
Our teen heroes stop a couple of thugs from stealing an old lady’s life savings, and she repays them by renting them rooms in her boarding house. Trixie Magruder is a real character, feisty, stylish, an ex-carny fortune-teller who’d been a flapper and quite the hot number in the “jazz age”. She offers Beautiful Dreamer one of her dresses to replace her “disaster in the glad-rag department”. But no sooner does Dreamer insist “The body is merely a THREE-DIMENSIONAL VEHICLE! It’s out TOTAL selves that beautify us!”, Serifan uses one of his comic cartridges to alter its atomic pattern into some thing more “today”.
As it happens, “Doc” Gideon is also a boarder, and when he overhears Serifan describing one of his cartridges as transmitting a “life-force” which he is still investigating, “Doc” decides to use it to retry his experiment. For fun, Trixie holds a seance, during which Dreamer creates an eerie lightshow illusion to augment the experience. To the surprise of everyone, especially Trixie, the spirit of Boston Brand appears and speaks directly to her! It seems Trixie was there when Boston was murdered, and she informs him the killer had a hook on his RIGHT hand-—not on his left, as “The Hook” (who he believed was the killer) did.
Meanwhile, “Doc” steals the blue cartridge, straps it to the forehead of his creation, and manages to bring it to a form of “life”. But in the process, his lab is destroyed, he’s badly injured, and his “monster” is loose on the streets causing havoc. The kids are drawn to the scene, and Big Bear is momentarily distracted by a movie house running a double-bill of old horror movies. A battle rages, and moves into the sewers, where, with Deadman’s help, the monster is completely incapacitated when a gas main explodes. After Serifan seals the leak the rest confront the monster, through whom Deadman speaks to them. Serifan helps him to visually materialize, and they promise to help him gain a “new form” to function in the physical world.
This is some wild stuff, even for a Kirby book. On several of the early pages, the drawing and linework seems much cruder and simpler than usual, but once the main cast appears, for the most part, the line quality is beautiful, up to Kirby-Royer’s usual high standards. On the letters page, it’s mentioned that Sonny Sumo is “bound” to make a return appearance sometime. (Sadly, decades later, this has not come to pass.) It’s also mentioned that Deadman “...was a rather intriguing character when he first started but never quite found his direction or audience.” Gee, do you suppose this had anything to do with his CREATOR getting KICKED OFF the character after only 2 installments??
Further: “What you can send us ia a letter as to what you think of the introduction of Deadman into this comic. To be sure, this is not the same Deadman that once appeared in STRANGE ADVENTURES and now materializes for an occasional reprint. It took considerable planning to decide what to do with him and we hope this will be the first step toward a new “life” for Deadman. (There’s no way to phrase that which doesn’t sound stupid.)” Now that’s interesting. There’s no hint as to whether the “planning” was done by Jack Kirby alone, or was something hatched by others and dumped in his lap. One thing I am pretty sure of (vague memory or not), is that sometime after this, his 2-issue stint in FP was treated by many as though it never happened.
This issue’s Sandman (and Sandy The Golden Boy) reprint is from ADVENTURE COMICS #74 (May’42), “The Man Who Knew All The Answer!”
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NEW GODS #9 / Jul’72 – “THE BUG!”
In a variation of the 2-sided panel cover design, Jack Kirby had the panel extend all the way up, and filled it with 2 full-figure shots of his heroes, Light-Ray and Orion. Light-Ray, in particular, shows a much cruder, rougher drawing style than we’ve seen for the most part. Jack’s art seemed to be evolving, here and there, into something more “cartoony”, yet still with an explosively powerful feel to it. The main panel introduces yet another new character, perhaps as Carmine Infantino’s urging, as I’ve heard he wanted Jack to come up with as many new characters as possible, perhaps as some kind of hedge against Marvel introducing similar characters. Sometimes you can’t shake the feeling Jack was brought over to DC not to benefit DC or Jack himself, but mostly to stick it to Marvel. Hooray for “free enterprise” and “fair competition”.
“War is a process of violent, never-ending BEGINNINGS! What once began as the first “Great Clash” between The New Gods—also began bacteriological attack!! ---the spreading of toxic “MICRO-LIFE” as a “destructant!” This life did NOT end with the “Clash!” It FESTERED! It GREW! It EVOLVED! And it was DIFFERENT!!! THIS IS “FORAGER!” HE’S A “FOOD-SEEKER!” To a teeming multitude, his kind means an end to hunger! To The New Gods, he’s merely typical of THE BUG!” Wow. Can this guy write, or what? Kirby seems to be commenting on the way “The Great War” ended nothing, and caused the birth of new kinds of evil that resulted in World War Two. But the use of the word “destructant” brings to mind “defoliant”, a term used during the Viet Nam War. I believe by 1972, the American public was already becoming aware of G.I.’s returning who not only were not honored by their country, but had to fight to gain recognition for problems caused by chemicals used by their own side. Imagine if those chemicals spawned living beings?
The story opens with a raiding party sent to gather food and take it back to “The Mound”, fought off by “High-Father’s deadly MONITORS” (who we’ve seen before) who employ a poison spray to “halt the PESTS”. Though human in form and exhibiting intelligence, Forager and his people are treated as if they were a far lower form of life. One might be inspired to question, is this any different from how men in general are treated in ANY war?
Back in NYC, Lightray & Orion, still exhibiting his true, scarred face, surprise one Eve Donner, a playwrite whose penthouse balcony they’ve alighted on. “I was SO intrigued by the incredible rumors! The bulletins are STILL flashing about last night--! ---stories of SUPER-BEINGS and MONSTERS!” In a close-up focusing on his brutal features, Orion replies, “Oh, YES, madam! ---THERE WERE MONSTERS!!”
Back on New Genesis, while the colony feeds, Forager eats alone, apart from having to fight off a large scaly brute who intrudes. “I’ll take that, Forager! I am the STRONGER!” “You’ll have to PROVE it!” Gee, I guess not even being a respected individual who helps supply food for the entire colony is enough to inspire respect among SOME low-lifes. But they’re interrupted by “Prime One”, a tall, imperial-looking leader whose rainments suggest Arabian Nights influence. Prime One and Forager discuss the way Forager is so different from his fellows, as he thinks, feels, imagines, and sees a much bigger picture than just living hand-to-mouth. Forager envisions that if his people and “The Eternals” could learn to understand each other, both might not live in fear anymore. But their conversation is also interrupted, by a giant “Armored killer species” sent against them in retaliation for the last raid.
In NYC, a scene out of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST begins to take shape, before Orion wakes up and Eve pulls away. He reserves his rage for Darkseid.”COME OUT! SHOW YOURSELF! SEND ME NO LESSER BEASTS LIKE KALIBAK!! HEAR ME, DARKSEID! IN THE END IT SHALL BE YOU AND I-! POWER AGAINST POWER! YOUR DEATH—OR MINE!!!” “What have I been toying with?”, Eve asks. “The presence of pure and total destruction!”, replies Lightray.
Below New Genesis, we learn that Mantis has arrived to ally himself with Forager’s people, promising to take them to “a place of abundance and food! A place where OUR kind can RULE!” Forager realizes this isn’t on the up-and-up, and seeks to inform Prime One, only to find him a prisoner, slated to DIE at the command of the “All-Widow” who rules. “Mantis seeks to draw us into a war between Eternals! We will be used as weapons!--- not equals! Do you see the importance of that?” “YES! No matter which of the Eternals win—they shall STILL regard us as--- BUGS!” Boy, do I sense Jack is commenting here on ALL foot-soldiers, in ALL wars.
As Prime One is dragged away for execution, he drops a bomb. After warning Forager that Orion stands a better chance of stopping Mantis than he does, Forager asks, “But HOW can I hope to talk with the Eternal!? I’m a BUG! He would stamp me to death without mercy!” “He will NOT! Your life is a LIE! You’re NOT one of US! You’re HIS kind!!” Whoa. It seems a running theme in the 4W saga has just continued to run. As we’ve already seen, both Orion and Scott Free were different from those they grew up with, because they were NOT natives. It seems the SAME goes for Forager. But what is HIS story? I’m not sure we ever had a chance to find out...
In NYC, the time for rest and contemplation is about to end. Orion says, “Give me Darkseid’s neck, and I will DECIDE this war!” I bet he would. As he leaves, they leave it up to Eve how she would judge Orion at the moment he met death— “with scorn--- or a tear”. Alone, she chooses neither. “It’s not death, or scorn, or sympathy, I wish for you!--- but only what you left unifinished HERE!--- A TIME OF PEACE---!” On arriving at Dave Lincoln’s apartment, the pair are “busted” by the cops, sent to take them to Sergeant Turpin.
Meanwhile, Mantis has ordered Forager’s death, who’s determined not to give up until HE’s managed to return the favor. But the odds against him become obvious, and, suddenly, in the heat of battle, something utterly inexplicable appears... “A great HOLLOW CYLINDER emerges from the very air itself!” Yes—it’s a BOOM TUBE—and Forager is accidentally drawn into it, where he’s swept along uncontrollably. “It seems ENDLESS in distance! WHERE can it lead to?” Behind him, Mantis is pissed (as usual). “You WON’T cheat me for long, Forager-! A MIGHTY host will soon be on your heels!” “Meanwhile, Forager’s flight has come to a halt!! He’s reached the OTHER end of the “Boom Tube”!” “This is WONDEROUS, indeed! Before me is a place the like of which I’ve NEVER seen! This is where Mantis and the bugs will ATTACK! Does it also hold ORION?” Coming up: “EARTH--- THE DOOMED DOMINION”
This is amazing. I’ve long gotten tired of people dismissing the “Boom Tube” solely because they think it’s got a “silly name”. In these pages, this deep into the story, Jack Kirby managed to once more imbue it with a sense of almost mystical sense of WONDER. How many times does a thing like that really happen these days, even in a comic-book?
On the letters pages, amidst comments on NEW GODS #7 (“The Pact”), William H. Moses observes, “Then there was the dialogue, Jack. You made your characters real—Not just bland super-heroes mouthing wordless platitudes. You gave them somethng that only a few authors can give to their characters and that is a life of their own.” AMEN!!!!!
This month’s Manhunter reprint is “The Lady And The Tiger” from ADVENTURES COMICS #78 (Sep’42). The cover marks the only time Manhunter appeared side-by-side with The Sandman and Sandy!
I can’t end without making the observation that this issue’s new character, Forager, who wears a mask and carries a SHIELD strapped to his back, is colored in red, white and blue. Coincidence? In-joke? Some kind of subtle statement?
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MISTER MIRACLE #9 / Aug’72 – “HIMON!”
“The heart of APOKALIPS lies beyond GREYBORDERS --- across the darkening road to LONG-SHADOW!--- through the clanking horrors of NIGHT-TIME! --- and rises white hot --- at the RAGING, HISSING INFERNOS OF THE PLANETARY FIRE-PITS! The raw and dirty edge from which great DARKSEID draws mammoth power! --- and feeds upon a mighty FEAR of --- HIMON!” Thus begins the 2nd issue-length flashback.
A panoramic 2-page spread shows us a hellish area that resembles an oil reinfery—except, apparently, people live here. This is “ARMAGETTO” (great play on words in that name). Arriving with an armed squad is “Wonderful Willik”, the “Protector” of the “Lowlies” who live there. He searches for “a worm among you—eating at your lives and spirits and meritorious work! ---HIMON!” The residents, who look very much like Nazi concentration camp inmates, eagerly say they’ll kill Himon themselves. But Willik has something else in mind. “Himon forgets that even ‘Lowlies’ would rather DIE for Darkseid--- than LIVE with him!” And so his sqaud, armed with flame-thorwers, TORCH the entire crowd!!!
With the impact of this insane horror still sinking in, Himon announces himself in the midst of the flames, and invites Willik to step forward to join him. Instead, he opens fire with a “Dyna-Blast”, which riccochets back at him via a force-field, even as Himon “phases out”.
The story continues in a “lowlie” hovel, where members of a family work under Himon’s supervision assembling Mother Boxes from stolen parts. “There are my heroes! ALL of you are my priceless puzzles within puzzles! Little pieces, that not even Darkseid can fit in his great design!” Looking out of place in the group are Scott Free, and Auralie, a pretty, silent girl who stares as a “Mind-Video” and is one of Barda’s Female Furies. “Auralie’s thoughts are BEAUTIFUL! She creates BEAUTY! Imagine—doing this on a world like APOKOLIPS!”
Barda breaks in with her squad to “rescue” Auralie, confronts Scott and warns him, “If you report Auralie—I’ll spill the works about YOU!” At that moment, the troops searching for Himon arrive, and everyone makes it out except for him and Kreetin, the one member of the group whose Mother Box refuses to work for him. Himon surrenders freely to have Kreetin set free, and he winds up running straight into Metron, who seems amused by it all. “My skin, sire, is dedicated to great DARKSEID and his PURPOSES! But, until he claims it, I prize my skin ABOVE false gratitude to Himon!” As Metron observes, “...in THAT harsh truth, you KEEP a pelt—and forever LOSE a Mother Box!” It’s clear there’s something about the mind-set of most Apokolips residents that prevent their actually contacting The Source.
Himon is publicly executed. SEVERAL times. Each time, they’re SURE he’s dead. Each time, somehow, he ESCAPES death, only to be pursued, caught and “killed” again. At one point, he meets with Metron on a “gutted slag-heap”. “Hail, METRON! Master of THEORIES!!” “Hail, METRON! Master of ELEMENTS!!” “The wonders I build are born in YOUR brain! The roads that I travel are opened by YOUR massive perceptions!” “ALAS! The heart and brain of the VISIONARY are eternally GROUNDED here! I FOSTERED Darkseid’s power! I must be here—at its END!” “Scott Free will play no part in that! HIS DESTINY IS ESCAPE FROM APOKOLIPS! Darkseid plans to KILL him for that and begin a new war! You must help Scott escape UNHURT!” “You showed Scott the way to me—and I can TEACH him to escape Apokolips! But I CAN’T give him the resolve! Only SCOTT can renounce what he has here! But a destructive revelation is NOT a father! ---and a slaughterhouse is NOT a home!---for one born on NEW GENESIS! “Scott will make his decision SOON! I shall see you then—and there! Farewell, Himon!” Wow.
Willik goes on the offense. He grabs Himon’s group and kills all of them, hanging them on a rotating rack like sides of beef. He does the same with Kreetin. Then he shows off his work to Scott and Barda. He goes too far when he shows them Auralie, who was fried with “High-Voltage Shock Boots”. As these atrocities are sinking in, Willik sits down to have his dinner. Enraged, both Scott & Barda are about to put the butcher out of his misery—when, abruptly, they go silent, turn, and leave with the waiter who brought Willik his meal. Sure enough, under the food cover is a large BOMB, which blows Willik to atoms. Himon has had HIS revenge.
“Why does Darkseid hate you, Himon? Why does he seek to stamp you out!” “I’m a dreamer! A visionary! A “THINK –TANK” who pioneered the calculating Mother-Box and linked it with The Source! I found the X-Element and pioneered the Boom-Tube! ---I DREAM! I ROAM the universe!! Darkseid wants to OWN it!!” “Can this truly be done?” “Perhaps! --- if Darkseid puts an end to all OTHER dreams but HIS! But there is STILL the RIDDLE of what powers the Mother Box! The SOURCE! It LIVES! It BURNS! When we reach out and touch it--- the core of us is MAGNIFIED! And we tower as TALL as Darkseid! “THEN DARKSEID FEARS US ALL! HE FEARS WHAT HE CAN’T CONTROL!” “Yes, Scott! Darkseid fears YOU, too! Because you, too, can dream of things BEYOND Darkseid!”
For a moment, Himon reminds me of The Doctor on DOCTOR WHO. At least once, the character has stated he wants to “see the universe, not rule it”. The dialogue here is amazing. It sums up both the totality of the conflict presented in the war, but also how truly sick and diseased a being Darkseid is. It is criminal beyond belief that this story never saw its way to its proper conclusion, with the DEATH of its main villain. If villains are allowed to go on... and on... AND ON... if they’re “accepted” as “necessary”, then the world dies a little bit more each day. There needs to be hope for the future—and how can there be, when the ones who are trying to control or destroy all we have are allowed to continue to exist?
Scott tells of a dream he’s had... of a woman, whose face he can’t see, who says, “You know, Izaya--- I’ve never heard you sing”. Without even knowing who they are, Scott's subconscious mind is giving him visions of his parents.
Abruptly the story jumps ahead to a point where Scott has been stripped of his rank and “mechanisms”, and finds himself running for his life. I guess that thing with Willik getting blown to atoms finally got around. As he flees from a horde of Para-Demons, he’s suddenly joined by Barda and her Female Furies. When asked why, she says, “Because I LIKE to help fools!—because I COULDN’T save Auralie! I DON’T know.” The pair race thru a “wrecked vehicle” park before making their way to the edge of the slum area. Suddenly, they’re pulled to the ground, as “Mass-Gravity Atoms” saturate the area. And then, in front of them, Himon, Metron, and a BOOM TUBE appear! “It’s open to YOU, Scott! An open door—to EARTH!” But, for the first time in the entire MISTER MIRACLE series-- Darkseid also appears!!!
“HE CAN TAKE IT! I’LL NOT STOP HIM NOW! IF COURAGE AND BRAVERY TOOK HIM HERE!--- SOME OF IT WAS MINE! STAY, WARRIOR! LET ME COMPLETE THE DESTRUCTION OF SCOTT FREE—SO YOU MAY LIVE WITH THE MAJESTY THAT IS THE POWER OF DARKSEID! The young fool goes ON! He struggles to rise! If he leaves Darkseid, he’ll STILL FIND DEATH!” Himon counters, “If he leaves Apokolips, he’ll find the universe!!!” Scott yells, “LET ME BE SCOTT FREE--- AND FIND MYSELF!” He leaps into the Boom-Tube without a sound.
“He’s gone, Darkseid! You’ll have your war with NEW GENESIS, now!! Thus we phase out as it BEGINS! And we shall be in Armagetto when it ENDS! FOR IT IS HERE WHERE YOU WILL FACE ORION!” “I’ll face Orion WHEREVER fate decrees! And in the end, I will “SHUT DOWN” THIS UNIVERSE TO ALL LIFE!! ---EXCEPT THE WILL OF DARKSEID!”
Wow. What an astonishing, astounding, awesome, mind-blowing, horrible, ghastly, unspeakable, vile, viscious, brutal, devastating episode. A very fitting bookend to “THE PACT”.
I’m struck by the finale, how many people often compare the Fourth World with STAR WARS. Darkseid’s line, “Let me complete the destruction of Scott Free”, as he actually INVITES him to join him, rather than continue to be a pawn or become an enemy, was mirrored uncannily by dialogue in the movie THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, when Darth Vader told Luke, “Let me complete your training! Join me, and together we can defeat the Emperor, and bring ORDER to the galaxy!” Yeah—as if that was a good thing, under a rage-filled, murder-crazed tyrant. It’s a shame better hands weren’t involved in writing the “flashbacks” in the STAR WARS universe, as, in the long run, I find Anakin Skywalker’s corruption and “turning to the dark side” (heh) a LOT less convincing in the finished films (Episodes 1-3) than I long imagined it from watching Episode 5.
Meanwhile, Darkseid comes across as a LOT scarier, specifically because he’s such a cool-headed, long-range planner and plotter. What WERE his real motivations for every awful, horrible, GHASTLY thing he ever did? Was it purely a matter of fear? Was it a broken home and upbringing, as evidenced by his mother forcing him to marry a woman he didn’t want, after having the woman he did want killed? Was it a matter of too many people “doing him wrong” to the point where he felt the only way to go on was to make sure NOBODY ever screwed with him again—by making sure HE was the only one able to screw with EVERYONE else? I have a feeling these questions may be universal, and eternal. After all, look at the life story of Saddam Hussein... or Adolph Hitler. I suppose that’s what makes a REAL hero stand out—bad things may happen to them, but they don’t let it make THEM bad in return. Powerful stuff.
Kirby & Royer are in top form again, although I must say some of the pages and panels are very inconsistent. I have no idea if this is deliberate, however. The cover and most of the book are clear and sharp. The extended scenes with the “Lowlies”, the art seems a bit rougher. The meeting between Himon & Metron is dark all over, and not just the shadow-lines. The faces on page 19, when Scott & Barda see the fate of Auralie, are very distorted and surreal, as is the close-up of Scott on page 26. Compared with the clarity of all the surrounding panels, it does seem Kirby was allowing his drawing to loosen up in order to channel emotional intensity in a way more realistic rendering never could.
This month, DC changed its format again, as noted on the covers: “ALL NEW STORIES / BEST IN COMICS / NOW ONLY 20c” I suspect Jack was caught by surprise by this. From here on, his stories were cut down to 24 pages (later, 22). But this is the only story in a 20-cent format that was 26 pages. No letters pages, of course.
In some ways, this issue serves as a grand finale to the first period of MISTER MIRACLE. We’ve met Scott, grown to know and care about him and his friends, learned of his background and his bizarre enemies, seen him face them HEAD-ON and “win” the right to his freedom (not quite the same way “Number Six” did in the last episode of THE PRISONER). And now, coming full-circle, we see the events that led up to his escape. How much time passed between the end of this story and MM #1? Or NEW GODS #1, for that matter? John Byrne would have us believe Scott was on Earth for more than 200 years before we met him in the first issue... but I don’t believe that for a second. Scott’s escape was planned by Darkseid to trigger the 2nd war. Perhaps time passes differently for “Eternals” than Earth-people, but it sure seems to me this story should lead DIRECTLY into the first issues of all 3 FW books.
After this, like THE FOREVER PEOPLE, Scott would begin a new phase of his life. Unlike those kids, he at least had another year-and-a-half before his adventures were cut short.
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JIMMY OLSEN #152 / Sep’72 – “THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD”
In a run-down suburban area, a squad of police surround an abandoned building, intent on capturing a “Cop-Killer” who’s holed up in it. But they’re having a tough time of it, as a hail of gunfire from the building injures Officer Corrigan (a friend of Jimmy Olsen’s, and no relation to Jim Corrigan, alias The Spectre) and destroying several police cars. It’s a gripping scene right out of a tense crime drama, and almost out-of-place in a book like this—until Clark Kent switches to his Superman identity and crashes in, discovering it’s a number of automated machines that have been holding off the cops! Discovering a hidden tunnel under the house, similar to the one under Terry Dean’s Discoteque, Supes suspects Darkseid’s involvement. Rival reporter Percy Bratten decides to scoop Jimmy, and annoys Morgan Edge by calling him directly, instead of the copy editor. But Edge thinks, “Still, he DID tell me how much Superman now knows about MY organization!”
Before Jimmy can call in his story, he’s interrupted by Yango—head of the biker-gang The Outsiders—who, to Jimmy’s shock, has Morgan Edge with him. “An UNLIKELIER pair I’ve never seen.” The two explain to Jimmy that this is the REAL Morgan Edge, who was kidnapped, cloned at The Evil Factory, and held prisoner by his evil duplicate, who somehow could not bring himself to murder his own original. Unlike Superman earlier, Jimmy DOES believe the story, and the three of them set out to do something about it. “Engines roar, and the air screams about the three, as they take off, taut, anxious, ready to face the challenge that lies ahead, though it may claim their lives...” Oooh!
One of Edge’s stoolies spots the trio, informs Edge, who then calls “Killer”, leader of Inter-Gang’s own “Cycle-Freaks”. As Killer says it, “Scragging dudes is how we GET IT OFF!” “The hogs roar down the pavement in hot pursuit of our heroes... the Inter-Gang Cycle-Freaks are tense... a terrible sense of satisfaction sweeping over them as they move in for the kill!” Yango recognizes them, and says, “They’re all crack shots!” “Bullets scream, rockets roar, in a deafening and horrible din... as three determined men weave their cycles from side to side to avoid the lead projectiles of certain death...”
As the trio and their would-be murderers reach the G.B.S. TV studio, they interrupt a live talk-show where a guest, Professor Savin, is explaining why he thinks the invention of the DOOR-LATCH was “a great set-back for society.” “...because it fragmented society... allowed people to pretend to be one thing in public, then be something entirely different behind locked doors.” This is either a satire on the stupidity and banality of most talk shows, or a heavy-handed commentary on the current story itself... or both.
Trying to avoid getting shot, Jimmy & Yango run into a sound-proof recording studio, at which point Killer puts on a sound-effects LP and cranks the sound up to the max. (You know, I swear I saw something just like this on an episode of GET SMART.)
Percy, seeing Edge, goes to Edge’s office, and promptly tells him about this “other man” who looks like him. Edge calls up “Tombstone Greer”, a known bank robber, and orders him to kill the “other” Edge, and leave no trace of what the man looks like. Greer says he’ll use a “neutron gun”, which wil leave “nothing but a pile of CHARRED ASHES.” Obviously, this is more of Darkseid’s technology. As Edge puts it, “Funny... that the ultra-science of the planet APOKALIPS should wind up in the hands of a dumb hood. But there are times when one must combine brilliance and stupidity to get the job done.”
Flying overhead in one of the most awkward flying poses I’ve ever seen in any superhero comic, Supes hears trouble coming from the GBS building, and rescues Jimmy & Yango. Meanwhile, Darkseid appears in Edge’s office, confronts him with the fact that he KNOWS the real Edge is alive, and uses his Omega Effect to teleport the fake Edge to where the real Edge is. The two fight, brutally, until “Killer” arrives—and fries the “wrong” one to ashes! “How’s dat fer a good job... boss!? Yer the boss, ain’tcha?”
Superman arrives, and the neutron gun proves almost too much for him! Jimmy tries to intervene, and is almost killed for it, until Superman grabs Killer’s wrist—the result being, Killer is fried to ashes instead of Jimmy. Never thought I’d see Superman pull a move like that!
And so, Superman apologizes to Edge for not believing him earlier, after suggesting it’s best if the public not find out about “the mysterious forces that are still at large and behind all this.” Considering his other identity as a reporter, this seems somewhat ironic.
Steve Skeates does a pretty decent job with the “script” on this, presumably the plot was mostly the work of E. Nelson Bridwell. One has to wonder if the whole “Morgan Edge as villain” plot wasn’t altered so drastically (so that the baddie WASN’T the real Edge) because it might have been seen as too close a reflection of DC having been recently bought out by a Corporation, which at some point had genuine MOB ties? (I looked that up at Wikipedia last year—it makes for very interesting reading.)
While Werner Roth’s LOIS LANE art is pretty while bordering on bland, the art here by Mike Sekowsky & Bob Oskner is like looking at an entirely different world. It’s rough, it’s crude, it’s downright BRUTAL in spots... in effect, it’s virtually the complete antithesis of what “DC” art looked like for most of the 50’s & 60’s. I find it rather ironic (and perhaps a bit frustrating) that, when Jack Kirby took over JIMMY OLSEN, the editor decided to have the faces of Clark & Jimmy redrawn to keep them more in line with the “model”, but here, Sekowsky & Oksner were allowed to have their far more radical look for the characters published INTACT! My introduction to Sekowsky was JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, where his pencils were inked by Bernard Sachs (for the interiors) and Murphy Anderson (for the covers). Both were overpowering, in different ways, and neither looked anything even remotely like what I’m seeing here!
The cover art has sparked some controversy, as far as who actually did it. It looks, at first glance, like Gil Kane either pencilled it, or at least, did the design. But Kane was so busy at Marvel during this period, that seems unlikely. According to the notes at the GCD, it’s been suggested that it was either Kane, Sekowsky & Oksner, or Oksner solo but with a possible Joe Orlando design. We may never know for sure.
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On a lonely mountain road, a futuristic car with a “pollution-free engine” is hijacked in motion by “Operator Seven”, who works for a group called “The Scavengers”. Using “super-tools”, they steal—and deliver—absolutely anything, for a price. This seems to even include one of the famous pyramids of Egypt, wanted by someone for their “vast estate”. The absolute insane absurdity of this mirrors a similar organization, “Art Incorporated”, in THE AVENGERS 4th-season episode, “THE GIRL FROM AUNTIE”, where, at one point, we’re told someone has contracted them to steam The Eiffel Tower.
The “Director” has been keeping tabs on new reports involving super-beings, and has actually set up camera-surveillance on The Forever People. So when he sees them working on a bio-mechanical “Follower”—a robot body for Boston Brand to inhabit, which is constructed in the form of Deadman—he orders his men to steal it. He seems to have some personal reason for this—as we find, he’s got a HOOK for a right hand.
Elsewhere, Beautiful Dreamer has scored what she feels is an ideal job for her—as a fashion photographer’s model. Big Bear, meanwhile, has gotten a job as a limo driver, for an employer “partial to colorful characters”. Just as The Follower is about to be put to its intended use, it’s stolen. At his office, The Director is having his men check out the device, and, incredibly, gets the idea that it may have been built to be “possessed”. Just then, Boston Brand arrives and does just that. On seeing The Director’s hook, he thinks he may have found his murderer. A fierce battle between The Forever People and the stolen mechanical creations of a very strange “circus” ensues, during which The Director decides to destroy his base and flee, in case the cops are about to show up.
“The Scavengers ar BIG! Our depots are established WORLD-WIDE! --and this incident involving an ACTIVE “Deadman” must be given to our BOARD OF DIRECTORS! BOSTON BRAND MUST NEVER LEARN WHO SHOT HIM—AND WHY!!” What on Earth is the Director talking about? We never find out! All we hear is, “You’ve won a victory here—but it’s a SMALL one! You see, there are MORE Scavenger depots—and MORE men with hooks on their right hands!”
As our heroes depart, Deadman is determined to track down his killer, and learn the truth. Serifan gives him a blue cartridge, which will “permanently” link his spirit atoms with the Follower’s form. However, this new direction for Deadman was never followed up on by later writers. And The Forever People themselves turned out to be not long for the comic-book world. At the bottom of page 22, instead of a next issue ad, there’s the following...
“And now—A NEW KIRBY BLOCKBUSTER is on the way! He’ll be coming for you soon! Look for him! Look for—THE DEMON!”
The Kirby-Royer art this issue may be the sharperst, slickest. “cleanest” yet. These 2 guys were really kicking ass together here. (3-25-2012)
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NEW GODS #10 / Sep’72 – “EARTH--- THE DOOMED DOMINION”
“The insect hordes of Mantis invade “EARTH... THE DOOMED DOMINION!” Orion & Forager tackle Mantis and his followers, while what appears to be endless numbers of them swarm over city buildings in the background. WOW! What a cover. It’s let down only by the extremely-intrusive “ALL NEW STORIES / BEST IN COMICS” banner which dominated DC covers around this time. DC, like Marvel, had a LOT of really bad design work going on at the time.
Arising from his “power pod”, Mantis, recharged, prepares to lead the bugs to war. “We go to EARTH! And there Mantis will make you the MASTERS!! There you shall RULE instead of run!!”
But on Earth, Forager is still on the run, once again, for stealing food. Twice people refer to him as a “kid”, perhaps due to his size. Between his youth and physical agility (not to mention the eye-holes on his mask which totally conceals his features), and being chased by the cops, he begins here to reminds me a bit of Spider-Man. This is enforced by the scene where he runs straight up the side of a building, and while on the rooftop, is pursued by a police helicopter with a net. It calls to mind scenes in a couple of 1967 SPIDER-MAN cartoons, “The Menace Of Mysterio”, and “Blueprint For Crime”—the latter of which featured Spidey swooped up by a helicopter using a net. I actually found myself hearing some of Ray Ellis’ music in the background as I read this sequence.
At Police Headquarters, P.I. Dave Lincoln and Dan Turpin’s Captain are interrupted by D.A. Hartman, who’s got an even bigger chip on his shoulder than Turpin did earlier. He’s angry about what’s been going on in his city, spoiling for a fight, and looking to blame Lincoln if he can’t pin it on anyone else. Orion & Lightray, on entering, do nothing to change his tune. “I can understand your confusion—but I’m counting on you JOINING us against a savage enemy!” “You’ll meet him soon! DARKSEID OF APOKALIPS is far from being shy! --and his allies serve him for ONE purpose—DOMINATION OF ALL LIVING THINGS!” “Is that so? Well, that’s YOUR story! When I run into this Darkseid, I’ll get HIS story! Until then—“ One wonders what his next words might have been. Clearly, nothing is getting through to this guy.
Pages 9-12 keep alternating between scenes, a quite common tool of writers to show two scenes going on at the same time, and a way of increasing the pace and urgency of both scenes. But because pages 11 & 12 don’t have narrative blocks at the top, I got the feeling they might have been moved around at the last moment. They might “feel” better if read 9, 11, 10, 12, though that’s just idle speculation on my part, as they do work just fine as they are.
Forager arrives, calls Orion by name and reveals “I AM ONE OF YOU!” “Orion, he speaks the truth!” “There’s NO time to tell my story!” Too bad—I’m kinda looking forward to it. The three immediately decide to join forces, while Hartmann orders them to stay where they are or he’ll have his men shoot. But an instant later, they’re gone, and Lincoln suspects Lightray is behind it.
The next 7 pages are almost non-stop battle, as Orion and Forager take on Mantis and his hordes, while Lightray, “the planner”, intrudes on a nearby research facility and requests use of a complex piece of “Kirby-tech” to generate a sound beam that winds up driving off the enemy. It’s awesome—it’s exciting—it’s thrilling—it’s spectacular!! But I can’t help but feel it ended way too fast. I suspect Kirby already knew the books were ending at this point, and realized he had to cram in as much as he could in the space remaining.
“HAIL, Lightray! I take it that your brain has proven EQUAL to our brawn!” “Forager salutes you as well!” “I thank you, friends! For I DID act—in my OWN way!” “At any rate, our battle is WON! One more thrust inspired by Darkseid has been BLUNTED!” “Earth lies troubled—but FREE to pursue its own destiny!” “But the Gods are EVER near—a PART of men’s lives!! GIANT reflections of the good and evil that men generate within themselves!” WHOA. That last bit is pretty powerful stuff. But can it be Orion is aware of something not previously revealed? Or is he merely being philosophical? I remember when it finally hit me, at one point, that the entire NEW GODS saga was not so much a “variation” on a previous fictional mythology (as seen in stories about HERCULES or THOR), but exactly what its title stated. That, literally, the characters are reflections of MODERN-DAY concepts and concerns, even as the ancient myths reflected the people and concerns of their own times.
You know, for a brief moment there, during the battle, Orion and Forager did remind me a bit of either Thor and Captain America—or perhaps, Thor and Spider-Man. But Lightray does not really seem to have an obvious “Marvel” counterpart. The closest thing that comes to my mind might be Apollo from the Roman pantheon. In Marvel terms, he might be what you’d get if you took certain elements from Mr. Frantastic (his intellect and planning) and combined them with the Silver Surfer (his bright color and speed)—only without the angst of either. I suppose he might be viewed as one of Kirby’s most “original” characters of the 70’s.
The art in this issue is a bit more “rough” and “rugged” than that in FP #10 this month, but that serves to better reflect the harshness of the story here. Clearly, Kirby was not afraid to let his art be “expressive” more than “representational”.
Once again, the last page features a plug for the new series. “THE DEMON! A NEW AND EXCITING CHARACTER FROM THE ANCIENT CULTURES—TO BATTLE THE KIND OF VILLAINS THAT SHAKE YOU UP!! Look out for him!! He’ll be at your news-dealer—soon! SOON!” (3-27-2012)
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THE DEMON #1 / Sep’72 – “UNLEASH THE ONE WHO WAITS”
In a rather startling image that might have stepped right out of an early-1940’s Universal horror movie, a savage-looking character in red and yellow, with a greenish-blue cape and white HORNS leaps at us on the cover. “1st DC Issue / Jack Kirby’s STARTLING New Epic-- “THE ORIGIN OF THE DEMON!” Mid-1972 was somewhere in the 2nd half of the big “horror boom” that exploded in movies in 1968 and comics 3 years later, when the Code was revised to allow such frightening stuff that had been BANNED since the mid-1950’s. Only the really awful company-wide cover design fiasco of the “ALL NEW STORIES / BEST IN COMICS” banner mars it.
On a splash page whose intricate border imitates an illuminated manuscript, we see an old wizard peering out thru a window of a castle in flames. Without even reading, we know he can be no one but Merlin—and this is the fall of Camelot. “It is said that there was a time on Earth when STRANGE creatures roamed all lands!! ---and that these beings became the CORE of myths and legends surrounding the fabled powers of bygone eras!! One such power was CAMELOT! ONE FIERY NIGHT IT MET ITS END! Great MERLIN was the last to meet the overwhelming hordes of the enchantress MORGAINE LE FEY! And his final act was to-- UNLEASH THE ONE WHO WAITS”.
Pages 2-3 show us a scene of epic battle before a castle impossibly huge. “Beset by OVERWHELMING forces steeped in the workings of the evil sorcery of MORGAINE LE FEY, the walls of Camelot quaked and shuddered and shot bright flames into the darkest of nights! It was a time when great powers clashed on Earth and beyond - ! THE FATES WERE BRINGING AN AGE TO A CLOSE!” Wow. What’s interesting is how, in a way, this rather parallels the opening pages of NEW GODS #1, a mere 18 months earlier.
“Again and again, the forces in play generated, charged, and struck at the once impregnable Camelot! The NEW names for them were not yet born—and men STILL called them MAGIC! For men still lived in the shadow of the OLD gods! --and FEARED them! --even as they did MORGAINE LE FEY! It was said that, like Merlin himself, she recruited beings that were NOT from this Earth at all!! –but from someplace OUTSIDE!” Someone other than me pointed out how this seems to be a reference to, or connection with, the NEW GODS series. But that can’t be... can it?
Merlin calls his servant, Etrigan, to him, and informs him that both he and Camelot will vanish soon, and Etrigan will not be summoned again until long after Morgaine’s beauty has faded and died, never to be renewed... UNLESS she finds him and “this ancient book”. A moment later, with a sweep of his hand, Merlin destroys what’s left of Camelot, while Etrigan changes form into that of a human... who wanders off, with no memory.
After such a prologue, the story jumps ahead to the modern day, where we meet Jason Blood, a well-off man whose “occupation” is a demonologist. I guess that makes him like a supernatural version of Bruce Wayne, who I believe started out as a “criminologist’, which his friend Commissioner Gordon considered an odd hobby for someone who inherited a fortune. Jason has tracked down Mr. Warly, a recluse who published a book on Wizardry, because his dreams are haunted by a demon, and he needs an authority—“a true sorcerer”—to help him sort out the answers he seeks. Whereupon Warly uses a poltergeist, which brings a suit of armor to life, to try and kill Jason. “Why this sudden attempt on my life?” “SORCERERS ANSWER TO NO ONE! THEY’RE A PURPOSE AND POWER UNTO THEMSELVES!” Boy, does this make me think of the various wizards populating the future Earth of THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN!
Turns out, Warly is in league with Le Fey, for whom time looks about ready to run out. When Jason awakens, he finds Warly’s mansion in ruins—which it has been for several years. Unusual is the local police officer who explains this to Jason, in a patient, understanding fashion. None of the usual bossy, rude, obnoxious cop thing here!
Following a brief interlude in Central Europe where a stone statue comes to life, we switch to Gotham City, where we meet Jason’s friends Randu (a U.N. delegate), Harry Mathews (an advertising man), and a new acquaintance, Glenda, who finds Jason and his home—filled with priceless old paintings and artifcact, fascinating. She notices that several portraits of Jason’s ancestors all look exactly like him. The scene reminds me quite a bit of Connor MacLeod’s home in the movie HIGHLANDER (14 years later!), and also brings to mind the portrait of Barnabas Collins in DARK SHADOWS.
Then the walking statue—who he recognizes as one of “the unliving”-- shows up, with a scroll relating to Etrigan. Observed by Warly and Le Fey, he travels to Castle Branek, where the two are attacked by minions of Le Fey. An underground chamber (only briefly glimpsed earlier in the story) opens again, and Jason descends into it (in a scene almost repeated verbatim in the 1st issue of THE ETERNALS several years later). There, in Merlin’s tomb, atop a huge sarcophagus surrounded by stone gargoyles, he reads the full inscription... “CHANGE1 CHANGE, O’ form of man! Release the might from fleshy mire! Boil the blood in heart and fire! Gone! Gone! --- the form of man --! RISE, THE DEMON ETRIGAN!” And even as he reads, he body is once more transformed, back into that of Etrigan. At that moment, Le Fey and her forces enter, and he attacks!
Some of this is rather impressive. But other parts, less so. I have to say, I’ve now read the comic 3 times, and it doesn’t quite “flow” as naturally as many of Jack Kirby’s other projects, especially first issues. There’s something choppy, segmented about this, almost as if it were assembled from barely-connected pieces and ideas. I’m going to assume it would all make much more sense once you read the next issue. I’m afraid that’s my big problem here. This is the ONLY issue of THE DEMON I’ve ever managed to get ahold of. While I collected most of the Fourth World books in the early 80’s (averaging about $2.00 apiece), I got this much later (sometime in the 90’s I think) and for $12.00. I’d love to get more... but it’s not really an option for me at the moment.
I am left with some questions. Is Etrigan the main character’s true form—or is Jason Blood? Is Jason merely a disguise, or is he the host for a separate being? Would The Demon then be more like Orion—or Johnny Blaze?
As with the Fourth World, with MISTER MIRACLE and NEW GODS, my first esposure to Kirby’s DEMON was from later installments done by others. Specifically, his appearance in BATMAN FAMILY #17 (May’78) by Bob Rosakis & Michael Golden, which guest-starred Man-Bat. (“Supernatural Horror Team-Up”, anyone?) This was followed 10 months later by The Demon back-up in DETECTIVE COMICS #482-485 (Mar-Sep’79), by Len Wein, with art by Golden & Dick Giordano (for one episode), then, Steve Ditko (the remaining 3 installments). I kinda dug the downright dark & spooky work of Golden, but the Ditko episodes didn’t do much for me. Actually, Ditko was doing quite a lot of work for DC at the time, the best of which was probably the Starman series in ADVENTURE COMICS, done with Paul Levitz & Romeo Tanghal.
I’ve run across quite a few different later interpretations of THE DEMON, but frankly, none of them grabbed me as much as the 2 episodes I saw with Michael Golden, or, this one by Jack Kirby. Somewhere along the line (I’m nort sure when or by who), Etrigan picked up the MONSTROUSLY-annoying habit of speaking entirely in rhyme. Apparently, he never did this when Kirby was writing. Whoever tacked that on to him has a lot to answer for.
The Kirby-Royer art in this issue seems quite different from what’s appearing in the 3 Fourth World books at the same time. Less “slick”, more “impressionistic”. I think this may be one more thing that Kirby is never given credit for—that his art is often flexible, changing to suit the mood of a story, or even the mood of a scene.
Hopefully one of these days I’ll get ahold of the rest of this series. Until then, I’m looking forward to to at least re-reading those 2 Mike Golden episodes before too long. I always remember the line from one of the cops in the “team-up”, who said, “These two are the UGLIEST suckers I’ve ever seen!” (4-2-2012)
Posted by profh0011 on :
MISTER MIRACLE #10 / Oct’72 – “THE MISTER MIRACLE TO BE”
“From the VIOLENT world of APOKALIPS, a small band of refugees finds its way to Earth!” Thus, Scott, Barda, and 4 of the Female Furies, Lashina, Stompa, Bernadeth and Mad Harriet, emerge from a Boom Tube, but immediately realize they’re not where they planned to land. As Bernadeth puts it, “We’re on EARTH, all right! We just happened to pick its DREARIEST landscape!” But before they have time to think, they’re attacked by an automated gun turret. Scott is nearly killed before putting it out of action, but even as he does, a squad of armed men emerge from an underground base, and he’s accused of being an “All-Nation” agent.
Taking out the thugs, he leaps into the opening, and finds himself descending via a tiny, cramped elevator, until he reached the bottom, and confronts “The Head” of the “World Protective League”—literally, a disembodied HEAD in a glass case on wheels, in charge of a terrorist organization, who plan to launch an “OPB” (Orbital Plague Bomb) into space. As The Head puts it, “Terror can pay great dividends for its USERS! Actually, our “World Protective League” DOES offer the world protection---!” “Yes—from “THE WORLD PROTECTIVE LEAGUE!” This is BLACKMAIL on an undreamed-of scale!”
Scott is knocked out, just as his companions awaken in a glass cell. They escape, then free Mike McCracken, an agent of the “All-Nations Agency”, whose flirting behavior toward women they find rather annoying. That’s put aside when more guards attack, and they quickly join forces to stop them.
Meanwhile, The Head has Scott shackled and encased in an airtight cylinder, which is quickly filled with poison gas. “If you aimed to kill him, “Head”--- why didn’t you just order us to shoot him?” “Because of interesting thought images I found while PROBING his mind!” Sure enough, Scott escapes alive and intact, confirming The Head’s suspicion that he was an escape artist—though Scott still tries to convince him he’s a free agent. Following another brief stuggle, Scott appears knocked out again, and The Head seals him into the OPB missile, launching it. But even as it takes off, The Head goes into a panic, as he’s inexplicably drawn to its hull, and pulled into space with it, where it—and he—explode.
Sure enough, Scott escaped the rocket, reversed his anti-grav device to capture The Head, and snuck into the control room to send the weapon and its master to their doom. Mike sets off a time-delayed self-destruct device, while Scott convinces one of the scientists (who wanted to study Barda’s Mega-Rod) to have everyone clear out while they can. Four hours later, the base is atomized in a nuclear blast. Aboard the escape plane, one of the men says, “I’m going “STRAIGHT” after this! I’m NOT going to waste my second chance!”
Back home, a lonely Oberon is interrupted by the pleasant arrival of Ted Brown, son of Thaddeus (the original Mister Miracle), who’s only just heard of the death of his father. A public relations man, Ted regrets never having the chance to manage his father’s act. Just as Oberon is beginning to tell him about Scott & Barda, they hear a noise from ther attic. On reaching it, a joyous reunion takes place. Barda tells him, “You’re a BETTER sight than a multiple-barrelled, cosmic-controlled planetary howitzer!” Whereupon Oberon tells Ted, “We’re in BUSINESS!!”
This is one of my FAVORITE issues of this series. I know this runs counter to what many feel, but to me, it was wonderful to finally put “the past” behind Scott & Barda (even if, with the Female Furies in toe, they’ll never be able to forget where they came from). And unlike Marvel’s CAPTAIN MARVEL, which totally floundered on ever possible level once IT concluded its 18-part “origin” story, here, we see a clear path toward the book going in a brand-new direction, once which would allow it to live up to its obvious initial premise.
It’s fun to see Jack playing with such a blatent variation on the Nick Fury / SHIELD / Hydra scenario, especially with regards to the “Plague Bomb” (the “McGuffin” used by Jim Steranko in STRANGE TALES #154-158). The Head seems a less monstrous (but in some ways, just as disturbing) version of Modok. More than anything, Mike McCracken reminds of of Dean Martin’s version of MATT HELM, between his looks and his attitude toward women, who he refers to as “chicks”. I’d love to see more adventures with this character. Did he ever reappear anywhere?
In stark contrast to THE DEMON #1 (which makes perfect sense in light of the subject matter), this may be the SLICKEST Kirby-Royer art EVER! In places I was reminded of Kirby-Sinnott, except I’m sure Royer was honing closer to Kirby’s pencils than Sinnott tended to. (But are we SURE Joe didn’t fill in inking page 4??? Maybe he had a day off somewhere.) I mean, this stuff is TIGHT and CLEAN and STUNNING to look at!
This may be one of the most over-looked, under-rated issues in the entire Fourth World saga. I LOVE it! (4-3-2012)
Posted by profh0011 on :
THE FOREVER PEOPLE #11 / Nov’72 – “DEVILANCE THE PURSUER”
“Of all the creatures that people the universe, none is so feared as the RELENTLESS personality who must FULFILL what he was created for—at all costs! Give such a being the power of a god and you’re confronted with a gravity of danger unimaginable on the human scale! From the viewpoint of his prey, there is none so FEARSOME! You shall learn why from the FOREVER PEOPLE”
“DEVILANCE THE PURSUER-- a product of what can be accomplished by the TRACKING principle when its brought to its ultimate efficiency! Every trait of the professional bounty-hunter, plus the crushing will of Darkseid, himself, has been bred into this denizen of Apokalips! He must PURSUE, TRAP, and DESTROY his prey—or DIE-!!”
Isn’t that sheer poetry? One thing nobody can argue—and that’s that NOBODY else in comics put words together like Jack Kirby.
Inexplicably, Darkseid sends Devilance, a combination bounty-hunter/hitman, to capture The Forever People. You’d think he’d have either given up, or at least moved on to more urgent matters or more promising prospects. After a brief scuffle attracts the cops, who nag Trixie Magruder about not screening her tenants better, Devilance flies off, and the kids vanish. An around-the-world game of cat-and-mouse ensues, going from an abandoned mine to Easter Island, during which the denizen of Darkseid decides his master will have to do with dead bodies. Nice guy.
Meanwhile, for the first time in quite a few issues, we find The Infinity Man, trapped on a distant paradise-like planet named Adon, and unable to escape due to some “barrier” that’s been set up. After being severely weakened by an escape attempt, he rests and recovers, ready to try again. It’s about that time the kids’ Mother Box makes contact and prepares for the “contact ritual”. Infinity Man appears, taking Devilance completely by surprise (he has NO idea who he’s facing, or where he quarry have vanished to!). After a short, but fierce battle, in which Infinity Man tries to take the villain’s weapon away from him, a tremendous outpouring of energy destroys the entire island and both combatants.
Watching from afar, Darkseid comments to Desaad, “Thus, blind destiny writes an ending well beyond the wisdom of Darkseid himself!” Desaad notes, “With The Infinity Man gone, they can NEVER return! In the end, great Darkseid, destiny speaks for us all!” On Adon, the Forever People turn their backs on Earth and prepare to face their future, on a planet of “endless wonders”.
Faced with the abrupt cancellation of the series, Jack clearly decided to go out with a quite literal “bang”. With no room for any kind of detailed explanantion for Darkseid’s sudden re-interest in our “hippy kid gang”, it was non-stop action right to the explosive finale. Along the way, I sense some references to earlier characters and scenarios sneaking their way in. Devilance’ helmet and costume—with bare arms and legs—makes him look like “Galactus Jr.”, while his spear, which does double-duty as weapon and mode of transport—brings to mind The Silver Surfer. (Someone should have asked why Mike Royer failed to include the vestigal “helmet wings”, which were in some panels, but not others. Unless Jack had some in-story reason for their disappearing act in some panels, Royer should have known what to “fix” and where.) Meanwhile, Infinity Man’s being “trapped’ on a planet by a mysterious “barrier” also brings The Surfer to mind. It’s quite common for creative types to reuse elements from their own work, I just can’t help but wonder if Jack was trying to “say” something here by doing so.
It’s unfortunate that the book got canned when it did. The kids’ situation with Trixie, and the outlook of new adventures on Earth NOT related to the war were fascinating, and only just beginning. Also, we never did get to find out who the hell Infinity Man was, anything about his origin or reason for existing. And it looks like now, we never would. At least Jack left the door open by showing the kids were still alive, but why leave them trapped on some mysterious planet (in another dimension or our own? Not really sure after reading this) instead of just shipping them back home to New Genesis?
Jack may describe THE DEMON as “the greatest new comic magazine for the money!” –but I’d rather be reading about optimistic New Agers than a demon from Hell anyday. (CURSE you, Carmine!) (5-30-2012)
Posted by Dave Hackett on :
quote:Originally posted by profh0011: Somewhere along the line (I’m nort sure when or by who), Etrigan picked up the MONSTROUSLY-annoying habit of speaking entirely in rhyme. Apparently, he never did this when Kirby was writing. Whoever tacked that on to him has a lot to answer for.
That was some unknown by the name of Alan Moore.
Seriously, if you haven't read the first trade of "Saga of the Swamp Thing", you really, really need to get out there, rob a bank and buy it. You won't be disappointed in either the Demon parts, or the story altogether.
Also, All of the Kirby Demon is available in Hardcover Omnibus format. I got mine reasonably cheap on Amazon. Highly recommended.
Posted by profh0011 on :
I've read that SWAMP THING book decades ago. It was okay. That's as far as I'd go.
When you're broke, "cheap" is still too much.
Posted by profh0011 on :
In police headquarters, Commissioner Kiernan confronts the imprisoned Kalibak. He wants both sides in the fighting to leave Earth. “Do you HEAR me, whoever you are? Start talking peace, or do your fighting ELSEWHERE!” “I can do NEITHER –in HERE, Earthman!” Taking a huge gamble, Kiernan has Kalibak released—and he promptly goes on a rampage, smashes his way out of the building, while saying, “I’ll deliver your message, human! Kalibak is NOT without a sense of humor!”
Elsewhere, Orion grows impatient to tackle Darkseid, while Lightray and Dave Lincoln try to calm him down. “If my hands were to CLOSE on him thus, I’d SNAP that steel backbone of his as one would a REED from the swamp!” News of Kalibak’s escape arrives, and Lightray suggests they just wait for him to come to them.
Meanwhile, a melacholy Darkseid ponders how Orion and Darkseid have fought since childhood, but something has always kept one from killing the other. Desaad wonders why either’s death should bother him. “ORION AND KALIBAK! How those TWO names haunt my life and destiny! –give me NO rest! --DARKEN my future as surely as their MATERNAL forebears ruled my past-! My mother, Queen Heggra! --Orion’s mother, Tigra! --and the sorceress ---SULI-!” “Suli was KALIBAK’s mother!? Then before Tigra was chosen for you—there was Suli! It was rumored that you DEFIED the Queen’s wishes to court Suli!” “—to secretly WED her, you sly dog! Orion and Kalibak are HALF-BROTHERS! --BOTH are my sons!” “WAHOM!” “—and that little potent OMEGA BLAST is to remind you that I know who poisoned Suli! --at the Queen’s command!!” “I COULDN’T disobey, sire! The Queen mother disapproved of Suli! It was HER decision!” “The old TYRANT! She taught me well the importance of bending others to one’s will! In the end--- when I mastered this fine art---!"” "I-I don’t like to remember it, sire---! ---how I carried your plans---for her---!”
SO! Though it has been obvious to the readers since the 1st episode, at last, Darkseid has revealed the truth about Orion to his best friend and closest ally. And what a revelation, building and expanding on what was revealed in “THE PACT”. Desaad MURDERED Darkseid’s 1st wife on the orders of Darkseid’s mother—then, murdered Darkseid’s mother on Darkseid’s orders! And still he keeps Desaad around. That’s one horribly isolated absolute dictator, if Desaad if the closest thing in existence to what he can consider a friend. To think—the whole FUCKING WAR is a result of this one guy’s monstrously DISFUNCTIONAL FAMILY!!!
Kalibak arrives, and Lightray decides to face him first. A “nova burst” (shades of Johnny Storm) stuns Kalibak, but before he can deliver a follow-up, Lightray gets clobbered. Orion is forced by his code to stand aside and watch it happen, until Lightray’s out of it. Then, he goes in. “Let the silent shades of your COUNTLESS tortured victims stand by to witness the FINISH of their tomentor!” But Kalibak’s not out yet. As he did at the police station, he blasts the street with energy, more and more-- “...given Kalibak by an ALLY! –even as we battle!” (The dule between Dr. Strange and Baron Mordo in STRANGE TALES #132, when Mordo was being supplied with endless power by The Dread Dormammu, comes to mind.) Then he pulls down the side of a building on top of Orion (in a fashion reminiscent of when Hercules once took out THOR).
While this is going on, Willie Walker has once more become The Black Racer. “Death is on the wing this night! ---DEATH FOR AN ANGRY GOD!” Uh oh...
Meanwhile, Dave Lincoln is intent on helping Orion, but Commissioner Kiernan only wants to corral both fighters.
And elsewhere, Darkseid is informed of “STRANGE emanations being transmitted from this VERY location! ...zeroed in on KALIBAK himself!” Sure enough, he finds Desaad has been feeding Kalibak power, to increase the fierceness of the fight, both so that he might absorb their emotions in the heat of battle, and also to ensure Orion’s defeat. “I’ve tolerated you and your twisted mind too long! This time you’ve turned it against my OWN kin!” Darkseid uses the full force of his Omega Effect against Deaad, causing “the TOTAL WIPEOUT”! “And THIS is what you are now! A small, fading patch of light—soon to VANISH from sight! Farewell, Desaad!” I wonder how many readers over the years, who may have read later stories written by others (stories that, in some ways, DON’T really “count”) were surprised to see such a “major” character KILLED off this way—for good?
Orion pulls himself from the rubble to once more face Kalibak, who, to his shock, no longer has his power increased. “We MUST BE BROTHERS, you and I! ---Different sides of the SAME coin! TRUE sons of Darkseid--- the essence of his creed of total violence!” “”Were Darkseid MY father, he would have but ONE true son! KALIBAK! KALIBAK!” Amazing, how, after all these years, neither son knew who their father was. As things reach a climax, The Black Race arrives. “DEATH APPROACHES, ORION! BOTH of you have taken incredible punishment! But I’ve only come for ONE!” “If it be ME—then come and be SWIFT!” He’s surprised to find it was Kalibak whose time had come.
As Kiernan and the police arrive, Orion has an epiphany. “To think I sent that bull moose on a peace mission! How will we ever end this war?” “DESTINY shall end it! It is written that the father of Apokalips shall meet his banished son in the RED light of the fire-pits --- and THERE they shall decide the war! AND SO IT SHALL BE! I can deny it no longer--- to others or to MYSELF! I AM DARKSEID’S SON!! ---armed and ready with the heritage bequeathed me!--- The ultimate ferocity! When I clash with Darkseid--- THE WAR WILL END!”
WHOA!!! What a HELL of a place to cancel the book! For the 2nd episode in one month, “Destiny” is mentioned again and again. DESTINY MY ASS. “DC” editorial, more like it. Which may be what Jack was getting at when he wrote these. Once again, I say to thee—CURSE YOU, Carmine!!! You lured Kirby over to DC with a lot of promises, then repeatedly failed to live up to so many of them.
Many—mostly fans of Marvel Comics and their ubiquitous Editor-In-Chief Stan Lee, have, over the years, repeatedly knocked Jack Kirby’s writing, his sense of story structure, and especially, his dialogue, and backed it up, over and over and over, by saying that his books at DC “weren’t successful”. BULLSHIT. Very few things in comics were “successful” around this time. The truth is, the entire industry was on a long, slow downward plunge, losing ground and retail outlets every year. Very few new series lasted. Hell, many long-time series ended, as well (think AQUAMAN and GREEN LANTERN, both sabotaged by mis-guided and misbegotten attempts to badly try to imitate what Marvel was doing, instead of figuring out what DC did best, and imporve on it). DC was desperate to find something, anything, to be a “big overnight hit”—and it’s clear a complex epic spread over 4 books wasn’t what they were looking for. It may seem obvious in retrospect that, in the case of most successful, long-running series, you start with “small” stories, build your audience, THEN begin doing bigger and longer stories. That Jack tried to do the reverse may have been a misjudgement, but it certainly was a bold experiment, and it deserved more support from DC management than it got. (A single monthly would have been sure to sell more consistently than 2 or 3 bi-monthlies, at the very least.) It’s also become quite clear over the years that behind-the-scenes shenanigans involving distributors also led to false sales reports—something that also plagued CONAN THE BARBARIAN and other books. The industry was sinking, and a wide variety of facets were at work, simultaneously.
That Jack Kirby’s characters and concepts refused to die is both a tribute to his creativity, his actual success in crafting such wonderful, well-rounded, fascinating people on paper, as well as, cynically, corporate-owned publishers refusal to let ANYTHING they own go down quietly. The Fourth World has been revived REPEATEDLY over the years—beginning, perhaps most frustratingly, with the very month Jack went back to Marvel. But it’s also a testmanent to the faulty framework of the entire American comics biz, their utter lack of the relationship between creator and creations, that most of these revivals have FAILED on multiple levels (creatively, sales-wise, etc.). Some concepts, characters and series, are so “personal” in vision, they can ONLY be done “right” by the person who came up with them. OF COURSE Jack Kirby’s NEW GODS repeatedly fails to catch on with later readers. Jack Kirby WASN’T doing it!!!
But, so much for that. By my count, I still have 17 more Kirby DC books to go. And almost half of them feature one of my all-time favorite Kirby creations. (6-1-2012)
Posted by profh0011 on :
Strangely enough, I don't actually have a single Jack Kirby issue of KAMANDI, but I just had to find a cover scan of the following to clean up and post here...
On the cover: “Can MISTER MIRACLE survive the death-defying leap into the VAT OF FIRE?”
Inside: “What happens when an idle young press agent meets the most incredible talent on Earth? --- Why, SHOW BUSINESS happens, that’s what! Although this SENSATIONAL act is in its early stages of production, its cast can make headlines at the first sign of trouble! And considering the kind of enemies they have, you’re advised to SIT BACK! GRIP YOUR CHAIR! --- And see --- THE GREATEST SHOW OFF EARTH!”
While Ted Brown films, Barda single-handed lifts a pole, atop which is a manacled Scott (what, again?). After lowering the end of the pole into a hole, the Female Furies go into motion. Bernadeth sets fire to a tank filled with gasolene, Lashina cracks the pole, and Stompa shatters it, causing Scott to plummet straight into the flames! “KEEP FILMING, Ted! DON’T STOP! --- No matter what you think is happening!” Although Barda never took her eyes off Scott, even she didn’t see him free himself and leap away to a nearby tree in time. “You’re FAST, Mister Miracle! The FASTEST thing alive!” I’m beginning to wonder if that isn’t Scott’s real “super power”, since up to this point, he doesn’t seem to actually have one. But what else can explain so many of his miraculous escapes we’ve seen, unless he’s been using teleportation?
All this has been to create a promotional film to advertise his upcoming tour. The scene on the cover has one inaccuracy—in the story, there was no crowd of spectators watching. Presumably, this would be when the act is repeated in the future.
The main part of this story, while somewhat exciting, I find quite a disappointment. Despite everything Scott went thru when he returned to Apokalips, apparently to “play by their rules” and “earn the right to live his own life”, Dr. Bedlam returns for personal revenge, to reverse his earlier defeat. What an A**H***!!! I mean—you’d think this guy walked in from some Marvel Comic or something, where the baddies have nothing better to do but to get “revenge!!!” for something bad that happened to them that they caused themselves.
First, he terrorizes Oberon, then he sends his “animates”, which the Furies destroy. Scott insists on confronting him on his own, and finds him inside what can only be described as a “UFO”. Trapped inside, the flying saucer zooms into space, is battered by meteors, skips along the Earth’s atmosphere generating intense heat, then heads straight for the moon and intense cold. Stupid enough to want to watch Scott’s demise in person, Bedlam winds up trapped within one of his own animates by a plastic sheathe Scott creates. The crash is seen all the way down on Earth, and Bedlam, presumably, is destroyed. Although Bedlam destroyed the Mother Box that Scott had hidden up his sleeve, Bedlam didn’t know that Scott had created a back-up, hidden in his mask. Among other things, it allowed him to escape the craft via “instantaneous descent”. (Isn’t that another way of saying “teleportation”???) It would seem Scott could have escaped at any time; he simply went through all that punishment, to make sure that Dr. Bedlam would be destroyed, so he wouldn’t have to play this game yet again.
I haven’t mentioned the art on the last several issues. It’s been good as always, though in some places, the linework has been a bit too thick, and the faces a bit too “stiff” or “cartoony”. I can only put this down to Jack once again doing 4 books instead of 3, or perhaps losing some interest after the abrupt cancellation of both NEW GODS and FOREVER PEOPLE. In this issue, Mike Royer’s inks suddenly become MUCH sharper and crisper from page 14-on. Did he change pens, or was this a result of someone adjusting a stat machine?
I love the fact that Barda goes thru this entire issue wearing a stylized bikini. WHAT A GAL!!! (She makes WONDER WOMAN look like a BOY!)
From the letters pages: “His character development never ceases to amaze me. I feel I know more about his characters now than I ever learned about his characters at Marvel all the years I read them. The characters love and hate and the reader knows that emotions will last beyind the end of the book.” –Paul Richardson “One quick request—I’d like to see more of Oberon.” –Lynn Holland “Sorry, Lynn... that’s all there is.” --editor “It’s amazing that the man who had been in the business the longest should “think youngest”.” –Salyrwyn Daley And, in answer to a question about Scott’s “bag of trick” in MM #1... “We never said Scott came directly to where he met Thaddues Brown and, therein another flashback lurks.” –editor. OOOH. I SO wish Jack had managed to tell that story. I’m sure it wouldn’t have involved 200 years spent wandering Earth as John Byrne suggested years later (IN ANOTHER CONTINUITY NOT RELATED TO THIS ONE). (6-5-2012)
Posted by profh0011 on :
“A powerful, experimental torpedo is launched from a submarine and streaks toward QUICK detonation!! But this is far from a ROUTINE shot! Someone is tightly shackled to the torpedo’s shell! --- a SUPER-ESCAPE ARTIST – sharing it’s speedy journey to fiery oblivion! His plight is REAL! He will DIE, if he CAN’T free himself before the torpedo reaches its target! CAN HE DO IT?1 CAN HE CHEAT THE OPEN JAWS OF DEATH - !??”
Yep. Scott Free’s at it again. This time, setrting up an elaborate publicity stunt with the help of the U.S. Navy, “Bound to a torpedo—speeding toward a deadly mine” (as it says on the cover). Somehow that reminds me of Henry Corden’s line in the GET SMART episode, “Physician Impossible”, when he said, “I’ll drop him from a plane—in front of a train! No, that’s too GOOD for him. I know, I’ll... uhhh.”
Naturally, Scott escapes in time, and is pulled out of the water by a helicopter. “HANG ON! We’d hate to see you break your neck, AFTER you survived that blast!” The whole bit is observed from a distance by tycoon Colonel Darby and his butler Mudgett. Darby intends to bet heavily against Mr. Miracle surviving a fight with his champion, “Mystivac”, who appears to be a robotic-looking “idol” he purchased from some South Seas island types who worshipped it and did its every bidding.
Back at the Naval base, a news conference is interrupted by a ruckus on the beach. It turns out Barda and The Female Furies clobbered a bunch of sailors who got rude while they were trying to take a swim. Admiral Case’s reaction is similar to that of Chief Clifford after learning of Sam McCloud’s latest escapade. He turns, walks away and contemplates early retirement. (Funny stuff!)
Darby calls up Scott with a proposition, then puts “Mystivac” on the phone. “You want to DIE, Scott Free! You WANT to die! Do not turn death away! --- WELCOME him --- go to him --- death is your FRIEND---! LIVING IS FUTILE --- YOU WANT TO DIE --- YOU WANT TO DIE---!” (This is why I HATE tele-marketers.) In a daze, Scott agrees, yet when Barda arrives, he seems oblvious as to anything having happened. Yet while rehearsing their next death-trap-escape, Scott moves SO slowly, that Barda’s instincts kick in, tell her something’s TERRIBLY wrong, and she only manages to save his life in time. Yet even afterwards, he doesn’t grasp what just happened.
Meanwhile, Ted Brown is meeting with Darby to set up the fight, perfectly happy until Mytivac walks up and tells him NOT to warn or help Scott. Clearly some form of mind-control is going on with this character.
The next day, in a “reconstructed temple in a remote area”, Scott, Barda & Oberon confront Mystivac, who quickly gets the sidekicks out of the way with her persuasive personality. A brutal battle begins, at one point during a pair of long knives extend from Mystivac’s hand, accompanied with the sound effect “SNIK!” (Gee, doesn’t this seem awful familiar? Seems some character in an issue of THE INCREDIBLE HULK had the same gimmick, a few years later.) Scott is able to resist by using circuitry in his mask, and manages to unmask his foe, who turns out to be a diminuative alien in a life-sustaining capsule, who’s been marooned on Earth for centuries, used repeatedly by evil men to further their ambitions, and who has come to hate all humans passionately as a result.
Any possibility that Scott & co., might have been able to help the little guy return home is aborted when the butler opens fire, misses, and hits the alien’s glass bubble by mistake. After the baddies are routed, our heroes find the creature has disintegrated to dust in our atmosphere. As evil as he might have been (or become over time) they still show sympathy for such a tragedy, and decide not to collect any “winnings” from this event. “On to the next one! THE SHOW MUST GO ON!!” Overall, a nice return to form. I could see this book going on for quite a long stretch. If only! (6-6-2012)
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“A railroad yard seems like a most UNLIKELY place for high adventure to begin! But—MISTER MIRACLE transforms ANY atmosphere in which his work is done, into a place of spine-chilling thrills and excitement! And this starting point leads to a much larger and thrilling experience! ---from the shores of civilization--- to the distant region of--- THE DICTATOR’S DUNGEON!”
Scott’s at it again. THIS time, he’s chained up and tied down onto railroad tracks, while a steam locomotive speeds toward him. As he tells his promoter, “Don’t worry, Ted! There’ll still be an act when this is over-!” The engineer and conductor seem convinced he’s committing suicide, and even Oberon yells out, “He’s going to die!” Barda lifts him into the air, while telling him, “You sawed-off runt! SIMMER DOWN!” The train continues its approach—and ROARS right over the spot where Scott lay helpless! But when the last car finally rattles past, Scott’s standing on the other side of the tracks, smiling. How the hell does he do that?
Just then, a bizarre helicopter flies over, kidnaps Ted right off the ground, and is followed by Scott & Barda, who cling pecariously to its underside. “Keep your cool, Barda! We’re being HELD fast to this hull by some magnetic flow!” “This craft is beginning to climb fast! I DON’T plan on being pinned out here when it reaches HIGH altitude!” In an exciting scene, Barda smashes a hole in the bottom, climbs in and tackles the crew—who all seem to resemble Neanderthals. Scott follows her in, and soon the crew has been overpowered. But the craft is locked on remote, and they soon find themselves approaching a lamasary high in the Himalayas. (If this were the Marvel Universe, one might have expected a crossover with Dr. Strange—or maybe, Iron Fist!)
Inexplicably, a trap-door opens sending Scott & Barda to the snows below (his anti-grav boots saving them from hitting too hard). Some ways from the building, they find a tunnel. “Off-hand, I’d say that it would take a 50-TON TANK to open this door—BUT---“ “With a mighty heave that would startle fabled Hercules, Barda pulls the great door from its moorings!” “KRAAACK!” Wow. Racing thru the tunnel, they’re attacked by more of the natives. Hefting a sizable rock, Barda amazes her attackers. “The female is a witch!” “She’s a creature of sorcery!” “Wrong n BOTH counts!” She tosses the rock their way. “I’m just a darn good BOWLER!” (Whata great line—I wasn’t expecting something like that.)
As Barda focuses on finding Ted, Scott is confused by the mixture of Eastern design with those of the West, as the place is littered with Swastikas, and a very Oriental-looking statue’s pose is giving a Nazi salute, wears a Hitler moustache, and has an inscription that reads “Dafura”. Knocked out by a ray blast, they find themselves in the same cell with Ted, who informs them their host is Albert Von Killowitz, escaped Nazi war criminal! “One finds it DIFFICULT to disguise his past culture weith another! However, I rule this humble kingdom! I am KING KOMODO!” “DICTATOR Komodo is probably closer to the truth! I’ll bet you rule with an iron fist!” “It’s the ONLY way to train and control my aborigines! ---Why, only recently, they were STILL being called abominable snowmen!” “They’re NO more “abominable” than their MASTER --- you swine!” Considering where Scott & Barda came from, it’s only natural for them to have such open contempt for this issue’s baddie.
The cell is suddenly flooded with electricity, then fire, then acid, all of which our trio barely manages to survive. Killowitz suddenly learns that Scott is a super-escape-artist by trade, and decides a duel of their talents might prove interesting. Next thing, Scott finds himself in a corridor which becomes cylindrical, only to discover he’s in the barrel of a gigantic cannon. No sooner does he escape being blasted to atoms, than he has to sidestep a razor-sharp pendulum (shades of Poe). Scott then uses some circuitry in his mask to overcome Killowitz’ will at a distance, forcing him to order his underlings to free the prisoners and prepare the copter for launching. (Can it be Scott has devised his own personal Anti-Life Equation here???)
Heading home with their prisoner, Ted reveals how he first met Killowitz. While in Korea, his squad was ambushed, he was left for dead in the snow, but was picked up by a band of Mongols. Among them was Killowitz. Once Killowitz realized he’d been recognized, Ted knew he’d have to be killed. But he escape, and made it back to civilization. The experience left Ted deeply disturbed, and no doubt al he wanted to do was put it all behind him. Though not pointed out in the dialogue, the irony is clear, that Killowitz would have been pefectly safe, could have lived the rest of his miserable life a free man, except for his fear and paranoia and desire to kill someone he was afraid would tell others he was still alive. ASSHOLE!!!
This issue must have been important, because a number of readers wrote in to complain to Jack that Ted was reported as having been killed in Korea, yet later turned up alive with no explanantion. They got one now.
Scott & Barda console Ted. “There’s a whole new rodl lying ahead of you, Ted! ---a world without fear of Von Killowitz!” “A world of friends, Ted! We’ll all look after each other!” Again, knowing where Scott & barda came from, it really says a lot about how important what they’re talking about is to them, and how much they understand it.
The Kirby-Royer art is terrific as usual, even though some of the faces are beginning to be a bit “loose” of late. Also, there’s no way for me to be sure, but I’d SWEAR that page 22, panel 4—a close-up of Von Killowitz—was inked by Dave Stevens. (6-7-2012)
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MISTER MIRACLE #14 / Jul’73 – “THE QUICK AND THE DEAD!”
“A walk in the woods can turn up anything. In the case of MISTER MIRACLE, it explodes with an incident so totally unexpected and bizarre that it defies the sense and talents of the world’s greatest escape artist! Mystery, villain and danger—he can’t resist their challenge—for these are the elements from which escape is possible, only for--- THE QUICK AND THE DEAD!”
Cutting to the chase for once (literally), Scott & Oberon happen across a man in a very peculiar “demon” type costume, being chased by a crew who look liked they stepped out of some Halloween-themed “B”-movie. Warned to stay out of it, they wind up knocked down (but not out), and soon follow the culprits back to “Satan’s Lair”, a large, run-down, spooky-looking house that might have been the focus of a SCOOBY-DOO episode. Strangely enough, the leader of the gang, Madame Evil Eyes, has Scott & Oberon (who really doesn’t want to be there) invited in, presumably so she can use her mesmerific power on them.
While this is going on, Ted, Barda & The Female Furies are clearing tree trunks out of a patch of ground in order to set up one of Scott’s escape traps. After Barda breaks up a fight between two of the others, Ted suddenly pops a question at her. “We’re NOT so great at keeping tabs on Mister Miracle and Oberon.” “I know who you’re REALLY worried about. Tell me—are you in LOVE with Mister Miracle, Barda?” “Until NOW—I-I NEVER gave it much thought!” Oooh.
Scott, meanwhile, escapes flaming death in the hands of a giant stone statue of a winged demon “Satan”, then clobbers some guards and escapes with Oberon—only for the pair of them to then fall thru a trap door into a cell below where the man they tried to rescue earlier is being held captive. After he’s unmasked, Oberon recognizes him as “Ears” Watson—“a top hood”. Suddenly a hole opens in one of the walls, a hand holding a weapon is shoved thru and Watson is shot in the back with a paralyzing “freeze-gun”. After some taunting from their host, the pair run a “devil’s obstacle” course, then confront Madame Evil Eyes in her lair.
As Oberon describes it, “This is a HIJACK RING! --only your followers steal TOP-SECRET inventions—and YOU sell them to thie highest bidders!” According to the villain, Watson didn’t like his share of the loot, and tried to betray them. Scott says, “We’ll be WITNESSES when you and your henchmen are TRIED for your crimes! And if you’ve sold any top-secret stuff to our government’s ENEMIES, they’ll throw the BOOK at you!” It’s interesting that Scott, who as far as we know is probably an “illegal alien”, seems to casually exhibit loyalty to the country he’s currently living in. Refusing to give up, Madame Evil Eyes informs them that while the Satan Club may be phony, her power isn’t—and she unleashes her “stare” at them, which “can KILL at full force!” Once again, circuitry in Scott’s mask saves the day, as he explains, “her eyes can emit strong beams of MICRO-ELECTRIC WAVES”. His circuits picked them up and sent them back via his own eyes.
As they depart, Oberon suggests, “Too bad we didn’t bring BIG BARDA and her GALS here! That WRECKING crew would’ve given the Satan Club a REAL fright!” “They’d be a tonic for me—especially Barda.” Awww!
With 9 issues of THE DEMON under the bridge already, I wonder if this wasn’t yet another attempt to squeeze “horror” elements into a story? This was the first time in awhile we didn’t see Scott practicing some new escape anywhere in the book, though escapes were well-integrated into the plot’s high-speed action. Interestingly, while Scott & Barda never appear together for once, both had their minds on the other. It’s nice to see a relationship develop naturally at its own pace, without exagerated histrionics. (6-12-2012)
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“Although this incident contains the BIZARRE elements that characterize the exploits of our hero, this is essentially a DETECTIVE saga—the fast and thrilling attempt to stop a crime about to be committed in the wildest way with the wildest weapons. The key to the case is a HUMAN one--- a YOUNG one--- a TRAGIC product of adsversity--- who is soon to change the destiny and give new purpose to the life of--- MISTER MIRACLE Super Escape Artist”
The latest escape trap involves an oil drum and a giant pair of pliers, used like a nut-cracker to crush the person inside the drum. “SKONNG!” Barda tells Oberon, “Okay, WORRY-WART! Check and see if I FLATTENED the star of the show!” “You female GENGHIS KHAN!” But Scott appears unscathed, greeting his visitors. Lieutenant Driver and young Shilo Norman, a boy who witnessed his brother’s murder, knows who did it, and must be kept safe while the police try to track down the killer. They’re barely introduced when a masked thug hurls a hand grenade through a window! Without batting an eye, Shilo grabs for it and tosses it back outside. He and Driver are dumbfounded when there’s no explosion—as Scott explain, his circuitry put the “whammy” on it. As Driver leaves, Barda returns with the assassin in tow—but to no avail, as he’s been electrocuted by a “tracer” built into his clothes.
It’s mid-1973, and it seems the “blaxploitation” fad begun by such films as SHAFT and SUPER FLY have caught up with the “white” media as well, as seen in the year’s 007 film LIVE AND LET DIE. Here, Shilo, Driver, and all the baddies are also black, although all seem to come from some upper strata of society, as there’s not a hint of “jive” heard among the dialogue.
Scott, Barda & Oberon are all covinced that Shilo intends to “bolt” as soon as they think he’s asleep—and sure enough, he does. “He’s going after his brother’s murderer –ALONE! At least that’s what HE thinks!” Scott & Barda follow on aero-discs, which we haven’t seen in use in quite a few issues—and I think this is the first time I can remember seeing Barda using them. Inside a warehouse in a bad neighborhood, Shilo is surrounded by a pack of masked thugs—and decides to take them all on single-handedly, because he’s a black belt judo expert. He’s good, but he’s also bitten off more than he can chew. Lucky for him Barda arrives and clobbers the ones he wasn’t able to. But then the boss, Mister Fez, and his tech genius, Jammer, arrive, and use a “brain-wave” weapon to knock out the heroes.
We learn that Shilo’s brother was a truck driver, who discovered he was shipping armaments. Fez has a big weapon (that looks like something Reed Richards or Dr. Doom might have dreamed up) aimed at a hotel across the street, and intends to disable everyone in the place at once, then rob them blind. As for Shilo, they tie him to the muzzle of the huge gun, to permanently take care of him in the process. But Scott & Barda turn out to not be so out of it, thanks once again to the circuitry in his costume (is there nothing advanced technology can’t do?), and they wreck the weapon as easily as they knock out Jammer. The cops arrive then and haul Fez and his gang away. “I’ll get you for this, Mister Miracle! Just you wait!” Decades later, we’re still waiting. No, not really.
Scott & Barda have a suggestion for Shilo. “We CAN’T let fast-action talent go to waste!” “With SPECIAL POWERS training, in addition to your judo—you might become a junior Miracle!” “You’ve got what it take, Shilo—coordination, courage, and standards of your own!” But he seems to have a self-image problem. “Have you taken a good LOOK at me?” “Yes---! I see ME--- as I once was--- trying to escape to anywhere!” “And I helped him do it! I COULDN’T fail him! I WON’T fail you, Shilo! You see--- I once lost a friend who couldn’t ---escape!” Driver adds, “Take the deal, kid. The police force can’t use you until you’ve reached the PROPER age!” “Lieutenant Driver—I think yu’ve BULLIED Shilo into a CAREER!” “I don’t know if I was so smart! Escape artists COULD give us police a lot of trouble!” “This one won’t!”
Some have dismissed Jack Kirby’s writing as being old-fashioned or out-of-date. I say, good writing is good writing. Yet here, in 1973, he did something that possibly no other comics-writer would have done—introduced a KID SIDEKICK! It’s the “Junior Tracy” or “Robin The Boy Wonder” story all over again, for a new generation. A boy who’s had tragedy and loss in his life, given a chance to find a new direction, to learn and grow into the next generation of heroes. I wonder how this was received by comics fans at the time, who seemed brainwashed by one particular Marvel editor’s repeatedly outspoken negative attitude and comments about kid sidekicks? (Remember how Rick Jones was repeatedly put off in CAPTAIN AMERICA, and then, when Cap finally did take him on as a partner, Rick was kicked out the door the instant Jim Steranko left the book?) Here, in MISTER MIRACLE, there’s no problems with secret identities. And Jack even manages to brush aside concerns about RACE so casually as to show just how little such a thing should ever matter. (The fact that Shilo has a thick head of smooth, wavy hair—kinda like Little Richard—almost made him look more Indian than African to me. But what the hey.)
The art in this issue is just gorgeous from start to finish. I also wanted to makle note of the cover—which reminds me a bit of THE AVENGERS #24 (Jan’66). Of course—Jack did THAT one, too. (6-16-2012)
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MISTER MIRACLE #16 / Nov’73 – “SHILO NORMAN, SUPER TROUBLE!”
“Take any ordinary youngster from the inner city and toss him among an extra-ordinary super-group --- to live with them --- to work with them and become one of them --- is a heady experience that may cause the boy some disquieting and hair-raising moments he may not soon forget! Let’s look in on our super-trainee --- SHILO NORMAN.”
While Scott is getting Shilo to break out of a “simple test-trap” (some complex wrist-shackles), he sees a humanoid insect creature which no one else notices. Everyone seems to think he’s making it up! He manages to get out of the shackles, then Barda takes him aside for some other work. “Lifting this two hundred pound weight --- or a two-ton truck is part of a SIMPLE basic principle – “ You know, this kinda baffles me. Time and again Barda has referred to “Special Powers” training, which suggests someone like her, from Apokalips, was not born super-strong, but somehow acquired the ability. But “training” just doesn’t seem to cut it as a possible description for how this may have happened. Surely no amount of physical or psychological “training” can explain her phenomenal super-strength! It would have been nice if at some point, somewhere, Jack had explained this further.
Barda & Oberon joke with Shilo about seeing a creature, but then it reappears and lassos both of them! Shilo dives in to help, but stumbles over some crates. When he gets up, everyone’s gone. Though still disbelieving, Scott discovers infinitely tiny footprints on the floor, suggesting instant size reduction. The creature appears again, and this time, Shilo shrinks with it. Finding himself facing death, Shilo admits to himself that escapes have their own special “kick”. He uses judo, patience and special circuitry to survive and free himself, before being confronted by “Professor Egg”, a scientist (whose head is unusually egg-shaped) who has been conducting some very strange genetic experiments. Just as some genetic material taken from Shilo has caused an insect to hatch in the form of a monster, Shilo suddenly finds himself full-size and surrounded by his friends, who all tell him he struck his head on some crates.
All of this could be annoyingly dismissed as a “Nightmare” (the title of the last chapter), except when Ted introduces a visiting celebrity—“Professor Exe”—a dead ringer for the scientist Shilo saw—who specialty is illusions—making people “see things that AREN’T there”. The 2nd half of this story may have been a dream, but the ending suggests something else was definitely going on in the 1st half. But no further explanations are forthcoming!
Jack’s art & storytelling are top-notch as always, but something is “off” with the linework in this issue. I know that Jack could alter his drawing style to suit different material, and that Mike Royer had the ability to follow along with precision. But I don’t think that’s what happened here. This entire issue looks to me like it was inked by SOMEONE ELSE, and, in fact, it reminds me more than anything of the art from the “Giffbaum” era of LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES, when Keith Giffen & Al Gordon were doing a BAD imitation of 2nd-rate Kirby. Was Mike overloaded and this issue was done as a rush-job? Did he have an assistant to the whole thing? Did DC get someone else entirely to fill in at the last minute? Parts of it also reminds me a bit of Frank McLaughlin, who I suspected worked on some of the earlier “Vince Colletta” issues. Very odd.
And what’s up with the half-mask on the Mister Miracle face on the cover? He doesn’t look like that anywhere on the inside (in fact, he isn’t wearing his mask anywhere on the inside, either). (6-17-2012)
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“Heroes can make fatal mistakes! Especially, when they check into a MURDER LODGE!”
Needing a place to stay until their car is repaired, Scott, Barda & Shilo are surprised to find a motor lodge in the middle of nowhere. The manager, who bears somewhat of a resemblance to the old FF villain Diablo, welcomes them. “We’re always at the service of such DISTINGUISHED guests!” Shilo wonders, “How do you KNOW that, man? We’ve NEVER been on any jobs here!” Shilo thinks the guy looks like an old movie villain. He might have been suspicious even earlier, as the front door of the place has a sliding “peep-hole” common of many prohibition-era speak-easys.
Sure enough, no sooner does Barda hit the bed, then she’s jolted by high voltage electricity, before the bed tilts up to drop her body into a hole in the floor. The same fate, also accompanied by “freeze gas”, befalls Scott, while the manager decides to “take care” of Shilo himself—with a sledge-hammer! Shilo smashes the handle thanks to Barda’s “special powers training” (which once again leaves me wondering exactly what that description entails).
Shilo clobbers the manager, then sets off to find his friends, but the manager soon recovers and tries to use a guillotine built into a doorway to dispatch Shilo. When that fails, the manager, named Peppi, gets help from his over-muscled assistant, Mungo, who clobbers Shilo before tossing him into their “Inferno Room”. As Jack asks us, “Has justice flown and evil triumphed? Let’s find out!” This particular death-trap does bring to mind the scariest one they ever had on the 1966 BATMAN tv series, when The Penguin tried to stick Bruce Wayne into a furnace—without actually knowing who he was!
The plot thickens as the baddies talk. “If we CAN’T show his body, we WON’T get paid for it!” “We’ve STILL got the corpses of his friends. The Syndicate will pay PLENTY for them!” “HAHAHAH! They come here to hide out—and we turn ‘em in to whoever they’re RUNNING from!” Very interesting. And since they didn’t mention anyone we already know, it looks like this murder spree may also involve a case of mistaken identity!
Shilo escapes death with help from his jet-boots, then smashes out, once more exhibiting super-strength. He uses his “hidden circuitry” first to locate his friends, then to warm them up and counteract the freeze gas. As Barda tears some very heavy bars out, the baddies are calling The Syndicate about “The Tricky Trio”—who just happen to arrive at that moment and overhear the conversation. Suffice to say, “Della The Dinosaur”, “Mad Merkin” and “Little Bullets” aren’t pleased (and it’s easy to see how the others were mistaken for them! –I mean, what are the odds??). A free-for-all erupts, with the motel baddies being taken out, followed by the “Trio”, though not until Scott once more exhibits what can only be lightning-speed in escaping being shot at point blank range. If Scott indeed has a genuine super-power, I’d say that must be what it is!
After each of our heroes takes out their lookalike counterparts, the cops are called. No sooner do they recognize the Trio, then they realize the ones who called them have gone. I guess they’d had enough of their evening ruined already.
On the letters page, Sue Scheve urges Jack not to ignore character development on the road to non-stop action, while Bob Rodi praises the “new direction” and notes Jack’s been packing the book with gangsters and the like, a step back toward his days of doing “Crime” comics. L.K.Y. notes the possible romantic developments, and hopes Jack will avoid giving his characters “tiresome problems” like too many comics series have, but instead, “a lasting romance”. We’re told “You can certainly expect some surprises to crop up in the next few months concerning Scott and Barda.” One gets the impression that the news of the books’ impending cancellation hadn’t come down yet.
The credits this issue list “Lettering by John Pound and Mike Royer”. And sure enough, on some of the pages, the lettering does look a bit odd, compared to what I’ve been seeing so much of since Royer got on Jack’s books. But it strangely doesn’t mention the INKS, and while I do feel most of the book obvious IS Royer (unlike the previous issue, where I strongly suspect Mike didn’t even touch the pages), here, SEVERAL pages once again look like someone else’s work. Notably, pages 2 (excessively stiff), 13 (unbelievably SLOPPY), 16 & 20 (just—“different”, in the extreme). Considering that for the last year or so, both THE DEMON and KAMANDI have been monthly, it’s pretty obvious that Jack’s schedule has been heavier than usual, and this probably made it more difficult for Royer to keep up the incredible pace. (6-18-2012)
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“On location in a large barren area, the members of a most UNUSUAL company experiment with volatile and deadly material to supplement the most incredible practice of the escape arts--- but here the climax to a great adventure will suddenly confront the participants with the ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN! --- A clash between those beyond the realm of man!! --- a conflict of forces that formed the early lives of --- MISTER MIRACLE and BIG BARDA!”
At it again, Scott has climbed into a glass cylinder sitting at the bottom of a concrete pit in the middle of the desert, as Barda sets up a container of nitro-glycerine. Things go astray when, climbing out of the pit, Oberon and Shilo are grabbed by soldiers from Apokalips, under the command of Vermin Vundabar. Grenades launched into the pit set off a tremendous explosion, but he insists his men keep searching to find the bodies among the rubble. “We’ve been tricked before by this wily foe! He is a SUPER ESCAPE ARTIST! We must be SUPER DESTROYERS!”
Sure enough, in a quickly-dug tunnel, Scott & Barda have survived. At such a moment, they both realize they feel the same way about each other. “We’ve BOTH been fools, Barda--- we’ve WASTED precious time---” “Yes, we’ve spent our time on all the things that DON’T count!” “Then, let’s do something that DOES count! LET’S GET MARRIED! Right away!” ”There’s STILL a little matter of our enemy—“ It’s hilarious that under the circumstances, she almost seems to consider them a trivial afterthought. Exploding out of their hiding place, they clobber Vundabar and his men, only to face Granny Goodness, who’s grabbed Barda and uses a “mass gravity beam” to force Scott into the ground.
With Kanto The Master Assasin helping, Scott is hauled over to a “bomb-clock”, whose magnetic face already holds Oberon, Barda and Shilo in its grip. Granny reveals that Scott’s circuitry was destroyed by Doctor Bedlam, who materializes in one of his animates. The clock is launched into the upper atmosphere, and a massive flash is seen. But Granny’s triumph is interrupted by the arrival of Orion and Lightray. In defiance, she says, “Injure us—and draw the wrath of ALL Apokalips!” Oh, isn’t that just like evil scum? Thinking they can do bad with impunity, yet warning the good guys what will happen if they respond in kind?
But as it turns out, the flash they saw was Lightray—and our heroes are safe, having been rescued by no less than Highfather and Metron. Orion says, “Here, in a gathering of our enemies, the SOURCE has decreed that a WEDDING take place!” Scott tells Oberon than he and Shilo must leave. “I’ll MISS you, old friend! In the face of peril, I’ll ALWAYS remember that you CARED!” Barda tells Shilo, “Remember—good guys finish last—because they’re ON their feet when the bad guy’s DOWN!”
Orion notes how fear drives his enemies. “MAGGOTS! You CRINGE at your master’s name!” “Darkseid rules us!” ”We are NOT your match! As YOU are total destruction—DARKSEID IS TOTAL POWER - ! He can strike us down or TOY with us at will!” A moment after Highfather performs a brief marriage ceremony, a tornado appears, accompanied by lightning bolts. The villains scatter, and Metron “phases” everyone else out. Oberon & Shilo pick themselves up from hiding, only to face Darkseid—who appears in the present-day of this series for the very first time (on the very last page!).
“The face they saw was granite-HARD – and the eyes in it were FIXED on the limitless!” “WOW! Look at THAT dude! Have you been OUT in the storm ALL this time, mister?” “I AM the storm!” “In THIS face was the challenge to gods and men. He was the ULTIMATE TEST for anything that lived!” “”L-let’s go, Shilo. No use in PRESSIN’ our luck—“ “That dude’s got eyes that could stop a clock!” “”But NOT a wedding. I DID spoil it, though --! It had deep sentiment – yet little joy. BUT—LIFE AT BEST IS BITTERSWEET! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!” Knowing what I now know about Darkseid, his words clearly reflect his philsophy. His life was ruined and made miserable by others. So, his entire purpose in life, is to do the same—to EVERYBODY else. Sad, sick bastard.
Well, that was a shock. As with THE FOREVER PEOPLE, MISTER MIRACLE, on suddenly reaching its final issue, saw Darkseid’s forces return for no apparent reason, except to give the series some kind of climax, if not actual closure. I can’t help but think that this was not what Jack had in mind at all. At least, part of it. Re-reading all these stories in sequence again after so many years, I’ve been able to pick up on a lot of things I never noticed before, when I was younger, and less experienced. A few things about this issue really stick out—like sore thumbs. Mainly, the art and writing in the first half of the book-- and on the final page—are as good as ever. In fact, after the 2 previous issue, I’d say the Kirby-Royer art was back on track. EXCEPT... all the panels featuring Granny Goodness looked very rushed, as though she was added to the pages after-the-fact. Just for an example, on page 11, panel 3, Vundabar is very finely drawn and rendered, yet right next to him, Granny looks like a hastily-scribbled sketch.
Further, pages 12-19 ALL look different from the rest of the book. Can it be that Jack only found out the book was being cancelled between pages 11 & 12? Or can it be Jack actually finished the book, then found out it was ending, and went back and REPLACED all those pages very quickly, in order to give the book some kind of “closure” that was not meant to be there when he initially conceived it? (If so, could there be a batch of unpublished pages sitting around somewherre?) Adding weight to this possibility is the dialogue. Much of it is AWFUL. I’ve read so many comments from so-called “fans” who complain about Jack’s dialogue, yet in reading the entire “Fourth World” series from start to finish, this is the ONLY instance that really sticks out in my mind where the dialogue just does not seem “right”. And not just by the so-called standards of other comics—but by Jack’s. The whole sequence feels like it was either done by someone who was very upset and distressed when he did it, or in a terrible rush—or BOTH.
Among other things, I find it hard to believe that somethign as important an momentous as Scott & Barda getting married should go by this fast. But perhaps more important, this marks the first time, EVER, that Scott was reunited with his father—and NO MENTION of it was made at all!!! That just ain’t right.
Of interest is the following from the letters page: “Lately, a lot of mail has been coming in from readers with all kinds of theories as to why NEW GODS and FOREVER PEOPLE were cancelled, ranging from those who thought we were censored due to excessive violence to those who said we were too literate. Naturally, these are not the reasons. The trilogy was an experiment—a new approach to comic-book story-telling—and while the magazine are no longer around, we don’t consider them failures nor do we hold the opinion that they died due to a lack of a following. Your letters have assured us of that. It becomes a matter of the way in which comics are sold plus a variety of intangibles that are peculiar to comic-books. All comic-books—not just the Kirby ones. Books are not cancelled just by a whim on Jack’s part, or on Carmine’s, because they both think too highly of you, the reader, and of the books, as creations.”
So there you have it. Right there, when it happened, the suggestion that something “not right” was going on regarding comics sales, and the fact that it affected comics (and DC Comics) in general.
It’s taken me just a little over a YEAR (including breaks) to plow thru the Fourth World books. It’s been a hell of a ride. I intend to continue all the way through to the end of Jack’s time at DC, before moving on to his 3rd Marvel period. It’s sure to be a blast! (6-19-2012)
Posted by profh0011 on :
THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #112 / May’74 – “THE IMPOSSIBLE ESCAPE”
Although early-on, there was a strong effort to tie-in Jack Kirby’s new series with the DC Universe in both JIMMY OLSEN and LOIS LANE, that dropped off almost completely until THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #109 (Sep’73), when Batman first crossed paths with The Demon. Now, for the first time, he runs into one of the actual “Fourth World” characters.
Inside an Egyptian tomb, Mister Miracle and Batman look inside a sarcophagus. MM says, “We FOUND it—the SECRET of IMMORTALITY!” From the open doorway, a shadowy figure holding a long curved sword says, “Yes, but now you two will remain trapped HERE... FOREVER!” (Seems to me Parafino said something like that to Betty Brant once...) This is squeezed into a very cramped, over-crowded cover which has no less than 3 banners across the top: “DC 100 Super Spectacular PAGES 100 Only 60c”, “Brave And Bold” THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD”, and “BATMAN and MISTER MIRACLE”. In addition, down the right side of the cover, we have 3 small panels, each illustrating a different reprint contained within-- “Aquaman & Hawkman”, “The Silent Knight”, and “Batman & Green Lantern”. To finish it off, at the bottom, there’s a 4th banner: “Extra: A Gallery of Batman’s Famous Co-Stars!” To hell with “art” or “design”—this is “advertising”.
Just as, for the Nov’72 cover dates, BOTH Marvel & DC changed their formats from 15 to 25 cent books, both with extra-long stories up-front and reprints in the back, so again, for the May’74 cover dates, BOTH Marvel & DC have once again instituted bigger formats, and this time, BOTH companies are doing it with ADDITIONAL books, rather than across-the-board with all their regular ones. Easier to manage, I guess. Marvel’s new packages began with GIANT-SIZE SUPER-STARS #1 (which was renamed GIANT-SIZE FANTASTIC FOUR with its 2nd issue). B&B #112 was the 1st issue of Batman’s regular team-up series to do this. Mind you, I sense DC was being more cynical about it. The lead story was only 20 pages as usual, not 35 as Marvel was doing, and they have a LOT more reprints, which is an “easy” (“cheap”) way of trying to SQUEEZE more money out of fans if they want to read that NEW story. And DC’s covers on these seem less like comic-book covers than they do “product catalogs”. The mid-70’s were a terrible time for “design” for both companies, but between the two, I’d say DC had a much worse problem, and one that continued to get worse and worse until Carmine Infantino was finally booted out of his job as Publisher. (I wonder what he might have done had he remained “art director”, as the late-60’s covers were many of DC’s best.)
Jim Aparo’s art always reminds me a bit of “Neal Adams lite” (which may be where he took his inspiration from). The actual rendering is a bit on the “rough” or “loose” side, and over the years has reminded me a bit of Dan Spiegle, Frank Thorne, or even Steve Ditko (all, virtually the antithesis of DC’s clean, slick “house style”). But then, the 70’s were much more favorable to “dark, rough, crude, spooky” art styles than the 60’s had been.
A shoot-out at the Gotham Art Museum ends when the thieves set off explosives and blow themselves up rather than be arrested. Batman, on the scene, pulls Gordon out of the way in time. “Luckily, my BAT-SENSE warned me!” Is this anything like Prince Namor’s ability to channel electricity thru his body? You know, one of those amazing abilities that never appeared before or after the story it was featured in? I’m only on page 2, and already I can see why many over the years have joked about Bob Haney’s B&B stories taking place on “Earth-B”.
Inspector Sayid of the Egyptian National Police turns up and informs Carleton French, the curator, that the entire Tomb of Hotep, which was brought to Gotham stone by stone and reconstructed here, was removed from his country illegally, despite having been purchased for the price of one million dollars from a “respectable” dealer, Ali Faroosh. (Do “dealers” actually “deal” in entire tomb buildings? This almost sounds like the work of “The Scavengers” from MISTER MIRACLE #10.)
It seems the thieves were after something of extreme value—the secret of immortality, as it’s explained that Hotep, the 1st of the Pharaohs, promised his people the gift of actual physical immortality, before he disappeared without a trace. The entire tradition of burying people with food and belongings in anticipation of being reborn stemmed from this (in this corner of the DCU, anyway). The curator asks Batman, while he’s in Egypt looking into the illegal sale, to also look into “the world’s greatest secret”. You know, this is a HELL of a lot of set-up for just the first 4 pages of the story. (I’ve clearly been getting spoiled. Isn’t it obvious the editor is Murray Boltinoff—and not Jack Kirby? Jack would have probably used the 100 page format to tell 100 pages of STORY!)
In a scene lasting a mere 2 panels, we find that somewhere in the Alps, in a futuristic building perched on the side of a mountain, someone is dying, and his servants (apparently) are the ones behind what they call “Operation Hotep”. Since one planned failed, they decide to institute a follow-up.
In Paris, Scott Free has been strapped to the very top of the Eiffel Tower in the middle of a violent electrical thunderstorm. Sure enough, the Tower acts as a lightning-rod, and Scott gets ZAPPED. Except, instead of being charred to ashes, he’s floating down to safety, having freed himself just in the nick of time. One thing’s painfully obvious from this scene, and it’s seeing Barda & Oberon watch from below. Bob Haney isn’t even trying to write the characters properly. Barda’s on the verge of panic, both before and after the lightning strikes, while Oberon’s speech pattern is just... “stiff”. I find it very difficult to believe that these are the SAME characters Jack Kirby’s been writing about for 18 issues of Scott’s mag. (Incidentally, we’re told offhand that this story takes place shortly before MM #18, when Scott & Barda got married, and left Earth to go live on New Genesis. Which seems to strengthen my feeling that their departure was a last-minute thing not planned in advance.)
Before Scott gets back to ground-level, he’s confronted with Dr. Ingrid Borg, an archeologist who has a proposition for him involving “the greatest escape of all time!”
In Egypt, Batman finds Faroosh has been murdered, the follows the trail into the desert where he winds up trapped inside an ancient tomb. Meanwhile, Scott & Ingrid arrive at the same location by helicopter, and find themselves facing one underground death-trap after another! After facing what appears to be a still-alive Hotep, Ingrid double-crosses Scott and tries to shoot him, only to miss, again and again. While Jack Kirby kept playing up the mystery, Haney & Aparo leave no question that Scott can move at speeds rivaling The Flash! Ingrid gets killed by a ricochetting bullet, before Scott discovers that “Hotep” is really a hypnotized Batman. Making no mention of the fact that he’s seen Batman unmasked, Scott and his new acquaintaince join forces and use high-tech equipment left behind long ago to escape the tomb moments before the entire place collapses.
Though never spelled out explicitly, it seems the pair were helped by Hotep himself, a member of an alien race from a distant planet, who believes Earth is not ready for their secrets, and vows never to return there. Meanwhile, it seems plain to me that the “Master” who hired Ingrid and the other thieves was probably Ra’s Al Ghul (even though we never see his face or learn his name).
I suppose for fans of mid-70’s BATMAN (post-Adams and pre-Rogers), this was probably a lot of fun. Coming in from Jack Kirby’s comics, however, I’m afraid it was painfully disappointing. The storytelling was cramped, the dialogue “awkward and stilted” (I swear, that’s the description that came to me while I was reading this), and Jim Aparo’s panels rarely ever seem to feature close-ups, and the linework is on the “fuzzy” side. A lot more pages would have allowed room to make this meeting of characters a memorable thing, instead of just "Oh well, one more team-up (YAWN)". I really can't see Scott going off to Egypt without Barda or Oberon, but this is a Boltinoff & Haney comic, after all. Although it seems the entire comics biz was collapsing as the 70’s went on, it seems pretty clear to me why Marvel was ahead of DC at this point. Changing the format to 60c and just slotting one new 20-pager in there is just the latest example of DC's apparent contempt for their own material, and their audience.
Marvel’s GIANT-SIZE comics were about 40% reprints for your money. DC’s SUPER SPECTACULAR comics were about 75% reprints. You know, I NEVER like mixing new and reprint material in the same package. One way or the other, it ALWAYS feels like a rip-off. And it makes it hard to file or find the reprints. That’s why, from the beginning, I always thought Marvel’s MASTERWORKS and DC’s ARCHIVES were long overdue.
Anyway, the reprints this time are from THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #51 (Jan’64), #15 (Jan’58) and #59 (May’65). (6-22-2012)
Posted by profh0011 on :
While at DC in the early 70’s, Jack Kirby’s NEW GODS and THE FOREVER PEOPLE were both cut short with their Nov’72 issues. One of the replacement series, a concept suggested by Carmine Infantino, THE DEMON, ended with its Jan’74 issue. 2 months later, MISTER MIRACLE ended abruptly with its Mar’74 issue. For the next 6 months, the only new Jack Kirby comics from DC was KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH (issues #15-21). Presumably, during this time, Jack was working frantically developing new concepts, and possibly also getting ahead on KAMANDI. Finally, with the Oct’74 cover dates, the first of Jack’s next wave of ideas hit the newsstands.
On a mostly-blank white cover, a tiny muscled figure hurls a a box, from which protrudes, insanely, the face, legs and hands of a woman. WHAT THE F***??? The copy reads, “Are you ready for OMAC ONE MAN ARMY? A Startling look into... THE WORLD THAT’S COMING!”
Inside, we open with a close-up of that same box. No, your eyes didn’t deceive you. A label on the box reads, “Build-A-Friend”. “OMAC One-Man Army Corps... is the story of a young man in THE WORLD THAT’S COMING!! In that strange place, common objects of today... may become the terrors that we never bargained for... like the one below!”
In one of Jack’s patented double-page splashes, OMAC, who with his tall mohawk looks like a futuristic sci-fi “god of war”, breaks into a heavily-armed factory warehouse, where the product is artificial people. I’m reminded of the “androids” featured in a couple episodes of LOST IN SPACE. “I’m OMAC! Evacuate this section! I’m going to destroy it!” “HE DID IT! The One-man army broke in here against IMPOSSIBLE odds!” “There are still ENOUGH of us here to take him!” “By the powers granted me by The Global Peace Agency... I DECLARE THIS PLANT ILLEGAL AND DANGEROUS!” “CONFOUND the peace Agency! They’ve RUINED our racket!”
Despite one guard’s confidence, they all run. OMAC calmly gets down and speaks to one of the androids, who he clearly knows. “Where does humanity STOP and technology BEGIN? We no longer know, Lila... I’m NO longer who I was... and YOU... Lila... you... you and all these other... THINGS... must be... DESTROYED!” Touching a computer bank, energy from OMAC’s own body transmits explosive power to start a chain-reaction. As the camera pulls back further and further, we see OMAC walking away from the building, as a series of violent explosions totally destroy it. I’m reminded a bit of the finale of the DOCTOR WHO story, “The Greatest Show In The Galaxy”. Only this is a lot more serious.
It’s unusual for Kirby to jump right into the action, and THEN have a flashback explaining how we got here, but it works. (John Byrne did this countless times later on, and it became one of his more annoying and over-used schticks.) After such a powerful 5-page intro, we cut to a “one-man operation, a unit of many small sub-divisions, growing out of what was once called NASA”. Two masked members of the GPA (Global Peace Agency) visit Professor Myron Forest. They hand him the file on “Buddy Blank”, their choice to receive “FANTASTIC powers”—“for keeping the peace in a world that CAN’T afford violence.” After they leave, he makes contact with “Brother Eye”, an orbiting satellite he describes as “the most ADVANCED and complex piece of metal in this dangerous age”. Brother Eye speaks of Buddy, saying “He and I shall become as BROTHERS.”
In the offices of “Psuedo People, Inc.” we meet mild-mannered Buddy, who’s brushed aside, insulted, then ASSAULTED by an unnamed red-haired co-worker who tells him, “DON’T block the pretty SCENERY.” The violent attack catches the attention of their supervisor, “Fox”, who tells the attacker to “Get back to work”, then, incredibly, berates Buddy! “Someone’s always lying when YOU’RE involved, Blank! You’re overloaded with grudges and resentments! I suggest you take steps to RID yourself of them!” As he walks away, his attacker deliberately trips Buddy as he passes his desk. Fox yells after him, “DON’T say it, Blank! Before you blame that on someone, go to ‘Psychology” section and lose those frustrations!”
Something I never noticed the first time I read this was how much in this scene Buddy and his attacker resemble Peter Parker and Flash Thompson. I guess that makes Fox like their high school (or college) teacher. Yes, Jack Kirby is “doing” Steve Ditko here! And the tragic thing is, I know from painful, personal experience, that there ARE people exactly that STUPID in the real world—in school, and in the workplace. A reasonable, intelligent, considerate person might hope that once they get out of school into the “real world” that people might grow up so they can leave that sort of childish nonsense behind them. BUT, NO. Some people STAY that stupid all their lives. I guess it’s obvious from this scene that Jack Kirby knows it, too.
We briefly see a scene of organized violence that might be part of SPECTRE Island’s training facility. But, instead, it’s the “Psychology” section, where people work ot their frustrations by tearing apart phone books, stabbing, beating or kicking human-looking dummies, or even setting fire to automobiles. The “Destruct Room” is only one of several options, others include the “Silent Room” and the “Crying Room”.
Not really in the mood for any of it, Buddy’s suddenly met by Lila, a co-worker from another section that works on “super-secret” projects, who reminds him they’re friends. She says she misses him and think of him often, but they’ve got her working so much she hasn’t had much time for him lately. But as they part, two tough-looking characters observe, “She’s perfect... perfect.” “HUH! She’s MORE of a person than that dummy, Blank!” “These field tests are getting too RISKY... let’s END this one.” This revelation would be more of a shock if we hadn’t already found out the truth in the prologue. One of them asks, “Say, you don’t think that Buddy Blank would get the notion to FOLLOW, us, do you?” “No. The TIMID type NEVER bucks company rules.”
Sure enough, Buddy goes down into “Section D” and is immediately grabbed by armed guards. He’s shown a film of a “field test” that goes beyond anything built for “amusement and business markets”. A man “assembles” one of the artificial women, then, when she kisses him, she explodes, destroying both of them. “Y-you sent that man an EXPLODING model! Y-you sell “MURDER!” You could send those automatons to kill WORLD LEADERS!!... Y-you might START an atomic war...” But money’s all that matters to the man, as he reveals Lila is one of them... But just then, fiery energy engulfs Buddy, a blazing eye appears on his chest, and his body begins to grow before his captors eyes. “I’ve heard some talk about it! ...ELECTRONIC SURGERY...! ...a computer hormone operation... done by REMOTE CONTROL!!”
A moment later, the guards discover he’s become bulletproof. He has become OMAC! “I’m being FED strength and knowledge by some UNKNOWN source. My job is to stop your evil activity.” Bullets, machinery, fire, an entire squad of men, a gun that shoots “a hundred rounds a second”—NOTHING can stop him!!!
The scene returns to OMAC’s confrontation of Lila. “They’ll PAY for this, Lila... They’ve done MORE than trifle with human life... They’ve made a MOCKERY of the spirit...” “In a TERRIBLE flash of insight, OMAC realizes why he exists... what his mission is... and that his enemy is man’s OWN capacity for self-destruction.” “OMAC LIVES... SO THAT MAN MAY LIVE...” Sheer poetry!
The story then jumps ahead again to after the factory’s destruction. Brother Eye contacts OMAC and transmits a “complete orientation course” of his situation. With great sadness on his face, he knows his next moves will be to see Professor Forest, and then—“Mister Big”.
WOW. I’ll say it again. WOW. I first encountered OMAC in the back pages of KAMANDI #59 (Oct’78). To this day, that’s the only issue of that book I have in my collection. I picked it up because I was a big fan of Jim Starlin, who revived OMAC as a back-up series. With the art “finished” by Joe Rubinstein (in my view, one of the best and most consistent inkers the biz has ever seen), it was glorious. Too bad I had to wait a couple years to read the next one, thanks to the infamous “DC Implosion”. As a result of the mass cancellations, Starlin left after only doing 4 short episodes. When the series was brought back again as a back-up in WARLORD, Dan Mishkin & Gary Cohn (along with Greg LaRocque & Vince Colletta) had come aboard to continue. It seemed 3rd-rate after the insane intensity of Starlin’s brief run. It wasn’t until I got ahold of all 8 of Jack Kirby’s issues that I realized that, first, Starlin’s new direction had been completely wrong-headed and ill-advised, and, second, that Mishkin & Cohn had tried to drag the series back toward Kirby’s original direction, by force, but just didn’t have the skills to succeed at it.
So anyway, I first read this issue about 30 YEARS ago. Around that time, I also got my hands on most of the “Fourth World” books, as well as SANDMAN. And of all of these, OMAC became my favorite of all of Jack’s early-70’s DC work.
As it turns out, while both THE DEMON and KAMANDI were concepts suggested by Carmine Infantion, OMAC, like NEW GODS, was an idea Jack had on his own as far back as 1967. The idea, simply, was, “CAPTAIN AMERICA—in the future!” As soon as I found that out, I instantly recognized Prof. Forest as a modern-day Prof. Reinstein. But unlike Steve Rogers, Buddy was not a volunteer. What happened to him was a total shock, without warning. And while it’s been argued whether or not CAP actually had super-strength back in WW2, it’s pretty obvious OMAC is at least as powerful as the original Siegel-Shuster SUPERMAN. (As an aside, it's funny that there was also a "Lila" in CAP's book in the 70's.)
Jack’s essay at the end of the issue is quite compelling. Unlike the vague ramblings when NEW GODS was cancelled, this is completely coherent, thought-provoking, and gripping. Anyone who would even suggest that “Jack Kirby couldn’t write” is totally FULL OF IT. It’s very clear from reading this entire issue that Jack Kirby was probably, by a wide margin, the BEST writer working at DC at the time—if not in all of comics.
I’d like to make a brief comment about the art. Of all of Jack’s DC books, this is the one I really wish someone like Joe Sinnott had inked. Sinnott’s sharp, slick lines would have been a perfect match for the science-fiction theme of this series. And unfortunately, for whatever reason, Mike Royer wound up only inking 2 of the 8 issues (the 1st and the last).
What boggles my mind is trying to figure out what the HELL Carmine and co. were thinking. Both THE DEMON and KAMANDI very quickly became monthlies. OMAC stayed bi-monthly for its entire run. In fact, only one month after it debuted, Jack’s run of The Losers in OUR FIGHTING FORCES began, and that was a monthly. In addition, over the next year or so, Jack would also work on THE SANDMAN, JUSTICE INC., KUNG FU FIGHTER, and 3 issues of 1ST ISSUE SPECIAL (all concepts he came up with which DC decided NOT to go ahead with). Apart from really wishing NEW GODS had been able to be brought to a proper conclusion, and that MISTER MIRACLE could have continued as a bi-monthly indefinitely, I really wish that Jack had done OMAC instead of THE DEMON. I feel that, if it started earlier and gone monthly, we might have gotten several dozen issues of it, instead of a few of all these lesser things.
In short, OMAC is an overlooked MASTERPIECE. I can’t wait to re-read the rest of the run! (6-28-2012)
Posted by profh0011 on :
At last, another comic I actually have in my collection...
2 miles outside the limits of Electric City, OMAC is met by an armed blockade. The city has been “rented for the night by a private citizen”, and he’s told by one of the uniformed mercenaries, “Produce an invitation card of TAKE OFF!!” He chooses a 3rd alternative—and crashes through the entire squadron of men. Even a pair on motorcycles fail to stop him. But then he gets picked up by a pair of party-goers, who ask, “WHY did the guards try to stop you? That costume’s a DANDY!” As they drive, they explain the city consented to the deal because, “Citizens won’t have to pay taxes for a year!” “The streets are empty. Only Mister Big’s guests are permitted on them tonight.” But after they drop him off, it’s clear they’re part of a sinister plot, as they follow him.
OMAC arrives at the office of Professor Myron Forest, who designed both the Brother Eye satellite and OMAC himself. “I- I have FAINT memories of being--- someone ELSE---“ “Forget who you were. The world needs you as you ARE--- a force for PEACE! The nations dare not use large armies. Large armies lead to large wars - ! THAT’s why you exist, OMAC. TO CONTAIN CONFLICT BEFORE IT GROWS...” Forest continues, “Mister Big runs the world RACKET COMBINE, but it’s got to be proved.” Just then the two “party-goers” burst in and gun down the Professor, in a shocking replay of what happened to Professor Reinstein moments after Steve Rogers became CAPTAIN AMERICA. Thanks to their costumes being electrically-charged, the killers escape. “No wonder Mister Big RENTED this town--- his party was just a cover for his REAL purpose--- to DESTROY Project OMAC---!”
As Forest dies, OMAC thinks, “H-he’s GONE--- poor old man--- he used his genius in mankind’s SERVICE!” He knows he must find and stop Big before Big stops him. As he leaves, Brother Eye declares, “Nothing here must fall into evil hands--- GOODBYE, Professor—“ “SZZOSH!” “There is a flash of solar heat that is so intense and FINE—that it instantly wipes the room CLEAN of all objects---“
The scene switches to the villain’s location. “THE WORLD THAT’S COMING is a place of BIG POPULATIONS! BIG CITIES! BIG MONEY! And, for those very reasons, it falls prey to BIG CRIME!!! Technology has enlarged society until its scattered evils have merged into one giant target for OMAC--- MISTER BIG!” Looking quite a bit like Marc Lawrence (an actor who specialized in gangster roles), Big and his mercenary soldier sidekick, Major Domo, oversee the party. “Keep trouble to a MINIMUM--- we want to return this city to its residents the way we FOUND it!” “There’ll be ONE thing missing--- “PROJECT OMAC!”” When the pair of hit men make their report, Big tells them “OMAC MUST be dead by dawn—OR YOU TWO SHALL DIE IN HIS PLACE!”
Out on the streets, the party rages. Balloons carry some overhead, including some more killers who try to pick OMAC off. Overwhelmed by a murderous mob, one of the Professor’s killers scores a direct hit, apparently killing OMAC. But after his body is taken to Big as proof of the kill, Big worries about the rumor that OMAC was only half of his problem. And sure enough, just them, several masked Global Peace Agents appear, who announce that Big’s actions have been filmed and recorded—“an airtight case”. Although the GPA are unarmed, the killers are knocked out by electric charges. The GPA explain that although Big’s doctor proved OMAC had no heartbeat or brain activity, the bullet that was fired at him was actually disolved by a laser beam. Further, the beam created a simulated wound, and reduced OMAC’s life functions to simulate death! All this so the GPA could track Big to his lair and get the goods on him.
As he sits up, OMAC says, “It’s great to be alive again---“. As they haul Big and his cronies away, one of the GPA says, “It’s a ROUGH job—keeping the peace in a world stacked with atom bombs—“ As it turns out, Jack Kirby would use a much more downbeat variation on this idea a decade later when he did THE HUNGER DOGS. Thinking on his mission, OMAC gazes skyward. “I’ve got the most FANTASTIC helper man ever had!” High above in orbit, Brother Eye responds, “My beams are READY, when you need me—I shall ACT!”
A really cool follow-up to the 1st issue. I have only one real criticism, and that’s D. Bruce Berry taking over as inker from Mike Royer. For the last few years, Royer has been the most authentic, accurate inker Jack Kirby ever had in his career. Although he started out a bit rough in his first issue or two, he quickly developed into one of the slickest, as well, albeit hewing closer to Jack’s tight pencils than anyone had ever done before. I’m wondering what exactly was going on here? Was Jack’s heavy, hectic schedule finally too much for Royer to handle all of it? Did he need a break? Did other, perhaps better-paying work come up and interfere with his schedule?
I first saw Berry’s inks over Kirby during the latter part of Jack’s 3rd (and final) run at Marvel, and was never quite sure what to make of them. In the long run, Berry inked Jack at DC, Marvel, Pacific and again at DC. His inks have been described alternately as “faithful to Jack’s lines” or “taking all the life and excitement out of the art”. I think it’s a bit of both. Some of the pages in OMAC #2 don’t look bad, but some of them seem very amatuerish compared to just about anything I’ve seen over Jack since the 50’s. I used to think Berry was some young guy, like Mike Thibodeaux, who perhaps hadn’t quite developed his skills yet. But then I found out he was born in 1924 (only 6 years after my Dad—and 7 years after Jack). After being a sign painter in the army during WW2, Berry got involved with science-fiction fandom, and contributed to various fanzines as well as pulp magazines. I’m not sure how he got involved, but considering the finished output, it seems to me he inked far more Kirby comics than I would have preferred. Considering that OMAC may well still be my favorite of all of Jack’s early-70’s work for DC, it’s a shame that 75% of it DIDN’T look nearly as good as it should have. (7-1-2012)
This cover was in excellent shape. I only had to add in a tiny bit of art on the top, left & bottom edges, and a lot more down the right edge, but that was mostly a consistent pattern, so it didn't take long. The one thing that needed adjustment was the skin tones, which were too "pink" on the actual cover (and even more so in the scan). Now, it looks BETTER than the real thing!!
Henry
Posted by profh0011 on :
Allen Smith wrote: "Kirby must have been interested just a bit in dystopian science fiction, as he dealt with futuristic stories in both Kamandi and OMAC."
It's funny, OMAC doesn't seem (at least, it didn't to me) like a "dystopian" future. It seems like the kind of future we had in LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES. Except, there was much greater emphasis on advances in technology being a bigger DANGER to manking than a boon, and OMAC being a necessity to save mankind from its own worst tendencies.
You know how DC & Marvel always seemed to be trying to hit the same markets, and each company responding to the other with their own "variations on themes"??? I wonder how many people ever considered the following "parallels"...
OMAC: One Man Army Corps / DEATHLOK The Demolisher
KAMANDI: The Last Boy On Earth / KILLRAVEN: Warrior of the Worlds
Note that both OMAC and DEATHLOK had ongoing one-on-one conversations with intelligent computers, while both KAMANDI and KILLRAVEN (both "K" names) struggled to survive in futures where Earth had been over-ridden by other species.
Posted by profh0011 on :
I guess anybody who’s a Jack Kirby fan knows about Joe Simon. Simon & Kirby were a team from the late 30’s to the early 50’s, created a slew of series and characters, and had tremendous success with the genre of romance comics. But they split up after the industry collapse of the mid-50’s took their own company, Mainline, down. They worked together on a few things after that, but nothing long-term. In the late 60’s-mid 70’s, Simon, teamed with Jerry Grandenetti (a longtime assistant of Will Eisner), created several series for DC, none of which were very successful. In 1974, one of these was intended to be an entirely new version of THE SANDMAN, Apparently Simon came up with the concept, and Grandenetti designed the costume, and drew the cover. But then, someone at DC apparently decided, hey, why not re-team Simon & Kirby for a one-shot? Jack wasn’t too happy about it, as he’d been used to creating and writing his own series for decades by then. But he did it, including 2 new versions of the cover (one inked by Simon, and the published one inked by Mike Royer).
Sometime in the early 80’s (probably) I managed to get ahold of 5 out of the 6 issues of this book. But I never did find a copy of the 1st one. Lucky for me someone on the internet, Joe Bloke, scanned in and posted the entire issue at his blog, for which I’m grateful. It saved me having to pay to read the thing.
The 1st issue introuced old fisherman Ezra Paulsen and his young grandson, Jed, who live alone together on Dolphin Island, not far off the coast of Cape Kennedy. Jed has a nightmare about a man drowning, but on awakening, the two discover it’s really happening on the beach. Just before dying, the man hands them a particularly ugly green doll he calls a “Werblink” and warns them “Don’t let it fall into THEIR hands!” Ezra urges Jed to get rid of the ugly thing, especially as “boys don’t play with dolls”, but Jed, lonely, insists he’s never had a “friend” before. Already this is several ways too creepy.
Jed has a nightmare in which the “Werblink” is chasing his grandfather. The Sandman—who wears what must be the most ridiculous-looking superhero costume since the original Green Lantern—and who operates out of a technological HQ known as the “Dream Dome”—had earlier tuned into Jed’s dream and urged him to wake up to rescue the man on the beach. Now, seeing Jed falling off a cliff in his dream, he races to rescue him, even though his sidekicks—a pair of beings he refers to as “nightmares” named “Brute” (a large bald muscle-man) and “Glob” (a short, squat ball-shaped creature with spindly arms and legs) urge him not to. Ezra is attracted to the sound of Jed’s screams, and when the boy awakes, he decides to get rid of the “Werblink”. In a rage, he smashes it, but after he calms down, he buries it outside so Jed won’t see what he did to it.
I find I have a great deal of patience for a lot of things, a lot of different types of stories, ideas, styles, what have you. But something about this series is just rubbing me completely the wrong way. The concept doesn’t make any sense, the characters aren’t likeable, the costume design is downright ugly, and the tone of the writing reminds me of a REALLY BAD Saturday morning cartoon series—like something Filmation did in the late 70’s or so. I must be spoiled, having spent the last year re-reading almost nothing but Jack Kirby comics. Jack is one of the best writers the comics biz ever saw, and his ideas were always inspired, no matter how “out there” they might seem on the surface. But this is clearly, apart from the art, not his work, but that of Joe Simon. Joe seems to be deliberately aiming at a young audience, but I have a feeling if I was 5 or 6 years old, I wouldn’t like it even then.
The story gets even stranger when we cut to somewhere in southeast Asia. 2 surgeons, Drs. Masugi & Kaufman, are discussing “General Electric”, a man who led a kamikazi squadron in WW2, who somehow survived when he crashed his plane. His head, almost destroyed, was reconstructed, and over the 3 decades since, more and more electronic elements have been added to it. Electric is the designer of the “Werblinks”, miniature robots he plans to use for his own evil schemes. Electric escapes from the hospital he’s been living in for many years. The next thing, the defense installation at Cape Kennedy has been sabotaged, and Sandman leaves his HQ to enter the “real world” to try and help. Between his costume and his odd habit of sprinkling sand in people’s faces to make them sleep, the cops are naturaly suspicious. As he runs off, he comes across Jed, who’s found his broken Werblink, and says, “My poor little friend! What have they done to you?” I hate to say it this way... but this kid strikes me as downright pathetic.
Just then, a squad of armed men wearing both Nazi and WW2-era Japanese army uniforms arrive, overpower and capture both Jed and Sandman. Turns out they’re working for General Electric, who wants to destroy Washington D.C. in revenge for what happened to his country 30 years ago. One of the German soldiers finds Sandman’s “hypnosonic whistle” and for no damn reason, blows it, which frees Brute & Glob from their glass prisons. The pair come to Sandman’s rescue, unleashing a bag full of “vile things” to terrorize the now-unconscious baddies. Glob retrieves the whistle and blows it, causing Electric’s head to explode. As they bid Jed farewell, Sandman tells him, “This will soon fade away—like any other dream.”
Honestly—this entire issue strikes me as one big “WTF???” moment. It’s not like it’s lacking in imagination... it’s just that it feels as though nothing here was thought-through properly. I suppose the best way to describe this, and this may be quite fitting, is that the whole thing feels like someone had a bad dream, and wrote down what they remembered, without even trying to make sense out of any of it.
And to think—we got THIS, but not more issues of NEW GODS, or FOREVER PEOPLE, or MISTER MIRACLE, or a monthly OMAC, or even ATLAS (which was probably already done by this, but not published until later). How did DC even manage to stay in business in the 70’s, anyway??? (7-24-2012)
On the outskirts of a small French town, an Army division waits for tanks to arrive before moving in. But just entering the town are THE LOSERS, who, on seeing the place is occupied by German soldiers, believe they may have been dropped off in the wrong location for their supposed 3-day furlough. Sure enough, some Germans hiding in a building open fire, and a moment later, they find not one but both ends of the street they’re on have German tanks—heading their way! Ducking into one of the nearly-destroyed buildings that line the streets to hide, they see the Germans begin opening up onto the buildings on both sides of the street, one by one, to find and destroy the opposition.
Before long, they hear Germans on the roof, and some of them begin to come down the stairs looking for them. A firefight breaks out inside the building, which spills into lobbing grenades at the Germans outside, who open fire on their position. The only way out is up, and sure enough, another gun-battle breaks out as they climb onto the roof. With the building now on fire, they scramble over the side and manage to make their way safely to street level. They see a squad of Germans around a motorcycle, but while trying to decide their next move, mortar fire hits, taking out the Germans, the buildings, and the tanks.
Sure enough, the U.S. tanks have arrived. And that’s not all. By his twin pearl-handled revolvers, they recognize who the General commanding the tank brigade is! In his typical brash, abusive manner, he tells them, “You’re ‘losers’! I KNOW ‘em when I SEE ‘em, soldier! But you’re FINE boys. Kept some enemy off OUR backs, too.” Told to find the medics and get themselves cleaned up, they watch as the General’s jeep takes off.
I bet my Dad would have liked this. He used to watch the TV show COMBAT when I was a kid, and what little I remember of that, it was a very tough, no-nonsense, hard-hitting, sometimes BRUTAL series.
The use of sound effects is really powerful in this story, particularly on pages 4, 10, and 15, especially the latter, where they almost overwhelm the page. In my own crime comics, I’ve done similar things, and it amazes me that this aspect of this comic reminds me of my own work, even though I never saw this before. The same goes for the feature in the back showcasing authentic weapons used during the war. I’d done the same thing in the 70’s when I was in high school!
One of Jack Kirby’s well-known stories about his time in WW2 involved he and the soldiers he was with making it thru some heavy fighting, and then running into none other than General George S. Patton, who, apparently, was very accurately portrayed by George C. Scott in the film PATTON—as well as in this comic. In Jack’s real-life encounter, Patton got very angry on finding out Jack’s platoon was where they were, and alive, as his intelligence reports had them listed elsewhere, and dead. He seemed less concerned that a group of soldiers were standing in front of him alive than he did with the that fact screwing up his “intelligence”. I’d say Jack “toned it down” a bit when he did this story for the comic.
This is some very POWERFUL, hard-hitting storytelling and art. D. Bruce Berry doesn’t do a bad job on the inks, but I can’t help but wish Mike Royer had done it instead.
This is actually the very first LOSERS story I’ve ever read. War stories are not really my “thing”, although some of the violence is very similar to stuff I’ve done in my own crime comics. (7-27-2012)
[ July 27, 2012, 12:35 PM: Message edited by: profh0011 ]
Posted by profh0011 on :
“What will MOVIES be like in THE WORLD THAT’S COMING? Story plots, transmitted electronically and fed into the human brain, will make the viewer a PARTICIPANT in the movie action.... Every viewer will be his own movie star.... Every movie will be a PERSONAL experience.... Technology will breed wonders.... BUT IT WILL ALSO PRODUCE EARTH-SHAKING PERILS!!”
Lying in a special couch and wearing a technological mask, OMAC sees himself on an alien landscape battling a huge monster. But he’s interrupted by a Peace Agent. Following a recapping of their mutual responsibilities, they hand him a document which gives him the rank of a Five-Star General! “Your orders will be obeyed ANYWHERE on this globe!” After they leave, he thinks... “I’ve got an AWESOME responsibility... that’s for sure. Like the Peace Agents, MY life must be one of dedication... They say I was once someone else... someone who was CHANGED by electronic surgery... into a sort of... GOD OF WAR!! Now... even the memories of that FORMER life... are gone...”
“In THE WORLD THAT’S COMING, even lost memories can be replaced by all the necessities for a new life... What began as “COMPUTER DATING” will flower into complete “PACKAGED LIVING”! Computers will pick IDEAL families and backgrounds for those who LACK the total human relationship... The Peace Agency will do this for OMAC....”
OMAC is introduced to Mr. And Mrs. Barker, an elderly couple who have been chose to be his new “parents”. “To serve humanity ...you must KNOW humanity.” Their lives, like his, have been empty, but no more. Another Peace Agent enters. “How’s OMAC responding, Agent 251?” “Amazingly WELL. He’s a person of compassion and WARMTH...” “The Global Peace Agency has supplied him with a HOME and the beginnings of a FAMILY life... now...” “Yes. I know. Now he must keep this world from BLOWING UP!!!!”
The GPA show OMAC a file on his next target, “KAFKA! --- the Bandit Marshall and his army of HIRED mercenaries!” “He wants it ALL ...IF he can get it... Every age has known his kind. They start small... and dream of becoming a Caesar.” Kaftka plans to invade his neighboring country. “How large a force does he have?” “Big enough and highly MOBILE. Kafka’s equipment is combat-ready ...his troops number a HUNDRED THOUSAND.” “The Peace Agency will get you to Kafka... but only YOU can stop him...”
Next thing, at a missile field, he’s launched into orbit, and soon, halfway around the world, his tiny “Capsule-Plane” (with a design rather predicting the Acrostar Jet seen in the 1983 film OCTOPUSSY) enters Kafka’s airspace, where it’s immediately targetted by ground-to-air missiles. First he ejects his rocket engine, which is destroyed by the incoming fire. Next, the plane itself is wiped out by tank fire. Seconds before, its very special ejector seat, loaded to the max with high-powered weaponry of its own, is launched. From his highly-manoeuverable “Assault Chair”, OMAC orders Kafka’s men to stand down. Predictably, they don’t, and after dodging multiple attacks, he unleashes a nitrogen spray which freezes all the tanks.
Following the battle from his personal “bunker”, Kafka orders another attack. From a huge “Mobile Airport” (a gigantic truck that looks like it stepped out of a Gerry Anderson TV series), a squad of Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) jets are launched, and in a scene straight out of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, fail utterly to bring down their target. (Once again Kirby is years ahead of the curve. VTOL jets, as far as I know, first appeared about the time of THE NEW AVENGERS episode “Obsession”, around 1977.) Following this, OMAC’s assault chair causes a sonic shock with destroys the roadway below, trapping Kafka’s artillery.
Things get more personal when a “Multi-Shot” cannon manages to take out the Assault Chair, leaving OMAC on foot. He crashes into the weapon, destroying it, then takes out an entire squad of men with ONE punch! Grabbing a heavily-armed “Golf-Cart”, he scatters Kafka’s remaining forces, finally confronting the dictator, who’s poked his head out of his huge mobile “Bunker”. “You’re a WAR CRIMINAL, Kafka! Surrender to me... and I’ll promise you a FAIR trial...” “THIS is my answer ...FOOL!” He blasts the tiny vehicle to atoms as OMAC dives for safety. Then... “With a FANTASTIC display of superhuman strength, OMAC lifts the HUGE bunker off the road...” “The world has had ENOUGH little Hitlers! I’M TAKING YOU IN, KAFKA!”
WOW. This continues to be possibly the most mind-blowing and exciting book Kirby has come up with in years. And that’s really saying something. It’s amazing how in a measly 20 pages Jack Kirby can pack in more ideas, more plot, more wild designs, and more ACTION than any 10 other comics combined. D. Bruce Berry’s inks are better this issue than the previous one, so I have fewer complaints, though part of me still wishes Mike Royer were on the book instead. (7-9-2012)
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“SUPER-HUMANS WILL BE REAL IN THE WORLD THAT’S COMING!! This one is attemptng to lift 70 TONS of death-dealing steel off the ground... he represents the incredible goals that are forecast for tomorrow’s technology. In a world of waiting atomic bombs, we will HAVE to create him...”
High in orbit, Brother Eye broadcasts power to OMAC, far below, as the One-Man Army struggles to lift a GIANT armored bunker OFF the ground. As this happens, Marshall Kafka orders a bomb released, with a 3-second fuse. “WE can survive it... CAN YOU?” “DON’T take any bets on my death!! No matter what happens, I’M TAKING YOU IN!!! Do you hear that? YOU’LL PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES!” Incredibly, OMAC succeeds in turning over the mobile bunker, just as the explosion goes off. Only the power channeled by Brother Eye saves OMAC from being crushed by boulders. As he recovers, he surveys for signs of life. “It would be a pity if my PRIME pidgeon is BEYOND the reach of justice!”
Some time later, Kafka is being arraigned “IN SUPER-COURT”. “I warn you AGAIN! If I’m not released, ALL OF YOU WILL DIE!!!” “Before all this happens, you’ll be “COMPUTER BOOKED” and held for TRIAL!” Kafka warns that his “Avenger” is on its way. “He’ll DESTROY this place!” “If he does, Kafka, YOU’LL die with US!” “I’m PREPARED to die... as long as I can TAKE you and the peace agents with me!” One of the Agents tells OMAC, “This place is NOT immune to ATTACK.” “It’s certainly TOUGH to reach... and well PROTECTED... a court of justice ON TOP of MOUNT EVEREST! It’s a concept as wild as BROTHER EYE...” The agent believes that, according to reports, Kafka’s Avenger may be something “biological”. OMAC feels it may be “BRED to DEFY all known attack”—and so, he requisitions an aircraft, and goes after it before it reaches the Court.
“THE BEAST AS A TERROR-WEAPON! It’s not a new military concept. Hannibal used elephants... the Nazis bred savage dogs... but, in the world that’s coming, with biological research geared to war, a ruthless despot produces a LIVING, BREATHING MULTI-KILLER!!”
As OMAC spies the approaching monstrosity, which looks like some sort of semi-mechanical flying octopus, he comments, “Animal, mineral, or vegetable? IT COULD BE ALL THREE!” OMAC hits it with cannon fire, sure that missiles couldn’t penetrate its skin. The creature generates sound waves which shakes his craft to pieces. While falling, Brother Eye affects his atoms so he weighs almost nothing when he hits the snow. Trying to keep its attention on him results in the monster shooting flames which tear off the top of a mountain. Only Brother Eye charging him up so he can leap great distances (in a manner rather similar to The HULK!) allows him to escape being crushed, then leap up to grab hold of his adversary. Sensing that its “eyes” are cyclotrons, and that it’s programmed to self-destruct when it reaches the Court building, he tears off one of its “horns”, hoping he’s guessed right. Sure enough, its flight path becomes erratic, and it zooms into the upper atmosphere, before exploding, “...in the bright searing burst of atomic flame!!”
Safely below, OMAC confers with a Peace Agent. “This experience has TRULY shown me the importance of keeping POWER-MAD bandits like Kafka in check...” “His kind are capable of ANYTHING... we CAN’T let them run loose! THANKS to Project Omac and Brother Eye, our PRISONER will stand trial...” “”It’s a RUGGED job to keep the peace in an age of ADVANCED technology!” “Man HASN’T changed, Omac. But the odds AGAINST his survival have RISEN considerably.” “That WON’T make our job any EASIER...”
WOW. This book continues to be one of the most exciting, thrilling, imaginative, and thought-provoking things Jack Kirby ever did. What on Earth kept DC from making this a monthly???
Reader Tom Nester puts out as plea to speculators to visit multiple newsstands and only take a few from each, so actual readers can have a chance to buy the book, without having to pay higher prices shortly after they come out. Clearly, this was a growing problem over which DC had no control. Cham Holmes, meanwhile, feels the series is “the worst you have ever made. Why don’t you bring back BOYS RANCH? But put them in space.” Uh huh. (8-17-2012)
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1st ISSUE SPECIAL #1 / Apr’75 – “ATLAS THE GREAT!”
“There was a time when man was rising OUT of barbarism. There were cities of great wealth and power... like HYSSA, the place of the winged lizard...”
In an ancient marketplace, a greatly-muscled figure known as Atlas demonstrated his strength by crushing a pair of stone blocks under his arms, while an older man yells to a crowd like a sideshow barker. But some scoff, claiming the display is some kind of trick. One named Kargin declares himself the “strongest here”, and is invited to challenge Atlas on stage. But Atlas puts him down with a single blow, after which those watching eagerly part with their money. “T’was truly WORTH seeing.” But Kargin’s friends object, claiming he was “the VICTIM of some foul treachery”. But before this challenge can be answered, Atlas and his companion run afoul of some local noble, who’s offended that they’re blocking his way. He and his servants also fall prey to Atlas’ strength, as he tells them, “I care little for POMPOUS worms who travel on the BACKS of slaves!”
His companion urges him to flee, but before they can, a squad of archers appear. Atlas holds the noble in front of him as a target, when suddenly a voice cuts the air. “WHAT KIND OF KNAVE’S WORK IS THIS?” Atlas recognizes it, and his mind flashes back to when he was but a young boy. His village was in flames, every man woman and child being captured to be sold into slavery. Seeing his father struck down, the boy ran to him, only to be grabbed by the leader of the slavers...
“Suddenly staring down at a frightened child, was THE FACE that would CHANGES its destiny... it was the face of a human lizard... a cruel replica of the crest upon its helmet... the child, Atlas, would NEVER forget it... that face would make him an eternal AVENGER!”
To his own shock, the boy struck at his captor, with a strength beyond his years. He ran into the tall grass, only to be grabbed by someone else who was hiding there. After the slavers departed, the boy, who seems to have the strength of a full-grown man, returned to the village. Finding his father dead, he searched the remains of their home until he found a glowing crystal. Although the boy wants nothing to do with his savior, the man bows down and speaks. “Forgive this POOR traveler, boy.... little did I realize who your PEOPLE were. Your people came from the CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN... I know this now for TRUTH! ...and it is said that the LEADER of your people bears a piece of that mountain... and must pass it on... when he DIES.” “I am leader... NOW!!” “...RIGHTLY so, boy. I am CHAGRA, your humble witness and loyal subject.... Where you lead... I shall follow.”
Sure enough, Chagra travels with Atlas as he grows to manhood, journeying near and far, having adventures, saving people from wild beasts, from evil cults, winning victories in savage arenas, each act adding to his fame and legend. Then, one day, Chagra strikes a bargain with his younger friend. “I can lead YOU to YOUR goal... if you... lead ME to the CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN!” Atlas agrees, providing they first go to the Lizard Kingdom. En route, they pass thru a land full of illusions of fire and a an underground cavern haunted by huge beasts thought to be long dead. At last they reach their destination, and the story comes full circle. Sure enough, the ruler who confronts Atlas is Hyssa—the man who destroyed his entire village, sold all his people into slavery, and was responsible for his father’s death. “Have we not met before? SPEAK! WHO ARE YOU!!?” “YOUR CONQUEROR!”
Following the cancellation of MISTER MIRACLE and THE DEMON, Jack Kirby spent some months creating several new series for DC. But for unknown reasons, several of them were rejected outright. Apparently, the first thing he did in this period was DINGBATS OF DANGER STREET. 3 whole episodes are known to exist, and 2 more are rumored to as well. It seems clear Jack was under the impression the series would be published just as FOREVER PEOPLE, NEW GODS, MISTER MIRACLE, THE DEMON and KAMANDI were... otherwise, why would he get so far ahead? In the long run, only the 1st episode appeared in 1st ISSUE SPECIAL, perhaps a year after it was done. I have no doubt that, following this debacle, Kirby decided not to do more than one episode of anything unless it was given a definite go-ahead.
This, I believe, is why we only have one episode of ATLAS (although, online, I just read a rumor that a 2nd episode may have been done, but never published). Like most Jack Kirby comics from this period, which I picked up as back-issues sometime in the 80’s, I probably plowed thru this so fast, amidst a mountain of other comics, it didn’t make much of an impression on me the first time around. Now, some 2-1/2 decades later, I was totally blown away by this. This is classic Kirby material, here! As THE DEMON was Jack’s “answer” to the late-60’s/early-70’s horror boom, and KAMANDI was Jack’s “answer” to PLANET OF THE APES, and dystopian sci-fi futures in general, so ATLAS follows in the tradition of the Italian “sword and sandals” movies that were so prominent and popular in the 1960’s, and the “barbarian” and “sword and sorcery” series that began to flood the market in the 70’s, beginning with Marvel Comics’ version of CONAN THE BARBARIAN.
And yet, so typically of Kirby’s work, I find myself loving this, even thought it took me ages to get interested in CONAN at all (and that interest waned as soon as Roy Thomas stopped doing it). What’s really striking to me, on re-reading this, is how similar the origin of Atlas is to the origin of CONAN, as seen in the John Milius film with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Robert E. Howard never gave CONAN an origin, beyond that he was raised in the far north, and on reaching a certain age, headed south to seek adventure. What more was needed? It always bugged me that the Milius film insisted on following the Hollywood obsession with films “having” to have an origin story, and in that case, the origin being so horrifically downbeat and pointless. CONAN’s entire village is burned to the ground. Both his parents are killed. He’s taken into slavery, chained to a wheel for ten years to build muscles, then sold to a gladiator arena, where, eventually, he wins his freedom, before finding the man who slaughtered his people. A man who just happens to be the head of a SNAKE-worshipping cult. Gee, didn’t I just read this in a Jack Kirby comic????? It sure as hell wasn’t anything REH ever wrote!!
It seems pretty clear to me that that movie, which I NEVER liked, swiped the “origin” sequence from Kirby, but got it wrong, making changes to turn it dark and ugly. I like Jack’s version better. Atlas, as a boy, is about to be taken away to a life of slavery, when he’s rescued by someone who becomes his life-long companion. And THEN he meets up with the guy who destroyed his village. DAMN. This was NO place to end the story!!! I don’t know if Jack ever did a 2nd episode of this or not, but either way, DC should be ashamed of themselves for not publishing it. We got so many issues of THE DEMON, and OUR FIGHTING FORCES, and KAMANDI, but THIS we only ever got one episode of??? WTF!!!!!
Reading this now, I was also reminded of Jack’s work on Ruby-Spears’ THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN. Which makes me really wish we’d gotten to see Jack do a THUNDARR comic-book. That TV show only ran 21 episodes (over 2 years), and I once read about the circumstances behind its cancellation. All I remember was that it was a very twisted affair, just the sort of thing that makes me shake my head in dismay and disgust at ABC and TV networks in general.
Ironically, in this issue is a full-page ad for Joe Kubert’s TOR. “Barbarians” were “in” at the time. Too bad Jack’s wasn’t allowed to go the distance. I’d sure rather read more of ATLAS than ever read another CONAN comic.
Since re-reading the comic, I found Jack’s presentation page online. This is fascinating, as it mentions things not even mentioned in the published comic...
“ATLAS lives at a time when man is rising from barbarism... Earth is crawling with strange peoples and living mysteries which have survived the ages... There are savage empires with sprawling cities... and hidden tribes like the Skull-Worshippers who live underground. Acting like driver ants, they swarm out to kill!”
“CHAGRA THE SEEKER! What he seeks is immortality and power... He seeks the Crystal Mountain!! That’s why he rescues the baby Atlas who’s farmer folks have been killed by raiders... He molds Atlas into a giant of almost invincible strength... He poses as a kindly old counsellor, but uses Atlas to gain his own ends.. They travel together—into all sorts of weird adventures relying on the strength of Atlas..”
Wow. Apart from the Skull-Worshippers, I somehow read the entire published story without getting a feel that Chagra may have had some sinister purpose for saving Atlas’ life and staying with him all those years. I know there was an over-abundance of “barbarian” comics in the 70’s, but I can’t help but feel it’s a shame we never got to see more of this one.
Perhaps the most mind-boggling thing I ran across in the last few weeks was that writer James Robinson decided to bring Jack’s Atlas back into current SUPERMAN comics, and make him a villain. That sort of creative blasphemy just makes me glad I’m not buying any current DC Comics these days. (8-26-2012)
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THE SANDMAN #2 / May’75 – “THE NIGHT OF THE SPIDER!”
Two robed figures arriving by submarine kidnap Jed away from his grandfather on Dolphin Island, and take him to a secret base. “In total silence they berth the sea-vessel in a secret inlet in the bowels of the cliff and lead Jed through a series of labyrinthine passageways culminating in a weird subterranean chamber illuminated by the glare of blinding flourescent lights.” (I suppose this line was important, as what it describes was not shown in the artwork.) They take him before “Dr. Spider”, who looks like a far-less-human version of “Davros” from DOCTOR WHO. His bottom half is a round trolley on wheels, his top half is a horrible parody of humanity. Fat, naked, hairy, no arms, wild orange hair, big goggles, and eight mechanical arms.
They tell him, “We have brought the boy, DR. SPIDER! His reading is even HIGHER than we ANTICIPATED!” “Yes! The ANGST-METER places him at the TWLETH LEVEL!” “That’s probably because he was ORPHANED at an EARLY AGE! Quickly now! Install him in the DREAM ROOM!” In a scene rather similar to the one in MISTER MIRACLE #8 (“The Battle Of The Id”), Jed is drugged unconscious and then strapped into a machine which taps into his brain. Then, images from his nightmares are projected onto Spider’s large “Somnambo-Screen”. When one of his henchmen asks about it, Spider explains by trapping him inside a glass enclosure, and demonstrating how his equipment can bring Jed’s nightmares to life, by having one of them eat him alive!
In his Dream Dome, The Sandman wonders why kids all over the world are sleeping, yet their nightmare levels have been drastically reduced. He enters the Dream Stream, travels to the Fantasy Forest, and, after being attacked by several mobile plants, locates the Nightmare Wizard, an old, wretched-looking man who insists the Dream Stream is his domain, not The Sandman’s. Under duress, the Wizard tells Sandman about Dr. Spider, who’s removing nightmare demons from the Dream Stream so that he can use them to conquer the world. Quickly returning to his Dream Dome, Sandman exits again in the real world, where he finds an army division fighting to save a city from an attack by giant monsters!
Blowing his Hypnosonic Whistle makes the monsters vanish, but the next moment, Sandman is “zapped” and captured by one of Spider’s henchmen. Strapping him into the machine, Spider declares, “With the dream power of THE SANDMAN at my disposal, I will be INVINCIBLE! The entire world will be my PLAYTHING!” And so, saving the day is up to Brute & Glob, when Brute reveals he’s secretly made himself a spare whistle, which Sandman doesn’t know about. “Sometimes I like to get OUT of here even when that SPOIL-SPORT Sandman doesn’t WANT me to!” They free Sandman while he’s still asleep, so he won’t find out about the spare whistle.
Awake, Sandman uses his whistle to put the henchmen to sleep, but it won’t work on Spider, who sics the nightmare monsters on Sandman, who knows that if he uses the whistle to destroy them, that Jed will die. Struggling, he manages to use his sand-cartridges on them instead. He then destroys the machnery, frees Jed and send him home, then goes after Spider, who’s escaping by submarine—until something goes wrong, and it blows up all by itself. Back in the Dream Dome, Sandman tells brute & Glob he really could have used their help, but in all the excitement, he forgot to whistle for them.
Sales of THE SANDMAN one-shot were surprisingly good (at a point where almost everything was selling badly), so someone at DC decided to continue it. I wonder what editor Joe Orlando was smoking when he put this series together. Joe Simon & Jack Kirby were replaced by Michael Fleischer (Jonah Hex, The Spectre) & Ernie Chua (CONAN THE BARBARIAN), with Mike Royer apparently retained to try and maintain "the Kirby look". This must be one of the most patently ABSURD ideas I've ever seen espoused on an editorial page-- considering Kirby & Chua's styles have NOTHING whatsoever in common, and Royer's strongest skill was to reproduce with absolute accuracy the work of whoever's pencils he was inking!!. Jack did come back for the covers. Try as I might, this version of THE SANDMAN remains one of the worst and most unreadable things I've ever seen from the mid-70's... and that's really saying something! It’s like some sick, twisted version of a Saturday morning cartoon show from the 1970’s. (8-31-2012)
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“In the world that’s coming—the most evil racket ever created!! NEW bodies for OLD!!” The covers shows OMAC flying on his own power (what, is he Superman now?) toward a row of people stepping thru a complex technological machine. They go in old and shrivelled up, they step out young and beautiful. But the cover is misleading. It’s not some kind of “rejuvenation” machine the story is about...
“THE MOST HORRIBLE MENACE IN HUMAN HISTORY .....hatched by the vicious criminals of THE WORLD THAT’S COMING!!! To watch it grow is indescribable.... to let it spread is unthinkable..... to stop it cold.... will take.... OMAC THE ONE MAN ARMY CORPS”
In the HQ of the Global Peace Agency, OMAC is being shown a film of a computer brain transplant. “Stolen by the mob known as the CRIME CABAL, a surgical computer which performs brain transplants has spawned a NIGHTMARISH racket. A brave PEACE AGENT, having stumbled onto the facts, has returnbed with the first evidence of this evil project.” People are being kidnapped so that aging gangsters, paying a fortune, can take over their bodies. “This project MUST fail... there’s NO gauging the consequences if it’s permitted to spread.” ““The promise of IMMORTAILITY”... if we DON’T control it now... men will commit ANY crime to get it!” The undercover agent who risked his life to get the film assures OMAC that the Cabal’s “regional manager”, Fancy Freddy Sparga, is still lining up customers. But time is running out before their victims begin losing their lives.
Across the street, members of the Cabal aim a “missile-rifle” and fire it at the man they suspected might have been a cop. In the ruins following the blast, OMAC rescues the agent, trapped under debris. “You STILL alive?” “In THIS business, it gets HARDER all the time.” “That was a MISSILE-HIT! It means that Fancy Freddy meant to make CERTAIN you died.” “It means that I BLEW my cover. The Crime Cabal KNOWS I was an infiltrator.” “There’s STILL a lot of things they DON’T know. To begin with... their hit was a MISS!” “UGH...! DON’T bet on that, Omac. This thing is crushing me flat. Will you PLEASE get this weight off my back?” “Oh... OH! Sure...” “THANKS... my chances of survival have GREATLY improved.” I love the dialogue here. It makes both characters really come alive. Especially in OMAC’s case, where he realizes he’s so focused he hasn’t noticed his associate’s predicament. Tense drama, side-by-side with character humor. I love it!
Brother Eye creates 2 artificial “bodies” and then “solarizes” the room, to make it look like the hit was a success. OMAC then heads for a local arcade, where he finds Buck Blue, and arrests him “on suspicion of being a body snatcher”. He clobbers some of Buck’s friends who try to stop him, then hauls him to “the scene of the crime” in a “Magnetic Flyer” with “computer drive”. (“Push a button and it flies where it’s set to go.”) As he flies to a huge suburban residence, the Global Peace Agents prepare to follow in a troop carrier that looks like a larger-sized versio of the original “Fantasti-Car”. “Spawned by the energy crisis, MAGNETIC TRAVEL has replaced combustive fuel. New emissionless vehicles glide on WAVES of polarized force...” “Remember, men... in the course of ANY action... we are NEVER to harm a human being.”
Fighting past the guards, OMAC and Buck eavesdrop on Freddy showing “The Godmother” a 3D projection of her potential new body—which just happens to be Buck’s girlfriend! “Toad! You know my position in the Crime Cabal! I can have you HIT! I can have that body for NOTHING!” “Sure... if you can find out WHERE it’s at! ...if you can find the “TERMINAL”!” “Okay, creep! HERE’s your money...” “TWO MILLION DOLLARS! It’s a real buy!” Just then OMAC and Buck bust up the party. Buck is angry at Freddy for snatching his girl... until... “Would HALF A MILLION shut your gut? I can spare it... Think it over.” “FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!”
OMAC is really pissed. “You’ve CHANGED your attitude, Buck... You’re NOT angry anymore. How about your girl? HOW ABOUT THAT GIRL!!?” “But... f-five hundred grand...! ...that’s MONEY, man!!” “You’re a WORSE case than I ever imagined! Now, sit down and LISTEN!” “OWW! You’ve got no right to...!” “TRUE, Buck! Your rights are PRECIOUS... They’re your ASSURANCE of a fair deal! But how about that girl? The others held in the terminal? Soon they’ll be DEAD! Their bodies TAKEN OVER by vultures like The Godmother!” “DON’T lecture me! It’s a JUNGLE out there! It’s everyone for himself!!” Sounds like the mantra of Yuppie Scum, to me.
OMAC assures Buck he has no choice but to lead him to “The Terminal”. The GPA arrives to haul Freddy & The Godmother away. Buck is terrified. “Y-you don’t know what it’s like! N-not even an ARMY of Peace Agents could crack it!” “It WON’T take an army... just you and me, Buck. WE’LL crack the “terminal”... or DIE in the attempt!”
WOW. Another fabulous episode of my favorite early-70’s Kirby book. Although OMAC has been described as “Captain America in the future”, more than perhaps any other installment, this one reminds me of a futuristic sci-fi version of THE UNTOUCHABLES. I recently watched my entire collection of that show, and was stunned by some of the genuine MONSTERS inhabiting its stories. People—and I use that word loosely—gangsters, racketeers who were so horrifically cold-blooded, ruthless and murderous in their pursuit of wealth and power, that they let nothing stop them. The scene where The Godmother threatens Freddy reminds me of many such scenes on that show, as criminals eagerly double-crossed each other while putting the screws on everybody else.
The horror of the brain-transplant angle reminds me of the film FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED, where the scientist whose work could somehow help The Baron (Peter Cushing) awoke to find himself a victim of his own research, and vowed revenge on the man he once considered collaborating with. The body-stealing plot was also reused by Bill Mantlo & Michael Golden in MICRONAUTS (much of which was a blatent tribute to Jack Kirby’s Fourth World concepts). Also, it turned up in the DOCTOR WHO story “Mindwarp”, the 2nd segment of “The Trial Of A Time Lord”. Of course, mind-swapping was a recurring sci-fi theme in various series over the years, but usually it didn’t involve actual brain transplants.
The “Missile Rifle” reminds me of the FIM-43 Redeye (referred to as a “Stinger”) in the film LICENSE TO KILL. The two million dollar price tag also reminds me of that film, as does the way the gangster so casually offers a huge bribe to someone. The GPA Communications Center reminds me of the one SHIELD used in STRANGE TALES #137 (Oct’65) only more futuristic. The Godmother’s residence brings to mind a similar house I saw in an episode of THE OUTER LIMITS, only much larger and spectacular. Jack Kirby never fails to amaze me. Writer, artist, storyteller, interior designer, architect, social commentator... was there nothing he couldn’t do better than anyone else in the biz?
As an aside... I ran across a rather long-long winded blog reviewing OMAC #1 which focused almost entirely on the immorality of the GPA and Professor Forrest and the manner in which they “murdered” Buddy Blank in order to create OMAC. Somehow, that sort of thing never really crossed my mind, not even on a 2nd or 3rd reading. On the letters page of OMAC #5, “Derwin Mak” poses the folowing question: “Does Omac ever change back to Buddy Blank? He could be one of the heroes with no secret identity.” The answer given is, “Buddy Blank is now Omac permanently. (Of course, that doesn’t mean there might not be a villain out there who finds a way to alter that.)” Knowing what I do about the remaining few issues, I find this a very interesting statement. (heh heh heh) (9-2-2012)
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“When The Losers take a furlough, it’s goodbye Broadway—hello DEATH!” “Against the “brown-out” of New York’s skyline, war comes to America---“ A Nazi submarine fires a torpedo at a cargo “liberty” ship and destroys it. But above, army planes circle. It was a trap! Coast Guard depth charges force the sub to the surface, where its crew abandons ship before it sinks. The “Special Missions Group” are there, accompanied by a hard-nosed man from Intelligence, but are unable to spot one “Helmut Steger”. Their hopes to enjoy a furlough are dashed as they’re reminded their orders are “subject to THIS DEPARTMENT’S AUTHORITY!!”
And so they find themselves staking out a movie theatre. Captain Storm explains he had a run-in with Steger when his PT boat put in at Portugal. On supplied info, they spot an old man who drops a newspaper which is picked up by someone else. Sure enough, the 2nd man is Steger, who turns at the sound of his name. Storm gives chase as Steger opens fire on a crowded street! This reminded me of my favorite scene in the 1981 film NIGHTHAWKS, when Sylvester Stallone spotted Rutler Hauer in a crowded disco, and at least one person wound up dead when the baddie turned and started shooting. The intelligence men manage to grab Steger before anyone’s hurt. “You see, Storm? This is a POOR time to FINISH our fight---“ “The authorities interfered the FIRST time, too! Maybe AFTER the war---“
Inside Steger’s hatband is a slip of paper which means the job isn’t over yet, to the utter frustration of our heroes. “This says that you STAY! We need your experience for ONE more little job---“ “What is it--? --WINNING THE WAR?” It seems a 2nd Nazi sub is off Long Island, this one armed with a Henshel HS 293 Glider Bomber. Our heroes arrive and board the sub. A shoot-out erupts. A smoke bomb is dropped down an open hatch. A group of sailors attack Storm and try to get his gun. More shooting. Someone launches the missile. Gunner takes control of the deck cannon, and destroys the missile before it picks up speed. With the job done, Gunner suggests, “SAY! Broadway is STILL on one piece! Now that this caper’s behind us--- why don’t we---“ “Ahhhhhh--- SHADDAPP!!” (I guess they’re too tired to go out to have “fun”.)
The finale, with an enemy sub off the American coast, reminded me a bit of the climax of the film “1941”, except, played straight, and the with sub being captured instead of escaping. Legend has it Steven Spielberg’s film was inspired by an actual event. I wonder if the same was true for Jack Kirby’s story here?
Mike Royer takes over the inks with this issue, and while Berry wasn’t bad, Royer is definitely an improvement. It seems to me Jack’s pencils vary at times depending on the subject matter, or the mood of certain scenes. Berry’s “ultra-clean / technical” lines may be a good fit for science-fiction, but seemed totally at odds with a gritty, violent WW2 book.
The 4 regulars on this series never seem to have too much in the way of personality, which is a common criticism of Jack’s work. Then again, in this case, he wasn’t the one who created these characters. It’s funny, but just looking at them, Captain Storm, Captain Johnny Cloud, Sarge and Gunner remind me of WW2-era versions of Colonel Nick Fury, Wyatt Wingfoot, Ben Grimm, and Jimmy Olsen!
Just thought I’d mention... I haven’t seen it, and hadn’t heard a single word about it online until I ran across it doing a Google search, but it seems there’s actually a movie—THE LOSERS (2010), based on the Vertigo version of the comic-book series. And just from reading some descriptions, although it’s set in the present day with different characters, it sounds like the tone of the film would be something like a lot of Jack Kirby’s stories. Might be worth checking out. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480255/ (9-15-2012)
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THE SANDMAN #3 / Jul’75 – “THE BRAIN THAT BLACKED-OUT THE BRONX!”
I suppose someone at DC figured "Gorilla covers sell!" “Somewhere amidst the craggy mountains of Eastern Europe, local peasants descend on the castle stronghold of a tyrant who has long held them in a grip of icy fear...” “Burn the CASTLE! Kill the COUNT!” “Destroy his fearsome zombie GORILLAS!” “Put an end to the gruesome EXPERIMENTS that offend both GOD and MEN!” Did I read that right? A torch-wielding mob straight out of a 1930’s Universal horror movie attacks, while “The Count”—we never hear any other name for this guy—tells his underlings—a pair of gorillas whose skulls are outfitted with artificial brains encased in glass, JUST like “General Electric” from issue THE SANDMAN #1, “Hold them off as long as you CAN!” We never see them doing so—instead, the mob reaches The Count just after he’s drunk poison, “the COWARD’s way out!”
As if starting out the story in the stryle of SILVER SURFER #7 wasn’t whacked-out enough, it gets even stranger when 2 men wearing robes claiming to be The Count’s relatives claim the body, but turn out to be his gorillas in disguise. Putting the body in a “thermo-cylinder” to prevent deterioration, they ship The Count (and themselves) to a farmhouse in America housing the laboratory of a “Prof. Rundhaven”, who removes The Count’s brain and places it in a glass jar, from which The Count can communicate. Yep, it’s straight out of “THE BRAIN OF MORBIUS” on DOCTOR WHO.
“Only YOU could have... transplanted my BRAIN... into this TANK! Only YOU could have given me a VOICE... and provided me with OTHER, even more IMPRESSIVE powers! With them... I shall RULE the UNIVERSE!” To prevent Rundhaven from telling anyone what he’s done, The Count (or his brain, at any rate) kills him with a massive jolt of electricity. One might wonder, if The Count was not really dead (or was he?), WHY have his brain removed from his body, and put into a tank, if the next thing he / it wants is to “LEAVE my tank prison”??
To tie this already insane story in with The Sandman, the next thing we see is The Brain invading the dreams of young Susie, the daughter of Dr. Ralph Ervin, a scientist who’s working on his own offbeat experiments. As he says to his wife, “I think I’ll turn in myself, as soon as I finish looking over these latest notes of mine on PSYCHO-KINETIC brain-wave ABSTRACTIONS! Very exciting stuff!” “Oh, it sounds just FASCINATING, dear!” On WHAT planet??? Sandman, detecting someone trying to invade a nightmare, confronts The Brain as it tries to get Susie to steal her father’s notes, and saves her life before she wakes up. Later, The Brain sends his gorillas in person to finish the job. Next, he sends them to steal equipment from a warehouse. They’re spotted by a guard, who calls the cops, who follow to the lab, and can’t believe what they find there. (I’m reading this, and can’t believe it either.) Hearing their lives threatened, the cops’ reaction is, “Oh no you DON’T, Tarzan! Destroyin’ COPS in this town is strictly against the law! Feed ‘em some HOT LEAD, Clancy!” They shoot and kill the gorillas, only to be killed themselves in the same fashion that Rundhaven was.
The brain HOVERS free of the tank. “My FAITHFUL ape servants... DEAD! But they have fulfilled their BASIC purpose... to FREE me from my tank prison so that I may begin to GROW in size and accumulate UNLIMITED power!” Next thing, the now-giant brain hovers over a city’s power plant. Police plan to destroy it with an electrical charge (how is never explained—but at this point, why should anything in this story make any sense?). Sandman tries to interfere, saying it’ll only make The Brain more powerful, but nobody believes the “clown” and “hippie” who looks like he belongs in a “comic book”. They arrest him and throw him in jail. Sure enough, The Brain sucks up the power, sending the city into darkness. For the first time, Sandman deliberately uses his whistle to free Brute and Glob, so they can set him free, which they do so using a bag of “vile things” to cause the prison guard nightmares. Sending them back to HQ, Sandman confronts The Brain, and this time, the whistle causes it to EXPLODE-— “into nothingness with the fury of a hundred H-Bombs...” SAY WHAT?????
“There was no other way! Had he LIVED, he would have plunged all HUMANITY into abject SLAVERY!” (OH, so The Brain was a Republican, hmm?) I think it’s safe to say that Michael Fleisher has really strange, bizarre, downright perverted ideas about what kind of stories should be aimed at kids (this book’s apparent intended audience). I guess Ernie Chua & Mike Royer are doing relatively decent work illustrating the story—it’s just that what they’re bringing to life visually makes no sense on any level I can think of. How on Earth did Fleisher make it in the business as long as he did? At least the kid in this story was someone other than Jed for a change. I find it rather ironic that in recent months, the stories I’ve been re-reading have been by one of the best writers to ever work in comics—Jack Kirby—and one of the worst—Michael Fleisher. The contrast in style and quality is downright shocking. (9-16-2012)
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“MONSTERS in the subway! And a train that rides to DOOM!! FLESH and BLOOD MONSTERS in the world that’s coming! An evil phenomenon that arises in the shadows cast by the mysterious and powerful Crime Cabal!! ...but this menace that lurks and pounces ISN’T nearly as frightening as the objective sought by... OMAC ONE MAN ARMY CORPS”
“Buck Blue, a DEFECTOR from the Crime Cabal, has AGREED to help OMAC and the law.” Below the streets of Electric City... “OMAC and his guide are ATTACKED ... the old subway tunnels, abandoned for newer types of transit, now SWARM with terror...” “Since time began, man has battled monsters charged with guarding treasures and wonders beyond telling.... but the miracle at the end of this trail must be put out of action! The most vicious racket ever created must be stopped cold...! It feeds on human beings kept in... THE BODY BANK!”
Following a brief fight, Buck explains the monsters used to be humans, before radiation and hormone treatments, which they take or the Cabal won’t pay them. From space above, Brother Eye sends twin energy beams to recharge OMAC. “It’s like taking your VITAMINS, Buck... all of them... in one BIG barrel!” At an abandoned statio called a “mugger’s stop”, OMAC saves a young blonde woman from being the latest kidnap victim. Freed, she races into the arms of Peace Agents, who will mop up when OMAC is done, as they’re not allowed to fight themselves. The “Gang Train”, signalled by “pocket phone”, arrives, and it’s a fiercesome-looking thing. Buck wants to stay behind, but OMAC insists he continue. “Whatever happens... happens to BOTH of us!”
“DEATH RIDE” (Part 2) lives up to its name. Because the train car was programmed to accept 3 passengers (2 kidnappers & a victim) and there’s only 2, it tries to kill them with poison gas! OMAC finds the cannister, rips it out, and knocks a hole in the side of the car to let the gas out. Breaking into the lead car, a Cabal member comes on a videoscreen. OMAC tells him, “I’ll be seeing you SOON, mister.” “No, you won’t! I’m DESTRUCTING these cars... ONE by ONE!” Sure enough, the last car blows up. Then, each one in sequence... except the lead car, which inexplicably remains intact! Then, in a scene straight out of the Clint Eastwood film THE GAUNTLET (which would not come out for another 2 years yet), a squad of armed killers all open fire on the moving vehicle at once, determined to kill whoever is inside it. A laser rifle is then fired to finish the job. Despite this, a strange metallic object ejects itself from the car, landing on the platform. OMAC busts out of the “molecular coccon” (spun by Brother Eye) and clobbers the entire hit squad!!
In a scene rather similar to one in the DOCTOR WHO story “Mindwarp”, an old man awaits an operation to put his brain into a young body, not caring that it’s an unwilling doner who has been kidnapped and will be murdered in the process. The narrator describes it thus: “”MEDI-MIND”.... the stolen computer that performs medical miracles with the ease of a pin-ball machine....” “This means BILLIONS in bread for the Crime Cabal! And this thing is so SIMPLE, a KID could run it!” But OMAC arrives just in time to stop the operation. On seeing the would-be patient, he says, “There’s a familiar old face... Tough Tully Morgan... a LEADER n the Crime Cabal! You’ll live out your life in your OWN body... and in JAIL! As for “Medi-Mind”, the miracle computer... ALL mankind must claim it now... to destroy it... or find a way to use it WISELY!”
Buck Blue considers making a break for it, but the entire squad of Peace Agents arrives to mop up at that instant. “These young people are SAFE now.” “You “law and order” types are BIG heroes... but what does all this do for ME?” “This may be an answer, Buck. She’ll wake up soon... to sunlight and freedom... because YOU helped us, Buck.” “Yeah... I also did it to save my OWN skin. What will she think of THAT?” “I DON’T know... but SHE will... and YOU will.”
The ideas in this series just keep flying fast and furious; the storytelling and characterization is first-rate. And the art is some of the best-looking yet! D. Bruce Berry is KICKING ASS by here! On the letters page, Randy Jang asks, “Why doesn’t JACK ink much of his artwork?” The answer, in Jack’s words: “After a story is finished (written and pencilled), I’ve already got the next one in mind, and I’ve just got to see how it turns out. Inking would just slow me down.” Ken Meyer Jr. urges Kirby & DC not to “discard” OMAC as so many other series. The response talks about how comics are published in purely economic terms, and a big problem for publishers at the time this was being done was a steady loss of outlets, as more and more fans complain of having difficulty finding the comics to buy them. This was reaching epicdemic proportions in the late 70’s, and led to the formation of “The Direct Market” as an alternative. It was never really a fix, but it certainly did expand the life of the industry... while it continues to shrink smaller and smaller. (9-17-2012)
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1st ISSUE SPECIAL #5 / Aug’75 – “MANHUNTER” / “THE ELECTRIC HEAD” / “NEW WARRIOR”
“In the far and distant corners of the Earth, there are fearsome criminals who hide in vain from justice... and a NAME which has HAUNTED their kind through the ages... THIS IS HIS STORY!! This is the origin of... MANHUNTER”
In a place called “The Cave of the Talking Heads”, a man in a red costume with a pale blue mask enters in search of someone named “Chopper”. First he’s greeted by a literal talking head, decapitated and hanging by its hair on a wall. Chopper himself, who looks like some big-headed alien, stands behind protective glass. Manhunter tells him, “There are TEN dead people are crying out for JUSTICE... they want their KILLER brought to trial! You know I always get my man!” It’s interesting he should phrase it that way, as his mostly-red costume reminds one of a futuristic Canadian mounty’s uniform.
“Like its spider counterpart, each homicidal minds spins endless death traps to claim its victims. It is the eternal RISK of the adversary who dares to enter the deadly web. Above the Manhunter, death descends!! CHOPPER’S DEADLY INVENTION... THE ELECTRIC HEAD!” Like some monstrous, oversized warrior’s battle-helmet, the device fits over Manhunter, covering his entire head and shoulders. “Fry, Manhunter! Not even YOUR protective suit can withstand that VOLTAGE!” I can’t shake the feeling that this device was something they would have dreamed up on Apokalips—like the “shock boots” seen in MISTER MIRACLE #9.
As he struggles, Manhunter manages to fire his “Baton” weapon, looking for all the world like a miniature version of Big Barda’s “Mega-Rod”, its chemical bullets penetrating the glass shield and striking their target. Removing his huge, oversized head-mask (a non-lethal counterpart of the deadly Electric Head), Chopper, fighting against the onrush of paralysis, picks up an axe to directly attack his hunter. Manhunter just barely manages to get the Electric Head off, as his equally-shaken foe raises the axe to strike. But Manhunter lifts Chopper’s own techno-weapon to block the axe, and the impact sends enough electricity to kill Chopper instead. It’s fascinating, looking over such a brief, seemingly simple fight scene, how many parallels were going on between the two combatants.
I’d like to admit at this point that I don’t actually have a copy of this comic. But thanks to the wonder of the internet and various other comics fans, I was able to find 11 of the story’s 18 pages! So I’ve got a pretty good gist of what’s going on, even though I’m still missing some chunks of it. The easiest way to fill in what’s missing is to quote ONE paragraph from the “Manhunter” page at Wikipedia:
“Mark Shaw was a public defender, unhappy about how easily criminals manipulated the system and got off without punishment. Shaw's uncle Desmond introduced him to an ancient sect of crime fighters called the Manhunters. Shaw contacted the Grand Master, the sect's leader, through a magical lion medallion. Shortly, he assumed the Manhunter name and costume from a previous Manhunter.”
Amazing that that doesn’t even touch what I already described above, isn’t it?
In Jack Kirby’s story, Mark Shaw’s uncle tells him, “Nobody knows when the “Shan” was organized, but it’s a VERY old sect. The ORIGINAL members were warriors who fought the BARBARIC injustices of the warlords.” He goes on, “The “Shan” are INCORRUPTIBLE, and take vows of lifelong dedication. When a Manhunter tracks an elusive quarry, he NEVER fails to bring him in.”
Eleswhere, in a large temple decorated with lion iconography, we learn that Manhunter is the LAST of his kind, as he speaks with his “Grand Master”. The scene, in a way, reminds one of various scenes in Universal’s MUMMY movies of the early-1940’s, as a new High Priest takes over from the old, dying one. (Except, in this case, it’s good guys involved, not baddies.) “Fate has always been our friend. A NEW warrior will arise. He will CALL in this time of need.”
And sure enough, Mark uses the Lion medallion in his uncle’s collection, and before long, wears the Manhunter uniform—just in time for his uncle’s house to be attacked by thugs hured by the gangster Mark Shaw has been fighting as a lawyer! Before it’s over, he’s taken out the entire group of thugs, and vows to track down their boss. “I’m going after Al Beefer, The HOG, and his organization!” “Be CAREFUL, Mark. It’s a mighty big target. GOOD LUCK!”
As one can see from the Wikipedia Manhunter page, there have been many different characters from DC Comics using that name. To start off, there was “Paul Kirk, Manhunter” (who didn’t actually use the name “Manhunter” in the stories), an “independant investigator” (gee, is that anything like Denny Colt’s “criminologist” title?) who appeared in ADVENTURE COMICS #58-72 (Jan’41-Mar’42) and was the work of Ed Moore.
The 2nd version was introduced by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby and ran from ADVENTURE COMICS #73-92. Rick Nelson was a big game hunter who donned a colorful costume to track criminals. Although it was clearly intended to be a different character, a few episodes in, the editor changed his name to Paul Kirk! (I wonder, did Roy Thomas ever explain this as being some kind of alias—one way or the other?)
Decades later, Archie Goodwin & Walt Simonson created a 3rd version for DETECTIVE COMICS #437-443 (Oct’73-Oct’74). Although not originally intended to be the same character, at some point in the storyline it was revealed that the new Manhunter was actually Paul Kirk, who’d been killed in the 40’s, yet somehow preserved in suspended animation ands brought back to life by a group known as “The Council”, who wanted to use him as an ASSASSIN. He rebelled against this and eventually brought down The Council, with the help of Batman, but died in the process.
Considering Jack Kirby’s NEW version of the character wore a costume closer to the 40’s version than the Goodwin-Simonson one did, it would seem Kirby may have intended the new series as a continuation, expansion and explanation of his earlier one. Yet, we never learn the name of the aging Manhunter from the beginning of his story. Perhaps he intended it to be Paul Kirk, UNAWARE of the Goodwin-Simonson storyline? In any case, Kirby’s “Shan” can easily be seen as a altrusitic, heroic counterpart to Goodwin’s “Council”. Whereas Goodwin & Simonson took the character down a dark path (to a degree), it’s clear Kirby expanded on the idea, only put the “Shan” FIRMLY on the side of right and justice. One may presume that, had further installments been produced, we might have learned that the old Manhunter either was Paul Kirk, or perhaps a son, nephew, or other protoge, and that Rick Nelson / Mark Shaw’s taking up the identity of “Manhunter” was in some way directly tied in with the ages-old “Shan” legacy.
But alas—IT WAS NOT TO BE!!! Only a year-and-a-half later, in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #140-141 (Mar’Apr’77), in a pair of double-length episodes, Steve Englehart, Dick Dillin & Frank McLaughlin did a sequel, “NO MAN ESCAPES THE MANHUNTERS” / “NO WORLD ESCAPES THE MANHUNTERS”. Perhaps it was a reflection of the 70’s in general, or perhaps it was some kind of anti-Kirby backlash, but in Englehart’s story, we learn that The Manhunters were actually a group of androids, created “billions of years ago” by the Guardians of the Universe, before they ever created their Green Lantern Corps, to be a police force for the universe. However, they became corrupt, power-mad, and rebelled against The Guardians. They were defeated, and those remaining went into hiding. For BILLIONS of years. Yeah. RIGHT. You know, in the 70’s, Steve Englehart was my favorite comic-book writer (who did not also do artwork). And he was THE reason I started buying DCs in the late 70’s, when I followed him from Marvel to DC. And I have to admit. I LOVED this story when I first read it (at the age of 17). I haven’t read it since, and I really should make up for that one day. But looking back on it, and writing what I just did above... the whole things just sounds so “WRONG”!!!!!
Think about it. How could a group of power-mad robots spend “BILLIONS OF YEARS” either in hiding, or, pretending to be a force of “justice” in the universe (or even on Earth), and how could they do this while they were also supposed to BE in hiding? What sort of mindset would it take to accept a story idea like that, anyway?
The whole thing just makes a complete farce of what Jack Kirby wrote in this one comic. In some ways, it’s more of a slap-in-the-face to Jack than Jack’s BLACK PANTHER was to Don McGregor’s version of that character.
To add injury to insult, several years later, Steve Englehart (AGAIN!) brought back The Manhunters for DC’s 3rd consecutive yearly “company-wide crossover”, MILLENNIUM, which tied in with virtually every single book they published over the course of 8 weeks. The way Steve structured the crossover, for the whole thing to make sense, you actually were supposed to read EVERY SINGLE tie-in, in a specified sequence. By the time that horrific mess was over, I was totally sick to death of The Manhunters, which had SEEMED like a cool idea back in 1977. And I never, ever, EVER wanted to read their slogan, “No one escapes The Manhunters!”—again.
Steve’s 2-part JLA story was actually adapted (rather faithfully) as a 2-parter on WB’s JUSTICE LEAGUE cartoon series in the 90’s (with John Stewart filling in for Hal Jordan, who was “dead” in the comics at the time). The strange thing, considering just how many comics were a sequel to this ONE story Jack Kirby did, is that this issue has (to my knowledge) NEVER been reprinted.
Maybe it’s just as well. Kirby’s MANHUNTER, while it was no doubt more ambitious and potentially more exciting than the previous versions, didn’t seem AS inspired as several other projects he did in the early 70’s. As I noted with the use of technology similar to that seen in issues of MISTER MIRACLE, it’s possible MANHUNTER was a watered-down variation on common Kirby themes, as he struggled to find something LESS ambitious that the small-minded powers-that-be at DC might have found more “acceptable”. (9-18-2012)
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And now, something a bit different...
JUSTICE INC. #1 / Aug’75 – “THIS NIGHT, AN AVENGER IS BORN!”
“He’s known as The AVENGER-- deadly leader of—JUSTICE INC. In the roaring heart of the crucible, STEEL is made! In the raging flame of PERSONAL TRAGEDY, men are sometimes forged into something more than HUMAN! Thus is was with DICK BENSON... a man transformed into a figure of ICE and STEEL.... more PITILESS than either!”
Somewhere outside New York City, Dick Benson, his wife Alice and their young daughter Alicia quickly board a plane against protests. “Hey! You people can’t come aboard!” “If this kite is heading for MONTREAL, we’ve GOT to—my wife’s mother is DESPERATELY ill! She NEEDS us TONIGHT!” As they board, the man who objected reaches for a gun. “Should I...?” “Too many WITNESSES! We’ll handle it in the AIR!” After introducing themselves to Arthur Hickock, who recognizes Benson as a “famous EXPLORER and ADVENTURER”, Benson goes back to use the wash room. On his return, Hickock, his wife and daughter are all gone—and the other passengers claim they were never on the plane! A fight breaks out, and Benson is knocked unconscious. He awakens three weeks later in a hospital, his facial muscles almost paralyzed, and his hair and skin turned white. Told he may revert to normal in a month or two, in insists on leaving immediately, once again, against protests. “Doctor, I’m GRATEFUL to you, but if you value your LIFE... stay... out... of... my... WAY!”
Returning to his penthouse, Benson arms himself with his special gun (“Mike”) and throwing knife (“Ike”) then heads for the airfield, where he finds the plane his family vanished on. He fends off an attack by a large man who, it turns out, is a fugitive who mistook him for a policeman. Algernon Heathcoate Smith, alias “Smitty”, is a Doctor of Physics who’s been framed of a crime he didn’t commit, and found himself doing unskilled manual labor while on the lam. They decide to team up, after discovering a trap door in the floor of the plane, and, being attacked by two thugs out to silence them. Using makeup, and the discovery that his facial muscles can be rearranged manually, Benson sneaks aboard the next flight of the plane, when he overhears the thugs planning to “dump” him—which is what they did to his family!
The only other passenger, elderly Mrs. Van Dunce, is forced at gunpoint to don a parachute, then shoved thru the trapdoor. Benson, disguised as an elderly hunchback, is also shoved thru—without one. Or so they think, his “hump” actually a hudden chute. On the island below have been assembled the owners of the Acme Motor Company, who are being forced at gunpoint to sign papers handing over ownership of the firm to the murdereous gangsters. Benson attacks, with the help of Smitty, who’s discovered the island is owned by Hickock—the only “missing” passenger not among the group of kidnap victims. Benson nearly strangles him before Smitty stops him. The two decide to seek out and enlist others whose lives have been destroyed by violent crime, to create a force of JUSTICE.
Richard Benson, THE AVENGER, was a pulp magazine hero created by Paul Ernst for Street And Smith in 1939, the same publishers who gave us THE SHADOW and DOC SAVAGE. According to several different articles I've found online, it's felt the series began "too late", at a point where pulp heroes were beginning to lose their charm and popularity, partly due to the newer comic-book costumed heroes. It seems to me that THE AVENGER was to pulp heroes what STARMAN was to super-heroes in the early 1940’s. One more character, cynically created “by committee”, without any characteristics that made him stand out from the pack.
More than 30 years later, in the wake of Marvel's DOC SAVAGE and DC's THE SHADOW, DC decided, once more "late in the game" to adapt THE AVENGER to comics. Renamed JUSTICE INC. so as to avoid confusion with Marvel's superhero team THE AVENGERS, the series, as before, failed to catch on. Perhaps the same sort of cynicism was at the root of it.
Denny O’Neil had started out writing dialogue at Marvel, and his own stories at Charlton, before being brought over to DC with Dick Giordano by Carmine Infantino, who was eager to raid Charlton for their best talent. Indeed, I’ve read that despite Giordano being the editor and a key part of the deal, Infantino actually disliked Giordano and held his work in contempt. Making his mark on BATMAN and GREEN LANTERN-GREEN ARROW, two “dark” reinventions of classic characters, O’Neil virtually became DC’s version of Roy Thomas, the “go-to” writer for new projects. This included THE SHADOW, their revival of the pulp character, no doubt intended as DC’s answer to Marvel’s DOC SAVAGE revival. While Thomas’ specialty seemed to be a fascination with literary characters, World War Two and historical trivia in general, O’Neil’s “thing” seemed to be darkness and “dark” stories for their own sake.
Alden McWilliams’ specialty apparently was science-fiction, as he worked on the TWIN EARTHS newspaper strip in the 1950’s, various sci-fi stories in Warren’s CREEPY magazine, a 2-year run on the SPACE CONQUERORS! strip in BOY’S LIFE magazine, and, much later, the 1979 BUCK ROGERS movie adaptation. I suspect he may forever be dismissed as a 2nd-rate Al Williamson, both because of his name and similar art style, but I like his work. He was actually one of the reasons I spent a couple months cleaning up the entire run of SPACE CONQUERORS! for my blog (before I found out that the artist who did the strips I’d read when I was younger was actually Gray Morrow!).
Somehow, while “nice”, this issue just strikes me as uninspired. Perhaps McWilliams is out of his field here, doing a 1939 pulp adventure story (and not the most inspired story to begin with). The art, which actually reminds me a lot of the work of Tom Palmer or Frank Springer, just doesn’t have much “zing” to it. Such a shame, to be this disappointed after I was looking forwrd to it, once I heard McWilliams had done it. And, perhaps I’m spoiled after the last 16 months of reading stories written by Jack Kirby, but O’Neil’s narration and dialogue in this just seem to banal and dull by comparison. Even the story title rubs me the wrong way. Perhaps that’s because it’s so similar to one I came up with myself when I was in my early teens, when I was probably trying to sound “dramatic”, but what came out was, instead, “pretentious”. The original title of the pulp story was simply “JUSTICE INC.” What was wrong with that???
And, for that matter, WHY describe the set-up of “JUSTICE INC.” on the 1st page of the story, before readers have even had a chance to read the story that leads to its formation? Further, it bugs me how the text on the splash page overlap the artwork, when there is so much blank space on the page it could have fit easily. We’re talking BAD DESIGN here. But then, “bad design” was the standard for 1970’s comic-books.
Frankly, the cover by Joe Kubert—another DC mainstay—is nothing to brag about either. I tend to wonder, WHY not have the artist who illustrated the story also do the cover? It always seems like “false advertising” to me.
Even Alan Asherman’s editorial is boring beyond belief, consisting entirely of describing elements of the series we’ve either already seen in this issue’s story, or those they haven’t gotten around to introducing yet. What a major come-down, after Jack Kirby’s various thoughtful, philosophical discourses.
Denny O'Neil wrote all 4 issues, the first 2 being adaptations of novels (one can see the patent absurdity of trying to adapt an entire novel in only 18 comic-book pages), the other 2 being original stories. There is so much in this story that is left totally unexplained. The year it takes place is in never even mentioned! And while I’m sure they were supposed to be intereting and exciting, both Benson and Smitty just seem dull, or worse—annoying.
This proved to be McWilliams’ only issue in the short run. I wonder why? He seemed to be doing the odd comic-book job here and there around this time (even inking John Byrne on IRON FIST—can you believe that?). Perhaps it was just “filler” work for him. Thing would definitely improve next time. (9-21-2012)
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After the 1st issue, in a wild move, Jack Kirby & Mike Royer were brought in to do the art of the remaining issues. So far I’ve only seen the cover and 2 interior pages, but these totally blow away the tepid efforts of the 1st issue. Denny O’Neil presumably worked full-script on these (the standard method for DC writers at the time), and adapted the 3rd AVENGER novel from November 1, 1939, once more in a measly 18 pages. The switch in art to Kirby & Royer was just what this series needed, as they managed to take what was, quite frankly, a 2nd-rate (3rd-rate?) pulp series and inject it with high-octane visual EXCITMENT. Opinions I've read vary drastically, but it's my feel that Kirby & Royer did some terrific work here, capturing the feel of the 1940's better than most, and, I'd say, they did better work, and were a BETTER FIT, than any of the artists I've ever see do DOC SAVAGE in the comics! A shame they were doing the wrong book!!!
Perhaps they were already too little too late, though, as that 1st issue may have turned off enough people to doom the project from the word go.
Incidentally, with all the elements from various Jack Kirby comics that apparently found their way (along with everything else) into the STAR WARS movies, it’s funny that the title of this comic’s story should be among them (never mind that it actually was from a 1939 pulp novel, the comic version no doubt came out while George Lucas was putting together his movie—and I have definitely heard that “Skywalker” was NOT the original name of his film’s hero).
In addition to some minor “filling in” on the bottom & right edges, and fixing some white gaps in the colors, the biggest challenge of cleaning up this cover image was that the paper was obviously SO THIN the printing from the other side was showing right thru. I had to find a smooth patch and replace the entire pale blue sky background. This now looks MUCH better than the actual comic did when it was new! (9-22-2012)
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A truck full of G.I.s on the wrong road get slaughtered by a Nazi paratrooper squad, except for one black soldier, who runs like the wind to escape. But a Nazi races after him. “Both runners break into STRIDE and cover distance with AMAZING swiftness--- Neither man slows his pace--- neither man loses stamina--- it’s an almost dream-like replay of a marathon run in some phantom stadium--- It seems NO LONGER part of the war--- The runners are caught up in the sound of their own footfalls, racing, NOT to kill—but to WIN!!”
The “spell” is broken when the German fires his gun. The G.I. stops, and can’t believe his eyes. Both men—Henry Jones, and Bruno Borman—competed against each other in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The situation is beyond bizarre, as the two have an almost friendly reunion—but not without a dispute. “Chust like in the OLD days, eh, Henry! Like ven ve run in Berlin, at der Olympics---“ “...like when I beat you in the mile run?” “NOBODY beats Bruno Borman—I am der BEST--- You are a good runner--- for a BLACK man, Henry! But I win der race---“ “Not that day, Bruno--- NOT THAT DAY---“ “Dere vas BIG fight--- lost of noise--- der crowd on der track, ven ve cross der line--- BUT I VIN, SEE?” Typical Nazi arrogance, blinding himself in the face of historical facts. I’m actually reminded of the sort of attitude and behavior I ran into back in public school, especially in gym class. It wasn’t enough for one team to win—they had to BEAT the other guys, and belittle them afterwards. Probably one of countless reasons I never liked “competition”.
Surprisingly, despite a “no prisoners” order, Bruno says, “COME, HENRY--- ve go back--- I see dat you STAY ALIVE--- COME---!” Which is the exact moment he feels a rifle barrel at the back of his neck. The Losers have overheard the conversation, and Henry is now part of THEIR mission. Both they and the Nazi paratroopers are in the area to get their hands on General Kessel—one group to rescue him, the other to capture him and take him back to the Allies. Held at gunpoint, Kessel displays more Nazi arrogance. “What a PITY—you could STAYED for tea--- now you’ll go out--- and get yourselves SHOT!” “—“US”, General! It must be evident that YOU’LL be sharing the SAME hazards—I trust that your troopers give this proper consideration---“
As it happens, Borman had the map, which is why the Nazis take longer to find Kessel’s villa. Jones locks the guards in the basement, and the squad leave with their prisoner, but Kessel escape using a hidden razor blade to cut himself free. Racing on foot, he outflanks our heroes to reach the approaching Nazis. Seeing him, Jones sets out on foot after him. Another race is run, once more for life or death for many others. Jones makes a leap for Borman, but misses, and falls to the ground, just as Borman reaches the squad. They see the G.I.s in the distance, and armed to the teeth, run toward them... straight into a mine field, where they’re blown to bits. Jones is shocked. When he ran earlier, he followed a white line on the ground, as if it were a lane marker at a stadium. In truth, it marked the edge of the mine field. Incredibly, he & Borman ran right past it without realizing it was there. Borman & his fellow Nazi soldiers weren’t so lucky coming back.
Just then, more Nazis arrive—but so does the U.S. aircover. The Germans are slaughtered, the plane lands, and picks up The Losers, Jones and Kessel... “Sputtering plane engines break into a roar, moments later--- The dead men IGNORE it--- They’ve absorbed with ETERNITY--- on a ravaged field--- Bruno Borman has crossed the FINAL finish line--- The question of “winning” is still in doubt--- It can only be answered by LIVING men--- Henry Jones is STILL alive. He and The Losers are in that plane, en route to further trials--- new experiences that will TEST their courage and spirit--- But there is a SPECIAL sadness in losing a competitor whose passing ERASES a need so necessary to the athelete--- the need for CHALLENGE!”
Wow. Who the F*** ever said Jack Kirby couldn’t write?
Henry Jones is based, of course, on real-life athelete Jessie Owens, who did compete in the 1936 Olympics held in Berlin, where he made a fool of Adolph Hitler and his “Aryan superiority” in front of the entire world. A pity that couldn’t have been the final word on the subject.
The art by Kirby & Royer is positively BRUTAL this issue, on every page, rough, crude, savage, as if it were not only depicting wartime events, but drawn DURING them by someone there at the time. Except for the cover, which looks like Mike Royer inked a rough sketch instead of finished pencils. It’s interesting (if no doubt baffling to some) how Kirby’s art style could be so flexible, to change that much from story to story, depending on the content. This is GREAT stuff. And I don’t even like war stories, generally. Gee, isn’t that what someone said about SGT. FURY? (9-25-2012)
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THE SANDMAN #4 / Sep’75 – “PANIC IN THE DREAM STREAM”
From the GCD: “Aliens led by General Quark try to infiltrate the dreams of Earthlings via the Dream Stream in order to kill them in their sleep.”
That description could save me a lot of time. Inter-dimensional aliens who somehow have no knowledge or concept of what sleep or dreams are learn of Earth, and decide if they can enter the nightmares of sleeping people, they should be able to invade Earth and conquer it easily. Meanwhile, as things have been “quiet”, Sandman happily sees off Brute and Glob who leave to attend a family reunion. I find it strange how they’re described as having joined Sandman to become full-time helpmates, when they’re constantly imprisoned in his Dream Dome. But then, there’s a lot about this series that makes very little sense, if you think about it... at all.
The alien fleet inrterrupts the family picnic and imprisons all the “nightmares” under an energy dome, then proceeds to capture the “Nightmare Wizard”. Next, out of all the people on Earth, the aliens decide to invade the dreams of Jed, who we haven’t seen since issue #2. Sandman, monitoring his dreams, suddenly realizes it’s not strange birds he sees but an invasion fleet, and causes Jed to wake up just before the boy is murdered by a fission bomb. I have to wonder—is there some special relationship between Sandman and Jed that none of these stories ever got around to revealing? Apart from Jed being involved in the plots of the first 2 issues and this one, WHAT is it about him that seems to make him special, that things like this should keep happening to him, specifically?
Sandman goes to free the Nightmare Wizard, but is clobbered and finds himself a prisoner as well. “So you’re the famous SANDMAN, are you? Our scholars encountered MENTION of your name while studying EARTH, but we assumed you were only a FAIRY TALE!” As the General leaves, he says, “You might try counting SHEEP! I understand it’s really quite RESTFUL!” “Very funny!” With the help of the Nightmare Wizard, Sandman is able to use his Hypnosonic Whistle to awaken Jed, and bring him into the Dream Stream. Once there, he encounters a bizarre landscape that would do Steve Ditko proud. (In a way, it also sort of reminds me of some of the locations seen in the Gray Morrow SPIDER-MAN cartoons.)
Jed finds Sandman in the cave he’s been imprisoned in, frees him, then uses his yo-yo to knock out the General, who returned a moment before. Sandman then uses his whistle to crack open the energy field imprisoning his “Nightmare” helpers,.and a violent free-for-all erupts, as Brute, Glob and many others take down the alien invaders. Brute in particular displays an affable, likeable personality during the fight, coming across like a pro wrestler who enjoys having an adoring public, and even gets to shout “It’s CLOBBERIN’ time!” (Gee, where have we heard that before?) After, Jed is returned home, where his Grandfather sees him sleeping peacefully.
With this issue, Jack Kirby returned to do the art for the series. By a very wide margin, I’d say this episode was the single most imaginative and visually stunning in the entire 70’s SANDMAN run. The question I have to ask myself is, did Jack Kirby simply take a Michael Fleisher script and go totally wild with it, or did he add or embellish it beyond the plainly obvious spectacular visuals? Either way, this continues to be one totally INSANE series, somewhere between a horror-fantasy and a 1970’s Saturday morning kiddie show. The letters page this time out consists entirely of an autobiographic piece written by Fleisher. I’m also still wondering who really designed the Sandman’s outrageous costume. I suspect it was Jerry Grandenetti, since he was slated to draw the initial episode that was conceived and written by Joe Simon. I can’t help but feel that if Jack Kirby had created this series concept & design from scratch, it would have been a lot better, and a lot more sensible. Then again, I also can’t help but wish he’d spent his time doing something else—like more issues of OMAC. (9-26-2012)
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When Jack Kirby signed with DC Comics in late 1970, one of the ideas he had in mind was a series of magazine-size periodicals that would be aimed at a more adult audience. Among the titles were IN THE DAYS OF THE MOB (a return for Jack to his own days doing violent crime comics in the late 1940’s), SPIRIT WORLD (a look into all things supernatural), SOUL LOVE (a romance comic aimed at black readers) and TRUE DIVORCE CASES. In order to deal with more “mature” themes (and get past the Comics Code) these would be magazine format, like MAD magazine, or NATIONAL LAMPOON. Jack envisioned them as being done in color on glossy paper, with himself as editor and others doing the bulk of the writing and artwork.
However, so typical of DC’s timid, narrow-minded management, they saw Kirby as more sellable as an artist than an editor, and so scaled back his concepts before they ever had a chance. Only one issue apiece was ever published of IN THE DAYS OF THE MOB and SPIRIT WORLD, with Jack doing all the writing and art, they were done on regular newsprint, in black & white, with gray tones added. All of this made them more like the horror magazines of Jim Warren or Skywald, or Marvel’s own later B&W magazine line, than HEAVY METAL (which came about 6 years later). To make it worse, their distributor didn’t seem to know what to do with the books, despite the already-existing presence of MAD, CREEPY, etc. As a result, many who might have wanted to buy them didn’t even know they existed.
The book had a “host”, quite common in EC Comics of the 1950’s, but “WELCOME TO HELL” acted as a “framing sequence” that carried all the way through the magazine, which made it more like one of Milton Subotsky’s anthology horror films from Amicus. One could easily see this entire magazine adapted verbatim into a feature film! Oddly enough, the 3 main stories were all ones that Jack Kirby had done earlier versions of decades before. Of course, it’s quite common for Hollywood to recycle stories with remakes, but in this case, Jack was doing new and very different versions of stories he’d already done himself. (This would put him more in the class with Dan Curtis, who did 3 different versions of the “Barnabas Collins” story in DARK SHADOWS over the years.)
For quick reference...
“MA’S BOYS” was a remake of “Mother Of Crime” from REAL CLUE CRIME STORIES v.2 #4 / Jun’47
“BULLETS FOR BIG AL!” was not a remake, but featured Al Capone, as did “The Case Against Scarface” from JUSTICE TRAPS THE GUILTY #1 / Oct’47
“THE KANSAS CITY MASSACRE” was a remake of “The Strange Aftermath Of The Kansas City Massacre” from HEADLINE #26 / Sep’47.
Jack finished the entire 2nd issue, but it was never published, apart from excerpts that appeared in THE AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS fanzine. I’d love to see both issues put out as a single oversized book, in color, the way Jack originally intended.
While the book has never been reprinted, I found no less than 3 different blogs which have posted virtually the entire magazine online. Of the three, in my view, the BEST-quality scans posted at the BEST size for reading can be found at The Comic Reading Library. Go there, NOW!
Apparently, the first thing Jack Kirby did after the cancellation of MISTER MIRACLE was DINGBATS OF DANGER STREET, a brand-new "kid gang" strip. They were the latest in a long line, which included The Young Allies, The Newsboy Legion, Boy Commandos, Boy Explorers, Boys' Ranch, Challengers Of The Unknown (never mind they were adults), Fantastic Four (well, they often acted like kids), Avengers (ditto), X-Men (at least they were teenagers), The Howling Commandos (was there really that much difference between them and the Boy Commandos?), and, at DC again, The Forever People. All going back at least to The Dead End Kids / East Side Kids / Bowery Boys for inspiration. As one might expect with the way Kirby would get inspired and excited about a new project, he got 3 whole issues done... but instead of DINGBATS being his newest book, DC shelved it unpublished. Which no doubt "explains" the 6-month stretch where the only Kirby books DC published were new issues of KAMANDI.
This also, no doubt, "explains" why both ATLAS THE GREAT and MANHUNTER only had one issue apiece done (unless there's more that has never surfaced). ATLAS was particularly frustrating for me, as I really got a huge charge out of that story, except for the fact that it ends on a cliffhanger, obviously being intended as a 2-parter. One can only surmise that after DINGBATS got shelved the way it did, Kirby didn't want to waste time doing a 2nd (or 3rd) issue of anything else, UNLESS DC actually indicated they were actually going to put the thing out. So, the next new series to see the light of day was OMAC-- and even there, it was only done as a bi-monthly, another decision by DC that irks me no end.
So, when Carmine Infantino, desperate to find something, anything that might be a hit, hit upon the idea that "1st issues" sell better than 2nd issues, he concocted a new version of SHOWCASE named 1ST ISSUE SPECIAL. Unfortunately, the bulk of the run seems to have been not so much a launching pad for new ideas as a graveyard for already-rejected inventory ("unsold pilots", the TV networks call 'em). And so it was that ATLAS, MANHUNTER, and, finally, DINGBATS saw the light of day. 2 other issues of DINGBATS are known to exist, possibly more. But only one ever came out... (And yet, they put out 6 issues of THE SANDMAN. The mind boggles!!)
Note that on the following pieces, "Non-Fat" is clearly black, while "Good Looks" could be black, Spanish, or even Middle Eastern. Another thing DC vetoed...
The 3rd (and final) “rejected” series of Jack Kirby’s to turn up in 1ST ISSUE SPECIAL was actually the first one he started on. On the surface, it’s the latest in a long line of “kid gangs” created by Jack, but this one has more of a humorous slant than most. It has been compared by some fo the TV series WELCOME BACK KOTTER, which debuted on September 9, 1975. However, as the comic came out at least 3 months before that, it’s unlikely Jack was aware of it, unless he was following Hollywood trade news and was aware of its production. However, when one takes into account that Jack came up with his series in early 1974 (right after the abrupt cancellation of MISTER MIRACLE), one might begin to wonder if the TV series was inspired by Jack’s still-unpublished comic! (Mark Evanier, after all, has a long-standing career in Hollywood. Who knows what informatinm might have been passed around?) Despite the resemblance of “Good Looks” to John Travolta’s character “Vinnie Barbarino” (the eyes and the hair!), it seems more likely that DINGBATS may have been inspired by the highly-successful Saturday morning Filmation cartoon series, FAT ALBERT AND THE COSBY KIDS, which debuted on September 30, 1972!
Unlike the Bill Cosby cartoon, Jack Kirby’s series was meant to feature a multi-racial cast. That is, if you look at the concept drawings.
While “Bananas” remains Chinese, and “Crunch” looks vaguely Norwegian, “Non-Fat” was clearly meant to be black, while “Good Looks” looks either Middle Eastern or perhaps Spanish (Puerto Rican?) or Italian to me. In the published book, we somehow wound up with 3 white characters, and the change in “Non-Fat” (both his facial features and his skin tone) is particularly ridiculous, since anyone READING the story would quickly realize he was supposed to be a BLACK kid!
WHY would someone at DC do this? Then again, WHY would they reject something that was this much FUN? Personally, I suspect it may have been the title that turned someone off. I’m reminded of THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI, a film whose studio had no idea how to promote, and whose title left me seriously disinterested. Until I found myself in a theatre with my best friend, watching it. As soon as the film started, I suddenly understood what it was about, and it went on to become my favorite movie of 1984. Had the film had almost any other title, it might have been a huge success! I feel the same way about DINGBATS. I’d never read this until a few weeks ago, but as soon as I started, I LOVED it. It may be the single most fun comic Jack Kirby did during his entire time at DC.
Kirby actually did 3 entire issues of DINGBATS before he found out that DC decided not to publish it. It’s no wonder on other projects, like ATLAS of MANHUNTER, he only did one episode apiece, despite both pretty much screaming for next installments. This is a real tragedy, and shows just how confused and directionless and lacking in confidence those in charge of DC were. DINGBATS is so much better than, say, THE SANDMAN (a disaster from beginning to end, yet it lasted 7 episodes, 6 of which actually got published before someone pulled the plug).
I’d love to see someone reprint this story, AND include the other 2 stories with it. And if they ever do, I’d love to see Mike Royer “restore” the art so Non-Fat looks black like he’s supposed to be, and is colored that way as well. The world can always do with more laughs. (10-16-2012)
I know, I usually include a (very detailed) sypnopsis. Not this time. READ the entire story at the Diversions of the Groovy Kind blog. You'll have a blast!
“ATOMIC BLACKMAIL in the world that’s coming may have NOTHING to do with bombs. Playing with atoms may create a threat unforseen until now.... THE TOTAL THREAT!! THE THREAT TO EARTH’S “LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM”! Listen... the FIRST warning has come. It says... “WHERE HAS ALL THE WATER GONE???” And on the scene to investigate is... OMAC ONE MAN ARMY CORPS”
OMAC find himself walking on the floor of a lake from which, “Every drop of water has VANISHED from this lake... its marine life lies exposed and CRUSHED!!” He then finds a mysterious metal box which is slowly sinking into the ground under its own weight. Incredibly, he finds he can’t lift it, until he’s charged up by Brother Eye in orbit. Even then its massive weight causes him to begin sinking into the ground. From high above, Brother Eye contacts him. “I’ve been analyzing the object! I KNOW WHAT IT IS!!!”
Elsewhere, a strangely-designed flying craft drops a rectangular “bar” similar to the one OMAC had so much trouble with into another body of water. In minutes, it causes the atoms of the water to be compressed, until all of the water shrinks and is collected inside the tiny receptacle. It’s then lifted into the flying craft with the aid of a “weight neutralizer” by the villain of the piece—Dr. Scuba. “MADRAS BAY! ...jammed into a HAND-SIZED bar. THINK OF IT! By neutralizing the weight of its compressed atoms ...I CAN LIFT A MILLION TONS OF WATER! They’re MINE for the taking! Lakes... rivers... bays... man’s basic source of survival... water! Yes, the world will PAY to get it back! ...and my price will be HIGH!” His next target to convince the nations is The Atlantic Ocean.
Recovering from his ordeal, OMAC is filled in by a Peace Agent. “A Doctor SANDOR SCUBA! His case history is one of “LONE WOLF” atomic research. He’s a genius... AFFLICTED by an age-old SICKNESS. What Hitler COULDN’T do with great armies... Scuba CAN do with his devilish bars!” “He can FORCE a thirst-parched humanity to its KNEES!”
OMAC leaves in a new craft with unlimited range and no need for re-fueling, completely powered by Brother Eye. Many hours pass as Brother Eye finally gets a fix on Scuba’s possible location, a large volcanic rock in the middle of the ocean. (Oddly enough, it looks just like the hideout of the villain in Jack Kirby’s final JIMMY OLSEN story!) But as he approaches, his vehicle is shattered and twisted by some force, and he leaps out and plunges into the water below. (The sequence actually reminds me of a similar scene in the film BATMAN AND ROBIN. I strongly feel Hollywood loves ripping off Jack Kirby, but without ever acknowledging the source material.)
Scuba has been tracking OMAC’s approach and continues to do so, identifies him by the destroyed aircraft as a being from the Global Peace Agency, and tells his daughter and son-in-law that HE will deal with the intruder himself. His “indicators” also tell him, “Someone ELSE has been working with atoms. I don’t know who it is... BUT I CAN TELL YOU THIS... our visitor is like YOU TWO!! A creature of MANIPULATED, UNSABLE ATOMS.”
As Scuba continues to follow OMAC’s progress on a wall-sized screen (which is very reminiscent of “Number Two” on THE PRISONER), he aims a “sinister machine” at the image. “A little adjusting... a little refining... of power intensity... that’s ALL it should take. Then the same thing will happen to HIM... as it would to YOU TWO! A REVERSION TO ORIGINAL FORM!” OMAC crawls over the rock as Brother Eye continues to scan for signs of Scuba’s whearbouts. “Suddenly a powerful electronic shock wave surges from the rock and engulfs Omac!!! Omac’s body becomes a JAGGED sheet of internal FIREWORKS!” When it’s over, OMAC has become Buddy Blank again—with no memory of ever being OMAC, and no idea where he is! (HORRORS!!)
I recently read a fascinating, if long-winded, yet very downbeat and disturbing blog article about how the Global Peace Agency “murdered” Buddy Blank when they turned him, against his will, into OMAC. I wonder if the person who wrote that review of OMAC #1 ever read this far? Jack Kirby had already hinted in an earlier letters page that OMAC might turn back into Buddy Blank at some point. Well, now it’s happened!
Two different fan letters this time touch on the problem of people having trouble finding copies of OMAC on the newsstands, perhaps due to “fans” buying multiple copies of the first issue and not leaving any for “casual” readers.
This continues to be my favorite of all Jack’s early-70’s DC work. I really wish DC had made it a monthly. It’s criminal there’s so few issues, while Kirby continued to crank out so many other things, including a growing number of books written by other (and vastly-inferior) writers. (10-18-2012)
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THE SHADOW #11 / Jul’75 – “THE NIGHT OF THE AVENGER!”
“There are many forms of EVIL and many forms of GOOD in the world! At some point, the difference between the two becomes LOST in a nebulous CLOUD of idologies! On THIS night, it will be difficult to PIERCE that cloud-- villain will claw at VILLAIN... crusader will clutch at crusader! On THIS night, the UNKNOWN will merge with the MACABRE! On THIS night-- THE NIGHT OF THE AVENGER!”
In Chinatown at night, someone runs carrying a message. They’re shot in the back while passing it on to a cab driver, whose cab is smashed into by another car as he’s driving away. Someone else grabs the message from him, and, “seconds later, in a place that men say DOESN’T exist”, it’s handed to The Shadow. (“SECONDS later”???) So much for the first page of the story—which is told in such choppy shorthand, you just know there’s too few pages to do whatever story this is going to be any justice.
Munitions are going missing, and the rumor is someone is putting together an “underground army”. As The Shadow briefs his top agents, their meeting is interrupted by machine-gun fire. Using his mind-control power, he causes two of the thugs to leap in terror thru a window to their deaths. A third is revealed to be “Smitty”—the right-hand of The Avenger, who seems to be in a trance.
Elsewhere, Richard Benson talks with his aide, MacMurdie. A General Milberg has informed him of missing weapons, just before they’re attacked by a woman who also seems to be in a trance—Margo Lane.
The trail leads to the Sandy Hook Lighthouse, where a crew of Asians are looking over a stockpile of torpedoes, planning to use them on the Brookyn Navy Yard. The Shadow bursts in, and confronting one of the thugs at the top of the lighthouse, the man tries to see who he’s really fighting, and is suddenly terrorized by something he calls “The Dark Eagle”—before leaping to his death in fear! Below, The Shadow tells his men to prepare for the arrival of a submarine. At that moment, The Avenger and his group, Justice Inc., arrive, and the two sets of vigilantes get into a struggle. (Gee, it’s MARVEL TEAM-UP all over again!) On finding his foe has a “face that is mallable like clay”, The Shadow realizes he’s fighting with Richard Benson, a fellow crime-fighter. He introduces himself... “I am... The SHADOW! I destroy CRIME!”
Ordering both captives brought forth, The Shadow uses his mental powers to pierce their minds, and discovers they’re being controlled by someone else, who knows of his powers. Just then their foe reveals himself—Shiwan Khan, who gained powers in the far East just as The Shadow did. A shootout erupts between Khan’s men and the combined forces of the two vigilante groups. The Shadow grabs Khan, and the pair vanish in a bright explosion of light! Benson tosses a grenade into the open hatch of Khan’s sub, blowing it sky-high. No one’s sure what happened to The Shadow, though some suspect they didn’t see whatever it was that really happened. Minutes later, he walks from the water.
“Khan—is he DEAD?” “I would be a CYNIC to say NO... but I would be a FOOL to say YES!” “KHAN’s scheme for military DOMINATION MUST be kept in check! My people will maintain that VIGILANCE!” “There is MUCH EVIL in the world! DESPITE your approach, you can be of help! You MAY continue your operation, AVENGER!” “MAY?! He MAY?! WHO do you think...” But The Shadow has vanished!
“The NERVE of that man! He’s NUTS, I tell ya! He’s plain NUTS!” “Maybe... I only HOPE that he doesn’t OVER-STEP the bounds of justice with his BRUTAL man-hunt... or else, insane or NOT... he will have to be STOPPED by JUSTICE INC.!”
While the character of The Shadow really got its start as a pulp magazine series, its greatest fame was no doubt as a radio show. I recall reruns of the radio show airing on a local station here in the early 70’s, around the same time as DC Comics was doing their version. I bought very few DC’s at the time (mostly BATMAN reprints from the 40’s & 50’s), but I do remember seeing it on racks at my drugstore. My first encounter with the book was when my best friend Jim loaned me his copy of issue #6, “NIGHT OF THE NINJA”. (He was big into the martial arts fad.) DC’s series ran a mere 12 issues, and some years later I managed to pick up the complete run, CHEAP! I even got a copy of BATMAN #253 (Nov’73), a crossover that came out the same month as THE SHADOW #1, as a promotional tie-in.
Which brings me to issue #11. One month before, JUSTICE, INC. #1 had debuted. In between that and issue #2, The Avenger and his people (most of whom had not been introduced in his own book yet) appeared in this crossover, once again as a promotional tie-in. Oddly enough, between Joe Kubert, Alden McWilliams, Michael Kaluta and E.R. Cruz, 4 different artists had drawn The Avenger before Jack Kirby took over his book with #2.
My own feeling is that THE SHADOW didn’t last because it failed to maintain a consistent creative line-up (the sort of thing DC was known for in the 50’s & 60’s, but which virtually vanished in the 70’s). While Denny O’Neil (DC’s “glory boy” in the 70’s, as their main Batman writer) edited the entire run and wrote 10 of the 12 issues, Len Wein wrote dialogue for one of his, while Michael Uslan filled in with stories for 2 others. In addition. While Michael Kaluta was the book’s main artist, doing 5 out of its first 6 issues plus covers, 3 others were by Frank Robbins, while the last 3 were by E.R. Cruz. Now, going from an artist with a style like Kaluta to someone like Cruz, or Berni Wrightson (who inked #3) might have made sense for visual consistency, but tossing Frank Robbins into that pool was madness incarnate. It would be like going from Dick Sprang to Neal Adams—or vice versa. The change was just TOO jarring to accept!
Further, trying to do complex stories in a mere 20 pages (or 18 in the case of the last 4 issues) is also foolhardy. Stories tend to be choppy, cramped, borderline-incoherent and just plain unsatisfying on every level. Plus, as seen by the samples I included above, the dialogue in this thing is just AWFUL. (And hey, after reading the story, I realized there was no scene in it where “villain clawed at villain”. Did Denny O’Neil bother to read the story he wrote?) I’ve seen people rave about how “brilliant” Will Eisner used to for telling such complex SPIRIT stories in a mere 8 or 7 pages, but that’s avoiding the fact that in his particular, peculiar format, he HAD to. With a monthly comic-book, this was no longer the case. It’s no wonder at this point, Marvel was kicking DC’s ass.
I was about 75% done cleaning up my scan of the cover when I noticed that the sky background was NOT black, but more like a 95% gray. What the heck was the point of that? I’ve seen several covers from this period where the background colors got SO dark, it obliterated background line detail. In this case, the only thing blotted out by this excessively-dark graytone, apart from the solid BLACK borders around the logo lettering, was Kaluta’s signature. (It’s no wonder there was such confusion at the GCD site over who the artist was! I could see the signature—JUST BARELY! But I doubt anyone else did.) As I’ve done before, I went in on a separate layer and CRANKED up the background color, which turned out to be a very deep red. It may not be “accurate” to the actual printed book—but it my opinion, it’s BETTER, and it’s how the thing probably should have looked if someone in DC’s production department hadn’t screwed it up in the first place.
Further, the text, “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?”, by rights, should have been white or yellow letters over the dark background, NOT black letters in a pale yellow box. DC’s covers around this time were a nightmare of “bad design”—and in mid-1975, they got even worse! But another design snafu cropped up here. After I cranked up the background color, I kept staring at the upper-right area of the cover, wondering, WHAT THE HECK was that yellow area there for? At first, I thought some colorist had REALLY screwed up. But then it hit me... it’s the LIGHT from the LIGHTHOUSE! Why did it take so long for me to realize this? Because the top of the lighthouse, the lamp itself, was completely COVERED over by the book’s LOGO! Plus, the light itself has the Comics Code stamp on top of it. Bad, BAD design!!! And in this case, it’s all Michael Kaluta’s fault. (10-22-2012)
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“In a world teetering on the bring of WAR... there are many unscrupulous men willing to take advantage of the world’s misery... None are more evil than COLONEL SODOM, once defeated by the SHADOW, now determined to RETURN --and clash with JUSTICE, INC.”
Colonel Sodom barges into the drugstore owned by Fergus MacMurdie, a Nobel Prize winner who shuns the spotlight. Knowing he’s a genius, Sodom insists MacMurdie analyze a sample of germ warfare he has, so Sodom can manufacture more. Refusing, a fight breaks out, which is interrupted by The Avenger, who says he’s been on Sodom’s trail ever since the “mercenary and murderer” escaped The Shadow’s agents (in THE SHADOW #5). Seeing as The Avenger never even heard of The Shadow until THE SHADOW #11, I figure any continuity in these books is loose at best. When Sodom threatens The Avenger with the test-tube containing his germ culture, Benson doesn’t seem to realize the danger, and MacMurdie interrupts, prompting Benson to ask, “Are you insane?” Just then Fergus’ wife steps between them, the test tube falls, shatters, and the woman instantly mutates into a horrible monster!! As she attacks Sodom, he shoots her point blank, killing her.
As Sodom escapes, MacMurdie vows revenge. Benson introduces him to his friend, Josh, and tells him, “We’re part of an ORGANIZATION, JUSTICE, INCORPORATED! Our mission is to DESTROY crime-- ALL crime! You could be a PART of us!” He accepts, and is soon at the headquarters, working in a lab to create an antidote to Sodom’s germ culture. As he does, he, Josh and Josh’s wife Rosabel compare notes on MacMurdie, and on Richard Benson. The Avenger’s dug up info on Allan Ash, another of the world’s leading chemists, who he believes will be Sodom’s next target. Perfect bait to catch the baddie, so Benson disguises himself as Ash. He, Josh and Smitty then attend a widely-publicised auto show, and sure enough, Sodom makes a play to kidnap “Ash”, not knowing his target is an imposter. A scuffle erupts, another test tube shatters, and this time, several members of the crowd are all turned into monsters. (Looks to me like The Avenger is almost causing more harm than good in this story!)
Leaving the scene before the cops arrive, the group manages to grab one of Sodom’s men, who spills that he’s hiding at Tiro’s Gun Shop on Madison Ave. Sodom sends two thugs to grab Ash, but they run into Josh instead. The well-spoken Smitty asks him how such a highly-educated man can “pretend to be stupid”. Josh replies, “I’ve had plenty of PRACTICE! My people have been practicing for TWO HUNDRED YEARS!” Now that sounds like Denny O’Neil’s writing. Leave it to him to include heavy-handed moralizing of this sort, even in a story set in the 1930’s where it comes across as totally anachronistic.
Soon, Benson & MacMurdie have spotted Sodom outside the Gun Shop, in the only visually spectacular Jack Kirby cityscape panel in the entire book. A quartet of thugs tries to ambush them, but Benson’s ready with his miniature gun “Mike”, “creasing their skulls”, as he puts it, because he prefers to avoid killing whenever possible. If only they could have avoided those supposedly “cute” nicknames for his weapons, I find them somehow very annoying.
Sodom also tries to ambush the good guys, but MacMurdie, enraged over the death of his wife, charges, and catches a bullet in his arm. Benson hurls his throwing knife, pinning Sodom’s arm momentarily to a wall. Sodom hurls his last test tube, which has no effect on the heroes, as MacMurdie had succeeded in finding an antidote to prevent it having any effect on them. Yanking Benson’s knife loose and charging, Sodom’s less lucky, as he runs right thru the fumes, turns into a monster himself, goes insane, and dives thru an open window to his death. It’s very odd how the fight supposedly took place on the 2nd floor, yet the view of him falling makes it looks like the window was several floors higher than that.
With this issue, Denny O’Neil elected to start writing original stories rather than trying to continue adapting novels into 18 pages. The change definitely helps, though the ending on this is so abrupt, it feels like there’s a a page missing, and all the small panels continue to show that trying to do complete stories with a cast this size in only 18 pages is still not working. On the plus side, I definitely feel Jack Kirby & Mike Royer are doing terrific work here, far better than what I’m seeing on OUR FIGHTING FORCES, KUNG FU FIGHTER or THE SANDMAN. After 4 other artists on The Avenger between his own book and his guest-shot in THE SHADOW #11 (Joe Kubert, Alden McWilliams, Michael Kaluta and E.R. Cruz—if you count the covers), Jack Kirby’s work totally blew away all previous versions of the characters. His Smitty is a HUGE improvement over the one by McWilliams and Cruz. They made him seem overweight and rubbery, almost like “Flouder” from the movie ANIMAL HOUSE. Kirby’s Smitty is big, and looks strong enough to be someone you wouldn’t want to mess with.
As I said before, JUSTICE, INC. is so obviously a 2nd-ran series, I think Kirby’s art and visual storytelling (cramped as it was) was a much-needed shot-in-the-arm to try and bring some life, some pep, some zing, some excitement to this concept. On that score, I’m reminded of Jack’s late-50’s run on GREEN ARROW, where he described his ambition to “make something workable out of this thing”. I still wish Kirby had done DOC SAVAGE instead. I can’t shake the feeling he’d have been an even better fit on that, and probably would have put to shame every other artist’s version seen at Marvel in the 70’s. I wonder how this might have been if Jack had done the writing himself? (10-24-2012)
The best cover image I could find for this was from Heritage Auction, but the entire thing had somehow gone very "green", and it took some careful adjustments to get the colors to look reasonable decent. On top of that, the thin paper caused ink from the other side to show thru, making most of the pale blue background look "dirty". It took a lot of "copy and paste" to fix that. Ditto the dark blue in the logo area, which had a lot of white specks from color drop-outs. Oh well, MUCH better now!
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THE SANDMAN #5 / Nov’75 – “THE INVASION OF THE FROG MEN!”
Jed and his grandfather are out on the old man’s fishing boat. Grandpa explains to Jed how he follows flocks of birds who feed on small fish to know where the bigger fish are also to be found. But moments after making a big catch, their boat is wrecked by what can only be described as a sea serpent! (Oddly enough, as there is no narration on the splash page, and that page depicts what appears to have happened in between pages 1 & 3, I suspect someone may have reversed the pages for publication.) Seeing his friend in trouble, Sandman enters the real world and tries to save the pair. Jed makes it safely to shore, and Sandman eventually manages to scare the monster off, but too late. By the time Sandman gets the old man to the beach, he’s dead.
Oddly enough, there is no explanation for the existence of the sea monster, or why it happened to attack their boat, or what happened to it after it swam away. Are we to assume there are things like that just swimming around the DC universe, and nobody takes much notice of them?
Later, as Jed reminisces about his grandfather, Sandman gives him one of his “special” whistles, saying if he ever needs his help, to blow it. He then departs. Days later, he’s surprised by a visit from his Aunt Clarice and Uncle Barnaby, who have never taken the time to visit the island before. From the first, Clarince seems like a nasty, mean-spirited person, as she keeps referring to the boy’s grandfather as “frittering his life away” and calling him a “good for nothing old man”. Hardly the sort of person one would want to spend time with, and yet on hearing the terrible news, insists the boy can’t continue living alone on Dolphin Island. She tells him about their farm, and their two children about his age and invites him to come live with them.
It quickly turns into a nightmarish living hell on Earth. The two kids, Susan and Bruce, turn out to be surly, insulting teenagers who put down Jed at every turn. The family eats their fill of good food while Jed is forced to eat nothing but oatmeal. Jed’s forced to do more than his “share” of farm chores while Bruce claims he’s hurt his ankle, and Susan is excused for being a “mere girl”. And then Bruce obsesses on Jed’s whistle. “Hey, JED! What’cha wearin’ around your NECK? Can I SEE it?” “I-it’s nothing, Bruce! Just an old—“ “”Why, it looks like a WHISTLE! A NEAT one! I WANT it!” “Leave it alone, Bruce!” “You’re SELFISH! It’s not FAIR for you to have shiny whistle like THAT one while I haven’t got ANY!” “Now LOOKS, Bruce! You let GO!” “If you’re not going to let me HAVE it, I’m going to TAKE it!” “Wha--?” “There! Now I’VE got the whistle and I’m not going to give it back, EVER!” What is this guy—some kind of inbred mental retard? When Jed defends himself from an attack by knocking Bruce over, Aunt Clarice accuses him of “senseless violence”. She sets him the task of chopping an enormous pile of wood, with the threat of no dinner that night if he doesn’t finish.
Somehow, it was one thing to see this kind of mental and physical abuse on children in Granny Goodness’ “orphanage”. Here, in a more “real world” setting, it seems somehow even more repellant and unpleasant. While Jack Kirby tended to populate his stories with characters of all stripes, somehow, when it comes to Michael Fleisher, he just writes nasty, unlikable characters for the sake of it.
Jed’s only reprise comes when he falls asleep, and The Sandman arrives, asking for his help on a mission—to asnother planet! “Within moments the tiny island kingdom of the peace-loving winged people is embroiled in mortal combat with the forces of the viscious frog men---“ They take the battle to the frog men’s undersea kingdom, and eventually triumph. You know, if the whole book was like this, I wouldn’t have minded. But then Jed wakes up—and as far as we can tell—just like the MGM film version of THE WIZARD OF OZ—it was all a dream! His Aunt Clarice accuses him of falling asleep on the job, until she sees the entire massive wood pile has been chopped up and neatly stacked, a virtually impossible job. “How on Earth did you EVER manage to CUT ia all?” Her question exposes the fact that she intended it to be imposible. Unseen by both of them, Brute puts back the axe he borrowed, and he and Glob laugh together.
This was just one extremely unpleasant, thoroughly pointless comic-book story. I know Michael Fleisher has some fans out there, but I wonder if any of them ever read these books? Or if they even have any decent taste, for that matter? All I know is, just about every Fleisher comic I’ve ever read has been nasty and mean-spirited, with virtually no positve elements to balance it out. This includes his famous (or is that “infamous”?) run of THE SPECTRE, done with artist Jim Aparo, which consisted of issue after issue of villains getting hacked to pieces in various gruesome ways.
The art from Jack Kirby & Mike Royer is very nice, considering the story content. How on Earth Jack Kirby found himself teamed up with Fleisher, in this situation, is beyond me. How on Earth DC continued to publish this book (well, for awhile, anyway) while MISTER MIRACLE was cancelled, DINGBATS was relegated to a single apearance in 1ST ISSUE SPECIAL, and OMAC remained a bi-monthly, is also baffling beyond belief.
Incidentally, the Frog Men, though they played only a tiny part of the story (and it would appear did not really exist except in Jed’s dream) remind me a bit of the Toad Men from THE INCREDIBLE HULK #2.
“A YOUNG MAN CRIES FOR HELP! He has awakened and found himself in a nightmare situation--- his plea is picked up b a great orbiting satellite high above the Earth--- it is the most advanced machine ever built by man--- it knows his problem and can help--- this and MORE can happen in--- THE WORLD THAT’S COMING”
“It is the age of atom manipulation--- and this is one of the many functions of the satellite “BROTHER EYE”. It moves within one of its mechanical divisions and emerges with a molecular “STRUCTURE PRINT” of OMAC, THE ONE-MAN ARMY CORPS.”
“STAND BY! This “structure print” will CHANGE you--- and give you NEW memory and strength!” Below, OMAC has been reverted by Dr. Skuba back to Buddy Blank, with no memories of his entire time as OMAC. He stands atop a rocky crag in the middle of the ocean. Suddenly, Buddy’s atoms are manipulated further, and he sinks straight down into the rock itself. From above, the electronic beam sent by Brother Eye arrives too late. Sensing this, the satellite prepares to make new calculations.
Below, Buddy solidifies, a “guest” of Dr. Skuba, his daughter and her husband Apollo. The pair take Buddy on a guided tour of their base, hidden inside the rock. “Poppa is the SMARTEST man in the world! That’s why he wants to RUN it--- all by himself---“ “B-but that’s IMPOSSIBLE--- NO man has ever done it---“ “Poppa can do ANYTHING he wants to—“ Meanwhile, Brother Eye has made visual contact—but Skuba has noticed. “WHO ARE YOU? I KNOW you’re monitoring us, my indicators tell me so! ANSWER ME! Identify yourself and tell me how you PENETRATED my atomic hideout!” Brother Eye answers... “YOU’RE A TRAITOR TO THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY, SKUBA! YOU’VE USED YOUR SKILLS TO BLACKMAIL MANKIND AND BRING IT TO ITS KNEES--- BUT ALL THAT IS AT AN END NOW!” “You DARE to speak this way to ME--!?” “SURRENDER TO THE GLOBAL PEACE AGENCY--- OR MY WORDS SHALL SOON BE FOLLOWED BY ACTION! You have ten minutes to decide---“ Skuba’s computer soon reveal that his enemy is a machine...
Buddy is shown a collection of monsters, which Apollo says used to be human. Skuba’s daughter reveals that she and her husband also had “atomic manipulation” used on them, which angers Apollo. “Your father’s a twisted old FIEND!” “Is that so? Well, after what he did for you and me, I’d HARDLY call that gratitude!” “It’s a high price to pay for marrying a “FEATHER-BRAIN” like you--- at least these men had the COURAGE to turn you down—“ Clearly, more is going on here than is obvious.
Skuba interrupts, with a gun. “I-I’ve done nothing to harm you-- ! ---NOTHING!” “I DON’T fear what you are, Buddy Blank--- but what you can BECOME is ANOTHER matter! You can be made into a POWERFUL instrument for what I detest most! --the law and order of LESSER men! Your allies will NEVER get the chance to CHANGE you into a power!” But before Skuba can fire, an invisible beam destroyes his pistol. Buddy runs for it! As Apollo gives chase, Brother Eye sends out his “FINAL untimatum”. “SURRENDER, Skuba!” “I’ll see you in HADES first, ---machine!” “Then I MUST get you ANY way I can! My weaponry is now primed to PENETRATE your atomic shield! Prepare for the END, Skuba!”
Brother Eye uses a magnetic wave to hurl heavy metal cannisters at Skuba, barely missing killing him! “Doctor Skuba is beset by danger from every direction---!” “My equipment has been turned AGAINST me! They’ve become weapons of DEATH!” Whoa. Brother Eye isn’t messing around here. But Skuba’s computers trace the source of the beam, and he knows his enemy is orbiting in space. Using his equipment, Skuba strikes back. Beams sent into space attract meteors and space debris... “The huge satellite is subjected to a MURDEROUS bombardment! Swarms of space rock gather and fly in a CONTINUOUS rain! Brother Eye has becme a GIGANTIC magnet which is ATTRACTING its own destruction! The satellite is soon COVERED by crushing rock! It is BLIND and fighting to survive--- Suddenly, a beam of SOLAR intensity roars out from Earth--- it HEATS the stones which cover Brother Eye--- what was space rock becomes a molten, seething, FIREY mass--- It finally cools--- Brother Eye is now HELPLESS and SILENT, in a prison of slag---“
HOLY S***!!! What a cliffhanger!!!!!
What an wild, intense, exciting comic-book. We got to see more of the inner workings and design of Brother Eye than ever before. And with OMAC out of the picture for the entire issue (the nerve!), that wondrous hunk of machinery took on more personality than in any previous episode. As the story expanded, and we got to see more hints of what Dr. Skuba is about, the battle of wits—and technology—raged more and more. It’s interesting that while the Global Peace Agents go to great lengths never to take a human life, Brother Eye apparently has no such scruples, especially if the stakes are high enough. I think Jack really succeeded in making a “character” out of Brother Eye this time, a fitting, and far more dynamic and exciting successor to “HAL 9000” from 2001, or “S.I.D.” from UFO.
The sequence with the boulders being attracted to and covering Brother Eye remind me of a similar scene in the 1st season of STAR BLAZERS (which would have aired in Japan a year before this, but been totally unknown un America—or was it?), and also, of another scene in the Tom Baker DOCTOR WHO story, “UNDERWORLD”. In this case, though, you’re really left wondering, HOW will Brother Eye get out of his / its predicament?
What’s that? You say I’m forgetting something? Oh yeah... Jack Kirby left DC before finishing what was OBVIOUSLY a 3-part story. You’d think somebody at DC would have realized what was going on and switched assignments around, so Jack could have done one more issue of OMAC, instead of some of the other books he was doing at the time. I doubt anyone would have missed an episode of THE SANDMAN, for example. Anyway, with the knowledge that Jack was leaving, and that OMAC was not selling that great (WHAT did they expect from a BI-monthly???), someone decided to replace the LAST panel of the story. What we wound up was the following... “But below, the effort has caused an overload in Dr. Skuba’s equipment... the island EXPLODES in a gigantic fireball...” “WHAROOM” “...and his very success brings destruction to the evil Skuba!” “Is this—THE END?” REALLY. Are we supposed to believe that Brother Eye is permanently out of action—and that Buddy Blank was KILLED along with the baddies? All without us learning more of what else was going on down on that island? What a load.
To add insult to injury, the final issue has one really UGLY Joe Kubert cover, which, as someone online said, just does not fit the look or style of this book.
The letters page has the following: “Unfortunately, this issue wraps up the saga of the world that’s coming. Jack will be moving on to other companies and other projects, and OMAC will be going on the shelf.” Also... “Just before Jack decided to leave we began to plan a revival of the NEW GODS, and those plans will still be going ahead. Watch for NEW GODS #12 at your local newsstand sometime this winter.” This makes me wonder... was Jack part of those plans? Of course, once he left, DC went on without him. A massive shame, considering how unusual and “personal” the entire overall story was.
As for OMAC... I’ll jump ahead here to say that he WAS revived, as it happens, in the very last issue if KAMANDI. DC had huge plans for what they called “The DC Explosion”, which involved adding new back-up features to most of their books, upping the page count and cover price in the process. I guess it was fitting that OMAC be revived as a back-up in KAMANDI. Editor Jack C. Harris had already spent a number of issues of KAMANDI trying to tie in the future worlds of both series (despite the high probability that they were always intended to stand entirely on their own). The man involved was Jim Starlin, who’d made his mark at Marvel turing CAPTAIN MAR-VELL into a “Fourth World” swipe, and WARLOCK, which continued the adventures of another character originally created by Kirby, along with a villain who many have compared to Marvel’s version of Darkseid.
Insanely, Starlin elected to pick up EXACTLY where OMAC #8 left off, then steer the series in an entirely new and different direction. While impressive, in retrospect it was just “wrong” on so many levels that these days I tend to wish it had never happened. And to make things worse, after only one episode came out, business reversals caused “The DC Implosion”, as around half their line was cancelled overnight. Starlin had done 4 episodes before he got the news. The other 3 finally saw the light of day 2 years later, as a back-up in Mike Grell’s WARLORD series. Following those, newcomers Dan Mishin, Gary Cohn & Greg LaRocque (along with our old buddy Vince Colletta) attempted to continue. Again, in retrospect, I realized they were trying to steer the series—by force—BACK to Jack’s original intention. But between being totally at odds with the Starlin episodes they followed, and the new guys just not quite being up to it in the talent department, the series was doomed. OMAC later turned up in a Superman crossover by Len Wein & George Perez, before John Byrne put his trademark stamp on a 4-issue prestige format mini-series, which, depanding on your tastes, was either fabulous, or the final nail in the coffin. I have to shake my head at someone who keeps thinking they know how to handle various series better than the people who orignally created them.
In recent years, the concept of OMAC has, in one form or another, been kept alive (no doubt for Trademark purposes), but each use of the name and idea seems a further bastardization than the one before it. With ONE exception, which I’ll be getting to soon, when I cover Dek Baker & Davis Morris’ 2002 FANZINE. (10-27-2012)
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JUSTICE, INC. #4 / Dec’75 – “SLAY RIDE IN THE SKY”
Commercial airliners have been crashing. Richard Benson, with Josh & Fergus MacMurdie, are following one in their own plane, when they see a squad of sea gulls attack the plane in front of them. Incredibly, it explodes, and then the remaining birds attack their own plane with the same result. After bailing out, they swim toward the wreckage of the first plane, hoping to help survivors. A speedboat arrives, but the men onboard machine-gun those in the water! The trio manage to climb onboard and over-power the killers. One of them reveals they were paid to shoot the surivors and make off with any loot they could find. Josh & MacMurdie search for clues.
Later, at the HQ of Justice, Inc., in his lab, MacMurdie discovers the explosive used was tintabulum, a brand-new compound made by Olympia Laboratories, and not even on the market yet. Benson & Smitty pay a visit to Jason Lynn, the company’s owner, who admits he’s sold small qualtities of the material for test purposes. Before he can say more, birds attack his office, killing him in an explosion. But Benson finds in the company records that the customer was Trans-Am Airlines, the very company whose planes have been destroyed. Disguising himself as Lynn, Benson next pays a visit on Rufus Comb, Trans’Am’s chairman. He tries to bluff Comb with a blackmail demand, but Comb gets the drop on him, having expected his visit since Lynn’s secretary was on his payroll!
Benson & Smitty find themselves prisoners onboard Comb’s private blimp, where he reveals that his company was in dire financial trouble, and the insurance money from the destroyed planes is going to set him up on Easy Street. As he leaves to escape via biplane (with no concern that his own men will be killed along with Benson & Smitty), the pair gets loose and a fight breaks out. Benson grabs hold of the biplane just as it tears out of the airborne hangar, and he & Comb struggle for control of the aircraft. Smitty dives out of the blimp as it explodes from the latest bird attack, and Benson pilots the biplane under him to stop his fall. But in doing so, Comb is hurled out and falls to his death. Not even an epilogue marks his death.
It strikes me that Denny O’Neil, realizing the extreme limitations of only 18 pages to tell a story, combined with Jack Kirby’s hyper-exciting artwork, demanded that he SIMPLIFY the stories he was telling. He succeeded admirably in this issue. For the first time, Jack Kirby had room enough to do bigger panels and show off what he could do with action. Had the series continued, we might have seen some terrific stuff. Instead, when Kirby departed, DC cancelled the book. I still feel it was sabotaged from the beginning by trying to cram too much story into too few pages, and artwork that was both cramped and pedestrian. By the time Jack Kirby came onboard (the 2nd issue but already The Avenger’s 3rd DC appearance), he was already the 5th artist to draw the character, and the damage had probably already been done. How do you start a new series WITHOUT bothering to get a creative team committted to doing it long-term? DC did this a LOT around this time... as did Marvel.
Comparing this issue to some of Kirby’s other work done at the same time, I have to say, this was some of the BEST-looking Kirby-Royer art I’ve seen since the “Fourth World” books were cancelled. The two were really kicking ass, and I have to figure Jack was inspired to be doing a book set in the 1930’s without any long-underwear types around. And as I’ve mentioned before, his Smitty is much more impressive (and tolerable) than the version done by McWilliams or Cruz. I have to admit, this time out, even Joe Kubert’s cover wasn’t bad, one of his better efforts from around this time, where he’d taken over doing more than 75% of Kirby’s covers.
It’s too bad this didn’t last longer. Around this time, Marvel was regularly in the habit of doing long, continued storylines, while DC seemed to focus almost exclusively on short, complete-in-one-issue stories. It would have been nice to see a JUSTICE, INC. story given 2 or 3 issues to “breathe”.
If memory serves, the next time The Avenger and JUSTICE, INC. surfaced in comics was in the late 80’s, in a 2-issue prestige format mini-series done by Andy Helfer & Kyle Baker, fresh from their wild (if somewhat disastrous) run on THE SHADOW. I loved their work on THE SHADOW, but their JUSTICE, INC. left me cold—especially the bizarre, “vague” paint style Baker used, where you could hardly see what you were looking at in any of the panels. (10-29-2012)
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Nick Caputo does a terrific blog post on THE LOSERS. Check it out!!!
Jed has a nightmare about drowning, which The Sandman picks up in his Dream Dome. (Doesn’t this guy have anything better to do than monitor the SAME kid every night?) His monitors show it’s coming from an “unauthorized source”, and he enters the fantasy world of Jed’s nightmare, only to find an android in place of the real Jed—one which explodes, leaving him floating unconscious in water.
The villain of the piece turns out to be Dr. Spider, who’s operating out of a large submarine disguised to look like a sea monster (which anyone who saw the cover already knew). His men capture Sandman, then replace him with an android duplicate, who’s sent to lure Brute & Glob to the same fate. But Brute figures out something’s not kosher and stays behind. Spider explains to Glob that his “Dimenso-Craft” is capable of moving between reality and the dream dimension. With the Sandman’s hypno-sonic whistle in his hands, he plans to contact the President with an ultimatum...
Meanwhile, Jed continues to be worked like a slave by his relatives. They plan to visit a carnival, but tell Jed “Someone has to stay BEHIND and mind the FARM! Maybe NEXT year when the carnival comes BACK again!”, before laying out an endless list of chores for him to do, all by himself. Bruce offers to led Jed go in his place, providing his gives him his whistle. (What IS it with this brain-dead idiot’s obsession with Jed’s freaking whistle???) Later that night, Bruce gets what’s coming to him, when he steals Jed’s whistle, then blows it—and suddenly, Brute appears, with a sack full of “vile things” that scare the living hell out of the creep!! (Good for him.) Brute then wakes up Jed, and recruits his help.
Dr. Spider is infuriated when, on the news, the report of his ultimatum to Gerald Ford is treated like a joke! (Nobody believes in something as silly as “The Sandman” or his “whistle”. WHO WOULD?) “I’ll show them what it means to TRIFLE with a true MASTER of EVIL!” Spider plans to use the whistle to destroy Washington, D.C.! Sandman breaks free of his glass prison and tackles the baddies, but is overcome, tied up and tossed into the ocean, where a hungry shark approaches....
Brute & Jeb arrive, and Brute tackles with the fake Sandman, before Spider captures both of them. The real Sandman, however, has gotten loose, fought off the shark, and made his way back, crashing in and freeing Brute, Jed & Glob. Spider sics a robot on Sandman, but the power of his whistle melts it to slag! Spidey then escapes in a missile. Despite Glob’s urgings to destroy it, Sandman declines. “It’s always WRONG to take a human LIFE, even when it’s an EVIL lifge like DOCTOR SPIDER’s!” “Dope!”, replies Brute. (No kidding.) At the farm, everyone scoffs at Bruce’s story about the monster that terrorized him the night before... except for Jed, who for once has something to smile about.
Another ridiculous story in an entire series of ridiculous stories. This one, I must admit, was a bit more tolerable than most, no doubt due to the presence of Wally Wood! 5 years earlier, when Jack Kirby arrived at DC, Wood actually requested to be assigned to ink one of Jack’s new books. Just think—the team that did CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN and SKY MASTERS OF THE SPACE FORCE could have been reunited to do NEW GODS, or, more likely I would have thought, FOREVER PEOPLE. (Why have Wood on a book without a pretty woman in it, like Beautiful Dreamer?) But Carmine Infantino TURNED HIM DOWN, saying he had “commitments” to Vince Colletta. (GRRRRR.) Finally, 5 years later—and on one of the LAST books Jack did for DC before going back to Marvel—we finally got to see Kirby inked by Wood again. Although Wood has often been described (or accused) of being “over-powering”, I never saw that as a problem on his 2 previous Kirby projects (or with anyone else for that matter). I still recall thinking that when he was teamed with Don Heck, there seemed more Heck in the art than Wood. But this time, it looks more like 25% Kirby, 75% Wood. It makes me wonder if Jack didn’t just do very rough layouts, knowing Wood could pick up the slack? As much as I love Kirby’s work, I think in this case Wood was actually a BETTER fit for this series. Somehow, all the main characters just look better than ever before—including Sandman in that ridiculous costume he wears, or, for that matter, Brute or Glob. (Nothing can help Dr. Spider... but whatever.)
There was one more Kirby issue of SANDMAN finished at this point... but when Jack left, someone decided to pull the plug, even though the next book was already done. It would not see the light of day until a full 6 YEARS later, in the digest collection, THE BEST OF DC #22, “Christmas With The Super-Heroes”, released for Christmas, 1981!
This version of THE SANDMAN would, incredibly, return, in Roy Thomas’ run of WONDER WOMAN, at which point Roy attempted to “explain” the entire character and series in a more “logical” and less “fantasy” fashion. (More or less.) (10-31-2012)
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And now, we come to the LAST of Jack Kirby's new series to see the light of day at DC. KING KOBRA was no doubt intended as an update on DR. FU MANCHU, the evil Asian scientist-criminal mastermind, who was forever being chased by his Scotland Yard nemesis, Sir Dennis Nayland Smith, and which was proving so successful for Marvel's MASTER OF KUNG FU series. Like MOKF, Kirby's version would take place in the modern day, and in an interesting twist, the book's hero and villain would be twin brothers! (Perhaps this was meant as a variation of MOKF's villain & hero being father & son?)
However, before it was published, the concept was seriously tampered with. It was decided to make the hero a college-age character, completely innocent of the existence of his evil twin, before the start of the story. This meant the villain was also in his early-20's, rather than both having decades of experience and emnity between them. As the first episode was completely finished before this crucial decision was made, artist Pablo Marcos was brought in to REDRAW all the figures of both characters, while writer Martin Pasko completely re-wrote every word of Jack Kirby's dialogue & narration from scratch. (Comparing the two, as I suffer thru Pasko's version, the phrase "awkward and stilted" comes to mind. I mean, it's just BAD.)
This might have made some sense had Marcos stuck around, or done the cover, but instead, Ernie Chan did the book's first 3 covers, and the interiors went thru a DIFFERENT penciller every issue until Mike Nasser arrived in issue #6. One wonders WHY this book was even put on the schedule at all under such conditions? The book did not achieve any stability at all until the Paul Levitz took over as editor from Gerry Conway. Finally, the book's name was shortened to simply KOBRA... despite there already being a Swiss anthology comic of the SAME name that started only a year before.
KOBRA #1 Postscript: I forgot to mention... in a strange case of history repeating itself, one of Jack Kirby's last books before leaving DC centered around a plot involving twin brothers, one good, one evil. In both cases, before the story was published, it was BUTCHERED almost beyond recognition, with altered plot AND artwork, and, had a TERRIBLE cover slapped on it. (5 years earlier, it was the story he did for FANTASTIC FOUR #102, which was instead published in greatly altered form in FF #108.) Isn't that bizarre?
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The Legacy Of OMAC
When Jack Kirby left DC to return to Marvel for a 3rd run there, the last story he started in OMAC, a 3-parter, was left unfinished. This was a case of history repeating itself, as 6 years earlier, Jack had begun new stories in both FANTASTIC FOUR #102 and THOR #179. Unlike those 2 books, OMAC, a bi-monthly, had not been selling that well, and someone at DC decided to pull the plug. Considering all the books Jack was working on near the end, it burns me that nobody thought to make sure he did OMAC #9, instead of some of those other, arguably far lesser items.
On the last page of OMAC #8, Dr. Scuba’s machines had caused Brother Eye to be buried under a barage of meteors, which were then fused together into a solid mass, cutting off all communication between the Global Peace Agency and their orbitting satellite. Clearly intended as a cliffhanger, this was derailed when someone replaced the final panel with an explosion, and text indicating that Scuba’s entire base and all within it were destroyed in a massive feedback explosion. Was this the end of OMAC? It would be several years before anyone found out.
In mid-1978, almost 3 years after the last issue of OMAC, the series was revived as a back-up feature in KAMANDI #59 (Oct’79). The editor in charge was Al Milgrom. Writer-artist Jim Starlin, who had gained such notorety on MASTER OF KUNG FU, CAPTAIN MAR-VELL and WARLOCK, proceeded to take on another Kirby character. With inker Joe Rubinstein (who first teamed with Starlin on AVENGERS ANNUAL #2 and MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE ANNUAL #2), he picked up exactly where OMAC #8 left off... or, I should say, where the published version left off. The opening pages showed us that Dr. Scuba’s lab and all within it had been destroyed, except for Buddy Blank, who had been transformed back to OMAC by Brother Eye at the very last second. We also learned that Brother Eye had sustained irreparable harm, and would only be able to serve as counsellor and guide from now on. OMAC’s strength, while still super-human, now had limits.
The next thing we learned was the the Global Peace Agency had been wiped out as part of a first-strike by the forces of a corporation intent on conquering the planet at all costs. It also turned out that under those featureless masks, the GPA members were actually aliens from another planet. OMAC was captured by the corporate army, and in an amazing scene, convinces the head of the company to put HIM in charge of their army, in order to bring the corporate war to an end as quickly as possible. The next episode was a veritable bloodbath, with Starlin’s patented sense of extreme exaggeration showing OMAC at the end resting on top of a literal MOUNTAIN of dead bodies.
I admit, this impressed me at the time... but then, I was a big fan of Starlin, and I’d never seen OMAC before.
As it happens, one month into the much-touted “DC Explosion”, the company suffered a turnaround, and wound up cancelling half their books in one go, including KAMANDI, which had managed to last longer than any of Kirby’s new books. As a result, Starlin & Rubinstein dropped off OMAC after only 4 episodes (described above). The remaining 3 eventiually turned up when DC began to expand again 2 years later, as a back-up in WARLORD #37 (Sep’80). When the Starlin episodes ran out, the series continued with writers Dan Mishkin & Gary Cohn, and artists Greg LaRocque & Vince Colletta. They did 6 installments before the series was cancelled. At the time, I was not too impressed. Not long after, I got ahold of all 8 issues of OMAC by Jack Kirby, and was so totally blown away by it, it became my favorite of all of Kirby’s early-70’s DC work. I also realized that Jim Starlin’s new direction, while impressive, was actually completely wrong-headed and character-destructive, its sense of ultra-violence at odds with the more balanced approach Kirby handled his creation with. By comparion, I suddenly realized that Mishkin & Cohn had attemped to drag the series, by force, back toward the feel Kirby had given it. They just didn’t have the skills to pull it off successfully. Also, it was probably too much of a radical shift in tone from the Starlin episodes—even though Starlin had already done the same thing.
After that, OMAC made a guest-appearance in DC COMICS PRESENTS #61 (Sep’83) by Len Wein, George Perez & Pablo Marcos. 8 years later, John Byrne did a 4-issue prestige format mini-series (in B&W) which began as a “Twilight Zone”-style “What the hell is going on here?” scenario, which turned into a time-travel story, proceeded to reveal heretofore unknown facts about “The World That’s Coming”... and then meandered to an ending that I found completely confusing and impenetrable, even though I’d just read the whole thing. (And still struck me that way when I read it again.) Byrne got into the habit in the 90’s of having the attitude that he was the “only” writer who knew the “right” way to handle certain characters—and in his mind, that included those characters’ original creators. That, combined with a writing style that was increasingly composed of nothing but gimmicky and confusing storytelling, caused me to slowly lose interest in his work.
Since then, EVERY use of the “OMAC” concept from DC has been further afield from what Kirby did, each one more and more of a bastardization of what started out as a really brilliant series. With ONE notable exception...
In 2002, 2 fans in the UK, Dek Baker & David Morris, decided to do their own mini-comic fanzine, OMAC #9. I read about this in an issue of THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR, and sent away for a copy. What a blast! Their 22-page story picks up exactly where Kirby’s story originally ended (before the last-minute editorial tampering), ignores every single “OMAC” appearance that followed, and finishes Jack’s intended 3-parter.
The inside-front cover kicks things off with “Previously in OMAC...” An interesting thing brought up here concerns how Buddy first became OMAC. “Unfortunately, when Buddy’s life was endangered, they had to transform him into Omac, without any preparation. Buddy’s personality was completely buried by the shock. Before he could address this, Professor Forest was assassinated at the orders of the villainous billionaire, Mr. Big. The Global Peace Agency attempted to take care of Omac’s social needs as best they could, but did not dare tinker with his psychology.” One particularly negative review of OMAC #1 I found online focused almost entirely on the way Buddy had been “murdered” by the GPA in order to create OMAC, and that Buddy was “gone forever”. This flew in the face of the last 2 issues of the book. But this introduction followed up on the idea, mentioned in one of the letter columns, that Buddy might not always be OMAC, but more, that his mental state might be something that could still be addressed. It also expanded on the circumstances in OMAC #1 where Buddy was transformed rather abruptly, in order to save his life.
“IN THE WORLD THAT’S COMING, mankind will face many new threats... threats like ECO-TERRORISM! A maverick genius is BLACKMAILING the planet by holding its WATER HOSTAGE! The Global Peace Agency must try to stop him... but first, can they FIND their GREATEST AGENT?”
In a scene mirroring some from NICK FURY, AGENT OF SHIELD in STRANGE TALES, we see the GPA communications center, located high in the Himalayas, a hub of activity as the crew of technicians try to re-establish a link with the disabled Brother Eye. After Scuba contacts them directly with his ultimatum, one of them orders a space shuttle prepared. Scuba, in his hidden base, subjects Buddy to painful cellular analysis, which renders him unconscious. In that state, Buddy has visions of all the enemies he’s faced as OMAC—as then sees Brother Eye as well. He remembers everything that happened since his transformation. When he awakens, Scuba quickly realizes what’s happened, and orders him locked up.
Meanwhile, in orbit, the GPA member sets explosive charges to free Brother Eye from the rocky cocoon, sacrificing his life in the process. Below, Buddy find himself surrounded by monsters who were once men, all victims of Scuba’s atomic manipulation experiments. In a near-replay of the 1st issue, Brother Eye sends the “structure print” to change Buddy, just in time to save his life again. “Welcome back, OMAC. I regret the damage I have sustained may limit the degree to which I can aid you.” “I think I can live with that.” This rather mirrors the situation from Jim Starlin’s 1st episode, except that with the GPA still intact, I’m assuming they could send another space shuttle crew up to make more extensive repairs, once this situation was taken care of.
The climax has OMAC facing down Scuba, who’s used cells taken from Buddy to effect his own transformation into a being of “vast physical power”. As they fight, Scuba reveals that his previous experimental subjects were unstable, and all of them, including his own daughter, will die within the next few hours! Just then, Brother Eye tells OMAC to clear the area. “Shouldn’t I ARREST Scuba?” “Ideally, but our priority is recovering the world’s water and others are taking action NOW!” While OMAC makes his escape via Scuba’s aircraft, his daughter and son-in-law, knowing their fate, unleash the waters of Madras Bay-- “millions of tons of water”—the sudden force of which completely destroys Scuba’s base and all within it.
“Apollo and Seaweed are revenged!” “Too bad about those two. They didn’t seem EVIL, just greedy and WEAK.” “But it was that SELFISHNESS that blinded them to the DANGERS of helping SCUBA!” “I suppose we’ll be needed until ALL see an alternative to MEAN DESPAIR.” The final shot is of Scuba’s airship flying off toward the horizon, a virtual replay of the last page of Jack’s final issue of JIMMY OLSEN.
WOW. It's NOT by Kirby... but while the art is crude, it captures the look and feel of Kirby the way early Barry Smith did. Still, it's the writing that really pushes it over. You'd almost SWEAR Kirby did it himself.
I understand Baker & Morris only ran off so many copies of this, but I wish they'd do more. More, I wish DC would cut a deal with them and include it in any future reprints of Kirby's run. IT'S THAT GOOD.
That 2 "fans" should do a BETTER job capturing the look and spirit of Jack Kirby & his concept than anybody (and I mean anybody!!!) at DC has ever, ever done since, is bizarre. To me, it is the ONLY "legitimate" continuation of the character ever done.
Since the fanzine mini-comic is out of print, HERE it is in its entirety. ENJOY! (11-16-2012)
Somewhere on Earth, Orion crashes into a warehouse being used as a base for Apokalips soldiers, led by Kalibak. Despite apparently being killed in their last encounter, Kalibak is still very much alive, and Orion demands to know the whereabouts of Darkseid. In a flashback, Highfather, Scott Free, Barda & Metron greet Orion, returning from a scounting mission to Apokalips, who reports they are definitely preparing for war. A moment later this is confirmed as Apokalips warriors attack, before being driven off by Metron’s use of a Boom Tube. Back on Earth, Orion causes the floor beneath Kalibak to collapse. He’s then confronted by Granny Goodness, whose own men subdue Orion and take him prisoner. Metron uses a Boom Tube to spy on Darkseid and Doctor Bedlam. On Apokalips, Orion recovers, escapes, battles Kalibak, then confronts Darkseid, who tells him what Highfather and Metron already know. Darkseid’s scientists have managed to somehow attune his heartbeat to Earth’s sun, so that if he dies, the sun will go nova, destroying Earth’s solar system in the process. With a stalemate, they leave, while Darkseid vows he will rebuild his damaged organization .
Jack Kirby’s most “personal” project was NEW GODS. It really hurt him when it was cancelled in mid-story, and there’s every indication he hoped to continue it eventually. But things at DC just weren’t going right, and he wound up accepting an offer from Stan Lee to return to Marvel. Ironically, one month after his last DC book, NEW GODS was revived in the pages of the last issue of 1ST ISSUE SPECIAL. Before my current re-reading project, I’d only read this story once, sometime in the early 80’s. I wasn’t too impressed with it then, even when compared to later issues of the revived ongoing. But reading it again now, so soon after plowing thru all of Jack’s early-70’s books, I think I’m in state of shock. This is one of the WORST comics I’ve read in years!
Let’s start with the cover. Dick Giordano does a perfectly serviceable, if rather stiff, shot of 5 characters flying through space. However, at no time in the past have we ever seen Barda, Orion, or Mister Miracle flying under their own power (like Superman). Nor has Barda gone into action as such in a bikini, rather than her armor. Also, down in the lower-left corner, they list 5 characters—including Darkseid (who is not pictured), but not Lightray (who is!).
The splash page gets things started on the wrong foot, as some character, off-camera, yells out, “It’s ORION of the NEW GODS”. Nowhere in any of Kirby’s stories did any of these characters refer to themselves or each other as “New Gods”. The story title, “Lest Night Fall – Forever!” is one of those really stilted, psuedo-Shakespearean-sounding things, and the lettering for the title is so small, crammed into a corner, like an afterthought.
The dialogue in this comic is abysmal. For some years now, I’ve run across many references to Jack Kirby’s dialogue & narration being “awkward and stilted”, or “unnatural”, yet apart from a tiny handful of instances, most of what I read was powerful, dramatic, gripping, poetic, and memorable. Not this stuff. This is just bad on top of bad. And there are multiple examples of thnings that just do not sound like anything these characters would ever say, like when Orion calls Highfather “Wise one”, or Metron says to Orion, “Dear friend” (he’d be too detached for that sort of familiarity). On page 5, Highfather asks, “Metron—is your MOEBIUS CHAIR fully CHARGED?” When did he ever have to “charge” it? And how about this exchange on page 8 between Orion and Kalibak-- “You hurl ASTRO-FORCE at me?” “Not AT you, brother mine—UNDER you!” “Brother mine” sounds like something Roy Thomas would have used. On page 9, Granny Goodness says, “You DO remember me, don’t you, dear boy?” Apart from a cople panels of MISTER MIRACLE #18, when did Orion ever encounter her? Her words seem like they shuld have been aimed at Scott, not Orion. Even Darkseid sounds completely uncharacteristic, when he speaks to Highfather, saying, “...he HAS overheard it through Metron’s BOOM TUBE—HAVENT’ you, dear Izaya?” “Dear”???
When Jack Kirby was working on this series, he did the initial concept, the story, the layouts, and the dialogue, so it was all “ONE” creation, consistent, each element supporting and enforcing the others, even before the actual illustration (which could have been done by someone else without really changing things that much). Here, the story, the layouts and the dialogue are being done by THREE different people—Gerry Conway, Mike Vosburg, and Denny O’Neil—and each of these elements seem to be working at odds with the others. Nothing is really “clicking”. As for the art itself, I never saw this before, but Mike Vosburg’s art and rendering here reminds me of 2nd-rate Joe Kubert art (maybe 3rd-rate). Editor Gerry Conway, from the moment he took over from Kirby, apparently favored Kubert art on the covers, so I suppose this explains why the art looks this way. (But then, why have Dick Giordano doing the cover, and a cover which does not really reflect the story’s contents?)
Next, what was the point of completely re-designing Orion’s outfit? Instead of the “science-fiction warrior” look he had up until now, here, he looks like a “generic super-hero”, right down to a face-mask, and an “O” on his chest. As if that wasn’t bad enough, there’s also Kalbak. Under Jack Kirby, Kalibak reminded me of Ulik, the troll from THOR. In most of his appearances, he wore a tunic and cape, as if he stepped out of some Roman Empire epic. In his final appearance, he went bare-chested, like a Roman gladiator. Here, his entire physique has changed. He looks taller, thinner, and appears to be wearing a sleeveless t-shirt. He looks less monstrous and more like a pro wrestler.
On top of anything else, there are just too many characters in this story, especially as it’s only 18 pages in length. The editorial page, which attempts to recap things and bring new readers up to speed, is so awkwardly and confusingly written, I can’t imagine anyone who wasn’t already a Kirby fan plowing through it and wanting to go any further. In effect, this entire magazine seems less like a “relaunch” and more like an attempt to finally drive the last nails into something that DC didn’t like in the first place. Why? Why did they even bother???
Oddly enough, a revival of MISTER MIRACLE was announced, to be done by writer Martin Pasko, artists Ric Estrada and Joe Staton, and editor Joe Orlando. As far as I know, this never happened. (Unless there’s a never-published comic sitting in some drawer all these years?)
What a complete waste of paper! (11-17-2012)
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SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS #1 / Jul’76 – “ATTEND --OR DIE!”
We follow a number of mostly well-known DC villains commiting crimes and escaping the law, then receiving invitations to join something called the “Secret Society”. They meet at a place referred to as the “Sinister Citadel” or the “Citadel Sinister” (somebody’s not being consistent), which is in the top floors of a 100-story tower in San Francisco. A cross-section diagram details various rooms, in the fashion of several similar views of “The Baxter Building” seen over the years. The lobby itself appears to be the one from the Hyatt Embarcadero on Drumm, as seen in both THE TOWERING INFERNO and HIGH ANXIETY.
As the baddies meet, they’re attacked by members of the Justice League! No, it’s not a trap, but rather a test, as the heroes turn out to be only be robot replicas, which are easily defeated. The meeting is then presided over by Manhunter (the Archie Goodwin-Walt Simonson version), who then sends several of them on another “test”, to steal a sphere of solid plutonium from a scientific outpost housed in a remote lighthouse. During a scuffle with secuirity guards, Copperhead accidentally drops the sphere in the water offshore, and is left behind by his escaping comrades.
The 70’s were certainly a strange time for comics, and entertainment media in general. A certain downbeat aura seemed to overshadow most things, as movies had bad endings, characters’ lives seemed to be forever falling apart, “disaster” movies were a huge, successful fad, and comics flirted with several series that focused on villains, rather than heroes. While Marvel had SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP, DC had SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS. In charge (at least at the beginning) was Gerry Conway (you can tell it’s him, the book has zero sense of humor, and the narration often describes in overly-serious tones what you’re already seeing in the visuals). The art on the 1st issue was by Pablo Marcos and Bob Smith. It’s not particularly “bad” – but nothing really stands out as excessively “good” either.
Most of the baddies here I’ve seen or heard of, including Mirror and Master, Captain Cold and Gorilla Grodd (all FLASH baddies), Sinestro and Star Saphire (both GREEN LANTERN villains, although Star Saphire is not the original but a new “replacement” version), The Shadow Thief (longtime HAWKMAN villain), The Wizard (Earth-2 JSA villain--what's HE doing here?) and Copperhead (originally a Batman BRAVE & THE BOLD villain—I guess this would be scraping the bottom of the barrel). Oddly enough, Catwoman is mentioned in one narration box, but does not appear in that panel, or on that page, or anywhere in the comic at all. Looks to me like Gerry Coinway needed an editor. It was later revealed that the Paul Kirk Manhunter was not the one who died at the end of the Goodwin-Simonson story, but a clone. That makes at least 2 characters in this story who are new versions of earlier characters, a recurring theme in many Gerry Conway stories in the 70’s.
It strikes me that the SECRET SOCIETY may have been one of the inspirations for THE LEGION OF DOOM on the 1978-79 episodes of CHALLENGE OF THE SUPER-FRIENDS.
Ernie Chua (who later changed his name to Ernie Chan) provides one of the sloppiest covers I’ve ever seen from him. He did a ton of DC covers around this time, but before long would move over to Marvel to become a long-running “finisher” on CONAN THE BARBARIAN. (11-22-2012)
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BRAVE & THE BOLD #128 / Jul’76 – “DEATH BY THE OUNCE”
Gotham’s finest are sweeping for crime, intent on making the streets safe for the visiting Shah of Karkan, scheduled to sign an important oil treaty with the Feds. Batman investigates the condemned sports stadium, rumored to be “haunted” and finds what he thinks is someone trapped in a sack being hurled to their death. But it’s really Mister Miracle, practicing a new escape act. It seems he & his wife Barda have returned to Earth following their wedding, and re-teamed with Oberon to get the excape act started up again.
All this sounds fine; I never thought his leaving Earth made much sense in the first place, especially given what must be HUGE “issues” between Scott and his father, who he had not seen since he was a very young boy. But Scott’s motivations for returning do not sound right here. “Back here on Earth, people called me a charlatan... a cheating trickster! I had to come back to PROVE myself! To triumph and silence the doubters!” This is the 2nd time Bob Haney & Jim Aparo have featured Mister Miracle in B&B, and both times I find myself wondering if Haney ever even bothered to read any of Jack Kirby’s stories.
Batman has concocted an elaborate ruse to get the Shah from the airport to his hotel, by substituting an imposter in the heavily-guarded limo, while the real Shah hides in a laundry truck Batman drives himself. Yet on arrival, the Shah has vanished, kidnapped while Batman was only a few feet away. “OOPS!!!” To prevent an international panic, and keep the kidnappers off-guard, he has Gordon lie to The President by saying the real Shah is still safe, since he found a bugging device on Jim Gordon’s telephone.
Returning to the stadium, Batman tries to convince Scott he needs his help. “Sorry, BATMAN! I helped you once—but now my OWN life comes first! I must practice! I’m almost ready for my comeback!” Good grief, this can’t possibly be the same person who fought against totalitarianism and evil in general. Is Bob haney just TRYING to make Jack’s character look bad?
Batman appels to Scott’s “professional pride”, proposing a duel of escape arsists. The cover shows an very evil-looking Barda &v Oberon spraying Batman & Mister Miracle with liquid ice, as if they’d turned evil—I wonder if someone came up with this “hook” first, they had Haney write the story to justify it? Batman winds up escaping before Scott does, using a heating device in his utility belt—how very like the sort of thing we’ve seen Scott do many times in his own book.
Batman impersonates the Shah himself this time, and in the middle of the night, he’s kidnapped—along with his bed—right out of the hotel suite via a cargo helicopter also designed for underwater action. Inside the sunken and converted heavy cruiser “Gotham City”, he’s taken to the real Shah, and meets the person behind the kidnap—Granny Goodness. It seems the entire plot involves Granny wanting to be young again. She’s made a deal with “America’s rival power”, who have a sciewntist, Dr. Kiev, who’s developed a youth-giving serum, which he will give her in exchange for kidnapping the Shah and disrupting the treaty. All of which sounds completely outside the scope of anything I would expect Granny to be involved in.
As it turns out, Scott was hidden in the base of the bed (what would he have done if they’d just taken Batman, and left the furniture behind?), and he, Batman & the Shah escape, Scott staying behind long enough to cause the sunken ship to explode, hopefully taking Granny with it. Scott laments that he pulled off a fantastic escape for his comeback, but nobody got to see it. Bats responds, “Maybe it was for the best! After all, what could you do for an ENCORE?”
Par for the course for Haney & Aparo. As usual, not bad, but not great either. I guess sometimes, especially in comics, that’s better than most. This was the first B&B guest-appearance by one of Kirby’s new creations following his departure. It would not be the last! (11-18-2012)
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SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS #2 / Aug’76 – “NO MAN SHALL I CALL MASTER!”
A now-obscure super-hero from the 1950’s, Captain Comet, returns to Earth after decades in outer spece, and promptly, on seeing Green Lantern fighting several members of the SSoSV, decides GL is using his much-greater powers to “attack” his lesser foes. Now, I ask you—I know space is vast, but this is the DC Universe. How is it even possible that someone like Captain Comiet could spend decades in DC Universe outer space, and have NO IDEA who the hell the Green Lantern Corps are?????
CC rescues “Jack” (formerly of The Royal Flush Gang) and Gorilla Grodd (who looks more like one of the man-apes from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY than any gorilla I ever saw), and the trio are soon at the “Citadel Sinister”. While blanketing the entire room with a mental block to prevent CC from reading their thoughts, Grodd has read CC’s mind and relates his origin to the group. With a skeptical Captain Cold abstaining, they vote CC as a new member of the “Secret Society”, figuring they can dupe him into helping them in their schemes.
Later that night, Manhunter confronts CC in a quiet part of town, and discovers that CC actually realizes the “Society” is composed of baddies—all except Manhunter, a clone of Paul Kirk, who was the only survivor when all the rest of Kirk’s clones were killed, and the only one who wasn’t evil! But just as a new secret alliance is being formed, Mantis, last seen in Jack Kirby’s Fourth World books, appears, and declares that for their “treachery” they must die! This would seem to indicate WHO was backing the SSoSV. After all, if you’re supplying an outfit like Inter-Gang, what’s a super-villain group? (Just in case anyone was wondering WHY I’m including this series in my “Fourth World” review series.)
Although Mantis is driven off, Manhunter decides to take the aggressive stance, and leads the members of the Society to one of many secret scientific labs spread all across the world, the work of “the true face of evil”—DARKSEID. Just then Mantis and some underlings arrive and attack the entire group. In the midst of the melee, he orders them, “Either SURRENDER—or DIE!”
Someone online (I think) suggested that whatever direction this book was intended to go in somehow got derailed only 2 issues into its run. The letters page reveals that there was, in fact, a different, UNPUBLISHED version of SSoSV #1, which wound up being run in the mail-order-only AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS #11. As for SSoSV #2, I can only suppose someone at DC figured that, for the sake of the Comics Code (or perhaps simply as a matter of “drama”), it wouldn’t be right to do a series that focused on a group of Super-Villains without having someone on the opposite side to balance things out. After all, most DRACULA stories have Professor Van Helsing (or some wimpy “hero” filling in the slot), and seemingly every FU MANCHU story has Sir Dennis Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard. Here, we have a clone of the Goodwin-Simonson MANHUNTER, and, CAPTAIN COMET. Hmm. Oddly enough, I mostly remember CAPTAIN COMET from the late-80’s series, L.E.G.I.O.N. which told the adventures of an interstellar police force, run by “Brainiac 2” (ancestor of “Brainiac 5” of the LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES), who was so nasty and viscious and utterly ruthless, including with his own people, that you were often hard-pressed to think of him as any kind of a “hero”.
Behind-the-scenes, on the creative side, things are ALREADY changing, which is usually not a good sign with a brand-new series just getting started. Creator, editor & writer Gerry Conway apparently got the flu and was only able to dialogue the first half of the book. Leaping into the breach is David Kraft, who they announce will be taking over the book with the next issues. This is interesting, as not too long after this, when Conway briefly went to Marvel, one of the books he took over was THE DEFENDERS—and once he returned to DC, the guy who took over the book was David Kraft!
Meanwhile, it’s a funny thing. I’ve never been a fan of Bob Smith’s inks, yet here, he seems to be almost invisible, as, if they didn’t list his name in the credits, I’d have sworn Pablo Marcos did the whole art job himself. Apart from his usual awkward figure-work, the heavy-duty lines looks EXACTLY like solo Marcos, which I’ve seen in Marvel B&W horror & S&S mags, and in Warren horror books by the ton.
The cover for this issue is by Dick Giordano & Terry Austin (though you couldn't prove the inks by me). Apart from the horrific amount of text and garbage clogging up the top half of the cover, I'm also bugged by the awkward composition with all those people running in the background, and the really lame coloring job which tends to make things confusing to look at. Let me put it this way-- if Stan Goldberg had colored this piece, you can bet he'd have done some kind of "monotone"-ish effect in the background, to make the 2 foreground figures (CC & GL) stand out from everything else. I mean-- people got PAID to do work this bad???
As an aside-- looking at the linework and the background figures in particular, it's just possible this cover may answer the question of WHO inked those pages of MISTER MIRACLE #1-4 that I thought looked so much like "later" Klaus Janson. Since the figures HERE look identical to what I saw there, it strongly suggests those really "ugly" pages were the work of either Dick Giordano, or some assistant OTHER than Frank McLaughlin (the McLaughlin pages were more obvious than the Giordano ones)-- and, just possibly, Terry Austin! (Unless someone finds out that Austin wasn't in comics by this point, either...) (11-29-2012)
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AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS #11 / Apr’76 – “BEWARE THE BROTHERHOOD OF CRIME”
Fresh from a successful jewel heist, a very annoyed Captain Cold is kidnapped by teleportation beam to the HQ of a group of super-villains who invite him to join. The group discovers the brains behind their outfit is none other than Darkseid, “Prince of Apokalips”. Following a brief run-down on his background and activities, he leads them on a raid on a military base to steal cannisters of “Wargas 94—the deadliest nerve gas in the world”, with which they intend to “blackmail the Earth”. After some squabbling and in-fighting to get their hands on it, Manhunter points out that Darkseid has been using them, as his real intentions are to turn all of Earth into a slave-labor camp. No sooner has it dawned on them that his behavior in this raid has been completely out-of-character than “Darkseid” is revealed to be a robot. It’s almost as if Gerry Conway were writing Dr. Doom instead of Darkseid when he did this. The villains elect to stay together as a “Secret Society” to fight Darkseid’s ambitions while continuing to pursue their own criminal agendas.
According to Paul Levitz’ introduction / editorial, editor & writer Gerry Conway put this book together before finding out that publisher Carmine Infantino had other ideas in mind. Rather than fine-tune as they went, the decision was made to completely do the entire book over from scratch. So certain members of the group were replaced, and artists Ric Estrada & Pablo Marcos were replaced by Pablo Marcos & Bob Smith. I find it ironic that what may be possibly one of the worst-ever depictions of Jack Kirby’s vilain, Darkseid, should get published, if only in DC’s mail-order-only magazine AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS, while genuine Kirby books were left sitting in storage, some of them never published to this day.
I wonder how they wound up with Dick Dillin doing the cover?
This entire story (along with the entire issue it appeared in) can be read online at the AMAZING BLOG OF DC COMICS blogspot!
In some unspecificed HQ, Darkseid tells Kalibak that as Inter-Gang was insufficient, he decided to finance the Secret Society. But now some of their numbers are turning against him, and he feels Kalibak may have a chance to “redeem” himself. As Mantis battles several SS members, Star Saphire decides to escape, and hauls Manhunter out with her.
A seemingly-unrelated flashback shows Copperhead being sprung from prison, but he’s terrified of the one doing it!
Bringing the momentum of this issue to a complete halt, we see Digger & Scudder (Captain Boomerang & Mirror Master) in civilian clothes, robbing a hamburger joint (by nature of ordering a dinner and running out on the bill). These are some of Earth’s deadliest super-villains? Back at the Citadel, Manhunter arrives to interrupt more in-group squabbling, to explain exactly who Darkseid is and what the future will hold if they don’t put a stop to him. Later, Star Saphire runs into Green Lantern, and decides to tell him that the SS needs his help against a much deadlier enemy!
Finally, just as Mantis is about to recharge himself, the free SS members attack, a battle ensues, and the captive members are freed. Watching from afar, Darkseid announces he & Kalibak shall head for Earth, to put a stop to the SS themselves.
I hate to be overly-negative, but this feels like one of the most disjointed comic-book stories I’ve read in a long time. It doesn’t “flow”—it advances in fits and starts, as is each scene is almost completely unconnected to any other. There’s almost a feeling of somene working with a checklist of events they need to cram into the book, and it didn’t matter how they did it.
Though still listed as editor, Gerry Conway has been replaced as writer by David A. Kraft. Dave became one of my favorite writers at Marvel in the late 70’s, getting his start replacing Conway on THE DEFENDERS and LOGAN’S RUN. I see he got into the habit of that here. I’d never know this was his work—it feels too amateurish. Perhaps he was working to some kind of blueprint laid down by Conway? Meanwhile, Pablo Marcos continues on the art, much of his figure-work needlessly awkward, but the inks have taken an ugly down-turn. It seems the more comics I see from the 70’s, the more instances I see of some book starting out with X-artist on it, but soon replaced by Vince Colletta. You’d think going from Marcos-scratchy lines to Colletta-scratchy lines would be a natural, but all I can see here is a SEVERE drop in quality. It made me really appreciate the work Vinnie (and whatever number of assistants he had working for him) did over Jack Kirby’s pencils in the early 70’s. On just about any other book Colletta touched, all I can see is “typical Colletta”. I mean, the splash pages aren’t bad, but the rest of the book is so “average”, you just about want to scream.
Ernie Chan, who turned out to be one very prolific cover artist for DC around this time, does another decent piece dragged down by too much “junk” crammed into the top of the logo area. There’s what appears to be a very odd error on Kalibak’s legs, as either shadow rendering lines (seen on his right arm) or a darker color shade are notably missing. Before long, Ernie Chua would change his name to Ernie Chan and become one of the longest-running “finishers” on Marvel’s CONAN. (12-3-2012)
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SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS #4 / Dec’76 – “WHEN THIEVES FALL OUT...”
The SSoSV call Wizard & Sinestro out for sitting on the sidelines during the recent battle, waiting to see who would win. As more in-fighting breaks out, Wizard zaps Hi-Jack into another dimension, before Sinetro grabs Wizard and the pair escape. Manhunter tells the rest of the group they’re better off without them. Meanwhile, Star Saphire leads Green Lantern into a confrontation with Mantis, during which the latter becomes so arrogant he makes the mistake of offending his lord and master, Darkseid. Perhaps most strange, when Sinestro & Wizard return to the Citadel, they find talent promoter Funky Flashman waiting for them, with an offer to improve their public image. WTF?????
Star Saphire finally rendezvous with the rest of the SSoSV, but has failed to notice she’s lost Green Lantern—but picked up Kalibak! A huge battle erupts between Kalibak & Gorilla Grodd, tearing across half of San Francisco, until Grodd winds up beating Kalibak more through trickery than sheer strength. While this is going on, Mantis begs to stay in Darkseid’s favor, but panics when he sees—of all things—The Black Racer (the embodiment of death) heading his way!
Another chaotic mess. Halfway thru the issue, Ernie Chan took over from Pablo Marcos, with Vince Colletta (apparently) inking all of it. David Kraft continues as writer, and Gerry Conway as editor, so it’s difficult to be sure who came up with what ideas in this issue. Funky Flashman, who had been such a vividly-crafted character in MISTER MIRACLE #6, seems more “generic” this time out, his dialogue terribly-over-written, and physically, he seems to bear more of a resemblance to Dave Kraft’s later DEFENDERS comedy character, “Dollar Bill”, than the obvious Stan Lee parody he was originally designed as. In general, I hate the habit of many 70’s comics writers of introducing sub-plots for a page or two in one issue, then leaving us hanging until next time... and probably the time after that. (Marv Wolfman would do this in TOMB OF DRACULA, usually for 6 issues in a row, when introducing new sub-plots.) It’s an over-reliance on “soap-opera” story structure which is just, to me, sloppy story-telling. (12-6-2012)
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A relatively simple restoration, the biggest challenge was eliminating the glare at the bottom edge (yes, another of those endless comics sold in a SEALED plastic box).
Although this came out in between SSoSV #6 & 7, according to "He Who Wanders" (at LEGION WORLD), this CAPTAIN COMET spotlight issue apparently takes place in between #4 & 5, which is why I'm posting it here. Which makes sense, as CC seems to be missing from an issue or two.
The behind-the-scenes changes really kick in here. Gerry Conway was listed as editor on SSoSV #1-4. After that, Paul Levitz was listed as editor on DC SPECIAL #27, Denny O'Neil as editor on SSoSV #5, and Jack C. Harris took over for a nice haul beginning with SSoSV #6. When I was a teenager, I had no idea what an "editor" did on comics, and so had no idea that often they are THE driving force behind everything that goes on, including assmbling the creative team, and often steering the writers in whatever directions to take a series in the long haul. So when you go thru 4 editors in 4 issues, you can expect CHAOS, not to mention a complete overhaul of creative teams, and in this case, a total change in the overall direction of the book in general.
Bob Rosakis (a constant presence at DC in the 70's) was the writer for DC SPECIAL #27 as well as SSoSV #5-7. One could say he was filling in for Gerry Conway, as when Conway returned to DC from his brief return to Marvel, he took back SSoSV and did the title from #8-14, and also did DC SPECIAL SERIES #6 (the SSoSV SPECIAL), and, SUPER-TEAM FAMILY #13-14, which features plot-lines that spilled over into it from SSoSV.
When I think about it, Conway leaving a book, then coming back some months later, is something that one almost never saw happen at Marvel (except when it happened with Jack Kirby in the early & mid-60's, on books he created himself, and was then asked back to make "modifications" to, such as Ant-Man / Wasp / Giant-Man, and Hulk). Frankly, when Conway kicked so many people off so many books during his brief return-stint to Marvel in 1977, it annoyed me no end, and saddened me that NONE of the writers displaced (Steve Englehart, Steve Gerber, Tony Isabella, Marv Wolfman) ever managed to return to the books they were kicked off of (with the exception of Steve Englehart on AVENGERS, but that took an awful lot of years to happen, not a matter of a few months).
As often happens with a change in editors, the switch from Conway to (eventually) Harris saw the departure of penciller Pablo Marcos, who was replaced by Rich Buckler, who did DC SPECIAL #27 and SSoSV #5-9. Inks were supplied on the various issues by Joe Rubinstein, Vince Colletta, Bob Layton & (my favorite) Bob McLeod.
Many of the covers of DC SPECIAL focused on themes rather than characters: Super-Gorillas, Earth-Shaking Stories, War of the Giants, War Against the Monsters, Earth Shattering Disasters. This may explain why "Dinosaurs At Large!" was more prominent than "Captain Comet".
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SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS #5 / Feb’77 – “ENDGAME!”
Mantis grovels at Darkseid’s feet for his life as The Black Racer approaches. Just then, the SSoSV, led by Manhunter, arrive, and Darkseid—incredibly—orders The Black Racer away. (Since when does he have any connection with, or power over, the being who is the embodiment of death?) After the group of villains gives Mantis a pounding, and Manhunter decides to tackle Darkseid himself (physically—this is unheard of!!!), Darkseid decides to open a Boom Tube to return to Apokalips. But Manhunter zooms in after him, announcing that his creators made him a human bomb. An instant later, a huge explosion erupts from the Boom Tube, apparently taking both Manhunter and Darkseid with it.
And so, it looks like 7 pages in, the first main storyline of this series reached an abrupt (if absurd) conclusion. We then have 2 pages of Funky Flashman (who has ditched the sunglasses now) incessantly rambling on and on and on about nothing I can make any sense out of, until Sinestro literally pushing his face away and flies off, departing the group, and Earth. (“On that note, we take out leave of the frankly fantabulous Funky for now... to return next issue!” As I said, this sort of bad habit of using brief interludes to advance sub-plots got very, very annoying in the 70’s.)
Captain Comet digs himself out of some rubble, then proceeds to dig Green Lantern out as well. GL takes CC to the satellite HQ of the Justice League of America, where Superman announces their computer database has verified that CC was a hero decades past. GL suggests they “chaperone” CC for awhile, to help bring him up to speed on the status of heroes and villains on Earth. A little while later, GL and Hawkman see Sinestro attacking San Francisco on their monitor, and Hawkman decides to dive into action, since GL was scheduled for “monitor duty”. Apparently pissed off at the entire SSoSV, Sinestro has decided to cause San Francisco to suffer a massive earthquake, JUST to ensure ther destruction of the Sinister Citadel! (Isn’t that a bit of overkill?)
Seconds into a fight, Sinestro smashes Hawkman’s gravity belt, showing up just how limited this guy’s range of super-powers really is (and making it look like he should have let Green Lantern go on this mission instead). As CC dives to Hawkman’s rescue, Sinestro decides to escape into space (like he probably should have done earlier). In the sort of stunt you’d probably never see outside of a DC comic, CC manages to stop the Citadel building from collapsing. He then takes Hawkman with him into space, using his unusual power to surround the two of them with an oxygen bubble. What Hawkman could do, in space, without his gravity belt, is beyond me, though. Sinestro attacks CC, and CC manages to beat Sinestro single-handed (while Hawkman just hovers there helplessly as a spectator). As the pair take Sinestro back to the JLA satellite as their prisoner, CC announces his intention to round up the remaining Secret Society members.
Well, this was one severely underwhelming transitional issue. Denny O’Neil fills in as editor for the departed Gerry Conway, while Bob Rosakis joins the line-up as the new regular writer. Along the way, O’Neil and Rosakis prove they have no clue how to write Darkseid, and their grasp of physics, characterization, character motivation, pacing and story structure are severely backward. Maybe having just spent a year-and-a-half re-reading Jack Kirby comics has spoiled me, but it seems the contrast between his writing and just about everyone else’s at DC points out just how lame most DC Comics writing really was back then. The fact that, to this day, many so-called ‘fans” continue to push the idea that Kirby was a “terrible” writer becomes all the more baffling then. I can only figure that people who feel that way are either used to reading CRAP and can’t deal with anything that ISN’T crap, or there’s a certain amount of jealousy or resentment involved, if only by proxy. Many fans look back on old comics they read when they were kids with an almost unhealthy amount of nostalgia, which makes many old books seems better, in their memories, than they actually were. Kirby’s stuff is SO GOOD, it makes everyone else’s look WORSE than it already was. And who wants their cherised memories ruined that way?
Along with the change-over in writing, this issue also marks the debut on the book of Rich Buckler. A lot of people tend to dismiss Buckler for the periods where he was tracing Kirby panels, but the truth is, he spent most of his time being a 3rd-rate Neal Adams. What nobody seems to point out is just how stiff and awkward so much of his figure-work tends to be (which may be why his bogus Kirby work stands out, as it tends to be better than his usual stuff). Quite often, intense, overpowering inks help to hide Buckler’s shortcomings as a layout man, but in this case, the inks are by Vince Colletta, and somehow, that just draws more attention to the problem.
The nicest way I can describe this issue is that it’s across-the-board “average” for mid-70’s DC. It’s not really terrible... but there’s nothing here to get worked up about either. (12-9-2012)
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SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS #6 / Apr’77 – “CAPTAINS CATACLYSMIC!”
It’s “theme” crime time again, as former SSoSV members (and Flash rogues gallery members) Captain Cold and Captain Boomerang have (between issues) broken Batman pirate-themed villain Captain Stingaree out of prison, to go on a crime spree in which they capture of kidnaps other “Captains”. Only in a DC book, right? First, they use Captain Boomerang’s rotating boomerang-shaped spaceship to invade “Space Lab” and hold its crew hostage, then they board and loot the “S.S. Sunset” (the world’s largest passenger liner), and finally, they interrupt a football game in order to kidnap the captain of one of the teams.
Captain Comet interrupts the 1st crime (but is forced to let the baddies go free when they threaten the life of one of the astronauts), nobody gets in the way the 2nd time, but Comet and Black Canary intrude the 3rd time, beating and capturing the 3 baddies, and managing to rescue the 2 earlier captives when Comet learns their location by reading Stingaree’s mind.
While this is going on, Funky Flashman & The Wizard are watching the crime spree on the TV news, as Funky keeps rambling about how this sort of thing give super-villains “poor P.R.”. I just don’t GET what he hopes to accomplish with his idea of “selling” the Secret Society to the “buying public”.
In the meantime, Comet, dejected after the 1st fight with the baddies went bad, tries to help an old lady across a street, and is almost beaten to a pulp by the angry, paranoid woman who begins swinging her handbag at him and warning him to stay away. Watching the scene, an attractive brunette named “Debbie” introduces herself and invites him up to her apartment for “coffee and a bite of an apple”. I suppose this is supposed to pass for both humor and character development, but I don’t know. Later on, Green Arrow continues to be annoyed at the idea of “baby-sitting” an over-the-hill hero, and gets even more annoyed when his steady girlfriend, Black Canary, decides to accompany Captain Comet on a crime-fighting jaunt, leaving him behind. There are times when the “new”, loud-mouthed Oliver Queen was interesting, meaningful, or funny, but sometimes, he’s just an annoying parody of himself.
The last page reintroduces Copperhead, and reveals that the mysterious person who broke him out of jail a few issues back knows about the Secret Society, and announces to Funky & The Wizard that HE intends to take over! (Even a brief glimpse at the shape of the person’s silhouette should be enough to clue in any longtime DC reader as to their identity...)
Jack C. Harris takes over as regular editor this issue, but the only immediate change is former Wally Wood assistant and future superstar Bob Layton taking over the inks—which is a HUGE step up from Vince Colletta, no doubt about it. Apart from making Rich Buckler almost look like he knows what he’s doing, for the first time, Funky actually begins to resemble Marvel Comics editor & huckster Stan Lee. (Sadly, Vince Colletta inked the cover. Maybe it was done before the rest of the issue?)
This issue also announces the major shake-up of the editorial staff, and introduces new publisher Jeanette Kahn! This coincides with the debut of the new DC logo (a wide circle with stars in it surrounding a bold “DC” tilted at a 45 degree angle, resembling a sports team logo). A new era for DC was about to begin! (12-9-2012)
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I would never have imagined I'd reach a point where I actually restored 50 KAMANDI covers in a row!!!
When I used "levels", the lime green background faded out too much, so I had to go back to an earlier version and adjust the green areas separately. Next up was some "fill in" down the right edge, as I didn't want to have the main character's foot, or the white circle at the top, cut off. A few specks of black here and there needed clean-up, as did the bottom edge, where the color was fading out.
It seems editor Jack C. Harris had it as part of his agenda to connect the future world of KAMANDI with the future world of OMAC. I don't see why such a thing should be considered necessary, or even desirable. KAMANDI wasn't the only one of DC's alternate futures that this kind of thing was going on with, either. It was a misguided attempt to "unify" the DC Multiverse, and make it more like the "Marvel Universe". But as Frank Frazetta liked to tell other artists, "You should be a first-rate YOU, not a second-rate ME." Unfortunately, this obsession with making DC more like Marvel would continue into the 80's, culminating in the admittedly creative CHAOS that followed their year-long company-wide crossover mini-series, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. Ironically, in the shake-up and restructuring of the "New DC Universe", the future Earths of both OMAC and KAMANDI became out-of-continuity. Stories that had deep meaning to readers suddenly "no longer existed", the events in them, at least from the point-of-view of the New DCU, "never happened".
But that was still 9 years away...
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SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS #7 / Jun’77 – “LUTHOR’S LEAGUE OF SUPER-VILLAINS”
Lex Luthor—“the most brilliant criminal scientist in the history of the world”—announces that HE’s taking over the Secret Society, so he can use it to defeat Superman. Doesn’t this guy have any new ambitions? The Wizard, upset about this, since Funky Flashman “promised” him HE could be leader, objects, and tries to pick a fight with Luthor. It goes badly. Finally, he decides to play along. Now, it seems Funky has a reputation for being able to “recruit” people, and Luthor wants him to get Felix Faust and Matter Master to join HIS new Secret Society, since Superman is vulnerable to magic. Lex tells The Wizard that if he’s willing to apologize, he can join in.
As it turns out, in Sapporo, Japan, actor Gregory Reed is currently filming the “SUPERMAN” movie—and Luthor sics his trio of sorcerers there to disrupt it, certain it will draw Superman’s attention. Instead, it draws the attention of Captain Comet and Hawkgirl. And in the ensuing chaos, somehow, it completely escapes the baddies that the guy playing Superman in the movie is NOT the genuine article! In the frustration, Funky tells Lex, “Calm yourself, my good man! You must learn to tolerate the trivialities of your compatriots!” Angered, Lex replies, “COMPATRIOTS?! What have I got in common with ANY of YOU?” Funky yanks off his toupee... “Why LEX—we both agree that BALD is beautiful!” “Good lord!”
Following the humiliating defeat (in which the real Superman never even showed up!), Lex gets angry at Funky, who reminds Lex that LEX picked the team of baddies. Lex departs, determined to get back at Funy another way—and decides to contact the police and let them know about the Secret Society and their HQ. But Funky beats him to the punch, and phones the cops, who ARREST Luthor as he exits the building!
For the first time since he appeared, we have an explanation for exactly what good Funky Flashman can do for the SSoSV. Despite his long-winded never-ending ramblings over the last several issues, until now, I didn’t have a clue. I’m just wondering if the writers did until now, either? There’s something really perverse (and hilarious) about a story involving the making of the SUPERMAN movie, which features both Lex Luthor and Funky Flashman... especially when you consider that in the real world, actor Gene Hackman appeared to be playing FUNKY in the film, not Luthor. Not only would this go for his personality, and wardrobe, but the notable scene in the film where Hackman YANKS off his toupee!!! I’ve heard that the producers of the SUPERMAN movie did not have a clue what they were doing, and this seems like further proof of it. It’s as though someone, somehow, used THIS comic for reference—and then got the 2 characters confused!!!
If nothing else, Bob Rosakis proves he’s got a sense of humor—never anything to dismiss lightly. Rich Buckler & Bob Layton continue to do decent work, and among other things, Funky continues to be a DEAD RINGER for Stan Lee. (12-11-2012)
This scan required a bit of "fill-in" in the upper-left and lower-right edges, and the graytones had to be lightened up on a separate layer. About an hour's work-- not bad.
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NEW GODS #12 / Jun’77 – “THE RETURN OF THE NEW GODS” / “PRELUDE TO A HOLOCAUST”
A group from New Genesis—Orion, Lightray, Forager, Metron, Lonar and a blue-skinned woman named Jezebelle—travel to Apokalips on the word of The Source, to seek out Darkseid. Following a brief battle with some Para-Demons, they discover he’s left the planet, and set up a base on Earth’s moon. There, they find a computer with a list of six people Darkseid suspects may have the Anti-Life Equation. Each one of them takes one of the people on the list and goes to contact them, to let them know their lives are in danger.
THE NEW GODS is considered Jack Kirby’s most “personal” project. Apart from telling a compelling story with well-drawn, sharply-defined characters, it also gave him a platform to make commentary on then-current affairs within a science-fiction allegorical framework. Perhaps it it should not be surprising, then, than in others’ hands, it had been almost universally handled badly. And, perhaps as a direct extension of that, Kirby’s own work on the concept has been derided by an inordinately large percentage of comic-book fans and critics. Having just recently re-read Kirby’s stories, however, what I see is that the original stories stand out as some of the most inspired comics of their time in their inspiration and execution, while at the same time, they just don’t “continue” well under others. Many fans are so in love with characters and their universes, and wish to seem them continue endlessly, no matter how bad they might be. In many, if not most fans’ eyes, they don’t even realize, indeed, have no conception of just how bad some of the books they’re reading really are.
The best thing I can say about NEW GODS #12 is that it’s a major step up from 1ST ISSUE SPECIAL #13. Believe me, that’s faint praise, and definitely a left-handed compliment.
My first exposure to Kiry’s Fourth World was the late-70’s revival, and the main reason I checked it out was because my favorite comics writer at the time, Steve Englehart, had been driven away from Marvel, and decided to spend a year at DC, before quitting comics entirely to become a novelist. Thus I found myself buying Englehart’s JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, DETECTIVE COMICS, and MISTER MIRACLE. Except for JLA, I actually missed the first 2 issues of the other books, and wound up buying them soon after as back issues. I liked what Englehart did with all 3 series. I suppose it was natural curiosity to check out the “other” Fourth World book, NEW GODS. As with the others, I walked in in the middle and got the first 2 issues as back-issues soon after. I’m not sure I ever re-read these in sequence before, but I’m starting to now. What I do remember was, while MISTER MIRACLE was inspired and entertaining under both Englehart and then Steve Gerber, NEW GODS seemed “flat” somehow. Whatever “magic” there was supposed to have been in the original series, I couldn’t see it in the revival. Decades later, I’ve come to realize this is actually par for the course with MOST books, and a state of affairs most comics fans (and editors) willfully blind themselves to.
The editor on this project was Paul Levitz, who at the time, was still a relative newcomer to DC, having come up from working in fanzines with the likes of Bob Layton & John Byrne. Levitz wrote a rather “generic” introductory editorial in which he tries to give readers “enough” info without giving them “too much”. None of it really inspired or grabbed me. I’m afraid that was reflected in the rest of the book.
Writer Gerry Conway at this point seemed to be known mostly for having become a professional at a very young age, and having written tons of comics, most of which were not very inspired, the bulk of which tended to be overly-serious, somber, lacking in any sort of humor, and with a tendency to kill off villains (most of whom wound up being brought back in later stories by other writers anyway). Shortly before this, he had a stint as both editor and writer of KAMANDI (mostly writing new dialogue over Jack Kirby’s—the blind arrogance of doing such a thing boggles the mind at this point). Conway briefly returned to Marvel, where he served as Editor-in-Chief for an astonishingly short time, during which he somehow managed to kick several of their best writers off long, very impressive runs of books, just so Conway could make extra money on the side writing the books instead. Across the board, his issues were flat, generic, and uninspired, which made it even more of a travesty for how he got on those books in the first place. And now here he was, taking on Jack Kirby’s most “personal” project, which, according to Levitz, he’d been a strong advocate in reviving.
Conway’s narration and dialogue, as always, is flat, generic, uninspired and overly-serious. But let’s get into specifics. Why would Orion suddenly become part of a “fighting team”, when he’s always been the extreme example of a “lone wolf”? Conway spends 2 pages giving us a brief background on the history of New Genesis and Apokalips, but between the words and the illustrations, nothing even hints at the grandeur or the horror that came before. What on Earth is Lonar and his stallion doing as part of this “team”? We learn virtually nothing about him here. And who is “Jezebelle”, who makes her first appearance here? She’s given NO introduction whatsoever, no background info, the brief scenes she’s in she exhibits no apparent personality, etc. And people have the nerve, the utter stupidity, to complain about Jack Kirby’s writing???
The sequence where Orion approaches the air force base to contact Brigadier General Maxwell Torch (one of those believed to possibly hold the Anti-Life Equation) reminds me of nothing less than a rehash of multiple scenes from the Stan Lee-John Buscema SILVER SURFER book. The “hero” is spotted by the military, who goes into attack mode, several planes are blown out of the sky, and nobody even tries to communicate or explain what’s going on—at least, until after-the-fact. I know at this point the SURFER comic was considered a “big deal” despite its abject failure in the sales department. Perhaps it shouldn’t surprise me that someone who spent so much time honing his skills at Marvel should pay such obvious tribute to a book that may have seemed like Marvel’s equivalent of Kirby’s NEW GODS—big, serious, violent, pretentious, “important”, and a sales failure. After all, wouldn’t it seem to some misguided types that the best way to do a “Kirby” book would be to strip away Kirby and turn it into a “Stan Lee” book instead?
Don Newton came up from the fanzines, where he did a ton of work, much of it focused on Fawcett’s CAPTAIN MARVEL. Then he spent some time at Charlton, where he did THE PHANTOM. Like Jim Aparo, when I look back, I sometimes wish Charlton paid better so Newton could have made a better living doing THE PHANTOM instead of BATMAN. At any rate, one of Newton’s 1st assignments when he finally, after many years, managed to break into DC, was NEW GODS. The artwork is beautiful. No one can deny that. Newton has a very “naturalistic” look to his work, with feeling, sensitivity, mood, shadows, and a certain knack for technology. But what I’m seeing here is in places an almost total disconnect between the illustrations and the story that is trying to be told. I suppose the problem is that instead of ONE man doing both, and there being an automatic, instinctive, intrinsic connection between the two, you have one man doing the writing, and another, living on the other side of the country, doing the art. And as I said, the writing is nothing to brag about in the first place.
Added to that is that, somehow, Newton’s depictions of Apokalips and the DNA Project seem totally removed from anything Kirby designed. WHY re-design so much from scratch? The brief vision of Apokalips, looking back at it now, reminds me more of the work of French artist Phillipe Druillet than anything in ALL the Kirby Fourth World books combined. I don’t get it. Didn’t Newton have any research material? Or did someone (Levitz? Conway?) suggest he come up with his own architecture?
Of the various inkers who worked with Newton over the years, my personal favorite has always been Dan Adkins. Over at Marvel, Adkins proved he was one of the best inkers who ever worked for the company. His work as inker on MASTER OF KUNG FU was my favorite of that book’s entire run. That track record continued without a break at DC. Imagine my delight, decades later, to read an interview with Newton in which he revealed that HIS favorite inkers for his own work were Dan Adkins and Alfredo Alcala—the same two as mine. What utterly BAFFLES me, as I re-read this book, was when Paul Levitz, in his editorial, describes Adkins as “one of the few inkers who can create the detailed realism and psuedo-Kirby machinery THE NEW GODS demands”. EXCUSE ME????? Wouldn’t—shouldn’t—that be the penciller’s job? Is it possible those backgrounds I complained about were all Adkins’ work, and not Newton’s, at all?
In a mirror of NEW GODS #1, this first new issue opens with the main characters travelling around, having conflict, coming into contact with those believed holding the Anti-Life Equation, and then, on the last page, we see Darkseid, who is looking forward to the conflict. He mentions the “The Pact” which has been broken—yet surely that happened before NEW GODS #1, not recently?
One problem with comics from this specific time period is, as the page count got lower and lower (here down to a mere 17 pages of story!) it seemed as though you were getting more ad pages than you were story, and often, the ad pages had a way of grabbing your eyes more than the story pages. That’s sad.
The cover is by Al Milgrom, who, oddly enough, was a mainstay as inker on MASTER OF KUNG FU in its earliest period. He also did a lot of pencilling for Marvel, notably CAPTAIN MAR-VELL and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. Here, in a total departure from anything he’d ever done before, he creates a tribute to the look of Kirby-Royer. Which almost makes sense—except it’s absolutely NOTHING like the interior art of Newton-Adkins.
I’d like to sum up by mentioning again the “disconnect” between writer and artist. I do love the art of Newton & Adkins. I just don’t think the storytelling here is that good. But I feel it’s the writer than mostly at fault. After all, while DC may have been leaning more toward (AHEM) “Marvel Method” by this point, they always had a strong sernse of editorial control, and part of that was deliberately keeping a separation between writers and artists, lest they “get above themselves”. I think there’s only one way this book could really have worked with Newton & Adkins on the art. That would have been if JACK KIRBY had been writing it. After all, that’s the kind of arrangement he wanted in the first place! (12-16-2012)
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