Category: DC Superhero

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Fann Club: Batman Squad – the Justiest Justice of All


By Jim Benton (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-7795-0889-8 (PB/Digital edition)

In recent years DC has opened up its vast and comprehensive shared superhero universe: generating Original Graphic Novels featuring its many stars in stand-alone adventures specifically tailored for kids and also that tricky demographic so sadly misnamed Young Adult. To date, results have been rather hit or miss, but when they’re good, they are very good indeed…

Another sublime example of the process at its best is this cheery elegy to the joys of crimefighting as channelled through the pristine but so-blinkered purview and perceptions of a youngster who believes in the process with all he’s got…

Ernest Fann is a little kid with a big imagination and a colossal passion. This drive has made him an absolute expert on Superheroes, Vengeance, Justice and The Batman, and that status comes with a necessary burden.

There is anxiety, impatience and even a motivating tragic loss – when something chewed his precious collectors’ item socks. His life is troubled by flashbacks and his sleep by the oddest dreams. It’s a mystery even his dog Westy can’t explain, whilst the neighbours’ kid and babysitter Harriet are completely oblivious to his inner life and secret…

Aware at he is probably the World’s Second Greatest Detective, he swears to share his gifts and the way of the Batman by founding… a fan club.

When willing recruits drawn by his cunning outreach arrive, he clothes them in the costumes he made and code names the (completely anonymous) strangers Night Terrier, Nightstand and Eyeshadow. He, of course, is the mighty Gerbilwing and Evil has never been more scared…

With his Batman Squad equipped it’s ‘Time to Begin: Fanning the Flames’ as their training montage shares secrets – like learning how to scowl and stand mysteriously – before going ‘On Patrol’ to note all the wickedness and mystery besetting the neighbourhood. All those little clues add up to trouble and before long Gerbilwing & Co. are unleashed when they intercept a bank robbery and uncover the true source of all the strange events…

Jim Benton began his illustration work making up crazy characters in a T-Shirt shop and designing greetings cards. Born in 1960, he’d grown up in Birmingham, Michigan before studying Fine Arts at Western Michigan University.

Tirelessly earning a living exercising his creativity, he started self-promoting those weird funny things he’d dreamed up and soon was raking in the dosh from properties such as Dear Dumb Diary, Dog of Glee, Franny K. Stein, Just Jimmy, Just Plain Mean, Sweetypuss, The Misters, Meany Doodles, Vampy Doodles, Kissy Doodles, jOkObo and It’s Happy Bunny via a variety of magazines and other venue…

His gags, jests and japes are delivered in a huge variety of styles and manners: each perfectly in accord with whatever sick, sweet, clever, sentimental, whimsical or just plain strange content each idea demanded, and his SpyDogs effortlessly made the jump to kids’ animated TV success.

He seamlessly segued into best-selling cartoon books (those are the best kind) such as Man, I Hate Cursive, Clyde, Catwad, Jop and Blip Wanna Know, Dog Butts and Love. And Stuff Like That. (And Cats) and Attack of the Stuff. It’ been 10 minutes since I started typing this, so there might be a few more published since then…

Perfectly capturing the wonder of childhood and sheer force of a kid’s unbridled imagination, Fann Club: Batman Squad is hilarious with a huge amount of heart and empathy and literally cloaked in the moody charisma of Frank Miller’s Dark Knight. The combination is utterly irresistible.

Also include is a teaser preview of ‘Young Alfred: Pain in the Butler’, but that’s not the point and can wait for its own review. Here you just need to swear your oath, kit up in your own justice gear and join The Bat Squad ASAP.

Tell them Gerbilwing said it was okay and Eyeshadow would be there to keep things safe…
© 20223 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Fann Club: Batman Squad will be published on June 6th 2023 and is available for pre-order now.

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Action Heroes Archive volume 1: Captain Atom & volume 2: Captain Atom, Blue Beetle & The Question


By Steve Ditko, Joe Gill, Gary Friedrich, Dave Kaler, Steve Skeates, Rocke Mastroserio, Frank McLaughlin, Al Milgrom, Roger Stern, John Byrne, Michael Uslan, Alex Toth, and various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-0302-3 (HB vol. 1) 978-1-4012-1346-6 (HB vol. 2)

Clearly I’m cashing in on the pre-release hype around a new DC Cinema blockbuster here, but I take honest refuge and some comfort in the fact that these books and the stories they contain are actually germane as well as being some of the best Silver Age comics ever crafted… 

Despite being dead – and so very much missed – Steve Ditko remains comics’ most unique stylist. Love him or hate him, you can’t mistake his work for anyone else’s. His career began in the early 1950s and, depending on whether you’re a superhero fan or prefer deeper, more challenging experimental work, peaked in either the mid-1960s or 1970s.

Leaving the Avenging World, Mr. A and his other philosophically-derived creations for another time, the superhero crowd should heartily celebrate and clamour for new editions of these deluxe collections of the first costumed do-gooder that Ditko worked on. Although I’m a huge fan of his linework – which is always best served by monochrome printing – the crisp, sharp colour of these Archive editions is still much better than the appalling reproduction on bog-paper that first displayed Charlton Comics’ Atomic Ace and latterly the Bug Bombshell to the kids of Commie-obsessed America.

As discussed in the Foreword by historian and Ditko-expert Blake Bell, Action Heroes Archive volume 1: Captain Atom reveals – in all the full-on, simplistic furore of a 1950s B-Movie – how a Cold War-obsessed America copes with a modern-day miracle just as the concept of costumed superheroes was being reimagined…

With covers by Ditko and/or Mastroserio, this tome amasses pertinent tales from Space Adventures #33-40 & 42 (spanning cover-dates March 1960 to October 1961), augmented by the contents of the revived, solo-starring Captain Atom #78-82, as published for December 1965 through September 1966.

In those simpler times the short, terse adventures of Captain Atom seemed somehow more telling than the innovative yet rather anodyne DC fare, whilst Marvel was still pushing romances, westerns and monsters in underpants, explorers in pith helmets and citizen scientists with labs in their garden sheds. Their particular heroic revolution was still months away even though Steve Ditko was producing top-flight work for both companies.

Nevertheless, Ditko’s hero was different and we few who read him all knew it….

As scripted by Jo Gill and predating Fantastic Four #1 by more than 18 months, Space Adventures #33 even cover-featured the new sensation-in-waiting as ‘Introducing Captain Atom’ in a brief but vivid vignette, giving us a true American hero and man of his time before instantly killing him.

Captain Adam was an astronaut accidentally but literally atomised in a rocketry accident. Eerily – and the way it’s drawn spooked the short pants off me when I first read it all those years ago – he gradually reassembles himself on the launch pad…

Now blessed with astounding powers, he reports to the President (Eisenhower) and is swiftly kitted up in a protective outfit, allowing contact with normal, non-irradiated humans and reassigned as a masked superhero who will be the USA’s secret weapon…

Mostly written by or co-written with Joe Gill, the first wonderful, addictive run of 18 stories from Space Adventures #33-42 (and three of those were in fact drawn by uninspired, out-of-his-comfort zone Rocke Mastroserio) are a magnificent example of Ditko’s emerging mastery of mood, pacing, atmosphere and human dynamics.

In 1961, with Ditko increasingly doing more work for blossoming – and better paying – Marvel, Charlton killed the Captain Atom feature. However, when Dick Giordano jumped on the superhero bandwagon and created a costumed character line for Charlton in late 1965, the Captain was revived. Space Adventures was retitled, with Atom’s first full length issue numbered #78.

Since he was still drawing Amazing Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, Ditko could only manage pencils, so Mastroserio was recruited to ink the series, resulting in an oddly jarring finish. With #79, Ditko became lead writer too, and the stories took on an eccentric, compelling edge and tone, lifting them above much of the competition’s fare. Eventually the inker adapted to Ditko’s style and much of the ungainliness disappeared from the figurework, although so had the fine detail that had elevated the early art. This volume ends with issue #82, leaving six more published issues and a complete unpublished seventh for another time…

However, those early, Cold War-fired tales are a truly unique blend of action, tension and sheer whimsy which continued in Space Adventures #34 as ‘The 2nd Man in Space’ cheekily sees the magnanimous hero covertly undercut another Soviet space triumph by saving the USSR’s first cosmonaut from his defective capsule, whilst #35#s ‘The Little Wanderer’ finds him traversing the stars to rescue the spirit of an little boy inadvertently abducted by a well-meaning cosmic traveller…

A thermonuclear double bill graced #36, beginning with ‘The Wreck of X-44’, with a new craft detonating in space and leading Captain Atom to a deadly saboteur, after which ‘Captain Atom on Planet X’ finds him defending a US satellite from all-out attack by the dastardly ruthless Russians…

Geopolitics gives way to fantasy as #37 (December 1960) initially details a fusion-foiled invasion by ‘The Space Prowlers’ before a US probe to the second planet is scuttled by svelte space sirens who score ‘A Victory for Venus’ over the stounded atomic Earthman…

Two months later and the count climbed to three stories, beginning with ‘One Second of War’, wherein the Captain wrecks the doomsday missile attack of Dr. Claudius Jaynes, a suicidal maniac with his own atomic arsenal, before repeating the feat in ‘Backfire’ when a tin-pot dictator seeks to nuke the USA. The issue ends with ‘The Force Beyond’ as an alien entity tries to destroy the world with meteors before encountering our nuclear nemesis…

Space Adventures #39 begins with a ‘Test-Pilot’s Nightmare’ as arrogance threatens the life of a helpless jet jockey and Atom invisibly comes to the rescue after which Mastroserio limns ‘Peace Envoy’ with the energetic enigma turning back another alien invasion. Ditko is back for the final fling as Captain Adam goes undercover in Berlin (just before The Wall went up) to crush an espionage plot in ‘An Ageless Weapon’…

The atomic experiment was coming to a close. After #40’s ‘The Crisis’ – wherein the hero helps a diplomat call a tyrant’s bluff and ‘The Boy and the Stars’ features another Earth tot transported into the wondrous cosmos – the costumed heroics were absent the next issue.

Just as the FF was about to go big, Space Adventures #42 (October 1961) arrived and depleted all the inventory tales at once beginning with a brace of Mastroserio drawn yarns and one last tantalising Ditko masterpiece. ‘The Saucer Scare’ is yet another mediocre space war clash whilst ‘The Man in Saturn’s Moon’ sees the atomic ace hunting a Soviet dissent squirreled away by wicked commies. Those lesser efforts are utterly eclipsed by ‘The Silver Lady from Venus’ as another sexy extraterrestrial beguiles the humans of Earth before making a fool of the fiery champion…

And that was that the end until of 1965 when a global resurgence of costumed capers led to a new line at Charlton. Leading that charge came Captain Atom #78 (cover-dated December) when Gill & Ditko – with Mastroserio inking – revived the Atomic Adventurer in ‘The Gremlins from Planet Blue’. The genre had moved on in four years and the stripped-back, pared-down B-Movie feel of those early tales had evolved into a more uniquely fulsome and flamboyant affair for this particular extraterrestrial infiltration. Here were subplots and supporting cast to spare, as the hero foiled alien sabotage and mind control at Cape Kennedy, romancing Leah Jupe whilst her scientist father fell under the control of insidious infiltrators. There was even a new gadfly for Captain Adam in the grumpy form of martinet military man General Brill before ultimately saving Earth again…

In the next issue (February/March 1966), a true but tragic supervillain arrives in the series as ‘Captain Atom Faces Doctor Spectro, Master of Moods’ when a spy hunt brings the hero into the orbit of an embittered recluse seeking to master light and colour to revolutionise medicine. Sadly, sudden success tips him over the edge and his newfound abilities drive him even more crazy…

Apparently destroyed, the miscreant is soon forgotten when a wandering planetoid nears Earth and sounds the ‘Death Knell of the World’ (#80, Ditko, Gill & Mastroserio). Happily, the High Energy Hero is up to foiling a cosmic tyrant and liberating his captive satellite people before confronting ‘The Five Faces of Doctor Spectro’ as the misunderstood miscreant reappears in five prismatic pieces with a plethora of different plans but one overriding goal: pulling himself together and finally splitting this atom…

The hero hosts a quick fact feature drawn by Frank McLaughlin in ‘Captain Atom’s Secret’ before this initial outing ends with a magnificent step up in tension and quality. Issue #82 – cover-dated September 1966 and by Ditko with Dave Kaler & Mastroserio – debuts not just the series’ ultimate archfoe and a major story arc but also the company’s first female superhero.

With an enigmatic teleporting thief casually robbing the nation and the military of its wealth and top secrets, Captain Adam is sent undercover with mystery operative Nightshade in ‘Captain Atom vs. The Ghost’…

Their mission introduces sleek scoundrel Alec Rois, channels the spy craze of the era and hints at a vast conspiracy underpinning a threat to Earth and even finds time to see the heroes battle an army of thugs and save Fort Knox from bold bullion banditry…

Over half a decade pioneers Steve Ditko and Captain Atom and paved the way and lit a path to a revolution in comics storytelling and these early exploits were only the start…

 

Action Heroes volume 2: Captain Atom, Blue Beetle & The Question

A second – far longer – volume completes Ditko’s controversial Charlton Comics costumed hero contributions with the remainder of Captain Atom’s exploits, the introduction of a new Blue Beetle and debut of his uniquely iconic vigilante The Question.

Following an effusive and extremely informative Introduction by original Action Line inventor and editor Dick Giordano, Captain Atom #83 (November 1966) starts the ball rolling again with a huge blast of reconstructive character surgery.

Although ‘Finally Falls the Mighty!’ was inked by Mastroserio and scripted by relative newcomer Kaler, thematically it’s pure Ditko. Plotted and drawn by him, it sees an ungrateful public swiftly turn on the Atomic Ace, due to the manipulations of a former colleague turned cunning criminal.

Intended to tone down the character’s sheer omnipotence, the added approachable empathy-inducing humanity of malfunctioning powers made his struggles against treacherous Professor Koste all the more poignant.

Moreover, the sheer visual spectacle of his battle against a runaway reactor is some of Ditko’s most imaginative design and layout work. The tale ends on a cliffhanger – a real big deal when the comic came out every two months – and with the last 7 pages dedicated to debuting a new superhero with one of the oldest names in the business.

The Blue Beetle first appeared in Mystery Men Comics #1, released by Fox Comics and cover-dated August 1939. Created by Charles Nicholas (nee Wojtkowski) the character was inexplicably popular: surviving the collapse of numerous publishers before ending up as an acquired Charlton property in the mid-1950s. After releasing a few issues sporadically, Charlton shelved him until the superhero revival of the 1960s when Gill and latterly young Roy Thomas revised and revived the character for a combined 10-issue run (June 1964 – February 1966).

Here however, Ditko accepts but sets aside all that history to utterly recreate him. Ted Kord is an earnest young scientist with a secret tragedy in his past, which Ditko and scripter Gary Friedrich sagely forbear revealing in deference to intrigue and action, in a taut, captivating crime-thriller where the new hero displays his modus operandi by stopping a vicious crime-spree by the Killer Koke Gang.

This untitled short has all the classic elements of a Ditko masterpiece: outlandish intense, fight scenes, compact, claustrophobic yet dynamic layouts, innovative gimmickry and a clear-cut battle between Right and Wrong. It’s one of the very best introductory stories of a new hero anywhere in comics – and it’s 7 pages long…

The remodelling of the Atomic Ace concludes in the next issue with ‘After the Fall a New Beginning’. Once again Ditko rattled his authorial sabre about the fickleness of the public as the villainous Koste exposes the hero’s face on live TV. Escaping, Atom gets a new costume to match his curtailed powers …and consequently, a lot more drama drapes the series.

Now there is a definite feeling of no safety or status quo. The untitled Blue Beetle back-up (scripted by Friedrich with full art from Ditko) pits the new kid against a Masked Marauder, but the real kicker is the bombshell revelation that Homicide detective Fisher – investigating the disappearance of Dan Garrett – suspects a possible connection to Kord…

Whilst extending a running plot-line about the mysterious Ghost and his connection to a lost civilization of warrior women, ‘Strings of Punch and Jewelee’ introduces a couple of shady carnival hucksters who find a chest of esoteric alien weapons and use them for robbery. Although Cap and partner Nightshade are somewhat outclassed here, the vigour and vitality of the Blue Beetle is again undeniable as a mid-air hijack is foiled and a spy sub and giant killer octopus are given short shrift by the indomitable rookie crusader.

Captain Atom #86 finally brings the long-simmering plot-thread of tech thief The Ghost to a boil as the malevolent science-wizard goes on a rampage, totally trouncing Nightshade and our hero before being kidnapped by the aforementioned mystery maidens. ‘The Fury of the Faceless Foe! is by Ditko, Kaler & Mastroserio whilst in the (still) untitled Blue Beetle strip by Friedrich & Ditko, the cobalt crusader confronts a ruthless scientist/industrial spy he’s convinced he battled before…

This leads directly into the first issue of his own comic book. Blue Beetle #1 (cover-dated June 1967) is an all-Ditko masterpiece (even scripting it as “D.C. Glanzman”) with the hero in all-out action against a deadly gang of bandits. ‘Blue Beetle… Bugs the Squids’ is crammed with the eccentric vitality that made Amazing Spider-Man such a monster hit, with justice-dispensing joie de vivre balanced by the moody, claustrophobic introduction of Ditko’s most challenging mainstream superhero creation.

‘The Question’ is Vic Sage, a TV journalist with an uncompromising attitude to crime and corruption, employing an alter-ego of faceless, relentless retribution. In his premiere outing he exposes the link between his own employers’ self-righteous sponsors and gambling racketeer Lou Dicer. This theme of unflinching virtue in the teeth of both violent crime and pernicious peer and public pressure marked Ditko’s departure from straight entertainment towards philosophical – some would say polemical – examination of greater societal issues and the true nature of both Good and Evil that would culminate in his controversial Mr. A, Avenging World and other independent ventures.

In Captain Atom #87 (August 1967), ‘The Menace of the Fiery-Icer’ presaged the beginning of the end for the Atomic Ace as Kaler, Ditko & Mastroserio dialled back on plot threads to deliver a visually excellent but run-of-the-mill yarn about a spy ring with a hot line in cold-blooded leaders.

Blue Beetle #2 however – another all-Ditko affair from the same month – showed the master at his peak. Lead story ‘The End is a Beginning!’ at last reveals the origin of the character as well as the fate of Dan Garrett, and even advances Kord’s relationship with his assistant Tracey. The enigmatic Question, meanwhile, tackles flying burglar The Banshee in a vertiginous, moody thriller reminiscent of early Doctor Strange strips.

Frank McLaughlin joins as inker for a satisfying no-nonsense escapist romp ‘Ravage of Ronthor’ (Captain Atom #88, October 1967), as the hero answers a distress call from space to preserve a paradise planet from marauding giant bugs. Blue Beetle #3 was another superbly satisfying read, as the eponymous hero routes malevolent, picturesque thugs ‘The Madmen’ in a sharp parable about paranoia and misperception. Equally captivating is the intense and bizarre Question vignette wherein a murderous ghostly deep-sea diver stalks some shady captains of industry…

Cover-dated December 1967, issue #89 was the last Captain Atom published by Charlton: an early casualty of the burn-out afflicting the superhero genre and leading to a resurrected horror and mystery craze. This resurrected genre would form a new backbone for the company’s 1970’s output; one where Ditko would shine again in his role as master of short story horror.

Scripter Kaler satisfactorily ties up most of the hanging plot threads with the warrior women of Sunuria in sci-fi-meets-witchcraft thriller ‘Thirteen’, although the Ditko/McLaughlin art team was nowhere near top form.

The next episode promised a final ‘Showdown in Sunuria’, but never materialized…

Blue Beetle #4 (released the same month) is visually the best of the bunch as Kord follows a somehow-returned Dan Garrett to an Asian backwater in pursuit of lost treasure and a death cult. ‘The Men of the Mask’ is pure strip poetry and bombastic action, cunningly counterbalanced by a seedy underworld thriller as the Question seeks to discover who gave the order to ‘Kill Vic Sage!’ Scripted by Steve Skeates (as Warren Savin) it was the last action any Charlton hero saw for the better part of a year…

Then, cover-dated October 1968, The Question returned as the star of Mysterious Suspense #1, with Ditko producing a captivating cover and three-chapter thriller (with Mastroserio providing a rather jarring full-page frontispiece). ‘What Makes a Hero?’ (probably rescued from partially completed inventory material) sees crusading Vic Sage pilloried by the public, abandoned by friends and abandoned by his employers yet resolutely sticking to his higher principles in pursuit of hypocritical villains masquerading as pillars of the community. Ditko’s interest in Ayn Rand’s philosophical Objectivism had become increasingly important to him and this story is arguably the dividing line between his “old” and “new” work. It’s also the most powerful and compelling piece in this entire book.

A month later one final issue of Blue Beetle (#5) was published. ‘The Destroyer of Heroes’ is a decidedly quirky tale featuring a nominal team-up of the azure avenger and the Question as a frustrated artist defaces heroic and uplifting paintings and statues. Ditko’s committed if reactionary views of youth culture, which so worried Stan Lee, are fully on view in this charged, absorbing tale.

Other material had been created and languished incomplete in editorial limbo. In the early 1970s a burgeoning and committed fan-base created fanzine Charlton Portfolio. With the willing assistance of the company, a host of kids who would soon become household names in their own right found a way to bring the lost work to the public gaze. Their efforts are also included here, in monochrome as they originally appeared.

For Charlton Portfolio #9 and 10 (1974), the unreleased Blue Beetle #6 was serialized. ‘A Specter is Haunting Hub City!’ is another all-Ditko extravaganza, pitting the hero against an (almost) invisible thief. Follow-up magazine Charlton Bullseye (1975) finally published ‘Showdown in Sunuria’ in its first two issues.

Behind an Al Milgrom Captain Atom cover, Kaler’s plot was scripted by Roger Stern (working as Jon G. Michels) and Ditko’s pencils were inked by rising star John Byrne – a cataclysmic climax almost worth the 8-year wait. But even there, the magic doesn’t end in this magnificent Archive volume.

Charlton Bullseye #5 (1975) offers one last pre-DC tale of The Question: 8 gripping, intense and beautiful pages plotted by Stern, scripted by Michael Uslan and illustrated by the legendary Alex Toth. This alone is worth the price of admission.

These weighty snapshots from another era are packed with classic material by brilliant craftsmen. They are books no Ditko addict, serious fan of the genre or lover of graphic adventure can afford to be without. It’s impossible to describe the grace, finesse, and unique eclectic shape of Steve Ditko’s art. It must be experienced, and this is as good a place to start as any. It’s just a shame DC have let these tales languish so long, but hopefully the power of Hollywood will induce a revival…
© 1966, 1967, 1968, 1974, 1975, 1976, 2007 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Shazam! The Golden Age of the World’s Mightiest Mortal


By Bill Parker & C.C. Beck, Roscoe Fawcett, Marcus Swayze, Pete Costanza, Otto Binder, Jack Binder, Mac Raboy, Joe Simon & Jack Kirby, Chad Grothkopf, Kurt Schaffenberger, and many & various: compiled & written by Chip Kidd and photographed by Geoff Spear (Abrams ComicArts/Harry N. Abrams, Inc.)
ISBN: 978-0-8109-9596-3 (2010 HB) 978-1-4197-3747-3 (2019 PB)

One of the most venerated and beloved characters in American comics was devised by Bill Parker & Charles Clarence Beck as part of a wave of opportunistic creativity following Superman’s debut in 1938. Although there were many similarities in the early years, the Fawcett Comics character moved swiftly and solidly into the realm of light entertainment -and even broad comedy – whilst, as the 1940s progressed the Man of Steel increasingly put whimsy aside in favour of action and drama.

Homeless orphan and thoroughly good kid Billy Batson was selected by an ancient wizard to battle injustice: granted the powers of six gods and mythical heroes. By speaking aloud the mage’s name – an acronym for the patrons Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury – Billy transformed from scrawny boy to brawny adult Captain Marvel.

At the height of his popularity, “the Big Red Cheese” significantly outsold The Man of Steel – published twice monthly and topping 14 million copies per month. Before eventually evolving his own affable personality the full-grown hero was a serious, bluff and rather characterless powerhouse, whilst alter ego Billy was the true star: a Horatio Alger archetype of impoverished, resourceful, boldly self-reliant youth overcoming impossible odds through gumption, grit and sheer determination…

However, as the decade moved on, tastes changed and sales slowed. A court case begun in 1941 by National Comics contesting copyright infringement was settled. Like many other superheroes, Cap disappeared, reduced to a fond memory for older fans. A big syndication success, he was missed all over the world…

In Britain, a reprint line had run for many years, so creator/publisher Mick Anglo had an avid audience and no product. His solution was to reimagine the franchise with atomic age hero Marvelman and Co. continuing to thrill readers well into the 1960s.

As America experienced another superhero boom-&-bust, the 1970s dawned with a shrinking industry and wide variety of comics genres servicing a base increasingly dependent on collectors and fans rather than casual or impulse buyers. DC needed sales and were prepared to look for them in unlikely places. Following a 1953 court settlement with Fawcett, DC ultimately secured the rights to Captain Marvel, his spun-off extended Family and attendant strips and characters.

Despite the actual name having been taken by Marvel Comics (via a circuitous route and quirky robotic hero published by Carl Burgos and M.F. Publications in 1967), the home of Superman opted for tapping into that discriminating, if aging, fanbase. In 1971, they licensed the dormant rights to the character stable (only fully buying them out in 1991) and two years later, riding a wave of national nostalgia on TV and in movies, DC resurrected and relaunched the entire beloved cast in their own kinder, weirder, completely segregated and separate universe.

To circumvent intellectual property clashes, they named the new/old title Shazam! (‘With One Magic Word…’): the unforgettable trigger phrase used by the majority of Marvels to transform to and from mortal form and a word that had entered the American language thanks to the success of the franchise (especially an excellent movie serial) the first time around.

Issue #1 carried a February 1973 cover-date and generated mixed reviews and unconvincing sales, but was pushed hard by DC. It even briefly scored the big prize in the publisher’s eyes. Adapted as live action Saturday morning TV series Shazam!, it ran three season (28 episodes) from 7th September 1974 to October 1976…

The comics are universally welcoming and wonderful and you should read them all, but we’re looking at a different aspect of the phenomenon here. Like any multi-media property, the Marvel Family franchise spawned tons of merchandise and this compendium sublimely showcases those tantalising collectables and examples of ephemera from the first 14 years – 1940-1953.

Most gems reproduced here come from the truly enviable personal collection of Harry Matesky as photographed by Geoff Spear (Batman Collected, The Peanuts Poster Collection, Mythology: The DC Art of Alex Ross). The multi-media melange is compiled, arranged and curated by frequent collaborator and acme and everyman of design fascinations and armchair indolences Chip Kidd (Cheese Monkeys, Batman: Death by Design, Only What’s Necessary: Charles M. Schulz and the Art of Peanuts, Go: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design, Batmanga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan, Jack Cole and Plastic Man: Forms Stretched to Their Limits).

This celebration of comics’ true magic was first released in 2010 as an epic oversized (235 x 310mm) hardback jam-packed with 3D cutaways, gatefolds and other print technology “bells & whistles”, and re-released in paperback (260 x 190mm) to tie-in with the first modern Shazam movie in 2019.

It’s a virtual wonderland for anyone who’s still a kid inside (AKA all men), overflowing with letters from the Captain Marvel Club, dynamic blow-ups of key characters such as Dr Thaddeus Bodog Sivana, classic covers, early toys, models, games, action figures and even candid shots of happy kids in their Captain and Mary Marvel costumes.

In its heyday, the Captain Marvel Club boasted a membership topping 400,000, serviced by a steady stream of priceless – and exclusive – tat to acquire: buttons, watches, key chains, paper rockets, tin toys, figurines, clothing, patches, transfers and more. Its inclusive and commercially canny model was repeated by later stars like Mary Marvel and others.

These feature amidst a wealth of mouth-watering displays of old comics, covers, original art, movie posters, apparel, toys, games and far rarer items – like Fawcett’s outreach material for potential manufacturers and merchandising partners and in-house writing guidelines.

Publishing house Fawcett first gained prominence through an immensely well-received light entertainment magazine for WWI veterans. From Captain Billy’s Whiz-Bang they branched out into books and general interest magazines. Most successful publication – at least until Batson hit his stride – was ubiquitous boy’s building/activity bible Mechanix Illustrated. As the 1940s unfolded, scientific and engineering discipline and can-do demeanour underpinning MI suffused and informed both art and plots of Marvel Family titles.

On show here are long-lost treats like the Captain Marvel Magic Whistle (complete with packaging), secret codes and decoders, the Captain Marvel Magic Membership Card, gewgaws and gimcracks, house ads, prize competitions and editorials, interspersed with a terse but informative history of the company, the creators, characters and entire beguiling phenomenon,

The star and his spin-offs sparked a huge campaign of coordinated ancillary merchandising, especially once the Big Red Cheese made a spectacular leap to the silver screen in 12-part chapter play The Adventures of Captain Marvel. That luminous landmark provides some rousing stills featuring star Tom Tyler as the Good Captain…

As detailed in ‘Hey Kids! See Capt. Marvel in the Movies’, in 1940 Republic Pictures reached out to Detective Comics Incorporated with the notion of turning Superman into a movie serial. No deal was struck and a year later Republic catapulted Fawcett’s big gun onto screens and into history. This essay is augmented by biographies, lobby cards, posters from many countries, contemporary ads and write-ups from magazines and comics of the period.

The only complete comics yarn included here is a corker. In the formative years as the feature rocketed to the first rank of superhero superstars, there was a scramble to fill pages. Following his Whiz Comics residency and epic one-shot Special Edition Comics, the indomitable innocent was promoted to his own solo title, but with Beck and his studio overstretched, Captain Marvel Adventures #1 (cover-dated March 1941, and on sale from January 17th) was farmed out to up-and-coming whiz-kids Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. With inker Dick Briefer they produced the entire issue in a hurry from Beck and Parker’s guides. Apparently they did it in two weeks whilst finalising the launch of Captain America…

‘Captain Marvel versus Z’ remains a visually impressive action-drama with the irrepressible Sivana creating a hulking android brute designed to be the Captain’s equal. Despite numerous clashes and subsequent upgrades, after one last brutal knock-down, drag-out, Kirby-co-ordinated dust-up, it is apparent that Z isn’t…

The hero soon spawned sidekicks and assistants aplenty. The two most successful were Captain Marvel Junior and Mary Marvel who each have their own sections, replete with merch and memorabilia – both American made and from syndicating publishers who reprinted them around the world. There are also short sections devoted to other Fawcett stars Spy Smasher (who also had a Republic movie serial and club – the “Victory Battalion”) and Hoppy the Marvel Bunny.

Toys, stationary, puzzles and games include Captain Marvel Lightning Racing Cars (glorious tin toys!), Captain and Mary Marvel Wristwatches (plus ads and packaging), keychains, a Captain Marvel Fun Kit, Helicopter and Power Siren (“world’s mightiest whistle!”). There are images of Captain Marvel’s Radar Racer, Rocket Raider and Magic Eyes (all with some assembly required); a compass-ring, Shazam board game, 3-D Magic Picture, a jigsaw, paper “punch-out book, and ceramic figurines ready to illuminate in the Captain Marvel Adventures in Paint set.

Throwable toy Hoppy the FLYING Marvel Bunny also needs assembling before launch, as does his Musical Evening Miracle Toy of Today, and there are examples of ultra-rare velveteen stuffed dolls of both the rabbit and his human inspiration…

As well as painting and colouring books, pencils, plastic statuettes, buzz bomb paper planes and Christmas tree decorations, are projects and covers from all across the globe, like lead figures and assorted Pre-Mick Anglo comics from Britain, plus a (gloriously painted) trading card set from Spain. There’s even a bootleg trading card album set from Havana, Cuba, based on the 1941 Republic serial.

Ready to wear items include novelty shirts, braces, neckties and a cape; bean bags, tie-clips, beanie-hats, vinyl saddlebag, bike/wall pennants, “overseas style” hats and caps, skin tattoo and iron-on tee-shirt transfers, illustrated soap (!?), numerous Premium postcards, patches and badges with even Billy and Hoppy the Marvel Bunny proudly included amongst the regular costumed heroes…

Leasing his fame, the Captain appears in strip ads for Coola Cola and other salient sales points (illustrated by Costanza) and proudly confirms his patriotic zeal via many inspirational war-time covers and with the Comics Canteen! packs (comics distributed gratis by Fawcett to US servicemen in 1942).

The titanic tome terminates with an examination of the end as ‘Twilight of the Golden Age’ reveals details of the court settlement, and reviews extracts from trial transcripts.

All items cited here are merely the tip of an iceberg of fabulous stuff no fan could resist, and an evocation to the simple pleasure of youth, making this book an unparalleled package of pure weaponised nostalgia impossible to resist. So don’t…
© 2010, 2019 DC Comics. All rights reserved.

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The Newsboy Legion by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby volume Two


By Joe Simon & Jack Kirby with Don Cameron, Joe Samachson, Ed Herron, Arturo Cazeneuve, Curt Swan, Gil Kane, Joe Kubert & others (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-7236-4 (HB/Digital edition)

Just as the Golden Age of comics was beginning, two young men with big dreams met up and began a decades-long association that was always intensely creative, immensely productive and spectacularly in tune with popular tastes. As kids they had both sold newspapers on street-corners to help their families survive the Great Depression…

Joe Simon was a sharp-minded, talented guy with 5 years’ experience in “real” publishing; working from the bottom up to become art director on a succession of small papers – such as the Rochester Journal American, Syracuse Herald and Syracuse Journal American – before moving to New York City to freelance as an art/photo retoucher and illustrator. Recommended by his boss, Simon joined Lloyd Jacquet’s pioneering Funnies Inc. This was a production “shop”: a conveyor belt of eager talent generating strips and characters for numerous publishing houses eager to cash in on the success of Action Comics and its stellar attraction Superman.

Within days, Simon created The Fiery Mask for Martin Goodman of Timely Comics (now Marvel) and met Jacob Kurtzberg, a cartoonist and animator just hitting his stride with the Blue Beetle for the Fox Feature Syndicate.

Together, Simon and Kurtzberg (who went through many pen-names before settling on Jack Kirby) enjoyed a stunning creative empathy and synergy: galvanizing an already electric neo-industry with a vast catalogue of features and even sub-genres.

They produced influential monthly Blue Bolt, rushed out Captain Marvel Adventures #1 for Fawcett and – after Martin Goodman appointed Simon editor at Timely – created a host of iconic characters such as Red Raven, the first Marvel Boy, Hurricane, The Vision, Young Allies and million-selling mega-hit Captain America.

Famed for his larger-than-life characters and colossal cosmic imaginings, “King” Kirby was an astute, spiritual hard-working family man who lived through poverty, gangsterism and the Depression. He loved his work, hated chicanery of every sort and saw a big future for the comics industry…

When Goodman failed to make good on his financial obligations, Simon & Kirby jumped ship to industry leader National/DC, who welcomed them with open arms and open chequebook. The pair were initially an uneasy fit, bursting with ideas the staid company were not comfortable with and thus given two strips that were in the doldrums until they found their creative feet…

Turning both around Sandman and Manhunter virtually overnight and – once established and left to their own devices – went on to devise the “Kid Gang” genre (technically, it was “recreating” as the notion was one of the duo’s last innovations for Timely as seen in 1941’s Young Allies). The result was unique and trendsetting juvenile Foreign Legion The Boy Commandos.

The little warriors began by sharing the spotlight with Batman in flagship publication Detective Comics, but before long they won their own accompanying solo title – which promptly became one of the company’s top three sellers. Frequently cited as the biggest-selling US comic book in the world at that time – Boy Commandos was such a success that the editors, painfully aware that the Draft was lurking, green-lit the completion of extra material to lay away for when their star creators were called up.

S&K assembled a creative team that generated so many stories in a phenomenally short time that publisher Jack Liebowitz then suggested they retool some of it into adventures of a second kid gang…

Thus was born The Newsboy Legion and super-heroic mentor The Guardian…

Probably based on the Our Gang/Little Rascals film shorts (1922-1944) and pitched halfway between a surly comedy grotesques and charmingly naive ragamuffins, the Newsboy Legion comprised four ferociously independent orphans living together on the streets of “Suicide Slum” peddling papers to survive. Earnest, good-looking Tommy Tompkins, garrulous genius Big Words, diminutive, hyper-active chatterbox Gabby and feisty, pugnacious Scrapper – whose Brooklyn-based patois and gutsy belligerence usually stole the show – were all headed for a bad end until somebody extraordinary entered their lives…

Their exploits offered a bombastic blend of crime thriller and comedy caper, leavened with dynamic superhero action and usually seen from a kid’s point of view. The series debuted in Star-Spangled Comics #7, forcing Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy off the covers and to the back of the book. The Legion remained lead feature until the end of 1946 when, without fanfare or warning, issue #65 was published without them.

The lads had been ousted and replaced by solo tales of Robin, the Boy Wonder. His own youth-oriented solo series subsequently ran all the way to SSC #130 in 1952, by which time superhero romps had largely been supplanted throughout the industry by general genre tales.

This second superb collection concludes their Golden Age exploits, with tales from Star-Spangled Comics #33-64 (cover-dated June 1944 – January 1947), including every stunning cover by Kirby, Simon, Fred Ray and teenager Gil Kane all inked by Arturo Cazeneuve, John Daly, Steve Brodie, George Roussos & Stan Kaye. There’s also an informative Introduction from The Jack Kirby Collector/Two Morrows’ publishing guru John Morrow setting the scene for the fun that follows…

In the very first tale, rookie cop Jim Harper adopted a superhero alter ego to administer hands-on justice when The Law was not enough. His vigilantism resulted in the capture of an infamous kidnap ring. Newspapers dubbed the mysterious hero the Guardian of Society and sold like hotcakes on all street corners, making money for even the poorest junior entrepreneurs.

Harper initially had no intention of repeating his foray into vigilantism but when he caught Tommy, Big Words, Gabby and Scrapper shoplifting, his life changed forever. The tough little monkeys were headed for reform school, but he made an earnest plea for clemency on their behalf and the judge appointed him their responsible adult: their “guardian”.

“The Newsboy Legion” were set on a righteous path, but their suspicions were aroused. Frustratingly, no matter how hard they tried, the boys could never prove that their two Guardians were the same guy…

With tales of the war declining in popularity, Star Spangled Comics #33 opens this concluding compilation with ‘The Case of the Bashful Bride!’ Regular illustrator Arturo Cazeneuve limns a fast-paced but uncredited yarn as gangster Sloppy Sam seemingly hangs up his gat after marrying into money. The nosy kids simply can’t accept the transformation and their poking around soon uncovers a cunning plot, cruel criminality and just a hint of hilarious hoity-toity crossdressing behind the scheme…

Naturally, by the time they’re in over their heads, Harper has again swapped his badge and gun for golden helmet and shield to wrap up the case…

The boys’ lives were peppered by dozens of get-rich-quick notions that inevitably uncovered crimes and unleashed chaos. In ‘From Rags to Ruin!’ (#34, by Cazeneuve, July 1944), Gabby discovers the power of positive thinking and talks himself into a high-paying executive position at an insurance company. His dream sours after discovering he’s the figurehead – and fall guy – for a protection racket. Time to call in some old pals…

Still calling himself Eli Katz, future superstar Gil Kane illustrated #35’s ‘The Proud Poppas!’ as the Newsboys adopt a homeless orphan fleeing a cruel and repressive institution. Peter wants to be an artist and gleefully moves into the Boys’ orbit – and shack – but his rightful carers desperately want him back and ruthless kidnappers now know who he is and where he’s hiding…

Cazeneuve returned for ‘The Cowboy of Suicide Slum!’ as grizzled former western sheriff Hawkeye Hawkins of Howlin’ Gulch comes Back East to see the sights. The Legion are all beguiled by his tall tales and before long hip-deep in trouble after they convince the ornery coot to display his talents by going after local gang boss Little Dodo…

After saving a swell from bullies in the slum, Scrapper is offered an apprenticeship by the city’s top gem cutter in ‘Diamonds in the Rough!’ However, as a business prone to criminality, the benefactor expects the fisty firebrand to protect his hands and quit fighting…

When workmen fixing waterpipes trigger a crude oil gusher in Suicide Slum, everybody wants to cash in whilst the toffs in swanky Doughbilt Apartments don’t want their views ruined by derricks. Into that bubbling cauldron of trouble come opportunists; crooks too, so it’s not long until The Guardian and the Legion discover what’s actually going on in ‘Roll Out the Barrels’…

Steve Brodie begins inking Cazeneuve in #39’s ‘Two Guardians Are a Crowd!’ (December 1944) as a crooked doppelganger plays hob with the hero’s reputation and the boys’ conviction of Harper’s double life – until the inevitable face-off – after which notorious thief Danny the Dip bids ‘Farewell to Crime!’ by writing a tell-all memoir. When the kids get involved, it’s exposed as less a confession and more perjury and blame-shifting, leading to the Guardian getting truth – and justice – his way…

When a criminal set fires and create street accidents to tie up first responders in ‘Time Out for the Guardian!’, cop Harper is among the injured. Mistakenly diagnosed with a broken leg, he uses the mistake to convince his wards that the superhero is another guy when they go after the culprits. However, they are just young, not idiots…

In #42, the Legion discovers ‘The Power of the Press!’ when they produce a grassroots periodical going after crooks at ground level. It’s good enough to get them framed by malign mastermind The Undertaker until good old Jim steps in, before the boys test their musical chops in a (naturally fixed and wildly comedic) barbershop quartet singing competition designed to expose the ‘Trials of a Tenor!’

Misguided philanthropy and unthinking privilege steer Ethelreda Winkle and her nephew Cuthbert when the daft dowager sets up an institute to elevate the poor by teaching them proper manners in ‘Etiquette Comes to Suicide Slum!’ With thieves flocking in to improve their chances of better scores, Harper asks the Newsboys to get with the program and learns all is not as seems, after which ‘Crime Gets Clipped!’ finds the lads setting up a …news-gathering “clipping service” and catching a vain bigshot plundering the city’s banks…

‘Clothes Make the Criminal!’ finds the kids on the trail of crooks using a selection of stolen uniforms and costumes to commit outrages before Jim and the boys again prove they have the right stuff…

With George Roussos inking Cazeneuve, ‘The Triumph of Tommy!’ sees the bold Newsboy gunned down by a robber. To recuperate, he’s carted off to Camp Woko-ni-to (“for underprivileged children of the slums”) by his doctor, and when his comrades visit, it sparks another fight when Tommy spots the thug who shot him laying low. Meanwhile, The Guardian has been following another trail and pops up just when he’s most needed…

‘Booty and the Blizzard!’ is one of the few stories we know the writer of. Don Cameron scripts for Cazeneuve & Roussos as an icy cold snap cuts off Suicide Slum and the industrious boys shovel out a network of tunnels for fellow residents trapped behind ten feet of hard-packed snow. Too bad it’s also an ideal escape route for wily bank bandits, until the Guardian learns to ski…

The same creative team measure out ‘One Ounce to Victory!’ as a scrap paper drive gets hyper-competitive when the Newsboys compete with rival news peddlers the Hawker Street Hawks. As if bitter enmity isn’t enough, the effort is made more dangerous after recently released convict Tightlips Leo hides the map to his stashed loot in one of those collected paper piles and resorts to murderous means to retrieve it…

Cover-dated November 1945, Star Spangled #50 features Joe Samachson, Joe Kubert & Roussos adding a flash of film fantasy in ‘The Leopard Man Changes his Spots!’ Here the boys help a meek movie star specialising in monsters channel his inner hero and escape the clutches of a racketeering mobster.

Another industrious enterprise transforms into a means of corralling crooks when the boys start a second-hand apparel business. Naturally, any way to help poor folk advance draws cunning connivers with a perfidious plan, but ‘The Style Show of Suicide Slum’ (Cameron & Kubert) also triggers a wicked comedy of errors when the ugliest jacket on Earth (concealing a fortune in stolen cash) is inadvertently passed from one ungrateful recipient to the next…

Cameron, Cazeneuve & Brodie reunite for #52’s ‘Rehearsal for a Crime!’ as Gabby breaks into an abandoned theatre and mistakes a practise run for robbery for a new play pre-debut. When he comes back with his pals they are all captured and it’s up to Harper to seek them out, shut them down and save the day…

Kirby returned in the next issue where Gabby won a jingle contest – and $500 – and pursued a career in rhyme as ‘The Poet of Suicide Slum!’ (script by Cameron and inked by Brodie). His delusions and propensity for naming gangsters and their plans in his odes soon made him a target for early immortality… until The Guardian applied his own brand of two-fisted criticism…

Another acknowledgement of the rise in western themes informs ‘Dead-Shot Dade’s Revenge!’ (by an uncredited writer, Kirby & Brodie) as a spiky relic of pioneer days drives his “prairie schooner” into Suicide Slum. He’s come 2000 miles in pursuit of Gaspipe Gosser, who stole Dade’s life savings, and it’s all The Guardian can do to stop the old coot shooting him dead like a dawg just to see him drop…

Happily, Gosser’s guilt triggers a pre-emptive strike that gives the hero all he needs to put the thug away, after which Curt Swan & Jack Farr depict how ‘Gabby Strikes a Gusher!’ He had been tending his vegetable garden when he discovered oil, but just as he looks into setting up a company, the thugs who originally stole the stuff came calling…

Cooking for the Newsboys was done on a strict rota basis, with dealer’s choice the prime consideration. When Gabby accidentally came into possession of oysters dropped by fleet-footed Willy Wetsell, he thought it solved his problem of what the gang would eat that night.

Instead, each mollusc contained a superb, huge fully processed Arabian pearl and Jim Harper realised that this ‘Treasure of Araby’ (art by Kirby & Ray Burnley) was far more than chance and not in the least lucky…

Kirby & John Daly limned Star Spangled Comics #57’s cunning shocker as mobster Snake Huggins resolved to fix the interfering brats for good. His plan was to hit him at his weakest point and resulted in ‘A Recruit for the Legion!’ but wealthy Timothy Tuck was not what he seemed and proved a far bigger threat that he looked…

Kirby handled exotic diversion ‘Matadors of Suicide Slum!’ as the boys befriend elderly janitor Perez and hear rousing tales of his glory days in the bullrings of Mexico. Coincidentally, Yankee businessmen are trying to bring the bloody sport to Suicide Slum, leading to a decades-delayed concluding duel between the man and his nemesis El Diabolo. Only, it’s not quite as they recalled or any onlooker quite expected…

From sentimental slapstick, we turn to criminal mystery in Kirby’s Daly inked ‘Answers, Inc.!’ (#59, August 1946) wherein Tommy cashes in on an unsuspected gift for solving riddles, puzzles and general knowledge quizzes. Although he’s smart, he’s still a kid though and when a cunning cove poses a pithy conundrum, Tommy hands over a method for a foolproof heist. Happily, jaded, cynical Jim Harper is on hand to ask his own difficult questions whilst The Guardian is ready to answer them…

Ed Herron, Swan and Stan Kaye then detail a whimsical winner as Scrapper seeks to become ‘Steve Brodie Da Second!’ to one-up friendly rivals the Boy Commandos. The Brodie in question is not the inker, but the turn of the century sportsman who claimed to have survived jumping off the East River Bridge. Here, however, Scrapper’s idiotic emulation ends when he jumps right into a gangster’s secret submarine, and silly season stunt escalates to front page crime caper…

Swan & Kaye then continued the new trend for stunts as Guardian’s pursuit of a crook leads to a syndicate dictating the demise of him and the Newsboy Legion under the pretence of sponsoring them in ‘The Great Balloon Race!’ across America, after which ‘Prevue of Tomorrow’ sees a mysterious stranger spark chaos by handing out papers offering news from 24 hours into the future. Of course for our heroes forewarned is simply forearmed…

Brodie inked Swan on penultimate outing ‘Code of the Newsstand!’ as the boys visit Chinatown just as Harper enters the enclave to find escaped convict Stiletto Mike. Of course, they are first to find the felon but it’s The Guardian who has the last word… and punch.

Cover-dated January 1947, Star Spangled Comics #64 closed the Newsboy Legion’s eclectic run with ‘Criminal Cruise!’ wherein Swan & Brodie had the kids literally sailing off into the sunset after winning an all-inclusive holiday to the South Seas. Naturally, trouble followed with lost tickets, stowaways and a gang of jewel thieves spicing up the voyage…

And that was that for almost 25 years, until Kirby brought them back in Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #133 (October 1970), spearheading his mega revitalisation of DC’s continuity – but let’s talk of that another day…

There is a glorious abundance of Jack Kirby material available these days: true testament to his influence and legacy, with this magnificent and compelling collection in collaborations with fellow pioneer Joe Simon being another gigantic box of delights perfectly illustrating the depth, scope and sheer thundering joy of the early days of comics. Funny, thrilling and ideally accessing simpler days, this is a treat every fan should enjoy and share.
© 1944, 1945, 1946, 2017 DC Comics. All rights reserved.

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Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes


By Geoff Johns, Gary Frank, Jon Sibal & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-1819-5 (HC/Digital edition) 978-1-4012-1904-8 (TPB/Digital edition)

Superman started the whole modern era of fantasy heroes: outlandish, flamboyant, indomitable, infallible, unconquerable.

He also saved a foundering industry and invented an entirely new genre of storytelling – Super heroes. Since May 1938 he has unstoppably evolved into a mighty presence in all aspects of art, culture and commerce, even as his natal comicbook universe has organically and exponentially expanded.

Long ago and far away a scientifically advanced civilisation perished, but not before its greatest genius sent his baby son to safety in a star-spanning ship. It landed in simple, rural Kansas where the interplanetary orphan was reared by decent folk as one of us…

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

And thus began the vast and epic saga of Superman and – tangentially – the Legion of Super-Heroes as envisioned by writer Otto Binder & artist Al Plastino in Adventure Comics #247 (cover-dated April 1958 and approximately 20 years after Kal-El’s debut).

Since that time, the fortunes and popularity of the Legion have perpetually waxed and waned, with their future history tweaked and rebooted, retconned and unwritten over and again to comply with editorial diktat and popular trends.

One always popular publishing stratagem is to re-embrace those innocent, silly, joyous, stirring and utterly compelling pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths tales, but shading them with contemporary sensibilities. With this in mind Geoff Johns gradually reinstituted the Lore of the Legion in a number of his assignments during the early part of this century.

Beginning most notably with Justice League of America: The Lightning Saga and culminating in the epic New Krypton and War against Brainiac sagas, the Legion were restored: once again carving out a splendid and unique niche in the DC Universe.

Along the way came this superb, nostalgia-laced cracker which re-established direct contact between the futuristic paladins and the current Man of Tomorrow…

Compiling Action Comics #858-863 (December 2007 through May 2008), this collected chronicle – sporting an Introduction from veteran LSH creator Keith Giffen – finds the Legion back in the 21st century, seeking Superman to save Tomorrow’s World once more.

Long ago the Legion had regularly visited: spiriting the young Kryptonian to a place and time where he didn’t have to hide his true nature. However, once he began his official and adult public career, the visits ceased and his memories were suppressed to safeguard the integrity of history and the inviolability of the timeline.

Now a desperate squad of Legionnaires must reawaken those memories since the Man of Steel is the last hope for a world on the edge of destruction. In the millennium since his debut, the myth of Superman has become a beacon of justice and tolerance throughout the Utopian Universe, but recently a radical, xenophobic anti-alien movement has swept Earth, marginalising, interning and even executing all non-Terrans.

Moreover, a super-powered team of Legion rejects has formed a Justice League of Earth to spearhead a crusade against all extraterrestrial immigrants, and outrageously claim Superman was actually a true-born Earthling. They have even declared him the figurehead and spiritual leader of their pogrom…

Of course, Kal-El of Krypton must travel to the future and not only save the day but scour the racist stain from his name: a task made infinitely harder because Earth-Man, psychotic supremacist leader of the Earth-First faction, has turned yellow sun Sol a power-sapping red…

Bold, thrilling and utterly enthralling, the last-ditch struggle of a few brave aliens against a racist, fascistic and unrepentantly ruthless totalitarian tomorrow is the stuff of pure comic-book dreams. Superman strives to unravel a poisonous future where all his hopes and aspirations have been twisted and soiled, with only his truest childhood friends to aid him. It’s all made chillingly authentic thanks to the incredibly intense and hyper-realistic art of Gary Frank & Jon Sibal, making it all seem not only plausible and inevitable, but also inescapably horrible…

Sweetening the deal is a stunning covers and variants gallery by Frank, Adam Kubert, Steve Lightle, Mike Grell & Al Milgrom, plus pages of notes, roughs and designs from Frank’s preparatory work before embarking on the epic adventure.

Unforgettable, total Fights ‘n’ Tights future shock in the best way possible, and a major high point for fans of all ages…
© 2007, 2008 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Team-Ups of the Brave and the Bold


By J. Michael Straczynski, Jesus Saiz, Chad Hardin, Justiniano, Cliff Chiang & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-2793-7 (HB) 978-1-4012-2809-5 (TPB/Digital edition)

The Brave and the Bold premiered in 1955; an anthology adventure comic featuring short complete tales starring a variety of period heroes and a format mirroring and cashing in on that era’s filmic fascination with historical dramas.

Devised and written by Robert Kanigher, issue #1 led with Roman epic Golden Gladiator, medieval mystery-man The Silent Knight and Joe Kubert’s now legendary Viking Prince. The Gladiator was soon replaced by National Periodicals/DC Comics’ iteration of Robin Hood, and the high adventure theme carried the title until the end of the decade when a burgeoning superhero revival saw B&B remodelled as a try-out vehicle like the astounding successful Showcase.

Deployed to launch enterprising concepts and characters such as Task Force X: The Suicide Squad, Cave Carson, Strange Sports Stories, Hawkman and the epochal Justice League of America, the title then evolved to create a whole sub-genre – although barely anybody noticed at the time…

That innovation was Superhero Team-Ups.

For almost a decade DC had enjoyed great success pairing Superman with Batman and Robin in World’s Finest Comics, and in 1963 sought to create another top-selling combo from their growing pantheon of masked mystery men. It didn’t hurt that the timing also allowed extra exposure for characters imminently graduating to their own starring vehicles after years as back-up features…

This was during a period when almost no costumed heroes acknowledged the jurisdiction or (usually) existence of other costumed champions. When B&B offered this succession of power pairings, they were unknowingly laying foundations for DC’s future close-knit comics continuity. Nowadays, there’s something wrong with any superstar who doesn’t regularly join every other cape or mask on-planet every five minutes or so…

The short-lived experiment eventually calcified as “Batman and…” but, for a while, readers were treated to some truly inspired pairings such as Flash and the Doom Patrol, Metal Men and Metamorpho, Flash and The Spectre or Supergirl and Wonder Woman.

The editors even achieved their aim after Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad remained together after their initial foray and expanded into the ever-popular Teen Titans…

That theme of heroes united together for a specific time and purpose was revived in 2007 for the third volume of The Brave and the Bold, resulting in many exceedingly fine modern Fights ‘n’ Tights classics, and this compilation collects issues #27-33 (November 2009 – June 2010): the first seven issues scripted by TV/comics star scribe J. Michael Straczynski.

The run of easily accessible, stand-alone tales delved into some of the strangest nooks and crannies of the DCU and opens here with ‘Death of a Hero’, illustrated by Jesús Saíz, wherein teenager Robby Reed visits Gotham City and decides to help out a Batman sorely pressed by the machinations of The Joker…

The child prodigy had his own series in the 1960s as a kid who found a strange rotary device dotted with alien hieroglyphics that could temporarily transform him into a veritable army of super-beings when he dialled the English equivalents of H, E, R and O…

Here, however, after the lad dials up futuristic clairvoyant Mental Man, the visions he experiences force him to quit immediately and take to his bed…

He even forgets the Dial when he leaves, and it is soon picked up by down-&-out Travers Milton who also falls under its influence and is soon saving lives and battling beside the Dark Knight as The Star. What follows is a meteoric and tragic tale of a rise and fall…

Again limned by Saíz, B&B #28 takes us a wild trip to the ‘Firing Line’ as the Flash (Barry Allen) falls foul of a scientific experiment and winds up stranded in the middle of World War II. Injured and unable to properly use his powers, the diminished speedster is taken under the wing of legendary paramilitary aviator squadron The Blackhawks, but finds himself torn when his scruples against taking life crash into the hellish cauldron of the Battle of Bastogne and his manly, martial love of his new brothers in arms…

Brother Power, The Geek was a short-lived experimental title developed by legendary figure Joe Simon at the height of the hippy-dippy 1960s (or just last week if you’re a baby booming duffer like me).

He/it was a tailor’s mannequin mysteriously brought to life through extraordinary circumstances, just seeking his place in the world: a bizarre commentator and ultimate outsider philosophising on a world he could not understand.

That cerebral angst is tapped in ‘Lost Stories of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow’ when the elemental outcast crawls out of wreckage in Gotham City and clashes with Batman as they both strive to save homeless people from authoritarian brutality and greedy arsonists.

Like the times it references, this story is one you have to experience rather than read about…

Straczynski & Saíz play fast and loose with time travel in ‘The Green and the Gold’ as mystic Lord of Order Doctor Fate is helped through an emotional rough patch by Green Lantern Hal Jordan. As a result of that unnecessary kindness, the mage gets to return the favour long after his own demise at the moment the Emerald Warrior most needs a helping hand…

Illustrated by Chad Hardin & Walden Wong and Justiniano, The Brave and the Bold #31 describes ‘Small Problems’ encountered by The Atom after Ray Palmer is asked to shrink into the synapse-disrupted brain of The Joker to perform life-saving surgery. Despite his better judgement, the physicist eventually agrees but nobody could have predicted that he would be assimilated into the maniac’s memories and forcibly relive the Killer Clown’s life…

Straczynski & Saíz reunite as sea king Aquaman and hellish warrior Etrigan the Demon combine forces in a long-standing pact to thwart a revolting Cthonic invasion of ‘Night Gods’ from a hole in the bottom of the ocean before this mesmerising tome concludes with a bittersweet ‘Ladies Night’ from times recently passed, illustrated by Cliff Chiang.

When sorceress Zatanna experiences a shocking dream, she contacts Wonder Woman and Batgirl Barbara Gordon, insisting that they should join her on an evening of hedonistic excess and sisterly sharing. Only Babs is left out of one moment of revelation: what Zatanna foresaw would inescapably occur to her the next day at the hands of the Joker…

Smart, moving and potently engaging, these heroic alliances are a true treat for fans of more sophisticated costumed capers, and skilfully prepared in such a way that no great knowledge of backstory is required. Team-ups are all about finding new readers and this terrific tome is a splendid example of the trick done right…
© 2009, 2010 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Superman/Batman: Saga of the Super Sons


By Bob Haney & Dick Dillin, with Dennis O’Neil, John Calnan, Ernie Chan, Rich Buckler, Kieron Dwyer & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-6968-5 (TPB/Digital edition)

Are you now old enough to yearn for simpler times?

The brilliant expediency of the Parallel Earths concept – and especially its contemporary incarnation Infinite Frontier – lends the daftest tale from DC’s vast back catalogue credibility and contemporary resonance, providing a chance that even the hippest and most happening of the modern pantheon can interact with the most utterly outrageous world concept in the company’s nigh-90-year history. It especially doesn’t hurt here, since – following the Rebirth reboot – the actual sons of the Dark Knight and Man of Tomorrow are now part of an established – and therefore “real” – DC Universe.

Thus, this collection of well-told but initially “imaginary” tales from 1972 to 1976, supplemented by some episodes from more self-conscious times, results from another earnest opportunity to make the fundamental allure of stuffy adult characters relevant to kids and teens.

Written by Bob Haney and drawn by Dick Dillin, The Super-Sons appeared without prior preamble or fanfare in World’s Finest Comics #215, (cover-dated January 1973, and hitting newsstands mid-October 1972). It was a tough time for superhero comics, but a great era for teen rebels. Those free-wheeling, easy-rider, end of the flower-power days generated a huge (and lasting) societal refocussing on “teen consciousness”, and the “Generation Gap” was a phrase on almost every lip.

It didn’t hurt that the concept was already tried and tested. Both Man of Steel and Caped Crusader had already been seen as younger versions of themselves many times over the years, and the evergreen dream of characters who would more closely resonate with youngsters never died in editors’ minds. After all, hadn’t original Boy Wonder Robin been created to give readers someone to closely identify with?

The editors – Murray Boltinoff and E. Nelson Bridwell – clearly saw a way to make their perilously old-school so-very establishment characters instantly pertinent and relevant. Being mercifully oblivious to the more onerous constraints of continuity – some would say logic – they simply and immediately generated tales of the maverick sons of the World’s Finest heroes out of whole cloth.

…And smartly-constructed, well told tales they are. Debut outing ‘Saga of the Super Sons!’ (inked by Henry Scarpelli) sees the young warriors as fully realised young rebels running away from home – on the inevitable motorcycle – and encountering a scurrilous gang-lord.

But worry not, their paternalistic parents are keeping a wary eye on the lads! Speaking as one of the original target market for this experiment, I can admit the parental overview grated then and still does, but as there were so many sequels, enough reader must have liked it…

‘Little Town with a Big Secret!’ appeared in the very next issue: another low key human interest tale, but with a science-fiction twist and the superb inking of Murphy Anderson complimenting Haney & Dillin’s tight murder-mystery yarn.

Crafted by the same team, WF # 221 (January-February 1974) featured ‘Cry Not for My Forsaken Son!’ depicting a troubled runaway boy discovering the difference between merit and worth, and the value of a father as opposed to a biological parent, after which #222’s ‘Evil in Paradise’(inked by Vince Colletta) saw young heroes voyage to an undiscovered Eden to resolve the ancient question of whether Man is intrinsically Good or Evil.

‘The Shocking Switch of the Super-Sons’ (WF #224, cover dated July-August and also inked by Colletta) took teen rebellion to its logical conclusion when a psychologist convinces the boys to trade fathers, whereas ‘Crown for a New Batman!’ provides a radical change of pace as Bruce Wayne Jr. inherits the Mantle and the Mission when dad is murdered!

Never fear, all is not as it seems, fans! This thriller – guest starring Robin – appeared in WFC #228, and was inked by Tex Blaisdell, who inked Curt Swan, on more traditional Lost Civilisation yarn ‘The Girl Whom Time Forgot’ in WF#230…

The Relevancy Era was well over by the time Haney, Dillin & Blaisdell crafted ‘Hero is a Dirty Name’ (#231, July 1975), wherein the Sons are forced to question the motivation for heroism in a thriller guest-starring Green Arrow and The Flash.

In #233’s ‘World Without Men’ (inked by John Calnan) the ever-rambling, soul-searching Super-Sons confront sexual equality issues and unravel a crazy plot to supplant human males, after which ‘The Angel with a Dirty Name’ (by the same team in June 1976’s WFC #238) offers a supervillains and monsters slug-fest indistinguishable from any other Fights ‘n’ Tights tale, before the original series fades out with December’s #242’s in ‘Town of the Timeless Killers’. Illustrated by Ernie Chua (nee Chan) & Calnan, it sees the kids trapped in a haunted ghost town and stalked by immortal gunslingers offering a rather low-key and ignominious close to a bold experiment.

Four years later in mid-March 1980, the boys surprisingly showed up in a momentary revival. Cover-dated June-July and courtesy of Denny O’Neil, Rich Buckler & Dick Giordano in WFC #263, ‘Final Secret of the Super-Sons’ shockingly revealed that the boys were no more than a simulation running on the Man of Steel’s futuristic Super Computer.

In a grim indication of how much of a chokehold shared continuity had grown into, they then escaped into “reality” anyway, accidentally wreaking havoc in a manner The Matrix movies would be proud of…

The collection concludes in a short tale by Haney & Kieron Dwyer from Elseworlds 80-Page Giant in 1999. ‘Superman Jr. is No More!’ is a charming, fitting conclusion to this odd, charming and idiosyncratic mini-saga, embracing the original conceit as it posits what would happen if Superman died and his boy was forced to take over too soon…

Supplemented with a full cover gallery by Nick Cardy, Chan, Calnan, Giordano, Ross Andru & Ty Templeton, these classic yarns are packed with potency and wit. If you’ve an open mind and refined sense of adventure, why not take a look at a few gems (and one or two clunkers) from an era where everybody read comics and nobody took them too seriously?
© 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1999, 2017 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Superman – The Golden Age volume one


By Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-9109-2 (TPB/Digital edition)

Almost exactly 85 years ago, Superman started the whole modern era of fantasy heroes: outlandish, flamboyant indomitable, infallible, unconquerable. He also saved a foundering industry by birthing an entirely new genre of storytelling – the Super Hero.

Since April 18th 1938 (the generally agreed day copies of Action Comics #1 first went on sale) he has grown into a mighty presence in all aspects of art, culture and commerce, even as his natal comic book universe organically grew and expanded.

Within three years of that debut, the intoxicating blend of eye-popping action and social wish-fulfilment that had hallmarked the early exploits of the Man of Tomorrow had grown: encompassing crime-busting, reforming dramas, science fiction, fantasy and even whimsical comedy. However, once the war in Europe and the East seized America’s communal consciousness, combat themes and patriotic imagery dominated most comic book covers, if not interiors.

In comic book terms at least, Superman was soon a true master of the world, utterly changing the shape of the fledgling industry. There was a popular newspaper strip, a thrice-weekly radio serial, games, toys, foreign and overseas syndication and as the decade turned, the Fleischer studio’s astounding animated cartoons.

Moreover, the quality of the source material was increasing with every four-colour release as the energy and enthusiasm of originators Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster went on to inform and infect the burgeoning studio which grew around them to cope with the relentless demand.

These tales have been reprinted many times, but this superb compilation series is arguably the best, offering the original stories in chronological publishing order and spanning cover-dates June 1938 to December 1939. It features the groundbreaking sagas from Action Comics #1-19 and Superman #1-3, plus his pivotal appearance in New York’s World Fair No. 1. Although most of the early tales were untitled, here, for everyone’s convenience, they have been given descriptive appellations by the editors.

Thus – after describing the foundling’s escape from exploding planet Krypton and offering a scientific rationale for his incredible abilities and astonishing powers in 9 panels – with absolutely no preamble the wonderment begins with Action #1’s primal thriller ‘Superman: Champion of the Oppressed!’ Here, an enigmatic costumed crusader – who secretly masquerades by day as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent – begins averting numerous tragedies…

As well as saving an innocent woman from the Electric Chair and roughing up an abusive “wife beater”, the tireless crusader works over racketeer Butch Matson and consequently saves feisty colleague Lois Lane from abduction and worse before outing a lobbyist for the armaments industry bribing Senators on behalf of the greedy munitions interests fomenting the war in Europe…

One month later came Action #2 and the next breathtaking instalment as the mercurial mystery-man travels to that war-zone to spectacularly dampen down hostilities already in progress in ‘Revolution in San Monte Part 2’ before ‘The Blakely Mine Disaster’ finds the Man of Steel responding to a coal-mine cave-in and exposing corrupt corporate practises before cleaning up gamblers ruthlessly fixing games and players in #4’s ‘Superman Plays Football’.

The Action Ace’s untapped physical potential is highlighted in the next issue as ‘Superman and the Dam’ pits the human dynamo against the power of a devastating natural disaster, after which issue #6 sees canny chiseller Nick Williams attempting to monetise the hero – without asking first. ‘Superman’s Phony Manager’ even attempts to replace the real thing with a cheap knock-off, but quickly learns a most painful and memorable lesson in ethics…

Although Superman starred on the first cover, National’s cautious editors were initially dubious about the alien strongman’s lasting appeal and fell back upon more traditional genre scenes for the following issues (all by Leo E. O’Mealia and all included here).

Superman – and Joe Shuster’s – second cover graced Action Comics #7 (on sale from October 25th but cover-dated December 1938) prompting a big jump in sales, even as the riotous romp inside revealed why ‘Superman Joins the Circus’ – with the mystery man crushing racketeers taking over the Big Top.

Fred Guardineer produced genre covers for #8 and 9 whilst their interiors saw ‘Superman in the Slums’ working to save young delinquents from a future life of crime and depravity before latterly detailing how the city’s cop disastrous decision to stop the costumed vigilante’s unsanctioned interference plays out in ‘Wanted: Superman’. That manhunt ended in an uncomfortable stalemate that endured for years…

Action Comics #7 had been one of the company’s highest-selling issues ever, so #10 again sported a stunning Shuster shot, whilst Siegel’s smart story ‘Superman Goes to Prison’ struck another telling blow against institutionalised injustice, as the Man of Tomorrow infiltrated a penitentiary to expose the brutal horrors of State Chain Gangs.

Action #11 offered a maritime cover by Guardineer whilst inside heartless conmen driving investors to penury and suicide soon regret the Metropolis Marvel intercession in ‘Superman and the “Black Gold” Swindle’.

Guardineer’s cover of magician hero Zatara for issue #12 was a shared affair, incorporating another landmark as the Man of Steel was given a cameo badge declaring his presence inside each and every issue. Between those covers, ‘Superman Declares War on Reckless Drivers’ is a hard-hitting tale of casual joy-riders, cost-cutting automobile manufacturers, corrupt lawmakers and dodgy car salesmen who all feel the wrath of the hero after a friend of Clark Kent dies in a hit-&-run incident.

By now, the editors had realised that Superman had propelled National Comics to the forefront of the new industry, and in 1939 the company was licensed to create a comic book commemorative edition celebrating the opening of the New York World’s Fair. The Man of Tomorrow naturally topped the bill on the appropriately titled New York World’s Fair Comics at the forefront of such early DC four-colour stars as Zatara, Butch the Pup, Gingersnap and gas-masked vigilante The Sandman.

Following an inspirational cover by Sheldon Mayer, Siegel & Shuster’s ‘Superman at the World’s Fair’ describes how Lois and Clark are dispatched to cover the event, giving our hero an opportunity to contribute his own exhibit and bag a bunch of brutal bandits to boot…

Back in Action Comics #13 (June 1939 and another Shuster cover) the road-rage theme of the previous issue continued with ‘Superman vs. the Cab Protective League’ as the tireless foe of felons faces a murderous gang trying to take over the city’s taxi companies. The tale also introduces – in almost invisibly low key – The Man of Steel’s first recurring nemesis – The Ultra-Humanite…

Next follows a truncated version of Superman #1. This is because the industry’s first solo-starring comic book simply reprinted the earliest tales from Action, albeit supplemented with new and recovered material – which is all that’s featured at this point.

Behind the truly iconic and much recycled Shuster cover, the first episode was at last printed in full as ‘Origin of Superman’, describing the alien foundling’s escape from doomed planet Krypton, his childhood with unnamed Earthling foster parents and eventual journey to the big city…

Also included in those 6 pages (cut from Action #1, and restored to the solo vehicle entitled ‘Prelude to ‘Superman, Champion of the Oppressed’”) is the Man of Steel’s routing of a lynch mob and capture of the real killer which preceded his spectacular saving of the accused murderess that started the legend. Rounding off the unseen treasures is the solo page ‘A Scientific Explanation of Superman’s Amazing Strength!’, a 2-page prose adventure of the Caped Crime-crusher, a biographical feature on Siegel & Shuster and a glorious Shuster pin-up from the premier issue’s back cover.

Sporting another Guardineer Zatara cover, Action #14 saw the return of the manic money-mad deranged scientist in ‘Superman Meets the Ultra-Humanite’, wherein the mercenary malcontent switches his incredible intellect from incessant graft, corruption and murder to an obsessive campaign to destroy the Man of Steel.

Whilst Shuster concentrated on the interior epic ‘Superman on the High Seas’ – wherein the heroic hurricane tackles sub-sea pirates and dry land gangsters – Guardineer then made some history as illustrator of an aquatic Superman cover for #15. He also produced the Foreign Legion cover on #16, wherein ‘Superman and the Numbers Racket’ sees the hero save an embezzler from suicide before wrecking another wicked gambling cabal.

Superman’s rise was meteoric and inexorable. He was the indisputable star of Action, plus his own dedicated title and a daily newspaper strip had begun on 16th January 1939, with a separate Sunday strip following from November 5th of that year. The fictive Man of Tomorrow was the actual Man of the Hour and was swiftly garnering millions of new fans.

A thrice-weekly radio serial was in the offing, and would launch on February 12th 1940. With games, toys, and a growing international media presence, Superman was swiftly becoming everybody’s favourite hero…

The second issue of Superman’s own title opened with ‘The Comeback of Larry Trent’ – a stirring human drama wherein the Action Ace clears the name of the broken heavyweight boxer, coincidentally cleaning the scum out of the fight game, and is followed by ‘Superman’s Tips for Super-Health’ before ‘Superman Champions Universal Peace!’ depicts the hero once more tackling unscrupulous munitions manufacturers by crushing a gang who had stolen the world’s deadliest poison gas.

‘Superman and the Skyscrapers’ finds newshound Kent investigating suspicious deaths in the construction industry, drawing his alter ego into conflict with mindless thugs and their fat-cat corporate boss, after which a contemporary ad and a Superman text tale bring the issue to a close.

Action Comics #17 declared ‘The Return of the Ultra-Humanite’ in a vicious and bloody caper involving extortion and the wanton sinking of US ships. and featured a classic Shuster Super-cover as the Man of Steel was awarded all the odd-numbered issues for his attention-grabbing playground.

That didn’t last long: after Guardineer’s final adventure cover – a bi-plane dog fight on #18 – and which led into ‘Superman’s Super-Campaign’ with both Kent and the Caped Kryptonian determinedly crushing a merciless blackmailer, Superman simply monopolised every cover from #19 onwards. That issue disclosed the peril of ‘Superman and the Purple Plague’ as the city reeled in the grip of a deadly epidemic created by Ultra-Humanite.

Closing this frenetic fun and thrill-filled compendium is the truncated contents of Superman #3, offering only the first and last strips originally contained therein, as the other two were reprints of Action Comics #5 and 6.

‘Superman and the Runaway’, however, is a gripping, shockingly uncompromising exposé of corrupt orphanages, after which – following a brief lesson on ‘Attaining Super-Health: a Few Hints from Superman!’ – Lois finally goes out on a date with hapless Clark – but only because she needs to get closer to a gang of murderous smugglers. Happily, Kent’s hidden alter ego is on hand to rescue her in the bombastic gang-busting style in ‘Superman and the Jewel Smugglers’…

Although the gaudy burlesque of monsters and super-villains lay years ahead of our hero, these primitive and raw, captivating tales of corruption, disaster and social injustice are just as engrossing and speak powerfully of the tenor of the times then and now! The perilous parade of rip-roaring action, hoods, masterminds, plagues, disasters, lost kids and distressed damsels are all dealt with in direct, enthralling and captivatingly cathartic manner by our relentlessly entertaining champion’s summarily swift and decisive fashion.

As fresh and compelling now as they ever were, these endlessly re-readable epics perfectly display the savage intensity and sly wit of Siegel’s stories – which literally defined what being a Super Hero means – whilst Shuster created the basic iconography for all others to follow.

Golden Age tales are priceless enjoyment. What comics fan could possibly resist them?
© 1938, 1939, 2016 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Superman vs. the Revenge Squad!


By Karl Kesel, David Michelinie, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonson, Roger Stern, Jon Bogdanove, Sal Buscema, Tom Grummett, Stuart Immonen, Ron Lim, Tom Morgan, Paul Ryan, Brett Breeding, Klaus Janson, Dennis Janke, Jose Marzan Jr., Denis Rodier& various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-56389-487-9 (TPB)

The Man of Steel celebrates 85 years of continuous publication this year. His existence dictated and defined the entire US Comic book industry, but in this anniversary year, what’s most remarkable is how little of the truly vast variety of his exploits and achievements DC Comics currently consider worthy of us seeing…

Here’s another thrilling snapshot exemplifying an era of superb creativity following Superman’s 1987 reboot in the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths. If you’re counting, the tale first appeared – in whole or in part – in Adventures of Superman #539, 542, 543, Action Comics #726, 730, Superman: Man of Steel #61 & 65 and Superman: Man of Tomorrow #7, cumulatively spanning October 1996 to February 1997.

By extracting pertinent episodes from a selection of sub-plots as well as entire episodes, a tag team of creators – writers Karl Kesel, David Michelinie, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonson and Roger Stern in close conjunction with artists Jon Bogdanove, Sal Buscema, Tom Grummett, Stuart Immonen, Ron Lim, Tom Morgan, Paul Ryan, Brett Breeding, Klaus Janson, Dennis Janke, Jose Marzan Jr. & Denis Rodier – constructed a crafty and exciting romp pitting the Metropolis Marvel against a peculiar array of particularly irate enemies, all unknowingly working for a mysterious mastermind who was far from what he appeared…

The action commences with ‘Dopplegangster’ wherein a clone from the top-secret Cadmus Project intercepts a high-tech intruder and is infected with a hideous condition which brings all the long-suppressed and submerged evil of conventionally bred progenitor to the surface.

The invader is Misa, a spoiled, fun-loving, metahuman brat with incredible futuristic devices who had previously plagued Superman and the Project. Here, however, her skirmish with the re-grown Floyd “Bullets” Barstow has profound and lasting effects: accidentally transforming him into a troubled paranoid soul who might suddenly transform at any moment into a brutal Anomaly: armed with elemental shape-changing powers and unhindered any shred of conscience at all.

Meanwhile in Metropolis, Superman has his hands full defending the city and shuffling his new job as Editor of The Daily Planet, whilst venerable boss Perry White recovers from lung cancer and subsequent chemotherapy. Clark’s burden gets no easier when living weapons-platform Barrage returns in ‘Arms’, determined to kill Police Chief Maggie Sawyer whom he blames for the loss of his right limb. Moreover, anarchic troublemaker Riot – a raving loon who generates living duplicates every time he is struck – also pops up to make mischief and mayhem in ‘Losin’ It’.

‘Hero or Villain?’ concentrates on the history of Lex Luthor, providing insight and oversight to the multi-billionaire inventor who is currently under arrest and awaiting trial, even as alien superwoman Maxima frets and festers in her futile quest to find a suitable mate.

The Man of Steel was her first choice and he refused her (often violently) many times. Once again she tries to have her way with him and the forceful rejection sends her straight into the influence of someone who is gathering a team to destroy the Caped Kryptonian forever…

A unified assault begins in ‘The Honeymoon’s Over’ as Riot, Misa, Anomaly and Barrage meet Maxima and take their communal shot at the mutual enemy in ‘President of the United Hates’.

There is something not quite right about their enigmatic, shadowy leader and besides, what strategic genius would put five incompatible, uncontrollable egomaniacs in the same team and expect them to have a ghost of a chance against Superman?

The final, spectacular battle inevitably goes awry for the rogues in ‘Losers’, and as the dust settles all the evidence points to only one possible culprit for the Revenge Squad’s campaign of terror. But is it really that clear-cut?

Although a little disconnected in places – the storyline ran simultaneously and concurrently with another extended saga (collected in Superman Transformed!) and the excision of irrelevant pages doesn’t lend itself to a seamless and smooth read – this tale perfectly exemplifies the brilliant blend of cosmic adventure, fights ‘n’ tights action, soap opera drama and sheer enthusiastic excitement that typified the Superman franchise of this era.

This kind of close-plotted continuity was a hallmark of the 1980s-1990s Superman, and that such a strong tale could be constituted from snippets around the main story is a lasting tribute to the efficacy and power of the technique. Superman vs. the Revenge Squad! is a delightfully old-fashioned fun-fest that will delight fans of The Legend and followers of the genre alike. It should really be a part of everyone’s Krypton Chronicles, and DC are missing a trick not making it so…
© 1996, 1997, 1999 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes volume 1


By Paul Levitz, Gerry Conway, Paul Kupperberg, Jack C. Harris, Mike Grell, James Sherman, Jim Starlin, Ric Estrada, Howard Chaykin, George Tuska, Walt Simonson, Mike Nasser, Juan Ortiz & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-7291-3 (HB/Digital edition)

Once upon a time, 1000 years from now, super-powered kids from a multitude of worlds took inspiration from the greatest legend of all time and formed a club of heroes. One day those Children of Tomorrow came back in time and invited their inspiration to join them…

Thus, began the vast and epic saga of the Legion of Super-Heroes, as first envisioned by writer Otto Binder & artist Al Plastino when the many-handed mob of juvenile universe-savers debuted in Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958), just as a revived superhero genre was gathering an inexorable head of steam. Happy 65th Anniversary, Junior Futurians!

Since that time, the fortunes and popularity of the Legion have perpetually waxed and waned, with their future history continually tweaked and overwritten, retconned and rebooted time and time again to comply with editorial diktat and popular fashion. This cosmically-captivating compendium gathers a chronological parade of futuristic delights from Superboy and The Legion of Super-Heroes #234-240 (spanning December 1977- June 1978) and includes an untold tale of their earliest exploits from DC Super-Stars #17, as well as a major event from tabloid colossus All-New Collector’s Edition C-55.

This was a period when the recently impoverished superhero genre had once again flared into vibrant new life to gain its current, seemingly unassailable ascendancy. That prior plunge in costumed character popularity had seen the team lose their long-held lead spot in Adventure Comics, get relegated to a back-up slot in Action Comics and even vanish completely for a time. However, Legion fans are the most passionate of an already fanatical breed…

No sooner had the LSH faded than fan agitation to revive them began. After a few tentative forays as an occasional back-up feature in Superboy, the game-changing artwork of Dave Cockrum inspired a fresh influx of fans. The back-up soon took over the book – exactly as they had done in the 1960s, when the Tomorrow Teens took Adventure Comics from the Boy of Steel and made it uniquely their own…

Without warning or preamble, the adventure continues with Jack C. Harris, Juan Ortiz & Bob Smith exploring ‘The Secret of the Quintile Crystal’ (DC Super-Stars #17, cover-dated December 1977) as founders Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy relate to Superboy how a theft by diplomats beyond the reach of the law catapulted the kids – and their unique problem-solving gifts – to the forefront of United Planets Security Planning…

Superboy and The Legion of Super-Heroes #234 then offers a contemporary cosmic catastrophe, as a clash with a space dragon mutates a squad of teen heroes into a marauding amalgamated menace. When the call goes out ‘Wanted Dead or Alive: The Composite Legionnaire’ (by Gerry Conway, Ric Estrada & Jack Abel), ultimate mercenary Bounty goes after the victim and he won’t let sentiment or the remaining heroes interfere with ‘The Final Hunt!’. Happily, Superboy and energy-being Wildfire have enough power to stop the hunter and cure their companions…

Issue #235 featured the kind of story uber-dedicated fans adore. ‘The Legion’s Super-Secret’ – by Paul Levitz, Mike Grell & Vince Colletta) gives a glimpse into the covert cognitive conditioning Superboy endures every time he returns to his own era. When the process is abruptly interrupted because of a raid by resource hungry Sklarians, the Legionnaires fear the greatest hero of all time may expose the Future’s most dangerous biological deception.

Although a tense and rousing escapade, the sad truth is that this tale was conceived to placate sections of the audience who kept carping over why clearly fully mature characters were still being designated “Boy”, “Girl”, “Kid”, “Lass” and “Lad”. As if comics never had serious social problems and issues to address, right?

The lead story is far-surpassed by potent back-up ‘Trial of the Legion Five’ (Conway, George Tuska & Colletta), wherein some of the heroes are accused of causing the death of a citizen caught in the rampage of the now-defunct Composite Legionnaire. Their accuser is an old political adversary bearing a grudge and as ever, things are not what they seem…

S&LSH #236 was a power-packed portmanteau offering and brimming with vibrant new artistic talent. It begins with ‘A World Born Anew’ (written by Levitz & Paul Kupperberg with stunning art from then-neophytes James Sherman & Bob McLeod). When fantastically powerful alien property speculator Worldsmith arbitrarily terraforms the planet Braal, even a full Legion team is unable to stop him… until Princess Projectra deduces a better way to send the crazed capitalist packing.

Levitz, Mike Nasser/Netzer, Joe Rubinstein & Rick Bryant then provide an all-action prologue to greater sagas in the making as ‘Mon-El’s One-Man War’ finds the formidable Daxamite exerting all his energies to save an experimental star mine during a bloody incursion by war-crazed Khunds before the moment Legion fans had impatiently awaited for decades finally came…

‘Words Never Spoken’ by Levitz, Sherman & Rubinstein at long last saw Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl set the day…

No longer bound by responsibility, they had agreed to quit the team – because teammates (like cousins) weren’t allowed to marry – resulting in a huge tabloid-sized milestone released as All-New Collector’s Edition C-55 (March 1978).

Comic book weddings never start well and ‘The Millennium Massacre’ (Levitz, Grell & Colletta) coincided with a dastardly plot by their greatest foe to rewrite history. As the young marrieds stumble into a honeymoon ‘Murder by Moonlight’, Superboy and a select team voyage to 1988. They’re hoping to prevent the destruction of the United Nations and solve ‘The Twisted History Mystery’ before their comrades and the newlyweds perish in an interplanetary war, but the real showdown only occurs after a ‘Showdown at the End of Eternity’…

Augmented by a potted visual history of ‘Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes’ by Grell & Colletta, fact-features ‘The Origins and Powers of the Legionnaires’ and ‘Secrets of the Legion’ – by Levitz, Sherman & Abel- this epic event laid the groundwork for a darker, more compelling tone…

That began with #237’s ‘No Price Too High’ (Levitz, Walt Simonson & Abel) wherein the team’s financial backer R. J. Brande is abducted by maniac Arma Getten. He demands the team bring him ‘The Heart of a Star’, ‘The Stolen Trophy’ and life-sustaining artefact ‘The Crown of the Graxls’ in return for their patron’s life. Painfully aware that these objects hold the power ‘To Shake the Stars’, the team comply… Apparently…

Due to deadline problems #238 was a hasty reprint of Adventure Comics #359 & 360 and is represented here by its spiffy new Jim Starlin wraparound cover, but the intended tale when it finally emerged was an instant classic worth the wait.

Plotted and laid out by Starlin, with Levitz script and Rubinstein finishes, #239’s ‘Murder Most Foul’ saw rowdy, rebellious Ultra Boy framed for murdering a prostitute and a fugitive on the run from his former comrades. Only LSH Espionage Squad leader Chameleon Boy saw something behind the seemingly open-&-shut case, and his off-the-books investigation indicated there was indeed a Legion traitor: potentially the most dangerous opponent of all…

The final inclusion in this mammoth compilation is #240, delivering a brace of thrillers. Levitz, Harris, Howard Chaykin & Bob Wiacek opened with ‘The Man Who Manacled the Legion’ as old foe Grimbor the Chainsman kidnapped the UP President in a bizarre scheme to kill the heroes he held responsible for the death of his true love. The book does close on a tantalising high however, as Levitz, Kupperberg, Sherman & McLeod take us into the Legion Training Academy and introduce a bevy of new heroes eager to join the big guns.

Super dense (yes, I know, just go with it) Jed Rikane, invulnerable Laurel Kent and Shadow Lad (Shadow Lass’ younger brother) all show potential and flaws in equal amounts, but the mutant tracker mercenary is who really troubles Wildfire. ‘Dawnstar Rising’ shows not only her immense ability but a disregard for her comrades that might have lethal consequences in the days to come, unless the Legion somehow works its inclusive magic on her…

Rounding out the future fun, ‘Notes from Behind the Scenes’ provides glimpses at Levitz’s original presentation for tabloid edition, plots for a Queen Projectra tale and data cheat sheets for Saturn Girl and others.

The Legion is unquestionably one of the most beloved and bewildering creations in comics history, and largely responsible for the explosive growth of a groundswell movement that became American Comics Fandom. Moreover, these scintillating and seductively addictive stories – as much as Julie Schwartz’s Justice League of America or Jack Kirby’s Fantastic Four – fuelled the interest and imaginations of generations of readers to create the industry we all know today.

If you love comics and haven’t read this stuff, you are the poorer for it and need to feed your dreams of a better tomorrow as soon as possible.
© 1977, 1978, 2017 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.