Guest Post - Let's Play Ball! DC Super-Stars 10

Doug: Happy Monday, friends. If you're fortunate enough to have Easter Monday off work, congratulations and enjoy! If you have your nose to the grindstone as usual, well then -- you have our pity! If you're coming by to catch the finale of Karen's and my thoughts on Marvels, we apologize. Travel, real life, the NCAA tournament... all those things conspired to push us back a week. But rest assured that you're in good hands today, as our buddy Mike W. is going to shepherd us through a very timely story. It's the beginning of baseball season here in the States, and Mike has a comic book oddity to spring upon you. So kick back for a few moments and enjoy!

DC Super-Stars #10 (December 1976)

"The Great Super-Star Game!"

Bob Rozakis-Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin

M.S. Wilson: Okay, this review is a little different ... not really weird, but a little off the beaten path. The comic in question is DC Super-Stars #10, written by Bob “Babe” Rozakis, with art by Dick “Duke” Dillin and Frank “Catfish” McLaughlin. As you can probably guess from those nicknames, the story is about baseball. (My apologies to any non-North Americans who find baseball either boring or incomprehensible; I’ll try to find a comic about cricket or rugby sometime, just to even things up.) I was a big baseball fan as a kid, so I’ve always had a soft spot for this story, though I lost interest in the game a long time ago. I first read this story as a reprint in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #13 from 1981 (titled "Strange Sports Stories", and believe me, it lives up to the name), but I recently got my hands on the original comic. There’s no difference in the story, but the original has the actual boxscore and an inning-by-inning description of the game, and I’m enough of a nerd to want that extra information. I know other blogs have covered this comic, but hopefully I’ll be able to bring a fresh perspective to it. So, without further ado... Let’s play ball!

We start out in suburbia, with a typical (?) couple, Sportsmaster and Huntress. This isn’t the Helena Wayne Huntress, this is the original one, a villainess who’s married to another bad guy, the Sportsmaster. It’s a little weird to see super-villains living in the ’burbs (their house is a very modern looking A-Frame). What I find even more strange is that they’re wearing their costumes around the house; you’d think they’d be a bit more casual at home. Anyway, they’re fighting, which married people sometimes do, but this fight is about something a little surprising: Huntress is ready to drop the villain biz and become a crimefighter! Sportsmaster is opposed to this, of course, but Huntress says it’s simple logic ... villains always lose, so why not switch to the winning side? Finally, (after destroying their nicely-furnished living room) Sportsmaster proposes a contest: Huntress will gather a team of heroes, Sportsmaster a team of villains, and the two sides will play a baseball game. If the good guys win, Huntress becomes a crimefighter; if the bad guys win, she stays a villainess. She agrees, and they start putting their teams together.

They start a week later in Gotham, at a bowling tournament. (In fact, all of their “recruiting” is done at various sporting events, a detail I didn’t notice the first time I read this story.) I’m also not sure about the whole setting ... Huntress and Sportsmaster were always Earth-2 villains, as far as I know. But everything here takes place on Earth-1, and all the heroes and villains we see (except Uncle Sam) are from Earth-1; so I’m not sure if Sportsmaster and Huntress were living on Earth 1, or maybe just travelled there to have the game? Anyway, the bowling tournament is giving away $250,000 (in cash!), so of course Joker and Matter Master show up to steal the money. Matter Master gives the bowlers a taste of their own medicine when he uses his magic wand to make the pins attack people. Luckily, Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen, and Dinah Lance are on hand (Bruce put up the cash prize and Ollie did the PR), so they do a quick change and attack the villains. The good guys seem to be winning handily, when they’re spirited away by some kind of teleporter machine. It’s weird that Sportsmaster and Huntress have this kind of technology; where did they get it (especially if they’re not even on “their” Earth)? And if villains have access to such a powerful device, why aren’t they using it all the time? Seriously, they have a monitor that can apparently tune in on any location they want, and they have the technology to grab people remotely and teleport them away. It reminds me of the Tantalus Field from the Star Trek episode “Mirror, Mirror”; that kind of tech should make them almost invincible. Maybe we can assume the machine was one-of-a-kind and the superheroes destroyed it at the end of the story?

Their next grab is in Metropolis, where they net Superman (playing tennis against himself at super-speed ... show-off), along with Lex Luthor and Amazo, who’s much more articulate than I remember him. Next, we go to a United Nations soccer match, with a solid platinum trophy as the prize (Is it any wonder there’s so much crime in the DCU, when they’re giving away $250,000 cash prizes and platinum trophies all the time?). Wonder Woman is at the soccer match, and it’s a good thing because Weather Wizard and Chronos show up to steal the platinum prize. Wonder Woman seems outnumbered (although she really should be able to wipe the floor with these guys in her sleep), but Plastic Man has been masquerading as her lasso, so he helps her against the villains. I can’t help wondering how long Plas has been disguised as Diana’s lasso ... knowing him, probably at least since she got dressed that morning. Before much can happen, the heroes and villains are spirited away. Next we see a horse race between the top two horses in the country, but instead of regular jockeys the horses are being ridden by Tattooed Man and Dr. Polaris, and chased by Kid Flash and Robin (with Kid Flash acting as Robin’s “steed”). I guess Tattooed Man and Dr. Polaris are trying to steal the horses, since they’re said to be the best in the country. The horses are named “Bold Force” and “Foolish Pride”, which I assume refers to real-life horses “Bold Forbes” (1976 winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont) and “Foolish Pleasure” (who won the 1975 Kentucky Derby). Before the villains can ride their stolen horses to a clean getaway, their mounts are stolen out from under them by Felix Faust. And just to top things off, Uncle Sam shows up and the whole lot of them are zapped away by Huntress and Sportsmaster.

Sportsmaster and Huntress explain the contest to everyone (and the villains seem very confident they can win without their powers... the arrogance of evil, I guess?). The heroes are reluctant to play along, but Huntress says she’s somehow hypnotized (“I cast Mass Charm!”) 66,000 people and brought them to a baseball stadium in upstate New York, and they won’t be released until the game is played all the way through. So Huntress apparently can hypnotize huge crowds of people and turn them into virtual zombies... Between this and the teleporter machine, why isn’t she ruling the world?! Incidentally, the baseball field is called Crandall Stadium; I couldn’t find any real venue in upstate New York by that name, so I’m assuming it’s fictional. I’m wondering if it was named after artist Reed Crandall? He wasn’t doing much (if any) comics work by 1976, but he and Dick Dillin both worked on Blackhawk at various times, so maybe Rozakis named the stadium after him. Or maybe Dillin came up with the name? With the hypnotized people at stake, the heroes have no choice but to play. Since each side has ten players, they each choose an umpire. The heroes choose Uncle Sam because of his unfailing honesty (I’m wondering if that’s the  reason he was included in the first place?) and the villains choose Amazo (“... since he’s an android, he’ll have to call them as he sees them.”). Yes, Luthor, Amazo may be destructive and homicidal, but a liar... never!

The first eight innings of the game are glossed over on one page, which shows a few highlights and the changing score. After eight innings, the score is even, 8-8. The crowd is just staring, like zombies; it would freak me out to play in a stadium where there’s just complete silence... I don’t know how the Cubs stand it! Ohhhh, below the belt I know, but all in fun; as I said, I haven’t paid attention to baseball for years, so I have no idea what kind of team the Cubs have nowadays ... apologies to any Cubs fans out there, I really didn’t mean anything by it. I was going to say “Washington Senators”, but I thought that might date me too much! [Doug: Well, Mr. Smarty-pants, the Cubbies are supposed to have a great team this year and next, with aspirations of breaking their 107-year drought as World Series Champions. This may be the last guest post by M.S., kids! :) ]  Sportsmaster tells the villains to cheat and use their powers; I’m surprised they actually held off for so long! Actually, I’m not sure about the whole “no powers” rule; how does someone like Superman not use his powers? Would he really be able to hold back when he hits the ball? Same goes for Wonder Woman. And what about Kid Flash? If he runs to first base slightly faster than any normal human being could, is he using his powers, or is he just a little faster than everyone else?

Anyway, as the ninth inning starts, the villains come out cheating. Tattooed Man uses a tattoo of a baseball glove (which he conveniently happens to have) to catch a short fly, but he doesn’t catch the glove, so Black Canary goes to first base. Sportsmaster then beans Superman intentionally, sending him to first and Canary to second; why the heck would you deliberately throw a beanball when there’s no outs and a runner on first? And why would you bean Superman, of all people (the ricochet almost takes Sportsmaster’s head off!)? Wonder Woman gets a hit to load the bases. Robin strikes out (Really, Robin? Remember how he used to get knocked out all the time? Robin was the Tonto of superhero comics). Kid Flash sends a ground ball to short and Black Canary is thrown out at home (the villains seem to play better when they don’t cheat), but the bases are still loaded. Batman draws a walk, which brings Superman home (Score: 9-8 for the good guys). Green Arrow slams a double, which scores Wonder Woman and Kid Flash (Score: 11-8 heroes), but Arrow is tagged out when Felix Faust uses his magic to transport the ball from the outfield into his hand.

Now it’s do or die time for the villains. Luthor rigs his bat to give off “vibrations” that keep the ball from ever crossing the plate, and he gets a walk. I’m not sure what sort of vibrations the bat could be giving off that would affect a baseball; plus, the ball’s trajectory is pretty erratic, so you’d think the heroes would’ve known something was up. Weather Wizard hits a single and whips up a blizzard to blind Wonder Woman, but she uses her lasso to redirect the storm into Luthor’s face and he’s put out before reaching second base. Joker bunts and uses his laughing gas to make Green Arrow miss fielding the ball. The first time I read this, I didn’t notice the laughing gas (the way it’s drawn, it’s kind of hard to see) so I thought GA was actually laughing at Joker’s idiotic joke. So now the villains have men on first and second. Chronos hits one to shortstop and slows down time for the heroes while speeding it up for his teammates, thereby breaking every law of physics in the cosmos and sending the multiverse into instant heat death. Seriously, when did Chronos get that kind of power? I know when he was first introduced, the “time” thing was just a gimmick, then later on he actually did gain the power to affect time; but this kind of selective control? He should be one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Anyway, Kid Flash strains his super-speed to the utmost and manages to tag Chronos out before he reaches first. It’s all very heroic, but kind of stupid too; why didn’t Kid Flash (who plays shortstop) just go for the force out at second? It’s a lot closer. For that matter, why not go for the force at first, instead of tagging Chronos? Matter Master is next up, and he gets a fly ball... literally, since he gives the ball wings. Green Arrow shoots it down, but a run scores (Score: 11-9 heroes). I guess there’s nothing in the rule book against giving a ball wings. Sportsmaster gets up and whacks a double, scoring another run (Score: 11-10 heroes). Sportsmaster’s feeling pretty good, but not for long as Plastic Man tags him out. Apparently when Sportsy rounded first, he didn’t actually step on the bag but Plastic Man’s foot (which was shaped like the bag). Sportsmaster protests, but Amazo upholds the play (there’s that honesty again!) and gives Plas quite the compliment: “He tricked you in a grandly villainous manner!” Talk about praise from Caesar.

So, the game ends with the heroes winning 11-10; the zombified people leave and the super-heroes and super-villains pop right back where they came from, leaving Sportsmaster and Huntress still bickering. The villains are all shown being defeated very perfunctorily, in three-quarters of a page. Maybe losing the game took all the fight out of them. I’m not sure what the moral of the story is, since the heroes only won by cheating. Of course, the villains cheated first, so many the moral is “It’s OK to cheat as long as the ther guys do it first”? And we never really see any follow-up on Huntress becoming a crimefighter; her next appearances (along with Sportsmaster) were in All-Star Comics #s 72 and 73, where she was still a villain as far as I know (although I haven’t actually read those comics). So maybe we can just consider this an apocryphal story, or a continuity blip.

 

As I mentioned at the start of this review, the original comic included the boxscore of the game and an inning-by-inning description of the action, which I think is pretty cool. But you might notice some of the plays are questionable, and even downright illogical ... and why so many bunts? Well, I first read this story in a Blue Ribbon Digest devoted to "Strange Sports Stories", and on the inside back cover Bob Rozakis explained how he figured out all the play-by-play stuff throughout the game. His father had taught him a simple game (which he called “Baseball with Cards”) and Rozakis actually played out the whole superhero vs. super-villain game using playing cards. I’ve tried it myself and it’s fun enough, though there seems to be an inordinate number of outs. So that explains why some of the plays don’t make sense... because they were basically random. Of course, I’m sure there was a bit of fudging in places, like when a batter hits a single and the runners advance two bases; that happens quite a bit in real baseball, but there’s no provision for it in the rules for Rozakis’s card game. So we can assume there was a certain amount of improvisation taking place... especially in the ninth inning, since we knew the heroes would win, but couldn’t be sure exactly how.

So that’s my take on this story; it’s a bit weird when you really think about it, but hey, it was the Bronze Age! I love it!

BAB Two-in-One: A Blast from the Past and Butt-Paste and Bumblebees

Karen: One of the few modern comics that I am actually excited about every month is Marvel's Atlas (formerly Agents of Atlas), which has the sort of goofy action I find missing from most books. To me, it doesn't get much better than robots, flying saucers, and talking gorillas!

Karen: But the Atlas team originally appeared in a very different way: they were part of an alternate reality, presented back in What If #9 (1978). Although Roy Thomas came up with the idea of a 50s super-team, he didn't write this issue. This highly unusual team of obscure characters was put together by a team that was most likely obscure to comics fans at least: writer Don Glut has been active in comic and sci fi fandom for decades, but this might have been his first comic writing assignment. Artist Alan Kupperberg was just getting his start, and inker Bill Black - well, I don't know if we ever heard from him again! But the three turn in an entertaining tale about a super-team set in the 1950s -a team that calls itself the Avengers!
Karen: That's right, and there's our connection to relevancy. The issue starts with Iron Man (from the 'regular' Marvel universe) gathering his Avenger compatriots Capt. America, Thor, the Vision, and the Beast, to look at his dimensional transporter, where they can view other realities. He then shows them the 1950s, in a reality like our own...but with a big difference!

Karen: In this reality, FBI Agent Jimmy Woo is after the Yellow Claw. He recruits pre-Marvel characters Marvel Boy, Venus, Gorilla Man, the Human Robot, and Roy Thomas' creation, the 3-D Man (whose 1970s adventures were set in the 1950s) to help him in his cause. We also get a couple of guest appearances, by Jann of the Jungle and Namora, Sub-Mariner's cousin. (Namora is a regular in the current Atlas series.)

Karen: Can you see now why Iron Man called together his fellow assemblers? Each sees a resemblance to one of the other era's heroes: Cap with 3-D Man, Iron Man with Marvel Boy (a stretch but both utilize advanced technology), Beast with Gorilla Man, the Vision with the Human Robot, and Thor with Venus. As they watch, the team christens themselves The Avengers! And their battle cry? "Go, Avengers, Go!"

Karen: Our reality's Avengers continue to watch as the group goes up against a team of baddies that the Yellow Claw has put together to kidnap President Eisenhower. We have a Communist baddie named Electro (no relation to the Spidey foe), the Cold Warrior, Skull Face, and a dapper looking gentleman called the Great Video (OK, that name was pretty terrible!). Both the President and Jimmy Woo are caught and the Happy Days Avengers have to go to the rescue! There's some cool fight scenes here, with our good guys taking on the forces of the Claw.

Karen: Of course, our heroes manage to save the President and Woo and deal the Claw a huge defeat. Unfortunately, when all the smoke clears, Eisenhower asks the team to disband! Amusingly, he cites the concern over comic books as a force of social ill as one reason to disband! Like good Americans, the Avengers assent, and the team is no more, leaving our mainstream Avengers team to ponder what might have been.

Karen: The really fun aspect of this all is that in the current Atlas book, the characters have now gone to another alternate reality, where the team never disbanded, and in fact found Captain America, as well as inducted Iron Man, Thor, and all the others! If you haven't read either this original story, or the new Atlas stories, I would highly recommend that you pick them up. They're exciting, quirky, and some of the best-written books currently on the stands.

Doug: Awhile ago I stopped at a nice shop in Chicago and scooped up some Bronze Age goodies. I spied a copy of Teen Titans #48 (June 1977), and although I've maligned writer Bob Rozakis in my three previous reviews from this era, I figured I'd fill in one of the gaps. I'm glad I didn't spend too much on this one...When we left off issue #47, Robin and Joker's Daughter had been captured by Two-Face, and JD had announced that she was not in fact the Joker's daughter, but Two-Face's! So they tell a little origin, and ol' Harvey alternates rational/crazed while trying to decide what to do. He remarks that he was the guy behind the Heat Miser/Snow Miser goings-on in the previous issue, and that he's going to blow up both New York and Gotham to help him decide if he should go straight (whaa-aattt?). Well, Harv's bound Duela and Robin back-to-back in wooden straight chairs. While the rant goes on, Robin manages to work his way free; however, Two-Face planned for that and put some super-butt-paste on the chair so Robin can't stand. In a move that would throw my back out, the Teen Wonder begins to whirl Duela around, smacking Two-Face in the chops a couple of times. But, then they lose their balance and...

...we get an interlude to Gabriel's Horn, where the rest of the Titans are gathered. Speedy is, as usual, acting like an (you know), until Robin calls and he actually ramps it up. Robin tells him to can it, and to split into two teams and get to NYC and Gotham. However, as the Titans head out, they are attacked by a gal calling herself the Bumblebee. And using a "honey gun". I ain't makin' this up. Seriously, it is an effort to turn these pages. But, I soldier on for you, our faithful readers...

So the Bumblebee stymies Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Speedy and Mal with an array of bug-inspired powers. Pretty slick for some girl off the street to develop technology like that. She eventually puts the four of them down with a buzz that knocks them all out. No, really. We then cut away to NYC, where Robin has arrived to stop the bomb. He's trying to convince a couple of security guards of the danger when who shows up, but Wally and Mal. Whaaa-aat? We had just seen them snoozing! But they do stop the bomb.Then we head to Gotham, where Speedy and Donna meet up with Duela. As they head to the roof to stop the second bomb, it occurs to Duela that everything thus far has been in pairs, but opposite. So they race to the basement and discover a bomb bursting through the floor! Of course, they also disable it and save the day. The story ends with Two-Face in custody (but how? We never saw him apprehended. Last we saw he was noticing that the time for the bombs was approaching, and Robin still had butt-paste on), and Duela donning the new name and costume of the Harlequin.

As it turns out, the plot wasn't bad for a Two-Face story, but it's just so goofy! It's really hard to take, like when you just groan at a bad joke -- that's what it's like. And Jose Delbo's art was just a baby-step above what Don Heck might have turned in. Pretty stiff. You can take my word for it!

BAB Two-In-One: Don't be a Skater Hater and Superman, the Jerk

Doug: Hey, I'm back to check out Teen Titans #49, which is cover dated August 1977. The creators were Bob Rozakis on the words with Jose Delbo and Vince Colletta on the visuals.
An action-packed Buckler/Abel cover full of heroes and skateboarders draws us into a tale entitled, "Raid of the Rocket-Rollers!"

Doug: So you say, "Hmmm... sounds an awful lot like Marvel's Rocket Racer from the pages of Amazing Spider-Man!" You might be right, were you thinking that, as the Rocket Racer hit the newsstands only a month after this yarn. Coincidence? Well, it's been well-documented that the creators from comics' Big Two often had a beer together -- so who knows? All I know is that skateboards were a huge fad around that time, and I know I got one that summer!

Doug: If you've been following my coverage of the late-Bronze Age revival of Teen Titans, then you know I've been pretty hard on scribe Bob Rozakis. In fairness, I think most of us know that DC's editorial had an oft-heavy hand in story creation. So maybe what's been eating at me isn't all Bob's fault. And with this issue, I tried to approach it not only with that thought in mind, but also with a mind toward what we've all known to be true throughout most of DC's history: they were writing comics for 10-year olds. And, as I read this I tried really hard to put myself back in my bedroom as an 11-year old coming to this story for the first time. And guess what? I liked this story... for what it was.

Doug: I'll start off with a very cool, but impractical, splash page. I recall really loving this image; nevermind the fact that they're about to plunge to the ocean floor with fishbowls on their heads -- no oxygen, no pressure suits of any kind. 10-year olds, 10-year olds... OK, so no one knows what's wrong with Aqualad. Dude's not right, but apparently nothing is wrong with him. Aquaman goes all jerkface on Robin and Kid Flash, and that's about it. Back on land, Gabriel's Horn, the Titans new disco is opening to a large crowd. As I said last time, I'm thinking the term "disco" denotes records and a DJ, not a live band. Oh, wait -- 10-year olds, 10-year olds...

Doug: The evening is rudely disrupted by four guys on skateboards, calling themselves the Rocket-Rollers. They bust up the Titans and the building, then speed off to their hide-out. Turns out they're a bunch of high school/college-aged guys using technology designed by "Bryan the Brain". Seems Bryan's ticked because, due to his eggheadedness, he never got the chicks. So here's his revenge -- take out the cool kids, the Titans. After the initial butt-kicking the Titans regroup, welcome in Mal's lady friend who debuted the previous issue as the Bumblebee, and Mal himself tries out the gaudiest costume this side of Wonder Man's Christmas togs (c. Avengers #161). Another tussle with the Rollers ensues, and it's tilted more in the Titans' favor until two of the Rollers escape. And who should arrive to save the day but Aqualad -- who promptly collapses again.

Doug: The story concludes with Mal switching away from the Hornblower costume (thank the fashion police for that) and back into the Guardian costume he'd worn in issue #44. I forgot to mention that Duela Dent had changed her name from Joker's Daughter to the Harlequin -- it's a lot less clumsy of a moniker. And overall, this was a much better story than the previous two efforts I've reviewed. As I said at the top, while this wasn't great literature, it was tolerable and even a little nostalgic. Much better, Bob!

Karen: Today is a rarity: a double dose of DC! My selection for this round is DC Comics Presents #27, from November 1980. This title was Superman's team-up book, where he routinely encountered other DC heroes. I have to admit, I've never been a Superman fan. He always seemed too powerful, too perfect. When I picked this particular issue up as a teenager lo these many years ago, it was for two reasons: one, the Martian Manhunter was the guest star, and two, the awesome cover by one of my favorite artists, Jim Starlin.

Karen: Unfortunately, the interior art doesn't match up to the cover. Although Starlin did the pencils, the inking is attributed to "Quickdraw", whom the Grand Comic Book Database states was Dick Giordano, Frank McLaughlin, "and associates". Although one can still identify the work as Starlin's, based on the overall style and layout, the inks come across as heavy-handed and without subtlety.

Karen: The writer for this story is Len Wein, although I can't help but think that Starlin may have contributed here too, particularly with the creation of the villain, Mongul, who looks a lot like the love child of Darkseid and Thanos! This is Mongul's first appearance in the DCU. He contacts Superman and blackmails him into retrieving a crystal key for him, by threatening the lives of Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Steve Lombard. Steve Lombard? I never knew he was that significant to the Man of Steel. Then again, I never read much Superman!

Karen: Superman heads off to the fifth planet in the Cygnus star system to recover the key. There he encounters J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, who warns him that the key will give Mongul control over Warworld, a planet-sized war machine (hmm, where has that concept been used before?).

Karen: Now here's the interesting part: Superman blows J'onn off! "I'm Superman, remember? So why don't you step aside and just let me handle this? Believe me, I know what I'm doing!" Great Caesar's ghost, what a jerk!
Karen: The usual super-hero fight ensues, but it's no contest - despite all his great powers, the Manhunter is no match for the Kryptonian Kreep! J'onn even resorts to using kryptonite-tipped missiles (!) but Superman uses his super-breath to deflect them before they can reach him. After pounding J'onn into the ground -literally - our Super-Egotist obtains the key and is then met by Mongul, in a gigantic spaceship. Mongul has pulled a Brainiac-like stunt, reducing Supeman's friends to bite-size and placing them into a glass cube. Superman has second thoughts about turning the key over to the hulking Mongul and just as it appears that Mongul will shrink the cube and crush those inside, his control unit suddenly shatters. The captives are freed, but Mongul blasts the supposedly invulnerable Superman and grabs the key. At this point, J'onn J'onzz reveals that it was he who smashed the controls, while invisible. He tries to stop the villain but to no avail. Superman is just about to grab Mongul when he abruptly teleports away, ship and all.

Karen: J'onn gives Superman a well-deserved tongue lashing. "I warned you that you were dealing with forces beyond your comprehension -but you were just too overconfident -too egotistical -to listen!" A stunned Superman mutters, "I -I thought I could deal with it! After all, I'm Superman...aren't I?"


Karen: I'd never seen Superman presented in such a manner before. I wish I had some idea of how the character was handled in the 70s and 80s -was he always shown as so supremely (over)confident? It seemed to me like whenever I read him -this would be mostly in Justice League, as I didn't read his main title - he did seem quite assured, but then usually, he was always in the right when he made a decision. This more flawed portrayal was just the sort of thing an old Marvel fan like myself could get into. Sadly, I never got the next issue to see how Supes would make up for his arrogance. Might have to pick that up one of these days.

BAB Two In One: The Conflicted Kree Captain and the Heat-Miser/Snow Miser Cousins!

Karen: I've always been a fan of Jim Starlin's Captain Marvel work, but I have to confess, I've read very little of the character before Starlin made his mark with him. So today I am looking at Captain Marvel #4 (Aug 1968), a story entitled "The Alien and the Amphibian" by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan.

Karen: This tale takes place when the Kree captain was still wearing his green and white uniform, which I always thought was a a fairly unique color scheme for a superhero. Our good captain is also quite conflicted, as he is still a loyal soldier of the Kree Empire. But his time on Earth has begun to make him doubt his cause. Thomas spends a couple of pages showing the white-haired Mar-Vell wracked with guilt over the fact that newspapers are declaring him a hero, when he knows that "it may one day be my hand which signals the fatal attack upon an unsuspecting sphere."

Karen: Mar-Vell has assumed a dual identity (like most Marvel heroes of the 60s), that of Dr. Walt Lawson, rocket expert, so that he might better infiltrate the U.S. space defense arena. Operating out of nearby missile base "The Cape" (Canaveral?) Lawson also works with Security Chief Carol Danvers - that's right, the future Ms. Marvel. She's been around a long time baby!
Karen: The military launches a missile full of dangerous bacteria because, well, that's what the military does. Unfortunately, the ruthless Kree commander, Colonel Yon-Rogg, causes it to go crashing down to New York Harbor, where a recently reformed Namor the Sub-Mariner happens to be swimming along.

Karen: The officers from the cape, and Dr. Lawson, fly out to the bay. While the military men want to recover the missile and its dangerous cargo, Mar-Vell has been given another mission: prevent the Earth men from disarming the missile, so that millions might be killed. Again, we see Mar-Vell struggle between his growing conscience and his duty to his people.

Karen: Meanwhile, Namor, who has decided to try to be friends with the air-breathers he normally is always trying to wipe out, swims towards the ship carrying the missile base crew. They explain the situation to him and he decides he will find the missile for them. However, he has complications when our alien captain arrives.

Karen: Mar-Vell's situation here is really a nice twist on things: while appearing to be the hero, he is in fact, the bad guy! But he's a reluctant bad guy, one who doesn't want to succeed in his mission. Unfortunately, he's being monitored by Yon-Rogg, so he can't just throw the fight. He does however, manage to manipulate things so that even as he appears to be following orders, he's providing Namor with the means to retrieve the bacteria.

Karen: The fight between he and Namor is decidedly one-sided, as it should be. Namor is far too powerful for the Captain. Colan's work really captures the futility of Mar-Vell's efforts. His underwater scenes are quite realistic. I've always thought he was one of the best at portraying underwater action. I should also note what a great cover this issue has. It's Colan at his most dynamic.

Karen: Namor does manage to save the day, Mar-Vell still feels conflicted, and Linda Danvers still wonders what Walt Lawson is hiding. It was fun delving into the origins of Captain Marvel, long before he became so cosmic.

Doug: Several months ago I gave a second look at the first issue I own of the 1970's Teen Titans revival. Today we'll take a gander at issue #47, written by Bob Rozakis with art by the team of Bob Brown and Tex Blaisdell. The story is entitled "Trouble -- Which Rhymes With Double!" and was cover dated April 1977.

Doug: I'm sorry to proclaim that Bob Rozakis' writing has not gotten better with age, whether in the short time that transpired between DC's release of issues 45 and 47 or the approximately similar amount of time since I looked at said #45. Wow. What a dumb story, and what poor characterization (and Bob Brown's art was looking an awful lot like Don Heck in some places). Look: I'm going into an unknown situation and I have Robin's leadership, Kid Flash's super speed, Wonder Girl's strength and power of flight, and Speedy's finesse and marksmanship (not to mention all of the trick arrows). I'm going to take my chances against just about anyone, including some heavy hitters I could think of. But instead, our young stalwarts get stymied by two groups led by the younger brothers of the Heat Miser and the Snow Miser...
Doug: Here's the plot -- a gang of thieves is stealing old collectibles (stamps, coins, autographs, etc.) from museums, etc. in both New York City and Gotham City. The Titans, on a hunch from Duela Dent, aka the Joker's Daughter, interrupt the heist in Gotham. They're confronted by Flamesplasher (Worst. Name. Ever.), who has a hose nozzle duct-taped to his wrist that -- you guessed it -- shoots fire; Darklight (who looks strikingly similar to the "new" Dr. Light of the 1980's Justice League), who has powers similar to Shadow Lass; and Sizematic (dressed like Marvel's Silver Samurai), who can grow. As you might expect from a team book, the Titans plunge headlong into battle, never stopping to size up the competition or formulate appropriate match-ups. And, predictably so, they get a good whuppin'.
Doug: The major subplots in the issue are the establishment of a disco on Long Island that is going to double as the team's new HQ. It's called "Gabriel's Horn", named after Mal's weapon that he appropriated back in #45. But, since it's a disco, one might find it a bit odd that the opening night entertainment would be a band and not a DJ. I'm just saying. Another subplot that got real old real fast was Roy Harper's constant doubting of Duela's allegiance to the Titans. Now I'll give you that her choice of garb and nod to a homicidal maniac is curious at the least, but her powers of clairvoyance proved true each time. Lastly, Aqualad's taken ill. The team consults Aquaman, who instructs them to basically soak him in distilled water. Sounds like what you'd do to get the lime out of your iron before you press your pants.

Doug: Yeah, Roy was on a roll and everyone was getting ticked at him. He was looking good, especially when the ol' JD foretold of a heist and the Titans engaged... not the same guys. Nope. Instead of the super-baddies I named above, they got a guy with water on the wrist, a shrinking silver dude, and a mistress of light. Of course Speedy thinks Duela set them up, and blah, blah, blah.

Doug: OK, the good guys win, Mal is feuding with his girlfriend and she's gonna show him, Robin and Joker's Daughter go off on a case and are kidnapped by... Two-Face? Yeah -- Two-Face. To be continued. Unfortunately, I don't have issue #48. However, I do have #49, and in spite of my complaining, I really liked this title as a kid -- so I'm willing to give Embattled Bob Rozakis another chance. See ya next time.

BAB Two-In-One: Masters of Kung Fu and C-List Baddies!

Karen: As I said in my Wonder Con report, I picked up a few Master of Kung Fu books, so let's start at the beginning, with Shang Chi's first appearance, Special Marvel Edition #15 (Dec 1973). First off, it was produced by two of my favorite comic pros, Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin. These two guys did so many amazing and creative books in the 70s, I really don't know how I never got in on Master of Kung Fu! The two of them wouldn't stay on the title very long however. But this first issue is pretty fun. Oh, and besides writing the thing, Englehart also colored it! But the guy did apprentice under Neal Adams before he started writing comics.

Karen: There's a long story about how Marvel had the rights to the Fu Manchu character created by Sax Rohmer, and how that concept was married to Shang Chi, but I don't want to get into it here. You can check out the letter page of this book for that. Suffice to say, Shang Chi, the living weapon, master of Kung Fu, is the son of the notorious Fu Manchu. However, Shang has no knowledge of his father's evil ways; in fact, he believes Pops is trying to help the world! So when Dad sends him off on a mission to assassinate an old foe, Shang goes unquestioningly. However, once he finds his target and discovers that he is a decrepit old man, he begins to doubt the virtue of his mission.

Karen: Regardless of these feelings, Shang actually does kill the man! This was a bit shocking. He encounters Sir Denis Nayland Smith, a former British agent, now confined to a wheelchair due to Fu's villainy. He tells Shang the truth about his father. This info disturbs Shang, who returns to his American mother, to find out the truth. She confirms Shang's worst nightmare -that his father is a power-hungry, amoral man.


Karen: Shang Chi then makes his way through a deadly maze towards Fu. Starlin's art is just fantastic throughout the book, but the combat sequences here are outstanding. When father and son come face to face, Fu makes no apologies, merely states his goal of world domination. Shang says he is mad, and that from now on, they are enemies. He leaves, disillusioned, yet now more free than he had ever been.

Karen: This was an outstanding origin issue. Everything works in this story; it's a perfect combo of word and art. While wordy by today's standards, I relished it. It was like reading a novel - only with pictures. This book really demonstrates what a talented writer can do using those now-extinct comic book tools, captions and thought balloons. We get into Shang's head, but it never feels forced. I highly recommend this book!

Doug: Our fare today is my first issue of The Secret Society of Super-Villains, #7 from May-June 1977. The creators were Bob Rozakis on the words and Rich Buckler and Bob Layton on the pictures. As we begin, apparently Lex Luthor has just infiltrated a meeting of the Secret Society, and the story is entitled, "Luthor's League of Super-Villains".

When I was a lad, I didn't know anything about the problems between Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, so the whole Funky Flashman bit went right by me. However, upon re-reading some of this stuff knowing all the backstory -- whoo-boy!! What a dig! Here's what's going on -- as I said, Luthor's busted in and is seeking to exert his authority on the Secret Society. He's just broken Copperhead out of jail, and has come to the "Secret Citadel" to get help in his never-ending war on Superman. The Wizard had been proclaimed leader of the sinister cartel by Flashman; ol' Funk doesn't make much of a move, however, to assist Wiz when Luthor kicks his butt. I was never a reader of Silver or Bronze Age Superman books (followed Superboy in the Legion, though), but loved Luthor's outfit here. Not the battlesuit from Super Powers fame, but the more utility-equipped outfit. I also don't recall Luthor being as physical as he is here.

Luthor requests Flashman to find Felix Faust and the Matter Master, two other magicians. Combined with the Wizard, it's Luthor's intent that these three bozos, er, purveyors of mystical energy, will finally defeat the Man of Steel. So Luthor orders Flashman to get his new assistants over to Japan, where the Superman movie is being filmed. They arrive, but like the dopes they are, attack the guy doing the main acting; seems the real Superman was only going to do the stunts. The scene cuts to the JLA satellite, where Batman arrives to relieve Hawkman of monitor duty. The Hawks and our star, Captain Comet, head to the Hawks' orbiting rocket to enjoy a little Thanagarian ghoulash. But, while Comet and Hawkgirl watch the news on a very ordinary looking telly, they notice the Wizard making havoc at the Superman set. As Comet has it on for the Wizard, he leaps up; Hawkgirl says she'll join him, as Katar is doing the cooking this day.

Cut back to Japan... what a bunch of morons. The three mystics create landslides and other trouble, but the "Superman" in front of them does nothing to stop it. Matter Master cooks up a two-headed dragon, and it's at that point that Comet and Hawkgirl arrive. They quickly deduce that the Wizard isn't the only enemy; meanwhile Lex, watching on a monitor (much slicker than the Hawks' tech -- Flashman must be lightyears ahead of Thanagar!). The dragons are defeated and Hawkgirl rescues "Superman" from a tiny volcano the Wizard created. Assuming Superman to be powerless, the three magicians attempt to rally. They don't anticipate that the actor in the suit will fight back, yet he does -- and quite successfully. I thought a funny line in this sequence was Hawkgirl telling Felix Faust to "stuff it"!

Everything ends well. Back at the Secret Citadel, Luthor and Flashman part ways with each intending to call the cops on the other. Funny thing is, Flashman turns the trick on Luthor first, who is arrested as soon as he sets foot outside the HQ. Meanwhile, on the Thanagarian rocket, Captain Comet and Hawkgirl arrive back just in time for Katar's ghoulash.

This was a fun story, not diminished over time as some stories can be (see our recent reviews of Marvel Team-Up). The lens of the adult reader is different than that of the pre-adolescent and some of these stories don't hold up. While this was in no way great literature, it was a fun story with a decent beginning, middle, and end -- a done-in-one as was typical of DC's in the Bronze Age. Rich Buckler's pencils were aided by Layton's inks and the overall art was pretty good -- one quibble I'd have is a litte inconsistency in faces from page to page. The panel lay-outs evoked Adams or Colan, but weren't distracting -- in fact, it probably enhanced the art. But overall, and I don't know anything about Buckler using panel swipes at DC, this was a good-looking book! Rozakis' script was good, too, and I've not always been able to say that about his work. If ever a guy epitomized the contrast between Marvel and DC, it would be "The Answer Man". This is a series I hope to revisit in future Two-In-Ones.

BAB Two-In-One: That Voodoo That You Do and That Horn You Blow.

Karen: This time around I'll be examining the humble beginnings of the character who is currently Sorcerer Supreme in the Marvel Universe: the one and only Brother Voodoo!

Karen: Brother Voodoo first appeared in Strange Tales #169 in 1973. Len Wein and Gene Colan are the writer and artist respectively on this first issue, but the concept had initially come from Roy Thomas and the design from John Romita.

Karen: Psychologist Jericho Drumm returns to the Haitian village where he grew up after many years abroad. He finds his twin brother, Daniel, who is the local voodoo priest, is deathly ill. Daniel believes it is due to a voodoo curse put on him by an evil priest who claims to be the embodiment of the voodoo god, Damballah. Of course, Jericho as a man of western learning rejects this idea and tries to save Daniel with his medical knowledge (just an aside, but I don't think psychologists actually have medical degrees - psychiatrists do).Damballah shows up and taunts Jericho, and despite his best efforts, his brother dies. Jericho carries out Daniel's last wish, which is to find his mentor, Papa Jambo, and ask him for help. Jericho travels into the jungle, and finds Papa Jambo, who tells him that he must take his brother's place and become Brother Voodoo!

Karen: Despite the inherent goofiness of a name like 'Brother Voodoo', the story works surprisingly well. It's like so many other stories we've seen before, where responsibility and power are thrust upon a character. Like most magical heroes, Brother Voodoo has a mentor who teaches him the ways of the universe. Sure, it's hard at times to keep a straight face when you read stuff like 'Papa Jambo', but as far as the over all structure goes, it's well done.

Karen: The art is typical Colan, and well suited for this just as it was for Dr. Strange. The inks by Dan Adkins are heavy on blacks and deepen the mood. Len Wein, who never met an accent he didn't like, seems to be enjoying himself here with the Haitains, having them say stuff like, "You left dis island hardly more den a child--to go to de big city college--to make somt'ing of yourself, you say--but dat's not de truth, is it, big doctor man?" While a bit over the top, it's easy to understand what he was trying to do here.

Karen: Marvel was never one to overlook a fad or craze, and so voodoo got its chance here. It's interesting to note that the James Bond film, Live and Let Die, which featured voodoo, came out in June of the same year. Since this comic is cover dated September, they probably premiered at almost the same time. So it's definitely not an influence, but simply another entertainment taking its cues from the same sources.

Doug: DC time, folks. Karen and I both grew up as Marvel Zombies for the most part -- we each dabbled a bit in the Distinguished Competition so I thought I'd go over a book I bought at a local convenience store back in the autumn of 1976. Teen Titans #45 is the second issue of the revival of the title after a 3-year hiatus from the spinner racks, and was created by Bob Rozakis, Irv Novick, and Vince Colletta.


Doug: The story starts with a curious scene, as the Titans return to their HQ victorious from the previous issue's battle with Dr. Light (this would be the silly/stupid Dr. Light, long before the malevolence revealed in the Identity Crisis mini-series). Titans' ally Mal Duncan had played a key role, dressed as the Guardian. However, when Speedy tosses a back-handed compliment, Mal reacts by socking Speedy in the jaw. The story then moves right into a flashback detailing the history of this issue's baddies, the Wreckers.

Doug: The Wreckers were an early-60's era street gang, or neighborhood protector, depending on one's perspective. When the leader was shipped off to Nam as a demolitions expert the group faded away. However, after a dishonorable discharge for blowing up stuff unauthorized, Steve Macchione returned home to find that developers had intruded on his former turf. Needless to say, the old gang was reassembled and told to gear up for some chaos.

Doug: As fate would have it, when the Wreckers pick a building to blow up, who is in the phone booth on the corner but Mal. You guessed it -- building blows, Mal's caught in the blast and... ha ha -- you thought something logical would happen, like a Titans alert going out, Kid Flash running to dig Mal out of the rubble, etc. Nope. You'd be wrong. I wish you were right, however. Instead of a more conventional plot device we instead get Mal being lifted from the rubble by Azrael, the Angel of Death. Mal informs him that he's jivin' and Mal will fight anyone who says different. And then they fight. With Gabriel as the referee and in a boxing ring, no less. And they dedicate two and a half pages to this crap! Hey, it worked once with Jacob wrestling an angel, but not here.


Doug: Well, since Mal beats the Angel of Death, Gabriel gives him a "horn" (actually a ram's horn, or shofar in Hebrew) to fend off any future attacks from Azrael. When blown, the horn will "even the odds" for Mal in any fight he's in. So, he gives it a whirl, somehow teleports the Titans to him (seriously -- when I first read this when I was 10 I just blindly accepted all of this!) and they go after the Wreckers.

Doug: While Mal had been laying in the rubble, the Wreckers had tipped their next job as involving Wayne Industries. Kid Flash and Robin go ahead to intercept the bad guys, and arrive just as they are leaving the building. A skirmish ensues involving everyone, but the Wreckers escape. Shortly after, they mix it up again but this time with the Titans victorious. Of course Mal matches up against Macchione and whups him. Game over!

Doug: Despite Rozakis' totally lame interlude, this was fun due to the presence of the classic Teen Titans line-up of Robin, Kid Flash, Speedy, Wonder Girl, and Aqualad. Novick's/Colletta's art is solid throughout. But when it's all said and done, this is a Bronze Age DC. And that can't compare with even the likes of Brother Voodoo...