DC's Greatest Detective Stories Ever Told?

DC's Greatest Detective Stories Ever Told is a collection which sadly does not live up to its name. But what we do have is a healthy sampling of stories from across the many decades giving a glimpse of what comics were like at various times. It's an eclectic collection with some pretty good stories, but not as many great ones as it should have. I do love that Mike Kaluta cover though. 

First up is a Slam Bradley story from the second issue of Detective Comics. Produced by the Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster team, this is a rousing adventure with a nifty blend of two-fisted action and humor. Slam's partner Shorty is the source of the humor of course. I enjoyed this little tale immensely. 

The Sandman story "The Van Leew Emeralds" by Gardner Fox and artist Creig Flessel might me my favorite in this collection. This story from Adventure Comics #51 has got solid art and the Sandman slips in and out of his mask more than a few times. This is an excellent 1940 Golden Age yarn. 

Behind this Batman and Robin Detective Comics cover is an Elongated Man story titled "The Purple Pony". This is well drawn as usual by Carmine Infantino, but the 1964 story by Gardner Fox is not to my mind the best example of what Ralph and Sue Dibny have to offer the reader. It's fine, but nothing special. 

Perhaps my greatest disappointment was the expansive Lois Lane story which occupies nearly one hundred pages of the collection. The upside is the typically fine Gray Morrow artwork, but the story by Mindy Newell strives for realism at the cost of excitement. The prospective reader is warned that at no time does a scene like that picture on the cover of the second issue occur. This is grim tale about child abuse, kidnapping, and runaways. I admire the desire to focus attention on a problem, but it could've been done with a bit more verve. 

From the fiftieth anniversary issue of Detective Comics we get a darn good yarn. Mike Barr's story is divided into chapters with each drawn by specially selected artists. We begin with a Slam Bradley tale drawn by Alan Davis in which we learn that Shorty has been killed and Slam is drawn into a case when his prospective client is whisked away violently. A certain dynamic duo help. Then in a chapter drawn by Terry Beatty and Dick Giordano Slam seeks his lost client by trying to find a missing woman. This takes us to London where in a Carmine Infantino drawn tale Elongated Man seeks a long-lost document. That document proves to be a forgotten Sherlock Holmes story which we get to enjoy thanks to artist E. R. Cruz. Alan Davis returns to wrap things up as the collected heroes team up. It's a fun romp. 

From the pages of 1987's The Question #8 we get a grim story by Denny O'Neil and artists Denis Cowan and Rick Magyar which pits the faceless hero against a deadly and devious killer of criminals. 

The secret origin of Detective Chimp is brought to us by artist Mark Badger and writer Andy Helfer. It's a truly strange few pages from Secret Origins #40 which feature aliens from beyond the stars who find their way into a small and humble chimp. 

The collection wraps up with a back-up story from 1989's Batman #441 in which Tim Drake introduces himself to Dick Grayson and Alfred Pennyworth. Despite featuring some decent art by Jim Aparo we only get a few pages of this Marv Wolfman story. I'm not quite sure what was the intent here and it's the weakest part of the collection. 

I want to like this collection more than I do. Some of the choices seem odd. And the lack of creator credits in the table of contents is frustrating. I had to use the Grand Comics Database to fill in some gaps for this review. This collection does not live up to its grandiose title. But that is a great cover. 

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The Shadow In Riverdale!

In the middle 1960's the superhero ruled! For whatever reason comics took off and superheroes were once again identified with them. Not since the Golden Age had there been so much eager activity to tap into the young audience and companies were popping up all over to meet that craving. Archie Comics was not a newcomer, but they had a very identifiable brand and so when they launched some superhero comics it was unusual. For whatever reason they selected The Shadow to be one of those new superheroes. The Shadow had dominated the 30's pulps and even had some activity in comics. But translating those atmospheric tales to the four-color page was a significant challenge. I can't say they necessarily succeeded. After a single debut cover which evoked the classic Shadow mysteries, the character was transformed into a blonde-haired, blue-suited superhero. This was the Shadow in name only. Jerry Siegel and Paul Reinman eventually took the reins of this project for its humbling seven issue run. 

Below are the covers. 

Strange stuff indeed. If you'd like a closer look then check out this link to the Internet Archive to read online these memorable is not particularly auspicious comic books. But tread carefully my friends, because the Shadow knows and he's likely not that chuffed about it. 

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Showcase Corner - Legion Of Super-Heroes Two!

Let us talk about writers. The earliest stories of the Legion of Super-Heroes in Adventure Comics were written by Jerry Seigel and Edmond Hamilton. Hamilton's stories were ripe with sci-fi concepts as well as lifts from classic literature such as the time Lightning Lad lost his arm to an enormous space whale. Sigel's stories on the other hand were two steps above zany. The scheme seemed to be to dream up some predicament for the Legion members to be in, often one involving the seeming demise of a member or members and then undo all of the ramshackle plot development with last minute information. I admire Siegel immensely for enormous contribution to pop culture with the invention (alongside artist Joe Shuster) of Superman, but I cannot forgive the hair-brained stories in this volume and the one before. Before this second Showcase volume closes out a third writer will take the helm, a writer as far removed from the crusty veterans Seigel and Hamilton as could possibly be. A fourteen- year-old Jim Shooter would impress editor Mort Weisinger enough that he handed the gig to him. Shooter made his bones at this very tender age on a team of heroes who were only a tad older than he was himself. 

The introduction of new Legion members slows down considerably in this second Showcase volume. The creators seem to have enough and the focus seems to be on delivering trouble to some of the Legion members with the higher profiles. To that end, Lightning Lad, who had died previously loses his arm and is overcome with a desire for vengeance. Budding romances between Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl and Ultra Boy and Phantom Girl form the basis for ongoing soap operatic doings in the Legion clubhouse. Superboy is hanging around a lot in the future, to hang with his new friends and adds considerable power to the team. Star Boy is actually kicked out of the Legion because he was forced to kill while defending himself. But there are a few new heroes introduced, such as the heroes from the planet Lallor. These are Beast Boy, Gas Girl, Life Lass, Evolvo Lad, and Duplicate Boy.  Also getting some weird powers in the pages of Superboy in anticipation of a Legion membership bid is Lana Lang who becomes Insect Queen. 

The Legion battles some weighty villains such as Starfinger, Computo the Living Computer, Beast Boy from the aforementioned Lallor heroes gone bad, and the Time Trapper who fends off the team for many issues with a barrier in time. The Legion has a difficult time getting to the Time Trapper as he's created a barrier to his time location. It's many issues before they can confront the villain who would prove a perennial enemy. Starfinger gets the name from the Bond movie Goldfinger, but is nonetheless a difficult opponent for reasons all too obvious when the identity of the villain is revealed. The concept of death does rear its head in the Legion stories and the battle against Beast Boy is no different. Computo was created by Jerry Seigel and in contrast to my criticism above, the mechanical invention of Braniac 5 is featured in a two-part story with singular focus and momentum. Again death is on the table. It doesn't hurt that Curt Swan steps in to handle the art for a few issues. (I was struck in this reading how much Brainiac's creation of Computo reminded me of when Hany Pym made Ultron.) 

Doctor Regulus shows up in the last story in this collection. He's a creation of Jim Shooter who took over the writing reins and brought a fresh new style to the Legion stories. He also supplied layouts for the stories and the pages open up, leaving behind the somewhat stodgy classic DC look from the 50's and 60's and giving a more modern vibe. Shooter also introduces four new Legion characters in Ferro Lad, Nemesis Kid, Princess Projectra and Karate Kid. These issues, thanks to Shooter's work have a somewhat more fanzine feel, but they bristle with energy. It's clear why the Legion in 1966 is about to take off. 

Here are the covers for stories in this collection. 

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