Bruce Wayne's Aunt Agatha!
Writer: Bill Finger Pencils: Sheldon Moldoff Inks: Stan Kaye
Always Batman has had one nightmare -- that his true identity would be unmasked as Bruce Wayne, socialite! And suddenly that nightmare comes true, and ironically, the one who rips away his disguise is a beloved relative who means him no harm!
That about sums it up. This is another of those "only in this era" type of stories as Bruce Wayne's Aunt Agatha turns up for an unannounced visit and makes a mess of his activities as Batman. Don't take this one too seriously. This is as close as the unmarried Batman gets to being "henpecked" as he's caught sneaking out of the house, and Aunt Agatha isn't fooled by a moment by his or Dick's masks. She thinks they're going to a costume party and insists they take an umbrella. They're after the Rotor Robbers, men with helicopter backpacks so they can fly around the city and reach inaccesible places. They hit an entrance high on a skyscraper and one of them drops Batman off the roof. It's funny watching him punch with one hand and hold the umbrella with the other, but it saves his life by slowing his fall. Bless Aunt Agatha! And it really does start to rain. Seems like the old lady knows what she's talking about.
Bruce and Dick show Aunt Agatha around Gotham the next day while keeping an eye out for the Rotor Robbers. They spot their hideout and use the excuse of an outdoor costume party to once again leave the house as Batman and Robin. They're spotted by the crooks and captured as they enter the hideout, only for the Joker to turn up as Raven, the gang leader, is about to shoot Batman. Turns out it's actually Aunt Agatha in costume, and she pulls off Batman's cowl to reveal him as Bruce Wayne in front of all the crooks. This convinces the gang that they got the wrong guy, because if Wayne really was Batman his own Aunt wouldn't unmask him, right? Suddenly panicking, despite being the one holding a gun, Raven decides he doesn't care and that he's getting out of there. Kindly old Aunt Agatha grabs a gun and she and Robin hold the rest of the gang while Bruce, in costume but without the cowl, goes after Raven using one of the personalized helicopter harnesses. He brings Raven down by ramming his copter into the blades of Raven's copter, smashing both and sending them into the river far below.
Silly old Aunt Agatha still hasn't realized the truth. She was just planning to go to the same costume party she thought Bruce was headed to, and thought since he was Batman, she'd dress up as the Joker. She fusses as Bruce and Dick for trying to be like Batman and Robin, and she hopes they've learned their lesson! She heads home at the end of the story, and my guess is that we'll never see the character again.
"Oblivious but well-intentioned relative turns Batman's life upside down" would sum up this story. It's light-hearted and fun and not meant to be taken too seriously. I think like so many of the stories at this time, it's hurt by being only eight pages. I've been re-reading volume 3 and there's just so much more than gets packed into 13 pages worth of story. Twice in this story Bruce and Dick find the Rotor Robbers entirely by chance, without having to do any detective work, because there's just no time for anything else. I do like the idea of crooks using personal helicopter backpacks, and Bruce having the nerve to ram Raven's pack and cause them both to fall is a very gutsy move, very much something that Batman would do. I'd like to have seen more of Bruce's relationship with his aunt, simply because we just don't see that many relatives or know much about his life beyond his activities as Batman. But there's no time to devote to that, even if this era was one where who Bruce is beyond Batman was explored. We don't even know if Agatha is a sibling of Bruce's mom or of his dad.
Retro Comics are Awesome
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andersonh1
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andersonh1
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome
Detective Comics #217
March 1955
The Mental Giant of Gotham City!
Script: Edmond Hamilton Pencils: Dick Sprang Inks: Charles Paris
Now I understand -- that accidental burst of freak radiation stimulated my brain cells - my brain and skull have grown big, and my cerebrum is now functioning at full level!
Radiation giving someone super-powers is going to become a much bigger deal in years to come, but we've rarely seen it in Batman comics. I guess being in the era of the atomic bomb accounts for that sort of thing appearing in comics more often, and that's what gives Barney Barrows, a duller than average individual, a massive boost in brain size and mental abilities. Barney had always wanted to be in law enforcement, but wasn't smart enough. Now he is. He even has an alliterative name as if Stan Lee had come up with the character. He figures out Batman's secret identity, calls at Wayne Manor, and marches straight down into the Batcave through the secret entrance behind the grandfather clock. He still wants to fight crime, and he blackmails Batman and Robin into working for him by revealing that he's mailed a letter containing their secret identities to someone.
Barrows first sends Batman after the Metals Mob, who are stealing rare metals. They capture the leader and Robin brings him back so Barrows can question him. Barrows does so by means of a machine that wears down mental resistance. Batman has stayed behind to investigate, and figures out where the gang will strike next. Barrows has also learned this, and goes there with Robin to set a lethal trap. Batman scares the crooks away and stows on their getaway truck, capturing them as the enraged Barrows arrives, furious with Batman for not obeying orders. But fortunately what Batman discovered in a medical book happens at just this time: the brain growth turns out to be temporary, and the condition reverses itself. Barrows returns to normal and the Metals Mob is rounded up. Barrows mailed the letter to himself, so Batman recovers the secret information. Barrows remembers nothing from his "mental giant" experience, and Batman persuades Gordon to let him wear a police uniform when he returns to his janitorial job at the police station.
This one's a bit different, to say the least. Batman in this era rarely fights super-powered enemies, but that's exactly what we get here. I've already mentioned the super-powers via radiation and the alliterative name, both things that we'll see over at Marvel just a few years down the road. Batman pits his intellect against the super-intellect of Barrows and essentially figures out the same thing via different methods, which certainly makes him look good. There's no explanation for why an increased intelligence also greatly increases Barrows ruthlessness, but I guess that had to happen to make him an antagonist for the story. I liked this one. I liked the scene where Barrows just walks right into Wayne Mansion and reveals that he knows who Batman is, and figures out exactly where the Batcave entrance is, and there's nothing Bruce can do to stop him. It's good to see an early example of Batman defeating a super-powered individual, something we often see now, but which is rare in the 1950s. And of course, it's good to see Dick Sprang drawing the story, as always.
March 1955
The Mental Giant of Gotham City!
Script: Edmond Hamilton Pencils: Dick Sprang Inks: Charles Paris
Now I understand -- that accidental burst of freak radiation stimulated my brain cells - my brain and skull have grown big, and my cerebrum is now functioning at full level!
Radiation giving someone super-powers is going to become a much bigger deal in years to come, but we've rarely seen it in Batman comics. I guess being in the era of the atomic bomb accounts for that sort of thing appearing in comics more often, and that's what gives Barney Barrows, a duller than average individual, a massive boost in brain size and mental abilities. Barney had always wanted to be in law enforcement, but wasn't smart enough. Now he is. He even has an alliterative name as if Stan Lee had come up with the character. He figures out Batman's secret identity, calls at Wayne Manor, and marches straight down into the Batcave through the secret entrance behind the grandfather clock. He still wants to fight crime, and he blackmails Batman and Robin into working for him by revealing that he's mailed a letter containing their secret identities to someone.
Barrows first sends Batman after the Metals Mob, who are stealing rare metals. They capture the leader and Robin brings him back so Barrows can question him. Barrows does so by means of a machine that wears down mental resistance. Batman has stayed behind to investigate, and figures out where the gang will strike next. Barrows has also learned this, and goes there with Robin to set a lethal trap. Batman scares the crooks away and stows on their getaway truck, capturing them as the enraged Barrows arrives, furious with Batman for not obeying orders. But fortunately what Batman discovered in a medical book happens at just this time: the brain growth turns out to be temporary, and the condition reverses itself. Barrows returns to normal and the Metals Mob is rounded up. Barrows mailed the letter to himself, so Batman recovers the secret information. Barrows remembers nothing from his "mental giant" experience, and Batman persuades Gordon to let him wear a police uniform when he returns to his janitorial job at the police station.
This one's a bit different, to say the least. Batman in this era rarely fights super-powered enemies, but that's exactly what we get here. I've already mentioned the super-powers via radiation and the alliterative name, both things that we'll see over at Marvel just a few years down the road. Batman pits his intellect against the super-intellect of Barrows and essentially figures out the same thing via different methods, which certainly makes him look good. There's no explanation for why an increased intelligence also greatly increases Barrows ruthlessness, but I guess that had to happen to make him an antagonist for the story. I liked this one. I liked the scene where Barrows just walks right into Wayne Mansion and reveals that he knows who Batman is, and figures out exactly where the Batcave entrance is, and there's nothing Bruce can do to stop him. It's good to see an early example of Batman defeating a super-powered individual, something we often see now, but which is rare in the 1950s. And of course, it's good to see Dick Sprang drawing the story, as always.
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andersonh1
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome
Green Lantern/Green Arrow #81
December 1970
All New! All Now! I'm not sure what the "all Now!" means, but that's what the cover proclaims. It's an interesting cover, with columns of people apparently in chains of linked arms, falling, with GL, GA and Black Canary among them. And Black Canary gets cover billing as well.
Death by my Destiny!
Script - Denny O'Neil Pencils - Neal Adams Inks - Dick Giordano
The book opens with a Guardian in the famous Uncle Sam "I want you!" pose as the Guardians charge their fellow with imperiling the Earth merely to save one life. It's a stupid charge, because in the overall scheme of things, a little more pollution hardly put Earth in any worse shape than it already was, and the logical conclusion here is that the Guardians would rather one of their best Green Lanterns, a man who had saved countless lives and who would go on to save countless more, was of less value than keeping the bay a little cleaner. I understand this is Denny O'Neil preaching about pollution using the characters to do it, and yeah, pollution is bad for the environment and for all the animals and humans who depend on it, but it's just not a convincing situation the way he's set it up here. And the verdict is essentially the death penalty, with the Guardian to be stripped of his immortality and returned to Maltus where he will live out a natural lifespan and die of old age. It's absurdly harsh for what he did. If nothing else, Hal seems to think the same, given that he threatens resignation for what's been done to the now-former Guardian. The Guardians discuss how it would be a pity to lose his service, when they just essentially said it would have been better for him to die to keep the river from being a little more polluted. Make up your minds!
We do get some new information added to GL lore: the Guardians' home planet is Maltus, where they originated more than ten billion years ago. O'Neil is referencing "Malthusianism", a theory about population growth linked to conditions, named after Thomas Malthus. Population grows, resources become more scarce, there's a crash, population reduces. I'm oversimplifying greatly, but it's basically about overpopulation. Maltus is overpopulated badly when GL, GA, BC and the Old Timer arrive, a fact which surprises them. They're mobbed and attacked when they arrive, so they go to research the situation. Maltus passed through a cloud of cosmic dust which sterilized the population. There were no more children born. A woman calling herself Mother Juna essentially cloned a bunch of new Maltusians who grew to adulthood in days. It turns out that the sterilization was only temporary, but Juna just continues to clone more and more people. How long has she been at this? How long would it take to clone enough to overpopulate an entire planet, and why doesn't someone stop her?
At any rate, we get two pages all about the scarcity of resources and all the various deleterious effects it has on the population. Once again under O'Neil's pencil it's Hal who has to be convinced, while the wise Green Arrow already grasps the truth. O'Neil writes Hal as naïve but noble when it comes to his commitment to the principles of his oath. They find Mother Juna's lab, and while Green Arrow and Black Canary distract the crowd, Hal and the Old Timer tunnel under the yellow dome. The guards are entirely yellow as well, of course. After fighting them and Mother Juna, they find that the crowd has discovered Hal's tunnel, and is busy wrecking the lab. Black Canary asks Mother Juna why she turned to evil, and she protests. She never recovered from the cloud and had no children of her own. These clones were her children. The Old Timer chooses not to appeal his sentence, but to remain, as he feels there is much he can do to help. The issue wraps up not with Green Lantern, but with Ollie and Dinah walking in Star City, at the end of the journey that Ollie and Hal started six months ago.
All these books are a little heavy-handed with the messaging, and that's part of what makes them unique. It does make me feel like the message is being pounded into my head with a sledge hammer though. Some of it works, some of it is honestly over the top, but in the end I will say that it feels like we've come a long way in just six issues. It's a story arc made up not of a single story padded out to fill a trade, but from characters starting in one place and ending up somewhere else with a lot of experience and changes under their belts. In that sense, it's well-written. It's definitely a product of its times and the concerns that Denny O'Neil had on his mind, and I think it was a good attempt at shaking up what had become a somewhat stale book, judging by those later Silver Age issues. I shake my head at some of the storytelling and character choices, but I still enjoy this series, so I'll call that a success.
December 1970
All New! All Now! I'm not sure what the "all Now!" means, but that's what the cover proclaims. It's an interesting cover, with columns of people apparently in chains of linked arms, falling, with GL, GA and Black Canary among them. And Black Canary gets cover billing as well.
Death by my Destiny!
Script - Denny O'Neil Pencils - Neal Adams Inks - Dick Giordano
The book opens with a Guardian in the famous Uncle Sam "I want you!" pose as the Guardians charge their fellow with imperiling the Earth merely to save one life. It's a stupid charge, because in the overall scheme of things, a little more pollution hardly put Earth in any worse shape than it already was, and the logical conclusion here is that the Guardians would rather one of their best Green Lanterns, a man who had saved countless lives and who would go on to save countless more, was of less value than keeping the bay a little cleaner. I understand this is Denny O'Neil preaching about pollution using the characters to do it, and yeah, pollution is bad for the environment and for all the animals and humans who depend on it, but it's just not a convincing situation the way he's set it up here. And the verdict is essentially the death penalty, with the Guardian to be stripped of his immortality and returned to Maltus where he will live out a natural lifespan and die of old age. It's absurdly harsh for what he did. If nothing else, Hal seems to think the same, given that he threatens resignation for what's been done to the now-former Guardian. The Guardians discuss how it would be a pity to lose his service, when they just essentially said it would have been better for him to die to keep the river from being a little more polluted. Make up your minds!
We do get some new information added to GL lore: the Guardians' home planet is Maltus, where they originated more than ten billion years ago. O'Neil is referencing "Malthusianism", a theory about population growth linked to conditions, named after Thomas Malthus. Population grows, resources become more scarce, there's a crash, population reduces. I'm oversimplifying greatly, but it's basically about overpopulation. Maltus is overpopulated badly when GL, GA, BC and the Old Timer arrive, a fact which surprises them. They're mobbed and attacked when they arrive, so they go to research the situation. Maltus passed through a cloud of cosmic dust which sterilized the population. There were no more children born. A woman calling herself Mother Juna essentially cloned a bunch of new Maltusians who grew to adulthood in days. It turns out that the sterilization was only temporary, but Juna just continues to clone more and more people. How long has she been at this? How long would it take to clone enough to overpopulate an entire planet, and why doesn't someone stop her?
At any rate, we get two pages all about the scarcity of resources and all the various deleterious effects it has on the population. Once again under O'Neil's pencil it's Hal who has to be convinced, while the wise Green Arrow already grasps the truth. O'Neil writes Hal as naïve but noble when it comes to his commitment to the principles of his oath. They find Mother Juna's lab, and while Green Arrow and Black Canary distract the crowd, Hal and the Old Timer tunnel under the yellow dome. The guards are entirely yellow as well, of course. After fighting them and Mother Juna, they find that the crowd has discovered Hal's tunnel, and is busy wrecking the lab. Black Canary asks Mother Juna why she turned to evil, and she protests. She never recovered from the cloud and had no children of her own. These clones were her children. The Old Timer chooses not to appeal his sentence, but to remain, as he feels there is much he can do to help. The issue wraps up not with Green Lantern, but with Ollie and Dinah walking in Star City, at the end of the journey that Ollie and Hal started six months ago.
All these books are a little heavy-handed with the messaging, and that's part of what makes them unique. It does make me feel like the message is being pounded into my head with a sledge hammer though. Some of it works, some of it is honestly over the top, but in the end I will say that it feels like we've come a long way in just six issues. It's a story arc made up not of a single story padded out to fill a trade, but from characters starting in one place and ending up somewhere else with a lot of experience and changes under their belts. In that sense, it's well-written. It's definitely a product of its times and the concerns that Denny O'Neil had on his mind, and I think it was a good attempt at shaking up what had become a somewhat stale book, judging by those later Silver Age issues. I shake my head at some of the storytelling and character choices, but I still enjoy this series, so I'll call that a success.
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andersonh1
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome
Batman #90
March 1955
The Web of Doom!
Script: Bill Finger Pencils: Sheldon Moldoff Inks: Charles Paris
Dr. Peter Driscoll trips, hits his head, and drops a dangerous package in an alley. He's got "total amnesia" from the blow, so he doesn't remember, but his colleague warns the Gotham police that there are deadly germs and the package must be recovered. All attempts to help restore Driscoll's memory fail, but Batman hits on a plan: get three ex-convicts who once worked with Driscoll on research. Why this should work when nothing else has is not explained, but we've only got eight pages. Sometimes the plot just needs to keep moving. Batman and Robin head out in search of these three men.
The first is Tom Bailey, accused of murdering his boss. But he's been a model citizen since his release from prison. Batman is able to deduce from the type of hammer used in the murder, a cooper's hammer, that it was likely someone other than Bailey, and a bluff flushes out the real killer, a man working in the local barrel factory. Bailey's innocence is proven in record time, and it's on to the next man, Brad Carson. He's changed his name and is living the quiet life to protect his wife and child, and refuses to go. At that moment, news comes over the town's loudspeaker that three convicts have escaped from the state prison and are trapped on top of an oil tank. It's a coincidence that ex-cons two and three are in the same town, but again, the story has to keep moving. Despite breaking out of prison, Paul Wade is not as ruthless as the other two and protests the plan to threaten the city's destruction by blowing up the oil container and taking half the town with them if they aren't let go. Batman uses a "human cannonball" cannon from a nearby circus to launch himself and Robin to the top of the container. When one of the cons takes a shot at him, Paul Wade takes the bullet for Batman.
Shamed, Carson agrees to go with Batman, who assures him he won't have anything but good publicity for his actions. So all three men have been located, but Wade is too injured to move. Batman ends up using his disguise skills to portray Wade, and the trick works. Driscoll's memory returns, and the package is recovered in the nick of time just as a kid finds it and is about to open it. "Strange, isn't it?" Batman muses to Robin. "By saving the life of our town, we also gave three new lives to Bailey, Carson and Wade!"
There's a lot packed into eight pages of story, and though it requires several coincidences to make the story work, I enjoyed this one. I always liked the old human interest stories we got more of in 1940s Batman, and in some ways this is a callback to that type of storytelling. At least portions of it are. There's no criminal mastermind, no grand scheme to foil, just a race against the clock to find three men at different stages in life who can help save millions. My only real question is why Driscoll would simply be walking down the street with such a dangerous package. Shouldn't it have been transported in a more secure way? But then there'd have been no story.
March 1955
The Web of Doom!
Script: Bill Finger Pencils: Sheldon Moldoff Inks: Charles Paris
Dr. Peter Driscoll trips, hits his head, and drops a dangerous package in an alley. He's got "total amnesia" from the blow, so he doesn't remember, but his colleague warns the Gotham police that there are deadly germs and the package must be recovered. All attempts to help restore Driscoll's memory fail, but Batman hits on a plan: get three ex-convicts who once worked with Driscoll on research. Why this should work when nothing else has is not explained, but we've only got eight pages. Sometimes the plot just needs to keep moving. Batman and Robin head out in search of these three men.
The first is Tom Bailey, accused of murdering his boss. But he's been a model citizen since his release from prison. Batman is able to deduce from the type of hammer used in the murder, a cooper's hammer, that it was likely someone other than Bailey, and a bluff flushes out the real killer, a man working in the local barrel factory. Bailey's innocence is proven in record time, and it's on to the next man, Brad Carson. He's changed his name and is living the quiet life to protect his wife and child, and refuses to go. At that moment, news comes over the town's loudspeaker that three convicts have escaped from the state prison and are trapped on top of an oil tank. It's a coincidence that ex-cons two and three are in the same town, but again, the story has to keep moving. Despite breaking out of prison, Paul Wade is not as ruthless as the other two and protests the plan to threaten the city's destruction by blowing up the oil container and taking half the town with them if they aren't let go. Batman uses a "human cannonball" cannon from a nearby circus to launch himself and Robin to the top of the container. When one of the cons takes a shot at him, Paul Wade takes the bullet for Batman.
Shamed, Carson agrees to go with Batman, who assures him he won't have anything but good publicity for his actions. So all three men have been located, but Wade is too injured to move. Batman ends up using his disguise skills to portray Wade, and the trick works. Driscoll's memory returns, and the package is recovered in the nick of time just as a kid finds it and is about to open it. "Strange, isn't it?" Batman muses to Robin. "By saving the life of our town, we also gave three new lives to Bailey, Carson and Wade!"
There's a lot packed into eight pages of story, and though it requires several coincidences to make the story work, I enjoyed this one. I always liked the old human interest stories we got more of in 1940s Batman, and in some ways this is a callback to that type of storytelling. At least portions of it are. There's no criminal mastermind, no grand scheme to foil, just a race against the clock to find three men at different stages in life who can help save millions. My only real question is why Driscoll would simply be walking down the street with such a dangerous package. Shouldn't it have been transported in a more secure way? But then there'd have been no story.
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andersonh1
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome
City of Fantasy!
Script: Bill Finger Artist: Dick Sprang
In the lab of Dr. Frank Bolton, "famed physicist" Bolton discusses his invention, the "illus-o-ray". Supposedly a device to refract light, it has different effect that require prismatic goggles. But Bolton's assistant Parker has other ideas, and works with some crooks to steal it. News of the theft travels quickly, and reaches Bruce Wayne's home where he and Dick suit up and head out as Batman and Robin. Meanwhile the crooks have wasted no time, attacking an armored truck with the aid of the machine, which skews what everyone sees unless they're wearing the protective goggles. There's a pretty neat interpretation of the effect by Dick Sprang on page 3 where we see the horizon tilted, multiple appearances by a single object, a man hanging off a streetlamp, a car driving straight up, a skyscraper splitting... all as if reflected through facts of a prism. To sum it up, people can't trust what they see through distorted vision, but the crooks can, making robbing the armored truck easy. Even Batman, who understands what is happening, is unable to cope with the debilitating effects.
Batman consults with Dr. Bolton, but the machine is something he doesn't think he can duplicate, and his assistant destroyed his notes on the protective goggles. Batman is not deterred, reminding Robin that they have other senses besides sight. At the next instance where the crooks use the ray, Batman has installed a radar/sonar screen in the Batmobile that helps him compensate for the confusing visuals. He and Robin tackle the two who walk up to the Batmobile, knocking them out, and the others run for it. The first two revive and escape, returning to the hideout laughing at how Batman didn't even take their goggles. That raised a red flag for me, and I immediately suspected something was up. Sure enough, Batman and Robin had switched out the real goggles for fake ones when the slugged the two thugs, so they're back on even footing when the gang tries to rob the Luna Lake amusement park. Parker, the assistant, tries to run for it with the machine in the back of his car, but since Batman grabbed his goggles when he was trying to get away, he can't see and smashed the Illus-o-ray against the Ferris Wheel, destroying it. The crooks are rounded up, and Dr. Bolton is delighted to hear that his invention has been destroyed, given all the trouble it caused.
I'm glad Dick Sprang drew this one, it needed his artistic skill to convincingly depict the distorted visuals produced by the machine. He does his usual superb job illustrating this story of a scientific invention that is misused by crooks, a common plotline over in Superman in this same era, judging by what little I've read of 1950s Superman. Batman as always has a "never say die" attitude and figures out a way around the problem, and I enjoyed just how well his plan worked. There's no lucky improvisation here, he overcomes the visual handicap, fools the crooks completely, and mops the floor with them since they don't expect to be on an even footing. It's Batman at his best, and I really enjoyed this one.
Script: Bill Finger Artist: Dick Sprang
In the lab of Dr. Frank Bolton, "famed physicist" Bolton discusses his invention, the "illus-o-ray". Supposedly a device to refract light, it has different effect that require prismatic goggles. But Bolton's assistant Parker has other ideas, and works with some crooks to steal it. News of the theft travels quickly, and reaches Bruce Wayne's home where he and Dick suit up and head out as Batman and Robin. Meanwhile the crooks have wasted no time, attacking an armored truck with the aid of the machine, which skews what everyone sees unless they're wearing the protective goggles. There's a pretty neat interpretation of the effect by Dick Sprang on page 3 where we see the horizon tilted, multiple appearances by a single object, a man hanging off a streetlamp, a car driving straight up, a skyscraper splitting... all as if reflected through facts of a prism. To sum it up, people can't trust what they see through distorted vision, but the crooks can, making robbing the armored truck easy. Even Batman, who understands what is happening, is unable to cope with the debilitating effects.
Batman consults with Dr. Bolton, but the machine is something he doesn't think he can duplicate, and his assistant destroyed his notes on the protective goggles. Batman is not deterred, reminding Robin that they have other senses besides sight. At the next instance where the crooks use the ray, Batman has installed a radar/sonar screen in the Batmobile that helps him compensate for the confusing visuals. He and Robin tackle the two who walk up to the Batmobile, knocking them out, and the others run for it. The first two revive and escape, returning to the hideout laughing at how Batman didn't even take their goggles. That raised a red flag for me, and I immediately suspected something was up. Sure enough, Batman and Robin had switched out the real goggles for fake ones when the slugged the two thugs, so they're back on even footing when the gang tries to rob the Luna Lake amusement park. Parker, the assistant, tries to run for it with the machine in the back of his car, but since Batman grabbed his goggles when he was trying to get away, he can't see and smashed the Illus-o-ray against the Ferris Wheel, destroying it. The crooks are rounded up, and Dr. Bolton is delighted to hear that his invention has been destroyed, given all the trouble it caused.
I'm glad Dick Sprang drew this one, it needed his artistic skill to convincingly depict the distorted visuals produced by the machine. He does his usual superb job illustrating this story of a scientific invention that is misused by crooks, a common plotline over in Superman in this same era, judging by what little I've read of 1950s Superman. Batman as always has a "never say die" attitude and figures out a way around the problem, and I enjoyed just how well his plan worked. There's no lucky improvisation here, he overcomes the visual handicap, fools the crooks completely, and mops the floor with them since they don't expect to be on an even footing. It's Batman at his best, and I really enjoyed this one.
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andersonh1
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome
The Adventures of Batboy!
Script: Unknown Pencils: Sheldon Moldoff Inks: Stan Kaye
I can't say that I had high hopes for this story. A guy in a baseball uniform with a cape and a trick baseball bat is not the most inspirational street-level superhero I've ever seen. But I can't judge a book by it's cover, so onwards... Batman and Robin are fighting a gang of crooks, observed from the shadows by an unknown figure. This guy takes a hand when Batman is taken out and when he hears the name "Tapper Nolan", who he wants revenge against. The fight is taking place in a baseball bat production facility, and since the kid takes out the gang using the bats, he decides it's an omen. I don't know if this was a deliberate reference to Batman taking the bat as an omen back in his origin story, but it feels a bit silly here, honestly. It doesn't help when we get puns for the guy's weapons, such as his "baseball bat-arang", or his lair in a cave called "the dugout". And of course he has many trick bats, the parachute bat, or the porcupine bat that shoots quills... it's hard to take this guy seriously. I guess it's no goofier than a guy dressed up as a bat with bat-themed crime fighting equipment, but somehow "Batman" works while "Batboy" doesn't.
What does work for me is the story's comparison of Robin and Batboy as two guys cut from the same cloth. Batman is out of town, so Robin helps Batboy out, and he works out a lot about him from the guy's references. Batboy is not a kid, he's a midget, who used to be a circus acrobat (like Robin of course), and his baseball references are all those an older fan would make. Robin's been taking notes from Batman on paying attention to small details. Robin is correct, "Batboy" is Midge Merrill, former circus acrobat with other men of his height, part of the "Mighty Mites" troupe. His fellow acrobats were killed in a fire set by some of Tapper Nolan's gang to divert attention while they stole the gate receipts. We get a panel where Dick thinks back to his parents dying because of criminals, just like Merrill's friends. Robin and Batboy team up, and thanks to Batboy's bug inside a bat planted in Nolan's hideout, the two of them know just where to find and stop the gang on their next heist. The gang is captured, and Merrill is done with crime-fighting with his target in jail. Robin helps him get a job as a genuine batboy with the Gotham baseball team.
I think with a better crime fighting identity, this story would have worked far better for me (though I get why they went with the "Batboy" title since at one point they call Robin another "Batboy", so it's another parallel between the two). Despite that, after a shaky first half I did enjoy the second half quite a bit. The basic plot, and the parallels between Dick Grayson and Midge Merrill, and Merrill's attempts to get revenge by getting evidence to jail Nolan, makes a pretty strong story. It's nice to see Robin acting on his own and using Batman's methods to work out who "Batboy" was, and to wrap up the gang without Batman.
Script: Unknown Pencils: Sheldon Moldoff Inks: Stan Kaye
I can't say that I had high hopes for this story. A guy in a baseball uniform with a cape and a trick baseball bat is not the most inspirational street-level superhero I've ever seen. But I can't judge a book by it's cover, so onwards... Batman and Robin are fighting a gang of crooks, observed from the shadows by an unknown figure. This guy takes a hand when Batman is taken out and when he hears the name "Tapper Nolan", who he wants revenge against. The fight is taking place in a baseball bat production facility, and since the kid takes out the gang using the bats, he decides it's an omen. I don't know if this was a deliberate reference to Batman taking the bat as an omen back in his origin story, but it feels a bit silly here, honestly. It doesn't help when we get puns for the guy's weapons, such as his "baseball bat-arang", or his lair in a cave called "the dugout". And of course he has many trick bats, the parachute bat, or the porcupine bat that shoots quills... it's hard to take this guy seriously. I guess it's no goofier than a guy dressed up as a bat with bat-themed crime fighting equipment, but somehow "Batman" works while "Batboy" doesn't.
What does work for me is the story's comparison of Robin and Batboy as two guys cut from the same cloth. Batman is out of town, so Robin helps Batboy out, and he works out a lot about him from the guy's references. Batboy is not a kid, he's a midget, who used to be a circus acrobat (like Robin of course), and his baseball references are all those an older fan would make. Robin's been taking notes from Batman on paying attention to small details. Robin is correct, "Batboy" is Midge Merrill, former circus acrobat with other men of his height, part of the "Mighty Mites" troupe. His fellow acrobats were killed in a fire set by some of Tapper Nolan's gang to divert attention while they stole the gate receipts. We get a panel where Dick thinks back to his parents dying because of criminals, just like Merrill's friends. Robin and Batboy team up, and thanks to Batboy's bug inside a bat planted in Nolan's hideout, the two of them know just where to find and stop the gang on their next heist. The gang is captured, and Merrill is done with crime-fighting with his target in jail. Robin helps him get a job as a genuine batboy with the Gotham baseball team.
I think with a better crime fighting identity, this story would have worked far better for me (though I get why they went with the "Batboy" title since at one point they call Robin another "Batboy", so it's another parallel between the two). Despite that, after a shaky first half I did enjoy the second half quite a bit. The basic plot, and the parallels between Dick Grayson and Midge Merrill, and Merrill's attempts to get revenge by getting evidence to jail Nolan, makes a pretty strong story. It's nice to see Robin acting on his own and using Batman's methods to work out who "Batboy" was, and to wrap up the gang without Batman.
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Sparky Prime
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome
Secret Wars (1984)
I recently got the Secret Wars II TPB, and with the MCU news of upcoming movies, it made me want to revisit these Marvel Secret Wars storylines. Never actually read all of SWII, I only found the second issue years ago, so I'm looking forward to being able to read the whole story. But before I get there... Secret Wars.
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Beyonder gathers up various super heroes and villains, sending them to a planet he creates that comes to be called Battleworld. Beyonder tells them if they slay their enemies, he will grant them anything they desire. Immediately things don't go as Beyonder planned when Galactus attacks him, but Beyonder simply swats him away, sending him crashing to the planet. The heroes and villains fight their Secret War until Galactus summons his ship to eat and gain the power he needs to face Beyonder, but Doom steals this power so he can fight Beyonder. Doom looses but thanks to the Beyonder's curiosity, Doom is able to take his power. The villains leave for Earth, while the heroes remain to fight Doom. Doom eventually looses control of Beyonder's powers and Beyonder (who had possessed Klaw) takes it back. The heroes (save for Thing) return to Earth when Reed figures out how to reverse the teleporter.
---
The story premise is fairly simple with the Beyonder essentially kidnapping a bunch of people and telling them to fight to the death. We really don't get any insight as to who/what the Beyonder is or why he's doing this except that he's some all powerful entity "from beyond". There are some interesting dynamics within the two groups. Magneto, for example, is placed with the heroes. Given his actions, the other heroes obviously see him as a villain, but Magneto sees himself as a hero given he believes he is fighting for the best interests of mutant kind. The X-Men at one point vote to leave and join Magneto. It's not long before they end up rejoining the heroes, but given the stigma of being mutants in the Marvel universe, I like that the story acknowledges the discourse within the group. Ultron immediately tries to kill his fellow villains, because he has no interest in working with anyone else and wants to eliminate all organic beings. Similarly, Galactus has no interest in any of these 'lesser beings', and only tries to go after the Beyonder himself. It's just interesting to me to see they didn't make it simply a fight of good vs evil but actually illustrate that these characters have different motivation's and agendas.
I always found the introduction of Titania, Volcana and Spider-Woman... lacking. Titania and Volcana first appear in issue 3, already at the villains base with Doom giving them their powers. But where did these human civilians turned super villains come from? It's not until Spider-Woman turns up in issue 6 that we find out Beyonder used a suburb of Denver, Colorado to create Battleworld. And a few issues after that, the majority of the villains end up crashing at Volvana's apartment (which is pretty funny to see). So while we do eventually find out how they got to Battleworld, the way it's revealed in the story comes off a little clumsy, and still leaves some open ended questions about how they got to the villains base so quickly after their arrival, and why Doom agreed to give them super powers. Spider-Woman meanwhile gets no background. Not that I think they needed to go into her full origin in this story, but she assures them she's not a spy or anything like that, and that pretty much it. It just feels so rushed without really telling the audience anything about the character.
There's not a whole lot of fall out from this series, but then, most big cross over titles like this usually don't have much stick for very long. I guess the heroes technically won. The only indication Beyonder recognizes the heroes victory is Captain America repairing his damaged shield by thought alone. No one else seems to try to manifest a desire though, so it's left somewhat ambiguous. I've wondered if Ben Grimm being able to transform back and forth between Thing and his human form was his wish being granted, but this transformation happens randomly throughout the series until he learns to control it at the end. I know he'd have a solo comic on Battleworld, but I don't know if they explain this. At any rate, he'd eventually return to Earth where he's locked into being Thing again, and the pieces of Battleworld would all go back to their planets of origin. Beyonder restoring Doom to the way he'd been before stealing his power and then vanishing with him and Klaw seems like it should be ominous for the two villains... But it seems that Beyonder simply returned them to Earth, none the worst for wear. The biggest thing to come out of Secret Wars was Spider-Man's black costume, which of course went on to become one of Spider-Man's biggest villains as Venom.
Secret Wars was always one of my favorite stories growing up. To this day, I still think it's one of the best crossover event titles.
I recently got the Secret Wars II TPB, and with the MCU news of upcoming movies, it made me want to revisit these Marvel Secret Wars storylines. Never actually read all of SWII, I only found the second issue years ago, so I'm looking forward to being able to read the whole story. But before I get there... Secret Wars.
---
Beyonder gathers up various super heroes and villains, sending them to a planet he creates that comes to be called Battleworld. Beyonder tells them if they slay their enemies, he will grant them anything they desire. Immediately things don't go as Beyonder planned when Galactus attacks him, but Beyonder simply swats him away, sending him crashing to the planet. The heroes and villains fight their Secret War until Galactus summons his ship to eat and gain the power he needs to face Beyonder, but Doom steals this power so he can fight Beyonder. Doom looses but thanks to the Beyonder's curiosity, Doom is able to take his power. The villains leave for Earth, while the heroes remain to fight Doom. Doom eventually looses control of Beyonder's powers and Beyonder (who had possessed Klaw) takes it back. The heroes (save for Thing) return to Earth when Reed figures out how to reverse the teleporter.
---
The story premise is fairly simple with the Beyonder essentially kidnapping a bunch of people and telling them to fight to the death. We really don't get any insight as to who/what the Beyonder is or why he's doing this except that he's some all powerful entity "from beyond". There are some interesting dynamics within the two groups. Magneto, for example, is placed with the heroes. Given his actions, the other heroes obviously see him as a villain, but Magneto sees himself as a hero given he believes he is fighting for the best interests of mutant kind. The X-Men at one point vote to leave and join Magneto. It's not long before they end up rejoining the heroes, but given the stigma of being mutants in the Marvel universe, I like that the story acknowledges the discourse within the group. Ultron immediately tries to kill his fellow villains, because he has no interest in working with anyone else and wants to eliminate all organic beings. Similarly, Galactus has no interest in any of these 'lesser beings', and only tries to go after the Beyonder himself. It's just interesting to me to see they didn't make it simply a fight of good vs evil but actually illustrate that these characters have different motivation's and agendas.
I always found the introduction of Titania, Volcana and Spider-Woman... lacking. Titania and Volcana first appear in issue 3, already at the villains base with Doom giving them their powers. But where did these human civilians turned super villains come from? It's not until Spider-Woman turns up in issue 6 that we find out Beyonder used a suburb of Denver, Colorado to create Battleworld. And a few issues after that, the majority of the villains end up crashing at Volvana's apartment (which is pretty funny to see). So while we do eventually find out how they got to Battleworld, the way it's revealed in the story comes off a little clumsy, and still leaves some open ended questions about how they got to the villains base so quickly after their arrival, and why Doom agreed to give them super powers. Spider-Woman meanwhile gets no background. Not that I think they needed to go into her full origin in this story, but she assures them she's not a spy or anything like that, and that pretty much it. It just feels so rushed without really telling the audience anything about the character.
There's not a whole lot of fall out from this series, but then, most big cross over titles like this usually don't have much stick for very long. I guess the heroes technically won. The only indication Beyonder recognizes the heroes victory is Captain America repairing his damaged shield by thought alone. No one else seems to try to manifest a desire though, so it's left somewhat ambiguous. I've wondered if Ben Grimm being able to transform back and forth between Thing and his human form was his wish being granted, but this transformation happens randomly throughout the series until he learns to control it at the end. I know he'd have a solo comic on Battleworld, but I don't know if they explain this. At any rate, he'd eventually return to Earth where he's locked into being Thing again, and the pieces of Battleworld would all go back to their planets of origin. Beyonder restoring Doom to the way he'd been before stealing his power and then vanishing with him and Klaw seems like it should be ominous for the two villains... But it seems that Beyonder simply returned them to Earth, none the worst for wear. The biggest thing to come out of Secret Wars was Spider-Man's black costume, which of course went on to become one of Spider-Man's biggest villains as Venom.
Secret Wars was always one of my favorite stories growing up. To this day, I still think it's one of the best crossover event titles.
Last edited by Sparky Prime on Sun Sep 08, 2024 9:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Sparky Prime
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome
Secret Wars II (1985)
What did I just read?
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The Beyonder arrives at Earth, wishing to experience existence as a human. Naïve as to how humans function at first, Beyonder eventually falls in with the mob where he learns about money, power and control. Over some time, he learns about love and that it's better when it's reciprocated with free will. He tries to have a relationship with Dazzler, but she ultimately rejects him. Beyonder apparently has a chat with Dr. Strange and decides to become a champion for life. Eventually he decides to kill Death which Mephisto tries to prevent, but Death ends up destroyed. Molecule Man tells him that was a bad idea, so Beyonder kills a man he'd been working with to restore Death. Continuously confounded by mortal existence as an immortal himself, he realizes he hasn't actually tried to exist as a mortal and creates a machine for which he can separate his power and create a new mortal body for himself. The super heroes gather to confront him, and Molecule Man destroys the machine while Beyonder is a baby inside, killing him. The heroes are amazed they survived the explosion. It seems the energy was sent through the opening to the Beyonder's realm where it creates a new universe.
---
This what not the story I was expecting at all. I'm surprised Secret Wars and Secret Wars II were both written by Jim Shooter. Secret Wars was a self contained straight forward story, while Secret Wars II focuses on the Beyonder as he meanders through trying to figure out human existence, and at times feels disjointed because some important events happened in tie-in stories rather than the main title. It's so different of a story structure, I would have sworn they were written by two different people.
So the tie-ins... There were 33 originally, with Quasar adding another in 1990 and Deadpool in 1998, bringing the total to 35. From what I can tell, most of them are just Beyonder showing up, causing some chaos, and then leaving while the hero is forced to clean up the mess in their own title. This is reflected at one point in that Beyonder goes to talk with the Avengers, but they're on a mission in another galaxy. So he goes to talk to them, and when he returns to Earth, he laments that it didn't go well. The conversation he had with Dr. Strange made me think I skipped a page or something, but no, that's just from a tie-in issue. Apparently Beyonder killed the New Mutants in their title, because the machine he makes at the end he tests out by cloning them all new bodies.
I don't like how naïve Beyonder is portrayed at the beginning. They treat it as though he knows absolutely nothing about human behavior, despite establishing he'd watched Earth for years prior to instigating the Secret Wars. If this had been when he first learned of the Marvel universe, it'd be fine, but... So like, at one point, Spider-Man has to explain to him what it means to go to the bathroom. And he doesn't know how to eat or drink. If he observed humanity for any amount of time, shouldn't he already know these basic things? It's also odd to me how he seems to be largely left alone. Super heroes and cosmic entities alike all express a concern about his presence on Earth, and within the multiverse, knowing he could wipe out all existence with a thought. But no one seems to be actively looking for him unless he's caused some trouble. I'm not clear on the timeline for this series. It would seem to take place not long after everyone returned from the Secret Wars. But it seems to take place over the span of months. Thing eventually turns up, although he hasn't rejoined the Fantastic Four, with She-Hulk still on the team instead.
Not a fan of Secret Wars II. The writing was messy and inconsistent. While I appreciated Beyonder getting fleshed out as a character, they made him such an unlikable character. I'm not sure what Shooter was even trying to say with this story. I can see why I usually don't see anyone talking about this series.
What did I just read?
---
The Beyonder arrives at Earth, wishing to experience existence as a human. Naïve as to how humans function at first, Beyonder eventually falls in with the mob where he learns about money, power and control. Over some time, he learns about love and that it's better when it's reciprocated with free will. He tries to have a relationship with Dazzler, but she ultimately rejects him. Beyonder apparently has a chat with Dr. Strange and decides to become a champion for life. Eventually he decides to kill Death which Mephisto tries to prevent, but Death ends up destroyed. Molecule Man tells him that was a bad idea, so Beyonder kills a man he'd been working with to restore Death. Continuously confounded by mortal existence as an immortal himself, he realizes he hasn't actually tried to exist as a mortal and creates a machine for which he can separate his power and create a new mortal body for himself. The super heroes gather to confront him, and Molecule Man destroys the machine while Beyonder is a baby inside, killing him. The heroes are amazed they survived the explosion. It seems the energy was sent through the opening to the Beyonder's realm where it creates a new universe.
---
This what not the story I was expecting at all. I'm surprised Secret Wars and Secret Wars II were both written by Jim Shooter. Secret Wars was a self contained straight forward story, while Secret Wars II focuses on the Beyonder as he meanders through trying to figure out human existence, and at times feels disjointed because some important events happened in tie-in stories rather than the main title. It's so different of a story structure, I would have sworn they were written by two different people.
So the tie-ins... There were 33 originally, with Quasar adding another in 1990 and Deadpool in 1998, bringing the total to 35. From what I can tell, most of them are just Beyonder showing up, causing some chaos, and then leaving while the hero is forced to clean up the mess in their own title. This is reflected at one point in that Beyonder goes to talk with the Avengers, but they're on a mission in another galaxy. So he goes to talk to them, and when he returns to Earth, he laments that it didn't go well. The conversation he had with Dr. Strange made me think I skipped a page or something, but no, that's just from a tie-in issue. Apparently Beyonder killed the New Mutants in their title, because the machine he makes at the end he tests out by cloning them all new bodies.
I don't like how naïve Beyonder is portrayed at the beginning. They treat it as though he knows absolutely nothing about human behavior, despite establishing he'd watched Earth for years prior to instigating the Secret Wars. If this had been when he first learned of the Marvel universe, it'd be fine, but... So like, at one point, Spider-Man has to explain to him what it means to go to the bathroom. And he doesn't know how to eat or drink. If he observed humanity for any amount of time, shouldn't he already know these basic things? It's also odd to me how he seems to be largely left alone. Super heroes and cosmic entities alike all express a concern about his presence on Earth, and within the multiverse, knowing he could wipe out all existence with a thought. But no one seems to be actively looking for him unless he's caused some trouble. I'm not clear on the timeline for this series. It would seem to take place not long after everyone returned from the Secret Wars. But it seems to take place over the span of months. Thing eventually turns up, although he hasn't rejoined the Fantastic Four, with She-Hulk still on the team instead.
Not a fan of Secret Wars II. The writing was messy and inconsistent. While I appreciated Beyonder getting fleshed out as a character, they made him such an unlikable character. I'm not sure what Shooter was even trying to say with this story. I can see why I usually don't see anyone talking about this series.
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andersonh1
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome
Sounds like a classic case of the sequel being green-lit because the first installment was a success, but the sequel struggles to find a story and just can't live up to the original. Kind of like almost every sequel to Crisis that DC has attempted.
Green Lantern/Green Arrow #82
February-March 1971
How Do You Fight a Nightmare?
Script - Denny O'Neil Pencils - Neal Adams Inks - Dick Giordano, Bernie Wrightson
Poor Ollie... you go to give your girlfriend a box of roses, and a couple of harpies fly out. And when Ollie tries to be chivalrous for once Dinah goes all feminist on him. They exit the house to avoid the tear gas from Ollie's arrow and when they look back inside, the harpies are gone. Ollie contacts Hal since he's the guy who's "used to strangeness". Oddly Hal is still on his leave of absence, and he wonders if he has the right to wear the ring at the moment. I'm a little tired of self-doubting Hal Jordan at this point, I prefer our old-school confident super-hero, but I guess it will be a while before he's back. Hal runs into the harpies on the way to answer Ollie's telegram, and pursues them into what looks like a club, maybe? The sign out front reads "The Session", advertising "hard rock" (but there's a disco ball hanging from the ceiling). Inside he meets the red-skinned Witch Queen, who admits she lured him in to destroy him, and using what looks like a wand with a crystal, envelops GL in yellow light and pulls him inside to "the dimension of furies!" Hal is trapped and the Witch Queen gloats, revealing her "brother", an "old enemy" that Hal recognizes.
Ollie gets tired of waiting and decides to return to the flower shop. He finds a strange gem inside the box (and there's a nice continuity reference when he mentions that he used to be rich), and suspects a plot. Black Canary comes along, with the flower shop triggering memories of the one she owned before Larry was killed. I have the Black Canary Golden Age archive, and she was a flower shop owner as a single girl, with Larry Lance the detective always hanging around. It's a good thing she came along, because Ollie is taken out from behind by some nine feet tall Amazon warriors, who Black Canary proceeds to thoroughly trounce. She's definitely the hero coming across the best this issue, with both Hal and Ollie going down like chumps. The Amazons serve the witch queen and reveal that men had betrayed them, with a wizard banishing them all to another dimension. They can only exist on Earth for a few hours, and they want to make all men pay for what one man, the wizard, did to them. It hardly seems fair.
The story shifts back to the club, and it's pretty clear that the old enemy is Sinestro, though we still don't get a good look at him. The witch queen constantly refers to him as "brother" and with her red skin, I wondered if she was actually a Korugarian and Sinestro's biological sister. It's confusing, but it would certainly be a fair reading of the dialogue to assume the two were genuinely related. She simulated witchcraft using his yellow power ring, which Sinestro starts to put on as Green Arrow bursts in, shooting the ring out of his hand and fighting him. Sinestro's first full-panel appearance is in a panel on the middle third of page 17. The whole story treats the reveal of one of Hal's major enemies in a very bizarre low-key way. Black Canary saves Ollie from the Witch Queen's attack, and I have to shake my head at how he keeps trying to flirt, and she keeps shutting him down. Great relationship these two have, though she did give him the old "we need some space" speech early in the issue.
Dinah goes into the dimension of the gem to pull Hal out, with the help of the Amazons, where she rescues him from Medusa. They return to find the discotecque has vanished, since it was a construct of Sinestro's ring. The police carried Sinestro and "his female helper" off. Stories are exchanged, and Ollie doesn't believe any of Hal's tale from the other side, but Hal assures him he'd believe if he'd been there.
This issue boils down to a plot by Sinestro to lure Hal in, capture him and let him be killed in the other dimension. And without Black Canary's presence in the story, it would have worked. The Amazons would have killed Ollie and no one would have been there to make peace or go in and get Hal out. The whole thing with "my brother" is just strange though, and I still half think the Witch Queen is a Korugarian, but I don't know if she ever appears again. And as for Sinestro not even rating a splash page or dramatic entrance, that's also very strange. I think this is one of the best issues of the GL/GA run so far, and it largely avoids the issue-based storytelling of the first six issues, but there are some odd storytelling choices. Black Canary really shines, with Ollie a distant second, and poor old Hal in third place as a victim. Green Lantern is not faring too well in his own series at this point!
Green Lantern/Green Arrow #82
February-March 1971
How Do You Fight a Nightmare?
Script - Denny O'Neil Pencils - Neal Adams Inks - Dick Giordano, Bernie Wrightson
Poor Ollie... you go to give your girlfriend a box of roses, and a couple of harpies fly out. And when Ollie tries to be chivalrous for once Dinah goes all feminist on him. They exit the house to avoid the tear gas from Ollie's arrow and when they look back inside, the harpies are gone. Ollie contacts Hal since he's the guy who's "used to strangeness". Oddly Hal is still on his leave of absence, and he wonders if he has the right to wear the ring at the moment. I'm a little tired of self-doubting Hal Jordan at this point, I prefer our old-school confident super-hero, but I guess it will be a while before he's back. Hal runs into the harpies on the way to answer Ollie's telegram, and pursues them into what looks like a club, maybe? The sign out front reads "The Session", advertising "hard rock" (but there's a disco ball hanging from the ceiling). Inside he meets the red-skinned Witch Queen, who admits she lured him in to destroy him, and using what looks like a wand with a crystal, envelops GL in yellow light and pulls him inside to "the dimension of furies!" Hal is trapped and the Witch Queen gloats, revealing her "brother", an "old enemy" that Hal recognizes.
Ollie gets tired of waiting and decides to return to the flower shop. He finds a strange gem inside the box (and there's a nice continuity reference when he mentions that he used to be rich), and suspects a plot. Black Canary comes along, with the flower shop triggering memories of the one she owned before Larry was killed. I have the Black Canary Golden Age archive, and she was a flower shop owner as a single girl, with Larry Lance the detective always hanging around. It's a good thing she came along, because Ollie is taken out from behind by some nine feet tall Amazon warriors, who Black Canary proceeds to thoroughly trounce. She's definitely the hero coming across the best this issue, with both Hal and Ollie going down like chumps. The Amazons serve the witch queen and reveal that men had betrayed them, with a wizard banishing them all to another dimension. They can only exist on Earth for a few hours, and they want to make all men pay for what one man, the wizard, did to them. It hardly seems fair.
The story shifts back to the club, and it's pretty clear that the old enemy is Sinestro, though we still don't get a good look at him. The witch queen constantly refers to him as "brother" and with her red skin, I wondered if she was actually a Korugarian and Sinestro's biological sister. It's confusing, but it would certainly be a fair reading of the dialogue to assume the two were genuinely related. She simulated witchcraft using his yellow power ring, which Sinestro starts to put on as Green Arrow bursts in, shooting the ring out of his hand and fighting him. Sinestro's first full-panel appearance is in a panel on the middle third of page 17. The whole story treats the reveal of one of Hal's major enemies in a very bizarre low-key way. Black Canary saves Ollie from the Witch Queen's attack, and I have to shake my head at how he keeps trying to flirt, and she keeps shutting him down. Great relationship these two have, though she did give him the old "we need some space" speech early in the issue.
Dinah goes into the dimension of the gem to pull Hal out, with the help of the Amazons, where she rescues him from Medusa. They return to find the discotecque has vanished, since it was a construct of Sinestro's ring. The police carried Sinestro and "his female helper" off. Stories are exchanged, and Ollie doesn't believe any of Hal's tale from the other side, but Hal assures him he'd believe if he'd been there.
This issue boils down to a plot by Sinestro to lure Hal in, capture him and let him be killed in the other dimension. And without Black Canary's presence in the story, it would have worked. The Amazons would have killed Ollie and no one would have been there to make peace or go in and get Hal out. The whole thing with "my brother" is just strange though, and I still half think the Witch Queen is a Korugarian, but I don't know if she ever appears again. And as for Sinestro not even rating a splash page or dramatic entrance, that's also very strange. I think this is one of the best issues of the GL/GA run so far, and it largely avoids the issue-based storytelling of the first six issues, but there are some odd storytelling choices. Black Canary really shines, with Ollie a distant second, and poor old Hal in third place as a victim. Green Lantern is not faring too well in his own series at this point!
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Sparky Prime
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- Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2008 3:12 am
Re: Retro Comics are Awesome
Yeah, that's part of what happened. From background information I've looked up, Secret Wars was such a blockbuster for Marvel that they jumped right into the sequel. Secret Wars #12 came out April 1985, and Secret Wars II #1 came out only 3 months later, July 1985. The other problem was Jim Shooter. Apparently, he wanted the story to be this high concept philosophical exploration of the Beyonder character. Being such a departure from the first Secret Wars, and the fact SWII's story meanders so badly, obviously that approach didn't work. He also caused lot of problems for the creative teams on the tie-ins, with Shooter forcing them to do rewrites or redraw issues to fit his ever evolving ideas for the Beyonder.andersonh1 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 10, 2024 5:58 pm Sounds like a classic case of the sequel being green-lit because the first installment was a success, but the sequel struggles to find a story and just can't live up to the original. Kind of like almost every sequel to Crisis that DC has attempted.