What Comic Books Have You Read Today?

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

Report what comic books you have read today--and tell us a little something about it while you're here!

[Jeff of Earth-J]

WAR OF THE GODS #1-4 & WONDER WOMAN #58-61:

Now that my "Atlas Era Venus" discussion is on hold I decided to supplement my reading with this crossover in hope of perhaps gleaning some insight into the contradictory depictions of Venus in the Marvel universe. I didn't, really, but War of the Gods is a series I bought new in 1991 then sat on for 33 years without reading. Because "buying new comics and not reading them is stupid," this seemed like the prime opportunity to do so at last. (I now consider myself on equal footing with anyone who may have read these comics new three decades ago but hasn't read them since.) I think there was something about this series at the time which gave me the feeling that I wouldn't like it, and indeed, I found it to be overlong and convoluted. Glad I read it, though, at last.

AVENGERS #98-100: More Venus "research."

[Jeff of Earth-J]

SUPERMAN VS. WONDER WOMAN:

I was part of the "treasury edition" fad from the very beginnning: Action Comics #1 from DC and Spider-Man from Marvel. I continued to collect them from both of the "Big Two" for some time, until my 18-month hiatus from comics when I determined I was "too old" to collect them. Rather than drop all of the TEs, I should have dropped only the reprints and kept buying the ones which presented original material. Luckily, most of them have been reprinted by now in one form or another. Last week, when I bought a facsimile edition of Limited Collectors' Edition Vol. 6 No. C-51, I was reminded that I never got the HC of All-New Collectors' Edition C-54, Superman vs. Wonder Woman. I pre-ordered it but never received it. Usually that means that the product had been cancelled, but sometimes products such as these "fall through the cracks," especially given the vaguries of modern comic book distribution. But I  didn't follow up and I don't know why.

When I did follow up last week I discovered that it was published and I had missed it, so I ordered a copy online. As soon as I flipped through it I realized I did have the story, reprinted in the Adventures of Superman by José Luis García-López collection (...aaaannd I think I discovered why I never followed up on why I never received the over-size hardcover), but I didn't realize it because "buying new comics and not reading them is stupid." The story is set during WWII and pits Superman and Wonder Woman against each other because Superman is fighting for The American Way and Wonder Woman is fighting for Peace. The real villains are Baron Blitzkreig and a samurai named Sumo set against the backdrop of the Manhattan Project. the German and the Japanese end up fighting each other, and Superman and Wonder Woman end up securing a promise from FDR that "as long as I am president, America will never use the bomb to kill. Never." (FWIW, he kept his word.) 

Even though I now have the story duplicated, I'm glad I have it in the HC TE format.

[Philip Portelli]

Superman (especially the Golden Age/Earth-Two version) has a tendency to be somewhat arrogant in these types of stories, especially when someone dares to fight him. He expected Wonder Woman to capitulate to him and became angry when she was having none of it! Sign of the times, perhaps.

Both Baron Blitzkrieg and Sumo the Samurai were seen in All Star Squadron/Young All-Stars. In fact, the Post-Crisis iteration of this story was shown in Young All Stars #21-25 (Holiday'88-My'89) as "Atom & Evil" with more heroes and villains than you could shake a stick at! (Minus Superman and Wonder Woman, of course!) 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Sign of the times, perhaps.

Yes, but which times? The '40s or the '70s? 

FWIW, I came down clearly on WW's side in this story. She also likens the atomic bomb to Pandora's box, that if Pandora hadn't opened it, someone else would have. she wasn't wrong about that, either. 

[Philip Portelli]

Both in different ways.

An actual living Wonder Woman would have broken so many taboos in the 40s and I remember the Women's Lib movement causing a lot of hostility and resistance.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Yeah, even though Superman vs. Wonder Woman was set in the '40s, it had a very '70s feel to it.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

This is one of my all-time favorite comics. The giant Garcia-Lopez art FLOORED me! 

And Philip, I had no idea this story was retold in Young All-Stars! I'll have to re-read (and in some cases, read for the first time) that series once I'm done with Invaders!

[Richard Willis]

Jeff of Earth-J said:

Superman and Wonder Woman end up securing a promise from FDR that "as long as I am president, America will never use the bomb to kill. Never." (FWIW, he kept his word.) 

I haven’t read this, but I have to call this out. Not only did FDR authorize the creation of atomic bombs (which weren’t ready in time), but had he lived a little bit longer the decision would have been in his lap instead of Truman’s. A lot more Japanese, Americans and our allies would have died if Japan hadn’t been convinced to surrender.

Why would FDR authorize the creation of bombs and not be willing to use them? In excess of 40 million people died in WWII. The specter of The Bomb saved us from having WWIII with the Soviet Union and another 40 or 50 million dead. So far, everybody who has had The Bomb since then (good and evil, sane and crazy) have not used it.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

"Had he lived a little bit longer" is what I meant by "for what it's worth."

[Richard Willis]

I was calling out the writer, Gerry Conway, or was it the editor(?).