Blog 2.0

There’s nothing quite like a comic book legacy. I enjoy watching the passing of the mantle from one character to another. I admire the interaction between different generations and appreciate the contrast in characters. I know I’m not the only one. Comic book writers often invent legacies for characters that didn’t previously have them. They introduce predecessors, distant ancestors and futuristic descendants. Comic book legacies create a sense of history, of epic scale, of continuity. Here is my list of the best legacy characters in comic books. Your list is probably different. Heck, my list would probably be different if I wrote this article again in a couple of months. But read along anyway and enjoy these reflections about the greatest comic book legacies.

15. Jaguar: The first Jaguar showed up in the Silver Age from Archie Comics. He wore a red suit with Jaguar stripes and his adventures mirrored the Superman stories at the time. In the early ‘90s, DC leased the Archie heroes and introduced a new teenaged, female, Hispanic Jaguar. The diversity replacement doesn’t always catch on with fans but in this case, the new Jaguar was more memorable than her predecessor. The newest Jaguar debuted this year from Archie’s Red Circle comics. Although she has a different name- Ivy Velez- she’s clearly modeled on the DC reincarnation.

14. Atom: The Golden Age Atom is not a great character (despite the fact that we share an alma mater in Calvin College). He’s a short guy with a chip on his shoulder. But the name was too good not to be used again. Ray Palmer became the second Atom, complete with shrinking powers and a cool new Gil Kane costume. In recent years, Chinese immigrant Ryan Choi has worn the mantle. Before that, Adam Cray went by Atom while a member of the Suicide Squad. With four successors, including Atom Smasher, Atom is one of the longest legacies in comics.

13. Wonder Girl: It’s not often that a spin-off character has their own legacy but Wonder Girl is the wonderful exception. Originally, Wonder Girl was a teenaged Wonder Woman. However, once the character joined the Teen Titans, she needed an identity of her own and Wonder Woman’s little sister Donna was introduced. Her origin was rewritten over the years, sometimes de-emphasizing the family connection and sometimes re-establishing it. In the 1990s, a new Wonder Girl, Cassie Sandsmark, took on the name. She was one of the stalwarts in Young Justice and eventually the Titans. The two Wonder Girls have often fought side by side, though the older Donna now goes by the name Troia.

12. Black Widow: Stan Lee often re-used Golden Age names with tenuous or even non-existent connections to the original character: Angel, Daredevil, Vision, and so on. The original Black Widow was a mystical avatar of revenge, the new Black Widow a Russian super-spy. But at the turn of the century, Devin Grayson and Greg Rucka introduced a true legacy for the Black Widow. Natasha Romanoff’s former bosses in the spy world reclaimed the moniker and gave it to a new agent, Yelena Belova. The clashes between the two spies served as the impetus for several excellent mini-series and made Black Widow one of the few, great female legacies.

11. Phoenix/Marvel Girl: The other day, I was explaining the concept of legacy characters to my daughter (she was reading Iron Fist over my shoulder and wanted to know why there was more than one). She immediately assumed that legacy characters were related to one another. That’s not always the case. But sometimes its true that mantles are passed from one generation to the next. In this case, Jean Grey’s daughter from a future timeline took her mother’s name, powers and place on the X-Men. Rachel Grey was the second Phoenix and one of my favorite heroines. Later one, she called herself Marvel Girl as a further tribute to her mom.

10. Human Torch: The Human Torch is one of the most successful legacy characters in comics. The original Human Torch was a Golden Age android who went by the name of Jim Hammond. When Jack Kirby and Stan Lee reintroduced the character in the Silver Age, they gave the powers to a human teenager named Johnny Storm. Johnny quickly surpassed the original as a member of the Fantastic Four and occasional solo star. Later writers like John Byrne explored the connection between the two characters, building on the golden legacy of the Human Torch.

9. Grendel: Legacies are usually reserved for Marvel and DC, companies that have been around for 70 years or so. Plus, they tend to be passed down from hero to hero, not villain to villain. But every once in a while, an excellent legacy is crafted for a new character. Matt Wagner created the villain Grendel for Comico. However, he promptly killed the original Grendel, Hunter Rose, and passed the legacy on to Hunter’s granddaughter Christine Spar. The new Grendel was more of an anti-hero than a villain. She was also the beginning of a long line of Grendels over the years, each one straddling the line between good and evil in a different way.

8. Hourman: Hourman is a pretty typical legacy character but, in this case, that’s a good thing as it’s a name that easily comes to mind when thinking about comic book legacies. The first Hourman, Rex Tyler, was a second-tier star in the Golden Age. His son, Rick Tyler, took the name (and wore one of the worst costumes in history) in Infinity Inc. The name passed to a futuristic android at the hands of Grant Morrison and Tom Peyer. Then, it finally returned to Rick Tyler (in a much better costume) as he joined Geoff Johns’ new JSA.

7. Captain Marvel (Marvel): Captain Marvel is one of the most used names in comic books, however most of those occurred at different companies and have no direct relation to one another. The exception is Marvel’s long line of Captains. The first was the Kree warrior, Mar-Vell, who turned against his own race to defend his adopted home of Earth. The second was New Orleans native Monica Rambeau who could transform her body into light. Mar-Vell’s children Genis and Phyla took their turns with the mantle. The newest Captain Marvel is Carol Danvers, the former air force officer and Ms. Marvel. With so many different characters claiming the name over the years, Captain Marvel is one of the most diverse legacies in comics.

6. Blue Beetle: There are three Blue Beetles. Each one debuted at a different company, yet they remain connected. The first Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett, was a standard Golden Age superhero with a mystical artifact. The second Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, was his Silver Age replacement, turning to gizmos and gadgets instead of magic. The third Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, is the current bearer of the title. He wears an alien super-suit that speaks in a language only he can understand. Each Blue Beetle has a distinctive look and role, making the Blue Beetle one of the more interesting legacies in comics.

5. Captain America: Marvel hasn’t had as much success introducing legacy characters as DC. However, there is one huge exception: Captain America. Although most fans agree that Steve Rogers is the only, true Captain America, other characters have worn the mantle with distinction and become noteworthy heroes in their own right. John Walker became the US Agent after a stint as Captain America. Isaiah Bradley was introduced as an earlier Captain America who received the super-soldier serum as a test subject. And James Barnes starred in a very popular series as Captain America before reverting to the name Winter Soldier. Marvel has also retroactively introduced other Captains as a way to explain appearances in the late ‘40s and mid ‘50s when Steve Rogers was supposedly frozen in ice. That’s a lot of Captain Americas- and an incredible legacy to live up to.

4. Green Lantern: I doubt that any name has been passed around in comics more than Green Lantern. Alan Scott. Hal Jordan. Guy Gardner. John Stewart. Kyle Rayner. Jennie-Lynn Hayden. And that’s just from Earth! Numerous heroes and heroines have worn the ring and the lantern insignia with distinction as part of the intergalactic police force, the Green Lantern Corps. There’s a Green Lantern for every generation and every personality.

3. Robin: It’s amazing to think about all of the characters who have worn Robin’s cape and tights over the years, especially considering that the original Robin held on to the name for almost 50 years. Dick Grayson was the original Robin, but he now goes by Nightwing. Jason Todd took his turn, though he’s now the Red Hood. Tim Drake claimed the mantle. Stephanie Brown, aka Spoiler, wore it for a brief time. Carrie Kelley was the Robin in the future setting of The Dark Knight Returns. And Bruce Wayne’s son Damian is the current namesake. Robin got a late start as a legacy, but it has quickly grown into one of the greatest.

2. Starman: Starman is the definitive legacy character. It’s a classic name yet, for a long time, it wasn’t attached to a great character. Ted Knight was a solid second-tier superhero in the Golden Age but in the ‘70s and ‘80s the name was passed on to several characters who had no relation or connection to the original. Then, in 1994, James Robinson introduced a new Starman: Jack Knight, the rebellious son of the first Starman. In a modern classic, Robinson tied all of the various Starmen together in an intricate tapestry that spanned space and time. Robinson showed the depths that could be explored in a great legacy character, blazing a trail for many others.

1. Flash: The Flash is the first and greatest legacy character. Jay Garrick was the original Flash, a Golden Age speedster who wore a Hermes inspired helmet. In 1956, editor Julius Schwartz commissioned a new Flash. The character was completely transformed. Barry Allen worked in a police crime lab, gained powers through a scientific accident, and wore a sleek red costume with yellow lightning highlights. The character quickly caught on and is credited with launching the Silver Age. Barry and Jay then met each other in the classic story, Flash of Two Worlds, which introduced the idea of the multiverse. Yet the legacy of the Flash didn’t stop there. Barry’s nephew, Wally West, took over the costume in 1986. Wally proved to be a popular replacement as Mark Waid expanded on the character’s powers with the addition of the Speed Force and the character’s legacy with the introduction of Max Mercury and Impulse (who would go on to become the fourth Flash).

By Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

There’s a new Superman in town, and he’s … OK.

When DC Comics re-launched the titles comprising its superhero universe last year, they took the opportunity to re-tool the Man of Steel a little bit. Action Comics started over with a new first issue, showing Superman in his earliest days – which, in this new universe, is five years ago. (Superman began again, too, but set in the present day.)

And in a stroke of brilliance, DC hired Grant Morrison to write Action Comics. Morrison is famous (or infamous) for gigantic, mind-blowing concepts and ideas (that are occasionally incomprehensible). He’s the author of one of the best Superman stories every written, All-Star Superman. He’s also a Scotsman who’s thought more about American superheroes than any American, penning the instant classic Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human.

And at first it seemed we were heading for something memorable. I raved about last September’s Action Comics #1 on my website, which gave us a Superman reminiscent of his 1938 debut – a man “only” as powerful as a locomotive, one who jumped instead of flying, with New Deal ideals and a passion for fighting on behalf of the common man.

So I was looking forward to the first collection, out this month. Superman: Action Comics Volume 1 – Superman and the Men of Steel ($24.99) collects the first eight issues of the new Action Comics. And for better or worse, it was not what I expected.

Which is perhaps my own fault. I was so surprised – and pleased – to see a Superman with an attitude that I wanted the emphasis on that concept to continue. Not just because I also tend to side with the underdog, but because it’s bold, it’s brash and it’s courageous storytelling – all things you haven’t been able to say about the Superman books for a long, long time. Like it or loathe it, this Superman was feisty, with an edge.

But that turned out to be an element of the story, not the focus. Instead, subsequent issues of Action Comics went about the business of building major, and familiar, components of Superman’s world. Morrison keeps to the core of elements like Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, the Daily Planet, Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Metallo, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Ma and Pa Kent, Steel, the Bottle City of Kandor and kryptonite, but retools some of the details for the 21st century.

And, since it’s Morrison, this was a lot of fun with some big, big ideas. I liked most of what he did, especially making Jimmy Olsen and Clark Kent contemporaries and best friends. (The days when an older Superman and a younger Jimmy can be “pals” without raising eyebrows are long gone.) He re-imagines Krypton as the perfect scientific utopia imagined in 1930s science fiction with modern SF twists, which works on a number of levels. Also, in the bonus material in the back, Morrison says he wanted to recreate the feeling of Superman’s early stories with “nonstop, kinetic, muscular action” – something he achieves with rousing success. (Morrison notes in the back that you can tell when Superman’s in trouble – it’s when he’s not in motion.)

As to the art, I’m a big fan of artist Rags Morales, who brings not only tremendous talent and skill to the page, but deep thought to the concepts. For example, Morales says of Superman that he imagined him as a combination of Steve Reeves (the 1950s TV Superman) and the king of rock and roll. “When he’s catching the bullet, he’s got that Elvis light in the corner of his eye.”

So this is an excellent update to the Man of Steel, especially compared to other such attempts, such as Superman: Earth One (2011), Superman: Secret Origin (2009) and Superman: Birthright (2003). All of those also took the basic story we’re all familiar with and attempted to tweak it for the current century, with mixed results. Action Comics is more imaginative and entertaining on almost every level.

So call it the prejudice of high expectations. When you attach the name Grant Morrison to Superman, I expect to have my brain blown out the back of my head. But Action Comics Volume 1 is “only” a terrific comics collection full of action, humor and high concept.

This would be a high-water mark for any other book, with any other creative team. With Morrison and Morales, though, I expect the best is yet to come.

Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics@aol.com.

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1. Superman: Action Comics Volume 1 -- Superman and the Men of Steel collects the first eight issues of the new Action Comics. Copyright DC Entertainment Inc.

Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

The comics world is in mourning this week as a giant has passed. Joe Kubert died Aug. 12 at age 85.

Kubert isn’t a household name, but if you’ve ever read a Sgt. Rock comic book, you’ve probably seen his work. In addition to decades on DC’s war titles, Kubert was famed for art on the original Hawkman of the 1940s, and for co-creating the modern version in 1961. He was also know for “Tarzan,” and has drawn virtually every DC character at one time or another, in a professional relationship with the publisher that stretches back to World War II. Kubert also drew award-winning graphic novels, and has been inducted into both the Eisner and Harvey Halls of Fame.

But Kubert’s legacy is more extensive than most artists, no matter how long-lived. For one thing, he and his late wife Muriel established The Kubert School in Dover, N.J., in 1976, training new generations of comic-book artists. His sons Adam and Andy are carrying on the family tradition, as both are successful comic-book artists.

Further, Kubert is remembered as a generous and gentle man. The outpouring of grief after Kubert’s death was a mix of both respect and affection. On Twitter, artist David Mack referred to Kubert not only as “a legend and master storyteller,” but also as “incredibly kind.” Stephen Bissette, one of The Kubert School’s first generation of graduates, who gained fame on “Swamp Thing,” posted a lengthy and heartfelt tribute on his website (srbissette.com) that ranged from personal affection to professional admiration.

Kubert’s story runs parallel to that of the comic-book industry itself. Born in what is now Ukraine in 1926, Kubert emigrated with his family to New York as an infant. He sold his first professional comic-book art at the tender age of 12 in 1938, when the industry was just getting started. He continued drawing for various publishers through his teen years, eventually landing at All-American Comics, which was later absorbed into what is now DC Comics. It was there he did his well-known work on Hawkman (beginning in 1945), but also on characters like Dr. Fate, the original Flash, Johnny Quick, Sargon the Sorcerer, the Seven Soldiers of Victory, Vigilante, Wildcat and Zatara the Magician.

Kubert worked for various publishers through the 1950s, co-creating the prehistoric hero “Tor” and pioneering 3-D comics at St. John, then co-creating “Viking Prince” at DC. In 1959, Kubert co-created (with writer/editor Robert Kanigher) the character he is most associated with, Sgt. Rock. Kubert remained with “Sgt. Rock” in one capacity or another until the book’s cancellation in 1988, and was in charge of all of DC’s war books from 1967 to 1976.

Typically, the self-effacing Kubert credited Kanigher as the true creator of Sgt. Rock in the Foreword he wrote for “Sgt. Rock Archives Volume 1.” Still, he remembered his time with Rock as “a lot of drawing. A lot of pages. A lot of covers. A lot of late nights. A lot of deadlines. And a lot of personal pleasure and satisfaction.”

Kubert’s career only got bigger and more varied from the 1960s on. He drew two comic strips, “Tales of the Green Berets” (1965-67), and faith-based strips for the Jewish children’s organization Lubavitch in the 1980s. Kubert drew a highly-praised run on “Tarzan” in the 1970s, and co-created “Ragman” in 1976 – the same year he founded The Kubert School.

Later decades saw a stream of graphic novels, two of them starring Sgt. Rock. In 2007, Kubert wrote and drew “Fax from Sarajevo,” collecting wartime faxes and remembrances from a survivor of the Serbian siege of the capital of the former Yugoslavia, for which he received both Eisner and Harvey awards. 

Most recently, Kubert inked the miniseries “Before Watchmen: Nite Owl,” over the pencils of his son Andy. Characteristically, Kubert was still looking ahead to his next project when death overtook him, a six-issue miniseries titled “Joe Kubert Presents” with a new Hawkman story. The first issue is scheduled for an Oct. 31 release.

I’ll be there for that first issue, as I have for most of Kubert’s wonderful work over the years. There’s little I can say to add to his stature, but fortunately I don’t have to. Kubert himself has left us an enormous body of stories and artwork stretching back to the 1930s, a legacy that speaks more eloquently than I ever could.

Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics@aol.com.

ADVENTURE TIME #7
ALL NEW BATMAN BRAVE & BOLD TP V2 HELP WANTED
ALL STAR WESTERN #12
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #692
AMERICAS GOT POWERS #3 (OF 6)
ARCHIE #636
ASTONISHING X-MEN #53

BART SIMPSON COMICS #74
BATMAN INC #3
BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #12
BEFORE WATCHMEN DR MANHATTAN #1 (OF 4) (MR)
BRILLIANT #4 (MR)
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SPIKE #1 (OF 5)

CAPTAIN AMERICA AND NAMOR #635.1
CAPTAIN EASY HC VOL 03 SOLDIER OF FORTUNE
CAPTAIN MARVEL #1 2ND PTG
CAVEWOMAN GANGSTER #1 (OF 3)
COBRA ONGOING #16
COMPLETE PEANUTS HC VOL 18 1985-1986
COURTNEY CRUMRIN ONGOING #5

DAN THE UNHARMABLE #4 (MR)
DANGER GIRL ARMY OF DARKNESS #6
DANGER GIRL GI JOE #2 (OF 4)
DARK HORSE PRESENTS #15
DEADPOOL KILLS MARVEL UNIVERSE #4 (OF 4)
DICKS COLOR ED #7 (MR)
DISNEY PIXAR CARS MAGAZINE #8
DRAGON AGE THOSE WHO SPEAK #1 (OF 3)

FABLES #120 (MR)
FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #263
FATIMA THE BLOOD SPINNERS #3 (OF 4)
FEAR ITSELF TP
FEAR ITSELF TP AVENGERS
FLASH #12
FURY OF FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MEN #12

GFT MYTHS & LEGENDS #19 (MR)
GLAMOURPUSS #26
GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #12
GRIMM FAIRY TALES #76 (MR)

HERO WORSHIP #2 (OF 6)

I VAMPIRE #12
INVINCIBLE #94
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #523
INVISIBLES OMNIBUS HC (MR)

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #12
JACK KIRBYS FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS TP V3

KEVIN SMITH BIONIC MAN #12
KIRBY GENESIS DRAGONSBANE #3
KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #189

LIL DEPRESSED BOY TP VOL 03
LOBSTER JOHNSON PRAYER OF NEFERU ONE SHOT
LOCUS #619

MARS ATTACKS #3
MARVEL UNIVERSE ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #5
MIND MGMT #4
MMW GOLDEN AGE CAPTAIN AMERICA TP VOL 01
MORTENSENS ESCAPADES GN VOL 02 SANTA FE JAIL
MY BOYFRIEND IS MONSTER GN VOL 06

PLANETOID #3
PROPHET TP VOL 01 REMISSION
PUNISHER #14

QUEEN SONJA #31

RACHEL RISING #10
RIP KIRBY HC VOL 05
ROCKETEER CARGO OF DOOM #1 (OF 4)

SAVAGE HAWKMAN #12
SCALPED #60 (RES) (MR)
SECRET AVENGERS #30
STAR TREK ONGOING #12
STAR WARS DARTH VADER GHOST PRISON #4 (OF 5)
SUPER DINOSAUR #13
SUPERCROOKS #4 (OF 4) (MR)
SUPERMAN #12
SWAMP THING TP VOL 01 RAISE THEM BONES TP

TEEN TITANS #12
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ONGOING #13
TRANSFORMERS MORE THAN MEETS EYE ONGOING #8

ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #14 DWF
UNCANNY X-MEN #17 AVX
UNTOLD TALES OF PUNISHER MAX #3 (OF 5) (MR)
UNWRITTEN #40 (MR)

VAMPIRELLA #21
VENOM #23
VOODOO #12

WALKING DEAD #97 2ND PTG (MR)
WALKING DEAD #98 2ND PTG (MR)
WALKING DEAD #99 2ND PTG (MR)
WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #129.1
WOLVERINE #312
WOLVERINE AND X-MEN BY JASON AARON HC V2
WOLVERINE ANNUAL #1

X-MEN LEGACY #272

YOUNGBLOOD #73

Arrivals at your LCS may vary. I copied this list from memphiscomics.com.

Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

Comics characters often return from the dead – but sometimes publishers do, too. Such is the case with Valiant Comics, which has burst back on the scene in an explosion of high-quality books.

First, the history:

Valiant first launched in 1989 with three top creators at its head: Jim Shooter, former editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics; Bob Layton, who gained fame as co-writer and inker on Iron Man; and illustrative legend Barry Windsor-Smith. The line they launched included a host of imaginative original series, including Harbinger, Shadowman and X-O Manowar. All the titles were subtly interconnected and eventually, as title after title was added, a huge tapestry began to form.

Valiant’s emphasis was on character and good writing in a field then dominated by artists, and it quickly became the third largest comics publisher in America (after Marvel and DC). But right at its peak, in 1994, the company was sold to a videogame company, which de-emphasized the comics and eventually went bankrupt. And that was that. There were a couple of attempts to re-start the company, but nothing panned out.

Until now. Amazingly, two undergrads who were young fans of the first Valiant universe managed to get control of the company’s assets in 2005. Now, after seven years of assembling investors and a professional staff (including former Marvel Chairman Peter Cuneo), Dinesh Shamdasani and Jason Kothari have brought Valiant back.

The new Valiant is putting its best foot forward, by re-launching four of the most popular concepts from its previous incarnations: Archer & Armstrong, Bloodshot, Harbinger and X-O Manowar.  Very little has changed in these titles since their first incarnation … including the fact that they are very, very good.

X-O Manowar #1 came first, launching in May. Written by Robert Venditti (The Surrogates) and drawn by Cary Nord (Conan the Barbarian), X-O stars Aric of Dacia, a Visigoth warrior from the Roman Empire who was, in the first three issues, kidnapped by aliens, joined by the powerful – and sentient – X-O Manowar armor, and returned to Earth, albeit in the present day. It’s kind of an Iron Man-Conan mash-up, with a little Blue Beetle thrown in.

June brought Harbinger #1, by writer Joshua Dysart (Unknown Soldier) and artist Khari Evans. It stars teenage orphan Peter Stanchek, the most powerful telepath/telekinetic on the planet – except for Toyo Harada, the first person with psionic powers, who wants to recruit Stanchek to his worldwide organization of super-powered “harbingers.” Like with the 1990s series, Harbinger operates in a gray area where the scariest people look normal, and it’s hard to know who to root for.

Bloodshot #1, by comics and crime fiction writer Duane Swierczynski and artist Manuel Garcia, arrived in July, about a U.S. military blacks op agent who has jillions of microscopic machines called nanites in his system that allow him to rebuild himself from almost any injury, but also allow his minders to implant thousands of false memories to motivate and control him. Codename Bloodshot has now broken free, though, and is on the run while deciding which of the voices in his head is his own – if any.

My personal favorite from Valiant’s first incarnation returns this month: Archer & Armstrong, by Fred van Lente and Clayton Henry. Armstrong (real name Aram) is an immensely strong and immortal warrior from Ur, the first city, who has developed a strong taste for alcohol and a stronger sense of boredom over the millennia. Archer is an accomplished martial artist raised by a Christian cult that is a front for a hidden organization searching for the secret to Armstrong’s immortality. Archer is sent to kill Armstrong, but instead the two become partners to discover what’s really going on – providing they don’t kill each other first.

Just like the first Valiant, this version has a raft of accomplished creators, is beautifully drawn across the board and is enormously appealing. And just like the first Valiant, this group of titles can be read entirely independently, although there are already hints in the background how alien invaders, psionic mutants, high-tech assassins and immortal warriors all tie together. Hints that will only grow stronger as this universe grows, first with the much-anticipated return of mercenary intelligence agent Ninjak in September’s X-O Manowar #5, and the re-launch of Valiant’s voodoo warrior in November’s Shadowman #1.

Will this version of Valiant succeed where the others have failed? I hope so – because, just like good superheroes, good publishers shouldn’t stay dead forever.

Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics@aol.com.

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X-O Manowar #4, Harbinger #3, Bloodshot #2 and Archer & Armstrong #1, all available in August.

As I read my new comics the other week, I was struck by how many of them were really good.  Some amused me.  Some left me awestruck.  But they all made me happy, as comic after comic was great.  So here’s my surprisingly sunny set of summer reviews. 

Avengers Academy 34: The best Avengers book has been on autopilot lately with guest-stars and event tie-ins but Christos Gage has decided that it’s time to kick in the afterburners again.  Jeremy Briggs and Veil invite the current team to meet with them in a quick series of vignettes.  Jeremy then shares his plan to cure their powers and save the world.  But the offer goes awry when half of the team expresses interest while the other half rejects.  The team is torn in two.  And Briggs shows that even a supposedly benevolent dictator is still a dictator when someone disagrees with him.  I love the quick pace, the emotional choices and the balanced use of a big cast.

Daredevil 16: This is a very different Daredevil book, but it’s still great.  Daredevil has been having trouble with his powers lately so he gets Tony Stark, Ant-Man and Dr. Strange to take a look.  The downtime allows Mark Waid to retell Daredevil’s origin and catch the reader up to speed on current events.  Chris Samnee does a great job of keeping the flashbacks both distinctive and interesting.  Samnee isn’t quite Paolo Rivera but their styles are similar enough that he makes a wonderful replacement to the departed Rivera.  Finally, the closing scene in which Foggy confronts Matt about his erratic behavior is a great set-up for future issues. 

iZombie 28: Chris Roberson’s zombie book has had its ups and downs but it ends on a high note.  I lost interest in the book when Roberson’s attention strayed from his main character and he spent too much time with less engrossing sub-plots.  But in this final issue, Roberson returns attention to the star of the series, Gwen the zombie.  This story is about her choices- what she’s willing to do to save the world and how she would do it differently than her mentors.  The supporting cast is used well here too.  I actually thought this was an extra-sized finale because so much happens but it’s not.  Roberson simply squeezes every last bit of entertainment out of this book before he says good-bye. 

X-Factor 241: This was one of the few disappointing books I read this past week.  It was alright but it wasn’t as great as I’ve come to expect from X-Factor.  I enjoyed some of the scenes of character interaction, such as Madrox and Havok teasing each other about leadership and Polaris offering romantic advice to M.  I also appreciated Peter David’s attempt to set up the alternate universe trio as a new threat but I’m not convinced yet.  That’s also part of the problem.  This issue was mostly set-up for something else.  It’s a decent middle issue but it’s not a great start to a new story. 

Amazing Spider-Man 690: This was my favorite issue so far of “No Turning Back.”  I don’t find Morbius to be all that interesting and the Lizard hasn’t been much better in this particular story.  However, I was fascinated by the most recent twist in the Lizard’s status quo.  He’s been forcibly changed back into Curt Connors but the Lizard is still in control.  It was a lot of fun to see the Lizard struggling with mammalian features and even starting to enjoy them.  I also liked the visits with the other employees of Horizon.  Dan Slott has been doing a good job lately of building them into interesting individual supporting characters, rather than a nameless band of co-workers. 

American Vampire 29: Is it too early to call this the best story of the year?  The Blacklist has been one of the best arcs in one of the comics’ best series.  The two stars, Skinner Sweet and Pearl Jones, are working in an uneasy alliance against a coven of Hollywood vampires.  There’s power and ambition, passion and hate, intrigue and surprises, betrayal and brutality.  And it all features characters that we simultaneously fear and love. 

Angel & Faith 12: Compared to American Vampire, Angel & Faith is like comfort food.  But that’s still pretty yummy.  I’ve especially enjoyed the current story, Family Reunion.  It’s been great to see the two leads, Angel and Faith, hang out with old pals Willow, Connor and Gunn.  In this issue, the crew (minus Gunn) has traveled to Quor’toth, the demon dimension where Connor grew up.  It’s a well-told tale that gives us insight into Connor, highlights Angel’s guilt for being an absent father, and contrasts Willow’s sunny disposition with Faith’s surly attitude. 

Aquaman 11: I have to say that I enjoyed the first Aquaman arc a lot more than this second one.  Black Manta should be one of Aquaman’s most compelling villains but he’s spent too much time “off-stage.”  Furthermore, they haven’t done a good job of differentiating the flashbacks from the current story.  They could have used a different artistic style or color scheme so that we would immediately recognize if we were in the present or the past.  Without that, the story has been unnecessarily confusing at times.  At least in this issue, they share the origin stories for a couple of Aquaman’s former teammates.  It’s nice to see them fleshed out, even if it’s two or three issues too late. 

Astonishing X-Men 52: This is a big change of pace story for the Astonishing team.  The past four issues have focused on a big battle with the Marauders and with Northstar’s upcoming nuptials.  This issue turns the spotlight on Karma.  Unlike Aquaman, it bounces around in time without being confusing or disruptive.  We learn why Karma rejoined the X-Men and discover how she was infected by one of their villains.  It’s a great time-out and transition from the first to second story arcs.

Green Lantern 11: Hal Jordan and Sinestro make for a great odd couple.  Their dialogue is awesome.  Sinestro is perennially and insufferably arrogant, even when Hal rescues him from imprisonment.  And Hal has perfected the put-upon partner from his days of dealing Green Arrow’s diatribes.  I also admire the way that Johns continually sets up the next threat even as Hal and Sinestro deal with the current one.  In this issue, they finish reestablishing the Indigo tribe but they lose the Black Hand in the process.  It’s a great way of keeping each issue interesting while also providing a hook to the next one. 

Green Lantern: New Guardians 11: This is the big one.  Kyle Rayner and the New Guardians attack Larfleeze’s home of Okaara.  It’s a huge battle with all-out Lantern action.  Tony Bedard works some nice beats into the story as well.  There’s a great sequence where Munk, the Indigo Lantern, tries out everyone else’s powers to see which would work best against the orange constructs.  There’s an emotional reveal when Kyle discovers Glomulus’ connection to Larfleeze.  And there’s a great twist when the New Guardians discover who actually stole their rings.  New Guardians has been giving us wonderfully colorful action and this issue is no exception. 

Near Death 10: Jay Faerber’s noir series has specialized in done-in-one adventures but with this issue he proved that he can write a great cliffhanger too.  I don’t want to say more than that.  Trust me.  This is a really good series and it’s worth picking up before it’s prematurely canceled. 

Star Wars: Darth Maul: Death Sentence 1: I was excited about the return of Darth Maul.  He’s a great villain and I was sad that he was killed so quickly in the prequel trilogy.  But it’s possible my expectations worked against me as I wasn’t impressed by this story.  I don’t know enough about Darth Maul’s brother to care about him as a character and the conversations between them didn’t tell me enough to make me interested.  I’m also ambivalent about Maul’s new body.  His physical presence was part of his appeal and that seems to be diminished by new robotic legs.  At least the last panel was great.  Darth Maul’s hatred for Jedi is intense.  That bodes for more exciting action in the future and means I might not give up on this series quite yet.   

Wolverine and the X-Men 14: I’m skipping the huge Avengers vs. X-Men event but that doesn’t mean I’ve been entirely successful avoiding it as it keeps popping up in books I read regularly.  In some cases, it’s an annoying digression.  In other cases, it can be an amusing interlude.  Count this one among the latter.  Jason Aaron presents a date between the Phoenix-empowered Colossus and regular ol’ Kitty Pryde.  Colossus tries to impress her with his otherworldly powers, resulting in some great visuals and awkward moments.  Meanwhile, we see the havoc that this ongoing battle has brought to the community as Kitty tries to hold the school’s staff together with guest instructors Doop and Deathlok.  Aaron uses a light touch to show us- and his key characters- the corrupting influence of absolute power. 

Winter Soldier 8: Ed Brubaker’s Bucky is a cool spy thriller.  It owes more to James Bond and Jason Bourne than it does to Superman or Spider-Man.  It’s dark and moody, with great twists and surprises.  The Black Widow makes a great co-star.  And I really like the way they’ve used Jasper Sitwell as the SHIELD contact and supervisor.  I also like the post-cold war feel.  Bucky and Natasha are former Soviet agents who are now free agents in a wide-open world.  It sets up all kinds of old animosities and new possibilities.   

X-Men Legacy 270: Not a lot happens in this issue.  At least nothing that important.  Magik has imprisoned a number of Avengers in limbo.  Rogue is invited to tour the new super-prison but decides to rescue the Avengers instead.  She focuses on Miss Marvel and they set aside their past differences in a show of friendship.  That’s it.  Despite what could have been a strong emotional hook- the final reconciliation between Miss Marvel and Rogue- this issue felt like it was marking time until the crossover finished with a lot of superfluous fight scenes. 

Hawkeye 1: It’s hard to come up with new ways to say, “this was great” all the time.  The new Hawkeye is awesome.  It’s excellent.  It’s cool.  It’s even a little humorous. I enjoy this street-level view of Hawkeye (we barely see him in costume).  I love the stripped down approach and the human-interest angle (the big story is that Hawkeye adopts a dog).  I love the juxtaposition between action and boredom- fighting bad guys in one panel, falling asleep in the vet’s waiting room in another.  I hope that we see Kate Bishop (aka Hawkeye II) soon but that’s a relatively minor complaint for a comic this much fun.  Did I mention it’s great?

Bloodshot 1: The new Valiant is taking an inspired approach to storytelling.  They’re reviving their classic characters from the ‘90s but they’re stripping them of most of their superhero connections.  Yet they haven’t made the mistake of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.  These are still exciting comics.  They’re straight science fiction or action-adventure tales that are both familiar and refreshingly new.  Bloodshot is a former warrior whose body has been resurrected like a Frankenstein monster to become an immortal super-soldier.  But reviving someone and controlling them are not the same thing.  Bloodshot rebels against his new masters only to be killed and resurrected again and again and again.  It’s not a nice comic.  But it’s definitely an interesting one- one that has something to say and one that doesn’t feel like anything else on the stands today. 

Before Watchmen: Nite Owl 2 and Comedian 2: It’s hard to separate the discussion about Before Watchmen the project from Before Watchmen the stories.  Personally, I always thought that the proof would be in pudding.   Are the stories interesting?  Are they inventive?  Do they approach superheroes from a slightly different angle?  If the answer is “Yes,” then these stories and comics were worth doing.  So far, I’ve been suitably impressed.  The series have been markedly different from one another but they’ve each been excellent in their own way.  The Nite Owl series is about Nite Owl’s partner Rorschach as much as it is about the title character.  We watch their current adventures.  But more importantly, we’re treated to scenes from their childhood.  We learn that these two masked men have more in common than we ever realized though they’ve reacted it to in different ways.  It’s a strong story and I’m certainly enjoying the trip so far.  The Comedian series is even better.  Comedian, who was one of the least-developed characters in the original Watchmen, is given surprising depth here.  We see inner turmoil that we hadn’t expected.  And Brian Azzarello does a great job of weaving the Comedian into historical situations in surprising ways.  These are worthy comics, and I’m glad I get to read them. 

Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

If Dark Knight Rises gives you a hankering for some more terrific Bat-stories, you’re in luck.

The much-anticipated Batman: Earth One is out ($25.99), and it lives up to the hype. Written by DC’s Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns, it re-imagines the Dark Knight’s origin in the modern day, just as Superman: Earth One did for the Man of Steel last year. And it’s a corker.

Yes, we all know the outlines of the story: Bruce Wayne’s parents were murdered in an alley before his eyes, and he vowed to protect others from the same fate by becoming a masked vigilante. But this updating makes a few changes that not only make the story more plausible, but rams home the emotional punch of the story.

One thing artist Gary Frank does is eliminate the whited-out eyes look on  Batman’s cowl and allow Wayne’s blue peepers to show through. As any actor will tell you, allowing the audience to see your eyes heightens the emotional connection. The whited-out eyes – which has been with Batman since the beginning – is cool looking, but this book is going for emotional impact, not a coolness factor.

Another change, obvious in retrospect, is to imbed a great many Bat-elements that accrued over the decades right at the beginning. Bruce Wayne and Commissioner Gordon were there from the first story in 1939, but Alfred Pennyworth, Det. Harvey Bullock, Oswald “Penguin” Cobblepot, Lucius Fox and Arkham Asylum were added piecemeal over the decades. They’re integrated here into the origin story, fleshing out Batman’s world immediately in an organic and convincing tapestry. Also, it all rings true, in that Alfred is a former Royal Marine, Arkham is Martha Wayne’s maiden name and Bullock’s fall into nihilistic cynicism is horrifically foreshadowed. 

Further, this Batman is a genuine amateur – and out for revenge. For Batman to be heroic, and to believably survive, he must become the consummate professional and protector of the innocent we know him to be today. That is, in fact, his story arc – and it is played for maximum drama, rather than anti-heroism or pratfalls.

I make no secret that I was greatly disappointed by Superman: Earth One. But this take on Batman is so powerful I sure wouldn’t mind reading more.

Meanwhile:

* Batman and Robin Volume 1: Born to Kill ($24.99) does something I never expected: It allows Batman to grow. The premise of the series is that Batman’s 10-year-old biological son, via Ra’s al Ghul’s daughter and raised by the League of Assassins, is the new Robin. The friction between the Bat and Bird is palpable, as Batman struggles to rein in Robin’s homicidal training and recklessness without alienating him completely.

That’s pretty interesting, but what I found amazing is that writer Peter Tomasi shows Bruce Wayne becoming something he never was with the other Robins: a father. His new perspective allows him to bury some old ghosts and re-connect with his softer instincts, making for a kinder, gentler Dark Knight. I don’t know how often that particular card can be played, but it sure made Born to Kill an eye-opener for me.

* The controversy over the first lesbian character to headline a comic book sometimes overshadows just how good that book is. I heartily recommend Batwoman Volume 1: Hydrology for the sheer skill of writer/artist J.H. Williams III. Not only is he an excellent craftsman and storyteller, but his ingenious use of panel shape and structure, which can be irritating in the wrong hands, adds another layer to his story.

Which itself is pretty cool. Batwoman is a unique Bat-character, and not just for her sexual orientation. Her hypercharged relationships – from her estranged father to a wannabe sidekick to an aloof Batman who is reserving judgment – keep the book tense even when there’s no fighting going on. But don’t worry, there’s plenty of that, too.

* I absolutely love everything writer Gail Simone has ever done, so maybe I set the bar too high anticipating Batgirl Volume 1: The Darkest Reflection ($22.99). Don’t get me wrong: It’s a good book, with a likeable lead character who seems very close to Simone’s heart. But it doesn’t include the delightful, sometimes shocking, weirdness of Simone efforts like Birds of Prey and Secret Six.

It’s no secret that Batgirl returns Commissioner Gordon’s daughter Barbara to the role, after 24 real-life years (but three in the comic book) of being confined to a wheelchair after being shot in the spine by The Joker. How and why she’s on her feet again is only hinted at, but the net effect is that this collection works more or less as an origin story, as the lead character re-establishes her life in both identities.

It’s not as Simone-y as I would like, but it’s still a decent, mid-level Bat-book.

Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics@aol.com.

ART

1. Batman: Earth One re-imagines Batman's origin as if it took place in the modern day. Copyright DC Entertainment Inc.

2. Batman and Robin Volume 1: Born to Kill collects the first eight issues of the new Batman and Robin. Copyright DC Entertainment Inc.

3. Batwoman Volume 1: Hydrology collects issue #0 and the first five issues of the new Batwoman. Copyright DC Entertainment Inc.

4. Batgirl Volume 1: The Darkest Reflection collects the first six issues of the new Batgirl. Copyright DC Entertainment Inc.

68 SCARS #2 (OF 4)

ADVENTURES OF A COMIC CON GIRL #1 (OF 3) (MR)
ALABASTER WOLVES #5 (OF 5)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #691
AVENGERS #29 AVX
AVENGERS ACADEMY #35
AVENGERS VS X-MEN #10 (OF 12) AVX

BAD MEDICINE #4
BATMAN STREETS OF GOTHAM TP VOL 03 HOUSE OF HUSH
BATTLE BEASTS #2 (OF 4)
BATWOMAN #12
BEFORE WATCHMEN RORSCHACH #1 (OF 4) (MR)
BETRAYAL O/T PLANET O/T APES TP
BIRDS OF PREY #12
BLOODSHOT (ONGOING) #2
BLUE BEETLE #12
BODY SHOTS ART OF TC COR SC (MR)
BOOTY SC PIRATE QUEENS (O/A) (MR)
BPRD HELL ON EARTH TP VOL 03 RUSSIA
BUTCHER BAKER RIGHTEOUS MAKER #8 (MR)

CALL OF WONDERLAND #3 (OF 4) (MR)
CAPTAIN AMERICA BY ED BRUBAKER TP VOL 01
CAPTAIN AMERICA TEE CAPS NAVY T/S
CAPTAIN ATOM #12
CAPTAIN MARVEL #2
CATWOMAN #12
CLASSIC POPEYE ONGOING #1
CONAN DAUGHTERS OF MIDORA & OTHER STORIES TP
CREATIVITY OF STEVE DITKO HC
CROSSED BADLANDS #11 (MR)
CROW #2

DAREDEVIL #17
DARK AVENGERS #179
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DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #12
DEADPOOL #59
DEADPOOL KILLS MARVEL UNIVERSE #3 (OF 4)
DEADWORLD WAR O/T DEAD #3 (OF 5)
DEFINITIVE FLASH GORDON & JUNGLE JIM HC VOL 02
DOCTOR WHO DAVE GIBBONS TREASURY ED #1

ELEKTRA ASSASSIN TP
ELEPHANTMEN #42 (MR)
EMPOWERED DELUXE ED HC VOL 02
ESSENTIAL WARLOCK TP VOL 01
EVERYBODY LOVES TANK GIRL #2 (OF 3) (MR)
EXTERMINATION #3

FAKK 2 MOVIE SPECIAL SIMON BISLEY ARTBOOK HC (MR)
FATALE #7 (MR)
FERALS #7 (MR)
FLASH ARCHIVES HC VOL 06
FOUR HORSEMEN O/T APOCALYPSE SC VOL 02 (OF 3) (MR)

GARTH ENNIS JENNIFER BLOOD #15 (MR)
GI JOE DISAVOWED TP VOL 06
GI JOE VOL 2 ONGOING #16
GREEN LANTERN #12
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #12
GREEN LANTERN GREEN ARROW TP
GREEN LANTERN THE ANIMATED SERIES #5

HARBINGER (ONGOING) #3
HAWK AND DOVE TP VOL 01 FIRST STRIKES
HELLBLAZER #294 (MR)
HOMECOMING #1
HULK #56
HULK SEASON ONE PREM HC

ILLUSTRATION MAGAZINE #38

JERICHO SEASON 4 #1 (OF 5)

KILL AUDIO TP

LADY DEATH (ONGOING) #20 (MR)
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #12
LIFE WITH ARCHIE #22

MANARA LIBRARY HC VOL 03 (MR)
MARVEL SUPER HEROES #3
MICHAEL AVON OEMINGS THE VICTORIES #1 (OF 5)

NEW MUTANTS #47
NIGHTWING #12

PATHFINDER #1
PEANUTS VOL 2 #1 (OF 4)
PIGS #8 (MR)

RED DIARY RE(A)D DIARY FLIPBOOK HC
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #12
REVIVAL #2
ROBERT E HOWARDS SAVAGE SWORD #5
ROGER LANGRIDGES SNARKED #11

SAGA #6 (MR)
SAUCER COUNTRY #6 (MR)
SCARLET SPIDER PREM HC V1 LIFE AFTER DEATH
SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #33.2
SHADE #11 (OF 12)
SIMPSONS COMICS #193
SONIC UNIVERSE #43
STAR TREK 100 PAGE SPECTACULAR SUMMER 2012
STAR WARS THE CLONE WARS SITH HUNTERS TP
SUPERGIRL #12
SUPREME #66

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES CLASSICS TP VOL 01
TREASURY 20TH CENTURY MURDER HC V5 LOVERS LANE

UNCANNY X-FORCE #29
UNCANNY X-FORCE TP VOL 04 DARK ANGEL SAGA BOOK 2

VAMPIRELLA VS DRACULA #6
VOLTRON #7

WALKING DEAD #101 (MR)
WONDER WOMAN #12

X-FACTOR #242
X-MEN #34

ZORRO RIDES AGAIN #11 (OF 12)

Comics & Collectibles posted this list on Facebook. Arrivals at your LCS may vary.

Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

Clinical psychologist 'examines' Bruce Wayne in new book

Is Batman crazy?

That’s the central issue in a new book by clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, textbook writer, book author, lecturer and certified hypnotist Robin S. Rosenberg, PhD. What’s the Matter with Batman? An Unauthorized Look Under the Mask of the Caped Crusader applies professional criteria to the questions that have always swirled around the sanity of a man whose response to tragedy has been to dress up like a flying rodent.

And Rosenberg is precisely the person best suited to do it. In addition to the curricula vitae listed above, she is also series editor of the “Superheroes” line at Oxford University Press, and editor of the anthologies The Psychology of Superheroes and The Psychology of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

She is also a major Bat-fan, given that she is conversational with terms like “the Dick Grayson era” of Robin, and can explain in depth the differences between Batman’s 1939 origin in Detective Comics #33 vs. his origin in the 2005 film Batman Begins.

So, back to the book: Is Batman crazy?

Well, first, Rosenberg was quick to tell me in a phone interview that psychologists “don’t actually use the term ‘crazy,’” preferring phrases like “diagnosable disorder.” (I assume “nutso,” “bonkers” and “taking the cray-cray train to Koo-Koo Town” are equally off limits, but was afraid to ask.)

Secondly, we have to establish which Batman we’re talking about. There have been a lot of versions of Batman, from Adam West’s campy TV turn to Frank Miller’s aging, ultra-violent Dark Knight Returns. It turns out Rosenberg examines more than one version of Batman at once.

“I focus on an amalgam,” she says. “Basically what I was trying to do was find, in any version, enough symptoms of various disorders.”

Those disorders include Dissociative Identity Disorder, clinical depression, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder. She also discusses Batman’s guilt, workaholism and occasional poor judgment (hint: Robins).

So is Batman crazy? Well, you’ve probably figured out by now that I’m not going to spoil the book by telling you what Rosenberg concludes. Instead, I’ll regale you with a few of Rosenberg’s Bat-impressions from our interview:

Is Batman messianic, thinking he is so necessary for Gotham? 

“In the film Batman Begins," Rosenberg said, “Gotham City … is basically a mess, and the Gotham police [have] not been able to fix it. So if [Bruce Wayne] can fix it, then he’s justified in his messianic beliefs. … it’s an accurate self-assessment.”

Isn’t his anger a problem?

“Anger can be a very powerful motivator,” she said. “Anger in and of itself isn’t a bad thing. When people who end up becoming doctors or cancer researchers have been motivated because that they were angry that a loved one died of cancer, does that make anger bad? No. … It’s OK to be angry. It’s really important being in control of it … to make it work for you, versus working against you.”

In Batman Begins, it’s implied the Bat-mask is a totem of sorts. Is it?

“I think partly it just depends on the wearer,” Rosenberg said. “[Bruce Wayne] chose the bat, it’s not simply a mask that he’s putting on. It’s a meaningful mask, so it may be when he puts it on there is a totemic-like aspect wishing to imbue himself certain bat-like characteristics. I mean, if he were wearing a princess mask, he might feel a little differently!”

What’s your opinion of the Christopher Nolan films, from a professional psychologist’s perspective?

“Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan and David Goyer … are really good lay psychologists. In Batman Begins … I thought it was absolutely brilliant to have Bruce Wayne as a young child be an anxious and fearful kid, temperamentally. We know a lot about anxious and fearful temperament and here … he fell into a cave of bats and was traumatized by that, and then he goes to the opera [which] has people dressed as bats going up the walls of the stage, and he has a panic attack. And having that … was absolutely brilliant, because that’s the part about his guilt. … He understands that if he hadn’t had the panic attack his parents wouldn’t have ended up in the alley with Joe Chill.

“And they had him master his fear by the technique called exposure, where you expose yourself to what you’re afraid of in a controlled way. And that’s the totem of him taking on the bat as his animal costume. It added a whole other veneer to the Batman mythos, the meaning of his becoming Batman. I thought that was absolutely psychologically brilliant.”

Finally, I had to ask her about a recent Playboy interview, where long-time Bat-writer Grant Morrison made the startling claim that “gayness is built into Batman. I’m not using gay in the pejorative sense, but Batman is very, very gay. There’s just no denying it. Obviously as a fictional character he’s intended to be heterosexual, but the basis of the whole concept is utterly gay.”

I’m not sure exactly what Morrison meant by that, since he also wrote Batman as a heterosexual. And my own opinion is that when people see gay dog whistles in Batman comics it says more about them than it does Batman, whose adventures were originally aimed at pre-adolescents.

As it happens, Rosenberg seems to agree with me. She dismissed the homosexual charge in her book, saying “writers of Batman stories have stated they wrote Wayne as a heterosexual character.” So what did she make of Morrison’s remarks?

“Here’s the great thing about superheroes or fictional characters in general,” she said. “They’re like Rorschach ink blots. There’s a form to the inkblot, but you infuse a meaning into it. … People bring their own perspectives to the characters, and they fill in the blanks, if you will. Like with comic panels, we fill in what happens from one panel to another. We fill in the back story or the elements of the character that aren’t provided for us. So someone who wants to see certain elements, will see those elements. And there’s not a way to refute it, because that whole point is that the information isn’t there. You’re … filling in the blanks of a structure. I think even Grant Morrison would say that, because from the lens that he is wearing that is what he sees in the blank spots. It’s what he brings [to the table]. You and I don’t see that, we see something else, because of what we bring. … That’s one of the neat things about humans, right? We’re all different!”

And some of us are crazy. But is Batman? Buy the book, and find out. And if you have any suggestions for Bat-stories that can add to the discussion, send them to Rosenberg, and she’ll include them in a second edition.

Art

1. What's the Matter with Batman? examines the Dark Knight's mental state. Copyright 2012 Robin S. Rosenberg

2.  CHRISTIAN BALE stars as Bruce Wayne in Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' action thriller "THE DARK KNIGHT RISES," a Warner Bros. Pictures release. TM & © DC Comics. Photo by Ron Phillips 

Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics@aol.com. For the full interview, see Comics Buyer's Guide #1694-95.

Welcome back! Last week, I started ruminating about the best episodes from NBC’s spy comedy Chuck. This week, I finish the job by reflecting on the best moments from seasons three, four and five.

Season Three

Chuck vs. the Angel de la Muerte (3): Season three of Chuck is notable for increasing the international scope of Chuck, an angle that would continue through to the end of the show. In this episode, a Central American dictator comes to LA. The dictator has a brutal record and a long-simmering rivalry with Casey. However, while the team is keeping an eye on Premier Goya (played by Armand Assante), Chuck’s brother-in-law Dr. Devon Woodcomb, aka Awesome, saves his life. The episode provides interesting background for Casey, some wonderful twists and a fun mix of family and action.

Chuck vs. First Class (5): For the third time in three seasons, Chuck is given a romantic rival for Sarah. In this case, he flirts with Kristin Kreuk in the first class section of an airplane while on his first solo mission. However, the show simultaneously set up a possible romantic interest for Sarah in their new spy supervisor, Shaw, played by Brandon Routh. The relationship complications increased to almost absurd levels, which was perfect for a show that was as comfortable with farce as Chuck.

Chuck vs. the Beard (9): One of the major changes in season three is that an upgraded Intersect gave Chuck access to skills as well as knowledge. However, the new Intersect develops a glitch and Chuck is temporarily sidelined from the team. At the same time, Morgan fires Chuck as his best friend due to his inexplicable behavior. The crisis allows Chuck to finally come clean to Morgan, setting up a new dynamic for the show in which Morgan first covers for Chuck and then eventually becomes a part of the spy team.

Chuck vs. the Tic Tac (10): Season three spent a lot of time building up Chuck’s supporting cast: Awesome, Morgan and now Casey. In one storyline, we learn about Casey’s history as a soldier and a spy. We also learn that he faked his own death when he joined the CIA in order to protect his loved ones. In the present storyline, Casey is framed for murder and the team has to clear his name. However, the operation involves Casey’s former fiancee and Casey discovers that he has a daughter named Alex. It’s a great character episode, with a lot of emotion and a lot at stake.

Chuck vs. the American Hero and Chuck vs. the Other Guy (12 & 13): The Shaw storyline comes to a dramatic height in the middle of season three. For most of the season, Shaw has been a romantic rival for Chuck and someone who might possibly lure Sarah back to Washington DC. He’s also been a professional rival, occasionally supplanting Casey’s place on the team and bossing Chuck around. But on a mission in Rome, Chuck learns that Sarah was the agent responsible for the death of Shaw’s ex-wife. Even worse, Shaw knows it and is setting Sarah up for revenge. The team is fractured and Chuck is all alone. Yet somehow Chuck has to stop Shaw, save Sarah and prove himself as a spy. It’s a thrilling two-parter, full of action and intrigue. And it’s an important moment for Chuck as he finally fulfills his potential.

Chuck vs. the Subway and Chuck vs. the Ring Part II (18 & 19): Shaw returns for this two-part finale. Their former ally is now working for the terrorist organization The Ring and is out to destroy the entire team. Meanwhile, Chuck continues to experience glitches with the Intersect which could potentially destroy his mind. Scott Bakula returns as well for this intense, fast-paced finale.

Season Four

Chuck vs. the Anniversary (1): Chuck and Ellie’s dad had been an important character for two seasons. With season four, we finally meet their mother Mary, played by Linda Hamilton. Her introduction is wonderfully complex. We don’t know if she’s an undercover spy, an assassin or something worse. The failed reunion brings a lot of emotional baggage to the fore for Chuck and Ellie. It’s one more way in which Chuck stays connected to its core audience- the Generation Xers who were raised on Star Wars and video games, but many of whom also grew up in broken families.

Chuck vs. the Coup d’Etat (4): Every once in a while, I have to break with the crowd. The consensus is that the first appearance of Premier Goya in season three is better but I preferred the second appearance when the team traveled down to Costa Gravas. I loved the dynamic of a dictator trying to transition to democracy against the wishes of his inner circle. More than that, I loved the secondary storyline in which Morgan begins to show romantic interest in Casey’s daughter Alex. Casey and Morgan had been a wonderful odd-couple for much of season three and this added an amusing complication to their relationship.

Chuck vs. the First Fight (7): Chuck and Sarah are finally a couple but that doesn’t mean everything will go smoothly between them. They have their first fight in this episode and Chuck looks for advice from an unlikely source- the frumpy British analyst Gregory Tuttle played by Timothy Dalton. Dalton was wonderful as Tuttle, cringing in the midst of a firefight in a mockery of his time spent as James Bond. But the twist was even better: Tuttle was a front and Dalton was really Alexei Volkoff, the international arms dealer they’ve been trying to find since the end of season three.

Chuck vs. the Balcony (11): Sometimes I love everything about an episode. But sometimes I develop an affection for an episode based on one particular moment or scene. In this case, Chuck and Sarah are sent on a mission in France. Chuck decides that it’s the perfect place to propose- a beautiful balcony with vineyards in the background. Of course, nothing can ever go smoothly and a few gunmen spoil the romantic rendez-vous. For me, it’s a great example of the way in which Chuck’s spy life complicates his personal life and vice versa.

Chuck vs. the Push Mix (13): Chuck was never a ratings monster. It escaped cancellation on multiple occasions. But one side benefit was that the show had multiple big endings. This mid-season finale was planned as a series finale before they were given yet another reprieve. The result was an excellent episode in which multiple loose ends were tied up and Chuck had his final confrontation with Alexei Volkoff. It was full of exciting action and also emotionally satisfying.

Chuck vs. the Masquerade and Chuck vs. the First Bank of Evil (16 & 17): The second half of season four as a little inconsistent as the writers had to figure out what to do next. Personally, I liked the introduction of Vivian and I loved the twists at the end of these two episodes. In the first, we learn that the British heiress targeted by Volkoff’s men is actually Volkoff’s daughter. In the second, we watch as Chuck unwittingly turns a potential ally into a new nemesis. These two episodes are excellent examples of how Chuck could play against expectations, surprising the audience with new directions at the drop of a dime.

Chuck vs. the Last Details and Chuck vs. the Cliffhanger (23 & 24): Season three ended with Ellie and Awesome’s wedding. Season four ended with Chuck and Sarah’s. Once again, it was a wonderfully fast-paced finale, with multiple obstacles to overcome, returning villains and high comedy.

Season Five

Chuck vs. the Hack-Off (5): There are three reasons to love this episode. First, it was
one of several to showcase Carrie Anne Moss as security mogul Gertrude
Verbanski and the first to feature her as an uneasy ally instead of a caustic rival. Two, it included a great guest appearance by Community’s Danny Pudi as a geeky new tech specialist at the BuyMore. Three, it highlighted Chuck’s ability as a computer programmer in a humorous way as he binged on a big bottle of white wine while trying to out-hack a gang of geeks.

Chuck vs. the Curse (6): I’m a big fan of Chuck’s supporting cast, whether it’s his spy team, his quirky co-workers or his perfect family. This episode showcases Awesome and Ellie on a date night. Like a lot of couples with a baby, they’re looking forward to some private adult time. Instead, they get mixed up in one of Chuck’s spy adventures. However, they aren’t aware of what’s going on and mistakenly think the spy adventure is a role-playing game to spice up their relationship. The episode is full of humor, drama and yes, romance.

Chuck vs. the Santa Suit (7): Certain scenes simply stick in the memory. In this case, it’s the completely unexpected and totally hilarious scene in which General Beckman kisses Chuck while he’s wearing a Santa suit. In season five, Chuck’s team has set out as private security consultants. However, in this episode, Chuck needs Beckman’s help to break into a CIA facility. Beckman is willing to bend the rules for one of her former agents. But, of course, it’s never easy. One of Beckman’s counterparts starts to hit on Chuck and the only way she can extricate him is to plant a big kiss on him herself. It’s all part of an excellent episode that balances humor and tension in a wonderful way.

Chuck vs. Bo (10): There are two main stories in this episode. In the one, Chuck and Morgan go to Vail to investigate Morgan’s earlier actions when he was in possession of the Intersect. They uncover a few surprises, including a tryst with Bo Derek (playing a spy version of herself). Meanwhile, Jeff and Lester have been investigating the BuyMore’s connection to the CIA. However, whenever they get close, Casey knocks them out and leaves them in the desert hoping that they’ll think they blacked out after a Las Vegas bender. The repeated desert scenes are hilarious. And the confrontation with Bo Derek is pretty good too.

Chuck vs. the Goodbye (13): After so many finales, it wasn’t easy for the final ending to measure up to some of the great episodes of before. The penultimate episode didn’t have quite the pizzazz of earlier season-enders. However, the finale did provide some important emotional closure. They didn’t wrap everything up neatly with a bow. That would have been too pat an ending for a show that upended its status quo as often as Chuck. But they did hint at the possibilities of a real, peaceful family life for Chuck and for Sarah- something they’ve wanted from the beginning but always worried was just out of reach. The closing scene brought tears to my eyes and was a fitting way to say good-bye.

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from memphiscomics.com

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WORLDS FINEST #4

X-FACTOR #241
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This list is a copy of the list posted at memphiscomics.com. Arrivals at your LCS may vary.

I have a small Fluit Notes tradition: during vacation, I like to take a corresponding break from comic book articles and write about genre TV shows instead. In the past, I’ve written “Best of” lists for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Farscape, Babylon 5 and Lost. This year, I take a look back at five seasons of Chuck, the spy comedy that recently came to an end.

Season One

Chuck vs. the Intersect (1): Wikipedia describes Chuck as an action-comedy-spy-drama. That was both the attraction and the problem. For viewers like me, it was an interesting genre mash-up: a combination of workplace comedies like The Office, spy adventures like Alias and quirky romances like Moonlighting. Chuck could be hilarious one moment and exciting the next. Yet some viewers and critics were confused by a show that defied categorization. USA Today consistently called for the show to dump the BuyMore. I think they were way off base. The workplace hi-jinx grounded Chuck in an ordinary world that the rest of us could relate to while also providing some of the show’s most memorable moments. Plus, the on-again/off-again relationship grew into the real heart of the series, providing an emotional core that sustained it for five seasons.

Chuck vs. the Tango (3): This episode is notable mostly for being the first to run separate stories for the BuyMore employees and the spies. However, that’s more of a historical footnote. The reason why I enjoyed this episode- and remember it so fondly- is that it expanded Chuck’s role in the spy world. It showed that spying would be about more than accessing the Intersect or the occasional fistfight. Chuck had to infiltrate a fancy auction, pretend to be the debonair Charles Carmichael for the first time and, yes, dance the tango.

Chuck vs. the Wookie (4): Chuck was a show about friendship as much as it was about romance. This episode showcased the friendship between Chuck and Morgan, while contrasting it with the working rivalry between Sarah and guest-star Carina. Carina’s flirtation with Morgan was the highlight of the episode and it led to some remarkable recollections in later seasons.

Chuck vs. the Truth and Chuck vs. the Imported Hard Salami (8 & 9): One of the ways the creators of Chuck amped up the romantic tension was by occasionally introducing other love interests. Chuck has such low self-esteem at the beginning of the series that he finds it hard to believe anyone would be interested in him romantically. The result is that he misses early signals and that he’s easily distracted from Sarah when he finally notices them. This two-part story featured Rachel Bilson as a deli chef who names a sandwich after Chuck.

Chuck vs. the Nemesis (10): Matt Bomer returns as Bryce in this critical episode. As Chuck’s old college roommate and Sarah’s former spy partner, Bryce is the connecting link between the two of them. He’s also the perfect spy- suave, confident and competent- everything that Chuck is not. As a result, Sarah is attracted to him and Chuck feels inadequate because of him. Every time Bryce returns to the series, Chuck is forced to step up his game becoming more of a spy and more of a man.

Season Two

Chuck vs. the Seduction (2): In season two, the CIA has decided to use Chuck as a full-fledged agent and not just an asset. Throughout the season, Chuck is trained in new skills and dropped into new situations. In this episode, he is taught the art of seduction by master spy Roan Montgomery, who is played by John Larroquette. The training forces Chuck to confront his emerging romantic feelings for Sarah, even though they aren’t yet comfortable as a couple.

Chuck vs. Tom Sawyer (5): Chuck is at its best when the spy stories and the store stories intersect. In this episode, we learn that BuyMore co-worker Jeff Barnes is a former Missile Command champion from 1983. To everyone’s surprise, this has made him the target of a global terrorist and Chuck has to protect his friend without revealing his CIA connection. Eventually, we discover that Missile Command contains the codes to actually control a missile platform and that Chuck has to beat Jeff’s old world record in order to prevent global catastrophe.

Chuck vs. the Gravitron (8): At this point, I realized that I could have picked almost every episode from season two. This was easily the most consistently entertaining year for Chuck. I particularly enjoyed the Jill trilogy in which Jordana Brewster played Chuck’s ex-girlfriend. The storyline combined great character moments and wonderful plot twists. The final episode in the arc, Chuck vs. the Gravitron, contains a very memorable scene of Chuck and Jill on the Ferris wheel. There’s a lot of tension as the audience knows things that the characters don’t and there’s plenty of heartache for the same reason.

Chuck vs. the Delorean (10): One of the best things about Chuck was that it was fun. That seems to be out of fashion these days, when dark shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad get all of the acclaim, but that humorous side helped Chuck craft its own identity. In this episode, we learn about Sarah’s mysterious past when her dad, a con artist played by Gary Cole, arrives and embroils the team in a con against a sheikh with possible terrorist ties. The con and the upside-down relationships resulted in a trunk full of funny moments and lines.

Chuck vs. Santa Claus (11): The character Chuck is a geek everyman for geeks everywhere. The show Chuck played up those connections by offering numerous tributes to fan favorite shows and movies of the past. This Christmas episode included a hilarious send-up of the original Die Hard movie. Yet, more than that, this episode showed how the series was able to use humor and tension as dramatic counterpoints. At the end of the episode, Chuck watches Sarah kill a terrorist- a shocking moment that shatters his impression of her.

Chuck vs. the Suburbs (13): The writers on Chuck had a lot of fun playing with the “will they or won’t they” angle of Chuck and Sarah’s relationship. In this episode, Chuck and Sarah go undercover as Suburban newlyweds. The scenario offers a possible preview of their future to come. It exposes Chuck’s interest in Sarah and reveals Sarah’s reluctance to be committed to any relationships. It also results in a major moment for the show as this particular suburb is a front for the terrorist organization Fulcrum, once again combining romantic comedy with serious spy tension.

Chuck vs. the Dream Job (19): Chuck was building a reputation for great guest stars but they outdid themselves in this episode with two classic actors in two memorable roles. Scott Bakula appears for the first time as Chuck and Ellie’s long-lost father. And Chevy Chase appears as a computer executive who wants to woo Chuck away from the CIA. This episode contains surprising revelations and difficult decisions, making it an engrossing example of Chuck at its best.

Chuck vs. the Colonel and Chuck vs. the Ring (21 & 22): The final episodes of season two were a heart-racing affair. Chuck and Sarah are finally ready to declare their love for each other and run away from the CIA. But they’ve picked the worst possible time. The CIA is looking for them. They’re looking for Chuck’s dad. And Ellie is planning her wedding to Awesome. The contrast between Chuck’s spy life and family life has never been stronger. Plus, Morgan begins to step to the fore. He’s slowly been growing from comic relief into an important character and in this episode, he surprisingly saves Ellie’s wedding from disaster. We’re also treated to the much-anticipated return of Jeffster!- Jeff and Lester’s awful band that first appeared in Chuck vs. the Best Friend.

That should do it for part one. Come on back for part two and the best of seasons three through five.

Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

When I think of how amazingly versatile comics are, I think of publishers like Archaia Entertainment. They’ve just published six graphic novels – none involving superheroes, no two remotely alike, and all of them beautifully done.

Leaping to the top of the list is Judge Bao & the Jade Phoenix ($14.95), by Patrick Marty and Chongrui Nie. Here’s the back story: Judge Bao (999-1062 CE) is an actual historical Chinese jurist famed for personal integrity and his implacable antagonism to corruption. Emperor Ren Zong gave Bao enormous powers to wander the country to root out corrupt officials and right wrongs for the peasants. Bao is a folk hero and symbol of justice in China and the many tales about him have been adapted to various media, including comics, TV and movies.

Including in France, where Marty and Nie have done a number of black and white, pen-and-ink graphic novels in a landscape format. Archaia has reprinted the first of these, and may the comic-book gods grant it’s not the last.

Marty has done a terrific job on Jade Phoenix, although I don’t know if it’s an adaptation of an existing tale or an original extrapolation. He captures the social mores, attitudes and milieu of a wealthy, burgeoning Middle Kingdom in the early 11th century. Well, I think he does, because while human nature is constant across history and geography, various societies are not – and this one is practically alien to 21st century Americans. (For example, Bao – for all that he’s the hero – sentences innocent people to be beaten with sticks who interrupt in court. And that is considered perfectly acceptable.)

One aspect that should prove familiar to American readers is that Bao’s entourage is a sort of super-team of the past. Bao is the brainy leader. Bodyguard Zhan Zhao is like Batman, in that he is master of all weaponry and martial arts; able to defeat multiple ninjas and swordsmen alike; ready to infiltrate secret meetings; capable of traveling swiftly by foot, horse or rooftop – and like Bruce Wayne, irresistible to the ladies. The team also includes a one-man CSI who is both forensic accountant and pathologist, a couple of comic-relief characters and, like most every Western or 1940s superhero, “the kid” – a sidekick that doubles not only as the reader’s POV but someone to whom Bao can explain the plot (so the readers may overhear).

But as good as Marty is, the real star is artist Nie, who makes this book absolutely unforgettable. His work is highly textured; it’s a combination of rapidograph, brush and scratchboard that is amazingly photo-realistic, yet flexible enough to stretch from action scenes to character studies to exaggerated, freeze-frame theatricality. I’ve seen a lot of comics, but few as beautiful and finely crafted as this.

On the opposite end of the content scale is“The Dare Detectives: The Snow-Pea Plot ($24.95), by Ben Caldwell. Caldwell is a toy designer, animator, illustrator and game artist and his experience in the first two categories is on full display here.

The Dare Detectives are a trio of incompetent private sleuths in fictional Enderton City’s Chinatown, made up of a brainy, impatient Hispanic girl named Maria; a strong but childlike lummox named Toby and a snarky, anthropomorphic rabbit named JoJo. If that sounds kind of odd – and I’ll grant you the bunny – this team is actually a classic, based loosely on the Superego, Ego and Id. (Think Aqua Teen Hunger Force, the Three Stooges or even Spock, Kirk and McCoy on “Star Trek”.)

So despite what looks like a off-the-wall cast has long-established and familiar story mechanics buried in its structure that allows us to jump right into the action. And “action” is no metaphor: Animator Caldwell never allows the forward motion to slow, while still telling us everything we need to know, and providing a coherent cartoon world for these characters to inhabit. Meanwhile, you can see toy designer Caldwell in the strong, flexible look of not just the main characters, but even minor ones, like the pandas who are blue-collar henchmen for the chief bad guys, the terrier who is the team’s police contact and the Mr. Magoo-like Chinese restaurateur who is their landlord.

To be honest, “Dare Detectives” is probably aimed at younger readers. But it’s still among my top three of Archaia’s latest releases, and more important for the purposes of this review, emblematic of the publisher’s wide range of content.

I’ll be reviewing the other four books in this column or on my website, but rest assured that the only thing these books have in common is quality.

Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics@aol.com.

As promised, time for the answers to my DC Silver-Age quiz of two weeks ago.   Not as many hardy souls posted in response this time around.  Luke Blanchard and Prince Hal took excellent stabs at it, and Randomnole came through with one solid answer.

I was impressed with the high number of correct answers these gents provided.  Many of the questions I deliberately chose to play on common misconceptions, with the expectation that many would follow the path of those mistaken notions.  However, neither Luke nor Hal were taken in by most of the tricky ones.  And the single poser that Randomnole addressed was nailed spot-on before anyone else provided the correct answer.  So good on all of them!

That said, no-one got all of them correct, nor did they as a group.  The right response to one of the questions eluded everyone.

That takes care of the commentary; now, on to the answers!

ANSWERS TO THE SILVER-AGE CHALLENGE---DC EDITION II:

1.  Of the five services of the U.S. Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard), which one did Wonder Woman join as Diana Prince?

Diana (Wonder Woman) Prince was a lieutenant in the United States Army.

Both Luke Blanchard and Prince Hal got this one correct---but Luke arrived at the right answer through a means that I hadn’t considered.

In 1966, Wonder Woman editor Robert Kanigher undertook an interesting experiment with the series.  Beginning with issue # 159 (Jan., 1966), the adventures of the Amazing Amazon were given a retrofit, evoking the early roots of the character.  Wonder Woman’s origin was retold, as well as her first encounter with Steve Trevor.

Regular artists Ross Andru and Mike Esposito mimicked the style of Harry G. Peter, the super-heroine’s Golden-Age artist, and depicted the characters in their 1940’s fashion.  Trevor was again a captain and wore a World War II-vintage Army aviator’s uniform.  The hair of Diana's queen-mother changed from blonde to black, as it had been back in the ‘40’s, and her name returned to its original spelling of Hippolyte—with an “e”.

Subsequent stories depicted Wonder Woman assuming the identity of Diana Prince, a U.S. Army nurse, matching the events told in Sensation Comics # 1 (Jan., 1942).

Kanigher’s “blast from the past” experiment ended with issue # 165 (Oct., 1966).  The following issue resumed telling Wonder Woman tales in the modern style.  (But with typical Kanigher confusion, some elements of the retro period were retained, such as there being a real Diana Prince, who appeared in issue # 167 [Jan., 1967].)

I had forgotten about this period in the Silver-Age Wonder Woman’s history when I ginned up the question about Diana’s military service.  Luke didn’t, though, and from it derived the correct answer.  And it counts.  It meets all the criteria I set down for correct responses.

The source of the correct answer I had in mind stemmed from the first Silver-Age rebooting of the Amazing Amazon’s origin, which was seen in Wonder Woman # 98 (May, 1958).  In the next issue, # 99, the story “Top Secret” tells how W.W. assumed the identity of Diana Prince, and it concludes with her being awarded a commission as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. 

How do we know she is in the Army?  Because she is assigned to Military Intelligence, an Army command.

2.  What was the name of the asteroid where the ancestral home of Bron Wayn E7705---the Batman of 2967---was located?

Baltorr.

(Chuckle!)   I’ll bet this one had a lot of you going back through my recent Deck Log archive entry on the Superman of 2965, to see if I had named it in the section that discussed World’s Finest Comics # 166 (May, 1967).  Well, I didn’t.

This was one of the more straight-forward questions.  The only way to learn the answer was to go through that story, which provided the origin of the Batman of the thirtieth century, and find the one panel in which the name of the asteroid is mentioned.  Something which Prince Hal obviously did, because he got it right.

3.  Who starred as Green Lantern in the Earth-One series about the Emerald Crusader?

Another straight-forward one which both Luke and Hal got right.  It was Charles “Good Time Charlie” Vicker, whom we met in the two-part epic told in Green Lantern 55-6 (Sep. and Oct., 1967).  Charlie ended up trading in his TV-star status for a power ring, when he became a Green Lantern himself.

 4.  Speaking of television shows, what was the name of the television programme regularly hosted by Lana Lang for WMET-TV?

Among her other on-camera duties for WMET-TV, Lana Lang hosted the television series I Remember Superboy, as seen or mentioned in a few issues of Lois Lane, such as # 55 and # 60 (Feb. and Oct., 1965).

Luke answered this one correctly, and Hal agreed.

5.  In what story/issue did Superman first meet Adam Strange?

This is where I started to get sneaky.  I figured most would jump on “The Planet That Came to a Standstill”, from Mystery in Space # 75 (May, 1962).  This is the story in which Adam Strange first met the Justice League of America.  But Superman missed out on that adventure, appearing only in flashback.  So while Adam got to hobnob with the seven other JLA members, he missed out on getting the Man of Steel’s autograph.

The two didn’t meet until the sequel to MiS # 75---“Decoy Missions of the Justice League”, from JLA # 25 (Dec., 1963).  Before someone cries foul, yes, I know that Superman didn’t enter the story until the last few pages, and most of his interaction was with Adam Strange’s “aural image”.  But the last panel clearly shows the Man of Steel together with the actual Champion of Rann enjoying their defeat of Kanjar Ro.

Prince Hal nailed this one.

6.  What story/issue marked J’onn J’onzz’s last Silver-Age appearance with the Justice League of America?

Hal did what I figured most folks would do---go to the last issue of JLA produced by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky and count back until hitting the last Fox/Sekowsky tale to include the Martian Manhunter.  That was, indeed, JLA # 61 (Mar., 1968).

But I couldn’t fool Luke.  He accurately recalled that there was one later appearance of J’onn J’onzz with the Justice League that took place in Action Comics # 366 (Aug., 1968).

The story “Substitute Superman” winds up a multi-issue arc in which the Man of Steel is believed to have died from the lethal “Virus X”.  As it turns out, on the rocket transporting his dying body to our sun, Superman gets better.  Upon returning to Earth, he discovers that the world already believes Superman to be cured and  “he” has been performing his usual super-feats all over the globe.

The mystery is cleared up when it’s revealed that the heroes of the Justice League have been posing as the Man of Steel, until a replacement Superman from the bottled city of Kandor could be chosen.

7.  Speaking of the JLA, per the by-laws of the Justice League, what was the schedule for its regular meetings?

This is the one that neither Luke nor Hal got right.  I’ll let Wonder Woman herself explain the by-law scheduling regular meetings of the Justice League . . . .

I cannot accept Luke’s answer of “monthly” because it is entirely possible that more than one month, perhaps several, go by before a regular JLA meeting convenes.  If an emergency meeting brings the members of the League together, then twenty-eight days later, there is another emergency meeting, and then yet another emergency meeting two weeks after that, obviously more than one month would go by without a regular meeting.

I am kind of curious as to where Hal got his “last Saturday of each month” notion.

8.  In what story/issue did Bizarro № 1 with his classic reversed “S-shield” insignia first appear?

This is where Luke showed his real Silver-Age expertise.  He not only sidestepped the pitfall but gave the correct information, citing the exact story.

Frankly, I was relying on one of the many continuity errors that cropped up in DC stories in the 1970’s to trip folks up.  You see, in every Bronze-Age retelling of Bizarro № 1’s origin, it is depicted like this, from  Superman # 306 (Dec., 1976) . . . .

You see how the scenes show Bizarro № 1’s “S-shield” emblem reversed at the moment of his creation?  That’s a significant error.  For, as Luke knew, when the first Superman Bizarro was created, in Action Comics # 254 (Jul., 1959), his chest insignia was exactly like the real Man of Steel’s.

(And before anyone asks, the first Bizarro---the one of Superboy, back in Superboy # 68 [Oct., 1958]---also wore the proper “S-shield” emblem.)

The “S” insignia of Bizarro № 1 and all the other Superman Bizarros did not become reversed until several Bizarro-related stories later, in Adventure Comics # 293 (Feb., 1962).  And it wasn’t because of a sudden inspiration by artist John Forte.

In “The Good Deeds of Bizarro-Luthor”, Bizarro № 1 and his family are exiled from Htrae by the rest of Bizarro society for the very fact that the S-insignia on their costumes is perfect.  And as we all know, “is big crime to make anything perfect on Bizarro World.”  The solution, which takes the Big Doofus № 1 twelve pages to figure out, is to outfit himself and all the other Superman Bizarros with new costumes bearing the backwards-S emblem.

As Luke also knew.

9.  Speaking of Bizarros, what did the Bizarro-Flash have as a chest insignia?

This was the only question Randomnole chimed in on, but he was the first to get it right.  The Bizarro-Flash’s chest insignia was the silhouette of a gavel inside a white circle.  Randomnole also did the rest of my job for me; he named the story source---specifically, Lois Lane # 74 (May, 1967)---and the reason.

Now, there’s something interesting to add.  On the previous question, I beat up the folks behind the Bronze-Age DC stories, as I so often do, for their sloppiness in making continuity mistakes.  But I have to point out a rare case when somebody actually did his homework.

The Bizarro-Flash did not appear again in a DC comics for another sixteen years.  Then he popped up for a bit part in Superman # 379 (Jan., 1983).  Incredibly, given the latter–age DC’s usual inattention to detail, the Bizarro-Flash was given the proper costume, down to the gavel insignia.

And they got it right again for Bizarro-Flash’s next and last appearance, in DC Presents # 71 (Jul., 1984).

Go figure.

10.  What was the last story/issue to show Hector Hammond as a normal man, before he enlarged his own brain?

This was probably the sneakiest question of the bunch, and it’s the only one that Luke fell for, I’m afraid.  But it didn’t give Prince Hal any problems.  He knew right off that it was JLA # 14 (Sep., 1962).

In his first appearance---“The Power Ring That Vanished”, from Green Lantern # 5 (Mar.-Apr., 1961)---Hector Hammond was a rather dashing, but completely normal-looking villain. 

Hammond showed up next in JLA # 14 as one of the five criminals enlisted by villain Mister Memory as part of his plot to destroy the Justice League. 

True, as Luke accurately noted, this was the issue in which Hammond used his evolution meteor on himself, to become a big-domed but immortal “man of the future”.  As Luke also pointed out, when Hammond appeared next, in Green Lantern # 22 (Jul., 1963), they took the change a step further by showing that a side-effect of turning himself immortal had eventually rendered Hammond immobile.

Unfortunately, Luke missed one earlier panel in JLA # 14.  The one depicting Mr. Memory briefing his five villainous cohorts on his dememorising scheme.  Here, we see a normal Hector Hammond for the last time.

In other words, Hammond did not turn himself into a future man between Green Lantern # 5 and JLA # 14.  He actually did it between the pages of JLA # 14 itself.  Just as Hal answered.

In the final tally, Luke got five out of ten correct, or 50%.  An excellent score, given the fact that he was the first to provide answers.

Prince Hal got seven of ten right, or 70%, also remarkable.

Randomnole only answered the one, but he was the first one to get it right and it was one of the toughies, so he deserves praise, as well.

I hope all of you found some of these answers enjoyable.  That’s the whole point.  Not to show how much you may not know about the Silver-Age adventures of our heroes, but to inspire that “Hey, wow!  I didn’t know that!” feeling when you see the answers posted here.

That’s the part that’s fun for me, when I put these quizzes together, and I hope they’re fun for you, when you read them.

AIRBOY DEADEYE #3 (OF 5)
ALL STAR WESTERN #11
ALTER EGO #111
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #690
AMERICAN VAMPIRE #29 (MR)
ANGEL & FAITH #12
APPLE SELECTION SC VOL 02
AQUAMAN #11
ARAGONES GROO THE WANDERER ARTIST ED HC
ARCHIE #635
ARCHIE CLASH OF THE NEW KIDS TP
AVENGERS #28 AVX
AVENGERS WEST COAST AVENGERS TP FAMILY TIES
AXE COP PRESIDENT O/T WORLD #1 (OF 3)

BACK ISSUE #58
BART SIMPSON COMICS #73
BATMAN INCORPORATED #3
BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #11
BEFORE WATCHMEN COMEDIAN #2 (OF 6) (MR)
BPRD HELL ON EARTH EXORCISM #2 (OF 2)

CAPTAIN AMERICA #15
CAPTAIN AMERICA AND IRON MAN #634
CROSSED BADLANDS #10 (MR)
CROW MIDNIGHT LEGENDS GN VOL 01 DEAD TIME

DAREDEVIL BY MARK WAID TP VOL 01
DARK AVENGERS #178
DARK SHADOWS #6
DC COMICS PRESENTS WONDER WOMAN ADVENTURES #1
DEADPOOL #58
DEBRIS #1 (OF 4) (MR)
DEJAH THORIS & WHITE APES OF MARS #4 (MR)

ELEPHANTMEN #41 (MR)
EVERYBODY LOVES TANK GIRL #1 (OF 3) (MR)
EXILE PLANET O/T APES #4 (OF 4)

FF #20
FLASH #11
FURY OF FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MEN #11

GEARHEARTS STEAMPUNK GLAMOR REVUE #3
GFT BAD GIRLS #1 (OF 5)
GFT JUNGLE BOOK #4 (OF 5)
GFT SWIMSUIT SPECIAL 2012
GFT WONDERLAND ANNUAL 2012
GHOSTBUSTERS ONGOING #11
GODZILLA ONGOING #3
GOON #40
GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES #4 (MR)
GREEN ARROW TP VOL 01 INTO THE WOODS
GREEN LANTERN #11
GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #11
GRIFTER TP VOL 01 MOST WANTED
GRIM LEAPER #3 (OF 4) (MR)
GRIMM FAIRY TALES #75

HAUNT #25
HAWKEN #5 (OF 6)
HELLRAISER #16 (MR)
HIT-GIRL #2 (OF 5) (MR)

I VAMPIRE #11
INCREDIBLE HULK #11
IRRESISTIBLE #1 (OF 4)

JOHN CARTER GODS OF MARS #5 (OF 5)
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #11

KEVIN SMITH BIONIC MAN #11
KEVIN SMITH BIONIC MAN TP VOL 01 SOME ASSEMBLY REQ
KISS GREATEST HITS TP VOL 01
KOLCHAK NECRONOMICON HC
KULL TP VOL 03 THE CAT & THE SKULL

LEGEND OF OZ THE WICKED WEST #5 (MR)
LOCUS #618
LORD OF THE JUNGLE #6 (MR)

MAD PRESENTS BATMAN #1
MANHATTAN PROJECTS #5
MARIE SEVERIN MIRTHFUL MISTRESS OF COMICS SC
MARVEL UNIVERSE ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #4
MASS EFFECT HOMEWORLDS #3
MIGHTY THOR #17
MMW FANTASTIC FOUR TP VOL 08
MODERN MASTERS SC VOL 28 ERIC POWELL

NATIONAL COMICS ETERNITY #1
NEAR DEATH #10
NEW DEADWARDIANS #5 (OF 8) (MR)
NOWHERE MAN #4 (OF 4)

PLANET OF THE APES #16
PREVIEWS #287 AUG 2012
PROPHET #27

RED HULK TP HAUNTED
RED SONJA WITCHBLADE #5
REED GUNTHER TP VOL 02
RESIDENT ALIEN #3

SAVAGE HAWKMAN #11
SCALPED TP VOL 09 KNUCKLE UP (MR)
SECRET AVENGERS #29
SNAKE EYES & STORM SHADOW #15
SOULFIRE GRACE #1
SOULFIRE POWER #1
SPACEMAN #8 (OF 9) (MR)
STAN LEES MIGHTY 7 #3
STAR WARS BLOOD TIES BOBA FETT IS DEAD #4 (OF 4)
STAR WARS DARTH MAUL DEATH SENTENCE #1 (OF 4)
SUPER DINOSAUR #12
SUPERMAN #11
SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES #3

TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #75 (MR)
TEEN TITANS #11
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ONGOING #12
THOR DEVIANTS SAGA TP
TMNT MICRO SERIES #6 CASEY JONES
TRANSFORMERS AUTOCRACY TP
TRANSFORMERS MORE THAN MEETS EYE ONGOING #7
TRANSFORMERS ROBOTS IN DISGUISE ONGOING TP VOL 01
TRIO #3
TRUE BLOOD ONGOING #3

ULTIMATE COMICS HAWKEYE BY JONATHAN HICKMAN TP
ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #13 DWF
UNCANNY X-FORCE #28

VENOM #21
VICTORIAN SECRET GIRLS OF SUMMER #1
VOODOO #11

WINTER SOLDIER #8
WITCHBLADE #158
WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #14 AVX
WONDER WOMAN ODYSSEY TP VOL 01
WONDERLAND #1

X-MEN LEGACY #270 AVX
X-MEN STEVE ROGERS ESCAPE FROM NEGATIVE ZONE TP
X-TREME X-MEN #1

This list is a copy of the Comics & Collectibles list posted on Facebook. Arrivals at your LCS may vary.

“The Legionnaire Who Killed”

Editor: Mort Weisinger  Writer:  Edmond Hamilton  Art: Curt Swan (pencils); Sheldon Moldoff, George Klein (inks)

“Talking head” stories, as a rule, don’t go over too well in comics.   One of the strengths of the comic-book medium lies in its ability to depict super-hero-type action in fantastic environments, and when a story doesn’t deliver that, many fans feel cheated.  This was especially true back in the Silver Age, when the readership tended to be younger.  We didn’t want psycho-drama; we wanted to see Green Lantern kick Sinestro halfway to Alpha Centauri.

That’s why a story like “The Legionnaire Who Killed” proved to be so remarkable.  It was a tale almost completely bereft of action and posed no physical threat to Our Heroes.  Yet, this masterful drama by Edmond Hamilton gripped the reader from page one and didn’t let go until the last panel.

I need to speak for a moment about Edmond Hamilton and the Legion of Super-Heroes.  Largely, it is Jim Shooter whom the fans credit for more sophisticated stories, stronger characterisation, heavy emotional drama, and overall, elevating the Legion series from a juvenile level.  To be sure, Shooter took the Legion to its highest point, but most of the things he gets credit for bringing to the series actually started in the Adventure scripts that came out of Hamilton’s typewriter.

Such Hamilton stories as “The Lone Wolf Legionnaire”, “The War Between Krypton and Earth”, “The Super-Moby Dick of Space”, and “Hunters of the Super-Beasts” introduced the first believable nuances of romance, obsession, and, what the young readers probably most identified with, feelings of alienation in the teen-age heroes.  Hamilton also wrote the first true Legion saga with his two-part Starfinger tale.

Yet, none of those other tales displays Hamilton’s literary skill as much as “The Legionnaire Who Killed”.  It is no accident that this tale consistently makes most Silver-Age fans’ list of favourite Legion stories.

One look at the cover of Adventure Comics # 342 shows that this will not be a run-of-the-mill Legion story.  The focus is on seldom-seen Legionnaire Star Boy, holding the body of the outlaw he has killed.  On the dead man’s chest is a large smear of blood.  This was a real eye-opener in those days.  Any trace of blood was virtually taboo then.  Whether hero, villain, or fringe character, all wounds, no matter how grievous, were almost always depicted with nary a drop of the red stuff.

The story proper opens with a scene of the Legionnaires not on currently on missions enjoying a rare moment of relaxation.  Except for Star Boy, who wanders among his pals too busy mooning over Dream Girl to join in the fun.  Though Star Boy had been established as a Legionnaire since his first appearance in a Superboy story back in 1961, it wasn’t until Adventure Comics # 317 (Feb., 1964) that he had any real participation in a Legion story.  This was the same issue that saw Dream Girl’s debut as a character and a Legionnaire.  At the end of that tale, Dream Girl resigned her membership, and the fans were left with vague hints that Star Boy had taken more than a professional interest in her.

Adventure Comics # 342 confirmed it.  The boy from Xanthu was carrying an Olympic-sized torch for the girl from Naltor.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one.

Travelling to the jungle planet of Karak to meet his parents, Star Boy is told by explorer Jan Barth that he has just missed their departure.  And that’s the good news.  The bad news is Kenz Nuhor, from the planet Naltor, has just landed with blood in his eye.  He’s stuck on Dream Girl in a big way, but since falling in love with Star Boy, she doesn’t even know Nuhor is alive.

Overcome with jealousy, Nuhor aims a ray gun at Star Boy.  Jan Barth draws his own pistol, but Nuhor blasts him, fatally.  When Star Boy attempts to use his mass-induction power, it is reflected back by a special shield Nuhor is carrying.  The weight of his own legs increased tremendously, Star Boy crumples to the ground.

Nuhor takes a few seconds to gloat; then he’s distracted by Dream Girl’s arrival in a space cruiser.  This gives Star Boy time to grab Barth’s ray gun and fire it at Nuhor, killing him.  (One wonders why Nuhor, being from Naltor himself, didn’t see this coming.)

That is the only bit of standard comic-book action in this story, and it’s over by page five.

It’s a clear case of self-defence, and Dream Girl’s eyewitness testimony gets Star Boy off the hook with the Science Police.  But that’s the least of his problems.  When he gets back to the Legion clubhouse, he is informed by a group of grim-faced Legionnaires that he will stand court-martial for breaking the Legion code against killing.

As the current Legion leader, Brainiac 5 will prosecute, while Superboy volunteers to act as Star Boy’s defence counsel.  The Boy of Steel disagrees with the absolute rigidity of the Legion Code.  He’s invulnerable, but most of his fellow members are not, and he feels that the Code should be amended to permit Legionnaires the use of lethal force if necessary to protect their own lives.

Brainiac 5 appoints Saturn Girl to head a presiding board composed of herself, Chameleon Boy, Ultra Boy, Element Lad, and Duo Damsel.  And Star Boy is hauled off to a detention cell.

The next day, the trial begins in earnest.  There is no dispute of Dream Girl’s testimony, but when Star Boy himself takes the stand, Brainiac 5 goes right for the jugular.  He points out several instances in the past where other Legionnaires’ lives were in jeopardy and they were able to use their super-powers to save themselves without killing.  Brainiac 5 demands to know why Star Boy didn’t do the same thing.

I did, protests Star Boy, but Nuhor’s shield reflected my super-power back on me.  There was nothing else I could do, he insists.

Then Brainiac 5 produces an exhibit of the scene on Karak, with figures of Star Boy, Nuhor, and the surrounding landscape. 

“Yes,” confirms Star Boy, “this miniature scene shows everything just as it was the moment before I fired the ray gun!”

“I ask that you direct your super-power,” says Brainiac 5, “at the model tree’s foliage, just over the model Kenz Nuhor’s head!”

Star Boy does so, and before the eyes of all present, the limb of the model tree breaks from the super-heaviness and falls on the model of Kenz Nuhor.

“If you had directed your super-power at the real foliage,” Brainiac 5 points out, “it would have pinned down Kenz Nuhor without need to kill him!”

It is the most masterful moment of the trial---not only for the characters in the story; it’s an eye-opener for the readers, too.  Leafing back to the actual scene at the beginning, it’s all there:  Star Boy, Nuhor, the near-by tree, the foliage overhead.  The opportunity to use the tactic suggested by Brainiac 5 was right there, before Star Boy’s---and our---eyes.

The prosecution rests.

As the defence counsel, Superboy knows he’s up against it.  He spends the night reviewing thousands of video-tapes of the Legionnaires in action, looking for something that will give him a chance to overcome the damning evidence presented at trial.  Finally, just before the court-martial reconvenes, he thinks he’s found it.

Appearing in court, Superboy challenges the validity of the charges.  There is a precedent, he states.  Another Legionnaire has killed in self-defence---and that Legionnaire is the prosecutor himself, Brainiac 5!  Superboy runs a video-tape of Brainiac 5 gunning down a man to save his own life.

The Legion’s leader is unfazed.  For Superboy has made an error worthy of one of Jack McCoy's assistants on Law & Order.  He failed to watch the end of the tape, which shows clearly that the “man” Brainiac 5 shot was a robot, a fact known to the Legionnaire when he pulled the trigger.

“Your ‘precedent’ is of no value, Superboy,” rules Saturn Girl.

The defence rests.

The Boy of Steel does some out-of-the-box thinking.  During the final summations, he tries a final desperate deception intended to prove his point that the non-invulnerable Legionnaires should be permitted to take lives to save their own.

And Brainiac 5 sees right through it.  However, it provokes him into making a startling statement during his closing argument.

“I agree with Superboy that a change in the Code to allow the taking of life in self-defense should be studied in the near future!”

Star Boy leaps up and shakes his defence counsel’s hand.  “I’m cleared!”  But, to paraphrase the old punch line---“Not so fast, Kallor!”

Brainiac 5, showing that he has the soul of Hamilton Burger, continues, “No change that may be made in the future alters the fact that Star Boy broke the Code as we have it now!  You’ve seen the evidence!  I demand the extreme penalty . . . expulsion from the Legion!”

Then Superboy addresses the board.

“Will you expel Star Boy, shatter his career, just because he defended himself from a ruthless murderer?  Think . . . you may be in that position yourselves some day!  I ask you to acquit him!”

Now, Star Boy’s fate is in the hands of the Legion membership, all of whom have seen and heard all the evidence, either in the courtroom or via distant monitors.

In retrospect, it’s not a surprise that the script singled out Star Boy as the centre of the drama.  That could only have been Mort Weisinger’s hand in it.

Between Adventure Comics # 247, the debut of the Super-Hero Club, and Adventure Comics # 300, when it became a regular series, the Legion was little more than a plot device.  Continuity was minimal, largely because there was little need for it---the Legionnaires existed merely to move things along.  And whenever a super-youth was needed for a Superboy story, it was a convenient excuse to make him a member of the Legion.  This hap-hazard fashion of membership created particular difficulties later, when the Legion got its own series and the characters had to be dealt with on a regular basis.

One of the more prominent problems was the presence of too many members with Superboy-level powers.  Besides the Boy of Steel himself, there was Mon-El, Supergirl, and Ultra Boy.  That was a headache for story plotting, since it was virtually impossible to come up every month with a menace that any one of those four couldn’t whip by the end of page two, while the rest of the Legionnaires sat around, playing Spaceopoly ®.  Since Superboy’s appearance was mandated, that meant that Mon-El and the others were almost always tied up on “missions at the other end of the galaxy.”

As if that wasn’t bad enough, then there was Star Boy, another hold-over member from the “Hey, let’s make him a Legionnaire; we’ll never use him again, anyway” days.  When introduced in Adventure Comics # 282 (Mar., 1961), he too had Superboy-style powers.  Unlike the others in that group, Star Boy had never been more than a one-shot character, and no doubt, Weisinger would have preferred just to forget he ever appeared.

He certainly tried to.  Nothing was seen of the boy from Xanthu for over three years.  But then the #%$@#$!! fans starting asking about him.  So, in the letter column in Adventure Comics # 308 (May, 1963), Mort explained that Star Boy was away on a “detached service” mission for the Legion.  His face began to appear on Legion monitor boards, and finally, with a radical change in his super-powers, he joined the regular cast.

I suspect that it was his lack of a true Legion history that marked him for disaster.  Even after being added to the Adventure Comics cast, Star Boy rarely appeared.  He didn’t have even the modest fan base that the other, longer-running Legionnaires did.

Or so Mort thought.

The voting sequence takes only two pages, and it is about as static a scene as one will ever see in a comic-book adventure.  But it is as much of a cliffhanger moment as the Fatal Five showing up in Metropolis.  At first, it looks good for Star Boy.  The other members who are invulnerable agree with Superboy’s views on self-defence and vote “not guilty”; and the female Legionnaires---except for Saturn Girl, who was always something of an ice queen---are on Star Boy’s side because of his romance with Dream Girl.

His advantage erodes, as more Legionnaires weigh in.  It stands 9 to 8 for acquittal, when the last two Legion votes are tallied.  For the record, they are Matter-Eater Lad’s and Invisible Kid’s.

Guilty.

Guilty.

By a vote of 10-to-9, Star Boy is found guilty of breaking the Legion Code and is expelled from the Legion.

If Mort Weisinger believed he was getting rid of a “nothing”character in dumping Star Boy from the Legion, he very shortly found himself woefully mistaken.  So much mail flowed in about “The Legionnaire Who Killed,” it filled two monthly letter columns.  Nearly all of the fans applauded the overall story, but they were similarly overwhelming in angrily taking DC to task for expelling Star Boy.

As Mort himself stated, in “The Legion Outpost” of Adventure Comics # 346 (Jul., 1966):  “We seem to have stirred up a real hornets’ nest with ‘The Legionnaire Who Killed.’ And most of the letters are against conviction for Star Boy.”

Either Weisinger had underestimated the popularity of the character, or Edmond Hamilton had invested Star Boy with such a genuine pathos and humanity that the fans readily sympathised with him.  It was probably a bit of both.

In any event, Hamilton produced an impressive story.  The last place a Silver-Age DC fan expected to see a courtroom drama was in a Legion story.  One of the most powerful aspects to the tale was the fact that Hamilton did not fall back on the usual comic-book contrivances of having the accused hero’s crime turn out to be a hoax, or the result of a frame-up by an enemy.  No, Star Boy actually committed the killing for which he stood court-martial.  The question was---was Star Boy’s act justified or not?

This engaged each reader on an ethical level, according to his own opinion on the subject of a hero’s use of deadly force in self-defence. 

A “code against killing” had been de rigueur for DC’s super-heroes since 1940, when Jack Liebowitz and Whitney Ellsworth sought to shield the company from the “morality police” of Fiorello LaGuardia’s reform movement.  Superman and his fellow DC cape-and-tights brethren would no longer kill, a prohibition which continued on to the Silver Age.  The ban frequently resulted in some contrived situations, bending the scripts over backwards to avoid having a DC hero kill a foe, no matter how deadly a threat the villain posed, even to the very world.

To many readers, a code against killing represented one of the ideals of the Silver Age and they accepted the plot contortions.  To others, such a thing seemed impractical.  Not that they wanted wholesale bloodshed, but certainly, it was permissible for a hero to use deadly force to save his own life, or those of innocents, if there was no other way.

But what happens when the ideal conflicts with necessity?  That was the crux of Edmond Hamilton’s story.

It’s been over forty years since Adventure Comics # 342 hit the stands, and the topic is still being debated by comics fans.  “Thought-provoking” was not an adjective that one applied often to Silver-Age DC stories, but “The Legionnaire Who Killed” offered it in spades.

ACTIVITY #7
ADVENTURE TIME #6
ALABASTER WOLVES #4 (OF 5)
ARTIFACTS TP VOL 04
ASTERIX OMNIBUS SC VOL 04
AVENGERS ACADEMY #33 AVX
AVENGERS VS X-MEN #8 (OF 12) AVX

BALTIMORE DR LESKOVARS REMEDY #2 (OF 2)
BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED #6
BATMAN EARTH ONE SPECIAL PREVIEW EDITION
BATWING TP VOL 01 THE LOST KINGDOM
BATWOMAN #11
BEFORE WATCHMEN SILK SPECTRE #2 (OF 4) (MR)
BIRDS OF PREY #11
BLACKSAD SILENT HELL HC
BLUE BEETLE #11
BPRD HELL ON EARTH DEVILS ENGINE #3 (OF 3)

CAPTAIN AMERICA AND BUCKY TP LIFE OF BUCKY BARNES
CAPTAIN ATOM #11
CAPTAIN MARVEL #1
CARBON GREY VOL 2 #1 (OF 3)
CATWOMAN #11
COBRA ONGOING #15
CONCRETE THREE UNEASY PIECES ONE SHOT
COUNTER X TP X-FORCE RAGE WAR
CREEPY PRESENTS RICHARD CORBEN HC

DANGER GIRL GI JOE #1 (OF 4)
DAREDEVIL #15
DARK HORSE PRESENTS #14
DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER MAN IN BLACK #2 (OF 5)
DARKNESS #105 (MR)
DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #11
DOMINIQUE LAVEAU VOODOO CHILD #5 (MR)

ENDERS GAME FORMIC WARS SILENT STRIKE PREM HC
EXTERMINATION #2

FABLES #119 (MR)
FANTASTIC FOUR #608
FATIMA THE BLOOD SPINNERS #2 (OF 4)
FF BY JONATHAN HICKMAN TP VOL 02

GFT MYTHS & LEGENDS #18 (MR)
GHOST RIDER TP COMPLETE SERIES BY ROB WILLIAMS
GLORY #28
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #11

HELLBLAZER #293 (MR)
HELLRAISER TP VOL 03 (MR)

INFERNAL MAN-THING #2 (OF 3)
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #521

JACK DAVIS DRAWING AMERICAN POP CULTURE HC
JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #59
JENNIFER BLOOD ANNUAL #1 (MR)
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #641
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY PREM HC TERRORISM MYTH
JUSTICE LEAGUE #11

KISS #2

LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #11

MARS ATTACKS #2
MARVEL ZOMBIES DESTROY #5 (OF 5)
MEN OF WAR TP VOL 01 UNEASY COMPANY
MMW GOLDEN AGE MARVEL COMICS HC VOL 07

NEW MUTANTS #46
NIGHT OF 1000 WOLVES #3 (OF 3)
NIGHTWING #11

PROPHECY #2

RACHEL RISING #9
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #11
RED SONJA #67
RESET #4 (OF 4)
ROGER LANGRIDGES SNARKED #10

SAGA #5 (MR)
SECRET HISTORY OF DB COOPER #5
SECRET SERVICE #3 (OF 6) (MR)
SHOWCASE PRESENTS RIP HUNTER TIME MASTER TP VOL 01
SIMPSONS COMICS #192
SKULLKICKERS #16
SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 #1 2ND PTG
SMURFS GN VOL 12 SMURFS VERSUS SMURFS
SONIC UNIVERSE #42
SPIKE COMPLETE SERIES TP
STAR TREK ONGOING #11
STAR TREK TNG DOCTOR WHO ASSIMILATION #3
STAR WARS DARTH VADER GHOST PRISON #3 (OF 5)
SUNSET HC (MR)
SUPERGIRL #11
SUPERNATURALIST SC

THE SPIDER #3

ULT COMICS ULTIMATES BY HICKMAN PREM HC VOL 02
UNCANNY X-MEN #16 AVX
UNTOLD TALES OF PUNISHER MAX #2 (OF 5) (MR)
UNWRITTEN #39 (MR)

VAMPIRELLA #19

WAREHOUSE 13 TP VOL 01
WARLORD OF MARS DEJAH THORIS #13 (MR)
WOLVERINE #309
WONDER WOMAN #11

X-23 TP VOL 02 CHAOS THEORY
X-FACTOR #240
X-MEN #32
X-O MANOWAR (ONGOING) #3

YOUNG JUSTICE #18

Comics & Collectibles (Memphis) posted this list on Facebook. Arrivals at your LCS may vary.

Upcoming Comics for Your Reading Pleasure

PREVIEW-PALOOZA!

By Andrew A. Smith

Contributing Editor

2012 has been a pretty good year so far in comics. But what’s coming this summer may put  what’s come before in the shade. A number of publishers were enthusiastic enough to answer our call for a summer roundup, so here we go …

VALIANT COMICS

Perhaps the feel-good story of the year is the return of Valiant Comics. Launching in May with X-O Manowar #1 – which is on its third printing – the new/old publisher has continued with one new title per month through the summer, plus a surprise guest star in September.

A new version of Harbinger already debuted in June, by Joshua Dysart (Unknown Soldier) and Khari Evans (Carbon Grey). And Bloodshot  (by Duane Swierzynski, Manuel Garcia, and Arturo Lozzi) begins this month, with our lethal protagonist trying to figure which of the voices in his head is his own.

“Bloodshot #2 goes on-sale in August,” said Warren Simons, Valiant Executive Editor, “and the book might as well come with a fuse.  It's quite possibly the most action-packed comic I've ever edited.  But it's not all about exploding planes and gunfire and corrupt agencies hunting a hero who's hunting himself.  Duane Swierczynski has added a brilliant wrinkle to Bloodshot's powers, something that is visualized wonderfully in the issue.  And the action by Manuel Garcia is beautiful and kinetic and something that only comes together when the guys are putting their hearts into the project.  I went over the book again last night and can't wait for it to go on-sale.  Keep matches away from this one.”

Next, August brings the welcome return of Archer & Armstrong, this time by writer Fred Van Lente.

“Archer and Armstrong don't meet until about three quarters through the first issue of the book named after them,” Van Lente said, “and that meeting is what I'm most looking forward to. We're taking time and care in establishing these characters – the martial arts master raised on a fundamentalist compound and the immortal strongman from the ancient city-state of Ur – and they're not going to like each other at first, just because that's the convention of the buddy genre. Opposites don't always attract. Instead we're going to take the time to build this relationship and show how it's one of the best in comics history and one of things Valiant fans remember so fondly about the original line.”

And did I mention a September guest star? That would be fan favorite Ninjak, in X-O Manowar #5. But that’s not all:

“X-O Manowar #5 will be a pivotal issue for Aric,” said writer Robert Venditti. “Having finally escaped The Vine's slave pens, he'll return to Earth only to discover that everything he has ever known – everything he fought so hard to get back to – is gone.  But he'll also learn that a whole host of new adversaries exists, and they're far more formidable than anything he has faced before.  For anyone who has been wanting to pick up the series, but has been unable to track down the earlier issues, this will be the place to jump in.”

IDW PUBLISHING

IDW has emerged as one of the top five publishers in recent years, and 2012 is a good demonstration as to why. Among their many summer offerings, fans can look forward to The Crow #1 in July (with a story related to the upcoming movie) and Star Trek: The Next Generation: Hive #1 in September (featuring Hugo Award-winner Brannon Braga).

And there’s so much more, Chief Creative Officer/Editor in Chief Chris Ryall answered personally, with so much enthusiasm that I’m simply going to get out of the way and let him talk:

Mars Attacks (June): “Every now and then, a creative team fits so perfectly on a licensed title that it's hard to envision anyone else doing as much justice to that book,” he said. “Johns Layman and McCrea are exactly that team here, absolutely nailing the bleak humor, absolute carnage and insane personalities a book like this needs to succeed.”

Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom (July): “Mark Waid and Chris Samnee, the same team currently working on Marvel's best title, Daredevil, are applying their many strengths to a wonderful Rocketeer tale. This is the first feature-length Rocketeer story we've done, and this team not only does great comics, they also nail the adventure-serial feel of Dave Stevens' classic strip.

Godzilla: Half-Century War (August): Tour de force gets overused at times, but in this case, since James Stokoe is writing, penciling, inking, coloring and lettering this entire miniseries, it's as apt as can be. And anyone who's seen his insanely detailed work in the Image book Orc Stain knows that this one's going to be something special.”

Doctor Who (September): Andy Diggle and Mark Buckingham, both guys I always wanted to work with for more than just the one-off cover or script, are re-launching the good Doctor's series, so you know it's not only in the hands of guys who know the character inside and out, but they are also two of the more exciting, talented guys working in comics today. As good as the covers for the book will be, to paraphrase the description of the TARDIS, this one is ‘even better on the inside.’”

Locke & Key: Omega (November): “After an August noir-influenced one-shot, Locke & Key: Grindhouse, that's full of black comedy, nasty and hilarious French-Canadian criminals, and an homage to classic crime comics, Locke & Key closes in on the final storyline of the epic tale Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez have been telling. Bad things have been happening to the Locke family since the start, but hoo-boy, that ain't nothin' compared to what's to come in this now-seven-issue final story.”

Judge Dredd (November): “I've been wanting to work on a Judge Dredd comic for decades, before I ever envisioned a career in comics, and this one's off to a ripping start. If only I could share those details here, but we're keeping the creative team under wraps for just a bit longer. Suffice it to say, it's a team that fully ‘gets’ Dredd, and is going to stack up nicely next to the 35 years of great comics that the 2000 AD folk have produced.” 

ARCHIE COMICS

Some other old friends are returning at Archie, where the original MLJ super-heroes have returned once again under the “Red Circle” banner. The “New Crusaders” debuted online May 16, with six new pages posted each week for subscribers. It’s by writer Ian Flynn (Sonic the Hedgehog) and artist Ben Bates, whom Paul Kaminski, Red Circle’s Executive Director of Editorial, described at the time as “our best guys on our top book.”

This new incarnation of the Crusaders has allowed the original characters to age normally, but will feature their children and protégés, including new versions of Comet, Fireball, Fly-Girl, Jaguar, Steel Sterling, and The Web (all led by the original, but still formidable, Shield). The title crosses over into print with New Crusaders: Rise of the Heroes #1 in August.

Not that the regular Archie line is standing still. The Occupy Movement hits Riverdale in Archie #635 (in July), with a lovely variant cover by Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother). Jaws should drop for Archie #636 the next month, when Sabrina’s magical cat Salem gives Archie, Betty, and Veronica a sex change so they can see how the other half lives. I am not making this up.

But perhaps the best Archie product this summer won’t be from Archie at all – Archie Archives Vol. 6 arrives in August from Dark Horse, featuring stories from 1946. Which is a natural segue to …

DARK HORSE COMICS

            “I've got a lot of stuff coming this summer than I'm kind of in love with,” said Scott Allie, Senior Managing Editor. “The Creep from John Arcudi is something I've wanted to publish for a long time, and I was really pleased that Mike Richardson and I were able to talk John into bring back his old Dark Horse Presents character.” That character strongly resembles Rondo Hatton, the actor who turned his disfiguring acromegaly into a movie career. The Creep is a four-issue mini-series begins in September with a cover by Mike Mignola, with a zero issue in August with a cover by Frank Miller.

Michael Avon Oeming’s The Victories, a five-issue mini-series beginning in August, “is the sickest, craziest superhero comic in a long time,” Allie continued. “The last time I got excited about a superhero comic was Umbrella Academy, and this could not be more different than that, but it's fun.

“We're also making Eric Powell's The Goon monthly again,” Allie said, “which is like our greatest possible gift to humanity. Eric's doing his best work ever on the title, really beautifully drawn, and great, unforgettable stories. And spinning out of the Whedonverse, we have a new Spike series, by Victor Gischler and Paul Lee, which digs into the character in a way we've never been able to do in the comics. I'm really proud of that one. Victor and Paul have become a surprisingly great team.”

“That's just off the top of my head. I've got a lot coming …”

… which should be mentioned. For example, a new Ghost series, by Kelly Sue DeConnick (Captain Marvel) and Phil Noto (X-23), debuts in August with a zero issue. And a new B.P.R.D. mini-series arrives in September, courtesy of Arcudi and artist Tyler Crook.

NBM PUBLICATIONS

Meanwhile, NBM has already scored this year with P. Craig Russell’s eye-popping The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde Vol. 5: The Happy Prince. But they’re not done yet.

“NBM releases a small, but very select number of titles, so it really isn't very difficult to get enthusiastic about all of them,” said NBM Publicist Stefan Blitz.  But he did pick out three that excited him in particular.

“The first is Lovers’ Lane: The Hall-Mills Mystery, the latest volume in our ‘Treasury of XXth Century Murder’ series by the inimitable Rick Geary. I'm a sucker for true crime stories, and a new volume from Rick is always worth celebrating.” Geary’s latest – which I certainly recommend – is in NBM’s June solicitations and has an Aug. 1 release at Amazon.

“The other two books are from two cartoonists doing their first work with NBM,” Blitz said. “Taxes, The Tea Party, and those Revolting Rebels: A Comics History of the American Revolution by Stan Mack is a wonderfully executed, funny, and informative look at the birth of our nation, and Margreet de Heer's Philosophy: A Discovery in Comics is a charming and extremely accessible examination of the history of Western philosophy through both famous thinkers and their doctrines. Each of them is truly a special labor of love.”

ONI PRESS

Oni Press’s editors are proud of this summer’s releases – especially Crogan's Loyalty in June, and Guerillas Vol. 2 and Xoc: The Journey of a Great White in July – and aren’t afraid to show it.

“The third book in Chris Schweizer's historical adventure series, Crogan's Loyalty might be my favorite thing from Professor Schweizer yet,” Editor in Chief James Lucas Jones said. “Yes, it shares the same painstaking attention to detail and historical accuracy with Chris's other Crogan tomes, but the sibling rivalry between two brothers fighting on opposites sides of the American Revolution adds a familial element that's new fodder for Chris's always engaging characters.”

Charlie Chu, another editor at Oni chimed in: “Guerillas Volume 2 is the second in Brahm Revel's trilogy about jungle combat at the height of the Vietnam War. Not only is Brahm one of the best cartoonists and storytellers in all of comics, this is a no-holds-barred story about attack chimps with machine guns. What's not to love?”

Jill Beaton, a third Oni editor, had more to add. “As an avid shark enthusiast, I was really excited to work with Matt Dembicki on his book Xoc: The Journey of a Great White,” she said. “With equal parts narrative and environmental message woven into a single compelling story, Xoc highlights both the instincts that have served the shark population for thousands of years and the current dangers they face from human encroachment on the seas. A great book and a call to action!”

IMAGE COMICS

Image is another publisher that seems to be exploding with new titles, new ideas and new creators. Once again, I’m going to shut up and let someone else talk – in this case, PR and Marketing Director Jennifer de Guzman:

Creator Owned Heroes (by Steve Niles, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, Phil Noto, and Kevin Mellon, in June): “The COH team is celebrating the spirit of independent comics with original stories and great art, as well as articles and interviews. With the boom in creator-owned comics that we've seen this year, this is the perfect series to let readers know what independent comics are all about.”

The Red Diary/The Re[a]d Diary (July): “I think sometimes people can forget that comics is a medium capable of experimentation and innovation, but Steven T. Seagle is not one of those people. When he saw a French-language graphic novel by his frequent collaborator Teddy Kristiansen, he didn't wait for an English translation; he wrote his own dialogue and narrative, creating a new story with Kristiansen's sequential art.  Paired with the actual translation, Seagle's ‘remix’ offers a startling example of how the same image can evoke very different meanings, while still maintaining the same core themes. In the case of The Red Diary/The Re[a]d Diary, those themes are art, mortality, and identity.

Fatale Volume One: Death Chases Me (June): “Beautiful, haunting work by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips that offers a horror-bent version of the noir genre and a complex and human – but also inhuman – femme fatale who pushes the confines of her archetype. This first volume is set in 1950s San Francisco, with all the atmosphere that setting conjures.”

It Girl and the Atomics (August): “A spin-off of Mike Allred's Madmen, It Girl is series about a comics super-heroine whose power to take on the properties of anything she touches make her a formidable foe of any baddies lurking in Snap City – or they will be once she figures out the whole crime-fighting thing! Jamie S. Rich and Mike Norton are a perfect team, matching witty writing with top-notch, fun art.”

And there’s more! Man battles machine in outer space in Planetoid, beginning in June. Wild Children, “a story of magic, passion, and disinformation,” is a one-shot in July. Also in July are Harvest #1 (crime thriller about organ trafficking), Revival #1 (psychological horror story in rural Wisconsin), and Hoax Hunters #1 (where the legends are real). In August, Howard Chaykin returns with the sexually charged mystery Black Kiss II, and Think Tank, a “science-action thriller,” also debuts.

Lastly, I’d be remiss in not mentioning The Walking Dead #100, which arrives in July. Early reports indicate that orders for the issue – which has nine variant covers – may be over 300,000.

Finally, several publishers didn’t make our deadline, but that’s no reason to leave ‘em out – especially since they include the Big Two!

DC COMICS

June saw the debut of the controversial “Before Watchmen” project, but with the names attached – Brian Azzarello, Amanda Conner, Darwyn Cooke, J. Michael Straczynski, etc. – it’s obvious these books are meant to be the best DC can do. That’s reason enough to keep an eye out for The Comedian, Dr. Manhattan, Minutemen, Nite Owl, Ozymandias, Rorschach, and Silk Spectre.

Also, DC revives some old concepts with the new National Comics beginning in July, and The Judas Coin HC in September. In the former, each standalone issue will feature a new take on a classic character, beginning with Kid Eternity, Looker, and Rose & Thorn. In the graphic novel, the legendary Walt Simonson follows one of the 30 pieces of silver paid to Judas from DC’s past (Golden Gladiator, Viking Prince, Captain Fear, Bat Lash), to the present (Two-Face) to the future (Manhunter 2070). A new Phantom Lady (with Doll Man) debuts in August.

But DC’s biggest news is a “zero month” for The New 52 titles in September. The “zero issues” will feature tales from each character’s past – but some will be the final issues,  which will be replaced on the schedule with four new titles. Look for Phantom Stranger, Sword of Sorcery (starring Amethyst and Beowulf), Talon (from the “Court of Owls” in Batman), and Team Seven (Cole Cash, Alex Fairchild, Dinah Lance, John Lynch, Steve Trevor, Amanda Waller, Slade Wilson).

MARVEL COMICS

The big news at Marvel continues to be its blockbuster crossover, Avengers vs. X-Men, scheduled to conclude in September. But even with AvX tying up most of the major titles, Marvel’s got some other surprises up its collective sleeve.

For example, July will see a number of debuts, including Captain Marvel #1 (arising from AvX), Hit-Girl #1 (of five issues), Infernal Man-Thing #1 (of three), Powers: FBI #1, X-Treme X-Men #1 (starring Dazzler and three familiar X-Men from another dimension), and the so-weird-it-must-be-good Space Punisher #1 (of four). Oh, and Sabretooth returns in Wolverine #310, because I suppose he must.

August brings another bunch of debuts, including First X-Men #1 by Neal Adams (starring Logan and Sabretooth), Gambit #1 (hey, girls, he’s sparkly!) and Hawkeye #1 by Matt Fraction and David Aja (for which you can thank the Avengers movie).

August is also Spider-Man’s 50th anniversary, which will not only be celebrated in Amazing Spider-Man #692, but also some “continuations” of long-discontinued Spider-titles, such as Peter Parker, Spider-Man #156.1, Sensational Spider-Man #33.1 and 33.2, and Web of Spider-Man #129.1 and 129.2. Look for fabled Spider-names like Roger Stern and Tom DeFalco to contribute.

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

Dynamite is another publisher that seems to have an avalanche of new titles every month. This summer will be no exception.

June saw the beginning of the company’s first crossover; Prophecy will somehow team up characters like Athena, Dracula, Dorian Gray, Pantha, Purgatory, Alan Quatermain, The Reanimator, and Vampirella. If you’re wondering where Pantha came from, her new series also begins in June.

And while July is fairly quiet on the Dynamite front, August is replete with new titles. Look for a revival of Frank Frazetta’s Thun’Da, a title called Damsels (which resembles Vertigo’s Fairest), and a Dark Shadows/Vampirella mini-series.

Andrew “Captain Comics” Smith has been writing professionally about comics since 1992, and for Comics Buyer’s Guide since 2000.

By Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

Who the heck is Gwen Stacy?

That is likely to be a question a lot of movie-goers will be asking as they watch The Amazing Spider-Man, premiering this week. For the answer, we have to go back to the early years of Spider-romance, even before the Wall-Crawler’s most famous girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson.

Emma Stone stars as Gwen Stacy in Columbia Pictures' The Amazing Spider-Man, also starring Andrew Garfield. Photo by JaimieTrueblood. Copyright 2012 Columbia Pictures Industries Inc.

For the record, Peter Parker’s first steady (after his debut in 1962) was Betty Brant, who had dropped out of high school to work as J. Jonah Jameson’s secretary at The Daily Bugle. He also enjoyed some mild flirtation with a chick named Liz Allan (occasionally “Allen”), who was technically the girlfriend of Flash Thompson, Midtown High’s football star and Parker’s personal bully.

But Parker’s social life really kicked into gear when he went to college, beginning with Amazing Spider-Man #31, at the end of 1965. Flash followed him to Empire State University on a football scholarship, and in his first class Parker met Harry Osborn (son of the Green Goblin), who later became his best friend. In that same issue he also met a cool blonde named Gwen Stacy, described (by Harry) as “the ex-beauty queen of Standard High, as if you couldn’t tell.” In a foreword to Marvel Masterworks Vol. 16, which reprinted the story, co-creator Stan Lee described her as “a dramatic new love interest, a girl destined to play a major role in Peter’s life, the stunning, star-crossed Gwen Stacy.”

Mind you, this was almost a year before Parker met Mary Jane, the niece of his next-door neighbor. Aunt May had been trying to set him up with MJ for years, but Parker had always dodged, thinking she was probably a dog. But Parker’s friends had seen her, and it was a running gag that everyone knew she was va-va-voom except Parker! That finally ended in Amazing Spider-Man #42, when Parker (and the readers) finally saw Mary Jane, and heard her famous (and accurate) line, “Face it, Tiger! You just hit the jackpot!”

Parker and Stacy didn’t hit it off at first, but eventually became an item. Stacy was brainy, beautiful, patient, loyal and also, like Parker, interested in science. She was the perfect girlfriend – too perfect, as it turned out.

In Les Daniels’ Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World’s Greatest Comics, 1970s Spidey writer Gerry Conway said “Gwen was a bit of a stiff, actually.” Writers struggled mightily to make her more interesting. She left town, and came back. She loved Parker, but hated Spider-Man. Her father, a retired police captain who suspected Spidey’s secret identity, was introduced. But no matter what the writers did, readers liked Mary Jane better. Even when they deliberately sabotaged MJ’s looks by giving her a bad haircut!

 “We always intended that Gwen would be the one Peter would marry,” said Stan Lee in the Daniels book, “but for some reason or other, Mary Jane always seemed to have the most personality.”

In 1973, the Spider-writers gave up, and -- SPOILER ALERT! -- had the Green Goblin toss Gwen Stacy off the George Washington Bridge to her death.  (This is why Spider-fans start chewing their nails every time a girl is on top of a bridge in a Spider-movie.) That left the field open for Mary Jane, who eventually married Peter Parker in 1987.

Of course, this is comics, which means back story is being modified – or ignored – all the time. In various media, Mary Jane (and sometimes Gwen and Harry) appear in Parker’s high school years – or even in junior high, like in the“Ultimate Spider-Man comic books, or the Young Adult novels starring Mary Jane. Currently the Parker-Watson marriage has been erased and forgotten (as well as a child the couple once had). And believe it or not, one 2004 story established that Stacy had sex – and twin children – with Norman “Green Goblin” Osborn before her death! Thankfully, that story has dropped into the memory hole as well. And in the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movie series, Gwen (Bryce Dallas Howard) appeared as a love interest after Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), reversing the original order.

The upshot is that in any given Spidey cartoon, movie, novel or even comic book, you will see variations of Peter Parker’s wide-ranging cast, popping up at different times and in different combinations than they did back in the swinging ‘60s.

But you, loyal readers, know the original Gwen Stacy story – whatever variation of it shows up in The Amazing Spider-Man.

Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics@aol.com.