Showing posts with label 1966. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1966. Show all posts

Thursday, October 7, 2021

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 37 - X-Men #27 (1966)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Thirty-Seven

X-Men #27 (December, 1966)
"Re-Enter: The Mimic!"
Writer - Roy Thomas
Pencils - Werner Roth
Inks - Dick Ayers
Letters - Sam Rosen
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

With all of the D-List baddies outta the way, it's time to get back to X-Business as Usual... and reintroduce The Menace of the Mimic!  How did ol' Cal Rankin get his mojo back?  Is he friend or foe?  What does this mean to our Merry Mutant heroes?  We'll sorta-kinda get those answers and a whole lot more today!

Plus: In our Letters Page, we learn that Rascally Roy doesn't take to corrections and criticisms with the same charm and good humor that Stan the Man did!  Roy does NOT like being corrected!  Looks like these letters pages are about to become even MORE fun to cover than they already have been!

Check it out!

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Wednesday, October 6, 2021

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 036 - X-Men #26 (1966)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Thirty-Six

X-Men #26 (November, 1966)
"Holocaust!"
Writer - Roy Thomas
Pencils - Werner Roth
Inks - Dick Ayers
Letters - Sam Rosen
Colors - A Big Fan of the Color YELLOW
Mayan Headdresses - Irving Forbush
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

Wrapping up our two-part KooKoo epic!

... and despite how boring it was, we do get some interesting character beats to discuss!  Will Scott finally admit that he's got the hotpants for Jean Grey?  Will Warren swoop in, Professor X-style, at the last moment to snag all the glory?  And what of Jean's creepy co-ed, Ted Whatshisface?  It's starting to get soapy up in here, and I'm diggin' it!

Also: The All-New X-Men Letters Page, Bullpen Bulletins, our own Mailbag, Shout-Outs, and much more (including an x-tended pre-ramble about how I spent my October Vacation)!

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Thursday, September 16, 2021

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 035 - X-Men #25 (1966)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Thirty-Five

X-Men #25 (October, 1966)
"The Power and the Pendant!"
Writer - Roy Thomas
Pencils - Werner Roth
Inks - Dick Ayers
Letters - Sam Rosen
Imitated by - Brand Ecch
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

It's the milestone 25th issue of X-Men!  Wow, remember when volumes of X-Men actually hit twenty-five issues?!  Seems like a lifetime ago, dunnit?

So, how will our Silver-Age Sensations celebrate the occasion?  Well, if you were to guess that they're going to fight another awful bad guy, then you win the world's worst No-Prize yet!  It's time to tangle with the dread El Tigre (no relation to Jean Grey).

All'at plus Letters, Bullpens, Merry Marvel Marching, Marvel Heroes on TV, Mailbag, Shout-Outs... oh my!

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Wednesday, September 15, 2021

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 034 - X-Men #24 (1966)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Thirty-Four

X-Men #24 (September, 1966)
"The Plague of... the Locust!"
Writer - Roy Thomas
Pencils - Werner Roth
Inks - Dick Ayers
Letters - Sam Rosen
Colors - Chlorophyll
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

If you thought we were hitting rock-bottom with Plant Man and the Porcupine... wait'll ya get a load of - The Locust!

Today, we've got the X-Men fighting giant bugs, and an idiot dressed like one!  All that, and Professor X pulls off some wicked hermit cosplay!  You won't wanna miss it!

Also: Letters Pages, Bullpen Bulletins, our own Mailbag, Shout-Outs and more!

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Tuesday, September 14, 2021

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 033 - X-Men #23 (1966)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Thirty-Three

X-Men #23 (August, 1966)
"To Save a City"
Writer - Roy Thomas
Pencils - Werner Roth... as Werner Roth!
Inks - Dick Ayers
Letters - Artie Simek
Colors - Analogue Crayola
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

Wrapping up our two-part Count Nefaria caper, with an all-out action issue!

You'll never see the twist ending coming!  Well, unless you've been following along from the start - then you'll see it coming from a mile away...

All that, plus the 1966 Letters Page, Bullpen Bulletins, a future pro poppin' up among the ranks of the MMMS, and plenty more gestalty goodness!

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Monday, September 13, 2021

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 032 - X-Men #22 (1966)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Thirty-Two

X-Men #22 (July, 1966)
“Divided -- We Fall!”
Story - Roy Thomas
Pencils - Werner Roth (as Jay Gavin)
Inks - Dick Ayers
Letters - Artie Simek
Colosso… and Maybe Colors - Irving Forbush Robotics, Inc.
Editor Emeritus - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

Kicking off The Corridor of Cruddy Villains here at The Essentials - with Count Nefaria and his dread Maggia!  These are some winners, indeed!  We're still going to have more fun than should be humanly (mutantly?) possible with it, doncha worry none!

Plus: The Original 1966 Letters Pages, Bullpen Bulletins, and much more!

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Friday, September 10, 2021

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 031 - Strange Tales #143 (1966)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Thirty-One

Strange Tales #143 (April, 1966)
"To Free A Brain Slave"
Writer/Edits - Stan Lee
Pencils - Jack Kirby w/Howard Purcell
Inks - Mike Demeo
Letters - Artie Simek
Colors - Only their hairdresser knows for sure...
Cover Price: 12¢

Wrapping up the mesmerizing Mentallo Trilogy!  Prepare your senses to be shocked... or, mildly amused, I suppose!

Today the S.H.I.E.L.D.sters and Tony Stark team up to neutralize their mental (and hydrogen) threat!  Will they make it in time... or will Nick Fury get his patch blown off?

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Thursday, September 9, 2021

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 30 - Strange Tales #142 (1966)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Thirty

Strange Tales #142 (March, 1966)
"Who Strikes At --- S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Writer/Edits - Stan Lee
Pencils - Jack Kirby
Inks - Mike Demeo
Letters - Artie Simek
Colors - Da Gremlins
Cover Price: 12¢

The Middle chapter of the Monumental Mutant Menace of Mentallo Trilogy!

Today we're talking x-tremely deep pockets, and reading the minds of inanimate objects... if nothing else, this story definitely isn't boring!

I hope you're enjoying this trip off the beaten path as much as I am!  Lemme know!

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Wednesday, September 8, 2021

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 029 - Strange Tales #141 (1966)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Twenty-Nine

Strange Tales #141 (February, 1966)
"Operation: Brain Blast!"
Writer/Edits - Stan Lee
Pencils - Jack Kirby
Inks - Frank Ray
Letters - Sam Rosen
Colors - Da Bullpen
Cover Price: 12¢

Stepping off the beaten path to introduce current-year S.W.O.R.D. cast member, the Mutant Menace of Mentallo!

We're broadening our horizons here at The Essential X-Lapsed... checking out series' that I never would have before!  Today's episode comes from the Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. portion of Strange Tales -- Hydra has fallen, ESPers are the new hotness, and Nick Fury tries to get TV from Tokyo!  It's a funner than x-pected time!

Also: Great Mailbag!

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Tuesday, September 7, 2021

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 028 - X-Men #21 (1966)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Twenty-Eight

X-Men #21 (June, 1966)
"From Whence Comes... Dominus?"
Writer - Roy Thomas
Pencils - Werner Roth (as Jay Gavin)
Inks - Dick Ayers
Letters - Artie Simek
Colors - yupyup
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

Welcome back to the Essentials!

Wrapping up Roy Thomas' first two-parter... featuring (hopefully) the last we see of Lucifer!  It's kind of a rough formulaic outing for our mutant heroes...

Plus: Original 1966 Letters Pages, the Marvel Bullpen Bulletins, our own Mailbag, and much more!

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Friday, August 13, 2021

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 027 - X-Men #20 (1966)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Twenty-Seven

X-Men #20 (May, 1966)
"I, Lucifer..."
Writer - Roy Thomas
Pencils - Werner Roth (as Jay Gavin)
Inks - Dick Ayers
Letters - Artie Simek
Colors - eh?
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

Welcome to the X-Men, Rascally Roy Thomas - we hope you survive the X-Perience!

This time out, we're reintroduced to the dread Lucifer... as well as the tandem of ersatz X-Men, Blob and Unus the Untouchable?!  We'll talk a fair bit (probably too much) about the concept of "Fan Turned Pro" as it pertained to eventually making comics less accessible, storywise, to the more casual reader - Was X-Men #20 the first domino to tip in that direction?!

Plus: Our regular smattering of Silver-Age backmatter... including a rather snippy Stan Lee venting his frustration on Brand Ecch Comics - which facilitates your humble host recalling times wherein Brand Ecch Comics Podcasts lifted some of his own material!  Also: The X-Lapsed Mailbag and the presentation of our first ever "Fake-Ass No-Prize"!

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Thursday, August 12, 2021

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 026 - X-Men #19 (1966)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Twenty-Six

X-Men #19 (April, 1966)
"Lo! Now Shall Appear--The Mimic!"
Writer/Edits - Stan Lee
Pencils - Werner Roth (as Jay Gavin)
Inks - Dick Ayers
Letters - Artie Simek
Coloring by... Forbush?
Cover Price: 12¢

It's Stan Lee's swansong as scripter... and the issue where he introduces the world to: The Mimic!  Now, you might be asking why the X-Men need their own version of the Super-Skrull... and, well, yeah... that's basically what he is, just in a gaudier costume!  I suppose we can just chalk it up to "It's the Silver Age" and move on.

Plus: All of the 1966 Marvel Backmatter you could possibly ever want... and probably some ya don't!

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Wednesday, August 11, 2021

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 025 - X-Men #18 (1966)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Twenty-Five

X-Men #18 (March, 1966)
"If Iceman Should Fail--!"
A Fair Story by Stan Lee
Adequate Pencils by Werner Roth (as Jay Gavin)
Tolerable Inking by Dick Ayers
The World's Greatest Lettering by Artie Simek
Uncredited Coloring by... Uncredited
Cover Price: 12¢

It's yet another X-Lapsed Milestone Episode -- 25 episodes in, and we're nearing 1/3 of the way through the original run!  Today's episode features the (short-lived) return of Magneto... the promise that Iceman might just save the day!  I wonder if Professor X can ever stand back long enough to let anyone other than himself save the day?  Prob'ly not!

All'at plus the always entertaining Silver-Age Back-Matter we all know and love!

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Tuesday, August 10, 2021

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 024 - X-Men #17 (1966)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Twenty-Four

X-Men #17 (February, 1966)
"... And None Shall Survive!"
Writer/Edits - Stan Lee
Layouts - Jack Kirby
Pencils - Werner Roth (as Jay Gavin)
Inks - Dick Ayers
Letters - Artie Simek
Colors - A big fan of the colors Red, Green, and Blue
Cover Price: 12¢

Today we talk about the "Spectrum of Suspension of Disbelief" when we ask how in the world people haven't put together that Charles Xavier has an association with the X-Men!  The creep is constantly being seen in public with and for them!

Good thing his kneejerk move is a mindwipe, eh?  Also - We've got the return of a most dangerous mutant - doncha dare spoil the end of this episode with anybody - we'll be watching!

Plus: The always amusing Letters Page, the Bullpen Bulletins, MMMS updates... and even some great Mailbag content of our own!

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Monday, August 9, 2021

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 023 - X-Men #16 (1966)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Twenty-Three

X-Men #16 (January, 1966)
"The Supreme Sacrifice!"
Writer/Edits - Stan Lee
Layouts - Jack Kirby
Pencils - Werner Roth (as Jay Gavin)
Inks, or "Delineation" - Dick Ayers
Letters - Artie Simek
Colors - Someone with a LOT of Pink and Purple Crayons
Cover Price: 12¢

Wrapping up our first three-part X-Men story -- it's the Sentinel Saga, wherein, it should come as no surprise that - once again, Professor X steals the spotlight and wins the day!

Also: Stan Lee gets taken to task for his poor Latin usage in the Letters Page, the Bullpen Bulletins takes off - and the Merry Marvel Marching Society won't quit!  It's a fun time in the Silver Age, and I hope you'll join me for it!

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Thursday, July 13, 2017

Teen Titans #5 (1966)


Teen Titans #5 (September-October, 1966)
"The Perilous Capers of the Terrible Teen"
Writer - Bob Haney
Artist - Nick Cardy
Letterer - Stan Starkman
Cover Price: $0.12

It's been awhile since I covered the Titans, and figured finding a (really rough-looking) copy of this issue was as good a reason as any to revisit the kids.

 I found my copy in a dollar bin... and it looked like the cover was all scraped up... bits of color are missing... just looked a mess.  When I opened it up, I discovered that the color hadn't been rubbed off... it seems as though somebody was using this issue as a surface to paint something on!  It should go without saying that the cover image I'm using here isn't my own.

 Lord only knows what kind of toxic substance I just touched... if I don't post again, just assume it was lead poisoning that did me in!

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After our spoilery-Silver Age splash, we open with Wonder Girl trying out a few new hairdos... which amounts to her just piling all of her hair atop her head.  Aqualad thinks this looks ridiculous, which... it kinda does, and teases her a bit.  In turn, she grabs the water cool jug and dumps it all over him.  He thanks her because, well, he's Aqualad... and he was probably just seconds away from doing that to himself anyway!  Robin chimes in to inform the gang that "fun and games" are over, and it's time to get down to the important business of... answering their fan mail!  The first letter comes from their sometimes-running-buddy, Speedy, who makes a bunch of arrow puns and says he looks forward to their next adventure.  The next letter comes from Dr. Paul Turner from the Lacklock Camp for juvenile delinquents.  He's got a problem, and he requests an audience with the Teen Titans... and so, off they go in a shoddy jalopy driven by "the guy who fed Paul Revere's horse".  I wanna mention that the fellas refer to Donna as "W.G." here, which... while I'm sure is just there to aid in the lettering, really sounds awkward if you were to say it... not that awkward dialogue is altogether alien to Mr. Haney... but actually say W.G. out loud... double-you-gee.  My mouth doesn't even wanna contort that way!

At Camp Lacklock, the Titans are swarmed by fannish campers.  They just love their teen-age heroes!  Dr. Turner arrives and brings the team into his cabin.  Along the way we get a bit of history on the camp.  It's called Lacklock after a tribe of... no, no it's not... it just doesn't have any locks.  It's an open-air juvenile rehabilitation center, basically.  Turner takes great pride in the success of his methods... however, it now appears that one of his "grads" might have returned to criminal activity.  This is Eddie Whit, who Doc Turner believes might be the "master criminal" the Ant!

Turner claims that of all the Lacklock grads, he had the most hope for Eddie... and if it's true he's gone bad, he might have to reconsider all of his therapeutic methods, which could lead to Camp Lacklock... getting locks!  Well, we can't have that!  The Titans agree to look into it.  On their way out they pass a group of teen-agers discussing the Eddie-hub-bub.  It appears that even the resident campers' confidence is shaken.  If Eddie can go bad, what hope is there for anybody else!  In case I haven't made it clear, Eddie Whit is held in pretty high regard 'round these parts.

Now, this being a Silver Age story, you might imagine that the Titans run into the Ant on the very next page... well, you'd be right.  The Ant has just robbed a bank and is escaping by... climbing a nearby building.  I wanna mention we're getting a ton of wacky exclamations here... it's like every other panel has a "Suffering Sappho!" or "Jumping Jackfish!", it's pretty great.  Anyhoo, Robin gives the orders, and Double-You-Gee is on her way upwards to lasso the insect.  It doesn't go all that well.

Somehow in the, I dunno, five seconds that took... the rest of the Titans have made it to the top of the building.  Robin repels down to get the drop on the bug... but that doesn't go all that well either.  The Ant swings him around a few times before tossing him back atop the building.  We should note that although the Ant is dangerous... he isn't looking to kill anybody.

Seeing that he's surrounded by Titans, the Ant jumps off the side of the building, pulls some acrobatics around a conveniently-placed flagpole... and lands flat atop a train as it barrels through a tunnel.  Not a bad showing!  I need to pay more attention to flagpoles when I'm in the city... if comics have taught me anything, it's that every building has at least a dozen of them attached.

Well, with the man himself miles away, the Titans decide to go a different route... visit Eddie Whit's home.  Rather than knock, Robin suggests they make a "cool entrance" via the fire escape.  Remember that folks, that's how you make a cool entrance.  Anyhoo, inside they meet Danny Whit, Eddie's younger brother.  He's excited to see a group of costumed teen-agers breaking in through his bedroom window and decides to share with them his life story.  Ya see, he and Eddie's parents were killed in a train wreck... Eddie turned to unnamed bad stuff and wound up in Camp Lacklock, while Danny was sent to an orphanage.  Eddie finally arrives... though Robin mentions (to Kid Flash) that he didn't hear the elevator.  Wally heads to the roof where he finds a little storage shed.

He vibrates through the door and finds... (duh) the Ant costume!  He returns to Robin and gives him the "bzzz bzzz".  The Titans ask Danny to wait outside so they can begin their interrogation.  Eddie doesn't take being confronted all that well, and just starts whuppin' the team!  Even going so far as to dropkick Robin out the window... which, ya know, might have killed him... if not for the conveniently-placed clothesline, his acrobatic prowess, and the aid of the pony-tailed chick from Paradise Island.  In the distraction, the Ant gets away... his thoughts reveal that there may be more to this situation than meets the eye.

As the Titans recuperate, Danny Whit reenters the room.  He doesn't want to believe that Eddie's the Ant, but knows the Titans never lie (I think that's line item 3 in the official Teen Titans handbook).  He gives them a bit more info on Eddie, including his current employer Zenith Caterers.  And so, the Titans (and Danny) head out to perform some hi-tech surveillance.  We overhear that Eddie's bosses at Zenith have set him up to be the Ant via blackmail.  They've got some goods they threaten to spill to the police if he refuses to comply.  Eddie agrees to do one more job... and it's going to be the biggest one yet!  Keep that in the back of your mind... earlier today, the Ant robbed a bank... wait'll you hear what Zenith's got planned.

The Ant is to... rob a charity picnic.  Okay, ya get it?  Ants... picnics!  Har har har.  But seriously, wouldn't robbing a bank be a bit more lucrative (not to mention dangerous)?!  Oh well, Kid Flash splits off from the team to chase the Zenith goons (and the Ant) to the park.  I mean, c'mon... the heist is going down at the park.  That's just adorable.  The Ant leaps out of the caterer's pot, swipes the... picnic basket... full of dosh, and takes off!

When the Ant hops back in the Zenith van, he is shocked to find that the driver is... his brother Danny (who is probably too young to be driving... but whatayagonnado?)!  Kid Flash runs alongside the van and vibrates into the cargo area.  It's here we get the juicy details of the blackmail.  Eddie is the Ant because the Zenith goons have information on... his brother Danny!  It seems that while Eddie was in Lacklock, Danny fell in with a bad crowd... but, don't worry, they never broke any laws.  Ya see, Eddie's been hornswoggled into being a costumed criminal all to protect his little brother (aww!).  Kid Flash overhears the whole thing, and suggests he might be of assistance in returning the funds to the picnickers.

To aid in the Whit brothers' escape, Wonder Chick pulls the ol' switcheroo on the Zeniths by placing a detour sign on the road.  It seems like this wouldn't work, as the Zenith van was mayyyybe two van-lengths behind the Whit van... but, I guess we'll allow it.

That night we join some Zenith geeks as they descend on the place they're sure the Whit's are hiding out... yup, Camp Lacklock!  Well, of course they are... but they're not alone.  The Teen Titans have their backs!  After a brief skirmish, we wrap up with the Zeniths being tied to a pole, like so many baddies before them.  Eddie spills the beans about his Ant-iness, and Doctor Turner assures him the only punishment he'll get is more time at Camp Lacklock!  I guess it's back to the orphanage for Danny... but why let that ruin an otherwise happy ending?

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Man, what a silly story.  Let's do it the great disservice of breaking it down!

 Let's look at the Ant.  If I didn't know any Titans history, I'd swear they were setting him up to be a new recruit to the team.  I mean, dude's got crazy skills, and a moral code (of sorts).  I was surprised that he really doesn't make any future appearances... outside of a flashback and in the Tiny Titans-verse.  When the Titans are first informed that Eddie might be the Ant... they're all like "yeah, that dangerous criminal... we've heard of him!" which begs the question, why hadn't they already gone after him?  I mean, how many banks does a costumed criminal need to rob before getting the attention of the Teen Titans?

 We get a bit of nebulous characterization in that the Ant wouldn't let Robin fall from the side of a building... but had no problem drop-kicking him through an upper-story apartment building window.  Unless Eddie didn't know his own strength... or was sure Robin would grab the clothesline... but that's just silly.  Hell, if he was that confident in Robin's acrobatic ability, he'd have let him fall from the building... at least there was a flagpole he could grab on the way down, right?

 Now... the picnic.  I know I probably joked about this enough already, but... c'mon, a picnic?  For his big "final" heist for the Zenith folks, the Ant is going to rob a pic-a-nic basket's worth of cash from a charity event in the park?  Just hours earlier, he robbed a freakin' bank!  It's so silly I can't even get mad at it!

 I enjoyed the way the Titans interacted with each other.  It really felt like (a middle-aged man's approximation of) teen-age camaraderie.  The Titans razz one another every now and again, get distracted by things like hairdos and fan letters, but when push comes to shove, each Titan fills their heroic niche.  This is a team you can't help but want to follow.

 Overall, this issue was a silly Silver Age romp and I had a blast reading it.  This is available digitally, and has been reprinted several times, including SHOWCASE Presents Teen Titans, Volume One, the Silver-Age Teen Titans DC Archives, Volume One and the recent Teen Titans Silver-Age Omnibus.  Worth checking out.

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 Letters Page:

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Thursday, March 30, 2017

Superboy #134 (1966)


Superboy #134 (December, 1966)
"The Scoundrel of Steel!"
"Krypto's First Romance!"
Writers - Leo Dorfman & Jerry Siegel
Artist - George Papp
Cover Price: $0.12

 Got a couple of firsts today... we've got our first Imaginary Story (and it might not be the one you think), and it's our first Jerry Siegel story!

 Let's get to it!

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 We open with a quick and dirty origin of Superboy.  Really, it's just four panels.  Today that'd be a trade paperback!  Anyhoo... it's the story of how on the anniversary of Clark's arrival, his adoptive parents thought it would be a great idea for him to wear a costume made from the blankets found in his rocket ship, and fight crime.  Wonderfully simplistic... we don't need to think much harder on that.  Anyhoo, we interrupt the story in progress to start another... and IMAGINARY STORY!

 We join Superboy's anniversary again... however, this time his first mission has nothing to do with stopping a runaway train, but instead... a chunk of red rock soaring through the sky.  Superboy makes short work of this crisis, grabbing the crag... and sending it into space!  As he returns home, he notices that his body is tingling... could the rock have affected him?  A helpful editorial note tells us, that wasn't an ordinary meteorite... it was a chunk of Red K!

Superboy returns home, and it would seem a young hero's job is never done.  He heads off to assist in a prison break at Alcatraz.  The officers are happy to see him arrive, however... should they be?  Instead of herding the baddies, he pushes the entire island to the mainland to aid in their escape!

Back at the Kent farm, Jonathan and Martha (or is it Eben and Sarah?) are huddled around the radio... crying.  They cannot believe that their boy would behave in such a way.  In mere moments, Superboy comes crashing through the living room window.  He demands food, however, when it arrives... he tells his mother how he really feels about her cooking!

The next scene is pretty amazing.  Pa Kent decides he's had enough of Clark's sass, and so he puts him over his knee for a paddlin'.  It doesn't quite go according to plan.

The following morning, Superboy decides to attend school... in costume.  He crashes through the window and demands that the teacher learn him something.  She puts on a filmstrip about King Arthur yanking Excalibur out of the stone.  Superboy has had enough and decides to lash out... and even teach his "classmates" a new poem.

Outside he rings the school bell which draws all of the students out of the building.  Superboy's next trick is... using his super-breath to blow down the schoolhouse!  He also finishes his poem... "No more teacher's sassy looks?!"  I don't remember it going that way... growing up it was always "No more teacher's dirty looks"  I dunno, maybe that was the New York variation.

Superboy returns home and has himself an apple.  Pa runs in and threatens to call the police... to which, Superboy yanks the phone out of the wall.  To further ensure his parents don't squeal, he proceeds to dig a moat all around the farm... which, would definitely buy him... what, a half-hour?  When he finishes digging, he notices through the use of telescopic vision that the military has declared him public enemy number one (which seems to happen quite a bit).  At the proving grounds, the soldiers are taking aim at Superboy statues... which they made really quick, right?  I mean, the kid first appeared... yesterday!

Seconds later, Superboy arrives at the grounds... and topples all of the statues.  The soldiers proceed to just riddle him with ballistics.  That doesn't work out too well.  Superboy swipes the statues and deposits them at the Kent farm.

Days later, Superboy flies out to the Rock of Gibraltar.  He is met by a naval fleet, and so he lifts the entire rock out of the water and slams it down creating a terrific splash.  As he heads home, he sort of gets his wits back about him.  He doesn't understand what he's doing flying over the ocean... and so, he returns home.

He throws on his Clark Kent duds, and heads to school... oh wait a sec, the school is just a pile of rubble!  The best part of this is, the teacher is conducting class in the middle of a field... with a chalkboard and all!  Before Clark can mingle with the group, he is bum rushed by his father and some FBI agents.  Pa Kent spills the beans about his son's dual identity... and poor Clark gets cuffed.

The FBI agent reads Clark his list of crimes... and somehow, the boy puts two and two together... realizing the meteor was Red Kryptonite.  He recalls the events of the past few days, and comes to the conclusion that all of his crimes had to do with "rocks".  Oooh.  He begs the G Men to let him off the hook, and he will fix everything he'd broken... and, wow... they do!

After all is set right, Superboy knows that there's no going back to the way things were.  His secret's out... and everybody is afraid of him.  He decides to exile himself from Earth... and find his home elsewhere.

Our second tale (tail?) starts with Krypto taking off from Smallville and heading into space, where he destroys a bunch of meteors.  We shift to the planet Mogar, where some Lanthian scientists are loading a dog into a rocket.  The pup wears Lanthia's flag like a cape, so that these fellas can send her to the moon... and then claim it in the name of their nation.  Sounds pretty solid, right?  Oh yeah, and the dog will likely die upon impact... so, there's that.

Elsewhere on Mogar, we join Lanthia's arch-enemies, the (fruit?) Rollops.  They are watching the doggy launch, and are lamenting the fact that their attempt at sabotage didn't work.  Krypto notices the Lanthian craft, and decides to investigate.  He sees what's about to happen to this "cute" dog, and decides to redirect the craft back to Mogar and lands it safely.

After landing (and an introduction... her name is Kolli, by the way), the Rollops approach with the goal of killing the pink pup.  Krypto ain't gonna cotton to all that, and so, pulls the (cement?) rug out from under them.

After the Rollops run away, Krypto remembers that there is a planet with a super-power giving pond.  He asks Kolli if she'd like some powers, and she's down with it.  He flies her to the planet of Zena, and directs her to drink.

She laps up the magical water... and, wouldn'tcha know it, she's now got superpowers!  She can fly, and even has x-ray vision.  She sees a giant skeleton deep underground, and decides to dig it up so she can have a bone.  Moments later, she bumps into Krypto... which, to his surprise, hurts him!  He's lost his superpowers!

Krypto wracks his brain to understand what's going on.  He concludes that because of Kolli's newfound powers, mixed with science, his powers have been stolen.  Moments later a lightning-breathing dragon-ish thing attacks.  Kolli launches into action while Krypto flees.  Clumsily, Krypto runs into a boulder... and the boulder splits!  His powers are back?

Krypto now realizes that as long as Kolli is nearby, his powers will be gone... and so, he decides to desert her on this dangerous planet.  What a dog!  We wrap up with both pups looking skyward crying over their losses and what might have been.

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 Now... if I were to tell you we've got a pair of stories, one has Superboy acting erratically due to exposure to Red Kryptonite... and the other is a romance story starring Krypto, which one would you think was the Imaginary Story?

 Had a lot of fun with this issue... as ridiculous as it was.  There's something to be said for the simplicity of the Silver Age.  These stories just "happen"... there isn't a need to explain everything to the nth degree, things are just accepted.  Superboy's origin is told in four panels... and it's ridiculous, but even looking at it with 2017 eyes, I accepted it and moved along into the story.

 I don't have much experience with Imaginary Stories... and I'm not one who subscribes to the "aren't they all?" philosophy.  I think the first time I saw that Moore quote I thought it was pretty mind-blowing... that sensation has passed.  I think there is a marked difference between a silly story a writer wants to tell, and a story which adds to the overall lore of a character or franchise.  Imaginary Stories are all in good fun... they're harmless, though, I will say that if I were a kid in 1966 waiting for the next issue of Superboy... and received a "fake" story, I'd probably be disappointed.  Hell, maybe not... I dunno.  I can say with a fair amount of certainty that if I plopped down $3.99 for an issue of a contemporary book, and it turned out to be a story that "didn't happen" or "didn't matter", I'd feel ripped off.  I'm probably comparing apples to elephants at this point, so I should just move along.

 Our main story provided so many moments that I actually struggled with what pictures to include.  There was so much fun, and so many great lines... I think to get the full effect, folks are going to have to actually track down the issue.  So weird, crazy, and fun.  You gotta wonder if artists were chomping at the bit to draw Superboy as a delinquent.  I would assume the creative team had a ton of fun here too.

 The backup story... that "really happened".  Oy.  Lotsa leaps of logic here... and yeah, I understand how silly that sounds when we're discussing literal "puppy love".  At the end of the day, this wasn't written for a dude in his mid-30's to unpack and analyze... it was fun, less fun than the Scoundrel of Steel, but fun enough.  I think the neatest part was that it was written by Jerry Siegel.  I have precious little from him in my (single issue, non-reprint) library.  Even though the issue is ridiculous, it still feels like I'm holding a piece of history.

 Overall... ehh.  If you come across any Silver-Age book for a buck or two, of course I'm gonna say you should consider nabbing it.  I doubt this has been collected, and as far as I can tell, it hasn't been made available digitally.  A fun little book, worth a look if you happen across it.  Just be prepared to disengage your contempo-comics fan mind.

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