Showcase #71 (1967)

Showcase #71 (November-December, 1969)
"What Swings, Fiddle Strings?"
Writer - E. Nelson Bridwell
Pencils - Mike Sekowsky
Inks - Mike Esposito
Edits - Jack Miller
Cover Price: $0.12

See, toldja I'd get to the Woody issue before long!  Even though, from the looks of it, not many people on these internets care all that much about the Maniaks, I'm gonna cover it here anyway!

This was actually the Maniaks story I wanted to cover all along... not so much for the story, but so I could share a (rather dumb and wildly self-indulgent) Woody Allen anecdote.

Ya see, back in the long ago... back before my spirit was crushed and I still had hopes that I could make something of myself... I fancied myself something of a writer.  I wrote all the damn time... it was like I couldn't get the words onto paper (or a screen) fast enough.

Now, anyone who has read this site for any amount of time, likely knows, a) any talent I had for writing was fleeting, and b) I'm not much of a "movie guy".  I'm not just talkin' comics movies... but, movies in general.  I have trouble sitting still long enough to watch movies... always have!

There are a few instances, however, where a movie will cause me to stop in my tracks!  It doesn't happen often... but, it does happen.  One of those movies was... Annie Hall.  I still consider AH to be among my favorites... and, seeing it actually inspired me to try writing a screenplay for the first time.  But, what would it be about?

Ya see, I first saw Annie Hall right out of high school... and, a few months later, I started dating this girl.  She was the first girl I saw after moving across country, and the first time I went over to her place, I noticed that she had a "Glamor Shot" on her wall.  Y'all remember "Glamor Shots"?

Anyhoo, she went into her room to change clothes so we could head out, which left me all to my lonesome in the living room.  I wandered over to the Glamor Shot to get a better look, and upon doing so... suddenly... Woody Allen's voice was in my head.  It said, "There must have been enough Vasoline on that lens to have been taken rectally."

I cracked myself up for a minute (not that it's all that humorous)... and from that single line, spun an idea for that screenplay.  Fast-forward like... a week later, and I had over 200 pages of script written, for a feature I tentatively called "Fish Heads".  Naturally, nothing ever came of it... and, I'm sure it's still sitting on a thumb-drive somewhere in my house.

So yeah, "Fish Heads" has been intrinsically linked to Woody Allen in my head ever since, and I can never think of one without the other.

I apologize for makin' ya read the previous several paragraphs... but, if'n ya did... I appreciate it!  Now, let's rejoin the Maniaks!

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As the Maniaks wrap up another rock show, a stage hand rushes in to inform them that they have a very special guest... Woody Allen!  He's here with a business proposition, ya see?  He's got a stage show he's looking to put together, and he has need for some songs... and stars.  It's going to be a Civil War era story, and pretty much evvvvvverybody involved is going to have a punny name.  For example, Flip is going to play "Rhett Buttons" (a play on Rhett Butler from Gone With the Wind), Jangle's going to play General Molasses S. Granite (not Ulysses S. Grant), and so on.  Often, puns and wordplay don't feel "cheap"... this sadly isn't one of those times.

We then meet the rest of the players involved in the production, Jeannette Punchinello (Annette Funicello), Rock Hutsut (Rock Hudson... though there's not much of a resemblance), Marjorie Maim (Marjorie Main... that's hardly a pun!), and Grubby Haynes (George "Gabby" Hayes).  Finally, we're introduced to the leading lady of this play... the "Mod Fashion Model", Twiggly (another very lazy bit of name-play there).  Naturally, Woody is going to play the leading man.

The Maniaks all start making fun of Twiggly's pipe-cleaner limbs, and her thick accent.  She's supposed to be a Southern Belle... but is very, very British.  First order of business is to bust the Brit out of her voicebox... and, it mostly works... unfortunately, her "accent coach" winds up speaking with an English accent after the session.

Woody's mind turns to costume design... but, never fear they've got Carnaby Rudge to put the threads together.  I'm guessing this is another very simple/lazy reference... but, I cannot figure out who they're referring to here.  Anyhoo, lickety-split, the costumes are created... and everyone looks right-proppa' Southern.

We jump ahead to Boston, Massachusetts where the play is scheduled to open for some try-outs.  Woody is greeted by a fella named Floyd, from the Tigers Motorcycle Club.  This leads into a very... strange little story, that has absolutely nothing to do with anything.  Flip asks how Woody knows Floyd, and we learn that Floyd was his childhood bully... who, one time killed his pet dog ant.

The next day, the reviews are in on the try-out... annnnd, they stink!  Woody assures the gang there's nothing to worry about, ya see... he's done called in a Play Doctor.  Enter: Dr. Milo Hackencouph (based on Groucho Marx's Dr. Hackenbush).  Woody soon realizes he called the wrong kind of "Play Doctor".  We're only seven pages in at this point, folks.

Part I of our story wraps up on opening night for this Woody Allen Broadway production... Confederate Yankees!  The panel comes complete with our actual ticket... so, let's punch that sucker and hop into the show!

Um, so yeah... the entire rest of this comic is... the play.  And, it's... a musical.  There's some fun bits here, but... lemme tell ya, the joke gets played out long before the story ends.  The jist of the thing is, a Rhett Buttons is a Confederate Spy, who is in love with Annette Funicello...

... Twiggly is also a Confederate Spy, but is posing as a Schoolma'rm.  They're supposed to gather intel from a Union Fort.  Thus ends, Act I.

Between Acts, Woody is nervously chatting up some of the cast members... he probably realizes this comic (and blog post) are rapidly running off the rails.

Act II fires up, and Twiggly reveals that she's in love with Captain Jack Strongheart (Woody's character, naturally).  This is overheard by Silver Shannon's Salome Rand... who, of course, is also in love with Woody's character.  Here's the rub though, it's here that Silver/Salome finds out that Twiggly's nothin' more than a rotten Confederate spy!  And so, she turns her (and Rhett) in to the authorities!

We jump ahead to the prison, where Rhett and Twiggly are being held.  Woody visits, clicks his heels, and says that this story will either end with a wedding or an execution.  Annette Funicello arrives to check in with Flip, and says she's relieved that he's just a treasonous Confederate, rather than a dirty cheater.

We jump ahead to the trial... and, holy smokes... there are like skatey-eight eleventy-hundred words on these pages.  It's all set to music... and, wow, is it a slog and a half.  Rhett and Twiggly are both found guilty... but, here's the thing.  A Courier blows through town with some news... ya see, the Civil War's over.  Actually... it's not just over, it's been over for a year at this point... and word just never made it to this town!  So, no harm, no foul!  Rhett and Twiggly couldn't have been spying for a government that no longer existed!

And so, everything ends... happily ever after.

We wrap up our visit with the Maniaks while they, and Woody wait for the reviews to start pouring in.  Actually, the Maniaks are more worried about the reviews for their run in Showcase to start rollin' in... ya see, they don't know when (or if) they'll ever grace the pages of a comic book again!  Welp, I come from the future... and I've got some baaaaaaad news, gang.

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So...

If you're trying to get your Showcase feature picked up and given it's own ongoing series... do ya wrap up your "pitch" with a wildly experimental story that features your characters (who we still don't know all that well) playing different roles?  Do you fill two-thirds of the (silent) issue with musical numbers?

Well if you're me... no, you don't do any of that.  I mean, what do I know, I'm just an idiot with a blog... but, this just doesn't seem like the smartest "pitch".  What sort of expectation are you setting with a story like that?  Would an ongoing Maniaks series be rife with pop-culture puns and be predicated on putting the cast into odd roles, rather than actually fleshing them out?  Really, all we know about these kids is... the "inch-deep, mile-wide" that we get in the introductory captions.  Why would we ever have a pressing desire to see 'em again?

Honestly, the "gag" of this story was played out about two pages in... unfortunately, the horse would continue to be flogged for an additional twenty.  It's too bad.  I really enjoyed the previous Maniaks story... but this... uh-uh.  The joke overstayed its welcome, and the "musical" portions were a real pain to get through.  I feel like I had to read each balloon at least twice to keep up with the story.  I may be denser than most, but it's not often I'm this out of the loop.

All that having been said, however... I mean, you don't buy the Maniaks/Woody Allen team-up for the story... this is 100% pure novelty value.  If you happen across it for a few bucks, I'd definitely recommend nabbing it, just so you can add a little weird flavor to your personal library.  This issue, unsurprisingly, doesn't look like it's been made available digitally at this time.

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(Not the) Letters Page:

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Cap's!

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Windy and Willy #4 (1969)

Windy and Willy #4 (November-December, 1969)
"Historical High Jinks!"
Writers - Larry Nadle & Bob Oksner
Art - Bob Oksner
Cover Price: $0.15

You ever boggle your brain thinking about all the useless knowledge and memories you've got kickin' around?  Well, if you're reading this, you're very likely a comic book fan... which means, of course you do!

One of the things I recall quite vividly, though... really, I shouldn't... is the first night my family had cable tv.  Come to think of it, it was early-December, 1988... so, almost exactly thirty freaking years ago.  Yikes!  Anyhoo... that first night, I did what I'd assume a lot of goofy eight-year olds did... watched Nickelodeon until it went off the air!

This surprised me... I wasn't quite sure what to make of it.  Nickelodeon signed off, and was replaced by Nick-at-Nite... which I probably wound up enjoying even more than the kids' shows.  What are the odds, right?  Me liking entertainment from before my time...

I remember the initial line-up... Mr. Ed, Patty Duke, My Three Sons, Donna Reed, Saturday Night Live (back when it was watchable), SCTV, and Laugh-In.  The stupid things that occupy my brain-space, I'm tellin' ya.  I also remember one day Mr. Ed was replaced by something called Dobie Gillis...

... or, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.  I don't remember much about it, but I don't recall it ever being one of my favorites.  I know it would usually open with the preppy-looking dude posing in front of the statue of Rodin's The Thinker, while he contemplated life and (his apparently, many) loves.  His best friend was a Beatnik Gilligan named Maynard.  I think my occasionally calling people "Maynard" might be the most lastingest impression this show had on me... and honestly, I didn't even realize that until now!

So, why in all hells am I talking about Dobie Gillis?  If you're familiar with some of the weirdo stuff DC Comics put out during the 1950's and 60's, it probably won't come as too much of a surprise that ol' Dobie actually had himself an ongoing series...

... which for some reason, they decided to repurpose into a short-lived late 60's title called... Windy and Willy!  And, when I say "repurpose", I mean they took Dobie wholesale, and had Bob Oksner draw these new (DC owned?) characters over the cast of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis!  Here, have a look at the opening splash for The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis #17 (January-February, 1963) and this very issue of Windy and Willy!


Pretty neat, right?  The real question... er, the only question... is "why?".  I mean, this is such a weird series to draw from... and it's not like anyone was putting all that much thought into scripting romance/comedy books back then... it almost seems like an unnecessary amount of extra work to muck about with the old art!

Oh well, I guess we ought to get into it... and see if this story stands out as something DC should've gone out of their way to "preserve"?  Also, if I do ever come into possession of Dobie Gillis #17, I will do a full and proper "juxtapoz", just like we did with our "Hardcover/Softcover" look at New Teen Titans and the Outsiders!  Those were a lot of fun to put together (and play with!), check 'em out if you haven't already!

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After that opening splash page (posted above), the story proper begins inside Newton's Grocery store (owned by Willy's parents).  Mrs. Newton runs into a Mrs. Van Buren who can't stop talking about how great her daughter, Dolly Madison Van Buren is doing in History class.  Mrs. Newton laments that her boy, Willy, ain't doin' all that hot.  Mrs. VB suggests Dolly Madison tutor him... and is very excited by the prospect.  Ya see, Willy, for whatever reason, is viewed as kind of a "catch".  It's been decades, but I'm guessing Dobie might've been viewed the same way.

Speaking of Willy, he and his burnout friend Windy enter the shop and Ma and Pa break the news that he's gotten himself a brand-spankin' new history tutor!  Oh, happy day!

Mr. Newton talks about what a great student of history he had been during his yoot, to which, Willy suggests that there just wasn't all that much history way back then!  Hmm... ya sorta walked right into that one, pops.  This, for some reason, leads to Willy's dad practicing Native American "war whoops"... oooookay.  Wouldn'tcha know it, this (and a threat of "scalping")... somehow... convinces Willy to visit his new tutor.

As Willy and Windy go to leave, the burnout decides to help himself to a jar of... something (baby food?)... from the shop shelves.  Mr. Newton responds by... "whooping" again.  I'm not sure the joke landed the first time... much less the second.  Hell, I'm not sure there's even a joke to be found!

Outside the store... and a safe distance away from Mr. Newton, Windy decides to start "whooping" himself.  Why are we still doing this?!

Oh well, let's move on... Windy and Willy head off to the Van Buren house, and... hide in the bushes for some reason.  I feel like I'm typing "for some reason" and "somehow" a lot today.  Anyhoo, while they're hiding, the witness the arrival of Dolly Madison Van Buren... a rather frumpy-looking co-ed.  Windy, for some reason, decides to pretend to be a turkey.  This gets DM's attention, and she introduces herself to the fellas.

Willy tells her that she likes to "act out" history in order to better remember it... so, he and his waste-case friend were in the bushes pretending to be Lewis & Clark.  So, that's what we're calling it?  Anyhoo, Willy tries to pass on the tutoring... after all, who'd wanna be stuck inside with such a "scholarly-looking type" as Dolly Madison?  He winds up accepting anyway.

Here's where that other shoe drops.  Once inside, Dolly Madison decides to get more comfortable.  She removes her over-sized sweater, takes off her glasses... and lets down her hair.  Boom-chicka-boom-chicka-boom... turns out, she's a knockout!  Whodathunkit?!

Suddenly... Willy's all about the studying.  Dolly Madison is impressed that he even came inside with her.  Well, the other her, anyway.  Ya see, she dresses like a frump to avoid wolf-whistles and cat-calls, which she finds very disquieting.

Finally, it's time to study.  Willy suggests they maybe "act out" a bit of history between Cleopatra and Marc Antony... hopefully not the final scene though.  Dolly Madison makes it clear that their relationship is strictly that of Teacher-Student.  Willy seems okay with this... so long as he can "yearn" while he "learns".  Whatever the hell that means.  All's I know, is only one of his hands is visible in this panel.

Dolly Madison mentions that her heart has been filled by the American Heroes of history.  Willy suggests that he too is a hero, just nobody has written about him yet.  Remember to use that line next time you're out fellas!  She ain't buyin' it... nor should she.  Willy leaves, but not before suggesting he'd be getting more out of this lesson if the other-her was teaching it.  He meets back up with Windy... who is still loitering on the lawn... because, really... where else would he be?

While chatting up his burnout buddy, Willy has a tremendous idea... in order to woo Dolly Madison, he's going to have to become... a Hero!  Willy hasn't the foggiest idea what his pal's going on about... after all, why go to all the effort for such a frumpy-looking gal?  Willy introduces Windy to Dolly Madison... who stands seductively in her doorway.

Willy (w)racks his brain about ways to impress the new object of his desires... and figures that maybe he can have ol' Maynard pretend to be a bandit... who he can foil.  Windy ain't keen on the idea... and goes full Shaggy from Scooby-Doo to express that emotion.

Willy then has another thought... he'll save Windy from being hit by a car!  Windy finally wises up... or maybe the buzz wears off, and he goes to walk away.  Willy grabs him as he steps off the curb... and they fall on top of one another.  An old woman witnesses the entire thing, and mistaking it for a fight, calls a police officer over.

Willy starts talkin' some spoo about saving his buddy from an oncoming vehicle... and via the power of suggestion, the old lady cops to the story as well... hell, she even says she saw the whole thing go down!

Windy and Willy head off to "tell it to the press".  I could picture the evening news broadcast that night.  "Boy saves burnout from invisible car... and, in other news, NOTHING!"  After they leave, the officer realizes that this whole thing was a sham... the street was closed down the entire time!  Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

We wrap up with Willy delivering the news to Dolly Madison, who... is actually impressed!  So much so, that she insists he share the story with her Uncle Quincy... who, just so happens to be the police officer he'd pulled a fast one on!  Wonk, wonk wonkkkkkk.

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Well, that was somethin', wasn't it?

I had more fun with this than I was expecting.  Sure, it's a goofy sitcom story... but it's more or less inoffensive.  I did leave out some of the panels of "war whooping" due to some insensitive language used... but, it was a different time, whattayagonnado?

The "frumpy girl is really a hot girl" plot is well-worn, and hell... probably was even way back in ye old 1963 when this story first appeared in Dobie #17.  Again, more or less inoffensive... silly teen-age comedy shtick... something that wouldn't feel out of place on Saved by the Bell or the like.

I think my main takeaway from all this can be summed up with one word.  Why?  Why did DC feel the need to rework old Dobie Gillis stories, like six years after the fact?!  Why did Windy and Willy occupy an issue of Showcase (#81-March, 1969), and why-oh-why did DC decide to give 'em an ongoing?!  Was there something about these stories in particular that needed to be preserved?!  I mean, it's not like they were reprinting all of the old Dobie Gillis stories!  This is Windy and Willy #4... and this story is from Dobie #17!  It's just so weird.

Oh well.  I guess it's not mine to wonder why... all's I know, is I kinda dug this.  It was goofy and silly... and kind of a waste of time, but not the worst thing in the world.  Turns out Windy and Willy would only make one more appearance after this... in the pages of a very recent issue of Scooby-Doo Team-Up (March, 2018)... whiiiiich, now I'm going to have to track down.

Is this worth tracking down?  Ehh, probably not.  If you happen across it in the "buck and below-bins", well... yeah, grab it... but otherwise, you shouldn't break your back nor your bank tracking this one down.  Shock of shocks, this one is not available digitally.

If you're interested in the "source material" for Windy and Willy, Shout! Factory has uploaded some full-episodes of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis to their YouTube Page.

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A Windy and Willy Text Piece?!  Why???

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Superboy #154 (1969)

Superboy #154 (March, 1969)

"Blackout for Superboy!"

Story - Frank Robbins

Pencils - Bob Brown

Inks - Wally Wood

Letters - Ray Holloway

Cover Price: $0.12

Now, who could resist a cover like that?!  Does what happens inside even have a hope of living up to that image?

Let's find out...

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We open with Superboy on his "predawn" patrol, during which he finds a troubled fisherman just about to go over one of Smallville's numerous waterfalls... truly the town with everything!  He rescues the old codger who, in turn, lambastes the Boy of Steel for nearly costing him his favorite fly rod!  Ehh, can't win 'em all.  You'd think he'd be more annoyed that Superboy didn't just save him and his boat... which is now just a pile of wet splinters.  Either way, it would seem that this might be going according to the old man's plan.

Superboy returns home to grab an hour of beauty sleep.  Thanks to his super-metabolism, he can get by with just the one.  I didn't think he needed to sleep at all, but I guess he's still a growing boy.  Anyhoo, he is awakened by his alarm clock... and when he opens his eyes... it appears as though his heat-vision involuntarily kicked on!

Fearing the worst, Superboy clenches his eyes shut.  After regaining his composure, he decides to give opening them another shot.  When he does... he winds up melting his bed post!  Could this mean that Superboy no longer has control over his amazing powers?!

Shortly after, Ma enters the room.  She heard Clark's alarm go off, and wonders why he didn't get up.  Upon surveying the damage, she lashes out at him for his "destructive impulses"... which, I mean... has Clark been anything but an angel?  I mean, when he's not being affected by Red Kryptonite or anything.  Clark explains the situation, and she rushes off to grab Pa.

Clark asks his folks to guide him downstairs into his cellar-lab so he can plan his next move.  Luckily, this happens to be the Silver Age, where Superboy has a closetful of robots in his likeness.  If he needs to remain "voluntarily blind" for awhile, he wants to make sure nobody realizes that Superboy is missing in action.  Then... he worries that his robots might be suffering the same "power control atrophy" that he is.  Turns out, from the looks of it... they are!

And so... in order to not incinerate everything he looks at, from this point on, Clark (Superboy) Kent will be... blind!  He fashions a pair of darkened specs out of lead... at least this way he can open his eyes.  He won't be able to see, but, at least he won't be clenchin'.  He borrows Pa's cane (from his old leg injury), and he's off to school.  He explains that due to an injury in the lab, he mustn't expose his eyes to the light for at least a week... which, ya know... isn't the craziest excuse.

During class, Clark is overcome, Daredevil style, by his other senses.  His heartbeat becomes the only thing he can hear, and while attempting to break his focus, Clark accidentally rips the corner off his desk!  This definitely gets the attention of Lana Lang...

... thankfully, quick-thinkin' Clark decides to (literally) suck all of the air out of the room, kayoing his classmates for a moment, while he rebuilds his desk... then, as they're all coming to, cracks a pencil in two to explain away the noise Lana had heard.  Aye yai yai.

We shift scenes to the office of Dr. Dento... you'll never guess what he does for a living.  Anyhoo, there have been a great number of fender-benders in Smallville on this day (a whole three), which is somehow due to Superboy being "off duty".  I mean, how does this town not just burn to the ground every time Clark takes a nap?!  Anyhoo... it's made plainly clear that Dr. Dento was actually the crotchety old fisherman from the beginning.

We join him on his next fishing expedition wherein he demonstrates what his favorite fly-rod can do.  It can, uh... set the fish on fire as it comes out of the water.  So, if you ever wanted to eat an entire fish without cleaning it, Dento is your man.  He recounts what had happened that morning.  Turns out, when Superboy "rescued" him, he affixed a second Superboy insignia to his outfit... through which, he could see everything that Superboy was seeing.

So... the game is up then?  Dr. Dento must know that Superboy is really Clark Kent, right?!  Well, not really... he just used this device to make Superboy think that his heat-vision was going out of control.  Ya see, it wasn't Superboy who melted the alarm clock... it was Dento!  What an idiot.

Anyhoo... later that night, Superboy decides to call in his Super-Pet Krypto to act as his seeing-eye dog.  Well, that stands to reason, right?  Together they save a bridge from collapsing... however, Superboy's shades do not go unnoticed.  Superboy's apparent blindness is front page news the next day!

Dento reads the news and is conflicted.  He now must turn his attention toward getting rid of Krypto.  Meanwhile, at the Kent House, they watch the news report discussing Superboy's blindness over breakfast.  This leads to Superboy picturing himself as a panhandler... from which we get our amazing cover.

After sobbing for a bit, Superboy decides... screw it, he's gonna face this thing head-on.  This gives us an amazing quote from Pa Kent.  "Now you're talking like the Son I'd have wanted... if we could have had our own!"  I mean, what?  What a clumsy statement.

Anyhoo, Krypto tugs on Superboy's cape... which gives him an idea.  He asks Ma for some "harmless dye"... because Krypto is going to be his seeing-eye dog in his civilian life too!  Ya see, he's doing this to throw people (well, Lana) off the scent that he really is Superboy.  I'd wager that this would only strengthen their case!  Oh well, what do I know?

We rejoin Dr. Dento as he puts his plan into action.  He, get this, synthesizes a rod of Red Kryptonite... and hides it in a (tasty) dog bone.  I'm not sure which part of that sentence was dumber.

Later that day, Dento starts terrorizing a dog.  Like, seriously, he starts whipping her dog house.  This, of course, brings Krypto to the yard... and he chases a heavily-padded Dento away.  The tortured mutt offers Krypto the K-infused bone... and away the Boy and Dog of Steel go.  Suddenly, Krypto goes nuts... and starts flying off toward space, leaving a blinded Superboy just hovering.

At this point, Superboy realizes he's got to risk it all... and open his eyes!  Naturally, nothing happens.  Superboy beans Krypto with a tiny chunk of meteorite to get him to spit out the Red-K Bone... and everything's cool.

Krypto begins sniffing around Superboy's chest... and bites the extra "S" insignia off.  They return to Dento's yard... and haul him off to the police.  Who's gonna fill all'a Smallville's cavities now?!

We wrap up the following morning with Lana reading the news that Superboy can see again.

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Well this was a lot of fun!

It's not often I get to read something this ridiculous... and I mean that in the best way possible.  Superboy... blinded, and yet... still trying to keep up the ruse on all fronts.  I mean, he was "blind" for what, a day?  But he still went the whole nine yards in covering for both of his identities!

I suppose we can start dissecting this issue with what stuck out most to me.  By around the third page, Dr. Dento should have been able to deduce that Superboy is actually Clark Kent.  I mean, the "fly rod" was "seeing" through the "S" insignia, right?  Doesn't matter if Clark's eyes are open or closed in that case... he should have seen Ma and Pa Kent... the Kent house... Superboy's cellar lab... the whole thing!  Instead, his sole focus is... making Superboy keep his eyes shut?!

I mean, Dento definitely saw the Superboy robots... right?  Otherwise, how could he have made it appear as though they were going out of control too?  While on the subject... wouldn't Ma and Pa have seen that the beams weren't coming out of the robot's eyes?!  Ehh, whattayagonnado?

I guess we can discuss how impractical a pair of lead specs would look... but, really... why?  We'll just accept it for what it is.  We are, however, going to discuss the Red Kryptonite rod for a second.  If Dr. Dento has the ability to synthesize Red-K at any time... why hasn't he just done that?!  Why didn't he slip some Red-K into Superboy's costume rather than the silly extra insignia?  Why not keep working at it, and eventually crack the code on Green (or even Gold) Kryptonite?!

Yeah, I realize I'm poking holes in a half-century old story that was meant for kids... but, what else am I gonna do with my mornings...

With all of that said... this was a ton of fun, and looked pretty great!  Hell, the cover on its own is pretty spectacular.  You could definitely see how it might attract a kid's eye from the newsstand... heck, I bought it simply based off the cover not all that long ago!  That's definitely part of the "comics magic" that is missing these days.

Overall, if you come across this one, I'd definitely recommend grabbing it.  Unfortunately, it hasn't been collected nor made available digitally at the moment... but, it's certainly worth a bin-dive... even for the cover alone!

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