Chris and Reggie's Cosmic Treadmill, Episode 70: Christmas With the Superheroes #1 (1988)

Chris and Reggie's Cosmic Treadmill, Episode #70

Christmas With the Superheroes #1 (1988)
"Wanted: Santa Claus - Dead or Alive!"
"The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus!"
"The TT's Swingin' Christmas Carol!"
"Star Light, Star Bright... Farthest Star I See Tonight!"
"Twas the Fright Before Christmas!"
"The Silent Night of the Batman"
Writers - Denny O'Neil, Len Wein, Bob Haney, Paul Levitz, E. Nelson Bridwell & Mike Friedrich
Pencillers - Frank Miller, Dick Dillon, Nick Cardy, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Curt Swan & Neal Adams
Inkers - Steve Mitchell, Dick Giordano & Murphy Anderson
Letterers - Ben Oda
Colorists - Glenn Whitmore, Helen Vesik & Jerry Serpe
Editors - Len Wein, Julius Schwartz
Cover Price: $2.95

Keeping our Christmas on Infinite Earths... in July festivities rolling along, today I'm sharing Reggie and my first Holiday special... DC Comics' Christmas With the Superheroes #1 from 1988.


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This was one of our longer episodes... as we were looking at like skatey-eight hundred creators and a half-dozen stories.  This was also my longest ever blog post to that point... and, actually, it very well still might be!  I still haven't published that "full-length" Bizarro World piece yet, so I think this one still might take the length-crown!

With that said... Just as with yesterday, if podcasts ain't your thing, there is a text-n-pics variation on this discussion that you can check out if you decide to click the cover below!  While you're at it, you might wanna check out my discussion of Christmas With the Superheroes #2 (1989)!

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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Showcase #69 (1967)

Showcase #69 (July-August, 1967)
"Poor Richard's Maniak!"
Writer - E. Nelson Bridwell
Pencils - Mike Sekowsky
Inks - Mike Esposito
Edits - Jack Miller
Cover Price: $0.12

Still in the interests of keeping things around here "light", we're going to take a look at the second (of three) appearances of the Maniaks in the pages of Showcase.  I was really hoping to cover Showcase #71, which features the group teaming up with, of all people, Woody Allen... but, I came across this one first in my bin-room dig.  By the time I found it, I was already a sweaty mess... and so, decided to quit before a longbox-slingin' hernia set in.  We'll get to Woody though, I promise!

Anyhoo, as you can see... my copy of Showcase #69 is... uh, beat ta hell.  Not too shabby for a quarter though!  Anyhoo, I've wanted to discuss these folks for awhile, so without further ado...

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We open with an introduction to our team... which, considering a) they're incredibly weird, and 2) this is only their second appearance, makes a lot of sense.  They are... The Maniaks, and their names are Flip, Jangle, Pack Rat, and Silver.  Our spoilery splash-page reveals that Silver... is going to be married this issue... to a rich fella (named Rich!) who looks to be about twice her age... and probably smells like a mixture of casino carpet and breath.  We'll get there...

... but first, the story proper opens outside a New York Hotel, where it looks as though somebody is going to jump to their death!  A Lou Costello-lookin' Officer spies the jumper, and rushes into the joint... finding himself inside the room of Slim "Sardine" Pipdyke.  The son of an Oil Magnate.  The Officer pops his head out the window, and whattaya know, Flip of the Maniaks is just hangin' out.

The Officer and Slim try and get Flip to remember all the reasons he has to live... his wife, his family, his family... the Alamo.  When he reveals that he doesn't know what the Alamo is, Pipdyke calls him a "Yankee" and demands he go through with his suicide attempt!

Flip thinks on it a minute, as a crowd begins to form down below.  Firefighters show up with one of those trampolines they use to catch people jumping from burning buildings... and, here, Flip sees his chance to stir up some great publicity for that night's rock show!  He jumps... right into the trampoline!  Kids... don't try that at home.

Flip has such a good time, he decides to climb up the side of the building and give it another go!  On his way up, one of the Firefighters claims he'd never spied a man who could climb buildings like him.  Uh, ya geddit?  Spied a Man... does whatever a Spy duh can?  The Fireman is yelled at for plugging the competition... which is a lot of fun.

We jump to that evening at Shea Stadium, where the Maniaks are set to perform... annnnnd, the joint damn near completely empty!  There are only four people in the crowd.

Turns out, these four folks are the Pipdykes (and company)... who reveal they've bought out the entire Stadium for a more personal show.  The Maniaks are cool with that, and start rocking the place.  Well, maybe "pebbling" the place is more accurate.

The mustachioed Pipdyke (this is Rich), asks Jangle to do some of his world famous impressions... which, I suppose is something Jangle is known for?  His bio suggests he's "The cat with the real wild sounds!" so, fair enough.  Anyhoo... Jangle doesn't disappoint.

After the show, Jangle recognizes the Pipdyke Crew as some old friends from school... Thomas, Richard, and Harrison (not to be confused with Tom, Dick, and Harry).  Thomas Sampson is one of the strongest men walkin' God's Green... and Harrison H. Harrison is stupidly smart...

... finally, Richard Pipdyke XIV is... the son of the second richest man in the world.  This is certainly enough to get Silver's attention... and she thrusts her body into his direction.  Looks like Silver's diggin' for Gold!

The Pipdykes promise the Maniaks a great night on the town... which gives them a great excuse to indiscriminately toss tremendous wads of dough around.  First stop, a "posh" night spot, where the Maniaks are turned away for not complying with dress code and wearing ties.  Richie the Pip steps away... buys the entire club... and lets the gang in.

Inside, the fellas are attended to by some "imported" Playboy bunnies... oh yeah, he bought the Playboy Club too!

After they nosh, they return to Richie's ride... which, he's disappointed to see is pointed in the wrong direction.  Rather than having his driver hop in and flip a U-y, he drops a quarter-mill buying another car that is facing the right direction.

They are driven to the Pipdyke Estate on Long Island... which is known as, well, Long Island.  Yes folks, he owns the entire fish-shaped island!  After a good night's sleep, the next morning the gang is whisked away via helicopter to the actual Pipdyke home... which is, ya know, gaudily rich.  He's probably the sort of guy who would choose the giant porcelain dog statue back when Wheel of Fortune let you pick prizes.

We get a few more assurances that Richard Pipdyke is wickedly wealthy... we see his cars, his boats, all sorts of trappings of extravagant opulence.  Richie suggests Pack Rat and Big Thomas head down to the wine cellar to grab a big ol' cask of some very expensive sauce.  We can see that the sub-sub-cellar goes so deep that... well, it actually serves as an access-point to Hell!

After carrying the cask, and poppin' the tap (I'm guessing the gang is of legal drinking age?)... the Maniaks are shocked to learn that their very own Silver Shannon... is now betrothed to Richard Pipdyke!

Later on, Flip is flipping out in glee... so happy to be rid of Silver Shannon!  Wha?  That's not exactly the reaction I was expecting, to be honest.  Jangle, however, brings him back to reality.  He questions whether this marriage is for love... or money.  Well, what do you think, everybody?  Richard-the-Fourteenth looks like the sorta fella who'd spend time sitting on a stool in front of Chris Hansen... of course this is for money.

Jangle attempts to employ his "world famous" mimicry skill to dissuade Silver from tyin' the knot... by suggesting that he (Richard) was just drafted into the Vietnam War?!  Wow.  Only problem is, he forgot to include Richie's flavor-saver.  Once the jig is up, the Maniaks just get down to appealing to Silver's better judgment.  They insist that she won't be happy marrying this creep-o just for his money.  It's decided that the Wedding will commence.

As Richard is (literally) dressed for the ceremony... like, his handlers are actually putting him inside his tuxedo, the Maniaks are paying a local actress to bust in on the wedding and reveal to be Richard's real wife.  They even give her ten-dollars American to do the deed!  She's... kind of a dolt, and the only thing "Richard Pipdyke" reminds her of is the fact that there's a horse named Dickie the Pip racing at Aqueduct today.  She takes the tenner and heads to the track.

The ceremony begins... and, since the actress doesn't show up... looks as though it's going to come off without a hitch!

That is, of course, until Silver Shannon hears the part of the spiel where she has to take Richard for richer... or poorer!  She calls off the wedding and storms out.

In other news, that goofy actress won a wad of cash at the track, and pulls up in her brand-new convertible to give the Maniaks their cut.  So, that's a good thing...

We wrap up with Richard Pipdyke on a beach... relieved that the wedding was called off, because... ya see, monogamy ain't his thang.  The final panel is a plea from the Maniaks for all of the readers to buy a bunch of their books so they might get their own ongoing series!  That... well, never happened.

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Man, how much fun was this?

Definitely not the sort of story we get all that often... a comedy strip, that's actually charming and funny.  And, dang... that Sekowsky art sure is somethin'!

Only problem is... and I've said this before... comedy strips don't really lend themselves to "analysis" (if, analyzing is in fact what I do here).  All I can really tell ya is whether or not I thought it was funny... and, I did!  It only really overstayed its welcome in depicting just how crazily-rich the Pipdykes were.  I think the point was made after he bought out Shea Stadium for a private concert and bought that club to abolish the ties-only policy.  Everything after that just seemed like beating a dead horse.

The characters, the main ones anyway, were fun and likable.  It kind of surprised me that they were so blatant with Silver-as-a-Gold-Digger.  That seemed a bit strange.  I think, in my head, I kind of projected Dumb Bunny from the Inferior 5 on her... and was expecting her to be more innocent and sweet.  That's no fault of Bridwell, just something in my own block-head that made me take pause.

A lot of this story, and the gags within were based on plays on words... which, worked quite well.  I especially enjoyed the "Spied a Man" bit, which I admit... I had to read twice just to make sure I was seeing what I thought I was seeing.  Just good stuff all around!

The poor Maniaks don't really get much play anymore... all they've actually ever got was the three appearances in Showcase!  Silver Shannon, however, was eventually dusted off for a handful of appearances in, of all places, that Kurt Busiek Power Company series from just after the turn of the century.  You can see here, Josiah Power gives her a call... 

From Power Company #3 (June, 2002)
(w) Kurt Busiek / (a) Tom Grummett

Ol' Silver Shannon's got that rock of a ring on her desk... which is the same one she's wearing on the cover of this ish of Showcase!  There's a Confederate Yankees poster on the wall, in reference to the Woody Allen story in Showcase #71 (which we'll get to just as soon as I can find it in the pile!)... and, if that's not enough, there's a framed photo of her fellow Maniaks on the wall as well.  Neat little Easter Eggs from Kurt and Tom!  Worth noting, she came into the post-Crisis landscape with her gold-digging gimmick intact.  She's still in search of a wickedly wealthy hubby.

From Power Company #7 (October, 2002)

Funny bit, in the (posted above) letters page for Power Company #7 (October, 2002), a reader inquires as to just who Silver might be... and dismisses the possibility that she's Silver St. Cloud.  The editor doesn't spill the beans... and, only solicits more guesses!  Unfortunately, only a couple months later DC switched formats from "letter page" to that dumb "Your Mole at 1700" rumor-and-innuendo column to close out their books, so we never got any more guesses or discussion.

From Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1 (October, 2008)
(w) Grant Morrison / (a) Doug Mahnke

It's almost not worth mentioning, though I don't wanna leave it out... Maniak Jangle did appear on a single panel in Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1 (October, 2008).  It's more of Grant Morrison playing with Limbo... which is where we see a lot of "these sorts" of character pop up every now and again.

Overall... this was a blast, and... if you ever come across any Maniaks Showcases in the wild, I'd recommend you snag 'em.  I'm honestly a bit surprised they've never come back "in full force".  They seem like the sort of characters that a contemporary writer would drop into a story simply to prove that they know some obscure DC history!  Anyhoo... this was their second (of three) Showcase appearances... I'll try and get the Woody one up just as soon as I remember where I left it!

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Fun Stuff:

For more information on a rather infamous Cap's Hobby Hints, click here!

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(Not the) Letters Page:

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