Joker #6 (March-April, 1976)
"Sherlock Stalks the Joker!
Story - Denny O'Neil
Pencils - Irv Novick
Inks - Tex Blaisdell
Edits - Julius Schwartz
Cover Price: $0.25
The mid-70's Joker series is one of those books that I've had a heck of a time tracking down in the bins. It's one I see so seldom, I almost attributed this weird mythical status to it. In all my years of hunting, this li'l oddity has always been a "wall book", ya know what I mean? I've often joked about the "Joker Tax" comic shops will tag onto any issue with the ol' clown on the cover (which, with how we don't even get a week without a Joker cover appearance these days, makes me fear for future generations of collectors... assuming there will be any!).
Anyhoo, after many dives into the bins... I actually managed to find an issue of the series... for a buck! Needless to say (since you're reading this piece), that I nabbed the bugger! And what a weird little book this is... I mean, just check out the cover!
You look at a cover like this one... and say to yourself, "Self? How could a story like this ever actually happen?". Surely, the Joker has never met Sherlock Holmes... so, this has gotta be a gag, right? Well... yes and no... and don't call me Shirley.
There's gotta be some sort of explanation as to how this story could ever happen. The real question is: Is it gonna be dumb? Well, elementary my dear readers... in other words, yes... it's going to be very dumb.
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Our story opens in theater residing in a "medium-size town", where an actor named Clive Sigerson is rehearsing for his role in a play about... Sherlock Holmes. He is confronted by his arch-nemesis Professor James Moriarty... who, pulls a fast one, by going off script and shooting him square in the face... with a boxing glove. "Moriarty" then unmasks, revealing himself to be... the Joker. So, there's our pieces in place!
Sigerson is both befuddled and annoyed at this chain of events, and goes to confront the clown. Joker picks up Holmes' trademark pipe, and... clonks the actor over the head with it. He and his gang then start tap-dancing before... exiting, stage left.
The police arrive on the scene some quarter-hour later, and the producer is all out of sorts. I love this guy! He's really over-the-top here with his "Scandalous!" outburst!
Anyhoo, we learn that this theater is the Bohemia... and, since this is "Scandalous", Sigerson is reminded of the early Holmes short story A Scandal in Bohemia. I'm sure that was the first thing that popped into all of our minds as well, right? Right? Yeah, Denny's a big Holmes fan... so, this one's going to be kind of reliant on having some knowledge of that character and his lore. Oh! And also, since the bonk on the noggin with the pipe, Sigerson now believes himself to be the actual Sherlock Holmes. He realizes that a photo had been stolen from the set, and through some Rube Goldbergian deduction he thinks he's figured out promises the Joker's next move. He heads off. The producer sends a stagehand along to keep an eye on Sigerson. You'd think the Officer might intervene to stop this clearly confused man from stalking a serial killer, but... nope!
The stagehand catches up to "Holmes" and tells him he's there to "watchdog" him. Through a series of contrivances, Sherlock deduces that this fella's name will now be "Dock Watson". Oy. Back at the Ha-Hacienda, the Joker tells his goons why he's so stuck on screwing with Sherlock. Ya see, he's got a real problem with Detectives... and would really like to see all of the "biggies" humiliated. Who bigger than Sherlock Holmes, right?
Anyhoo, we rejoin Holmes (and Dock) as they're pulling onto the Red Circle Golf Course to chat up a J.B. "Red" Wilson... who, we learn is the President of a newly-formed Air Hockey League. Wait'll we get through this bout of mental gymnastics.
The Joker's goons rise out of the nearby water hazard to, well, do something, I'm sure. Holmes rushes in and proceeds to box with Southpaw the Goon.
Even Dock Watson gets in on the actions and kapows... Tooth? Is this goon's name actually Tooth? Eesh. Anyhoo, the Joker then drives a golf ball right into Watson's dome, temporarily kayoing him.
Holmes then, snags a four-iron, and proceeds to duel with the Joker. He's able to easily disarm the clown... unfortunately for him, however, the Joker has more tricks up his sleeve.
The Joker rushes back to his golf bag and... fires a net in the detective's direction, tangling him up but good long enough for him to flee the scene. We learn here that our man was at the golf course in the first place because of the old Holmes story, The Red-Headed League. Ya know, that old favorite! I'm totally speaking out of turn here... I know next to nothing about the character!
Anyhoo, by now Holmes has already figured out the Joker's next stop. How? Elementary, my dear readers... which is to say, I haven't the foggiest idea what story contrivances Mr. O'Neil has up his sleeve for us. Speaking of which, we catch up with the Joker in his Mobile Ho-Home, and find out that all he wanted from the golf course was the flag from the fourth green. This is (apparently) in reference to Holmes story, The Sign of the Four... not that I would know anything about that!
We rejoin our "detective" later that evening at the waterfront. There's a party occurring on board a large ship, called... The Baskervilles. Okay, even I recognize that one. After being denied entry by a police officer, Holmes has to get creative. He shimmies up a line from a small tugboat. At the very same time, our main man "Tooth"... Tooth... is also climbing a line. He lobs a smoke grenade into the party.
Holmes catches up to... Tooth... and nyoinks him off the line. Not before referring to him as a "Blackguard"... which, from my (admittedly) little research seems like something very Holmsian to say... but, maybe it's just some "2020" over-sensitivity in me, just seems weird in this particular instance... ya know?
After kayoing Tooth with a sock to the jaw, Holmes is finally able to board The Baskervilles. Deep inside, the Joker is using a torch to cut through a steel door.
The Joker explains that this hunk of steel is what sailors use to "Dog down the Hatches". So, it's a "dog"... or, ya know... a "hound". Alrighty then. This is a reference to, duh, The Hound of the Baskervilles. Holmes and Dock Watson then arrive on the scene.
The Joker attempts to flee... but, does not get far. Holmes uses a high-pressure water-gun on the deck to... I'm going to assume blow a hole in the clown's body. You ever work with a pressure-washer before? Those things could kill! And, I mean... Holmes is attempting to reenact Moriarty's death scene here, right?
Thankfully (I guess), all this does is knock the Joker out. Sherlock and Dock approach, and it looks as though the Joker has finally been caught. The only question remaining is, was he caught by Clive Sigerson or... Sherlock Holmes?
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There are a number of evergreen concepts out there that, outside the main "beats", I have precious little knowledge of. Things like Robin Hood, James Bond, and... Sherlock Holmes. These are things I feel I ought to know more about... just can't be bothered to actually put in the "work", ya know? It's no secret that Denny O'Neil is a pretty big Holmes fanatic... this issue comes only one year after his attempt to launch that strange Sherlock Holmes ongoing series for DC Comics. Click the cover for the cover...age!
I guess Mr. O'Neil didn't quite get it all out of his system there, eh? Worth noting that there'll be some more Holmes-ness in Detective Comics #572 (which was edited by Denny O'Neil)... and if that issue wasn't like 800 pages long, I'd love to cover it here!
Whatever the case... Denny's a fan... I, however, am not. Not that I don't outright dislike the concept, I just don't know enough about it to feel as though this issue is anything all that special (outside of its odd novelty value). Anybody reading this a fan of Holmes? Are many of his stories quite this contrived? Or are they just playing up his art of deduction for silliness' sake?
The story... as mentioned, is pretty silly... but was fun enough to follow. This is the only issue of Joker I've ever read (or seen priced at under $20), so... is his being captured at the end of the issue like a "running gag"? Does he always get captured? I can't imagine this would be fun to read over and over again for nine issues... but, I've been wrong before.
I'm actually completely surprised that DC hasn't tried doing another Joker ongoing series in the near-half century since this came out. Then again, with as often as the Joker pops up these days, giving him his own series might actually cut down on his overall appearances . Can't have that, now can we?
Overall... I'm happy I was finally able to read an issue of this run, and share it here on the site. While it's certainly not a favorite of mine, I can totally see the entertainment value here... especially if you're a fan of Sherlock Holmes. The art, for the most part was sharp and really nice. One thing I often have a problem with when it comes to Joker artists is... the ugly "pursed" mouth they sometimes give him. Ya know, like Caesar Romero through a funhouse mirror? Irv Novick falls into that trap giving our Clown a rather ugly and impossible smile. Otherwise, I got no complaints!
Despite this not being my perfect book, I'd certainly suggest that it's worth a look. This series has been collected in trade, and this issue is available digitally (for only a buck... just like I paid for it!).
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Teen Titans #46 (February, 1977)
"The Fiddler's Concert of Crime!"
Writer - Bob Rozakis
Pencils - Irv Novick
Inks - Joe Giella
Letters - Ben Oda
Edits - Julius Schwartz
Cover Price: $0.30
Ladies and Gentlemen... the countdown is on! As of today, we are one month away from our ONE-THOUSANDTH DAILY POST! Sooo, barring my getting hit by lightning... it looks like we're probably going to get there!
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We open with a comparison of the Roman Colosseum... and the Long Island Colosseum (I'm guessing they mean Nassau Colosseum) where there's about to be a Battle of the Bands! Great Frog fans, don't get your hopes up... they're not playin'. The bands among the battle are Peter and Laura McCarthy and the Flyers... and the Woodworkers. Fans of 70's tunes will probably figure that we're looking at Wings and the Carpenters. Inside... the Earth-2's Fiddler is wrecking all sortsa havoc.
The Titans bust in, and after Mal toots on his wondrous Horn, the Fiddler changes tact. Instead of having everyone destroy their instruments, he starts them on a dance-off. Speedy fires some gas arrows into the mass of humanity... which only seems to enrage them. Roy and Mal wind up on the receiving end of a mosh pit stomp-down.
Meanwhile, back at Titans Cavern... the rest of the teen-age heroes talk about how their next headquarters should be on an island (hmm...). Then, Robin tells an awful joke before introducing their latest member... the *shudder* Joker's Daughter. Eesh, she really skeeves me out.
Speedy and Mal return from their beating, and report in that the Fiddler is on the loose. Kid Flash posits that this might be the same fella that the Flash fought on Earth-2. No duh, Wally. Then they see... Joker's Daughter. Yeeeeeeesh, just lookit her face. Ay yai yai... that must be what you see before you die.
We learn a bit more about the competitors in the Battle of the Bands. The Flyers... and the Woodworkers (oi). Turns out, neither band wants anything to do with the other. They agree to the showdown, so long as they never share the stage. If you're thinking this won't be important later... well, just wait.
Back to the Titans... the Creeper delivers some horrible news: The MacCarthy's have been kidnapped! The "fantastic" Fiddler is among the likeliest culprits. The Titans decide to look into it... otherwise, Great Frog might have to take their place in concert! What would be so bad about that?! Also... there's plenty more ghoulish smiling from Duela. Yeeeeesh.
Robin sends all of the Titans (sans he, Aqualad and J.D.) back to the Colosseum to take on the Fiddler. Upon arrival, they find that he's started a musical plague... calling forth rats, and bugs! Mal gives his horn a toot... and is reminded by the spectre of death that if he loses another fight... he'll die. A holdover from a recent run-in with Azrael (not that Azrael... or that other Azrael either).
Despite the Titans' best efforts... the plague continues. Roy gets a bad case of "ants in the pants", causing him to fire a (thankfully gimmicked) arrow right into Wonder Chick's back!
With the rest of the Titans downed... it comes down to a musical duel between the Fiddler and the Hornblower! Mal manages to win... saving not only his own life, but saving the crowd from being covered with vermin. The Fiddler takes off in his... uh, Fiddlemobile.
Elsewhere, Robin and Company are looking into the abduction of the McCarthy's. Their hotel room is in shambles... and there are two sets of footprints leaving the room via an opened window.
Robin locates the McCarthy's outfits (floppy hats and whatnot)... and has an idea. He asks Aqualad to pretend to kidnap Joker's Daughter... and during the reenactment, we can see that the footprints he leaves are deeper than those present. Robin's not so convinced that the McCarthy's have been nabbed. Before he can share his conclusion, they are zapped away courtesy of Mal's wondrous horn.
They arrive at the Colosseum... where they are informed by the rest of the Titans that the Fiddler has the Woodworkers atop the arena. Also, Joker's Daughter's face... uhhhh.
Once up high, the Titans are taken in by a Fiddler spell... they do-si-do for a bit, nearly chuckin' Mal and Duela off the roof!
When they "come to", the Fiddler calls in his Fiddlecopter (how many things did he manage to bring from Earth-2?!). While the team takes care of the chopper... Joker's Daughter uses her gimmicks to disarm the Fiddler... then she karate chops his funny bone to ensure he won't be fiddlin' with much for at least a little while.
All that's left for the Titans is solving the case of the Missing McCarthy's... only, Robin's already done that! Ya see, he takes the Woodworkers to a Colosseum closet... where he reveals the Flyers! The Woodworkers are sure they're impostors though!
And that's because... the Flyers are the costumed alter-egos for the Woodworkers! Ohhhhh... so, that's why they refused to share a stage.
That night, during the Battle of the Bands... the secret is revealed! And (allegedly) the world of Pop Music will never be the same again!
We wrap up with an epilogue, in which the Titans find their newest digs. Next issue promises the big reveal of the TT's Disco-Headquarters!
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Okey dokey... well, this was something.
Such a weird little story, wasn't it? Bringing analogues for big pop-music acts is interesting. I'm not terribly familiar with either band outside of their hits... but I tried Googling to see if there were any rumors that Wings and the Carpenters were the same band. Couldn't find anything, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't a rumor at the time... I guess. This was all well before my time.
The action scenes were pretty well done, and fit the threat the Fiddler posed. Having the Titans distracted with a plague is probably a good idea... since, it wouldn't take much for them to beat up an old man with a fiddle.
Robin was able to flex his detective muscles here, which was also pretty cool... if not a bit convenient. I suppose most detective-y bits in comics are going to be convenient, so I shouldn't really harp on it.
We probably ought to talk about the Joker's Daughter. Yikes... just so darned unpleasant to look at. It's as though the comic was able to look into my soul anytime she was on-panel. Just... that face. Gonna have to sleep with the lights on for a few nights.
My biggest disappointment here is... we have a Battle of the Bands, and there was no Great Frog performance. I guess I just oughta be happy that they get a mention! Also... and more seriously, the art was a bit uneven.
Overall... ehh, this was silly, but fun. If you're down for a weird-o Bronze Age Titans romp (featuring the ghoulish Duela Dent), you'll probably dig this. I'd certainly advise against breaking the bank (or your back) to get this one though.
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Action Comics #569 (July, 1985)
"The Force of Revenge"
"Casting Call"
Story & Layouts - Dennis Yee
Script - Paul Kupperberg
Writer (back-up) - Michael J. Wolff
Pencillers - Irv Novick & Howard Bender
Inkers - Rodin Rodriguez & Pablo Marcos
Letterers - Duncan Andrews & Gaspar
Colorist - Gene D'Angelo
Editor - Julius Schwartz
Cover Price: $0.75
Toss an arrow in the bins... where it lands, I guess we'll read that one. Sorry, my rhyme game is way off this morning. Been awhile since I used that gimmick.
Today we're going to look at a completely random issue of Action Comics... we don't do nearly enough of those. Normally when I choose the books we're going to discuss there's at least a little bit of a reason why... today, however, we're just flyin' by the seat of our pants.
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Our first story opens with Clark Kent returning to his office at the Galaxy Building after some Supermanning. He arrives just as there is a knock at the door, from... Lois Lane. She enters, and... wow, does her hair look like a helmet... maybe a hood. Anyhoo, she asks that Clark take a look at a chapter she just roughed up for her book. He's more than happy to comply. Before Lois leaves him to it, she asks about his relationship with Lana... but doesn't get all that much information in response. We can see that Lois regrets that she might've "missed the boat" on our Mr. Kent.
We then shift scenes to Del Mar High School where Tina "Dogface" Gerber is walking toward her locker. As she enters the hallway, we see a pair of goofs (one with a really bad mohawk) messing with it. Turns out they just stuffed a mean Valentine into it. Tina throws it to the ground, and runs home... where she proceeds to throw herself down on her bed. She falls asleep thinking to herself how much she hates everyone... and herself.
From those thoughts manifest... Rhavenj (say it out loud)... a creature who feeds on a lust for, well, revenge.
It turns out that tonight is the annual Del Mar High "Boogie Night", or maybe it's the Prom... or maybe the Prom's theme is "Boogie Night", which feels at least a decade passed its "sell by" date in 1985. Lois Lane is there in order to research "today's proms"... and finds herself with a front-row seat to Rhavenj's rampage!
She manages to slip away, and makes a phone call to Clark Kent to see if he might be able to get a hold of Superman. That's all he needs to hear... even though he'd be leaving Lana and their romantic din-din behind.
Superman arrives at Del Mar High, and a fight is on! We can see that Tina Gerber is still dreaming, and can feel all of the pain and anger she's inflicting. Superman slams Rhavenj with some heat vision... to which, the baddie then hits Lois Lane with some "heat vision" of his own... which fills her with hatred toward Superman! Wrapping her fingers around his throat, she lets out all of her frustration of having her heart broken time and again by the Man of Steel.
Superman is finally able to talk her down... and it's pretty strange. He doesn't tell her he "loves" her to get her to cool her jets... he instead explained how he "loved" her, like past tense. She eventually calms down.
This love... or former love... or whatever, is enough to turn Rhavenj into a pile of ash and a waft of brimstone stench. I didn't see a "BAMF!" sound-effect, so we can probably assume he's gone for good.
We hop back to Tina Gerber's bedroom, where she groggily wakes up... recalling the "dream" she just had. Suddenly, the phone rings! It's one of those bullies from earlier. It would seem his recent brush with Rhavenj has made him change his tune. He apologizes to Tina and asks if they could put the past behind them, and be friends!
We wrap up with Superman dropping Lois off at her apartment. They kinda linger in the embrace for a few seconds too long before stepping apart. Superman suggests maybe they give their romance a try one more time... to which, Lois tells him that neither of them will be able to change enough to make that actually work. The same problems will continue to arise. And so, Superman bids her g'nite.
That story might be over, but we're not done yet! Let's get to the back-up... where we find a line-up of people in Superman costumes (uh, just like the cover). We learn that this is a "casting call" for a Superman movie to be produced by the M'Vorn aliens... who kinda look like mutant octopuses. They're a peaceful bunch who wish to make the movie in tribute of the Man of Steel to thank him for saving their planet.
Since their entire race looks like... well, mutant octopuses, they needed to come to Earth in order to find the perfect bi-pedal actor.
Superman, the real one, arrives and checks in with Tufta'Dl, the M'Vorn First Minister for Pleasurably Stimulating Optical Results (oy), and tries to get the skinny on what's going on. Ya see, the crowd in the street is a very mixed one, and frankly... not very many of them look like the Real Steel Deal. Then... we get the punchline (for the first time... second if you count the cover) the M'Vorn can't tell humans apart... if you've seen one, you've seen 'em all.
We head back outside and take a look at one very desperate actor... who proceeds to strap a makeshift jetpack to his back in order to get the aliens' attention. This doesn't go all that well... and results in the apartment the aliens are occupying being filled with smoke.
From the smoke the aliens hear the sound of coughing... which they confuse with poetry. They find the culprit, Michael Betker, and decide he'd make the perfect Superman for their film.
We get the "all humans look alike" schtick again... because, admit it, it was so funny the first couple of times, and Superman decides to let this poor goof leave with the aliens... not knowing if he'll ever return home again.
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Well, this is kinda the very definition of "mixed bag", ain't it?
Let's get the back-up out of the way first... because... well, let's just get that out of the way. The entire thing is just the gag from the cover. It's like they had this "wacky" idea that an alien might not be able to tell humans apart... then decided to stretch that concept into an eight-page story.
I mean, it's not the worst thing... but it joke was sure stretched thin by the end of it. The art was fun, I'll give it that. It was pretty neat seeing a Julius Schwartz cameo... and izzat John F. Kennedy making that funny face at us on the cover? I guess he was back from his adventures in space.
Onto the "main" feature... it was equally silly, in that odd "revenge fantasy" kinda way. I mean, I guess when you're bullied you might fantasize about taking all of the power away from your tormentors... and in the DC Universe, I suppose that might cause you to manifest a punny-named revenge demon. No harm, no foul... but, if you ask me, that's not what sticks with ya after reading this.
The best bit, at least to me, is the weird love tria... er, rhombus, between Lois, Clark, Lana and Superman. It's especially interesting seeing Superman really conflicted about who he might want to be with. I mean, in his civvies, he's Lana's guy... but he runs off to help Lois without much coercion. Also, that bit at the end... he suggests they (Lois and Superman) give their romance one more try. That's some pretty complicated stuff... what then happens to the Lana/Clark relationship? Do we go full-blown "Superman Red/Superman Blue" here? It's all very interesting.
I'm not sure if we're supposed to feel sympathy for Lana here... clearly being the thir...er, fourth wheel (fourth wheel doesn't sound terribly inconvenient, does it?). I can say... I really don't. Maybe that makes me a bad dude... but, Lana just irritates the heck out of me... especially in this pre-Crisis, calling everybody "luv/love" persona. Yuck.
Overall, I'd say this isn't required reading by any stretch... if you're an Action completionist (like the idiot whose words you're reading) then it's a no-brainer... otherwise, ehh.
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