Black Magic #6 (1974)

Black Magic #6 (October-November, 1974)
"The Thirteenth Floor!"
"Satan's Sister!"
"The Girl Who Walked on Water!"
"I Wouldn't Let Him Die"
Writer - Joe Simon
Pencils - John Prentice, Bill Draut, & Jack Kirby
Editors - Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
Cover Price: $0.20

Well, we're just about a week away from Halloween... so, we might as well have at least one installment of #boohauntedblog!

Let's kick it Bronze-Age and get down with some'a that Black Magic.

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Our first tale opens with man named Clement Dorn... and he's not in great place.  He is contemplating suicide... even considering throwing himself out a window right then and there... unfortunately, or fortunately rather, there are too many people around, and he'd rather "go out" without a bunch of gawking witnesses.  I dunno, I figure there'll be plenty of gawking when he goes splat, no?  Anyways, he decides to hop into the elevator and go up a few floors for his jump.  He winds up... on the Thirteenth Floor!

The thirteenth floor is darkened... and looks kind of like a bank line-up, folks are standing single-file before a desk.  At the desk, a pair of nebbish fellows are "checking in" the patrons... of whatever this line might lead to.  Turns out, it's not entirely unlike an airport... folks in line are waiting for their flight.  Turns out... our friend Dorn ain't on anybody's manifest.

Then after the sound of a plane landing, a pilot all clad in golden gear emerges.  He's informed by the desk that not all of his passengers have checked in yet... and also, they've actually got one extra (Dorn, of course).

Then... another pilot, this one dressed in all black with a red cape, enters the scene.  He's told that his passenger has arrived... and Dorn fears that it might be him.  It's not.

Realizing the destinations of the "flights" offered on the thirteenth floor, Dorn starts to panic... he asks if he can leave, and they're all "Yeah, of course..." after all, he's not on the manifest.  On his way out, he overhears that the passenger they're waiting for is a woman.  Next thing we know, Dorn is waking up in the elevator.

With a new lease on life, our man heads outside the building... and witnesses a woman being hit by a car... right on schedule for her "flight".

Our next story opens with a woman named Lisa.  She is attempting to visit with her abusive twin sister, Peg.  After being told by some dude that "she ain't here" she runs into a fella by the name of Mark Kenyon.  He becomes rather enchanted by her, and takes her to a gross little diner to get to know her better.

He learns that Peg, her twin, is a "bad girl"... always getting into trouble... like, serious trouble.  Anyhoo, this chance encounter blossoms into a serious relationship, and three months later, Mark pops the question.  She, unfortunately, cannot say yes... she's still dealing with her twin-sister-flavored trauma.

Mark decides it's time for him to become a bit more proactive... and maybe try and track down Peggy himself.  He visits some of the seedier areas of town... and while everyone he speaks to knows of Peg, none of them know where she is.  He does finally happen across her though... and wouldn'tcha know it, she's the spitting image of Lisa.  Starting to see where this is headed?

Mark tries to reason with her... telling her that she's sick, and needs help.  Which... I mean, that's probably the worst thing he could've said.  She refuses to come with him... and later on, Lisa tells Mark to just leave things alone.  Curious...

He doesn't, though!  Mark visits Peggy yet again... and almost winds up getting shanked!

Mark returns to Lisa's apartment... but, she's not home.  Her landlord approaches to see if she can help him... and here's where the other shoe drops... as far as the landlady knows, Lisa doesn't have a twin sister!  Mark heads inside and, when he finally puts two and two together... someone enters behind him!!!

Our final story (not counting the text piece) opens with a couple of businessy fellas watching a young girl walking on water!  Apparently, she can walk up walls too!

We jump back to earlier that day where the nerdier businessman, Ernie is trying to convince his partner Walt that he'd seen young Anna Marie Kunowski performing the amazing feat.  He takes Walt to Anna's house where she demonstrates her ability to walk up walls.  Seems weird to have a pair of middle-aged dudes visit a 14 year old girl... but, whattaya gonna do?

Next, she demonstrates her ability to walk on water.  Walt and Ernie posit that it's a simple case of mind over matter for the girl.  She's so out to lunch that she doesn't realize that gravity is a thing... and as such, isn't governed by its laws... or something.

The next day, our heroes are already putting the wheels in motion to exploit this girl and her amazing "powers".  They've already arranged with a lawyer for contracts to be written up... they're going to take this show on the road!

After work, they pop in for another visit with Anna Marie.  Her mother answers and tells the awful men to stay away.  Bout time, right?  Anna bursts in the room and proceeds to share her tale of woe.  Ya see, she walked down a wall in front of a kid named Tommy Nagle.  Young Tommy thought it was a heckuva gag, and so... he opened a third story window, and attempted to walk down the wall himself.  This didn't end well.

Our heroes still manage to convince Anna Marie to perform her feat for "the press".  They want her to show the world that, get this, gravity... is strictly for squares!  Ay yai yai.  Later on we rejoin our trio at the lake... and "the press" shows up.  "The Press" is... just one dude with a pencil.

Anna Marie takes her first step onto the lake... and plummets underwater!  Ya see, after seeing what happened to Tommy, she has a fear of falling... game over, man.  Ernie and Walt are outta luck... unless they find another kid so out to lunch that they don't know they can't fly.

We wrap up with a text-piece... but, nobody reads those anyway.  It's right here if ya want it!

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The thing about these old horror titles... I enjoy 'em, but I can't really point to "why".  They're not exceptionally good (or bad)... they usually end in the most anticlimactic ways... and it's really hard (at least for me) to get truly engaged when they only get six-pages to tell the stories.

Not to say I'd want to see any of these tales bloated out to "novel-sized epics" or anything... I just have difficulty really forming any attachment to characters and concepts with so few pages.

Like I said with yesterday's Hex #1 review... these stories all feel like episodes of Twilight Zone... unexceptional, at points completely predictable... but with the ability to stick with ya.

I think the "meatiest" story we get here is probably the Lisa/Peggy twin deal.  I mean, it was predictable from the word "go", but I had a pretty good time with it.  Sometimes knowing exactly how a story is going to turn out is a turn off... other times, you just enjoy the ride.

The "cover story" about the Thirteenth Floor... another predictable one, to be sure.  The symbolism was so blatant, I'm not even sure we could even call it that.  Enjoyable enough... and, I'll admit, the twist ending kinda surprised me.  Wasn't expecting to see that poor woman getting hit by the car!

The "water walking" story was more of a comedy than anything.  Outside of that one Tommy kid falling down, the stakes were incredibly low.  Just a couple of shysters trying to exploit a girl so out to lunch that she doesn't realize she can't walk on walls and the like.  It was silly... and ended the best way possible.  Ernie and Walt, dejected and back to their mundane jobs... however, now with a taste of "hope"... they're not going to give up on finding another dopey kid whose "abilities" they can take advantage of.

Overall, you get a pretty good package here.  Three short subjects that don't overstay their welcome.  If you don't have any hangups about "getting comfortable" with short stories (like I do), I bet you'll dig this lots.  Naturally, this issue isn't available digitally.  If only Batman were in it!  If you're gonna dig for the single issue, it shouldn't break the bank!

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Sandman #1 (1974)

Sandman #1 (Winter, 1974)
"The Sandman"
Penciller & Editor - Jack Kirby
Script - Joe Simon
Inker & Letterer - Mike Royer
Cover Price: $0.20

Engaging in a little bit of review-synergy today as we discuss Simon and Kirby's Sandman #1.  Over at Weird Science DC Comics, my pod-ner and pal Reggie is reviewing Sandman OVERsize Special #1, as part of DC's celebration of The King's 100th Birthday.

So, after you read about Garrett Sanford... er, Sandman's first outing, you should definitely check out Reggie's review of his most recent... ish, um, if it's in continuity that is.  Eh, we'll just say it is.

Now let's hop back to the mid-70's.

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We open with a young boy named Jed in the midst of a terrible nightmare.  A shipwrecked man is bobbing in the angry sea while holding a doll that looks like a mix between Annihilus and a Skrull.  The boy's struggling is overheard by his grandfather, Ezra who runs in to check on him.  Jed is positive that his dream was real, and despite his doubts, Ezra accompanies him outside... where they find the same man from the dream!  How can that be?  Wellllll, there might just be a garishly dressed man behind all of this.

Jed and Ezra pull the man out of the drink, just in time for him to die.  His last words are in reference to his Annihilus-Skrull doll... he pleads with them not to let it fall into "their" hands.  He also calls it a Werblink.  Jed thinks the little stuffed beast is pretty cool, while Ezra appears more than a little skeeved out by the thing.

Jed returns to bed with his new doll beside him... and he does what he does best... has terrifying dreams!  In this one, an over-sized Werblink is chasing his grandfather across a strange barren planet.  Jed tries to catch up, but falls into a crater.  We flip to Sandman-vision, where our hero just received a "Nightmare Alert".  He knows should Jed hit bottom, he'd... I dunno, probably die in real life.  Sandman's nightmare buddies (?) Brute and Glob are all "screw it, let'm fall", but he ignores them and fetches the lad anyway.

As Sandman flies Jed out of the danger zone, he instructs him to wake up.  This must've been another loud nightmare, because Ezra has come to check on him again.  Jed explains the dream... and so Ezra dishes out some Dolphin Island justice on the little toy... smashing it repeatedly against a table.

Realizing that what he'd just done was flat-out batty, Ezra does what anybody would do in that situation... grabs a shovel and buries the evidence.  After shoveling the final scoop of dirt over the little beastie, he says that he hopes that their lives will be "peaceable" again.  Dude, the doll like... just got there... like 15 minutes ago, what are you talking about?

Now for something completely different... the introduction of General Electric!  We shift over to Japan where a pair of neurosurgeons discuss the impressive developments in "Japanese brain surgery".  Doctor Masugi informs Doctor Kaufman that this is due to their ability to "observe" the brain.  B-b-but how?  Ya see, there was this fella who led the Kamikazes during World War II who somehow survived a crash despite his head being basically destroyed.  And so, they rebuilt his head... out of electric devices, and covered the whole thing with a glass dome!

The pair of Em-Dees then visit with the General, who is busy building... uh-oh... dolls!  Dr. Kaufman goes to reach for one of the dolls, at which time General Electric becomes rather violent.

A gaggle of guards bust in the door to see what the hub-bub's about.  Masugi tells them that GE's gone mad... though, before he can be restrained he throws himself through a window to escape.  The guards raise their guns, but Masugi stops them from firing... because, between all dem circuits and know-how, there's a ton of Yen invested in that man's noggin.

We hop back to Dolphin Island, and one week has passed.  We join a curious dog... who approaches a curious clump of (ticking!) Earth.  After digging a bit, the doggy finds quite the... er, curious creature.

That night, Sandman's Nightmare Alert once again goes off... however, this time it's a Four-Alarm Nightmare Alert!  It would seem all of the children in the area of Dolphin Island are not only having a nightmare... they're having the same nightmare!  Brute and Glob ask to be released from their glass encasements (via Sandman's "hypnosonic" whistle) to attend to the crisis.  Sandman refuses, claiming they'd just bungle everything.  He slides down his Ejector Tube, which looks like a lot of fun, and arrives in the mortal world... where an Earthquake is causing all sorts of damage!  He immediately lends the first responders a hand.

Turns out his assistance isn't all that welcome.  He's approached by an officer who begins reading him the riot act.  When Sandman begins pouring some mystical sand over an injured man, the officer raises his gun.  This leaves our man no other option than to start tossing sand every which way to put his pursuers to sleep for a bit.  I guess we'll forget that there's an Earthquake occurring, and how the officers may have been of assistance to those affected.

Elsewhere on the island, young Jed is digging up his doll.  As soon as he nyoinks the Werblink from the ground, a uniformed man demands he hand it over.  Sandman rushes in to save the lad, and gets in a few good shots... before being clobbered by a Jeep.

We shift to the backroom of a doll repair shop on the mainland.  It's adorable... it's got beds and everything.  We learn that the man behind the mischief is... shocker (pun!) General Electric.  The uniformed men hand over not only the Werblink, but Sandman and Jed as well.  General Electric states he's been working on exacting his revenge on the United States since World War II.

His plan includes... dolls.  Well, to be fair... they're computerized dolls.  When he links both Werblinks together, electric charges will blow Washington D.C. clear off the map.  Sandman wishes he'd have let Brute and Glob out of their pods... and as luck would have it, just then one of the baddies discovers the odd whistle he's carrying in his glove.  For whatever reason, he gives it a toot.

This frees Brute and Glob... who fetch their sacks of snips, snails, and lizard tails with which they can torment the bad guys.  They arrive in the mortal world and dump out their bags... terrifying the uniformed guards.  General Electric hasn't the foggiest idea what could've gotten into them.

Brute and Glob are invisible to General Electric, and are able to quickly untie Sandman without a hitch (pun!  I think).  Glob gives the whistle a high-frequency toot, which... shatters poor G.E.'s fishbowl beanie... which is immediately followed by the entire doll shop going boom!

We wrap up with Sandman bidding Jed farewell, and saying he will forget all about this misadventure... just as though it were a dream.  The issue ends with a note asking for a letter campaign should the fans want to see more of these characters.  Wow, it's like 1st Issue Special up in here!

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Hey, now that was pretty weird!  Dug the heck out of it, though.  Definitely gave me 1st Issue Special vibes.  I'm sure if this had come out a year later, it would've been an issue of 1st Issue!  It's strange to consider that the next issue of this series wouldn't hit until several months later... and feature a completely different creative team!  You'd (or I'd) figure the main draw to an oddball book like this would be the Simon and Kirby collaboration... not sure anybody's really chomping at seeing what Michael Fleisher and Ernie Chua have in store for these characters.

Now my history with this character comes from Neil Gaiman's Sandman and a bit from the JSA, where he's a bit batty... actually, he's a different dude altogether.  Here, he's more of a straightforward heroic type... who just so happens to be able to cross from the dreamworld into the mortal realm.  Though, I do suppose it's worth mentioning that this fella was originally intended to be the actual Sandman or myth... and not a costumed vigilante, per say.

Now the story itself... is really quite out there.  It's crazy to me that two of the elder statesmen of the comics (and the craft of comics) are responsible for so many daring and outlandish 1970's concepts (several of which were introduced in 1st Issue Special).  I'd reckon that had I read this as a child... it might just have disturbed me a bit.  There's an odd loneliness to it... an isolation.  Even when we hear that "all children" are being affected by nightmares... we still only see Jed.  The Earthquake victims... just a mere handful of firefighters and officers.  Not sure if Jack just didn't feel like flooding panels with humanity, or if the cast was left sparse on purpose.

General Electric is a strange villain, and his punny name makes me think of Prez for some reason.  I could totally see him fitting in there, standing beside Boss Smiley or something.  Man, these were some wild times... I feel like I really missed out.

Overall, this is one I'd definitely recommend... based on weirdness alone.  The fact that the story is a lot of fun (and nice to look at) is just gravy!  This has been reprinted a couple of times... in The Jack Kirby Omnibus, Volume Two (2011) and The Sandman by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (2009).  Oddly enough, it doesn't seem to be available digitally.  That's actually a bit of a surprise.

Anyhoo, before we wrap up... now that you're more familiar with this Sandman, I want to again recommend checking out Reggie's review of Sandman OVERsize Special #1 (released today!  er, August 16, 2017 for time-travelers) over at Weird Science DC Comics.

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564

1st Issue Special #2 (1975)

1st Issue Special #2 (May, 1975)
"The Green Team: Boy Millionaires"
By Joe Simon & Jerry Grandenetti
Cover Price: $0.25

I had today's piece already picked out... it was already going to be an issue of 1st Issue Special... but it was going to be the Dr. Fate story.  I found myself in the neighborhood of a local comic shop this evening... one that has absolutely awesome hours, so popping in at 7pm on a Sunday is still okay.

Anyhoo, I was scanning the bins as I am wont to do when I came across... The Green Team!  Now, I know the rules... 1st Issue Special at a decent price = instabuy.  I mean, it ain't Lady Cop... but this was definitely on our wish list!

Only four more issues of this weird and wonderful series to track down... I'll try and fit Dr. Fate in toward the end of the week.

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We start our story by meeting Abdul Smith.  A young fella who really wants to join a club.  He enters a high rise apartment building, and when he attempts to take the elevator skyward he is ushered into the "service" lift.  He makes his way upstairs and arrives at the door of the Millionaire's Club.  He rings the buzzer, and a butler arrives to shoo him away.  Little does he know, he's an invited guest!  Don't get too excited however, he's just here to shine some shoes.  He mentions to one of his customers that he'd like to join a club, and is advised to wait around for the meeting of the "Green Team" later on that day.

Speaking of the Green Team, let's meet their members... starting with The Commodore, a teeny tiny shipping tycoon.  We meet him as he rolls up on Rockmuch, Oregon (Google auto-corrects to "rock mulch, Oregon) which, at this point is little more than a ghost town.

He is immediately recognized by a pair of yokels taking up space in a saloon.  They figure him for a mark, and try to fleece him with some worthless real estate.  Well, the Commodore isn't interested in buying a house (or two)... he's gonna buy the entire town!  And so, he does.  Afterward, he starts playing in the pond with a toy boat... that just happens to be armed with some incredible fire power!  What I'm trying to say is, the boat blows up the entire town.

Two days pass, and we learn that the Commodore levelled the town so he could build an airport (or jetport, if you prefer).  Moments later he is joined by oil magnate, J.P. Houston.  A lad who seems to care very little for his oil rigs, and is more passionate about seeking out adventure.  The pair chat contentiously for a bit before remembering that they both had to head to New York for this week's meeting of the Green Team.

Next we shift to Sunbeam Studios lot... Sunbeam, I'm sure you'll know... is the foremost producer of "now" generation movies!  Hmm.  Anyhoo, here we meet Cecil Sunbeam, boy director.

We watch as he enters the set... and proceeds to... er, I dunno... inflict method acting on the poor cast members... by beating the hell out of them?  Thankfully, the thrashing is short-lived.  After all, our boy's got an appointment in New York.

A bit later, the three young men arrive in New York... all parking their aircraft atop the building, which is probably against a code or two.  Inside, we learn they are looking for investment prospects.  Ideas in which they can sink their endless funds.  Their first client is a Mr. Dinkle... who, I would have to assume would have become a regular had this series been picked up.  His pitch is to colonize the North Pole by building an entire city out of frozen french fries.  Can't make this up, folks.  They boot him with the quickness.

Their next appointment is with our old friend Abdul.  He doesn't have an invention or grand vision... he just wants to join the club.  Sadly, his bank book only shows $32.  They tell him to come back when he finds another $999,968.  No big deal, right?  Anyhoo... this inspires young Abdul to keep working hard.  Before heading to his next gig, he decides to stop at the bank to deposit his week's earnings... $5.  The transaction is recorded... one hundred thousand times.  Before we know it, Adbul is $500,000 richer!

Later on, Abdul meets with his regular customers on Wall Street.  They see that he has a cool half-mill in the bank, and give him a hot tip on a spacecraft stock.  He turns that $500K into $1.5 million!  The following week, he attends the Green Team meeting as a full-fledged member.  Oh, and the bank realized their error and deducted the $500K from his account... even then, he was still a millionaire.

During that meeting, the now four boy millionaires meet a kook named Professor Apple.  His invention is... and I'm not making this up... The Great American Pleasure Machine.  Oof.  He explains that all other forms of entertainment are passe... television, film, theatre... he doesn't mention comic books though!  The boys put their noggins together and decide... sure, this is a good waste of money investment!

And so, another town is leveled to make way for the construction of the pleasure dome.  This is not without controversy, however... the entertainment business doesn't think this is fair, and fears the pleasure hut will put them all out of work.

The angry mob is led by a David D. Meritt (get it?)... and he whips them into a lather by proclaiming their entertainment mediums will die should the G.A.P. come to be.  Among the rioters is... Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and (I think) John Wayne... who was still had a few years left on the planet.

The Green Team has little choice but to flee the scene... and as they do, they actually get shot at!  These actors ain't messing around.

Our boys head back to their Green Room to reconnoiter... and hold a meeting with D. Meritt.  They can't come to terms, and part less than amicably.  The baddie promises that the rioters will keep their building surrounded.  The boys seem cool with this, they'll just have to watch the construction of the G.A.P. via their closed circuit television.  Figure the rioters would've busted their cameras, but... we'll allow it.  The boys finally decide they've sat around long enough... and change into their (snicker) action uniforms.  Lemme tell ya, members of Youngblood would think these uniforms have too many pockets.

They head up to the roof to board their helicopter... only to find that D. Meritt has stolen it!  Houston suggests using his six-shooters to blow the bum outta the sky, but the Commodore has a better idea.  Better is a subjective term, right?  Anyhoo, they decide to toss a million dollars in cold hard cash into the rioters below.  D. Meritt can't control his greed, and so he orders the pilot to land.  Sadly, he's too late to grab the dosh... but, figures while he's here... he may as well lock himself in the Pleasure dome.

Here we learn that the trip through "Pleasure Land" takes ten-freaking-days.  Who in the world is going to patronize this place?  This was the great investment?  Oy.  Anyhoo... we join D. Meritt as he... um, finds pleasure?

We wrap up our tale with the Green Team members visiting D. Meritt... in a sanitarium.  Ya see, he went nuts in the Great American Pleasure Machine.  Whoops.  Guess they can't all be winners.  Looks like the Commodore now has a new target for his toy boats...

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Now, what in the bluest of hells did we just read?  Half-million dollar bank errors, toy boats that can down entire cities... the Great American Pleasure Machine?!  Simon and Grandenetti were friggin' crazy during the seventies... and I love it!  Between this, Prez, and the Outsiders... man, how cool would it have been to sit in on their brainstorming sessions?

I'm sure this is supposed to be a commentary on something or another... or maybe it was just an insane idea they were trying out.  Seems to me, at first blush, they are painting the wealthy and powerful members of society... the industrialists and whatnot... as children.  All of their possessions are treated as playthings.  It's more about being a part of the "rich guy club" than actually doing anything productive.

The kids are all (barring Abdul) fortunate sons.  They've all inherited their fortunes... and as mentioned, seem to use their positions and power to live a life of... well, whatever they're trying to do.  We see them handing money over to an inventor... so long as their invention is something that will amuse them.  I mean, these kids aren't looking for ways to cure disease... or feed the poor, they're only interested in pleasure and their own amusement.

Speaking of the Great American Pleasure Machine (oy), I almost feel that's gotta be a commentary on something, right?  Maybe consumerism?  Maybe overindulgence?  Maybe it's an allegory for psychedelic drugs?  Who knows... whatever it was, it was plenty crazy!  Perhaps our man Houston said it best, "can too much pleasure kill a man?"

I would imagine folks who are familiar with this property think about The New-52! incarnation rather than this one.  This version only made a handful of appearances... two of which I actually have at hand.  First they would appear in the limbo storyarc in Grant Morrison's Animal Man run... though, really... who didn't?  I'm fairly certain you and I had a cameo in that!  Anyhoo, here:

Animal Man #25 (July, 1990)
Words - Grant Morrison / Art - Chaz Truog, Mark Farmer, & Tatjana Wood

They would also appear in an issue of Adventures of Superman... and I know what you're thinking... must be an issue written by James Robinson... but, no!  This was during the late-90's and was written by Karl Kesel.  Take a look:

Adventures of Superman #549 (August, 1997)
Words - Karl Kesel / Art - Stuart Immonen, Jose Marzan, Jr., & Glenn Whitmore

Overall... I couldn't imagine anyone purposely not buying this whacked out issue if they come across it for a decent price.  I'd definitely recommend it, even if it's just for the sheer novelty of owning the first appearance of the Green Team.  Can't say for sure the story will be to everybody's liking, but well worth a visit.

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