Secret Society of Super-Villains #1 (1976)

Secret Society of Super-Villains #1 (May-June, 1976)
"Attend --or Die!"
Writer/Edits - Gerry Conway
Pencils - Pablo Marcos
Inks - Bob Smith
Cover Price: $0.30

Over the course of the past few weeks, I've been trying to make good on a promise I made to the wife about... cleaning up the comics-areas of the house.  Right now, I've got around three rooms full of the stuff, and since I'm constantly digging into boxes in order to write and/or talk about specific issues, it's... well, an absolute disaster.

It's almost a bit embarrassing, but I even shared a picture of my "progress" on the Twitta Machine.

1 of 3 comic-filled rooms I promised the wife I’d clean up once finals were done, sorting and filing has quickly devolved into “look at THIS!” “When did I get THIS?” and “Holy cow, it’s been years since I’ve looked at THIS!”
Room’s gonna get a lot worse before it gets any better! pic.twitter.com/owr2VQYmhN

— Chris Sheehan (@AceComics) April 27, 2020

In that li'l tweet I mentioned the fact that, when attempting to "organize" the stuff, it's just so easy to become distracted.  It's sort of like visiting old friends... and, at the same time, discovering new ones!  Such is the book we're going to be discussing today.  It's a book that, clearly I picked up somewhere down the road, but I have absolutely no memory of it!

Now this is a special one, not only is it an issue of Secret Society of Super-Villains, not only is it the first issue of Secret Society of Super-Villains... no, no, no... it's even more special than that!  Ya see, today we're going to be looking at Mark's first issue of Secret Society of Super-Villains!

Get excited!  You know I am!

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We open with Captain Cold and Mirror Master rushing away from a jewelry store, loot in hand.  The N.Y.P.D. are in hot pursuit.  Through some creative use of their powers, the pair'a villains are able to give the boys in blue the slip, and before we know they're back at their roach motel to divvy up the dosh.  Turns out, these goofballs didn't quite hit the mother-lode they were expecting.  While they were lookin' fer a six-figure total, they barely scraped together five.  As they argue about whether or not they're "holding out" on one another, a rock comes flying through their window.  On it, a note... with an invitation!

We shift scenes to Gorilla City, where boring ol' Grodd has busted out of his prison once again.  He beats the heck out of the Gorilla City Guards, all the while annoyingly lecturing them on how walls and bars don't quite a cell make... or something.  He laughs... and vanishes.

From here, we jump to the Special Security Federal Penitentiary Number Three, where Copperhead... the "Serpentine King of Crime" is currently busting out of the joint.  Ya see, one of his followers smuggled his swell suit into the clink during meal time.  The lackey reveals that he didn't work alone, and shares with him... an invitation!  Now, Copperhead is the type of character I'd think of growing up when I'd compare Marvel villains with DC villains.  He just strikes me as so ugly, and so boring.

Next stop, San Francisco... where Sinestro is answering an invitation of his own.  He touches down, and changes his image a bit in order to appear more human before gazing up to the clandestine "Citadel Sinister".  In a really cool bit, we get one of those old-fashioned "cross-sections" of the building, which tells us about all the works going on within.  Why, they've even got a tailor up in there!  Whoever's behind this is doin' it right!

Sinestro heads inside, and is greeted by a French woman calling herself Camille.  She leads him to the elevators so he can head up to the lounge for whatever meeting is about to take place.

Once Sinestro is loaded in, and headed skyward, our "Camille" reveals that she is actually... Star Sapphire.  Well, a Star Sapphire.  Mr. Conway doesn't wanna spoil her story here... and so, I won't either... mostly because I'm not all that familiar with it!  She flies up to the lounge, and it looks like our "meeting" is about to kick off.  Worth noting, the caption mentions that Catwoman is a part of this "team", but we don't see her at all.

Now, as the baddies get settled in... they are suddenly attacked by: the Justice League!  If you're thinking this might play out just like the image on the cover... well, uh... yeah, that's exactly how it goes.  We spend three pages of the Secret Society fighting (and beating) some JLA robots.  Woo?

This was all an exhibition, courtesy of their "host substitute"... Manhunter!  Ay yai yai.

Manhunter introduces himself as a clone of Paul Kirk... and says he is here as a proxy for the actual leader of this Secret Society... whose name he won't reveal.  He "sells" them on the concept of joining forces... and lists off some of the perks their association will enjoy.  He informs the gang that he has been tasked with "testing" them... and declares that the testing will begin with Gorilla Grodd and Copperhead!  Wow, I guess we'll get the most boring characters out of the way first!

Before we know it, the baddie tandem are headed to Jim Aparo's buddy Chuck's lighthouse!  They're here to swipe a solid sphere of Plutonium... that is being guarded by like four guards and an old man.  Feels like a pretty underwhelming "test", dunnit?  I mean, one of these baddies is a giant genius gorilla.  Anyhoo, Grodd takes out the guards... like in one panel, while Copperhead slithers up the side of the lighthouse, and beats up the "creepy old man" who is handling the isotope.

With the sphere under his arm, Copperhead rushes back outside to re-board the Secret Society aircraft.  Along the way, however, he is shot in the shoulder by a recovering guard.  This causes him to go down, and drop the bauble into the drink.  The plutonium is gone forever... 

Gorilla Grodd decides that he ain't about to wait for his slithery compatriot... and, well... abandons him, to bleed out and/or get rearrested on the rocks outside the lighthouse!  We wrap up with Grodd informing Manhunter that Copperhead "betrayed them"... which, I mean... I couldn't care less about the snake man, but that's just a jerk move.

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Hey, this wasn't half-bad!  Wasn't quite sure what to expect here... and, honestly, I'm still not entirely sure.

This was your standard "assembling the forces" sort of issue, which is fine.  I'm kind of a sucker for stories like this... so, I don't have any complaints in that regard.  I will say, if one of the big "gotchas" in the book is the revelation that the Justice League the Society spends several pages fighting are robots... maybe you don't put that on the cover?  I mean, not that I'd assume the actual League would show up... and get beaten back by these geeks... but, still.  

The characters we get here are a pretty good assortment... and I appreciate the fact that, even after a single issue, the "order" kind of changes with the loss of Copperhead.  That gives this series a feeling that there are actual stakes... and, that we might lose (or gain) members at any time.  They mystery behind the benefactor... which, I didn't want to have spoiled for me... but, did because I guess "knowledge is power" on the comics internet... and we all wanna look like we know stuff.  Granted, I probably shouldn't get all that annoyed about having a near half-century old story "spoiled".  Whatever the case, I won't spoil it, just in case people wanna find out for themselves.

I dug Gorilla Grodd abandoning Copperhead at the lighthouse... and even going so far as to lie about the snake-man betraying the Society.  This shows us that there's no loyalty among baddies.  This "team" is very different than their heroic counterparts.  We wouldn't see Superman abandon the Flash in times of trouble... but, we will see the villains turn on one another in a moment's notice.

Overall... had a good time with Mark's issue of Secret Society of Super-Villains... though, I do wish the fella was a little more gentle with his copy.  Writing inside the comic?  Clipping out coupons (see below)?  C'mon, Mark... think of your future, man!  You could've been sitting on a $24 fortune right now!

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Most of (Not the) Letters Page (dammit, Mark!):

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PSA:

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Interesting Ads (aka. I hope you enjoyed your 204 soldiers, Mark!):

Spiral Zone #1 (1988)

Spiral Zone #1 (February, 1988)
"Colossus of Doom"
Writer - Michael Fleisher
Layouts - Carmine Infantino
Pencils - Pablo Marcos
Inks - Dick Giordano
Letters - John Costanza
Colors - Helen Vesik
Editor - Joey Cavalieri
Executive Editor - Joe Orlando
Cover Price: $1.00

Today we're going to take a look at a cartoon/toy tie-in... but, it's for one of those toys that I somehow didn't even realize existed!  I mean, I would've been around six-years old when they came out... so, I'd have been right in that "sweet spot"... but, gotta say, I never hoid of 'em.  Never saw the cartoon either!

Actually, all I knew of Spiral Zone, were the somewhat creepy ads that appeared in DC Comics (including, oddly enough, this very issue!):

I never knew what it was... and must have just assumed that it was just some sci-fi comic aimed toward kids... like Planet Terry, only blotchier.

But, turns out.. it actually was a cartoon... 

... and a toy line!

Though, it appears to have been a bit more popular in Japan.

Pretty wild stuff, eh?  Well, moderately wild, I suppose.  Anyhoo, this discussion was a long time coming, so let's get right to it!

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We open in the far-flung future of 2007... we're in a world where, earlier that year, the evil Overlord created things called... Spiral Zones.  Ya see, they're these machines that generate "spiral" waves of force which render everyone within them to be docile and without will.  The Spiral Zones currently cover over one-half of the planet Earth.  There is a war between good and evil, in the form of "The Evil Black Widows"... who, I mean, they're the bad guys, clearly... the word "evil" is in their name, right?  Those stood against the baddies are "The Zone Riders", and we'll be meeting (a couple of) them in a little bit... though, one looks like she might be Arisia.

During this present skirmish (in Paris, France), we hop into the head of Zone Rider, Sgt. Tank Schmidt.  His mind wanders, he begins thinking about his young Son who had been trapped inside a Spiral Zone in their native Germany.  He vows to move Heaven and Earth in order to save his boy.

Unfortunately, his daydream winds up getting him shot by one of the Widows!  Whoops.  Gotta keep your head in the game there, Tank.  Lucky for him though, Commander Dirk Courage is nearby to lend a hand.  When the Widow sees this, they beat a hasty retreat... ain't nobody wantin' to go one-on-one with the almighty Dirk Courage!

We jump ahead a bit, and rejoin Tank as he's being looked at by some Rider-Doctors.  He swears that he feels fine, and that he ought to let go.  Dirk pops his head in to give a bit of a pep-talk, and impress upon Tank that it's best for him to remain under observation for the next little while.

We shift scenes to the Arctic, where Black Widow second-in-command, Bandit is leading a troop of baddies to do... something with a group of Eskimo Villagers.  The civilians run away, because even they, in the frozen northland know of the Overlord's evil.  Gotta wonder who his P.R. guy is!  Bandit ain't worried, however, as he knows they won't get far...

... because he's packin' a Zone Effect Cannon on his back!  With only a zap, the Villagers lose their will to run... and become will-less slaves.

Bandit calls into Overlord to give a sit-rep, which leads into Overlord sharing his entire secret origin story with us!  Ya see, he was once Dr. James Bent, the youngest NASA Military Science Commander (or some such).  He had an idea which he felt would result in world peace.  Sounds like a pretty good guy, don't he?  Well, his idea was to... destroy everyone's free will.  NASA, unsurprisingly, turned him down.  He then took his idea to the Soviet Union, who also turned him down.  And so, he and his buddies decided to steal a page from the Reed Richard playbook, and sneak a rocket into space.  Instead of being bombarded with Cosmic Rays, however, they just dropped a bunch of the "Zone Effect" machines!  Ever since then, the Widows have been in control.

Back at Rider-Base, Dirk Courage (which sounds dumber every time I type it) is informed that there's something going on in the Arctic.  He finds it odd, considering how far out of the Spiral Zone that region is, but decides to take a look anyway, just in case.  As he loads into his jet "The Eagle" (sold separately) he reminisces to the formation of the elite Zone Riders.  They're kind of like the Planeteers, just older (except Arisia, naturally...).  Their armored suits (of which, there are only five) protect them from the Spiral Effect.

With Dirk away, Tank'll play.  He decides to use his enforced "down time" to infiltrate the Spiral Zone and, hopefully, rescue his Son.  Ya see, while people lose their will while in the Zone... once they're removed from it, their senses come back pretty quickly.  Tank busts out of his bindings and hops out a window.

Over the next several pages, Dirk Courage engages in a dogfight with a bunch of unmanned Widow-drone jets, all the while snapping photos of the Arctic area he was sent to investigate.  Believe it or not, it's somehow even less interesting than I just described it to be.

We rejoin Tank... in Germany?  Wow, how fast do those bikes go?  I wonder if they come with "all you see here"?  Anyhoo, he's looking for his Son, and is disgusted that the Widows have enslaved children.  Just then, Tank's Son, Joey wanders into the scene!

Before Tank can act, he is spotted by the Widows!  He grabs Joey, and they attempt to flee... unfortunately they run right into the Overlord!  Ya see, he knew Tank was on his way... and realizing there's only one reason he'd come, planted a homing device on young Joey.  Tank is disarmed... and Joey promises that it ain't so bad being a "Zoner".  Yeah, that was kinda spoiled on the cover, wasn't it?

We wrap up back in the Arctic, where we finally see what the Eskimos have been enslaved to do... they're building a colossal statue... probably of the Overlord... probably just for his vanity... all we see is the lower-half, so, your guess is as good as mine!  Though, c'mon... it's totally going to be the Overlord.

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Ehh, ya know what?  For a toy tie-in, this really wasn't all that bad.  I wouldn't call it a "must read" or anything like that, but, this probably won't make ya mad.

I feel like, for a comic book story, maybe a few too many pages were spent showcasing vehicles, armors, and assorted doo-dads, but... they are trying to sell toys here!  It's just too bad Tonka cancelled the 1988 line (which I'm assuming this mini-series was timed for).  Poor Anastasia never got her figure... though, if you read this issue, you'd barely have an idea of who Anastasia is (she's the Arisia-lookalike).

That is kinda weird.  This is a four-issue series, and so far, we've only really "met" two out of the five Zone Riders.  Outside of that little bio-blurb, we don't get a whole lot out of the... well, characters that aren't white dudes.  Whoops.  Not saying there's anything sinister about that, that ain't how I play, but... whattayagonnado?

The most interesting part of this issue is probably the Tank/Joey bit.  Leaving the fact that the "reveal" was spoiled on the cover, I thought that was pretty neat.  In checking out the cartoon's opening, it looks like they included the rescue attempt as part of it!  Here, I GIFed it for ya:

The art here was pretty good.  I feel like Infantino as a "layout" guy during the 80's is a lot less severe than Infantino as a penciller.  As I've said before, I really didn't like his pre-Crisis Flash.  Looking at the design... the cover here is evocative of that 1970 Hot Wheels comic we discussed here back in the long ago.  Wonder if that's just one of DC's go-to "house styles" for licensed properties?  Here, you be the judge:

Overall, a decent enough issue... though, probably not a series I'll revisit.  In fact, this was an issue I wanted to discuss very early on in the blog... like, within the first few weeks!  Still trying to find my "niche", I wanted to drop in some "obscure" stuff early.  To be honest, I didn't make it more than a handful of pages before dropping it back into the longbox.  I'm glad I stuck with it today though.

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(Not the) Letters Page:

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Interesting Ads:

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