Secret Origins #4 (1986)

Secret Origins #4 (July, 1986)
"The Secret Origin of Firestorm, the Nuclear Man"
Writer - Gerry Conway
Pencils - George Tuska
Inks - Pablo Marcos
Letters - John Costanza & Carrie Spiegle
Colors - Nansi Hoolahan
Assists - Paul Kupperberg & Robert Greenberger
Edits - Janice Rice
Cover Price: $0.75

I feel like I preface the same way every time we discuss Firestorm... but, this was a character (and a title) I never really glommed onto.  That might sound like heresy, especially to say such a thing on the internet... but, I ain't about to lie to y'all and proclaim myself to be some sort of expert.

I've tried... Lord knows... to "get into" Firestorm.  Mostly because, it's one of those books that I'm told I "should like".  It's the most Marvel-ish of the DC books... and, as a Marvel Boy, should have felt more like "home" to me than many of DC's other standbys.  And yet, I just didn't get it.  Still don't, in fact!  I like the idea, the concept, and even the character... just not enough to actually sit through a hundred issues (or pages) featuring him.

Maybe one'a these days I'll come around... til then, however, let's take a peek into (part of) his "secret origin".  Perhaps this will help make all of those pieces fall into place for me?

--

We open with Firestorm on-the-job... and a little back 'n forth between his two halves.  Professor Stein is happy that Ronnie is so excited to help the Pittsburgh P.D. with all of their troubles... but, really needs to be somewhere.  What he's trying to say is, maybe some cats ought to be left in trees... or something.  More like, let the actual police have some of the fun, I guess.  The two split up, and... somewhat surprisingly (at least to me), it's Stein we follow back to the "real life".  We rejoin him at Vandemeer University, where he's met by his... assistant (?) Wendy.  She asks if he'd like to join her downtown for some Chicago-Style pizza.  I'll... fight the temptation to mention that New York pizza is world's better.  Stuffy ol' Stein declines the offer... and would rather just stand pensively in his window having a flashback...

... All the way back to his college days at Jessie Spano's alma mater, Stanford... err, Sanford.  Likely a technical school having to do with waste management then?  We catch up with him as he's being bullied by a very Tuska-looking tough guy.  This is Brad, somethin' or 'nother... and he wants to cheat off of him on the upcoming "Semester Exam".  Stein (who the bully calls "Stern") refuses at first... until Brad rams his finger up his nose... at which time, our man reconsiders.

Humiliated, Stein drops to the ground to pick up his books.  He's approached by Crystal Frost, who would like nothing more than to comfort him.  Instead of accepting this, Martin tells her to scram... unwittingly setting off a series of events that would end in her becoming the villain, Killer Frost.  Oops!

Next, comes the day of testing... and young Marty has himself a plan.  He will indeed let Brad copy off his paper... but, here's the thing, he's going to answer every question incorrectly himself!  This gets Stein a rather sizable knuckle sandwich.

We jump ahead to Stein using this beat-down as a way of digging down and finding his determination.  He'd tune out the world completely, and devote his life to his studies.  He'd eventually graduate, and receive both his Masters and Doctorate on the same day.  From here, the world was his oyster... he'd get a great gig at S.T.A.R. Labs... and yet, even with all of these accomplishments under his belts... his self-esteem still sucked!  Anytime he'd hear people laughing nearby, he'd automatically assume they were laughing at him.  Whew, it's not just me who feels that way then...

All of his self-doubts and fears ultimately turn Martin Stein toward... the drink.  He's self-medicating, and making no apologies.  One night at the disco, he's approached by a beautiful (?) woman (it is a George Tuska drawing, after all).  She is immediately smitten, and so, drags him out to the dance floor.

Seven days later... they're married!  This is Martin's wife, Clarissa... with whom he was "deliriously happy".  That's what we in the biz call "famous last words", right?

It doesn't take too terribly long for that other shoe to drop.  Ya see, Ms. Clarissa... liked to spend money.  What's more, she liked to spend money Marty didn't have.  This leads to a massive blowup, that ends with Martin "putting hands" on her.  He wrenches her arm, which freaks them both out... she ultimately storms out.  They would eventually divorce...

... and so, Marty went back to his cruel mistress... booze.  Around now, he's left S.T.A.R. Labs for a lead gig at Hudson Nuclear.  Here, he designed the world's first fully automated nuclear power plant... or, at least that was the plan.

Now, nuclear energy was (and is) a hot-button issue... and so, there were many people looking to protest the development of this new facility... including a brutish looking fellow who refers to Stein as "Stern".  This sends Martin reeling into a flashback to his tormented college days, and he shoves the dude into the fence.  Turns out, it's just some other young knucklehead and not Brad-the-Bully.  Stein's assistant, Danton Black sweeps our man away to a nearby car before he can do anything he might regret.  They head directly to the bar so Marty can tie (another) one on.

The whole chat here is... weird, and kind of a heartbreaking look into the mind of a paranoid victim of bullying.  Even though he's like top dog right now, he can't stifle the feelings that everyone views him as weak... and are laughing at him behind his back.  Danton lent our man an ear... which seems like something a friend might do... but, in reality... he was just confirming his own suspicions that Martin Stein is a drunk.  We jump ahead to a point in time where Danton decides he's going to steal an isotope... and, considering what he now knows about Stein... there ain't much he can do to stop him!

Danton tells Stein that if he dares fire him, the whole world will find out that he's a raging alcoholic.  After being whacked with a briefcase, Stein decides calls his bluff...

... which is something he'll soon regret.  Two days later, the entire operation is shut down.  Stein decides "screw it", and proceeds with the launch anyway.

Turns out, at that very moment... a "racial" antinuclear group was putting some explosives in place to tank the entire place... and probably render much of the East Coast unlivable for a rather long time.  I'm going to assume they meant to describe these goobers as "radical" and not "racial", right?  The Prof gets backhanded when he attempts to intervene... and winds up laid out by the bombs alongside some kid named Ronnie.

The timer on the bomb ticks down... and Ronnie wakes up.  Rather than rushing off to save himself, he decides to try and pull the Prof out of harm's way.  This doesn't work out well for either of them!  Also, Danton Black was still lingering around the place, and got hit with a blast of radiation himself!  This is how he'd wind up becoming the villain, Multiplex.

From here, we get the quick and dirty on what Firestorm is and does... and our flashback finally ends.  Stein stops to think s'more and decides life's too short to spend it alone with your papers.  We wrap up with him joining Wendy and the gang at that pizza joint.

--

Now, up to this point I knew diddly and squat about Professor Stein.  I mean, I knew of him... and who he was, but outside of pointing him out in a line-up, I couldn't tell ya all that much.  This issue, I feel, did a great job of filling in many of those blanks for me.

I think, up to this point, I always just assumed the Professor was a cold, stodgy, no-nonsense, colorless, flavorless, odorless sort of character.  Just something we dealt with while we waited for Ronnie's scenes.  Does that make any sense?  I mean, I'm coming at this as an ignorant outsider... but, the idea of following around the Professor for an entire issue, at first blush, seems like a really bad idea.  Almost like we lost a bet or something.

Instead... what we get is... pretty damned good!  We (or I) meet this Martin Stein, and find him to be downright relatable!  Someone with as many flaws as he has accomplishments... and, I tell ya what, this is one very successful fellow.  While I do feel that the alcoholism angle might be like an "easy" way to give him a vice or a failing... everything that led up to that actually felt organic and meaningful.  What I'm trying to say is, seeing him turn to the drink didn't feel "outta nowhere".

My main takeaway here, if I had to pick one, is despite Stein's many successes... at the end of the day, he still sees himself as an impotent (in the helpless sort of way) victim of bullying.  These bits really resonated with me, in that... I (and I assume many) can definitely relate to such feelings.  I can't quite say that anything I've done (or will ever do) could measure up to ya know nuclear ingenuity... but, I've had my fair share of "successes".  Unfortunately, anytime they might be acknowledged, I suspect whoever's speaking is being either sarcastic or patronizing.

Even today, though... as a dude in his forties... if I'm in a classroom, and I hear a group of people chuckling... I automatically assume they're laughing at me.  It's really hindered my ability, self-esteem, and self-efficacy over the years.  I feel like I'm too busy guarding myself to allow myself to just "be".  Ya know?  I'm not a drinker, thankfully... I guess my vice is the back-issue bins.  If I were starring in this issue, I'd jump from having my face rubbed in the dirt to my rubbing my own face in some ancient newsprint.  There's an image for ya!

Anyhoo, outside of all the heady-stuff, this was still a great little primer on Stein.  I really appreciated how Multiplex and Killer Frost's origins were tied in here.  Thought that was a neat little bit of completistness... completionism... whatever it is I'm trying to say.  The art from George Tuska was.... Tuska-y.  I swear Bully Brad showed up in every crowd shot here... even though he actually didn't.  I guess what I'm trying to say is... some of these characters looked very "stock".

Overall... thought this was pretty cool... and, I learned a whole lot about Professor Stein's origins... from, ya know, a half-dozen reboots ago.  I don't know how much (if any) of this still stands in our current DC Comics landscape... and, ya know what... I bet the folks actually collecting paychecks at DC don't either!

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(Not the) Letters Page:

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Secret Origins #2 (1986)

Secret Origins #2 (May, 1986)
"Echoes of Future Past!"
Writer - Len Wein
Illustrator - Gil Kane
Letterer - John Costanza
Colorist - Anthony Tollin
Editor - Julius Schwartz
Tip o' the Hat - Tony Tallarico, D.C. Glanzman, & Steve Ditko
Cover Price: $0.75

Today's discussion is going to be something of a multi-tasker.  Last Spring I contributed a semi-regular feature to DC in the 80's called USENET Fandom, in which I hunt down some old forum posts from the prehistoric internet and discuss them.  It's a lot of fun... and with the benefit of (30 years of) hindsight, we already know how some of the Usenetters' hopes, fears, and concerns have panned out!

Anyhoo... this week I decided to dig the concept out of the mothballs, with hopefully more to follow.  You can check out the latest piece, right here.  Of the subjects covered was a sentence from the text-piece at the end of the issue we are going to discuss today... Secret Origins #2.  In it, a maxi-series follow-up to Crisis on Infinite Earths is announced... and it's called, Crisis on Captive Earth.

Figure while I had the issue out, I may as well cover here as well!

--

We open several years in the past at Midwestern University where visiting Professor Dan Garrett is conducting a class on Archaeology.  Among his students is a young Electronics major named Ted Kord.  Ted brings up some great points during the lecture, and catches up with Garrett after class to chat some more.  He (and we) learns that the Prof. in the preparation stages for an Egyptian dig.

And so, we advance several months later where he and a Professor Luri Hoshid have uncovered the tomb of Kha-Ef-Re.  Kha-Ef-Re was a horrible monster of a man who was rumored to have been allied with the "powers of darkness".  After some flirtatious banter, Dan and Luri decide to head off to a Bistro in Cairo to share a meal.  As their plane takes off, they are surprised to find themselves on the receiving end of a barrage of ballistics from the forces of the renegade General Amenhotep.

The pair escape without taking any damage, and land in Cairo without (further) incident.  At the Bistro, Dan is still steaming from the attack... and won't stop kvetching about the dread Amenhotep.  Who... it just so happens, is dining at the exact same Bistro!  Dan heads over to introduce himself... and by that, I mean, grab the General by the collar and shout at him.

Dan threatens Amenhotep, who by this point has already sicced his bodyguards on the angry archaeologist.  Dan nails one with an elbow... and runs away.  Really now, Dan... what did you expect was going to happen?

Dan and Luri return to the tomb... and find their workers running away from it, as though they were spooked.  Despite all of that, they decide to enter and look around.  Dan reaches the sarcophagus... and notices a strange azure scarab laying on its chest.  He picks it up to investigate, and suddenly finds himself in a dreamlike blur... where he stands at the foot of "The Great One", who tells him it is now his duty to banish evil from the Earth using the power of--The Blue Beetle!

Luri stirs him from his trance... and Dan is alerted to General Amenhotep flying overhead in a jet.  Dan changes into the Blue Beetle just as the baddie drops a bomb on the dig site.

The explosion somehow stirs the Mummy of Kha-Ef-Re to life... and lemme tell ya, this bugger is huge.

The Blue Beetle makes (very) short work of the monster, and with the threat neutralized, tries to return the azure scarab to its rightful owner... The Great One.  Thing of it is, The Great One don't want it... the power and responsibility are all Dan's.  Our man decides to celebrate this by... dumping Luri.  Really now...

And so, in the months and years that followed... Dan Garrett wielded the power of the Blue Beetle to banish evil wherever he found it.  But that's not the end of our story...

Years later, Garrett receives a frantic knocking on his front door... why, it's his old pupil... Ted Kord!  Dan invites him in for a cuppa, and asks him what's up.  Ted felt he had nobody to turn to because, ya see... he helped orchestrate the end of the world!  Dan's all "splain", and so he does.  He had been working with his Uncle Jarvis Kord on some experiments.  It is explained that Jarvis was estranged from his (Ted's) father.  One day after work, Ted leaves to go home.  No sooner does he step off the stoop then the laboratory... well, goes boom!

Emergency Services arrive, and tend to the fire (and Jarvis' body).  Ted sneaks back in after the firefighters leave and comes across an apparently fireproof briefcase.  Inside it is a map of Pago Island, some notes, and a film reel.  Ted watches the flick, and is shocked at his findings.

Dan's still not clear on exactly why this concerns him... and so, Ted shows him the filmstrip.  Apparently Uncle Jarvis had worked on creating an army of robots... an army that poor Ted unwittingly help improve!  Dan's still confused... I mean, Jarvis is dead, riiiiiight?  Well, Ted thinks the body was bogus... and the explody lab was a ruse.  He asks Dan if he would accompany him to Pago Island... because, ya know... Dan's got that archaeological wisdom.

Days later, the pair arrive on the island... and are immediately ambushed by a bunch o' bots.  They capture our boys and take them to their leader... wouldn'tcha know it, it's Uncle Jarvis!

Jarvis explains his entire plan... because he's a bad guy, and that's what they do... before instructing the bots to "Crush!"  Lucky for Ted, he brought himself a bonafide superhero when he picked Dan Garrett.  He "beetle's up" and breaks free... before, well... breaking everything.  Jarvis crawls away and activates the "elector"... which much to his dismay, kills him.  Before the explosion, Dan shields Ted's body with his own.

When the dust settles, Ted finds Dan under some rubble.  Dan realizes his time is up... and pleads with Ted to take the Blue Beetle mantle.  Ted instantly agrees... just before the ground gives way, sending Dan into the Earthen abyss.  Ted is able to crawl out of the cave with his life.

Our (new) man travels back home to consider how he is going to fulfill his promise... after all, Dan got his powers from the scarab... which is currently buried under who-knows how much rubble.  Ted decides to rely on his engineering expertise... and constructs the familiar-to-us Bug vehicle.  Well, that's one thing down... but, how can Ted himself be a productive member of the superhero community without any superpowers?

Well, lucky for him... he's got the abs of a Greek God, and just enough smarts to arm himself with gimmicks galore with which he can take it to the streets!

--

Boy-oh-boy... they sure do cram a lot into these Secret Origins, don't they?

Let's start with Dan Garrett.  I gotta admit, I know very little about him.  Outside of him popping up from time to time in books like Booster Gold (vol.2), I don't think I've ever read anything with him in it.  He comes across here as... a lot less cautious than I expected.  Didn't have him pegged as such an impetuous fella.  Even if we just look at the scene at the Bistro... it's pretty "out there" and reckless, right?

What's more... he didn't even seem to have a plan.  He just grabs a horrible renegade general by the collar... while the baddie is surrounded by security detail.  Hot Head doesn't even begin to describe it!

I don't know why, but I thought it was humorous that as soon as he's bestowed with the power of the Blue Beetle, his first thought is to break it off with his lady-friend.  It's like then he'll be responsible and cautious.  I really want to believe the art from that scene, as it has him just leaving her behind there standing on a rock.  Too much!

We do get a sweet page of Beetle surrounded by his rogues gallery from the Golden-Age Fox Features/Charlton days.  I thought that was a really cool inclusion... even though, I doubt I could name any of them had the captions not been included!

Onto Ted... the Beetle I (and many of us) know a whole lot better.  His origin story is, as far as I can tell, pretty close to the Ditko original.  It feels a bit out of place for a post-Crisis origin story... though, I can't quite put my finger on why.  It's old-fashioned and convenient... but, I can't outright say that's a "bad" thing.

The art in this issue, like I mentioned in my USENET Fandom piece, feels (like the story itself) old-fashioned.  I compared it to how I feel about Carmine Infantino illustrated issues of the Flash late in the pre-Crisis era.  Just feels a lot older than it ought to.  Not bad by any means, just really not what one might expect from a book that hit shelves in 1986.

Overall, this was a really good way to introduce a new generation of readers to the Blue Beetle lore... and a perfect lead-in to Ted's ongoing series... which would hit in the month that followed.  Not sure how much of it is still in continuity (if any of it), but I think it's still worth checking out.  Doesn't look like this one is available digitally, though I do believe it has been collected in the SHOWCASE Presents: Blue Beetle trade paperback.

Before we close out, I wanna point folks over to a few great Blue Beetle resources.  First, Kord Industries... a wonderful blog dedicated to all-things Beetle.  A wealth of information and commentary can be found there... and afternoons can be lost there!  There's also our pals at the Silver and Gold Network who host the Beetlemania! Podcast.  As of this writing, there are three episodes, so it won't take long to catch up!  Both resources are most certainly worth your time.

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Secret Origins #1 (1986)

Secret Origins #1 (April, 1986)
"The Secret Origin of the Golden-Age Superman"
Writer/Editor - Roy Thomas
Illustrators - Wayne Boring & Jerry Ordway
Colorist - Gene D'Angelo
Letterer - David C. Weiss
Cover Price: $0.75

Welcome to the First Blogiversary for Chris is on Infinite Earths.  One year of daily blogging, which isn't really something worth bragging about... but still a pretty big deal to me.  Ya see, I used to see myself as having a real "sticktoitiveness" problem.  I would start projects, and leave them lay for... well, forever.  I've got folders upon folders of incomplete stories, art, and "screenplays" on thumbdrives dating back to the turn of the century... ya know, back when the biggest one you could get was just a handful of MB's.  So, for me to actually see this through to a "goal date" is something I'm, I dunno... sorta proud of.

I chose to cover this issue of Secret Origins because I thought it would be nice (if not self-indulgent) to share the Secret Origin of this blog.  The remainder of the piece will be normal, so if you wanna skip this overlong preamble, please feel free to head to the hyphens.

Anyone who knows me offline knows that I started college juuuust a little bit late.  I went back in 2011 when I was 31... and is another thing I'm surprised that I've been able to stick to.  Now in spite my poor track record of getting things done, I am also known to throw myself so deep into my work that I get lost.  It's almost a manic state, though I wouldn't say that exactly.  Anyhoo, one such time was late January, 2016.

I was in one of my Forensic Psychology classes, and was tasked with profiling potential perpetrators in a cold case.  I chose the Amber Hagerman case from the mid 1990's.  This had to do with a young girl who was abducted while riding her bicycle, and whose body was found a few days later.  She is who the AMBER Alert is named after as well.  I became so engrossed in this case... I mean, I had two computer screens up looking at maps... I combed over any seemingly inconsequential statements from family members and "witnesses"... it really got under my skin, and took over much of my brain-space for a number of weeks.

Then... I actually had to write about it.

... and I couldn't.

It wasn't a case of writer's block, per say... I was more "mind-jammed".  I literally sat in front of a blank screen for hours... fingers hovering above the keys.  I couldn't even B.S. it... I was just stuck.  Words were not transmitting from my brain to my fingers... it was a feeling that I'd never faced before as a "writer".  I mean, I've been "stuck" before... but this was different.  I'm not sure if it was a mix of having too much to say... and nothing at all... or if I knew that after I wrote my piece I'd have to "let go" of the Hagerman case.  I just don't know.  It was a very bizarre sensation.

Now, to shift gears just a bit... a month or two before this I began reading comics blogs and listening to comics podcasts again after some time away.  I think I overdid it on such things in the years that proceeded... and kind of got burnt out on the scene.  Anyhoo... I found a particular blog/podcast called Weird Science DC Comics.  They primarily wrote reviews of contemporary DC Comics... of which I had a pretty steep interest.  This was at a point in which I was kind of "getting over" my post-New 52 temper tantrum (only took me a half-decade), and was dipping my toe back into the game.  Anyhoo... I really enjoyed what they did... and at one point in either December or January, they opened up a message board.

On this message board was a folder for "reader reviews", which I made a mental note of... but didn't really think all that much about it.  Well, during my stint of crippling academic writer's block... I decided to write a review for that message board... with hopes that maybe someone would see it, dig it, and maybe I could start writing "retro" reviews for their site.  The book I chose was Tales of the Teen Titans #55... an all-time favorite of mine.  I wrote it in a Blogger template and copied+pasted it onto their board...

... and it kinda just sat there without much fanfare.

The thing of it was... in writing about something that I was passionate about... which was also fun, I was able to clear the logjam in my head and actually see my Forensics project through to completion.  I enjoyed writing about comics so much that I decided to try my luck a few more times on the message board... ya see, I really didn't wanna start a blog... I figured it would be less stressful (and more fun) to just contribute to other blogs... I could write about something I'm passionate about, and hell... maybe even make some friends in the process.  I was an avid blogger during the mid-2000's... and it can be a real pain.  Blogger is not always the most cooperative in terms of formatting... and bloggING is often a rather lonely endeavor.  Also the thought of uploading and attaching pictures made me clench... well, maybe not clench... but definitely wince.

Shortly after I started posting, the fellas took down their message board leaving my mostly un-viewed pieces homeless... and leaving me with very little choice but to, if I wanted to continue writing, actually start a blog (this blog!) in earnest.  Not sure when I decided to go daily... or stick to daily, anyway.  I know at first I was chomping at the bit to discuss certain books, and perhaps that dictated my pace... and now we are where we are.

Throughout this past year, I feel I've been afforded so much in terms of fun, experience and friendships.  I've been a podcast listener on-and-off for about a decade... but never thought I'd ever have the guts to actually be on one.  I never felt I was good enough to write for other websites, and this year I've been granted the opportunity by several.  I always have this fear that my brain... typing fingers... and mouth are all running at three different speeds, and it's obvious to everyone but me.  If you're reading this and see this is the case... please don't tell me.

For this wonderful year-o-blogging, there are many people I want to thank.  Not to turn this into a silly awards speech or nothing... but, without the kind words and support of the community I'm not sure I would have seen this one through.  I hesitate to name-names, because I'm always afraid I'm going to leave important people out.  Not that getting a thank-you from me is any great shakes... but, if you're reading this... if you've ever taken a few moments out of your busy day to read a few words I've written, or shared something on social media, or reached out to say "hi"... I humbly and sincerely thank you.

I was asked several months ago by a very good friend of mine what my ultimate goal was in blogging... and after considering it, I came down to two things that I wanted out of this more than anything... fun and friends.  Well, over the past year I've had a bunch of fun... and I'd like to think that I made friends.  So that's pretty good.

Well, that's about all I've got to-- Oh, damn... we've still got a book to discuss, don't we?  Ahem... of course.  Let's get right down to it.

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We open on Krypton where Jor-L... not Jor-El returns home to his wife after a long day working with the (so-called) Science Council.  Upon arrival we are introduced to his infant son, Kal-L... not Kal-El.  After bouncing the baby in the air a few times, family time is interrupted by an Earthquake, er... landquake... because they're not on Earth.

The L's apartment begins falling apart, and so they flee to their reinforced "other home".  As they travel we learn that Krypton's Uranium core is about to ignite... which would mean the end for the planet.  Inside their seasonal abode sits an experimental rocket ship.  Not more than a toy, in Jor's terms... this piece was set to demonstrate Jor's foresight in Krypton's potential instability.  It was his hope that he'd be able to create a fleet of these crafts before Krypton eventually popped.  Being as though all he's got is this tiny ship... there's only one thing the L's can do.  You know it, and I know it... little Kal's going for a ride.

Kal-L is loaded into the ship and takes off just as the planet goes boom.  The craft lands on "Sol-III", better known to us as Earth... where it is found by the passing John and Mart... er, Mary Kent.

Who "naturally" take him to an orphanage.  Huh?  Make that an "orphan asylum"... which suddenly makes Superman's treatment of Supergirl in Action Comics #252 make a bit of sense.  He ain't there all that long, as the Kents missed him dearly and decided to properly adopt him.

We advance through Clark's childhood, adolescence and young adulthood.  We see him use his powers on the farm... the death of his parents... and his eventual arrival in Metropolis, at the offices of the Daily Star.  He applies for the job of a reporter... without any experience.  Editor Taylor (rightfully) tells him to hit the skids.  He leaves, changes his clothes, and figures there's gotta be a way to impress his prospective "chief".

Across town, a group of rowdies battering ram their way into the County Jail.  They are looking for an alleged murderer named Sims... and they wanna string him up for killing Jack Kennedy... not that Jack Kennedy... this is just a conveniently named labor leader.  Superman arrives before our man Sims goes for a swing.

Superman returns Sims to the Jail where he introduces himself as "just a reporter".  We learn that Sims didn't do the deed, see?  And neither did Evelyn Curry... who?  She's the other falsely arrested party who is about an hour away from a ride in the 'lectric chair.  Sims claims that the real killer is a lounge singer named Bea Carroll.  Well that theory's as good any, right?  Before heading off to catch the baddie, Superman makes sure to call the hanging tip into the Daily Star... which is an act that gets him hired!

Minutes later he is backstage at Bea's lounge act.  He calls her out for the murder... and to prove her innocence, she pulls a gun.  Well, that ain't gonna work.  He nabs the piece, nabs the lady... and flies her to the Governor's house... where he binds and gags her on the lawn.  Oh boy.

Superman knocks on the Governor's door... where he is met by an aide who refuses him entry.  Well, buster... that's the wrong thing to say.  Superman busts in anyway.

Upstairs we find that the Governor's bedroom has a steel door... oi.  Well, steel is little more than paper for a man of... er, steel (cough), and so our hero makes short work of the obstacle.  Inside we meet the Governor, whose pajamas nearly match those of his aide, must be government issue.  Superman pleads his case... when the aide decides to fetch a gun and unload it right into the "S".  Yeah, that's not smart either.

From here, Superman is able to convince the Governor that they got the wrong lady... by using a written confession that this colorful massive muscleman forced a lounge singer to write... ahem.  There's a neat Golden Age touch here in the corners of the panels, where it gives us a timer indicating that there is a life hanging in the balance.  Too fun not to mention.

Evelyn gets a full pardon, and all's right with the world.  We enter something of an Act II, as Clark heads to work.  There we learn that Superman is being called... well, Superman.  Lois didn't name him, either... this is just what "the paper" is calling him... cuz he's got an "S on his shirt".  Following this heady meeting, Clark meets Lois Lane... writer of the Daily Star's "Lonelyhearts" column.  Clark immediately asks her out on a date... and she agrees.

On their date a heavy decides he wants to cut in... something that Clark meekly protests, but doesn't physically stop the fellow.  This rightly ticks Ms. Lane off, and so she splits... or tries to anyway.

The baddies snatch her after running her cab off the road and toss her in the back of their car.  Their intentions aren't made clear... though I suppose we can assume.  Luckily, Superman is on the scene.  He does some wacky feats of strength before carrying Lois to safety.  He then does something... well, kind of iconic.

He drops Lois off at a bus stop and asks that she not report on what happened.  She wonder how he knew she was a reporter... after all, she's not wearing her press card.  That's pretty sloppy, Supes.  Anyhoo... the next day Lois heads into the Star, and the first thing she does is tell her Editor about what happened the night before.  Good lookin' out, Lane.

We wrap things up with Clark arriving and apologizing to Lois... the first of millions of times to come.  Our last image shows us what's to come for the happy couple, up to and including their marriage!

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Tale as old as time, right?  We've been here before... some of us even got the t-shirt.  But really, if you're going to launch an ongoing series of Secret Origins, you almost have to start with Superman.

This is a hard one for me to really parse, as this is the way the Golden-Age Superman has always been to me.  My Golden-Age game is laughably low... I don't know what bits were changed or tweaked between retellings.  That being said, I can only review this as... well, an issue of a comic book, and not as a commentary on updating older characters.  To me and I'd venture to say most in my age range, updating Superman happened in Man of Steel.

As for this being an issue of a comic book... it ain't half bad.  It's quite compressed... and actually feels somewhat like what little Golden Age I have read.  Upon rereading this for review, I'd completely forgotten about the back-half.  When we get to Superman pleading his case to the Governor... we're just barely to the staples!  Yeesh, we're talking a 2017 six-issue storyarc crammed to one side of the staples.  Crazy, right?  What's more, it doesn't read as being rushed or compressed.  We get all the information we need, it's just that nothing is dwelt on... because, really... not a whole lot needs to be.  We ain't makin' movies here... and we don't need nine-panel grids of a repeated static talking head.

Now with all that said... this story has plenty of silly moments.  Clark strolling into a newspaper on a whim to become a reporter so he can help others... that's kinda precious, right?  The idea that baby-Kal nearly single-handedly destroyed an orphan asylum... and not a single person thought to contact the authorities is pretty wild too.

We get the classic scene of a doctor's hypodermic needle snapping on Clark's impenetrable skin... with Clark telling him to "try again"... I mean, eventually the Doc's gonna get tired of trying... and ya know, maybe confer with other doctors about this strange case.  That's a classic case of my thinking too hard, so we'll just sweep it under the rug.

Overall... a fine enough issue, though probably not one that needs to be sought out.  I think many of us are already at least somewhat familiar with this story... and it is what it is.  This bugger isn't available digitally... as DC has thus far only uploaded a few issues from this series... mostly having to do with (surprise, surprise) Batman.  Not worth breaking ones back to track down... but if you come across it on the cheap, you could do worse.

And there we have it... one whole year in the books, er blogs.  Three-Hundred and Sixty-Six days of blogging.  Not sure where we go from here... every time I hit a milestone, I think to myself that I'm "okay" to take a day or three off... but something keeps me coming back.  I sit here now with a full year down... but in the back of my head I know that I'm only about a month and a half away from post #400.  Ay yai yai.  I guess time will tell.

Before I split, I want to once again thank everyone who has supported the blog by visiting and/or spreading the word.  I'd say this whole thing would have been worth it if a single person read a single word... but I gotta admit, it's a lot more fun to think that people might actually dig the words I digitally drop here. Thanks everybody!

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Now as if this piece wasn't self-indulgent enough... I thought it would be fun to share several of my favorites this year.  Not necessarily my favorite "issues" or "stories", but the ones I most enjoyed writing.  There were several pieces that sorta-kinda "snuck" up on me... ones I wasn't expecting to enjoy writing about, but actually did a great deal.  Gonna go the old Top 10 route (who doesn't like a Top 10?  Don't answer that...), however, they are not listed in any particular order... well, except the first one.

Batman #416 (February, 1988)
"White Gold and Truth"
Jim Starlin (W) / Jim Aparo (A)
Original Post-Date: November 11, 2016

Very possibly the best issue (new or old) I'd read the entire year.  I'm a sucker for Bat-family dysfunction and this one absolutely brings it.  I'd long written off Jim Starlin as a "cosmic" writer... his late 1980's Batman run has totally changed my mind on that!

Superman #327 (September, 1978)
"Two Can Die as Cheaply as One!"
Cary Bates (W) / Kurt Schaffenberger (A)
Original Post-Date: September 17, 2016

There were two stories in this issue, but it's the back-up that I had the most fun with.  We get a really awesome Mr. & Mrs. Superman story, from which I pulled my "Superman being blown up in his car" image I use on various social media sites.

Tales of the Teen Titans #42 (May, 1984)
"The Eyes of Tara Markov!"
Marv Wolfman (W) / George Perez (A)
Original Post-Date: August 12, 2016

Such an emotion-wrecking good time.  I've said it many times... every time I read The Judas Contract, I always get that hope that eventually Terra's going to "come around".  Of course that's not how things work.  Terra's tale was a difficult but enjoyable one to chronicle here last Summer.

Justice League #1 (May, 1987)
"Born Again"
Giffen/DeMatteis (W) / Kevin Maguire (A)
Original Post-Date: January 1, 2017

This piece was special to me as it was my picking up on a previous failed-blog attempt.  It felt good to actually see this one through.  The issue was also quite fun to discuss.

Superman Meets the Quik Bunny (1987)
"Quik Thinking"
Mike Carlin (W) / Carmine Infantino (A)
Original Post-Date: March 6, 2016

Discussing this book was one of the things that illustrated the potential this blog has.  I have a love of the obscure and "novel" in comics... and it doesn't get much more novel than this!  This issue kinda fell into my lap, and I'm happy I was able to share it.

Batgirl Special #1 (1988)
"The Last Batgirl Story"
Barbara Randall (W) / Barry Kitson (A)
Original Post-Date: January 23, 2017

A very recent entry... but one I had a lot of fun reading and writing about.  It comes from a time in Barbara Gordon history, which up to this point, I didn't even know existed!  Stories like this are part of the reason I started writing about comics.

Wild Dog #2 (October, 1987)
"Blowed Up Real Good!"
Max Collins (W) / Terry Beatty (A)
Original Post-Date: May 17, 2016

Around mid-May I hit my 100th Daily Post... and kinda fell into a bit of burn out.  Writing became a bit of a chore, and I was considering stepping away for a bit.  I felt like I was trying to hard to write for an audience, covering books that I didn't really want to... then along came Wild Dog.  Pure fun!

Ambush Bug Stocking Stuffer #1 (1986)
"I Knew I Shoulda Taken that Left Toyn Back in Albakoyky"
Keith Giffen (W/A)
Original Post-Date: July 7, 2016

Despite the fact that my Christmas entries almost always result in a pretty hefty dip in readership, I still had a blast covering this wacky book.

Angel Love #3 (October, 1986)
Barbara Slate (W/A)
Original Post-Date: August 27, 2016

This was the one issue of Angel Love that eluded me for over a year.  This was another "re-invigoration" issue for me.  I was getting a bit tired of writing, and again... considered stepping away for a little while.  Was lucky to come across this little book which reignited my interest in discussing these silly stories.

Lois Lane #1 (August, 1986)
"When it Rains, God is Crying: Chapters I & II"
Mindy Newell (W) / Gray Morrow (A)
Original Post-Date: February 18, 2016

This was a very interesting book to cover... in light of my own "Secret Origin" which I droned on about for far too long above.  This has to do with missing and abducted children... and Ms. Newell absolutely crushed it with her research.  A pleasure to read and discuss.