All-Star Squadron #60 (1986)

All-Star Squadron #60 (August, 1986)
"The End of the Beginning!"
Writer - Roy Thomas
Co-Plotter - Dann Thomas
Pencillers - Mike Clark & Arvell Jones
Inkers - Vince Colletta & Tony DeZuniga
Colorist - Carl Gafford
Letterer - David Cody Weiss
Cover Price: $0.75

The All-Star Squadron... and pretty much any 70's-80's DC with Roy Thomas' name on it, has been a bit of an on-purpose blind-spot for me.  It feels almost as intimidating to me as the Legion of Super-Heroes!  However, one of the purposes of this humble blog is for me to broaden my DC Comics horizons... and actually start reading the comics I've been stockpiling over the past couple decades.

And so... today we're going to discuss a Crisis-era issue of All-Star Squadron.  A bit of a spoiler alert... this is probably the worst issue of this series to use as a "jumping on point"... but we will, as always... do our best.

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We open with the combined forces of the Spectre and Thunderbolt bringing the Justice Society back from... wherever they've been.  The footnote states that for the better part of the past year the Society have been flung around a parallel universe.  Then altogether, the crew returns to the real world circa World War II... where the skies are quite red!

The Society realizes their recent out-of-universe experience was compliments of a Nazi scientist named Gootsden.  Led by Hawkman, our team meets with an FBI Agent outside a innocuous dwelling from which Nazis are readying to launch rockets.  The society makes quick work of the Ratzis, and Hawkman even gets a few moments on the phone with Der Fuhrer himself!  After the dust settles, the Spectre transports the team back to headquarters.

We shift over to All-Stars Green Lantern, Shining Knight, Air Wave, and Firebrand stand before a mechanical woman calling herself Mekanique who claims to be from the future... Robotman is laid out behind her and Robert Grayson is also nearby.  The All-Stars attempt to lay into her, she easily deflects the onslaught with a well-placed force field.

Robotman pleads with his teammates to lay off... he believes Mekanique means no harm.  He also believes she is actually from the future.  During a cease fire, she informs the All-Stars that she has come back to this time for a very specific reason... Green Lantern's all "'splain"... and so she does.  She is back to stop an event that will trigger an eventual "world destroying war".  Everything apparently stems from a young girl being hit by a car after her cat jumps into the street... that very day!

Green Lantern and Firebrand head off to prevent the accident... and do!  It turns out the person who was driving the vehicle that would've hit the young girl is Admiral Higby, a top strategist for the United States Navy.  After a brief meet 'n greet, our All-Stars head back to the Perisphere in Flushing Meadows, where the gang has their headquarters.

Upon arrival, we see a whole slew of Golden Age characters... it's really quite a sight.  Among them are Batman, Superman, Robin, and Aquaman.  It's strange to recall how different the pre-Crisis DC Universe was.  It's really quite alien to me.  Anyhoo, they are all assembled because President Roosevelt requested a team photograph.  And so...

With the picture taken, Batman draws attention to the fact that Plastic Man and the Freedom Fighters were absent.  Liberty Belle fills him (and us) in on their fate.  They now reside on Earth X where they are fighting in a different World War II... one in which Hitler and Tojo have the advantage!  If I recall correctly, that Earth is sometimes referred to as Earth Swastika.

Speaking of absences, Green Lantern notices that both Mekanique and Robotman have flown the coop.  Turns out they are outside getting to know one another better.  Robotman recalls that when she first arrived, she muttered the word Rotwang (couldn't be...) before collapsing.  She does not appear to know what that word means, and so Robotman uses his photoelectric cell eyes to try and dig a bit deeper.

... and so we learn that Mekanique is really a robot from the future named Maria... who was built by a scientist named Rotwang... in a Metropolis ruled by an elite class... and yeah, my mind is kinda blown.  This is really supposed to be Maria from Fritz Lang's Metropolis?!?  Ay yai yai!

Her memories begin rushing back... she realizes that she has been sent back to effect the past.  She also notes that she is single-handedly holding back the effects of the frickin' Crisis on Infinite Earths from finalizing!  If my mind wasn't already blown, it damn sure would be now!  Oh, by the way... by Green Lantern and Firebrand saving both the little girl and Admiral Higby... they didn't save the future... they doomed it!  Well, isn't that nice?  Her proclamation ends with the skies changing from red to blue... signifying the fallout of the Crisis settling in.

We wrap up with All-Stars Liberty Belle, Johnny Quick, and Hawkman delivering the team photo to President Roosevelt.  They apologize that a few members are missing... FDR is cool with it though, as he doesn't notice any "big names" missing... he even comments that anyone who is missing is probably so obscure he'd never heard of them.  Note that the "trinity" is no longer present...

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Well.  Woof... I think this was a pretty important issue.  Dang... I most definitely do have the worst "new-reader friendly" radar.  Thankfully, from future iterations of the Justice Society of America, I do have a fair amount of familiarity with many of these characters.  As a (pre-Crisis) unit, and in the Roosevelt era, not so much... but I think we can have a go at this.

We've got a lot to unpack... so, let's just get down to it.

I wanna say this is the first time I read an issue of a comic that started in the pre-Crisis DC Universe... and ended in post-Crisis.  That... and I've said this a few times already... kinda blew my mind.  I mean, imagine such an issue being released today... this sucker would've been hyped to hell and back, and would've been released with skatey-eight hundred variants and incentives.  Here, however... it's just a normal-sized (though chock-full of information) issue!  What's more... no mention of Crisis on Infinite Earths on the cover... Just how nuts is that?

Let's discuss what is probably the most important bit of this issue.  The official dissolution of Earth-Two.  Roy Thomas included a note at the end of the letters page (below) that confirms that Earth-Two is done as a "separate entity".  That's a pretty big deal... Earth-Two had been around for over twenty-years at this point... which is like, what six or seven "generations" of comic book readers?

I wish I had more of a connection to the multiple Earths so I could get the full import of this.  I know, even as just a wannabe comics historian, that this is pretty big... I can only imagine what I would have thought or felt had I been "in the scene" back then.  I wonder how what would have run through my mind after seeing that second team picture without Superman, without Batman or Robin, without Wonder Woman or Aquaman.  That must have been wildly strange!  It is weird that Green Arrow and Speedy remained though... I'm not quite sure how that worked itself out.

The other thing we need to discuss... the inclusion of a 1927 German film into DC's continuity... is just completely wild, right!?  Not only being a "part" of DC continuity... but as the sole reason why the effects of Crisis on Infinite Earths wouldn't "finalize"... wow!  For anybody who doesn't know what I'm referring to (though, I couldn't imagine that would be many), Metropolis is a silent film directed by Fritz Lang (poster above).  It's been ages since I've seen it... but after reading this, I might be due a revisit.

Overall... I really want to recommend this one, just for it's sheer importance.  On the other hand... it is a lot to unpack, and a pretty decent knowledge of DC's Golden Age is almost a requirement.  I think I'm fairly well-versed, and I found myself having to pop over to some online info-sites.  This is (surprisingly?) available digitally (as is the entire series!).  I think it's certainly worth the time, if one is willing to put forth a smidge of effort.


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Letters Page:

 

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Superboy #159 (1969)

Superboy #159 (September, 1969)
"The Day it Rained Superboys!"
Story - Frank Robbins
Pencils - Bob Brown
Inks - Wally Wood
Cover Price: $0.15

I don't venture into comic book stores all that often these days... of late, I've relied on record stores and used book stores for my "finds"... it just seems less "dangerous" for me and my wallet that way.  A fella like me sometimes needs a leash in the comic shop!  Well, I found myself in the right place this weekend... one of my old haunts, Jesse James Comics.  Jesse's shop is... fantastic.  Really such a customer-friendly shop, where one can luck into some amazing finds.  On this trip, I was shown a few boxes stuffed full of Silver Age comics... at two-bucks a pop.  Now... if that ain't dangerous, I don't know what is.

Anyhoo, one of the books I nabbed was this issue of Superboy... which I believe has a Neal Adams cover... and boy, what a cover it is, right?  This is certainly an issue that begs to be cracked open... and that's just what we're gonna do!

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We open in the skies above Washington, D.C. where Superboy finds himself taking on quite a bit of heavy firepower from a fleet of biplanes.  Why in the world would anyone be trying to take out the Boy of Steel?  Well, to answer that... we need to go back in time a bit.  Perhaps to an event that occurred at the Smallville Airfield... wait, Smallville has an airfield?  Okey doke.  Anyhoo, it was there that... Superboy decided to reenact the Hindenburg disaster by using his heat vision on a zeppelin!

Just moments later Superboy made quite a menace of himself in a southern shipping lane where he, get this... dropped an iceberg into the water right in front of a ship!

At that very moment, Superboy demolished a bridge in France... and destroyed a dam in Italy.  This kid sure gets around, right?  As a matter of fact, news starts pouring in from all over the globe to report on some nefarious misdeed done by our boy in blue... but how can he be so many places at once?

If you answered with "robots", you've been reading comics too long... you'd also be correct!  We shift to Martha Kent back in Smallville watching the news.  She cannot believe what she is seeing.  Moments later, Jonathan arrives home and suggests that Superboy's robots (which had gone rogue a few issues earlier) may be the root cause of this rash of events!

In Washington, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is meeting with his advisers to discuss how to deal with the blue menace.  He has himself a "Fireside Chat" with the American people in which he declares Superboy as World Outlaw #1!

Speaking of Superboy, isn't it about time we checked in with him?  He's at his polar retreat oblivious to everything that's gone down.  He is tinkering away on... wouldn'tcha know it, Superboy robots... which doesn't do a whole lot to prove his innocence.  He sends four of them to his Smallville home, but instructs them to take different routes as to not arouse suspicion.  Unfortunately for young Clark, the World is on high-alert.  The first robot is destroyed over London, the second... Canada, the third... Tokyo, and the last... Moscow.  So much for all that, huh?  The real-deal boy o' steel passes over Washington... which puts us right back where we started this adventure.  We check in with ground control to see that a General is being given instructions by a bald scientist with a beard and sunglasses!

The beardo suggests that Superboy is there to destroy the capital, which really gets under the General's skin.  He then suggests the military invest in some Kryptonite... something he claims to have in large quantities.  The General brushes him off... the military's got plenty of "K".  The scientist blackmails the General... or so it seems.  I'm not really sure where the blackmail comes into play... all he says is it would be faster if the government uses his supply than their own.

Superboy returns to Smallville, where he saves a boy falling out of a tree.  The boy is none-too-pleased to be saved by a scuzzy outlaw!  This freaks our boy out, so he heads home to talk to his folks.  They are quite cross with the lad, Jonathon is all but convinced his son is behind all the "evil mischief" that's been going down.  Clark pleads ignorance, and so Pa flips on the television.  Superboy learns the charges that have been levied against him... as well as Professor Ruthol's (don't descramble that, it ruins the surprise ending!) Kryptonite plans, and starts to cry.

Moments later with a snap of his fingers, Superboy has concocted a plan!  They will send the robot Clark Kent (hey, it's the Silver Age!) to school, and the real-deal will hide in the trunk of Pa's car, until they get far enough away from town where he can emerge as... Voltran the Unconquerable?!?  Oof.

Voltran flies way out into space where he bores inside a meteor which he may ride into Earth's atmosphere and have himself one hell of an entrance.  An observatory picks up on the "alien object" and reports in to Washington.  It plummets ever closer to the Capital... but explodes before doing any damage.  The soldiers look around dumbfounded until they are introduced to their savior... Voltran!  Seems like Superboy is the type that would swat a fly with a bazooka, don't it?

Capital Hill wastes no time putting Voltran in front of the Defense Council, where he pleads his case for taking care of the Superboy-problem.  Among the Council sits Ruthol, who immediately deduces that Voltran and Superboy are one in the same.  General Stone decides it'd be foolish to turn away the aid of Voltran.  Ruthol is quick to volunteer his services as well... though, he's only in it to, ya know, kill Superboy.

Ruthol leads Voltran to an abandoned mine which he believes is Superboy's lair.  Voltran approaches knowing full well that he's headed into a trap.  Inside Voltran is faced with a half-dozen Superboy robots!  He enters into battle, punching one's head clean off!  Unfortunately, this robot is kind of like a pinata... only instead of being filled with delicious candy, it's filled with delicious Kryptonite!  Uh oh.  I suppose I can mention that at this point Ruthol pulls off his (fake) beard, and reveals himself to be... Lex Luthor... but c'mon, you already knew that.

Just as Lex is about to start celebrating, Superboy sneaks up behind him.  Bu-bu-but, how in the world?  Well, ya see... even though we've been able to read the thoughts of Voltran... he was always a Superboy robot!  The real-deal went to school as Clark Kent!  We wrap up with Superboy and Voltran taking Luthor in.  It pays not to think too hard about this...

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Silver-Age comics are weird...

I mean, this was a lot of fun... but at the same time, boy did we have to tie our brains into a pretzel to follow it through.  Everything here is just so convenient, though I can't really hold that against something "of it's time"... it'd be like mocking VHS tapes because they have to be rewound... yeah, of course they do, it's just the way things were.  These were written for kids... and don't really lend themselves to analysis, and that's okay!  In my time blogging I feel like I get lost in attempts to analyze a bit too often.  A fella could use a silly Silver-Age romp like this to recharge his "reading for fun" batteries.

My Superboy game is pretty weak... well, this Superboy anyway.  My guy is Kon-El, but at this point he's still about a quarter-century away from even being a bit of ink.  For "Superman when he was a boy", I've read a bunch of the New Adventures of Superboy, even discussed a few here... but I feel like even those were written in more of a Bronze-Age style than Silver.

In reading this I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I'm still not all that clear on what occurred.  I mean, I'm sure we can deduce that Lex Luthor was behind the Superboy Rogue-bots (ehh? ehh?) however I'm not sure if it was ever plainly stated.

One thing I do love about this is just how much happened... even if much of it was bonkers, it's still great to see.  I mean, I read this earlier today... and totally thought the Voltran bits were from a different book!  Just seems so "out there", ya know?  Like it would appear in a completely different story.  Sticking with Voltran... how nuts is it that the Kents just have access to superhero costumes?  Love silly stuff like that... reminds me of stories I'd write when I was a kid.

Overall... if you can find this gem for a song, I'd say give it a shot.  My (moderate) research finds that this has not been collected... though I might be mistaken.  It has also not been made available digitally at this time.  If you do happen across it, I wouldn't pay more than a few bucks for it.

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Letters Page:

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Sadly, Palisades Park closed in 1971.

1st Issue Special #8 (1975)

1st Issue Special #8 (November, 1975)
"Land of Fear!"
Writer and Illustrator - Mike Grell
Editor - Joe Orlando
Cover Price: $0.25

Welcome to the first piece I am writing under the new domain!  To commemorate my 400th Daily bit, I decided "What the heck?" and went ahead and made it official.  From this point on we're at chrisisoninfiniteearths.com which might just be a teensy bit shorter than it was before, but still... pretty neat!  Everything is still in the same place, so it shouldn't take long for us to take off our shoes, brew a cup of coffee, and get comfortable with our DC Comics.

Today we're going to follow one of the Demandments of the humble blog... if we see 1st Issue Special... we grab it!  Gotta feed my strange fascination with this series... hell, if I had more talent and patience I'd make a 1st Chrissue Special button for the sidebar... maybe I'll get around to figuring it out...

Anyhoo, the fella we're going to meet today is... Travis Morgan, the Warlord!  Before we head into his "lost world", I wanna let you know that pals of the blog, Ruth and Darrin over at Warlord Worlds have a great podcast dedicated to the franchise (along with other Grell works Green Arrow and Jon Sable, Freelance)... actually they've got a whole network of stuff that comes highly recommended!

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We open with our man Travis Morgan in the heat of battle with a Deinonychus.  He is battle-scarred and is protecting a fallen woman... but how in the world did he wind up here?  Well, ya see... Travis is a Lieutenant Colonel for the United States Air Force who was on a mission to snap a few pics of a Soviet installation from the air.  After filling his film, he turns to head home... unfortunately, by this point... his presence is known.  The Russians fire off some missiles... which Morgan is almost able to outmaneuver... however, he winds up taking one in the fuel tank!

He considers his options and decides his best possibility of survival is getting to an Emergency Support Base in Alaska... and in order to do so, he will have to fly directly over the North Pole.  This, he will soon learn, is easier said than done.  Funny thing about navigation... a man's compass might go wonky at the North Pole!  Morgan attempts to radio... and finds it dead.  He presses on... until he comes across a break in the clouds.  Thinking he is above the Yukon, he parachutes in.

Once on the ground, he notes how large the Sun seems... and how it's uncharacteristically high in the sky for the hour.  He also notices that there doesn't seem to be a horizon... but instead, rivers and lush jungles... in Canada?!

Luckily Travis is no stranger to survival, and so he recounts his inventory... which I might mention, includes a .38 Special!  He travels into the lush green and follows a stream for several hours... all the while, the Sun remains directly overhead.  He is alerted by the sound of struggle... and so, he decides to investigate.  Wouldn'tcha know it, it's that Deinonychus dinosaur and the young lady from the open!

The woman is struck down by the beast, and so Travis leaps into action.  He empties his gun into it... which doesn't even slow it down.  He enters into close combat to try to out-muscle it... thankfully, his distraction opens up the opportunity for the woman to sink her sword into the baddie's heart!

They have precious little time to celebrate their "win", as a tribe of warriors begin to swarm.  Morgan reloads his firearm and pops off two shots.  This stops the remaining warriors cold in their tracks!

Except for the leader, that is!  He takes Morgan's second-to-last-bullet... and dies a few grams heavier.  After a momentary standoff, the Warriors send forward a spokesperson.  They wish for Morgan and the woman to follow them.  Our man cautiously agrees...

They are taken on a long trek to a magnificent palace within the fabulous walled city Thera... the Sun still shines brightly.  Once inside, the pair are put before a King, beside whom stands the High Priest Deimos.  Deimos reveals a strange globe... which appears to effect Morgan, almost causing him to black out.  Before he might, however, he fires his last bullet through the bauble... shattering it!

This display causes quite a stir among the court... and Morgan is treated like the Big Man in Castle... bathed, clothed, entertained.  Life, for the moment... is good.  Deimos ain't all that pleased... but what's he gonna do about it?  I bet we find out soon.

After the revelry, Morgan retires to his quarters.  He sleeps for... well, quite awhile.  Long enough to grow out his hair and a full beard anyway.

Next we get a bit of Skartaris 101... that's the name of the place Morgan landed, by the way.  Here time is... different.  Trav realizes he probably won't have to wear a watch while he's here.  In the, er time, that follows, Morgan teaches himself the language and learns all about his travel companion, Tara.  As he works things out in his head, Travis floats a theory about the true nature and whereabouts of Skartaris.  They are inside the Earth!

Unbeknownst to Travis or Tara, his theory is overheard by a servant (?) girl with extraordinarily thick green eye makeup.  She dutifully reports this all back to Deimos, who thanks her... by poisoning her!  Well, turning her into a serpent anyway.

That night (?) while our pair slumbers, three mercenaries sneak into their room.  Just as one is about to plunge his sword into Tara, Travis springs into action!

The couple takes down the baddies with the swiftness.  They pause for a moment to collect themselves... and realize one thing is abundantly clear... Thera is no longer a safe place.  We wrap up as they flee!

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Well that was a lot of fun... it's been far too long since I've been on an adventure with Travis Morgan!

Before we unpack, just want to mention something.  This, unlike the other issues of 1st Issue we've discussed, doesn't end with a call to arms to letter writers.  Nobody needed to clap their hands so Tinkerbell might live... this was basically a pilot episode for an already green-lit series!  It says in the (included below) The Story Behind the Story page that Warlord #1 would hit newsstands two months after this very issue!

Also, I had planned to cover an issue of Warlord back on my birthday last year (December 27).  Warlord is the only comic I can deduce, if the "Next Issue on Sale" blurb is accurate, was released on the day that I was born!  I figured that would've been a neat one to cover that day... but, found myself far too busy to spelunk through my comics library.  I think we discussed Danger Girl that day instead... not quite an even trade, but whattayagonnado?

Okay, onto the issue.  Let's start with all the great details Grell included.  One that leapt off the page immediately was Morgan's use of a compass... well, both kinds of compasses while his charger spilled fuel all over the arctic.  Such attention to detail was greatly appreciated... and isn't something we see often enough.  The very idea that the North Pole would wonk-up a compass might not be one that a reader would think of.

Let's talk about world-building for a bit.  How cool is it that this entire Skartaris is a fully fleshed out world unto itself?  I've seen maps online, a few of which have been included in later comics... and it's just excellent.  It's also neat to consider that this is occurring in (or under!) the DC Universe.

Not only is the world built land-wise... there are also the people of Skartaris.  Disparate cultures who live in different areas, all of whom face any number of threats to their survival... and Travis Morgan serves as a wonderful point-of-view character for us to tag along with, and learn with.  Here we meet a few members of what will become our main cast (good and bad).  They are introduced organically, and are instantly recognizable... even maybe a bit relate-able.  And let's face it... it doesn't hurt that people and places alike are rendered by Mr. Mike Grell.  Absolutely gorgeous work here!

The underworld is also home to a plethora of otherwise-anachronistic beasties.  Outside of the Silver Age, it'd be pretty hard to get away with a Tyrannosaurus Rex stomping down the streets of Gotham... but in Skartaris, that's Tuesday!  So many possibilities... and now I'm really itching to read some more.

Overall, well... it's 1st Issue Special, so yeah... ya gotta pick it up if you come across it... that's just "da way it is".  In this case... it's also Warlord, so yeah... recommended.  This has the odd distinction of being an issue of 1st Issue that has been collected.  Unfortunately, the book it's been collected in... is outta print.  SHOWCASE Presents Warlord is one'a them black and white "phone book" types which I love, but totally understand if many folks don't.  I wouldn't recommend buying this at inflated online prices... but keep your eye out for it at the shops, I'm sure many still have it on the shelf for cover price.

Before we go, just wanna give another shout to pals Ruth and Darrin over at Warlord Worlds.  Check 'em out!

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(Not the) Letters Page:

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