Shazam! #2 (April, 1973)
"The Astonishing Arch Enemy"
"The Nicest Guy in the World"
"Captain Marvel Fights Niatpac Levram!"
Writers - Denny O'Neil, Elliot S! Maggin & Otto Binder
Artist - C.C. Beck
Editor - Julius Schwartz
Cover Price: $0.20
Well Holy Moley... I'm not sure if that's the best cover or worst cover I've ever seen! It most definitely catches your eye, I'll give it that!
Can whats inside even hope to compare? Well... let's find out!
--
Our first tale is called The Astonishing Arch Enemy... and we can see the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. I'm always a fan of witty wordplay, so I'm down with this. The story begins with newly un-suspended animation Billy Batson catching up on the news and slang of the day. Here he, and we, learn that the proper way to say it in 1973 is "hip" not "hep".
Billy decides to check in with his pal Tawky Tawny over at the museum where he is a guide. He catches up with the talking tiger as he is describing the Mr. Mind exhibit... which features, are ya ready for this... Mr. Mind's stuffed corpse. Evidently the evil worm was caught and sentenced to death via electrocution. His dead body was mounted, stuffed, and made into an exhibit to be gawked at. Pretty morbid when you think of it, right?
Moments later, the Earth starts to quake, and the roof begins to crumble. Billy utters the magic word, and keeps the house standing long enough for the citizens to clear the premises. Among the wreckage, Cap and Tawky find the Mr. Mind exhibit has been robbed of it's tiny spectacles and voice amplifier. Oh yeah, and the stuffed worm is a fake... but we already knew that. The real-deal worm squirms away with his goods explaining that he had instructed his army of creepy crawlies to cause the quake.
Captain Marvel attempts to follow the worm by heading to the traveling circus. Once there he calls Herkimer, former member of the Monster Society of Evil. Herk appears and proceeds to attack... but that doesn't work out so well. He comes around, and informs Cap that Mr. Mind is likely St. Louis-bound.
And so, Captain Marvel is now St. Louis-bound! As luck would have it, he unknowingly arrives at the same time as his diminutive foe.
Mr. Mind notices the Big Red Cheese in his midst, and so launches an atomic expanding missile... which is basically a football with his face on it. Cap treats it as such, punting it into orbit. Mr. Mind bails out of his makeshift hot-air balloon, and manages to squirm away before he is nabbed.
Mind burrows into the ground to avoid capture... and so, Captain Marvel uses the Gateway Arch as a tuning fork!
Mister Mind and... a trillion other worms work their way out of the Earth. It would be difficult to discern which one is evil... if Mr. Mind wasn't wearing a pair of specs that might glint in the Sunlight. Whoops. The day is saved!
In our second tale we meet the Nicest Guy in the World... Sunny Sparkle! It opens with him tiptoeing past a crowd of people. We might think the lad is up to no good... however, we'd be wrong! Ya see, the thing of it is, people just want to do (and give) nice things to young Sunny! Now... where have we seen that face before?
Anyhoo, a few blocks away Billy Batson witnesses a bank robbery. Before he can utter the magic word, he gets smacked across the mush with the bag o' loot. While the robbers flee, Billy recovers... bellowing out a Shazam! while in a noxious cloud of exhaust. The robbers don't go all that far though, as a bit down the road they run into our new friend Sunny Sparkle... and whattayaknow, they decide to give the boy their bag of dough! Now, I know we've seen this face before...
Moments later, Captain Marvel arrives... and, hmm... he's caught under Sunny's spell too! I really can't shake the feeling that we already know this kid...
Where have we seen-- oh...
Ahem... We shift to the robbers' hide out where their bossman is none too pleased to see his men returning empty-handed. He decides it would be best for him to deal with young Master Sparkle himself. This doesn't work out so well for him... he just winds up handing over a wad of cash to the lad.
The Bossman returns to the hideout, where he realizes that he'd just handed over a substantial sum to Sunny. He begins to understand that the boy's got some sort of nebulous powers, and so he decides to enlist the aid of a third party. As luck would have it, since this is a Captain Marvel story, that third party is Billy Batson! The Boss asks Billy to fetch the satchel of dough because it's meant to go to charity... and so, he does!
He hands over the bag, and the baddies take off leaving him in a (very familiar) cloud of exhaust. Billy now knows he just helped the bad guys... and so, he Shazams! up and nips their getaway in the bud.
Our story wraps up with Cap socking the baddies, and Sunny Sparkle being given the Key to the City... and a bunch of other stuff!
Our final tale is a reprint which first appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #139 from December, 1952. It features Wizzo the Wizard who is terrorizing the neighborhood with bunnies... who are multiplying like... er, ya know.
A nearby Billy Batson turns into Captain Marvel and grabs Wizzo by the collar. Wizzo tells him that he only let the rabbit horde loose to tempt Cap to the scene. He then hands Cap his hat... which our man foolishly accepts. From it pours out a whole bunch'a bunnies!
With Captain Marvel distressed and distracted, Wizzo turns his attention to our man's reflection in a nearby shop window. From it, he summons the reflection into the real world! He is greated with a "Olleh", which... ya know... backwards, because mirror... yeah.
He introduces himself as Niatpac Levram, and Wizzo instructs him to cause all sorts of havoc around town. Later, at radio station WHIZ, newsreader Billy Batson gets the bulletin that Captain Marvel is terrorizing the city... but how could that be? He Shazams! up to check it out, and as luck would have it he's still wearing Wizzo's hat. He finds Levram, and they bonk each other about.
Levram knocks the magic hat off of Marvel's head, restarting the constant flow of bunnies. While Cap attempts to wrangle'em, his dark reflection flees... to a cave conveniently labelled as a "School for Black Magicians". Hmm. Captain Marvel powers down to secretly check it out... and trips up on a loose stone to alert the baddies to his presence., just as Wizzo gets promoted from Apprentice to Master Magician!
They nab the poor boy, and gag him before he can utter his magic word. Wizzo transforms Billy into a monster... unfortunately for him, it's a monster with large teeth with which Billy could chew through the gag. He then Shazams! up, kayos Wizzo, and reclaims his reflection. Sadly, he could never change back to Billy again... lest he return to his beastly form. No, not really...
--
Well, well, well... this was a lot of fun! I know it's probably cliche to refer to these older Captain Marvel stories as "innocent", but... really... that might just be the best word to describe 'em! C.C. Beck's wonderful art certainly lends to that squeaky-clean image. It's neat to see with the inclusion of the classic story, that he didn't lose a step between 1952 and 1973.
The stories here were fun and lighthearted, but not terribly substantial. Nice quick tales which don't require a ton of analysis... which kind of makes this section of our discussion a bit difficult. I'm probably not going to be able to drone on as long as I usually do.
Despite the few pages of buildup each of these stories get, they kind of... just end. Perhaps I'm just built for stories that draw on endlessly and tie into everything else, so when a story does actually end... I'm not totally sure how to process it! I think I'd have preferred a single long-form story for this issue... or maybe one main feature with the classic Cap as a back-up. A trio of six-pagers just doesn't give me enough to sink my teeth into regardless of how much fun they are.
That said, I did have fun and I did enjoy it... I think there's a lot folks can get out of this if they are cool with shorter stories. I think I'd lean toward suggesting comic reading folks consider checking Captain Marvel/Shazam! books of this era out should you come across them in the wild. Luckily, this has been collected in the wonderful SHOWCASE Presents Shazam! (which I have and totally need to get around to actually reading!
--
(Not the) Letters Page:
--
Interesting Ads:
Batman #430 (February, 1989)
"Fatal Wish"
Writer - Jim Starlin
Penciller - Jim Aparo
Inker - Mike DeCarlo
Letterer - John Costanza
Colorist - Adrienne Roy
Assistant Editor - Dan Raspler
Editor - Denny O'Neil
Cover Price: $0.75
Hey, it's more Starlin Batman! Love this run, but I'll save my usual "begging for a trade collection" for after the synopsis.
Before we do hit the synopsis, however... I wanted to mention that today was supposed to be a requested review... for a book I was about 98% certain that I owned. You probably know where this is headed... I went to grab it this morning and lo and behold, I don't have it! I'm going to procure it this weekend, and make good next Friday. Sorry Jeremy, barring extraordinary circumstances, I'll have it up in seven days time.
--
It's morning rush hour in Gotham City... 5:10 AM to be specific. Tim Conrad arrives at his familiar place of employment... and seems to be a bit preoccupied, not even noticing a co-worker/friend/dude who knows him giving him a friendly greeting. He takes the elevator as high as it will take him, and from there proceeds to take the stairs to the roof entrance. Once outside, he opens up his briefcase... assembles his sniper rifle... and proceeds to take aim and murder a woman walking on the street below.
He's not done yet, however... it's open season on Gothamites this morning. He takes out several more over the next few moments. Forty minutes pass before Batman arrives on the scene. He is given the quick 'n dirty from Commissioner Gordon. Evidently, our shooter was recently fired from the Banking Firm in that very building. The casualty count is at five, with the wounded at three... there is also a woman currently trapped on the street.
Batman decides that he will create a diversion in order to allow Gotham's Finest to rescue the woman. Before he heads into danger, Gordon asks if Robin is with him. Now, let's remember that in the issue before this, Jason Todd was murdered by the Joker. This is Batman's first mission since the loss. It's a pretty powerful little scene, Aparo's faces here are really quite well done.
Batman charges in, dodging sniper fire with nearly every step. This allows the GCPD to save the trapped woman. As Gordon and company watch, one officer asks why Batman would continually put himself in danger for people he doesn't know. Gordon's answer is quite intriguing... he says he has "suspicions" but no "proof". This lends to the theory that Gordon knows Batman's dual-identity... which, well... I'm not sure how I feel about that. I think it's only natural that he'd know... but at the same time, I kind of hope he doesn't.
Back with Batman... he's now inside the building, and tracing Conrad's path up to the roof. Our sniper is ready for him though, and fires a few rounds through the roof-access door. Thankfully, Batman instinctively stopped before getting there. From here, Conrad begins ranting about how nobody deserves to live... even going as far as saying "I wish you were all dead!", which is important...
... because it triggers a flashback sequence! Batman exits the building through a window, and begins scaling up to the roof. While doing so, he is overcome with memories of his childhood. He thinks about how he was not unlike a Prince, wealthy, carefree... living in the moment. His flashback focuses on a particular day in which his father Thomas' stocks weren't doing so hot.
Young carefree Bruce persisted in asking his father to play catch with him rather than stew over the ticker tape. Hell, he's just a kid... he doesn't know what they represent. Thomas, not having the best day, strikes Bruce... slapping him across the face. He almost immediately shows remorse for losing himself in the moment.
After giving Thomas a tongue-lashing, Martha chases after a fleeing Bruce. She tries to instill in him that his father didn't mean to slap him, and that he still loves him. Well, young Bruce ain't havin' none'a that. He not only says he doesn't love his father anymore (c'mon kid, it was just a slap!), he in fact hates his father and... get this, wishes he was dead!
Batman reaches the roof and begins creeping across the ledge. The flashback continues... to later on during the day of the "slap". Thomas is able to make Bruce understand... and to make up for his behavior, he even suggests a night... uh-oh... at the movies. I hear Zorro's playing! We know the rest...
Anyhoo, back to the present. Conrad catches Batman out of the corner of his eye and fires a shot. Batman is able to dodge a number of shots, and manages to get close enough to kick the baddie in the mush. To help "even the odds", Batman drops a few smoke pellets.
Batman closes in and throws a wild punch... which misses! Conrad stumbles back and fires another shot... which also misses! Unfortunately for Batman, however, the muzzle flash from the gunshot blinds and disorients him. From here, Batman stumbles around sort of like a wounded or frightened animal... his movements are erratic and panicked. Such a great sequence.
As the smoke (and blindness) clears, Conrad backs up to the edge of the roof. Batman suggests he step away from the edge... which seems to be lost on the shaky and disoriented sniper. A member of the GCPD on the roof of a nearby building sees he's got a clear shot, so...
... and, so...
... and to the close. Batman, still perched on the rooftop thinks about how, despite all the bad Conrad did that day, he did not want him to die. He considers the power of a phrase like "I wish you were dead", reflecting on how he uttered those words on a very fateful day. Just the power of those words... and the thought that sometimes wishes come true, despite one's truest intentions. We leave with Batman... well, Bruce... because this is definitely Bruce's thoughts... wishing he could have apologized to his father for having said it.
--
Okay... let's get it out of the way. This run is quite good and really ought to be collected. If anyone from DC somehow stumbles across this site... and this post in particular, please pass along that Jim Starlin's contribution to the Bat-mythos extends past A Death in the Family and Ten Nights of the Beast. Give the entire run a nice chunky volume that we might place on our Bat-shelves.
Now, on to this issue.
I suppose I could complain a bit that this issue takes us back to "that night"... but that would be silly. Seasoned Bat-fans know that anytime they crack open a Bat-book, there's... what, a one-in-three chance that there will be a nod to the night the Waynes went to see Zorro. Complaining about that would kind of be missing the point.
Plus, I'm a big "lore" guy, and if a story can add to the existing lore of a history we are already familiar with... more the better. I appreciate Batman hearing something of a trigger phrase and flashing back to a cataclysmic event in his life. It illustrates to the reader that Batman can be effected... can be shaken... hell, can even perhaps take his eye of the ball for a moment. Especially when we take into consideration that this is Batman's first mission following the death of Jason Todd.
Gordon's scene(s) here were great as well. I thought it was interesting that he would notice Robin not being alongside Batman... and actually inquire about it. You'd figure maybe we'd get a thought bubble from a confused Gordon... but for him to actually voice the question was interesting. It also led to a wonderful sequence where Batman sorta-kinda has to process the question. The bit where Gordon notes that he has "suspicions" about why Batman is an all-around altruistic dude was pretty great as well. It really plays up questions that had been raised since Year One as it pertains to just how much Gordon "knows".
I also dig that the big-bad here is just a man who has nothing to lose. This is one of those things that speaks to me as a reader, and as a flesh-and-blood human. A character like Tim Conrad can be far more terrifying than the Joker or Penguin... simply because Tim Conrad could be anybody. These are the kind of stories I love to hate... or hate to love... because they keep my wheels spinning. I try to connect dots and process what might have driven him here. I would figure/hope it was something more than simply losing his job. Ya take enough Forensic Psyche, it's sometimes hard to just see something as a story... whattayagonnado, eh?
The art here is Aparo... and, what can I say... Aparo is definitely among my "definitive" Batman artists. He's always just so good! The sequence where Batman was scrambling around blinded by the muzzle flash... wonderfully done! He's acting not unlike a scared animal... jumping, falling... just totally disoriented. Great bit!
Overall... duh, read this one. It's Jim Starlin... what's more, it's Jims Starlin and Aparo... and if I'm not mistaken, this is Starlin's final issue. Helluva swan song, eh? I think we're gonna have to start a letter-writing campaign or something to get this collected. Remember gang, we want this and Prez turtlenecks! Luckily this bugger is available digitally, if that's your scene. Well worth checking out.
Oh, by the way... if we trim that poignant final page to just be the top half, we've got the pic that keeps on giving!
--
Letters Page (and 1989 Movie news!):
--
Interesting Ads:
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133 (October, 1970)
"Jimmy Olsen Superman's Pal Brings Back the Newsboy Legion!"
Writer/Artist - Jack Kirby
Inker - Vince Colletta
Cover Price: $0.15
Hey, now there's an iconic cover! This is a series I've been wanting to try and tackle for a little while now... and couldn't think of a better issue to go with than the grand arrival of The King!
So let's get ready to check out some klassic Kirby goodness! Well, all except the altered faces I guess. A-hem... let's get to it!
--
We open with our man Jimmy Olsen checking out a garage in the slums in search of what is referred to as a "Miracle Car". He is greeted by a crew of wise-mouthed youngsters, who... if the title didn't already give it away, are the Newsboy Legion. The "Miracle Car" in question is the Whiz Wagon. After checking out the wheels, Jimmy (along with we readers) are properly introduced to the Newsboys... who are, in fact, all related to the originals from the 1940's! Evidently, Jimmy is here because they will be helping him enter the "Wild Area".
We shift scenes to the office of a brand-new character... the President of Galaxy Broadcasting System, Morgan Edge! He's kind of a jerk... actually, he's a flat-out jerk. He is currently meeting with one Clark Kent who has expressed a bit of worry about Jimmy's safety in the "Wild Area". Edge explains that the "Hairies" in the Wild Area won't trust anyone over 25... so Jimmy's the best lad for the gig.
Clark leaves, but fearing he's still too curious about the Jimmy-job, Morgan makes a phone call... wherein he arranges for, get this, Clark to be killed! Wow, that's pretty hardcore, right? Anyhoo, Clark steps off the curb... and right into the path of a car! Yeesh... Morgan Edge don't mess around! Luckily, (spoiler alert) Clark Kent is secretly Superman, so this doesn't do much more than tip him off that his hunch might just have something to it.
Elsewhere, Jimmy and the Newsboys have loaded into the Whiz Wagon, and have taken flight toward the Wild Area. We learn that the Wagon is a true Air, Land, and Sea type vehicle here when they land. Little do they know, however, that they are being watched by... Doctor Doom? Well, a dude wearing his mask anyway... and another armored fella who might have dreadlocks. Once the boys are safely on the ground, these two characters give chase.
The Wagon continues through all sorts of unfriendly terrain (courtesy of the masked men), giving the lads the opportunity to demonstrate some of the sweet on board lasers and whatnot. They wind up on a very smooth slab of stone... and that's where their travels end. Ya see, the ground is magnetized and they ain't going anywhere. Jimmy and company deboard, and prepare for a fight. Flipper Dipper does his frogman thing to sneak around behind the baddies... from there, we find ourselves in the midst of quite the little scuffle. The boys narrowly eek out a win here, with Jimmy landing the final blow.
As Doctor Doom hits the ground, Jimmy and the boys find themselves surrounded by the Dreadnoks Outsiders. These Outsiders are presumably some of the "Hairies" that Morgan Edge was talking about... and not Batman's team of misfit characters, nor our friends from 1st Issue Special. Anyhoo, Jimmy is all "take me to your leader", and is surprised to find that... Doctor Doom was their leader... and by knocking him out, the new leader of the Outsiders is... Jimmy Olsen!
We shift to Clark Kent's apartment where he is checking in with Morgan Edge. Since he, ya know... got hit by a car and all, Clark asks for... the day off. Sounds fair, right? Still worried about Jimmy, Clark changes clothes and heads toward the Wild Area. He comes across that smooth slab from earlier, and finds that it opens... and so, he travels inside. Once there, he comes across... well, a hippie!
The hippie tells Superman that although he digs his threads, he's not wanted here, maaaan. He's in the middle of meditating, and so he releases noxious gases to drive Superman away... it's really not as disgusting as it sounds.
Superman decides discretion is the better part of... breathing, and so he continues on his merry way. He next walks into a crew of hunters... who are hunting his "species" today. Uh huh. One goofball unloads his rifle right into Superman's chest, before realizing he wasn't just some schmo in a costume. Whoops.
The Hunters don't hang around long... they scare pretty easy. Between seeing Superman and hearing the roar of motorcycles nearby, they scurry away with the quickness. Superman turns to see... the Outsiders, along with their new leader, Jimmy Olsen!
They surround the Man of Steel, and Olsen proceeds to talk some trash. It's really hard to take him seriously wearing those wacky shades! He tells Superman that he's in the middle of a dangerous assignment, and no matter what his "pal" says, he's not backing out. One of the Outsiders, one called Yango holds up a firearm, and before Jimmy can stop him... shoots Superman with, get this... Kryptonite! Did anyone not have Green K back in the pre-Crisis days? Did they sell the stuff in vending machines? Anyhoo, as Superman hits the ground, Jimmy expressed disappointment with his trigger-happy charge.
Superman wakes up some time later, and finds himself surrounded by the Newsboys. Big Words just happens to have some pills that will neutralize the "K effect". Now that's lucky, right? They then welcome Superman... to Habitat!
Jimmy and the Outsiders enter... but they come in peace. Jimmy knows he needs Superman for his true assignment... finding the Mountain of Judgment! He rolls out a map, and Yango tries filling Superman in on their hopeful destination. It's pretty funny here, Jimmy tells his subordinate to be quiet... and he's got just the most smug and disgusted look on his face. Too funny.
Superman does not like the sound of all this... in fact, now he wants to stop Jimmy even more! Before he can grab the lad by his collar however, the Earth begins to quake! Yango suggests that the Mountain is beginning to move. Jimmy peers outside and sees amazing lights in the distance, and so he orders his men to their rides!
--
Now, where has this wacky book been my entire life?
I remember when I was younger and learned that both Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen had their own (long-running) series... and I thought that was insane. I really couldn't wrap my head around such a thought. Later on, when I learned that after Jack Kirby left Marvel for DC, one of the titles he took on was... Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, I couldn't believe it! Why would the man who helped create the entire Marvel Universe be put on Jimmy Olsen? Seems crazy at first blush, right? I suppose it's all about the context of the thing... and back then, I guess I didn't really have any.
Before we get into our unpacking and attempt at analysis... let's consider, just for a moment... Jack Kirby... trying to concoct this strange "hip" dialogue. I struggle with the idea that the King is writing some of this... I mean, it's there, so I know it happened... but the thought of him writing about Superman's costume being "definitely in the groove" and Superman telling a hunter that he better "dig" something... I dunno, that just scratches me in a place I didn't know itched! So much fun... maybe too much!
Now, is an important issue for more than the King's arrival... it's here that we meet Morgan Edge, the new Newsboys, the Whiz Wagon, and Habitat. Let's start with Edge... man, what a jerk! I knew he was kind of a jackass from later on... but I gotta admit, him resorting to straight up calling in a hit on one of his employees at the drop of a hat... that's just cold-blooded.
The new Newsboys are a neat callback to Kirby's previous time at DC/National. I think it's pretty amazing he was able to reach back into his own archives and turn a silly concept into something contemporary and... well, still silly... but not so silly that it feels out of place. The Whiz Wagon adds to the silliness, sure... and it feels a lot like the Fantasticar... but still neat to see it's first appearance here.
Habitat is neat to see because it was a part of my first ever Superman story. During the Death of Superman storyline, Superman and Doomsday fight their way through Habitat... destroying it. I think I may have attributed an inflated level of importance to the place because of that... but, either way... I probably smiled a bit too hard seeing it here, for the first time.
The story itself... was silly, but great. The idea that Jimmy Olsen is going to run an outlaw motorcycle club is amazingly wacky... and would likely (and sadly) not work if tried today. Watching Jimmy sock a Doctor Doom lookalike was pretty neat, as was seeing the Newsboys in action. It's strange to consider how much fun the Jimmy bits were... that it actually made Superman feel stodgy and boring. If this book were my only experience with Superman... I probably wouldn't like Superman.
Overall... I think for DC fans, this is must-reading. Not only for the importance of Jack Kirby's grand arrival post-Marvel Revolution, but for a pretty neat story which leads directly into the introduction of one of DC Comics' top supervillains... Darkseid. Unfortunately, somehow, it doesn't look like this has been made available digitally.
--
Letters Page (and more):
--
Interesting Ads:
