Green Lantern (vol.2) #123 (December, 1979)
"Mission of No Return!"
Writer - Denny O'Neil
Penciller - Joe Staton
Inker - Dick Giordano
Letterer - Milt Snapinn
Colorist - Adrienne Roy
Editor - Jack C. Harris
Cover Price: $0.40
Hey a book with a December, 1979 cover date! That means there's a pretty good possibility that this issue was on a rack somewhere on the day I was born! Pretty neat, eh? No? Okay, let's just get into the book then.
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Our story begins with Hal Jordan working with Superman in order to gain access to the Phantom Zone where the Zod Gang is currently holding "alternate Green Lantern" Guy Gardner. Superman is a bit nervous sending Hal in there alone... after all, it is the Phantom Zone. It's not everyday someone heads in willingly. Hal grabs a box, and zips in... where he runs right into the baddies!
Before he can zap'em with his ring, they focus their will through Gardner's and aim it at him. Hal shields himself with an emerald spinning-top to block the blast. He then opens the little box he brought, which reveals... well, not Kryptonite... but "Anti-Kryptonite". Man, pre-Crisis DC was a weird and wonderful place. Anti-K is apparently effective against non-powered Kryptonians... and it works! You'd figure that Zod and his crew would embrace death, given that Phantom Zone imprisonment is a much worse fate, no?
Anyhoo, with the baddies on the ropes, Hal snags Guy and heads for the exit. Unfortunately, before they can split, a yellow beam surrounds Guy and pulls him deep into the Phantom Zone mists. This is, of course, back when the Green Lantern rings had that pesky yellow impurity, so Hal is powerless to stop it. Instead, he packs up his block of Anti-K and heads back to confer with Superman.
Back on solid ground, Hal inquires whether or not the Phantom Zone can be reached from Qward, the Anti-Universe. Superman's all "prob'ly", which leads Hal to deduce that the person behind that yellow beam is the renegade Green Lantern himself... Sinestro. Superman wishes him well, and Hal heads off...
... to visit his good friend (and former co-star), Oliver Queen. He explains the current situation to Ollie, then tells him he's not welcome to join him... which begs the question, why did this scene need to happen? If Hal doesn't want to endanger Ollie, that's all well and good... but why rub his nose in it? Seems like maybe O'Neil wanted to cram Green Arrow in here.
Next stop on Hal's heartbreak tour is his sorta-kinda fiancee, Kari Limbo. He tells her what's going on with her former flame, Guy Gardner, and informs her he's going to save him. She's cool with it, but realizes this will mean her relationship with Hal is more or less over.
Hal heads into uncharted space in search of his pathway to Qward. Before long, he finds it... and hops in. Almost immediately, he finds (a very jovial) Guy Gardner. Hal is wary as this is out of character for his favorite carrot top... not to mention, he's noticed that there is a yellow beam attached to Guy's back (even though the coloring is kind of "off" in a few panels). He follows the beam to his quarry... Sinestro!
They battle for a bit until Sinestro erects a yellow wall... something you'd assume he'd lead with, no? Hal attempts to reason with his foe... appealing to his sense of whimsy in offering up a game of "hide 'n seek". Ay yai yai. Sinestro's no fool, and instead encases Gardner in a (golden) globe....
... which he shrinks, crushing poor Guy...
Hal pretends not to care about his fellow Lantern, but Sinestro sees right through it. Knowing he only has moments to concoct a plan, Hal stalls for time... asking if he can touch Guy to make sure he's still alive. Sinestro almost seems amused by this, and allows it. After concluding that Guy is still among the living, Hal fires a blast at a nearby planetoid... shattering it!
He then wills-up a fan, and blows the planet dust into Sinestro's eyes. Disoriented, Sinestro is easy pickin's for a Hal Jordan kayo punch!
As this is occurring, Sinestro lets Guy go... floating into space. Hal rushes over to rescue him before he might be crushed between a pair of asteroids. Amid the confusion, Sinestro disappears into the darkness.
Hal rushes Guy to the hospital, where we learn that Mr. Gardner has suffered quite a bit of brain damage. The doctor is unsure whether or not they can "cure" him, and offer that they may have a better idea in six months. Kari Limbo arrives and pledges to stand by her (former) man, Guy as long as it takes. We close out with Hal swearing that he will find, and deal with... Sinestro!
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Before we start, I gotta say... when I saw "Solo Star-Spanning Action" emblazoned on the cover, I wasn't expecting to see Hal hanging out with Superman on the first page! Not that he didn't span the stars solo, it was just gave me a bit of a chuckle.
Now this is an era of Green Lantern I'm not terribly well-versed in. My reading jumps from the O'Neil/Adams "relevant" stories to Wein/Englehart era. It's pretty neat to be experiencing stories from this period for the first time... and what we get here is a pretty solid adventure.
I think our recent run-in with Millennium might have soured me a bit on Joe Staton, but... boy, does he bring his "A" game here. This is a very nice looking book. Really dug the art here.
The story itself, I definitely enjoyed it... however, I think I might be trained to read a more decompressed story these days. Hal entering into the Phantom Zone... and later Qward, and running directly into the people he was looking for felt a bit too convenient. Not that I want this issue stretched to the size of a trade paperback or anything, but maybe a panel or two showing him searching would've been okay.
I do want to read more from this time period, as Kari Limbo is a bit of a blind spot. I knew she jumped from Guy to Hal, however, before reading this issue, I never realized that she and Hal almost married. I do appreciate how, in light of Guy's return, the pair understand the need for them to let go of whatever it is they had.
As I mentioned above, it feels like Green Arrow's inclusion here was a bit forced. I guess coming off the Green Lantern/Green Arrow run, O'Neil may have felt like Ollie at least needed to make an appearance. Fair enough, I suppose... but the scene came off as so unnatural. Not sure why Hal would tell Ollie what he had planned if he wasn't planning on having him tag along. Oh well.
Sinestro here was a lot of fun. I enjoy this more "tricky" Sinestro, where it's as though he's like a cat playing with a mouse before going in for the kill. In his cartoonish arrogance, he's amused by Hal during their confrontation. It ultimately leads to him losing out, but it was still neat to see. Much rather this than a bloodthirsty or hyper-violent Sinestro.
Overall, I really enjoyed this. Great writing and art. I cannot say for certain that this was never collected... though, I will say that the SHOWCASE Presents... line petered out before this could be published. It is, as luck would have it, available digitally. I'd say it's well worth your time.
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Letters Page:
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Action Comics #977 (June, 2017)
"The New World, Part One"
Writer - Dan Jurgens
Art - Ian Churchill
Color - Hi-Fi
Letters - Rob Leigh
Associate Editor - Paul Kaminski
Editor - Mike Cotton
Group Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.99
Hey, I think we're about to discuss a Superman book that's going to be... about Superman! Hey, how 'bout that? This one doesn't look like a "Superboy, feat. Superman" issue. Couldn't be happier about that!
Also, looking at the numbering... if DC keeps up with the bi-weekly release schedule, we are now within ONE YEAR of seeing Action Comics #1,000! Let's just hope we're not also one year away from Action Comics (vol.3) #1!
(Also, apologies for the shoddy-er than usual pictures. These pages do not lend themselves to being photographed)
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We open with... Clark Kent working at the Daily Planet! Hell yeah. He's being shouted at by Perry White... everything feels like it's going back to normal. Guess I can stop clenching my stomach... for now. Of note (pun) there are several post-it notes on Clark's cubicle... there's a mention of former Superman group editor, Mike Carlin, and a mention of a restaurant called "The Swan", which has gotta be a reference to Curt Swan, right? There are also a bunch of books on Clark's shelf that are chock full of references... and a photo of the Planet gang around the time of Jonathan's birth... which either means they were all at the Batcave in the Flashpoint Universe, or that's all been "sorted out". Shortly, Clark and Lois go to head home... but Clark feels a bit uneasy about the whole Superman Reborn thing, so he heads to the Fortress for some clarification.
While Superman is in transit, we shift scenes to see our old friend Metallo receive a visit by a strange Matrix-y individual... who promises to repair him so he can get revenge on the Man of Steel. Who's this guy? Ya got me.
Superman arrives at the Fortress, and tells the Kryptonian Krystals that he needs to know "everything" about his history... and so, he suddenly finds himself standing in a projection of Krypton. It's really quite a scene... it looks like a melding of all past incarnations of the doomed planet. Some of the characters wearing Byrne-style costumes really stood out to me.
The tour continues, and Superman sees his birth parents... and himself as a (pacifier nippin') infant. Guess we're not going with the Birthing Matrix, eh? Of note, the ground begins to shake... and it's referred to as an Earthquake... which is kinda silly, but whattayagonnado?
We shift to another visit from the Matrix Man... this time it's Blanque getting and offer. Fair enough, even though Blanque bores me to tears. He reminds me of the kind of villain Chris Claremont would throw into an issue of like New Excalibur or something.
Back at the Fortress we witness the familiar scene of the young Kal-El being loaded into the rocketship. Superman questions whether or not he'd be strong enough to send his own son rocketing through space if posed with a similar situation. I dig that we get this new parental point of view from Clark... it really changes the way he (and we?) sees this iconic event.
And so, the rocketship lands... in Smallville, where it is found by Jonathan and Martha Kent. They decide to pass the child off as their own.
We next get a quick and dirty on Clark's childhood and adolescence. His best pals were Pete Ross and Lana Lang, the latter of whom learns of Clark's superpowers during a tornado. We're also getting Lex as a Smallville native, as a creepy older kid.
From here, Clark (and Superman) arrives in Metropolis... and we see some of his supporting cast, including Ron Troupe, Steve Lombard, and Jackee Winters (which tells us that the New-52! additions to the cast ought to be sticking around... which is cool).
The issue wraps up with Superman thinking he's heard another voice in the Fortress... however, Kelex reports that they are all alone. Hmm...
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Loved this issue! Loooooved it.
I'm probably the kind of reader that most comics writers hate. I have trouble swallowing nebulous explanations/timelines, and would prefer knowing exactly what happened... and when. Like, for me... the fold-out timeline that followed Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #0 was a godsend. I'd guess DC creative was probably a bit less enthused, because now there was a physical checks and balances they had to adhere to.
This issue (Action 977), made great strides toward clearing up how and when things went down... and, while I'd have preferred a bit more Byrne and a bit less Johns, I'm just happy to have a better understanding of Superman's origin. After so many years of details being purposely kept nebulous (or kept out altogether), this issue brought with it not only exposition... but a measure of comfort as well.
So, where to start? Let's do something strange and take a look at the cover. Covers, being what they are today... that is to say "they ship with too damn many different ones" are something I tend to ignore when reviewing. To my mind, covers really only lend themselves to review when they are exceptionally good... or exceptionally bad. That said, I'm totally about to contradict myself here. I thought the cover was very nice, if not exceptional. The reason I mention it at all is to point out how weird it looks to use the trunkless Superman in the iconic Kryptonite Nevermore pose. I mean, I get that we're now "above" a Superman "who wears his underwear on the outside" (there's an annoying sentence!), but... as a celebration of Superman history, I think he should have been drawn in his classic costume if we're touching on classic stories. Not sure if this is an attempt to retcon the trunks out of existence altogether, or just a stylistic choice. Either way, I've droned on far too long about something so minor!
Onto the story itself. Like I've said time and again, I'm very much a fan of the post-Crisis "Byrne" Superman, and that origin is the one I'll always see as the truest. What we get here seems to be sort of a composite origin, with elements of pre-Crisis, some Byrne, but mostly Geoff Johns Secret Origin. Fair enough, I suppose. It's been ages since I've read SO, but I remember being somewhat turned off by it. The question that doesn't get answered here (unless I was too dense to pick up on it) is whether or not Clark was ever Superboy... and if he'd ever palled around with the Legion of Super-Heroes. With the information we have at present, I'm leaning toward "no". During the tornado, Lana says "You can fly?" and not "Hey, you must be Superboy!" I might be completely mistaken... who knows?
As for the pending threat... it looks like we're getting a new version of the Superman Revenge Squad. A completely silly Silver-Age concept, but one I'd welcome back with open arms. I think it's time for Superman to flex his muscles a bit... I've said it before, but since Rebirth, he's almost felt like a side-character in his own books, with DC being more interested in establishing Jon than reestablishing Clark. Having Superman pitted against a whole slew of baddies is one of the stories I've been waiting for! Really looking forward to this.
Ian Churchill is an artist I often go hot and cold on... and, it just so happens that in this very issue, I am both hot and cold on his work. Some pages look overly scratchy, while others come off amazing. I've never been keen on the way he draws mouths... there's something soft-Liefeldian about it. Though, overall I'd consider his inclusion here to be a net-positive.
Overall... great issue. While the overall tone is "unease", I gotta say, this is probably the most comfortable I've been while reading an issue of a Superman comic book in quite some time. Lois and Clark are back at the Planet, we've got some supervillains brewing a plot, and we're finally getting an origin (until they change it, snark, snark). Well worth your time, definitely check this one out.
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Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #73 (December, 1963)
"The Kid with the Golden Touch!"
"The Five Fantastic Feats of Jimmy Olsen!"
Jimmy's Inter-Dimensional Romance!"
Writer - ???
Pencillers - John Forte & Al Plastino
Inkers - George Klein & Al Plastino
Letterer - Ira Schnapp
Cover Price: $0.12
Hey we're going to talk about a book from 1963 today. Such a thing would have been unthinkable for a younger Chris. Ya see, 1963 is one of those important years to me. Growing up an X-Men fan, I think I assigned their debut year some near-mythical status. I'm looking at this issue of Jimmy Olsen... and I know that it very likely shared rack space with some of the very first issues of X-Men. It's probably silly... but, I think that's really cool.
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Our first story opens with Jimmy Olsen hanging out at a Metropolis cove just waiting for something to happen. Ya see, his "nose for news" tells him something's about to go down... and whattaya know, a spaceship lands in the water! They greet young Olsen, and regale him with stories of how he is idolized on their home planet. Jimmy, being a doofus, buys it hook, line, and sinker. One of the aliens then produces a strange device... which, Jimmy reaches out to touch. Turns out, this machine gives our boy the Midas touch!
To control his powers, the alien gives him a pair of protective gloves. Jimmy, being an annoying little so-and-so, decides to have a little fun with his new powers, at Editor Perry White's expense. After turning the Chief's cigar into gold, Jimmy returns to his desk to gild s'more. This is when Clark Kent happens by. He tries to inquire about Jimmy's new power, but he ain't getting anywhere... and so, he decides young Olsen might be more willing to speak with Superman... buuuut, no dice. As a matter of fact, after gilding his cape, Jimmy looks positively bored by Superman... so bored, he excuses himself to transform the Jimmy Olsen Fan Clubhouse into gold.
From here, Jimmy just starts turning everything to gold. He's really making a menace of himself... an annoying menace. He changes a whole wheelbarrow full of bricks to gold, which causes a police officer to investigate... Jimmy shuts him up by changing his badge and cuffs to gold. Elsewhere, the aliens watch on... and it becomes pretty clear that their intentions with young Olsen were malicious. They contact him...
... and ask him to bring them his piece of white Kryptonite, because it can be used to fight off a "terrible plant scourge" which is threatening their home planet. Jimmy, being a goof... thinks nothing of it, and fetches his White-K. One of the aliens uses their own Midas touch to turn it to gold... just as Supergirl is summoned to help launch the aliens back into orbit. When she arrives, it appears as though her powers have been cancelled out. Uh-oh! These weren't friendly aliens at all... this is Vostar, the criminal scientist from Atlantis!
As Vostar celebrates his victory... and Jimmy get all "aw shucks", Supergirl's powers appear to return... and so does her cousin! Ya see, when Superman saw Jimmy's new powers, he used his telescopic vision to scan for threats... and wouldn'tcha know it, he found the Atlanteans! He listened in to their recent transmission... and replaced Jimmy's White-K with just a regular rock! The story ends with Superman's gilded cape returning to its normal red.
The second story begins with Jimmy Olsen... undercover! He's posing as an equestrian so he can keep an eye on the notorious gambler, Mr. Fix. He follows the baddie into the stall of Mudhole the horse... and witnesses him sliding some PED's into the ol' horse's drinking water. He's going to bet on the long shot, and win big! Before Jimmy can do anything to stop him, a man called Shagg arrives and shoots Jimmy... with, er, a gas-gun. The two bad dudes lay Jimmy out in the hay... and a little later, their horse wins the big race!
Perry White shows up and begins reading Jimmy the riot act for being a screw up. Olsen pleads his case, and informs the Chief that he's got a plan to catch Mr. Fix... but he's going to need Perry's cooperation for it to work. His plan is... get this... he's going to pose as an "oriental Rajah" and Perry will pose as his hand-servant Perree. That's an awfully detailed plan for something just off the top of your head, Jim. Perry agrees, and he and Jimmy get into disguise. Mr. Fix and Shagg see the Rajah, and see him as a way they might make a "fast buck". After seeing the Rajah hit a bullseye in archery, they bet him a thousand bucks that he can't do it again... and he does!
Fix then tries to go double-or-nothing with a basketball exhibition. They bet the Rajah can't sink a basket with his eyes closed... and whattayaknow, not only does he do it... the ball travels to the other basket before hitting the ground as well!
A bit later, the Rajah runs into on-again, off-again squeeze, Lucy Lane. She ain't buying that Jimmy is doing these feats on his lonesome, and suggests Superman is nearby. Jimmy assures her this isn't the case... in fact, Superman is off in a far-away galaxy. A *zeee!zeee!* of the signal watch confirms this to be true... causing poor Lucy's head to spin.
The next feat is... striking out Mickey Mantle! Hey, how 'bout that. The Rajah manages to strike the Mick out with a single pitch. Yup.
The next feat is sinking a hole in one on the golf course... and, c'mon, we already know he does it. It's kinda funny though, Jimmy claims that it's through his mastery of the psychic forces of yoga that allows him to golf so well.
We rejoin the Rajah back in his suite where everything becomes a bit clearer. Jimmy wasn't being aided by Superman... but by the Superman Emergency Squad of Kandor!
And then... things get stupid. The Kandorians (Kandorans?) leave, and the next day Jimmy hits the links again. When he is frightened by a snake, Mr. Fix figures out that the Rajah is in fact... Jimmy Olsen. And so, he offers him another opportunity to putt. If he misses... they'll, get this, throw a grenade at him. Wow. Well, with his life in the balance, Jimmy is frightened by some thunder! Mr. Fix and Shagg decide it's time to kill Jimmy once and for all, and hurl the grenade! When the smoke clears, Jimmy still stands! He grabs the baddies and... flies off with them? Okay... it's not really Jimmy, but Zol-Lar from Kandor... who belongs to a club where they all look like Superman and his pals. Yikes.
Our final story begins with Jimmy preparing to chisel a statue from a block of marble in the likeness of his on-again, off-again squeeze... Lucy Lane. She comes over and models for him, however, when he's done... the statue looks nothing like her! Go figure... I'm surprised Jimmy can even tie his shoes, we really think he's a sculptor? Anyhoo, an insulted Lucy leaves... and that night, wouldn'tcha know it, the statue comes to life!
She introduces herself as Rona... from the Seventh Dimension, no less! She claims to have wound up in the rock due to an experimental transportation mission... and it's thanks to Earths "Three-Dimension" Sun that she's returned to life. As thanks, she produces a vial of fluid... not like that... for Jimmy to drink, after which he will have the physique of his hero... Superman!
Just as they embrace, Lucy Lane barges in. Seeing her sometimes beau in the arms of another bothers her as she believes this brunette beauty to be an actress or model... not the transdimensional space creature Jimmy is trying to pass her off as. She invites Rona to the beach for some fun in the (3D) Sun. While there, they run into the famous movie producer, Von Pipp (sounds like he could be a Legionnaire)... and he doesn't recognize Rona! Then, to further punctuate her alien nature, our gal makes a basket of strange rainbow fruit appear.
As they dine on rainbow melon (with one hundred flavors!), the new hero of the beach, Jimmy Olsen, arrives on the scene! He really looks strange with his baby face on a hulking body. It's actually quite disturbing. Anyhoo, as Jim and Rona make out, a swimmer begins to drown... Jimmy jumps in for the rescue.
Time passes, and the Rona-romance continues to blossom. It is soon announced (on the front page of the newspaper!) that Jimmy has fallen in love with an alien... and is now engaged! Lucy is now full of regret.
Though, she not only continues to hang out with Olsen... she even agrees to model wedding gowns for Rona! I mean, who does that? It seems as though Jimmy is going through with this wedding just to spite Lucy... it's really pretty sad. Didn't realize he was such a jerk.
Anyway, before long, it's the day of the big wedding. Superman is present as Jimmy's best man. Before taking their vows, Rona insists that Jimmy drink another vial of liquid. He does, because he's an idiot... and he begins to, ya know... die. The Interdimensional Space Police arrive just moments too late to arrest the Seventh Dimensional criminal. They ask her to stick out her tongue... and it turns out, she's been "marked". Ya see, all baddies on their world have the bottom of their tongues dyed blue. Yikes.
Superman uses his Super-Brain to calculate the antidote, which the space cops produce. Jimmy drinks it, and begins to (for better or worse) return to normal. We learn that Rona has a collection of dead (red-headed) husbands... can someone point her in the direction of Terry Long?
We also learn that her concrete prison is sorta-kinda their dimension's answer to the Phantom Zone. Jimmy's just mortified... and begs Superman (and the Priest/Judge) not to tell Lucy. We wrap up with Lucy asking Jimmy out, because she'd heard he dumped Rona. Jimmy plays coy and says he'll try and "fit" her into his social calendar. What an ass.
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Wow, Jimmy Olsen's an annoying little so-and-so, ain't he?
Ya know, I try not to curse on the humble blog... though, I'll admit that I've been tempted a time or two. This issue however, I'm lookin' at Jimmy, furrowing my brow, and stifling the urge to type "This sonuva..."
That's not to say I didn't enjoy the heck out of this issue... because I did. It's definitely the right kind of silly, it's just that Jimmy is such a.......... jerk. He's just so unlikable... while at the same time, almost charming in his obliviousness to it all. And, really... who could blame him? The geek's got an actual fan club!
Let's chat about the opening story because, scary as it sounds, it was the most straight-forward. Jimmy briefly gets the Midas touch... and proceeds to abuse his powers like the strange little manchild that he is. Fair enough. Superman was able to save the day... which is fine. I'm kinda surprised that Jimmy's just got a piece of white Kryptonite sitting on a shelf in his office. I had to actually do a bit of research on the White-K... seems it's only harmful to plant-life, which is probably why Superman was able to handle it, right?
The second story was... maybe a bit too goofy, especially toward the end. I thought it was pretty cool that Jimmy would use the Kandorians to edge out Mr. Fix... but that ending with the grenade might have went a bit too far. Totally unnecessary in my opinion, could've ended the story with the Kandor-suprise reveal. Would have improved it quite a bit.
The final story was... weird. Weirder than I expected. Not so much for the seventh dimensional would-be bride, but for just how much of a jerk Jimmy was to Lucy. He really seemed to enjoy seeing how heartbroken she was becoming... to the point where he actually felt bad about enjoying it so much! Even after Rona gets outed as a serial-ginger-killer, he's more afraid of looking foolish than getting back with his squeeze. In fact, he doesn't even go to her... she comes to him... and then... then, this geek plays hard-to-get! It's a good thing he's friends with Superman, otherwise he'd have been put in a ditch ages ago!
Overall... despite Jimmy grinding on my nerves, I had a blast reading this. The stories are the right kind of silly, you can't take them too seriously. Well worth your time if you come across it. Sadly, the SHOWCASE Presents series of Superman Family petered out before this issue could be collected... so, as far as I can tell, this is single-issue only.
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