Superboy #154 (1969)

Superboy #154 (March, 1969)

"Blackout for Superboy!"

Story - Frank Robbins

Pencils - Bob Brown

Inks - Wally Wood

Letters - Ray Holloway

Cover Price: $0.12

Now, who could resist a cover like that?!  Does what happens inside even have a hope of living up to that image?

Let's find out...

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We open with Superboy on his "predawn" patrol, during which he finds a troubled fisherman just about to go over one of Smallville's numerous waterfalls... truly the town with everything!  He rescues the old codger who, in turn, lambastes the Boy of Steel for nearly costing him his favorite fly rod!  Ehh, can't win 'em all.  You'd think he'd be more annoyed that Superboy didn't just save him and his boat... which is now just a pile of wet splinters.  Either way, it would seem that this might be going according to the old man's plan.

Superboy returns home to grab an hour of beauty sleep.  Thanks to his super-metabolism, he can get by with just the one.  I didn't think he needed to sleep at all, but I guess he's still a growing boy.  Anyhoo, he is awakened by his alarm clock... and when he opens his eyes... it appears as though his heat-vision involuntarily kicked on!

Fearing the worst, Superboy clenches his eyes shut.  After regaining his composure, he decides to give opening them another shot.  When he does... he winds up melting his bed post!  Could this mean that Superboy no longer has control over his amazing powers?!

Shortly after, Ma enters the room.  She heard Clark's alarm go off, and wonders why he didn't get up.  Upon surveying the damage, she lashes out at him for his "destructive impulses"... which, I mean... has Clark been anything but an angel?  I mean, when he's not being affected by Red Kryptonite or anything.  Clark explains the situation, and she rushes off to grab Pa.

Clark asks his folks to guide him downstairs into his cellar-lab so he can plan his next move.  Luckily, this happens to be the Silver Age, where Superboy has a closetful of robots in his likeness.  If he needs to remain "voluntarily blind" for awhile, he wants to make sure nobody realizes that Superboy is missing in action.  Then... he worries that his robots might be suffering the same "power control atrophy" that he is.  Turns out, from the looks of it... they are!

And so... in order to not incinerate everything he looks at, from this point on, Clark (Superboy) Kent will be... blind!  He fashions a pair of darkened specs out of lead... at least this way he can open his eyes.  He won't be able to see, but, at least he won't be clenchin'.  He borrows Pa's cane (from his old leg injury), and he's off to school.  He explains that due to an injury in the lab, he mustn't expose his eyes to the light for at least a week... which, ya know... isn't the craziest excuse.

During class, Clark is overcome, Daredevil style, by his other senses.  His heartbeat becomes the only thing he can hear, and while attempting to break his focus, Clark accidentally rips the corner off his desk!  This definitely gets the attention of Lana Lang...

... thankfully, quick-thinkin' Clark decides to (literally) suck all of the air out of the room, kayoing his classmates for a moment, while he rebuilds his desk... then, as they're all coming to, cracks a pencil in two to explain away the noise Lana had heard.  Aye yai yai.

We shift scenes to the office of Dr. Dento... you'll never guess what he does for a living.  Anyhoo, there have been a great number of fender-benders in Smallville on this day (a whole three), which is somehow due to Superboy being "off duty".  I mean, how does this town not just burn to the ground every time Clark takes a nap?!  Anyhoo... it's made plainly clear that Dr. Dento was actually the crotchety old fisherman from the beginning.

We join him on his next fishing expedition wherein he demonstrates what his favorite fly-rod can do.  It can, uh... set the fish on fire as it comes out of the water.  So, if you ever wanted to eat an entire fish without cleaning it, Dento is your man.  He recounts what had happened that morning.  Turns out, when Superboy "rescued" him, he affixed a second Superboy insignia to his outfit... through which, he could see everything that Superboy was seeing.

So... the game is up then?  Dr. Dento must know that Superboy is really Clark Kent, right?!  Well, not really... he just used this device to make Superboy think that his heat-vision was going out of control.  Ya see, it wasn't Superboy who melted the alarm clock... it was Dento!  What an idiot.

Anyhoo... later that night, Superboy decides to call in his Super-Pet Krypto to act as his seeing-eye dog.  Well, that stands to reason, right?  Together they save a bridge from collapsing... however, Superboy's shades do not go unnoticed.  Superboy's apparent blindness is front page news the next day!

Dento reads the news and is conflicted.  He now must turn his attention toward getting rid of Krypto.  Meanwhile, at the Kent House, they watch the news report discussing Superboy's blindness over breakfast.  This leads to Superboy picturing himself as a panhandler... from which we get our amazing cover.

After sobbing for a bit, Superboy decides... screw it, he's gonna face this thing head-on.  This gives us an amazing quote from Pa Kent.  "Now you're talking like the Son I'd have wanted... if we could have had our own!"  I mean, what?  What a clumsy statement.

Anyhoo, Krypto tugs on Superboy's cape... which gives him an idea.  He asks Ma for some "harmless dye"... because Krypto is going to be his seeing-eye dog in his civilian life too!  Ya see, he's doing this to throw people (well, Lana) off the scent that he really is Superboy.  I'd wager that this would only strengthen their case!  Oh well, what do I know?

We rejoin Dr. Dento as he puts his plan into action.  He, get this, synthesizes a rod of Red Kryptonite... and hides it in a (tasty) dog bone.  I'm not sure which part of that sentence was dumber.

Later that day, Dento starts terrorizing a dog.  Like, seriously, he starts whipping her dog house.  This, of course, brings Krypto to the yard... and he chases a heavily-padded Dento away.  The tortured mutt offers Krypto the K-infused bone... and away the Boy and Dog of Steel go.  Suddenly, Krypto goes nuts... and starts flying off toward space, leaving a blinded Superboy just hovering.

At this point, Superboy realizes he's got to risk it all... and open his eyes!  Naturally, nothing happens.  Superboy beans Krypto with a tiny chunk of meteorite to get him to spit out the Red-K Bone... and everything's cool.

Krypto begins sniffing around Superboy's chest... and bites the extra "S" insignia off.  They return to Dento's yard... and haul him off to the police.  Who's gonna fill all'a Smallville's cavities now?!

We wrap up the following morning with Lana reading the news that Superboy can see again.

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Well this was a lot of fun!

It's not often I get to read something this ridiculous... and I mean that in the best way possible.  Superboy... blinded, and yet... still trying to keep up the ruse on all fronts.  I mean, he was "blind" for what, a day?  But he still went the whole nine yards in covering for both of his identities!

I suppose we can start dissecting this issue with what stuck out most to me.  By around the third page, Dr. Dento should have been able to deduce that Superboy is actually Clark Kent.  I mean, the "fly rod" was "seeing" through the "S" insignia, right?  Doesn't matter if Clark's eyes are open or closed in that case... he should have seen Ma and Pa Kent... the Kent house... Superboy's cellar lab... the whole thing!  Instead, his sole focus is... making Superboy keep his eyes shut?!

I mean, Dento definitely saw the Superboy robots... right?  Otherwise, how could he have made it appear as though they were going out of control too?  While on the subject... wouldn't Ma and Pa have seen that the beams weren't coming out of the robot's eyes?!  Ehh, whattayagonnado?

I guess we can discuss how impractical a pair of lead specs would look... but, really... why?  We'll just accept it for what it is.  We are, however, going to discuss the Red Kryptonite rod for a second.  If Dr. Dento has the ability to synthesize Red-K at any time... why hasn't he just done that?!  Why didn't he slip some Red-K into Superboy's costume rather than the silly extra insignia?  Why not keep working at it, and eventually crack the code on Green (or even Gold) Kryptonite?!

Yeah, I realize I'm poking holes in a half-century old story that was meant for kids... but, what else am I gonna do with my mornings...

With all of that said... this was a ton of fun, and looked pretty great!  Hell, the cover on its own is pretty spectacular.  You could definitely see how it might attract a kid's eye from the newsstand... heck, I bought it simply based off the cover not all that long ago!  That's definitely part of the "comics magic" that is missing these days.

Overall, if you come across this one, I'd definitely recommend grabbing it.  Unfortunately, it hasn't been collected nor made available digitally at the moment... but, it's certainly worth a bin-dive... even for the cover alone!

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Teen Titans #21 (1969)

Teen Titans #21 (May-June, 1969)
"Citadel of Fear"
Writer/Penciller - Neal Adams
Inks - Nick Cardy
Letters - John Costanza
Cover Price: $0.12

Today we're heading back to the... I think it was still the Silver Age... to take a look at an early team-up of the Teen Titans and Hawk & Dove... with art and words by Neal Adams!

It's sure to be a banger!

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We open with the combined forces of the Teen Titans and Hawk & Dove... tripping over one another while trying to catch a mustachioed gentleman who is fleeing into a teleporter.  The Titans blame the Birds, and vice versa... so, we get some young hero on young hero action.

Speedy nails Dove with a psychedelic arrow, which causes him to lumber back into a stack of boxes... which look to be about to tumble atop Wonder Chick!

Hawk rushes in and nyoinks her out of danger... an act that sorta begins defusing the situation.  They aren't all pals or anything, but there is an uneasy alliance taking shape.  The teen-agers head over to that teleportation machine, and note that it has two settings... which means, it'd be in their best interests to split into two teams to track the baddie.  Hawk, who is still carrying Donna, decides that them two plus Dove will be one team, leaving Roy, Dick and Wally as the other.

We follow the Birds and the (Wonder) Chick first... they are transported to Istanbul (not Constan... nope, not gonna do it!).  They beat up a pair of guards, much to Dove's dismay.  Meanwhile, in Berlin... a pair of shadowy men look on via monitors.

As the teens soldier on, they happen to wander into... a trap!  One'a those rooms where the walls start closing in.  That kinda thing always freaked me out... asamattafact, as a kid I was convinced that this would be one of the two ways I might die... the other was quicksand.  Anyhoo, after the walls close in a sufficient amount, the remaining space is filled with knockout gas.

While they doze, we pop over and check in with the Boys... who have been transported to Berlin.  They walk along some underground train tracks, fearful that they're entering a trap... because, ya know, they are.  The shadowy men launch their second deadly threat... and from the looks of it, they're using a bunch of those automatic tennis servers to do so!

Well, it's actually a locomotive stuffed with armed fellas... the bullets still look like tennis balls though.  I dunno, maybe it's NERF.  The Boys git ta steppin' until they get far enough away for Wally to whup up a hurricane with his arms.

The Titans board the train and are able to disarm, and eventually wipe the floor with, the bad guys.  The train keeps barreling forward until... it stops!  Then, a pair of glass panels close them in... could this be the real trap?!

Well, of course it is... don't be ridiculous!  The locomotive transforms into a giant spider and takes out the trio with ease!  Holy Crippled Cockroaches, indeed!

As the bad guys collect Robin and Kid Flash (but not Speedy), we rejoin the Birds and Donna, who are locked in a prison, hands bound.  Hank and Donna repeatedly slam themselves into the prison door in hopes of breaking free... while Dove sits off to the side.  He suggests they just give a tug on their cuffs... since they're made of a fibrous plastic, they oughta be able to stretch.

Oh, and those plastic cuffs?  Also combustible... which is, ya know, helpful.  They press the cuffs into a crack in the wall, and with a spark created by Donna clanking her bracelets together, they ignite... blowing a nice-sized hole out of the wall and assuring the teen-agers' freedom.  The trio saunters back over to the teleportation machine, and heads to Berlin.

Before we know it, they're standing right before that giant spider, maaaan... and they see that Speedy is pinned underneath it.  Hawk and Dove rush in and free him from the heft of the mechanical beast.

The foursome decides to press on.  Of course, they come to a fork in the road... which causes them to have to split up again.  Hawk chooses Donna to accompany him, which doesn't sit well with Roy... and so, he punches Hank in the face.  Dove intervenes and gets everyone to settle their respective tea kettles before things get uglier.

Turns out this was all a moot point, as the forked paths lead to the very same place.  Guess we had an extra page or two that needed filling.  The no-longer shadowy man is freaking out, and sends his agents in to take out the teens.

We then learn that the jolly gentleman is being controlled by... aliens from Dimension X!  Say it ain't so.  The alien leader knows that the game is up, and orders the fella to pull the self-destruct switch in order to cut his losses.

Hawk and Dove are able to stop him before he does... and when Roy and Donna try questioning him, he falls into a deep trance of "selective hypnosis".

Roy calls out to Hawk for some assistance finding Robin and Kid Flash, however... Hawk and Dove's powers are starting to wear off, changing them back to Hank and Don Hall.  They rush back through the teleporter rather than be seen in their civilian identities.

Speedy blames himself... believing that the Birds ran off because he socked Hawk in the face... like three times.  He then lashes out at the hypnotized jolly gentleman... but, ya know, he's hypnotized, so he doesn't get anywhere.  We wrap up by learning that Robin and Flasher are being held captive by... well, duh, that alien guy.

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Well, this was a weird one, wasn't it?

Having not read Teen Titans #20, I'm not sure whether or not this was picking up directly from there... but, ya know... it is the Silver Age, so there's also a pretty good possibility that this was just the way a new story started.

Not sure what the threat of the Aliens of Dimension X might be... but, I mean, no good could come from a place called "Dimension X", right?

Thought the interpersonal conflict between the Titans and the Birds was pretty well done... Hawk is still a blowhard jerk, and Dove is still so wimpy you wanna smack 'im... so, I was definitely cool with Roy giving them both a few punches.

I thought it was cool that Hawk had an instant attraction to Donna.  What I wasn't prepared for was how it seemed like that attraction might just be mutual.  I was expecting an "Unhand me, you ape" and instead we get her sorta making goo-goo eyes.

Not much else to this story.  A lot of spectacular art, but as a story, it was just okay.  Full of Silver-Age trappings... I mean, how many times are we going to need to "split up" already?  How many times are the heroes gonna fly off the handle and just throw punches?  Not saying I didn't enjoy all'a that, but it's kinda formulaic.  Though, it fairness... I'm saying all this one year shy of a half-century after this book hit the newsstands.

This being a Silver Ager, it didn't have creator credits listed.  I had to check some of my usual online research haunts to fill'em in.  I also checked DC Digital to see if it was available there.  It is!  What I also learned there is that this issue was retroactively "age rated" as "12+ Only"... the hell is this nonsense?!

For some context, a recent issue of Teen Titans (one in which Beast Boy claims his dinner gave him a "mouthgasm") is also rated "12+ Only".  What the hell, DC?  This is dumb... and you need to fix your rating system.

Overall... worth a read (for any and all ages).  "Twelve Plus Only" my be-hind.

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Green Lantern (vol.3) #155 (2002)

Green Lantern (vol.3) #155 (December, 2002)
"Hate Crime, Part Two"
Script - Judd Winick
Pencils - Dale Eaglesham
Inks - Rodney Ramos
Colors - Moose Baumann
Letters - Kurt Hathaway
Editorial Assistance - Morgan Dontanville
Editor - Bob Schreck
Cover Price: $2.25

Today we're going to wrap up the two-part "Hate Crime" story.

I gotta admit, I was a bit nervous discussing this one... I wasn't exactly sure how it would be received.  Haven't heard any complaints yet... which, I'm going to assume means nobody read it... or, that folks were so dazzled by my insight they were left speechless.  Yeah, probably that second one.

This arc will be added to our "Collected Editions" Page for ease of chronological-enjoyment.

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We open with a news report on the beating of Terry Berg... even my man President Lex gets to opine!  Vigils will be held, and legislation will be brought up to speed.  Back at the hospital, we meet Terry's folks... and boy howdy is his father a cliche.  He refuses to allow David in to see Terry, and goes off on a blaming-spree.  He finally collapses in tears, at which point Jade escorts David into Terry's room.

Just then, John Stewart shows up with some coffees.  Jennie is confused when she learns that Kyle put John "on the list".  Not because of any hard-feelings toward John or anything, she's just not sure what Kyle has in mind.  Kyle initially claims to have called John to keep her company because he needs to step away for a minute.

Kyle "steps away" alright, all the way to the Moon!  Next we see him, he's inside the JLA Watchtower pleading with Wally West to use the Cosmic Treadmill so he can "undo" Terry's beating.  Flash says "no go".

Kyle keeps pushing the subject... it's just "one day", what harm would there be in changing just one event on one day?!  Well, if this ain't Batman's cue, I don't know what it is... so, enter Batman.  Batman backs Wally's decision up, while giving Kyle a taste of the "I know what you did last night."  Crestfallen, Kyle leaves.

Next we know, he's in deep space working out his aggression on the Asteroid Belt.  This is where he encounters his predecessor... Hal Jordan.  Hal let's Kyle express his frustration... even counsels him a bit.

Kyle suggests that had he not relinquished the power of Ion (that's a story for another day) he'd be able to undo Terry's beating.  He kicks himself for "giving it all away", even though in so doing, he was able to bring back the Guardians of the Univer-- okay, maybe it wasn't the best idea.

Hal tells Kyle he must do whatever brings him inner peace.  He wishes him luck... and reveals that, even at this moment, luck is on his side... there's good news waiting for him back at the hospital.

Indeed, back at the hospital Kyle gets the news that Terry has woken up!  What's more, he'd asked to see him ASAP.  Kyle heads into the room, where he has a "chat" with an intubated Terry.

Things start off pretty lighthearted, though the conversation does turn dark.  Terry wants to know what happened to him... how did he come to be here.  Also, he wants to know why no one will tell him what happened to him.

We jump ahead to Kyle and Jennie on the roof... I'm assuming it's of the apartment building and not the hospital... not that it matters.  It's here that Jennie makes a pretty crazy discovery.  While going through Terry's sketchbook... it becomes pretty clear that Terry Berg has known about Kyle's double-life for a while.

It's also here that Kyle... quits.  He cannot protect the Earth anymore as Green Lantern.  It's just too much for him right now.  He suggests he leaves Earth for awhile... and he invites Jennie along with him.  So then, who will be Green Lantern?  Well... 

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Well, I guess this one sorta had to come back around and be a superhero story, didn't it?  It's not bad... just the change in tone is a little bit jarring.

Having Kyle at his wit's end was a good call.  Though, he seemed to get stuck on that one step of the Kubler-Ross scale... bargaining.  He pleaded with his teammates for the opportunity to change the past.  I mean, time-travel in comics is always a hinky proposition... and I feel it's one that should be used sparingly and for "world saving" situations only.  Had they allowed Kyle to "undo" Terry's beating... I feel that would have been a giant disservice to those who had been affected by similar situations in the real world.

I said this back when we discussed Nightwing #93... the issue where he is sexually assaulted by Tarantula, and I'll say it again here... Sometimes bad things happen to good people.  In comics, and the real world.  To use "comics logic" to undo things that happen in our everyday lives... just not a good idea, in my opinion.

Kyle's chat with Hal was good... for a few reasons.  First, due to the mainstream attention this garnered, I gotta figure that this arc were the first Green Lantern comics for a decent sliver of the readership.  The chat allowed for some expository "catch up" material to be dropped, without feeling like a blatant info dump.

In keeping with the "mainstream" for a moment.  This issue ends with John Stewart taking the role of Green Lantern.  This was right around the time of the Justice League Animated Series, in which John Stewart was Green Lantern.  Really smart move, that serves both the narrative and potential marketing strategies.

Back to the chat.  Hal really doesn't tell Kyle anything he doesn't already know... he just frames it all in a way for Kyle to gain a little perspective.  With the powers of Ion, Kyle could've done anything (including resurrect a certain young lady whose last mailing address was a refrigerator... which he didn't), so relinquishing those powers was a) the only feasible solution, and b) a character-defining moment.  Having him regret this decision is only natural... and I'm not entirely sure Hal was able to convince him otherwise here.  Still, I like seeing Hal as a "mentor" to Kyle.

Terry's father... I mean, I get it.  I wish Winick took the road less traveled here though.  I don't see the harm in having Mr. Berg be a supportive father, instead of a mustached, mullet-headed, dirty t-shirt wearing jerk.  I guess, given the situation, it's possible that even the most supportive of parents might lash out... but, there's just very little subtlety in this fella.  I tell ya what though, I'd hate to see how this character would be portrayed in 2018.

Terry wakes up, which is good news... and he seems to be the same ol' goofy snarky kid, which is also good news.  I really like the idea that people aren't telling him how or why he's in the shape he's in.  I'd imagine that would be one of the more difficult conversations to have (and write).  I dig the idea that those around him are still trying to process the sheer horror of the events... and aren't yet ready (or able) to relay them to the actual victim.  This is a big deal... and really shouldn't be handled lightly.

Overall... like I said yesterday, you're not gonna enjoy reading "Hate Crime"... because you're not supposed to.  That said, it is important... and character-defining/refining for much of the cast of Green Lantern.  Even though I've just spoiled the entire thing for you, I'd still suggest giving it a look.  This issue is available digitally.

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