Starman #2 (November, 1988)
"Field Testing"
Writer/Co-Creator - Roger Stern
Pencils/Co-Creator - Tom Lyle
Inks - Bob Smith
Letters - Bob Pinaha
Colors - Julianna Ferriter
Editor - Robert Greenberger
Cover Price: $1.00
If I were to guess how long ago it was that we discussed Starman #1... I'd probably say something like... it was six-months ago. Well... as it turns out, it's nearing on two-years and six-months ago.
Time is certainly a weird and cruel S.O.B., ain't it?
Well, let's get to it!
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We open with our man Will Payton revisiting the Rocky Mountain campsite where he was blasted with Starman-making-rays last issue. He is surprised to find that he's not the only interested party lurking the area. From here we get a quick and dirty retelling of some of the events of last issue. Will decides to leave, he's late meeting his sister as it is... and doesn't realize that one of the fellas on the ground noticed him... and even snapped a few pics.
He arrives a few moments later in the Arizona desert to meet his sis, Jayne. She runs him through a few tests of endurance to ensure he hadn't lost any of his Starmanniness. He hasn't! She goes to check his heartbeat... and, get this... dude doesn't have one! What's more, he hasn't had to go to the bathroom since the incident!
We hop up to Utah, and meet up with Dr. Melrose... that guy who's trying to create superhumans in a lab... the guy behind the satellite that inadvertently blasted Will while he was camping. He is handed the photo that was snapped a few pages back... and he's kinda ticked off. After all, all the power that Will sucked up was being reserved for his team. A staff member suggests hiring a freelancer to capture Starman.
We rejoin Will back in his Phoenix abode. He's flipping through the classifieds trying to find some work. On the front cover of the paper he learns that there is a killer on the run... and also that the local police are looking to question Starman about stuff that happened last issue... this gives him an idea. And so, a little while later, Starman pays a visit to the Phoenix P.D.
Captain Estevez busts in on the curious scene and pulls Starman aside. When asked what he wants, Starman simply says... he wants justice to be done. He suggests they team up to take down that on-the-run mass murderer. He then... makes his skin tone a fair amount darker so he could go "undercover". Hmm... okay. It looks like a coloring error... but, it's not.
Suddenly, over the police band... we learn that the baddie has been spotted coming out of Yuma. Before Phoenix's Finest know it, Starman's already headed thaddaway. I've been to Yuma once... ate at a KFC that had a buffet. Totally blew my mind.
Along the way, Starman comes upon a flipped over patrol car. A female officer is knelt before her downed partner and is calling in for backup. Will sets down to get a closer look... and the downed officer refers to him as "a brother". So, yeah... not a coloring error! Anyhoo, turns out... they were hot on the trail of the mass murderer, when he... get this... threw a grenade at them! Yeah, a friggin' grenade!
A ways up the road, the mass murderer (and his hostage) cross into Mexico. He then dumps her out on the ground... and prepares to shoot her in the head.
Lucky for her, Starman got there just in the nick of time!
The baddie unloads his gun into Starman's chest... which proves to be rather the futile endeavor. He goes to flee, but Will snatches him up... and delivers him back to Phoenix. We're going to assume he also returned the hostage to someplace safe too... but there's no evidence of this having occurred.
So Starman's a hero, and all that jazz. That doesn't mean Captain Estevez is quite ready to trust him though. Back home, Will's mom gets on his case about looking for a job... so, all's well that end's well.
We close out with Dr. Melrose meeting his new free-lancer. Are ya ready for this...? It's... waitforit... drumroll please... budda-budda-budda-budda-buddaaaaaaaaah......... Bolt?! Oh, c'mahhhn.
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Another fun issue with our "everyman hero", Will Payton.
It's probably not a terribly novel take to suggest that Starman is very much a Marvel-esque hero. Hell, I'm sure I've even made the "observation" a time or two before. Will is... a pretty normal fella... when he's not wearing his PB&J's, that is. Kind of a sad sack... still lives at home, can't find work... trying to make a name for himself (on two fronts). It's a pretty refreshing thing to see coming out of this era of DC Comics.
So, whadda we got here? It's kind of a "layer adding" issue. We learn a bit more about Will's condition... he doesn't have a heartbeat, and doesn't need to use the bathroom. We get a good look at Dr. Melrose... and a better understanding of why he and Will might be (unwittingly) at odds. Also, some Phoenicians are fleshed out. Good old-fashioned comics stuff. It was a good time.
There were a few "eh?" moments though. First... not sure why Will changed the color of his skin at the Police Station. I gotta figure it was just to remind the reader that he can. Still... came off as a bit weird. Then, he rescues the hostage, right? But... just leaves her standing in Mexico so he could fly the mass-murderer back to Phoenix? Poor gal.
Overall... this was really fun, and I'd recommend checking it out. Looks like this series has finally been made available digitally (which it wasn't back in 2016 when we covered #1)! We'll just assume that we had a lot to do with that. Ahem. Sure we did.
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Young All-Stars #1 (January, 1987)
"The Coming of the Young All-Stars"
Writers - Roy & Dann Thomas
Pencils - Michael Bair, Brian Murray & Vince Argondezzi
Inks - Malcolm Jones, III
Colors - Carl Gafford
Letters - David C. Weiss
Cover Price: $1.00
Here's a series I've wanted to look at for a long time... but, boy... it's kind of intimidating. There's a whole lot of lore in here... and retroactive-lore, at that! This is a post-Crisis series... whose roots are very much in the pre-Crisis DCU.
A while back, here on the blog, we looked at a very special issue of All-Star Squadron... one that started pre-Crisis... and ended post-Crisis. It was a wild story, featuring, of all things... the android from Fritz Lang's Metropolis holding back the effects of Crisis.
That issue featured the assembled All-Stars taking a photo for the President of the United States... and it was in that photo that we saw some of the alterations Crisis wrought. Characters like Superman, Batman, Aquaman and Wonder Woman were removed from ever having been part of the Golden Age... and so, "stand ins" were required.
Well, sorta-kinda required... they could've just brushed everything under the rug and moved forward... but, this is Roy Thomas, and he cares far more about making lore work than most. And bless him for it! Here is a clipping from Comics through Time: A History of Icon, Idols, and Ideas (2014) with some information about the All-Stars, young and old.
With that... we might just be ready to jump into the series that was once going to be known as The New All-Star Squadron!
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We open with the All-Star Squadron facing off with Mekanique! We at the blog met her back in the long ago, when she was holding back the effects of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Here, she is depicted as a giant... and she's having her way with the All-Stars. Despite the heroes' best efforts, she is able to shrug off... and even redirect... most of their attacks.
Mekanique appears to be wiping out All-Stars with every swat of her hands... even "heavy hitters" like Green Lantern and Spectre go down quick! It gets to the point where the last heroes standing are Liberty Belle and Johnny Quick... but, with a swat and a stomp... it looks like it's all she wrote for the good guys!
Only... it was just a dream! Here we meet Helena Kosmatos, the Fury... who is the stand-in for the Golden-Age Wonder Woman. She wakes with a shout!
Her Uncle Johnny and Aunt Libby rush into the room to see whats wrong... and so, she shares her nightmare. She imagined her Aunt and Uncle as Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle. They try keeping the ruse up, if only for a moment. Johnny, realizing the futility of it all, finally tips his hand... and spills the beans.
We learn a little bit about Helena's origin, including that she isn't a blood relative to either Libby or Johnny. She comes from "Fury" stock... which, I'm going to assume is a stand-in for the Amazons? I could very well be wrong, but that's my take-away. Liberty Belle and Johnny Quick decide that it might be time for Helena to meet the rest of the All-Star Squadron, in the flesh.
We jump to Santa Barbara, California... where Neptune Perkins plays in the surf. Perkins, a Golden-Age character himself, is the post-Crisis stand-in for the Golden-Age Aquaman.
In the distance, atop an outcropping of rock, he sees a woman... just standing there, dramatically posed. Turns out, this is Tsunami... a Japanese-American, driven to anti-American sentiment in light of World War II era fear and prejudice toward the Japanese. She watches as Perkins is overcome by a large wave... and dives into the drink to save him.
She loads him into a really strange-looking houseboat, and they have a chat. Neptune asks what she was even doing out there... after all, she could have died! She responds that, well... that's kinda what she wanted. Ya see, that wave was actually meant to take her out.
Then... it's story time. After battling the All-Star Squadron some time back, Tsunami headed home. Shortly, a pair of U.S. officials appeared on her family's doorstep to question... and perhaps "round up" her grandfather as a Japanese spy. Well, Miya ain't digging that... and so, she grabs one of the G-Men, and hurls him through the wall. She flees the scene, leaving her family to be taken into internment.
Miya then tells him her "final shame" (which isn't shared with we mere readers). Neptune tells her she needn't kill herself... and actually, he just might know someone who can help out... don't in Los Angeles. And so, they go!
We next join the Royal Canadian Air Force as they go through their procedures. As they do so, they come across a strange flying figure. It's the Flying Fox, and this is his first appearance. Fox is the stand-in for Batman during the Golden Age.
Next stop, Indian Creek, Colorado... where TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite are dealing with some Nazi saboteurs who are trying to blow up a dam. They are spotted, and a fight breaks out. A few Ratzis hop into their hooptie and beeline it to the dam.
It just so happens that Iron Munro is having a picnic with a pretty young thing right around the dam! Now, Arn "Iron" Munro is a wildly interesting study. He is the stand-in for the Golden Age Superman and even has origins in the Philip Wylie Gladiator novel (1930), that many folks cite as the inspiration for Superman. Munro's father is Hugo Danner... the very "Gladiator" from the book. His grandfather, Abednego Danner... the scientist who finagled having a super-powered son! Really neat tie-in!
The picnic is interrupted by the Nazis driving through... and Arn stops them cold with his bare hands. Though, I gotta say... I was expecting the homage to Action Comics #1 here!
He hops over to check for casualties... and it turns out TNT didn't survive the encounter. Suddenly a Valkyrie, who introduces herself as Gudra appears. She's come to take TNT's soul back with her to Valhalla.
Iron ain't havin' it... and so, he lunges toward Gudra. She responds by blasting him with her power staff-thingie. After she vanishes, Arn realizes that Dyna-Mite still lives... he slings him over his shoulder and rushes off.
We follow Gudra, and close out with her checking in with her pals... the Axis Amerika! The final page is a really neat twisted callback to the cover of All-Star Squadron #1!
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A bit to unpack here... though, none of it is quite as interesting as all of the backstage maneuverings. I gotta hand it to Roy and Dann Thomas in their ability (and passion) for making everything "fit". It's a sure sign of a writer that cares about the properties... and everyone who contributed to the lore before them, when they reach so deep to make everything "matter". I only wish contemporary writers would take a lesson from the Thomases and consider those who came before when making sweeping (and unnecessary) changes to characters under their pen.
Really enjoyed this... though, the "stand-ins" are really no comparison to the originals. I mean, I couldn't imagine anyone preferring Neptune Perkins to Aquaman or Flying Fox to Batman... though, I suppose it is a big world. Still... gotta hand it to the Thomases for putting in the effort.
I think my only complaint (if we could even call it that) about this issue... is that it, like most of the Thomases "Earth-2" corner of the DCU... requires kind of a running start. These aren't light and breezy reads by any stretch of the imagination. There are so many tie-ins and allusions to Golden Age comics, real-world WWII era history, even film and literature... this is some dense stuff, and if you're not reading carefully, it's really easy to miss some stuff! Again, no fault of the book... but, kind of intimidating for someone like me who was too young to "be there" for this.
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Justice Society of America (vol.2) #2 (September, 1992)
"Days of Valor"
Writer - Len Strazewski
Pencils - Mike Parobeck
Inks - Mike Machlan
Letters - Bob Pinaha
Colors - Glenn Whitmore
Editor - Brian Augustyn
Cover Price: $1.25
Boy, it's been ages since we covered the first issue of this series. Ages! As luck would have it... my JSA box somehow made it to the top of the pile(s) during a re-sorting. I probably ought to come to grips that... this is my life now... organizing, and reorganizing boxes... a Sisyphean task, if ever there was one!
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We last left off with Jay and Alan doing their best Wayne and Garth impression... Not! Either way, they're back in the game... but, they're not yet a Society. We open in a subway where a protester is about to get his block knocked off by a couple of big dudes... we'll find out more about this conflict as we continue. Lucky for the fella, a pair of septuagenarians happen to enter the scene. They are Ted and Al... better known to some as Wildcat and the Atom. The buff baddies refer to them as "geez" (which we're gonna assume is short for "geezer" and not the plural of goose)... and so, a fight is on.
Al's a bit trepidacious... after all, they've only been back from the "other place" for a little while, and they're not totally secure in their powers. Also, it wasn't too long ago that Ted Grant didn't have the use of his legs. Regardless, the pummel the punks, and Ted even hands the victim a business card for some personal training.
The former heroes continue on their merry way, passing even more protesters during their walk. Looks like there's an evil corporation called Ultragen mucking with the environment. Al waves it off as "politics" before he and Ted enter the GBC Building... both wondering if the other brought their costume.
In the down below, Ted and Al find their path lit by a green light. It's Alan Scott... and he's got something to show them. He and Jay had brought all of their old Justice Society relics out of storage and set up a neat little base of operations.
Ted thinks it's pretty cool... especially seeing his old heavyweight championship belt among the decor. Al, the rational one, thinks this is all childishness which really ought to be left in the past. He calls it a museum... and refers to themselves as nothing more than "museum pieces". He goes on to harangue Alan and Jay for wearing costumes in their seventies, that looked silly even when they were in their twenties.
Ted asks Al to lighten up a bit, and just hear Green Lantern and Flash out. Turns out, Alan (decked out in his gaudy GL costume) kind of agrees with Al! He agrees that they're just old fools... but continues, and says that they used to be young fools anyway. But, they've come back for a reason...
The Justice Society still stands for something... it's just a matter of finding out what that is. Al crosses his arms and asks a pretty simple question, "Where's everyone else?". Apparently, the only former JSAer yet to check in is Johnny Thunder. Sandman is still recovering from his episode (last issue), Starman "sends his support", Hourman is dealing with his sick son, and Dr. Midnight is busy opening up a clinic.
So... whattabout the Halls? Well, let's head to the videophone and find out. Turns out Carter and Shierra are in the Middle East, presumably on a dig. A heated political climate precludes their leaving just yet. Also, their son Hector recently passed away... in an issue of Sandman... which, I gotta say, I never thought would actually be "footnoted" in a mainstream DC book!
The team chats a bit more. Carter brings up how he had the opportunity to work alongside the Justice League... and thought they were a great team. He hopes that perhaps some of his talents might've rubbed off on them, to make them even greater. Just then, the Halls are called away... something big appears to be happening off-panel.
And with that, Al and Ted seems to come around. Maybe the Justice Society's purpose is in bolstering the next generation(s) of heroes. As it turns out, Ted and Al are already in the process of opening a training complex anyway.
Alan receives a phone call from his wife Molly (the former Harlequin)... she tells him that there's some trouble brewing with the Ultragen protesters being beaten by some storm troopers, or something. The JSAers decide now's as good a time as any to shake off some of the rust. Turns out both Ted and Al brought their costumes.
Topside, the Society tries to manage the hostile situation. A mummy who just happens to be looking on (and who is familiar with the JSA), manages to taze Jay. Then, Alan is shot at with some wooden bullets, which puts him down. Looks like this Ultragen group is well-prepared.
Well... maybe not. Wildcat finds himself under a dogpile of storm troopers... and it looks like Al's about to be run over by a tank... when, the Atom punches through the tank with his Atomic Punch!
The Justice Society is victorious... and as the dust settles, we learn that a mysterious shadowy figure has been watching these events unfold... and they're not happy.
We wrap up with the team returning to their new headquarters... and boy are they surprised by who they find there!
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Ya know, no matter how much fun I have with this volume... and how annoyed I get for DC cutting it off at the knees, despite it being a (relatively) strong seller... when reading back, I kinda get it. This definitely wasn't the kind of story DC (or superhero comics in general) was trying to promote back in ye old '92.
It's sorta funny how something that could be viewed as "dated" during the time, went on to actually feel rather timeless. You ask me, this aged so much better than most things that were clogging up the shelves back in the early 1990's. Sometimes, the formula oughta just be "don't mess anything up". Fine classic superhero storytelling, with clean and dynamic art. That sorta thing was at a premium during the era of excess... and it's why stories such as this stand above so many of its contemporaries. For more of the day's offerings, take a look at the Entertainment This Month... ad below!
For the issue itself? It's relatively low-stakes "street level" stuff (for the moment). It was a neat way for Al and Ted to shake off some of their limbo-rust, and hop back into action.
Al especially was an interesting character here... and I really appreciated his conflicted point of view. Seems like he's the only one who realizes that they're all at an advanced age... and really, are only being held together by magic, which could "go away" at any moment. Of course, that mix of nostalgia and peer pressure is too much for him to deny, and so... he's back in his togs.
I wanna mention that footnote to Sandman #12 (which we did discuss here... ages ago). I thought this was especially cool... simply because I never expected it. Sure, Vertigo wasn't yet a thing (I believe we were 3-4 months away from the official rebranding at this point), but still... those proto-Vertigo books (Sandman, Swamp Thing, Doom Patrol, Animal Man, Shade the Changing Man) always seemed to be so disconnected to the goings on in the mainstream DCU, that any mention of any of them feels special. As a big fan of lore and the "everything matters" school of storytelling, this really tickled me.
Overall... a fun romp, with some wonderful characters... and amazing art. Well worth a revisit.
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