Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #26 (July, 1961)
"The Day Superman Married Lana Lang!"
"Lois Lane's Childhood!"
"The Mad Woman of Metropolis!"
Writers - Jerry Siegel & Robert Bernstein
Art - Kurt Schaffenberger
Cover Price: $0.10
Several months ago... too many months ago, I received a message from my pal, Jody Yerdon. He asked me to cover an issue of Lois Lane... however, at the time, I wanna say we were still in the throes of #VartoxWeek (praise be). Ya know, now that I think about it... we might've actually still been working on #Action100. Wow... I hope it wasn't that long ago!
Whatever the case, I figured as soon as I was done with whichever project I was working on, I'd do up a Lois discussion. That's when I came to learn that the only issue of Lois Lane I already discussed here... was the only issue of Lois Lane that I owned!
I guess I confused Lois Lane with Jimmy Olsen, which I somehow have a couple dozen issues of! Anyhoo, long story... not as long, I finally got myself another issue of Lois (you know how we roll here, physical copies only!)... and we're going to discuss it... right now!
Apologies and Thanks to Jody!
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Our first story opens with Superman presenting some ungodly horror of a statue to the Metropolis Space Exhibition. Lana Lang is looking on... and keeps looking on when Superman flies away. Using her spyglass, she watches as he lands on a nearby (probably a bit too nearby) building to change into his civvies. And just like that, she now knows Superman is really... Clark Kent. Later that day, she meets with Lois for some lunch... and wouldn'tcha know it, the subject of conversation is... Superman's secret identity! Lois thinks she's got the whole thing figured out... Superman is, in actuality, the Metropolis District Attorney, David Prentice! Lana decides not to spill the beans of her own discovery.
The next day is the day of the annual Metropolis Friendship Day Parade... and naturally, Superman is a big part of that. Lana manages to pull him aside so they can chat, and once they're alone... breaks the news that she knows his secret. Superman laughs (chuckles, even!), but doesn't deny anything. And then, Lana does the unthinkable... asks that Superman use his super-hypnotism to wipe her memory clean of the knowledge!
This unselfish act is enough for Superman to fall madly in love with Lana, right there on the spot! He even asks her to marry him... again, right there on the spot! Before we know it, we're at the wedding. Lois, Lana's Maid of Honor, cries her way through the entire ceremony. Worth noting, Superman's Best Man is... a Clark Kent robot.
Mr. and Mrs. Superman then head up to the Fortress of Solitude... so he can give her a dose of Korium-66-Beta (that sounds sciency, doesn't it?), which would permanently give her super-powers. He claims that she can do this because of her A-Blood-type (Lois is Type-O). Speaking of Lois, Lana heads into Superman's creepy shrine in her honor... the Lois Lane Room!
Superman, fearing this might lead to their first married argument, does what any fella would do... punches his Lois Lane statue into millions of pieces!
We jump ahead to the honeymoon... Superman and Super-Lana (creative!) head to his spectacular floating estate at sea. The next day, however, some nogoodniks decided to drop a chunk of Kryptonite (by air) onto the estate, which knocks Superman for a loop. Lana, isn't affected, however... and just hurls the rock into the passing plane!
Then... this sorta thing happens a few more times. Some goon drops Kryptonite chunks... and Superman goes down. Super-Lana saves him time and time again. Even the news picks up on it!
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| He cri everytiem |
Lana realizes that this is really getting to her super-husband, and decides it might be best for them to leave the city for awhile. They head down to Africa to join Lana's father, Professor Lang on an archaeological dig. Wouldn'tcha know it, shortly after they arrive, Lang's assistant unearths some Red Kryptonite!
Red-K, of course, always affects Superman in different ways. This time (well, most times), it turns him into a Super-Fiend! The effects last long enough for him to return to Metropolis and destroy the whole place! At this point, Super-Lana decides it best to... get this... leave Earth forever! She thinks doing so will give Superman back his self-respect. All's I can wonder is... who'll be there to chuck the chunks of Kryptonite away from him now?!
Our next story takes place during Lois Lane's childhood (just as the title suggests). We open with Sam and Ella Lane watching their young daughters. Sam is tickled that Lois is reading Fairy Tales, and from this, suggests that she'll grow up to be a writer... a reporter, even! That's kind of annoying, isn't it? Like, if a baby reaches for a baseball or something, and the parents say "He's going to grow up to pitch for the Yankees!" Worth noting, Ella is certain Lucy Lane will grow up to be an actress. How she deduces this from brushing the tot's hair, I'll never know.
Anyhoo... from here we get a few comparisons between Lois and Kal-El's childhoods... basically, that Lois was a precocious scamp and that Kal's rocket trip was predicated on the fact that his parents feared that he'd never marry. Yeah, when the "landquakes" started to become an issue on Krypton, Jor-El's first worry was that his son would never get married! Hell, even if Krypton never went boom, it's gotta be like a 50/50 shot Kal would be able to pass the Matricom test anyway.
After a few more pages of interweaved childhoods, Kal is gifted a "Rainbow-Twirler", think part baby rattle, part zero-g light-show. The Lanes are on a picnic... and despite her father's warnings, Lois heads into the woods to do some exploring.
Here's where things get silly...er. Baby Kal is climbing on his father's test rocket, and accidentally drops his rainbow twirler into the cockpit. On Earth, Lois happens upon a rattlesnake! She's not scared by this in the slightest... which makes me wonder why Abin Sur's ring didn't seek her out that fateful day! Anyhoo... the test-rocket was fired off to Earth, where it wound up crashing like ten yards away from Lois and the rattler. The strange Kryptonian toy bounced out of the wreckage... it started glowing, and scared the snake away.
All's well that ends well... Lois's folks don't believe a word of her story (hey, maybe she'll become a reporter yet!). Back on Krypton, baby Kal cries over losing his Rainbow-Twirler... but, little do either of the tots know, that was only the first time that Kal-El would save Lois Lane from danger!
Our final story opens with Lois answering Clark Kent's phone at the Daily Planet office. The person on the other end of the line really needs to talk to Clark, and so, Lois disguises her voice by putting a tissue over the receiver... oh, the classics!
She's informed of some goings-on that night at the Ponder Point Light House. There's a big story, but it's only for Clark Kent. So, what's a girl to do? Well, if that girl is Lois Lane, I suppose you dig around in Jimmy Olsen's disguise trunk and dress up like Clark Kent! This takes her an entire hour, by the way.
Later that night, Lois-as-Clark arrives at the Light House. Upon entering, she is walloped with a slapjack, and kayoed. The police, noticing a light on at the abandoned lighthouse, decide to investigate. Finding a dizzy Lois, they question her. She tells them everything... how she answered Clark's phone for the tip and everything. The police decide to call the Daily Planet, and Lois is surprised to learn that Clark was in... and claimed to have been there the entire day!
The following day, Lois opens some fan-mail... with a fancy gold letter-opener, gifted to her by the Police Commissioner after she assisted in getting "Killer" Meigs put behind bars. Honestly though, with a nickname of "killer", it was probably just a matter of time. Anyhoo, Clark asks her to run to the supply closet for some typing paper... and when she does, she discovers a Superman poster ripped to shreds! She freaks out... and when her workmates come to find out what's up, all they see is a frantic Lois... holding a letter-opener... next to a shredded and stabbed poster! Ruh-roh.
A worried Clark Kent decides it might be time for Lois to visit a therapist. Oh, also... Lois is carrying around a bottle clearly marked "poison". Lois agrees to talk to a psychologist, who looks very much like a bald Oliver Hardy, and tells him of her preoccupation with Superman.
The doc decides it might be in Lois's best interests to... read Ben Hur! He claims that this will show her that there are more "champions" in the world than Superman. She decides it might be a better idea then stumbling through the day with a pocket full of poison pills, and so, she agrees. That night, she devours the book... like, in reading terms, she didn't eat it... she's not that unhinged.
The next morning, she hands the book over to Clark so he can return it to his doctor friend. Clark flips through the book and is disturbed to learn that all of the pages... are blank! Lois freaks out, as you might imagine. Clark then excuses himself... he needs to write a Father's Day piece for the next edition of the Daily Planet. Then, now alone... poor Lois begins hearing voices... well, a voice claiming to be her own mind, anyway!
So, just what's going on here? Well, it would seem that "Killer" Meigs' men are trying to convince Lois that she's crazy... ultimately in hopes of getting her to commit suicide! We shift scenes over to their headquarters, where they have Clark Kent tied to a chair. There is a bank of monitors in front of him, showing places where Lois is known to be at all times... including her car! Wow, this is like a half-century before drone technology!
Back at the Daily Planet... Lois' mind tells her to take the poison pills! She figures she might as well... but before she can, she notices something odd about the front page of the paper... Clark's Father's Day piece includes a mention of Jonathan Kent! Apparently, this story was only supposed to be about the living fathers of Daily Planet staffers... which, kinda seems like B.S., right? I mean, if Clark Kent is writing the piece, it would stand to reason he'd write about his own father, be he living or dead, right?
Annnnyway, this "evidence" is enough for Lois to deduce that the Clark Kent that's been sitting next to her for the past couple of days has been... an impostor! Fake Clark reacts to this by... throwing her out the window! At the same time, the real Clark Kent is pushed off a cliff by "Killer's" goons... they make it look like a car accident though. This gives CK enough time to change into his Superman duds and save Lois Lane, gaslighted no more!
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Well, that was sure a lot of story, wasn't it?
Let's start with... the end. The final story was definitely the strongest. It seems like the broader internet just recently discovered the term "gas-lighting" (it's like this decade's "shadenfreude" or "Schrodinger's Cat")... that said, I'll try not to overuse it here. This is a really clever and enjoyable (for the time) little tale of Lois being convinced that she's lost her marbles!
Sure, there are a few reachy moments in it... and the ending was a bit of a dud, but there was still a fair amount to dig here. Well, mostly the fact that the story facilitated a bunch of neat sight-gags. Having Lois disguise herself as Clark Kent (and taking an hour to do so!) was a hoot. Just the idea that Jimmy Olsen has a trunk full of disguises at the Daily Planet, is a riot in and of itself! Also, ya just gotta love the image of Clark Kent throwing Lois out a high-story window!
The climax, as mentioned, was a real dud. Lois deduces that Clark is an impostor because he wrote about his father in a Father's Day piece... which was only supposed to be about living fathers? The hell kinda article is that?! Could you imagine being tasked with writing a Father's Day article... and not being allowed to mention your own father because he passed away?! What kinda blackhearted operation are the Planet running here anyway?!
We can also hop into the "overthinking it" department... if the real Clark Kent was captured for a couple of days, that also means Superman didn't do anything for a couple of days, right? That seems kinda weird... and, ya know... kinda irresponsible. Putting the needs of just Lois over those of the entire city/world... yeah, I'm definitely overthinking it.
Our "feature" story was probably my second favorite... which, really isn't saying all that much. I get that it's (clearly marked as) an Imaginary Story... but, it's still kinda sloppy. As mentioned above, when it ended, all I could think about was the gang who kept leaving chunks of Kryptonite around... without Super-Lana, Superman would very likely not survive the next few rounds!
Speaking of sloppy... Lana discovers Superman's secret identity... by using a spyglass? Really? Of all the people on the planet, Lana Lang is the first person to think of just following him with a spyglass?! Lana Lang... who has been trying to prove this her entire life... and couldn't! Coming from a town that had like a dozen people (plus Superboy) living in it, and couldn't connect the dots... okay, okay, I'm overthinking it again.
Our middle story... ehh. I think the last time we discussed an issue of Lois Lane I mentioned that the stories had a bit of a "marriage fetish"... and this issue is certainly no exception. While the first story actually features Superman getting married, the middle one shows Jor-El as being fearful that his son will never get the opportunity to wed! What a weird initial thought to have when you're facing the probability that your entire planet's about to go "boom"!
I did dig Lois's fearlessness when confronting the rattlesnake. I really feel like there's an Elseworlds story out there where Abin Sur's ring somehow winds up on her finger... I mean, she's clearly fearless... and doesn't require any reprogramming like Hal did!
Overall... an enjoyable romp through some silly and weird stories. Sure, they're not the strongest you'll read... but, really... I don't think it's meant to be! Just silly fun, and well worth a look. Not something I'd break my back or bank over... but, if you happen across a beater copy, you could do far worse. This issue is not available digitally (as of this writing), however, it is included in SHOWCASE Presents Superman Family, Volume Four.
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Letters Page (featuring Willie Nelson... probably not that Willie Nelson):
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Superboy #199 (November, 1973)
"The Gun that Mastered Men"
"The Impossible Target!"
Story - Cary Bates
Art - Dave Cockrum
Letters - Ben Oda
Editor - Murray Boltinoff
Cover Price: $0.20
It's been a minute since we've looked at the Legion here at the humble blog... and so, let's randomly take a look at a Bronze Age adventure!
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We open with a flashback. Legionnaires, Timber Wolf and Saturn Girl tackling the villain Tyr the Terrible... at which point his bionic gun-arm gimmick fires off into space. Now the big fella in custody, until the Metro Police can come for him, for his crime of brainwashing Timber Wolf into becoming an assassin a few issues prior. And so, after a job well done, Superboy bids his pals adieu and goes to head back to the 20th Century.
Just then, Tyr's gimmick-arm (which has been orbiting the planet in the interim) bathes the Legion Headquarters in light... it's a force field, trapping the team inside!
Princess Projectra tries calling out to Superboy, but it would appear that he's long gone by this point. The Legionnaires rush to battle stations to try and get a better grip on whatever threat they may be facing. Our team includes Brainiac 5, Princess Projectra, Chameleon Boy, Dream Girl, and Star Boy. As they plot and plan, we can see that Tyr the Terrible is keeping an eye on them.
The Legion fellas decide that the best way through this might be with brute force and fire-power, and so... they dig up some pretty impressive blasters, and go hog-wild on the walls of their HQ. It doesn't prove to be very effective... and I'm sure the place now stinks like hot metal and soot.
Back outside, we can see that Superboy did not in fact already leave... and actually witnessed the whole beamy event! He attempts to fight his way inside the Legion Headquarters, but is unable to penetrate the force field. Recalling that the beam came from above, he heads into space to attempt to track down its origin. What he finds is Tyr's gun-arm-gimmick! He gets up real close, balls up his fist, draws back, and...
Back inside, Dream Girl has... a vision. It's a pretty lame one, too! See, she had a vision that Star Boy would fly toward the ceiling with his arms wide open. This boggles his mind, and he wonders just what in the hell she's talking about... I guess he's disregarding that huge grate in the ceiling... with the mohawked silhouette standing on top of it?!
Brainiac 5 decides to blast the grate for the heck of it... and, wouldn'tcha know it... that mohawked silhouette belonged to their captive... Tyr the Terrible! As he tumbles from the ceiling, Star Boy flies over... with his arms wide open. How 'bout dat?
Tyr comes clean that his gun-arm was behind the force field... it was to provide enough of a distraction for him to get away. He's not too worried though, because his gun-arm won't ever quit until he's been freed. Princess Projectra gets nervous... because the Legionnaires present are among the weakest. That's all well and good... but, here's the thing... she says this aloud, while Tyr is like five feet away! That doesn't seem all that bright!
Just then, Superboy arrives... and he's now wearing the gun-arm gimmick! The Legionnaires are pleased as punch to see him... unfortunately for them, he's now under the control of the gun-arm! He fights off its suggestion the best he can... but ultimately succumbs and blasts the Legion into cinder!
Then, Tyr the Terrible strikes... and lucky for him, he just so happens to be wearing his Kryptonite Glove! Yeah, really. This causes Superboy's power to wane... and the gun-arm, unable to draw from him anymore, surrenders and releases the Boy of Steel.
Only... this wasn't really Tyr the Terrible! It was, in fact, Chameleon Boy under the guise of Tyr the Terrible (still with Kryptonite Glove, though). What's more, the Legion wasn't fried... that was just a projection from Princess Projectra! Annnnd, that's that! That's that? Okay, that's that.
But we're not done yet... it's time for us to dig into The Files of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and a Bouncing Boy story! We open with Bouncing Boy being bombarded by, what he believes to be, asteroids. Turns out, they're actually satellites... and they escort his ship to a planet with a giant fortress on it.
After deboarding, Bouncing Boy meets the one who summoned him here... and it's... ohgod... what in the... who... um, gimme a minute. Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Who in all hell's dressed this guy?! In what universe is this the look of a bad ass villain? To think, this numbskull had to have stood before a mirror, and after affixing his second pigtail, probably winked at himself (with his good eye) and said "Perfect!". Alright, alright... turns out, this is the Hunter (II), Adam Orion... the son of the original Hunter, Otto Orion.
Now, the original Hunter (who didn't look nearly as silly as his son), attempted to, well, "hunt" the Legionnaires. He was, obviously, unsuccessful... which is the reason for Adam's current project. He brings Bouncing Boy over to an anti-gravity chamber, and has him watch as he tosses a "Bouncing Boy Sack Doll" into the weightless room... and blasts it into pieces!
He then drops Bouncing Boy into a jungle to give him a "sporting chance". Adam then circles the planet once before the games can begin. Of course, it isn't too terribly difficult for the Hunter to find his bounty... after all, there probably aren't many perfectly round blue balls beboppin' around the jungle. As he nabs Chuck, Adam tells him of his father's folly. Ya see, where he goofed, was in going after the Legion as a unit. Adam is going to go after them one at a time... and he started with their weakest member!
The Hunter tosses Bouncing Boy into that anti-grav room to blow him away... but then... ol' Chuck Taine gets a tickle in his nose. He sneezes, hurling him across the room... and right on into Adam Orion! It's sure is a good thing he didn't crash into those fashionable horns on the Hunter's shoulders! And so... that's the end... and how Bouncing Boy became... the Impossible Target!
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That was a couple of odd little stories, huh?
One of the things I both love... and hate about these old Legion stories is that they sorta feel like a kid wrote 'em. Ya know what I mean? In our feature story, we get this wacky "gotcha" moment... that only really works if you accept that the Legionnaires can do whatever they want.
It's like that old "the floor is lava" thing from when we were kids. You could try and creatively make your way across the room by climbing on the furniture, and tossing pillows to jump to... or, you could just say "I'm wearing titanium boots" and just stomp on over to the kitchen. They're both equally valid when playing something as silly... but, c'mon, one is definitely lazier than the other.
What we get here... feels pretty lazy. The Legion decide (off-panel) to trick Superboy into coming inside, so they can use their... Kryptonite Glove (eesh)... and "disarm" the gimmick. It's a decent enough plan... but, it's not really a "gotcha" since the entire thing comes out of left field! You can't just have Brainiac 5 knowingly stroke his chin while he plans... and then, two-pages later, just end the story with everything working out fine. I mean, you could do that (and clearly, they did), but it's terribly unsatisfying.
Our backup story. Oh boy... we can really only start talking about that one by discussing the fashion-plate baddie, Adam Orion! I mean, what in the hell?! Punky Brewster would look at this dude and tell him to dial it back! That's not to say I don't love this dude's look... because, really... I kinda do! It's just so far out, I can't help but dig it... a little bit.
It kinda goes back to what I was saying earlier... these old Legion stories kinda feel like they were made by kids! This is a costume that I could very easily see myself creating for a villain when I was in like fifth grade. An eye-patch? Crazy long hair? Spikes on the outfit for no real reason? Giant gun? That's definitely a villain costume I'd have created as a child! It's worth noting, that it doesn't always look like this fella's wearing pants. I assure you all of the bad guys I created as a kid were panted.
As for the story... it was silly. Bouncing Boy beats the Hunter... with a sneeze! You could just about hear the "wonk wonk wonnnnnk" as this one closed out. That's not to say I didn't like it though... it had a fair amount of charm, it was just silly.
Overall... perhaps not the most essential issue of Superboy (starring the Legion of Super-Heroes), but a fun enough romp for a buck-or-below. One thing I really appreciate about "learnin' the Legion", is using the DC Wiki... it seems like nearly every issue of Legion is the first appearance of someone (or something, like a new costume). It really makes each issue feel like an important piece of Legion-Lore... and makes me feel like I'm witnessing history... er, future history, that is.
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Doom Patrol (vol.2) #70 (September, 1993)
"The Laughing Game"
Writer - Rachel Pollack
Pencils - Scot Eaton
Inks - Tom Sutton
Colors - Tom Ziuko
Letters - John Workman
Assistant Editor - Julie Rottenberg
Editors - Tom Peyer & Lou Stathis
Cover Price: $1.95
Hey gang... we're going, uh, a bit Mature today. Reader discretion is advised, and all 'at.
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We open with a young man trying to chat up a classmate in High School. He's such a nobody that she's barely even paying attention while she turns him down... she tells him he's not "big enough", and while she was referring to his height... he took that to mean he was small in... another area. This one incident seemed to send him on quite the troubled path... so fearful and ashamed was he of his small... well, ya know... that he wouldn't be able to relate to women, without his package-baggage coming up. And so, what's a fella to do? Well if you answered, become a phallic-themed supervillain and attempt to exact revenge... you'd be on the right track!
We shift scenes over to Rainbow Estates, where George and Marion (the Bandage People) are getting ready for a day out shopping. They invite Cliff and Dorothy to accompany them... however, the former is worried they'll be stared at, and the latter is too busy playing with her super-creepy Charlie McCarthy doll. That thing is the stuff of nightmares, ain't it? The doll may or may not allow Dorothy to remember things from her past while she holds it... she offers him over to Cliff for a bit, but he wants no part of it... and I can't blame him!
Next, we head over to a costume shop and meet a woman named Kate Godwin. She buys a frog-head mask, and it's alluded to that she's been away for a little while... her friend, Jean, thanks her for returning in time for her birthday.
From here, they head to a bar for a demonstration of Kate's powers... because, she has some! They have the barkeep flip on a tap... and Kate makes the beer coming out of it coagulate. For her next trick, he dissolves a bottle sitting on a table.
Once the performance has concluded, Jean and Kate find a table. Kate spills the beans on how she (believes) she got her powers. Just think, a couple of years earlier they could've just said "Gene Bomb" and been done with it... nowadays, it's a bit more complicated. Ya see, Kate used to be a lady of the evening... and one night she was approached by a rather peculiar client... Rebis! She claims that while they... ya know... a "ghost" was discharged from the client's body... and the next morning she woke up next to a Russian stacking doll.
Her powers would emerge some time later, and Kate would try becoming the superhero "Coagula"... hell, she even attempted to join the Justice League! She says they liked her powers... but just "couldn't handle" her. It's here that we learn (or, can at least assume) that Kate is a transsexual woman.
From here, we rejoin our phallic-friend Codpiece... he's attempting to rob a bank with his... cod-piece. Funnily enough, all of the women present are absolutely taken by his... cod-piece! Gotta figure that that's a dream come true for this fella! He proceeds to blow his way into the bank regardless.
Inside, we see that his cod-piece is of the Swiss Army variety... he can attach all manner of weaponry to his groinal-area. He drills his way into the vault and heads on in... just then, the police arrive. He takes them out with some... I can't think of a punny way to say it, so I'll just say it straight... sonar. He shoots sonar out of his cod-piece.
He ain't done yet though... from here he fires a bunch of missiles, which blows up the police cruisers. It's here that we see him in silhouette... which is probably the most risque panel in the book because you wouldn't be able to tell just what that "mass" he's packin' really is.
Nearby, the Bandage People are out having a time. A snot-nosed kid notices that they're... ya know, covered in bandages... and assumes they'd be invisible underneath. And so, he does what any jerk-ass kid might do... he tries to unwrap poor Marion. This doesn't work out all that well for the boy... and he winds up wound up (winds up... wound up) in bandages. The kid's mother (I assume) wishes she had the ability to do that. Might wanna call Child Protective Services, you guys.
George and Marion continue on their merry way, until coming across a crying woman named Alice. She rushes up to them and applauds their bravery for being in public while looking like mummies (fashionable mummies, but mummies nonetheless).
Just then... there's an explosion! The Bandage folks take Alice to safety before deciding to get involved... after all, they are "super-thingies" now. The threat is, of course, Codpiece... who's Swiss Army Crotch is currently punching a cop in the face with a boxing glove. Ollie Queen wants his royalty check... you can, uh, keep the glove though.
The Bandage folks get into position and bombard the baddie with bandages. Codpiece panics and proceeds to unload a salvo of... man, why can't I come up with any puns this morning... a salvo of... missiles, I guess. The explosions catch the attention of our new friend, Kate.
By this point, Codpiece has a giant pair of scissors sticking out of his crotch (either that, or he's just glad to see us)... and is hacking away at the bandages. Marion decides it's time to unleash "the spooks"... these are humanoid insects that apparently live inside her purse. They aren't super-effective.
Just then, a frog-masked woman appears on the horizon. Codpiece isn't impressed. Then, Coagula uses her powers to first... coagulate the cod-piece... then, dissolve it. That sounds like the start of a pretty bad day for our baddie.
With Codpiece in custody, George and Marion decide to extend an invitation to Kate to join the Doom Patrol. She ain't sure what the Doom Patrol's all about, but decides to go along anyway.
We wrap up back at Rainbow Estates, where Cliff's curiosity has finally gotten the better of him... and he picks up the janked-out Charlie McCarthy doll. It speaks to him... and sends him back to his childhood, where he is being bullied by a pair of goofs. He is then approached by a rather debonair Fox, who offers him great powers. Ruh-roh.
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Heckuva fun issue!
It's going to perhaps sound weird... but, ya know that intangible element in comics we sometimes discuss... the "heart" of a comic story? This issue, despite being about a fella with a phallic arsenal, actually has heart... at least, to me. There's this weird "goodness" to this story... an altruism. Now, I'm not talking about our man Codpiece of course, but the rest of our cast... they just feel like good people here.
Now, where to start? I guess we can get my thoughts on Coagula out of the way. Now, her being a transsexual woman is a sensitive subject, and honestly one that I'm probably not qualified to opine on. All I will say is I'm happy she's here, and I really appreciate her depiction as just a person trying to live their best life. She's not shown as a novelty or an outlier (no more than the rest of the Doomies, anyway)... she's just a woman who wants to do good. Back in ye old 1993, this was a pretty brave move. Hell, today it's still a risky gambit! I'm honestly surprised we haven't had Kate reappear in more recent years!
Speaking of characters I'm surprised we haven't seen again... Codpiece! This dude is just "funny, ha-ha" enough to pop-up again (now the puns happen!). I appreciate his origin stemming from a misunderstanding. I think a lot of people speak without thinking... and don't really pay much mind to how their words affect those around them. In simply dismissing the teen-age Codpiece (we never learn his real name) as being too small (meaning short), she unwittingly planted the seeds for a villainous career (which wound up being just as short as he was!).
When some people are told their "too small", they go the Charles Atlas route... others, as we see here... become phallus-focused and attempt to exact revenge on a world that looks down on him! I'm assuming there is something symbolic in his... coagulatory castration of sorts... but, I'll just leave that in the ether.
The Bandage People, George and Marion, are a hoot. They don't seem to realize (or care) that they look the way they do. Cliff is depicted here as rather self-conscious over his appearance... which, the B.P.'s can't really wrap their head around (wrap... head... ay yai yai). Later, that woman Alice calls them brave for being out in public... and they really don't get that either. These are fun characters... and they've got that intangible "heart" to 'em.
The one thing I didn't much like... was the Charlie McCarthy doll... and that's the whole point, I reckon. I'm not supposed to like that cursed thing! It's supposed to make my skin crawl (and it kinda does!). There's such a disquieting on the page when the puppet's there... and the fact that only Cliff seems to be skeeved out by it makes it all the more anxiety-inducing. I hate looking at the puppet... but, I'm glad he's here to creep me out.
Overall... this issue probably won't be for everybody. I enjoyed it a great deal... but I'd understand if people did not. It's a bit crass, to be sure, but if you're open-minded and comfortable with seeing a villain lead with his crotch, I have a sneaking suspicion that you'll dig this as well. This issue is available digitally.
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