BONUS BOOK - Dial "H" For Hero (March, 1981)
"Who Are the Heroes?"
Writer - Marv Wolfman
Pencils - Carmine Infantino
Inks - Frank Chiaramonte & Dennis Jensen
Letters - Ben Oda
Colors - Gene D'Angelo
Here's a new one for me. Dial "H" For Hero... one'a those properties/concepts I never paid all that much attention to. This was the second "Insert Preview" DC Comics put out... but, we're doing these out of order... since each one requires rather strenuous longbox excavating. This story was included with Legion of Super-Heroes (vol.2) #272 (February, 1981).
Guess what... tomorrow we're gonna be doing another insert included in a Legion ish!
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Our story opens with a flashback to twenty-five years prior... where an old beggar named Horace Whittiker pops into an abandoned old house in hopes of finding a bit of shelter. He is quickly scared off by something inside. The house at 231 Jewel Avenue stood empty from that point on... until today, as the King family have just moved in!
One of the King boys, Chris, is wearing a very stylish outfit... or, at least editorial seems to think so, as they credit a 14-year old Eric Daniel, from Chuktowaga, New York for its design! Anyhoo, Chris is a bit nervous about starting at a new school during the middle of the term... and his goofy brother (?) Gary is no hope in that matter.
The next day, Chris heads off to school... where he feasts his eyes on a girl, who I believe we're supposed to find very beautiful. Unfortunately, this was drawn by 1980's Carmine Infantino... so, she just looks like a Muppet who underwent some unfortunate plastic surgery. Anyhoo, her name is Vicki Grant... and if school busybody, Roger Dunbar can be trusted... just about every fella in the school has eyes for her. This includes the resident bully, Brad.
Chris can't help but to... get this... sketch the lovely Vickie. Roger spies the art and snaps it out of Chris' hands to show to his muse. Nowadays, you might think Roger was just being an a-hole to the creepy new kid... but, I gotta say, I'm pretty sure he was his attempt at doing our man a solid.
And whattaya know, Vickie actually really digs the pic! A little advice from your friendly neighborhood bloggin'man... don't try that at home. I'm pretty sure (though, I couldn't say from experience... I promise) you'd just be branded as a creepy stalker. Thankfully, for story purposes, this isn't to be. Vicki thanks Chris for his art... and they become fast friends. This doesn't exactly sit well for bully Brad... who'd really just prefer Vicki'd spend all her time with him. Oh! Mustn't forget, Vicki's blue button-up and scarf combo was designed by a sixteen year old Douglas Cunningham, from Dayton, Ohio.
After giving Brad the cold shoulder, Vicki and Chris head back to the house on Jewel Avenue... all the while, Vicki fills him in on all of the rumors surrounding his new digs. More or less what it comes down to is "place be haunted". They head inside, and hear an odd whistling coming from the attic... and so, they decide to investigate. What they find is a light shining from behind some wood panels.
Meanwhile, we find out that Bully Brad Mann decided to follow Chris and Vicki back to the pad... and he's got vengeance on his mind. He enters the house... only to be enveloped in a thick fog, which leads to his beating a hasty retreat.
Back in the attic, Chris and Vicki find a box... with a plaque on it. Did you know that 1981 was mankind's darkest hour? Well, ya do now.
Inside the box, the kids find a pair of odd timepieces. One in the form of a watch, the other a pendant. When they touch them, however, the clock-face fades away, leaving only a strange dial... with four letters on it. Thankfully, they immediately recognize the letters as forming the word H-E-R-O, otherwise this scene could go on forever.
Vicki wastes no time in "dialing in" with her "slender fingers"... and before we know it, she's transformed into a superhero!
She bursts through the roof, soaring into the skies... and proclaims herself to be Futura! Worth noting, "Futura" was created by Jim Simpers, Age 15 - Newark, Delaware.
Chris doesn't wait long to join in on the fun... and with a flick of his digits, is transformed into The Moth! "The Moth" is credited to future comics colorist... Danny Vozzo, Age 17 - Brooklyn, New York.
As they play in the sky, Futura's Spidey-Sense starts to tingle. She can sense that an accident is about to occur nearby. Whattaya know, she's right! Dumbass Brad Mann, still so bamboozled by his haunted house experience, is completely out to lunch as he crosses a street... right into the path of a truck, with no brakes!
The heroes are able to save the day... and, even repair the trucker's brake pads for good measure. Not quite sure how Futura's "Mind Over Matter" powers can make brakes work... maybe it's kinda like how airplanes shouldn't stay in the air, and only do so because we all believe they can? Maybe? Okay, maybe not.
Back at Jewel Avenue, Chris and Vicki return to the attic... where, the latter quickly figures out how to return to their mortal forms. Ya see, ya just dial H-E-R-O... backwards! So, one letter off from one of my favorite cookies (O-R-E-H), and they're back to normal. It's here they decide that, from this point on, they're in the superhero business. Chris suggests that the Dial H Heroes are going to be around for... a long time. Oh Chris, I come from the future... and I have bad news.
We jump ahead to the next day... where a strange pyramid lands in a nearby field. Some military-types waste no time in... blasting it with bazookas. Really? That's how we're doing this? Naturally, the zukes do no damage... and, in fact, only tick off the occupant of the craft. Ladies and Gents, allow me to introduce you to: The Flying Buttress (created by twenty-year old Steve Mattson, from Portland, Oregon). I wonder if that's the same Steve Mattson who has a few comics credits to his name? Anyhoo... the baddie zaps the soldiers and flies off.
Meanwhile, at Hamilton Junior High School... Chris and Brad have a heart-to-heart. Which is to say, Brad tells him that Vicki belongs to him... and Chris tells him to bug off. Then, ol' busybody Roger runs up to tell Chris about the weird pyramid thing that landed... and suggests it might be a publicity stunt for "Star Wars 3". Chris knows better... and decides to dial in to check it out.
Oddly, he seems to already know that any time he dials H-E-R-O, he'll become a different superhero. I mean, that's an odd conclusion to jump to, if he's only dialed in once. What's to say he wouldn't just become The Moth again, right? Oh well... that's just a case of me thinking too hard. Chris does his thang, and becomes... Mega Boy! "Mega Boy" was created by a David Cason from LaGrange, Georgia... age unknown. He immediately finds The Flying Buttress.
Back at the school, we learn that Chris' use of the dial causes Vicki's pendant to glow. Realizing that her partner might be in trouble, she decides to dial in herself... becoming the super-heroine, Sunspot (sorry X-Fans, not that Sunspot). This "Sunspot" was created by a Shawn Sherman from South Roxana, Illinois... age unknown.
We wrap up with Sunspot arriving on the scene, just in time to see Mega Boy get slammed in the chest by the Flying Buttress! What happens next? Well, we're just going to have to start buying Adventure Comics with its 479th issue to find out!
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I tell ya what... this was kinda dumb, but so much fun.
I'm not even sure where to start here... but, I suppose I ought to open with the fact that I know precious little about Dial H For Hero. Outside of the broader strokes that is... which, hmm... I guess is sort of the entire thing, isn't it? I read a little bit of the "Sockamagee" stuff from a SHOWCASE Presents Volume... but, none of it really stuck with me. There was also Robby Reed's appearances during that Silver Age event from 2000 which Reggie and I covered a couple years back on the Treadmill. The Chris and Vicki versions, outside of their later New Teen Titans appearances, are completely new to me.
As for the current/recent Wonder Comics run? Well, when I found out that the fella Bendis picked to write the thing had never even heard of the concept before... I immediately gave it a hard pass.
That said... I really found myself enjoying this! I've come into a grip of those Adventure Comics issues, as well as the New Adventures of Superboy issues that feature Dial H as a back-up... I've just never read 'em! After reading this, I think maybe I ought to! I am brainstorming where this blog might be headed after the Bonus Books dry up... ya never know!
I really liked the Silver Age callback of crediting the creators of each Super-Identity. I think they might've been a bit "too cute" in crediting Chris and Vicki's civilian outfit designs to readers... not sure how legit that all was... and, I suppose it doesn't really matter. I just find it silly to credit somebody with "designing" a red v-neck shirt. Oh well.
I think my only real complaint about this story is... the art. I've expressed my distaste for 1980's era Carmine Infantino a time or two before... heck, I think with a different artist in the saddle, The Trial of the Flash would be much more fondly remembered these days! It's just a personal preference thing... but I find it so off-putting. It's something to do with the faces... it's gotta be, because everything else looks fine!
I included the "entry form" included with this issue below, where you (yes, you) could create your own Dial H hero for Chris and/or Vicki! It says that if you do (err, did), you'd get a Dial H t-shirt! I decided to Google that for ya... here's the t-shirt in all it's glory:
Overall though... even though my entire body told me I shouldn't... I did, in fact, really like this!
UPDATE: February 11, 2020:
Adding a copy of the Release Form DC would have readers sign for use of their ideas, along with a news item about the revival of the property (from The Comics Journal #56 - June, 1980):
UPDATE: February 16, 2020:
A note from Amazing Heroes #1 (June, 1981) addressing the "creators' rights" piece of the puzzle when it comes to Dial H:
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Interesting (and Relevant) Ad:
BONUS BOOK - Batman and the Outsiders (July, 1983)
Writer - Mike W. Barr
Art - Jim Aparo
Colors - Adrienne Roy
Editor - Len Wein
Today we're going to take a look at the other Insert Preview I mistakenly believed I owned and had to run around town to find the other day. This one though... kinda made me nervous.
I Googled the issue just to get a look at the cover, and saw it listed as the first appearance of Halo, Geo-Force, and now-DC Superhero Girls star, Katana. I figured this one probably wouldn't be coming cheap. I decided to see what the "going rate" was online... and, hoo-boy, this one looked pretty spendy. Here, take a look:
That's definitely more money than I was interested in spending on this... even on the low-end of the above pricing-spectrum! And, while I'd never push the "Buy it Now" button, in my experience, the online prices are (generally speaking) lower than what you might expect to pay in-store for "key" books. What's worse, I recognized the cover immediately as a book that I had actually seen in dollar bins throughout the years.
Right then, I figured that I'd have to end the first-half of the BONUS BOOKS feature... one book short. Even if I could actually manage to track this bugger down, I was pretty sure it would be tagged way out of my price range.
And so, I hit up some of my normal haunts... some of the "healthier" cheap-o bins, a couple used book stores, a few used record stores... and, came up empty. Couldn't even find the Justice League of America issue we discussed yesterday.
Then, I remembered that one of our local shops has a pretty neat consignment program... where folks can sell their comics through the store, and they're sometimes tagged below normal "asking" price. Lo and behold, I pop in... and managed to find both of the missing books... for just a couple bucks a piece! Like, less than what I'd pay for a new comic! In really good condition, to boot! That's a Vartox-Week sized miracle, if you ask me!
Let's get right to it!
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We open at the Gotham City Hospital, where Commissioner Gordon is trying to get some information out of a suicidal terrorist called Miklos. This dude ain't interested one bit in talking... and was even willing to kill himself to avoid betraying his cause. Gordon looks at his watch, realizes this is going to be one heckuva long evening... and wishes Batman were around. Just then, a delivery van pulls up outside the hospital... except, the only thing they look to be trying to deliver is... bullets into the chest of the poor Security Guard on duty! They're the bad guys, ya see. They rush into the hospital on a sorta-kinda "double suicide" mission. They're all planning to die tonight, though, not before doing Miklos the favor of killing him too.
Inside the hospital, a young Candy-Striper is bringing some cups of water to various patients. She is approached by a man who appears to have an eye for her. He asks her out to a Clash concert... which, she doesn't seem to understand. How can "Clash" be a concert, when it's defined as "a conflict of some sort"? Hmm...
Anyhoo, a terrorist with a flame-thrower strapped to his back bursts in the room... prompting our Candy-Striper to slink off to change her clothes. Folks, this is the first appearance of: Halo! She uses her powers to chase away the flame-thrower, while protecting the patients.
The flame-thrower fella rushes into the hallway, where he finds himself caught up in a Metamorpho-sized candle-snuffer! For good measure, Rex fills the snuffer with Hydrogen... which doesn't work out so good for the baddie.
Meanwhile, in the Recovery Ward, several terrorists (wielding both guns and... swords?) have corralled some patients. One, appearing to be an old woman, removes her rubber mask... revealing herself to be: Katana... in her first appearance!
Using the distraction from his teammate, a nearby Jefferson Pierce takes the opportunity to change into his "work clothes". Black Lightning is in the house.
Katana is squared off having a sword-fight with one of the terrorists... who warns her that she has nothing to lose, as this is an actual suicide mission. Katana replies that she doesn't have a problem with that... in fact, she'll save the suicidal-terrorist the trouble and kill her where she stands! Turns out this was all it took to call the baddie's bluff.
The heroes continue fighting the terrorists... and we shift over to, the man of the hour: Batman. He's doing some sorta-kinda detective work, in the form of counting how many sets of footprints entered the place. He can account for five baddies his team has already caught... however, there is a sixth set of prints! He deduces that the first five were just a diversion... and, it looks like he's right.
Up in Miklos' room, the sixth man bursts in... and this fella is completely strapped with 'splosives. The Outsiders follow him in... with Halo almost referring to Batman as "Mr. ... something". Hmm... I didn't know the Outsiders knew Batman's secret identity? Perhaps they changed their mind on this early on. Anyhoo, the Bomber pushes the button, blowing the heck out of the hospital room. On the ground outside, a trench-coated fellow looks on.
This fellow is: Geo-Force, making his first appearance! Batman kept him outside, just in case he was needed for crowd-control or anything of the sort... and it's a good thing, too! He is able to use his Earth-born powers to take care of any and all falling debris.
Once that's out of the way, he heads into the hole in the hospital... only to find his teammates alive and healthy. Metamorpho was able to stretch himself out to deflect the blast, and protect his partners. The only casualties were the terrorists.
Gordon is thankful... even though, by the looks of it, Miklos is dead too. I thought the whole point of this thing was keeping him alive long enough to talk? Oh well, I guess we take our victories wherever we can. Anyhoo, Batman informs the Commish that he's no longer with the Justice League... and that he's running with a new crowd. And thus, begins the legend of Batman and the Outsiders!
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Not a bad little introduction to the Outsiders "franchise". I think we might assume that this story could be slid in right after the opening arc (first three issues) of the ongoing Batman and the Outsiders series... since, ya know, they're already a team... and they all appear to know one another. We've already discussed the first... and third issues of the ongoing. Not sure how or why I skipped #2... but, whattayagonnado?
Batman and the Outsiders was always a series that I'd kinda give "side-eye" to when I'd happen across issues of it in the wild. I've mentioned a time or two before that when I'm digging for comics, I've come to expect something of a "Batman Tax" (in current year, we can add a "Harley Quinn Tax" and a "Joker Tax" into the mix). What I mean by that, if it's not blatantly obvious, is anytime I'd come across a comic that was tangentially Bat-Adjacent... you'd have to pay more for the privilege of owning the thing.
This has popped up again and again, even if it's just Batman making a cover appearance on an issue of Action Comics or something! You could flip through the bargain bins... and you'll find every issue before and after the Bat-one... and they'll be a quarter or fifty-cents, each. That Bat-issue, however... that's a "folding money" book. And so, for the longest time, Batman and the Outsiders (outside of an issues here and there) was a series that fell just outside of my grasp.
I think, in my addled-mind, this lent to my both over-valuing it... and subconsciously under-valuing it, if that makes any sense? I assumed it would be worth more than I wanted to spend... while at the same time, convincing myself it wasn't worth the effort to track it down on the cheap. That was, until... just like with All-Star Squadron... I came across an awesome run of the things for a quarter-a-pop at a local used-bookstore. Heck, it might've been the same day... I know it was around the same time period!
Anyhoo, so I got the books... read the books... loved the books. Not since the first time I read New Teen Titans did I fall so quickly for a DC title. It was superheroey, soapy, they seemed to put out Christmas issues every single year... it was just a really good time. A very special book, indeed.
This here introduction "prevue" works well in giving all of the characters enough time to "get their stuff in". New characters and old, everyone gets a chance to shine. Though, for this piece, I want to pay special attention to those making their grand debut.
Halo, as written, is very interesting. She appears to be completely lost... and, ya know, sorta inhuman. She takes everything literally... and, at one point, even needs her memory jogged to recall what part of the body a "leg" is. I'm not too sure about her knowing Batman's secret identity... though, in fairness all she says is "Mr." I don't know if she was going to follow that up with "Wayne"... or "Smith". We don't know how the Bat introduced himself... so, maybe it's best not to assume.
Katana is pretty awesome here. She comes across as ruthless and willing to cross any line in order to meet her goals. I really enjoyed her calling the terrorist's bluff... which, I mean... just feels so human. Here's a follower of Miklos, supposedly prepared to meet her end, when... Katana offers to expedite the process. This causes the terrorist to actually realize what's going on... seeing her fate right before her eyes. It really makes ya stop and think.
Geo-Force is kind of an also-ran here... but plays his part well. He gets the opportunity to show his stuff, while protecting dozens of looky-loos outside the hospital. It's not like he'd have been able to truly "cut loose" with his powers in the hallways of the hospital... so, this was probably the best role for him here.
Overall... this was just a joy to (finally) read. It's kind of familiar... so, I might've read it in passing in the SHOWCASE Presents volume... but, whatever the case... this was a lot of fun. The art, as you might expect, was also pretty fantastic. I'm glad to have this in my collection... finally "completing" my run of Batman and the Outsiders!
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Interesting (and Relevant) Ad:
BONUS BOOK - All-Star Squadron (August, 1981)
Writer - Roy Thomas
Pencils - Rich Buckler
Embellisher - Jerimiah Ordway
Letters - John Costanza
Colors - Carl Gafford
Editor - Len Wein
A few days ago I mentioned that I discovered I was missing a few of the Insert Preview issues... which really kinda threw me for a loop! I could'a sworn I had all of 'em... but, alas... I was missing two! This one, and Brave and the Bold #200 (featuring the first look at Batman and the Outsiders). I mentioned that we might need a Vartox-Week size miracle to find 'em in time... and, as luck would have it, the Mustachioed Adonis decided to smile upon us! I managed to come across 'em both for a couple bucks a piece that very same day!
I do wanna thank reader and pal, Grant Kitchen for his comments that day.
Today, while I've still got it in front of me, we're going to take a look at the daunting and dense introduction of the All-Star Squadron from Justice League of America #193 (August, 1981). Have your notepads ready... there's a lot to get through here!
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It's December 6, 1941 and a pair of shadowy individuals (who, spoiler alert: we eventually learn are President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his adviser Harry Hopkins) are attempting to get a hold of the Justice Society of America... but nobody is there to answer their phone! Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, where it's still daytime, a footrace between Wonder Woman, Flash (Jay Garrick), and Green Lantern (Alan Scott) is underway with all proceeds going to the March of Dimes. Johnny Chambers and his photographer, Tubby Watts are there covering the event.
Wonder Woman narrowly beats Jay in the race... poor Alan never had a chance. Flash blames his loss on under-estimating his Amazon opponent... but, it's all in good fun. Wildcat (filling in for Ted Grant, natch) presents Wondy with a trophy for her victory, probably cutting into the loot for the March of Dimes.
Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern decide to head off for anpicnic in Echo Park to get to know each other a little better. They find they have a lot in common, in so far as being costumed heroes and what-not. After establishing that this picnic will not be romantic (after all, they're all spoken for)... the evening is interrupted by: Solomon Grundy! None of the heroes seem to recognize the baddie... though, he knows exactly who they are.
A battle rages, with Grundy taking out the heroes with relative ease. Just when it looks as though Solomon is going in for the kill, a voice booms in his head commanding he deliver the heroes somewhere... or else, there'll be a "penalty". Meanwhile, FDR still tries to get a hold of the Justice Society.
Hopkins suggests maybe they try the "Law's Legionnaires" aka the Seven Soldiers of Victory. The Prez doesn't think that's such a great idea... and, frankly, he's got a point there.
We shift scenes over to a penthouse apartment in New York City. It's the home of Wesley Dodds... the Sandman. He's got company, in the form of Ted Knight (Starman) and... ugh... Johnny Thunder. They're watching a news report being presented by Libby Lawrence, who we know as Liberty Belle. Suddenly, they notice a Pirate Ship sailing through the... skies of New York!
The heroes get into costume... and/or say "Cei-U", and head out to see what this ship is all about. They board, and find themselves surrounded by... well, pirates. Johnny Thunder gets kayoed pretty much right out of the gate... leaving Sandman and Starman to put up their dukes against the mindless pirate-looking "robot-men".
It's ultimately revealed that their big-bad is... the Sky Pirate (first appearance: Green Lantern #27 - August, 1947)! He proceeds to blast the remaining mystery-men with a gas gun, knocking them out but good.
Next stop, Salem, Massachusetts... and the home of Dr. Fate. He receives a warning via the Orb of Nabu, which informs him that his old nemesis, Wotan (first appearance: More Fun Comics #55 - May, 1940) has returned. They fight... by flying directly into one another, knocking them both out. Only, it's revealed that "Wotan" was actually the Spectre... the real Wotan, stood nearby, concocted this ruse to snatch a couple more JSAers.
We shift over to a little-charted island in the South Pacific, where Ensign Rod Reilly, aka Firebrand is trying to cool the jets of his hot-headed sister, Danette. She's got some business to attend to there, in the form of some pretty high-risk volcanic research. He wishes her well.
Next, we head to Gotham City... it was bound to happen sooner or later, right? There, the World's Finest Heroes are present and accounted for at the opening of a brand-new USO Club. Just then, a plane comes crashing through one of the walls of the joint... a plane piloted by Professor Zobar Zodiak (first appearance: All-Star Comics #42 - August, 1948)! Never heard of this geek myself... but, he looks like he might be trouble.
So much trouble in fact, that he squirts a few drops of a special "elixir" into the air... which reverts Batman and Robin to infants! Why, that's just adorable!
Then, turning his attention to Superman, Zodiak dangles his Philosopher's Stone in the Man of Steel's face. You'd think this would be laughably dumb... but, you'd be wrong. Ya see, his coated the Stone with some powder from a certain green meteorite!
Meanwhile, FDR makes another call... this time to an "FBI liaison", who I'm pretty sure will be revealed as being Plastic Man. He asks Plas to "scoot over" to the Justice Society HQ and see if anything's awry.
Also in Washington, DC... Hawkman, Atom, and Dr. Mid-Nite are hanging out, admiring the Lincoln Memorial... when suddenly, they're attacked by The Monster...? The who-now? This is another little-known (to me) Golden Ager (first appearance: All-Star Comics #20 - March, 1944).
Unlike the other fight scenes we've seen so far, this one the heroes actually win! Atom socks the Monster, reverting him into a harmless old-man. Before succumbing to unconsciousness, the oldie reveals that the person responsible for all of the attacks is... old bread-head himself, Per Degaton. A man in a hat and trenchcoat watches this all transpire from the shadows.
We wrap up with the clock striking midnight... beginning a date which, I'm not sure if you've heard, will live in infamy... December 7, 1941. We learn that President Roosevelt was trying to have the Justice Society at the ready... just in case of a Japanese attack. He feels it would have been best if he were able to put together an "All-Star Squadron" of mystery men and heroes to keep America safe during these uncertain times. The President retires for the evening, hopeful that America will "come through this".
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Well... that was one heckuva story, wasn't it?
Before getting too deep into it... allow me to share a personal anecdote. I'm not sure I shared this here before, but this very blog almost became an All-Star Squadron themed place for a bit. It was very early in my "career", where I thought I would perform a bit of multi-tasking. If you've ever listened to any of my audio-exploits, you've undoubtedly heard me lament the fact that, when you're consistently "creating content", you have precious little time to engage in any "for fun" reading.
It feels as though everything you read has to go somewhere... be it this blog, or a podcast, or on some other site. It's really nothing worth actually complaining about... but, it can be a struggle. It's hard for me to justify devoting a lot of time to "learning" about a franchise or property, if I'm not going to parlay that knowledge into an "endeavor"... know what I mean?
Anyhoo... I wanted to actually learn about the All-Star Squadron. It was one of those things that became something of an intentional "blind-spot" for me. Something I found far too daunting to read and write about. Then, with this blog... I figured it might be a fun project to devote a few months to this title... so I could both read and write about it. There would be a dual-purpose, ya know?
And so, I set to doing just that... wayyy back in the day, I took a look at All-Star Squadron #60... just to test the waters. I wanted to get as much as possible "right" with this one, and lemme tell ya, it took probably five hours to put that piece together. I'd put together Google Docs upon Google Docs full of dates/issues/references/40's era pop-culture to try and keep everything straight! As for #60, It's not even that long of a post... but, it still took wayyy too long to write.
Anyhoo, I published the thing... and, ya know, nobody cared. That's not unusual for me... and so, I wrote it off as "just another day". That evening, however, I saw images from my piece floating around social media... posted by someone quite a bit higher on the comics-commentary "food chain" (which is by no means a short list). They shared my (awkward-as-always) photos... tagged a bunch of their friends with a "Hey everybody, who remembers THIS???"... but, for whatever reason, neglected to link to my site.
This really turned me off from the "community", and very nearly caused me to pull the plug on this place. Here's a person who visited my site (because those pictures were Chris-originals - ain't nobody else claiming credit to those), and clearly wanted to talk about the issue... just not with me. I dunno... the experience really shined a light on how territorial this li'l group can be... really soured me in a lot of ways. A real learning experience... and further proof that, in some ways, me and my little corner of the internet are little more than "vestigial limbs" of the greater community.
So yeah, that little "aside" went on far longer than I thought it would! Sorry 'bout that! A-hem.
So, All-Star Squadron... this 16-page preview pretty much embodies all of the reasons I was nervous about learning more about this property. It's wildly dense... and there's a feeling that real research was conducted in order to put it together. Real-world research as well as DC Comics history research. It's just so seamless... with plenty of callbacks and allusions. I couldn't even begin to imagine what an undertaking this would've been to write!
I mean, almost everything that happens here is important... or a reflection of something that came before. Let's look, for instance, at the March of Dimes footrace between Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Flash. While, on the surface, it seems like just a fun scene to let play out... it's actually a callback to the cover of Comic Cavalcade #1 (December, 1942)!
I mean, how cool is that? This Roy Thomas "corner" of the DC Universe, with all it's references (both real and fictional) never fails to blow my mind. It's as though I notice something new every time I check it out.
I really dig how Per Degaton's use of time-travel made it so villains from the near-future could be delivered back to 1941 to fight the heroes. If you noticed, the heroes did not know who any of the villains were... but the baddies were quite familiar with the good guys. This is because many of the villains hadn't yet appeared when this story was supposed to be happening. Per Degaton snatched them from later on in the decade. Very cool touch that I would've missed altogether had I not been in research mode.
The art here is pretty fantastic... it really feels as though we're looking at something special. From the heroes, to the real-world personalities... just awesome stuff. I'm on record as not being a fan of "crossing the streams" of comics-fiction with real-world political figures, but FDR's inclusion here just feels right. Maybe it's just a "current year" thing for me... but, I dunno... FDR (and Winston Churchill, among others, who will play sizable roles in subsequent issues)... they almost feel "larger than life" as it is... ya know? In my head, they carry such weight and importance that they're almost as "mythic" as the heroes! I dunno... maybe I'm just being silly.
Overall... this is a wonderful series, that... if you devote the time and energy to... I bet you'll really get something out of it. I've had a lot of fun with this run... and while, very little of it actually made it "into print", I'm still happy I put the effort in! I did cover All-Star Squadron #1 here on the blog a couple years back (where my sole complaint was the fact that the real first story occurred in "some prevue pull-out"), if you wanna see where this headed.
UPDATE: February 16, 2020:
A piece from Amazing Heroes #1 (June, 1981) regarding Roy Thomas' arrival at DC Comics... and plans to revive the World War II Superheroes!
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Interesting (and Relevant) Ad:
