Action-Plus: Green Arrow & Black Canary (February, 1976)
"Bail Out the Nutty Kid!"
Writer - Elliot S! Maggin
Art - Mike Grell
Edits - Julius Schwartz
From: Action Comics #456
Welcome to another Action-Plus "test" post. I'm all about multitasking... and so, I get to "pilot" this little project by repurposing some old content... the very same week I'd smacked with a number of final assignments for school! Though, the fact that creating the cover template took this goofball the better part of four hours kinda makes up for that!
This is a bit of a short one, but it's pretty fun! If you didn't read this back when I reviewed the entire issue (back on May 27, 2017)... it's new to you!
Lemme know how (or if) you're digging these peeks into the "b-sides" of DC Comics, and also if there are any specific ones you'd like me to cover here at the site!
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Today's "Action-Plus" features Green Arrow and Black Canary. At this moment, Ollie's held up at a telethon being hosted by Jerry Lew... er, Danny Harris. A group of clowns have infiltrated the studio, and demand people continue to pledge money... only it will go in their pockets instead of to the needy... or disabled... or whoever this telethon is for.
Dinah Lance is watching the telethon, and despite Ollie's words to the contrary, suits up to perform a daring rescue. She zips over to the station on her motorcycle, and delivers one helluva kick to a guard-clown.
At that very moment, Ollie tricks the clowns into letting him go into another room by faking a panic attack. Seems silly, right? I mean, is that all ya gotta do to get away from armed hostage holders? Anyhoo. He Arrows up, and leaps into action for some emerald justice... or something.
The clowns attempt to escape to the helicopter they have parked on the roof... however, when they lift off they learn that their driver is actually... Black Canary! The chapter wraps with Dinah staring down the barrels of a few guns.
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This one felt much shorter than backups usually do. So often they feel like a plodding drag... however, this one was relatively breezy... I'd almost swear it was a few less pages than they normally are, but I neglected to count. The story here was pretty neat, and featured some early Grell-Arrow, which is always neat to see. He also contributed the cover, which is perhaps the high-point for this issue.
I was a bit disappointed that the telethon host wasn't Jerry Lewis... especially seeing as though Jerry Lewis very clearly exists in the DC Universe. I dunno, probably rights issues got in the way. Too bad though, it's a missed opportunity to show the Nutty Professor Kid back in action.
Action-Plus: Human Target (December, 1972)
"The Assassin-Express Contract!"
Writer - Lein Wein
Pencils - Carmine Infantino
Inks - Dick Giordano
From: Action Comics #419
Been trying to think of a way to zshushz up the blog a bit, considering how little time we're actually spending in the DC Universe proper these days. Ever since we went to these "abbreviated" pieces, I've really wanted to tackle various back-up features... but just couldn't figure out how to make it "work", ya know?
I mean, it's not like there are any "rules" to this... or, really even a "format"... but, my own compulsive nature kept me from pulling the trigger, for one simple reason: What could I use as a "cover image" for a back-up story? Know what I'm sayin'? When we did the Bonus Books/Insert Previews, we really lucked out in that 95% of them actually had covers mocked-up.
That isn't the case with back-up features though... and, it really stymied any progress on covering them here at the humble blog. It wasn't until we started New Talent Showcase, and I saw just how easy it could be to "design" a cover, that I figured we might oughta finally give this a shot.
But... where to even begin? Well... when you're looking for direction, you start by looking at where your comfort lies. You reflect back to past projects. You think about #Action100, and yeah, you think about #ActionComicsDaily. What I'm trying to say is...we're dipping back into the well... of Action Comics.
That's not to say we'll only be doing Action-Plus back-ups... however, for my own sanity, I'll probably just brand all of the backups as "Action-Pluses". We're going to start with a review I actually did way back in the long ago, featuring the first appearance of Christopher Chance... the Human Target! Consider this post a "try-out" on a new rotating feature, and lemme know what you think!
If you have any backup features you'd like for me to cover, please send your recommendations my way. If I have 'em, I'll cover 'em!
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Our story begins with Christopher Chance being just the coolest guy ever. Think James Bond if he were on a regimen of GNC shark cartilage pills. He's drinking a glass of Mouton Rothschild... which I'm assuming is impressive, I don't drink. It gets shot out of his hand... so, he nonchalantly fires back... killing his would be assassin, before pouring himself another glass. I mean, the story could end right here and I'd be perfectly satisfied.
But alas, that's just our introduction page. The story proper begins while... good God, Chance is practicing his knife-throwing. I swear, they're about three panels away from bringing in an alligator for him to wrestle! Anyhoo, he is visited upon by a man named Smithers who has a job for him. He got mixed up with some bad dudes while on his way to the top of the corporate ladder. T.C. Newman is the President of Horizon Chemical... a position (I assume) he wants for himself. He arranged with these baddies for Newman to take a fall... which they took to mean, ya know... offed, so rather than sending a spy to trail him... they sent a hitman. According to Smithers, that was never his intention. Yeah, likely story, pal.
Chance considers the offer... and ultimately decides to take the contract. We see a bit of his "method" here, as he checks out the most recent picture of Newman... noting that he's wearing an eye patch, to ensure his disguise is spot-on.
Next we see Chance, he has become a new man... er, become Newman, that is... T.C. Newman. He's decked out in some dazzling duds while boarding a train. After tripping and nearly breaking his neck, he is directed to his berth. This is a cool scene because it shows how deeply he is paying attention to his surroundings... while neglecting his own two feet, or... so it would appear, you'll notice his hand went right into the train's emergency brake mechanism... more on that in a bit.
While on board, a man with his right arm in a cast enters Chance's berth unannounced. Our man gets the drop on him and cinches in a hammerlock. The fella swears he just entered the wrong berth. This allows us to see more of the Chance method... he judges the man's face and eyes... and deduces he is telling the truth. And so, he lets him go.
Time passes, and Chance is joined by the conductor he almost tripped over while boarding. They share an awkward apology session... and some light chatter. Chance asks when the next stop will be, to which the conductor says 5:47. Chance notes that the conductor didn't peer at his pocket watch like he did the last time somebody asked him about stops (scroll up two images to see!)... and he gets a sneaking suspicion that something's about to go down!
Chance ransacks the berth until he procures the pocket watch... which, at this point, is ticking loudly. He busts out a window with his briefcase and tosses the watch before it goes BLAM!
Looks like the "conductor" is really our hitman! Chase gives chance... er, Chance gives chase, that is... and when he has the baddie cornered, presses a button on his watch, which triggers the emergency brake... and sends the hitman a'flyin! I'm picturing the sound Goofy would make in an old cartoon while trying to ski... but instead, falling into a bottomless pit.
After ahem, "scraping up" the hitman, the train arrives at the station. Chance is met by Smithers who is pleased to see him, but is wondering where Newman is. Well, ya see, real-Newman is standing right there... in a different disguise, in fact... he's who our man tripped over to set up the train-brake scenario. Smithers is fired for being a jerk-ass, and we are out.
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I've tried getting into the Human Target every now and again... I believe his last couple of launches came out through Vertigo, and I'm mentally-associating Peter Milligan with like all of them... maybe he wrote one, I don't recall. All I know is that it never really captured me, and I'm pretty sure I never went back for a second issue. This short story here was more engrossing to me than any of the Vertigo stuff.
I swear, that introduction just oozed stereotypical masculinity... to the point where if it had been written today, it would immediately be dismissed as parody. I really thought he'd be wrestling alligators before retiring to a bed-full of beauties before this was all said and done. Let's not get it twisted, I thought he was cool... but, this might've veered a bit into the realm of cartoon-silly.
The story, while I really dug it, left me with a few questions. When Chance boarded the train and "tripped" our narrative caption made it seem like it was an accident. We later learn it was all part of the plan... but why would he hide the plan from "us"? Like, the narrative bits are his own thoughts... why would he lie in his own thoughts? He doesn't know we're reading them! It kinda took away from the story, because I had assumed that he was just so focused on his surroundings that he kinda lost himself in them... and goofed!
Also, the ending was a bit outta nowhere. The real Newman (which, ya gotta figure is a play on "new man" for this Human Target introductory adventure, right?), is also on board... but disguised as another fella. Smithers should know that, right? I mean, he knew Newman was going to be on the train, surely there wasn't going to be real Newman and Chance-as-Newman on board at the same time, right? And, wasn't the point of this to keep Newman safe? Of course he's going to be disguised! Not sure why Newman waited until he arrived to fire Smithers either. Oh well... only so much you can do with the pages afforded by an Action-Plus backup.
The Reign of the Superman (January, 1933)
From: SCIENCE FICTION, The Advance Guard of Future Civilization #3
Writer - "Herbert S. Fine" (aka Jerry Siegel)
Art - Joe Shuster
Heyyy, everyone... it's leap-day! Also, Superman's Birthday! We only get to celebrate it once every four-years... so, in his honor, I decided to take a look at something way out and wild... well, for this blog anyway... The Reign of the Superman story from the ol' Siegel Fanzine Science Fiction, the Advance Guard of Future Civilization!
Mention The Reign of the Superman among comics enthusiasts, and you'll likely be met with knowing nods, a bit of beard stroking... and a lot of folks pretending to have actually read the thing (sort of like if you were to bring up Seduction of the Innocent... I haven't met a single other person besides myself who've subjected themselves to that!). Heck, maybe I'm just projecting, since... up 'til today, I'd have been among those fakers! Just never got around to reading it... but, it was always sorta-kinda on my "to-do list".
Figured this Super-Birthday would give me the perfect excuse to finally check this one off my list. This is going to be from, duh, a reprint of the story, appearing in Nemo: The Classics Comics Library #2 (August, 1983).
The rest of the Nemo Mag is pretty great too. I tell ya what, if you're a bin-diver like me... do not dismiss the magazine bins, there is a ton of fun and history to be found in there!
Anyhoo, without further ado... let's meet Siegel and Shuster's original Superman. After my (mostly useless) synopsis and review, I'll include the original story in its entirety.
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Our story begins on a breadline. A Professor Smalley watches as the starving vagrants look to fill their bellies... or, at the very least, their mouths. It seems as though this is something Smalley does kind of often. Ya see, he's looking for something... well, someone.
Some time before, Smalley was able to nab some fragments of a meteor. He came to find that whatever element this happened to be, affected his lab animals in strange and amazing ways. Smalley was curious how a human subject might react if exposed to this space-substance.
While he wasn't completely "taken" by any of the occupants of the breadline, Smalley decided to approach a fella by the name of Bill Dunn. He offers Dunn a meal and a new suit... seemingly out of the kindness of his heart. Our man Bill is a bit trepidatious about going-with, but seeing just how well Smalley was dressed, decided to trust him anyway.
They are driven back to Smalley's home, where Dunn is given a brand-new pressed suit, and has his first shave in weeks. Upon requesting his meal, he is given more food than he's seen in quite awhile... which he eats with the quickness. Little does he realize, however, that Smalley spiked his coffee... with a few granules of that Meteor!
A dizzied Dunn is led to his quarters for the night, with promises of being given a "position" the following morning. At this point, however, the jig is kind of up... Dunn senses something sinister about Smalley (ya think?). After being left alone in his room, Dunn makes his escape through a window. Smalley eventually realizes this... and, as you might imagine, is none too happy.
We rejoin Dunn as he is running like a madman through a nearby park. He isn't paying any attention to his surroundings, and just happens to run headfirst into a tree... which knocks him on his tuchus. At this point, something strange(r) happens. His head is flooded with random rambling noise. It's as though his hearing has become super-charged. He overhears bits and pieces of random conversations... or are they just random thoughts (yes, they are) before finally zeroing in on some statements from Professor Smalley himself. Smalley laments the fact that Dunn got away... and also, that he wasted his precious chemical on the bum.
Dunn decides to test his senses to see if they have been affected... and, his self-exam comes back inconclusive. That is, until he decides to test his sight. He looks into the night sky, and sees a tiny red orb. As he focuses on it, another voice in his head fires up... this one simply says, in a robotic tone, "Mars".
Suddenly, he was viewing a very interesting scene on Mars itself. A tree-like creature and a red "intelligence" were embroiled in battle. The intelligence winds up winning the fight... at which point, Dunn (still laying on the ground at the park) passes out.
The next morning, Bill Dunn wakes up... well, his body does, we're not entirely sure where his mind is at this point. He recalls recent events, and chuckles to himself. He also lambastes himself for sleeping on the ground rather than in a bed... but, knows he only did so out of a lack of funds. And so, he decides to "remedy" that condition.
Now, check this out... in his night sleeping in the park, our Superman has become something of a "sponge"... he's absorbed all of the knowledge in the universe. Also, he's realized that he has the power to: intercept interplanetary messages (which should come in real handy), read minds, force his own ideas into other peoples' heads, and throw his vision anywhere.
He next decides to visit the library in order to gain even more knowledge... which, how much more can there be? Well, turns out he wants to read The Expanding Universe by Albert Einstein. Einstein was alive back in 1933... so, I don't know why Dunn didn't just read his mind. Whatever the case, a librarian fetches the book for him, however the only copy they have is in German. No matter, our Superman knows all the languages. He reads the book in an instant, and dismisses it as trash. I ain't the most Einsteiny fella myself, so I don't know thing-one about the book... or, heck, if it even was a real book to begin with!
An older man enters the library, and furrows his brow in Dunn's direction. He decides he's going to try and outsmart our Superman by asking him a question out of a magazine called... Science Fiction! Heyyyy, that's the magazine we're reading right now! Anyhoo, the old fella goes to quiz him about the FitzGerald Contraction... however, before the words even leave his lips, Dunn's got an answer... which we all know is L equals the square-root of 1-V2. Duhhh.
Satisfied with himself, Dunn leaves the library in search of money. He pops in on a pharmacy, and chats up a fella named Smith. He is able to convince Smith that a) he's his grandfather, and b) that he owes him ten bucks. He then bets Smith another fiver that he can guess his weight... and, he does. So, our Superman is now the proud owner of fifteen (assumedly) American dollars.
Dunn then gets the drug-store clerk to offer him some booze... which, he's willing to part with for ten smackers. Instead of paying, Dunn convinces him that he's a Federal Agent, who knows that the clerk has been up to no good. He offers to take a bribe of $100 to leave him alone. And so, our Superman is now up $115.
After leaving the drug-store, Superman takes a gander at a man reading the paper on a bench. What catches his eye is the date on the newspaper. Ya see, it's tomorrow's date. So, Bill Dunn has managed to find a way to see into the future! Now, how might he use this to his advantage? Well, if you've ever seen Back to the Future 2... you've probably got the right idea. Our man... is gonna gamble (and dabble in stocks, which is sorta like gambling) to procure his fortune!
We shift scenes back to Professor Smalley (remember him?). He sits alone in his laboratory, having fired his butler earlier that day for whatever reason. We soon find out that this scene is occurring some time after the last, because it's here we learn that Dunn's "get rich quick" scheme... worked! A newspaper reports of his uncanny luck... and, seeming powers of suggestion. Not only is he killin' it in gambling and stocks, he's also got some of the city's wealthiest citizens voluntarily signing over mass quantities of cash to him... folks who have never even heard of him! The newspapers can't make heads or tails of it, but Smalley knows exactly what's goin' on.
The Prof decides he'll expose the Superman for everything he's done to amass this fortune, and sets to writing a harshly worded letter to the editor (really...). After returning back from the Post Office, Smalley sets back into his lab and decides to brew up one last bit of Meteor-ade, and imbibe it himself!
And so, the Professor whips up the final batch of formula. Before he can sip it, however, there's someone at his door. Any guesses?
Naturally, it's the Superman. Smalley invites Dunn inside, and demands he tell him all about his super-powered experiences. Somewhat surprisingly, Dunn tells him every single bit without hesitation. Smalley reveals that he will also be taking the formula, and so, together they can rule the universe.
Unfortunately for Smalley, Dunn can read minds... and so, he immediately knows the Professor's true intentions. Those intentions include... killing Bill Dunn. Well, the Superman decides "uh-uh", and the two begin to fight. Oddly enough, it's a fairly even skirmish! The two goofs roll around on the laboratory floor... before Smalley manages to break away and dart toward the flask o' formula!
Then... a disorienting and jarring scene shift. The International Conciliatory Council is in session... and once peaceful talks turn rather antagonistic... to the point where former friends are literally at each others throats. Alrighty then.
Then... heyyy, another jarring scene shift. This time, we wind up at the newspaper office, and meet a fella by the name of Forrest Ackerman. We're going to assume this is at least a day later, since Smalley's letter had arrived... and the prior scene of international incident seems to have already be common knowledge. Anyhoo, Ackerman is handed Smalley's letter, and heads to the lab to follow up on the story. Along the way, he hypothesizes that Dunn's mental influence might be the cause of the hullabaloo at the Council.
Upon arrival at Smalley's home, Forrest knocks on the door. There's no answer. He decides to enter anyway. What he finds inside is... well, a big ol' mess of wrecked furniture... and dried blood. He thinks... for a lonnnng while about who's blood it might be: Smalley's or the Superman's. I mean, he ponders this for what feels likes dozens of paragraphs. Quite the slog, this little ditty.
Ackerman bursts out of Smalley's home and hops in his hooptie prepared to write a piece on what he's seen. However, once he's a few blocks away... he appears to forget about his purpose, and instead begins driving on what seems to be a predestined route. This takes him to dusty office inside an old building. Inside, he is greeted by a man. But... who?
The man asks Ackerman to have a seat... and so, he does. Once seated, however, some "bars of metal" sprang up around him, locking him in place. Ackerman demands to know who his captor is... Smalley, or Dunn.
It's Dunn.
And he freely admits that he'd killed Smalley.
Ackerman asks what Dunn's plans are... and we learn that he is planning on continuing to broadcast his own hate... worldwide... in order to plunge the planet into chaos. Forrest starts ranting at what a horrible thing the Superman's doing. Then, he begins to pray.
Dunn doesn't seem all to bothered... at first. Suddenly, however, panic sets in. Now, due to Ackerman's praying, you might think this has something to do with divine intervention... but, it ain't. What it is, is... Dunn has tapped into his precognition-vision, and has seen himself tomorrow, back sleeping in the park... powerless. Sort of a fascistic super-powered Flowers for Algernon situation here.
The Superman knows that within mere moments, the effect of the meteor concoction will wear off... and the severity of his sins begins to set in. He knows that had he used his great power... responsibly, he would be heralded as a hero... and not viewed as, well, whatever the hell he is.
Our story ends with Dunn assuring Forrest Ackerman that he will be released from his torture chair within 15 minutes... at which time, he himself will be... back on the bread-line.
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Good Lord, but this took forever. Quite a long, dense, and somewhat dry read... I'm sure it's taken me less time to read a current-year trade paperback! Being a grad student, a huge part of my "reading diet" includes some of the driest text you can imagine, and I swear this felt like more of a slog than any of that!
First things first. When folks speak of this story, it's very seldom that you hear anything about its quality... or honestly, even its content. Usually, all we hear is that "The Superman" is an evil bald scientist... who is then usually compared to Lex Luthor. Having finally read the damned thing, that's not entirely true, now is it? Dunn, the Superman, isn't a mad scientist... he's just a bum who'd been discovered by a mad scientist.
So... the story. Bill Dunn finds himself with all the power in the world, and decides to use it for evil. Fair enough... poor dude's been a downtrodden hobo, it might stand to reason that he'd use his fantastical powers for self-preservation/self-actualization. No harm, no foul there. I don't quite understand why he'd want to watch the world burn, however. That doesn't seem like a "value-added" measure. I mean, sure... get rich, get comfortable... but, why make the planet you're living on, a Living Hell?
The ending, hitting us with a Flowers for Algernon-style revelation of a loss of "fortunes" and return to the former self (some quarter-century before Flowers for Algernon was even published!)... I liked it! I always dig this sort of scene... though, weird as it might sound for a guy who said this story was a slog, I wish it lasted a bit longer. I always wanna see the Kubler-Ross stages of grief play out... though, in fairness, Death and Dying was still nearly 40 years away from being published when this story hit! Context is a crazy thing, innit?
I do wonder, however, whatever happened to Dunn's fortune? I mean, he won a bunch of money gambling, no? Did he blow it all? If so, on what? Not sure why he needed to head back to the bread-line right away... I guess he didn't think to sock away and dough for a rainy day? Oh well. I suppose if he had, the ending wouldn't have been quite as poignant.
Overall, I'm happy that I finally read this. Feels like a Superman-Fan's rite of passage... and one that I've shrugged off for several decades at this point. Would I recommend it? Well, maybe. As mentioned, it's a bit dry... and the writing doesn't exactly "flow". I've tried to make my synopsis a bit "breezier" a read... hopefully I succeeded. If you do wanna read the whole thing... well, just keep'a scrollin', cuz I included the whole magilla below.
Happy Birthday, Superman! I'd say "here's to many more", but the way DC Comics is headed, I can't be too sure ol' Kal-El will still be around come February 29, 2024!
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The Reign of the Superman (click to enlarge):
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From The Golden Age of DC Comics (2013, TASCHEN):
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Interview with Siegel and Shuster (1983):
Originally posted this at the Chris is on Infinite Earths Facebook Group... but, I assume nobody even knows/cares that exists! This is a very interesting chat with Jerry and Joe from the early 80's conducted by the very same Nemo Magazine.
BIZARRO BREAK #5 (Chameleon Boy)
"Where's Proty?"
Writer - Abe Foreu
Art - James Kochalka
Colors - Matt Madden
Edits - Joey Cavalieri
Today's #BizarroBreak is one'a them "good news, bad news" situations. I've had a few folks request some Legion-centric material be covered here... and, while I don't quite have the time to go "all-in" on the Legion of Super-Heroes... I do have the time to talk about this one time where Chameleon Boy tried giving Proty a bath!
Enjoy!
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We open with Chameleon Boy on the hunt for Proty. Ya see, it's bath-time, and the little glob of putty is hiding. Chameleon Boy tells Cosmic Boy about his hunt, to which we learn that Saturn Girl is currently occupying the shower. Ehh, no worries, Proty's so small he can be scrubbed in the sink. Cosmic Boy reveals that, boy howdy, Proty's been stinky of late.
The pair of Legionnaires try and track down the blob... and think they've found him disguised as a "suspicious" lamp (the worst kind of lamp)!
Turns out, nah... it's actually just Lightning Lad's new lamp.
We shift scenes to the bathroom, where Saturn Girl has just emerged from the tub. She immediately reaches for her hair dryer and plugs it in. Uh-oh! Looks like Proty was disguised as that very same hair dryer... and gets quite the shock.
We wrap up with Chameleon Boy finally givin' the blob a scrub.
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Oh man, how much silly fun was this?
It's just a funny little vignette, about the challenges in giving a reluctant blob of protoplasm a bath. No end-of-the-world stakes... heck, not even "dinner is ruined" stakes. But, a whole lot of fun... and once again, the #BizarroBreak proves to be a wonderful little palette cleanser.
I can't find a whole heckuva lot regarding Abe Foreu... all I'm able to come across is... well, this story. Could'a sworn I've read his name before though. Well, I've been wrong before. Across the table, we've got James Kochalka, whose work I've long admired. It has that weird, for lack of a better term, "simplicity" to it... that, is almost too perfect? Does that make sense? Maybe not. Hopefully you get my meaning. It's really fun stuff. Certainly wouldn't mind covering more stories from him!
Tomorrow: Something completely different, as we say: Happy Birthday, Superman!
Welcome to another Action-Plus "test" post. I'm all about multitasking... and so, I get to "pilot" this little project by repurposing some old content... the very same week I'd smacked with a number of final assignments for school! Though, the fact that creating the cover template took this goofball the better part of four hours kinda makes up for that!
