Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #5 (1978)

  Firestorm finally battles the Hyena in this, the final issue of the first series of Firestorm. But wait, there was a cliffhanger and it told me to tune in for issue #6! What the frick?

  See,  Firestorm: The Nuclear Man was a victim of the DC Implosion of 1978. Due to poor customer sales, blamed on the dominance of Marvel and a series of blizzards that affected the Northeast, DC's sales plummeted. DC was also suffering from a bit of over indulgence, adding a whopping 57 new titles to its line-up from 1975-78! With the drop in sales, the publisher cancelled 40% of its titles as well as laying off that same percentage of employees. It's also how GI Joe scribe, Larry Hama and Marvel Fanfare genius and Firestorm co-creator Al Milgrom ended up at Marvel for their storied tenures in the Bullpen.

   If you read this blog enough, you'll know that I hate unexpected cliffhangers. But, I was prepared this time. I knew that this was the final issue in the series but that the adventures of Ronnie Raymond and Dr. Martin Stein didn't end with it. So, in a few days I'll be reviewing the remainder of this series and explaining how I was able to finish up the storyline.

   Now back to issue #5. In this supersized issue, not only does the Nuclear Man battle the menacing Hyena (and fail miserably), he's reunited with his most deadly foe- Multiplex and his seething revenge threatens to tear our hero apart.  Meanwhile, the mystery of why Ronnie's father has had to switch jobs often deepens with Ronnie discovering that his old man might not be the journeyman newspaper he's always believed him to be.

    Now with a growing conspiracy involving the Raymond family (and possibly behind mom's death), a missing teacher's assistant applicant, and the newly combined threat of the Hyena and Multiplex, it's going to take all of Ronnie and Stein's combined might as Firestorm to save the day.

To Be Continued...

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.