All-New Collectors' Edition #C-58: Superman Vs. Shazam! (Facsimile Edition)

I'm in no way criticizing the art skills of Dick Giordano or Rich Buckler. If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you know that I am a huge fan of Giordano; having gotten to meet him at his very last con. As for Buckler, I loved his work on the earliest stories of the Marvel cyborg, Deathlok. So I believe that I have established respect for both artists. That being said, who drew the artwork for both the back half of this wraparound cover as well as many of the full sized and splash pages? They look like they were masterfully drawn by Neal Adams!

This facsimile edition is absolutely beautiful. The foil enhanced wraparound. The remastered colors of Adrienne Roy. The throwaway panel of what a brunette Supergirl would look like. This was a visual masterpiece from 1978!

An ancient wizard from a Martian civilization millennia before those of J'onn J'onzz' people, is seeking to end his singular mistake. In an attempt to become immortal, the mage got his wish. But not before first turning the rest of his kind into silent, tormenting phantoms. His hope is to place devices on two different Earths where they will vibrate in sync with the other and cause a cataclysmic explosion to should restore his people to their corporeal forms.

The two Earth's chosen are Superman's Earth-1 and Captain Marvel's home, Earth-S. To prevent the two heroes from discovering the devices, the wizard forces Black Adam and the 'Quarmmer', a duplicate of Superman made of living sand, to cloud the minds of the heroes so that they see each other as mortal enemies. Thus, fans finally get their wish: an epic battle that will definitively prove who is mightier? The Man of Steel or the Big Red Cheese?

The fight was epic. The team-up of Supergirl and Mary Marvel was awesome. The villain Karmang was pretty cool looking. But like most DC Comics of the late 1970s, the plot fell flat.

For one thing, I didn't quite understand Karmang's costume didn't really make sense. He's got these wicked looking eyeballs which adore the epaulets on his cape and apparently makes some fashionable earrings.  But he never uses them. They'd be really cool if they helped Karmang see the action occurring on the two Earths. Instead, he's got TV set-up sweeter than any wall of boob tubes at Circuit City. 

Another issue with the plot is the pacing. There are 4 acts in this issue, along with interludes and a prologue and epilogue. If writer Gerry Conway would've cut the unnecessary comic relief provided by Lois Lane and sports reporter Steve Lombard playing the role of cameraman, I think we could have gotten a much smoother ending that really hyped up the tension. Instead, we get Superman racing around the world to counter the pull of the magnetic field while Captain Marvel literally decides which color wire to clip on one of Karmang's devices. 

And as much as I enjoyed Supergirl being in this story, the ending where she and Mary Marvel fawn over each other's super hunky relative was clunky at best. At worst, it's a groaner and brother did I groan over that dumb ending...

At least we got an answer as to whether Supes or Cap are stronger than the two. At least for this clash.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Unexpected #183 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

DC's The Unexpected started life as Tales of the Unexpected in 1956. Due to restrictions set by the Comics Code, DC began Tales of the Unexpected as a milder sci-fi anthology alternative compared to the compilation series being published by EC Comics. Over the next decade, as guidelines over what was deemed unacceptable to be in comics lessened, especially elements of the macabre, Tales began to include fantasy and horror stories along with those sensational science fiction adventures. 

By 1968, DC had determined that they had a glut of Sci-fi and horror titles and they retooled Tales of the Unexpected into a fantasy only series. Starting with issue #105, the title was trimmed down to The Unexpected. However, it was soon revealed that sales for a fantasy only book wasn't as strong as DC had hoped for. Pretty quickly, elements of horror and science fiction were reintroduced into the title though the series never reverted back to its original name. 

The Unexpected continued in print to May, 1982; ending at issue #222. It survived through the DC Implosion of 1978, incorporating titles such as House of Secrets, The Witching Hour and Doorway Into Nightmare in its pages. A series that began without a host, by the time The Unexpected was cancelled, hosts such as the Witches Three and Abel were presenting spooky stories to readers in rotating segments. 

This February, 1978 issue was published almost a full year before the assimilating effects of the Implosion were felt in the title. Yet, the 3 stories presented in this book are full of terrifying twists and turns. In 'The Dead Don't Always Die' George Kashdan and Ernesto Patricio give a deadbeat swindler insight on the forthcoming date of death of a relative- it just might not be the one he was hoping for. Carl Wessler and Gerry Talaoc warn a pair of American crooks wreaking havoc in Brazil to 'Beware the Green Cannibal.' Finally, Kashdan returns with art by E.R. Cruz in a mad scientist story titled 'Golden Grave.'

Cover art, based on the opening story, was by Luis Dominguez.

Completing this review completes Task #40 (A Work Published in February of Any Year) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera #2- Yogi's Easter Parade (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

I'm constantly updating my reviews when I learn more about my favorite hobby. But it's not everyday when one of the creators of a work I covered provides some insight. I publish my reading challenge posts on a Facebook group and Mark Evanier was kind enough to give some background on Hanna-Barbera's search for a comic book publisher.  

Any corrections to this review will be in bold.

The 1960s and 70s were the golden age of Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, and Scooby-Doo were some of the iconic successes of animation geniuses William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Yet as successful as Hanna-Barbera was, they just couldn't compete with Disney and Warner Bros.

One could argue that the comic book presence or lack thereof, was a main influence in why Hanna-Barbera would often rank third in terms of most popular animation franchises. Just like Disney and Warner Bros. did, Hanna-Barbera partnered with Western Publishing to produce comic book adaptations of their work. 

Hanna-Barbera was very happy with Western in terms of story and art. Many of the staff at Hanna-Barbera had side gigs at Western, so the adaptations were almost like lost episodes. They were big sellers to the point that the animation studio wanted Western to increase the number of titles based on the Hanna-Barbera catalog. Yet Western would not budge on their output leaving Hanna-Barbera to find another comic book publisher. 

In 1970, Hanna-Barbera partnered with Charlton Comics to produce comics based on their product line. Charlton was more than willing to produce the desired number of works based on the world's greatest Saturday morning cartoons. Flintstones was Charlton's most popular series running for 50 issues. Almost a half-dozen spin-offs were released by Charlton based on characters from the prehistoric comedy, including titles devoted to the Great Gazoo and Pebbles and Bam-Bam. A Yogi Bear title ran for 35 issues and a Top Cat book made it to 20. 

The studio wasn't not happy with the artwork, believing that the publishers were just unable to get the trademark likenesses just right. The 70s were a rough time for the Connecticut based publisher. Dick Giordano had poached most of Charlton's top talent and brought them over state lines to DC Comics headquarters in the Big Apple. According to Mark Evanier, the partnership between the studio and Charlton was soon severed. It was another nail in the coffin for the dying publisher and Hanna-Barbera was without a comic book presence once again.

Hanna-Barbera decided to take its characters to New York City. But they didn't go to DC Comics. Instead, Hanna-Barbera partnered with Marvel. 

Despite being wooed by the House of Ideas, Marvel didn't devote very much attention to its new Hanna-Barbera line-up. From 1977-79, Marvel released only 6 main titles to Yogi Bear and his pals were released. Along with a Dyno-Mutt series and a fan-favorite adaptation of the massive crossover cartoon, Laff-A-Lympics. Also part of Marvel's Hanna-Barbera line was a 3-issue tabloid sized anthology called The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera. 

The first issue was a Christmas themed book. The last issue was devoted to Laff-A-Lympics. The middle issue was a rare Easter treat full of Hanna-Barbera characters, puzzles, games and other fun things to do. 

Mark Evanier penned the opening story that features nearly 2 dozen characters from your favorite Saturday morning cartoons. On Easter morning, Yogi and Boo-Boo awaken hoping for Easter Eggs. A quick search finds the Easter Bunny's allotment of eggs and a note saying that he's been kidnapped. So Yogi calls all his friends and they work to provide Easter eggs for all the kids of the Jellystone Park region while conducting a search for the missing rabbit!

Then Dyno-Mutt and the Blue Falcon team-up with Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang to solve a caper involving a ghost and a number of missing items at a new museum. 

Evanier returns with a story involving Top Cat and his gang. Love is in the air with Officer Dibble, the cop who works the beat where Top Cat lives. However, Top Cat is suspicious of Dibble's new girlfriend when the officer gives her a check containing his life savings!

Lastly, go back in time to the very earliest days of baseball with the Flintstones. A struggling baseball team thinks that they have a superstar Babe in the making with tiny tot Bam-Bam. But a rival owner seeks to make sure the tyke doesn't make it to opening day!

The fun and games in this book include a magic trick presented by Magilla Gorilla and a find the twin game led by Captain Caveman. There's also a crossword puzzle and a word scramble for readers to do. But one must be the most knowledgeable of Hanna-Barbera fans in order to answer some of the most obscure questions.

By 1980, Hanna-Barbera had ended its partnership with Marvel. Bridges weren't burned as Marvel's Star Comics imprint did release a couple of books based on NBC's Foofur and the prehistoric prequel The Flintstone Kids. 

With exception to a few minis based on syndicated and Saturday morning toons, Hanna-Barbera wouldn't return to comics until the early 90s. Finding a home with Harvey Comics, Yogi and friends were welcomed by their new publisher. Unfortunately, it seemed like Hanna-Barbera was eternally snake-bit as Harvey ceased releasing new material by 1993. In 1995, Archie Comics signed an agreement to publish titles based on Scooby-Doo and the Flintstones. This agreement continued until 1997. A year prior, Hanna-Barbera Studios was purchased by Warner Bros. and absorbed into the Cartoon Network Brand. 

Since the merger, DC Comics has been the official publisher of Hanna-Barbera properties. In the quarter century since the purchase, DC has released dozens of titles. Scooby-Doo has been DC's most popular acquisition with 2 main series of over 250 issues and numerous spin-offs including the extremely popular Scooby-Doo Team-Up. In 2017, DC issued several one-shots pitting their most popular heroes with modern day versions of the Hanna-Barbera universe. Over the next several years, grittier reboots of characters such as Jonny Quest, Snagglepuss and the Jetsons were produced by DC with varying degrees of critical and consumer success.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #26 (Set During a Holiday Not in December) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Marvel Classics Comics Series #36

The Marvel Bullpen of 1978 presents Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. 

Marvel Classics Comics Series ran for 36 issues. I've been trying to collect this entire series. So finding out that this finale was Christmas related was a double bonus.

I love the story of Scrooge, a trio of seasonal ghosts and Tiny Tim. I make it a point to read at least one version of the story every year. And this version from the House of Ideas was the one I selected. This adaptation felt fresh to me. There were a few aspects of the Dickens tale that I have never noticed before. As the dialogue seemed to be almost directly taken from the original script, I am not sure if those aspects are due to artistic license or just things I've never noticed before. 

One thing that still sticks in my crawl is the whole idea of the 3 ghosts visiting Scrooge. If you read over Marley's account of how Scrooge will be visited by them spectors, it seems like the whole story will take place over 3 nights. So Ebeneezer shouldn't get into the holiday until at least December 28th- morning time. Yet without fail- and without explanation- the whole event occurs on Christmas Eve night going into Christmas morn. 

Maybe I just don't understand Victorian Era time. 

Lastly, I want to mention the introduction. It was an enlightening account of Charles Dickens' life. However, the year given in which Dickens divorces his wife is listed as earlier than the year they get married. This series was recently released as a deluxe omnibus. I wonder if the 42 year old typo was caught during the remastering process or not...

A great adaptation. It's got some flaws. But I really enjoyed this version. It was quite festive. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

A Classic TV Christmas- Advent 2017 Day 14

We're back in the 70s where we belong. Enough time travel for a while...

I had mentioned a few days ago how the Gift of the Magi by O. Henry is my favorite Christmas story. We looked at a variation of that story when we visited the Honeymooners in New York. Well, I want to head back to the Big Apple to visit another couple who are having difficulties over purchasing gifts for the weekend. I have the address somewhere....

Oh, here it is- 123 Sesame Street. 

In the holiday episode of the titular children's series Sesame Street from December 6, 1978 titled Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, a ton of things are happening. Oscar is getting into trouble telling a little girl and Big Bird that Santa isn't coming this year. Jose Feliciano is singing Felix Navidad. And Cookie Monster has eaten all of the Christmas cookies left out for Santa!

But the storyline I am most interested about involves those unlikely best friends and roommates, Bert and Ernie. Bert wants to get Ernie a dish for his rubber duckie to rest in when it's not bath time. Ernie wants to surprise Bert with box for his paperclip collection. Being short on funds, Bert trades his collection to Mr. Hooper. Ernie also is low on cash and trades his rubber duckie to local shop keep Hooper.

Eventually, the buddies open their presents and they try really hard to not reveal that they gave their possessions away. Thankfully, it's Mr. Hooper to the rescue as he's come with presents- Ernie's rubber duckie and Bert's paperclips!

This award winning episode not only was eventually put on VHS and DVD, parts of it was also made into a record album. I remember as a very young kid listening to that album over and over. We could not decorate our Christmas tree for several years without this record playing. My favorite part was the Bert and Ernie adventure.

One cool thing about the record was that if you opened it up, there was a comic book inside of several of the songs and stories. I loved pouring over the images as the record spun on my Smurfs record player...

AS luck would have it, I actually found a video of Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. AS today's Advent gift, I am sharing it with you. I hope you and your family will treasure it as I have for almost 40 years. Enjoy and until tomorrow- Merry Christmas!

Marvel Team-Up #74 (Volume 1)

This is not a joke. This is not a dream. In 1978, Spider-man really did team with the original not-ready-for-prime-time-players of Saturday Night Live!!!

In perhaps the most bizarre comic of all-time, the mutant Silver Samurai and his goon’s take SNL hostage as he searches for an ancient Chinese ring that John Belushi happens to be wearing. Thankfully, Peter Parker had tickets to watch a live taping of the show with Stan Lee hosting. With the building locked, the only hero in the building is Spidey. So, with the help of the cast of Saturday Night Live, the wall-crawler manages to save the day.

There are hi-jinx galore- Garrett Morris as a Black Thor (Shouldn't he be Ant-Man???), Belushi goes Samurai Delicatessen vs. Silver Samurai, and Waldorf and Stadler from the Muppet Show even make an odd cameo.

I love this issue. It’s so bizarre and strange. I’ve been searching for it for just about forever. Great art, though Bill Murray looks nothing like himself. But a good job on renderings of everybody else.

A note for Essential Marvel Team-Up collectors: This issue is not reprinted in any of the 4 volumes currently on the market. That’s probably because Marvel doesn’t have the license for the SNL product anymore or there’s some royalty tie-ups with the Belushi and Gilda Radner estates.

Madcap fun- Worth Consuming.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

The Superman Story

   The Man of Steel takes the people of Metropolis on a tour of the newest Superman Exhibit. From his earliest days of Krypton to becoming Superboy in Smallville and rising to become the Man of Tomorrow around the world, almost every secret of Superman's is revealed. Unbeknownst to the Last Son Of Krypton, the exhibit is secretly a trap designed by one of his most deadliest foes and should one single member of the tour escape, the entire building will come crashing down taking all of the city with it.

   Originally published in 1978, this pocket-sized paperback graphic novel was intended as a primer for folks to use before going to see the Superman movie directed by Richard Donner. As much as I love the Christopher Reeve Superman and the pre-Crisis Man of Steel, I forgot how much of a bummer the 1970s Superman had become.

   Prior to the movie, both sets of parents to Superman were dead, he was no longer working as a reporter for the Daily Planet, and years of exposure to Kryptonite had started to rob him of not only his powers but his memories as well. In a modern world, the Man of Tomorrow was just too much and DC decided to knock him down a peg or two- and it sucked; the only bright spot being Jack Kirby's brief run on Jimmy Olsen during this period.

   Thankfully, despite giving Superman the ability to go back in time and to give people super-amnesia through his powerful kissing prowess, the Donner films returned the Man of Steel back to some semblance of the Superman I feel in love with through reading my dad's old comics. Oddly enough, the New-52 Superman is more exciting than the 70s comics version.  This isn't the Man of Steel- more like the Man of Aluminum Foil! 

    This was an okay read but it's not Untold Story of the Dark Knight (the Batman companion piece to this book.) Usually, I muddle through and put even a poor Superman book into my collection for permanent keeping. Not this time! The Superman Story is going right back where I found it- the used bookstore in Greensboro.

   Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

The 18 Days of a Star Wars Christmas Miracle +7: Day 1

   I start this Star Wars Advent with a tribute to the one that started it all: The Star Wars Holiday Special. After this what can only be described as a toy train wreck aired only once on CBS in 1978, the possibilities of Star Wars Christmas related stuff took off like a spaceship. There's been Star Wars Christmas wrap, music, ornaments, and much, much more. But in the beginning, the hopes of a Star Wars Christmas began with this 2-hour special which included Princess Leia singing something similar to Silver Bells, Bea Arthur as the owner of the Mos Eisley Cantina, Jefferson Starship doing LSD apparently, Diahann Carroll dancing around nearly naked like one of Jabba's slave girls, and the comedy stylings of Harvey Korman.
   
   There was one bright spot to this pile of bantha poo-doo: a 7-minute long cartoon called 'The Faithful Wookiee (sic).' It wasn't much, but it was the only time we got to see Luke, Han, Chewie, and Leia in animated form. Even better- it introduced the greatest bounty hunter of them all- BOBA FETT!

    The Holiday Special is something that George Lucas actually hates. In fact, he never renewed the trademark on this. Thus, the only way to find it is either as a bootleg or on Youtube. Why, even Disney doesn't own the rights to it! And to this day, Lucas vows that he'll smash every single copy in existence if it's the last thing he'll ever do.

 Below is a link to the special in its entirety- thus proving that no matter how many DVD copies Lucas might destroy, the legend of the Star Wars Holiday Special will forever live on...

May the Force Be With, If you Dare...

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.

Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #4 (1978)

   There's a new hero in the Big Apple. Dressed as a Hyena ( as well as named), and just as fierce, this vigilante seems to have a vendetta against organized crime. But when he strikes out against New York's finest, it clear that the big city has a wild card on the loose. Unfortunately, any sort of conflict between the Hyena and Firestorm will have to wait until the next issue!

   This is one of those times when the book's cover doesn't match up with it's contents. I call this a 'Death of Sad Sack Cover' which is a joke from the Simpsons about being faked out by phony covers. This time, the cover bears an epic battle between the Nuclear Man and the Hyena. However, this issue ends before the two foes ever throw a punch at each other. This would normally tick me off and while it is a pet peeve of mine, at least I have the next issue on hand. (I try really hard to have a complete series collected before I read them. It makes for a long journey, but the benefits are worth it to read an entire run without interruption.)

   The art was much better than the previous issue and I thought the writing was quite good too. Though I really hated the opening splash page which depicts some bastards clubbing baby seals. It's pretty gruesome with at least one club oozing brain matter and viscera. I'm very glad that Firestorm gave these guys a bit of their own medicine.

    Speaking of the previous issue, I commented that Doctor Stein seemed very stoic after having seen most of the men at the polar research station he was visiting killed by Killer Frost. Well, I don't know if fans complained about the lack of emotion but it was revealed at the beginning of this issue that Firestorm was able to save the lives of most of the men. So, I guess it's okay that Dr. Stein wasn't so upset about that aspect.

    However, with a very short ending in issue #3 and with this issue's cover not matching its content I'm getting a fairly good idea why this series only lasted 5 issues.

   Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #2 (1978)

   The second issue to Firestorm features a gimmick that was everywhere in 1978- the Superman team-up. With the Superman movie due out later in the year, DC and Warner Brothers were trying to get the word out any way possible. Thus, if you were a struggling or fledgling comic book at that time and you were a DC Comic- well then the Man of Steel would be visiting your corner of the DC Universe real soon. (Ths same principle worked in the 90s with fan-favorite Wolverine appearing in just about every Marvel comic imaginable and right now in the Marvel NOW! books with the box office darlings Guardians of the Galaxy guest starring in something every month.

    In this issue, along with meeting the Man of Tomorrow, Firestorm meets his first arch enemy- Multiplex. During the explosion that turned Ronnie Raymond and Dr. Martin Stein into the Nuclear Man, it split one of Stein's professional rivals into 2 villains. I never knew the definitions for fusion (how Firestorm is formed) and fission (the process that divides Multiplex in two) until now.

   Who says comics aren't educational?

    This exciting issue is more Firestorm's baby than it is Superman's and that's how it should be. But I did like how this issue was the starting point in making Firestorm an eventual member of the Justice League of America (and the Super Friends if you want to get technical about it.)  I'm very glad that I decided to finally give this short-lived series from the 70s a try. It's a really good title that just didn't get a fair shake until about 5 years later with the near decade-long publication of Fury of Firestorm.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #1 (1978)

   On Friday, home sick and propped up in my chair, I binged watched about 5 episodes of CW's The Flash. One of the main storylines was Firestorm. This character has aesthetically been one of my favorite superheroes, since the days of the Nuclear Man being a regular on the Super Friends/ Super Powers cartoon shows and his involvement in Crisis.
 
    As a comic, the book seemed a little too old for me. I liked the art, but the stories were very complicated for a 5-8 years old boy. The premise was that teenager Ronnie Raymond and physics professor Martin Stein were involved in a nuclear explosion that caused the two men to form a single superhero- Firestorm. Many of the stories revolved around the dangers of nuclear power and the struggle for equality amongst the sexes. Like I said, this was some complicated stuff for a grade-schooler to wrap his tiny little brain around. So, I stuck to enjoying Firestorm on TV instead of print.

   Well, finally getting to see Firestorm in a live action version was an awesome treat. I loved how the CW handled the dynamic of having the Nuclear Man made up of two separate people. Plus, having it explained that the reason the superhero looks like Ronnie but has the brain of Stein as a sort of survival of the fittest amalgam of the best of both men made perfect sense to me. Plus, it didn't hurt having the great Victor Garber play Dr. Stein while providing the interior monologue for Firestorm. It all worked really well.

   So let's flash forward to last night. I'm currently reading 'Showcase Presents: DC Comics Presents: Superman Team-Ups, Volume 1', in which I got to issue 17, a team-up with Superman and Firestorm versus Killer Frost. Normally, I would just read on and tried to make connections when previous storylines are mentioned. But in both the introduction and the 'next issue' blurb for DCP #16, it's urged that you first read Firestorm #5.
 
 Well, I'm riding the high from my Flash-binge and I just happened to have the complete 5-issue run of the first Firestorm series. So, naturally, I decided to give the adventures of the Nuclear Man a solid read.

   Issue #1 is the origin story. It's pretty much what I already told you about how it came about that Raymond and Stein have the ability to fuse together. The most Interesting aspect of this story was the character of Ronnie. He's a dumb jock and in a twist that you don't see anymore or ever- he's bullied by a super smart nerd! When Ronnie decides to run with an anti-nuke crowd in order to impress a pretty girl at school, he ends up a patsy as this gang is seeking to blow-up the new reactor in town to keep it from becoming a potential pollution hazard.

   I'd like to know who the brains behind this idea were. Wouldn't the destruction of a nuclear power plant even before it goes online be a bad thing? Wouldn't the uranium rods cause some sort of meltdown?

   Well, nobody said Ronnie Raymond was a rocket scientist.

    Other than that flap, it was a pretty good opening act. The cover was great and the art inside was awesome. But with a story by Gerry Conway, who co-created the character of Firestorm with Al 'Marvel Fanfare' Milgrom, I'd expected a little better thought on the logistics of destroying a nuclear power plant.

   Not bad for a find in a comic book grab bag.

  Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.