The Super Heroes Monthly #8

I've just been so busy and exhausted with the new school year and all that. I've been reading comics and graphic novels. I've just been too (fill in the blank) to do any reviewing. I seem to have caught a break today.

From the U.K., I couldn't tell you where I found this magazine of black and white DC reprints. But I know that I didn't spend more than a buck on it. So I must have gotten this years ago at a Con and totally forgot about it.

There are 3 stories inside. First up is a reprinting of the very first appearance of the Barry Allen Flash. The Robert Kanigher, Carmine Infantino and Joe Kubert origin is forever imprinted in my mind. But I had forgotten that the first villain that the Fastest Man Alive takes on is known as the Turtle Man, the Slowest Man on Earth! Kinda comical. But it's a pairing that makes sense.

The Super Heroes Monthly had been running through the complete Man-Bat saga for several issues up to this point. In this issue featuring story by Frank Robbins and art by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano, the Man-Bat takes a bride.

I've either previously read, own a copy or both when it came to both stories. Had I bothered to check the contents of this book whenever I bought it, I probably would have passed over it. At least the third and final story was one that I never read before. It stars Superman featuring Len Wein on scripts and art by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson; which in itself is an all-star crew. Unfortunately, it's a Man of Steel story that isn't really good.

The premise to this tale has an intriguing beginning. Lex Luthor laments the disappearance of the entire population of Earth. In his latest attempt to destroy the Man of Steel, Luthor's robotic assassin overheats, causing the nuclear core to meltdown and wipe out not just Superman, but everyone and everything on the planet. Birds, snakes and all!

When we learn what the MacGuffin behind the disappearances really details, the explanation is so implausible, it really lowered the quality of the story. I know that a lot of Superman stories stunk up news stands and comic collections during the 70s. If we were to place this story on the list, and believe me, I am, then 'The Man Who Murdered the Earth' has be the durian of all Superman tales from 1970-79!

I love the Alan Craddock cover of Superman and the Flash attempting to outrace a speeding locomotive. It is what enticed me to buy this book. But the fact that I already have 2/3 of the stories contained within and I hate that last one, this issue is going to be taken in for hopefully a little bit of trade credit instead of taking up valuable shelf space.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

The Flash #300 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Barry Allen awakens in a mental institution. Completely paralyzed and wrapped in bandages, Allen is greeted by noted psychiatrist Dr. Petrou and the doctor claims to know the truth behind Barry Allen's role as the Flash. Instead of becoming super fast when Allen was dosed in chemicals when struck by lightning in his police lab, Dr. Petrou states that the elements badly scarred his entire body and left him a quadriplegic. Languishing in agony in his hospital bed, Barry took inspiration from his childhood love of the Golden Age comic book hero, the Flash and created a fantasy world as this world's fastest man alive.

Barry refuses to believe Dr. Petrou. Using his scientific mind, Allen goes through the Flash's Rogues Gallery in hopes of detecting who placed him in his current predicament. However as family and friends, including the Green Lantern and Ralph Dibny, stop by to visit Barry in hopes of curing his delusions, Allen begins to face the very real possibility that all that Flash stuff is really just in his head.

This 25th anniversary issue plots a very intriguing mystery while providing detailed snapshots of the history of the Flash. It was everything this author could do to not skip to the end to find out who was behind Barry's incapacitated state. It was even more difficult because book-ending the inside covers of this issue was a 2-page analyst of some of the Flash's most unusual transformations by noted cartoonist and comic book historian Fred Hembeck. As the mastermind of this plot is revealed on the very last page of this double-sided issue, if you go to read the 2nd page of Hembeck's 'Flash-Grams', you'd likely spoil the ending!

From 1981, just about every major Flash villain is examined, along with Barry Allen's extensive family as well as the Flash's history with his friends in the Justice League. Issue #300 was written by Cary Bates who was a primary writer for The Flash at the time and infamously recently responsible for the death of Iris West Allen at the hands of the Reverse Flash. 

The main artist was Barry Allen co-creator Carmine Infantino. He was assisted by Bob Smith. The artwork is so seamless, you really cannot tell where Smith's handiwork begins and Infantino 's ends. According to the DC Database Wiki, Bob Smith is attributed as the inker despite no inker role being listed in the credits of this issue.

A rarity in comics. No ads at all! Just 100% Flash fun and action at lightning speed. Just one little problem, during the entire charade, Barry Allen accidentally revealed to the villain that Hal Jordan was the Green Lantern. Did anything ever come of that?

Completing this review completes Task #19 (written or illustrated by Carmine Infantino) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Showcase Presents: Batgirl, Vol. 1 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

It's Spring of 1967. The novelty of ABC's live-action comic book, Batman, is beginning to wane. Producer William Dozier is desperate for a third season. Clocking in at 94 episodes, Batman is just inches away from the 100 episode golden parachute that will, at the time, guarantee that the show will live on in syndication. 

DC Comics is also hoping for a third season. The live action series starring Adam West and Burt Ward sparked a renewed interest in DC Comics, which had been seeing Marvel Comics nipping at their heels in recent years. Bat-mania had become the source of a licensing boom of everything from toy cars to trading cards for DC. 

The idea of a new character offered hope for that third season. During initial planning stages, editor Julius Schwartz suggested that the new character be female in order to attract new female viewers. Schwartz and Dozier agreed that the new character continues with the Bat theme of the show and be known as Batgirl. However, there had already been a Bat-Girl in the pages of Batman back in the 1950s and Schwartz had buried the character for being too corny. Thus a new Batgirl would need to be created.

Legend has it that it was William Dozier who decided that Batgirl would be Barbara 'Babs' Gordon, daughter of police commissioner Jim Gordon. After viewing a concept sketch of the new Batgirl by Carmine Infantino, Dozier optioned the character for use on the series and a 7-minute long intro pilot was filmed. Along with cutting the number of shows from twice per week to just one, ABC was excited with the new character and green-lit a third season.

Batgirl was to be portrayed by actress Yvonne Craig, a veteran of a pair of Elvis films. Dressed in a sparkling purple catsuit, Craig's Batgirl debuted first on the airwaves in the September 14th episode titled 'Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin.' In that episode's closing credits, sole ownership of Batgirl was attributed to DC Comics.

To build up hype, DC Comics introduced the new Batgirl in the pages of Detective Comics #359, albeit with a new origin story. Like in the intro pilot, the first main villain Batgirl tangles with is Killer Moth. However, instead of rescuing Batman and Robin from the fiend's cocoon trap, comic book Batgirl arrives on the scene stumbling upon Bruce Wayne being kidnapped by the foe while on her way to a costume ball dressed as a female version of the Caped Crusader. Good thing she knows judo and other methods of physical defense!

Despite being advised by Batman to hang up her cowl as it's not ladylike fighting crime and all that, Batgirl eventually becomes one of the Dynamic Duo's most trusted allies. But not before testing the romantic waters with Batman! Early on, Catwoman eyes Batgirl as a barrier to her affections with Batman, turning into a heroine in hopes of wooing the vigilante. Batman then recruits both Batgirl and Wonder Woman to pretend to fall head over heels in love for the hero, in a bizarre plot to trap the serpentine for, Copperhead. 

This book sees the foundation of a decades long relationship with perhaps her true love, Dick Grayson in a 2-part murder mystery with an Edgar Allan Poe theme. Soon after, a new paramour is introduced in Babs' life; the amateur sleuth Jason Bard. Gordon will solve crimes with the young man as both an expert librarian and as Batgirl. While Bard won't put 2-and-2 together that the two fiery redheads in his life are the same woman, an important person in Barbara's life will make the connection; her father, Jim Gordon. 

While investigating the murder of a Gotham City police officer, Batgirl uncovers a plot to murder the Commissioner by framing a known radical cop-hater. When a sniper sneaks up upon Gordon, Batgirl accidentally calls out a warning to 'Dad', leading the commissioner to deduce the true identity of Batgirl. A couple stories later, Barbara reveals her secret identity to dear old dad before taking his place as candidate for US Congress. 

When Babs wins the congressional race, it's assumed that Batgirl will go in retirement. However, a year later in the pages of Superman, of all places, Batgirl returns to save reporter Clark Kent from a Washington DC based spy ring. This massive volume of Showcase Presents ends with a Batgirl/Man of Steel reunion in Metropolis before Batgirl and her BFF, Supergirl team up for the fourth time to stop a girl claiming to be Cleopatra from becoming the new queen of the United States of America.

Had DC not shut down the fan favorite Showcase Presents line of reprints, fans would have gotten to see more of Batgirl's life in the nation's capitol before beginning a series of team-ups with Robin, now a college aged man. These Batgirl adventures would appear in the anthology title Batman Family before returning to the backup feature status in Detective Comics. With 1985's Crisis, Batgirl wasn't retconned. But her importance was lessened. Many of her adventures were now retooled to have taken place with Power Girl instead of Supergirl. 1988's The Killing Joke would redefine Barbara Gordon's importance in the Bat Family, when she's left a paraplegic from a bullet fired by the Joker. Now operating in the shadows, Babs would become Batman's eyes and ears as the tech-savvy Oracle before being granted the ability to walk once again thanks to an experimental surgery using nanobot implants.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #25 (With a Female Lead Character) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Showcase Presents: Adam Strange, Vol. 1

It's another volume of the Showcase Presents series of reprints that was designated a Volume 1, but never received a follow up. Reprinting the first appearances of Earth archaeologist turned savior of the far off planet of Rann, Adam Strange was very much cut from the same cloth as Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, with a twist! Adam Strange could only travel the 21 trillion miles journey from Earth to Rann with the help of a transportation ray called a Zeta Beam. Once the energy dissipated from Adam's body, the hero would vanish from Rann and Strange would reappear back on Earth. Sometimes, the vanishing act would occur at the most inopportune times and Adam Strange would have to wait days, even weeks to return to Rann in order to save the beleaguered planet from a host of threats, both Terran and extraterrestrial.

Adam Strange was created by famed editor Julius Schwartz with assists by Murphy Anderson and Carmine Infantino. After a 3-issue test in the pages of Showcase Presents, the tryout anthology series, Adam Strange would become the feature character of about 60 issues of the sci-fi anthology title Mystery in Space. The writer of all of the stories contained in this book was Gardner Fox. After several artists lent their talents to Strange's appearances in Showcase, Carmine Infantino became the regular artist for the hero's exploits. 

While not Infantino's most well known work, Adam Strange would become Carmine's most favorite project to work on. So much that sci-fi lover Infantino structured his contract to allow him to work on the Adam Strange stories no matter how in demand he was over at DC Comics. The quality of the artwork really shines in the this volume. Unfortunately, the storytelling started to slip around the halfway point.

The first dozen or so stories in Mystery in Space were 8-pagers. They're excellent. After about a year, the page count of the tales would range from 16-32 pages. That's where the quality begins to slip. As impressive it is that an early silver age title maintained a level of cohesive storyline with recurring villains, Gardner Fox seemed to run out of gas in the longer stories. The set up would take forever with a conclusion so fast and clunky that would leave me overwhelmed and unimpressed. Then Fox begins to spread the dangers Adam Strange would face between Rann and Earth. As much as having the hero go back and forth between Earth and Rann is a bit tiring, the quality of those later stories improved.

My dad had quite a few Adam Strange starring books in his collection. They were big favs of mine. I enjoyed this volume very much, flaws and all. A lot really isn't said about how much of a strong female character Adam's girlfriend Alanna was. Rarely a damsel in distress, Alanna often fights without fear on Adam's side. She clearly was an archetype influence on characters like Princess Leia and Ripley. 

I really regret that DC cancelled the Showcase Presents line because I would love to get my hands on the remaining two dozen stories starring Adam Strange. Maybe there's a deluxe 4-color volume available? Or I could try to find those remaining issues of Mystery in Space. Regardless, its not going to be cheap. I can tell you that.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Deep #1; A Marvel Movie Special (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Fresh off the success of Stephen Spielberg's Jaws, studios rushed to secure the movie rights to more works by Peter Benchley. There was just one problem. Benchley didn't have anything else in his repertoire yet. Jaws was the author's first and only book. 

The author did have an idea floating around in his head for a new book. Based on the wrecking of the American naval ship, the USS Constellation sinking atop a Civil War vessel, Benchley crafted a story that combined elements of illegal drug smuggling with treasure hunting. Benchley soon began working on The Deep after the success of Jaws. Immediately afterwards, Columbia Pictures secured the rights to the book, despite not being published yet. 

Benchley worked with screenwriter Tracy Keenan Wynn, fleshing out the screenplay while working on the finished manuscript. The Deep is about a couple who stumble upon a shipwreck off the coast of Bermuda that is not listed on any maps. Because of explosives aboard the USS Goliath that was sunk during a squaw in the 1940s, the wreck has been declared off limits. As the divers also find an 18th Century medallion, it appears that a legendary shipwreck containing a fabled assortment of jewels and gold has been uncovered due to a recent storm surge.

Treasure hunter Romer Treece, hopes to go back to the wreckage to uncover more Spanish treasure in which the provenance would be worth the price of the booty times 10! Island gangster Cloche, wants the countless ampules of morphine said to rest in the hold of the Goliath. With a street value of over $3 million dollars, Cloche hopes to become a wealthy man and forces the trio of divers to recover the drugs from the wreckage in 3 days or else! Now Treece must secretly recover the Spanish treasure while recovering the morphine or else Cloche will end up with everything in his greedy grasp.

 In 1976, The Deep debuted in bookstores, a minor success, not quite on par with Jaws. A year later, the film debuted in theaters. It earned over $100 worldwide and would have been the 7th highest grossing movie of 1977 if not for a little film called Star Wars taking the world by storm.

The Deep starred Robert Shaw, fresh from playing the expert shark hunter Quint in Jaws, Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset. Shaw's character of Treece was based on renowned deep sea explorer, Teddy Tucker who gave Peter Benchley the inspiration about the overlapping shipwrecks. Tucker has a small cameo role as the Harbor Master. Benchley also cameos in a scene set during the Goliath's floundering but was ultimately cut from the final print. Young, handsome Nick Nolte adds some rugged gravitas to the film. An assortment of underwater monsters and action never before seen on screen added to the excitement behind the film. But it was a marketing campaign featuring Jacqueline Bisset that was perhaps the film's biggest draw.

During a key underwater scene, Bisset wears only a white T-shirt and black g-string. Someone on the production team snagged a photo of Bisset in her underwater and the image was used in gentlemen's magazines to advertise The Deep. Plans were in the works were produce a poster of the image. It perhaps would have rivaled the red bikini shot of Farrah Fawcett, but Bisset was successful in preventing the sale of the unauthorized image.

With the ban of the poster, Marvel's 48-page comic adaptation is one of the few authorized officially licensed tie-ins to the film. In fact, with exception of a tie-in print of the novel complete with full color photos from the movie and a LP album featuring music by compose John Barry, this is the only licensed product that can be found that was released the year of the film's debut.

The comic tie-in, printed under the 'Marvel Movie Special' banner was penned by Doug Moench. Carmine Infantino provided the pencils with inks by Sonny Trinidad.

Completing this review completes Task #8 (Published the Year You Were Born) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

V #9

With the loss of Ham and Chris, who went to Chicago to protect Robin from Visitor scientists, the Los Angeles Resistance is looking pretty sparse. So Julie and Donovan head to the Big Apple for a recruitment drive. Only, with the Big Apple being smack dab in the middle of the safe zone created from the use of the Red Dust, none of the locals feel that the Visitors are a threat to the New Yorker way of life. 

Meanwhile, the drama is heating up on Diana's mothership. On the TV show, Diana was about to be forced into marrying a Visitor high-up named Charles. Should Diana wed, ancient custom would require her to have to go back to the Visitor homeworld and become a breeder for her race's glorious Leader. This would have allowed rival Lydia to become the new leader of the Earth contingent of Visitors. But Lydia was also in love with Charles and secretly poisoned Diana's ceremonial wedding chalice; which Diana switched with Charles!

So now Charles is dead. Lydia is in mourning. And Diana is coming out smelling like a rose as the widowed bride-to-be. Lydia is also planning revenge on Diana and it somehow involves a behemoth of a Visitor named Walter who has a giant crush on the Visitor leader. He thinks Diana is his! With Lydia pulling on Walter's heartstrings, the second-in-command hopes to kill two birds with one stone: Diana and Resistance leader, Mike Donovan!

Bates is Back. Infantino is on the cover. As is DeZuniga. It definitely looks like a mix of Infantino's classic style with touches that seem out of place. Once again, I am thinking Tony Dezuniga was needed to help Infantino stay on top of the demands of a hectic schedule brought about from age and CRISIS. 

Regardless, this was a great story. Too bad the TV show and this book didn't succeed. I think if both readers and viewers had known that the series and the comic were complementary of each other, it might have kept V on for another season and maybe given us 8-10 more issues of the comic. Oh, the mind boggles at the possibilities.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

V #7

Infantino is back! For real this time!

I had mentioned that Carmine Infantino as he got older was limiting his projects. Thus, he stepped away from projects often and used assistants. The letter col in the back of this issue kinda confirms all this as at the time of this publication, DC is in the throes of CRISIS and Infantino was needed to help on a few of the many tie-in books to that game changing event. 

As for this issue, Resistance leader Julie is the primary focus. She's heading to her home town in New Mexico to meet with a contact. Only, Julie isn't aware that this fellow Resistance cohort has been captured by the Visitors and that she is now walking into a trap. 

Of all the issues for Carmine Infantino to return to, I don't really know why he chose this one. There's very little action. It's more of a romance story as Julie runs into her old high school beau. Issue #6 is more of a psychological thriller in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock as you wonder throughout the tale if this old flame of Julie's is a friend or now a foe working with the Visitors. 

Great read. Just nowhere near on par with the level of action and adventure that has peppered the past 5 issues. It really feels like a waste of Infantino's talents, if you ask me.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

V #3

So the Visitors regular maintenance of those hot springs outside that small town is a ruse. Instead of purifying the watering holes, the aliens are actually stealing the water. Donovan and Julie point this out to the townsfolk. But with the Visitors restoring the severed arm of a farmer, they just refuse to believe the ill intentions of these so-called villains. But when a Visitor strike force kills a young boy in cold blood and has an even colder response to the lad's death, the citizens of this small hamlet finally join the Resistance!

It's all about Donovan and Julie, oh and Willie, the Visitor who joined the Resistance, in this issue. If you want to know what has happened to Ham Tyler and Chris Farber on their eventful trip to Catalina, well you'll have to wait until hopefully the next issue. They're completely omitted from this issue. 

Issue #3 sees Carmine Infantino's run as the series illustrator take a pause for a couple of issues. Tony DeZuniga is the inker on this. However, DeZuniga was given a cover credit which is really unheard of for inkers. I'm thinking he did a lot of pencil assists with the aging Infantino, who was starting to slow down the amount of work he did around this time period. DeZuniga inked the next issue. But with #4, he doesn't get a cover credit as I am thinking Tod Smith was more than capable of penciling things on his own. 

Great story. But there's so much other action that is just glossed over for one reason or another. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

V #2

Remember in Return of the Jedi, where Han, Chewie, Leia and Luke use a stolen shuttle-craft in order to sneak past Imperial forces to land on Endor? Well, so far in this series, the members of the Resistance have managed to steal a Visitor shuttle and have been using it to infiltrate areas of the country possessed by the Reptiles. Unfortunately, on the ship's maiden voyage, the engines crap out leaving Resistance leaders Julie and Donovan to crash land near a small farming community. 

Thinking that they are in the hands of allies, this town is actually fond of the Visitors! Needing parts to make repairs, Donovan and Julie head into the village and promptly find themselves imprisoned and being held for the Visitors who will make their regular pilgrimage of technological benefits, such as the use of chemicals to purify the local hot springs. 

As readers wonder about the mystery of this small town and just what the Visitors ulterior motives are, the action shifts to the coast off of Catalina. Resistance members Ham Tyler and his partner Chris Farber are in need of a boat. The ship they steal happens to be full of drug runners! With a Visitor assault squad on their tail, at least Ham and Chris can benefit from all the guns and grenades on board!

Issue #2 is another triumph from Cary Bates! The artwork by Carmine Infantino is great. It doesn't really look like any of the actors that play the characters. But then again, Infantino never really tried to recreate likenesses. Awesome cover of a Visitor revealing his true nature in more ways than one by Eduardo Barreto!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

V #1

In 1983-84, I was in Kindergarten. One of the cultural events that a lot of classmates were rabid about was the NBC sci-fi miniseries V and V: The Final Battle. I was among them! 

The minis were about a race of aliens called the Visitors, that arrived on earth under the guise of peace. However, under their human-like flesh lives a reptilian race of scavengers that see our planet as a mini-mart. At the end of The Final Battle, the human race released a germ known as 'Red Dust' into the atmosphere to kill off the Visitors. 

Not all the Visitors were evil. Those who supported the human race were known as the Fifth Column. They were vaccinated against the Red Dust. For some reason or another, the germ warfare wasn't as powerful on the temperate areas of the planet. So, those areas remained under Visitor occupation.

Areas such as central Los Angeles, became designated truce zones, much like Rick's American Cafe in Casablanca. This allows for Visitors and members the earth's Resistance forces to interact, scheme and play deadly games of cloak & dagger. Diana, the Visitor leader, operates out of a mothership in orbit above this region, seeking to finally conquer this planet. Aiding her is the billionaire pharmaceutical tycoon Nathan Bates, who uses the power vacuum of the past war to take over California while assimilating Visitor tech.

Thankfully the first issue of this DC Comic adaptation does an amazing job of providing all this information. While I've seen the two miniseries within the past couple of years, I've not seen the TV show since its first days of airing in 1984-85. I love V and I used to have these books, along with a couple of toy guns and the coveted Visitor action figure when I was younger. The comics I was able to find for basically a dollar each or less and the fun I had from the franchise as a kid was just as rabid as it was 40 some years ago. 

Laying the frame work, I am excited to dig through this 18 issue run. Featuring a script by Cary Bates with artwork by the legendary Carmine Infantino, things are poised for full-throttle action and adventure. Oh, and of course fun!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Showcase Presents: The Elongated Man, Vol. 1

2004's Identity Crisis proved that Ralph Dibny and Sue Dearbon Dibny were the heart and soul of the DC Universe. With the tragic death of Sue and Ralph's emotional spiral that resulted in his death months later, things in the DCU just never were the same. It's been nearly 20 years and despite a promise of a ghostly return of the Dibnys that never came to be, and a New 52 reboot, it's been a lonely tenure without the true Elongated Man and wife...

The Elongated Man debuted in the pages The Flash #112. A former circus performer and entertainer, Ralph Dibny became independently wealthy. So, he was afforded the opportunity to use his gingold extract induced stretching powers and become an amateur detective known as the Elongated Man. During Ralph's time in Central City with the Flash, the Elongated Man mostly fought super villains and those with high-powered tech. But when Ralph meet Sue, all things changed.

Sue was just as wealthy as Ralph thanks to her parents. So, Ralph dropped the whole secret identity thing, got married and traveled the world. Yet it seemed that everywhere the Dibny's trekked, a mystery was sure to follow. 

If Ralph caught the slightest whiff of trouble brewing, his rubber nose would wiggle like crazy. That usually signaled for Sue to either sight-see or shop alone and for Ralph to suit up to solve the crime. Sometimes, Sue would assist, begrudgingly and at the end of the story, EM might shower his beloved with gifts or at the very least a kiss. Regardless, the Dibny's were a match made in Heaven and it's a darn same Brad Meltzer treated the pair like hell...

The Elongated Man was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino. Sure, we first meet EM in the pages of The Flash. But once he and Sue moved over to Detective Comics, the character really came into his own. Mostly because Infantino took over the reigns. 

Infantino's mystery stories were complex. His scenery was photo-realistic. And his art was unencumbered. (Legend has it that EM was the only artwork Infantino was allowed to ink himself due to his nigh ubiquitous demand over at DC.) Pretty much the only thing that didn't make sense about the character was despite having revealed his identity to the public, Dibny would change into his EM costume before going to 'work'. It's not like Ralph couldn't stretch in his days clothes. He did that in like every story!

The Elongated Man was also pretty violent. He really socks and slams ciminals to an effect that makes a Frank Miller Batman look tame. I don't know how this got by the censors. Maybe it's cause with EM's stretch powers, the CCA heads thought that those tales were more like Looney Tunes than a super hero comic.

My favorite stories included the time Ralph was summoned by Thomas Kalmaku to help with Hal Jordan get his memory back, a caper involving some 'disappearing' money, and the Dibny's adventures in Paris and Monte Carlo. All of them had really tricky mysteries that got the gray matter turning! The team-up with Batman and Robin was fun. And it was always great to see The Flash when Carmine Infantino is involved, even if I've read those stories a dozen times prior.

You'd think that Sue's materialistic tendencies would cause marital woes with Ralph. You'd also think that Ralph's incessant need to solve mysteries would cause martial woes with Sue. However, these two are soul mates. No, they're puzzle pieces! The couple might get on each other's nerves; but they fit together perfectly!

We've never gotten our promised ghostly mysteries of Ralph and Sue. I also don't think we'll ever get a volume 2 either. Honestly, I don't know why this book was given a Volume 1 status. EM's last Silver Age solo story occurs in Detective #371, which is in this book! This just doesn't make sense. But this isn't the first time DC made such a goof with the Showcase Presents collections. Regardless of the missteps, I loved getting to spend time with the Dibnys!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

DC 1st Issue Special #1 (2022 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Challenge)

Thanks to a rumored paper shortage thanks to Marvel Comics, Carmine Infantino released a number of new series. The thought was if DC boasted a large enough order, they wouldn't miss out on the limited amount of newsprint held by their distributors. Out of this game plan, DC released an anthology series similar to Showcase Presents titles titled 1st Issue Special. 

The debut issue feature Jack Kirby's premiere of the mythologcial character Atlas. Kirby had previously tooled with the character to little avail. Issue #2 featured Kirby's former creative partner Joe Simon. Along with artist Jerry Grandenetti, Simon created a kid-centric title called The Green Team. 

The Green Team was comprised of 3 child millionaires. There's the Commodore, a shipping magnate with a toy boat that really pops! JP Huston is an oil tycoon who is more interested in adventure than digging oil wells. Cecil Sunbeam is a director who never uses a script but manages to produce amazing blockbusters. 

As the Green Team, these boy millionaires meeting regularly to agree on funding projects for the price of a cool million bucks. Through the crack pots and the occasional greedy Gus, the Green Team wade through the proposals to find the diamond in the roughs in hopes of making more money of their investments.

The only rule to join the Green Team is that the members must have at least $1 million dollars in their bank accounts. Thanks to a computer error that pays off in the stock market, the Green Team has welcomed it's newest member- Abdul Smith, a black shoeshine boy who longs to be a part of an elite club. 

In the Green Team's first adventure, they fund a project that promises to replace print, music, TV and movies with the ultimate pleasure experience. All done by computers. A shyster leads a protest of actors and performers who claim the Green Team's latest venture will put them out of a job. But deep down, the protest leader is just hoping for a shakedown. And he'll get his just desserts when he barricades himself into the pleasure-dome as the human mind just can't handle that much entertainment!

1st Issue Special marked the only official full comics appearance of the Green Team. The response to the comic was enough to green light a regular series. Two issues were plotted out and illustrated. Unfortunately, the DC impulsion resulted in the series being scrapped. Only those lucky enough to get their hands on the fabled 2-volume Cancelled Comics Cavalcade got to read those tales. 

Other than the occasional cameo, the Green Team operated in the shadows of the DC Universe. Then in 2013, with the New 52, the Green Team finally returned to print. Thanks to inflation, members had to be trillionaires to join the club. Cecil was gender-swapped into Cecilia. Adbul was replaced as the young Arab prince, Mohammed Qahtanni. Instead of longing to fund exciting projects, this Green Team sought to become superheroes who used money to save the day. The series lasted 8 issues. 

As for the issue itself, this is an odd duck. The artwork is great. But it's also a product of the times. With Simon and Grandenetti being in the later stages of middle age, their attempts at teen lingo was about a decade out of date. The addition of the colored Abdul was revolutionary for it's time, marking him as one of the first black characters in comics that wasn't portrayed as a stereotype or sidekick.

Honestly, I was surprised to learn that the Green Team was popular enough to merit a potential series. But it really doesn't surprise me that it got the ax considering how unlike DC this title was. The Green Team reads more like a satire of America's growing millionaire culture. With the boys admitting that their theme park was a failure so they'll have some fun blowing the structure to bits, this issue was more like something you'd expect to find in the pages of Mad Magazine. Not as a DC Comic. Experimental or otherwise.

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #24 (With A Green Cover) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Amazing World of Carmine Infantino (2022 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Challenge)

My Mount Rushmore of comics would be comprised of Stan Lee, Julius Schwartz, Will Eisner and Jack Kirby. After reading this book, I might have to change my line-up. 

I knew of Carmine Infantino's work on The Flash and ushering in the Silver Age of Comics. I was familiar with his work on Adam Strange and Star Wars. But I never really knew just how much of an influence on the DC Universe and comics itself that Infantino had until now.

If not for Infantino:

+ The look and feel of Batman would be very different including DC Comics' loss of rights to the character.

+ DC's 1960s beloved oddball characters such as Deadman, Detective Chimp, Bat Lash, and Strange Sports Stories would not exist. 

+ DC might have folded in the 1970s during a time when newly formed Warner Bros. was looking to unload the fledgling House of Superman that was being crushed by upstart Marvel Comics.

+ The policy of returning rights and artwork to artists might never occurred. Or possibly been seriously delayed well into the 80s or later.

And there is so much more. So much, it fills a volume!

Amazing World of Carmine Infantino is over 170 pages of comic book history. Filled with his artwork, sketches and words, this autobiography is also an oral history as many of Carmine's peers and influences offer insight. There's also a ton of praise from countless others who benefited from Infantino's talent and tutelage. 

Within the last year or so, I read the graphic novel biography of Jack Kirby. Having finished this autobiography, I see now how much Carimine Infantino was the Jack Kirby of DC Comics. He did everything. Infantino was a writer, plotter, artist, cover artist, editor, publisher and later DC Comics president. But unlike Kirby, Carmine didn't get as screwed by his publishers as The King did. As for when Kirby was with DC, the promised creator freedom didn't appear. Infantino doesn't seem to blame executives for the thriving failure of Krby's Fourth World as Jack always did. Infantino just blames poor sales and moves on.

Dosed Carmine paint a rosy picture of himself? To some degree. But he also seems not to bear grudges (though, boy, does he hate Bob Kane) and he is willing to point out his shortcomings and defeats. Don't expect to get too much a reveal in the artist's personal life once he gets going in the comics profession. 

An enjoyable book, Amazing World of Carmine Infantino highlights an exciting time in the comic book history- The Silver Age. If you are a Marvelite, you probably wont do flips for this book. But if you are also a comic book history, this is a fascinating account of how the 'enemy' operated in the early days of the war between DC and Marvel.

Now, who do I replace on my comic book Mount Rushmore???

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #28 (Prose non-fiction about Comic Book History) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Showcase Presents Strange Adventures, Volume 2

A great time capsule of the late 1950s science fiction. 9 out of 10 stories are about aliens from another world. Some of them are benevolent. Most want to take over the Earth or destroy it outright. The other 10 percent of stories involved inter-dimensional travel, attempts to prevent the destruction of the planet (usually thanks to time travel), or some strange new invention that goes horribly wrong.

DC was able to capture the fears of a nation in the pages of Strange Adventures. The red scare. The cold war. Nuclear war. 

But DC was also able to latch upon the wonder of the nuclear age. Space travel. The automation of industry. Hope that one day, universal peace could be achieved. 

Legends of not just the publishing company but the golden and silver age of comics worked on this volume. Gil Kane, Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and many more. This was a beautiful collection of sci-fi comics.

But there was one trope that got old and it got old pretty quick. The main way that the aliens are able to communicate with earthlings is thanks to telepathy. If it wasn't for mind reading, the different races wouldn't be able to interact. There'd be no story. Thankfully, DC Comics understood this as one of their tales actually asked the question: how could humans and alien species interact without the use of mental telepathy? 

After that story, you'd think that telepathy tales would be considered off limits by the editors. Unfortunately, that same old tired plot device was continuously used. OVER and OVER...

Okay, so Strange Adventures wasn't perfect. But it was a perfect representation of an imperfect time in American history. Communism made us crazy. But the hope of a better tomorrow showed a light at the end of the tunnel.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Superman Vs. The Amazing Spider-Man in The Battle of the Century

This 1995 joint publication reprints the very first DC/Marvel crossover ever! In 1976, worlds literally collided as the Man of Steel and your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man fought against each other and then joined forces against the combined might of Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus!

You might also note that I did not refer to this book as having reprinted the first DC/Marvel collaboration. In 1975, DC and Marvel were approached by MGM Studios to craft a joint adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. Having great success with this venture, the two publishers finally decided it was time for their most famous characters to meet!

I wasn't born when this team-up occurred. But as a kid, I saw ads for it in back issues and I salivated over it. But for some reason or another, I never could find a copy of this. Then last year at a con, my search was finally complete as I found this banged up copy for only a buck!

Gerry Conway, a veteran at writing both Spider-Man and Superman, wrote the script. Ross Andru was on pencils and Dick Giordano did inks. 

Carmine Infantino and Stan Lee were the editors on this. It was during this time, Infantino expressed frustration at not getting a chance to be DC's head editor due to the lengthy tenure of Julius Schwartz. Lee made all sorts of promises to Carmine and eventually poached the DC man when his contract came up later in the year. This is why Infantino worked on the Marvel Star Wars series in 1977-78. But Stan Lee was known to make promises that he never intended to keep and made Jim Shooter EIC instead in 1978. 

Superman Vs. Spider-Man follows the tried but true (but not always the best) rules of first time ever crossovers. The first act has both Superman/Clark Kent and Spidey/Peter Parker acting independently of the other. And of course, the lives of both run socking parallel. 

The second act has the real villains pulling off their master scheme. Some misunderstanding makes our heroes believe that the other is behind the attack. Epic battling ensues.

Then in our final act, our heroes discover that neither is a baddie. So Superman and Spider-Man team up to put the true foes behind bars. Then you get a hinted promise of a rematch/continued rivalry to conclude the yarn.

A couple of years after this book, the two heroes would met again. This time against Doctor Doom and the Parasite. I've actually read that one previously. A few years ago, I found a pocket paperback reprinting of that story. 

While the story was chopped all to hell to fit a paperback's format limitations, I enjoyed that team-up just a little bit better. Maybe that's because with the two already knowing each other, Superman and Spidey don't spend half the book fighting each other. Plus there is a great twist as Kent goes to work by J. Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle and Parker becomes the new Daily Planet photographer.

A good read that doesn't disappoint but really doesn't do much on surprises either. An important milestone in comic book history on so many levels, any copy of this story is a must for collectors!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Showcase Presents: The Flash, Volume 4

Though these issues were published in the late 1960s, the foundation of the Flash television show on the CW begins here.

The face changing abilities of the Reverse Flash began during this time period. The Rogues massively team-up for the first time ever! The marriage of Barry and Iris and her statement that she too is the Flash because of the bonds of matrimony happens here! The Flying Samuroids, Barry's creation of ultra cool tech, and so many more things that occurs in the live action series got it's roots in the books collected in this volume.

There's also some really great stories that the producers of the Flash have yet to integrate from the late 60s. The futuristic magician Abra Kadabra needs to go back in time to 2018. And how fun would it be that Barry Allen breaks the multiverse winding up on Earth Prime where's he only a comic book character! And he needs Geoff Johns and Greg Berlanti to help him find a way home.

There's several masterminds behind these amazing idea, but the best are John Broome and Gardner Fox! They brought such a creativity to DC Comics that has been missing for quite some time. Plus it helps that the amazing Carmine Infantino, aided by Joe Giella, is on hand to draw these stories in such a way that for the time these books were originally hitting stands, were rivaling Jack Kirby!

Infantino’s run came to an end during this period. His predecessors of Ross Andru and Mike Esposito did a bang up job but it wasn't quite the same.

I devoured this volume with both glee and a touch of sadness. This is the last Showcase Presents volume by DC except for a very hard to find out of print book titled The Trail of the Flash. So if I am going to fill in my gap of Flash books from about 1968-1985, it will probably be thanks to back issues. I've got a feeling it's not going to be cheap.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Secret Society of Super-Villains, Volume 1 (1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 44)

    
For today's A Madman Turns 40, I'm reviewing a collection of comics from my favorite year.

   The series in question is DC Comics' The Secret Society of Super-Villains. The series ran from 1976-78 and the volume I read contained a majority of it's issues published in 1977.

    So just what is the Secret Society of Super-Villains?

    A mysterious benefactor summons a group of villains to San Francisco in order to finally rid the world of the Justice League. Soon the bonds of teamwork begin to crumble as power struggles and egos arise as the group is directed to steal a myriad of mystical devices and items. Added to the mix is that one of the teammates is secretly a good guy- but who is the traitor?

Series Creator, Gerry Conway. 

    Then around about issue 5, the focus of the comic shifts dramatically. Writer, Gerry Conway suddenly left the title. Replacement writers added Jack Kirby creation Funky Flashman to the mix having him attempt trying to market the team to high bidders. But there is a major fly in his ointment. Earlier, the Secret Society manipulated a time-displaced mutant hero called Captain Atom. When the Society restructures, Atom vows to bring in the villains whom he once called friends to justice. While a host of awesome superheroes assist Captain Comet in his quest, none of them could ever save this series from an imminent demise.

     I knew from the get-go reading issue #1 that this series was doomed. When the SSOSV is first introduced, Catwoman is listed as a member. NOT ONCE DOES SHE MAKE AN APPEARANCE IN THIS BOOK!  Obviously, you can tell with flaws such as that, this series was rushed out. A special feature at the end of this volume shows writer and creator Gerry Conway's original vision for the series. But then-publisher Carmine Infantino had a different idea and ordered his revision expedited to print. 

Then DC Comics publisher, Carmine Infantino.

   A quick rush through publishing caused massive story problems and sloppy artwork. Along with continuity errors, this series also lacks vision. That's in very large part to the revolving door of writers and artists desperately attached to and dropped from the series. With so many different cooks placed in the DC Kitchen, there were so many different versions of this team changing ranks quicker that the Justice League during a recruitment drive. It's nearly impossible for the reader to form any sort of lasting bond with the characters. 

    Oddly enough, despite my displeasure with this series, I actually want to read volume 2 to see how things unfold. Yet, I doubt I'll ever get my hands on the complete story as it was spread out over several other unrelated series and the current editors of DC didn't think to include those stories in this volume! That made me so mad that I was almost willing to forgive the other oversights I found in throughout the editing of these late 70s stories. ALMOST...

     A few weeks ago, I discussed the great blizzard of New England. I mentioned how blizzards in both 77 and 78 caused massive production delays in publications such as comic books. This was one such series that suffered from the crippling snow storms. Rushed stories, a lack of being able to keep a definite creative staff attached to the project, mixed with oft delayed distribution lead to the Secret Society becoming a victim of 1978's DC Implosion. 

Cover to SSOSV Volume 2.

    Again, I doubt that if I get my hands on volume 2, I'll never get the full story. Issues #16 and 17 never saw mass print. But facsimiles of those issues are included in the second volume of SSOSV. However, the planned final issue that was supposed to wrap everything up (issue #18) never saw print in any form. 
   
     Man, was the winter of my favorite year brutal to DC Comics...

     Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.
    

Marvel Illustrated Books: Star Wars, Volume 1

  Last month at a comic book show in Raleigh, NC, I came across something that I never thought existed. It was one of the Marvel Illustrated Books from, you guessed it, Marvel Comics. This tiny pocket-sized paperback from 1981 contains 4 'never before published' comics from the original Marvel Star Wars series. 

    The book is near mint with pristine pages and the going price was $15. But, I managed to talk the dealer down to $10, mostly because he knew next to nothing about it and I promised I would do some research on this book and one day get back with him on it.
   
    I happen to have a complete run of the Marvel comic series under the Dark Horse trade title of 'Star Wars: A Long Time Age' and comparing every story from the adaptation of the first film up to the comic's version of Empire Strikes Back, again, it was confirmed that these are never before published Star Wars comics and perhaps the rarest of the bunch. 

Well, That last statement is partially true. Marvel Illustrated Books: Star Wars is comprised of 4 issues that for one reason or another, never made it into the actual series. They either didn't make a publication deadline or perhaps were rejected by Lucasfilm, who had final say over stories before they could be published by Marvel- IN THE STATES!!! (More on that shortly.)

   The first story called 'The Way of the Wookiee' takes place right before the events of Episode IV. In the prequel story, Han and Chewie pick up a shipment for Jabba the Hutt. However, when Chewbacca comes to the defense on an old Wookiee adversary, the smugglers find themselves betrayed by their spice distributor. 

    Then in another prequel tale, learn of how Princess Leia became adept with a blaster despite that her home planet of Alderaan forbids the use of weapons.

    The remaining two stories take place right after the destruction of the Death Star. First in 'the Day AFTER the Death Star' the Rebel Alliance almost loses their newest hero, when Luke Skywalker recklessly goes on a joyride to unwind from the post-celebration festivities. This was a really awesome story as in it, we learn the REAL reason Chewbacca didn't receive a medal in the final scene of Episode IV. 

    The final adventure is a very short one in which Luke must rescue Leia from Imperial forces on a diplomatic mission to a barren ice planet. I thought the main reason this story didn't see monthly publication status wasn't over length but because of the setting of the ice planet being too much like Hoth and Lucas might have been afraid that this might spoil what he had in store for Empire.
Turns out, I was wrong...

  Of the 4 tales in this book, 3 were published in the UK's Star Wars Weekly. It was common practice that if a story didn't make the cut by Lucasfilm, it wasn't scrapped but sent across the pond as the Marvel UK title wasn't restricted by the rules imposed by 20th Century Fox and George Lucas. The fourth story, about the ice planet, was short because it was the final chapter in a Star Wars serial published in the Marvel magazine Pizzazz, which was cancelled before this final chapter could see print. 

Speaking of rules, if you expect to see Darth Vader here, don't. Lucas was strict that the characters of Luke and Vader were not to met up prior to Episode V. But there is plenty of Imperial nasties and bounty hunters in this elusive Star Wars collection. A very enjoyable read with very good, but not great art, and fairly decent storytelling. As for rarity of this book, I was unable to find a copy at Milehighcomics.com and only one copy was available on eBay. Seller was asking for $55!

      Featuring artwork by Marvel/DC  legends Carmine Infantino, John Romita, Marie Severin, and Dave Cockrum along with being written and edited by Archie Goodwin and Jim Shooter this book is a Who's Who of some of the best talent to fill the bullpen at the House of Ideas in the late 70s. 

    Worth Consuming

     Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Fanfare #56

This issue marks the beginning of a 4 issue-spanning story involving Shanna the She-Devil. Though it has a similar premise of a young woman who becomes the female version of Tarzan, Shanna is not to be confused with Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. Though I swear the two could be sisters and nobody would blink an eye.

With art from the great Carmine Infantino, Shanna has arrived in LA to undergo therapy to control her wild jungle nature. But a trio of cat-people have a plan to turn Shanna and some of Tinsel Town’s B-listers into trained assassins.

 

The art is very good. But the story, originally drawn in the late 70s, this story never saw the light of day until now (circa 1992.) It’s the cover of this book that’s very visually stunning and an all-time fav.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.