DC Comics Presents #47 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

This issue marks the first ever appearance of He-Man and many of his cohorts from Masters of the Universe in comics. According to Bob Rozakis in his opening column in the letters section 'Pair Mail', Mattel approached DC with the idea of adapting their forthcoming Masters of the Universe toy-line in comic book form. 

Toying around with the concepts provided by Mark Ellis from Mattel, project editor Dave Manak and Paul Kupperberg got the idea to have He-Man's world of Eternia merge with the DC Universe. Since this would be a first ever introduction of the characters to readers, DC felt having Superman meeting the Masters of the Universe would alleviate some of the unfamiliarity felt by the youngest of readers.

The story begins with Eternia's crown Prince, Adam going about his normal day of first learning combat skills from the palace's head of security Man-At-Arms then wasting his time in a tavern where a drunkard challengers the royal to a fight. Prince Adam is about to get his brains bashed when he's rescued by the palace guard. Only it turns out that this aloofness is all a ruse because in reality, Adam can change into the realm's mightiest human, the all-powerful He-Man.

Meanwhile He-Man's archenemy, the evil Skeletor is attempting once again to breach the ramparts of the mysterious Castle Greyskull. Feedback from a spell causes a breach in the universe, sending the Man of Steel to Eternia. Skeletor immediately casts his magic upon Superman, who has no immunity to the dark arts, turning the Last Son of Krypton into Skeletor's slave and latest weapon in his never-ending battle against He-Man!

A few months after He-Man's debut, a 16-page insert appeared in many of DC's flagship titles. A 3-issue miniseries came about next, dated November, 1982-February 1983. However, Mattel wasn't very happy where DC's direction was going with the franchise and severed ties after issue #3. He-Man wouldn't return to monthly comics until 1986, teaming with Marvel's Star Comics imprint for a 13 issue series (and adaptation of the disastrous 1987 live-action flick starring Dolph Lundgren, that ended when the House of Ideas shuttered the all-ages line of books in 1988. As the title faded, He-Man and company would lie dormant in comics until renewed nostalgic interest in the title would spawn short-lived franchise agreements with Image Comics, Dark Horse, and CrossGen Comics in the early 2000s. Masters of the Universe would return to DC from 2013-2020. Several minis were produced, including a 6-issue crossover between the characters of DC's Injustice video game and the heroes of Eternia. Dark Horse Comics currently owns the franchise, where they've published a couple of miniseries based on the animated Netflix reboot helmed by Kevin Smith. 

For this issue, Paul Kupperberg wrote the script with pencils by Curt Swan. A backup feature starring the Golden Age Sandman and his sidekick Sandy was crafted by Mike W. Barr and Jose Delbo. 

Completing this review completes Task #3 (Comic from the Bronze Age (1971-1985) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Showcase Presents: Dial H For HERO

My dad had a pretty impressive comic book collection that I remember fondly digging into frequently as a kid. It was mostly DC books. One of the B-list (heck, more like C-list) segments that I remember happening upon was Dial H For HERO. At the time, it just wasn't my thing. I was more enthralled by the glamorous superheroes like Superman, Deadman and the Flash. As much as finding a device that would turn them into a superhero is any kid's dream, I just didn't connect with the adventures of young Robbie Reed.

The premise of Dial H For HERO is that preteen genius Robbie Reed finds a mysterious object that looks like the dial of an old rotary phone. Only instead of being in English, the tool has these strange glyphs. Brilliant Robbie is able to decipher the letters and decides on a whim to use it to spell out the word H-E-R-O. When Robbie dials the word, he turns into a superhero. Only, he doesn't know which protagonist he will become nor what his powers will be.

Over the course of his early career, as seen in the pre-horror pages of the House of Mystery, Robbie will become champions based on ancient myth, crazy gimmicks as well as bizarre freaks. Sometimes, Robbie will revisit the form of one of his previous incarnations and on one occasion, he becomes the established classic superhero, Plastic Man!

Dave Wood was the writer for all of these original series stories. Towards the end of the run, the characters got way more goofy and DC fell into the trap of thinking that the generation gap was what late 1960s kids wanted to read about. The series ended because of the Comics Code. Not because of violations, but instead because horror comics were once again in favor due to challenges over the Code which brought about some revisions. 

Dial H For HERO would return in the 1980s without Robbie Reed. Instead different boy as well as a young girl would find 2 different dials, changing into both a hero and a heroine. During this time readers were encouraged to create the characters that the kids turned into through a write-in contest.

It's those adventures in various issues of New Adventures of Superboy and Adventure Comics that I've come across as an adult that peaked my interest when I found this book a couple months ago. In this volume, there's a story where Robbie allows a gal pal of his to try the dial, becoming Gem Girl. I had originally assumed reading that tale that this was how we got 2 heroes in the later books. While that's not the case, that adventure is probably the inspiration for having a duo in the reboot series.

Looking around, those later stories don't seem to have been collected ever. I'd be very happy to own such a title should DC decide to release it in the future. While I am trimming my massive collection down a bit, this Showcase Presents collection is one that made the cut. While it's not a perfect series, Dial H For HERO is fun and nostalgic and to me that's worth overlooking the faults.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

DC Comics Presents #80 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

With over a hundred members to have been active with the Legion of Super-Heroes at one time or another, if you could select a team of 5, who would you select? Logic might dictate picking the original big 3- Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad. You'd also want to add Superboy to the mix. However, for the sake of this time travel team-up involving Superman, let's omit both him and his cousin Supergirl. #4 needs to be have some brain power. Who better than Brainiac 5 to fill that slot. That still leaves a 5th Legionnaire to choose. Do you go with the rotund Bouncing Boy? The ravenous Matter Eater Lad? How about the heavenly Dawnstar or the master of Martial Arts, the Karate Kid?

If you're the creative team for DC Comics Presents #80, you go totally rogue and select members that only the staunchest of Legionnaire fans might know. Paul Kupperberg and Curt Swan join forces to pit Ultra Boy, Chameleon Boy, Shrinking Violent, Phantom Girl and Element Lad against a legion of Superman robots!

Returning from a mission, this handful of Legionnaires emerge from a stargate straight into the void of space! Thanks to some quick work by Element Lad, the heroes survive the lack of oxygen. The planet Earth of the year 3000 is gone. In it's place is a floating replica of Metropolis circa 1985. The Legionnaires arrive on the planetoid to find it filled with countless androids of steel intent on destroying the heroes! 

We soon learn that the Legionnaires are stuck in a pocket dimension of the newly upgraded Brainiac. Recent events have resulted in the robot villain needing to run computations before he goes back up against the Master Programmer and his angel of death (Superman). Brainiac has pulled the Legionnaires from the timeline into his simulation in order to perfect it when the time comes to confront Superman. However, the cries of these futuristic heroes actually cross dimensions, bringing the true Man of Steel to the rescue. Only, the Legionnaires think he's another Superman robot!

The oddball selection of heroes is a tale-tell sign that this is a Paul Kupperberg story. Over his long career, Kupperberg has had a devotion to the lesser tiered characters of the DC Universe. We're talking C-listers and lower and yet the fans love it. 

As for knowing this is a Curt Swan penciled work, there are ways you can tell. All of the male humanoid characters have that slightly puffy forehead indicating a receding hairline. Superman looks less muscular and more beefy, like that of actor George Reeves. Plus, when the Man of Tomorrow flies straight ahead, Swan typically poses Superman with his arms spread far apart and his legs separated in a V shape. Only Superman isn't keeping up appearances using a glider like he does on the cover of Superman #229.

An interesting read that requires reading of several issues of Action Comics, #544-546, in order to truly understand the background behind Brainiac's intentions. It's one of the more unlikely line-ups of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Yet, based on the situations Paul Kupperberg puts the heroes into, it actually works.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #48 (A Team-Up) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Showcase Presents: Aquaman Vol. 2

The recent controversy behind the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard defamation case and the actresses' diminished role in the Aquaman sequel is not why I decided to read this collection of Aquaman reprints. Instead, I was inspired to have a topical (or maybe it's tropical) read on my recent beach vacation. While I didn't finish this book before I left Carolina Beach, I did keep smelling salt air and daily fresh catch as I read this collection of mid-1960s Aquaman comics. 

Nick Cardy tackles the artwork of the regular Aquaman series stories. Ramona Fradon (Metamorpho) illustrated the smaller stories that occupied the fill-in status in the pages of World's Finest Comics. Fradon's artwork was so fluid. I've been a fan of her's since I was a little kid from the stories I'd read in my dad's comic collection. Cardy's artwork is another story.

Somewhere around 1966 or '67, Nick Cardy's work shifted dramatically on this series. I think it's because for a while, Cardy was trying to (or being made to) copy Fradon's style. Before the 'shift', Cardy's Aquaman stories have heavy inks, rounder edges and look a bit like what you'd see from the Bob Kane camp (around this time.) I think once Fradon finally moved on from doing Aquaman stories, Cardy was free to start putting his deft touch on the comic. 

If you look at Cardy's other work, particularly Teen Titans, you'll notice that the paneling of the stories gets much bigger. The inks are thinner and the angling of the scenes are more dynamic. But above all, you see the artist's love of anatomy. I'm not saying Cardy was a freak or anything like that. Cardy does a lot of panels where he'll show Aquaman or another character in action in some sort of act of progression- kinda like how Carmine Infantino would show the Flash being super fast by drawing him like in one of those flip book poses. Sorry- I just don't know how to better explain it.

Aquaman gets a bad rap as being a weak member of the Justice League because all he can do is speak to fish. But really, that's not the case. Sure, as a part of a team, he's severely limited. He can't be out of water for longer than 60 minutes. (For some reason, I thought ther limit was 24-hours.) So, a lengthy trip to the Sahara is out of the question. But when you keep Aquaman in his element, he's a mighty warrior. He's strong. Can swim extremely fast. And yes, he can talk to fish.

While Aquaman's rogue's gallery is still a tad away from being firmly established at this moment, he's assortment of allies are formed in the volume. Future wife, Mera, the inter-dimensional aquatic princess, the Aquababy, and several denizens of Atlantis are introduced here. If you need a fix on the villains, it's mostly two-bit crooks and the odd extraterrestrial baddie who troubles the King of the Seven Seas. Only the angling Fisherman is a recurring villain I recall from later comic stories.

A very good collection of stories. They may not be the best DC had to offer. But they were nostalgic and nautical. And once Nick Cardy found his footing, the artwork began to look a lot like my 60s DC guilty pleasure, Sea Devils. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Showcase Presents Enemy Ace, Vol. 1 (2022 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Challenge)

 In 1965, DC Comics decided to turn the tables on their plethora of war stories when they debuted the Enemy Ace in the February issue of Our Army At War. Written and created by Robert Kanigher (The Losers), the series was told from the point of view of the enemy! While DC had done the occasional story from the perspective of an enemy combatant, there hadn't been a series which showed had the other side fought. 

Set in World War I, the main character is Baron Hans Von Hammer. Known as the 'Hammer of Hell', Von Hammer is a character going through many changes throughout the Great War. He's royalty. Thus his way of war is almost chivalric with what many young soldiers consider an outdated code of honor. Enemy Ace refuses to shoot armed opponents. His underlings have no qualms firing upon their sworn enemies no matter what. 

The baron's military title is archaic as well. With over 50 confirmed kills, Von Hammer rises up to become the rittmeister of his squadron. The term rittmeister is German for calvary master despite the fact that the horse he rides is an airplane.

The Fokker Dr. I flown by the Enemy Ace is as much as a character in this series as the Baron himself. In many issues, the plane has a face painted on the front propeller. Unfortunately, the visage is less terrifying and more Thomas The Tank Engine. But as it's motor hums, Von Hammer swears he can hear the plane accusingly taunting him with the words 'Killer...murderer...killer!'

Von Hammer's only friend is a black wolf that roams in the nearby Black Forest. While waiting for repairs to the Fokker, the Enemy Ace takes to the wilderness to keep his visual accuities sharp. As he enters the woods, he is always meet by the wolf and the two share a quiet bond as natural born killers during their hunt.

The original artist for Enemy Ace was Joe Kubert (Sgt. Rock). Kubert's ability to draw weapons of war with such accuracy is reason enough of place him in the comic book hall of fame. Together with Kanigher, Kubert brought forth adventures of Enemy Ace that were gritty, adventurous and often tragic. It will be a very long time after I get over the death of poor Schatzie! But despite the heartache, many of Enemy Ace's foes were very much the product of superhero comics.

Von Hammer's first main foe was a hooded French pilot known as The Hangman. A British decent of King Arthur's court, some porcine masked fighters and an American cowboy are just some of the colorful characters that will challenge the Enemy Ace in the skies above France's No Man's Land. 

This 500 plus page volume contains every Pre-CRISIS main appearance of Enemy Ace (with exception of his appearances in Justice League of America as a part of the Five Warriors From Forever.) Kanigher wrote all of the stories with Neal Adams (Strange Adventures), Howard Chaykin (American Flagg) and John Severin (Semper Fi) taking on the penciler role after Joe Kubert stepped aside. A murder mystery starring the Dark Knight in the pages of Detective Comics caps the action and adventure. 

You would think that a series about a pilot in the skies of World War I would get old. It did get predictable with every story following a set formula. Every story has Baron Von Hammer retreating to the woods during repairs to visit his lupine friend and ponder the horrors of war before going back into battle to smite the enemy flyer of the day. Yet despite the repetitive nature of the plot, Robert Kanigher and his artist teammate manage to pump out dozens of thrilling war stories that I couldn't get enough of. 

War is Hell and the sky is the killer of us all. But this volume was shear delight!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #20 of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. 'Over 500 pages long.'

DC Comics Presents #67

For Christmas Eve 2020, I went with a classic. DC Comics Presents #67, teaming Superman with Santa Claus, is a story that is every bit as magical as the Christmas holiday is. 

I had this comic book when I was a kid during the 1983 Christmas holiday. (Remember, comics were usually dated 2-3 months later than when they actually hit store shelves back in the day.) And it became an annual read for me up until about 1992 or so when my comic book collection was stolen. 

The story has the Man of Steel and Kris Kringle taking on the Toyman, who has booby-trapped a number of toys. Within the toys are subliminal messages ordering the kiddies to steal cash and jewels and take them to their local Schott's Toy Store. Considering that these are toys that parents will be giving to their children as presents from Santa, the Jolly Ol' Fat Man cannot stand idly by letting his reputation go to pot. 

This book is almost 40 years old. So I think it's okay to spoil it a bit. 

The story ends with Superman's encounter with Santa being a dream (or is it?) The fact that Toyman has a nefarious scheme hasn't changed. That part is definitely real. Yet this story ends with Superman going to his Clark Kent apartment to dress back into his secret identity to go to a holiday party. There's no mention of what happened to the Toyman. So did Superman allowed Toyman to ruin Christmas?  While this issue is an all-time classic- it's got some plot holes!

E. Nelson Birdwell (Justice League of America) and Len Wein (Swamp Thing) wrote the story. Curt Swan drew it and definitive feelgood DC artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez crafted that timeless cover. It all makes for a very festive read that is fitting for a night of waiting for Santa. But it's far from perfect especially thanks to Sups letting Toyman off scott free!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

DC Comics Presents" Blackhawk, Volume 1

Andre. Olaf. Chop-Chop. Chuck. Hendrickson. Blackhawk. Together, these seven men fight to protect right and stop evildoers all across the globe. Prior in World War II, the Blackhawks fought the Nazis and Imperial Japan. After the war, they continued their campaign, only this time against giant robots, aliens from outer space and escaped Nazi War criminals. 

This volume of DC Comics Presents covers issues of Blackhawk #108-127; the first 20 issues after DC obtained the rights of the property from defunct Quality Comics. I didn't know that DC did any anti-Communism stories during the 1950s. After the Comic Book scare, DC Comics tended to shy away from such overly controversial subjects. But in the first 5-6 issues, it seems like every villain the Blackhawks faced was part of the 'Communist scourge'. But that plot-line soon softened to having the Blackhawks mostly take on costumed villains. Though now a part of the Atomic Age 1950s, the team did have it's WWII throwbacks, mostly in fighting foes who wish to establish the Fourth Reich.

This version of the Blackhawks was clearly a product of it's time period; mostly with the troubling inclusion of Chop-Chop. Unlike Will Eisner's The Spirit, Blackhawk did not boast a racial caricature of an African American, But they did have an character who started out as a racial stereotype of the uneducated Asian houseboy in Chop-Chop. 

By 1955 when DC Comics took over the property, Chop-Chop looked less embellished. But he still spoke in a broken English filled with fortune cookie platitudes. (To be fair, the Swedish, French and German characters also spoke in stereotype.) Plus, he always rode in the back of Blackhawk's plane like a puppy on a ride with his owner. However, as this volume progresses, you start to notice that Chop-Chop is permitted to fly the plane on errands and becomes a martial arts wunderkind who gets the team out of their fair share of scrapes.

I appreciated that DC Comics decided to release this book unedited. In a disclaimer at the beginning of this volume, the publishers admit that Blackhawk had it's racist elements but felt that for historical merit those elements should be included. I think it doesn't glamorize racism. Instead, it shows how far we've come. With the recent cancellation of a pre-Batman Detective Comics omnibus, it's too bad that in only 11 short years, DC no longer feels worthy to share it's mistakes for the next generation of readers.

Lastly, let's talk about the forgotten Blackhawk. Earlier, I named 6 of the Blackhawks team. Yet, there are 7 of them. However, it might as well only have been 6! In most origin accounts, the Polish Stanislaus is the first to join Blackhawk's team and considered the team leader's most valued officer. Yet, in this book, I don't think I would be lying if I said that he only speaks in maybe 8 of the 60 stories reprinted here. 

Of all the Blackhawks of foreign heritage, Stan is the only one who doesn't speak with an exaggerated accent or mannerisms. Considering how Polish people have had a reputation as being the butt of many a bar room joke, Stanislaus is nobody's fool. But he's the least used team member. Possibly having 7 characters is just too many to given a proper attention to. Yet all the other teammates have at least one story in which they are the star in this collection. Stanislaus it seems is forever the bride maid.

An interesting look at DC's team of super soldiers from the 50s. It's very much a product of it's time period. The covers are great but the story's tend to fall flat with absurd endings. Plus, for a group having a secret island base, most of the criminal element of the world seem able to stumble across it. 

I enjoyed reading this edition, but I don't feel compelled to revisit the Blackhawks of time again. I would love to get my hands on their adventures in the late 60s when they became costume secret agents. But I think I've had enough of them from a time period fraught with racial ignorance.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Showcase Presents: Weird War Tales, Vol. 1

   

   Collecting the first 24 issues of Weird War Tales. I enjoyed this book but the first few issues are kinda rough. I don't think the editors knew quite where this book was going. Most of the first stories are either based on true but odd events or of the horrors of war itself. It's not until about issue 13 that this series really becomes the series that I know and love.
     The main reason for the diminished quality is the lack of a consistent host. The first few issues either don't have a host or it involves soldiers huddling around a campfire or bunker telling ghost stories. Even worse, DC would try out something really strange, like a living mound of seaweed to spin those weird war yarns. But by issue #13, they decided to use the living embodiment of Death and comic book history was made.
     With Death, any time period was now open to a good weird war tale. From the times of Vikings and Romans to the robot wars of the 22nd century, if people died, Death would be there. There's even one story set during Vietnam which I thought was very interesting as the Comics Code Authority actually made mention or use of Vietnam off limits in comics for a brief time. 
      Featuring a slew of comics greats like Ross Andru, Joe Orlando, and Marv Wolfman- the main star of this series is Joe Kubert. I don't think this series would've gotten off the ground if not for his efforts. Just about every one of the first 20 or so issues has either a cover or story by him. I think he even took over editing duties around issue #8. So that explains the advance in quality at some point.
     I really would love to have these in single issue form. But seeing how sub par some of these first issues were, I'm kinda glad I didn't. This is a good way to get the first two dozen books without spending and arm and a leg to get them. Plus, now I can save money up to buy the later issues which are far more superior.
     An interesting time capsule looking into the early days of a classic comic book series that combines war, sci-fi, horror, and everything weird.

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Flashpoint: Project Superman #3

   Subject Zero has finally escaped from the Phantom Zone and has his eyes set on Kal-El! In a dramatic battle in the streets of London, it's a fight to the finish between Supermen with Resistance fighter Lois Lane stuck in the middle and no-one to tell her how many P's are in rapist! (See the first Superman movie for that reference.)
    Really great finish to a very unique and interesting take on the Man of Steel. I loved the very last panel of this issue. It's got a great iconic twist vibe going and I don't want to spoil the ending but the ending was truly epic.
   One of the best tie-ins of the Flashpoint bunch. Project Superman should be required reading for any DC fan interested in alternate takes of some of the most iconic characters in the entire DC Universe. Plus, the artwork by Gene Ha is fantastic. Why he isn't utilized more by the folks at DC is a mystery to me.
  
   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Showcase Presents: DC Comics Presents: The Superman Team-Ups, Volume 1

   The team-up comic is one of those things that polarize fans. Some reminisce fondly at the thrill of seeing their favorite heroes and villains team-up together for the very first time. But there are those that recall how the plots were hokey, the art was rough, and that the climaxes were premature. I'm one of those readers whose in the dead center and the first volume of Superman team-ups was a prime example why.

   I learned recently that in order to maintain the copyrights or licensing rights of a character, both DC and Marvel would hastily publish a team-up story in order to renew the franchising rights. That's a prime example of the issue involving Firestorm. His title lasted only 5 issues and once co-creator Al Milgrom went to Marvel, the clock on started to countdown to a time where the artist could have claimed ownership of  an unused character and made the Nuclear Man an Avenger instead of a Justice Leaguer. So, to prevent a lawsuit and a transfer of property to their main competition, DC rushed to put out a Superman/ Firestorm team-up in order to maintain the claim on the Firestorm character.

   But in that issue, the art was haphazard. Superman looked too top heavy and the ghostly visage of Dr. Stein looked like someone stuck the face of a 1950s pastor in the top corner. The story itself was so rushed that the ending happens in 3 panels with only a small closing box to announce that Superman was nominating the hero for membership in the League.

   Another problem with this title that I had was that some story lines would cut off after an issue or tow and be left unresolved until months later. I understand that things happen: a writer leaves a project, an editor gets fired, or an artist gets sick and thus an idea gets shelved. But to not include a little thought balloon to let us know that Superman is still on the case of a missing boy, for instance, makes for some shoddy plotting.

   But enough bashing the Man of Steel. This series started in the late 70s right before the live-action Superman movie. As a little guy seeing the Man of Tomorrow in living color on the big screen- I feel in love with the character. (He's my #2 all-time favorite hero and I groom my hair in a curly-q and wear Clark Kent glasses because he's such an important character to me.) This collection of team-ups brought back some fond memories. Not only that, there were some great stories, awesome covers, and dynamic art that makes up for any shortcomings in this series. So much that I cannot wait to get my hands on volume 2.

   Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Firestorm: The Nuclear Man

    I've learned recently from social media that Firestorm is a fan favorite. He's been around for about 40 years, but he's hardly gotten any respect. Considered a "B-grade" superhero, he's the type of character that often dies during a major cross-over event in order to throw readers off track when someone like Supergirl, the Flash, or Batman bites the dust.

    But in the past few months, Firestorm has been elevated to 'A-list' status what with him being a major plot focal point on the CW's The Flash. He's been so well received, he's even going to star in a yet unnamed spin-off next year. Working title for the show is "The Atom" but all bets are on a Suicide Squad type show.

   With the Nuclear Man's new found stardom and the fact that I recently read an issue of DC Presents in which you needed to read the first 5 issues of Firestorm (volume 1, 1978) I decided to finally give that short-lived series a go. Though the book only lasted 5 issues, it actually had a secret 6th issue that did see print. But unless you have about $35,000 to buy the extremely scared 'Cancelled Comics Cavalcade' (of which only 35 issues were ever issued) then you'd be hard pressed to find out what happened to the combined might of teenager Ronnie Raymond and troubled physicist Martin Stein.

   Thankfully, this trade from 2011 includes that ve
ry rare story. This book also contains several backup features from the Flash in which the adventures of Firestorm pick up again after Superman invites the Nuclear Man to join the Justice League.  What this collection doesn't include is that pivotal DC Presents story in which we learn of  what transpired during Firestorm's year long absence from the superhero community and the Man of Steel's initial invitation to the JLA. Also missing is the issue of Justice League of America in which Firestorm is inducted as its youngest member.  I think both stories should have been included as they are vital to the plot of those Flash back-ups I mentioned earlier.

    Another story missing from the volume is the fabled 7th issue of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man. Technically, there isn't a 7th issue though it is advertised in the Cancelled Comics feature. But maybe co-creators Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom might team up for a Firestorm: Lost Adventures one-shot to explore that missing plotline.

   Though I only needed this book to finish my run as I already had issue 1-5, I'm not disappointed in the least on the stories I did receive. There was just a few missed opportunities here like a small forward or afterward that might on included some great backstory as to the creation or cancellation of this series. With DC being very nostalgia centric during its Convergence storyline and the fall 2015 spin-off, I think the publisher would be remiss if they didn't issue a new Firestorm collection to hit the shelves very soon. Hopefully, it will feature some of these omitted features that I think could have made this collection an essential piece to any Firestorm fan's collection.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

DC Comics Presents: Mystery in Space #1

A tribute issue in honor of the passing of the great Julius Schwartz, long-time Editor In Chief of DC Comics. Schwartz was known for having concept covers drawn up and then would assign writers to use that idea for use in a forthcoming issue of said title.

In this issue, the First story is a team-up of Adam Strange and Ralph (Elongated Man) & Sue Dibny. I love the Dibnys, God rest their souls. So, to have them pop up here is awesome. That story involves a chance meeting in a remote African nation and the terrible consequences of Strange’s Zeta beam having on global defense in the wrong hands.

The second story is by Batman scribe, Grant Morrison. That should be a great issue. Sadly, it delves into some metaphysical metaphor for how Adam Strange was a catalyst for American’s fear of the bomb and the generation gap in terms of Vietnam. It’s really a stretch and a very confusing and awful tale.

Thankfully, the first story totally makes up for that drivel and makes this book very much Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

DC Comics Presents - The Flash #1

A tribute issue in honor of the passing of the great Julius Schwartz, long-time Editor In Chief of DC Comics. Schwartz was known for having concept covers drawn up and then would assign writers to use that idea for use in a forthcoming issue of said title. It's also fitting that the Flash is used as one of the heroes to pay respect to Julie as it was Schwartz who was solely responsible for the Speedster's 'return' to comics in the 1950s.

The first take has Barry Allen testifying against a mob boss. But before he can testify, an assassin marks the criminologist for death. Cameos abound with Iris West, Martian Manhunter, Deadshot & more.

The second tale features some of the Flash’s Rogue’s Gallery. However, the story is rather flat.

Worth Consuming if for just the first story alone.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.