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 Best of DC Digest #30 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

It's not often that the Dark Knight is wrong. However, when he claims that 11 crimes have been committed on the cover of The Best of DC Digest #30, there are actually only 10 infractions in need of solving. That's because the Robin/Batgirl story is a 2-parter. 

The run down for this issue is as follows:

• 'Wanted for Murder One: The Batman'. A talk show host with a grudge against the Caped Crusader is found dead. Off in the distance, Batman is witnessed fleeing the scene. With the GCPD on his trail, Batman must clear his name or surrender in disgrace.
• 'The Assassin Express Contract'. Christopher Chase accepts a mission to impersonate a wealthy industrialist who has a hit out on him. Already confined by the limits of a racing train, the Human Target must restrict himself further when it's revealed that the subject he's tasked with portraying now has an injured eye.
• 'Riddle of the Unseen Man' sees Roy Raymond, the famed TV Detective who investigates strange but true occurrences is besieged by a seemingly invisible person throughout his daily operations.
• 'Burial For a Batgirl' and ' Midnight is the Dying Hour's sees Barbara Gordon at Gotham State University for a festival honoring Edgar Allen Poe. When a controversial figure is found murdered on campus, Batgirl and the Boy Wonder swing into action to find the killer.
• Magical Mirror Mystery.' When the new mirror Ralph Dibny buys for his wife, Sue, shows the image of a missing woman, the Elongated Man travels to the mansion of the girl's father to solve the mystery.
• Famed magician Mysto aims to solve the 'Three Feats of Peril' that his fallen mentor seeked to perform before his untimely death.
• Crippled private investigator Jason Bard aims to solve how a daredevil skydiver was stabbed to death in the middle of a jump in 'The Case of the Dead-on Target.'
• Captain Mark Compass finds his attempts to crush a ring of smugglers thwarted at his ever turn in 'The Ocean Pest.'
• J'onn J'onnz, the Martian Manhunter, appears in 'The Man With 20 Lives.' Gifted with mental telepathy, the Martian knows that a Gotham City thug committed an impossible murder. But in order to solve the crime, he must operate as human police detective John Jones to extract a confession of guilt.
• Batman bursts into the middle of a performance of MacBeth as a sniper takes aim at the star in The Stage is Set - For Murder!'

Each story appeared previously in the pages of Detective Comics. Talent such as Frank Robbins, Dennis O'Neil, Irv Novick, Joe Certa and Vince Colletta worked on these tales which at some point all challenge the reader to solve the mystery from clues sprinkled throughout each story before the hero does. Some of the clues are easy to piece together while some hints require expert level expertise. It's those more difficult leads that feel like cheats, playing upon obscure knowledge of animals, cultures and even the laws of physics in able to solve the mysteries. 

Len Wein was this issue's contributing editor with Mike W. Barr acting as special consultant. 

Completing this review completes Task #38 (A Comic Book Digest) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Showcase Presents: The Atom, Vol. 2

I decided I didn't want to wait to read the rest of the collected earliest adventures of the world's smallest superhero, the Atom. After I read a Showcase Presents or Marvel Essential collection, I usually wait a while to read the follow up. Mostly, because these books are so hard to find and I enjoy them so much that I don't want to run out of adventures to read. But I had such an enjoyable time with Gardner Fox and Gil Kane's take on the diminutive powerhouse that I just couldn't hold it anymore.

Chronos, Doctor Light and the Floronic Man, Jason Woodrue, all make returns in hopes of enacting revenge on the Atom. There are a good 3 or 4 continuing treks through the Time Pool, sending the hero to solve an assortment of historical mysteries such as the only successful theft of England's crown jewels. Ray Palmer's relationship with Jean Loring advances, though still no wedding bells. Plus unlikely pal, Hawkman with his bride Hawkgirl make a few returns to Atom's burgh of Ivy Town.

This isn't to say that this whole second volume is a rehash of stories seen in the first anthology. Far from it. Justice League of America sidekick Snapper Carr is given a secret assist from the Atom. Then Earth-1 and Earth-2 combine when Ray Palmer meets the original Atom, Al Pratt, in not one but two team-ups between legacy characters. The Atom also adds some new rogue's to his gallery with the introduction of the Bug-eyed Bandit and the Bat-Knights.

The Bat-Knights seems like characters that should be a part of the Batman universe. Only, these fierce warriors are an ancient pint-sized race of people who fly atop bats when they feel endangered by the full-size humans who stumble upon their territorial lands. Two great stories involved these new creatures and their love/ hate relationship with fellow tiny hero, the Atom. 

The Atom also picks up an animal sidekick in the penultimate story. While in Cambodia assisting on an archaeological dig, Ray Palmer encounters an injured mynah bird. Once healed, Ray names him Major and uses the bird for winged treks. Sadly, Major's appearance in issues #37 and #38 would just about be the bird's only additions to the DC Universe.

I don't think sales were to blame for cancellation. Instead, it was ageism. In 1968, the year The Atom was 'cancelled', Fox and several other veterans were fired when DC enacted a policy to not provide insurance coverage for their elderly employees. I think Fox knew that his days were numbered as the tone of several stories in this volume drastically changed. Instead of straight forward storytelling, Gardner Fox began experimenting with quirky introductions, alternative perspectives and points of view and more hip slang that the average 1960s teen might use... badly. More than likely, Fox was doing a little employee improvement practice on DC's dime, as the writer's work temporarily imitates what Marvel was beating DC with at the time. 

After publishing a handful of novels, in the early 1970s, Gardner Fox would go on to work briefly at Marvel, perhaps boosted by his more modern resume. Unfortunately, Fox wouldn't be allowed to say a proper goodbye to his creation of the Atom. Neither would Gil Kane. Instead it would be written by Frank Robbins with starkly different penciling by Mike Sekowsky. Issue #38 would also be the final run of the first volume of The Atom. Sorta.

With issue #39, the series was re-branded The Atom and Hawkman. Hawkman's solo series was officially cancelled and the Thanagarian hero joined forces with the Atom. Hawkman's Joe Kubert led the creative team that replaced Fox and Kane. However, the teaming of feathered friend and tiny titan wasn't to be, as ultimately both heroes were cancelled before the new decade with issue #45. This book does not include those final 7 team-up issues.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

G.I. Combat #170 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The Haunted Tank became the main feature of the war anthology comic book with its debut in issue #87 (May, 1961). This occurred shortly after National Publications (DC Comics) acquired the properties from floundering Quality Comics. Under Quality, G.I. Combat focused on war stories that warned against the Red Scourge of Communism. Under new ownership, the book's tone changed to having a more dovish perspective against war to the point that in the 1970s, all of DC'S war comics carried a bullet that proclaimed 'Make War No More.'

The primary protagonist of the Haunted Tank stories is the American G.I. Jeb Stuart Smith. A Northerner, Stuart Smith, later rectonned to being named without the Smith, is sent to basic training in the deep South. He eventually comes to command a M3 Stuart tank whose crew are all good ol' Southern boys. At first Jeb's crew protest a Yankee being named after a beloved Confederate general. However, Stuart's ingenuity and grace under fire earn him the respect of his crew.

One reason the tank commander is so successful is due to the supernatural assistance he receives from the ghost of rebel general J.E.B. Stuart. Only the American G.I. can see and hear the legendary ghost. This leads his crew to think Jeb Stuart might be up for a section eight. However, as the guidance of the general continues to lead true, Stuart's men place a rebel flag atop their vehicle and christen it, the Haunted Tank.

There would be several incarnations of the Haunted Tank. Perhaps the most famous version is the Jigsaw Tank. After being damaged in a fire fight behind enemy lines, the crew of the Haunted Tank picked from some damaged Russian tanks to create an ersatz version of a Stuart tank. Before the end of World War II, Stuart's crew would be assigned to a Sherman tank which was originally guided by the ghost of the Union general William T. Sherman before being reunited with the spirit of General Stuart.

In this issue, Jeb Stuart has his eyes set on revenge against a one-armed Nazi soldier responsible for the death of a young woman the commander had a dalliance with a couple issues prior. In a twist, the Nazi is bent on revenge over the loss of his arm, which was taken in a firefight with a Stuart tank bearing a Confederate flag! As Stuart and the German play a deadly battle of cat and mouse, the church in which their confrontation occurs is falling down around them meaning that the next wrong step could be their last.

Featuring art by Sam Glanzman and story by series editor Archie Goodwin. In typical fashion, Glanzman's illustrations are so perfect, the only thing that has this much attention to detail are the technical guides used by G.I.s in order to operate the weapons and vehicles that pepper the feature adventure.

The backup feature titled 'Every Battle... Y'Die A Little!' is by the creative team of writer Frank Robbins and artist Jack Sparling. It's about a veteran soldier known to work alone, who reluctantly takes up a partner when the grunt saves him from a Nazi soldier sneaking up upon the older G.I. in a blizzard. The tragic ending is typical of DC's anti-war slant and though this is a tale set in the European theater of World War II, this is clearly an allegory about the many young men who die prematurely in Vietnam.

G.I.s. Nazis. Tragedy. Dovish views on war. This is a nearly perfect example of a DC war comic. Only there's no contribution by DC's quintessential talent of the war genre titles, Joe Kubert. Not even the cover. Instead, the artwork is by Ken Barr.

Completing this review completes Task #15 (A War Comic/Graphic Novel) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Showcase Presents: Batman, Vol. 6

This addition to my collection was thanks in part to that brief period in time when wholesale emporium Ollie's bought several dozen truckloads of DC and Vertigo overstock. I think it was 2017 or 18 when those of us fortunate to live near an Ollie's could go to the discount shop and buy massive treasuries of DC's finest for pennies on the dollar. I lived within an hour of 6 locations and I was able to make huge additions to my collection without hurting my budget.

Unfortunately, being that DC's inventory was being liquidated en masse, it really was a crap-shoot as to what each store got. For instance, the Durham, NC location got 30 copies of the Strange Adventures trade from 2010 but only 1 copy of the Silver Age Suicide Squad Omnibus. That's how I ended up with Showcase Presents Batman, Vol. 6. 

The black & white reprints of Showcase Presents were highly coveted by us bargain hunters. I was able to get both volumes of The Atom's exploits. I got all 3 Aquaman books. I even found a copy of the massive collection of reprints of the events of the Great Disaster, featuring the Atomic Knights. Yet, for some reason, every location in central North Carolina got dozens of Batman, Vol 6. No 1,2,3,4 or 5. Just #6!

This volume covers the beginnings of the Denny O'Neil era of the Caped Crusader. (His first run. After a 6-year return stint to Marvel, O'Neil would begin a second memorable stint as a Batman writer in 1986.) The first thing O'Neil and his Green Lantern/Green Arrow collaborator Neal Adams would do to Batman was make him the Dark Knight again. The 1960s ABC series would make the Batman Family quite campy. Now it's the 1970s and everything is dark again.

Batman would face one of his greatest foes in this run, Ra's al Ghul. Whereas with a villain like the Joker or Two-Face, Batman would beat the crap out of them and return them to jail quick. With Ra's, Batman plays the long game. It's further complicated by the addition of Ghul's daughter Talia, with whom the Batman has a mutual attraction with. Over the course of a half-dozen issues, Batman and Ra's al Ghul have a worldwide pissing match, with the eco-terrorist trying to size up The Detective as his potential replacement and Batman trying to figuring out just what his new foe is up to.

That's just the Batman books. In the pages of Detective Comics, Frank Robbins, Dick Giordano and others are making Batman earn his reputation as the World's Greatest Detective. These stories are a mixed bag. They don't feature any of Batman's main villains. Mostly just small time crooks, murderers and in one case, a prison riot full of white supremacists and black power soldiers.  

Robbins' art is excellent. His ability to be the next Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is something else. Some mysteries are really good. Many are missing something. Mostly clues. Well, they're there because Batman reveals them at the end of each story. Frank Robbins just seems to forget to let the readers in on things. 

Thankfully, you don't need Volume 5 to get caught up on things in this edition. Unlike the Marvel black and white reprints (Essential Marvel), the DC collections don't make readers have to get the next volume in order to wrap up a storyline. I would love to get my hands on the first 5 volumes. What I really wish is that there was a volume 7, and then 8, and then 9. One of the biggest crimes against comic books was having both DC and Marvel scrap these fan favorite collections in favor of very expensive, page lacking color collections. That's big business for ya...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Human Fly #13 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

On a sunny day in 1976, stuntman Rick Rojatt strapped himself atop a DC-8. Dressed in a dazzling red and white hooded costume, Rojatt was affixed to a metal harness. Touting himself as the Human Fly, Rojatt toured parts of the Mojave desert and Texas in a way very few passengers ever have. The plane reached speeds of over 250 miles. Everything appeared to be going fine until the DC-8 hit a storm cloud. The pelting of rain drops proved to be too much for Rojatt, as the stunt man sustained bruising over his entire body. Eventually, he passed out from the pain.

Back on land, Rojatt spent nearly 2 weeks in the hospital recovering from the stunt. Undeterred, a year later, he repeated the stunt. The second time around was a much better experience, except for the part when his mask flew off and he had to squint for the rest of the flight. Later that same year, Rojatt ended his stuntman career breaking Evel Knievel's record by successfully jumping over 19 buses during a concert in Montreal. 

While Rock Rojatt never performed another stunt again (that we know of), it was not the end of the Human Fly. Intrigued by Rojatt's mysterious costume and unique stunts, Marvel Editor-In-Chief, Jim Shooter, got the idea to base a comic book on the exploits of a famed stuntman. Originally, Shooter wanted the book to star Evel Knievel. But allegations of spousal abuse, drugs and a very real assault on an exec with 20th Century Fox led Marvel to look elsewhere. Enter the Human Fly!

The first issue of The Human Fly hit stands with a September, 1977 cover date. With the headline 'The Wildest Super-Hero Ever- Because He's Real!', the stuntman traveled the world performing a number of impossible feats. The Fly would often play the hero as the charity events he performed as would have burglars or other criminals looking to rob the spectators. 

During his exploits, the Human Fly would interact with established members of the Marvel Universe, such as Spider-Man. Just like the web-slinger, the Human Fly had a J. Jonah Jameson type foil in the likes of Carl Braden, a news producer who believed that the mysterious stuntman was a fraud. As you can see on the cover, the Human Fly will have to save his biggest hater's life when the two collide during a speedy descent down a North American mountain slope.

For the 2 years that The Human Fly was in publication, Rick Rojatt would conduct his publicity tour in his Human Fly persona. He visited children's hospitals, county fairs and made appearances on several talk shows including Johnny Carson. The comic book version of The Human Fly would last see print with issue #19.

A backstory was given for the comic book version of the Human Fly. On the back roads of Asheville, North Carolina, a vehicle carrying a man with his wife and kids is run off the road, resulting in the family's death. The man survives and has 60% of his body replaced with metal rods and pins. Facing a painful and long recovery, the man teaches himself to walk again and decides to spend his next life as a stuntman. 

Whether or not this is the actual origin story of Rick Rojatt is up for debate. As Rojatt kept a very private life and remained in costume throughout his career, much about the man is a mystery. In the letter page of this issue, The Human Fly indicated to fans that he was planning on recording a rock album. Some researchers believe that after the comic was cancelled, Rojatt moved to the Pacific Northwest to fulfill his dream of becoming a musician. 

The exact whereabouts of Rick Rojatt remain unknown to this day.

Story by Bill Mantlo.
Art by Frank Robbins.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #36 (fictional comic based on a real person) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.