The Saga of the Swamp Thing #1

There was a short period in the early 1980s, prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths, when DC Comics went through something of a mini renaissance. Inspired by the success of the New Teen Titans by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, DC began releasing a number of interesting new comics, and revitalising some of their existing properties. One such was Swamp Thing by Martin Pasko and Tom Yeates.

I wasn’t really around for Swamp Thing’s initial series by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, and I recall only a few of the later issues with Nestor Redondo on art. My real introduction to DC’s muck monster was in the short-lived Challengers of the Unknown revival of ‘76/’77.

This first issue of Saga of the Swamp Thing does a fine job of recapping Swamp Thing’s origin, showing us what Swampy is capable of, and setting up plot lines for future issues. Martin Pasko is always a dependable writer, but I remember being most impressed by the layouts and woodcut-like artwork of Tom Yeates. That remains true today.

Less than two years later, Alan Moore would revolutionise Swamp Thing, and Pasko’s run tends to get overlooked. That’s unfortunate, because there were a lot of good stories during this run; some of which Moore expanded upon later.

I’d forgotten that there is a second story in this issue, Phantom Stranger by Bruce Jones and Dan Spiegle. Bruce Jones was something of a favourite writer at the time, for his work on Ka-Zar the Savage at Marvel, and I always enjoyed Dan Spiegle’s art when I came across it (he would have a fantastic run on a revival of Blackhawk not that long after this issue came out). Sorry to say, though, that this was a very slight tale. No wonder I forgot it.

Bee-Boy awarded this comic 3 stings

The Witching Hour #6

Why I bought this random issue of The Witching Hour, I have no idea. It doesn’t have a particularly memorable cover (though it is by Nick Cardy!), and I was never much of a fan of the done-in-one mystery format; reading it now, the stories are as slight as you might imagine, but there’s some nice art from Alex Toth on the framing sequence, and some very strong art from Don Heck on the lead story about a concentration camp survivor. The other two stories are drawn by Jose Delbo (much more to my liking here than on his later Wonder Woman run), and John Celardo. There’s also a one page text story by one Gerald Conway (that’ll be the more familiar Gerry Conway, I presume).

From the price sticker on the cover, I’m pretty sure this comic came from Heroes (or Fantasy Unlimited), on Canonbury Lane. The shop was owned by Alan Austin, and was my favourite comic shop in the late 70s/early 80s as it was within spitting distance of both home and school. I have fond memories of walking home from here during the autumn months, scrunching through the leaves clutching a paper bag full of treasures.

Bee-Boy awarded this comic 2 stings

The Brave and the Bold #141

Any issue of The Brave and the Bold written by Bob Haney and pencilled, inked, and lettered by Jim Aparo should be revered as the perfect comfort comic. Professional in all aspects, except for, perhaps, Haney’s disinterest in adhering to the minutiae of DC continuity, these team-ups are always a joy; as is this issue’s teaming of Batman and Black Canary against the Joker.

The Joker has taken up a murderous new scam as a loan shark, or as Batman puts it…

LIKE I SUSPECTED, THESE KILLINGS ARE LIKE A CRAZY SEQUEL TO “JAWS”…LOAN SHARKS!

A topical reference at the time, to be sure, but maybe a better sequel idea than the one we actually got.

Anyhow, Black Canary becomes involved with the Joker’s shenanigans while in her civilian identity as Dinah Lance, fashion designer. It’s fair to say that Dinah was constantly trying on new careers after she left Earth-Two for Earth-One, and I suppose she did design and sew together Red Tornado’s gaudy red and yellow outfit with the leg stripes and arrow on his head, though I’m not sure that monstrosity would qualify her for a role in fashion.

Batman and Black Canary team-up to take down the Joker using Alfred as bait, after Bruce Wayne does this…

Bruce Wayne doesn't beat around the bush!

Needless to say, after being subjected to possible poverty in his dotage, and being blown up by the Joker, Alfred lives to serve Master Bruce another day.

Bee-Boy awarded this comic 4 out of 5 stings

The Superman Family #196

DC’s ‘Family’ group of titles were always a must buy if I came across one, especially before they went to all-new material. When you are 10 years old, there is very little difference between reprints from a decade ago and new stuff. Besides, the reprints often had the better art.

The Superman Family went to all-new material in 1977, with the launch of DC’s line of 80-page (with ads) Dollar Comics. By 1979, that page count had dropped to 68 pages with no ads.

So more actual pages per buck!

The new format stories were mostly pedestrian tales of Superman’s supporting cast, with some fantastic Neal Adam’s covers on the earlier issues. This issue’s cover is by the team of Jose Garcia Lopez and Dick Giordano, and is OK. I always find Giordano’s inks too polished, and prefer Lopez’ pencils when they are dirtied up a little (unless he is inking himself).

Inside, we get:

Superboy by Cary Bates and Joe (uh oh!) Staton, in which Pa Kent gets over his feelings of inadequacy with the help of some worms during an earthquake. Not as bad as it might sound, and Pa’s speech at the end reminded me a little of Jonathan Kent in Man of Steel. That might not be to everyone’s taste.

Lois Lane by Gerry Conway and Bob Oksner, in which Lois investigates a heath farm. Actually not bad at all, until the bonkers reveal at the end that the place is staffed by androids.

The Private Life of Clark Kent by Cary Burkett and Kurt Schaffenberger, a story in which Clark disco dances to prevent a bomb going off. I have nothing else to add.

Mr and Mrs Superman by Cary Bates and Kurt Schaffenberger, an always enjoyable strip showing the early years of marriage between the Earth-Two Superman and Lois Lane during the 1950s. In this one, Clark Kent becomes the Editor-in-Chief at the Daily Star, and it’s quite cleverly done.

Supergirl by Jack C. Harris and Don Heck, in which, uh, something happens for reasons too convoluted to matter.

And lastly, but by no means the least, Jimmy Olsen by Gerry Conway and John Calnan, in which this happens…

Looking good, Mr Olsen!

Yep, Jimmy has taken to wearing a pearl choker with his sports jacket. Not only that, but it keeps on mysteriously disappearing from panel to panel, page to page. This story is inked by Vince Colletta; I have no doubt that he is responsible in some small way for Jimmy’s latest dive into his impressive 'disguise trunk’.

Bee-Boy awrded this comic 3 stings out of 5

Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane #99

Lois Lane and Lana Lang’s rivalry was always going to end badly. That’s Robert Kanigher’s story premise for the lead feature, and it just about works. The cover is by the classic Swanderson (Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson) team, and the interior art by Irv Novick. After one of their legendary spats, Lois tries to apologise to Lana but the car she’s driving swerves off a bridge into a river. Lana is seemingly killed, and Lois has amnesia. Cue Superman acting as the prosecution in Lois’ trial for murder, and Batman offering to defend her. How does it end? I have no idea because it continues into the next issue.

There’s also a reprint from Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane #3 (1958). The title “The Man Who Was Clark Kent’s Double” - if you know your Silver Age Lois Lane -  tells you all you need to know. Suffice to say, that hussy Lois dumps Superman when she meets a more manly double of Clark Kent, but her prying gets her dumped in return. It’s drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger, and doesn’t look dated at all.

Bee-Boy awarded this comic 3 stings out of 5

DC Comics Presents #4

I am certain I haven’t read this comic since 1978, which is a shame because it is a fantastic team-up for Superman and the Metal Men, as written by Len Wein and superbly drawn by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.

The Metal Men always make excellent guest-stars just because their individual personalities are so broadly drawn; a writer can easily sketch in each personality and the reader gets it. Unfortunately, that advantage works against them in an ongoing, and can lead to some creators making ill-advised changes to the tried and tested formula just to add some extra DRAMA!!

Not here though, as Len Wein teams up the Man of Steel and the Men (and woman) of Metal to battle Chemo and rubbish scientist Ira Quimby AKA I.Q. I have always liked Chemo, something about a big transparent robot filled with toxic waste is quite chilling. When the villains in Infinite Crisis dropped him on Bludhaven…that was horrific.

This was a well-written, well-drawn, competent comic, and that is always welcome.

Bee-Boy awarded this comic 4 stings out of 5

Action Comics #384

As I didn’t start buying comics until 1972, this 1970 issue of Action Comics must have come my way sometime between ’76 and ’77 (when I first discovered comic shops) and the early 1980s (when I left London for college, and didn’t have access to - or the money for- back issues).

I am almost certain that I bought it for the Legion of Super-Heroes back-up story, and not for the very odd Cary Bates and Curt Swan Superman lead story (it involves ‘haunted’ uniforms, one good and one bad, and isn’t very good). The LSH story, however, is a corker. Written by Jim Shooter and drawn by Win Mortimer, it’s a tale of selfless sacrifice in the Legion tradition, as Eltro Gand, Mon-El’s distant descendant, gives up his life force to revive Mon after he succumbs to his tragic fate as foreseen by Dream Girl. Everything you want from a tightly plotted Legion short, with some excellent characterisation.

Bee-Boy awarded this comic 3 stings out of 5

The Super Friends #24

I have vague recollections of seeing the Super Friends cartoon on a Saturday morning, but couldn’t tell you for sure whether it starred the original Wendy and Marvin (plus Wonder Dog), or the later Wonder Twins Jan and Zayna (plus Gleek). Nevertheless, the comic of the same name was a firm favourite in the 70s, mostly for the fabulous Ramona Fradon artwork. That, and the wide array of unusual guest stars, and E Nelson Bridwell’s sly adherence to some pretty obscure DC continuity.

This issue was not written by ENB however; it was penned by Sergius O’ Shaugnessy. Who he, you might wonder? Well, that’s one of Dennis O’Neil’s pseudonyms. Not sure why he was using his pen name for this issue, but perhaps he wanted to escape the justified wrath of enraged Aquaman fans.

There is a moral to be had from this tale, and that is that no one ever has to be a fish out of water. Step forward one Arthur Curry, King of the Seven Seas, who spends most of the issue wallowing in self-pity because he is in a desert, and really is pretty useless. The Super Friends, at one point, even forget about him when making an escape. Poor Aquaman.

Still, Aquaman does save the day by mentally commanding some alien electric eel type creatures. He then goes for a nice soothing ‘rest’ in their water tank. Poor Aquaman.

There are some other oddities in the plot; at one point the baddies knock out the Super Friends with a sleeping gas that just so happens to come from a planet with a red sun. As the editorial note reminds us, Superman is powerless under a red sun, but as far as I can tell, he isn’t under a red sun!

This was a charming, if lightweight read, drawn by the best Wonder Woman artist that never was, Ramona Fradon.

Bee-Boy awarded this comic 3 stings out of 5

Adventure Comics #389

Supergirl’s bizarre love life was always a source of interest, so Murphy Anderson’s cover for Adventure Comics #389 (“Supergirl’s Jilted Boyfriends”) is right up my street. Sadly, as written by Cary Bates and drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger, the story can only be charitably described as insane. Let’s just say that Supergirl turning her swine boyfriend into a stone statue is the result of a Brainiac plot and leave it at that. Schaffenberger’s art style, which was always weirdly evocative of 50s conservative America {no doubt due to the number of Pillbox hat-wearing Lois Lane stories I’d read), appears strangely dated when illustrating styles and fashions from the Swinging 60s and 70s; it’s all very odd, and also the second part of a story begun in the prior issue.

The lead story (which did not get cover billing) is by Robert Kanigher, and drawn by Win Mortimer. Bob Oskner inks Mortimer and it’s not a great combination. Kanigher’s story is a perfunctory, but instantly forgettable, tale of Supergirl playing the Good Samaritan (with aid from her Kryptonian father, Zor-El) when her classmates are asked to present hand-crafted gifts for Father’s Day.

Bee-Boy awarded this comic 2 stings out of 5

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #256

In the late 70s, the Legion were due to get a Legion Special, written and drawn by Jim Starlin. While that never came to pass, the story was eventually told over the course of three regular issues of Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. The first instalment was in #239 (cover dated February 1978), and the remainder was published in #250 and #251, a whole year later. Starlin was the plotter and pencil artist on the first part, with Paul Levitz as scripter, while the second instalment was plotted and pencilled by Steve Apollo, scripted by Paul Levitz. Steve Apollo is a pseudonym that Starlin uses when he asks for his name to be removed from the credits. Hmmm…

Without going into all the details, the end result was Braniac 5 and Matter-Eater Lad were both left bat-shit insane.

Eight months later, it was left to new regular writer Gerry Conway to somehow redeem Braniac 5, and it just doesn’t work.

The three founders, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad, plus Superboy, commandeer an amusement park, and with the help of a few oversized props, fool Braniac 5 into believing he is reliving his childhood; and by altering the outcome of some of his memories from negative to positive, Braniac 5 is miraculously cured of his insanity. Cue smiles and general good times all round; never mind that he killed someone while insane, that would have to be addressed at a later date.

Gerry Conway never really hit his stride on this title, and was unfortunately ham-strung by the art team of Joe Staton (an artist I struggle with on main stream super-heroes at the best of times) and Dave Hunt (a heavy handed inker); the two together was not particularly appealing.

Bee-Boy awarded this comic 2 stings out of 5