Brave & the Bold #98

Brave & the Bold #98 (On Sale: August 10, 1971), has a Batman/Phantom Stranger cover by Nick Cardy.

We begin with a signpost for the future in "Mansion of the Misbegotten" featuring Batman and the Phantom Stranger by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo. This is Aparo's first Brave and Bold and though he does not draw the next issue, with #100 he becomes the defacto B&B artist. This is one of my favorite Aparo styles and I was so happy to see Jim get a prestigious book like B&B.  When Batman goes to visit his old friend Roger Birnam, who is dying, he promises to watch over Birnam's wife Clorinda, and his son Enoch. After the funeral, when a man who posed as Birnam's doctor and as a religious articles salesman turns out at the Gotham morgue, a victim of ritual murder, Batman rushes to Birnam Towers to check on Birnam's family.

Batman soon finds himself caught in a Satanic cult ritual, with the little Enoch as the leader. Batman is easily captured, but he is saved by the arrival of the Phantom Stranger. Together, Batman and Phantom Stranger try to find a way to stop the cultists, but Batman is captured and offered as a sacrifice to Enoch, the warlock leader of the cult. 

During the ritual, Lucifer appears and takes Batman away, claiming his soul as the ultimate prize. However, it was all a charade staged by the Phantom Stranger to save Batman, and once again, they start working to bring down the evil worshippers. Taking Enoch and bringing him to a psychiatric ward, Batman is shocked to find the boy has no knowledge of the occult and deduces that the Birnams had two children, not just one.

Returning to the Birnam residence, Batman is forced to battle Clorinda and the evil Enoch with the help of the Phantom Stranger. However, the appearance of Roger's ghost scares Clorinda so badly she falls over the railing of a stairwell to her death along with her evil son, Enoch. Afterward, the Phantom Stranger moves away to find the next mystery and Batman makes a promise to take care of Roger's good son, Roger, Jr. Reprinted in Showcase Presents: The Brave and the Bold Batman Team-Ups Vol. 2 TPB (2008), Showcase Presents: Phantom Stranger Vol. 2 TPB (2008), Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo Vol. 1 HC (2012), Batman in the Brave and the Bold: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (2017), and Batman in the Brave and the Bold: The Bronze Age Vol. 2 TPB (2019)

Our first reprint is the Phantom Stranger in "The Killer Shadow" by John Broome, Carmine Infantino, and Sy Barry and reprinted from Phantom Stranger #2 (1952).  Heiress Myra Hunter attends a party thrown by her uncle John. During the party which celebrates the construction of his new summer house, John performs a ritual to capture Myra's shadow. Later, Myra really believes her shadow was taken. The Phantom Stranger then appears to show Myra that it was only a series of tricks that led her to be missing a shadow. He then proves that she still has one.

Myra then attends another party where it seems her shadow has been removed. The Phantom Stranger returns and exposes the tricks. Myra's uncle is responsible. He hoped to drive Myra mad or kill her in order to steal her fortune.

We end with the Challengers of the Unknown in "One Challenger Must Die" by Arnold Drake and Bob Brown and reprinted from  Challengers of the Unknown #32 (1963). The Volcano Men are appearing on an island, multiplying by splitting, growing large by merging. The Challengers can't agree on an attack. Ace wants to use LOX, Professor Haley CO2 foam. The team splits to pursue their own methods, but both sides fear "one Challenger might die". Separate attacks fail, and the boys stop Rocky from making a suicidal rush. Finally, they work together. Ace Morgan's LOX cools the Professor, who wields super-CO2. Smothered, the Volcano Man crumbles to ash. The Challengers agree to work together from now on.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Brave & the Bold #97

Brave & the Bold #97 (On Sale: June 15, 1971), has a Batman/Wildcat cover by Nick Cardy.

We begin with Batman and Wildcat in "The Smile of Choclotan" by Bob Haney, Bob Brown, and Nick Cardy. While Bruce Wayne is vacationing in South America, as Batman, he saves a young boy named Luis Mercado from a sniper's bullet. Following the boy into town, he learns that his old friend Wildcat is also in the area, resuming his career as a boxer. Observing Wildcat's match and spotting somebody putting a chemical in his drinking water, Batman strikes and helps Wildcat and Luis escape.

He learns that Wildcat has amnesia and that Luis is being targeted by a crime boss named El Grande. He explains that Ted was friends with his father, and both were looking for the Choclotan, a priceless archeological find if it exists. Ted had learned its location and since an attack left him amnesiac, he and Luis have been a target ever since.

Working with Batman, Wildcat's memory is restored, they defeat El Grande and his men, and find the Choclotan idol for Luis, which they agree to turn over to a Mexican museum. Reprinted in Showcase Presents: The Brave and the Bold Batman Team-Ups Vol. 2 TPB (2008), Batman in the Brave and the Bold: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (2017), Batman/Wildcat TPB (2017), and Batman in the Brave and the Bold: The Bronze Age Vol. 2 TPB (2019).

The backup is a classic, "Who Has Been Lying in My Grave?" by Arnold Drake, Carmine Infantino, and George Roussos, reprinted from Strange Adventures #205 (1967) and featuring the origin of Deadman. Boston Brand, a trapeze artist and minority owner of a circus, walks the circus grounds before his nightly performance as the aerialist Deadman. He discovers a local constable poking around the grounds and chases him away. He then discovers that Leary the barker is stealing from the box office. He also catches Heldrich the animal trainer getting drunk. He fires Heldrich, then heads to the big top.

After reaching the top of the trapeze, Boston is shot by a sniper with a hook for a right hand. He falls to his death. Then his astral form is met by Rama Kushna, a Hindu spirit goddess. Rama allows Boston to walk the Earth as a spirit until his killer is caught.

Boston, now truly a Deadman, begins the search for his killer by checking up on the circus performers. He discovers that he is invisible, but can temporarily take control of human bodies. While inhabiting the body of Tiny the strongman, Deadman discovers Heldrich and Ramsey, the constable, making a drug deal. Deadman stops the crooks, then resumes the search for the killer, Hook. This story was also reprinted in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #5 (1980), Deadman #1 (1985), Deadman Collection HC (2002), DC Comics Presents: Brightest Day #1 (2010), and Deadman Vol. 1 TPB (2011).

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

DC Special #10

DC Special #10  (On Sale: November 5, 1970), has another cool cover by Nick Cardy.

We begin with "Nightstick" drawn by Curt Swan and Ray Burnley and reprinted from Gangbusters #33 (1953).

Next is "The Three-Foot Sleuth" drawn by the Atlas team of Joe Maneely and Joe Sinnott. and reprinted from Gangbusters #61 (1957).

This is followed by "The Cop Without a Gun" drawn by Ruben Moreira and reprinted from Gangbusters #58 (1957).

Next we have "The Greatest Villain of All Time"  by Jack Miller and Mort Meskin. Detective Harry Fowler was called onto the scene of a strange crime. A man dressed as a character re-enacted a scene from one of Fowler's old movies that he wrote before he became a detective, and stole an antique clock. Harry and Sergeant Collins follow the clues from each of Harry's four movies, just missing the criminal at the scene of the crime. However, through the process of elimination, they discover the thief's identity is the movie director Leif Conrad, who worked with Harry on his pictures.

Finally, they caught up to him when he was re-enacting Fowler's "Phantom of the City", getting ready to jump off a bridge in the famous 'death-dive' scene. Harry manages to trick him by yelling "Cut!", causing Conrad to hesitate. The cops are then able to bust him. Reprinted from Showcase #5 (1956).

This is followed by "The Hostages" drawn by Curt Swan and Ray Burnley and reprinted from Gangbusters #40 (1954). 

Next comes "The Two Faces of Mr. X" by Jack Miller, Curt Swan and Sy Barry. The FBI hires billboard model Don Reed to portray a known criminal overlord, Alex Tate. Tate is supposed to be receiving a list from his lieutenants naming all the underlings in his employ. The FBI captures Tate so that Reed can switch places with him. But unbeknownst to all, Tate was also scheduled to have plastic surgery that day, so that he could change his appearance.

Fortunately, the surgeon, Doctor James, was being forced by the thugs to do the job, so while Reed and the doctor were back in the surgery room, the two of them came up with an exit strategy. While Reed, wearing bandages over his face, distracted the criminals, Doctor James came out with the knockout gas canister and sprayed the men with its contents. Afterward, the FBI came charging in, arrested Tate's thugs, and retrieved the lists of underlings. Reprinted from Showcase #5 (1956)

That is followed by Fireman Farrell: "Fire Under the Big Top" by Arnold Drake and John Prentice. Fireman Farrell reports to Lieutenant Reiner's office where Farrell is informed he will be tagging along with Reiner to perform some fire inspections in the city. Their first destination is the carnival where a major fireworks display will be performed that evening. They confront the manager, Phil Baylor, over the fact that he has not registered with the department and inform him he will have to cancel his show. Baylor's workers complain that he is more concerned with making money than making sure customers are safe, but the unscrupulous manager shrugs off their concerns.

Farrell and Reiner continue their inspection, but the lieutenant soon leaves to complete paperwork, making Farrell work alone. Later, night falls with Farrell still at work, and he is startled from his inspection tour by a firework explosion. The firework goes off course, landing in a big circus tent and starting a fire. Farrell calls for help and rushes to the scene only to find that a child has been left inside. The brave fireman rescues the child and is told that the circus animals are now in danger. While people work to rescue the animals, other local firefighters soon arrive, and Farrell suits up. A lion escapes, but Farrell makes short work of it with the water hose.

As the firemen work to check the spread of the blaze, they notice an elephant trapped on the track of a roller coaster. Using the firetruck and ladder like a crane, Farrell rescues the baby animal, and Baylor is arrested and taken to jail. Reprinted from Showcase #1 (1956)

We end with "Swamp Dragnet" drawn by Nick Cardy and reprinted from Gangbusters #65 (1958).

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Super DC Giant S-20

Super DC Giant S-20 (On Sale: August 18, 1970) has a House of Mystery cover by Neal Adams. Another not-so-great Adams cover, but not really his fault. The sidebar, particularly the coloring of the sidebar, just sucks all the life out of this cover.

The book begins with the only non-reprint material, the 11-page "Room 13" drawn by Jack Sparling which is used as a framing sequence around the book's reprinted material.

Speaking of reprinted material, we begin with "Black Magic For Sale" a six-page tale drawn by Bill Ely and reprinted from House of Mystery #46.

Next up is "The Second Death of Abraham Lincoln," another six-page tale, this one by Arnold Drake and Leonard Star and reprinted from House of Mystery #51.

"The Thing in the Box" is yet another six-page story, this one drawn by Jack Kirby and reprinted from House of Mystery #61. Hmmm, there's that guy Kirby again.

That is followed by "The Laughing Ghost of Warwick Castle," a change-of-pace four-page yarn drawn by George Papp and reprinted from House of Mystery #56.

Next is "Riddle of the Red Roc," a six-pager drawn by Jack Kirby and reprinted from House of Mystery #63. Wow, a lot of Kirby reprints this month.

Next we have "The Lady and the Creature," a six-page tale drawn by Nick Cardy and reprinted from House of Mystery #63.

That is followed by "The Thief of Thoughts," another six-page story and once again drawn by Jack Kirby. This one was reprinted from House of Mystery #66.

The word from high is...

We end with "The Ghost Snowman," a four-page story drawn by Mort Drucker and Joe Giella and reprinted from Sensation Mystery #114.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Super DC Giant S-19

Super DC Giant S-19 (On Sale: August 6, 1970) has a Jerry Lewis cover by Bob Oksner and Neal Adams.

This book begins with "Scared Silly, " a big 25-page story by Arnold Drake and Bob Oksner reprinted from Adventures of Jerry Lewis #83. This story is interrupted by two Jerry Lewis Gallery of Art Messterpieces, The first is "Whistler's Mother" drawn by Neal Adams and reprinted from Adventures of Jerry Lewis #102 and "American Gothic," drawn by Bob Oksner and reprinted from Adventures of Jerry Lewis #105.

Next is "Blue Boy," another Jerry Lewis Gallery of Art Messterpieces, drawn by Neal Adams and reprinted from Adventures of Jerry Lewis #101. 

That is followed by "The Killer Counselor of Camp Wack-a-Boy," a 24-page story by Arnold Drake and Bob Oksner, reprinted from the pages of Adventures of Jerry Lewis #95. This story is also interrupted by two Jerry Lewis Gallery of Art Messterpieces, The first is "Two Girls at the Piano" drawn by Bob Oksner and reprinted from Adventures of Jerry Lewis #106 and the second is "Smoking Endangers Your Health," drawn by Neal Adams and reprinted from Adventures of Jerry Lewis #103.

We end with "The Kookie Cook," a one-pager that nobody seems to know anything about.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Superboy #168

Superboy #168 (On Sale: July 7, 1970) has another of my favorite Neal Adams' covers. Just beautiful. 

 We begin with our cover-story, "Leave Us... or We Perish" by Frank Robbins, Bob Brown and Murphy Anderson. The Nazis hold a secret meeting to discuss Superboy, who is an obstacle to their success. They send saboteurs to Smallville. The saboteurs threaten to destroy the town if Superboy doesn't leave Earth. He reluctantly meets their demands after the townspeople turn against him. Pa Kent then discovers the Nazis planting explosives in the town's sewer system. He fails to stop them and is shot.

From space, Superboy sees Jonathan's body and returns to Earth. He stops the Nazis and floods the sewer system to disable the bombs. After the town is safe, he returns home where the real Jonathan Kent is. The man that was shot was really a Jonathan Kent robot created by Superboy himself.

The back-up Superboy story must have been in inventory for a few years. "The Negative Boy of Steel" is by Arnold Drake who was fired in 1968, Al Plastino who was also fired in 1968 and Mike Esposito. Except for a Superman's Wedding Album pin-up in 1996, this is Al Plastino's last work for DC. Superboy battles an energy dragon in space. When Superboy collides with the creature it causes a massive explosion which temporarily knocks Superboy unconscious. When he recovers and returns to Earth, he finds that he has been replaced by a negative version of himself. His parents and the townspeople accept the new Superboy and reject the original. After suffering through the pain of being replaced, Superboy collides with his counterpart resulting in another explosion. His parents then explain that the negative Superboy was created from his body, and their rejection was only a hoax.

Al Plastino's earliest comic work was as an assitant to Bill Everett working on Sub-Mariner for Timely Comics and his first credited work was the cover of Novelty Press' Blue Bolt Comics #9 in 1943. In 1948 Plastino showed samples of his work to editors at DC and began a 20-year stint on the Superman family of books. 

At first he was required to mimic Wayne Boring's style but as time went on he was allowed to draw like Al Plastino. He worked on Superman, Superboy, and Lois Lane. With Otto Binder he co-created Supergirl and The Legion of Super-Heroes. 

 Plastino also drew the Superman newspaper strip in the late 60s and the Batman strip from 1966-1972. When DC ousted him from their books in 1968 Al Plastino also took over the Ferd'nand newspaper strip which he drew until he retired in 1989. In 1983 he drew the Sunday episodes of Nancy after Ernie Bushmiller died and he also drew a year's worth of Peanuts strips in the early 1980s to be used if Charles Schulz became ill. I don't think those will ever see the light of day, but it does make for an interesting trivia question, "Who besides Charles Schulz drew an entire year's worth of Peanuts strips?" 

 Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Adventures of Jerry Lewis #115

Adventures of Jerry Lewis #115 (On Sale: September 18, 1969) has a cover by Bob Oksner.

This issue we have "The Kook with the Cuckoo Clock, " "Dog Tired," "Extra – Special Delivery" and "The Jerry Tree." All are by Arnold Drake and Bob Oksner.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Windy and Willy #2

Windy and Willy #2 (On Sale: May 20, 1969) has a cover by Bob Oksner.

"The Two Astro-Nuts" is of course a reprint from Many Loves of Dobie Gillis #25 by Arnold Drake and Bob Oksner. They have renamed the characters and touched up the artwork to be more modern and to avoid copyright infringement.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Stanley and His Monster #112

Stanley and His Monster #112 (On Sale: August 27, 1968) has a cover by Bob Oksner and Tex Blaisdell on this, its final issue.

We begin with "Like Father, Like Son?" and "Painting the Town, Red" both by persons unknown. We end with "All Kinds of Spot" written by Stanley creator Arnold Drake and drawn by Henry Scarpelli, which was reprinted in Best of DC #49.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Doom Patrol #121

Doom Patrol #121 (On Sale: July 16, 1968) has a very dramatic Joe Orlando cover that says it all: "Is this the Beginning or the End of the Doom Patrol?" For many years this was the end, as in a startling final issue, Doom Patrol creator Arnold Drake kills them all!

In "The Death of the Doom Patrol?," by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani, the Doom Patrol is destroyed. Striking back at all her former allies, Madame Rouge returns and apparently destroys the Brotherhood of Evil. She then launches a series of devastating attacks against the Doom Patrol in their own headquarters. To safeguard innocent bystanders, the team retreats to an island base prepared by the Chief for emergencies, unaware that they are being tracked by Madame Rouge and her new ally, Captain Zahl, an ex-Nazi foe of the Chief.

Immobilizing the three heroes, Zahl issues an ultimatum: either they allow him to blow up the island and destroy them, or he will cause a similar blast to destroy a tiny fishing village of fourteen inhabitants. The Doom Patrol members heroically vote to sacrifice themselves, and Zahl detonates the island over Madame Rouge's protests. The world mourns the loss of the Doom Patrol, and Steve Dayton vows to find and destroy the murderers of his wife.

Talk about an ending! From day one the Doom Patrol was Arnold Drake's baby and when the book ended he took his baby with it. Elasti-Girl, Negative Man and the Chief all die in this issue. Robotman, the Brain and Monsieur Mallah all appear to die as well, but survive as revealed in Showcase #94 (1977) and New Teen Titans #14 (1981). It appears that this ground-breaking issue has never been reprinted.

In a 1999 interview with Katherine Keller (no relation to me), Arnold Drake spoke of his beloved Doom Patrol:

Murray Boltinoff the editor, came to me one day, or I went to him one day and he said, "We're having a lot of trouble with My Greatest Adventure, it's starting to lay an egg. The era of the superhero has taken over completely. My Greatest Adventure has ordinary heroes. We need some kind of superhero to punch it up." So I said okay, went out and came back a couple of hours later with the basic idea about the man in the wheelchair who is the great brain, and runs this group of superheroes who hate being superheroes. That was the new aspect. That was the thing that made Doom Patrol different, these people hated being superheroes. And they were a little bit self-pitying, just a little bit, and the chief was constantly telling them, "Stop crying in your beer." That made them something that wasn't around at the time.

I enjoyed that experience, not only because it was a fresh idea, but also because I did 48 issues, and this gave me a chance to develop the characters and to get into ever more complex relationships, and so on. That's why I really liked it, because I controlled it. I could make it do what I wanted it to do. In most magazine houses, I would write a character for 3-4 issues, then somebody else would come in and write it. And then someone else would come in, and that's grown even worse today, it's even more so today. The result is there's no real continuity, everybody's making up his own little universe. Everybody's got his own Batman or his own Superman. And I think that probably weakened it, made them less real.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Stanley and His Monster #111

Stanley and His Monster #111 (On Sale: June 25, 1968) has a cover by Bob Oksner.

This issue begins with "Film Flam Man" drawn by Bob Oksner and Tex Blaisdell, which is followed by "Badtime Story" drawn by Henry Scarpelli. We end with "Superhulk" drawn by Bob Oksner and Tex Blaisdell. I have no writing credits for these stories, but would be surprised if they were not written by Arnold Drake, though they may not be. In Comic Book Artist #1, Joe Orlando talked extensively about getting the Stanley book...

One of the first books I got to edit was Stanley and His Monster and in the beginning, I decided to change it into three short stories instead of one issue-length story, after I read a few issues. I realized that it took 24 pages to get one joke. So I made up my mind that it was going to be three eight-pagers with good premises ending up with a good payoff to a good joke. I wanted to use Arnold Drake because I understood that Arnold made considerable contributions to the development of that book and I felt I owed him-but I was told that he was in Europe.

I waited as my deadline got closer and closer and it led to my famous fight up there with Arnold that kind of made my reputation as a character. Arnold returned to the States-I had never met him-but when I did, he came across as a pushy guy who acted like he owned the place. He was friends with all the staff, and on a first name basis with the publisher. I was really pissed by this time as I had only three weeks to the deadline and I didn't have a script which I had to get to an artist. I kept sending telegrams to Arnold, but I never got answers.

When I complained, I was told, "No, no. You have to wait for Arnold." So when he walked into my office, I tried not to insult him, but I did premise the idea of doing three short stories that would speed up the creative process and give me the opportunity to divide the scripts among three artists, so I would have my chance to make my deadline. We argued and he pointed his finger at me and said, "I say that it's going to be one 24-page story!"

I looked at him and said, "You're really saying that?" And he said, "Absolutely!" I said, "You know that I am the editor." And he said, "And I don't care who you are- you don't know who I am." I said, "Okay. Arnold Drake, go fuck yourself because you're off the book." Arnold was taken aback. "You're telling me I'm fired? You know, I'm going to the Publisher! I've been here for twenty years!" So Arnold stormed into the Publisher's office...

So, Arnold storms down to the Publisher's office and I was called in. The Publisher is sitting there with his advisers who were the print buyers, distribution reps, and the V.P. was there. All eyes were upon me and I was on the spot. I knew that if I did not impress (Irwin) Donenfeld this time, I was through. Arnold was sitting there with his arms crossed and a smug smile across his face with his hat on. He always wore his hat in the office (I think it was because he had a bald spot). Donenfeld looked at me and said, "Joe, did you tell Arnold to go fuck himself?"

I said that I did and he said, "Well, I don't think that kind of language should be used in an office. It's terrible, deplorable and you should apologize to Arnold." I said, "Well, did Arnold tell you the reasons why I got so angry?" I told them and when my explanation didn't go over too well, he said, "You work that out with Arnold." And that told me right away that I couldn't fire the guy.

I said, "With all due respect, I will apologize to Arnold if he takes his hat off." I went on to say that because in a million years I would never walk into your office with a hat on my head. I would have it in my hand. Some giggling started and Arnold made a lame joke that he had the hat on because he was Jewish, but then came the silence. Arnold looked at the Publisher and said, "Irwin, do you want me to take my hat off?" Irwin said, "Take your hat off." And I said, "I apologize for telling you to go fuck yourself, Arnold."

I knew that I had made a hit with Irwin because that night I had a date with a really gorgeous lady. I was trying to impress her, and we were sitting in this restaurant and the waiter comes over with a bottle of champagne and says, "Mr. Orlando, we are honored to have a famous cartoonist like yourself eat here. The champagne is compliments of the house." Even I was impressed, then I looked across the way from where we were sitting and there was Irwin in a booth. He winked and gave me the high sign. The lady did not see this-she was very impressed.

My guess is that if Arnold wrote the stories int e first Orlando issue, he might have also wrote these, but you never know. By the way, you gotta love the kind of interviews the guys at Twomorrows do on a regular basis.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Challengers of the Unknown #63

Challengers of the Unknown #63 (On Sale: June 4, 1968) has a cover by Bob Brown. The coloring is pretty awful on this one, but the art by Brown is rather nice.

Inside we have "None Shall Escape the Walking Evil" by Arnold Drake, Bob Brown and Jack Abel. Count Karnak of the Legion of the Weird restored Mistress Wycker to life. She then promises to make another effort to join the Legion by killing the Challengers. The other Legion members offer their help including Kaftu who summon Tukamenon, a giant mummy pledged to his service.

Tukamenon attacks the Challs while Kaftu uses a magic jewel to blind Red's brother Tino Manarry. The team escapes and rushes Tino to the hospital. Tino's blindness can only be cured with a transplant, so Red donates an eye. While Red and Tino recover Tukamenon attacks again.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Doom Patrol #120

Doom Patrol #120 (On Sale: May 16, 1968) has an oddly ineffective cover by Jack Sparling.

"The Rage of the Wrecker" is by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani. When satellites begin disappearing from Earth-orbit, the Doom Patrol investigates and battles the Wrecker, who is out to destroy all modern technology by means of ray bombardments from a space base. When Robotman's mechanical body is destroyed as well, the Chief transplants his brain into a series of specialized robot bodies, enabling him to accompany Negative Man into space to defeat the villain.

Meanwhile, out for a night on the town, Mento, Elasti-Girl, Gar Logan, and Gar's girlfriend Jillian Jackson become involved in a brawl at a discotheque, with humorous results.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Adventures of Jerry Lewis #107

Adventures of Jerry Lewis #107 (On Sale: May 2, 1968) has a cover by Bob Oksner.

Inside we have "The Great Cross-Country Tour -- and What Made the Country Cross," which is most likely the work of Arnold Drake and Bob Oksner.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Stanley and His Monster #110

Stanley and His Monster #110 (On Sale: April 23, 1968) has a cover by Bob Oksner where in this, their second outing, the pair have a brand new logo presented in a faux Archie style.

Inside we have Stanley and his Monster in "Carnival Caper" drawn by Bob Oksner, "Camp Cru-M-Bee's Pet Dog... Spot" by Arnold Drake and Winslow Mortimer (reprinted in Best Of DC #37) and "Music, Monster, Please" also drawn by Bob Oksner.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Challengers of the Unknown #62

Challengers of the Unknown #62 (On Sale: April 2, 1968) has a Bob Brown cover.

The issue begins with "The Legion of the Weird" by Arnold Drake and Bob Brown. Ace is the victim of a voodoo spell conjured by Mistress Wycker, a sorceress petitioning to join a group of evil magicians. While Ace fights to stay alive, Rocky's grandmother provides a clue to stopping the spell. The other Challengers gather the necessary materials to construct a geechy bag, then they withstand several attacks to reach the sorceress. With Rocky's help, Ace throws the bag into the face of Wycker. The spell is broken, Ace regains his strength, and Mistress Wycker melts.

The back-up Challs story, "Me -- the Walking Nightmare," is also by Arnold Drake and Bob Brown. Red continues to tell his story about what happened after he was presumed dead. After consuming Multi-Man's liquid light formula, Red became a sea monster. Beach bum Herbert Pike caught him and convinces Red to become a side-show attraction.

When police begin to question him about a murder, Red changes form and flees with Pike. Pike brings him to an island and wants Red to take the form of the island god Seekeenakee. Red initially refuses. However when Pike attacks a girl named Tiana, Red becomes Seekeenakee and chases Pike away. After Tiana is accidentally killed, Red remains in his form as Seekeenakee and becomes the leader of the islanders.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Plastic Man #10

Plastic Man #10 (On Sale: March 21, 1968) has a cover by Jack Sparling, a new logo and a death sentence in this its last issue.

"The Terrible Plastic Twin" is by Arnold Drake and Jack Sparling (I don't know what the insides looked like, but Sparling did a bang-up job with Plas on that cover). When Gordy is injured in an explosion Plastic Man donates his blood for a life-saving transfusion. The blood saves Gordy, but also gives him Plastic Man's powers. Gordy then tries to become a super-hero and show Plas how to fight crime. Instead, Plastic Man has to work extra hard to protect Gordy from getting into trouble. After Plas defeats killer doll-maker Marcel Mannequin at Madame DeLute's high society party, Gordy realizes that Plastic Man's methods, though unconventional, are effective.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Doom Patrol #119

Doom Patrol #119 (On Sale: March 21, 1968) has what I think is a very cool cover by Bob Brown. That 60s psychedelic vibe is flying high at DC this month!

"In the Shadow of the Great Guru" is by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani. The Yaramishi Rama Yogi, a mystic guru, transforms Robotman into an ardent pacifist who refuses to use violence for any reason. When the Doom Patrol investigates, the guru captures Negative Man and Elasti-Girl and inflicts them with unreasoning fear and hatred, respectively, which he can trigger in them at a given posthypnotic signal. The team members almost destroy each other before overcoming the Guru's power over them and battling him and his followers to a standstill.

The villain's true plot, however, succeeds. While the Doom Patrol is occupied with his machinations, he is able to undo the Chief's rehabilitation of Madame Rouge, who disappears and becomes a villainess in her own right, swearing to destroy the Chief.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Adventures of Jerry Lewis #106

Adventures of Jerry Lewis #106 (On Sale: March 7, 1968) has a nice Bob Oksner cover.

I know nothing about "The Cockeyed Private Eye" that is inside this book, but most likely it was written by the late, great Arnold Drake and drawn by the late, great Bob Oksner. Most likely.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Stanley and His Monster #109

Stanley and His Monster #109 (On Sale: February 22, 1968) features a Bob Oskner cover and is the first issue of this book, which takes over the numbering of The Fox and the Crow where Stanley and his Monster had been appearing for the past few years. This is also the only issue to use this horror-themed logo.

"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Infinity" is by Arnold Drake, Bob Oksner and Tex Blaisdell.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.