DC Special #8

DC Special #8 (On Sale: May 21, 1970) has a cover for WANTED: The World's Most Dangerous Villains by Murphy Anderson.

We begin with Superman and Batman  "Joker-Luthor, Incorporated"  by France Herron, Jim Mooney and Sheldon Moldoff and reprinted from World's Finest Comics #129. When Superman checks into a disturbance at an outdoor exhibit in Metropolis, he finds that the Joker has joined forces with
 Lex Luthor and using an atomic dispenser, they turn Superman into a stream of electronic particles. Hearing that the Joker has gone to Metropolis, Batman and Robin arrive at the exhibit, but are unable to capture the two fiends. After they escape Superman slowly returns to normal. 

Batman believes the Joker gave away their next crime and show up the next day at a spring flower show, where the Joker is found in a giant flower and Luther is inside a giant mechanical bee. Superman is again shot and turned into a stream of electronic particles and Batman and Robin are unable to keep the two from stealing some prized bulbs and escaping once more.  Mr. Webb, who put on the flower show says he is still going ahead with a gem exhibit the next night.

The next night we see Mr. Webb enter a bunker using a concealed elevator and arriving on the stage inside an impenetrable glass bubble where the gems will be displayed The Joker and his men arrive by helicopter and try to break into the dome. Meanwhile, inside the dome, Webb gathers all the jewels and asks to be let out of the dome. IT is all a ploy as once in the open, Webb uses jet shoes to fly out with the gems. However, Superman figured the whole thing out and stops the flying Webb, really Luthor and Batman and Robin handle the Joker.

Next is the Flash in "Who Doomed the Flash?" by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella and reprinted from Flash #130. The Flash’s runs into a number of his old foes around Central City, but when Flash checks on them, he finds that each is still in jail. The only connection between the villains is attorney Paul Barrett and when the Flash visits Barrett’s office, Barrett knocks him out.

Barrett disguises himself as the Flash and breaks Mirror Master out of jail. It was Barrett who was impersonating the villains and who has been under Mirror Master’s mind control since his trial.

The Flash awakens to find he has been imprisoned in a Mirror Master trap. He is able to escape using a filling from a recent dentist appointment. After freeing Barrett of Mirror Master's control, Barrett leads Flash to the crook’s next heist. Flash tracks down Mirror Master and returns him to jail.

This is followed by Green Lantern in "The Day 100,000 People Vanished" by John Broome, Gil Kane and Joe Giella and reprinted from Green Lantern #7. Green Lantern checks into the strange disappearance of all the citizens of Valdale, but comes up clueless.  Green Lantern realizes that he was supposed to be in Valdale when the disappearances happened and wonders if he was the real target. Suddenly Green Lantern is struck weak for a moment, his mind going momentarily blank.

The weakness was caused by the Guardians of the Universe who have once again pulled an astral projection of Hal Jordan to Oa. The Guardians relate to Hal the story of Sinestro, the rogue Green Lantern. Sinestro was the ring bearer of sector 1417 and initially he performed his duties well, but he soon became corrupt. First he built a fabulous palace and dispensed justice to his constituents. Sinestro then dissolved the high council and made himself dictator.

In response, the Guardians stripped Sinestro of his ring and power battery and banished him to the universe of Qward. Sinestro immediately got involved with the Weaponers of Qward and plotted revenge, beginning by capturing Hal Jordan.

After realizing that he was correct in guessing that the Valdale vanishings were meant to capture him, Green Lantern’s energy duplicate is returned to Earth, this time retaining his memory of the Guardians. Once he returns, Hal flies to the inter-universe aperture that allows access to Qward. He finds it sealed. So, he flies to Coast City and uses the power ring to make the citizens invisible as he learned that his transporter beam only affects visible humans. Green Lantern then walks around town baiting Sinestro.

Green Lantern’s plan is successful, as he is beamed to Qward by Sinestro, who believes Green Lantern is powerless. His ring still functions however, and he defends himself, but when Sinestro threatens to kill the people of Valdale if he does not stop, Green Lantern exchanges his life for theirs. They are returned to Earth and Green Lantern is placed into a yellow bubble until his ring runs out of charge.

But Green Lantern speeds up the Qwardian clock to make them believe his 24 hour charge has expired. His ring is still charged enough to defeat them all. He imprisons Sinestro in a force bubble of his own. Finally, Hal returns to Earth and attends his engagement in Valdale.

Lastly we have Hawkman in "Shadow-Thief of Midway City" by Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert and reprinted from Brave and the Bold #36. A creature made only of shadow robs the Midway City Bank just as the Thanagarian authorities recall Katar and Shayera, They postpone their departure to search for the fiend. Hawkman and Hawkgirl eventually catch up to the shadow thief as he robs a private residence of a fortune in rare coins. but are unable to prevent the crime.

We follow teh shadow thief and learn he is Carl Sands, who become fascinated by shadows in prison, and while using a color-disc magic-trick projector after his release, accidentally discovered another dimension, and a being in trouble there. Saving the alien, Thar Dan, gave him a Dimensiometer, a device which enabled Sands to exist in shadow, as a gift.  However, when Thar Dan discovered that use of this device would trigger another Ice Age, and requested his invention’s return, Sands ignored the plea and continued his ravaging of Earth.

Hawkman and Hawkgirl are able to identify the creature from mug shots, by comparing it to the shadow profile of convicted burglar Carl Sands. Hawkman believes that suspending Shadow-Thief in the air would prevent his escape, and when some birds tell them where the shadow thief is, they lift his mobile home into the sky..The Thief has to rip the Dimensiometer from his wrist in order to become solid on Earth, and they catch him. This action ruins the device, one use short of starting the new Ice Age.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Justice League of America #80

Justice League of America #80 (On Sale: March 10, 1970) has cover by Murphy Anderson.

"Night of the Soul-Stealer" is by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin and Joe Giella. The Flash finds Hawkgirl floating in space outside the JLA headquarters and when the other JLAers arrive Atom relates how Hawkman and Hawkgirl were taking the deranged Jean Loring to Thanagar in hopes of curing her mental problems. When Hawkgirl revives she is in a vegetative state. The team breaks up, Batman and Green Arrow head for Midway City, Superman heads for Thanagar, Atom and The Flash head for the Grand Canyon where there is some sort of disturbance and Black Canary gets to cool her heels in the JLA satellite.

At the Grand Canyon the annual Boy Scout Jamboree is going very wrong as the boys are all mindlessly walking towards the edge of the canyon to do the big drop. Flash builds a barrier between the canyon and the kids and they learn that the kids were fine until a creature on a flying broomstick passed overhead.

In Midway City while looking for Hawkman Batman and Green Arrow see a creature riding over the city on what looks like a rocket-powered broomstick. Arrow brings the rider down and in the ensuing scuffle with Batman the rider drops a box he is holding. He makes quick work of both Batman and Green Arrow and as he is about to leave comments that had he not damaged his Ghenna Box he would of added their souls to his collection. Oh and we also learn that his name is Norch Lor and he is on some kind of mission.

Meanwhile, out in space Superman finds Hawkman's ship about to be eaten by a neutron star. Using all his strength he is able to pull the ship from the star's gravitational grasp. Someone we don't see come upon the exhausted Superman and whacks him but good!

Back at JLA headquarters Canary is practicing her sonic wave power when Batman and Green Arrow arrive. Batman has a patch he ripped off of Norch Lor's uniform and the JLA computer says the patch is from Thanagar. Because of Hawkman, the JLA computer is programmed to ignore Thanagarian ships and once Batman adjusts the programming they see the alien ship. However, Norch Lor is at that moment cutting through the wall of the JLA headquarters. Luckily Black Canary is able to reach the switch for the emergency sealer before they are all sucked out into space, but now that Norch is inside the HQ, he opens the Ghenna Box and steals the JLA member's souls.

At the some time on OA, Green Lantern has been summoned by the Guardians who explain that they dispatched the Green Lantern of Xudar, Tomar-Re, to a Thanagarian ship that was under attack. the Green Lantern found a Kryptonian there and thinking he was the attacker, took him out. In minutes Green Lantern is on the scene and he and Tomar-Re take the unconscious Superman inside of Hawkman's ship where they find Hawkman and Jean Loring in a state of mindlessness. Playing back the ship's records they see that they answered a distress signal from another Thanagarian ship and rescued it's pilot, but the pilot opened up a strange box he carried with him and the Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Jean were all incapacitate.

As he was leaving the ship the pilot, Norch Lor, said that they will thank him some day as the signs all point to the end of the universe and only the Ghenna Box and preserve the identity, the soul of beings. As Norch left the ship, Hawkgirl's body drifted out with him and moments later the ship "drifted into space-warp and was carried to its present location" whatever that means.

The two Green Lanterns and a revived Superman head for Thanagar in search of Norch Lor. But back at the JLA headquarters where Norch really is, Black Canary was not affected by the Ghenna Box, perhaps protected by her sonic power and she attacks Norch just as Flash and the Atom show up. Between the three of them they are able to take care of Norch and rescue the Ghenna Box. When the others return the box is opened and everyone's souls return to them. Kind of a confusing story, requiring a lot of coincidences to make it work. It has been reprinted in Justice League of America Archives Vol. 9 HC and Showcase Presents: Justice League of America Vol. 4 TPB.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

DC Special #5

DC Special #5 (On Sale: August 14, 1969) has a cover by and about Joe Kubert. This is the second of the DC Special issues honoring a specific artist and it is too bad they did not continue with these. In a way it is sort of a cross between a reprint book and a fanzine, though it is mainly a reprint book.

We begin with "The Cartoonist -- at Home" a four-page introduction by Joe Kubert of Joe Kubert and which I thought was very well done. It has lots of humor, introduced us to his family (including later to be artists Adam and Andy Kubert). the script is funny and has a wonderful cameo by Russ Heath, who calls to say he won't be able to finish his story on time, but he is working hard and hasn't slept for days. Russ is pictured at the Playboy Club with a blond on his arm.

I loved the style Kubert utilized for this one, great stuff indeed.

We begin the reprints with Sgt. Rock in "Eyes of a Blind Gunner" by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert and reprinted from Our Army At War #113. Easy Company is attacked while crossing a river. Wild Man takes out a plane with his bazooka, then gets dumped in the river with Sgt. Rock and Jackie. Together the trio take out a tank. Jackie and Wild Man then form a team.

When Easy awaits a supply drop, they are ambushed. The only weapon they have to rely on is a machine gun. Jackie and Wild Man are set on guard duty with the gun, when another attack occurs. Jackie is blinded by an explosion, and Wild Man's hand are injured. Wild Man uses his eyes to guide Jackie in firing the machine gun. Together the two soldier successfully hold off their attackers.

Next is "Rider of the Winds" also by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert and reprinted from Showcase #2. This short tale is of an Indian boy, Eagle feather, who was given his name when Rider of the Winds, a giant eagle caught a feather during the boy's naming ceremony. As the boy turns 14 he is told to guard over the tribes flock of sheep. One day one of the lambs gets stuck in quicksand and Eagle Feather wades in and tosses the lamb to safety, but is himself stuck. Rider of the Winds appears and Eagle Feather grabs one of his wings and is pulled to safety himself.

But while this was happening Black Lightning, a mountain lion, slaughters five of the sheep. Eagle Feather is disgraced and the whole village holds him in shame. He seeks the council of a wise man who tells him that he must defeat the bearer-of-that-disgrace, Black Lightning in order to remove his shame. Eagle Feather tracks Black Lightning down ans with the help once again of Rider of the Winds is able to kill the big black cat and regain his standing in the tribe.

That is followed by Hawkman in "Menace of the Matter Master" by Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert and reprinted from Brave and the Bold #35. While attempting to turn base metals to gold, chemist Mark Mandrill discovers the secret of Mentachem, a chemical which gives him control of any material in its natural state. He creates a directing wand, and uses the material to steal a half-million dollars from an armored car, then creates an army of meteor men to loot the Midway City Art Center. Tipped off by Commissioner Emmett, Hawkman and Hawkgirl battle the rockmen, but Matter Master intercedes, and escapes with the treasures by directing helicopter blades at them.

The criminal trips up, however, when directing flowers to steal a parchment from the museum, as Hawkman’s acute sense of smell comes to the force in time to track these flowers to Matter Master’s underground lair, where he and Hawkgirl capture him.

Next is a two-page spread by Joe Kubert of a number of characters he has drawn over the years, each done in the style he used "back in the day." This spread features Doctor Fate, Johnny Quick, Hawkman, The Flash, Wildcat, The Vigilante, Sargon the Sorcerer, Zatara and Firehair.

We end with Viking Prince in "Threat of the Ice King" by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert and reprinted from Brave and the Bold #18. Kubert's work on this strip is just beautiful. Jon, the Viking Prince, continues his quest to complete the twelve tasks of Thor in order to regain his throne. His travels bring him to the domain of the Ice King on a mission to awaken a rose. Jon fights his way past the Ice King's two-headed bear and other dangers until he reaches the castle. Inside he finds a sleeping maiden which he awakens with a kiss.

The woman is the rose princess who was placed in a trance by the Ice King. Jon's kiss broke the spell. He then faces the Ice King himself who has the power to freeze men. Jon prevails in the duel, then escapes the castle with the rose princess. With the rescue, he completes the fourth task of Thor.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Atom & Hawkman #44

Atom & Hawkman #45 (On Sale: June 3, 1969) has a wonderful Hawkman cover by Joe Kubert. Kubert, Hawkman, Gentleman Ghost, sarcophagus; what else is there to say?

Hawkman stars in "The Ghost Laughs Last" a thirteen-page story by Robert Kanigher and Murphy Anderson, continuing Hawkman's battle with the Gentleman Ghost from last issue. Hawkman is convinced that Craddock isn't a real ghost, but rather a charlatan using clever tricks. Meanwhile, the Ghost begins seeing Zita, a blind psychic, who falls in love with him. Zita tells Craddock that exposure to a rare jewel, her sight can be restored. The Ghost promises to steal  the Empress Ra-Na's necklace from the Louvre. 

Although his men are captured by Hawkman and Hawkgirl, the Ghost eludes the Winged Wonders and returns to Zita with the necklace. The jewel however, does not restore Zita's sight, so the Ghost steals the Fire Ruby from a Paris fashion show, once again eluding the Winged Warriors. As the Gentleman Ghost escapes into the Paris sewer system, all evidence points to Craddock actually being a ghost.

The Fire Ruby works in restoring Zita's sight, but the Ghost leaves, telling her that he will not return until his physical body can be restored and they can be together. This one was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Hawkman Vol. 2 TPB.

The Atom stars in "Hate is Where You Find It," an eleven-pager by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin and Sid Greene. The Atom breaks up an altercation between two college boys and Professor Heinrich Von Rilk. The boys are angry because Professor Von Rilk destroyed the school's electron-microscope and accuse him of being a Nazi. (Ha ha, funny story, we used to not like Nazis in this country.) Anyway, Von Rilk explains that he discovered a microscopic lifeform about to invade the Earth, and he destroyed the microscope to stop the invasion.

The boys think Von Rilk is lying, so the Atom shrinks to microscopic size to see if he can confirm or deny the Professor's story. The Atom finds Ag, the vanguard of an invasion force, readying to invade Earth. The Atom stops Ag and destroys the creature's ability to invade Earth in the future.

Later, the Atom testifies in court and Professor Von Rilk is set free.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Justice League of America #72

Justice League of America #72 (On Sale: April 24, 1969) has a wonderful Joe Kubert cover.

The full-length Justice League of America strip "13 Days to Doom," is by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin and Sid Greene. It was reprinted in Justice League of America Archives Vol. 9 HC and Showcase Presents: Justice League of America Vol. 4 TPB.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Atom & Hawkman #43

Atom & Hawkman #43 (On Sale: April 1, 1969) has a cover by Joe Kubert.

Hawkman and Hawkgirl star in "Come to My Hanging" by Robert Kanigher and Murphy Anderson. The winged wonders fly across the ocean to London, England to investigate reports that the Gentleman Ghost has been staging a series of robberies at Trafalgar Square in London. They locate the Ghost and his henchmen near Nelson's Monument in the square. A scuffle ensues and although Hawkman is able to subdue the Ghost's men using his mace, the Gentleman Ghost manages to grab Hawkgirl. Hawkman tries to rescue her, but the Ghost and Hawkgirl disappear.

Hawkman tracks them to the Tower of London where he again battles the Ghost's men and Hawkgirl manages to free herself. The Gentleman Ghost takes the fight to the face of Big Ben and then escapes, but not before Hawkman discovers where he's been hiding his loot. Inside Big Ben, Hawkgirl finds a movie projector, which convinces Hawkman that the Gentleman Ghost is not an actual, but rather a con man who utilizes projectors and tape recorders to create his illusion. It was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Hawkman Vol. 2 TPB.

The Atom stars in "Buzzin', Buzzin' -- Who's Got the Buzzin'?" by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin and Sid Greene. While performing an experiment in front of some peers, Ray Palmer is distracted by the buzzing of a small insect, to the point that Ray forgets what he was trying to do. Horace McByrd, the head of the Physics department, publicly criticizes Ray at length.

Upset, Ray turns into the Atom and goes subatomic to find a mindless monster to beat the hell out of.  Later he returns to his office to find a student, Hap Coogan, going through his files. When confronted, Coogan accuses Ray of being a spy. All of a sudden, the strange buzzing of the earlier insect is heard again. When it buzzes towards Hap Coogan, Coogan loses his memory. Ray decides to follow the insect as the Atom.

Ray discovers that the insect is actually a man-made micro-device designed to rob people of their memories. The Atom follows the "insect" back to the office of Horace McByrd. Confronted by the Atom, McByrd confesses that he had used Ray Palmer's theories to create the insect device. Seeing how brilliant Ray's theories were, McByrd feared he would soon be passed over for the younger, more visionary man. I don't think it has ever been reprinted.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Atom & Hawkman #42

Atom & Hawkman #42 (On Sale: February 4, 1969) has a great cover by Joe Kubert.

"When Gods Make Madness" is by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin and Sid Greene. In this joint Atom and Hawkman story, Carter Hall and Ray Palmer are leaving a scientists' convention in Midway City, when they are attacked by a man with a tear gas grenade, which knocks out Carter. The Atom attacks him, but is startled to find the enemy is Carter's double. This man disappears in the symbol of Shiva, Hindu god of destruction.

Hawkman and the Atom jet to India, but their flight is attacked en route by locusts, and the pilot, another Carter Hall double, must crashland in India. Hawkgirl joins them there, and they are attacked by Brahma, god of light. The trio is overwhelmed by the faceless Nether-Man, and they are brought before Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu, god of restoration.

Shiva explains that eons ago the three gods ruled, until a cosmic upheaval sent them to another astral plane. Later, they found a warp to a limbo in which dwelt souls between life and death. The Nether-Men came back to Earth with them, seeking their former worshipers. When they could not find them, Shiva vowed to create chaos to prove his power and punish mankind, just at the time the Halls were in the country. The god used Carter's face as a model for the Nether-Men for use in infiltration and spying, and also hypnotized Vishnu while he stole Brahma's sight and sanity.

The captive Atom disappears, apparently destroyed; Hawkman and Hawkgirl attack. She blinds Shiva, but is in turn restrained by Vishnu, and the Nether-Men knock out Hawkman. Atom reappears and removes Brahma's blindfold; the god then returns the Nether-Men and his fellow gods to the nether- dimension. Reprinted in Showcase Presents: Hawkman Vol. 2 TPB.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Atom & Hawkman #41

Atom & Hawkman #41 (On Sale: December 3, 1968) has another great cover by Joe Kubert. The book also has a new tweaked logo that will last till the book ends.

We begin with the Atom in "Return of the Seven-Year Dead Man" by Gardner Fox, Dick Dillin and Sid Greene. This book is Gardner Fox's last work on Atom and Hawkman as DC is about to squeeze him out of the business. Fox's career at DC began in 1937 with "The Mystery of San Jose Island," a Speed Saunders story in Detective #3.

Jason Madden, a former crook that has had amnesia, has been officially declared dead after being missing for seven years. When Madden sees the story in a newspaper, he recovers his memory. He expects his former partners to be attending his funeral, but neither man shows up. Madden learns that the Atom arrested Grabs Gannon, but Chuck Wheeler did not show up either.

Madden tracks down Wheeler, who has gone straight and is now a successful businessman. Madden tries to kill Wheeler, but the Atom intervenes. Atom then stops Madden from pulling the same robbery that Grabs Gannon had attempted. Wheeler turns himself over to the police for his old crimes. He is given a suspended sentence because of his charitable work and honest life.

We round out the book with Hawkman in "Yo-Yo Hangup in the Sky" by Gardner Fox, Joe Kubert and Murphy Anderson. Continuing from last issue, taking Harris back to his spaceship, Hawkman and his passenger encounter a gravity-defying car, which he rescues, despite being similarly affected. The car's passengers turn out to be bank robbers trying to make a getaway, and they try to shoot him, unsuccessfully.

Hawkman finally questions Harris, determining that his moonstone ring, bought that morning, is the teleportation device, and that the anti-gravity effect came from his own spaceship's grappler and repelling beams, accidentally activated by Harris when he was aboard. Reprinted in Showcase Presents: Hawkman Vol. 2 TPB.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Justice League of America #67

Justice League of America #67 (On Sale: September 24, 1968), AKA 80 Page Giant #G-53 features a Special Initiation Issue with a cover by Neal Adams.

We begin with "Doom of the Star Diamond" from Justice League of America #4 by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky and Bernard Sachs. An electromagnetic accident in space causes Carthan, a warlord of the planet Dryanna, to become invulnerable to harm. Fearing Carthan’s popularity with the people, Xandor, the planet’s ruler, has the warlord exiled to Earth.

Upon finding that something in the make-up of his protective aura prevents him from seeking the direct aid of the Justice League, Carthan kidnaps Green Arrow, whom the super-heroes have just voted in as a new member. At the same time, he unleashes menaces controlled by a series of golden boxes, which had been created by Xandor to enforce his exile. He hopes that the Justice League will destroy the boxes, and indirectly free him.

Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter battle giant insects created by the first box; Flash and Aquaman prevent the second box from causing Australia to sink into the ocean; Green Lantern destroys monstrous statues animated by the third box.

While Batman and Superman free the captive Green Arrow, the other members invade Carthan’s ship, only to become trapped in a gigantic hollow diamond. The archer rescues them by splitting it with a diamond-tipped arrow.

Carthan returns to Dryanna to settle accounts with Xandor, and Green Arrow becomes an official member of the Justice League of America.

Next is "The Menace of the 'Atom' Bomb" from Justice League of America #14 by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky and Bernard Sachs. Although the Atom is elected as the Justice League’s newest member, no one can remember exactly who he is, or why votes were cast for him. After Green Lantern consults his power ring for the information, J’onn J’onzz is sent to inform the Atom of this strange circumstance, and the meeting adjourns. Meanwhile, in Ivy Town, the entire citizenry, including the Atom himself, forgets about him, and the Tiny Titan is trapped, a victim of amnesia in a world of giants.

The power behind these happenings is a mystery mastermind calling himself Mister Memory, who has invented a De-Memorizer weapon. He recruits Hector Hammond (who uses his evolution-meteor to transform himself into a man of the future), the Pied Piper, the Sea-Thief, the Angle-Man, and Dr. Davis to help him capture Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Green Arrow. Mr. Memory captures the Martian Manhunter, just as the hero is about to confront the Atom. Stunned by the appearance of J’onn J’onzz, Atom accidentally shrinks into a sub-atomic world, and the shock restores his memory.

Trailing Mr. Memory to his hideout, the Atom is captured and used as a weapon against the captive JLA members, but he escapes using his own abilities and Green Lantern’s ring. The League then unmasks Memory, who turns out to be an amnesiac Batman manipulated by the true villain. By tracking the frequencies of the villain’s electronic spy devices, J’onn J’onzz and the Flash are able to capture Professor Amos Fortune.

We end with "Riddle of the Runaway Room" from Justice League of America #31 by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky and Bernard Sachs. Hawkman becomes the newest member of the Justice League, and immediately teams with Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman to stop robbers using fantastic hoops which protect them by propelling whatever threatens them into the near future.

After Hawkman solves the problem of capturing the crooks, the JLA returns to their meeting room to examine the strange hoops, only to find themselves and the Secret Sanctuary suddenly propelled into outer space. Responsible for these occurrences is Joe Parry, a crook who has accidentally come into possession of an alien machine, which has created both the time-hoops and the threat to the League. Hawkman's anti-gravity powers save his fellow members from perishing in space, and the team tracks Parry to his hideout.

Parry then uses the alien device to form a super-being which is a composite of the five JLA members, possessing Flash's legs, Green Lantern's arms and ring, Wonder Woman's head and lasso, Batman's torso, and Hawkman's wings. With its combined powers, the creature defeats the heroes, whom the villain then has hurled back into space, but he has made one error -- since, the composite being, like all creations of his machine, is composed of a yellow force, its power ring cannot function. Hawkman takes advantage of this to turn the tables on both the multi-powered foe and its creator.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Atom & Hawkman #39

Atom & Hawkman #39 (On Sale: August 6, 1968). Say good-bye to the Atom, say good-bye to Hawkman, and say hello to the Atom and Hawkman book taking over the numbering from the Atom and sporting the first of seven wonderful covers by Joe Kubert.

They began this new merged book with a merged Atom/Hawkman story, "Vengeance of the Silver Vulture," by Robert Kanigher, Murphy Anderson and Joe Giella. The Halls and Ray Palmer, on vacation in Mexico City, are told a prophecy that wings will come between them. Shayera goes shopping alone, while Carter and Ray take a helicopter to see Mayan ruins where they rescue a boy from a trained puma. The animal was set upon him by the descendent of an ancient high priest because he had dared to stop an animal sacrifice. This priest, Tekla, has sent his followers into a dangerous mine to seek the Silver Vulture, an artifact which is a supposed harbinger of evil for the tribe. Katar stops them, and the Atom enters the mine instead.

He finds the statue, but it releases gases that cause him to hate all winged creatures. When he leaves the mine, he knocks out Hawkman, and the priest gets the Vulture. Shayera is summoned to help, but is captured by Tekla, anaesthetized, and dressed as a reincarnation of his high priestess. When her husband sees her, he fails to recognize her.

Hawkman sends a vulture to bring Ray back, but the Atom kills the bird. The Atom returns to the village with Miguel, the boy he had helped rescue earlier, and once there, a lightning bolt restores his senses. He frees Hawkman, Hawkgirl frees herself, and they overcome the Mayans. The Silver Vulture melts on the sacrificial pyre. Reprinted in Showcase Presents:Hawkman Vol. 2 TPB.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Hawkman #27

Hawkman #27 (On Sale: June 20, 1968) has a great cover by Joe Kubert on this, the last issue of Hawkman.

Inside we have "...When the Snow-Fiend Strikes" by Raymond Marais, Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera. Hawkman and Hawkgirl prevent the Leopard Gang from robbing the Midway City penthouse of Prince Sabul o Tala, who tells them how his country was attacked by Yeti. He is also afraid that they may have to accept military assistance from outside to handle the problem, and that this could lead to occupation. Hawkman agrees to help, although he insists that Shayera stay behind.

He is attacked by a Yeti upon arrival, and Hawkgirl, monitoring him from their ship, flies to his aid, as he is taken in by Golo, the last of the true Yeti, who explains that the others are not of his race. The couple tracks the false Yeti to a cave filled with foreign soldiers, and this leads to Sabul's throneroom.

Hawkman now suspects Sabul has lied to them and that he is the leader of the flying Yeti, but Sabul gathers his people to allow the hero to indict him publicly, an action which backfires when they don't believe him. Hawkgirl disproves the theory when she hears General Kin-Yo's plan to assassinate Sabul and his cabinet with the Yeti, and the attack of the Snow-Fiend reveals it as a robot, guided by Sabul's cousin Vana.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Hawkman #26

Hawkman #26 (On Sale: April 18, 1968) has a cover by Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera.

"Last Stand on Thanagar" is by Raymond Marais, Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera. This is Marais' first story for DC and may be an alias. Marais is also credited with work on The Sub-Mariner at Marvel and Flash Gordon at King. This is the first of ten stories he would write for DC. Hawkman and Hawkgirl are called home when the Thanagarian fleet in the Ilian quadrant falls. When General Ariosto, head of the winged police force, addresses the assembled operatives, he announces that one of the them is a traitor, who has leaked defense information through his Absorbascon. The Synaptic Felxometer reveals the traitor to be Katar Hol, who escapes with Shayera's help.

Stalked, with Shayera in custody and the real traitor loose, Hawkman heads to subspace and Earth to determine who stole his Absorbascon. Meanwhile, Queen Elba of the Infinite Empire has ordered her man on Earth, Colonel Alpheus, to stop him.

Hawkman had recently discovered the Egg of Harun on Earth, which he believed to be a harmless relic, but which is actually a nullifier device invented by the enemies of the Empire, and which had prevented its conquest of the Universe for three centuries. Katar escapes with the egg into hyperspace, although his ship is badly damaged and is attacked when he approaches his home. His ship is destroyed and Hawkman is wounded, but he still manages to get to headquarters, and gives the egg to Ariosto, which raises doubts in the general's mind whether he is truly a traitor.

The back-up story is "The Rocket Lanes of Tomorrow" from Real Fact Comics #1 penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Joe Simon.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Hawkman #25

Hawkman #25 (On Sale: February 20, 1968) has a cover by Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera.

"Return of the Death Goddess" is by Bob Haney, Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera. Professor Martin, an obsessed blind archaeologist, donates a statue of Medusa which he uncovered to the Midway City Museum, only to free the spirit of the monster by kissing the statue's lips, as per his translation of the inscription. The spirit professes its love and appreciation, telling him that he need only kiss the statue again to save her if she is imperiled.

She then selects Shiera Hall as her host vessel, and begins her revenge on mankind. First she creates a fire demon which blows up a powder company; this sets nearly all the city on fire. Hawkman rescues endangered residents, the uses Thanagarian electro-knuckles to smash a dam and flood the city, which puts out the fire. Medusa then frees zoo animals, and when the army attacks she dispatches a minotaur to demolish their tanks, a hurricane to down a jet, and finally attacks Hawkman herself.

As Martin hears a radio report of the hero's imminent defeat by Medusa, he kisses the statue, and infuses her with more power. Fortunately, Hawkman is able to smash the statue, and Shayera is returned to normal.

The back-up story is a golden age reprint from Flash Comics #11, (The Heart Patient) by Gardner Fox and Sheldon Moldoff. Carter Hall sees his old friend Tommy Rogers who is suffering from a heart condition. Tommy’s doctor tries to convince Carter that he too has a weak heart. Carter believes Tommy is being scammed and investigates as Hawkman.

Hawkman discovers that Tommy’s girlfriend is working with the doctor to poison Tommy and steal his money. The Winged Avenger then exposes the scheme and brings both the doctor and the girl, Betty, to justice. This story is reprinted in Golden Age Hawkman Archives Vol. 1.

Edited by George Kashdan.

Hawkman #24

Hawkman #24 (On Sale: December 21, 1967) sports one of the uglier Dick Dillin and Jack Abel covers I have seen in quite a while.

"The Robot Raiders from Planet Midnight" is by Arnold Drake, Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera. Assigned to protect General Foster, who is to preside over an Armed Services Day parade, Hawkman notices that the general salutes with the wrong hand, exposing him as a robot impostor. Other military leaders and his own wife have been similarly replaced, and Katar tracks Shayera through space. He arrives on a sunless planet, and is set upon by winged beasts, which he defeats with his refrigio-ray. Disguising himself as a robot, he infiltrates, but is easily detected, and he and Shayera are united at gunpoint. They learn of this world's plan to invade Earth, and are then forced into combat with beasts in an arena.

The back-up story is "The Man Who Grew Wings" a reprint from Strange Adventures #65 by Otto Binder, Sid Greene and Joe Giella.

Edited by George Kashdan.

Hawkman #22

Hawkman #22 (On Sale: August 10, 1967) features pretty cool cover by Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera.

New editor George Kashdan brings in a whole new team for "Quoth the Falcon, 'Hawkman, Die'" which is by Bob Haney, Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera. To allay Midway City panic about flying saucers and aliens among the population, Carter Hall agrees to appear on a TV panel show to discuss the matter. On the air, his face begins to melt revealing inhuman skin beneath, and he is chased from the studio as an alien. Changing to Hawkman, he tells Hawkgirl that someone in the makeup department put the chemicals on his face to simulate an alien complexion, and, knowing that they're now under suspicion, he sends her out of town, while armed vigilantes search the city for them.

In their absence, a winged criminal called the Falcon sends his army of birds to loot the city. A pigeon attacked by the criminal's birds makes its way to Hawkman, and tells him what's happening.

Hawkman returns to Midway City, and pickets the streets as Carter Hall, admitting his alien origin, while Hawkman appears in the sky above. Carter is arrested for disturbing the peace, which convinces the Falcon that he and Hawkman are not the same person. Then Hawkman attacks the criminal. Though the Falcon's lasers slice off his wings, Hawkman prevails, and the bird array is fought off by Hawkgirl with her own birds. They smash the Falcon's controlling device, and capture him.

Kashdan really makes some changes to the strip, some inadvertently. His mistakes are that Hawkman's hair is colored brown and Hawkgirl's name is misspelled Shierra in this story. The big change however is that Carter Hall is publicly revealed as an alien.

Edited by George Kashdan.

Hawkman #21

Hawkman #21 (On Sale: June 8, 1967) features pretty cool Murphy Anderson cover.

"Attack of the Jungle Juggernaut" is by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson. In it Carter Hall and Ed Dawson return to Midway City, and he reminds Carter that the museum holds a duplicate of Mithra, which thousands have touched without incident. When Dawson touches it, however, he again becomes Lion-Mane. This time, smashing the meteorite does not return him to normal, and his new form will kill him unless Hawkman can prevent it.

Lion-Mane's rage, originally triggered by Katar mistreating another lion, is unleashed when a discotheque exhibits a caged lion, and Hawkman must prevent him from killing everyone inside. Hawkgirl joins him, as Lion-Mane vows that he must fulfill his destiny, and finds a third piece of the meteorite buried in a garden near a flower that a sick boy had been using as a sign of his health. With the meteorite gone, the flower begins to die, and the boy is certain he, too, will die, so Hawkman and Hawkgirl infuse radiation from their detectors, and bring the flower back to life.

Lion-Mane, meanwhile, seeks a fourth meteorite in order to gain invulnerability, and when he finds it, the heroes become sealed in a cave. Katar theorizes that the meteorites are actually alien missiles, intended to repopulate planets in the image of the lion-men who would kill other dominant life-forms. However, the first three missiles had been defective, unable to keep the Lion-Manes alive or give them their powers of conquest.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Hawkman #20

Hawkman #20 (On Sale: April 11, 1967) has a nice cover by Murphy Anderson.

Inside we have "Death of the Living Flame" by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson. On the Aegean island of Tharos, the Living Flame of Kalonika is extinguished and its guard slain. The evidence points to visiting archaeologist Carter Hall, who had been seeking an alternate entrance to the cave which housed the flame. Hawkgirl saves him from the mob, and they determine that their guide Gregory must be responsible. He was the only one who knew they'd discovered a hidden temple behind the flame. They come across him and his men looting the temple, and, as they battle, earthquakes shake the island.

The second story is the cover story "Lion-Mane -- the Tabu Menace" and is also by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson. On his way to meet archaeologist Ed Dawson in Iran, Hawkman saves a native lion-hunter from a lion attack, and also learns of Mithra, a meteor "god" that changed the lions in the valley to tame, domesticated beasts. It was forbidden to gaze upon Mithra, but a brave warrior did so. Immediately, the lions became wild again, and the warrior was transformed into a lion-man called Lion-Mane, who killed many men and women of the valley. When he died, the warrior warned that nobody should look at the meteor again. The lions would remain tame until someone broke the taboo and became the new Lion-Mane.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Atom #31

Atom #31 (On Sale: April 4, 1967) has a nice cover by Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson.

Inside we have "Good Man, Bad Man – Turnabout Thief" by Gardner Fox, Gil Kane and Sid Greene. The Atom stops a gang of crooks that are attempting to rob Ray Palmer's lab. During the battle Mrs. Burns, a cleaning lady, is injured. Ray takes her to the hospital where she is treated with a photonoscope. As she recovers, Mrs. Burns calls out for her son Johnny. At the same time Hawkman and Hawkgirl battle a gang of crooks led by Johnny Burns. In the middle of the fight, Johnny unexpectedly reconsiders his evil ways and reforms. He helps Hawkman defeat his gang and turns himself in.

Later after Atom and Hawkman relate their stories to one another, Hawkman brings Johnny to see his mother. During the reunion, Hawkgirl sends a distress call to Hawkman, who is joined by the Atom in answering the call.

Atom and Hawkman then battle Toyboy, a costumed crook with power over toys. After disabling the crook, they unmask him and discover that it is Johnny Burns.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.