New Gods #5

New Gods #5 (On Sale: August 12, 1971), has a cover by Jack Kirby and Mike Royer.

We begin with "Spawn" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Mike Royer. Orion is captured by Slig of the Deep Six, but manages to break free and kills Slig in battle. Meanwhile, Sgt. "Terrible" Turpin of the Metropolis police force starts investigating the mystery of Inter-Gang's actions in the city and Kalibak arrives on Earth looking for Orion. Reprinted in New Gods #3 (1984), Jack Kirby's New Gods TPB (1998), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 TPB (2012), and New Gods by Jack Kirby TPB (2018).

Our first backup is Manhunter in "Scavenger Hunt" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Joe Simon and reprinted from Adventure Comics #74 (1942). While attending a costume party, Paul Kirk interrupts a dispute between two guests, Henry and Big Droop. Kirk suggests settling the dispute by competing in a scavenger hunt. Then as the Manhunter, Kirk assists Henry in tracking down and capturing Crusher Burns, a wanted felon, that is Henry’s target for the hunt. As a result, Henry successfully completes his mission and wins a date with Patty, another party guest.

We end with "Introducing Fastbak" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. Fastbak, a young god of New Genesis, is surpassed in speed only by Lightray, but his races are usually cut short for singing practice. Reprinted in Jack Kirby's New Gods TPB (1998), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 TPB (2012), and Black Racer and Shilo Norman Special #1 (2017).

edited by Jack Kirby.

Forever People #5

Forever People #5 (On Sale: August 3, 1971), has a cover by Jack Kirby and Mike Royer.

We begin this issue with "Sonny Sumo" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. Mother Box helps heal Sonny Sumo of burn wounds after he fights a robot. Then it transports Sonny to Happyland, where he helps break the Forever People free of Desaad's traps. When Desaad's guards attack them, Sonny takes the advice of Mark Moonrider and unites his will with that of the Mother Box, putting their enemies to sleep. 

Darkseid, watching from afar, realizes that Sumo possesses the Anti-Life Equation. He decides that the Forever People must be killed, and Sumo captured. Reprinted in Jack Kirby's Forever People TPB (1999), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 TPB (2012), and Forever People by Jack Kirby TPB (2021).

Next, we have the Sandman in "Crime Carnival" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Joe Simon and reprinted from Adventure Comics #84 (1943). Four men begin a robbery spree, using carnival talents in their crimes. Sandman investigates, but the criminals give him the slip using a convertible van. Sandman deduces that they are members of a carnival and catches up to them again. This time he sees through their ruse of the trick van and captures them.

We end with  "Lonar" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. Lunar, poking amidst the ruins of an "old gods'" battlefield, liberates a great white horse, Thunderer from suspended animation. Reprinted in Jack Kirby's Forever People TPB (1999), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 TPB (2012), and New Gods Special #1 (2017). 

Edited by Jack Kirby.

Unexpected #127

Unexpected #127 (On Sale: July 22, 1971), has a very nice cover by Nick Cardy.

We begin with  "Follow the Piper to Your Grave" by Robert Kanigher and George Tuska. A man leaves his girlfriend at a house in the swamp which turns out to be haunted by a killer. Once he realizes this, he rushes back into his car even though he has been warned that the bridge is out. Meanwhile, strange pipe music wakes the girl and compels her to follow it into the bog where she will drown. 

She prays for her man to save her and suddenly he appears to pull her from the bog. She wonders why the music doesn't affect him and, abruptly, he fades away. She is puzzled until the man who warned her boyfriend about the bridge being out appears. She learns that he died in attempting to jump the collapsed bridge in order to save her.

Next, we have "The Cats Who Knew Too Much" by Jack Kirby and reprinted from House of Secrets #8 (1958). Butler Michael Renner kills his employer but soon finds out that her will stipulates he must take care of her cats or he will receive no money. Soon he begins to imagine that the cats are out to get him.

That brings us to "The Ferry Was Waiting" drawn by John Giunta and reprinted from Sensation Comics #109 (1952). Doctor Rawlings is transported on a night ferry whose captain died shortly ago. This way the deceased captain pays off a debt to the doctor.

That is followed by "The 30,000 Corpses" by Murray Boltinoff, John Calnan, and Vince Colletta. A criminal is released from prison but he gets an unexpected surprise when he goes to retrieve the stolen money he hid before he was caught.

Next up is Johnny Peril in "Queen of the Snows" by Robert Kanigher,  Alex Toth, and Sy Barry and reprinted from Sensation Comics #107 (1952). Johnny Peril finds his friend Lee Allen, who just before he dies swears he has seen Subara the Ice Queen, who the natives believe lives on frozen Mt. Subara. Johnny returns to the mountain with two more friends, but only he encounters Subara. They refuse to believe he met the mythical woman until he produces her crown of roses.

That brings us to "Frightened to Death" by Murray Boltinoff and George Tuska. A man in a raft floating on the ocean finally finds land. 

We end with "Till Death Us Do Unite" by George Kashdan and Jim Aparo. Truman Wilkes kills and disposes of his wife, but with no physical body, he must wait seven years until she is ruled legally dead to inherit her money.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Mister Miracle #4

Mister Miracle #4 (On Sale: July 13, 1971), has a cover by Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta. 

This issue begins with "The Closing Jaws of Death" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. This story introduces Big Barda, Mr. Miracle's lover and friend from Apokolips, who arrives on Earth to help him escape from Dr. Bedlam's trap. Reprinted in Jack Kirby's Mister Miracle TPB (1998), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 TPB (2012), and Mister Miracle by Jack Kirby TPB (2017).

Next up is "Pirate or Patriot?" by Jack Kirby and reprinted from Real Fact Comics #1 (1946). Facts about Jean Lafitte,  who warned the Americans that the British planned on invading New Orleans.

We end with the Boy Commandos in "The Romance of Rip Carter" written and penciled by Joe Simon and inked by Jack Kirby and reprinted from Detective Comics #82 (1943). Rip Carter and the Boy Commandos are sent on a mission to destroy a Nazi supply tunnel in Italy. Their plane is shot down and the Commandos are forced to bail out. They are found by Italian resistance fighters and returned to the allied forces. Rip reports that his mission to destroy the tunnel has failed, but his commanding officer explains that his wrecked plane the Rosalind K crashed into the tunnel, completing the mission.

Edited by Jack Kirby.

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #141

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #141 (On Sale: July 8, 1971), has a cover by Jack Kirby and Neal Adams.

Our new material is "Will the Real Don Rickles Panic?" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. Clark Kent is almost taken to Apokolips by the UFO, which is a trap of Darkseid's, but is rescued by Lightray and sent back to Earth. Morgan Edge is visited by Don Rickles, but Jimmy Olsen and Goody Rickels appear in his office and are about to combust from the Pyro-Granulate. 

The Golden Guardian appears, having forced Ugly Mannheim to give him the antidote, and cures Jimmy and Goody, having already cured himself and the Newsboy Legion. Don Rickles, maddened by the happenings, hitches a ride out of Edge's office with two members of the police bomb squad. Reprinted in Jimmy Olsen: Adventures by Jack Kirby Vol. 1 TPB (2003), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 TPB (2012), and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen by Jack Kirby TPB (2019).

Our reprint is  (The Story of the Newsboy Legion)  written by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, penciled by Jack Kirby, and inked by Joe Simon and reprinted from Star Spangled Comics #7 (1942). One evening in Suicide Slum, York City, rookie cop Jim Harper gets beaten up by some thugs and decides to take a new approach to crimefighting. He breaks into a costume shop, assembles an "action outfit" that includes a sturdy shield and a crash helmet, leaves some money on the counter, and goes after the gang. He finds them in a pool parlor and smacks the hell out of all of them. He can't arrest them, so he ties them up and leaves them for the regular police. Also one of them drops his wallet, and Harper checks the serial numbers on some of his cash; it turns out to match the serial numbers from an earlier ransom payment.

The next day, Harper arrests four quasi-delinquent, roller-skate-equipped young newspaper vendors, all orphans, pushed into crime by financial desperation, for shoplifting a hardware store. He accompanies them to their hearing and asks the judge to keep them out of reform school and remand them to his personal custody. He wants to try a different approach with these kids and legally becomes their guardian.

The boys don't exactly reform instantly, and soon a local lowlife, Frankie the Fence, uses them as a distraction for an armed robbery, in which a man is killed. This doesn't sit well with the boys, who go visit Frankie to tell him off, but Frankie decides to shut up these potential witnesses with a gun. The Guardian bursts into the room, and takes down the fence with one big roundhouse punch, then lets him get away, hoping he'll run back to his unknown boss. 

Frankie pulls himself together and runs to the waterfront, gets in a boat, and speeds away, pursued by the Guardian, who borrows an unguarded boat, and who is in return pursued by the Newsboys, who now are stymied; the Guardian took the last boat. They convert a wooden wagon into a makeshift rowboat, and follow along as best they can, figuring along the way that a nearby lighthouse is the likeliest place for a hideout. 

This turns out to be correct, and at the lighthouse, the Guardian has run into trouble. Frankie's boss, Chips Carder, a smuggler, has managed to head-konk the Guardian unconscious. The boys show up; Guardian sees them and the bad guys don't. Guardian suggests, in language that only Big Words understands, that they should paint the lighthouse light red. They very quickly accomplish this, then charge inside to brawl with Chips and Frankie, while the red light above draws the Coast Guard, who arrive just in time to shoot Chips Carder as he draws a bead on the Guardian's back. While the USCG is sorting things out, the Guardian slips away, and motorboats back to shore.

Before their first adventure is even over, the boys begin to suspect that the Guardian is Jim Harper.

Edited by Jack Kirby.

House of Mystery #194

House of Mystery #194 (On Sale: July 8, 1971), has an amazing cover by Berni Wrightson.

We begin with "Born Loser" by Jack Oleck and Alex Toth. A man uses magic spells to make him appear dead in his cell after he murders his wife and is scheduled to hang. He has made previous arrangements with his lover to collect the body, but when she goes to get it she is told the man has been cremated. Reprinted in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #24 (1982).

Next is our first reprint, "The Human Wave" drawn by Russ Heath and reprinted from House of Secrets #31 (1960).

Our next reprint is "The Negative Man" drawn by Jack Kirby and reprinted from House of Mystery #84 (1959).

Back to new material with "The King Is Dead" by Jack Oleck and Nestor Redondo. This was Nestor Redondo's first work at DC. He would go on to take over Swamp Thing after the departure of Berni Wrightson. A full moon turns the new king into a monster that murders many people. He tells his reluctant guards that he must be locked in the dungeon to save lives. The monster manifests in his cell and kills him, killing itself in the process.

All new material reprinted in Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery Vol. 1 TPB (2006) and House of Mystery: The Bronze Age Omnibus #1 (2018).

Edited by Joe Orlando.

New Gods #4

New Gods #4 (On Sale: June 15, 1971), has a cover by Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta.

We begin this issue with The New Gods in  "O'Ryan Gang and the Deep Six" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. Seagrin, an oceanic New God, is found murdered by the police and Orion. He deduces that forces from Apokolips have found a way of screening their operations from a Mother Box. To find the "jammer", he enlists the help of his four new friends from Earth, calls himself "O'Ryan", and sends them to infiltrate Inter-Gang. They do so and trick the Inter-Gangsters into exposing the jammer device. Orion destroys it, then seeks out the Deep Six, the murderers of Seagrin, and is caught by Slig, one of the Deep Six members. This has been reprinted in New Gods #2 (1984), Jack Kirby's New Gods TPB (1998), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 TPB (2012), and New Gods by Jack Kirby TPB (2018).

Our first backup story is the Manhunter in "The Secret of the Buzzard's Revenge" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Joe Simon and reprinted from Adventure Comics #73 (1942). Empire City is plagued by a costumed crook called the Buzzard. Police Inspector Donovan and his men are killed by the crook. Inspired by Donovan’s death, big-game hunter Paul Kirk (sometimes called Rick Nelson) dons a costume of his own and pursues the Buzzard, deciding that hunting a human game will be more challenging. He captures the Buzzard and his men and begins his career as Manhunter. This was the first Simon/Kirby Manhunter and was a different character than the Manhunter, also named Paul Kirk, which appeared in Adventure Comics #58-72.

The final backup is "Coast Guard Reconnaissance" written and drawn by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and reprinted from Boy Commandos #12 (1945).

Edited by Jack Kirby.

In the Days of the Mob #1

In the Days of the Mob #1 (On Sale: June 15, 1971), has a strange cover by Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia on this, DC's first black and white magazine (if we don't count MAD, and really, why would we?).

We begin with "Welcome to Hell" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. Introduction to the stories ahead by Warden Fry, the warden of hell in charge of the section patterned after a maximum-security prison. The artwork throughout is black and white with wash tones.

Next up is "Ma's Boys" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. This is the tale of Kate Clark Barker, Ma Barker, and her savage children. She taught them to be like her and it was the end of them. The first to go was Herman, who killed a police officer in Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, and paid the ultimate price when the police caught up with him in 1927, and rather than be caught, he shot himself. Freddy and Ma herself were killed in a shootout in Florida in 1935. In 1939 Doc Barker was killed trying to escape from Alcatraz. The last of the Barker boys, Lloyd was captured and became a model prisoner who eventually was released from Atlanta Federal Prison, He went straight and moved to Colorado, but violence, in the form of his girlfriend, followed and he was gunned down by her during an argument in 1947.

The book is structured like one long story, with the Warden moving between them. Next is "Bullets for Big Al" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. The story follows New Your mob bosses Guiseppi Aiello and Guinta's attempt to move in on Al Capone's turf. When given the news that he is out, Capone throws a huge party for the new boss. Guiseppi has hired two of Capone's own men to do him in at the party, but as they head off to it, their car explodes, killing them both. The two Guiseppi's are unaware that their hired guns are dead as Capone appears at the party. Once there, big Al takes care of his rivals. Capone remained the boss of Chicago till the feds finally caught up with him.

That is followed by a text and photo feature "The Breeding Ground" with photographs about life in the 1930s and "Funeral for a Florist!" a text story by Mark Evanier and Steve Sherman with an illustration by Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta.

Our next story is "The Kansas City Massacre" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. Warden Fry shows up at a train station in Kansas City in 1933. A train arrives and federal officers escort Frank "Jelly" Nash off the train. As they are putting him into a car, Pretty Boy Floyd and his gang arrive to free Nash, only in the resulting gunfight Nash and all the feds are killed. As reinforcement arrive, Floyd and his gang escape and the rest is history.

Next is "Method of Operation" also written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. This final story is regarding Country Boy and his love of fishing and women and how those loves proved to be his downfall. But in the end, the Warden lets Country Boy out of hell. 

Next are two pages of "Kill Joy Was Here" cartoons by Sergio Aragones and a Wanted Poster for John Dillinger to round out the one and only issue of In the Days of the Mob.

Most everything was reprinted in In the Days of the Mob HC (2013) and DC Universe: The Bronze Age Omnibus by Jack Kirby HC (2019).

Edited by Jack Kirby.

Forever People #4

Forever People #4 (On Sale: June 1, 1971), has an odd cover by Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta. The real news with this cover is the revamping of the entire DC line increasing in price from 15 to 25 cents and in size from 32 to 48 pages. This might be seen as an OK deal if the additional 16 pages were new, but they were not.

We begin this first expanded issue with the Forever People in "The Kingdom of the Damned" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. The Forever People are taken to Happyland, an amusement park run by DeSaad, who tortures them in various inventive ways there. Darkseid searches for a mind which can comprehend the Anti-Life Equation. And the Forever People's Mother Box, about to be executed by Desaad, phases out and winds up in the hands of martial artist Sonny Sumo. This tale has been reprinted in Jack Kirby's Forever People TPB (1999). Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 TPB (2012), and Forever People by Jack Kirby TPB (2021).

Our backup reprint is the Sandman in "The Unholy Dreams of Gentleman Jack" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Joe Simon and reprinted from Adventure Comics #85 (1943). Prisoner Jack Jarvis dreams of a life of luxury in jail. He also wants Sandman imprisoned in solitary confinement. When Jarvis is released, he creates a jail for himself to make his dream come true. Then he summons Sandman, locking him in an airtight room. Sandy rescues his friend and together, they end Jarvis’ dream.

Edited by Jack Kirby.

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #139

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #139 (On Sale: May 25, 1971), has a cover by Jack Kirby, Vicnce Colletta and an unknown characature artist.

Let me just say that Jack Kirby has a wonderful imagination from which flowed some incredible ideas; putting Don Rickles into Jimmy Olsen was not one of them. "The Guardian Fights Again" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta is the vehicle through which Kirby introduces Don Rickles to the DC universe. Morgan Edge is beset by Goody Rickels, a Don Rickles lookalike, who wants to break out of his research job and is assigned to investigate a UFO landing nearby. 

However, Clark Kent is abducted by the UFO, and the Guardian, the Newsboy Legion, and Goody are captured by Ugly Mannheim and Inter-Gang, who force them to eat a meal laced with Pyro-Granulate. Mannheim them lets them all go, informing them that the chemical will cause them all to burn up in 24 hours. Reprinted in Jimmy Olsen:Adventures by Jack Kirby Vol. 1 TPB (2003), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 TPB (2012), and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen by Jack Kirby TPB (2019).

Edited by Jack Kirby.

Mister Miracle #3

Mister Miracle #3 (On Sale: May 18, 1971), has a beautiful cover by Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta.

This issue features "The Paranoid Pill" written and drawn by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. Mr. Miracle is baited into a trap by Dr. Bedlam, one of Darkseid's agents. The trap is in the form of the Chandler Towers, a 50-story building full of people whom Bedlam has driven insane with a "Paranoid Pill". Mr. Miracle is on the top floor, and the only exit is through the front door--and past 5,000 maniacs--at the bottom. Reprinted in Jack Kirby's Mister Miracle TPB (1998), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 TPB (2012), and Mister Miracle by Jack Kirby TPB (2017).

Edited by Jack Kirby.

New Gods #3

New Gods #3 (On Sale: April 22, 1971), has an interesting cover by Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta. I'm not normally a fan of Kirby's photo-covers, but this one works for me.

This issue features "Death Is the Black Racer" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. The Black Racer, a sky-skiing harbinger of Death to the people of New Genesis, is Boom Tubed by Metron to Earth. There he stops an Inter-Gang thug from killing Willie Walker, a paraplegic black Viet Nam vet. The Racer merges with Walker's body, giving him mobility, and tracks down and destroys an Apokolips device that would have shorted out all communications devices for thousands of miles. 

Afterwards, the Black Racer separates from Willie Walker's body and leaves him in his bed, to remerge with him when he is needed. Reprinted in New Gods #2 (1984), Jack Kirby's New Gods TPB (1998), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 TPB (2012), and New Gods by Jack Kirby TPB (2018).

Edited by Jack Kirby.

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #138

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #138 (On Sale: April 13, 1971), has a cover by Jack Kirby and Neal Adams. 

"The Big Boom" is written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. Continuing from the last issue, while Superman, Jimmy, and the Newsboy Legion remain trapped in a cocoon, the Guardian and the original Newsboys lead a group of soldiers along the Zoomway intent on stopping the creature which threatens the Project's nuclear reactor. 

Simyan and Mokkari send more of the creatures to fight the soldiers. Superman finally breaks free, but the four-armed terror has already damaged the reactor beyond repair. To save Metropolis, Superman throws the reactor down a deep shaft. The creatures follow the reactor which inevitably explodes without endangering the city above. Reprinted in Jimmy Olsen: Adventures by Jack Kirby Vol. 1 TPB (2003), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 TPB (2012), and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen by Jack Kirby TPB (2019).

Edited by Jack Kirby.

Super DC Giant S-25

Super DC Giant S-25 (On Sale: April 13, 1971), has a Challengers of the Unknown cover by Jack Kirby. 

We begin with "The Man Who Stole the Future" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Wally Wood and reprinted from Challengers of the Unknown #8 (1959). June’s friend Marie has inherited a castle containing a secret room. The Challengers are called in to solve the mystery. Inside a secret compartment, the Challengers find three boxes. They open the first box, and Ace and Rocky are sprayed with a liquid that restores their youth. In the confusion, the boxes are stolen by a man named Drabny.

The second box contains a helmet that gives Drabny a mind-over-matter ability. Drabny uses his abilities to take over the country of Mordania. Prof and Red go after him but get captured. They are freed by Ace and Rocky, and the youth serum wears off.

Using the helmet, and the contents of the third box, goggles that can see into the future, Drabny continues his goal of conquest against an army of tanks. The Challs help out and use the recovered youth serum to turn Drabny into a child. The devices are destroyed, and Drabny sent to prison.

Next is "Captives of the Space Circus" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Wally Wood and reprinted from Challengers of the Unknown #6 (1959). The Challengers are captured by a traveling space circus. They are forced to perform acts of daring and kept in cages. The Challs manage to escape from their cells once but there are too many guards to make it far.

During one performance, the Challs meet other performers who are likewise imprisoned. The Challs formulate a plan, and with the help of the other prisoners, the Challs stage a revolt. While the other creatures escape, the Challs lead the guards to a small asteroid. They are cornered by their captors until they realize the atmosphere of the asteroid has given them enormous strength. They round up the ringmaster and his guards and turn them over to the authorities before returning home.

We end this issue with  "The Wizard of Time" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Wally Wood and reprinted from Challengers of the Unknown #4 (1958). Rocky undergoes an experiment to test a new serum that might help may adapt to extreme environmental conditions. As part of the test, Rocky is launched into space and returns in a space capsule. He emerges from the capsule unharmed, but without his memory. He also now possesses strange powers including the ability to project fire or ice, grow or shrink to any size, and become invisible. Now, if some of these powers seem to remind you of the Fantastic Four, there is a reason for that and it has zero to do with Stan Lee.

Without his memory, Rocky flees from his friends and is eventually found by three fugitives. The crooks plan to use Rocky for their own purposes, but the other Challengers find them. Rocky is wounded during the fight. He regains consciousness with his memory restored and finds his powers have disappeared.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

House of Secrets #92

House of Secrets #92 (On Sale: April 1, 1971), has an amazing cover by Bernie Wrightson. Bernie had done five horror covers for Marvel by this time, but to be honest, they sucked, every one of them. This is his first cover for DC and he hit it out of the park and at the same time, birthed a new DC hero and rebirthed the swamp creature genre (I know, Savage Tales #1 with the Man-Thing hit the stands in January, but I know it never hit the stands in my town and was impossible to find). This is a fitting cover for one of the classic comics of the past 60 years. If you do not own this book, you wish you did. April is staring with not a bang, but an explosion!

We begin with a frontispiece by Gerry Conway and Bernie Wrightson. In the graveyard behind the House of Secrets, Abel invites the reader to join him in hunting for a snipe, while his brother Cain lurks behind a gravestone laughing at his gullibility.

Next up is the story that launched a genre and brought tears to my 14-year-old eyes. "Swamp Thing" is by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson and Bernie captures the haunting sadness of the creature like no one else may have been able to. While the Man-Thing seems like a mindless child, the Swamp Thing is all about emotional pain.

A mossy, muddy, grotesque creature with the saddest eyes you have ever seen, shambles through the swamp till it comes to a clearing and sees a house upon a hill and it only makes him sadder. He remembers the "soft, golden lady" who lives there and wonders what she is doing. Linda Olsen Ridge is being toasted by her husband Damian on their six-month anniversary, but we learn that she has another man in mind this night, Alex Olsen, her dead first husband and the best part of her life, and it is another anniversary that her thoughts focus on, the night she gave him a golden bracelet as a symbol of their undying love. Alex and Damian were scientific partners till the day the lab exploded and Alex died.

Damian senses that Linda is thinking of Alex and he remembers back to their partnership, their friendship, and how he longed and lusted for his friend's wife. How he rigged the lab to explode to get rid of the only thing standing between him and the woman he desired above all others. How Linda never knew that Alex was not killed by the explosion and how he dragged his torn-up body to the swamp and buried him alive. How he slowly went from bereaved friend to something more, something he had long desired.

Not feeling well, Linda retires to her room, but Damian can sense that she is starting to suspect something, that she is flinching from his touch, and that it will only be a matter of time before she realizes what he did to Alex. As much as he loves her, his "own neck comes first" and so he decides to kill Linda before she can turn him in for Alex's murder. Back in her room, she feels eyes upon her, even though Damian is across the house. When Damian comes to see how she is doing, he brings a hidden hypodermic needle, and as he stands poised to kill his unsuspecting wife, the swamp creature breaks through the window and attacks!

Damian is no match for the monster's strength and the creature chokes him to death. He turns to Linda and holds out his hands trying to explain to her, wanting to tell her the truth, but his vocal cords no longer make sounds and Linda is terrified. The fear in her eyes is more than he can bear. He looks to his wrist where once a beautiful golden bracelet resided and cannot remember what happened to it. The sad-eyed creature leaves her and returns to the swamp that is now his home. "If tears could come, they would."

Bernie Wrightson would later say, "I recall Len [Wein] offered me the "Swamp Thing" short story to draw that night. The deadline was really tight and I remember doing most of the work on a weekend. I had help from [Michael William] Kaluta, [Jeffrey Catherine Jones], [Alan] Weiss, and Louise [Jones]. I remember that to save time we photographed the whole thing."

For fun, you can search the Internet and see the photos that became this classic story, with Michael William Kaluta as Damian, Bernie as Alex, and Louise (Jones) Simonson as Linda.

Now this is and it isn't the Swamp Thing that would return in a year and a half; this story takes place in an older time and pertains to characters with slightly different names than what was to come. I think when DC saw the sales for this book, the series was a no-brainer, but this was at the time a genre that had been pretty much ignored for decades, and DC wisely moved the series to the current era. Reprinted in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #9 (1981), Roots of the Swamp Thing #5 (1986), Swamp Thing: Dark Genesis TPB (1992), Roots of the Swamp Thing HC (2009), Roots of the Swamp Thing TPB (2012), Swamp Thing: The Bronze Age Omnibus HC (2017), Swamp Thing: The Bronze Age Vol. 1 TPB (2018), and Swamp Thing Halloween Horror Giant #1 (2018).

Next is "After I Die" written by Jack Kirby and Mark Evanier and drawn by Bill Draut. A wealthy man named Maxwell James is obsessed with what happens after death. His obsession grows stronger when he arrives at his wife's deathbed. She begs her husband to take care of Hal, her brother-in-law but is shocked when he realizes that she sees something utterly horrifying in her final moments. 

After his wife's death, Maxwell makes increasingly callous attempts to pursue this mystery, even paying to see a critically injured child and angrily storming out when the child makes a full recovery. Finally, Maxwell loses his patience and attempts to kill his wife's brother-in-law Hal with a gun. In the ensuing struggle, Maxwell is fatally shot and begs Hal to look into his eyes. As Hal obeys, he sees the reflection of the terror beyond death in Maxwell's eyes and is driven to permanent insanity. I think this is Mark Evanier's first work at DC.

Next up is "It's Better to Give..." by Virgil North (Mary Skrenes), Alan Weiss, and Tony DeZuniga. A homeless man named Smilin' Sam encounters a crying boy in the town dump who is upset that he has broken his balloon. The homeless man remembers that he's got a dime on him and so he gives it to the kid and tells him to get another balloon. The kid thanks him and tells him that he'll pay him back someday. Shortly, Sam notices dimes starting to fall from the nozzle of an abandoned bathtub and can't believe his good fortune. 

He gathers them up and goes into town to eat at a fancy restaurant, donate to the Salvation Army and buy new clothes. A criminal observes that the man has run into some money and follows him back to the dump to relieve him of it. The criminal kills Sam just as the little boy shows up and accuses the man of killing his friend. The man threatens to hurt the kid if he ever squeals and the boy swings his new balloon at the man who laughs at the boy but stops laughing when the new balloon begins to grow so large that it engulfs the killer completely. The boy then approaches the balloon with a large pin and pops it. The killer has disappeared and Able shows up to explain that it is better to give than to receive especially when you are dealing with a young warlock.

We end this classic issue with "Trick or Treat" by Gerry Conway and Dick Dillin. The story opens with a painter (perhaps) taking what he calls "magic paint and canvases" from a gallery. We see a guard on the ground, perhaps dead. He takes the items back to his place where he says that according to legend, whoever follows the instructions and paints the canvases according to the numbers provided will have their life changed. He follows the directions and paints a knife-wielding ghoul. He thinks it is pretty creepy but does not care as he knows his life is about to change. In the background we see the ghoul step out of the painting, knife in hand. I have to say this is some of the strangest Dick Dillon art I have ever seen.

The entire book has been reprinted in DC Silver Age Classics House of Secrets #92 (1992), House of Secrets #92 [Variant] (1993), Millennium Edition: House of Secrets 92 (#20) (2000), Showcase Presents: The House of Secrets Vol. 1 TPB (2008), and House of Secrets (Facsimile Edition) #92 (2019).

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Forever People #3

Forever People #3 (On Sale: April 1, 1971), has an odd cover by Jack Kirby and Vinny Colletta. I don't think the composition works and the coloring looks like a 5-year-old did it. 

This issue features "Life Vs. Anti-Life" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. The Forever People are confronted by the menace of Glorious Godfrey, one of Darkseid's lieutenants, an evangelist who preaches the concept of anti-life and recruits people to become fanatical "Justifiers" who destroy and kill on command. 

The Forever People unite to battle Godfrey as the Infinity Man, but Darkseid appears, banishes the Infinity Man, restores the Forever People, and delivers them as captives to DeSaad. Reprinted in Jack Kirby's Forever People TPB (1999), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 TPB (2012), and Forever People by Jack Kirby TPB (2021).

Edited by Jack Kirby.

Mister Miracle #2

Mister Miracle #2 (On Sale: March 16, 1971), has a cover by Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta.

This issue features "X-Pit" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. This is the first appearance of Granny Goodness, the cruel mistress of the Apokolips institution from which Scott Free once escaped. She returns to try to destroy Mr. Miracle with the help of her soldiers and a mysterious, powerful being called Overlord. This story has been reprinted in  Jack Kirby's Mister Miracle TPB (1998), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 TPB (2012), Mister Miracle by Jack Kirby TPB (2017), and The Fourth World Omnibus by Jack Kirby (2018).

Edited by Jack Kirby.

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #137

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #137 (On Sale: February 18, 1971), has a cover by Jack Kirby and Neal Adams.

This issue features "The Four-Armed Terror" written and penciled by  Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. While Superman and Jimmy Olsen join the Newsboy Legion and the Hairies to test a new solar-phone, the Project is attacked by a four-armed creature that feeds on nuclear energy. Superman tells the others to stay behind while he goes to fight the four-armed terror. 

The Newsboys and Jimmy follow anyway. The creature traps them all in a cocoon of energy, then prepares to cause an atomic explosion beneath the city of Metropolis. Simyan and Mokkari celebrate while they hatch another batch of the creatures in the Evil Factory. This continues next issue. Reprinted in Jimmy Olsen: Adventures by Jack Kirby Vol. 1 TPB (2003), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 TPB (2012), The Fourth World Omnibus by Jack Kirby (2018), and Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen by Jack Kirby (2019).

Edited by Jack Kirby.

New Gods #2

New Gods #2 (On Sale: February 18, 1971), has a cover by Jack Kirby.

This issue features "O' Deadly Darkseid" written and drawn by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. Orion is met and confronted by Darkseid and Brola, an Apokolips warrior, in an apartment in Metropolis to which he takes the four Earth abductees. He battles and defeats Brola, who phases out along with Darkseid. 

On Apokolips, Darkseid confers with another lieutenant, Desaad, about discovering Earth people who can comprehend the Anti-Life Equation, which Darkseid says will allow him "to control all free will". He allows Desaad to use a "fear machine" that strikes panic into the inhabitants of Metropolis, in hopes of smoking out a mind with the Anti-Life properties they seek. 

Orion is briefing his four newfound allies about Apokolips and Darkseid's agents when the fear machine is unleashed. He finds it and destroys it. Darkseid tells DeSaad that no suitable minds have been found among those victimized. The four abductees agree to work with Orion. Reprinted in New Gods #1 (1984), Jack Kirby's New Gods TPB (1998), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 TPB (2012), The Fourth World Omnibus by Jack Kirby (2018), and New Gods by Jack Kirby TPB (2018).

Edited by Jack Kirby.

Forever People #2

Forever People #2 (On Sale: February 2, 1971), has a cover by Jack Kirby and Mike Royer.

This issue features "Super War" written and drawn by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. The Forever People find a place to live in a slum area with Willie and his lamed nephew Donnie. But Darkseid sets Mantis, a power parasite, against the people of Metropolis, and the young Supertowners must summon Infinity Man to battle him. This story has been reprinted in Jack Kirby's Forever People TPB (1999), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (2007), and Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 TPB (2012).

This is Mike Royer's first work with DC, having previously worked for Gold Key as Russ Manning's assistant on Magnus, Robot Fighter and Tarzan. Royer also had done a number of stories for Warren in Eerie, Creepy, and Vampirella. Mike would spend the next five and half years at DC inking and lettering Jack Kirby's books before moving on to Marvel when Kirby moved back there. He continued working for Marvel off and on through 2003.

Edited by Jack Kirby.