World's Finest Comics #205

World's Finest Comics #205 (On Sale: July 27, 1971), has a Superman/Teen Titans cover by Neal Adams.

Our cover story is Superman and the Teen Titans in "The Computer That Captured a Town" by Steve Skeates, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. A town is controlled by an alien computer which programs them all according to the wishes of a man whose memories it took and then killed. The computer makes the Teen Titans act like racists until Superman gets a subconscious message from Lilith and arrives to stop the computer from controlling the titans and the townspeople. Reprinted in Showcase Presents: Teen Titans Vol. 2 TPB (2007), Teen Titans: The Bronze Age Omnibus HC (2017), and World's Finest: Guardians of Earth HC (2020).

Next is "Secret of the Last Earth-Man" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Murphy Anderson and reprinted from Strange Adventures #111 (1959). 

We end with a real artistic treat, the Shining Knight in "The Duel of the Flying Knights" by Joe Samachson and Frank Frazetta and reprinted from Adventure Comics #153 (1950). In the days of Camelot, Mordred meets a Greek warrior displaced in time by a magical mist. Mordred pits the warrior and his flying steed Pegasus against the Shining Knight. Mordred using trickery to aid the Greek warrior, but the Knight prevails with the aid of Merlin.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

From Beyond the Unknown #11

From Beyond the Unknown #11 (On Sale: April 27, 1971), has a cover by Murphy Anderson.

We begin with our cover story, "Invaders from the Space-Satellites" by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino, and Joe Giella and reprinted from Mystery in Space #43 (1958). In a future where Earth is ravaged by the after-effects of an atomic war, scientists decide to change the past so the atom bomb was never created.

Next, is "It's a Woman's World" by John Broome, Bob Oksner, and Bernard Sachs and reprinted from Mystery in Space #8 (1952). Greg Dexter lives in a time when women were in charge and men were fit only for housework. He battles to become the first Rocket Cadet and heroically saves a mission to stop a wandering planet.

That is followed by "The Billion-Year Evolution" by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson and reprinted from Mystery in Space #70 (1961). In 2178, Doctor Fred Gibson is on Jupiter searching for his fiancé, Elsa. His romantic rival, archaeologist Phil Travis, finds her first but lacks the medical knowledge to treat her properly. Gibson, however, finds ancient Jovian technology that reveals its history: scientist Halfar Kal invented a "Droga Ray" that evolved the Jovians into pure energy, allowing them to travel throughout the galaxy. Gibson uses the ray on himself and as an invisible energy being helps Travis save Elsa. Travis returns to Earth, but the grateful Elsa opts to stay with Gibson, who used the ray to return to normal.

Next up is "The Warning from One Million B.C." by Otto Binder and Sid Greene and reprinted from Strange Adventures #109 (1959). Clyde Harrison and Professor Beatty uncover seven robots while digging in the desert. The robots come to life and start to build some mechanism, but is it for good or evil?

That brings us to "'Terra' of the Spaceways" by John Broome, Gil Kane, and Murphy Anderson and reprinted from Mystery in Space #59 (1960). Jorg Randall is a repairman of the Terra, a common space vehicle. When the daughter of the maker of the vehicles crashes on a planet, Jorg is there to rescue her.

And next up is "The Man Who Ate Sunshine" by Joe Samachson, Jerry Grandenetti, and Joe Giella and reprinted from Strange Adventures #71 (1956). Charlie Linton doesn't eat but gains weight because his body is absorbing sunshine. He uses his new ability to power the first small manned rocket into space.

We end with "The 60 Million-Mile Long Weapon" by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino, and Joe Giella and reprinted from Strange Adventures #131 (1961). Aliens begin to plow the planet Earth to grow their strange crops, but scientist Eric Taine has an idea on how to stop them from destroying the planet.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

World's Finest Comics #175

World's Finest Comics #175 (On Sale: March 12, 1968) has a beautiful Neal Adams cover.

"The Superman-Batman Revenge Squads" is a classic story for mainly the artwork. It is written by Leo Dorfman and drawn by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano. This is only Giordano's third piece for DC, the last being two years prior. This is the beginning however of one of the greatest artistic teams in comic history, even if it is a rocky start.

In Dick Giordano: Changing Comics, One Day At A Time by Michael Eury, Giordano relates, "I remember getting the pencils. They were the best pages I'd ever gotten to handle. And it was the weakest job I ever did with Neal."

Personally, I don't thank the pages are that bad, but maybe that's just me.

Batman and Superman hold an annual contest where they challenge one another in tests of skill. The newly formed Batman Revenge Squad teams up with the Superman Revenge Squad to sabotage the contests. They all plant bombs in the trophies that the two heroes collect. When the trophies are brought back to the Bat-Cave and the Fortress of Solitude, they explode. Reprinted in Super-Team Family #1, Superman in the Sixties TPB, and Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams Vol. 1 HC.

The back-up story features the Martian Manhunter in "The Strange Experiment of Dr. Erdel," a reprint from Detective Comics #225 by Joe Smachson and Joe Certa and is the first Martian Manhunter story. Professor Mark Erdel has designs a robot brain that can probe other dimensions. The first time he uses the machine to probe space and time, the machine teleports a green-skinned alien to Earth.

Using telepathy the alien communicates to Dr. Erdel. He is J’onn J’onzz, a martian scientist. J’onzz requests to be sent home. The professor explains that in order to send the martian home he must redesign the robot brain which could take years. In order to blend in with the population, J’onzz changes his appearance to that of an ordinary Earthman. Abruptly, the professor collapses, suffering from a heart attack. The shock of the experience has killed him. J’onzz is now trapped on Earth.

J’onzz takes the Earth name John Jones and explores the world. He is able to extract gold from sea water to get some money. After traveling the world, J’onzz decides to fight crime as a police detective. He qualifies and quickly becomes a rookie detective.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Strange Adventures #207

Strange Adventures #207 (On Sale: October 31, 1967) features Neal Adams' first Deadman cover and his fifth cover of the month.

"What Makes a Corpse Cry?" is by Carmine Infantino (plot), Jack Miller (script) and Neal Adams (art). Deadman leaves the circus to search for his killer. He remembers an encounter at a night club prior to his death in which he was threatened by Rocky Manzel. Deadman returns to the club hoping to learn if Rocky was responsible for his murder. He takes over the body of Paul the bartender and discovers a counterfeiting operation under the club. Deadman's efforts get Rocky apprehended by the police and free Paul and his girlfriend Liz from Rocky's grip. Reprinted in World's Finest Comics #226 and Deadman #2.

The back-up story is "Man of a Thousand Shapes" by Joe Samachsom, Carmine Infantino and Bernard Sachs and is a reprint from Strange Adventures #66.

Edited by Jack Miller.

Strange Adventures #206

Strange Adventures #206 (On Sale: September 28, 1967) has a very nice Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos cover. You can use this as a trivia question to stump your friends, "Who besides Infantino and Adams drew Deadman in his first year?" Chances are Sekowsky is not going to be their first guess.

Inside we have "An Eye for an Eye" by Jack Miller, Neal Adams and George Roussos. Miller took over editing and kicked Arnold Drake out of his own series. This is the book most people think of when they think of Adams' first super-hero story. Boston Brand has been given a second life in spirit form as Deadman in order to find his own murderer. His search leads him away from the Hills Bros. circus, but before he leaves he stops to visit Lorna Hill, the owner. She is meeting with her brother Jeff, who claims to have taken out an insurance policy of Boston's life. Jeff is facing money problems, which leads Boston to suspect Jeff of his murder.

Deadman takes over Jeff's body as he meets with a motorcycle gang led by Morty. Morty is blackmailing Jeff, claiming that he has evidence that Jeff murdered Lenny Deane in Dayton. While this gives Jeff an alibi for Boston's murder, Deadman suspects that Jeff is innocent of Deane's murder too. He finds evidence that proves Morty was the real killer. After saving Jeff's life, Deadman forces Morty to confess. When Deadman leaves his body, Jeff has no memory of the adventure, but he is now cleared of the murder rap. Reprinted in World's Finest Comics #223 and Deadman #1.

The backup story is a reprint from Strange Adventures #64, "The Earth-Drowners" is by Joe Samachson, Jerry Grandenetti and Joe Giella.

Edited by Jack Miller.