Adventure Comics #390

Adventure Comics #390 (On Sale: January 13, 1970) has a Supergirl cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson featuring an All-Romance Issue!

This issue begins with Supergirl in"When Supergirl Played Cupid" from Action Comics #289 by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney. Supergirl embarks on a campaign to see Superman happily married. Traveling into the past, she unsuccessfully attempts to interest him in Helen of Troy. Her similar effort in the future era of the Legion of Super-Heroes also fails, when she learns that Saturn Woman, the adult Saturn Girl, is already married to Lightning Man, the adult Lightning Lad.

Finally, she locates Superman’s ideal mate on a distant world, where Luma Lynai, a superwoman who resembles Supergirl herself as an adult, falls in love with the Man of Steel. When it turns out that Luma Lynai cannot survive on Earth, however, the couple are focused to part, and Supergirl learns not to interfere in her cousin’s love life.

Next is Supergirl in "The Secret Identity of Super-Horse" from Action Comics #301 by Leo Dorfman and Jim Mooney. Supergirl and Comet visit the planet Zerox to help Superman’s friend Prince Endor. Comet allows Endor to ride him in order to complete a ceremony which allows the prince to retain his rule. In appreciation for Comet’s help, Endor places a spell on the horse, which allows him to temporarily become human, when a comet passes.

When they return to Earth, Supergirl leaves Comet with some other horses. A comet passes by, transforming Super-Horse into a man. He assumes the identity of Bronco Bill, a rodeo star. He later meets Supergirl at the rodeo, but decides to keep his identity secret from her. Eventually the effect of the spell wears off, and Comet is returned to his horse form.

This if followed by "Supergirl's Cowboy Hero" from Action Comics #311 and also created by Leo Dorfman and Jim Mooney. Comet travels back in time to visit his former love Circe in hopes that she may find a way to make him human. Circe creates a potion that will take effect shortly after Comet returns to the present. However, when Comet arrives back in his own time, he has amnesia.

A masked crook called the Hooded Demon finds Comet and uses him to commit a series of robberies. Comet's powers then begin to wear off and both he and the bandit are wounded. Comet's transformation then begins. He becomes human again.

A posse searching for the masked crook believe Comet is the bandit. Comet eludes them and manages to spend some time with Linda Danvers. She thinks he is Bronco Bill, whom she once met as Supergirl. The posse eventually catches up to Comet forcing him to flee.

Supergirl pursues him too, so Comet wishes Circe to reverse the effects of the potion. She complies, and Comet changes back to a horse. The real Hooded Demon is caught clearing Bronco Bill, and Supergirl still does not know that he was really Comet.

Next is "The Great Supergirl Mirage" from Action Comics #256 and created by Otto Binder and Jim Mooney. While secretly performing good deeds as Supergirl, a boy from the Midvale Orphanage, Dick Wilson, takes a picture of her. He suspects Linda Lee is Supergirl, when he sees her turn in a report that she finished at super-speed. Linda makes an excuse that she had a copy of the finished report elsewhere, but Dick is not convinced.

While looking for minerals for Geology class, Dick tricks Linda by throwing a dummy of himself off a cliff. Linda’s X-ray vision ignites chemicals which Dick coated the dummy with. Linda causes lightning to strike the dummy to cover her mistake. Dick is still convinced she is a Supergirl.

Dick tries to trick Linda again with heavy dumbbells. Linda falls for the trick, but her powers allow her to once again cover her mistake and protect her identity. She is distressed over the situation when a Supergirl robot arrives to perform amazing feats at a show. Dick is now convinced that he saw the Supergirl robot sent by Superman, and that Supergirl does not exist.

We end with "Supergirl's Wedding Day" from Action Comics #307 created by Leo Dorfman and Jim Mooney. Tor-An, a criminal from the Phantom Zone, escapes. He takes the identity of a teacher at Midvale High School in order to get close to Supergirl. He reveals his powers to her, but claims to be a survivor of Argo City.

Supergirl falls in love with the criminal and plans to marry him. Supergirl’s telepathic friends Jerro and Comet warn her about Tor-An’s evil intentions, but she does not believe them. When Superman returns from a space mission, he appears to give his approval. However, Tor-An has replaced the Man of Steel with a robot.

The wedding takes place at the Fortress of Solitude. Immediately after the ceremony, Tor-An reveals his true background. Supergirl then reveals herself to be Saturn Girl in disguise, therefore the marriage was illegal. Saturn Girl had been contacted by Jerro, Comet, and Lori Lemaris. Tor-An is taken to the future for imprisonment until he can be returned to the Phantom Zone.

Edited most likely by E. Nelson Bridwell.

Superboy #163

Superboy #163 (On Sale: January 8, 1970) has a superb Neal Adams' cover which seems inspired by Cool Hand Luke.

This issue begins with Superboy in our cover-story, "Reform School Rebel" by Frank Robbins, Bob Brown and Mike Esposito. Superboy shows up when Skimpy Sills escapes from the Reform School Farm, unknowing that Sills is hoping to find Superboy. It seems that the head of the school, Evil-Eye Gratch has been selling the boys' muscle to the highest bidder and keeping the profits.and  Sills wants to show Superboy the proof. When Superboy shows up at Sills' house his mother shows him a note she received from Sills saying how he was hoping to find Superboy and tell him the truth about the reform school.

With Krypto's help Superboy is able to locate Sills and makes himself up to look like Sills and replaces him in the reform school. There he learns that Skimpy's friend, Knucks Mangrin, is also in on the scheme. When the brass visit, Skimpy and Knucks are working in the rock quarry when Gratch uses a steam-shovel to try and kill the both of them. It is then that Knucks shows his true colors when he tries to save Skimpy. Superboy then shows the brass proof of what Grath was up to and he is taken away to jail.

The back-up is "The Super-Robot" from Superboy #52 and produced by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and John Fischetti. Two swindlers build a Superboy robot. They then sell the robot to the gullible Pop Peabody who thinks the robot has super powers. Superboy tricks the crooks by posing as the robots and performing super deeds for Pop. When the crooks see that the robot possesses powers they offer to buy it back for twice the price. The crooks then take the real robot back to their workshop where they discover it to be worthless junk. Superboy explains his trick to Peabody and gives the extra money to charity.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Secret Hearts #142

Secret Hearts #142 (On Sale: January 8, 1970) has a cover at least inked by Dick Giordano.

This issue begins with "Reunion." Anita meets her old boyfriend Tim at their high school reunion, but a series of misunderstandings still stand in their way.

That is followed by the eight-page continuing saga of "20 Miles to Heart Break" by Barbara Friedlander, Alex Toth and Vince Colletta which was reprinted in Young Love #125. Melanie's family is shocked when her sister Monica, the black sheep of the family, returns. Monica tells Melanie that she will see that Juan is acquitted of the false charges against him, and turns to their stepfather's brother John, the lawyer in the case. Juan wins the case and Melanie impulsively hugs him, to the horror of her mother.

Next we have the five-page "Rendezvous" inked by Vinny Colletta. Gina is meeting a boy she used to know, but now does not recognize him.

We end with "When Love Dies" which is drawn by Ric Estrada and Dick Giordano. Diana is sure that she will never fall in love again after Alan leaves her.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Our Fighting Forces #124

Our Fighting Forces #124 (On Sale: January 8, 1970) has a Losers cover by Joe Kubert.

This issue begins with The Losers in "Losers Take All" by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. The Losers sneak in through Nazi-occupied France to another, unnamed Nazi-occupied country to rescue a king from the hands of the Nazis. There is a modicum of action along their way to the castle where the king is being held, but they eventually make it. There they find that the king is only a child.

As the Nazis storm the castle ("Have good time stormin' the castle!"), the Losers escape with the boy-king by making parachutes out of the royal curtains ("No, not the curtains!"). After blowing up a statue of Hitler in the town plaza the Losers turn the boy over to Allied forces. I'm not quite sure I see the purpose in this story existing, but I feel that way after reading many Kanigher books.

There is a nice two-page Battle Album on the "Killer Flying Fish of the North Atlantic" by Ken Barr.

We end with the "find' of the issue: "Parable" by Jerry DeFuccio and John Severin. This is the first of five war stories that Jerry DeFuccio would write for DC and it is wonderful in its richness of character and place. This may be due to Jerry's tenure at EC Comics where he was an assistant editor and researcher for Harvey Kurtzman's war books, Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales, books for which Jerry also wrote stories. But Jerry is mainly known for his long career as a writer at Mad Magazine, where was was also an associate editor for 25 years. Jerry DeFuccio died of cancer in August, 2001.

The "Parable" takes place in British-occupied Kandahar Afghanistan in the 1880s and tells the tale of one Private Shelley, a tightrope walker turned British soldier who fell in love with Afghanistan and after his discharge went to live with one of the local tribes. There he made the tribesmen's lives better, lowering the infant mortality rate and turning the men to a more peaceful way of life. But they believed that Shelley was a saint and as such would serve them better in paradise looking after their black souls, so one day they gutted him and left him on the side of the road for dead while they rushed home to pray for his released spirit in paradise.

But he wasn't quite dead yet and a British patrol finds him and brings him to their fort, where none of them recognize him since his appearance had changed so much since joining the tribe. When they ask him through a translator if his wound is deep he answers with a quote from Romeo and Juliet, "Tis not deep as a well nor wide as a church-door" and they realize that he is an Englishman. As one of the men put it, "He died as an Englishman...without denying his people of the Hindu-Kush!" This story was reprinted in Sgt. Rock Special #3.

This story also marked the first work at DC by John Severin since 1958, his first work with the company being in 1948 on a Boy Commandos story. Severin has had four good runs at DC, the first in 1957-1958 doing war stories. The second begins with this story and continues a year from now when he takes over the reigns of the Losers from 1971-1974. The third begins in late 1980 and really picks up steam in 1981 when he draws Enemy Ace for two years. His fourth run began in 2000 and contains runs on Desperadoes Quiet of the Grave, Caper, and Bat Lash.

John Severin is well known for his stint at EC Comics working on Two-Fisted Tales and of course as one of the five artists who began Mad. When EC folded John worked for years at Atlas/Marvel and was well regarded as an inker for Dick Ayers in Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos and Herb Trimpe on The Incredible Hulk. In the 1970s he worked with his sister Marie Severin on King Kull.

Many people know John Severin from his years of association with Cracked Magazine, where he did countless movie and TV parodies and tons of covers.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

House of Mystery #185

House of Mystery #185 (On Sale: January 8, 1970) has a cover by Neal Adams. For some reason this cover just doesn't work for me. I love the foreground figures, but something about the gaping-mouthed swamp in the background just doesn't register right with me.

Irregardless of my misgiving with this issue's cover, this is a wonderful issue of House of Mystery with good stories all around and more importantly, Joe Orlando brings a legend to DC for the first time and he performs like the legend he is. But that is later on.

We begin with "Boom!" written and drawn by Jerry Grandenetti. I liked this story and the way it utilized Cain. It begins with Cain running back to the House of Mystery being chased by something in the air following him. He makes it back inside when "Boom!," whatever it is lands on the roof of the house.

Deciding to meet his fate head on, Cain runs upstairs and sees something through the open window. It ends up being a man, wearing a parachute. He is an exhibition sky diver named Tony Saunders, who can't figure out how he landed at Cain's house in Kentucky when he jumped out a plane in California. Unable to catch a ride anywhere, Saunders settles down for the night in the house as Cain's guest, when a strange car pulls up to the house and two gentlemen in top hats and suits get out and ask for Tony Saunders.

Saunders goes freely with the two men, saying he "knew you'd come for me." The next morning, listening to the news on his radio Cain hears of the the death of sky diver Tony Saunders when his chute failed to open somewhere in California. Cain rushes to his front door and sees that Tony left him a gift: his parachute.

Next is a Cain's Game Room by Sergio Aragones and a Page 13 written by Joe Orlando and drawn by Sergio Aragones.

These are followed by a short three-pager, "Voice of the Dead" drawn by Wayne Howard and reminiscent to the "true" short stories around this time that were written by Marv Wolfman. A North Carolina farmer dies in 1921 and when his will is read he leaves everything to his third son, Marshall. This leaves his widow and her other children penniless. Four years later his second son begins having a reoccurring dream where the ghost of his father tells him to look inside his old coat for a sewn-up pocket. A note of the art here is that some attribute the inking of this story to Wally Wood, though DC does not. Wayne Howard was such a Wood devotee that it would be hard to say for sure, but I would tend to agree with those who say this is Wood's inks. It really, really looks like Wally Wood.

After nights of having the same dream the son goes to his mother's house finds the coat and a note inside saying to look in the family bible. There they find a later dated will which split his estate evenly.

This is followed by another Cain's Game Room, this one written and drawn by Joe Orlando, but none of these are the reason you should own this book. No, that is the final story in the issue, "The Beautiful Beast" by Joe Gil and the legendary Al Williamson. This is the only story that Al will both pencil and ink for DC and folks, it is just out and out, drop dead gorgeous! This is Williamson in his Secret Agent Corrigan prime. This is the story of Joe Carver, escaped killer who hides out in the swamp and the inescapable justice that lurks there. But the story is superfluous, the artwork is the real story. Handsome men, a beautiful woman, hulking dinosaur-like creatures, a fetid swamp, serpents, lost cities, gnarled moss-laden trees, cavemen-like warriors, exotic birds and flying reptiles; this is a story custom-made for the talents of Al Williamson and he delivers completely.

But there is more to the art in this story than meets the eye. In an interview in Comic Book Artist Michael Kaluta said this:

I never even thought about being an illustrator or comic book artist. I’d just finished my second year of college...I didn’t know what I was going to do, stay in school or join the army. After the next SCARP convention, Phil Seuling contacted me and said that Al Williamson had seen stuff that I did and was interested in talking to me about maybe helping with a story. That flipped me out. At the next New York Convention I went up to Al and he gave me a script that he was having trouble getting in to. He asked me to stretch it out. “Give me plenty of boots, girls, dinosaurs and stuff” he said. I made 7 pages into 12. Al still has my fumbling pencil originals and unless he gets mad at me we won’t tell anyone. They’re really awful, awful stuff. I was so uptight about doing the job that I just rendered and detailed it to death. Later Al did a fine job with the story and let me doodle a bit on a page or two. DC Comics published it under the title The Beautiful Beast.

Regardless of the pedigree of the artwork, it is some stunning stuff and certainly makes you wish Al Williamson could have done more work for DC. Al Williamson was born in New York City but spent his childhood in Bogotá, Colombia. Upon his return to New York, he took art courses from Burne Hogarth, whom he assisted on some 'Tarzan' Sunday pages.

He made his professional debut at the age of 17 with western and adventure series like 'Buster Crabbe' for Eastern Color, 'Billy the Kid' and 'John Wayne' for Toby and 'Outlaw Kid' for Marvel. He was the youngest member of the "EC family," joining when he was only 21 years old in 1952, He was considered "the kid brother," for most of his colleagues were family men. Williamson contributed to EC's Weird Fantasy, Weird Science and Tales of Valor, often in collaboration with the so-called "Fleagle Gang": Frank Frazetta, Roy Krenkel and Angelo Torres. Al especially loved doing pencil work, but was "deathly afraid" of inking, so often Frazetta undertook that task for him.

Al also did comics work for ACG, Charlton, Prize and Dell. In the 1960s, he assisted John Prentice on 'Rip Kirby' and did a 'Flash Gordon' comic book, which was a natural for Al as his fluid style is highly influenced by Alex Raymond's original Flash Gordon work. For King Features Syndicate, he took over the 'Secret Agent X-9' daily, which was retitled to 'Secret Agent Corrigan' which was written by the wonderful Archie Goodwin.

In the 1980s Al drew the Marvel adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back and eventually the syndicated Star Wars newspaper strip. When this strip folded, Al went back to comic books, working for Pacific Comics in Alien Worlds and Summerset Holmes. For Marvel he did the Blade Runner and Return of the Jedi adaptations and a couple of stories for Epic Illustrated. He then transitioned to becoming a full-time inker, working first at DC on Superman and then for Marvel where he inked a ton of stuff off and on through 2003.

Al has worked for Dark Horse and has done occasional inking for DC. His last work for DC was on Green Lantern #146 in 2002. Living in Pennsylvania with his wife Corina, Williamson retired in his seventies and died on June 12, 2010, in Upstate New York.

This entire book was reprinted in Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery Vol. 1 TPB.
Edited by Joe Orlando.

Binky's Buddies #8

Binky's Buddies #8 (On Sale: January 8, 1970) has a cover by Henry Scarpelli.

This issue begins with Binky in "The Good Skate." Next is Buzzy in "Mr. Muscles." We end with Binky again in "Slappy Birthday" by John Albano, Winslow Mortimer and Henry Scarpelli. This last story was reprinted in Best Of DC #45.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Wonder Woman #187

Wonder Woman #187 (On Sale: January 3, 1970) has a cover by Mike Sekowsky and Dick Giordano. This is also the splash page for the story as it is the only place the title appears and page one continues from this starting point.

"Earthquaker" is the book-length Wonder Woman story written and penciled by Mike Sekowsky and inked by Dick Giordano. The story begins with I-Ching being shot and the takes us back to how we got to this place.

I-Ching receives a phone call from an old friend in Hong Kong needing Ching's help. Unable to get a normal flight, Ching gets one from another old friend, Patrick McGuire, who runs a freight airline. Diana tags along and they soon find out that McGuire is short-handed and will be piloting the plane. Not only that, but another woman, one Lu Shan, is also along for the flight. That night as the passengers all drift off to sleep, some thugs come out from their hiding place in a crate and awaken the three passengers at gunpoint.

The thugs seem to know Lu Shan and tell her that they will toss her out over the Pacific if she does not tell them where, well, something is. When one of the thugs turns his back on Diana and Ching to watch the other wrestle with Lu Shan, Diana and Ching leap into action. Gunfire brings McGuire out from the cockpit but a stray bullet hits the co-pilot. Most of the bad guys are ejected from the plane when it banks suddenly due to the shot pilot. Diana notices that the one bad guy not to fall from the plane has the eye of a cat tattooed on his hand. Lu Shan says it is the mark of the Tiger Tong who wish to steal something from her employer.

Just then I-Ching feels a broken medallion around Lu Shan's neck and matches it up to a similar medallion around his own neck. He says this means that Lu Shan is I-Ching's long lost daughter. It is that this time that they land in Hong Kong and Lu Shan invites them to go with her to her employer's place where they can discuss the matching coin medallions and her past of which she knows very little. On the way to the employer's they are attacked once again by members of the Tiger Tong. They are able to fend them off. However, when they reach Lu Shan's employer, there are more Tiger Tong waiting so they take once more to the streets of Hong Kong.

There with the help of McGuire they are able to defeat the Tong once again, and they leave McGuire with a promise to meet for dinner that night. When they once again reach Lu Shan's employer, Diana is a little worried by the presence of armed guards. That night finds McGuire at the Hong Kong police as Diana never showed up for dinner. Just then they are informed of an explosion on a junk in the harbor, not far from where they have found abandoned, the truck in which Lu Shan, Diana and Ching were last seen.

We then go back four hours to Lu Shan, Diana and Ching arriving at the junk of Lu Shan's employer, who turns out to be Dr. Cyber (last seen reeking havoc in Wonder Woman #182). While Lu Shan covers them with a gun Dr. Cyber explains that the box taken from the plane contains power sources which shall be used to power her "earthquakers," which she will use destroy Hong Kong as a demonstration of her power and to blackmail the world.

Lu Shan asks Dr. Cyber if she may have her gift, which ends up being I-Ching's life and we are back to the scene depicted on the cover splash. Yes, Ching is her father but he is also the man who murdered Lu Shan's mother. Before things go any farther in that area, Lum Fong, head of the Tiger Tong, and his men show up to steal the earthquakers. Dr. Cyber has them killed, impelled by sharp spears, but one of the men is not yet dead and gets off a blast from his machine gun. The spray of stray bullets hits a brazier of hot coals flinging them onto Dr. Cyber's face.

In the resulting fire and smoke, Diana manages to get Ching up on deck. Lu Shan escapes with Dr. Cyber and the power sources while Diana attends to Ching. As the boat begins to sink they are rescued by McGuire and the police. Ching is taken to a hospital while in a secret hospital outside of Hong Kong and fully-bandaged Dr. Cyber tells Lu Shan to activate the earthquakers then hunt down Diana Prince.

Like in many of the Sekowsky books, there follows a full-page ad for the next issue by Sekowsky and Giordano. This story was reprinted in Diana Prince: Wonder Woman Vol. 2 TPB.

Edited by Mike Sekowsky.

Tomahawk #127

Tomahawk #127 (On Sale: January 3, 1970) has a cover by Neal Adams. This may be the weakest of the Adams' Tomahawk covers.

This issue begins with "The Devil is Waiting" by Robert Kanigher and Frank Thorne. The back-up "Big Anvil's Big Lie" is also by Robert Kanigher and Frank Thorne.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Our Army at War #217

Our Army at War #217 (On Sale: January 3, 1970) has a great Sgt. Rock cover by Joe Kubert. I know the theme is a common one for DC war books, but in this case it is, 1) so masterfully drawn by Kubert and 2) an actual scene from the story. I love the way Kubert splits his cover between the above and below water shots.

This issue begins with Sgt. Rock in "Surprise Party" written and drawn by Joe Kubert. The men of Easy Co. are acting a little strange around Sgt. Rock but before he can get to the bottom of it they are given a mission. The progress into enemy country has been stopped for the last 48 hours by a company of Nazi soldiers on the other side of a river with some big guns waiting for the G.I.s to set foot on the only bridge in the area. Rock and his men are to "surprise" the enemy.

That night they quietly enter a raft and head out across the river. On the other side a group of enemy scuba divers to the same. Rock notices bubbles in the water getting thicker and they hurl grenades underneath them, killing the divers but also blowing up their raft and losing any element of surprise they might of had. They come ashore under the bridge and are met and captured by a platoon of Germans. Rock breaks down and tells the Germans that the rest of their men will be coming over the bridge soon and as they divert their attention solely to the bridge, the rest of Easy Co. comes up from behind them in the real "surprise" attack.

After the battle is over and won by Easy, the men come to Rock and wish him a "happy Birthday" complete with a gift. Noting the seedy nature of Rock's shirt and helmet they give him a bag with new clothes scrounged from "miles behind the lines" to replace his tattered duds. Only the shrapnel from the big guns they destroyed ripped through the bag and Rock's new clothes are in worse shape than the ones he is wearing.

Next is a beautiful one-page Warrior on William the Conqueror by the masterful Ken Barr.

The back-up "Come the Revolution" is by Mike Friedrich and Fred Ray and concerns Davy and Dan two pioneer settlers in early America. Returning home from a day of hunting they find their farms destroyed, burned to the ground. Dan is enraged by the "big city radicals" who think they can disobey the crown. He says when people start destroying what others have worked their lives for, then you have to defend it and he goes off to "get me a few rebels."

Joining up with group of the King's finest Dan is upset when he is not allowed to chase after the rebels. He decides to sneak off and kill a few rebels on his own, only he is shot by a sniper. Ducking behind a rock Dan sneaks up on the sniper and kills him. One of the King's men search the sniper for personal effects to be sent to his family and finds an unmailed letter. He gives it to Dan to see if there is an address to which they can send the body.

Opening the letter he finds it addressed to him and from his friend Davy, who says he has joined the revolution because there is something worth fighting for and that is freedom. Davy says how he was inspired to pick up his musket and use it by Dan.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Aquaman #50

Aquaman #50 (On Sale: January 3, 1970) has a cover by Nick Cardy.

This issue begins with our cover-story, "Can This Be Death?," (its second chapter has the Harlan Ellison-inspired title of "City on the Edge of Nowhere") by Steve Skeates and Jim Aparo. Aquaman awakens in a strange realm of storage floating geometric pink and purple objects and remembers back to how he came to this unusual place.

Returning to Atlantis from Alaska, Aquaman and Aqualad see Mera outside of the Atlantis dome talking to Ocean Master. Aquaman confronts Ocean Master who says that his mind is now clear and he remembers that he and Aquaman are brothers and that he is there to warn him about something. Just then a strange craft arrives and two aliens emerge and shoot Aquaman with some sort of ray gun, causing Aquaman to black out. When he awakens it is to the madness surrounding him.

Aquaman realizes that he can swim through the strange atmosphere and does so only to come upon a bizarre giant creature with one eye. The creature attacks Aquaman who is forced to retreat from it when the creature is shot with an arrow, delivered by a beautiful woman holding a strange-looking gun. Aquaman tries to communicate with her telepathically to shoot the creature in the eye to no avail, so he takes the arrow-gun away from her and scores a bullseye, or creatures-eye with his shot. The woman abruptly pushes Aquaman away from the creature as it explodes. Now he knows why she avoided the eye!

Aquaman picks up a hint of garbled telepathic communication and follows it. In a neat visual twist from Aparo, the communication takes the form of a large distorted word: GIORDANO.
He follows the communication trail and is in turn followed by the woman, to a city full of people. Once again he attempts telepathic communication with negative results. Continuing to follow the hints, Aquaman is led to a guarded building. Here there are more hints of communication and Aquaman is swimming in a sea of DC staff: ORLANDO, HEATH, PIKE, WRIGHTSON, TOTH, etc.

The guard shoots at Aquaman with a gun that emits green bubbles, which latch on to him sapping his strength. With the last of his energy Aquaman knocks out the guard and swims inside the building, where the guard does not give chase. Inside he finds people sitting around and communicating telepathically. The woman comes up behind him and explains that she too can now communicate with him now that they are in the "sacred place." Apparently the religion of these people only allow communication in there churches or sanctuaries.

Aquaman asks the woman what planet they are on and in what galaxy they are in, but the concepts are unknown to her. She knows only the city and the wilderness beyond. Aquaman realizes that he must be in another plane of existence and asks the woman if there is someone he can talk to. She says only Brother Warnn, but that no one dares talk to him. A voice asks Aquaman what he wants and when he turns around he is confronted by Brother Warnn. Obviously continued, and not just in the next issue, but in the next story, sort of. Reprinted in Adventure Comics #502.

The back-up is Deadman in "Deadman Rides Again" written and drawn by Neal Adams. In Nanda Parbat, Deadman has a meeting with Rama Kushna where Rama says that he will keep his "deal" with Deadman to allow him to attempt to balance the good against the evil of the world. To that end Rama sends Deadman out on a mission to discover the danger in a small deep-sea craft. Chasing down the craft, being driven by Ocean Master, Deadman watches as he places a small glowing device on the ocean floor. Staying with Ocean Master Deadman watches as he rendezvous with an alien space craft. There he learns that Ocean Master has made a deal with the aliens to plant their device for them in return for them killing Aquaman.

As Ocean Master leaves, Deadman attempts to take over his body only to find a portion of his mind blocked off. Needing full control of Ocean Master, Deadman breaks through the barrier, but finding himself weakened, leaves Ocean Master's body to "catch my breath." As he does so, Ocean Master regains control of his body and feels long forgotten memories flooding his mind and realizes that Aquaman is his brother and that he has sent aliens to kill him. He heads off to warn Aquaman leaving Deadman free to find out what the aliens are up to with the strange device.

The aliens converse telepathically and Deadman listens in as they discuss how the device, and others like it, will lower the mental capacity of humans by 25%. Deadman finds that he can take over the bodies of an alien just as easily as a human, but he walks through a restricted area and the other alien takes off as if he knows what is going on. When Deadman goes after his body the first alien says that he has "been under the control of a non-entity" as if Deadman-types are a known issue with them. Unable to control both aliens at the same time they make there way to a hatch where the let loose a "Sddrie," a small cat/rat-like creature with large ears and huge glowing eyes. As the creature looks at Deadman he feels himself slipping into another dimension.

This story, reprinted in Deadman Collection HC, sure had me hooked.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #99

Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #99 (On Sale: December 23, 1969) has a cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.

This issue, the last DC book of 1969 begins with our cover-story, "Is Lois Lane Guilty?" by Robert Kanigher and Irv Novick.

The back-up story is "The Man Who Was Clark Kent's Double" from Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #3 and drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger. While investigating a story of a modern day Robin Hood in the town of Hadley, Lois Lane meets Mark Benton who looks identical to Clark Kent. She quickly falls in love with Mark, but he slips away several times. She begins to suspect him of being Robin Hood.

While several attempts to learn the truth fail, Lois finally finds the Robin Hood mask in his coat pocket. Mark is upset because his Robin Hood act was done to help the poor. He is really a wealthy man named Ronald Van Horton. He assumed the Mark Benton identity because he doesn’t want people to like him for his money. He had planned to propose, but Lois’s suspicions show a lack of trust. She is heartbroken when Mark dumps her.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Heart Throbs #124

Heart Throbs #124 (On Sale: December 23, 1969) has a cover by Ric Estrada and Vinny Colletta.

This issue begins with our cover-story, "Love Stop," drawn by Ric Estrada and Vinny Colletta. This one is a long, 24-page stroy. We end with "The Girl Voted Most Likely to Succeed" penciled by Jay Scott Pike.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Girls' Love Stories #149

Girls' Love Stories #149 (On Sale: December 23, 1969) has a cover penciled by Ric Estrada. Some have this credited to Nick Cardy, but those people are on serious drugs.

This issue begins with our cover-story, "Forbidden Love," penciled by Ric Estrada. Next is "For Better or Worse" penciled by John Rosenberger. That is followed by "...But Only in My Dreams" penciled by Ric Estrada. We end with Confessions : "Episode 3" penciled by John Rosenberger.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

From Beyond the Unknown #3

From Beyond the Unknown #3 (On Sale: December 23, 1969) has a great cover by Neal Adams.

We begin with our cover-story, "When Earth Turned into a Comet" reprinted from Strange Adventures #150 and created by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella. An astronaut on the Moon uses illusion and bluff to save the Earth from invaders.

Next is "Prisoner of the Electronic Eye" from Mystery In Space #53 and the work of John Broome, Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia. A man must figure out how to escape from an inescapable room so he can stop Earth and Saturn from going to war.

The next story is "The Space Hermit" from Strange Adventures #34 and the product of Sid Gerson and Henry Sharp. When an alien sealed in an indestructible bubble crashes into a ballpark a scientist works to free him. The question is should he? Between 1953 and 1955 Henry Enoch Sharp drew 15 science-fiction stories fro DC Comics appearing in Mystery In Space and Strange Adventures; this is the only one of those stories where Sharp provided both pencils and inks. During his tenure at DC Sharp also worked for St. John Publishing.

Henry Enoch Sharp started off in the early 1950s working for the pulps, drawing for Fantastic Adventures and Other Worlds along with doing some advertising work. As the pulps began to die, Sharp switched over to comics, spending four years at Ziff-Davis where he worked on a number of books including G.I. Joe (see his cover painting for G.I. Joe #10, which is actually issue #1) and Sky Pilot. Then in a change of careers, Sharp began to work in television as a writer where he had a successful run through the mid-1970s.

Henry Sharp wrote for such diverse shows as The Real McCoys, Bachelor Father, The Donna Read Show, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Andy Griffith Show, McHales's Navy, Bewitched, Here Comes the Brides, Mission: Impossible, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Target, MacKenzie's Raiders and The Addams Family. Moreover, Sharp was the Story Consultant and one of the writers for The Wild Wild West for four years. In the 1970s he wrote for Valley of the Dinosaurs, Super Friends and The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan.

Our last story is "Escape from Earth" reprinted from Mystery In Space #61 and created by John Broome and Murphy Anderson. In the 30th century the Council of Eternity decrees that all the people of Earth must enter the Chamber of Immortality so they will live forever. Four people decide that the new immortals no longer seem fully human and contrive to escape from Earth and find a new planet to live on as mortals, even though this means if caught immortality will be forced on them and they will be given a jail sentence of 100,000 years!

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Detective Comics #396

Detective Comics #396 (On Sale: December 23, 1969) has a cover by Neal Adams.

This issue begins with Batman in "The Brain-Pickers" by Frank Robbins, Bob Brown and Joe Giella. Wall Street wiz-kid Rory Bell makes the cover of Now! Magazine and the notice of Bruce Wayne and three thugs led by a guy named Sharf. Bell rides around on his motorcycle and radio-phones in his orders to his broker and girl friend, Nan Owens.

Sharf has a buddy who works at the garage where Bell keeps his bike and has had his helmet bugged, so that when he places an order Sharf and his buddies will be able to "share in the wealth." Their plan goes south when they find out Bell phones in his orders in code.

As it ends up Nan is Bruce's broker as well and Bruce calls in to see how "the street" is reacting to Wayne Enterprises proposed merger with Seven-Star Pictures. Nan mentions how Bell has bought in for a "big slice" and how others are following his lead. Meantime, Sharf and his buddies waylay Bell on his bike and say they are going to hold him up in a motel room for a few days and make all the same trades as he does to get rich quick.

Bell tells them it doesn't work that way, that if he can't ride his bike he can't figure out what to trade, so the thugs agree to just follow him by car. Bell's first order is to sell Wayne Enterprises which forces Nan to Call Bruce to try and soften the blow on "the street." Eventually Bruce figures out that Bell's orders are really a code for where he located and as Batman Bruce goes to intercept him.

At a gas station Batman confronts the thugs and has to use the remote-control features of the new Batmobile to foil the thug's plans. All in all a pretty stupid story. I remember liking Robbins' run on Batman, so either it gets a lot better or I didn't have very good taste in writing back then.

Much better written by Frank Robbins is the back-up Batgirl story, "The Orchid-Crusher," drawn by Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson. The Orchid-Killer is murdering one redhead after another and Barbara Gordon is even dreaming that as Batgirl she is a victim of the killer. She learns that the last victim had registered at a computer dating service when she finds a book with the woman's dating card used as a bookmark. She tracks down the last borrower of the book, but he has moved out of his apartment. Barbara immediately rents the apartment and also joins the computer dating service. She has to brush off Jason Bard's advances as she waits for the trap she is setting to be sprung.

She does get a date through the service, a mousy looking man named Max Tournov, but he seems harmless, till he buys her an orchid and then tries to kiss her. She sends him over her shoulder and he responds by crushing he orchid and running off. As Batgirl Barbara gives chase, but loses him. As she frantically searches, she is pulled into a dark alley by an unseen figure who says, "A red-headed Batgirl will do for now!"

The filler story is "The Master of Mind Over Matter" from Strange Adventures #26 by Jack Miller, Gil Kane and John Giunta. This is a tight little story about a psychiatrist and amateur magician named Blake, whom the police asked to report on the sudden death of a magician named Elmo the Great, since the man had been investigating Elmo for a while. It seemed Elmo could do miraculous things: levitate people, turn water into wine, etc. Blake was present when Elmo suddenly died. In his report he tells the police that he believes an alien creature had entered Elmo's body and was the source of his amazing powers. The police scoff at such nonsense and leave. Blake then reveals that he knows what he says to be true because when Elmo died the creature entered his own body.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Brave and the Bold #88

Brave and the Bold #88 (On Sale: December 23, 1969) has a cool Batman and Wildcat cover by Neal Adams.

We begin with Batman and Wildcat in "Count Ten ...and Die" by Bob Haney, Irv Novick and Mike Esposito. Much like the Vigilante in this month's Justice League of America, this too is a new Wildcat of Earth 1 and never before seen. Bruce Wayne visits a flophouse on skid row to find Ted Grant, the retired undefeated heavyweight champion, who has fallen on hard times since he left the world of heavyweight competition to open a gym for underprivileged children. Over time Ted lost the gym and is now just another bum existing on the seedier side of town.

Bruce offers to pay off all of Grant's debts if Ted will coach the American boxing team for the World Youth Games in Vienna, in which Bruce is coaching the fencing team. Ted declines, saying his best days are in the past and after Bruce leaves he pulls out his old Wildcat costume and thinks how he is even too old and slow to wear it anymore. But when he sees Bruce being hassled by two guys on the street, Ted leaps into action and takes the two out easily. He decides that maybe their is still life in his old bones after all and accepts Bruce's offer. After Ted leaves Bruce pays off the two "thugs" whom he hired to rough him up knowing it would spur Ted into action.

Weeks later in Vienna, the seemingly Russian coach (if is never said for sure), Koslov, taunts Grant in front of his team, saying he was too afraid of Koslov to ever fight him. Meanwhile, as Batman, Bruce is briefed by "Military Intelligence" in Vienna on a free-lance spy named Kurt Schimmerling who was supposed to sell some information on the date the "other side" is planning on launching an armed space station. Schimmerling never delivered the information and it is now assumed that the "other side" has offered him more to sell it back to them. Batman's job is to get the information from Schimmerling before he sells it back.

Back in the athlete's village Ted breaks up a fight between the American boxing team and the team from the "other side." Koslov is there to say that the Americans started the fight and are bad sportsmen. Signs of "Americans Go Home!" and "Americans Don't Play Fair" spring up around the village and later Koslov eggs Ted on and challenges him to a fight, which Ted backs away from. His kids see it all and are afraid of becoming a laughing stock and Bruce tells him that he has now become part of the cold war and needs to fight Koslov and win. Grant is unsure what to do and walks off to think it over.

Bruce needs the time to change back into Batman and pick up Schimmerling's trail. He finds him and begins following him through the streets of Vienna. Meanwhile Ted has borrowed a bike from the cycling team and is tooling through the streets in his old Wildcat uniform when he sees Batman chasing Schimmerling into the sewers. Schimmerling loses Batman there but Wildcat picks up the trail only to lose him as well when he is suckered over a waterfall.

Back as Ted Grant spots him entering an amusement park and when Ted takes a ride on the giant Ferris wheel, Batman joins him in the car. Batman tells Ted that he must fight Koslov and says that Ted has not lost his old gifts at all and to prove it takes Ted on in a massive fight in the car. In the end only Ted emerges, Batman flat on the floor and thinking that though he pulled some punches, that Ted was quite a scrapper in his time.

The ploy works and Ted begins to train for the fight with Koslov. Batman meanwhile sets a timer on the arena lights to turn them off in the seventh round, figuring that if Ted is losing he will "take his place using a plasti-face-mask from my disguise kit." Batman then gets back on the trail of Schimmerling finding a ticket to the Koslov/Grant fight in his room, but before he can act on this information he is captured by agents from the "other side."

Later the big fight takes place and Ted goes out strong against Koslov, but by the fourth round Ted is tired out and Koslov is coming on strong. Later when Koslov gets Ted in tight he tells him that they have Batman and that if he wants to see him alive he needs to lose the fight. Just then the lights go out and Ted knocks Koslov out, carries him out to a nicely placed cycle with sidecar and gets the now awake Koslov to tell him that they are keeping Batman on a river barge.

Ted drives off a bridge onto the barge and rescues Batman and they somehow manager to get back to the arena before the lights go back on. Batman spots Schimmerling as Koslov knocks Ted to the mat. As Batman follows Schimmerling out of the arena and Ted is being counted out, Batman throws a batarang into the ring to land in front of Ted on which Batman has written "has-been!" This is enough to inspire Ted to his feet where he knocks out Koslov. Meantime Batman is able to intercept the transfer of information between Schimmerling and the folks from the "other side"

The American boxing team does well in the games and Ted begins to think that maybe Wildcat isn't completely washed up either. Reprinted in Showcase Presents: The Brave and the Bold Batman Team-Ups Vol. 2 TPB.

The back-ups are both filler stories written by Murray Boltinoff and drawn by George Tuska: "Death Turns the Dial" and "Killed with Kindness."

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Adventure Comics #389

Adventure Comics #389 (On Sale: December 23, 1969) has a cover by Murphy Anderson.

This issue begins with Supergirl in "The Mystery Magician" by Robert Kanigher, Winslow Mortimer and Bob Oksner. I don't even know where to begin with this one: for Father's Day the girl's of Stanhope College create special gifts for their fathers. One of Linda's friends, Harriet is afraid her father will not show up. He is a magician who retired ten years earlier when his wife died. Supergirl tricks him with super-ventriloquism into coming out of retirement for the day and uses her powers to make him appear to be doing real magic. Nasty co-ed Vera suspects that Linda is Supergirl and locks her in a lead-lined room to prove she is the one helping Harriet's father and is surprised when he continues to amaze the girls even when Linda is locked away, It ends up she used her super-ventriloquism to call her father in Kandor and it was he who helped the aged magician succeed. Snooze.

The back-up Supergirl story is our cover story, "Supergirl's Jilted Boy Friends"is by Cary Bates and Kurt Schaffenberger. Supergirl falls for transfer student Kim O'Ryan, not realizing he is a robot sent by Brainiac to destroy her. He plans on making his robot pretend to kill itself and make Supergirl think she was to blame, but she figures out what is going on and turns the tables on Brainiac. Her plan involves a fake space dragon with a fake garden on old Supergirl beaus turned into stone, which gives us the cover scene. Sigh,

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Action Comics #385

Action Comics #385 (On Sale: December 23, 1969) has a cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.

This issue begins with Superman in "The Immortal Superman" by Cary Bates, Curt Swan and George Roussos.  When the president asks Superman not to fly through time for a few days so that the military can test a new weapon, he is called to the future and uses an old Legion time-bubble to do so, but a defect int he bubble causes Superman to age. After solving a crisis he finds that when he attempts to return to the present he is stopped by some sort of barrier and returns to the 1,020th century where he is given immunity to kryptonite, magic and Virus-X. Though now pretty much immortal, Superman is trapped in the future and this story is continued next issue.

The back-up Legion of Super-Heroes story, "The Fallen Starboy" is by E. Nelson Bridwell, Winslow Mortimer and Jack Abel. When a criminal gang is running rampant on his home-world of Xanthu, Starboy, along with Colossal Boy and Saturn Girl respond only to discover that the gang is from Naltor, Dream Girl's home planet and can foresee every trap the Legion sets for them.  One of the gang is the brother of the man Starboy killed and is out for revenge. He captures Starboy but he is rescued by his fellow Legionaries..  This story was reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 9 HC and is the first LSH story in years not written by the now departed Jim Shooter.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Swing With Scooter #25

Swing With Scooter #25 (On Sale: December 18, 1969) has a cover by Henry Scarpelli.

This issue has four Scooter tales: "It's Work Like Ants for the Xmas Dance," "Snow Fun -- Being a Fund Raiser," "Santa's Li'l Helpers" and "Kenny Goes Hollywood."

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Star Spangled War Stories #149

Star Spangled War Stories #149 (On Sale: December 18, 1969) has an Enemy Ace cover by Joe Kubert.

This issue begins with Enemy Ace in "Reach for the Heavens" by the normal team of Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert. This is another in a long line of neat little war stories by Kanigher and Kubert, this one revealing the origin of the scar on Von Hammer's face.

One evening Von Hammer thinks back to the days when he was a raw recruit, he and the other young men with him, waiting to learn how to fly. One man though was driven, Heinrich Muller did not want to join the others in youthful camaraderie; all he cared about was learning to fight to kill the enemy.

One day the men played a prank on Muller and he demanded satisfaction from Von Hammer, singling him out. The next morning they dueled with swords till Muller drew first blood and Von Hammer apologized for himself and the men. Muller's reply was, "The scar I put on your face is the only apology I want, Herr Von Hammer!"

From then on the men get serious and finally the day comes when they will get to go up in the planes for the first time. Von Hammer and Muller go together in the rear cockpit on the training mission. Once aloft they spot a French fighter. who, knowing they are training leaves them alone. But Muller pulls out his pistol and begins shooting at the Frenchman against the protest of Von Hammer. When they land Muller cannot understand why he is not commended for shooting down the French fighter.

Back in the present when the morning arrives, Muller is at the Jagdstaffel, assigned to Von Hammer. Muller looks more bitter and determined than ever. That day on patrol they run into an enemy patrol and Muller murders an defenseless British pilot who is out of ammunition. This distracts Von Hammer to the point where he is shot down. As his plane heads for the ground Muller dives after him and Von Hammer jumps from his burning plane to the landing gear of Muller's plane. The English attack till they are all out of ammunition and Muller gently lays the plane down allowing Von Hammer to hit the ground safely. When Von Hammer goes to thank him for saving his life he finds that he is dead. "I felt my heart cry bitter tears...as my dry eyes reached for the heavens...to the killer skies!"

This story has been reprinted in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #21, Enemy Ace Archives Vol. 2 HC and Showcase Presents: Enemy Ace Vol. 1 TPB.

Next is the Viking Prince in "The Terror Stone" reprinted from Brave and the Bold #11 and also the work of Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert. All weapons of metal are being seized by a mysterious power from the village of the Viking Prince. Even Jon's boat is torn asunder as the nails are pulled from the boards and disappear out to sea. Jon has a small boat made with wooden nails and carrying only wooden weapons he sets out to see what is causing the strange actions of all metal. He finds the ship of his enemy Baron Thorvald carrying a large rock that fell from the sky and which is the source of the strange metal attraction.

Jon boards the ship and when the rock is pushed overboard, he uses his wooden sword to sever the rope keeping it captive. His men then show up in the ship that has been secretly tailing him and Thorvald is defeated.

Lastly is "Boadicea Queen of the Iceni" the work of the late, great Ric Estrada.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Our Army at War #216

Our Army at War #216 (On Sale: December 18, 1969) has a cover by Joe Kubert.

We begin with Sgt. Rock in "Doom Over Easy" from Our Army at War #107 by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert. After Easy Company is shelled by enemy fire, Everett, a new member of Easy, begins having visions of the future. He tries to switch positions with Buster and Ice Cream Soldier after Rock has given them assignments. Rock refuses to make the switch, and the other soldiers die. When Rock goes on a mission himself, Everett comes along to prevent Rock from dying. Rock and Everett both survive, though another blast robs Everett of his precognition.

In the original printing of this story, Ice Cream Soldier dies in action. Here the name of the dead soldier is changed to Young Willy. Since Ice Cream Soldier went on to appear in later Sgt. Rock stories, this change makes sense.

Next is "Silver Star for a Tin Can" from Our Fighting Forces #33 by Bob Haney and Russ Heath. That is followed by "Last on a Match" by Hank Chapman, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito and reprinted from G.I. Combat #77. Next is "Unknown G.I." from Our Fighting Forces #41 and created by Bob Haney and Russ Heath. "Return to Beach Red" from Our Fighting Forces #11 is next and created by Bob Haney and Joe Kubert,

"Introducing -- the Haunted Tank" is reprinted from G.I. Combat #87 and the creation of Robert Kanigher and Russ Heath. Jeb Stuart the commander of an M-3 tank and his crew assist a squad of heavier Pershing tanks. The Pershings are destroyed by enemy bombers, leaving only Stuart's tank to take on a squad of heavy German tanks.

The tiny tank is shelled by the heavy guns of a German "Tiger" tank, and it falls into a ravine. The crew is knocked out, leaving it an easy target for the enemy tank. However, the M-3 manages to fire a shot that destroys the enemy tank. When Jeb and the crew awaken, they are shocked to find the enemy tank destroyed, as they had not fired their gun.

The tank then continues on its mission to protect a squad of infantry. Using its better speed and maneuverability, the M-3 is able to take on and defeat an entire unit of German tanks. Jeb Stuart is the only one that can hear laughter which comes from the ghost of civil war General Jeb Stuart, who has protected his descendant and the tank.

Lastly we have Great Battles of History "Chaeronaea" written and drawn by Ric Estrada.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Witching Hour #7

Witching Hour #7 (On Sale: December 16, 1969) has a cover by Neal Adams. It's not a bad cover, but it just does not grab me the way some of his horror work did.

We have the usual wonderful framing sequence drawn by Alex Toth. We begin with "The Big Break" by Steve Skeates and Bill Draut. It is our cover-story and a tale concerning an escaped convict and what may be a family curse or the fantastic imaginings of a dying man.

Next is "The Captive" by Steve Skeates and George Roussos in a tale of an unknown, but brilliant artist and a retired gangster who comes to him looking for a painting or a statue that will make him immortal. He just might get what he asked for.

That is followed by "Look Homeward, Angelo" by Mike Friedrich and Jack Abel. In this tale a young adopted boy asks his parents if he had a real mother and father. They say of course, but they don't know who they were and tell young Angelo to shut up. Strange things begin happening at the house: the wife is attacked by nightmarish creatures, the furniture floats in the air and crashes to the floor. The couple come unglued, blaming each other for bringing Angelo into the family and causing all these problems. They take Angelo back to the orphanage and tell them they must take him back. Just then they are joined by a hippie-looking couple who say that they are Angelo's parents and that they had put him in the orphanage to learn about human love. The couple turn into angels and fly away with Angelo, leaving the couple pointing accusing fingers at each other.

We end with "Trick or Treat" drawn by Michael Kaluta. This is a small page and a half story about con-artist who is dressed up as the devil in order to relieve some devil worshipers of their money. His only problem is the real devil has plans of his own. This little piece of fluff is Michael Kaluta's first credited work at DC. Kaluta would be associated with DC for decades to come, doing some of his finest comic work here. From Carson of Venus to Spawn of Frankenstein to his amazing Shadow work, Kaluta would make a name for himself at DC.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Superman #224

Superman #224 (On Sale: December 16, 1969) has a cover by Curt Swan and Jack Abel.

This issue contains the feature-length imaginary story "Beware the Super-Genius Baby" by Robert Kanigher, Curt Swan and George Roussos. Oh how I wish the cover scene was not representative of the insides, but it is. In this "imaginary tale" Superman marries Lois and they have a child together after Superman injected Lois with a serum that makes her invulnerable. A couple of half-assed villains shoot Lois with a special ray as she is pregnant and she gives birth to an egg-headed son who is super-smart, but has no moral values.

There is a lot more to this story, but none of it is very interesting, though the Swan pencils look really great at times. In the end, Superman doses his son with a cerebral neutralizer that reverts him to a "normal" half Kryptonian/half Earth-man. Wake me up when this travesty is over please.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Falling In Love #113

Falling In Love #113 (On Sale: December 16, 1969) has a another wonderful cover by Nick Cardy.

We begin with "I.O.U.: My Heart" inked by Vinny Colletta. This story may be penciled by Ric Estrada. He penciled either this story or the last one in this issue.

This is followed by a two-page piece, "What's Your Dating I.Q.?" drawn by Liz Berube.

Next is "The Most Bitter Lesson of Her Life" drawn by Lee Elias.

We end with our cover-story, "Please, Please, Don't Tell Him About Me" inked by Vinny Colletta.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Debbi's Dates #6

Debbi's Dates #6 (On Sale: December 16, 1969) has a cover by Henry Scarpelli.

We begin with Buddy in "Seeing Isn't Believing." That is followed by Benedict in "The Ski Champ" drawn by Henry Scarpelli. Next is Debbi's Dates in "Two Down and One to Go" and we end with the Ding-a-Lings in "Fun in the Sun."

Edited by Dick Giordano.

World's Finest Comics #191

World's Finest Comics #191 (On Sale: December 11, 1969) has a cover by Curt Swan and Jack Abel.

We begin with Superman and Batman in "Execution on Krypton" by Cary Bates, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. On their way to see General Hill concerning a top secret project, Superman and Batman see Jor-El and Lara, who, when approached, disappears. However, before disappearing Jor-El mentions their "greatest crime" they were about to commit.

They decide to find the meaning of Jor-El's words when they are done with the General, but when they arrive they find the General recovering from a accident, so they decide to take a trip through time to investigate the strange appearance of Superman's parents. When they arrive back on Krypton in the past before Superman was even born, they stop a student protest (oy!) and meet Jor-El. They explain that they are hunters from another galaxy and Jor-El invites them to stay at their place.

Being the cordial hosts they are, Jor-El and Lara sneak away from their home, leaving two unknown aliens to roam it at will, to lead a secret crime school meeting. Superman and Batman follow them and learn that some unknown force transported Superman's parents' away, but they have no memory of where they went or what they saw.

Our two heroes are captured and placed in a glass cage where they will either die or prove they are worthy to join the crime school. This is exactly the image presented on the cover. They manage to escape and join the school, proving to be excellent students. Jor-El tells Superman and Batman that they are being sent to the island of Bokos to streal the pertrified body of Calox, an ancient explorer who was thought to be a god to stone-age Kryptonians.

Superman and Batman successfully snatch the body, bringing the body to Jor-El who discovers that Calox is not dead; he  is in suspended animation. While examining the body, Superman and Batman suddenly disappear, only to reappear back on Earth. General Hill, recovered from his wounds, explains that the army has created a time vortex. Jor-El and Lara were brought to Earth temporarily, but returned after twenty minutes. The heroes, who have also been brought to Earth via the vortex will return to Krypton too. Hill destroys the machine in order to keep Superman and Batman from being returned to Krypton.

The back-up Robin story is "Stone-Deaf Robin" reprinted from Star Spangled Comics #130 and is by David Reed and Jim Mooney. When Batman is away for a few days, a hand grenade is tossed at Dick Grayson by a thug "Fixer" O'Bannon, he loses his hearing. A deaf Robin must use all his cunning to capture "Fixer" even though he cannot hear. A few days later both Batman and Dick's hearing return.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Showcase #88

Showcase #88 (On Sale: December 11, 1969) has a Jason's Quest cover by Mike Sekowsky and Dick Giordano.

We begin with "The Beginning" of Jason's Quest, written and drawn by Mike Sekowsky and inked by Frank Giacoia. Every resource I can find says this story was inked by Dick Giordano, but I am looking at the pages and it just ain't so, no way, no how.

Before we get to the recap of this book, I must say a few words about Mike Sekowsky at this point in his career. Mike had been in comics since 1941 when he started at Timely and had drawn just about every genre there was: super-hero, western, war, funny animal, romance, TV , jungle action and science-fiction, and though he was known as a super-hero artist, he obviously was more attracted to action stories with more humanistic characters.

While everyone else at DC was chasing Marvel super-heroes or attempting to relive their time at EC, Mike Sekowsky was following a different path. He made the Metal Men look human and turned them into thriller characters on the run. He participated big-time in the biggest deflowering of super-powers in comic history by separating Wonder Woman from her powers and costume. He took chances on new types of books and I for one appreciated the effort. I may be the only one, but I particularly appreciated Jason's Quest.

We begin at "The Beginning" as Jason Davis' father has been mortally wounded in a shooting. Summoned by the doctors to his deathbed, the blonde young man listens to a stunning series of revelations. His real name is Jason Grant, Jr. and when he was just a child his real father had been murdered by a mobster named Tuborg, who sought the elder Grant's latest invention. As Tuborg's killers combed the house for witnesses, Grant's servant, Davis, rushed to the nursery, commanding the nanny to take Jason's twin sister, someone Jason never knew existed, into hiding while he did the same with young Jason. The nanny headed for London while Davis brought Jason to America. Over the next nineteen years, Davis moved himself and Jason constantly, always trying to stay one step ahead of Tuborg's searching thugs.

In preparation for the day Jason would take over the fight, Davis drilled commando training into the boy's head. With his final breath, he gasped, "Your sister ... somehow your father secreted on her person evidence that will end Tuborg and his evil empire. In the fireplace at home ... the box your father gave me -- it has your papers ... money ... and -- and ... I'm ... I'm ... sor --"

In five and a half short pages, including one splash, Sekowsky has neatly set up the entire series and there is not a spandex outfit or alien super-power in sight.

Unknown to Jason, Tuborg had planted a bug in the hospital room and heard every word. Finding Jason's sister was now their number one priority. Jason flies to London, buys a motorcycle and begins his search for his sister. From an ex-neighbor he gets a picture of her and a direction; she is heading for the continent.

Tuborg's men ambush Jason on the road and though they don't get the picture, they get enough clues to track her to a ferry soon to go across the channel. On the ferry Jason saves a woman named Gee Gee from two thugs. Gee Gee asks if Jason would like to travel with her, but he declines, wanting instead to head out looking for his sister. As he drives away Gee Gee removes her black wig and is revealed as Jason's sister.

The three-page back-up "Ghost Rider" is written and drawn by Mike Sekowsky and really is inked by Dick Giordano. It is the tale of teenagers, bikers and ghostly riders.

Edited by Mike Sekowsky.

Justice League of America #78

Justice League of America #78 (On Sale: December 11, 1969) has a more than slightly misleading, though nicely-drawn cover by Gil Kane.

We begin with "The Coming of the Doomsters" by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin and Joe Giella. In Star City Green Arrow assists a night watchman at a factory on the docks shooting it out with a group of armed thugs, using a Flare Arrow to throw some light on the situation. When the arrow hits the water it erupts in flames and Arrow signals for some JLA assistance. Answering the call is Green Lantern and Superman who make quick work of the flames now threatening the city. Once the fire is out they disburse, not hearing the plea of the watchman to talk about something that the watchman says may hold the key to the future of the entire human race.

Green Lantern and Superman take Green Arrow to, well, to New York (not called by name of course) to the top of the building which houses DC Comics (also not called by name of course) to show him the Thanagarian relativity beam system (think Star Trek-like transporter device) which the JLA has installed there. Superman explains that since their headquarters was compromised by the Joker in Justice League of America #777, they have built a new headquarters and Green Arrow in now standing in the doorway. The transporter energizes and Green Arrow is teleported to the new JLA satellite headquarters 23,300 miles above New York in a geosynchronous orbit, where the rest of the team is waiting for him.

The JLA are to appear at a charity event that night and down earthside the watchman is making his way toward it when he is the victim of a drive-by shooting. He avoids the gunfire though and returns his own, blowing out a car tire and sending the car into a pole. When the thugs extract themselves from the wrecked car, the watchman is gone, but they now think they know where he is going and their conversation makes it clear that they are not from Earth.

Meanwhile, at the charity event the JLA are introducing the crowd to Black Canary when the watchman arrives, followed closely by the two goons from the car. Canary attacks using her judo and Green Lantern protects her from the goons' alien weapons. As the thugs go down Superman jumps on their bodies shielding everyone from the self-destruct blast of the thugs, now revealed as androids of some sort. The watchman grabs the alien weapons and he and the JLA retire to a more private facility, their orbiting headquarters.

The watchman explains how he was hired on by the new factory in town and was assaulted by the amount of pollution the thing put out. When he asked workers what they were producing, no one seemed to know. The watchman soon realized that the product the factory was making was pollution and he stole some papers proving it. Some "men" from the factory chased him and that is where Green Arrow found him. The watchman introduces himself as Greg Sanders, who used to go by the name of the Vigilante, but gave up that life years ago. Now of course, since the Vigilante from the Golden Age was from Earth 2, this is actually the first appearance of this character. So, not only has Denny O'Neil given us the new JLA headquarters this issue, he has introduced a new DC character as well.

The stolen paperwork includes a star map and Superman and Green Lantern head off to explore that end of the story. The rest of the JLA head off to the factory, except for Green Arrow who wants to have a "conversation" with the Star City City Manager, where it seems the City Manager knows the factory only makes pollution and doesn't care as it provides jobs and taxes and that is all that matters. He has Green Arrow thrown in jail Personal aside here: as the husband of an ex-City Manager, the person you might find with that sort of attitude would be a Mayor, i.e., a politician, not a City Manager, who is governed by a whole set of ethics that politicians know nothing of.

Meanwhile the rest of the JLA have made a quick stop at a western goods store and purchased the makings of a new Vigilante costume. Along with that and the alien guns, the Vigilante is back in business. While at the same time on the alien world pointing at by the stolen paperwork Green Lantern and Superman find a desolate destroyed ash-can of a planet where once a vibrant civilization existed.

At the factory the JLA and the Vigilante are confronted and eventually overwhelmed by the alien automatons. As we leave for the month they are being lowered into vats of bubbling, noxious death! This tale has been reprinted in Justice League of America Archives Vol. 9 HC and Showcase Presents:Justice League of America Vol. 4 TPB.

The back-up story is "The Man Who Hated Science!" by Jack Miller and John Giunta and reprinted from Mystery In Space #6.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Young Romance #164

Young Romance #164 (On Sale: December 9, 1969) has a cover inked by Vinny Colletta. Some say this is penciled by Bill Draut and some say it is Werner Roth. This is the problem with Colletta; he just destroyed people's pencils.

We begin with "The Searing Conclusion to Next Door to Love" drawn by Alex Toth and Ric Dano (Dick Giordano). Amy hears nothing but bad things about men from her mother, which makes her afraid to trust that Larry, who lives next door and is really interested in her. This was reprinted in Young Love #114.

Next is "Please... Don't Step on My Heart" by Robert Kanigher, John Celardo and Vinnie Colletta.

Next is a lovelorn letters section, Laura Penn...Your Romance Reporter with an illustration by John Romita.

That is followed by a fashion page, Dates 'n Mates drawn by Liz Berube.

We end with "I Laughed at Love" by Tony Abruzzo and Vinny Colletta. This was reprinted under a different title in Young Romance #203.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Sugar and Spike #88

Sugar and Spike #88 (On Sale: December 9, 1969) has a cover by Sheldon Mayer.

We have three Sugar and Spike stories this issue: "Little Arthur Strikes Again," "Eggs, Sunny-Side Down" and "Why Babies Do What They Do," all writen and drawn by Sheldon Mayer.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.