Detective Comics #387

Detective Comics #387 (On Sale: March 27, 1969) has a cover by Irv Novick. celebrating Batman's 30th anniversary.

"The Cry of Night is -- Sudden Death" is by Mike Friedrich, Bob Brown and Joe Giella. this story was reprinted in Best of DC #2 and Detective Comics #627. "The Cry of Night is -- Sudden Death" is basically an updated version of of the "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate" from Detective #27, only from teenager Mike Friedrich instead of teenager Bob Kane. The plot follows the original fairly closely, only adding a conflict between Robin and Mel Lambert, Robin feeling Lambert must be guilty because he is such a disrespectful youth.

The back-up story is "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate" by Bill Finger and Bob Kane from Detective #27. This is of course the first Batman story. Commissioner Gordon receives a call telling him that Old Lambert, the chemical king, has been murdered. Gordon leaves for the crime scene bringing his millionaire friend Bruce Wayne. The prime suspect is Lambert’s son, but the boy claims to have found his father stabbed. A telephone call from Steven Crane, one of Lambert’s partners, reveals that Lambert’s life had been threatened.

Crane is also murdered by two thugs, who also steal a contract. They are confronted by a masked man on a rooftop, the Batman. Batman dispatches the hoods in short order, recovering the contract which leads him to the laboratory of another of Lambert’s partners, Alfred Stryker.

Stryker is being visited by the final partner, Paul Rogers. Rogers is knocked out and nearly killed by Stryker’s assistant, Jennings. Batman arrives in time to save the man and stop Jennings. Stryker also tries to kill Rogers to protect himself from the knowledge that he made secret contracts with the partners for control of the Apex Chemical Corporation. Batman rescues Rogers again, and knocks Stryker into a vat of acid, killing him.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Adventure Comics #380

Adventure Comics #380 (On Sale: March 27, 1969) has a cover by Curt Swan and Mike Esposito.

"The Legion's Space Odyssey" is by Jim Shooter, Winslow Mortimer and Jack Abel and was reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 9 HC. Hmm, guess what movie came out in 1969? The grieving Legionnaires erect a memorial to the Boy of Steel, then set about the task of surviving on the planet until they can leave. Using their powers and scientific knowledge, they build a spaceship. When the craft is damaged by a meteor, Ultra Boy guides it to the nearest planet. While repairing their ship, the Legionnaires are beset by realistic illusions. Later, when a storm threatens to overcome them, a mysterious whirlpool forms around them and saves them. The ship is eventually repaired, and Ultra Boy enables the craft to break the dimensional barrier and return to Earth.

When the heroes radio for permission to land, however, the Science Police accuse them of being phonies. Puzzled, Ultra Boy uses his penetra-vision to see robot duplicates of themselves, together with Superboy and Mon-El, at Legion Headquarters. A fantastic ray-blast then destroys the robots, after which the Legionnaires are given permission to land.

Superboy reveals that he has engineered all that has happened to the Legionnaires, with the assistance of the Legion of Super-Pets, because of Dream Girl's prediction that they would be "threatened by an evil old man in a sailboat, who would turn the wind against them." Meanwhile, the old man, Skyzznx, and his young female partner, Alrrk, are hiding in their vessel on the surface of the sun, and gloating over eliminating the Legion with their death ray, a weapon which taps the power of the solar wind.
These would-be conquerors of Earth are soon tracked down by the Legion, and Skyzznx pays for his failure by turning the death ray on himself and Alrrk.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Action Comics #376

Action Comics #376 (On Sale: March 27, 1969) has a nice cover by Curt Swan and Mike Esposito, who seemed to be inking a lot of DC covers this month.

"The Only Way to Kill Superman" is by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and Jack Abel. The Supergirl back-up is "The Hated Girl of Steel" by Leo Dorfman and Kurt Schaffenberger. Continuing from last issue, Marla Alexander blames Supergirl for the loss of her eyesight after studying the Claw Nebula. The students of Stanhope turn against the Girl of Steel when she is unable to find a cure. As a result, Supergirl avoids a science conference held at the Science Center.

At the conference, Marla and the other scientists are abducted by aliens from Rancor. The aliens explain to Marla that they were responsible for her blindness. They then plan to download the knowledge in the scientists' brains into their computers. Supergirl, who was disguised as Marla, destroys their machine that would have turned the scientists into vegetables. Supergirl then returns the scientists to Earth and uses the Rancor technology to restore Marla's sight.
Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #92

Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #92 (On Sale: March 25, 1969) has a nice cover by Curt Swan and Neal Adams.

"The Unbreakable Spell" is by E. Nelson Bridwell, Curt Swan and Mike Esposito. On assignment in the desert, Lois Lane is rescued by Comet the Super-Horse, and is later turned by Maaldor, Comet's arch-enemy, into first a centaurette, then a super-powered horse. Something tells me the spell was not quite as unbreakable as the title portends. 

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Girls' Love Stories #143

Girls' Love Stories #143 (On Sale: March 25, 1969) has a nice cover by Nick Cardy, but it seems like it was meant for a different book. The cover blurb is normally the name of a story, usually the last story in the romance book, but there is no story entitled "Love From a Stranger" in this issue. However, there was a story with that title in Girls' Romances #138, out four month's prior.

We begin with "Love Today -- Cry Tomorrow" drawn by Wally Wood, which is followed by "Only Love Can Create" and an untitled Cindy the Salesgirl story both by persons unknown. Finally we have "End of a Dream" from Girls' Love Stories #40 and inked by Bernard Sachs.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Windy and Willy #1

Windy and Willy #1 (On Sale: March 20, 1969) has a cover by Bob Oksner. This is an updated version of the cover to Many Loves of Dobie Gillis #12 from 1962.

We have an untitled Windy and Willy story reprinted from Many Loves of Dobie Gillis #18 and written by either Lawrence Nadle or Bob Oksner and drawn by Bob Oksner. There are updates in the art to the clothing and hairstyles, something done in many of the romance comic reprints and the character names are changed to avoid copyright infringement.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Falling In Love #107

Falling In Love #107 (On Sale: March 20, 1969) has a cover the GCD says is inked by Vinny Colletta, but I don't think so. There is a weakness around the woman's face that Colletta was known for, but the boldness of the strokes in the wedding dress and all of the people in the background are not Colletta-like at all.

We begin with "A Kiss for Cinderella" from Heart Throbs #59 drawn by Arthur Peddy and Bernard Sachs. That is followed by "I Hated the Boy I Loved" penciled by John Rosenberger. Finally we have "One Love Too Many" inked by Vinny Colletta.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Teen Titans #21

Teen Titans #21 (On Sale: March 18, 1969) has a cover by Nick Cardy. I have always thought that Neal Adams had something to do with this cover, but apparently not.

"Citadel of Fear" is written and penciled by Neal Adams and inked by Nick Cardy. Continuing the story from Hawk and the Dove #5 and the first story of Teen Titans #22, on the trail of criminals, the Titans run afoul of the Hawk and the Dove, who are after the same gang for different reasons. After a brief altercation, Wonder Girl accompanies Hawk and Dove through a teleportation device to a gang hideout in Istanbul, while Robin, Kid Flash, and Speedy battle another segment of the organization in Berlin. Both teams are defeated and captured, but Hawk, Dove, and Wonder Girl escape in time to rescue Speedy from being crushed beneath a gigantic machine.

Hawk and Dove, sensing their mystic transformation back into Hank and Don Hall about to occur, are forced to abandon the case, leaving Speedy and Wonder Girl to search for Robin and Kid Flash, who are still prisoners of the Dimension X aliens. Reprinted in Best of DC #18 and Showcase Presents: Teen Titans Vol. 2 TPB.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Superman #216

Superman #216 (On Sale: March 18, 1969) has the rarest of rares, a Superman cover by Joe Kubert. It doesn't get much better than this!

While U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war continued, Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito tackled "The Soldier of Steel" that took Superman straight to the battlefield. DC's war comics primarily took place in World War II; this issue marked the first time that any DC publication had sent one of its heroes to Vietnam. The overall story provided little social commentary regarding the war itself. Nevertheless, this was a landmark moment in the Man of Steel's history.<

U.S. soldiers flood the offices of the Daily Planet with letters asking for Superman's help. Clark Kent and Lois Lane enlist as a medic and a nurse to acquire stories from the soldiers' point of view. However, it wasn't long before Superman is dispatched to rescue the troops and a local orphanage from enemy forces - chief among them' Johnny Morley, a meek U.S. soldier, who was forced by the evil Dr. Han's medical herbs, to transform into the monstrous King Cong. The Man of Tomorrow eventually isolated the giant long enough for the herbs to wear off, enabling Morley to help rescue troops that were under fire.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Strange Adventures #218

Strange Adventures #218 (On Sale: March 18, 1969) has a cover by Neal Adams

We begin with Adam Strange in "The Planet and the Pendulum," reprinted from Showcase #17 and created by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky and Joe Giella. Adam Strange is again transported to Rann by stepping into the path of the Zeta-Beam. This time he arrives in the ruined city of Yardana, where he is captured by the barbaric Zoora tribe. Believing Adam to be a sorcerer, the tribe take Adam to the Tower of Rainbow Doom. Surrounded by a rainbow of lights, Adam is teleported to Anthorann a nearby planet.

Adam discovers the wreckage of a spacecraft on the surface whose passengers include Sardath and Alanna. Alanna explains that the scientists from Samakand gave their technology to the people of Ranagar. This enabled Sardath to construct a spacecraft to travel to a lost colony on Anthorann. Their ship was attacked by a vessel from Morleen and forced down.

Adam, Alanna, and Sardath are met by a man from New Ranagar and taken inside the protective dome of the city. The aliens return using a giant pendulum to slice open the dome. Using a rocket pack and ray-gun found in the spaceship, Adam destroys the pendulum while dodging enemy fire. With the weapon destroyed, the aliens leave, and Adam once again returns to Earth when the Zeta radiation dissipates.

Next is "Interplanetary Insurance, Inc." from Mystery in Space #16 by Sid Gerson, Carmine Infantino and Sy Barry.

Lastly we have the Atomic Knights in "The Rise of the Atomic Knights" from Strange Adventures #117 by John Broome and Murphy Anderson. Gardner Grayle, a man who is statistically the average soldier, has survived World War III, which lasted only 20 days. In the post-holocaust world, all plant and animal life has been destroyed. The only remaining food supplies are being hoarded by a tyrant called the Black Baron.

Grayle is attacked by looters trying to rob him. He escapes, then helps another man, Douglas Herald, fend off the attackers. Grayle and Herald discover a set of six medieval suits of armor that have become resistant to radiation. The two men decide to use the suits to attack the Baron's stronghold. They recruit three other men to join the fight, leaving the last suit of armor behind because it is too small.

The five men assault the Baron's stronghold wearing the armor which resists the tyrant's rayguns. The Baron nearly kills Grayle, but he is rescued by an unknown person wearing the sixth suit of armor. After the Baron is defeated, the sixth knight is revealed to be Marene, Herald's sister. The six knights agree to stay together to fight for justice in the post-apocalyptic world.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Spectre #10

Spectre #10 (On Sale: March 18, 1969) has a pretty good cover by Nick Cardy as this title limps to its death.

We begin with "Footsteps of Disaster" drawn by Jerry Grandenetti and George Roussos.Charles A. Felix has been a criminal since he was young. He is repeatedly caught and punished for his crimes, but he never learned his lesson. Many times his punishment was foretold by a creaking staircase as an authority figure climbed the stairs to get him. After killing his former partner, Felix hears the creaking stairs again. This time it is the Spectre who is coming to get him. Felix collapses from fear and dies.

Next is "Hit and Run" drawn by Jack Sparling. Small-time hood Johnny Stull is haunted by dreams of hitting a kid with his car while fleeing police. The Spectre watches as Johnny's dream becomes prophetic and plays out in real life. However, Johnny acts to save the kid by swerving out of the way instead of hitting him. As a result, Johnny crashes the car and is killed, but the Spectre concludes that Stull isn't as evil as he originally thought.

That is followed by "How Much Can a Guy Take?" also drawn by Jack Sparling. In high school Allie Johnson was thought to be a nice guy who would grow up to become a lawyer or doctor. Instead Allie became a shoe shine man who can barely feed his family. Nichols, a former classmate, has become a financial success and taunts Allie daily while getting his shoes shined.

After considerable humiliation, Allie breaks down and tries to steal a briefcase from Nichols that supposedly contains a fortune. Nichols catches him, so Allie pulls a gun. The Spectre stops him from shooting, then shows him that the briefcase is empty. He also shows Allie that Nichols is a criminal. After preventing Allie from becoming a murderer, the Spectre takes retribution on Nichols.

We end with "Will the Real Killer Please Rise?" another Jack Sparling drawn story. The Spectre investigates two murders which he believes were committed by Vargo the Ventriloquist. The victims were former associates for whom Vargo carried a grudge. The Spectre tries to pull the truth from Vargo's mind, but he can't read it. He continues to watch Vargo in order to protect Sarah Frame, his next likely target. The Spectre barely discovers the truth in time that Vargo has been disguising himself as his ventriloquist dummy. The human Vargo is a robot which had no mind for the Spectre to read. The Spectre prevents Sarah's murder, and Vargo is arrested.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Date With Debbi #3

Date With Debbi #3 (On Sale: March 18, 1969) cover where Debbi has the same dark eyes as last two issues, so I am going to guess that this is also the work of Samm Schwartz.

Inside Debbie stars in "The Brain Game" and "The Cave-Man Cometh" by persons unknown. In the latter, Debbi wants Buddy to act more like a caveman.

Flowers stars in an untitled story drawn by Phil Mendez in which the Flower family gets evicted.

We end with another Debbie story, "The Minor Becomes a Drum Major" by Henry Boltinoff.

This is the first of only three stories Phil Mendez would draw for DC comics, one in this and the next issue of Date With Debbi and one in Kissyfur #1 in 1989.

Phil Mendez started a comic strip in the Mercury Shopper’s Guide at the age of sixteen and was hired by Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample at the age of eighteen as an assistant art director on the General Mills account. Phil freelanced on comic books at Charlton in 1966 and DC in 1969. He worked as a storyboard artist, head designer and layout director for Totem Productions' Voyager (NASA).

In 1970 he worked at Disney Studios on the feature film Robin Hood. He then worked for Fred Calvert Productions and Ron Campbell Films on projects including Nanny and The Professor, Sesame Street and the IBM specials The Great Blue Marble.”
Mendez designed presentations and layout work for Hanna-Barbara Productions on The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, The Yogi Bear Show, Hong Kong Phooey, The Buford Files, The Partridge Family, The Banana Split Show and more. He was hired by Mark Davis in 1975 as his assistant to design attractions for Disneyland where he worked on Fantasyland rides, Epcot Center and concept work for future Disney Projects.

He started his own company, Phil Mendez Productions, in 1982 where he designed the original presentation and characters for An American Tail and “Rose Petal Place. He created the children’s shows Kissyfur and Foofur, and he wrote The Black Snowman which won the Martin Luther King “Living the Dream Award” in 1991 (to date the book has sold over 1.7 million copies.) You can see much of Phil's work on his website. You never know who you are going to find in these old DC Comics.

Edited by Dick Giordano 

World's Finest Comics #184

World's Finest Comics #184 (On Sale: March 13, 1969) has a cover by Curt Swan and Mike Esposito.

"Robin's Revenge" an imaginary take is by Cary Bates, Curt Swan and Jack Abel and was reprinted in Batman: The Strange Deaths of Batman TPB.

The Martian Manhunter back-up, "John Jones' Farewell to Earth" is reprinted from Detective Comics #267 and was drawn by Joe Certa. J’onn discovers a Jovian spacecraft in the park. The jovians explain that they are searching for a criminal from their planet, but cannot leave the ship into the rain due to their weakness to water. J’onn agrees to help capture the crook in exchange for transport to Mars.

J’onn tracks down S’Vor, the alien criminal and defeats him with water. He returns him to the security officers and prepares to leave Earth. However, the crook has left behind several bombs. J’onn decides to stay behind and defuse the bombs. The aliens are forced to leave without him.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Showcase #82

Showcase #82 (On Sale: March 13, 1969) has a cover featuring Nightmaster by Joe Kubert. It also has added "Preview" to the appellation and a large DC logo. The irony of this is that this is one of the few three-issue tryouts that never went anywhere. And yeah, before there was a Conan comic at Marvel, DC tried sword and sorcery.

"Some Forbidden Fate" is by Denny O'Neil, Jerry Grandenetti and Dick Giordano. Thousands of years ago, the mighty warrior Nacht was driven from his other-dimensional world of Myrra by his rival Brom and the evil magician Farben. While Nacht's magic Nightsword inserted itself into a stone pillar, Nacht himself ended up on Earth where he settled down under his family name of Roke.

In 1969, Jim Rook, lead singer of the rock band called the Electrics, entered an abandoned store on Manhattan named Oblivion, Inc. and is magically transported to Myrra. One of Nacht's descendants, Rook reluctantly claimed his ancestor's Sword and became the new protector of Myrra – the Nightmaster. Although Rook really wantd to return to Earth, he finds himself in the midst on the conflict between Myrra's King Zolto and the evil Warlocks, when the Warlocks captures Rook's girlfriend, Janet Jones.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Phantom Stranger #1

Phantom Stranger #1 (On Sale: March 13, 1969) has a cover by Bill Draut.

Fresh from his Showcase tryout we have the Phantom Stranger. We begin with "When Ghosts Walk" from Phantom Stranger #1 (1952) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Sy Barry. Three friends share a plane flight that ends in a fatal crash. Sometime after the crash, ghosts appear and carry out the plans of the dead men that they were unable to complete.

The ghost of Carson Rand attempts to take papers from Edgar Jones which were to be used to blackmail him. The ghost is stopped by the Phantom Stranger. Next the ghost of Bart Benson appears to break a unbreakable bronco. The Phantom Stranger appears to and reveals that it was a trick.

Finally, the apparent ghost of John Martin contacts his fiancee, Margo Phillips. The Phantom Stranger once again appears. The Stranger unmasks the ghost as Matt Wright, a night club employee which Margo caught stealing. Matt had used the ghosts to disguise his true goal of killing Margo. The Stranger's arrival saves Margo and exposes the ghostly hoax.

Next is Doctor 13 in "The Hermit's Ghost Dog" from Star Spangled Comics #125 by Francis Herron and Leonard Starr.

Lastly is the only new material in the book, "Defeat the Dragon Curse ...or Die" by Mike Friedrich and Bill Draut. This new story was reprinted in Showcase Presents Phantom Stranger Vol. 1 TPB.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Justice League of America #71

Justice League of America #71 (On Sale: March 13, 1969) has a cover by Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos.

"...and So My World Ends" is by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin and Sid Greene. Diana Prince and her mentor Ching need help fighting an unknown man attacking a circus performance, so Diana calls the Justice League for help. Batman and Green Arrow respond and are able to defeat the man, only to find that he is fellow JLA member, J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter.

The Manhunter regains his senses and is taken to Justice League headquarters where he retells how he had recently returned to Mars only to find the planet threatened by Benn Blanx, a rebel who wished Mars to return to its warlike ways. Blanx had taken over the entire planet and was controlling a blue flame that threatens to destroy everyone on Mars. The Manhunter showed his people how to build a rocket to escape from Mars, then transported back to Earth to find more help. Somehow, along the way, his mind snapped and his sanity did not return till the JLA defeated him. J'onn asks the Justice League to help him save the surviving people of Mars.

The League agrees and, while headings for Mars to stop Blanx, are struck by a beam from a Martian weapon. The beam traps them in orbit around the Earth, but Green Arrow frees Superman who defeats the alien weapon. Nearing the planet Mars, they come across one of Blanx's ships and split up, Flash, Atom, Batman, Green Arrow, Hawkman and Martian Manhunter stay to attack the ship, while Green Lantern and Superman go to douse the blue flames.

Trapped by another ray, Atom and Flash free themselves and board the alien ship. They attack the renegade Martians and free their comrades from the ray. They make short work of the rest of the Martians on board.

On Mars, Superman tears off the surface of Mars afire in blue fire, and hurls it into space. Mars is dead.  Superman and Green Lantern watch the last survivors of Mars blasting off in the rocket that J'onn J'onzz built for them.

The Manhunter tracks down Blanx in the ruins of Mars and the two battle, the Manhunter eventually sending Blanx falling to his death. J'onn decides to go with the surviving Martians into space in search of a new home and says good-bye to the Justice League. Reprinted in Justice League of America Archives Vol. 9 HC.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Binky's Buddies #3

Binky's Buddies #3 (On Sale: March 13, 1969) has a cover by Bob Oksner.

Inside we have Binky's Buddies in "Mad, Mad Method Actors," Binky in "Change for the Worse," Benny in "Benny's New Car" and "Blow It Out of Your Pipe," Buzzy in "Wolfie at My Door" and Binky in "Private Enterprise." I have no informain on who is resposnible for any of this.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Angel and the Ape #4

Angel and the Ape #4 (On Sale: March 13, 1969) has a cover by Bob Oksner and a new craptastic logo.

Inside we have "Remember the Chow Mein," "The Case of Trouble on the Talk Show" and "Cheapskater's Waltz" all penciled by Bob Oksner and inked by Wally Wood.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Young Love #74

Young Love #74 (On Sale: March 11, 1969) has a nice cover by Nick Cardy.

This issue begins with a Lisa St. Claire story followed by "Love Came Too Late" from Heart Throbs #64, both by persons unknown. The issue ends with "Hide Your Love" drawn by Alex Toth.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Our Fighting Forces #119

Our Fighting Forces #119 (On Sale: March 11, 1969) has a Lt. Hunter's Hellcats cover by Joe Kubert.

Inside we have Lt. Hunter's Hellcats in "Bedlam in Berlin" by Robert Kanigher and Artie Saaf. That is followed by "Home..." by Howard Liss and Fred Ray and and "This Story Has No Title" a reprint from All-American Men of War #4 by Robert Kanigher, Gene Colan and Bernard Sachs.

Edited by Joe Kubert.