G.I. Combat #143

G.I. Combat #143 (On Sale: June 9, 1970) has a Haunted Tank cover by Joe Kubert.

We start with The Haunted Tank in "The Iron Horseman" by Robert Kanigher and Russ Heath. Pop Peters is an old war veteran. He tried to fight in the first World War, but he was declared to be too young. When he came of age, he re-enlisted, but the war was over. Now he is too old to fight in the second World War, so he works as a tank mechanic and tells the orphans at a convent war stories that stretch the truth.

After Pop makes repairs to the Haunted Tank, it returns to action. Following a skirmish with the Germans, Jeb learns that a group of Nazi tanks is headed for the convent. The Haunted Tank comes to the rescue, but it is set on fire by a Nazi flame-thrower. While the crew takes cover, Pop mans the machine gun and stops the Nazis. He is injured in the fight and must receive a blood transfusion from one of the nuns to save his life.

Heath seems to have really rushed this one. Maybe sleeping at the Playboy Mansion was starting to take its toll. This story was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Haunted Tank Vol. 2 TPB.

The is followed by a two-page Battle Album featuring the "General Stuart Light Tank M3A1" by Joe Kubert.

Next is "Taps for a Bugler-Boy!" by Robert Kanigher and Fred Ray. A grandfather reminisces with his grandson about when he was a bugle boy for General Washington during the Revolutionary War, of crossing the Delaware with Washington and the attack on Trenton. When his grandfather passes, the young boy keeps his bugle and a year later, as the Civil War starts, the boy joins the Confederacy as a bugler. 

When his Colonel is shot, he plays taps at his funeral and it then told to not play the bugle again, as it lets the Union soldiers know their position. Though he keeps his bugle, the boy stops playing it, till one day in the heat of battle he is wounded. In desperation he reaches his fallen bugle and begins to play, invigorating the soldiers. A Captain picks the boy up onto his horse and they ride into battle as the boy blows his bugle. When the battle is over the boy once again plays taps for the dead, before he too, succumbs to his wounds.

We end with  a one-page gag by Pete Costanza, entitled "Army Time -- Now and Then."

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Binky #74

Binky #74 (On Sale: June 9, 1970) has a cover by Henry Scarpelli.

We begin with Binky in "Charity Begins at Home."

That is followed by Little Allergy in "A Sad Tale."

Next is Peggy in "Judo Jinks."

This is followed by Binky in "The Lucky Jinx" and in a untitled one pager. We have credits for none of these.

Next is Benny in "The Near-Sighted Devil" by John Albano and Henry Scarpelli. This story was reprinted in Best of DC #39.

We end with Peggy in "Peggy Goes Shopping."

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Unexpected #120

Unexpected #120 (On Sale: June 4, 1970) has a cover by Nick Cardy.

We begin with "Rambeau's Revenge" by Carl Wessler and George Tuska. A disfigured teenager uses voodoo to take revenge on classmates who taunted him by disfiguring their looks using acid and voodoo dolls. When they approach his cabin to take revenge, he panics and spills acid on the figurine that he had made of himself, removing his facial features altogether. Note: Sylvester Stallone is not in this story, despite the name.

Next is "The Gravediggers" by Carl Wessler, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. Jim Marlowe is always playing mean practical jokes on his friends. When they finally turn the tables on him, playing a huge joke wherein he thinks they are going to kill him, he goes insane. Not really much of a story here, but I never expected much from The Unexpected.

That is followed by "Once Upon a Killer," also by Carl Wessler and George Tuska. Fugitive killer Rud Harlow stumbles out of the Arizona desert looking for water. He finds a ranch and when the owner refuses to show him where the water is he kills him.  Out back he finds a water hole and drinks deeply before realizing the hole is poisoned and that he had killed the old rancher before he could warn him.

We end with  "Haunted House Do Not Disturb" by George Kashdan and Jerry Grandenetti. With the best artwork in this issue, we see Martin and Wilma visiting the old English Frumley Castle and are invited, for an extra fee to spend the night in the castle and meet the ghost that haunts it. Martin is all for it and a reluctant Wilma accompanies him. The lord of the castle warns them not to disturb the ghost if they see it, but when a ghost appears at midnight, Martine chases after it, only to be trapped in the castle tower by the ghost.

He begs the ghost not to hurt him and the ghost replies that he is a ghost and incapable of hurting him. The ghost is the Earl of Meacham, the original and true owner of the castle. The first Lord Frumley was his cousin and stayed with him in the castle, but he was also Meacham's murderer, who forged a deed to the property and stole the castle from his family. The real deed has been hidden for centuries and the ghost has waited patiently for someone to help retrieve it. Wilma has awakened Lord Frumley to help look for Martin, but Frumley has other ideas. 

He has waited for someone to do the ghost's bidding so he can finally destroy the real deed. Martin meets up with Wilma and together they recover the real deed from the castle graveyard. Frumley arrives with gun in hand to take it from them when a lantern from the castle crashes to the ground, startling them all and allowing Martin to disarm Frumley. The deed recovered and safe, the ghost leaves the castle, waving to the pair as it goes.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

 

Flash #199

Flash #199 (On Sale: June 4, 1970) has a startling cover by Gil Kane.

We begin with our cover-story  "Flash? -- Death Calling" by Robert Kanigher, Gil Kane and the horrid Vince Colletta, which opens as a continuation of the cover. The cop on the cover goes over to the bench and wakes the Flash up. The people are aghast, as the Flash is dead. But Flash arises and is soon confronted by a thief who does battle with the Flash, who seems to have lost his powers. Before the thief can do real damage to the scarlet speedster, a group of kids tackles him. A cop shows up and tells Flash to stop playing like he is a hero and get rid of that costume. When he can't pay for a bus trip, Flash is left on the street, only to be found by Iris, who is overjoyed that her nightmare is ending.

She recalls Barry leaving their house to go to a TV interview with Dr. Hollister, of being told that the Flash had died, of going to his funeral. She runs to the Flash and unmasks him, only to find it is not Barry, but a bewildered Dr. Hollister.

We learn that while protecting Dr. Hollister from a gang of crooks, the Flash is exposed to chemicals the doctor was using in his experiments with suspended animation. The Flash collapsed and was declared dead.

Hollister was attempting to honor the Flash by wearing his costume around town. He blames himself for the death of the hero. Eventually he realizes that the Flash may not be dead. He unearths the Flash's body and brings it to his laboratory. However, he is unable to revive the fallen speedster.

Then, the crooks return to threaten Hollister. A sudden lightning bolt crashes into the lab, deflects off a gun and strikes the Flash. He is revived by the bolt, then apprehends the gang and returns home to an overjoyed Iris.

This is followed by the letter's page, this time with missives from Martin Pasko and Alan Brennert.

This is followed by "The Explosive Heart of America" also by Robert Kanigher, Gil Kane and the horrid Vince Colletta.  Barry Allen is contacted by Colonel K, a secret agent for a intelligence agency and is tasked with enlisting the Flash in locating a new super weapon known as the Y-Missile in China. The Flash searches the entire country and eventually finds the missile site just as the Y-Missile is being launched. He holds on to the missile which speeds around the world and is set to land in the center of the United States. 

The Flash disables the missile by destroying the homing beacon which served to guide the missile. With the beacon destroyed, the threat is ended. When he returns to his office, he finds that Colonel K left a message on his desk thanking The Flash. Though it looks like Kanigher was setting up future stories involving the Colonel, he is never seen again.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Batman #224

 

Batman #224 (On Sale: June 4, 1970) has an interesting, if not creepy cover by Neal Adams.

The book-length "Carnival of the Cursed" is by Denny O'Neil, Irv Novick and Dick Giordano. Jazz great Blind Buddy Holden is murdered in a New Orleans alley by a gang of thugs looking for something. When Batman reads of his murder in the paper he rushes to New Orleans and when a couple of masked men interrupt the funeral through the streets of the French Quarter, Batman stops them from getting to the dead man's body, but in turn is attacked by a brutish man in slick red tights called Moloch.

When the crowd comes to Batman's aide, the creature jumps to the balconies and when Batman follows he is kicked to the ground, allowing Moloch to escape. The funeral continues and Blind Buddy is buried with his horn. After the funeral, Batman joins Max Dill and the other musicians at Reservation Hall where they find a man in a wheel chair trying to buy Blind Buddy's things from the group. When they refuse, the man says if they change their mind he will be staying at a nearby hotel and to ask for Rufus Macob. Batman recognizes Rufus's bodyguard as a man who used to drive getaway in Brooklyn.

Batman sends a book to Rufus at the hotel and indie of it is a bat and a note saying, "If you have anything on your conscience contact me through Max Dill." The bodyguard is worried but Rufus is not. Batman stakes out Reservation Hall and sees a note being placed on its door., supposedly from Max, urging Batman to meet him on a boat at pier 13. He knows it is a trap and heads to the pier. 

As a Mardi Gras parade goes by, Batman sneaks onto the mentioned boat. Batman breaks in and finds the guys who tried to upset the funeral. As a fight ensues, Macab shows up and a startled Batman is knocked out. HE awakes to find himself strapped to a paddlewheel. As he starts to go under the water, Batman uses his teeth to send a loose end of rope into the mechanism of the paddlewheel, jamming it. As the engine continues to try to push the wheel, the pressure built up finally destroys the wheel, allowing Batman to escape. He returns to the boat and is told by a wounded Dill that the goons wanted to know where Blind Buddy's horn was. As the Coast Guard arrives, Batman slips back into the water.

IN the cemetery a goon is digging up Blind Buddy's grave and Rufus is explaining that Blind Buddy's coronet used to belong to another, older musician, who had told someone that he found oil in the bayou and etched a map of its whereabout on his horn. Before he died he gave the horn to Blind Buddy. The goon finds the horn, but before it can be examined, Batman snatches it away. The goon runs when he sees Batman, but Macob reveals himself to be Moloch and attacks Batman. Moloch recovers the horn but before he can kill Batman the police show up and Moloch flees and attempts to hide in the Mardi Gras parade. Batman catches him and knocks him out, but the horn is thrown to the ground and trampled upon, removing any message that may have been on its surface. Reprinted in Showcase Presents: Batman Vol. 5 TPB.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

House of Secrets #87 (On Sale: June 2, 1970) has a nice, creepy cover by Neal Adams.

We begin with "Death Has Marble Lips," an eight-page tale by Robert Kanigher, Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano.  A sculptor offers to barter his soul to Satan if his latest beautiful creation can take the form of a living woman, and it happens, but she doesn't know that her kiss is cursed and it turns the artist to stone.

Next is "The Man," a seven pager by Marv Wolfman, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito.  A woman falls in love with a man who turns out to be a robot.

We end with "The Coming of Ghaglan," a six-page story by Raymond Marais and Michael William Kaluta. A tomb explorer finds a missing chapter from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, and when he reads part of the incantation, he finds his astral self sent to a dimension where the spirits of an undead army call out to their leader Ghaglan to finish the incantation so that they can return to their mummified bodies and commit acts of evil in his name.

The explorer feels himself drawn back to his body and his fellows tell him that a man named Ghaglan removed the scroll from his hands to revive him. He turns with apprehension to face Ghaglan, who tells him with a smile that he has been looking for this scroll for a very long time.

The entire issue was reprinted in Showcase Presents: The House of Secrets Vol. 1 TPB.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Challengers of the Unknown #75

Challengers of the Unknown #75 (On Sale: June 2, 1970) has a Jack Kirby reprint cover with a George Tuska frame around it.

"Ultivac is Loose" s  a reprint of the Challengers of the Unknown's second appearance from Showcase #7. The story is written and drawn by Jack Kirby. Hmm, why is DC reprinting so much Kirby lately?

Felix Hesse, a war criminal, and Floyd Barker have created a living computer named Ultivac. Hesse asks the Challengers of the Unknown for help when the robot resists control. The Challengers agree to help, but Hesse is abucted away from them. Ultivac creates Hesse doubles to act as agents in retrieving materials for him.

The Challengers enlist the aid of robotics specialist, Dr. June Robbins. Red and June trail one of the Hesse doubles back to Ultivac’s headquarters. June befriends Ultivac which allows Red, Hesse, and Barker to overcome him (it?). Rather than turn Ultivac over to the government, Hesse and Barker try to use Ultivac for their personal gain. Ultivac breaks loose and take June with him.

He creates a double of himself which is destroyed by the Challengers, but June convinces him to meet humanity half way and work with them. At a public hearing, an angry Hesse blasts Ultivac and kills Rocky in the process. Rocky is revived from the dead and Ultivac is converted into a immobile computer.

June has earned the right to become a Challenger and joins the team.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Detective Comics #401

Detective Comics #401 (On Sale: May 28, 1970) has a cover by Neal Adams. A nice cover, but otherwise this issue is such a step down form #400.

We begin with Batman in "Target for Tonight" by Frank Robbins, Bob Brown and Joe Giella. In a visit with Commissioner Gordon, Batman is given a message delivered by a hunting falcon, claiming that Batman is the next target of someone calling themselves the Stalker. Suddenly he is shot at and heads to his Wayne Foundation penthouse to figure out his next move. 

There he and Alfred watch a TV interview with big game hunter Carton Yeager, who shows off trained hunting falcon, his filled trophy room and the one empty plaque there, saying that is for the head of his most dangerous challenge. Just then, an arrow shatters the TV, an arrow with a message explaining that Yeager knows his secret identity, but will not reveal it. Rather, he is now hunting Batman. 

Batman heads out for Carlton's lair, the Safari Club, where he is shot at by a crossbow and hears a taped message from Yeager telling him to come to the New Urbia Island Project, as the hunt is on. Batman sneaks onto the island, but soon falls into a net trap. Yeager shows up and boasts that he knew exactly what Batman would try to get on the island and that though he could just kill him right now, that that would not be much of a hunt.

Batman frees himself, swings over the muddy ground and finds Alfred tied up in an underground garage. Rather than free him, Batman attacks him, pulling off his mask to reveal Alfred is actually Carlton. He manages to get away from Batman, but in his haste to leave, falls through a trap door meant for Batman and is impaled to death. The real Alfred shows up and is stuck in the thick mud. Batman explains that the lack of mud on the tied up Alfred's shoes was the clue that he was actually Yeager. This story ws reprinted in Showcase Presents: Batman Vol. 5 TPB.

Next is the letters page and it contains letters by Doug Moench, Martin Pasko and Alan Brennert, all three soon to be DC writers of much note.

We end with  "Midnight Is the Dying Hour" starring Robin and Batgirl and continuing from last issue.  The creative team is still Denny O'Neil, Gil Kane and the horrible inks of Vinnie Colletta. After last issue stumbling upon a murder at Hudson University, Batgirl soon finds herself the killers next victim, awakening to find herself bound, gagged and being sealed in a room behind a brick wall.

Earlier in the evening, Robin conducted his own investigation of the murder, finding that the body of Willard was pointing at a book of poetry (particularly the words "POE") and remembering the Poe festival, Robin finally realizes who the killer might be.

Rushing to the theater, Robin catches the killer just before he can set the last brick, sealing Batgirl's tomb, but the murderer manages to get away. Robin frees Batgirl, and the two begin searching the theater for their assailant. After a chase through the theater, Robin and Batgirl manage to catch the killer who turns out to be none other than student Jack Markham. This story has been reprinted in Best of DC #30, Showcase Presents: Batgirl Vol. 1 TPB and Showcase Presents: Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 1 TPB.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Date With Debbi #10

Date With Debbi #10 (On Sale: May 28, 1970) has a cover by persons unknown. That is the way things roll with this series, nobody knows nuthin'.

We begin with Debbi in "The Belly Bomber," which is quickly followed by Debbi in "Ask Me Anything." The final story is "Bon Voyage, Mr. Hawk" which must star someone else. We have no information other than this on this book.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Adventure Comics #395

Adventure Comics #395 (On Sale: May 28, 1970) has another Supergirl cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.

We begin with Supergirl in "The Rejected Supergirl" by Robert Kanigher, Winslow Mortimer and Jack Abel. When the class at Stanhope College votes for the men they'd most like to be, Superman wins. Supergirl is asked to place capsules bearing the nine winners names on each of the nine planets. On Pluto, she encounters a group of metal lions which resemble the Metal Men. After defeating the lions, she returns to Earth.

When she returns to earth, the class votes for the most admired female and Supergirl finishes last. Linda is surprised and hurt by the results. Despite her bruised ego, Supergirl helps a fellow classmate whose father has gone bankrupt attempting to produce a movie. She then helps a transport ship with a cargo of medical supplies.

When she returns to Stanhope, Supergirl discovers metal in her hair from the alien lions. She suspects that the metal caused the computer tabulating the voting results to fail. The vote is taken again, and this time Supergirl is the winner.

We end with our cover-story, "The Heroine in the Haunted House" by Robert Kanigher and Kurt Schaffenberger. Actor Vincent Sale takes up the challenge of staying overnight in a haunted house that belonged to inventor Amos Ameswell. When Sale is frightened out of the house earlier than expected, Linda Danvers decides to take up the challenge.

The next night, Linda stays in the house. She grows bored and turns on the television before falling asleep. She is awoken by the ghost of Jor-El who mocks her. She is then confronted by a Kryptonian thought-beast. After the beast is melted by the Girl of Steel's heat vision, she begins laughing hysterically. Supergirl has apparently gone mad.

The Phantom Zone criminals then reveal themselves and gloat over Supergirl's mental state. However, she was faking in order to turn off the device which resembled a television. The inventor actually created a device which allowed the Phantom Zone prisoners to appear on Earth. The inventor, wearing a cloak and carrying a scythe, then appears and attacks Supergirl. Continued next issue.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Action Comics #390

Action Comics #390 (On Sale: May 28, 1970) has another Superman cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.

This issues begins with our cover-story, "The Self-Destruct Superman" by Cary Bates, Curt Swan and George Roussos.
An earthquake near the White House accidentally activates an anti-Superman weapon given to the President by Superman himself. Superman intended for the weapon to be used against him should he ever go mad. Using super-hypnosis, Superman blocked the knowledge of how the weapon worked from his own mind.

The weapon attacks Superman, leading to a chase around the world and through time. Eventually, Superman is contacted by a Kandorian who explains that the weapon was invented by Jor-El on Krypton. Fearful for his life, Superman begins to suffer from stress. He then realizes his own fear is killing him. He makes a stand against the machine. It self-destructs when Superman uses a helmet to alter his own brain waves.

Superman at last remembers an incident that occurred as a child on Krypton. Jor-El's weapon nearly killed young Kal-El, so Jor-El deactivated it. However, Kal-El developed an instinctual fear of the weapon which lasted his entire life.

The back-up, "The Tyrant and the Traitor", featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes, is by E. Nelson Bridwell, Winslow Mortimer and Jack Abel. President Peralla of the planet Lahum, used an army of indestructible androids to conquered his world and plans to expand his empire to other planets. Diol Masrin, who has led his people in revolt against Peralla, is secretly allied with the Dark Circle empire. Unable to intervene officially, the United Planets requests the aid of Chameleon Boy and the Legion Espionage Squad.

Chameleon Boy, Brainiac 5, Timber Wolf, Element Lad, Saturn Girl, and Karate Kid capture a ship carrying contraband weapons to Lahum, weapons supposedly effective against the androids but actually obsolete. Impersonating the ship's crew, the Legionnaires rendezvous with Chavak, Masrin's lieutenant. They capture him, and Chameleon Boy takes his place, while the other male Legionnaires pose as new recruits. The disguised Legionnaires, accompanying the rebels on a march to their base camp, where they are ambushed by the humanoids. When blasted, the chemical beings burst into pieces, each of which then grows into a new humanoid.

The rebels manage to escape and reach their camp, where they meet Masrin and the disguised Chameleon Boy encounters the real Chavak's girlfriend, Yroa. Saturn Girl, meanwhile, reaches Hueuas, Lahum's capital city, and schemes to infiltrate the Presidential Palace by applying to become the assistant of Wanpar, Chief of Scientific Development, unaware that a woman on his staff recognizes her as Imra Ardeen. Continued next issue. This story was reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 9 HC and Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 4 TPB.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #130

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #130 (On Sale: May 26, 1970) has another cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.

This issue starts with our cover story, "The Computer-Man of Steel" by Leo Dorfman and Pete Costanza. After being blasted during the night by a strange ray, Jimmy Olsen awakens to find himself compelled to buy parts from an electronics store. Using the parts Jimmy builds an advanced computer. Using the computer, Jimmy is able to beat a robotic chess master given to him by Superman, and to predict the outcome of horse races. Jimmy's computer then predicts trouble at Superman's Fortress.

Informing Superman of the possible threat, he and Jimmy arrive at the Fortress and save the city of Kandor which was in danger from one of Superman's experiments. Once the city is saved, Superman leaves for a space mission, but returns a short time later exhibiting brain damage.

Hit once again by a strange ray, Jimmy performs surgery and transplants his computer into Superman's head. Although this saves the Superman, he becomes an unfeeling menace. When he tries to destroy Kandor, the Superman Emergency Squad emerges to fight him. Jimmy and the Kandorians realize that this is not Superman, but Brainiac. The computer villain arranges to have Jimmy build the computer using his own components and had replaced Superman with a Superman robot. The Kandorians then disassemble Brainiac.

We end with "Olsen, the Teen-Wonder" by Bob Haney and Murphy Anderson. Jimmy Olsen is nominated for the Young Man of the Year award, but loses to Robin. Jimmy thinks that he could do what Robin does, so he puts on the Robin's costume and impersonates him. When Metropolis is plagued by a string of robberies, Jimmy traces the bandits who all where costumes based on the Roman god Mercury. Jimmy is caught by the gang, but Superman saves him. After the gang is defeated, Jimmy realizes that Robin's life is harder than he thought. This story was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 1 TPB.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Green Lantern #78

Green Lantern #78 (On Sale: May 26, 1970) has another Green Lantern/Green Arrow cover by Neal Adams. The highlighting of the word "family" made you think of Charlie Manson.

The book-length "A Kind of Loving, a Way of Death" is by Denny O'Neil,  Neal Adams and Frank Giacoia. While biking through Washington state, Black Canary is attacked by a biker gang. She holds her own for a while till one of the bikers runs her over. They take her bike and leave her for dead on the side of the road. A man wearing buckskin shows up and takes her away. Two weeks later, Hal Oliver and the Guardian drive into a small town in a Washington Indian Reservation and stop by a café for a meal.
When a biker gang shows up and harasses the owner, Hal and Ollie act timid and leave, but return shortly as Green Lantern and Green Arrow. Let's just say, the bikers don't stand a chance, though one tried to make a getaway on his bike and is stopped by an Ollie arrow.

Oliver recognizes the bike s the one Superman made for Black Canary and beats information out of the biker that they took the bike from her weeks ago and left her to die. Hal has to stop him from killing the guy. The Guardian wants to talk to the owner about white harassment of natives, so he stays in the café as the green guys go out looking for Canary. They find her with little effort, but when Ollie tries to take her back she says she will not go with him, that she is home. The buckskinned guy shows up, says his name is Joshua and that Black Canary is now a member of his "family." Ollie is unable to convince Canary to come with them, so they leave her with her new family.

Joshua gives her a gift, a gun. When she says using a gun is wrong, Joshua pulls her deeper into his control, till she accepts the gift. When Hal says that Ollie just needs to realize that she just doesn't dig him anymore, Oliver punches him and storms off into the woods. There he hears gunfire in the distance and heads for it, finding the "family" doing shooting practice and overhears him ranting about going into town and killing everyone there. Realizing he needs help dealing with all of them, Arrow fires a flare arrow for Lantern, but in the glow of the flare he is seen and shot.

Green Lantern shows up and disarms the family and traps them in a pit. Joshua and Black Canary escape and find the wounded Green Arrow. Joshua orders her to kill Oliver, but she can't do it, she remembers their love for one another. When she drops the gun, Joshua picks it up to do the deed himself, but is punched by Green Lantern. As he falls to the ground, his gun discharges and he accidently kills himself.

I don't remember if Frank Giacoia ever inked Neal Adams again, and though he toned the artwork down a bit, he was not that bad. Now that might be that Neal was in his prime and no one could hurt his pencils that much, or it might be that Frans was not that bad of an inker for Adams. This story was reprinted in Green Lantern/Green Arrow #2, Green Lantern/Green Arrow Collection Vol. 1 TPB, Green Lantern/Green Arrow Collection HC, Green Lantern/Green Arrow Vol. 1 TPB, Showcase Presents: Green Lantern Vol. 5 TPB, Green Lantern/Green Arrow TPB and Absolute Green Lantern/Green Arrow HC.

Girls' Romances #150

Girls' Romances #150 (On Sale: May 26, 1970) has a cover by John Rosenberger and Vince Colletta. As usual, with anything Colletta inked, the penciler is a guess people have made.

We begin with our cover-story, "Too Much Loving... Too Many Tears" drawn by Artie Saaf and Vince Colletta.  Some credit the pencils to George Tuska, but Saaf's own invoice says otherwise, but this is the problem with Colletta's inks, the pencils are destroyed by them. Vanessa marries pro football player Wally, but when he is injured and confined to a wheelchair, he fears that she will be drawn back to her old boyfriend Nick.

Next is "The Loneliest Girl in Town" drawn by Jack Sparling and Vince Colletta. Amanda's career as a model keeps her too busy for romance, until she finds someone who's gone unnoticed the whole time -- her manager Burt.

We end with "I Lived a Lie" drawn by Ric Estrada and, yep, you guessed it, Vince Colletta. Julie marries Steve just before he leaves for Vietnam. Months later, Steve's friend Roy, who has always loved Julie, comes to tell her that Steve is missing in action, but another secret may prevent Roy from ever getting closer to Julie.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Superboy #167

Superboy #167 (On Sale: May 21, 1970) has a cover by Neal Adams featuring Superbaby. It also features the ever popular crowd running towards you that Neal was so known for.

We begin with "The Day Superboy Blew Up the World!" by Frank Robbins, Bob Brown and Murphy Anderson. It is Superboy's birthday (the day the Kents found his rocket) and Jonathan Kent wonders why Superboy is moping around. He reveals that he a nuclear-powered alien space probe heading towards Earth and intercepted messages from the craft indicating it plans on landing on Earth, which might cause it to explode. Superboy is unable to penetrate the craft's force-field.

Jonathan Kent tells him the story of how, as Superbaby, he once tried to blow up the Earth with his super-breath as if he were blowing up a balloon globe. His super-breath caused volcanic eruptions, oil gushers, and other catastrophic results, but Martha Kent lured him back with the smell of a tasty stack of homecooked pancakes.

After hearing the story, Superboy gets the idea of fashioning a phony "Earth" globe of magnetic iron, which pulls the space probe away from Earth and lets it harmlessly destroy the iron globe. The most interesting thing about this story is the credits which state that Mike Esposito was the inker, but you would have to be blind to believe that.

We end with "The Super-Mammoth Mystery" also by by Frank Robbins, Bob Brown and Murphy Anderson. When the Dale Brothers Circus comes to Smallville with their star attraction, Trixie the world's largest elephant, Superboy has to check it out. When Superboy flies by, Trixie goes wild, but Superboy is able to bring her under control using the smell of peanuts. The circus gives Superboy free circus tickets for his good deed. After Superboy flies off, Kuku the clown and Nardu, the ringmaster, comment on how well Trixie did, even fooling Superboy.

When Superboy takes Lana Lang to the circus, Kuku distracts him while Nardu causes the circus tent to collapse. While Superboy helps the people trapped inside, Trixie gets loose again and attacks an armored car on the highway. When the car goes missing, Superboy joins the search. He finds Trixie and flies her back to the circus, which then leaves town. Once out of town, the circus stops and Nardo and Kuku open up the side of Trixie, who is a robot and inside of her is the missing armored car. When they open it up to get the loot they find Superboy waiting for them. Superboy figured out Trixie was not real when she did not eat any peanuts and the circus had no bales of hay for her to eat either.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Secret Hearts #145

Secret Hearts #145 (On Sale: May 21, 1970) has a cover said to be by Bill Draut, but I see other hands at work on this.

We begin with "I Have Him Now" by Joe Gill and Bill Draut. Lenora schemes to take Calvin away from her cousin Sally, but when she wins and marries Cal, she finds that he's a compulsive gambler who only married her because he though she was richer than her cousin and he needed more money for gambling.

Following that is a one-pager entitled "Gemini Woman" by Raymond Marais and John Celardo.

Next is "Beware of a Frenchman's Kisses" by Joe Gill, John Celardo and people claim Nick Cardy, but I don't think so. Sure a few panels here and there (mainly page 4) have a Cardy look, but that is also a Celardo look, when he got a brushy and loose. Eleanor's Aunt Mary gives her a trip to Paris as a graduation gift and accompanies her as chaperone. While visiting a museum, her aunt bows out from dinner, telling her niece to no go to Chez Angelique, as the clientele is "unspeakable." So, of course, that is where she goes and when she gets there she finds a table waiting for her with artist Paul Rowan, from the museum, already seated. He said as soon as he heard her aunt tell her not to go there that she would of course show up.  After dinner they go to a café together and he walks her home. It is there that she learns that her aunt set up the whole thing.

We end with "I Didn't Want to Do It" by Jack Miller, Jay Scott Pike and John Rosenberger. When Darrell breaks up with Ginny, she hatches a scheme to get revenge on him by enlisting her friend, Felice, to date Darrell and break up with him after he falls in love with her. The plan goes well until  Felice actually falls in love with Darrell herself. Got to say that the artwork on this story is very good.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

DC Special #8

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Three Mouseketeers #2

Three Mouseketeers #2  (On Sale: May 19, 1970) has a cover by Phil Mendez.

We begin with the Three Mouseketeers in "Hi-Ho and Away"  written and drawn by Sheldon Mayer and reprinted from Three Mouseketeers #2 (1956). Minus gets a horse.

Next is the Three Mouseketeers in "Fatsy at the Bat" written and drawn by Sheldon Mayer and reprinted from Three Mouseketeers #5 (1956). Fatsy can't stand not getting a hit.

That is followed by the Three Mouseketeers in "Yo-Yo Trouble" written by Seymour Reit and drawn by Rube Grossman and reprinted from Three Mouseketeers #13 (1958). Minus finds a yo-yo.

Next we have the Three Mouseketeers in "Meet Max" written by Seymour Reit and drawn by Rube Grossman and also reprinted from Three Mouseketeers #13 (1958). The Mouseketeers enlist Max the Potato Bug in their continuing war against Hamilton Hawk.

The next story features the Three Mouseketeers (surprise!) in "Brain Vs Brawn"  written by Seymour Reit and drawn by Rube Grossman and reprinted from Three Mouseketeers #2 (1956).

We end this reprint fest with the Three Mouseketeers in "Silently Yours" written by Seymour Reit and drawn by Rube Grossman. This story was reprinted from Three Mouseketeers #10 (1957). This is a mostly silent story about Minus trying to pick a raspberry.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Hot Wheels #3

Hot Wheels #3  (On Sale: May 19, 1970) has an adequate cover by Neal Adams, but it gives the book a tone that does not in any way match the interior. It puts the emphasis on the bad guys and relegates the heroes to very small heads in the police car and, of course, the obligatory headshots running down the left panel.

Now this may seem like a minor criticism, but this book was really Alex Toth's baby, and he had a particular product that he wanted to sell, and it was about the characters and their interaction with their cars. Alex had done a number of car books by this time and he knew how to deliver one of those, but I think he was aiming for something more accessible to kids than what DC had in mind.

Nothing points that out clearer than the cover by Alex that was rejected by DC. It puts forth the same idea, that the kids are working with the police and are being shot at. However, it changes the emphasis, moving it away from the bad guys and putting it clearly onto Jack Wheeler.

Alex even employs the unusual design choice of having Jack's head in the left margin do the talking. This moves those obligatory headshots from static window dressing to active participant in the cover. It is a brilliant idea on Toth's part. I just have to wonder what Dick Giordano's problem was with Toth's ideas here.

The book begins with "Stakeout," a 13-pager by Joe Gill, Alex Toth and the horrific Vinnie Colletta.  Colletta could destroy just about anyone's pencils and he certainly sucked the mood right out of Toth's work here. Toth demands a broad, assured stroke and Colletta was never in possession of one. The only bright side to the artwork on this issue is that it is the last time that someone else will ink Toth's Hot Wheels pencils and that is a very good thing.  When some bank robbers are making their getaway in what appears to be an old clunker, but is actually a "funnycar," Jack and Janet come upon them and take off in hot pursuit. Jack ends up flipping their dune buggy, but luckily land in a junkyard's pile of old tires. When the police arrive and ask the two to describe the car, Jack informs them that was a '55 Chevy, but since it was actually a funnycar, they can swap out the bolt-on body and might be any other car the next time the see it.

 Sure enough, across town the gang is picking up their girlfriends and the '55 Chevy is no more. Back at Wheeler Motors the kids talk it over with Jack's dad and decide to stake out the four largest banks in town to see if they can catch the gang in the act. They need to be in police cars to do it, so they go to the Commissioner with a plan to soup up four police cars so they can keep yup with that funnycar. The Commissioner agrees. Besides making the cars faster, they paint them and remove the roof lights. Jack, Tank, Kip and Mickey are joined by plain-clothes officers and the stakeout begins.

Days go by but finally an old pickup pulls up to one of the banks, and, yes, it is the robbers. Jack and his companion, Detective Ross, take off in hot pursuit, but have to drop back as one of the robbers is in the back of the pickup shooting at them. The gunman is tossed out of the truck on a tight turn and Jack notes that they are heading out of town on Monument Road. Tank blocks the road in his car, but Jack warns him that they are coming too fast to stop and a change of tactic is needed. Tanks zig zags his car in front of the truck slowing them down and the other cars converge, capturing the thieves.  Wheeler Motors offers to soup up all the police cars if the Commissioner approves.

This is followed by a two-page Racing Album by Jack Keller highlighting the 1956 Daytona race a one-page text story featuring the Hot Wheels gang entitled "Not Too Bright!" and one page of gags, "Car Toons" by Henry Boltinoff.

The back-up story is  "The Raid of the Red Baron," an 8-page tale drawn by Ric Estrada and Dick Giordano. While dune bugging across the desert to Sweet Springs for a picnic, Janet and Jack are bombed with  a flour sack by resident asshole Dexter in a WWI Fokker. Dexter then chases them down, causing them to flatten in the dust before finding Mickey and Ardeth in their buggy and strafing them. Dexter then has engine trouble and crashes the plane on the edge of a cliff. Dex is fine, but copilot Ferdie has been thrown from the plane and needs a doctor. Jack and Dexter head for the nearest town and retrieve a doctor, who examines Ferdie and the gang help get him back to town.

Ardeth then douses Dexter with her now sandy potato salad. The art in this one is a little strange. The first few pages are dramatic and then as the story wears on the art becomes much more cartoony.  I think Ric was having an issue with what type of tale he was illustrating.

The book was edited by Dick Giordano.

Adventures of Jerry Lewis #119

Adventures of Jerry Lewis #119 (On Sale: May 19, 1970) has a cover by Bob Oksner.

We begin with Jerry Lewis in "The Dropout Who Dropped In" by Alan Riefe and Bob Oksner. Wanting to better himself and finally get a diploma, Jerry reenrolls in high school, where he makes every teacher's life a nightmare. Some problems are caused by Jerry's lack of brain power, but many of the things he is accused of are actually the work of two other students, who have decided to make Jerry's life miserable after Jerry ruins their gag to soak the principal. In the end, Jerry inadvertently helps stop the two kids from stealing exam questions that they plan on selling to other kids. Regardless, Jerry flunks out and a month later is trying to ship an apple to his teacher in correspondence school.

Next we have Jerry Lewis in our cover-story, "The Teenie-Weenie Genie", also by Alan Riefe and Bob Oksner. While playing football in a junk yard, Jerry destroys Renfrew's football but finds a genie in a stove pipe. The genie is not very good and when Jerry asks for a million dollars the genie conjures up a wooden nickel. When he asks for a lot of diamonds, the genie gives him a deck of cards. The genie confesses that he has lost his powers and that his fiancé's family is out to get him since he backed out of the marriage he no longer feels worthy of.

Jerry moves the genie into his house and they realize he just needs his bottle back to restore his powers. Jerry and Renfrew go in search of bottles just as the genie's fiancé and family find them. A chase ensues and the genie is trapped back in his bottle by a family member who then commands the genie to send them home, which the genie does. He just doesn't go with them. Jerry got bonked on the head and Renfrew wishes that he would snap out of it.  Jerry does, but he has a tremendous headache which he wishes would go away. Renfrew realizing they have just blown two of their three wishes, tells Jerry to shut up, that all he really wanted was a new football. And so he is given one.

We end with Jerry Lewis in a one-pager called "A Smashing Good Time", by Henry Boltinoff and Bob Oksner.  Jerry is driving his car and can't remember where he is going. He doesn't need gas, he doesn't need to wash the car. As he smashes into a wall he remembers that he needed new brakes.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.