Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #105

Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #105 (On Sale: August 13, 1970) has a cover by Murphy Anderson. The big news this issue is found in the little blurb at the bottom of the cover. DC is introducing its third new character of the month, heck of the day.

We begin with Lois Lane in "Death House Honeymoon," a 12-page tale by  
Robert Kanigher, Artie Saaf and Mike Esposito. The 100, a criminal combine that will be around Lois Lane for many issues to come, invades Metropolis, but a mysterious female crime-fighter called The Thorn serves public notice that she will hunt them all down. Meanwhile, Johnny Adonis (nice name, if you can get it), a murderer sentenced to the chair, asks Lois Lane, whose life he once saved, for a last request: to marry him just before he is executed. 

She complies, and the two are married, but a jailbreak ensues before Johnny can be taken to the chair and Lois is taken hostage. She is later dumped in the river by the convicts where she is rescued by mysterious new crime-fighter, the Thorn and both women are saved by Superman. Johnny is killed by one of his fellow convicts while trying to defend his wife, Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Adonis.

Our back-up story is the premiere of DC's newest heroine, Rose and the Thorn in "Night of the Thorn" by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. After her father, Detective-Sergeant Phil Forrest, is killed in a gun-battle with the 100, Rose Forrest suffers a personality split. 

Though she feels herself normally incapable of violence, while asleep she becomes the Thorn, a costumed crime-fighter driven by her father's memory to fight and defeat the 100. She rescues Forrest's partner Danny Stone from the 100's killers, but, as Rose, does not suspect that she has become a secretary to a 100 member.

I do appreciate new characters, even if all three of them are created by Robert Kanigher. Now I'm not saying that Kanigher's writing is derivative, but two of his three new characters' shtick is that they have basically split personalities (as we will see in the next issue of All-Star Western). Now most people would not look at El Diablo and Rose and the Thorn and say, "Hey, this is the same recycled idea," but I would. I know there are a lot of things that are different between the two characters, but come on, they launched on the dame day. Hard to not notice. 

Edited by E. Nelson Bridwell.

Super DC Giant S-19

Super DC Giant S-19 (On Sale: August 6, 1970) has a Jerry Lewis cover by Bob Oksner and Neal Adams.

This book begins with "Scared Silly, " a big 25-page story by Arnold Drake and Bob Oksner reprinted from Adventures of Jerry Lewis #83. This story is interrupted by two Jerry Lewis Gallery of Art Messterpieces, The first is "Whistler's Mother" drawn by Neal Adams and reprinted from Adventures of Jerry Lewis #102 and "American Gothic," drawn by Bob Oksner and reprinted from Adventures of Jerry Lewis #105.

Next is "Blue Boy," another Jerry Lewis Gallery of Art Messterpieces, drawn by Neal Adams and reprinted from Adventures of Jerry Lewis #101. 

That is followed by "The Killer Counselor of Camp Wack-a-Boy," a 24-page story by Arnold Drake and Bob Oksner, reprinted from the pages of Adventures of Jerry Lewis #95. This story is also interrupted by two Jerry Lewis Gallery of Art Messterpieces, The first is "Two Girls at the Piano" drawn by Bob Oksner and reprinted from Adventures of Jerry Lewis #106 and the second is "Smoking Endangers Your Health," drawn by Neal Adams and reprinted from Adventures of Jerry Lewis #103.

We end with "The Kookie Cook," a one-pager that nobody seems to know anything about.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Super DC Giant S-18

Super DC Giant S-18 (On Sale: August 13, 1970) has a Three Mouseketeers cover by Phil Mendez.

This all reprint book starts off with the Three Mouseketeers in "We Want Action," a six-page tale drawb by Rube Grossman  and reprinted from Three Mouseketeers #9.

Next is another tale of the Three Mouseketeers, with Patsy and Herman Hop-Toad. This two-pager is written by Si Reit and drawn by Rube Grossman and is reprinted from Three Mouseketeers #6.

That is followed by yet another Three Mouseketeers story, "Why Minus Can't Miss," a one-pager drawn by Rube Grossman and reprinted from Three Mouseketeers #8.

Our next Three Mouseketeers yarn is "Working on the Railroad." This six-page story is written and drawn by Sheldon Mayer and reprinted from Three Mouseketeers #3.

Next is a Doodles Duck untitled six-page story drawn by Sheldon Mayer and reprinted from Raccoon Kids #60.

We follow that with three more tales of the Three Mouseketeers all written and drawn by Sheldon Mayer. The first is "The Adventure of the Disappearing Cave." This six-page story is reprinted from Three Mouseketeers #3. Then comes  "Patsy and the Pup," a four-pager from Three Mouseketeers #4. The last of the three is "Meet Cousin Rodney Rat." This six-pager is from Three Mouseketeers #5.

Next is a six-page untitled Bo Bunny story drawn by Sheldon Mayer and reprinted from Leading Screen Comics #70.

Our last Three Mouseketeers story is "Make Mine Monotony, " a four-page story drawn by Rube Grossman and reprinted from Three Mouseketeers #9.

The book ends with an untitled Dizzy Dog six-pager drawn by Sheldon Mayer and reprinted from Raccoon Kids #55.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Girls' Love Stories #154

Girls' Love Stories #154 (On Sale: August 13, 1970) has a cover by, well, we are not quite sure. Sequential Crush seems to think this is Bill Draut, but I don't think so. I'm thinking more like Ric Estrada.

Our cover story, "Too Spoiled for Love" is drawn by Ric Estrada and Jack Abel. Lila is a part of the local rich crowd, a spoiled girl just out for fun, breaking the heart of any guy who gets serious for her. Then one night her car breaks down on the way to a club and Brett stops to assist her. She invites him to join her in the club and very soon Lila realizes that she is seriously smitten with Brett. 

Plans for a "real" date are thrown up in the air when Lila's father informs her that he has invited his new assistant to dinner. She calls Brett and lets him know their date will have to be postponed, but later, when she heads downs to meet the assistant, she finds it is Brett.

Lila plays along as her father tries to hook the two kids up, but when Brett and Lila get some private time she is furious, figuring he only stopped to help her to get ahead with her father.She chases him out of the house and out of her life, but when she tries to resume her playgirl lifestyle, she finds that all she has on her mind is Brett.

She decides that one way to get over him is to overdoes on Brett, so she asks her father if she can work on the assembly line which Brett manages. Her tedious job is to keep track of the pressure gauges on some chemical tanks, but she is distracted by Brett's presence and one of the tanks explodes. Horrified by what her negligence has caused, she leaves. Later her father tells her that Brett admitted to forgetting to inspect the gauges and so he fired him.

Realizing that Brett only took the blame for her mistake out of love for her, Lila rushes to Brett and, of course, they live happily ever after.

Next is an eight-pager, "Country Girl," drawn by Artie Saaf and Frank Giacoia. 

That is followed by  "Advice to the Lovelorn," a three-page story drawn by George Tuska and Vinnie Colletta.

We end with "Awakened Heart," a seven-page reprint from Secret Hearts #38. This story is drawn by Arthur Peddy and Bernard Sachs and has been touched up to modernize the clothes and hairstyles. 

Edited by Joe Orlando.

All-Star Western #2

All-Star Western #2 (On Sale: August 13, 1970) has a wonderful cover by Neal Adams. Finally this month, something to crow about! I remember the day I bought this book and brought it home. That cover is just a classic: the foreshortened hands ready for action, the billowing shirt, that wonderful back-lighting. I was hooked before I opened the cover.

This is a month of change for DC and nowhere is it more evident than here. DC is back in the western business and this time (unlike with Bat Lash), they mean it.

We open with the new series Outlaw by Robert Kanigher and Tony DeZuniga. Though some may have missed Tony's American penciling debut in House of Mystery last month, it was hard to miss him here. Little did we know that very shortly we would be inundated with Filipino comic talent, that Tony was only the first of many to come.

In "Draw Death" when Rick Wilson was a young boy he wanted to be a Texas Ranger just like his father, Samuel Wilson. During their time together they rescued and took in a young Mexican girl named Paloma. As Rick grew older, he soon became resentful of his father who would deny his requests to join the Texas Rangers. He befriended an eagle, which he keep as a pet. 

Eventually Rick's resentment of being treated as a boy caused him to run away from his father. He started hanging out with shady characters, like the Fenton Gang. Rick agrees to help the Fentons rob a stagecoach with the understanding that nobody will be hurt. However the Fentons kill some of the coach riders and Rick is recognized. His father has no choice but to hunt down his son.

Sam finally catches up to Rick, but in a showdown Rick shoots his own father, wounding him and making his escape. Rick is conflicted and decides to bring in the Fentons. On the way back to their hideout Rick is confronted by a masked rider, El Diablo, who warns Rick that the Fentons intend to betray him.

Thanks to El Diablo's warning, Rick manages to get the drop on the Fenton Gang and in a massive shootout is the only one to come out alive. Still wanted for the stagecoach robbery Rick is forced to flee, determined to prove himself a man in his own way. The story ends with Sam Wilson putting up wanted poster for his own son, the Outlaw. 

For my money, the real prize in this book is the introduction of El Diablo. Some think of him as DC's answer to Zorro, but El Diablo is a much more layered character than Zorro, though I will admit that there are some striking similarities in the appearance of both characters.

Up till this point, Gray Morrow had been relegated to horror and romance stories at DC, so this was our first opportunity to see Gray strut his stuff in an action story, and "The Devil Has Two Faces!"  by Robert Kanigher and Gray Morrow has a lot of action. It begins in the middle of a stagecoach robbery (apparently Kanigher was very big on stagecoach robberies) and the appearance of "A satanic figure in black on a horse with eyes like blazing coals."

You have to check out Morrow's bandits in panel three, from front to back we have Dick Giordano, Angelo Torres and Al Williamson! Fun if you knew who these guy were.

El Diablo kills one of the men (looks like Al Williamson to me), and the others run off. El Diablo returns to the coach to find a beautiful woman (does Gray know of any other kind?), a woman about to give birth, and a reluctant doctor played by the dashing Gil Kane.

The woman and the doctor are traveling together, running from an unhappy past and looking for a new beginning. The doctor had lost his wife and child in childbirth due, he thinks, to his lack of skill. The woman is a prostitute, looking for a new beginning with a man she could care for, but fate has dealt her a different hand.

El Diablo extols the doctor to redeem himself, "Use those same hands to bring life into this world! You have sworn a sacred oath as a physician! You can do it." But while El Diablo checks on the pregnant woman, the doctor takes one of the bandits horses (most likely Al's) and rides off, unable to face his demons and his doubt.

El Diablo tells the prostitute that she must now step up and do the doctor's job, "Pride and prejudice have no place here! Two lives are at stake!" Hours later the cry of a baby fills the night.

El Diablo takes the reigns of the stagecoach and drives it into town, but on their way the rest of the bandits return for another shot at the stagecoach. El Diablo jumps on his horse and once again becomes a dealer of death.

Once the gang is killed they find the body of the doctor, who had apparently run right into the gang in his break from duty. "Poor Doc! Poor, lonely Doc. Now he won't have to run away."

Later in town the sheriff (played by Phil Seuling) asks the woman who the stranger was, that the mother might want to name her child after him.

"She's grateful, yes, but she wouldn't use his name--the name of El Diablo!"

Man, I was hooked. Really just stunning artwork with some amazingly moody coloring, some inside jokes int he form of character references, and a hint of something supernatural. The story ends with a promise that next issue, we will learn who, or what, this strange masked man really is.

What a great book. Two new series and two artists doing their first action work for DC. I was so waiting for the next issue, and disappointment was not an option.

Edited by the head bandito, Dick Giordano. 

Sugar and Spike #92

Sugar and Spike #92 (On Sale: August 11, 1970) has a standard cover by Sheldon Mayer.

I would like to say right now what a big fan of Sugar and Spike I was, but that would not be the truth. In truth I don't think I ever read a single story, certainly never bought a comic. Just not my cup of tea, as the saying goes.

This issue has six Sugar and Spike features, from one-page gags to eight-page stories. They are entitled: "The Riddle," "Mud-Pie Muddle," "Sugar, the Adviser,"  "A Lesson from a Gift Horse," "Flower Flower" and "Romance... Half-Pint Style." This had to be the easiest book in the world to edit, just wait for Sheldon Mayer to send in the work and print it. All content written and drawn by Sheldon Mayer.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

G.I. Combat #144

G.I. Combat #144 (On Sale: August 11, 1970) has an uneven cover by Joe Kubert. The logo is just too damn big, no pun intended, and the small pics on the left do nothing to make me want to purchase it. Also, the whole thing is just too dark making for an unusually unappealing effort from Kubert.

Also, the "Two Magazines in One!" blurb is really misleading. Yeah, there are two magazines for sure. One is a skimped on 19-page book of new material and the other is a 36-page reprint book. OK, by today's standards 18 pages of new material for 25 cents is a pretty good deal, particularly when 14 of those pages are by Russ Heath, but at the time, it seemed like a rip-off.

We begin with the Haunted Tank tale "Every Man a Fort" by
Robert Kanigher and Russ Heath. This accounts for 14 of the pages of new material.

Now we gt into the reprints starting with "Straw Pilot" a ten-pager by Hank Chapman and Joe Kubert. Originally produced for Our Army at War #147.

Next is "Something for the Sarge." This eight-pager from Our Army at War #85 is by Bob Haney and Russ Heath.

That is followed by "The Soldier on Four Wheels" a six-pager by the great Bill Finger and Mort Drucker from Star Spangled War Stories #59. A Mort Drucker war story is always a welcome treat.

The next story is "Shooting Gallery," a 12-page story by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, reprinted from Our Army at War #73.

The book ends with the other original story, "Liegnitz and the Mongol Tide," a four page tale drawn by Ric Estrada.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

From Beyond the Unknown #7

From Beyond the Unknown #7  (On Sale: August 11, 1970) has a so-so cover by Joe Kubert. DC was not going to give up on reprinting old science-fiction stories. Kind of like Marvel and their old monster books.

This issue actually starts out with a new story, "Earth Shall Not Die." 

This 12-pager is by Denny. O'Neil and Murphy Anderson. Commander Glenn Merritt believes that aliens are attacking the space program and convinces Congress to set up a base on the moon for him to investigate his theories.

The reprints begin now with  "The Menace of Saturn's Rings," a seven-page reprint from Strange Adventures #96 by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella. Natives of Saturn send Saturn's rings to attack Earth.

That is followed by "Next Year -- Andromeda." This ten-page tale by Gardner Fox and Sid Greene is reprinted from Mystery in Space #85. Ensign Jay Drake finds a creature that can warp space to escape predators. He plans to capture it so scientists can study the creature and make more efficient space drives.

Next is "Do Not Open Till Doomsday," a six-page tale by Sid Gerson, Carmine Infantino and Bernard Sachs from the pages of Strange Adventures #36. When magic globes begin to fall to Earth that grant the wishes of any Earthman who uses them, Dr. George Lynch suspects an ulterior motive.

Then we have "World at the Edge of the Universe." This six-pager by Otto Binder and Sy Barry is reprinted from Strange Adventures #60, Ted Carter is the student chosen to represent Earth in a tour of the galaxy for prized students. At first, Ted is useless because he has no training of other worlds, but eventually a problem arises that the other students can't solve but Ted can.

That is followed by "The Twice-Told Tale" by Jack Miller, Gil Kane and Joe Giella and is reprinted from Strange Adventures #27. How could George Mitchell write a novel that turned out to be a word-for-word copy of a book he had never seen that was written more than 100 years in the past?

We end with our cover-story, "The Giant from Beyond," a nine-page story by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky and Frank Giacoia. When a giant beanstalk appears on Earth and a giant Alien being begins crawling down the beanstalk, Captain Craig Johnson volunteers to stop him. This one was reprinted from Strange Adventures #101.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Unexpected #121

Unexpected #121 (On Sale: August 6, 1970) has a less than spectacular cover by Neal Adams. This cover is all over the place, with no point of focus and, let's be frank, on top of that it ain't very pretty.

The Unexpected was always the bastard child of DC horror books. There was Joe Orlando's House of Mystery and Dick Giordano's House of Secrets and The Witching Hour, books that you didn't want to miss an issue of. then there was Murray Boltinoff's The Unexpected. The book had this ungodly large and fairly ugly logo that took up way too much room and I don't know who was designing their covers, but they were always second-, if not third-best. If you ever suffer from insomnia, browsing a cover gallery of The Unexpected is a wonderful cure. I don't know if this book sold well or not, but I do know that probably half the time I could pass on this comic and not feel any sense of loss. 

We begin with "Daddy's Gone A-Haunting" by George Kashdan and Jerry Grandenetti. In this eight-page tale, daddy Jonah, an herbal healer, is chased by the townsfolk until he befriends a little boy who helps him save the town doctor.

Next is "Within These Walls Dwells Fear," a ten-page Judge Gallows story by George Kashdan (writing as Jack Phillips), Dick Dillin and Frank Giacoia.  When Phil and Mary Coyle buy a new house in the country, the townsfolk try to scare them away.

That is followed by "Would You Want to Know the Day You Die?" This ten-page story is by Dave Wood, John Calnan and Vinnie Colletta. Don Young never cared about saving money, until he got married and then worked himself into an early grave. 

John Calnan noted in an interview that he "graduated high school and then went to the School of Visual Arts, which at that time was the cartoonists and illustrators school where I met Tom Gill and inked The Lone Ranger and also worked on other Westerns, including Cheyenne. So that was my introduction into the field." He later became an advertising art director and TV producer for agencies, while keeping the comic work "on the side". He drew exclusively for DC for sixteen years then stopped. His early work was mostly war and horror books, the horror books exclusively for Murray Boltinoff. He would do some Superman and Metamorpho stories then a stint drawing Superman/Batman in World's Finest but is maybe most remembered for a late 1970's run on Batman. 

Next we have "The Hound of Night" by Murray Boltinoff (writing as Al Case) and Bernie Wrightson. Just a single page but Wrightson makes it worth a look. A dog's constant howling drives a man to take drastic action.

We end with another one-pager, "Hand-Made Haunted House!" This little ditty is also written by Murray Boltinoff as Al Case and drawn by George Tuska.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Swing With Scooter #30

Swing With Scooter #30 (On Sale: August 6, 1970) has a cover by Henry Scarpelli.

We being this issue with Scooter in  "Money, Money, Money,"  a nine page tale by John Albano, Stan Goldberg and Henry Scarpelli, which was reprinted in Best of DC #45, 14 years later. Go figure.

Next is "Not the Silent Type," a one-page Scooter piece.

That is followed by "Eat and Be Sorry," also a one-pager, this time featuring Penny and Cookie.

Penny and Cookie get expanded coverage in "Pool Little Rich Girl," which clocks in at four pages.  

That is followed by a one-page entitled "Mister Clean." 

The book ends with "Scooter's Big Splash," a six page Scooter story drawn by Art Saaf and Wally Wood. 

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Superman #230

Superman #230 (On Sale: August 6, 1970) has a fairly nice cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson depicting yet another an imaginary tale from the editorial reigns of Mort Weisinger. This issue also introduces the little DC Superman logo in the upper left corner that I actually liked. I thought these were a good idea on DCs part and was sad to see them abandoned a few years later.

"Killer Kent vs. Super Luthor" is a 22-page imaginary tale from the pen of Cary Bates, the pencil of Curt Swan and the inkwell of Dan Adkins. This is Adkins second story for DC and his first time inking Swan or Superman.  In another world, parallel universe or whatever, Lex Luthor was the son of Jor-El and Lara, and came to Earth to grow up to be the Man of Steel. Clark Kent on the other hand was a real bad guy. 

I'm not sure what you say about a story like this. It wasn't bad it was just meaningless. I was never a fan of the "imaginary" story and this is the second one in a week that Mort Weisinger has foisted upon us. For the record, I also didn't like them when Marvel started doing them as What If?. 

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Falling in Love #118

Falling in Love #118 (On Sale: August 6, 1970) has a nice cover by, well, certainly not Nick Cardy and Vince Colletta as some people attribute. Sure the inks are Colletta, but Cardy had nothing to do with this. Some have suggested Dick Giordano, but I don't see any Giordano on this. the band in them background reminds me more of a Ric Estrada or an Artie Saaf. Regardless of who drew it, it is kinda cool and certainly somewhat timely. 

We begin with  the eight-pager "Hate Letters to Wilma," penciled by George Tuska.

That is followed by "First Kiss," a three-pager drawn by Ross Andu and Mike Esposito. 

Next we have a seven-page reprint from Girls' Love Stories #42  entitled "No Chance at Love."  This tale from 1956 was drawn by Arthur Peddy and Bernard Sachs.

Arthur F. Peddy is not really known to most comic fans, but he had a long career, starting in 1939 writing and drawing the Waco Kid for Fox in Mystery Men Comics #1-4. Peddy then moved to Harvey and then Quality, working out of the Iger shop. At Quality he worked on such features as Don Glory, Duke O'Dowd, Hercules, Rookie Rankin, but is best remembered as the co-creator of The Phantom Lady. 

Peddy left Quality in 1942 and didn't resurface till 1947 at DC, most likely his career being interrupted by a little thing called World War II. At DC Peddy drew Doctor Mid-Nite, Black Pirate, Wildcat, Hop Harrigan and The Justice Society of America. In 1952 Peddy jumped to Marvel where he drew War and mystery stories. He worked for both DC and Marvel up till 1956, when he went back to DC full-time.

He drew War books through 1957 when he then switched full-time to romance and finished out he career at DC doing romance books till 1971. He had one more story printed after that, in Batman #238 DC published a Golden Age Atom story intended for Flash Comics #105. The unpublished work was inked by Bob Oksner.

Our book ends with our cover story  "I Found My Love at the Woodstock Festival," a ten-page tale drawn by Murphy Anderson. There is debate on this story as well, some say Anderson is only the inker, but I certainly can't tell for sure. You can read more on this story on the excellent Romance Comic Blog Sequential Crush. 

This book was edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Our Army at War #224

Our Army at War #224 (On Sale: August 4, 1970) has a standard cover by Joe Kubert.

This book has belonged to Sgt Rock and Joe Kubert for years. It is amazing that it will take DC almost 80 more issues before they officially change the name of the book to Sgt. Rock. Of all the "auteur" editors Carmine Infantino installed at DC, none came close to the success that Kubert found.

For more than a decade he had been the face of DC war books and in his role as editor, nothing much changed there, except that he started writing stories instead of relying on Robert Kanigher. Kubert's run as the maestro of DC war comics is unprecedented in its length and breadth. From Sgt Rock to Balloon Buster to The Haunted Tank to the Unknown Soldier to Enemy Ace they all were improved if not conceived visually by Joe Kubert.

In  "One for the Money..."  Joe Kubert writes and draws a 14-page Sgt. Rock story about a new member of Easy Company, "Trader" Johnson. One of the things Kubert was so good at was creating a full-blown character in just a few panels. Look at the first page of this story. You know almost all you need to know about "Trader" in six panels.  "Trader" was part of a five-man recon squad with Rock checking out a town ahead of Easy Co., when they run into a Nazi sniper nest.  A couple of grenades take out the nest and "Trader" starts going through the remains looking for souvenirs.

"Traders'" scavenging ways bothers Rock and he tells him so, but Johnson counters that he is just a businessman and plans on having enough money put aside by the end of the war to go into a legitimate business. The argument is interrupted when Rock sees a German convoy coming over the hill and heading for the town.

From their hidden position "Trader" admires the sleek German staff car as the soldiers march into the city. The Germans know that someone took out their sniper nest and that they may still be in town, they also know that Easy is approaching, so while they hide their vehicles and set up a trap for Easy they also search the town.

Rock says they need to do something so easy doesn't walk into a trap, but "Trader" want to lay low, "What good would it do for Easy...if we commit suicide?" Rock tells him to "Shut up!" Johnson goes into a quiet rant of why he is just as good as Easy and just as deserving, but it is interrupted when a German officer extols the hiding soldiers to give up and "spend the remainder of the war in safety...in a prisoner-of-war camp."

"Trader" jumps from hiding and gives up, but when he refuses to tell them were Rock and his men are, the officer tells his men to shoot Johnson. Wounded on the ground "Trader" pulls the pin on a German grenade he had in his collection. Easy sees the resulting explosion and comes in fighting, taking the Germans out. Wildman tells Rock that if it wasn;t for the explosion they would have walked right into the trap.

Next is a two-page Battle Album featuring the "Sinking of the U.S.S. Seawolf," which is drawn by Sam Glanzman. 

That is followed by a  Warrior, History’s Mightiest Men Of Combat! story featuring "Russian Guerrilla Warrior," which is also drawn by Sam Glanzman. I don't know if Glanzman was channeling Al Williamson and Roy Krenkel or what, but this one-pager was really nice.

Next we have "Roncesvalles," a four-page Great Battles of History story written and illustrated by Ric Estrada.

It is 778 A.D. and Emperor Charlemagne is making his way through the Pyrenees after campaigning in Spain. They camp beyond a pass and a man is sent back to have Sir Roland bring the baggage train forward.

They are unaware that they are being watched and when Roland and his men attempt to traverse the tight pass they are set upon by a savage hoard of great number.  Roland fights on with such savagery that the attackers wonder if he is indeed mortal.

However, by the next dawn, the pass, Roncesvalles, is strewn with the bodies of hundreds of the dead. Charlemagne orders graves to be dug for his fallen men, "Never again shall I have their like beside me."

The book ends with a Wild Blue Yonder gag strip, "Control...control..." by John Costanza.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

House of Secrets #88

House of Secrets #88 (On Sale: August 4, 1970) has a spectacular cover by Neal Adams in wash. DC was about to make a move into the Gothic Romance books and this beautiful cover is almost a test drive of that concept.

The insides are not nearly as pretty as the outsides, but we begin with "The Morning Ghost" by Marv Wolfman, Dick Dillin and Frank Giacoia. In this 11-page tale a man meets a woman on the run from the ghosts of her dead family who want her to join them. He tries to convince her there are no ghosts by bringing her back to the house where they died in a fire, but she reveals to him that there were no survivors and she too is a ghost. He admits to her that he is one too and asks her to join him instead of her evil family.

Neal Adams' original painting for this issue's cover.

That is followed by "Eyesore!" by Gerry Conway and Bill Draut. A blind store owner begins to suspect an acquaintance of wanting to kill him and take over the business, so when the man tells him that he's got something for him in the closet, the blind man sneaks up behind him and kills him by striking him with his cane. The blind man hears sounds like something moving and thinks perhaps the man isn't dead and is coming for revenge. He tries to hide upstairs but he still hears the padding and tapping coming closer and becomes so terrified that his heart gives out. The police are puzzled to find the dead man downstairs and the blind man dead upstairs with a seeing eye dog sitting by the body with the blind man's cane in its mouth. Reminds me of the lines from that Buffalo Springfield song, "Paranoia strikes deep. Into you life it will creep."

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

Edited by Dick Giordano.

DC Special #9

DC Special #9 (On Sale: August 4, 1970) has a Strangest Sports Stories Ever Told cover my Murphy Anderson.

Apparently Julius Schwartz loved this concept of strange sports stories. Not only is he the editor of this book, but he edited each of the books in which these stories were originally printed. Me, I never really got behind this genre.

We begin with "Challenge of the Headless Baseball Team,"  a 14-page story by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella. This one is reprinted from Brave and the Bold #45.

Next we have "Danger on the Martian Links," an 11-page story by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella. This one is reprinted from Brave and the Bold #46.

That is followed by "The Phantom Prize-Fighter,"  a 14-page story by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella. This one is reprinted from Brave and the Bold #47.

We end this strange book with "Duel of the Star Champions,"  a 15-page tale by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella. This one is reprinted from Brave and the Bold #48.

The whole thing is edited by Julie Schwartz.

Challengers of the Unknown #76

Challengers of the Unknown #76 (On Sale: August 4, 1970) has a nice cover by Joe Kubert.

It is sort of a shame that this month begins with a reprint book, as DC was really on the move in August 1970. This month there are three new strips starting and one completely revamped strip that will shock a lot of fans, some in a good way, some in a not so good way.

The thing about reprints is that sometimes they are more than just a cheap way to make comics, sometimes they are signposts to things to come. Two months ago, DC published All-Star Western #1, a book of Pow-Wow Smith reprints, but that book was a signpost of what was to come, starting this month, ASW #1 was more than what met the eye.

Challengers of the Unknown #76 is the same way. It says something more than we would like to publish the Challs but we don't want to pay for new material just now. It says, "Hey, you know that guy at Marvel who created Captain America, the Black Panther, the Avengers, Thor, The Silver Surfer, the Inhumans and the X-Men?, Yeah, he used to work for DC too." Why that is important would be become evident later in the month.

The word from on high is...the Great One is Coming!

We start off with  "The Traitorous Challenger" a 10-page story reprinted from Challengers of the Unknown #2. It is written and drawn by Jack Kirby and inked by Wally Wood.The Challengers’ head to Australia in pursuit of a creature responsible for destroying a village. June Robbins arrives to inform the Challs of a more important assignment in Washington. The Challs do not want to leave Australia without their man, uh...creature, so decide to stay.

June begins sabotaging their attempts to reach the monster inside a cave. The Challs quickly realize June is responsible for the sabotage and force her to explain. June tells them that a computer has predicted the Challengers will die on this mission and she is trying to save their lives.

Despite June’s warning, the Challs continue on the mission. The monster strikes at them and they are easily overpowered. Prof gets an idea, and they trick the monster into chasing them. The sun sets and the monster suddenly grows weak. It tries to make it back to its grotto, but the Challs have lured it too far away. The creature subsisted on sunlight and without it the creature could only survive off the energy in the volcanic grotto. They conclude that June’s warning slowed the Challengers efforts enough to make it until sunset, or they would indeed have died.

In "The Secret of the Sorcerer's Mirror," a 12-page reprint from  Challengers of the Unknown #3, Hillary Mycroft steals a mirror from a museum exhibit. The mirror once belonged to the sorcerer Kregon and can be used to reveal ancient secrets. The Challengers pursue Mycroft and recover the mirror, but not before the criminal has used it. The Challs use the mirror themselves to discover where Mycroft has gone.

Red and Prof split up from the others to track down some of Mycroft's men. The crooks recover hidden treasures despite the efforts of the Challs. Ace and Rocky follow Mycroft, but they too fail to stop him from recovering the last treasure. When combined, the treasures will give Mycroft control over a giant being, but Red has damaged one of the pieces so it fails to work. The Challs then apprehend Mycroft and his men. Like the first story this too was written and drawn by Jack Kirby and inked by Wally Wood.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Detective Comics #403

Detective Comics #403 (On Sale: July 30, 1970) has a nice cover by Neal Adams.

This month is ending with the holy trinity of DC books, Action, Adventure and the companies' namesake, Detective Comics and in some ways these three books are indicative of DC as a whole.

There is the old guard, Mort Weisinger in Action Comics, still pushing "imaginary" stories because, lets face it, he hasn't had a new idea for Superman in a decade. I think Mort was tired, god knows the fans were tired of his old shit. In Green Lantern Speedy is a junkie, in Action Superman's imaginary son is a klutz. Which one sounds like the more compelling story?

Then there is Adventure Comics, Carmine's dalliance with the artist as "auteur." In this case the book is owned lock, stock and barrel by Mike Sekowsky and for a first issue he has given us a truly original vision of the super-heroine as a young woman on her own, trying to find her way in the real world. In a couple of months CBS will unveil the same basic idea in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I think Sekowsky was on to something, but it will never take off the way the MTM Show did. It is important to remember that last month this book was in Mort Weisinger's hands.

Then there is the tried and true, Julie Schwartz has been at the helm of Detective since the "New Look" took place in 1964 and has steered the book through a long, slow transformation from day-glo villains, insectoid aliens and outrageous plots, to Infantino-land absurdities, to Batgirl and the TV show influence, to a more somber and realistic Batman ushered in by the likes of Irv Novick, to the emerging Dark Knight of Neal Adams' design.

Action Comics equals no change and embracing the past. Adventure Comics equals dramatic change, breaking free of the past. Detective Comics equals evolutionary change, remembering the past but building for the future.

In 1970 you could not go wrong with a Neal Adams cover, particularly on a Batman book. It sold your book. This however, is not a great cover, but a nice one. It has great technique and mood, but is in the service of not much. That "not much" being  "You Die by Mourning," a 15-page Batman tale from Frank Robbins, Bob Brown and Frank Giacoia. Bruce Wayne’s V.I.P. office is visited by a mysterious woman who claims before running out that her husband will be murdered by morning, and Batman investigates. I never cared for any of Robbins' VIP stories and thought it took the character in the wrong direction.

This was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Batman Vol. 5.

The back-up is Robin in "Break-Out." It is eight pages that prove once again that nothing dulls an artist's pencils like Vinnie Colletta inks. In this case Gil Kane is the man who has his work smothered in a bunch of weightless lines placed on the page in a haphazard manner. Writer Mike Friedrich probably wondered what the hell happened to his story. Robin investigates the escape of two juvenile delinquents from a corrective home.
    
This was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 1.

Edited by Julius Schwartz

Adventure Comics #397

Adventure Comics #397  (On Sale: July 30, 1970) has a cover by Mike Sekowsky and Dick Giordano featuring Supergirl.

I gotta tell ya, I admired Mike Sekowsky a lot. He was an idea man that for a while, during these few years of the Silver Age, at least got a chance to put forth his ideas and let the public decide. With this issue Sekowsky is given the reigns of Supergirl, to do with what he will. He definitely had a few ideas regarding this character.

Right off this cover says he is trying to appeal to female readers, with its paper doll convention of possible new costumes. This cover is not aimed at males. I have to tell you though that I was fascinated by all this. Not the new costume, but Sekowsky transforming Supergirl.  I had seen his Wonder Woman, his Jason's Quest and his Manhunter 2070, so I knew I was in for action and adventure (sounds like good names for two comic books!).

I thought of Mike Sekowsky books like a good ride. I get in, I hang on tight and I see where he takes me. I may not be thrilled in the end, but I will have a good time along the way as he takes me someplace no one else would have. So for me, Mike Sekowsky being handed the reigns of Supergirl was a treat.

We begin the Mike Sekowsky era of Supergirl with "Now... Comes Zond." This 14-pager was written and penciled by Mike Sekowsky and inked by Jack Abel and from the very first page you can tell that this is not Mort Weisinger's Supergirl.  When a girl is found in a zombie-like state on the Stanhope campus, Supergirl goes into a trance and probes her memories. She learns that she was terrified into catatonia by a being named Zond whom she met at a witches' coven.

Supergirl tracks down the coven and confronts Zond, but his magic powers defeat her and shred her costume somewhat. Supergirl consults with Diana Prince, the former Wonder Woman, and has her ask her old foe Morgana the Witch for help. Since Zond is a common enemy, and her mother's former stable-boy, Morgana agrees.

Supergirl gets a new uniform from Wonder Woman's boutique before she goes with the other women to the next coven meeting. Morganna takes care of Zond's magic, and Supergirl kicks him around the block. Morganna leaves with Zond, but not before releasing his victim from her fear-trance.

Our back-up story is "Supergirl Meets Nasty" is also written and penciled by Mike Sekowsky and inked by Jack Abel and is the first appearance of Lex Luthor's niece, Nasthalthia, or Nasty for short. Lex wants his niece to terrorize Stanhope with her motorcycle gang, Nasty's Nasties. Their objective: flush out Supergirl and discover her secret identity.

It backfires, as Supergirl tracks down Luthor and imprisons him again. Then she takes Nasty and her gang on a harrowing series of carnival rides, hyped by her super-powers. She warns the gang sternly not to try their terror tactics again, but Nasty later promises to strike again in the future.

Edited by Mike Sekowsky.

Action Comics #392

Action Comics #392  (On Sale: July 30, 1970) has a cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson featuring the Superman/Batman team. This is an great example of the due personality of DC at this time. The company that was brining you the Dark Knight and Deadman and Bat Lash and Green Lantern/Green Arrow was still being brought down month after month by the likes of Mort Weisinger and his ever silly "imaginary stories." Poor Superman, his sun is a klutzy loser! Yikes!

The lead off "imaginary" tale, "The Shame of the Super-Son" is the work of Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. I think the less said about it the better. Thankfully it has never been reprinted.

The back-up feature is the Legion of Super-Heroes in "The Legionnaires Who Never Were," 12 pages by Cary Bates, Winslow Mortimer and Jack Abel. Saturn Girl and Princess Projectra are sent after the space renegade Pozr-Du. After spotting his parked ship, they approach only to be blasted by the villain's ray gun. When they awake hours later, they find that Pozr and his ship are gone. They return to Legion headquarters to find their cruiser suddenly surrounded by the H.Q.'s energy-grappler. The girls are ordered to identify themselves. Confused, they comply and ask permission to land. Their request is refused, and their ship is brought to a landing dock by the energy-grappler. The heroines leave the ship only to find themselves at gunpoint, surrounded by Legionnaires.

Karate Kid says that the two of them must be crazy spies to try to infiltrate Legion Headquarters by pretending to be two Legionnaires who don't even exist. Projectra demands that they get a chance to prove that they really are Legionnaires. She takes them to the clubhouse's archive computer, which has pictures and data on all members, but discovers that Saturn Girl and Princess Projectra are not included. There are two blank slots on the board, but Karate Kid explains that they have just admitted two new members - two male members - and their data is not yet in the computer.

Next, Projectra takes the others to the Legion's Hall of Trophies, but she and Saturn Girl are upset to discover that none of their own awards are present. The two girls try to demonstrate their powers but find they no longer have them. Karate Kid presents to them the new Legionnaires, who turn out to be male versions of the heroines: Prince Projectur and Saturn Lad. The boys demonstrate the super-powers of illusion-casting and telepathy before the girls are imprisoned in the team's detention sphere.

Projectra wonders if Pozr's weapon might have caused them to have a weird but realistic dream. Saturn Girl theorizes that they have been hurled into a parallel dimension in which they don't exist. When Projectra notices that Karate Kid has left them their flightrings, she comes up with an escape plan. She and Saturn Girl use their rings to propel them in opposite directions, putting pressure on the elastic detention sphere. Finally, it snaps and the girls are free to discover what has happened to them.

Projectra asks Saturn Girl to stay in hiding while she tries something. The Princess makes her way to Karate Kid's quarters and asks him to tell her if the whole thing is a hoax. When the Kid acts distressed that an enemy spy knows his real name, she begs him to remember that he once confessed his love for her. She then kisses him. When the two part, Karate Kid turns away and tells her it was a nice try, but he doesn't know her. Before he can try to re-capture her, however, he blacks out.

Projectra had stopped by the equipment lab earlier and concocted a knockout serum that only works on Earth people and had coated her lips with it. She had also slipped a miniature device on his neck when she kissed him, which she then checks. Projectra tries to return to Saturn Girl but finds her missing; instead, she comes upon Prince Projectur.

The Princess finds that she has regained her power and creates an illusion of an alien gas-creature threatening her. When her boy double tells "Jeckie" not to panic and then races to her rescue, she drops the illusion and snatches a mask off of "Projectur" revealing Brainiac 5's face beneath. He admits that he had used a device to simulate her power. When she asks why, he tells her that the new archive computer predicted that she would break down in a time of crisis and jeopardize other members. They had to check the accuracy of the computer by putting her through a test, which she has now passed. Saturn Girl arrives, saying that she had previously only made Projectra think she had lost her power.

Sun Boy had been disguised as "Saturn Lad" and Chameleon Boy had been Pozr. They ask how she figured out she had been hoaxed and she tells them how she put a truth disc on Karate Kid's neck which indicated that he was lying. Also, Brainiac 5 had called her "Jeckie" when he thought she was in danger, a nickname only her friends would know.

Karate Kid comes up to embrace Jeckie and says that tomorrow he is going to order the new computer dismantled and repaired. Mon-El breaks in and says that he will issue the order, since it is past midnight on Karate Kid's last day in office. At a ceremony the next morning, Mon-El is sworn in as the new leader, with Element Lad as his deputy. Projectra asks Val if he is sorry he's no longer leader and he wishes he had left office a week ago so he wouldn't have had to put her
through that ordeal.

Reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 9 HC and Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 4 TPB.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.