Today in Comics History, December 30, 1990: Oh boy! There's a big sale at Carlin's House o' Carpets!

from Adventures of Superman (1987 series) #474 (DC, January 1991), script and pencils by Dan Jurgens, inks by Art Thibert, colors by Glenn Whitmore, letters by Albert DeGuzman

Today in Comics History, December 12, 1988: Charred remains not looked over very carefully

cover of Adventures of Superman #451 (DC, February 1989), pencils and inks by Jerry Ordway

Today in Comics History, June 16: Happy birthday, Stan Laurel!

Born on this day in 1890: comedian, actor, writer and producer Stan Laurel, the skinny half of Laurel and Hardy!


from "Bobby" in Jumbo Comics #5 (Fiction House, January 1939); script, pencils, and inks by S.M. Iger

Today in Comics History, January 18: Happy birthday, Oliver Hardy!

Born on this day in 1892: comedian and actor Oliver Hardy, the plump half of Laurel and Hardy!


from "Bobby" in Jumbo Comics #5 (Fiction House, January 1939); script, pencils, and inks by S.M. Iger


from Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #162 (DC, February 2003); script by John Arcudi; pencils, inks, and letters by Roger Langridge; colors by James Sinclair, clor separations by Digital Chameleon

A Month of... Batman's Got a Gun, Day 9: And then there was the time Golden Age Batman, Superman, and Dracula fought some Frankensteins, in a three-panel flashback that's never further explained

Panels from Adventures of Superman (2013 digital comic) #46 (March 2014), script by Joe Keatinge, pencils and inks by Brent Schoonover, colors by Nick Filardi, letters by Wes Abbott

Comics News for October 2, 2014

Top: panel from Superman series subscription ad in DC Comics cover dated June 1989. Izzat Jerry Ordway artwork there?
Middle: panel from the Batman story "The Riddler" in Detective Comics #140 (October 1948), script by Bill Finger, pencils by Dick Sprang, inks by Charles Paris
Bottom: panel portion from Lobo (2014 series) #1 (December 2014), script by Cullen Bunn, pencils by Reilly Brown, inks by Nelson Decastro, colors by Pete Pantazis, letters by Travis Lanham

Today in Comics History, February 6: Superman fights the Suicide Squid

Panel from Adventures of Superman (2013 digital series) #29 (DC, November 2013), script by Derek Fridolfs, pencils and colors by Sean "Cheeks" Galloway, inks by Derek Laufman, letters by Wes Abbott

365 Days of DC House Ads, Day 171: DC Radio/TV/Movie Comics House Ads Week, Day 5: Well, that didn't happen

House ad for DC television and stage productions, printed in Swing with Scooter #1 (June-July 1966)
Sadly Batman did not fight Blockbuster on his 1966-1968 TV series, but can you spot another thing that didn't happen in this ad? Well, take a look at the bottom bar in that ad, promising animated Saturday morning cartoon versions of Wonder Woman, the Flash, Plastic Man and Metamorpho. While Aquaman did go on the air, the others never made it past the pitch stage. Here, along with some dandy Aquaman and Atom model art, is Filmation producer Lou Scheimer talking about it in his book Creating the Filmation Generation:


But if we don't have mid-1960s animated versions of Plastic Man, Wonder Woman and Metamorpho, we at least have all the other great, crazy, retro stuff. Here's a sample of each!:


Batman episode "Surf's Up, Joker's Under" (November 16/, 1967), starring Adam West, Burt Ward, Alan Napier, Neil Hamilton, Stafford Repp, Yvonne Craig and Cesar Romero


Opening titles to The Adventures of Superman (1952-1958), starring George Reeves, Noel Neill, and Jack Larson


The New Adventures of Superman episode "The Malevolent Mummy" (1967), starring the voices of Bud Collyer, Joan Alexander, Jackson Beck, and Jack Grimes


The Adventures of Superboy episode "Forget Me Not, Superdog" (1968), starring the voices of Bob Hastings, Janet Waldo, and Ted Knight


from It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman (1975 television production of the 1966 musical), starring David Wilson and Lesley Ann Warren


Aquaman episode "The Rampaging Reptile-Men" from The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure (1967), starring the voices of Marvin Miller, Jerry Dexter, and Ted Knight

And even tho' Metamorpho, one of my fave DC characters, never made it to TV animation in the 1960s (but he appeared in Justice League and Batman: The Brave and the Bold in the 2000s), here's the song (from a Power Records story album), that shoulda been the theme song for his cartoon:

Today in Comics History: Only three weeks until General Zod blows up an amusement park

Panel from Adventures of Superman (2013 digital series) #4 (May 2013), script by J. M. DeMatteis, layouts by Giuseppe Camuncoli, finishes by Sal Buscema, colors by Tony Aviña, letters by Wes Abbot

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 214

Panel from The Adventures of Superman Annual #4 (October 1992), script by Robert Loren Fleming, pencils and inks by Bob McLeod, colors by Matt Hollingsworth, letters by Albert DeGuzman

Pump Up the Volume

Hey, ya know what will be fun? Let's talk about comic book volumes and numbers. (Yes, yes, I know it's not as much fun as pudding. Bear with me a moment.)

Unlike most (but not all) magazines, comic books are identified by a number: Detective Comics #27. Uncanny X-Men #201. Ambush Bug: Year None #6*. As well, specific runs of comic titles—usually but not always starting with #1—are numbered with volume numbers: a volume number that exists with the comic until it is cancelled or rebooted to a new number one.

Here's an easy example: below is Batman volume 1 #1, and Batman volume 2 #1. One of these comic books is worth thousands and thousands of dollars, so choose carefully.



Another classic example: Action Comics volume 1 and 2's #1s.



Such renumberings will no doubt lead to non-collectors running into your friendly neighborhood comic book store exclaiming "I've got Action Comics #1! Gimme a million bucks for it!" and thrusting the Grant Morrison issue at the clerk. It's the volume number that's important here. You want Action volume 1 #1 to retire on, volume 2 #1 for a decent read but not much of an investment.

Detective Comics works the same way, although you won't find Batman on the cover of Detective volume 1 #1. If you want to make trivia out of comic book history, the next couple years will be the first times we ever see Batman in Detective Comics #1-26.



And then there's Superman. Yep, that's Supes volume 1, 2, and 3 numbers 1 below. But as the lady in the Pandorica said: "Okay, kid...this is where it gets complicated."



In 1986, DC capped off its fiftieth anniversary with Crisis on Infinite Earths, for which we have to blame every furshlugginer comic book crossover since. War of the Gods? Crisis's fault. Atlantis Attacks? Blame Crisis. Onslaught? Cri...well, actually, let's just blame that one on the 1990s.

Following Crisis, DC rebooted the Superman franchise with new creators (Byrne! Ordway!), a new back history (Ma and Pa Kent are alive! Lex Luthor is Donald Trump!), and a brand-new Superman #1. Volume 2, #1, to be precise (see the middle comic above). Volume 1 of Superman had ended earlier in the year with Superman v.1 #423, the sublime "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?", celebrating the Silver Age concepts that the reboot (temporarily) wiped off the Super-slate: Krypto, Superboy [and the Legion], Supergirl, the Fortress of Solitude, Morgan Edge and WGBS, and approximately one bajillion other survivors of Krypton.

Also the same month Supes v.2 #1 (and I say that just to annoy John Byrne) premiered and Action Comics #584 became a post-Crisis team-up title to replace the cancelled DC Comics Presents, a third Superman title premiered with a new name and a familiar number: The Adventures of Superman. #424. Wait, what? Why that number for a first issue?



Adventures picks up the numbering from volume 1 of Superman, which ended with #423. Renaming comics without renumbering them, of course, was not a new concept to the comic book industry. We can blame, as we can for many, many, things, the United States Postal Service, and by extension, we may as well blame the first Postmaster General Benjamin Franklin, for his role in the ephemeral film Money Talks!, if nothing else**.


Money Talks (1955). This MSTed version is from Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode 621 (1995),
starring Mike Nelson, Trace Beaulieu, and Kevin Murphy.

Here's the explanation of the second class mail permit regulations' effects on comic books, the brief version: publishers of magazines and periodicals (including comics) were charged an expensive permit fee to register a new title to be shipped through the postal service at a cost-savings bulk rate. But, just as Brian Bendis does every time we look too carefully at one of his stories, those publishers discovered an escape clause loophole: if you changed the name of the comic book but kept the same numbering, you didn't have to apply for a new permit...even if the renamed comic had nothing to do with the original. Want some examples? Sure, why not?

• One of several Marvel Silver Age examples you're probably familiar with: Atlas [1950s Marvel]'s Journey Into Mystery began with #1 in 1952 as an anthology of mystery and horror stories and eventually evolved into the popular "monster of the month" anthology in the late 50s and early 60s. But as all Marvel Maniacs worth their weight in adamantium know, Journey Into Mystery #83 introduced the Mighty Thor, who became so popular that he later took over the entirety of Journey Into Mystery through issue #125. The following month the book was officially re-named Thor #126, and Stan and Company could cackle merrily because they'd just succeeded in avoiding paying a new second class registration. The same happened with most of Marvel's anthologies turned superhero double-features like Strange Tales, Tales to Astonish, and Tales of Suspense.
• But you didn't necessarily need to keep the same star in a comic when you renamed it. Timely [Golden Age Marvel]'s Terry-Toons Comics began with #1 in 1942 and ran through #57 in 1947. It then became a western comic: Best Western #58 and #59. (Ignore for the moment that fact that Marvel actually managed to also sneak a pair of Terry-Toons #58 and #59 past the postal service as well.) Best Western was renamed Western Outlaws and Sheriffs with 1949's #60. Sneaky, Stan, sneaky!
• Consider EC's Moon Girl and the Prince #1. Which became Moon Girl #2-6. Which became Moon Girl Fights Crime #7-8. Which became, with so much chutzpah I've got to salute William Gaines, A Moon, A Girl...Romance #9-12. Which became Weird Fantasy #13-17. Which became Weird Fantasy volume 2, #6. Aieee! Gasp...choke!

• More recently, remember when Incredible Herc took up the numbering from Incredible Hulk? When Daredevil became Black Panther: The Man Without Fear and then Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive? When Deadpool: Yet Another One of His Series became A Really Good Series That Isn't About Deadpool for Once? Oh, sorry, the last one only happened in my brain.

As far as volumes, however, how do we count the volume numbers? Returning to the Superman example:



...those are, from left to right and very clearly, Superman volume 1, 2, 3. But what do you call its volume number when, in 2006, both Superman volume 2 and The Adventures of Superman stop publishing (with issues #226 and 649, respectively), and are followed the next month with one comic: Superman #650? Hmmmmmmm! I can definitely see what they're doing here: while DC cut the title line by one, this restores the original 1938 numbering to the Superman title. But is this volume 1? Or volume 2? (I sometimes internally refer to it as volume 2a, but really...that's just cheating!) Luckily in 2011, after a year of the Man of Steel wandering aimlessly on foot across America, Superman volume whatever ends with #714 and is rebooted as Superman volume 3 #1, an era we're now six months into.

Which begs the question: what happens next? I'll bet my last donut (and it's a cream-filled one) that at some point DC will revert the issue numbers on volume 3 to add 'em all together for the proper, straight-since-1938 numbering scheme. We've seen this happen at Marvel as their occasionally-rebooted and renumbered comics have reached milestone anniversary: Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Thor, and most recently Wolverine. Also, for some reason, X-Factor, which I think is cheating a little. That series was outright cancelled, not rebooted, in 1998! DC's done the same with Wonder Woman and Adventure Comics. And I bet my cuppa coffee (for dipping donuts in, doncha know) that I can guess pretty much exactly when it will be cover-dated: December 2018. Why? Because that's the date that, assuming Supes v.3 continues along at 12 issues a year, that it would hit #86, which, added to the 714 we'd had of volume 1 and volume 1a, equals...#800! It doesn't hurt that 2018 is also Superman's eightieth anniversary. (Eighty years times twelve issues is actually 960, but Superman hasn't always been published monthly.)

By that same Bully-logic, in about seven and a half years, Action Comics volume 2 #95, cover-dated September 2019, will be published, following the next month by Action Comics #1000. (It's coming sooner than you think, fans who use a three-digit numbering index system...get ready for Y1K!) Detective Comics could be renumbered as potentially soon as the middle of next year (The New 52's Detective #19 is Detective #900), or it could wait until Detective Comics #1000, which would follow Detective Comics v.2 #117, approximately September 2021 (Though it's an older publication, Detective has a lower issue count than Action because of Action's weekly publication in 1988-1989).

And it would only take one more issue...but Sugar & Spike will probably never reach issue #100.


*This comic book does not exist.
**This film has nothing to do with the rest of this post. Fun, though, huh?

Separated at Birth: The brazen giant of Greek fame/With conquering limbs astride from land to land

TOP: Superman #14 (January-February 1942), art by Fred Ray
L: The Adventures of Superman #424 (January 1987), art by Jerry Ordway
M: The Adventures of Superman #499 (February 1993), art by Tom Grummett, Doug Hazelwood, and Glenn Whitmore
R: Action Comics #727 (November 1996), art by Tom Grummett, Denis Rodier, Patrick Martin

(Thanks to Anonymous in the comments for pointing out what I shoulda realized: the three covers below are homages to Superman #14!
(Click picture to edifi-size)

All in color for two dimes

If you remember this entry, I bought twenty comic books for two bucks at Forbidden Planet. That's a comic for twenty cents. Since most of 'em origi'nly cost $2.99, that''s a savings of...uh...um...well...that's a savings of a lot. (I'll get my baby sister to do the math for me later, 'kay?)

What's really important, like always, is whether or not these comics were fun! So I'm gonna review these toot-sweet, fast-fast, and grade 'em each on three points: could I follow the story even just buying one issue, were they fun or not, and were they worth 20¢. I don't wanna give away the startling shock ending of this blog entry but [SPOILER WARNING] some of these comics weren't even worth 20¢!!!

Let's get this party started!

EXILES #72:

Could I follow the story?: I've never read this series. I don't know much about the New Universe, which the characters visit. There's a good story synopsis on the first page, but I guess the question is more "do I care if I follow the story?" Answer: not really. I kinda just flipped through this one.

Was it fun?: Not really. It didn't seem to go anywhere. I think I missed the "glory years" of Exiles, if there were any. This doesn't look like it: it actually looks and reads more like the comics it's referencing, generic 1980s mid-list Marvel quickly-cancelled superhero titles.

Was it worth 20¢?: No.

HAWKMAN #46

Could I follow the story?: Not too much problem. It's a prelude to Rann-Thanagar War so reading that helped. Lotsa weird stuff going on here and I'm sure I missed some plot points, though. Good summary of what's going on in a single dialogue bubble on page one, by the way.

Was it fun?: Sure. Big winged guy with a mace hittin' stuff, always decent fun to read! A little too much reference to Identity Crisis though, which is never fun. But I even liked the OMACs in this, and I haven't picked up a single OMAC Project issue.

Was it worth 20¢?: Yes.

NYX #7

Could I follow the story?: Not really. Not for trying, though. There's a good summary of the first six issues on page one, but I think it was harder to follow because these are all characters I don't know.

Was it fun?: Not really. Sad, disillusioned teens having no fun at all with their superpowers. Nice art, though. Subtract points for that awful Nick Fury's Howling Commandos preview that really killed the book before it had even been published.

Was it worth 20¢?: Eh, just barely.

MARVEL KNIGHTS 4 #19-22

Could I follow the story?: No problem at all. #19-20 was a two-part story. #21 and #22 were both done-in-ones.

Was it fun?: Ehhhh. Weird. To me there is at heart no more fun than the Fantastic Four, but all four of these comics seemed to have a kinda sharp, dull, very cynical edge which doesn't fit well with what I like best about the FF: the over-the-top adventure and wonder. Gorgon seems horribly out of character in the first storyline (although there's some nice bits with Franklin Richards), and Sue Richards' "girls' night out" storyline in #21 is just horribly creepy when it gets into her flashback temptations with the Black Panther. (Nothing against the Black Panther. But she loves Reed!) And there's no superhero I love more than the Thing, so #22 shoulda been a no brainer. Instead it's a sad and spooky golem story with no real satisfaction to the end. Only high spot in these four issues was a nice Kirby impression in the flashback of #21. Who drew it? Probably Ron Frenz, but who knows? There's no credits or title in the story! Bad Marvel! Bad! Bad!

Was it worth 20¢?: Nope. Even Stan and Jack would be bored by these four issues.

CATWOMAN #43 and 45

Could I follow the story?: Sure, even though #43 was the last issue of a storyline and #45 part two of a new story. No summary page at the front, but Catwoman sums up what's goin' on so far in her internal monologue.

Was it fun?: I'm surprised to say yes. Together these issues had a lotta some things I don't really like in mainstream superhero comics: sexual innuendo, over-the-top brutal violence, pointless dream sequences, threatening helpless animals with violence, and most of all, Hush. (I really really don't like Hush.) But #43 had a nice "justice is served" ending and #45 had a great cliffhanger that act'lly makes me wanna seek out issue #46 and see what happened next.

Was it worth 20¢?: These two issues were purrrrfectly worth forty cents. Hee hee hee! That's a Catwoman pun. ... Oh, like you've never made one.

BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #65

Could I follow the story?: Oh, heck no. No idea what was going on here. Poison Ivy lost her powers or something. Who knows?

Was it fun?: Ick. More Hush. And looks like a major character died at the end, but I don't even have to bet that that character will be back in a few months at the most. Nice cover, though.

Was it worth 20¢?: No.

BLACK WIDOW: THE THINGS THEY SAY ABOUT HER... #1

Could I follow the story?: Even tho' it was a #1 issue, not really! Too much depended on you having to have read the last Black Widow series.

Was it fun?: Not really. Too much sex talk and violence without any real forward movement of the story. (I blame Brian Michael Bendis for making stories popular in which nothing happens for several issues). Also, points subtracted for that awful, awful "Bod" ad popping up in my memory again.

Was it worth 20¢?: Heck no.

THE HIRE #4

Could I follow the story?: Sure, no problem. It's a done-in-one story even though it's issue four. I guess this book is an anthology.

Was it fun?: Yes! Mysterious chauffeur in a souped-up BMW helps a tycoon evade his killers, with an escape twist at the end. It reminded me of the movie The Transporter, but no cute Shu Qi in this one! The cartoony art was an odd choice for this story, though. Bonus points for a great one-page Hellboy merchandise advertisment at the back.

Was it worth 20¢?: Yes. Not bad for a comic that's basically a commercial for a car company.

THE AUTHORITY/LOBO: SPRING BREAK MASSACRE

Could I follow the story?: I dunno...John wouldn't let me read it! (He said "yes; it's a done-in-one.")

Was it fun?: John says "Nope! None of the nano-anarchy of an Authority story, too many dirty and over-the-top Lobo jokes. And if you can't make Jenny Quantum look cute, there's something very wrong with the artwork."

Was it worth 20¢?: John says "NO!"

RANN-THANAGAR WAR #2-6

Could I follow the story?: No real problem, even though I missed the first issue and there were a million characters to keep track of. Five issues in a row helped.

Was it fun?: Actually, to my surprise, yes! I've been pretty much avoiding Infinite Crisis crossovers but this one was a lead-in so it didn't seem like it was dependent on a lotta the stuff I've hated seeing happen in IC (even tho' I'm not buying that series). Some cool moments, good visuals for sweeping galactic events and plenty of favorite characters in here including the Prince Gavyn Starman and a neat final issue defeat-the-villain plan. Points off for the non-conclusion at the end of issue #6: I really do think miniseries should have a definite end and not just trail off into another story. (That's the same problem I had with the Power Girl storyline in JSA Classified).

Was it worth 20¢?: Five-sixths of a trade paperback for a buck, and I enjoyed the story. Well worth a buck altogether.

DAY OF VENGEANCE #4

Could I follow the story?: Boy howdy, I could not really figure out what was going on here at all...

Was it fun?: ...and yet it didn't really matter, 'coz yes, this was big, noisy, bonbastic fun. The origin of Detective Chimp? Sign me up! Big giant Captain Marvel fighting colossal Spectre throughout the landscape? I'm in the front seat for that one. Blue Devil and Rook? I'm, so there! I have no idea what's goin' on here, no idea what happened next, and I don't really care. This was sorta anarchic comics in the vein of Rob Liefeld, but hey, it was big loud dumb fun to me.

Was it worth 20¢?: Oooooh yeah.

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #640

Could I follow the story?: It's the kinda-end of a storyline that I didn't even know had been going on but it's easy to follow. Knowing all the characters always helps.

Was it fun?: Sorta. There's some really nice quiet characters bits in here I liked a lot, and the format is kinda clever and neat without being annoying: photographs, media reports, and surveillance of Superman takes up the top two-thirds of every page, and the ongoing storyline occupies a strip at the bottom. But the ending looks like something that's been building up a long time so coming in on the middle didn't have much impact for me, and the last page is kinda sour to me: definitely an un-fun revelation. (Doesn't the DCU have enough evil POTUSs?)

Was it worth 20¢?: Just barely.

So, in summary, Marshall has done the math: $54.50 worth of comics for two bucks. Out of twenty, eleven were well worth the twenty cents I paid for 'em. There's some kind of chart and graph Marshall is working up with my colored pencils and markers, but in the meantime I'll just say this: it was a great way to try a lot of different comics and get interested in some of them for just a little money. The biggest disappointment: four Fantastic Four stories that left a sour taste in my mouth. The biggest surprise: the Infinite Crisis books actually tickled me sense of fun.

Or, to put it another way:

Detective Chimp sitting on a sofa: 20¢.

Scary giant space villain trying to enslave Thanagar: 20¢.

The return of Tigorr: 20¢.

Blackfire being as villainous as she was the first time I saw her in New Teen Titans: 20¢.

Learning that the Infinite Crisis lead-in comics were a lot more fun that I ever expected? Priceless.