Captain Confederacy

Published by Steeldragon Press, this came out in 1986, and was part of the black-and-white explosion of the mid-’80s — appropriate, since, as the title should make clear, it’s an alternate-earth book about a world where the South never lost the Civil War, and the Confederacy still exists. The title character’s part of “Project Hero,” a pr-driven effort to create a white media hero to keep the “colored” agitators in their place. The art, by Vince Stone, is semi-professional at best, but the script, by Will Shetterly, manages to avoid most of the obvious potholes in the concept, and offers a couple of intriguing characters to whet the reader’s interest (Shetterly’s still around, and has had a modest career as an sf novelist, although he never returned to comics; I have no idea what happened to Stone). The comic published 12 issues, a decent run for an indy title, and in 1991 managed a four-issue mini-series at Marvel’s Epic Comics line, so its profile’s a bit higher than most of its peer books from this period.

Captain Harlock

Harlock is a noble space pirate, a Japanese manga/anime character who’s been around since the ’50s. He was created by the manga master Leija Matsumoto, but these comics aren’t translations; they’re new stories, written by Robert Gibson and drawn mostly by Ben Dunn, who’s managed a long career with his simplified, slightly-Americanized Japanese style (he’s probably best known for Ninja High School, although superhero fans may remember him as the creative force behind the first Marvel Mangaverse books, in 2002). Captain Harlock was published by Eternity Comics  starting in 1989, and lasted until 1992 — according to Wikipedia, it ended, not because of sales, but because it turned out Eternity didn’t have the rights to it (the guy they’d purchased them from turned out to be an impostor, who’d then disappeared into the Japanese night). The comics are interesting as examples of the second Great Manga Wave in the US, prompted by the success of the Robotech cartoons on TV (the first wave was in the ’60s, prompted by Astro Boy and Speed Racer, but that’s a subject for another post…).

Captain Victory

This is the most well-known of the indy “Captain” books, because it’s by the most well-known creator: King Kirby himself, who, always on the cutting edge of comics publishing, saw the possibilities in Pacific Comics and its early-’80s push to create a non-Big Two comics market; lending his name and prestige to the fledgling company helped to establish them as major players. This is energetic space opera, typical Kirby in the way it shows an American small town coping with “Galactic Rangers,” who arrive to protect it (and Earth) from an invasion of “Insectons,” a hive-like race bent on colonizing the planet. There’s lots of action, musings about the role of the soldier, and inappropriately bold-faced type; although the book wasn’t a huge hit when it appeared, it’s aged well, and is definitely worth a look today, especially with the issues available at a buck each.

Cheval Noir

This is a Dark Horse anthology from 1989 through 1993, very Heavy Metal-ish; it ran for 48 issues, and they’re 68 black-and-white pages by a slew of fantasy and sf-related European and American artists, existing together in happy collaboration (look at the first issue: an ultra-sexy Dave Stephens cover, a frontispiece and spot illos by Geoff Darrow, interior stories by Phillipe Druilett (“Lone Sloan”) and Tardi (“Adele”), plus “Angel Fusion,” a manga work by Hiroyuki Kato and Keisuke Goto, and a few other stories too). The emphasis is on beautiful linework, and any connoisseur of comics art can pick up an issue at random and be impressed: here, there’s a Moebius story; over there, something by Brian Bolland… or Michael Kaluta… or John Bolton… or Kelley Jones… or Mike Mignola… or… well, there’s a lot to occupy your eyeballs, most of it stuff you’ve never seen before, and all a treat.

Concrete

This is Paul Chadwick’s creation, a former speechwriter named Ron Lithgow who gets captured by aliens and has his brain transplanted into a 1200-pound stone body. He escapes them and survives; the good news is that he has extraordinary sight and stamina, while the bad news is that he’s trapped in a massive body with almost no sensation. Given the pulpy origin, the stories are surprisingly human and smart, with a lot of philosophical musing and an interesting and attractive supporting cast. Early appearances of the character were in Dark Horse Presents in the late ’80s; in 1987 he got his own book, won a slew of Eisner awards, and has appeared in occasional mini-series ever since, the most recent being The Human Dilemma, in 2005. The awards are well-deserved, and the comics are a revelation, with both art and script working together seamlessly to tell compelling, carefully-constructed stories that refuse to accept easy plot twists or resolutions. Check these out; they’re exactly the kind of cheap-thrill hidden gems that the cover-price racks are meant to provide.

Cosmic Guard

Typical Jim Starlin cosmic stuff (as if the title didn’t already reveal that), about an orphan kid who gets fantastic mystical powers and is pulled into an intergalactic war. Starlin’s an old hand at this space-opera stuff, and the polished art and script offer a professional, if familiar, ride.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

These are from IDW, and mostly from the show’s heyday in the early and mid-2000s; the high point is the Dying in the Gutters mini-series, wherein there’s a murder at a Los Vegas comic book convention. The hook is that all the characters are actual comic pros (the victim is online rumor-monger Rich Johnston, of Bleeding Cool News, and the prime suspect at first is Joe Quesada, although Ed Brubaker, Peter David, the Kubert brothers, Greg Rucka and others all make appearances). The art’s just OK, but the story’s clever, and the photo covers involving the show’s cast are perfect for fans of the series.

The Crow

James O’Barr’s Goth-flavored revenge fantasy, from 1989, probably would have slipped quietly into obscurity, except that it got optioned as a movie, and Bruce Lee’s son Brandon died in an accident during filming in 1993. Ala Heath Ledger, that gave the film enough publicity to make it a cult hit, and the comic managed a number of mini-series (and a ten-issue Image ongoing series) throughout the ’90s. The ones with O’Barr scripts have an interesting, morosely poetic vision, and the Wild Justice mini-series has art by Charlie Adlard, of Walking Dead fame; otherwise, one’s pretty much like the other, but if you wore out a lot of black eyeliners during high school, these are worth a nostalgiac look.

Critters

A funny-animal anthology from Fantagraphics that lasted for 50 issues in the mid-to-late ’80s. As with Cheval Noir, there’s a lot of unexpected pleasure here — chief among them a number of Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo stories in the early issues, but there’s also work by Sam Kieth, Scott Shaw!, Freddie Milton, and others; the high point is probably issue #23, which has an Alan Moore story and a Flexi-disc with music from his band on it (of course, you need an actual record player to be able to hear it…).

Criminal Macabre

This series features Cal McDonald, a Steve Niles creation who’s a hard-boiled occult detective, and he’s been around in various mini-series for about ten years now (he’s currently being serialized in Dark Horse Presents, and just had a one-shot published, too). The early issues have art by Ben Templesmith, and later artists include Kelley Jones, so there’s almost always interesting art to go with the note-perfect scripts.

That’s it for this week, but a final note: these books will only be on the discount racks for a week, until Friday, May 4, because the store will be putting out Free Comic Book Day books on those racks on Saturday the 5th. The “C” stuff will be back the week after that, though, so if you don’t get a chance to look them over in the next few days, just be patient.

Daredevil

Frank Miller, whether writing or drawing or both, is a hard act to follow, but we’re picking up this week right after the “Born Again” story arc in DD #227-233. Issue #234 is a fill-in written by Mark Gruenwald that introduces the D-list villain Madcap, which is no big deal — but the artist is Steve Ditko, so it’s worth a look. Ditko does the breakdowns for #235, too, featuring Mr. Hyde as the bad guy, but the better news is in #236, because that one features the art of Barry Windsor-Smith, and guest-stars the Black Widow; it’s written by Ann Nocenti, who returns as regular scripter with #238, drawn by Sal Buscema and featuring a DD/Sabretooth battle that ties into the then-current “Mutant Massacre” X-crossover. Nocenti then settles in for a long, interesting run: she’s got a keen sense of character, and an offbeat rhythm to her plots and themes that’s a little off-putting at first, but grows on you as you get used to it. There are musical artists for a while at first — Todd McFarlane on #241 the most notable, but a Keith Giffen job on #247 is interesting, too, as is a two-part Wolverine crossover in the next two issues with art by Rick Leonardi and the great inker Al Williamson. Things really settle in with #250, though, and the introduction of John Romita, Jr. as regular penciller — especially since Williamson stays on as inker.

They and Nocenti end up making a good team — their knack at drawing regular guys, cool-looking mobsters and sexy women serves them well over the first few issues, as Typhoid Mary, the schizo-pyrokinetic hit woman, gets introduced in #254 and becomes the Kingpin’s enforcer in one personality, and a love interest for DD in another. Her battles with Our Hero continue all the way through issue #266, with a Punisher guest-shot in #257 (and a skippable fill-in in #258), a climactic fight in #261 which sees a badly-beaten DD left unconscious under a bridge, and an “Inferno” crossover that sees DD battling demons in New York City from issue #262-266 (there’s another Ditko fill-in to interrupt things in #264), and which ends with a Christmas issue in #266 that sees DD and Mephisto having a drink together in a New York bar. Great, addictive stuff, and Nocenti apparently likes the occult stories that emphasize the latter part of DD’s name, because in #270 she introduces Mephisto’s son, Blackheart (which sees Romita Jr. getting to draw Spider-Man as a guest star), and in issues #278-282 offers a long story guest-starring the Inhumans and Black Bolt’s son that also features Blackheart, Mephisto, and a trip through hell that’s resolved by a Silver Surfer appearance at the end; all of this is by Romita Jr. and Williamson (except for the fill-ins), and is quite a bit of weird fun.

Romita Jr. leaves with #282, though, and things begin to flatten out, although Nocenti sticks around for one more offbeat arc, as she chronicles a disoriented Matt Murdock ending up back in New York City from hell, suffering from amnesia and getting work as a boxer in a gym (no one, including him, realizes that he’s blind), and somehow, eventually, fighting a Bullseye who’s been donning the Daredevil costume — which means that Matt’s in Bullseye’s regular outfit. The art here is mostly Lee Weeks (although Greg Capullo does #286), while Kieron Dwyer pencils the last two issues of the story, ending in #290. Nocenti’s gone, too, with issue #291, and new writer D.G. Chichester comes aboard with issue #292. Thus begins a new, very ’90s-ish era of DD, one that goes by smoothly but with very little staying power: there are Punisher and Spider-Man crossovers, and lots of different artists, and nothing that sticks in the memory. The next item of note occurs a few years later, in issue #319, when Marvel, through Chichester and artist Scott McDaniel, tries to duplicate the “Born Again” buzz by deconstructing DD, causing him lots of problems and, eventually, giving him a brand-new costume, in the “Fall From Grace” arc. Issue #319 is hot for a while, but the story itself is pedestrian and tired, and by issue #331 Chichester and McDaniels are gone, replaced by Gregory Wright and Tom Grindberg, people that you need at least a master’s degree in comcis history to have ever heard of (this seems to happen a lot in ’90s Marvel books, all the “name” artists having, at that point, run off to form Image Comics). Chichester is back from #239-242, but writing under “Alan Smithee,” the pseudonym famously used by Hollywood screenwriters when they want to disown a script after it’s been butchered by others; you can draw your own conclusions about that. There’s a welcome hiccup of quality in #343, thanks to a Warren Ellis script, and DD gets his familiar red costume back in #345 (to no one’s surprise); J.M. DeMatteis does the writing chores for a while, but there’s little to remark on until Karl Kesel takes over story-writing chores with #353, and brings at least some interesting characterization back to the book, helped along by artist Cary Nord (and, in issues #363, 366-368 and 370, old DD hand Gene Colan). Kelly leaves with #375, and the first volume of Daredevil follows a few issues later, with #380, cover-dated October, 1998.

Not to worry, though, since volume 2 begins the next month, with a big splash supplied by then-rookie writer (but already hot geek-centric director) Kevin Smith, whose first eight-issue arc, with art by Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti, was hot then, and still hard to find in the original issues even today. David Mack writes issues #9-11, still with art by Quesada and Palmiotti, which introduces Echo to the Marvel Universe (although she just “died” over in Moon Knight).  Brian Michael Bendis contributes his first DD story in issues #16-19, while Mack puts down the word processor and picks up the art chores; by issue #26, Bendis is back, and the art is handled by Alex Mallev, a collaboration that will become one of the longer-running and more influential ones in DD history (it’s both startling and a little sad to realize that it began over ten years ago). By issue #32, the team has shaken up the book by revealing Matt Murdock’s secret identity to the public, a move that echoes through the title even today; from there through the end of their tenure, with issue #80, it’s one well-drawn and interesting five-issue arc after another, as Daredevil remains one of the most consistently-entertaining and unpredictable books on the stands, culminating with Murdock’s eventual arrest and imprisonment in Rykers (where the Kingpin and many other bad guys lurk), awaiting his trial on federal charges because of the many laws he broke while walking the tightrope between his lawyer and costumed identities.

Fortunately, while Bendis and Maleev have left, the new team consists of hardboiled-fiction master Ed Brubaker, Micheal Lark and Stefano Gaudiano, and they pick up the challenge left by Bendis with aplomb, beginning yet another long quality run on the title, all the way through issue #119 of volume #2, and its renumbering back to volume one with DD’s 500th issue after that — a little over 40 issues in all.

The next year on the title, #s 501-512, can’t live up to the quality of its predecessors — writer Andy Diggle isn’t bad, but he’s saddled with yet another tear-DD-down assignment culminating in the unfortunate and stupid “Shadowland” crossover — but the good news is that the title’s rebirth last year, with issue #1 of volume 3, has been one of the better books on the stands, thanks to Mark Waid’s scripts and very nice-looking art by Paulo and Joe Rivera and Marcos Martin. As ever, Matt Murdock’s swashbuckling alter ego has found it easy to shrug off a few bad stories, and come out ahead with a decent and sympathetic creative team — between the Lee-Thomas-Conway/Colan years, the Miller era, and the Nocenti/Romita Jr. run (let alone the more-recent Smith/Quesada arc, followed by the Bendis/Maleev and Brubaker/Lark/Gaudiano runs), he’s had a lot better luck with creative teams than almost any other Marvel hero.

Daredevil

Daredevil’s first issue appears cover-dated April, 1964, and from the start he has two hooks: the swashbuckling, fearless adventurer implied by the title, and the fact that he’s blind. There had been blind heroes before — DC’s Dr. Midnite, for instance — but they were usually cheats of some kind (Midnite had special lenses that not only let him see fine, but let him see in total darkness). Daredevil really can’t see at all: in the origin, a young Matt Murdock saves a boy from being run over by a delivery truck, but a radioactive canister in the truck hits him in the forehead, blinding him. Of course, there’s compensation: the radioactivity somehow enhances his other senses, giving him dog-like hearing, enhanced smell and touch, and a “radar sense” that lets him perceive movement in a 360-degree radius around him. However, it’s not sight: he can sense outlines, but he can’t see color; he can “read” a headline by running his fingers along a newspaper, but if that paper’s held up in front of his face he can’t sense any letters or words.

Early issues establish the setting and supporting cast: Murdock is a lawyer, a partner in a firm with his old friend Franklin “Foggy” Nelson, with their secretary, Karen Page, playing the potential love interest. DD has the advantage of top-level creators from the start: the first issue is by Stan Lee and Bill Everett, with Wally Wood and John Romita also providing art for the first year and a half. Then, with issue #20, Daredevil’s classic artist, Gene Colan, arrives; with a few rests, he’ll provide the visuals for the blind attorney and his friends for the next seven years, through issue #100. I’ve sung Colan’s praises before, so I’ll be brief here: suffice it to say that his eloquent expressions, moody style, and imaginative layouts make DD one of the best-looking books on the stands.

Lee apparently likes the title, too, since he stays on as writer through issue #49 (March, 1969); with #50, Roy Thomas comes on board, accompanied by a very young (and still developing) Barry Smith, who stays for three issues, after which Colan comes back. Thomas remains until issue #69, and is replaced by Gerry Conway, who sticks around until issue #98; he’s replaced by Steve Gerber, and after Colan’s farewell in issue #100 the art falls to Rich Buckler and Syd Shores before Don Heck takes over with issue #103; he stays through issue #106 and is replaced by Bob Brown. Gerber and Brown stay through issue #117 (although Colan supplies the art in #s 110, 112 and 116), and then Tony Isabella scripts over Brown’s pencils from issue #119-123. Len Wein scripts issue #124 (with Colan art), but the next issue is by Marv Wolfman and Brown, and that team remains through issue #135, a run that’s most notable for its introduction of the villainous marksman Bullseye in issues #131-132. Wolfman continues after that, with art by John Buscema in 136 and 1367, John Byrne in 138, and Sal Buscema in 139 and 140; with #141, Jim Shooter arrives as scripter, with Gil Kane on the art: as it turns out, that’s a high-quality team, and after a few issues by others they return in #146-148, featuring a memorable battle with Bullseye. Shooter’s gone after #151, and Roger McKenzie replaces him; he has the good fortune to get Gene Colan art in 153 and 154, followed by Frank Robbins in #s 155 and 156, and Colan again in #157. That’s all overshadowed by the arrival of a brand-new artist in the next issue, #158: Frank Miller.

Miller’s tenure starts slowly, as he finishes up a McKenzie Death-Stalker story in his first issue, but by #s 160 and 161 (with the Black Widow and Bullseye), he’s starting to attract attention.  Issue #162 is a fill-in (by Steve Ditko, of all people), but Miller’s back the next issue (with a Hulk guest-appearance), and by #165′s Dr. Octopus issue he’s being credited as co-plotter; by #168, he’s both scripter and artist, as he debuts the mysterious ninja and old Matt Murdock love interest Elektra. For the next year, Daredevil is the hottest book in comics, as Miller combines Elektra, the Kingpin, Bullseye and the shadowy ninja group The Hand into a sprawling story that climaxes with Elektra’s death at the hands of Bullseye in issue #181. That’s followed by a classic Punisher crossover in #183 and 184, and then Miller scales back on the art chores, providing layouts for inker Klaus Janson to finish starting with issue #185.  The next few issues provide a run-up to the resurrection of Elektra in #190; that’s followed by Miller’s finale as both writer and full artist in #191, where Daredevil plays Russian roulette in a hospital room with a paralyzed Bullseye.

Things quiet down considerably after that: Janson takes over the art chores in #192, while Alan Brennert has the unenviable task of following the massive fan favorite Miller as writer. He’s only there for one issue, though, as Larry Hama writes #193, and new “permanent” scripter Denny O’Neil comes aboard with issue #194. Janson leaves with issue #195, and by the time William Johnson accepts the art chores with #196, even a guest appearance by the then-hot Wolverine can’t create any buzz for DD. O’Neil’s run isn’t bad — he’s too professional a writer for that — but it doesn’t stand out, either; there’s a long subplot involving Micah Synn, a savage from a lost tribe who ends up in New York as both an enforcer and the toast of high society, that has a clever denouement, but otherwise it’s the next “good artist” appearance that sparkles: a David Mazzucchelli art job on #206. There’s a Harlan Ellison script involving a death-trapped house in #208, also with Mazzucchelli, who then ends up sticking around through issue #217; best of all, Miller returns to script the one-shot #219, over John Buscema art, in which an out-of-costume Murdock plays a mysterious stranger who ends up trying to redeem a corrupt small town, with mixed results; it’s a fascinating precurser to some of the same themes Miller would return to in Sin City.

After more O’Neil/Mazzucchelli work in issues #220-223 and 225, Miller returns as writer with #226, and he and Mazzucchelli embark on the “Born Again” arc; it starts in #227, as the long-forgotten Karen Page, now a junkie and porn actress (Miller, as ever, isn’t afraid to drag his characters into the gutter) reveals DD’s secret identity for a fix. This leads to a fall-and-redemption story featuring the Kingpin as villain that eventually reunites and rehabilitates both Murdock and Page (not to mention Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich), and ends up in #233 with Captain America, the Avengers, and the psychotic, physically-enhanced super-soldier Nuke; it doesn’t have quite the pizzazz of Miller’s earlier run, but it’s both deeper and richer in theme, and holds up remarkably well today, over 25 years later.

… and that’s a good place to stop for this week; check out many of these issues from around #183 and up out on the discount racks (including some of the Miller ones) for just 99 cents, and tune in two weeks from now for the scoop on DD’s more recent books.

Of course there will be lots and lots of FREE Comics, free refreshments and free balloons for the kids.

Events include an autograph signing by two of DC Comics hottest creators, DC writer, Adam Beechen and DC Artist, Dustin Nguyen.  Adam and Dustin will be at All About from 11:30 am  to 1:30 pm  and 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm.  AABC will have plenty of comics available that Adam and Dustin have worked on. See below for more information on the works of Adam Beechen* and Dustin Nguyen*

Bring the kids between 1pm and 4pm and they can get their faces painted like a super-hero!  A Balloon twister will be on hand to entertain and hand out fun Twisted Balloons as well.

This years Charity Fundraiser is for Hospice of the Valley in memory of a good friend of Alan and Marsha’s that just lost her battle with cancer. Donations will be taken in any amount, but donations of $5.00 or more will get you 15% off your purchase. Help us raise money for Hospice of the Valley while enjoying a day of fun at All About Books and Comics.

* Adam Beechen

Currently writer of the New York Times Best-Selling DC Comic Batman Beyond, Adam Beechen has been one of the most sought-after writers of comics and animation of the last decade. He has also served as regular writer on such popular titles as Teen Titans, Robin, Batgirl, W.I.L.D.C.A.T.S., Justice League Unlimited, Countdown to Adventure, his creator-owned Killapalooza miniseries, and DC’s major “event” comic, Countdown to Final Crisis. In animation, Adam currently serves as Executive Producer for the Hub’s hit pre-school series, The Adventures of Chuck and Friends, and has worked as Story Editor on such series as The Pink Panther, Edgar and Ellen and Hi Hi Puffy Amiyumi. Adam has also written multiple episodes for such acclaimed series as Ben Ten, Ben Ten: Alien Force, Teen Titans, Secret Saturdays, The Batman: The Brave and the Bold, The Batman (for which he received an Emmy nomination) Rugrats, The Wild Thornberrys, X-Men: Evolution, , Little Bill, Jackie Chan Adventures, Static Shock and Mucha Lucha, as well as the live-action kids’ series Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, Out There, and The Famous Jett Jackson..

* Dustin Nguyen

Dustin Nguyen is an American comic artist whose body of work, for the past 10 years, includes flagship titles for both DC Comics and Wildstorm. His past projects include Wildcats v3.o, The Authority Revolution, Batman, Superman/Batman, Detective Comics, his creator owned project- Manifest Eternity, Batgirl, and Batman: Streets of Gotham. He is currently exclusive to DC Comics, writing as well as illustrating Justice League Beyond .  Aside from providing cover illustrations for the majority of his own books, his cover art can also be found on titles from Batman Beyond , Batgirl, Justice League: Generation Lost,  Supernatural and Friday the 13th, to numerous other DC/WS titles.

DC Comics Presents

This title was mostly an ’80s phenomenon, running from July 1978 through September, 1986 (its last issue was #97, so DC didn’t even let it hit the magic #100, although a nine-year run is good under any circumstances). Like most team-up titles, it’s a hit-or-miss proposition, depending on the guest stars and the creative teams, but there are some collectors’ items lurking in its pages, and it’s fun to check out all the obscure combinations of characters and unexpected talent (Jim Starlin? Keith Giffen? Alan Moore?).

Although most of the issues are stand-alone stories, with some of the sameness that implies (there’s only so much time to introduce the guest star and the villain, set up the situation, and then resolve the plot), the first two issues of DCCP are a two-part Superman/Flash race, written by Marty Pasko and drawn by the underrated Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, who did ’70s and ’80s Superman better than anyone this side of Curt Swan. It’s a typical cheat on the story — neither character “wins” — but the art is sure pretty to look at. Garcia-Lopez continues on issue 3 (Adam Strange) and 4 (the Metal Men), giving way to a nice retro-looking story by Murphy Anderson in #5 (inking himself, too, on an Aquaman story), with a Paul Levitz/Curt Swan Green Lantern team-up in #6 that continues through a Red Tornado story in #7 (with Dick Dillin on the art over Levitz’s script), followed by a well-done Steve Englehart/Murphy Anderson Swamp Thing tale in #8, a mediocre Pasko/Joe Staton Wonder Woman team-up in #9 (although Staton’s clean-lined art is always worth a look), and an unusual Cary Bates/Staton WWII-era Sgt. Rock encounter in #10.

Yes, this is mostly going to be laundry list of guest-stars and creators; that’s the nature of the title, so shut up, keep an eye out for characters and creators you like, and let’s press on: Bates and Staton present Hawkman in issue #11, while Steve Englehart and Rich Buckler offer Mr. Miracle in issue #12, followed by a Levitz/Dillin Legion of Super-Heroes story in #13 (Levitz is an old hand at those characters, although Dillin seems a tad out of place) that continues into a Superman/Superboy team-up in #14. Bates and Staton offer the Atom in #15, while Denny O’Neil and Staton cover Black Lightning in #16, with Firestorm in #17 (by Garcia-Lopez and regular Firestorm writer Gerry Conway), while Conway and Dillin offer Zatanna in #18 (in her late-Bronze-Age JLA pants suit and ponytail instead of the fishnets, sadly). Issue #19 has an O’Neil/Staton Batgirl story, while an O’Neil/Garcia-Lopex Green Arrow tale graces #20.

Issue #21′s got a Conway/Staton Elongated Man, while #22 goes for the obscure Captain Comet, by Mike W. Barr and Dillin; O’Neil and Staton offer Dr. Fate in #23, with Len Wein and Garcia-Lopez on Deadman in #24 (Garcia-Lopez, whose art is a good match for other Deadman artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo, does a good job on the character there), and Levitz and Dillin on the Phantom Stranger in #25; that issue starts an expanded page count, after a price increase from 40 to 50 cents, and starts an eight-page back-up series featuring “Whatever Happened To…?,” where readers get brought up to date on little-used characters; #25′s features Hourman. Number 26 is even bigger; it’s got a Marv Wolfman Green Lantern tale drawn by Jim Starlin, which is reason enough to give it a look, plus Sargon the Sorcerer in the “Whatever Happened To…? slot, but, as all true DC fans know, its real claim to fame is an insert offering the first appearance of the ’80s version of the New Teen Titans, by Wolfman and George Perez; that’s enough to make it the most collectable of the DCCP run (Overstreet has it at $75 in NM condition). Number 27 has a Len Wein/Starlin Martian Manhunter tale that’s notable for its villain: Mongul the Merciless, one of those Starlin Thanos/Darkseid types, while #28 continues the story with the same team on a Supergirl appearance, and #29 offers the Spectre, still on the same storyline. Issue #30 settles down after those pyrotechnics, with a more normal Conway/Swan job featuring the Black Canary (for those of you keeping track, the “Whatever Happened To…” features were Congorilla in #27, Johnny Thunder in #28 (with Gil Kane art!), Dr. Mid-Nite in #29 and the Golden Age Atom in #30).

Issue #31 is a Conway/Garcia-Lopez Robin story (with Robotman featured in “WHT…?”); #32 is Roy Thomas and Kurt Schaffebberger on Wonder Woman (Mark Merlin and Prince Ra-Man, who was a mystic and not a brand of noodle, are in the back-up); #33 is Thomas and Rich Buckler on the first of a two-part Captain Marvel team-up (he’s just called “Shazam!” on the cover, thanks to legal issues with Marvel’s own Captain Marvel), and the ’50s sf character Star Hawkins in the “WHT…?” slot; #34 is the same team on the same story, except that now the team-up is “The Shazam Family”; that takes up the full 25 pages, so there’s no backup. Number 35 is a Pasko/Swan Man-Bat (but there’s a Gil Kane Rex the Wonder Dog back-up to make older fans happy; Alan, I’m talking to you…); #36 is another full-length cosmic Jim Starlin story, with Starman, while #38 is Starlin and Hawkgirl (Rip Hunter fills the back-up slot), #38 is a Pasko/Don Heck Flash story (the Crimson Avenger is in “WHT…?”), #39 is a Pasko/Staton Plastic Man (Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter in the back-up), and #40 is a Conway/Irv Novick Metamorpho story, with Air Wave in the back.

Issue #41 is a change of pace, as the guest star is a bad guy: The Joker, naturally, by Pasko and Garcia-Lopez, with another insert comic added — this one involving the then-new relaunch of Wonder Woman, by Thomas and Gene Colan. Issue #42 is a Levitz/Novick Unknown Soldier story, with the Golden-Age Starman in the back-up; #43 is a full-length Levitz/Swan LSH-vs.-Mongul story. Issue #44 is a Bob Rozakis/E. Nelson Bridwell/Novick “Dial ‘H’ for Hero” tale, while #45 is a Conway/Buckler Firestorm and #46 is a Bridwell/Alex Saviuk Global Guardians team-up. Issue #47 is the other high-priced issue next to #26, and by far the rarer; it features He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, by Paul Kupperberg and Swan, and while Overstreet has it at a mere $20, NM copies go for closer to $75 online (in clearing out the backstock for this post, I came across just one copy, in NM, and it’s available for $75 too…). Number 48 has a Dan Mishkin/Gary Cohn/Novick Aquaman story (with the back-ups returning  with a Black Pirate tale), with a Thomas/Buckler Shazam! story in #49, and a Mishkin/Cohn/Swan Superman/Clark Kent team-up in #50 that’s every bit the Silver Ageish stunt that you might expect.

Issue #51 is a Mishkin/Saviuk Atom story (plus an insert with the Masters of the Universe that, oddly, adds nothing to the book’s value); #52 is Kupperberg and Keith Giffen on the Doom Patrol (the Giffen art is a definite attraction). Issue #53 is a Mishkin/Swan House of Mystery Hallow’een story, while #54 features art by Phoenix’s own Don Newton on a Kupperberg-scripted Green Arrow tale. Number 55 is Rozakis and Saviuk on Air Wave (the creative team and the guest pretty much define a mediocre issue of this title), with Kupperberg and Swan on Power Girl in #56, Mishkin/Cohn/Saviuk on the Atomic Knights in #57, a Barr/Swan Robin (and the Elongated Man) story in #58, and a treat in #59: old LSH hands Keith Giffen and Paul Levitz on a snarky Legion of Substitute Heroes tale.

The 60s are evenly divided between average and “hey, that’s kind of cool” efforts: there’s a Cary Burkett/Novick Guardians of the Galaxy story in #60, a Wein/George Perez/Pablo Marcos Omac story in #61 (that one’s pretty good…), a Rozakis/Mishkin/Novick Freedom Fighters in #62, a Mishkin/Cohn/Saviuk Amethyst in #63, a Mark Evanier/Saviuk Kamandi in #64, a very nice-looking Gray Morrow-drawn Madame Xanadu story in #65 (over an average Kupperberg script), an also-nice Len Wein/Joe Kubert Demon story in #66, a Wein/Bridwell Santa Claus story (!) with pencils by Curt Swan and inks by Murphy Anderson in #67, a Conway/Swan/Anderson Vixen story in #68, and an Evanier/Novick Blackhawk story in #69.

For the 70s, there’s a Kupperberg/Saviuk Metal Men in #70, a Bridwell/Swan Bizarro in #71, a Kupperberg/Saviuk Phantom Stranger/Joker in #72, a Cary Bates/Carmine Infantino Flash story in #73 (a tie-in to the interminable “Trial of the Flash” then going on in the Scarlet Speedster’s own title), a Rozakis/Mishkin/Saviuk Hawkman in #74, a Kupperberg/Tom Mandrake Arion in #75, a Mishkin/Cohn/Ed Berreto Wonder Woman in #76, a Wolfman/Swan “Forgotten Heroes” in #77 (teaming up then-obscure characters like the pre-Grant Morrison Animal Man, Rip Hunter, Cave Carson, Dolphin and others) which leads into the “Forgotten Villians” story in #78 (the Enchantress being, trust me,  the only one of those that you’ve ever heard of), and ending with another Superman/Clark Kent team-up in #79 by Kupperberg and Swan (this one enlivened by Al Williamson inks).

For the 80s, we have: a Kupperberg/Swan LSH in #80, a Robert Loren Fleming/Keith Giffen Ambush Bug tale in #81 (one of the high points of the whole DCCP run, if you like their very particular brand of off-beat meta-humor), a Bates/Klaus Janson Adam Strange in #82, a Barr/Novick Batman and the Outsiders in #83, and a very unusual team-up in #84: the Challengers of the Unknown, partly drawn by Jack Kirby (in what was probably his last work for DC), and finished by Alex Toth. That’s so weird that it’s worth a look, but the next issue offers maybe the best single issue of all: an Alan Moore/Rick Veitch/Al Williamson Swamp Thing story in #85 that you’ve probably read (DC’s reprinted it a bunch of times) but is definitely worth the buck off the discount racks if you haven’t. Then, #86 is a Kupperberg/Rich Hoberg Supergirl story that ties in to Crisis on Infinite Earths, while #87 is a similar story involving Superman and the Crisis version of Superboy (that one’s by Elliot Maggin and Swan, and was sought after a few years ago when Infinite Crisis made that Superboy into a universe-punching bad guy). Number 88 is another interesting team: Steve Englehart and Keith Giffen on the Creeper, while #89 is a Rozakis/Saviuk Omega Men story.

Still with us? Almost done… there’s a Kupperberg/Denys Cowan Firestorm/Captain Atom story in #90, a Craig Boldman/Swan Captain Comet in #91, a Kupperberg/Swan Vigilante in #92, a Kupperberg/Saviuk “Elastic Four” in #93 (that’s four stretchable characters: Jimmy “Elastic Lad” Olsen, Plastic Man, Elongated Man, and the obscure villain Malleable Man), a Crisis aftermath tale involving Lady Quark, Harbinger and Pariah in #94 by Barbara Randall and Bob Greenberger, with art by Tom Mandrake, a Tony Isabella/Richard Howell Hawkman in #95, a Mishkin/Cohn/Staton Blue Devil in #96, and (ta-dah!) a Steve Gerber/Rick Veitch Phantom Zone criminals story in #97.

Whew! As always, many of these issues are available on the discount racks, almost all of them for $1; the ones that aren’t are available as regular back issues (we have all 97 issues in stock), so if any of these descriptions have quickened your collector’s pulse, now’s the time to seek them out.

The Party starts at 6 pm with CAKE and Discounts! Get 25% off ALL Back Issue X-men and Avengers Comics (including consignment!) Get 10% off all other X-men and Avengers items, including T-shirts, Pint Glasses, Coffee Mugs, Statues and more.

At 8 pm the Avengers Vs. X-men #1 will go on sale, including ALL variants and incentives! We are officially an Avengers Team Store, but we will have ALL of the Variants including the X-men Team Store Variants.  Come in Tues.  night to be sure to get the exclusives, Avengers Team Store Variant, X-men Team Store Variant, Stegman Variant, Stegman Sketch Variant (one per store), Romita Jr. Variant and Blank Variant. These will be in limited supply so come in Tues.night if you don’t want to miss out.

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The Defenders

The original Defenders first get together in Marvel Feature #1-3, as Dr. Strange mystically ropes in the Hulk and the Sub-Mariner to help him deal with an occult threat to Earth. Part of the original hook of the series is that this isn’t the Avengers – the “members” don’t hang out together, and don’t have a clubhouse or mansion (although Dr. Strange’s townhouse is often the center of activity) — they get together to do a job, and that’s it, a relationship that makes sense with crabby loners like Namor and the Hulk. Defenders #1, from August, 1972,  features a creative team that will remain for the book’s first year: Steve Englehart as scripter, and Sal Buscema as artist. They begin with the core three heroes, and a dependable pattern: mystic menace requiring a lot of muscle, provided by Namor and the Hulk, that helps to showcase Buscema’s straight-ahead, high-energy ability to draw heroes and villains punching the crap out of each other. Englehart quickly establishes a set of supporting characters, as the Silver Surfer starts hanging out in issue #2, the “new” Valkyrie appears in issue #3, and Hawkeye shows up in issue #7. This culminates in an Avengers/Defenders crossover battle in issues #8-11 of this title, and #116-119 of The Avengers; it’s fondly remembered because it’s consistently well-done (it helps enormously that Englehart is writing both books at the time) and for Defenders #10, which features a Hulk/Thor fight that takes up half the issue.

Englehart leaves the book after issue #11, although Buscema will stay for another 30 issues; Len Wein takes over as scripter from issues #12-18, and keeps the pot bubbling nicely — he introduces Nighthawk to the team in issue #13, guest-stars Professor X and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in #s 15 and 16, and manages appearances by Luke Cage and the Wrwecking Crew in the last few issues. However, it’s issue #20 that begins the Defenders’ Golden Age, because that’s when new writer Steve Gerber arrives; he and Buscema will stay on the book through issue #41, and mold it into one of the best super-hero series of the ’70s along the way.

The buildup starts slowly, but Gerber starts deepening the characterization and themes, first with a longish Sons of the Serpent serial, and then with a Guardians of the Galaxy tale. The real fun starts in issue #31, though, as C-list villains The Headmen kidnap Nighthawk and remove his brain (the better to put one of their own brains in his skull). The next ten issues feature dozens of bad and good guys, an orphaned deer rescued by the Hulk (“Men killed Bambi’s mother!”), a satire of ’70s self-help movements, a Firesign Theater riff (issue #34, “I Think We’re All Bozos in This Book!”), takes on both women-in-prison and James Bond movies, and much more. It’s a wild ride, unprecedented for superhero books of the time, and somehow it all works: Gerber is careful to make each issue self-contained, even as subplots spin madly, and the whole thing goes from issue #40 to culminate in the 35-page Defenders Annual #1. Gerber and Buscema take a curtain call in issue #41, a straightforward but letter-perfect done-in-one story that shows they can work in miniature too, and then they’re gone.

The title remains, of course, and will for another ten years, although it’ll never reach those heights of inspired insanity again. That’s not to say there aren’t high points: a very young Keith Giffen assumes the art chores from issues #42-54, and his energetic, Jack-Kirby influenced pencils (not that different from what he’s been providing in O.M.A.C.) are fun to watch. David Kraft debuts as writer with issue #44, and will stay through #68; he’s no Gerber, but he knows that the book’s strengths include offbeat team members (Patsy Walker — Hellcat — arrives from the Avengers to begin a long stay, and Moon Knight hangs around for a while), general weirdness (issues #58-60 showcase Kraft’s obsession with the Blue Oyster Cult, including character names and plots lifted from their albums, as #60′s title — “The Revenge of Vera Gemini” — should make clear), and humor (issues #62-64 feature a Defenders recruiting drive that attracts dozens of also-ran and shouldn’t-have-ran bit-player heroes).

After Kraft, Ed Hannigan comes on as writer from issues #70 – 91; he’s… well, he’s a better artist than a writer, but he’s not doing the interior art of the books, so that doesn’t help; the artists that do appear — Herb Trimpe, followed by Don Perlin — are steady craftsmen but don’t exactly inspire a rabid following. Things don’t liven up until issue #92, when new writer J. M. DeMatteis comes on board; he almost immediately starts up with the kind of cosmic/occult/pop-psychology scripting which marks his style even today — the run-up to issue #100, for example, features one Marvel horror star per issue (Dracula, Ghost Rider, Devil-Slayer, Man-Thing…), culminating in a Satan/Damion Hellstrom fight in issue #100 wherein Satan can’t kill the Son of Satan because… well, he’s his son (a typical Dematteis denoument). He and Perlin stay on the book for a good while — through issue #125 — but not much happens, frankly — there’s a Dr. Seuss-inspired change-of-pace in issue #115 — and by #125 the book’s got a new gimmick: Dr. Strange, the Hulk, the Sub-Mariner and the Surfer have been written out, and replaced by the Beast, Iceman and the Angel, as the book’s title changes to The Ex-X-Men (heh… just kidding, although that would have been truth in advertising, and emphasized what Marvel editorial was hoping would bring readers to the book; no, it changes to The New Defenders, which is considerably less interesting). In the event, the book from here until its cancellation is mostly just more of the same: Dematteis leaves, to be replaced by Peter Gillis, but the only thing that changes is that there are fewer religious references, and less psychological nattering; the artists include a lot more Perlin (who ended up drawing more issues of the title than anyone else, even Sal Buscema), plus a few fill-ins by Alan Kupperberg, not exactly a household word. The title doesn’t so much end as just slowly fade away, with the end coming in February, 1986, with issue #152.

Defenders II

Given its long run, you’d think that a revival would have happened fairly quickly, but the second Defenders volume doesn’t show up until 2001. It’s a hoot, though: Kurt Busiek, who’s one of comics’ better plotters and scripters, teams up with Erik Larsen, and they go back to basics: Hulk, Dr. Strange, Sub-Mariner and the Silver Surfer, with lots of Larsen’s Kirby-inspired action. Most of the team members don’t even like one another — the Hulk and Sub-Mariner, especially; there’s a great early bit when Namor snarls at the Hulk “Don’t touch me!”, and, after a pause, the Green Goliath reaches out a finger, pokes him, and says with a smirk, “Touch.” Predictable mayhem ensues. However, due to a curse they’re forced to come together whenever the Earth is threatened, no matter what else they’re doing — leading to more humor and more tension, and culminating, after issue #12, in the mini-series The Order, where the Big Four decide that the only way to protect the world and solve their problem is to take it over. That’s a clever, exciting story — but it didn’t generate sales, and after 18 total issues between the two titles, The Defenders was cancelled again.

Defenders III

This is the 2005 five-issue series by Keith Giffen, DeMatteis and Kevin McGuire, who bring their Justice League bwah-ha-ha style to Marvel’s non-team. Five issues is just about right; it’s a little too self-satisfied in its cleverness for its own good, but the art is pretty, and the snarky asides help to move things along smoothly. Both Defenders fans and ’80s Justice League fans should seek it out.

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Detective Comics

Last time, we put out Detective back issues through the 1993 “Knightfall” bat-event that saw Bruce Wayne’s back getting broken by the villain Bane, and the former Azreal taking over as Batman; that ended with the suitably apocalyptically-numbered Detective #666 (although most of the major beats in the story were taking place in DC’s companion Batman title; it and Detective at this point were telling one interlocking story, with a new chapter every two weeks). The next issue sees Azreal in the newly-modernized batsuit, is by writer Chuck Dixon and penciller Graham Nolan  (just like the previous dozen or so issues had been), and begins the follow-up “Knightquest” storyline, as a wheelchair-bound Wayne searches for a miracle cure, and the new (and considerably more brutal) Batman learns the ropes; this leads seamlessly into the “Knightsend” finale, which starts in Detective #676 and finishes in #677.  Dixon and Nolan remain the creative team for almost all of these, and provide competent but not particularly memorable chapters in the overarching story; the best thing about these issues is the Kelley Jones covers.

Detective #678 is a “Zero Hour” tie-in, while #679 sees Dick Grayson in the bat-suit; to the surprise of absolutely no one, Bruce Wayne has returned and donned the cape and cowl again by issue #682. Dixon and Nolan continue through #689, after which Staz Johnson comes in as artist through #694; Nolan returns with #696. The main driver of plots at this point is the crossover concept: “Knightfall” and its sequels had done so well that DC supplies a number of similar multiple-part events, some big and some small: there’s “Contagion” in Detective #695-696, “Legacy” in #s 700-702, and “Final Night” in #703; following a year’s respite from #704-718, the crossovers begin again in earnest with “Cataclysm” (Gotham City is severely damaged in an earthquake) in #s 719-721, followed by “Aftershock” in #s 722-726.  Nolan continues as artist through all of this, except for Jim Aparo art in issues #716, 719, 722 and 724 (with a guest art job by Alex Maleev in #723). After that, “No Man’s Land,” where the federal government abandons Gotham as too damaged by the quake to be salvageable, ramps up in issue #727, and will provide the main plots in all the bat-titles for the next year and more; Dixon leaves with #729, and is replaced by, for one issue each, Bob Gale, Devin Grayson, Greg Rucka, Gale again, Kelly Puckett, Rucka again…. well, there isn’t much continuity. Maleev does the art for #730, with a different artist each issue after that — probably the most notable is Mike Deodato in #736.

Scripter Rucka comes back with #639, and wraps up the “No Man’s Land” saga in #741; after that, he’s on board for the revival/relaunch in #742, mostly with artist Shawn Martinbrough through #746, and in #s 749-752, 758-761 and 763-764. This is a reasonably stylish run, suitably pulpy and blessedly crossover-free (except for an installment of the Gordon-gets-shot “Officer Down” in #754), and is often distinguished by its slickly-designed covers by Dave Johnson (although other cover artists, like John McRea, creep in too). Issue #766 sees the debut of the next story “event,” though: “Bruce Wayne, Murderer?” wherein you-know-who gets framed for… well, the title says it all. It and its sequel (“Bruce Wayne: Fugitive”) continue through #772, all with scripts from Rucka and art by a number of people, although Steve Lieber is the most frequent collaborator. Rucka leaves with issue #775, and is replaced by Ed Brubaker in issues #777-786; Brubaker, as those who’ve read his Criminal and Fatale know, is fully as good at pulpy noir stories as Rucka, and so keeps the title energized. Probably the most interesting story in this period is the five-part “Spore,” a backup story by J.C. and Michel Gagne in issues #776-780 wherein Batman gets infected by, yes, an alien spore, and grows to take over the world; it has a frantic, crude energy and indy/alt comic/Heavy Metal vibe that’s unlike any other bat-story ever produced.

The next sustained team runs from issues #791-800 , and is writer Anderson Gabrych and penciller Pete Woods (I know: I don’t remember either of them either, possibly because the crossover story that came to define event fatigue, “War Games,” occurs in issues #797-800). That’s followed by “City of Crime,” a Detective-contained serial written and laid out by David Lapham (then fresh off his critically-beloved Stray Bullets), which runs from #801-814 (with a break for an ill-conceived sequel to “War Games” in #s 809-810).

The jump-a-year-ahead line-wide DC stunt “One Year Later” begins in issue #817, but it isn’t until issue #821 that the two best parts of this most-recent period in Detective history show up: writer Paul Dini and artist J.H. Williams III, who team up in that issue; Dini, who’d honed his craft in the Batman TV cartoons (and is most-revered among fanboys for creating Harley Quinn), also provides scripts for #s 822-824, providing frequently-clever takes on classic bat-villains like the Penguin and Poison Ivy; he’s also got a memorable Tim-Drake-vs.-The-Joker story in #826, and writes #s 827-828, 831 (with Harley Quinn), 833-834 (with another Dini favorite, Zatanna), and 837-841 (there’s a John Rozum/Tom Mandrake Scarecrow story in issues #835-836 that’s worth a look, too). Dini rounds out his run with stories in #s 843-850, with issues #846-850 a “Batman: R.I.P.” tie-in involving Hush that (a) isn’t actually much of a tie-in, and (b) proves that Hush is such a lame villain that even Dini can’t find a way to make him very interesting. Longtime bat-scripter and editor Denny O’Neil writes #851, while Dini provides a Hush epilogue in #852; this leads into #853, which is the second part (part one being in the Batman title) of Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert’s “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader,” a kind of elegy for Batman (he having been “killed” in Final Crisis) that would have been well-accepted by fans if it hadn’t been accompanied by quite so much hype.

That can all be forgiven, though, because Detective #854 is the debut of Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III’s “Batwoman” — the first time since the 1930s that Detective didn’t have a Batman story appearing in it — and it proves to be a dream collaboration: Rucka’s tight plotting and careful characterization combine with Williams’s lush drawing and daring layouts to create a great comic. It only lasts for seven issues — Williams is gone after #860, and by #864 Rucka is also gone and Batman is back — but it’s a lot of fun while it lasts.

The remainder of the first volume of Detective has David Hine as writer at first, with Jeremy Haun as artist in #s 864-865, and Scott McDaniel in #s 867-870; Scott Snyder then comes in as writer with issue #871, mostly with Mark Simpson (signing his word as “Jock”) as artist, and they bring the book to a satisfying conclusion: a plot involving James Gordon’s son (and Barbara’s brother) is creepy and well-written (and earned Snyder a bat-writing slot in the relaunched new-52 Batman), while Simpson’s cover for #880, the penultimate issue, features a Joker head dissolving into bats and showed up on most lists of the best covers of 2011. Not a bad ending for such a long-running book, and a suitable place to stop for us, too.