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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 17:55:13 GMT -5
That was the last of 'em, so 5 total. The Haney/Aparo B & B team were all about repeat team-ups (Green Arrow, Sgt. Rock and the Metal Men all showed up a lot in the same time-frame) - Haney always swore that he just kept reusing the co-stars that sold, so maybe WIldcat was secretly super-popular. And Sgt. Rock and the Metal Men were some of his top sellers as co-stars? That really surprises me, even for the 70s. I read a ton of Sgt Rock comics in the 70's.....As far as the Metal Men? Off beat heroes were popular then, I loved that both DC & Marvel experimented & tried titles like Metamorpho/Metal Men/Dracula/etc... |
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Post by Action Ace on Jan 10, 2015 21:53:22 GMT -5
I found this data for sales figures for 1965. I was a little off. Metal Men was beat by a bunch of Superman books, and also Justice League and Batman. But then check out 1964 to see how many non-DC comics are in the Top Ten. (And I don't think Batman is even included on the 1964 list.) Read the fine print to the left in 1964 since DC didn't have a lot of Statements of Ownership/ Circulation Statements. 1965, the year Superman was in the top 6 selling comics in some form and 8 out of the top 11. Metal Men did very well to be #15 overall...334,245 avg. paid circulation! In 1966 it rose to #12 and even outsold Spider-Man. |
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zilch
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Post by zilch on Jan 11, 2015 1:39:03 GMT -5
A quick late note about Brain Wave...
Careful reading and a bit of bumbling analysis tells me that Henry King was not an inventive genius, but stole just about everything he used.
The only thing he uses that he actually could have created is the machinery in the Perisphere that he used on the JSA in ASSq. In All-Star 17, he has a shrinking ray that was used earlier by Mekanique on the Squadron. His hideout in AS 15 could have been Dr. Doome's old hideout from Leading Comics #3; his city stealing equipment used in Showcase 98-99 was probably used by Shade, Thinker and Fiddler (and still set to nab Keystone City!).
His equipment used in AS 58-59 was probably lifted by Degaton in one of his time jaunts, and held in storage for 30 years.
How he got his stuff? Well, his first HQ was taken over by the All-Star Squadron, so he probably had hidden passages in and out, which is how he got ahold of the Justice Society's logs that he used in AS 15.
Keep up the good work, Kurt! Love reading it!!!
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Post by Cei-U! on Jan 11, 2015 8:27:39 GMT -5
Superman #301 June 1976 (April 8, 1976) $.30  Cover Art: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, main image, Solomon Grundy logo headshot; Neal Adams, Superman logo figure “Solomon Grundy Wins On a Monday!” 17 pages Julius Schwartz (Editor), Gerry Conway (Writer), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (Penciller), Bob Oksner (Inker), no lettering or coloring credits FC: Superman [of Earth-One] (also appears as Solomon Grundy) Villain: Solomon Grundy SynopsisAfter months of thought, the slow-witted Solomon Grundy finally grasps the concept of multiple Earths. Reasoning that if there are two Green Lanterns there may also be another Grundy, the swamp monster escapes his Slaughter Swamp prison by sheer willpower. Emerging on the streets of Earth-One's Metropolis hours later, he goes on a rampage, demanding the other Grundy be brought to him. Superman challenges the albino savage only to find the transit between worlds has increased the monster's superhuman strength so radically that he actually knocks the Man of Steel out. Aware he can't win through brute force, the Action Ace disguises himself as the Earth-One Grundy. Promising to take his ‘twin’ somewhere “where we not be hunted,” Superman flies Grundy to the moon and strands him there. The Bad GuysSolomon Grundy manifests a new power in this story: the ability to convert the landscape around him into swampland. Since this power is never seen again, it is probably a one-time side effect of his interdimensional journey. Points to PonderAlthough Superman speculates that “the waters of Slaughter Swamp gave [Solomon Grundy] powers beyond our understanding [including] the power to go from one dimension to another,” this seems unlikely given that Grundy never again displayed this power. Perhaps Grundy's willpower combined with the emerald energy of his prison ‘walls,’ itself a byproduct of the combined willpowers of the Green Lanterns, to open a pathway between the universes.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 11, 2015 12:16:43 GMT -5
Superman #301 June 1976 (April 8, 1976) $.30 Cover Art: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, main image, Solomon Grundy logo headshot; Neal Adams, Superman logo figure “Solomon Grundy Wins On a Monday!” 17 pages I didn't like Superman at all in the mid-1970s when I first started collecting comics, but I did buy this issue. I think it was the only issue of Superman I had until about 1980. And I bought it because of Solomon Grundy. I didn't buy many DC comics but I had gotten hold of the comic reprinting All-Star #33 where the JSA is fighting Solomon Grundy, and I thought Grundy was pretty cool.
I haven't read Superman #301 in decades so I don't remember it very well. But I do remember thinking Superman was mean for tricking Solomon Grundy with a disguise and then abandoning him - all alone - on the moon.
Mean mean Superman. What a JERK!
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 11, 2015 18:03:52 GMT -5
Wow, so does that mean Grundy was stuckthere on the moon until 15-ish years later when Jack Knight stumbles upon him in his space adventure? I agree... poor guy!
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Post by Cei-U! on Jan 11, 2015 18:37:10 GMT -5
Wow, so does that mean Grundy was stuckthere on the moon until 15-ish years later when Jack Knight stumbles upon him in his space adventure? I agree... poor guy! Hardly, as you'll see a couple of entries from now. Cei-U! I summon the foreshadowing! |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2015 20:51:33 GMT -5
Superman #301 June 1976 (April 8, 1976) $.30 View AttachmentCover Art: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, main image, Solomon Grundy logo headshot; Neal Adams, Superman logo figure “Solomon Grundy Wins On a Monday!” 17 pages Julius Schwartz (Editor), Gerry Conway (Writer), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (Penciller), Bob Oksner (Inker), no lettering or coloring credits FC: Superman [of Earth-One] (also appears as Solomon Grundy) Villain: Solomon Grundy The Bad GuysSolomon Grundy manifests a new power in this story: the ability to convert the landscape around him into swampland. Since this power is never seen again, it is probably a one-time side effect of his interdimensional journey. I wished that they kept that new power of Solomon Grundy - his ability to convert the landscape into a swampland was rather cool and different. I might be in the minority here; but this is one of the reason that I like this book so well. Thanks for bringing up good memories of it. |
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Post by Cei-U! on Jan 12, 2015 8:18:40 GMT -5
All-Star Comics #61July-August 1976 (April 15, 1976) $.30  Cover Art: Ernie Chan [as Ernie Chua], signed, main image; Ric Estrada (Penciller), Wally Wood (Inker), JSA logo figures “Hellfire and Holocaust” 17 pages Gerry Conway (Editor/Writer), Keith Giffen (Layouts), Wally Wood (Finished Art), Carl Gafford (Colorist), no lettering credit FC: Doctor Fate, Dr. Mid-Nite, The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Wildcat, teamed as the Justice Society of America FC: Power Girl, The Star-Spangled Kid, teamed with the JSA as the All-Star Super-Squad SC: Joan Garrick Villain: Vulcan Intro: Zanadu the Chaos Master Intro: Xlk-Jnn (dies in this story) Intro: Dr. Arthur Kliburn SynopsisDr. Fate and Green Lantern fight a losing battle with Vulcan. The maddened astronaut destroys a block of buildings, burying Fate in the rubble. Emerging from cloud cover into direct sunlight for the first time since escaping from NASA quarantine, Vulcan falls stunned from the sky. Carter Hall shows Dr. Arthur Kliburn his latest archaeological find, a monstrous being preserved in amber rumored to be a relic of Lemuria. Lost in conversation about the thing's aura of evil, neither man notices the amber begin to melt. The stricken Vulcan lands in the New Jersey freightyards. Feeling his strength returning, he continues his rampage, the event already forgotten. Flash, Wildcat, Power Girl, and the Star-Spangled Kid stand by as firemen work to put out the blaze at JSA headquarters. Joan Garrick insists that Jay come home. Hawkman and Dr. Mid-Nite report in. Green Lantern summons the team to Times Square. Power Girl, alerted by her super-hearing, investigates the crash of a spacecraft elsewhere in the city. Assuming the pilot's intent is hostile, she attacks. The JSA digs through the rubble searching for Fate. Mid-Nite uses his infra-red vision to find him. During her clash with the alien, PG is bombarded with telepathic images: of a spaceship parked in solar orbit, of a stricken space probe from Earth, of Vulcan. Hawkman and the Kid track Vulcan to the freightyards. Power Girl arrives with the alien, a space explorer named Xlk-Jnn who transformed Christopher Pike into Vulcan in a well-intentioned bid to save his life. An enraged Vulcan incinerates the alien before the others can stop him. PG says Vulcan is sensitive to sunlight and therefore vulnerable to the power of the cosmic rod. Exposed to its full output, the villain disintegrates. The JSA waits at the hospital for word of Dr. Fate's condition. Charles McNider informs them that Fate is dying... and “only a miracle can save him now.” CosmologyLemuria, the Pacific Ocean counterpart to the lost continent of Atlantis, is historical, not legendary, in the Earth-Two universe. Green Lantern refers to Gotham City's entertainment district as Times Square despite the fact that, on Earth-Two as on Earth-One, Gotham and New York City are different places. Meeting MinutesJSA headquarters is severely damaged by fire in this story. It is now depicted as surrounded by buildings rather than sitting alone as shown in All-Star Comics #58. This is the first appearance of the JSA's “Sky Skimmer,” a kind of airborne jet car similar to the Fantastic Four's Fantasticar. The Good GuysWildcat tells the police to let Joan Garrick through the barricades because she is the Flash's wife. This is the first substantive indication that the Scarlet Speedster has gone public with his true identity. It is not clear why Joan is in Gotham City. Perhaps Gotham is close enough for Joan to drive from Keystone City, or perhaps the Garricks maintain a Gotham home for when Jay is on active duty with the JSA. Fashion WatchGreen Lantern wears his power ring on his right hand on the cover of this issue. Points to PonderI have no clue how to pronounce the name “Xlk-Jnn.”
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Post by Cei-U! on Jan 13, 2015 8:42:43 GMT -5
Secret Society of Super-Villains #2July-August 1976 (April 20, 1976) $.30  Cover Art: Dick Giordano “No Man Shall I Call Master!” 17 pages Gerry Conway (Editor/Writer), David Anthony Kraft (Writer), Pablo Marcos (Penciller), Bob Smith (Inker), Carl Gafford (Colorist), no lettering credit. FC: Captain Cold, Grodd, Manhunter, The Mirror Master, Sinestro, Star Sapphire, teamed with Captain Comet and Hi-Jack as the Secret Society of Super-Villains GS: Captain Comet, Green Lantern [of Earth-One] Villains: Darkseid (behind the scenes only), Mantis and his drones Intro: Hi-Jack (true name unknown), formerly the Royal Flush Gang's Jack of Clubs SynopsisCaptain Comet, a super-hero of the early 1950s, returns to Earth-One after two decades in outer space, just in time to blunder into a battle between Green Lantern and two members of the Secret Society. Unable to tell good guy from bad, he rescues the villains from GL. Comet is voted onto the team at Manhunter's suggestion, to be used as an expendable dupe. Getting the captain alone later, Manhunter confides that he is actually a mole within the Society hoping to turn his uneasy allies against their mysterious financier. Comet, whose telepathic powers had already clued him in, plays along. Mantis, the insectoid energy vampire from the interdimensional world of Apokolips, overhears their conversation, forcing Manhunter to tip his hand prematurely. Leading the Society to an underground complex beneath Fisherman's Wharf, he reveals the true identity of their benefactor: Darkseid, dictator of Apokolips and most powerful of the evil New Gods. Behind the ScenesAlthough The Wizard does not appear in this issue, he is behind the scenes as part of the overall story arc running through these first five issues. This is the only comic book listed in the canon in which no Earth-Two character appears. Meeting MinutesThe Sinister Citadel is known to the public as the Loman Building. The air car introduced in the previous issue is explicitly identified as Secret Society property in this story. It is shown lifting off from the roof of the Loman Building but the structure itself is off-panel. The Good GuysCaptain Comet starred in a heavily sci-fi influenced series in Strange Adventures, debuting in its ninth issue, cover-dated June 1951, and running though #49 (November 1954). This is his first appearance in an explicitly Earth-One context and the first in this costume.
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Post by Cei-U! on Jan 14, 2015 9:30:10 GMT -5
Freedom Fighters #4September-October 1976 (May 31, 1976) $.30  Cover Art: Ernie Chan [as Ernie Chua], main image, signed; Ric Estrada (Penciller), Mike Royer (Inker), Uncle Sam logo figure “The Left Hand of Oblivion” 17 pages Gerry Conway (Editor), Martin Pasko (Writer), Ramona Fradon (Penciller), Vince Colletta (Inker), Ben Oda (Letterer), Liz Berube (Colorist) FC: The Black Condor, Doll Man, The Human Bomb, Phantom Lady, The Ray, Uncle Sam, teamed as the Freedom Fighters GS: Aquaman, Wonder Woman [of Earth-One] SC: Chief Frank Connelly, Craig Olsen, David Pearson, Morgan Tracy Villains: King Samson, The Silver Ghost (in flashback only) Intro: Police Commissioner Hayden Ross SynopsisDesperate to buy themselves some breathing room, the Freedom Fighters decide to present themselves to the United Nations General Assembly as ambassadors from Earth-X, thus gaining diplomatic immunity. Wonder Woman, ordered by DA Pearson to round them up, defeats and captures the FF. En route to Pearson's office, Sam explains their situation to her. Elsewhere, King Samson roams the streets in a daze. After stealing the Silver Ghost's guantlet from his corpse, the simpleminded brute went home to visit his mother. The malfunctioning glove killed the old woman. Blaming the Freedom Fighters for her death, Samson vows to make them pay with their lives. Wonder Woman persuades Pearson to release Uncle Sam, Phantom Lady and Human Bomb into her custody to search for proof of their innocence. Black Condor, Doll Man and the Ray are jailed as a guarantee of the others's behavior. Learning that the damaged circuitry in the glove is eroding the bedrock beneath Manhattan, WW and the FF track its energy signature. The building where Samson skulks explodes, knocking Wonder Woman's invisible jet out of the sky. While Sam and the Bomb rescue innocent bystanders, the ladies confront Samson. He swats Phantom Lady aside and subjects Wonder Woman to the silver touch. ContinuityThe Human Bomb notes that it has been a week since the Freedom Fighters were last in their armory headquarters. The Good GuysThe Human Bomb reveals he cannot remove his costume because the teleporter that sent him to Earth-One increased his power, making every part of his body as explosive as his hands. As a consequence, he can't bathe and thus has a distinct case of b.o. Fashion WatchThe Black Condor's boots are consistently depicted with the “v” on the shin throughout this story. Black Condor wears buccaneer-style boots on the cover of this issue. His costume is also colored dark blue. Phantom Lady wears her blackout ray projector on her right wrist as of this story. Uncle Sam's costume is depicted with stars on the hatband and stirrups on the pants in the cover art for this issue. The Silver Ghost is depicted without his costume's cape in the flashback to the previous issue. Points to PonderKing Samson is shown using the Silver Ghost's “silver touch” glove despite the Human Bomb removing its radioactive power source in #2. He also claims that the Freedom Fighters “used up da antidote” in reversing the effects of the Ghost's power on their teammates, which presumably means they drained all its energy. Where, then, does the glove get the energy to continue transforming matter to silver, let alone enough to destroy an entire building? It is unclear why the Ghost's glove causes Samson's mother and another old woman to crumble into silver dust but merely transforms Wonder Woman into silver. Perhaps it is a result of the Amazon's special nature as a statue formed from the clay of Paradise Island changed into living tissue by Olympian magic.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2015 11:20:34 GMT -5
I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the Freedom Fighters...
Does anyone remember what the #'s were for on covers (upper right hand corner) that said "DC Comics Salutes The Bicentennial" |
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Post by DE Sinclair on Jan 14, 2015 11:40:32 GMT -5
I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the Freedom Fighters...
Does anyone remember what the #'s were for on covers (upper right hand corner) that said "DC Comics Salutes The Bicentennial" Our friends at comicvine have the answer to that: If you collected enough of banners from different comics and sent them to DC, they'd send you a Superman belt buckle. Not sure how a belt buckle connects with the bicentennial, but whatever. www.comicvine.com/dc-comics-salutes-the-bicentennial/4015-56229/ |
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Post by Action Ace on Jan 14, 2015 21:21:52 GMT -5
Secret Society of Super Villains #2 and Freedom Fighters #4 were the first issues of each of these comics that I bought and read. I enjoyed both series and Captain Comet would go on to be one of my favorite DC characters.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 14, 2015 22:18:49 GMT -5
Secret Society of Super Villains #2 and Freedom Fighters #4 were the first issues of each of these comics that I bought and read. I enjoyed both series and Captain Comet would go on to be one of my favorite DC characters. SSOSV #2 was my first issue of that title as well, and I never missed an issue. I got a hold of a #1 a few months later at the used bookstore where my dad traded in his mystery novels for a new batch of mystery novels. (Agatha Christie, Dick Francis, Dell Shannon, John D. MacDonald) Used comics were 2 for a quarter, and nobody had ever heard of a comic book bag.
It was the first (and for a long time the only) DC comic that I bought every issue as it came out.
I didn't appreciate Freedom Fighters until years later, and I'm still missing a few issues.
These are both pretty solid Bronze Age comics. Oh, yeah, sure, you can pick out some stupid stuff if you're so inclined, but they were a lot of fun. (And SSOSV was the first comic where I saw a lot of the DC villains because I read so few DC comics.)
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