Well, it's a holiday. Back when I was a kid, Thanksgiving meant special treats, on tv. ABC used to broadcast some of their Saturday morning cartoons, so you could catch an episode of the Super-Friends or Electra-Woman and Dyna-Girl. CBS used to broadcast it's Festival of Family Classics, cartoons produced (mostly) in Australia, and distributed by Hanna-Barbera (who bought the Australian studio, Air Programs International), which were based on literature. So, in that spirit, I am bring two reviews! Well, mainly because the next installment of the Return of the New Gods, in Adventure Comics, is only 13 pages. So, consider it some whipped cream for the pumpkin pie.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, pumpkin pie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Super-Team Family #15



Super-Team Family was a sort of anthology, filled with team-ups; some new, some reprints. This was all-new, featuring story from Gerry Conway and art by Arvell Jones. Our cover is from Jose Luis Garcia Lopez (Praise Be His Name). JLGL (PBHN) was probably the finest artist working on DC covers, in the latter stages of the Bronze Age. He also got to dabble with the Superman titles, though never for a long run, due to the speed of his work. He crafted the early issues of DC Comics Presents and they are gorgeous, as are his Superman stories, and his brilliant covers. The man was an artist's artist. His true claim to fame is in crafting the style guide for DC, which was used for licensing and for keeping characters on-model. Every set of bedsheets, every Corgi toy, every slurpee cup that had a DC character, probably had a JLGL (PBHN) image. You can see why here, as Flash, Lightray and Metron are zooming around a giant Orion.

This story was published between Return of the New Gods 16 and 17, and I didn't get to it sooner, because Mike's Amazing World of Comics has it's New Gods appearances timeline mixed up. It said this followed the Adventure Comics finale; but, it was published before and is referenced in the story in Adventure #459.

Our story finds Lightray and Flash, racing along, in space. We next get a two-page splash of a giant Orion:



They meet up with Metron, who asks if they have learned anything. Well, I learned that I have no idea about what is going on. Gerry Conway just dumped us in the middle of things. Lightray says no, other than Mother Box has some kind of field around Orion. Flash asks about Mother Box and Metron gives us an info-dump. Flash then tries to penetrate Mother Box's inner workings, as he has done with computers (sounds like Conway is confused with the Atom). Flash is looking at electronic impulses, moving at the speed of life, then gets kicked out. Metron decides it is his turn and heads inside, in his Mobius Chair (almost typed Moebius Chair, which would be pretty darn cool), tapping straight into Orion's brain. It looks like Star Trek, The Motion Picture; but, that was 2 years away. I suppose it's really more of a Fantastic Voyage homage as we see Orion's synapses. Metron emerges with the news that Orion's mind has two images, Darkseid and the Promethean Galaxy. This causes Lightray to go into flashback mode and fill in the gaps.

The New Gods are lounging on New Genesis, instead of guarding their human charges. What's up with that? Orion is laughing at a joke and goes to sit down on the edge of a fountain pool, when Mother Box starts pinging. Out of the water comes a demon, who may or may not be part of the Deep Six. Orion defeats him but seems groggy. Everyone heads back to Earth, where they should have been, and Orion crashes in the desert, near the SAC base. he starts growing, with references to Gulliver, and the base forces attack him, 'cause Conway seems to think the military is filled with morons. You know, the bulk of our space explorers have come from their ranks, Gerry; a little respect please! Ah well, it was after Vietnam. Anyway (enough editorializing), Orion keeps growing and lifts off into space, so his matter must not be increasing or he'd be affecting the Earth.

We cut to Barry Allen's lab, where Metron shows up to recruit him, and we are back to the beginning. We next go to Darkseid's place, where we see that he is really badly rendered:



It turns out that Conway has read some science and Darkseid has infected Orion with a growth formula, hoping to put Earth's system into gravitational chaos. However, he doesn't like the presence of the Flash and sicks Hagdar, the Mad, on him.



Off in some part of space, the gang is attacked by the Winter Warlock or Snow Miser; not sure which, as ice creatures spring out and grab them. Flash saves the day and Metron opens a Boom Tube to suck them out. They are puzzled by the attack, which is Hagdar's doing.

We see Highfather converse with the Source Wall and get a warning about gods probing secrets and Jezebelle stops the Russkie's from firing space missiles at Orion. Flash and his crew arrive in the Promethean Galaxy and are attacked by more space demons and Metron sends him ahead, with a Mother Box. He meets up with Hagdar and they fight. Flash uses his speed to vibrate and sends Hagdar's axe back at him, knocking him into some space-time cloud and he disappears. Flash heads on to the Final Barrier, and we get an attempt at Kirby collage, and then he returns with some machine that will help Orion, though he doesn't remember where he got it. They use it to reverse the effect on Orion, which ticks off Darkseid. Flash makes it home late for dinner, the machine turns to dust in Metron's hands, and the New Gods go home. The end!

I have to say, this isn't particularly good and I can see why it was buried here, instead of appearing in the regular series. One, it is totally devoid of any connection to the regular series. Two, Darkseid's plot makes no sense, as he is still trying to acquire the Anti-Life Equation, which resides in the minds of 6 humans, on Earth. I don't know if he just wanted to explore the promethean Galaxy and show the giants chained to planetoids or what:



Arvell Jones' art is definitely not up to the standards of the series. Jones was still pretty green, having done a bit of work at Marvel (after breaking in as an assistant to Rich Buckler, a friend from Detroit) and some work on the previous issues of the floundering Super-team Family. The series started out reprinting team-up stories, then segued into a mix of new and old stories and a revival of the Challengers of the Unknown. Jones has moments, like the splash pages, and the sequence of Flash in the Kirby collage territory; but, he isn't quite up to this level of cosmic, yet. Jones would go on to work with Milestone.

This story strikes me like a lot of Conway's work of the era; he has ideas but hasn't thought them through. He seems to be throwing them at the wall and a lot aren't sticking. He was probably over-committed, too, at this point, as he was DC's golden boy, having snatched him from Marvel (ahead of a few torches and pitchforks, after his tenure as Marvel's E-I-C). He was handling Justice League, New Gods, Super-team Family, and probably more that I would need to research. JLA was definitely good, and New Gods was often at least intriguing, if not good; but, this one is not one of his shining moments. It has a pretty abrupt end, with too much deus ex machina (or New deus ex machina, since it's the New Gods). This thing was a bit like the Griswold's turkey, at Christmas; looks good on the outside, little dry on the inside.

Brave and the Bold #128, Batman & Mister Miracle



Not much in the way of art, for this one, folks. our cover is from Jim Aparo, which is a nicely constructed one. Aparo even gets to include Barda and Aparo makes sure she lives up to the name Big Barda, in more ways than one. I would like to direct your attention to just below the firehose. See how far apart Barda's legs are? I know comic book characters tend to have a wide stance; but, it looks like she is lowering herself into the splits. Probably another reason why Scott loves her. Meanwhile, Oberon could teach Wolverine a thing or two about styling his hair. It's also the Bicentennial, as our red, white and blue banner informs us. DC used this on their comics in 1976, much like the old go-go checks.

Our opening page see Batman, Mister Miracle, and some guy in a military uniform in rising water. MM says that the aqualung they have can only save one of them. I guess he never heard of buddy-breathing. That's just a teaser, though, as we see armed police all over Gotham City. Commissioner Gordon informs his men that the Shah of Karkan is coming to sign a defense accord and that the Commies would love to bump him off. Well, if he is like the Shah of Iran, it's more likely that his own people want to bump him off. Gordon wants to know where Batman is (didn't know he was on the payroll). Well, he's checking out an abandoned amusement park, based on a tip from a whino. It's supposed to be haunted. I've seen Scooby Doo; the whino will be under the monster mask! Batman goes to investigate and sees someone about to throw a sack off a platform. He tries to intercept it and ends up getting grabbed by a large silhoutte.  It turns out that Mister Miracle is in the bag and Barda has grabbed Batman, who is interfering in a rehearsal. First off, it's good to see that Aparo renders Barda in the correct proportions, including height. Marshall Rogers and Michael Golden both made her look a little to petite and ordinary. Kirby gave her the name for a reason and Aparo embraces it. He doesn't quite capture the face, though.

Scott introduces Barda and Oberon to Batman and explains that he and Barda have married, since he last saw Batman (even though that issue of BATB came out after the wedding). I guess someone reminded Bob Haney before he wrote the script, instead of after. Scott and Barda tell Batman that they were practicing for Scott's comeback tour, when Batman blundered into the scene. Batman wishes them luck and heads off to see to the Shah's safety.

We cut to the airport, where some men are loading a laundry truck, while a motorcade takes off. One of the men is Commissioner Gordon, while the other is the Shah. The Motorcade was a decoy and they are sneaking him in with the laundry truck.. Gordon locks the Shah in the back and heads out. When he reaches their destination, he opens up the back to find the Shah gone and a note left behind. Uh, oh!





Batman and Gordon are in his office, wondering how the Shah was nabbed.  Batman gives a somewhat preposterous theory that someone was dumped inside, via a roof hatch, at a pick-up stop, climbed out of the bag, grabbed the Shah, pushed him up through the roof hatch, at a stop light, and got away with Gordon unaware. First off, if they are transporting a man who has been targeted, why would they hit a "pick-up stop" at all, instead of taking him directly to a safe house? Second, the hatch sounds like it would allow entry; but not necessarily exit, from the inside. Third, how could Gordon hear nothing, if people were climbing around on the roof? It's a laundry truck, not an armored car. Zany Haney!

The President (Gerald Ford, at this point in time), calls up and yells at Gordon, when Batman notices the phone has a bug attached, explaining how the decoy plans were known.  He uses it to feed a false story that the kidnappers got a double, and that the real one was travelling in a limo. Batman goes off to ask for Mister Miracle's help; but, Scott says no and that he has to practice.  Batman challenges him to an escape race, with Scott helping him if Batman wins. They are both frozen with the skating rink icing equipment (we are back at the amusement park), which explains Barda and Oberon on the cover. Batman gets free first (thanks to a handy Bat-battery-powered thermal heater). He forces Scott to live up to the bargain and the head off.

Gordon feeds more disinformation, via the phone tap, and says the Shah is sleeping in his bed, at the top of the Gotham Towers. At the scene, a disguised Batman, in bed at night for the first time in his adult life, finds himself rising into the air. The skylight has somehow been removed and grappling hooks, attached to cables, ar lifting the bed through the hole in the roof, up to a waiting helicopter, that Batman didn't hear hovering. Time to get his Bat-ears checked.

Batman is taken by the helicopter, which dives into the sea and becomes a submarine (!!!). It takes him to the sunken wreck of the USS Gotham City, a cruiser sunk by a German submarine, in WW2. inside we find a secret base (Haney must have seen The Man with the Golden Gun) and the real Shah. He is introduced to our kidnapper, who introduces herself as GiGi, or Granny Goodness. I assume Haney meant G-G. She has agreed to kidnap the Shah in exchange for some youth formula that will give her beauty and is rarer than radium. Okay, let's just stop right there. I know, Zany Haney and all; but, Granny is not some two-bit, made-up villain for the old Batman tv series, so that some movie star can do the show for their kids. She is a nasty, vicious, sadistic dominatrix, who serves only Darkseid. I would applaud Haney using a 4th World character; but, he is totally clueless.

Granny threatens to shoot the Shah and Batman unmasks (well, the Shah mask) and Granny says she still gets paid if they are dead and orders both to be shot, when Scott slams into her. Scott tells the Sha to move out and Granny tries to interfere and gets taken out by the Shah's karate chop. Now, suddenly, Granny isn't tough enough to stand up to a pampered, human Shah? This is one of Darkseid's top lieutenants! man, I'd hate to see Haney's take on the 4th World Saga. Oberon would probably win the day bu kicking Darkseid in the booty!

This is Granny...





Our group heads out, then runs into a watery death trap, which takes us back to page one. Scott's using more weapons that he didn't have before, is able to blast a hole for the water to flow out of. They locate an aqualung...



Scott tells Batman to take the Shah to the surface using buddy-breathing! Dang it Haney, make up your mind!  Either the aqualang can only save one person or you can buddy-breathe.  Using more unknown equipment, Scott catches Granny giving orders to her goons to chase Batman with water-sleds. Scott uses his finger-lasers to blast through into the ship's old powder magazine and ignite the miraculously still existing and dry gun powder bags, to blow up the ship and everyone in it.  Batman sees the explosion on the surface, thinking no one could survive, when Scott emerges and out story comes to a close.

Okay, a cruiser would have a powder magazine, as the 12 inch guns would have a projectile loaded, followed by bags of gunpowder. They are bigger than Aparo depicts,though. However, this ship was sunk 30+ years before, without igniting the magazine. That means the ship would have been flooded and the bags drenched by seawater, and the powder would dissolve in the corrosive salt water. yet, somehow, they are intact, dry, and still ignitable. Now, with proper storage, yeah. In 1989, the USS Iowa gun turret was blown up by unstable gunpowder that dated back to 1944 (not due to sabotage, as the Navy investigators at first claimed). That had been stored on land, until it was brought out, when the ship was reactivated. This is a bit much. Haney just doesn't give a dang. This makes Under Siege look credible. Okay, that's more of a pet peeve from an ex-sailor; but, Haney really is off kilter in this one. Granny is badly used, Barda and Oberon are mostly window dressing, the kidnapping of the Shah and Batman are right out of the Batman 66 show bible. In fact, this whole thing would only work on that show. Maybe they should have gotten Haney to submit scripts; might have kept the show on the air. For a 1976 comic book, though, this is nuts! Now, I like a lot of Bob Haney's work and he has some great Brave and the Bold stories (and World's Finest, and Teen Titans); but, this ain't one of them. Granny's role could have been filled by anyone and I suspect Granny's presence is likely due to editorial directive, rather than personal choice. Aparo makes the lunacy sort of work, thanks to some great and lively art. I wish he could have had more Barda stuff to do, as I think he would have had a blast with it.  This was definitely written for kids, and not very discerning ones, at that.

Another weird one.

A couple of fun things from this comic book; one, the inside cover has a Hostess Cupcake ad, with Superman...



Two, we get one of Superman's good citizen lectures, aka "Justice for all includes children!"...



The Hostess ads are goofy fun, especially in retrospect. The PSAs were often ridiculously preachy and square, which didn't help Superman's image. However, a steady diet of this kind of stuff did help shape my principles and morality; so, it did the job. The best ones were done by Neal Adams Continuity studios, but, all of them had some good point to make. Here's one to help recruit volunteers for the Special Olympics:



Makes quite a change for the corporate junk that passes for ads in today's comics. Hokey or not, their hearts were in the right place.

Well, Haney and Aparo get one more crack at Mister Miracle. How will this one turn out?

I can't wait; so, here it is.....

Adventure Comics #460, Return of the New Gods, the Finale!!!!!



I'm not big on the cover, from Ross Andru and Dick Giordano. It's not bad; just kind of blah. The issue itself, however, is great. There is a nifty Flash story, from regular team Cary Bates, Irv Novick and Frank McLaughlin, where Barry Allen, after visiting Jay Garrick on Earth 2, finds himself stuck in a nightmare, meant for Garrick. It features the Shade (before James Robinson turned him into something special), the Fiddler and the Wizard. Then, there is chapter 2 of the Deadman story, from Len Wein and Jim Aparo, which includes chilling scenes during a big top fire, and some tremendous Aparo artwork. Don Newton pulls double duty, as he also draws Aquaman, facing off against a wealthy whale hunter, with some really great art, with Newton's moody style working well in the underwater world. Cary Burkett and Joe Staton have an odd Green Lantern story, with Myrwhyddn, the alien wizard who was trapped in GL's ring. Then, Jack C Harris and Jack Abel have a story where Wonder Woman goes to the Underworld to try to save the dead Steve Trevor's soul. Harris makes the mistake of equating Pluto with the Judeo-Christian Satan.  He is the god of the Underworld, where the souls of the good and the wicked reside, in different areas (the Elysium Field and Tartarus, respectively). It's the weak story of the bunch. We also get then end of Gerry Conway's Return of the New Gods.

Our story finds Darkseid flying through the Promethean Galaxy...



We see the giants, chained eternally to rocks; their sentence for attempting to pierce the Final Barrier and the secret of the Source, just as Darkseid is about to attempt. Darkseid defeats the demons and time clouds, using Anti-Life and his Omega Effect. We next see the New Gods battling the Antagonist, on the grounds of the White House, while Metron departs the scene. We also see Desaad driving the Lowlies to build the Uni-cannon, to attack New Genesis, having usurped Darkseid's throne, in his absence. We lastly see Highfather, contemplating direct action against Darkseid. He finally gets off the pot and confronts Darkseid, forbidding him to pierce the Final Barrier. Darkseid laughs it off and proceeds to clean Highfather's clock...



That's some pretty vicious stuff!

Orion comes along and finds the battered Highfather, who tells him he has set up the impending victory over Darkseid. Uh, huh; he beat you like a Dickensian orphan! Highfather tells Orion that Darkseid had to use much of his Omega Effect to attack him, and is now weakened, making him vulnerable to both the Final Barrier and Orion, if he attacks. Orion shouts Darkseid's name at the heavens and heads off to face his father, as Highfather collapses.

Meanwhile, Metron meets up with the six humans and uses Mother Box to fuse their 6 portions of the Anti-Life Equation to destroy the Antagonist, who pops out of existence, leaving a stunned Lightray and Jimmy Carter



I spoke last time of Newton's somewhat goofy Carter, and his go-go check shirt. Well, there it is, with a slight color alteration.

We cut back to the Final barrier, where Orion has caught up with his father. They blast one another; but, Orion's Astro-Force is able to withstand the Omega Effect and pushes through, knocking Darkseid into the Final Barrier. Without the protection of the Omega Effect. He survives; but, is transformed into massive size and goes hurtling across space. He is seen on Apokolips, where a fearful Desaad orders the Uni-Cannon to be aimed and fired at the massive object, obliterating it. For 40 nights thereafter, screaming meteors rain on Apokolips, only heard by them and the distant Orion. On new Genesis, we see a celebration, as the war has ended, and so has our saga.



Gerry Conway brings this to a suitable, if rushed conclusion. Quite frankly, he could have truncated the middle portion of the series and extended this to make it more epic. Still, it's a pretty exciting end and Newton makes it look fantastic. It's not what Kirby foretold, and it isn't the equal to Jim Starlin's Thanos epic; but, for DC, in the 70s, it's pretty darn good. He's not done with the New Gods yet; but, they would lay unused, until Paul Levitz and Kieth Giffen crafted the Great Darkness Saga, which truly showed DC how to do epic.

Looking back, I have to say the Return of the New Gods was more of a mixed bag than Mister Miracle. Conway has some good ideas and crafts some great scenes, with Don Newton providing suitably emotional artwork. However, he does a lot of shifting of scenes, before developing things fully and a large swath of his characters are little more than cut-outs. Lonar was pure cannon fodder and Metron is only really used at beginning and end, with little in between. Lightray is also mostly ignored. Forager got some attention at the start, then is left mostly alone, until he is needed to flesh out backgrounds. Jezebelle gets some attention in the latter part of the second act; but, it is not further developed at the end. Darkseid is really mixed, as he is played too much as a cackling villain, in too many places, and more in keeping with Kirby, at others. Desaad is well used and comes out of nowhere, ignoring that he was killed in Kirby's series (as was Kalibak, who also was used here). Conway does bring a consistency that Mister Miracle lacked, with the changeover from Steve Engelhart to Steve Gerber. This series is also saddled with less than awe-inspiring covers. It's a failed experiment, though not without its moments. It would be ignored by subsequent writers, who only derived their storylines from Kirby. That's a shame, as there was some good stuff here; it just needed more nurturing.

This isn't the end of the New Gods, though, as we will see, when the JLA and JSA meet up with the 4th World, in Crisis on New Genesis! or, Where Have All the New Gods Gone? in JLA #183.

The Augie Scotto inking credit caught my eye. I had never heard of him before. Here is some bio info on him.

timely-atlas-comics.blogspot.com/2016/03/augie-scotto-1927-2016.html

DC Comics Presents #12, Superman & Mister Miracle



Well, we are at the last Mister Miracle story, apart from JLA 183-185 (with the other New Gods). Our cover is a doozie, from Ross Andru and Dick Giordano. I kind of prefer Andru teamed with Mike Esposito; but, this works well. We get the typical fake out on the cover; like Mister Miracle is really trying to kill Superman. How gullible do you think we are?

DC Comics Presents was finishing its first year, which started with a bang, with Superman & the Flash, drawn by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez (Praise Be His Name). Unfortunately, he just did a few issues and some covers. We have Rich Buckler here, inked by Giordano, and it's pretty good. JLGL (PBHN) would have been phenomenal!

Steve Engelhart is our writer, so we have someone who knows how to write the character. Our story begins with Mister Miracle locked in a steel box, wrapped in chains and blindfolded, suspended in the air. No, he and Barda were not having some fun; this is a performance. Jet fighters (looking more like darts with engines) are racing towards him. UBC reporter Lola Barnett is covering the event, as Mister Miracle has to escape before the drone jets can attack. Suddenly, a plane crashes into the steel coffin and it crashes to the ground.



The coffin is open and found empty, just as one of the planes land and Mister Miracle pops out of the cockpit. Lola says it's a shame that so few will see it, as their broadcast is up against a documentary about Superman, on GBS. Scott seems a bit miffed about Superman getting more attention. Uncharacteristically miffed. Hmmmmmmmm...

Oberon and Barda try to console Scott; but, he flies of in a huff, badthinking Las Vegas (methinks Engelhart is projecting), when he spots, Carolyn Dole, escaped Intergang leader. Whatta coin-kee-dink! He figures that if he catches her, he can get some publicity and one up Superman. We follow Dole to the old part of town, to a dilapidated warehouse(favorite of all baddies, worldwide) where she meets up with other Intergangers. The have perfected the Mentropy Machine, which will destroy Superman.

I must say, as gang leaders go, Carolyn Dole is nicely put together and Buckler gives us a nice close-up of her derriere, followed by a nice side view. I don't even care what the Mentropy Machine does!

It turns out the machine can control any mind within a 50 foot radius. They demonstrate it on a stoolie and make him forget what he was going to tell the Feds They then head out on thought waves, as Scott stops watching and crashes through a skylight, to find the room empty. Scott decides he better alert Superman, jealousy or not, and, later, contacts Clark Kent. Unfortunately, he was in range of the machine and can't speak his warning, leaving Clark to hang up. Oberon and Barda come into his room and he can't even tell them. However, he can still challenge Superman.

Scott sets of fireworks in Metropolis to alert them that there is a new hero in town. Clark Kent and Lois Lane see this and are puzzled. Superman is even more puzzled as Mister Miracle beets him to several rescues and gets press attention. Jimmy Olsen asks Superman if it bothers him and he says there is room for both. Jimmy asks if he is sure and a testy Superman says it doesn't bother him, OKAY? He then tells Jimmy, off the record, that it bothers him. He catches up with Scott and wants to talk. Scott acts belligerent and Superman tells him other cities need help. Scott tells him to try one, and continues needling Superman. Supes has had enough and says he is ready to fight MM any time, anywhere; in Metropolis, the Garden, or in the parking lot, jack! Whatchagonnado when Superman runs wild on you, brutha?

Sorry.

Superman accepts the challenge of defeating MM in a winner takes Metropolis, falls count anywhere, Kryptonian Death Match! Or, an escape challenge. It's set for Vegas (naturally, and Lola Barnett is hyping it, as are talk show host Johnny Nevada, Lana Lang, and a caricature of Howard Cosell. We get a reference to the fight with Muhammad Ali and Supes meets up with Scott, in the desert. Scott tells him he will need to follow the mountain range back to Vegas, if he gets lost in the storm. Supes bites and woders if Scott cooked up the storm. Scott gets the first shot and suckerpunches Superman before the bell. It's on! Scott is holding his own, as he seems nearly as strong as Superman (which is a new twist) and is using illusions and speed to keep Superman off balance. He throws flowers at him. Come on ref; what's with the flowers? Oh, yeah, no holds barred.

Intergang is watching in the hills, waiting for Supes to get closer, when MM springs out, smashing the Mentropy Machine. The effect wears off, as Supes catches up. They round up the gang and Scott tells him how he pulled it off, then said he lost on purpose. Supes asks if he wants to go again and Scott laughs, saying a magician never does the same trick twice.

Fun little story, though Superman seems to have a short fuse and rises to easy bait. Engelhart also seems to think Mister Miracle is at Supers' strength level, even though nothing in the past suggests that. Darkseid and Orion, maybe; but, not Scott. Unfortunately, we don't get much more of Carolyn Dole; shame to waist a body like that on a mostly incidental character! She dressed like she worked at the Mustang Ranch, though, rather than as a crime boss. Barda and Oberon might as well not been in the story, for all they do.

Lola Barnett was the comic book parody of gossip reporter Rona Barrett, who used to appear on NBC, while Johnny Nevada was GBS' version of Johnny Carson (Carson, Nevada; get it?). Kind of surprised Steve Lombard didn't get into this. This is what you expect in a team-up book and had the misfortune of following a great two-part story, in issues 10 and 11, where Superman was blown back to WW2, where he met Sgt Rock and Easy Company, then faced off against a mentally controlled Hawkman, as Superman investigated how he was blown into the past. Those stories were from Cary Bates and Joe Staton, and were fantastic! I kind of wish Bates was here, as Superman would have probably been more "on-model," personality-wise. Still better than Haney, though.

This was a year after the demise of Mister Miracle's book. It would be another year before he would be seen in JLA #183, along with the New Gods, who had been on the shelf for two years. Will it do them justice (s to speak)? tune in tomorrow!

ps.  Just as an aside;  I really wish DC had taken a page from New Japan Pro Wrestling & Tiger Mask and sponsored a live Mister Miracle for the ring!  The costume would be perfect for a wrestler and it would have one-upped Marvel.  He cut a decent promo in the books and imagine a live version of Barda, as a valet.  Would have been Chyna (Joanie Lauer), before Chyna.  No vision......

Justice League of America #184, Crisis Between Two Earths; or, Apokolips Now!

I have William Conrad's voice running through my head!



Our cover is from George Perez, as if you couldn't tell. You could almost use that for the opening title animation of a Super Friends series.

Our story picks up where we left off, with Darkseid materializing.



Does that totally rock or what?

Orion wants to attack; but, Firestorm thinks maybe they need reinforcements. Orion says to hell with that and launches an attack. Shade tries to stop him with his powers; but, Orion cuts right through his barrier. Somehow, Shade zaps Orion, only to be dumped by Firestorm. Power Girl and Firestorm flirt (seriously, in the middle of battle) and then Icicle hits Firestorm with a cold shower. Power Girl and Orion gang up on him and turn him into a greasy spot. Fiddler turns on the music, which pulls the worst images from the receiver's mind.



Already, we see how Perez has lifted this series. I love Dick Dillin; but, these are more lively layouts and Perez makes this epic, visually.

We shift scenes to a maze of chambers and corridors, beneath Granny's orphanage. The little girl is leading the heroes to an underground guerrilla army, literally underground.  The heroes are shocked to find that they are all children. One called Crimson objects to them being brought here and spots Barda as one of Darkseid's shock troops. Barda gently kneels down, and in a scene that demonstrates how good a writer Gerry Conway could be, when motivated, she tells Crimson how Scott Free and love saved her from Darkseid's control. She then explains what love is to a child who has been lacking it. George Perez sells the moment and Crimson, with tears in her eyes says Barda is lying and she doesn't need love. Barda stops her from turning away and tells her the strong need it the most and hugs her. Between Perez's art and Conway's words, you can't help but melt into a puddle of heartfelt mush.

I'm not crying; you're crying!

I wish I could find an image of the whole scene; but, here is the aftermath:



One of the children has pre-cognitive abilities and shows the heroes how the Injustice Society came to serve Darkseid, as he appeared via an animate and broke their will, binding them to his will. They came to Apokolips to bring back Darkseid's form, and kidnap the entire population of New Genesis. Superman feels they must be planning more; but needs to know more. Crimson says Granny would know and Supes asks her to lead them to Granny. She is reluctant, until Barda persuades her, to bring an end to the nightmare. The girl tells them to follow her. It's about time Barda got some attention in this series and Conway is using her really well here, especiially as a survivor of Granny's abuse. Without getting too maudlin, this might be good material for therapists who work with abused kids. It gets at the heart of the fear and how true love is a counterpoint. Strong stuff, for a comic with people fighting in their underwear.

Meanwhile, at the shock troop barracks, Oberon and Dr Fate have followed Green Lantern's path to find the prisoner he spotted: Highfather. He is chained up and weak with pain.



Green Lantern's ring is unable to free Highfather and it is up to Dr Fate. he succeeds, and a weakened Izaya relates that Darkseid's plan is the destruction of all time and space. Well, he doesn't think small!

The scene shifts to Darkseid's palace, where Huntress and Batman are sneaking in, while Mister Miracle goes in another way. We see why I loved the pre-Crisis Huntress, as she calls the Earth 1 Batman, "Uncle Bruce". Huntress was so much better when she was the child of the Earth-2 Batman and Catwoman. It was a unique legacy and she was a unique character. Nothing since has come close to this portrayal, in my estimation. Anyway, Scott takes out a couple of guards and spots something. He opens the main door to let in the caped duo and let's them know Darkseid's master plan:





The book ends with the sad news that Dick Dillin passed away from a heart attack. The letters page is filled with tributes from the likes of Jack C Harris, Paul Levitz, Bob Rozakis, and Len Wein. All remember him as a true professional and a gentleman. Harris tells how he offered up all kinds of Adam Strange trivia for inclusion in a story that Cary Bates wrote, for an AS appearance in Justice League and how he was jokingly listed as Adam Strange consultant, in the credits. Dick Dillin gave him the finished art of the splash page, complete with the credit box. It was Harris' first published credit. All lament that Dillin wasn't as popular as some artists; but he could outdraw most. Fitting words from those who knew him.

This is a fantastic issue and really sets the tone for this story. This is now an epic. The previous issue spent a lot of time on recap and setting the scene; this one ups the stakes and hits the emotional notes. Before, we had a mystery; now we have an impending cataclysm that will destroy free will and a world. We have touching human moments, and moments of epic battle. This is far more layered than many of the previous Conway New God and JLA stories. it feels like he finally found the hook to the series. Perez really brings it alive. He does epic and Avengers prepared him for this kind of storytelling, with multiple characters. He invokes the epic nature of Kirby, though Kirby was more broad strokes and impressions, while Perez is fine detail. Kirby gave you massive engines of destruction that shouldn't work; but you believe. Perez adds the switches and levers that make it work. He also captures the emotion and does so wonderfully in the scenes with the children. As world events have reminded us in recent times, children suffer most from the stupidity of adults. Conway and Perez illustrate it beautifully, and use two women who know the power of love as the antidote. If only we had seen more of this Barda previously and if Jezebelle had been used in a similar manner.