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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2019 23:20:49 GMT -5
I totally forgot about this back in the mid-90's there was a series of books called "Power of Shazam" and their were some great covers back then ... and here's one of them.  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2019 0:01:05 GMT -5
My first exposure to Don Newton's art was this annual...  I recently picked up some of those World's Finest issues for the Hawkman feature, but haven't had a chance to read through them yet -M |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Mar 2, 2019 3:33:00 GMT -5
Yeah, that Avengers annual (which I really like, by the way) contains one of the only art jobs Newton did for Marvel.
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Post by Icctrombone on Mar 2, 2019 10:00:48 GMT -5
That double page Batman spread that Cody posted came from this issue-  One of my Favorite Batman comics of all time , that has an awesome showdown Between Killer Croc and Batman. It's a shame the KC became just another rogue in his gallery after such a great beginning. |
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Post by mikelmidnight on Mar 2, 2019 12:39:37 GMT -5
I do appreciate this thread. This is one of my favorite eras of the Marvel Family (the Beck and Schaeffenberger-drawn ones, in the Shazam title, typically paled in comparison to the reprints) and I hope they get a nice tpb collection one day.
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Post by String on Mar 2, 2019 13:24:38 GMT -5
 World's Finest #254
The Devil and Capt. Marvel
Cap flies to the underground subway to summon the spirit of the Wizard to ask his advice on what to do about his greedy uncle Ebenezer buying Station WHIZ. The Wizard responds that his uncle is in grave danger unless he acts to save him. Billy is hesitant at first until he realizes that, though Ebenezer may be evil, he can't turn his back on him if he's in danger and though he is reluctant to admit it, Ebenezer's money would help WHIZ keep going. First though, the Wizard instructs Cap that he may need a source of salvation from the Rock of Eternity for his upcoming trial.... Later that night, as Billy approaches the darkened mansion of his uncle, he sees and overhears the confrontation between Ebenezer and Satan. Years ago, Ebenezer did sell his soul to the devil in return for an earthly fortune. Upon signing the contract, Satan informed him as to how he could acquire his fortune but also required him to attend a city tribute for the Marvel Family the following week. Confused, Ebenezer agrees and attends the tribute that was held at City Hall. However, it was at that moment that Sivana struck, capturing the Marvels and a portion of the crowd (including Ebenezer) and trapping them all within his new compound Suspendium. 20 years passed before Cap was able to free them at last. Because he was trapped in suspended animation, Ebenezer believes he still has plenty of time left before his contract is up. Satan insists though, the contract made no mention of exceptions and he's here to collect now! Hearing enough, Billy changes to Cap and bursts into the room. Satan is willing to entertain the notion of Cap preventing him from collecting on his payment. Ebenezer begs Cap to save him, swearing to make it up to him if he does. Cap brings up his act of stealing Billy's rightful inheritance and kicking him out. Ebenezer swears to repay the boy in full with interest! Accepting those terms, Cap faces off against Satan who chooses to summon six of his own champions to fight Cap instead. Should Cap best them all, Ebenezer will go free. But Satan contends that this will not be like Cap's last encounter against him (in Shazam #35). These champions are mightier and Cap is all alone here.... First up is the demon Abaddon, master of Fear. But Cap doesn't scare that easily and defeats the demon with a single punch. Next up is Antaeus, a foe once defeated by Hercules. As long as Antaeus touches the ground, he is supremely strong and he is rooted to the ground now. Antaeus scoffs at an assault by Cap and strikes him back! Quickly, Cap dives underground and comes up underneath Antaeus, uprooting him into the air. Spinning him around and around in that air, Cap promises that he'll never touch the ground again which forces Antaeus to yield. Next up is withered old man, the literal embodiment of Old Age! He grasps Cap, aging him into old age. Cap retaliates, striking back for regardless of his age, he will always have the Stamina of Atlas. Reverting back to normal, Cap faces off against Legion, the One Who Is Many. Striking just one of his manifestations has no effect, Cap must hit them all at the same time. The Speed of Mercury takes care of that. Cap's next opponent speaks to him out of nowhere. But Cap doesn't see anyone and wonders if this coward is invisible. The voice promises that he is not, only that Cap must find him to defeat him. Using his Wisdom, Cap ponders until, to the surprise of Ebenezer and Satan, Cap punches himself in the face! Satan is mad that Cap guessed correctly, the demon was hiding within him and was not invulnerable to his blows. Lastly, Satan summons Medea whose magic can affect anyone. But Cap laughs off her attempts to affect him, causing her confusion till he reveals why she has no effect on him, a flower from the Rock of Eternity, Moly, the Holy Moly of the Gods (thanks to the Wizard's suggestion). The same flower Mercury gave to Odysseus to protect him from her aunt, the sorceress Circe. Satan can't believe it, even Hercules couldn't uproot such an enchanted plant! Cap reveals that he has the Power of Zeus, Father of the Gods which adds to his other abilities. The Wisdom of Solomon and Zeus, the strength of Hercules and Zeus, even the stamina of Atlas with the immortality of Zeus! Confounded, Satan admits defeat, swearing to meet him again. Saved, Ebenezer makes good on his word, paying Cap back the inheritance he stole from Billy. Later, Billy takes that check and gives it to Sterling Morris, saving WHIZ. Surprised that Cap was able to make Ebenezer generous, Morris points out that this makes Billy the new owner of the station. Billy declines, saying that this is just a loan, pay him back when you can. Leaving, Billy wonders how long his uncle can stay reformed.... In the span of 15 pages, Bridwell has put on quite a showcase of Cap's abilities. Each fight presents a highlight of an attribute of Cap's, the one overall perhaps being his Wisdom. Though he swindled Billy before, Cap readily accepts Ebenezer's claim that he would reform and make good with Billy should Cap save him. Could you trust someone saying something like that and not wonder if they'd say anything to save themselves? Cap is often thought of as being even more of a Boy Scout than Superman yet here throughout this confrontation, Bridwell presents a calm, strong, confident hero. Cap never wavers, no self-doubt, considers his situation before acting (and reacting) quickly. It's an impressive display. But Bridwell's largest contribution so far is expounding on the Power of Zeus. Little is oft made of elsewhere for it's not a physical feat per se. Yet here, Cap clearly states that it's perhaps his greatest gift, that augments and strengthens the other gifts. As such Cap is practically immortal yet the World's Mightiest Mortal because he remains Billy. (Also, a nice shout out that what looks like yellow flower details along the edges of his cape may in fact be representations of Moly). As for Newtons' art, the word grace comes to mind:  Look at that form and posture, not something typical seen with flying characters yet seems more elegant.   Just a wonderful installment showcasing the strengths and wisdom of Captain Marvel. |
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Post by String on Mar 2, 2019 13:52:21 GMT -5
World's Finest #254 other stories
Superman/Batman - Whom Gods Would Destroy! by Haney, art by George Tuska & Vince Colleta
Sinestro steals the brain of former crime boss Dyke from Doc Willard, enlarges it to planet size to draw upon it's latent consciousness and will power to boost his own willpower then proceeds to Metropolis to outduel and outwill Superman. Batman, who is searching for the missing brain and has come across a catatonic Doc Willard, receives visions of these attacks because previously Doc Willard has implanted said brain into Bruce and apparently Bruce still retains some of those gray cells. Contacting Superman, who has been outmatched by Sinestro, Batman tells him what has been happening and where to find the brain. Superman finds the planet-sized brain in space, disposes of it, returns to Metropolis and basically with super-strength and super-aim, punches Sinestro back into the antimatter universe of Qward.
Yeah....Haney lost me on this one. The super feats seen here are bit too far-fetched for even my suspension of disbelief and Batman's side of this whole conflict (they never even meet in the story) is equally strange and weird. Art was good though.
Black Canary - Primeval Scream! by Conway, art by Trevor Von Eeden
Dinah was captured by a race known as the Glorn that live in a damper void universe that exist between Earth-1 and Earth-2. With the Hawks' help, Ollie was able to follow to rescue her, which he does he frees her enough for her to use her sonic cry. Fleeing, Dinah informs Ollie what she has learned about the Glorn, basically they were an insectoid hive race that evolved into a humanoid form when a strange radiation leaked into their realm from the Earths. Now they seem intent on colonization and plan on using Dinah's power to open a larger more stable rift into Earth-1 to conquer it. The Glorn capture the duo again and seem set to punish them when Dinah realizes what the strange radiation from the Earths was: electromagnetic radiation. Using her JLA communicator, the signal causes the Glorn to revert back to their insectoid form.
The science is wobbly but overall a decent tale
Green Arrow - The Race Is In The Running by Conway and Von Eeden
Having returned from the void universe (and wanting to give Dinah some needed space) Ollie proceeds to an auction house where he learns that his Arrow Car is up for auction. But when the personages overbid to buy his former car, Ollie becomes suspicious of their intentions. Following the duo driving his car, he follows them to a nearby race track where the pair (on the orders of their boss) use the Arrowcar in an attempt to steal a million-dollar race car. Ollie stops them but at a terrible personal cost.
Nice one page recap of what the Arrowcar can do and it's importance to Ollie (even if he forsaken most material possessions). Who knew he had a grenade arrow? Motive to steal a pricey race car just to ransom it back to it's owner may seem weak but the drama displayed by Ollie seeing his former car and what eventually happens to it makes this an entertaining tale.
The Creeper - Beware Mr Wrinkles! by Ditko
Using a device, an old man de-ages himself back into a young child. The youngster encroaches upon a local crime boss when he ages him and his goons into old men. When the Creeper intervenes, he is aged as well but reverts back to normal age as Jack. Jack uses a trick to outwit the youngster and the Creeper is able to disable his aging device.
A weird plot but the little jokes and snippets sprinkled throughout this tale kept it engaging.
Overall, a decent issue.
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Post by spoon on Mar 2, 2019 21:53:38 GMT -5
Don Newton might be my favorite Batman artist, but I've read very little of his other work. This looks like something to check out. Newton did complete some Infinity Inc. art before his death. It's one issue, and a few pages from two other issues. I don't know how it turned out that way; maybe things were shuffled around.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 3, 2019 2:25:40 GMT -5
The Charlton Phantom is a must. It was probably the best string of issues that comic ever had (even compared to the Aparo issues, which had the art; but story was average, by comparison). Newto also painted and did some painted covers for Charlton. My favorite is the final issue of the Phantom, set in 1776....  Any company other than Charlton would have turned that into a poster and made a fortune! |
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 3, 2019 9:28:38 GMT -5
Inspired by this thread, I read World's Finest #253. E Nelson Bridwell did a very good job writing Super Friends, another title that needs to find a balance between kid friendly as well as appealing to "big kids" so I figured he'd be able to handle this assignment. The art was very good. While Don Newton doesn't automatically spring to mind when I think of my favorite artists, he is actually quite good and I should remember him more often.
Now I've got to make my way through the rest of the run, though it will take me a while since I'm reading so many things simultaneously.
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Post by String on Mar 9, 2019 11:53:49 GMT -5
 World's Finest #255
Dreamdancer
Sterling Morris, head of Station WHIZ, receives frees tickets for a dinner and a show at an exotic club where he sees their main attraction, the mysterious Dreamdancer. Mesmerized by her dancing, Sterling announces the next day that he's going to air Dreamdancer's act every night from now on in place of Billy's news update segment. Perplexed by Morris' fixation, Billy decides to check out this new star that night at the Bromfield's home (Mary's adopted parents). As her dancing begins, Billy becomes enthralled while Mary and her adopted mother look on skeptically. In his mind, Billy has a vision of Cap accosting him, telling him that he's through helping Billy and that the only way he can be complete is by destroying Billy. Dreamdancer appears and beats back Cap using her own magic. Billy is scared that Cap will return to which Dreamdancer replies that he will only return if Billy calls him and you won't do that, will you Billy? Never again Billy swears, saying that he only trusts Dreamdancer now. Billy's not the only one influenced. Across town, Jim Barr (Bulletman) and his wife Susan (Bulletgirl) are watching the same segment. Jim is likewise enthralled. In his mind, Jim as Bulletman see Bulletgirl accost him, claiming that she is tired of him hogging the glory even though she is the better hero than him. Bulletgirl attacks him but is beaten back by the sudden arrival of Dreamdancer who uses her magic against Bulletgirl. Dreamdancer suggests that Bulletman was wrong to trust her and you won't do so again, will you Jim? Never he swears, saying that Dreamdancer is the only one he trusts from now on. The segment ends, leaving Mary to wonder what's so remarkable that Morris sees in her. Billy is in complete agreement with Morris however and leaves the Bromfield home in a huff. The phone rings, Susan is calling, looking to reach Billy whom she hopes Cap can talk some sense into Jim who's suddenly acting as if he doesn't trust her anymore. Changing to Mary Marvel, Mary speeds over to their apartment to find that Jim had left as Bulletman with no explanation nor hint as to why. Mary posits that there may be some kind of spell attached to her dancing that only affects men. Susan is fearful, after a short recap of their origin of how she met Jim Barr, Bulletman and discovered his dual identity, the duo have been a strong faithful pairing ever since. Is Jim now in love with Dreamdancer because of this spell? Mary doesn't believe so, thinking that she only wants men to obey her for if they were enamored with her instead, jealousy would arise which would lead to quarreling problems. Mary and Bulletgirl scour the city for any sign of Bulletman but no have no luck. Until the next morning when Bulletman is seen in the sky, skywriting to watch Dreamdancer on WHIZ TV. Dreamdancer sees this from a vantage point at Station Whiz, haughty that the mystic dance movements she learned from an ancient manuscript have now ensnared Bulletman to obey her every suggestion (though she'd hoped Cap would fall under her spell too unaware that she has inadvertently kept him away instead!) She turns her attention to another local businessman smitten with her as well whose willing to give all his fortune to her. Outside on the ledge of the building, Mary and Bulletgirl overhear this conversation, Susan being frustrated that there's nothing really they can do to Dreamdancer since technically she's broken no laws. However, Dreamdancer then has a visit from a local crime boss, also under her spell. He's looking for a big score and Dreamdancer points him towards a payroll delivery that another one of her victims told her about. Realizing that they've heard the whole plan to rob this delivery, Mary and Bulletgirl fly off to stop it. The daring damsels do just that, stop the robbery only to hear Dreamdancer congratulate them on stopping these terrible criminals. Their frustration mounts as they cannot prove anything against Dreamdancer but Bulletgirl has an idea... Later that night, Mary and Bulletgirl burst into Dreamdancer's performance at the station. They attack her but Dreamdancer is able to evade their assaults through her dancing. But as the encounter is being broadcast, a change comes over the men including Morris who thinks he must have been crazy to hire this woman. At home, Billy snaps out of it and changes into Cap to race to the station. There, Cap sees Dreamdancer confessing to her crimes in hopes of stopping all the men in attendance from accosting her in their rage over her audacity in making them her slaves (one of those men being the crime boss whom Cap detains after finding him brandishing an illegal weapon at her) Bulletman arrives, wondering what happened. Bulletgirl informs him that after studying tape of Dreamdancer's previous performance, Mary and her choreographed their attack so she would perform her dance backwards! It snapped all the men right back to normal leaving Cap impressed because even with the Wisdom of Solomon, he may never have thought of that! This was a decent story as the girls step to the forefront to save the day. Dreamdancer's motive seems rather simple here, use men to achieve fame and fortune. However, through the prism of today's society and the uprising of proper recognition of women's affects and achievements, one can view this story and her motive as being turning the tables on men with their influence and authority. Morris, a top TV executive in town, receives an anonymous invitation to the club which I can only assume was sent by Dreamdancer herself. Bankers willingly handing over their fortunes, public heroes falling under her sway. Technically she broke no laws, just using her wiles and intelligence (in this case, finding and understanding a mystical manuscript) to achieve her personal goals. Maybe it's too far to link such themes with this type of good, fun Cap adventure but it's something worth considering. While I have heard of other Fawcett heroes such as Bulletman and Ibis, I've read very of little of them so reading this quick recap of their origin was very good. My understanding is that team-ups between Golden Age heroines were quite rare back thenwith Mary Marvel being one of the few examples with her team-up with Bulletgirl. Bridwell honors that arrangement here nicely as both bring their strengths and intelligence towards solving this problem. Although I do take some fault with Billy's last line about the Wisdom of Solomon, Mary has access to the same Wisdom too and used it effectively here alongside Susan's instincts to figure out how to undue Dreamdancer's spell. So while Billy may think he couldn't have thought of that, his sister was may than able to do so. Newton applies his dynamic posing to Bulletman:  Dreamdancer weaves her spell  |
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Post by String on Mar 9, 2019 12:43:10 GMT -5
World's Finest #255 the other stories:
Superman/Batman - Thou Shalt Have No Other Batman Before Me! by Haney, art by Garcia Lopez, Adkins, & Chiaramonte Punished by Morgan Edge, Clark is sent to cover a Harvest Homecoming parade/celebration in a small town located in the Corn Belt. There, Clark stumbles across evidence of a previous Bat-Man who operated earlier before Bruce took up the guise. He learns of possible suspicions of that Bat-Man's identity against a local family, the Wainwrights, who were driven from the town. The sheriff and townsfolk are acting strange, Clark ends up arrested as a bomber and Bruce's investigation uncovers a hidden cult devoted to reviving an ancient bat-god. The bat-god is revived and it's only the intervention of the Wainwrights (found by Batman, brought to the scene by Superman) as their Bat-Man who saves the day. It turns out their family is part Indian, charged with passing down the ancient shaman magic that could defeat the ancient god should it ever arise again (the Bat-Man costume is part of the ritual). This the Haney that I've come to like, just all out zany with some great dialogue. A good sense of pace and the art helps out greatly with the mystery and the mood:   My only complaint is that we're never shown a clear shot of the early Bat costume which is only seen from certain angles and never full-on. Unfortunately, this is Haney's last issue as, according to the letters page, Brave and the Bold is going monthly and the extra issues on his writing schedule means that Haney has to relinquish World's Finest. Green Arrow - Nothing But A Man by Elliot S! Maggin, art by Trevor Eeden Former Star City mayor Jack Major has fought the good fight, for the disenfranchised & poor of the city and for the urban development of the city. He thinks that he's found a worthy successor for mayor in Oliver Queen whom he supports in the upcoming election. But people question if Ollie is really GA after all, a question that Ollie's mayoral opponent looks to answer by engineering a conference that calls for both Ollie and GA to attend. With the help of some JLA friends, both Ollie and GA attend allaying some fears. But things take a nasty turn when a local crime boss engages Ollie in making a deal similar to the deal this boos made with Jack Major when he took over as mayor. Ollie can't believe that his friend and mentor would do something like that but when the boos presents evidence that Jack did, Ollie can hardly refute it. As GA, Ollie fights back, in the end stealing evidence of the boss' corruption and crimes. In retaliation at a later press conference, goons from the gang seek to attack, enraging Ollie even more. Trouncing them, he realizes their target wasn't him, it was Jack who was also present. But the attack causes Jack to have a heart attack and he dies as a result. Shaken to his core by his friend's actions and betrayal, Ollie retreats to Dinah's aparement. Dinah, who had been serving as Ollie's campaign manager, receives a call from Clark Kent. He's been poring over the criminal details that GA released and discovered that the crime boss had rigged the election, Ollie had actually won. Dinah asks Clark to bury that secret, to announce on TV, as was initially thought, that Ollie lost instead. She doesn't want Ollie to face same moral quagmire that had engulfed Jack Major in trying to achieve his noble goals, better that he thinks he lost and continue the good fight as GA even if it means Dinah keeping that secret too. Frankly, I enjoyed this tale very much, the themes are what I expect from a GA comic, fighting for the low man and the cost of the compromises one may make in doing so. Again, I may not be familiar with Von Eeden's work, his style is growing on me, especially in scenes such as this:  Beware the Creeper - Furious Fran and the Dagger Lady
Jack Ryder is tasked with investigating the claims that sexy starlet Lulu Trane is being blackmailed. Asking his compatriot reporter Fran to help, Jack discovers that Lulu is being targeted by the Dagger Lady, a femme fatale with a seemingly unending supply of daggers that she uses quite effectively. It seems Lulu had been given gems that were part of a heist by one of the robbers. To try and regain them, the robbers got compromising photos of the starlet which they were trying to blackmail her with in order to regain the gems. Dagger Lady's patience however, ran out and wants the gems back now. Setting Fran up as a decoy, Jack as the Creeper attempts to stop her but to no avail. When next Dagger Lady tries later at the station, it's Lulu and Fran who end up nabbing her instead. In the end, Fran proclaims Jack a menace for always wanting to include her in his zany schemes which always seem to end up nearly getting her killed. Okay, I'm not the biggest fan of the Creeper, this is the most I've read of him so far in fact. But somehow this is growing on me with Ditko's crazy yet simple plots and the level of dialogue. Unfortunately, this is the last appearance of Creeper in WF as Hawkman and Hawkgirl are set to appear starting next issue.
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