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Post by beccabear67 on Aug 22, 2019 17:10:47 GMT -5
Who drew the Cain transitional pages? They look great as well. Looks kinda like Neal Adams.  Joe Orlando? |
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Post by Cei-U! on Aug 23, 2019 8:35:52 GMT -5
Conway used his full name, Gerard F. Conway (sometimes minus the middle initial), on his earliest professional work, probably to make himself seem older as he was only 18 when he sold his first sci-fi short stories. It wasn't until he started writing Iron Man and Sub-Mariner for Marvel in late '70 that he began using the informal "Gerry."
Cei-U!
I summon the nickname!
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Post by rberman on Aug 23, 2019 15:32:50 GMT -5
The House of Mystery #202 (May 1972)This one is mainly notable for the inclusion of “The Poster Plague,” a jokey Steve Skeates story with art by Sergio Aragones in a very non-DC style. It takes place at a college where mysterious “Klop is coming” posters keep appearing all over campus. The punch line is that a mountain falls on the college with a giant “klop” sound effect. Aragones did a lot of one panel gags as well, but multi-page stories like this were a rarity. 
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Post by rberman on Aug 23, 2019 20:48:15 GMT -5
American Honda Presents DC Comics’ Supergirl (1984) Creative Team: Written by committee it seems: Orlando, Marx, Fleming, and Helfer all lent a hand. Art is by Angelo Torres. Story: An encounter with a drunk driver puts Supergirl's friend Steve in a coma. Should have worn your seat belt, Steve! If only Supergirl had been there to tell him that. Mortified by her supposed failure, she considers hanging up her cape. Superman straps her quite snugly into an alien machine so she can enter Steve’s comatose mind to teach him a lesson-in-dreams about seat belts.  First Steve dreams about an Arctic Mad Max scenario with ruffians raiding an igloo-village for fuel. He doesn’t wear his seat belt in this dream and again suffers head trauma. Oog.  Next comes an Indiana Jones jungle adventure. Again he doesn’t heed Supergirl's safety advice and is thrown from a crashing jeep.  Finally there’s a hardboiled noir segment. Detective Steve grudgingly gives into Supergirl’s hectoring to fasten his seatbelt, and it saves his life. Lesson learned, real Steve awakens from his coma. Yay!  My Two Cents: This special issue was a Reagan-era educational product, distributed by Honda with an inside cover preface by Elizabeth Dole, then the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. It assumes some knowledge of DC lore; Superman and Supergirl greet each other as Kal and Kara without any further explanation, for instance. Supergirl alludes to her Linda Danvers identity which we never see. Was Steve an ongoing character in her immediate pre-Crisis appearances?
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Post by rberman on Aug 24, 2019 7:10:23 GMT -5
Secrets of the Sinister House #5 “Death at Castle Dunbar” (June-July 1972) Writing: Lynn Marron and Michael Fleischer; Pencils: Mike Sekowsky; Inks: Dick Giordano (with a Cardy/Saladino cover) This was an unusual ghost romance hybrid series, with a single 36 page story (and 16 pages of ads to make it “52 BIG pages for 25 cents”). Its first four issues were published as “Sinister House of Secret Love,” and it lasted 18 issues. The love aspect was dropped from the title (but not the stories) starting with this issue. It’s a fairly standard Harlequin Gothic tale about a modern young woman who falls into a romantic triangle at a European estate while investigating the death of her sister. She spends a lot of time running around in a sheer nightgown and/or bikini when not attending dinner parties, but all’s well that ends well.    There are characters named Alex and Hollis. Sounds a lot like Alec Holland, a.k.a. Swamp Thing, for whom Len Wein was writing a similar gothic murder mystery around this same time. Also, the aged maid is named Haggis, which I find hilarious now. The writing is credited to “Lynn Marron,” who is also credited with one other story in House of Mystery (“Snow Beast,” the cover story for #199, February 1972, with art by Rich Buckler) and one in Adventure Comics #425 (“The Wings of Jealous Gods,” a Pegasus story drawn by Alex Toth from January 1973).
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Post by beccabear67 on Aug 24, 2019 15:33:45 GMT -5
Also, the aged maid is named Haggis, which I find hilarious now. Och, ye'll nae be making fun o' the haggis! Robbie Burns'll ha' ye fer that...  |
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Post by rberman on Aug 25, 2019 7:49:22 GMT -5
Action Comics #405 (October 1971) Creative Team: Cary Bates writing; Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson art Story #1: “Superman: Bodyguard or Assassin?” In the near future, Teddy Kennedy has apparently been elected president. Ah, the Baby Boomers love their Kennedys! Chappaquiddick notwithstanding. (His identity is obscured on the cover so Republicans would buy it too I guess.) Anyway, his life is threatened, so Superman agrees to guard him in an underground bunker as an unknown assassin approaches. But evidence mounts that Superman himself is somehow the assassin. It’s all the work of traitorous U.S. Army General Travis (four stars!) who is trying to drive Superman bonkers to commit the deed.  Superman does freak out and turn on the President, who attempts to defend himself with a “Gamma Gun” which backfires and kills him. Then comes a series of rapid reversals involving a Superman robot masquerading as Superman, Superman masquerading as the President, the General being murdered by his mysterious masters before he can be interrogated, and a cliffhanger ending with the Gemini organization setting up a second assassination attempt on the President. Story #2: Vigilante: “The Red Dust Bandit” reprints from Action Comics #192 (1954). Story #3: Aquaman: “The Haunted Island” reprints from Adventure Comics #206 (November 1954). Story #4: “The Most Dangerous Bug in the World” (Bates, Swan, Anderson): For Superman, it’s business as usual, protecting Earth from a wayward antimatter spaceship that would destroy anything it touches.  He doesn’t know that earlier in the day, a scientist had surreptitiously implanted a tiny listening device on Clark Kent for testing. Listening to the radio feed, the scientist realizes that he’s accidentally discovered Superman’s secret identity. It takes some fast talking by Superman to convince the scientist and his friends that they have it all wrong. Because actually they have it all right.  My Two Cents: Even today the lead story is an effective, economical read. Writers like Ed Dorfman and Cary Bates took advantage of the “imaginary story” format quite frequently in Action Comics of this era. There was even a socially conscious two-parter with future Superman as a crippled, lonely homeless man in the future.  #405 is more of a psycho-thriller bottle episode with two men trapped in one room as one of them apparently cracks up. “Superman has become a threat” was a very common story premise in this era, with many variations on the theme. 
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Post by Farrar on Aug 25, 2019 17:33:42 GMT -5
The House of Mystery #188 (October 1970)Tony DeZuniga turns in some fabulous art for an Aztec-themed story by “Gerard Conway.” Did he use that name often? Check out DC and Marvel lettercols from the late'60s; a certain Gerard  Conway had a bunch of letters published. A couple of examples: Fantastic Four #50  Atom #35  |
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Post by rberman on Aug 27, 2019 7:33:57 GMT -5
Action Comics #422 (March 1973) Story #1: “The TV Show that Menaced Metropolis” (Cary Bates, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson): Teen boy Woodrow Nescott lives his life in a single room, victim of a severe immune deficiency. He loves watching TV, and his parents have to remind him that TV is just fiction. But he’s seen Superman on TV and also outside the window. Superman is real! Maybe all the other stuff on TV is real too, including his favorite hero, a sci-fi version of “The Fugitive.”  Nescott runs away from home and gets swept up in a murder plot between the lead actor of the TV show and his jealous co-star.  But Nescott’s immune system goes berserk and generates giant white blood cells which attack people, including the would-be murderer. His body is never found. Superman deals with the giant phagocytes and finds a cure for Nescott, so it’s a happy ending all around.  Story #2: The Human Target: “The ‘Shadows of Yesterday’ Contract” (Writing: Len Wein; Art: Dick Giordano) Christopher Chance takes a case to track down an assassin… the very man who killed his father many years ago. It’s a very Batman origin story.  My Two Cents: Another solid one-shot story from Bates and company. They were hitting on all cylinders around this time. Wein originated this version of the Human Target three issues earlier, reviving a concept from Gang Gusters #61 (1958). 
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Post by brutalis on Aug 27, 2019 7:48:59 GMT -5
Had an "almost cousin" (my dad's best friend we called uncle so his kids were cousins) who had a coverless collection of Superman Giant's handed down to him when his uncle went off to college. Would always read through those bad boys any weekend when we would visit during the summer or holidays. Superb and fun art from the likes of Wayne Boring, Al Plastino, Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson to name a few. History in comic book format!!!
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Post by rberman on Aug 28, 2019 19:51:51 GMT -5
Lois Lane #96 (October 1969) Story #1: The Girl Who Died for Superman (Writing: Cary Bates; Pencils; Irv Novick; Inks: Mike Esposito) Three scientists concoct a ruse to test Lois and Lana’s love for Superman. They purport to transport the two women to an alternate dimension where they separately encounter a very rude Superman. The two women get into a tussle and then are given the opportunity to save that Super-jerk’s life by drinking poison.  Lois drinks the draught, but then she and Lana reveal that they wised up to the scientists’ ruse early on and are now playing a trick back on them. Those crazy girls! I hope they ran an expose on these unethical scientists.  Story #2: Weep for Lois Lane’s Baby (Writing: Lee Dorfman; Pencils: Curt Swan; Inks: George Roussos) A magic mirror allows Lois to trade places with another Lois from a dimension (“Terra”) in which she’s married to Superman and has a son named Jor. The magic mirror is broken, stranding Terra-Superman and Terra-Lois on Earth-1, while Lois-1 contends with being single mom to a super-toddler on Terra. She accidentally exposes Jor to Gold Kryptonite, which somehow transfers his powers to her. Lois repairs some rockets and invisibility circuits! Mind you, this is not a dream or imaginary story. I guess she has super-technical know-how now.  It gets even more bizarre on Earth-1, where Terra-Lois abandons her husband to go on dates with Superman-1. How to make them go home? Lois-1 treats toddler Jor cruelly so that the Terrans want to go home and take care of their son, who has permanently lost his powers thanks to Lois-1’s ineptness. This is one of the top ten most bonkers comic book stories I have ever read. There’s so much more going on here than just a topical story about single moms, but I would need a psychology degree to unpack how messed up it all is. 
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Post by rberman on Aug 29, 2019 7:26:43 GMT -5
Strange Adventures #225 (August 1970)  Story #1: Adam Strange: The Radioactive Peril (Story: Gardner Fox; Pencils: Carmine Infantino; Pencils: Murphy Anderson) It’s a Cold War anxiety story in which a vengeful radioactive monster roams the landscape of Rann killing everything, sort of like Nukeface in Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing. Everyone to the underground shelters! The monster is named Ranagar, which sounds like a portmanteau of Rann and Thanagar.  Story #2: The Wooden World War! (Writing: John Broome; Pencils: Sid Greene; Inks: Joe Giella) Next up, an ecological parable, the cover story. Aliens spread an urban myth that trees are bad for you. Soon all trees have been burned. That’s when the aliens invade; seems wood is their only weakness. Fortunately one man has illegally saved a bunch of wooden WWI biplanes, which are used to dispatch the aliens. The criminal who collected wood is given a token prison sentence of one day.  Story #3: The Atomic Knights: Menace of the Metal-Looters! (Writing: John Broome; Art: Murphy Anderson) Another preachy Cold War story. Aliens have destroyed their own world with nuclear war, so they try to take over Earth. Despite some trouble with a gravity gun, our heroes prevail. 
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Post by rberman on Aug 29, 2019 23:59:41 GMT -5
Strange Adventures #237 (August 1972) Story #1: The Skyscraper That Came to Life! (Writing: John Broome; Pencils: Sid Greene; Inks: Joe Giella) it’s a fifth column alien invasion story. But several alien agents have not returned from their mission to scout Earth. General Zo goes to Earth himself, disguised as a filmmaker with a disaster movie about walking skyscrapers. The other alien agents have “gone native” and band together to protect Earth from the General. The aliens wipe their own minds and live as humans.  Didn’t something like this happen with Martians in a Justice League story as well? The skyscraper part of the story is very incidental but makes a good cover. I bet it’s one of those stories in which the cover came first, and then the story. Story #2: Adam Strange: Ray-Gun in the Sky! (Story: Gardner Fox; Pencils: Carmine Infantino; Pencils: Murphy Anderson) Adam Strange faces off against a giant laser pistol in a memorable tale which was reprised for an issue of JLA a few years later. His girlfriend Alanna could be more helpful.  Story #3: The Case of the Counterfeit Humans (Story: Gardner Gox; Art: John Giunta) A space explorer has to content with alien shapeshifters who mimic him. How can he convince his crew that he’s the real McCoy, when they have even copied his memories? It’s a very Asimov/Heinlein sort of Space Age tale, barely four pages long. 
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Post by rberman on Aug 30, 2019 14:36:26 GMT -5
The Phantom Stranger #23 “Panic in the Night!” (February 1973)  Creative Team: Writing: Len Wein; Art: Jim Aparo The Story: Phantom Stranger and Cassandra head to Paris. Hmm, I wonder what the theme of their adventure might be there. How about “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”? Maybe?  Score! Hey, what about the Phantom of the Opera? Can we squeeze him in too?  Alrighty then! The “Phantom” (Opera kind, not the Stranger kind) captures Cassandra of course. After tussling with the Stranger, he decides to switch sides and help the heroes.  Backup Story: “The Spawn of Frankenstein” Marv Wolfman and Mike Kaluta tell about Frankenstein’s monster being rescued from the Arctic ice in modern times. It’s pretty chilling. Pun intended. 
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Post by rberman on Sept 3, 2019 9:33:14 GMT -5
The Phantom Stranger #24 “Apocalypse” (April 1973)  Creative Team: Writing by Len Wein; Art by Jim Aparo, including a great cover. He even lettered his own art. Story: Phantom Stranger, Cassandra, and their new ally Tannarak have traced the Dark Circle cult from Paris to a mountain outside Rio de Janeiro. First, a bit of local color, because of course it happens to be Carnivale season, the only time anyone comes to Rio. Hey, look! Cain from House of Mystery has come for the revelry. (upper right)  The good guys get captured by evil witch Tala, but after summoning Four Horseman, an unexpected earthquake casts her into a pit. I wonder whether she influenced Chris Claremont directly for his similar New Mutants story introducing Selene.   Phantom Stranger has spent several issues telling Cassandra that she’s better off without him, so he takes advantage of this earthquake and subsequent cave collapse to fake his own death and ditch her for good. Not cool! 
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Conway had a bunch of letters published. A couple of examples:
