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Post by mikelmidnight on Nov 24, 2021 12:14:28 GMT -5
Annoyingly, this story is left out of DC's Shazam! collection volume three, which only has World’s Finest Comics #253-270 and 272-282, and Adventure Comics #491-492. Someone ought to have done some rearranging.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 24, 2021 12:58:18 GMT -5
If I sound like a fan of Newton, it's because I am. I own two pieces of original published art; one is a page from Wandering Star, by Teri S Wood (aka Teri Sue Chandler, after she changed her name) and the other is a pin-up of the Black Terror that Newton did for one of the Golden Age fanzines...  Complete with pasted-on lettering and opaquing fluid, covering up an error! |
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 24, 2021 16:55:59 GMT -5
All-New Collectors' Edition C-58, Superman vs Shazam! I call shenanigans! Superman is not fighting the wizard, Shazam. I want my money back! Creative Team: Gerry Conway (uh-oh)-writer, Rich Buckler-pencils, Dick Giordano-inks, Gaspar Saladino-letters, Adrienne Roy-colors, Julie Schwartz-editor Buckler will be doing his Adams swipes, with Giordano to cement it. Gather round children, and I shall regale you of tales of comics, before there were Epic Collections, Omnibus editions or even your basic trade collection (well, Fireside was doing some). Our trade paperbacks (aside from the Fireside Books collections) and graphic novels were the digest collections (and a few paperback collections) and the tabloid-size Treasury & Limited Collectors' Editions. Now, those are the equivalent of a trade collection, as they collected reprints of various stories. There were a few, though, that were original stories. At DC, they did a handful as All-New Collectors' Editions. Previous ones included some Rudolph Christmas stories, and Superman fighting other heroes, like Wonder Woman and Muhammad...........Ali (you have to say it like Howard Cosell). Now, it was time for the epic showdown we have been waiting for, since 1954, when National Periodic Publications sucker punched Fawcett Publications and got them to give in, because the money was trickling away. Yeah, I said sucker-punched! It was meritless, especially given how derivative Superman was of Phillip Wylie's Gladiator, ER Burrough's A Princess of Mars, Doc Savage, and a dozen other things I could cite. He who lives in a glass Fortress of Solitude should not hurl planets! Anyway, for the thousands watching in the arena, and the millions watching at home......... LET'S GET READY TO RUUUUMMMBLLLLEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Synopsis: Luthor has some seriously weird clubbing threads......  Whoops, that ain't Luthor, it's some sorcerer name Karmang the Evil  Karmang? What's his last name, Infangtino? He summons forth the sand creature, that halved Superman's power (until they dropped the idea) and Black Adam. Adam isn't happy about it and fights, but gets beaten by Karmang's magic. He then tells them he wants them to plant devices on Earth-1 and S and cause them to slam together. On Earth-1, some generic costumed criminal, with a saucer robot, tries to rob the box office of the Metropolis Metros (seriously? All that tech when a Saturday Night Special would have done the job?) Lois Lane happens to be there, with Steve Lombard, lunkhead extraordinaire. Superman turns up to stop the shmoe, who doesn't even get a name. Later, at WGBS, Lombard discovers his camera wasn't loaded, but Clark Kent turns up with the footage. He goes on to do his broadcast, when someone starts whacking the building with a steel girder. It's Captain Marvel!  They slug it out, but are too evenly matched, so Superman calls up his cousing, via super-ventriloquism. Linda Danvers is making dinner, but does a quick striptease and flies her hot-pant clad booty to aid Supes. Captain marvel suckers Supes with some ray, then the illusion goes away and Black Adam is revealed. He then takes off so that no one is around when Supergirl shows up and Superman tells her that he was attacked by Captain Marvel and he will make him pay! We cut to Mars, where we learn why Karmang is doing this and that he is haunted by ghosts...  We futher learn he is from a race of Martians that predated J'onn J'onnz and his people and that his attempts to find immortality killed his people. Meanwhile, on Earth-S, Captain Marvel deals with a collapsing bridge, with the aid of Mary Marvel. He goes off to his date with Cissie Somerly and then spots what looks like Superman go by. he leaves his date, changes and runs into Superman, who has planted his device and then slugs the Big Red Cheese. They fight and Supes zaps him with a ray and flies off. Mary finds CM ranting about getting revenge on Superman and he tells his sister to shut up when she tries to talk sense to him. Karmang watches as Supes and Captain Marvel meet up and he activates the devices...  They fight, without hurting each other, but bystanders are getting hit by collateral damage. Supergirl spots Mary and talks like a reasonable adult to her.  How mature! The smell a rat and Mary suspects Black Adam served as the CM that attacked Superman and Supergirl figures the sand creature did the same on Earth-S. They decide to go catch the phonies and take off, while Mary drools over Superman. Supergirl finds Black Adam, trying to steal the Ibistick and gets it away from him and transforms him, via magic lightning, into Teth-Adam. Mary finds the sand dude, who is feeling guilty and tells her all. On Earth-1, Superman & Captain Marvel's damage has caused the government to send fighters to end it. They get smashed, but like eevry episode of GI Joe, they parachute to safety, just in time. Mary gets the help of Shazam and he brings CM out of his trance, though he gets sucker-punched by Superman. Supergirl and Mary Marvel go after Karmang. Superman hits the now recovered CM and hurts him, then snaps out of his trance and Shazam fills him in. Superman flies around the world to pull it away from its twin and CM smashes the devices. Mary and Supergirl destroy Karmang's controls and toss him in Limbo. They save the day and meet up and Mary goes all mushy over Superman and Supergirl does the same to Captain Marvel, to show Mary how ridiculous she is acting...  Thoughts: That last panel of Karmang matches my reaction to all of this. Conway basically used the same plot from every other JLA/JSA crossover, complete with villain who has never been seen before or since. He invents another race of Martians and vague powers and science and we get a lot of nothing in the story, except big panels of Superman and Captain Marvel hitting each other. The Mad parody was way better than this! Buckler's designs of Karmang and the generic crook, with the saucer, look like bad fanzine art. He wasn't even trying and Adrienne Roy just slapped green and purple and orange on them, like it was a 60s Marvel villain. The only interesting part of this was an idea that Captain Marvel contemplates, about zapping Superman with his magic lightning, which inspired Alex Ross to put it in Kingdom Come. I'm not much of a fan of Gerry Conway. He wrote some good comics, but a large segment of his work falls pretty flat, with me, especially after his Spidey run, and I wasn't a fan of the Spidey stuff, as he ramped up the whining. Turned me off of Spider-Man, from the start. I like some of what he did on JLA, but only picked up sporadic issues (mainly the crossovers). Buckler I like, when he isn't trying to ape Kirby or Adams ad is paired with a good writer. he's trying to be Adams here and it all looks derivative. Not the Rich Buckler I loved on Deathlok. Hell, it's not even the Rich Buckler of the Might Crusaders revival.
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Post by zaku on Nov 26, 2021 7:27:13 GMT -5
Like I've already said, this was the first absolute comics with Captain Marvel that I ever read. In hindsight, well, it's just not a good comic, but my 8 year old self loved it  Thank you for your reviews! I'm just little perplexed why they made Superman winning the fight. Don't usually this kind of story end without a clear winner and our heroes realizing they have been duped? |
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 26, 2021 12:01:48 GMT -5
Like I've already said, this was the first absolute comics with Captain Marvel that I ever read. In hindsight, well, it's just not a good comic, but my 8 year old self loved it Thank you for your reviews! I'm just little perplexed why they made Superman winning the fight. Don't usually this kind of story end without a clear winner and our heroes realizing they have been duped? I would suspect the editor had a lot to do with it. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 1, 2021 18:25:25 GMT -5
World's Finest #253 Full Jim Aparo cover...  Interior cover has a Newton & Schaffenberger piece, welcoming the Marvel Family and saying goodbye to Wonder Woman....  Creative Team: E Nelson Bridwell-writer, Don Newton-pencils, Kurt Schaffenberger-inks, Jean Simek-letters, Cory Adams-colors, Jack C Harris-editor Synopsis: The marvels are looking over the debris from the jailbreak of King Kull and Captain Nazi...  Captain Nazi is at an abandoned building, looking to set up shop, when he discovers that Dr Sivana is already there, but his kids are refusing to help him. It's his good looking children, not Sivana jr and Georgia; but Beautia and Magnificus. Captain Nazi drools over the blond hottie Beautia, wanting to start the Master Race with her. Sivana tells the kids he has a machine that will control people's minds and he has set it up to exempt himself and the ugly kids, but doesn't necessarily have to set it for the blond kids. The goosestepper whacks him from behind and takes over....  He tears up the punch card for the Sivanas and substitutes the blond one for himself and the blond Sivanas. The Marvels have changed into their mortal forms and Billy gets an assignment, then Captain Nazi activates the mind machine and the Marvels are whammied. They march along mindlessly and collide with a blond guy, who isn't affected and tells them to go jump in a lake. So, they head for the nearest lake. Also unaffected is blond police scientist Jim Harper, aka Bullet Man. He is conducting tests and is oblivious to what is going on. Elsewhere, Captain Nazi encounters King Kull and he is under the influence of the machine. CN controls him completely. However, Kull had activated machines that woud destroy the human race. CN calls Sivana, who tells him that he can send out voice commands and CN orders the Batsons to turn call Captain Marvel.  They do so, literally, and only Freddy Freeman is affected.. He gets Billy and Mary to say Shazam and they change. They trace the commands to the abandoned building and bust in and Junior is about to smash some Nazis, when the rat tells them about Kull's machines...  They have to split up to stop the (conveniently) 3 machines. As they depart, they mention coming back to smash the mind machine and Kull does just that. Beautia and Magnificus run in and see what has happened and then Kull attacks CN. They battle, while the Marvels destroy the three machines. The Marvels return and put an end to Kull and CN's fight and grab Sivana....  We end with Satan visiting Ebenezer Batson to claim his soul.....  Thoughts: Not a bad story, but not an epic. it looks sweet, though. Obviously, Jim Barr turning up means we will soon see Bullet Man, and not this one... (I actually had that toy. The arms kept popping off and he had a hook in his back to ride along the string) I think that is Magnificus' first appearance since the 40s (Beautia did appear in the DC series). Beautia got more mileage, before being replaced by the other Sivana kids, generally rejecting her father's schemes. Kull and Captain Nazi fighting makes for an interesting idea, but it is dispensed with quickly. The mind control thing is also a nice idea, but never really expands into a great story. Just kind of feels like some nice plot ideas tossed together, without ever really coming together. Man, Don newton really elevates this stuff into something beautiful. His art is more dramatic and his layouts and figure work really livens up the Marvel Family stories, adding a Mac Rayboy touch to them, rather than being slavishly CC Beck or Kurt Schaffenberger. Kurt lets Don's pencils shine, rather than imposing his own style over it. Newton tosses in a sight gag, on a movie marquee, which lists the current showing as Tom Tyler in The Curse of the Scorpion. Tom Tyler, of course, starred as Captain Marvel, in Republic's The Adv. of Captain Marvel. "Curse of the Scorpion" was the title of the first chapter of the serial.
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 10, 2021 0:22:57 GMT -5
World's Finest #254 Full cover...  Creative Team: E Nelson Bridwell-writer, Don Newton-pencils, Kurt Schaffenberger-inks, Shelly Leferman-letters, Adrienne Roy-colors, Jack C Harris-editor Synopsis: Captain Marvel comes in for a sweet landing, thanks to Don's pencil....  CM goes down into the subway, switches back and summons the wizard, Shazam. he tells him he must save Ebenezer Batson and to say his name. He changes back to Captain Marvel (make up your mind, dude!), which gives him the wisdom to see why he must save the man who bilked Billy out of his inheritance (he is family and they need his money to save Station WHIZ). However, Captain Marvel will have to save Ebenezer's soul. He will be visited by 3 Marvels....... Actually, I'm surprised Bridwell didn't go that route. The Wizard says the solution to saving the soul lies at the root of the Rock of Eternity, to which CM replies, "Holy Moly!" "Exactly," responds Shazam. Wha? CM makes a fast trip to the Rock (the eternal one, not Gibraltar, Alcatraz, a Prudential Insurance office, or Dwayne Johnson's home) then heads to EB's house, as nephew BB (I'm tired of typing the names). Last he saw his uncle, he was sent to jail for loan sharking. He overhears EB arguing with LM (Lucifer Morningstar) over the terms of their agreement, saying he had more time. OS (Old Scratch) hits him with the fine print.....  S (Satan) is counting the time while the Marvels and those with them were in the Suspendium orb, frozen in time. Batson's investments had paid off, so he kept his side of the bargain. Geez, Jacob Marley gave his Eb a shot, at least. Billy decides it's time to make M (Mephistopheles) enter into arbitration.  CM has to face 6 champions of BB(Beelzebub)'s choosing. The first is Abadon and CM lays into him and he disappears in a puff of smoke. His weapon was fear and CM is fearless. Round 2 Next is Antaeus, who Hercules slew, when he figured out the source of his strength was contact with the ground. herc hoisted him up and crushed him, like Bruno Sammartino, delivering a bear-hug. Antaeus sinks roots into the ground and CM can't hurt him, until he figures out what to do and burrows underground, lifting Antaeus up, roots and all. Round 3 CM is attacked by Old Age and turned into Paunchy Marvel, but still kicks gluteus.  Round 4 CM faces Legion, who is many. CM hits them all at once, using the Speed of Mercury. Round 5 CM faces an invisible foe and punches his own face, which drives out the demon, who was hiding inside his invulnerable body. Round 6 CM faces Medea, who can bewitch any man. However, CM has a surprise...  That's right, Holy Moly! Moly, the same herb that Hermes, aka Mercury, gave to Odysseus (aka Ulysses), to protect him from the magic of Circe, (aka Lena Heady). Satan can't see how he could uproot a plant that Hercules couldn't and CM credits the Power of Zeus, which combines with his other attributes to make them greater than the Elders who bestowed them. Medea is defeated and Satan buggers off. Eb keeps his side of the bargain and writes out a check for Billy (check his bank first, CM). He remarks that he has heard of a Moly that is part of the garlic family, suggesting CM used the Speed of Mercury to do some fast talking. Billy brings the check to Sterling Morris and saves the station, but declines ownership. he tells him to treat it as a loan and just pay him back, later. Thoughts: "The Devil and Captain Marvel" pretty well covers what this is. Bridwell is borrowing a page from Stephen Vincent Benet, who wrote the short story, The Devil and Daniel Webster, where the great orator, saves a condemned man from having his soul taken by Old Scratch (the dude who looks like Tim Curry) (Only decent performance in that whole movie!) Here, Captain Marvel saves Billy's uncle, by defeating his demons, in tests of ingenuity, more than strength. CM can't just punch these guys; he has to find their weakness and exploit it. I always enjoy a story where the hero has to use brain power, not brawn, to win. It's one of the reasons I always loved Bugs Bunny. Bugs always wins by being clever, which is the lesson for any wannabe hero. That's why Odysseus will always be greater than Hercules, in my book of mythology. Moly was a herb mention in the Odyssey, by Homer, with Hermes presenting it to Odysseus to protect him from Circe. There has been much debate about the real plant that Homer describes, which has a yellow flower. One of the proposed herbs was Allium nigrum, aka black garlic. other suggested plants are Peganum harmala, aka African Rue, and Atriplex halimus, aka Mediterranean saltbush. In 1983, biologists suggested Galanthus nivalis, the Snowdrop. This is the origin of Billy and Captain Marvel's favorite phrase, "Holy Moly!" Moly was a gift of the Gods of Olympus; and, therefore, was holy. Next time, Billy and Bulletman get whammied and it is up to Bullet Girl and Mary Marvel to save the day. ps This issue contains a letter from some smart aleck fan, named Mark Waid. He wants to know where the book is going, editorially and wants longer stories, to justify the higher price, rather than a comparison to page count in the 35 cent books. Jack tells him to button his lip, but they will have stories of varying length and will be experimenting. Far as I recall, that wasn't exactly true.
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 19, 2021 23:08:18 GMT -5
World's Finest #255 The Full Aparo.....  The Superman & Batman tale is pretty good, with another "Batman", from the ancient past, and a nice swerve on people's expectations and knowledge of symbols and their history. Plus, JLGL (PBHN) art! Creative Team: E Nelson Bridwell-writer, Don Newton-pencils, Kurt Schaffenberger-inks, Milt Snapinn-letters, Adrienne Roy-colors, Jack C Harris-editor Special guest stars: Bulletman and Bulletgirl! Synopsis: Sterling Morris receives complimentary tickets to Club Okapi, featuring Dreamdancer. he has no life, so he goes and watches the lady shake her body right to the ground and then he suddenly wants to put her on tv, every night!  And thus, Solid Gold was born! (I don't recall "Hot Rod Hearts," at all!) Billy thinks ol' Sterling has flipped his lid. He talks it over with Mary, who thinks every night is a bit overkill and invites Billy to her house, to watch the first performance and see what the big deal is. Billy watches from the Bromfield house, while, across town, police scientist Jim Barr and wife Susan also watch. Jim and Billy are mesmerized and Billy has a dream of Captain Marvel telling him off. He is going to destroy him, but Dreamdancer saves him and Billy swears his loyalty to her...  Jim Barr dreams that a jealous Susan steals away his Gravity Helmet and leaves him to plunge from the sky, until Dreamdancer saves him.  He, too, swears loyalty to her. Mary tells Billy to wipe the drool from his chin and says she doesn't see anything that awe-inspiring. Mrs Bromfield offers Billy a room, since it's late; but, he changes his name to Richard (or a diminutive form of it) and says he wouldn't stay there. he leaves and Mary follows, asking if he meant he would just fly home, as Captain Marvel, and he says he is done with than fink. Mary goes inside, puzzled, when the phone rings. it is Susan Barr, telling her that Jim has gone nuts and Mary twigs that it has to be related to the program, when Susan confirms they were watching. Mary transforms and flies over to the Barr's and confers with Susan. She says Jim suited up in his Bulletman gear and flew off. They theorize that women are immune to Dreamdancer's spell, then recap the origin story for Bulletman and Bulletgirl...  They were two people, of the same caliber! Susan suits up (Women's Lib or no Women's Lib, Bulletgirl is still stuck in hot pants {or, more likely, a bodysuit}) and she and Mary go searching. Bulletman is off skywriting advertisements to watch Dreamdancer on Station Whiz (Let go, with our TV flow!) Mary and BG trace Dreamdancer and eavesdrop on her conversations with her thralls, including a banker and a hood, wanting advice for a caper. They fly off to foil the robbery and Bulletgirl gets there first and stops the bullets with her helmet, until someone pulls out a bazooka...  Which just tickles Mary! Dreamdancer is near and claims she knew they would stop the heinous crime and the ladies can't prove otherwise. They, instead, employ a little stragedy and confront Dreamdancer, on air...  Suddenly, all of the guys come out of their trances and Billy transforms to Captain Marvel and nabs the rest of the hoods. Mary and BG reveal that they attacked DD in such a way that she would react by moving in a reverse fashion, of her original dance, undoing the spell. So, she just had to do the Hustle, backwards! They go off to boogie down, with Earth, Wind & Fire... Ah, keep you Hip-Hop; I'll stick with my Funk and R & B (and Soul)! Thoughts: This is slight, but fun, with a nice guest appearance by Bulletman and Bulletgirl, though BG gets to do more (which, in itself, is refreshing!). Don Newton really does a nice job with the dream sequences and the day to day stuff. He adds a ton of atmosphere to things and handles the heroic stuff with dynamic action. Love that panel of Mary blocking the bazooka shell! I like his Mary Marvel, in general, as she apepars a little more mature, a bit less like Mary Batson, in a costume. We are teased with a story about Billy and Mary's parents, in the next issue.
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Post by zaku on Dec 20, 2021 7:03:08 GMT -5
Just for the sake of curiosity, in these stories, when they talk about something which happened when they were in their own other alter-ego (Billy or Captain Marvel) they use the first-person or the third-person? (Because in the pre-crisis time they were two distinct people right?)
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 20, 2021 13:08:45 GMT -5
Just for the sake of curiosity, in these stories, when they talk about something which happened when they were in their own other alter-ego (Billy or Captain Marvel) they use the first-person or the third-person? (Because in the pre-crisis time they were two distinct people right?) They refer to the person. Captain Marvel calls Billy Batson "Billy," not I; same with Mary and Freddy, though it was more common for Billy, since he was in far more stories. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 30, 2021 15:34:26 GMT -5
World's Finest #256 Full Ross Andru & Dick Giordano.....  Creative Team: E Nelson Bridwell-writer, Don Newton-pencils, Kurt Schaffenberger-inks, Milt Snappin & Gaspar Saladino-letters, Adrienne Roy-colors, Jack C Harris-editor Synopsis: A man named Nate Dallas comes into Station WHIZ (You're in for Entertainment, with WHIZ!) and demands to see Billy Batson. Billy meets with him and he says he is responsible for the death of Billy's parents...  Nate is a gambler and was down on his luck when he met the Gamester, an intergalactic being who bet the lives of other people against the life of his opponent. Dallas agrees, because he thinks he has no choice, due to the obvious power of the Gamester. They bet best 3 out of 5, and Dallas wins three straight in a horse race, a baseball game and a prize fight. Merrill and Jocelyn Batson die in a car crash.  Now, the Gamester is back and Dallas doesn't want any more deaths on his conscious and needs Captain Marvel's help to prevent it. Billy has Miss Jamison (who knows Billy's secret, like everyone else, it seems) fake a call to Captain Marvel and TBRC meets Dallas, later, for the next bet with Gamester. He first goes to see Mary and tells her the story. She changes to Mary Marvel and they set out to see that Dallas loses the next 3 bets, to save a life. Gamester appears before Dallas, suddenly and they end up betting that Nate can do the same and the Marvels make him disappear and reappear, in an instant (Speed of Mercury, I assume). Next, Gamester bets a dinosaur will stick it's head through Nate's window, knowing he will lose, as he is shaken by Nate's bet turning out in his favor. TBRC flies to the Rock of eternity and then to the ancient pass and brings back a brachiosaurus, who says hi to Nate and Gamester. Gamester then bets the sun will rise in the West, knowing it is impossible. Captain & Mary Marvel have to make the sun rise in the west and they start by reversing the rotation of the Earth....  The sun now rises in the west and Gamester wins and can't believe it and Captain Marvel flies in to reveal that Gamester isn't an alien, that his luck symbols and alphabet are all from Earth. he is actually from the future and admits to it.  The dead people all came from historical records and he tried to con Dallas into revealing where his fortune was hidden, so he could claim it later. Cap forces him to reveal who was supposed to die and goes off and prevents it. Now Gamester is screwed....  Nate decides to give up gambling, because he might not die soon, since history has been altered. cap and Mary go to reset the Earth's rotation. Thoughts: Meh. Bridwell is trying to match the old Otto Binder-style story, but it feels clumsy. It looks nice, in Newton's pencils; but, his style isn't whimsical and it lacks what Schaffenberger would have done, back in the 50s. Bridwell had been on a roll, with the old characters in new stories, with Newton upping the visuals; but, this feels like a step backward. Luckily, next issue sees a more inspired story and one that gets back into the flow.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 3, 2022 23:43:08 GMT -5
World's Finest #257 Creative Team: E Nelson Bridwell-writer, Don Newton-pencils, Kurt Schaffenberger-inks, Albert DeGuzman (RIP)-letters, Adrienne Roy-colors, Jack C Harris-editor DeGuzman just passed away. Synopsis: Captain Marvel battles against the invincible Man, who seems vaguely familiar.....  Billy Batson is late to the station, because he fell asleep on the subway. Miss Jamison is also rather sleepy, as is seemingly everyone in the station, including Whitey Murphy, who "spins disco tapes" on his show. "Spins disco tapes?" Shouldn't that be spins disco records? Or plays disco tapes? Nelson's age difference is showing. A sleepy staffer hands Billy a wire notice that a powerful figure is wreaking havoc downtown. Billy changes into Captain marvel, who is wide awake and puzzled by everyone else. He flies off to deal with the powerful character and finds out that it isn't quite that easy....  He claims to draw energy from the "soul of the universe"...  Um..........I guess astronomy is not Nelson's forte. Captain Marvel says he will figure a way to stop the energy and the dude seems to know about Billy Batson, the Rock of Eternity, and the magic lightning. TBRC has an idea who this nut is and goes to a maximum security prison to check a hunch. He tours the prison, which holds Captain Nazi, King Kull, Black Adam, Dr Sivana and Mr Mind. Sivana is held by Marvelium lined walls, while Black Adam is trapped behind a force field that blocks lightning. Mr Mind is in hibernation. CM has confirmed his hunch and goes off to find a way to stop the energy that is feeding the Invincible Man. He flies to a remote location and fashions what looks like a concrete bunker. Soon, Invincible Man turns up and CM reveals his identity.....  Mr Mind! He reveals that he knew it was Mr Mind because he did not spin a cocoon, to hibernate. Mr Mind reveals that a minion created the body and he transferred his mind into it. CM made like a matador and lures Mr Mind into the bunker and tells him he is trapped. Mr Mind starts punching him and CM gives as good as he gets and makes like Muhammad Ali against mr Mind's George Foreman and wears him out, until he decks him....  Shazam-a-dope! Captain Marvel tells him he couldn't hit him before, because he'd be a grease spot; but, in this body, he can punch away at the evil worm. Mind tries to leave the body; but, he cannot penetrate the Marvelium. Finally, CM kayos him, then wraps the body in Marvelium. Mind pleads and CM lets him return to his worm body, before encasing the Invincible Man body. Mr Mind schemes to get back at Captain Marvel. Thoughts: Nice little tale, making up for the previous story. Good use of Mr Mind, who is easy to spot as the Invincible Man, with the coloring of his caterpillar form and the red circles. Kind of wonder if this wasn't a test for a new form for Mr Mind, though why alter the beauty of an evil alien worm, if it works? Still, there was a bit more mileage to be gained from this; but, Mind isn't done, as we will see. Great art from Newton, who handles the fight stuff extremely well. It looks like a fight, which these things don't always achieve that, no matter how much the artist studied How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way. You could spot artists who knew something about fights, either as a spectator or participant. Kirby did, as both a streetfighter and someone who watched boxing and wrestling. Don Newton does, though I have no idea if he was a scrapper or enjoyed combat sports. Newton's art was the highlight of these issues, though there was a bit of Murphy Anderson Hawkman, last issue. He had a nice dynamic style, with moody atmosphere, mixing a lot of influences, based on the Golden Age pin-ups he used to do for the fanzines. He had tributes to guys like Reed Crandall, Mort Meskin, Will Eisner, and more. He livened up DC a bit, in a transitional period. My two favorite DC artists, of the period, were Newton and Mike Grell. I always liked Dick Dillin and Irv Novick, with the right inking; but, Grell and Newton brought a change from the Neal Adams flavor of a lot of DC books. grell less so, at first, though he was more individual, by the time he was doing Warlord. Don was fully formed, from the start.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 13, 2022 23:48:47 GMT -5
World's Finest #258 Neal Adams front cover; but Dick Giordano did the rest (over Joe Staton layouts)....  The story actually features Captain Marvel Jr, as The Big Red Cheese mostly just puts in a cameo. You'll see why it features Junior, in a moment. Creative Team: E Nelson Bridwell-writer, Don Newton-pencils, Kurt Schaffenberger-inks, Ben Oda-letters, Adrienne Roy-colors, Jack C Harris-editor. The Superman & Batman story doesn't have Adams art; but, it does have Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (PBHN)! Synopsis: Captain Nazi has found the Aryan fraulein of his dreams......  Our story begins with our favorite goose-stepping schmuck inside prison, where he has been hiding food to take back to his cell. Modern food has so many chemicals in it that he is able to mix the additives into a precise formula and create a flying gas, that allows him to escape! Since when did he become Lex Luthor? Elsewhere, Billy Batson is visited by his old sparring partner, Magnificus Sivana, who says Beautia didn't turn up for work today and he is worried...  Billy calls forth Captain marvel, flies Magnificus home, and traces Beautia's route. We quickly learn where Beautia is. She has been whisked away by Captain Nazi, who wants to Marry her!  Beautia says "Don't hand me no lines and keep your hands to yourself!" She adds that she wants to be romanced and courted and sends Hauptman Dumbkopf off to buy her roses. He flies to the florist and is witnessed by Freddy Freeman, who has a bone to pick with the kraut and he calls forth Captain Marvel Jr, and Don newton does his Mac Raboy impression...  Captain Ratzi is going to take the roses, without paying, until Junior flies in and smacks him around. The fight spills out into the street and the sausage-eater throws a car at some kids to distract Junior and returns to Beautia, with the roses. She then tells him she wants a ring (no huggin, no kissin'!) and sends him to a jewelers to get it.  Junior spots him again and flies towards the jewelers, as the fink decides which ring to take and whether or not he will hurt the jeweler. Junior arrives, more fisticuff and the jackbooted jerk knocks Junior out a window. He regroups, then Hitler's Golden Boy tosses a cop into the air and flies away and Junior has to catch him. The jeweler informs the cop, after he is safely on the ground, that the hauptman only took one ring and Junior says the butthead must be in love! Beautia accepts the ring, then sends Herr Not Einstein off to get a wedding dress from her personal dressmaker, who lives at the same boarding house as Freddy Freeman. Of course, that leads to Round 3 and Ratzi gets knocked into Prof Edgewise's lab, where he grabs chemicals and creates a diversion. Junior has to put out the fire (with gasoline) and Ratzi makes off with Tandy, the dressmaker. Ratzi brings Tandy to Beautia and tells her to get sewing and Junior turns up and puts the Captain on the mat, just like Joe Louis did to Max Schmeling. Captain Marvel finally turns up and Junior tells him Beautia sent the fink on a wild goose chase, to places she knew Junior would be, pinning a note with the address on the jerk's cape.  Thoughts: This was a lot of fun, as Beautia exploits the fact that Captain Nazi is dumber than a bag of hammers and sends him on a wild goose chase that puts him in punching range of Junior. He only sees the stereotypical Aryan features of Beautia and ignores the fact that she has a brain, which puts her one up on him. Junior controls his bloodlust, which is a bit of a turn, as he was looking to kill CN before, for murdering his grandfather. Screw the Code, let Junior go all Spectre on his Aryan backside! It isn't easy to use a character like Captain Nazi and keep it light, which is why he wasn't really used after the war, since his battles with Junior and Captain Marvel were pretty serious stuff, with murder and all. Having him as a lovesick puppy is a nice touch, though I would have liked to have seen this with more pages to better develop the story. Bridwell is essentially copying from O Henry's "The Ransom of Red Chief," where the bratty son of a banker is kidnapped by some thugs, then the father refuses to pay up and the thugs have to deal with the boy, who makes them miserable, until they finally pay the father to take the kid back. Same principle, as Beautia gives him what he wished, with conditions that drive him insane. I would have drawn it out a bit and have her henpeck him severely, until he cries uncle and calls off the wedding and then gets caught by the Marvels. The last page announces that Shazam is moving to 5 Star Super Spectacular. Not sure if that was intended to be a new book or another issue of the DC Special Series. The first issue of that series, from 1977 (two years before this) had the cover title of 5 Star Super Spectacular. It was a series of specials, with different features; but, subsequent issues did not carry that logo. The second issue featured Swamp Thing, who turned up for 4 issues of this "series." These were, really, special projects, some reprints, some new material. other issues included a holiday special, featuring the Frank Miller Batman/Santa Claus story, several Sgt Rock, a brand new New Gods story, a Batman special with Michael Golden ("I Now Pronounce You Batman and Wife") and Marshall Rogers stories ("Death Strikes at Midnight and Three"). My guess is that the project was canceled, as Shazam is back in World's Finest, the next issue, and remains through issue #282, the last of the Dollar Comic issues (published in 1982...so, a couple more years).
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Post by MWGallaher on Jan 14, 2022 8:55:09 GMT -5
World's Finest #258The last page announces that Shazam is moving to 5 Star Super Spectacular. Not sure if that was intended to be a new book or another issue of the DC Special Series. The first issue of that series, from 1977 (two years before this) had the cover title of 5 Star Super Spectacular. It was a series of specials, with different features; but, subsequent issues did not carry that logo. The second issue featured Swamp Thing, who turned up for 4 issues of this "series." These were, really, special projects, some reprints, some new material. other issues included a holiday special, featuring the Frank Miller Batman/Santa Claus story, several Sgt Rock, a brand new New Gods story, a Batman special with Michael Golden ("I Now Pronounce You Batman and Wife") and Marshall Rogers stories ("Death Strikes at Midnight and Three"). My guess is that the project was canceled, as Shazam is back in World's Finest, the next issue, and remains through issue #282, the last of the Dollar Comic issues (published in 1982...so, a couple more years). The text page in issue #260 explains the scheduling and cancellation of 5 Star Super-Hero Spectacular. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 23, 2022 22:11:07 GMT -5
World's Finest #259 No wrap-around cover this time. Creative Team: E Nelson Bridwell-writer, Don Newton-pencils, Kurt Schaffenberger-inks, Shelly Leferman-letters, Adrienne Roy-colors, Jack C Harris-editor Synopsis: Mr Tawny has just signed a contract to represent The Hubb Clothing Company, as a spokesman.....er, tiger....  However, like all models, he is subjected to an insulting appearance clause that requires him to stay in shape and see a doctor, to which Captain Marvel takes him. The doctor is interested in how he has altered form to be more human in structure and appearance...  It seems the serum that gave him the power of speech has caused him to evolve into something more akin to humans than cats, including opposable thumbs. The doctor performs some tests and Tawny act like a big scaredy cat, but it proves relatively painless. However, the doctor proves to have an ulterior motive in analyzing tawny's blood....  Billy Batson and Mr Tawny cover deliberations at the UN, when the doctor, now evolved by the serum, turns up, calling himself the Superior. he tells the delegates to do as he commands. Billy decides that Captain marvel should deal with this and transforms. He tries to attack the Superior, who gives him a mental blast and TBRC seems to disappear, then turns up behind him, having used the Speed of Mercury to sneak up behind the Superior. The Big S does his own disappearing bit, leaving CM puzzled. Tawny tells him that he detected the scent of Dr Ambrose on the Superior. CM realizes that he must have found a way to duplicate the serum from Tawny's bloodwork. They go to India, to consult the hermit; but, he is long dead. However, his hut still stands and is filled with research notes. CM pours through them at super speed and synthesizes and antidote to the serum. The Superior turns up and sees Tawny on all fours, acting like a jungle cat and returns to his lab for another dose, thinking it wore off. he downs it, then reverts back to human form. It turns out that Tawny was faking and Superior drank the antidote CM prepared. Dr Ambrose thanks CM for causing him to revert back, as he hated what he became. Thoughts: The story begins with an interesting premise; but, doesn't have enough room to develop the Superior and they are able to change him back rather abruptly. A few more pages would have really helped this to flow better. Newton's art is great and he is a dab hand at the comedic stuff, especially Tawny's body language, as the blood is drawn. Here is the text from Issue #260, explaining why Shazam wasn't spun-off into a new comic..... 
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