Detective #622 (Oct 1990)

Another great find in the dollar bins last weekend, just in time for the Halloween season, Detective Comics #622. Golden-Age Batman artist Dick Sprang would have been seventy-four when he produced the cover for this and the subsequent two issues of Detective, in a three-issue story arc, just ten years before his death. The interior of this book isn't what I'm usually looking for, but they worked hard on the art. The styles employed are not the DC house style employed in the '70s and '80s by artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo- the guard was changing, and new art styles were coming onto the scene. This issue is the first of a three-issue arc, featuring a "comic within a comic", written by one of the supporting characters, comic book writer/artist Fred Lasker.

The fictious Batman Fred Lasker has been writing about/drawing in TNT Comics is a Simon Petrarch, a mercenary who sold his soul, transformed by Lucifer into a demonic creature of the night. The comic book art sequences in this book were drawn by Flint Henry, while artists Mike McKone and Jose Marzan, Jr. draw the rest of the issue interior.

Police Commissioner Gordon summons Batman to the scene of a grisly murder, attributed in blood to the Dark Knight Detective himself! When the press shows up to question Gordon and Batman, he quickly realizes the implication of his monstrous characterization in Lasker's comic book, juxtaposed with the mysterious murder scene...

Host of a local radio show "Dead of Night", Jack Hemp, takes a call from someone claiming to be the Batman of author Fred Lasker's unauthorized biographical comic. The caller shares details of a recent murder he is trying to pin on the real Batman, telling Hemp to read all about him in the current issue hitting newsstands. 

Batman catches wind on the street that Fred Lasker's comic book lore has taken root in the public eye, deciding to pay the author a visit to get to the bottom of what's going on in issue #623! Both issues #623 and #624 also feature Dick Sprang covers, and reveal who is behind the murders being pinned onto Batman! Maybe we'll catch up with those later- read more comics!

Follow the Super-DuperToyBox on Instagram!

More Later- Make It FUN!

Detective Comics #469 (May 1977)

 Jim Aparo drew the striking cover for this issue of Detective Comics, but Walt Simonson penciled the interior story written by Steve Englehart. This is the first appearance of Dr. Phosphorus, created by Simonson and Englehart, and when I saw this well-worn copy in the dollar bins, I knew this terrifying villain would be perfect for an October post! I didn't have this issue as a kid, my interest in comics not having developed quite yet, 1978 likely the year of some of my first spinner rack acquisitions. In that year The Incredible Hulk debuted on CBS, and Superman came to the silver screen, and I was hooked on superhero comics for life!

"...By Death's Eerie Light" begins with Bruce Wayne's trusted butler, Alfred Pennyworth, collapsing upon the Dark Knight's return from patrol of Gotham City. After rushing Pennyworth to the hospital, Batman discovers the reason for the mysterious delay in ambulance service- the city's water supply has been poisoned by Dr. Alexander Sartorius, aka Dr. Phosphorus! Batman confronts Dr. Phosphorus at Gotham City Reservoir, where the villain reveals his plan, attacking the Caped Crusader!

After a knockdown drag out brawl, Batman emerges from Gotham Reservoir, having barely escaped Dr. Phosphorus' deadly touch, rendered harmless by water. The villain retreats, vowing to return and savor killing Batman later. The rest of this issue sees Dr. Phosphorus assaulting his former colleague, Dr. Bell, threatening his and the lives of city council if they don't get rid of the Batman. Throughout his tirade on the frightened scientist, Dr. Phosphorus retells the origin of his cursed state... 

If you want to see what happens to the poisoned Alfred Pennyworth and Police Commissioner Jim Gordon, or the final confrontation between Dr. Phosphorus and Batman, you'd have to hunt down Detective #470! The great Jim Aparo returns to draw that cover as well, Walt Simonson confidently delivering that DC house style on the inner pages several years before his career defining work writing/drawing Thor in the mid '80s. Special mention goes out to inker Al Milgrom, whose work I like as well. As a Bronze-Age kid, I love this era of comics for the work of artists like these guys and so many more- what a great time to be a kid!

Follow the Super-DuperToyBox on Instagram!

More Later- Make It FUN!

Justice League Infinity No.1 (Sept. 2021)

 Curious about the cover of this first issue of Justice League Infinity, I opened it to find it was essentially a continuation of the Justice League Unlimited series that ran parallel with the wildly popular animated show from 2004-2006. I hadn't discovered JLU until I started this blog years later in 2010, but loved the vast and unprecedented roster of DC characters. This first book is narrated by my all-time favorite, Martian Manhunter, now separated from the League, living his life as many different individuals in search of understanding the often complex human race. Simultaneously, J'onn J'onzz reintroduces Amazo's return, also in search of his own identity and place in the universe...

Meanwhile, the League has surprised the Flash with a birthday party!

The festivities are soon rudely interrupted by Granny Goodness and her Parademons from Apokolips, the situation made even more dire by Kalibak's arrival, challenging Granny for the honor of conquering the Justice League!

Martian Manhunter's mentally tethered instinct to race to his teammates and join the fight is tempered by his commitment to leave that endless battle in continuance of his pursuit in a more universal understanding...

Amazo's similar effort to understand his own existence grows more fierce, while Mr. Miracle reverses the trace polarities of Granny and Kalibak's boom tubes, sending them back to Apokolips with a great explosion ….!

Finally, while retelling the spectacular victory to Lois Lane over a candlelit dinner, Superman disappears, an else-worlds Superman left in his place, demanding what Lois did to him. The chest insignia reminds me of the Multiverse German Superman that appeared in Final Crisis, so I'm curious about the second issue of Justice League Infinity. While I'd hoped for a self-contained issue of this book, I must say it caught the mood of JLU, including the humorous banter surrounding Flash's birthday party, the love triangle between Jon Stewart, Shayera, and Vixen, and the use of Amazo's return to kick off the series. I love seeing the Bruce Timm-inspired art again as well, in all it's cartoony splash- colorful and fun, like comics should be.

More Later- Make It FUN!

Looking Back: Matt Wagner's Trinity (2003), DC Direct

Matt Wagner wrote Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity seven years before I started this blog, and I've finally gotten around to reading it here at the end of 2019. Lately I've been revisiting some of the DC Direct figures I've had on card in my collection, though I'd sold off many of them in the last three years to downsize my collection, among them three Trinity figures I never opened. Early in my action figure collecting, I was just buying what appealed visually to me, not necessarily related to the sheer volume of books I was consuming in attempt to get up to speed on all I'd missed in the years I wasn't reading comics. I'm unsure why I never bought the Superman from this series, other than I may have already bought enough other Superman figures from other series, or I couldn't get him at a price I found reasonable. At any rate, DC Direct was known for their creator/title inspired series, and they nailed it in 2008 with the release of the Trinity Series. Collectors often lamented the limited number of characters DC Direct offered, Bizarro and Artemis noticeably missing from this series. But if you could only choose four, they offered the four obvious characters, which looked fantastic.

I found a copy of Trinity for south of six dollars recently, and finally committed to getting it read all these years later. Not my first exposure to Matt Wagner, having read a Grendel book back in the '80s, the author's art style was instantly familiar to me- here, a quasi-Art Deco homage that brought to mind the Fleisher Superman cartoons of the 1940s. There's a great deal of Trinity I liked, while some of it falls short, such as the not-so-subtle fetishization of Wonder Woman in parts, to the murky purpose of Artemis in the book's plot. Wagner carries the entirety of Trinity on his own creative shoulders however, which is impressive from any angle, though the art lacks consistency that other artist's who employ similar simplistic styles employ more efficiently- Bruce Timm and Darwyn Cooke come to mind here. In fact, I'd recommend Cooke's Justice League: The New Frontier over Trinity if you are looking for a retro-styled DC book. That said, Trinity has a lot to offer, and I'm glad I finally read it. This is the second book I've read this year with Ra's Al Ghul, the other being the fantastic Batman '66 Meets Wonder Woman '77. It's been fun getting back to physical comics lately, mostly DC, after reading Marvel Unlimited on my iPad the last couple years- a trend I plan to continue in 2020.

Visit Joe Acevedo's online DC Direct Archive to see all the figures from 1999 to 2012!

More Later- Make It FUN!

Justice League of America #242 (1985)

Digging through the discount bins recently in my local comic shop unearthed an issue of Justice League of America with a cover I couldn't ignore. I've read more JLA from recent years, the team not even on my radar in the mid-eighties, though I was still reading comics as a young teenager. The roster interested me, some like Zatanna, Vixen, and J'onn J'onzz now familiar to me, and others such as Gypsy and Dale Gunn not as much. Also of interest was Steel and a pre-New 52 Vibe- neither of which I'd experienced.

Issue #242, "Battle Cry", finds two search parties of the JLA tracking the super-powered android Amazo in the Northwestern Canada. Unbeknownst to our heroes, the adaptive Amazo is the hunter in reality, using the powers of the JLA against them to attack with calamitous results!

Meanwhile, Aquaman searches for Mera, who left weeks ago, the loss of their son devastating the aquatic couple. tearing them apart. Finding her deep in the dark currents of the Atlantic, where they consummated their love years ago, the couple embrace, surfacing to talk out their differences in a tearful, heartfelt reunion...

After recovering from a brutal attack by Amazo earlier, Martian Manhunter and Dale Gunn regroup to pursue the android, certain their teammates would never break ranks and attack without them. They are unaware that Amazo caught the sperate parties by surprise, throwing them into a hole and entombing them with a boulder! You'll have to hunt down issue #243 to see if Aquaman returns to save them!

Of further note regarding this issue, a rather lengthy special preview of Mask is plopped right in the middle of this issue. Of interest to fans of this property most certainly, it left me wishing for more pages of JLA in what I initially thought was a thicker issue. Additioanlly, an advertisement for Crisis On Infinite Earths was tucked into the pages of this issue, which would change the landscape of DC Comics dramatically thereafter. I didn't read Crisis until around 2011, when I got back into comics after starting this blog, and began reading everything I could find in attempt to get back up to speed on what I'd missed in the years before.

More Later- Make It FUN!

Currently Reading: Batman 80th Anniversary, Detective Comics No.1000 & More

Detective Comics #1000, May 2019

Though I started this post back in April, I have continued to pick up the occasional Batman book, as I did just this past weekend. So I'll get on with it here and mention some of what I've been reading. As with the character's 75th year in 2014, the hype surrounding Detective Comics #1000 and Batman's 80th anniversary reinvigorated my interest in DC Comics, resulting in a modest splurge on comics. Good on it's $10.00 price tag, 1000 was thick and fun to read. Manned with an All-Star lineup of  DC talent, this issue boasts 11 variant covers, topped by what at last count appeared to be no less than a stunning 75 retailer and creator variant covers! This romp through the character's history featured most all his surrounding cast and rogue's gallery, starting things off right with a detective story by author Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo, several collaborations by some legendary Batman creators like Jim Lee, Tony S. Daniel, Paul Dini, Peter J. Tomasi, and Neal Adams fill the rest of it's 96 pages. Additional artwork and a great two page spread of the Bat Family make this a visually dashing issue.

Batman Vol.1 The Court of Owls, Batman Vol.2 The City of Owls, 2011-2012

I was reading a lot of comics when DC relaunched with it's New 52 campaign, but took a pass on the now highly lauded Court of Owls by author Scott Snyder and artist Gregg Capullo. I may have passed on one of the best New 52 books though, 'cause I really enjoyed this. I had eventually caught up with Capullo on Batman, jumping in at Batman: Zero Year in 2013, it just took me six years to backtrack. So nice to revisit Snyder & Capullo's Batman.

DC 80th Anniversary Giant Detective Comics Batman #1, 2019

I stumbled upon an endcap at Walmart this past year full of giant-sized issues of different DC Characters, one being this Detective Comics Batman. Mostly reprinted material, of particular interest to me, the 1967 debut of Batgirl, featuring sidekick Robin and the villainous Killer Moth, as well as the Boy Wonder's own debut from 1940. There's also some Bronze-Age material in here that tickles my nostalgia bone, but this would make a great gift for a kid just getting interested in Batman.

Batman: Ego and Other Tails (Darwyn Cooke/DC Comics, 2007)

I had just got back into comics as an adult around 2010, and discovered Justice League: The New Frontier (DC Comics, 2004) by the late great Darwyn Cooke. His Atomic-Age tale of the team's origin is like no other, and reestablished what I liked about superhero teams as a kid. Ego was just a continuation of this sweet spot for me, particularly in "Selina's Big Score", my favorite of the "tails" included. Artist Tim Sale shares a certain retro styling that is unique from Cooke, but complements this collection.

Batman '66 Meets Wonder Woman '77 (DC Comics, 2017)

More recently, I discovered this fun team-up of Batman '66 Meets Wonder Woman '77, combining what are essentially my childhood versions of these two DC characters. I love the Alex Ross cover on this collected edition, and am a big fan of Michael and Laura Allred, who did the original issue covers also included here. Artist David Hahn has simple, animated style that is colorful and appropriate in tone for this adventure that I quite enjoyed. I particularly enjoyed Nightwing's appearance later on in the book, all grown up in his original disco outfit, kickin' butt! Ra's al Ghul and daughter Talia make great villains for this decades-spanning romp, starting with a young Bruce Wayne's meeting the Amazon he would later team up with as Batman, and later be pulled out of retirement by to put a stop to Ra's scheme to finish what he started. Though I only picked up a few issues of  Batman '66 when it dropped in 2013, I did enjoy them- this made me want to go back and get the collected editions of this even more, especially considering the passing of actor Adam West a couple years ago.

More Later- Make It FUN!

Batman '66 #1

From the archives, the 1st issue of Batman '66, Sept. 2013. The cover is by Mike Allred, one of my favorite contemporary comic book artists, whose retro style was a perfect fit for the title. The few issues I bought were true in spirit to the TV show, and filled with the kind of  madcap humor it was known for. I won't go into the synopsis, available at DCWikia if you care to read, but will instead share a classic trope within this issue taken from the show, featuring another well known creature of the night...

*Also read my November 2014 post on Batman '66 #14

RIP Adam West

1928 - 2017

Batman: Gotham Adventures #3

In memoriam of recently departed actor Adam West, I fired up the Batman: The Animated Toy Blog again to post on issue #3 of  Batman: Gotham Adventures. The 18th episode of Batman: The Animated Series featured the voice acting West, star of  the beloved '66 Batman TV series. Airing in November of 1992, the actor voiced the character of the Simon Trent, a washed up TV actor who portrayed crime fighter Gray Ghost, idolized by a young Bruce Wayne. I love the cover of this issue, Batman and Gray ghost drawn as packaged action figures! Sorting some comics this weekend after West passed away, I came across this issue, reminding me of the late actor's connection to Batman: The Animated Series, like one final goodbye from my childhood hero. Read more about this issue at Batman: The Animated Toy Blog!

RIP Adam West

Sept. 19th, 1928 - June 9th, 2017

Nightwing Annual #1, 1997

Fresh from the dollar comics bin, Nightwing Annual #1, 1997. Of note, the author Devon K. Grayson's name is oddly similar to our hero's own alias, Dick Grayson. I like some of the other Pulp Heroes covers more than the Nightwing cover, but I do like this version of the character's outfit. In a nutshell, Dick marries a three-time widower in order to investigate the untimely deaths of her very rich late husbands. This is some time after Bruce and Dick settle the past differences that broke up the Dynamic Duo, and the ceremony is carried  out in Wayne Manor, Bruce and Alfred looking on, wise to the entire ruse! Even considering conventional suspension of disbelief, this is pretty far fetched. Talk about takin' one for the team- what a psycho  :D

Tim Drake, who took over the Robin mantle, is also in the know, as is Oracle, Barbara Gordon. There seems to be some tension between Dick in Barbara in discussion over Emily's acceptance of Dick's proposal- a silent look between the two after Babs sarcastically agrees to Dick's disbelief "Yeah, woman's got no taste. Imagine agreeing to marry the brightest, sweetest, most handsome, wealthiest young bachelor on the East coast. Definite nutcase." Uncomfortable! After some time, Dick's gut feeling is that Emily's friend Annelise Schubert is the murderer, vengeful of her father's imprisonment. a victim of Mr. Washburn's alleged shady business dealings years ago. It's Annelise's plot to frame Emily and take revenge! I love the pages of Dick sparring with Tim on the rooftops of Gotham, as he explains his theory of Emily's innocence to the youngster ...

When Annelise pops up during Dick & Emily's tropical honeymoon, a scuba dive is arranged for ease of snuffing out Emily's fourth groom. Unbeknownst to her, Emily's "husband" is a detective of the highest order, who detects tampering with the scuba tanks! An underwater struggle ensues, expertly drawn by artist Greg Land...

Annelise's plot is thwarted, but Dick breaks Emily's heart when she finds out the truth about their union. It was a fun romp, if absurd, with lots more than I could cram into one post. I enjoyed Land's pencil work, and the nostalgic feeling I get reading older comics with all their advertisements of the era. And what's there to lose at the price of one dollar, Friends?

More Later- Make It FUN!

Superman The Movie Magazine (1979)

One very special Christmas gift from my sibling this year was a Superman The Movie magazine, published in 1979- very cool! I have some vintage comics and Christopher Reeve memorabilia in my collection, but have never seen this! Chris was a hero in real life as well as on the silver screen, co-founding the Reeve-Irvine Research Center to develop stem cell research in spinal cord injury rehabilitation. And back in 1978, at the age of six, I thought Chris Reeve really was Superman! 

The book features interviews with the actors, producers, and designers, insight on the sets of Superman's world, and the comic book themes that informed the movie's characters and their story told in the blockbuster film. I'm not sure there was much within the pages I didn't really know, but I loved this movie as a kid, there's plenty to read, and the pictures inside are fun!

The back cover features a favorite promotional photo of Christopher of mine in front of the American flag- he was the Superman of my generation and still my favorite. I've appreciated other portrayals, including Brandon Routh, and Henry Cavill, but we all tend to favor early experiences and childhood heroes. And who can deny Chris Reeve's sincere portrayal ...?

More Later- Make It FUN!

Batman: Dreamland

I found this thin TPB of  Batman: Dreamland (2000) in the used section of a local shop for about three bucks, and really enjoyed it. Artist Norm Breyfogle was working on the Detective and Batman  titles during my teen years, so I really identify with his angular style on the character. I've read descriptions of it as X-Files meets Batman, and it's received some less than favorable online ratings, but it was fun. Yes there is a certain contrivance to the government conspiracy/military madman plot, but the clandestine nature of the character lends itself to that handily, so why not? While I don't review comics in a comprehensive sense here on the Super-DuperToyBox, I would say if you read comics for fun, you would enjoy this. A certain amount of nostalgia should be accounted for in my sure certainly, but it was a fun read with little investment of time.

Breyfolge and writer Alan Moore had a good run on Batman from the late eighties into the early nineties that is celebrated to this day, introducing characters like the Ventriloquist and Anarky into the Dark Knight's gallery of rogues.Breyfogle is often overshadowed by Batman artists like Jim Aparo and Neal Adams, he did his own thing with the character, often venturing toward expressionism in his rendering. I learned that Breyfogle had a stroke in 2014, leaving him paralyzed on his left side and affecting the hand he draws with- it seems the comics community came together to help with expenses, DC Comics even rushing a compendium of his work on Batman, Legends of the Dark Knight: Norm Breyfogle, Vol. 1. This appears to be the kind of deluxe volume I'd love, full of stories of the Dark Knight of my youth!

More Later- Make It FUN!

Day of Judgement: Hal Jordan Becomes the Spectre!

I stumbled  onto all five issues of the DC Day of Judgement series from '99 the other weekend while rifling through the dollar comics bins with my nephew, in which Hal Jordan take the mantle of the Spectre, spirit of Vengeance. Upon reading author Geoff John's run a few years ago, I became a big fan of the Green Lantern mythos. In Day of Judgement, Jordan becomes host for the Spectre in attempt to atone for his earlier transgressions as Parallax, when he threatened the order of the Universe by slaughtering the Green Lantern Corps. Etrigan the Demon has bonded the Spectre to the fallen angel Asmodel in an attempt to usurp rival demon Neron, and unleash chaos upon the Earth. The series features a great cast of supernatural heroes, including Phantom Stranger, Blue Devil, Deadman, Captain Marvel, Ragman, Dr. Occult, Madame Xanadu, and Dr. Fate! In 2001, DC Direct released a glow-in-the-dark Hal Jordan/Spectre figure (right)- further proof that we truly live in the Golden-Age of action figures.

Below: Hal Jordan becomes Spectre, and unleashes the spirit of vengeance upon Neron ...!

More Later- Make It FUN!