Detective Comics #391

Detective Comics #391 (On Sale: July 31, 1969) has a cover by Neal Adams.

We begin with Batman in "The Gal Most Likely to Be -- Batman's Widow" by Frank Robbins, Bob Brown and Joe Giella. Tim Clark a masseuse and physical therapist at Bruce Wayne's club is having problems with his girlfriend, Ginny Jenkins (from Detective Comics #380). She has started working for Mr. Arnold at Dining Out Magazine. Through an accidentally turned on intercom Tim and Bruce learn that Mr. Arnold is using the magazine to extort advertising money out of restaurants. While Bruce leaves to change into Batman, Tim learns of Ginny's inadvertent involvement in the plan, as she is the magazine's reviewer.

That night at a restaurant being visited by Mr. Arnold and Ginny, two good threaten to ruin the food if the owner does not buy an expensive ad. the plot is broken up by Batman, but the owner refuses to finger Arnold as the instigator. that night Tim tries to warn Ginny that Arnold is a crook, but Ginny just thinks he is jealous and won't listen to him. Tim thinks she would listen if Batman was the one telling her and then hatches a plan.

Arnold meets his henchmen in the sauna at the club once again and gives them the orders for tonight's restaurant attack. When they leave Batman is seen leaving the building and an unseen person removes a bar of soap from the sauna. At tonight's restaurant, the owner is prepared to pay the extortion money when Batman comes to him with a plan. Shortly the waiter brings Arnold and Ginny a souvenir of the restaurant, only Batman shows up and reveals that the small models actually contain the pay-off money. Arnold pulls a gun, but Batman knocks him out and then comforts Ginny.

Arnold comes to and calls for his men who sneak up on Batman and knock him out. Before they throw him off the balcony to his death they unmask Batman and find that he is Tim Clark. Only the real Batman shows up at that time and mops up the gang, reveals that the money they were given was marked by the owner and also reveals a small tape recorder hidden in a bar of soap that Batman used to gather evidence against Arnold and his men.

The back-up Robin story is "Strike" by Mike Friedrich, Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson and continues from last issue. Personally, I thought last issue was a pretty much jumbled mess and this issue doesn't really do much to rectify that feeling.I never liked the Friedrich Robin stories, they never rang true for me, though he sure wrote a lot of them in his five years at DC.

The head negotiator for the college has abruptly ended negotiations with the Teachers' Union. Dick Grayson and Gotham Owl editor Rocky follow the negotiator and see him talking to two kids wearing Skyline jackets, one of whom Dick recognizes as the one that got away from the skirmish Friday night.

Rocky leaves and Dick is free to change into Robin and after a relatively quick fight the head negotiator tells how he was blackmailed into ending negotiations and that someone had tried to run over his son. One of the Skyline kids tells Robin who their boss is, where to find him and what type of protection he has.

Robin quickly foots it to the bosses HQ, and knock out the two guards he was warned about outside the building. He then races into the big man's office only to find two more gunsels that he knew nothing about. Robin realizes he has been set up , but as the thugs prepare to blast him, the police call out over a loudspeaker for the thugs to surrender with their hands up. Robin uses the momentary distraction to take out the two thugs and the big boss. When he calls for the police to come in and take them all away he finds that it was only Rocky, who had followed Robin to the thugs hideout.

It ends up the big boss owned land adjacent to the college and wanted to make sure that his land was used for the campus expansion. Later the negotiations are begun again and a new contract is quickly signed. This story was reprinted in Batman in the Sixties TPB and Showcase Presents: Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 1 TPB.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Adventure Comics #384

Adventure Comics #384 (On Sale: July 31, 1969) has a cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.

We begin with Supergirl in "The Heroine Haters" by Cary Bates, Winslow Mortimer and Jack Abel. That is followed by another new Supergirl story, "Supergirl's Greatest Failure" by Cary Bates and Kurt Schaffenberger.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Action Comics #380

Action Comics #380 (On Sale: July 31, 1969) has a cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.

We begin with Superman in "The Confessions of Superman" by Leo Dorfman, Curt Swan and George Roussos. That is followed by the Legion of Super-Heroes in "Half a Legionnaire?" by Jim Shooter, Winslow Mortimer and Jack Abel, which was reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 9 HC.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Lord of the Diorama

Show your work.

Click to make mighty like Tantor!

From the tabloid-sized DC Limited Collector's Edition C-22 (1973).

Eric Shonborn covers All Top Comics 14

Original believed to be by Matt Baker; Fox 1948. Eric Shonborn's website is here.

Jym Davis covers Popeye 80

Original cover by Bud Sagendorf ; Gold Key 1966. Jym Davis's website is here.

I don't think I'll ever be over Macho Grande

This Is Not A Blog Post

David King covers Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen 77

Original cover by Curt Swan and George Klein; DC 1964. David King's website is here.

Really, Marvel?

It's been long established Jennifer Walters has always gotten more than the usual kick out of fisticuffs and the Sentry cuts a fine figure so who can blame a girl for getting all enthusiastic, but...

Hard enough to score concrete?

Oh, and it doesn't matter what font you write it in, Earth-8009 will always look like Earth-BOOB at first glance.

Like that was a coincidence.

Images from Savage She-Hulk #4 (September 2009), only one was manipulated. Guess which one.

Laying low

Sorry for the paucity of posts recently. I've been reading a lot and not looking at any particularly shocking films, Asian or otherwise. No, wait, I tell a lie: The Savage Innocents (1960), Nicholas Ray's eskimo saga, has some pretty shocking footage of actual polar bear and walrus hunts. That was hard to watch. (This is also the film that inspired Bob Dylan to write the song Quinn the Eskimo -- for its star, Anthony Quinn -- covered by Manfred Mann in 1968. Seeing the film clears up strange lines like "ain't my cup of meat.")

A Taxing Woman (1987), Juzo Itami's follow-up to Tampopo, starring, once again, his wife Nobuko Miyamoto and the great Tsutomu Yamazaki (the cowboy trucker in Tampopo as well as the kidnapper in Kurosawa's High & Low) wasn't what I (or anyone back in 1987) was expecting. While the previous film had been frothy, fanciful and funny, this film, about a gung-ho tax inspector and her unexpectedly complex relationship with a crooked, yakuza-related business man, is a bit long and somewhat downbeat. Fine film, just not as funny as I thought it would be. Incidentally, the real yakuza didn't take kindly to Itami's portrayal of them -- he wound up getting knifed for his efforts. True story.

Tiger Shark (1932) and Only Angels Have Wings (1939) are big, manly movies courtesy of legendary Hollywood director Howard Hawks. The former is all about the perils of the commercial fishing trade (lots of sharks!) and stars Edward G. Robinson doing a cheesy Portugese accent and falling in love with with the wrong woman. Body parts get chomped left and right in this flick, as well as a hook in the face and other instances of nautical nastiness. Only Angels Have Wings has Cary Grant as a mail courier based in Brazil (or some Brazil-like country) who, with his rag-tag gang of fliers, risks life and limb to get the mail (or whatever) to remote, mountainous, always-dangerous locations. Jean Arthur is sweet on him, his ex is Rita Hayworth (in an early and rather embarrassing performance) and his men represent a stable of great character actor talent from the period. Also, look for once-huge silent star Richard Barthelmess in a rather unrewarding role as a hated, black sheep pilot.

The Japanese word maborosi translates as phantom, vision, illusion, and also sounds like the English word morose. So with the film Maborosi (1995), we have a subtle, haunting meditation on love, loss, grief and starting over in a small Japanese fishing village. The original title is Maborosi no hikari which means something like "phantom light" -- a reference to a tale told by an old fisherman toward the end of the film. In other words, there ain't no ghosts. An arthouse slow burn, this film gets slower and slower as you go. Only the atmoshpere saves it. See what you think.

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985) isn't a Japanese film, although it's all in Japanese and stars Japanese actors. It's Paul Schrader's tribute to famed novelist Yukio Mishima (who famously committed seppuku in 1970 following a doomed political misadventure). The film follows Mishima's life while meandering in and out of stagey interpretations of several of his stories, drawing obvious parallels throughout. One reason to see it is the great Ken Ogata in the starring role. Another is Kenji Sawada (Samurai Reincarnation, Hiruko the Goblin, Happiness of the Katakuris) in one of the vignettes. If you would like to see the real Yukio Mishima in a movie, he starred as a feckless yakuza in Yasuzo Masumura's Afraid to Die (1960), did a blink-and-you'll-miss-him bit as a human doll in Kinji Fukasaku's Black Lizard (1968) and had a small role in Hideo Gosha's Tenchu (1969) wherein he ... wait for it ... commits seppuku!

Black Test Car (1962) was recently released on disk by Fantoma. It's an industrial espionage film concerning rival car companies and all the skullduggery their corporate spies get up to (like bribery, blackmail, prostitution, kidnapping, assault, you name it). Directed by one of my favorite Japanese directors, Yasuzo Masumura, this film makes a great double feature with his Giants and Toys (1958), another corporate saga, albeit a much funnier one (though still fairly dark) about the battles between three competing caramel companies.

And I have to admit I was completely charmed by My Neighbor Totoro (1988), an anime feature from Hayao Miyazaki. So much so, in fact, that I bought a copy for a neighbor's 2-year-old daughter (who was herself completely entranced). It's hard to describe: The vibe is so sweet and gentle and filled with such a genuine sense of childlike wonder. I was really surprised by the degree to which it moved an old curmudgeon like me. Go figure.

Anthony Vukojevich covers The Man Who Loved Breasts

Original cover by Robert Goodin; 2008 Top Shelf Productions. Anthony Vukojevich's website is here.

Kerry Callen covers Marvel Chillers 3

Original cover by Gil Kane and Bernie Wrightson; 1976 Marvel. Kerry Callen's website is here.

Lombardoland

LP circa 1956, if the date on the license plate from Stupidlandia is any indication.

World's Finest Comics #187

World's Finest Comics #187 (On Sale: July 24, 1969) has a cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.

We begin with Superman and Batman in "The Demon Sin" by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. The back-up strip is Green Arrow in "The Green Arrow's First Case" a reprint from Adventure Comics #256. This telling of Green Arrow's origin is by France Herron, Jack Kirby and Roz Kirby. Green Arrow and his partner Speedy learn of a scientific expedition bound for Starfish Island. G.A. is worried that the expedition will uncover his secret identity because the island was where he became Green Arrow. As the two archers fly to the island to intercept the expedition, G.A. tells Speedy the story of how he became Green Arrow.

One night, Oliver Queen fell overboard on a ship. He was unable to be rescued, so he swam to a nearby island. He made a home in a cavern on the island and fashioned a bow and arrow for hunting. At first his aim was poor, but long hours of practice paid off and he improved.

While fishing with his arrows, the fish would swim away after being hit, so Queen attached a vine to the arrow so that he could reel in his catch. This became his first trick arrow; a rope arrow. He soon created net and drill arrows, as well as a green leaf outfit for camouflage while hunting.

One evening Queen spotted a ship offshore. He swam to the ship to discover that the crew was mutinying. Using grease to cover the reflection of light on his white face, The masked Queen defeated the pirates and acted for the first time as Green Arrow.

Green Arrow kept a diary of events on the cavern wall. He is worried the expedition will find it and learn his secret identity. Using a fake-uranium arrow, G.A. scares off the expedition who believes there is radiation on the island. G.A. then destroys the diary so no one will learn his secret.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Showcase #85

Showcase #85 (On Sale: July 24, 1969) has a very nice Firehair cover by Joe Kubert.

We have a feature-length Firehair origin story, "I Don't Belong Here -- I Don't Belong There" which is obviously a labor of love for writer/artist/editor Joe Kubert. the story opens sometime in the early 1800's with our hero riding bareback across the desert being chased by a gaggle of towns-people shooting in his direction. Firehair is a teen-aged boy in Native American garb, with white skin and glowing red hair in two long tails trailing down his back. he has been shot but continues to ride.

When he reaches a rock face he leaps for it and begins to climb its face. The towns-folk dismount and take aim just as a hand reaches out of a cave in the rock and pulls Firehair to relative safety. The enraged towns-people fire off so many shots that they cause a landslide which covers the mouth of the cave, trapping Firehair and his unknown benefactor. Inside we find a Shaman and Evening Star, a young woman of the Blackfoot nation.

Firehair has been shot multiple times and they cannot move him from the cave, As the Shaman dresses his wounds, Firehair is enveloped by delirious dreams of his past. He sees a tribal fire he never witnessed where the Shaman tells the tribal elders of the terrible destruction of the Blackfoot and their brother nations at the hand of the paleface that he has foreseen. He also speaks of a great warrior who will arise, who will not look like any warrior in the Indian Nations, who will be despised by his own people and those he will seek to help. A great warrior who is the Blackfoot's only hope for salvation.

As Firehair's vision continues he sees the same tribe gathered on a mesa and attacking the wagon train below. Attacking relentlessly until all the pale ones are dead, all save one child with flaming red hair, whom Chief Grey Cloud takes to raise as his own. The resentment and hostility towards the white child runs deep in the village, but to some extent hidden. As young Firehair grows he learns that in order to survive and to prove himself worthy of being the Chief's son, he must be better than all the other children in the village, and so he is. But he is also alone and friendless. The years pass and Firehair reaches the age of manhood and goes off on a vision quest; the only one in the village offering him good luck is Evening Star. He fasts for five days seeing visions of his past, present and future and arises a man.

Back at his village he tells his father he dreamed of others with skin like his and wants to find them, to see if he belongs in their world. And so, Firehair heads off for the town, where he is attacked by a bully in the general store and when he fights back the whole town wants his hide. The town Sheriff steps in to break things up, but Firehair has had enough and breaks away, riding out of town, the towns-people shooting at his back.

His feverish vision ends and he finds himself in the cave with Evening Star, who says that now that he is better they can return home. But Firehair says he does not have a home, not with the Blackfoot and not with the palefaces. And so he sets off to travel the Earth looking for a place where he can belong.

I can not say enough about Joe Kubert's artwork on this book. He obviously spent a lot of time doing research on the Blackfoot nation and culture and you see it in every panel. He littered the book with wonderful detail and employed a grease pencil on every page, some times just a little, some times a lot, to give the pages a look different from any of the other books being published at that time.

Firehair would appear in two more issues of Showcase before finding a spot as a back-up strip in Tomahawk for another three issues. He didn't show up again till the character-packed Showcase #100 and then again in Crisis on Infinite Earths. In 1989 he was in one issue of Swamp Thing and then completely forgotten until the publication of War That Time Forgot in 2008 and where he can still be seen today.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Justice League of America #74

Justice League of America #74 (On Sale: July 24, 1969) has a cover by Neal Adams.

"Where Death Fears to Tread" by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin and Sid Greene continues from the previous issue. Banished living star, Aquarius, got hold of Starman's Cosmic Rod and used it to wipe out of existence all of Earth-Two, except for a sextet of Justice Society members. who along with Black Canary's husband, Larry Lance, are trapped in a mystic sphere of Dr. Fate's creation and the android hero Red Tornado who escaped to Earth-One and is now bringing back the Justice League.

I need to stop here for just a moment to discuss foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is a literary device where the author drops hints or clues early on in a story, the more innocuous and seemingly unimportant the better, only to have those hints come back later on as a key component in solving whatever predicament arises in the story. For foreshadowing to work, there has to be somewhat of a slight-of-hand going on, the reader must take in the information but not realize it has any importance. What Denny O'Neil does next is a bit of foreshadowing, but it is so clumsily handled that anyone reading the story can see it for what it is and it takes away something from a story that is of classic importance. Yeah, this is a classic issue for a couple of reasons, as you will soon see, but what you are going to see first is a really fumbled attempt at foreshadowing.

As the JLA traverse the dimensions between Earth-One and Earth-Two, most of the member are protected by Green Lantern's ring. Right before they complete the journey, Green Lantern makes sure he avoids the negative matter universe, whose entrance just happens to be right there, along the inter-dimensional path the heroes travel. Oy!

Aquarius is growing bored with the JSA heroes and is contemplating finishing them off when the JLA heroes pop up. Needing time to figure out what is going on, Aquarius places a mesmeric command in the air and then disappears. Seeing Aquarius flee, Dr. Fate relaxes his energy bubble and when he does so Aquarius's command to "Destroy the Intruders!" takes hold.

We are then treated to a fairly interesting eight-page fight between the JSA and the JLA. The only really important part of this fight is when Green Arrow hits Black Canary with a "stickum arrow" which covers her in a gloppy mess, adhering her to the ground (OK, since Earth-Two and everyone on it have been destroyed I have no idea to what "ground" she is stuck, but she is.). The important thing to remember is that she is stuck and can't move. OK, there is one other important thing, Green Lantern of Earth-One has used his ring to find Aquarius and bring him to the JLA.

Aquarius fights off Green Lantern's energy beams and sends some of his own back in Lantern's direction. The beams of energy coalesce into a huge multi-hued sphere, but Aquarius's aim is a little off and instead of heading for Green Lantern the sphere is heading for Black Canary. Canary's husband, Larry Lance, senses the danger to his wife and does the only thing he can think of to save her, he jumps in front of the sphere and shields her body with his own...and it kills him!

The energy released by the exploding sphere releases the JSA from the murderous command of Aquarius and it also restores Earth-Two and everyone on it, but it kills Black Canary's husband. A few hours later the combined heroes bury Larry Lance and Aquarius shows up and laughs at the anguish of the heroes.

The heroes attack Aquarius and the Green Lanterns are able to taunt Aquarius into following them in the negative matter universe where their rings protect them, but Aquarius is destroyed.
The threat ended the JLA say their good-byes and prepare to return to Earth-One, but before they leave, Black Canary, saying she can't stand the thought of living in a world full of memories of Larry, asks if she can go with them to Earth-One. Superman picks her up and the first of the Golden Age DC characters moves from Earth-Two to Earth-One. This has been reprinted in Crisis on Multiple Earths Vol. 2 TPB, Justice League of America Archives Vol. 9 HC and Showcase Presents: Justice League of America Vol. 4 TPB.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Kelly Froh covers Konga 18

Original cover by Bill Montes and Ernie Bache; 1964 Charlton. Kelly Froh's website is here.

Rolling Back The Years

Before Rick Marshall met his terrible end by bouncing off the steep walls of the Grand Canyon he made a few detours through time and space courtesy of the same rip in the fabric of the universe our favorite World War 1 era puppy Schatzi fell through way back in Star Spangled War Stories #148.

Who loves a retcon? That's right, we all do! When a retcon is mashed-up with a cross-over then it is like Blogiversary in July!

Yep, I started this site on this date back in July 2005. Or was it 1992? You never know with a retcon!

Thanks to all those who linked, read, supported, critiqued, ignored, picked-apart and gave advice over the years.

Special thanks to Marionette, Bully and his pal John, Dr. Zauis and Comics Should Be Good.

If I left anyone out it is because I suck but rest assured I appreciate all you did, even that one mean guy I won't mention, because whatever little I do is better because of it.

Simón Wilches covers Adventure 299

Original cover by Curt Swan and George Klein; DC 1962. Simón Wilches's website is here.

Shock and Oa

Here is some comic book trivia to impress your friends with: In the 1960s revival of Green Lantern, the character that helped usher in the Silver Age of Comics the author of the series (Presumably John Broome) named the planet headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps as Oa, which is situated at the center of the fictional DC universe.

Why John Broome chose that combination rather than make up a silly alien barely-pronounceable word can only be speculated but it is likely that the name of Oa was created by placing together the number Zero and the letter A, with the number and letter being pronounced in the long form as "Oh-Ah".

This was probably no accident. The name is derived from the physical coordinates of the planet, being at the center of the universe, that of Zero/A. It's really clever and obvious on the part of the creative team and I feel embarrassed to realize that if I ever read about or figured out the origin of the name of the planet before this I subsequently forgot all about it.

Windy and Willy #3

Windy and Willy #3 (On Sale: July 22, 1969) has a very nice cover by Bob Oksner.

We have a feature-length untitled story reprinted from Many Lives of Dobie Gillis #20 and drawn by Bob Oksner. It is partially redrawn and retitled Windy and Willy.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Sugar and Spike #85

Sugar and Spike #85 (On Sale: July 22, 1969) has a cover by Sheldon Mayer.

We begin with "Bernie the Brain and the Octopus" reprinted from Sugar and Spike #72. Next is "The Mystery of the Giant Jungle-Gym" reprinted from Sugar and Spike #43. That is followed by "Sugar Becomes an Indian Chief" reprinted from Sugar and Spike #48. Next is "Who Said That?" reprinted from Sugar and Spike #41. We end with "Sugar's Great-Great-Great Grampa Plumm" reprinted from Sugar and Spike #24. All stories and artwork are by Sheldon Mayer.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Adventures of Jerry Lewis #114

Adventures of Jerry Lewis #114 (On Sale: July 22, 1969) has a cover by Bob Oksner.

We have Jerry Lewis stories: "The Flowers That Boom in the Spring" and "The Nut That Holds the Wheel."

Edited by Murray Boltinoff

Brian Butler covers the Maxx 2

Original cover by Sam Kieth and Jim Sinclair; Image 1993. Brian Butler's website is here.

And here's a puppy floating in a plane

Of course there is a Hayley Mills & Schatzi version. Duh.

Click the picture to beat the Russians!

From The World Around Us - SPACE (January 1951).

Thomas Pitilli covers Archie 312

Original cover by Dan DeCarlo; Archie 1982. Thomas Pitilli's website is here.

Facial appearance turns healthy-looking, natural and EVIL

Adding an atom-powered evil electronic brain to anything makes it awesome.

Soap Opera Love #3 (June 1983).

Andras Csaszar covers Drywall: Unzipped

Original cover by Rob Schrab; Fireman Press Ltd 1996. Andras Csaszar's website is here.

Look to the past for the solution to DADT

While it is true that women have always performed admirably in the United States Military it was also true that many job fields were restricted to men. The reasons for excluding women from some duties are numerous but primarily it was due to the mostly male opinion that some jobs are too hazardous or physical for women and are better left to their male counterparts to perform.

In the 1980s the decision was made to open many fields to women that previously excluded them. Some of these fields were at the time "proof-of-concept" exercises. Many positions were strictly for training and personnel placement purposes as females were as yet not allowed into actual combat. While this decision to include women in certain squad duties was a positive step forwards in equal treatment, at the time the integration of females into some fields was an unpopular move with many in the service.

This was particularly evident in parts of the military where the majority of the job tasks did not take place in a traditional office and required greater physical labor and longer hours at work. It was directed that of every unit a certain percentage of women be trained for combat positions. While this was not as great an upset in some branches of the military in the Air Force it was particularly problematic for some. Those who had no predilection for certain tasks were suddenly given a new duty simply because of their gender. In usual circumstances an individual is tested early in their career as to what job they are best suited for. Typically the ability of the soldier is matched with the requirements of the service and hopefully everything works out to everyone's benefit. Since the program was in an the early stages many people had no chance to be screened to see if they could be of benefit to the service in that particular position. There were great successes and spectacular failures but today very few people doubt that a woman could function in a combat position.

But in the beginnings of the program, certain peacetime combat positions, which for the Military Police meant training and certification on certain heavy weapons and other systems, were more desirable than others. Often a certification with some systems and weapons meant that during training exercises and deployments instead of being marooned (often for days) in inclement weather on a concrete pad in the middle of nowhere the lucky soldier was able to ride in climate controlled vehicles, go home at night, eat hot meals and just have a better over-all experience than the other grunts who were out busting their humps with boring, though necessary, physical labor and training.

The aspect that many in the field resented was that women were becoming certified in systems and with weapons that traditionally went to male members of the service. What this meant for the average grunt was that during exercises and training the women of the squadron were suddenly taken from their usual duties and temporarily placed into the more desirable posts. The men felt ripped-off and rightly so. They were the ones who, after all, put in all the extra work required servicing heavy weapons on a daily basis and they were abruptly exiled to the less-desirable duties while the female newbies got to relax a bit during exercises and deployments. Training deployments that included women in combat positions they would not at that time work in during an actual conflict caused a lot of resentment among the troops. The sentiment among many was that they got tossed aside for what amounted to a series of photo-ops at the expense of those who had already paid their dues.

The military recognized what was happening among the ranks and quickly took steps to rectify the hostility and reduced morale. That women would eventually serve as equals in combat is inevitable. It has worked with great success in many armed forces around the world. That women being assigned to combat roles has been slow to happen in the United States Military is not the fault of the ability of the individual soldier, but that of leadership.

When grumbling was heard about women being assigned to duties they would not actually perform in a conflict it was initially resolved by someone high up the chain of command dropping the hammer on all of those those below them. From the top down it was made abundantly clear that women would be training for combat positions. Women will be treated with the same respect due any other member of the military. The same standards will apply to everyone. If they can't hack it then that is what retraining and perhaps administrative discharges are for. Basically, any unhappy GI was told to shut up and deal with it. It was a new military and new challenges were on the horizon.

Which brings us to the current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Long ago the military recognized a fact that they were very uncomfortable with: Many soldiers were homosexual. Equally troubling to the leadership was the reality that the majority of these soldiers served with distinction and were far from a liability to a unit. Ask any VA nurse off the record how many of their patients are gay and the answer will invariably be "Lots of them."

Loathe to lose valuable and experienced resources the regulations about homosexual service members were changed. A member of the armed forces could serve as long as they kept their preferences a secret. It was a controversial decision and the debate continues to this very day and usually to the detriment of the military. The current President pledged to overturn DADT early in his administration but due to political pressure or inertia among the branches of the service has either delayed doing so for the foreseeable future or is taking it far slower than some people would like. None of this is a matter of anyone's idea of right or wrong or if they are pro, con or indifferent. This trancends all of that. It is a matter of human rights and human dignity.

As history has proven time and again outmoded, bigoted rules have hurt the ability of the American military to defend the country. Pilots that were desperately needed in combat by the Allied war effort in the 1940s were delegated to minor duties because they were African-American. During and after WW2 the people of Japanese and Philippine decent were considered untrustworthy to serve. A translator specializing in middle-eastern languages and whose work is of vital importance to intelligence gathering, is discharged because he is gay. What is overlooked is that none of this is rin reality a matter of anyone's idea of right or wrong or if they are pro, con or indifferent. This trancends all of that. It is a matter of human rights and human dignity.

It is long past time that DADT was rescinded. The arguments against this being done are many and they are the same old tired tropes with only the name changed. There are claims that openly gay soldiers are bad for morale and will harm the effectiveness of a unit and the ability to succeed in a mission. The same claims were once made of African-Americans, the Japanese and women. These claims are true after a fashion not because of the soldier's preferences, skin color or gender but rather the cultural environment they exist in, and then only if it is tolerated by leadership. Overcoming the ignorance and entrenched ideas of such a large collective as the US Military takes decades, if ever. Soldiers take to regulations quickly but change their minds slowly.

What is required to enact change is for decisive action to be taken once and for all by those in charge. In the 1980s soldiers that had a continuing problem working with women in combat roles found themselves facing administrative charges or getting shown the door. Attitudes changed after a while and male soldiers began asking why they were the only ones getting shot at and opined that women should serve in combat along side them taking the same risks and garnering the same rewards. Gradually convincing each and every service member that gay soldiers can serve openly without destroying America isn't going to work. We need every able-bodied person we can get and we need to keep them. As with the manner in which women were successfully integrated into a greater role in the services this is also how homosexuality will finally be decriminalized in the United States Military.

What is required for DADT to be eradicated is a leader to cut an order that each and every person in our military from the top down must obey, and it boils down to this: Treat everyone the same, or face the consequences.

The Dis-Factor

Planet Comics #40 (January 1946).

Teen Titans #23

Teen Titans #23 (On Sale: July 17, 1969) has one of the most popular Nick Cardy covers of all time. I know the 13-year-old me drooled over this one for hours, eh weeks... OK, months... alright, years! This cover always reminds me of Kurt Busiek's afterword in The Art of Nick Cardy where he recalls, "...I'm at a Marvel Christmas party and Cardy's name comes up, and Miss Jo Duffy, sitting on a desk, bursts out with, "Oh, man! He was the best--he did the best jailbait ever!" Indeed, and Nick Cardy's Wonder Girl was the queen of my Silver Age jailbait.

"The Rock 'n' Roll Rogue" is by Bob Haney, Gil Kane and Nick Cardy and is another example of Cardy's wonderful inking style. The Teen Titans are enjoying a Sammy Soul concert from the front row when Sammy suddenly runs from the stage causing the kids to start a major riot in the theater. Robin and Wonder Girl, showing off her new and improved costume distract the kids with a show of acrobatics while Kid Flash gives everyone on hand an instant refund. the immediate crisis averted the Titans take the Titan whirlybird to Sammy Soul's estate, where below Sammy's cousin Irmgard and her husband Luther are arguing with Sammy's manager over who owns him till he reaches legal age.

The Titans land and listen to Sammy's tale of woe, an orphan who grew up in a foster family who never loved him but now fight over custody since he has become famous and rich, how the only person who ever loved him was his Uncle Matt who was lost in South America years ago whole looking for treasure. Wonder Girl tries to come on to Sammy, to console him and Robin tells her to "Cool it." Looking back on these stories I guess, for a while there, they played up Wonder Girl as a little slut, something I never minded as a kid.

Anyway, the Titans leave but the next day they return to find Sammy is missing, but they find a clue in a guitar given to Sammy by his Uncle Matt and decide that Sammy has headed off to South America to find his Uncle. Sammy has landed in Los Santos Venezuela and is mobbed by fans even there, but is rescued by Juan Sastre, who tells Sammy he remembers Sammy's uncle, Matt Murdock (strange how that name gets around comics), who vanished in the great plateau of the interior of the country. Juan signs on as Sammy's guide and off they go.

Meanwhile, the Titans have tracked Sammy and locate his helicopter on the plateau. When they land to inspect the site, they are attacked by native headhunters, who are beaten back by an onslaught of arrows from Speedy. Sammy and Juan have been taken by the natives to their village where they find Uncle Matt unharmed in one of the huts, However, he has lost his memory, which Juan says is the only thing keeping him alive as the natives will not shrink the head of an amnesiac.

The Titans discover the village and using all of their powers they manage to rescue Sammy, Juan and Uncle Matt and thanks once again to Speedy and his amazing array of arrows they manage to keep the natives from following them. But, a short time later Matt's memory returns and he leads them through a tunnel to a hidden indoor pool,, which he says is El Dorado, where the old Indian civilization tossed their fortune in gold and emeralds to keep them from the Spanish conquistadors. It was while diving deep for the treasure that Uncle Matt lost his memory and was captured by the headhunters.

Wonder Girl says that she can swim very deep and will dive for the treasure but all she finds are the bones of those who tried to find El Dorado in the past. Convinced that he has not found El Dorado Uncle Matt agrees to return home, but on the way back to the choppers the natives capture Juan. Using Sammy's amps and mics from his helicopter, Uncle Matt booms his voice out into the jungle pretending to be the thunder god, Pichu Pichu and using Wonder Girl to drop Sammy Soul dolls from the sky as thunder god tributes the natives are convinced to let Juan go free. This story was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Teen Titans Vol. 2 TPB.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Strange Adventures #220

Strange Adventures #220 (On Sale: July 17, 1969) has an Adam Strange cover by Joe Kubert.

We begin with Adam Strange in "The Beast from the Runaway World" reprinted from Mystery In Space #55 and created by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Bernard Sachs. Adam Strange waits for the Zeta Beam to strike Earth and return him to Rann, but the Beam never comes. Puzzled by its failure to appear, Adam calculates when the next beam is scheduled to strike and takes it to Rann.

When he arrives, he meets Alanna, who explains that the first beam was intercepted by a planet with an erratic orbit. A creature from that planet was brought to Rann, Zaradak. Zaradak, a giant dinosaur-like beast, has been causing damage on Rann ever since.

Adam attempts to stop the creature with his ray-gun, but the creature absorbs and reflects the blast. Adam has food brought to the beast, which settles its rampage. It was only hungry.

When an alien attack force arrives, Adam plans to use the creature to deflect their bombs, but the Zeta energy in the creature returns it to its native world. Adam flies into space to intercept the bomb, destroying with his ray-gun just prior to his own return ride to Earth on the Zeta Beam.

Next is "The Star Oscar" reprinted from Strange Adventures #34 and the work of Sid Gerson and Frank Giacoia.

We end with the Atomic Knights in "The Lost City of Los Angeles" reprinted from Strange Adventures #126 and produced by John Broome and Murphy Anderson. After a hurricane devastates Durvale, Gardner Grayle proposes to discover what remains of the country. He instructs the Hobard brothers to build gliders with which they can fly across country. Bryndon joins Gardner and the Hobards on the trip west. The plains of the midwest are black and lifeless and the Rocky Mountains have become volcanic.

The Knights finally reach Los Angeles, where they locate a small band of living humans. The Knights help them retrieve a supply of food from a canyon protected by electrical beings which are merely illusionary. After getting the food, Bryndon sets up a radio allowing the Knights to communicate with Durvale.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.