Metal Men #41

Metal Men #41 (On Sale: October 16, 1969) has a cover by Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos.

"Requiem for a Robot" is written and penciled by Mike Sekowsky and inked by George Roussos. This is the last issue of Metal Men for three years when they will return in reprints. In seven years they would return in new stories by Steve Gerber and Walt Simonson.

Edited by Mike Sekowsky.

Metal Men #40

Metal Men #40 (On Sale: August 19, 1969) has a cover by Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos.

As the Metal Men franchise is sputtering to a close next issue we have "Madman and Traitor," written and drawn by Mike Sekowsky and inked by George Roussos.

Edited by Mike Sekowsky.

Metal Men #39

Metal Men #39 (On Sale: June 17, 1969) has a cover by Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos.

The Metal Men star in the book-length story, "Beauty of the Beast" written and penciled by Mike Sekowsky and inked by George Roussos.

Edited by Mike Sekowsky.

Metal Men #38

Metal Men #38 (On Sale: April 15, 1969) has a cover by Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos.

"Witch Hunt – 1969" is written and penciled by Mike Sekowsky and inked by George Roussos. It looks like Sekowsky was trying to get on the horror/mystery bandwagon that was picking up steam at DC, even if only for an issue.

Edited by Mike Sekowsky.

Metal Men #37

Metal Men #37 (On Sale: February 13, 1969) has a cover by new editor Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos.

"To Walk Among Men" is written and penciled by Mike Sekowsky and inked by George Roussos.The Metal Men return to Earth after a space mission and find that the public wants them destroyed. The mayor forms a special council to decide their fate. A billionaire named Conan heads the council and orders the robots to be destroyed. The Metal Men reluctantly accept their end and are sent to an junkyard to be demolished.

The Metal Men are each placed into a compactor and believed destroyed. However, Conan has arranged for their secret escape. He intends to make them secret agents. With the help of artificial skin and other enhancements the Metal Men are converted into beings that appear human. They then establish themselves in ordinary profession where they can strike at a moment's notice.

Edited by Mike Sekowsky.

Metal Men #36

Metal Men #36 (On Sale: December 17, 1968) has a strikingly creepy cover Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos. That clown is just amazing.

"The Cruel Clowns" is by Robert Kanigher, Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos. Seeking to earn the public trust, the Metal Men try to help people. When their efforts go horribly wrong, they decide to stage a circus. The circus crowd is not impressed with the show until a group of clowns show up and bring laughter.

After the show, the Metal Men thank the clowns. They discover that the clowns are really aliens who take them prisoner. The Metal Men are reduced to miniature size and taken offworld to perform for the alien clowns. After a struggle, the Metal Men escape and return to Earth where they will try again to make people like them.

Edited by Jack Miller.

Metal Men #35

Metal Men #35 (On Sale: October 22, 1968) has a pretty cool cover by Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos.

"Danger -- Doom Dummies" is by Robert Kanigher, Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos. Continuing from last issue, the Metal Men are forced to do battle with an army of mannequins that have been animated by an alien entity. While the robots succeed in destroying many of their opponents, the army causes them the retreat.

Meanwhile, Tina has survived crashing into an active volcano. The alien she was trying to defeat falls in and becomes a volcano man. She is able to lure the alien back to the city where his volcanic heat melts the mannequin army. Tina then pretends to agree to the alien's demand to become his queen. She leads him out to sea where the water cools his boiling temperatures and neutralizes him.

Despite their success against the alien and his army, the authorities still mistrust the robots and believe they should be deactivated.It has been reprinted in Showcase Presents: Metal Men Vol. 2 TPB.

Edited by Jack Miller.

Metal Men #34

Metal Men #34 (On Sale: August 20, 1968) has another interesting cover by Mike Sekowsky and Jack Abel.

The Metal Men star in "Death Comes Calling" by Robert Kanigher, Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos. Continuing from last issue, the police attempt to apprehend the Metal Men after the robots have lost the public trust. The chase is interrupted when an alien from another galaxy is attracted to Earth by unusual volcanic activity. The Metal Men attempt to stop the alien, but they only succeed in endangering the authorities. The Metal Men decide to return to the lab until the authorities ask for their help. However, Tina remains in the alien's hands.

The police are unable to harm the alien either. When the alien animates store mannequins into an army, the police are forced to summon the Metal Men again. While the robots battle the wax army, Tina lures the alien into an active volcano.

Edited by Jack Miller.

Metal Men #33

Metal Men #33 (On Sale: June 18, 1968) has a dramatic cover by Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos as we get a new direction for the book, The New Hunted Metal Men.

"Recipe to Kill a Robot" is by Robert Kanigher, Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos. Doc Magnus enhances the Metal Men and increases their powers. However, he is injured in the process and slips into a coma. Will's brother Colonel David Magnus takes charge of the robots and sends them out to stop a fire. However, the Metal Men find their new powers hard to contain. They end up causing more harm which soon turns the public and the authorities against them.

The Metal Men become hunted. Lead stays behind to protect the retreat of the others. Then a giant alien fly creature known as Fferka attacks. Tina helps Lead stop the creature, but it bursts open and several smaller creatures emerge. They are forced to run away as the tiny flies grow into giants.

The Metal Men return to Doc's lab and are temporarily deactivated by Colonel Magnus. When the authorities are unable to stop the attacking flies, he reactivate the robots and sends them into battle. The alien flies are from another planet and intend to conquer Earth.

Edited by Jack Miller.

Metal Men #32

Metal Men #32 (On Sale: April 16, 1968) has a cover by Mike Sekowsky and Mike Esposito.

"The Metal Women Blues" is by Otto Binder, Mike Sekowsky and Mike Esposito and would end Binder's three-issue run as writer of this book. Jealous of Tin's partnership with Nameless, the other Metal Men petition Doc Magnus to create female counterparts for them. Doc is hesitant at first, but decides to give in to their request when he thinks that a Platinum Man might get Tina to direct her romantic attention elsewhere. Doc then creates Mercury Girl, Lead Girl, Gold Girl, Iron Girl, and Platinum Man.

The newly created robot girls join the original Metal Men on a mission against an alien invasion machine. The boys act superior which upsets the girls and causes division between the robots. Nameless and Tina side with the girls.

The alien attackers are amazon robots, and they create a sexy female robot to lure the male Metal Men into a trap.

Edited by Jack Miller.

Metal Men #31

Metal Men #31 On Sale: February 15, 1968) has a cover by Gil Kane, which, for some reason, reminds me of the covers Walt Simonson did years later on the Metal Men revival.

"The Amazing School for Robots" is by Otto Binder, Gil Kane and Mike Esposito. Doc Magnus creates a second team of Metal Men in case the first team is damaged. The second team which consists of Silver, Osmium, Gallium, Iridia, Zinc, and Cobalt are then trained by the original Metal Men. The new robots prove to be as good or better than their mentors and jealousy ensues. When Doc praises the replacements, the first team decides to quit.

Each of the original Metal Men take ordinary jobs, while Tina meets a disembodied intelligence from space named Darzz. She frees Darzz from an energy globe which then allows him to animate the inanimate. Darzz is secretly evil and uses Tina to take control of the replacement Metal Men.

The original team of Metal Men reunite to battle their replacements now under the control of Darzz. In combat, they exploit the weaknesses of the new robots and destroy them all. After Darzz has been defeated, Doc praises his original Metal Men and vows that he will not create another group to replace them.

Edited by Robert Kanigher.

Metal Men #30

Metal Men #30 (On Sale: December 19, 1967) features a cover by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito.

Inside we have "Terrors of the Forbidden Dimension" by Otto Binder, Gil Kane and Mike Esposito. This is the beginning of a three-issue run by Binder and a two-issue stint by Kane.

Edited by Robert Kanigher.

Metal Men #29

Metal Men #29 (On Sale: October 19, 1967) features another Ross Andru and Mike Esposito cover.

Inside "The Robot Eater from Metalas 5" is by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito.

Edited by Robert Kanigher.

Brave and the Bold #74

Brave and the Bold #74 (On Sale: August 24, 1967) has a cover by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito featuring Batman and the Metal Men.

Inside we have Batman and the Metal Men in "Rampant Run the Robots" by Bob Haney, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. Doc Magnus and the Metal Men attend a robot convention in Gotham City. During the exposition, several robots begin committing robberies in town. Batman investigates and traces the robots back to the convention. Dr. Daedalus, a robot inventor, finds the cause of the rogue robot behavior. Only his own robot Icarus and the Metal Men appear unaffected.

Batman and the Metal Men then go in search of the criminal robots. Batman begins to suspect that the Metal Men are part of the criminal conspiracy. As evidence stacks up against them, he has them incarcerated along with Doc Magnus. Batman then continues his pursuit of the other robots.

The rogue robots then try to kill Doc Magnus. The Metal Men are forced to escape in order to save him. Batman then realizes that the Metal Men were framed. Reprinted in Showcase Presents the Brave and the Bold Batman Team-Ups Vol. 1 TPB.

Edited by George Kashdan.

Metal Men #28

Metal Men #28 (On Sale: August 22, 1967) features a Ross Andru and Mike Esposito cover.

"You Can't Trust a Robot" is by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. The Metal Men stop a gang of bandits known as the Leopard Mask Gang. The gang leader escapes only to visit Doc's lab and steal a group of evil Metal Men, which Doc had developed for army research. Doc tries to stop the crook, but is struck in the head.

The Metal Men return to the lab just as the villain is leaving. They are defeated by their evil duplicates. Doc has amnesia, so Tina stays behind while her teammates split up to search for the evil robots.

This week Mark Evanier has a fascinating item on his blog, News From Me, regarding the creation of the Metal Men and the strange habits of their creator, Robert Kanigher. Worthwhile reading for sure!

Edited by Robert Kanigher.