Secret Hearts #146

Secret Hearts #146 (On Sale: July 7, 1970) has a cover inked by Dick Giordano.

This issue has two longer than normal stories. We begin with "A Kiss to Light the Darkness" inked by Vinny Colletta and we end with our cover-story, "Wasting My Love on You." Not much else to say about this one.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Detective Comics #402

Detective Comics #402 (On Sale: June 30, 1970) has a great cover by Neal Adams.

The Man-Bat returns in "Man or Bat?" by Frank Robbins, Neal Adams and Dick Giordano. The story opens with some thugs pulling a heist at a biochemical lab. what they don't know is that hanging in the rafters above them lurks the tormented Kirk Langstrom, now even more bat than the last time we saw him in the classic Detective #400. He waits in an agitated state for them to crack the safe below so that he can get what he so desperately needs. But just when it seems the hour of his saving is at hand Batman appears to break up the heist. When the Man-Bat appears to join him in thwarting the crime, Batman calls him a friend, but when Man-Bat reveals that he needs something from the safe, something he has brought money to pay for, Batman tries to stop him.

When Batman tries to unmask Kirk he realizes that he is not wearing a mask, but is truly a transformed human. Still he tries to stop the Man-Bat, but is knocked unconscious in the scuffle and Kirk departs with the drug he came looking for.

When he awakens, Batman heads off for the museum when he first met the Man-Bat hoping there to find a clue to his identity. When he gets there he finds Francine Lee, Kirk's fiancée trying to gain entrance. Kirk was supposed to be at an exhibit in Chicago, but he never arrived there and Francine is worried that something may be wrong. Upstairs Kirk has concocted a formula he hopes will reverse his bizarre transformation, but when he is startled by Batman and Francine at his door he drops the serum and flees out the window.

Batman tells Francine that the strange creature who has just fled is her fiancée, Kirk Langstrom, and that when they barged in Batman saw him mouth her name. batman thinks he can recreate the dropped serum in the Batcave and heads off to find Kirk and hopefully a cure for this transformation.

He finds Kirk up on a cliff and when he comes for him Kirk leaps from the cliff in fear, but rather than dying in the fall, huge batwings appear from under his coat and his transformation complete he flies off into the night following the flight of a "brother" bat. He follows the bat to his home, which happens to be, the Batcave. Kirk reaches the inner recesses of the cave just as Batman returns. He is momentarily blinded by the lights as they come one but uses his bat sonar to find an exit. Only, Langstrom's exit is the Batmobile;s entrance and Batman leaps from the car to divert Kirk from hitting it head-on.

He latches on to the Man-Bat, telling him that he is there to help him, to create an antidote, but Kirk takes Batman on a ride to the heights of the Batcave only to drop him from there. Some light fixtures break his fall, but from the floor he sees Langstrom about to fly out the open Batcave entrance. Clicking a remote on his belt Batman closes the door and Kirk is knocked unconscious by the door. Batman then ponders what to do, should he attempt to cure Langstrom, even though his brain may have been permanently damaged by his transformation, or should he leave him alone in his cursed condition? "Merciful heaven--What an impossible decision to make! There can be only one answer...if he must ide...ket it be as the man he once was!"

Batman gets to work in a tale continued in Detective #407. "Man or Bat?" was reprinted in Batman from the 30s to the 70s HC, Man-Bat #1 and Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams Vol. 2 HC.

The back-up story is Robin in "My Place in the Sun" by Mike Friedrich, Gil Kane and Vince Colletta. The story begins with Robin flying in on the Arrow Jet with Speedy all the way from Teen Titans #28. Dick shows Roy (Speedy) Harper around Hudson University. In the cafeteria a fight breaks out between some "punks" and a group called Project 70 who work with kids from a nearby juvenile detention farm. Dick changes into Robin to stop the fight. Robin goes after the big punk only to find out that it was the little kid Robin was trying to protect who started the fight.

Back in his room Dick is pissed at himself for jumping to conclusions without any evidence. That day Dick hears it all over campus, as Robin becomes the main topic of discussion. Some of the kids are for him, but many think he is just a vigilante and shouldn't be there. When he returns from shopping he finds Roy in his Speedy threads, heading off for a date with Wonder Girl.

After Roy leaves, Dick begins to question his role as Robin, but in the end he decides to keep the name and the costume. "...if I made a mistake once, I'm not gonna make it again! When I go out into that adult world, I want everyone to know that Robin is no longer a boy, but still a wonder!" Not a great story and certainly not great artwork.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Heart Throbs #127

Heart Throbs #127 (On Sale: June 25, 1970) has a cover penciled by Jay Scott Pike and inked by Vinny Colletta.

We begin with "Choose Between Us" and move on to our cover-story "Heartbreak for Two" penciled by Jay Scott Pike. We end with "Am I Too Young for Love?" inked by Bernard Sachs.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Girls' Love Stories #153

Girls' Love Stories #153 (On Sale: June 25, 1970) has a cover inked by Dick Giordano.

We begin with "For Love or Money," which according to Wikipedia, contains the first American comic work of Tony DeZuniga. In this case it is Tony's inking that is introduced over the pencils of Ric Estrada. We move on to "The Engagement Ring" pencilled by Don Heck. Next is "The Cheat" inked by Vinny Colletta and we end with "The 3 Faces of Love."

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Girls' Romances #149

Girls' Romances #149 (On Sale: April 9, 1970) has a cover inked by Vinny Colletta.

We begin with our cover-story "That Kind of Girl" drawn by Ric Estrada and Vince Colletta (personally, I always loved those kinds of girls!). Next is "You Can't Lie About Love" drawn by Mike Sekowsky and Bernard Sachs. We end with "Too Good to Be Loved" drawn by Murphy Anderson.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Young Romance #166

Young Romance #166 (On Sale: April 7, 1970) has a cover by persons unknown.

We begin with "Please, Please, Someone, Love Me" drawn by John Rosenberger. Next is "A Price on My Love" and then "Just No Good." We end with "Love Pass Me By" drawn by Ric Estrada and Vinny Colletta.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Unexpected #119

Unexpected #119 (On Sale: April 2, 1970) has a cover by Nick Cardy.

We begin with "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who's the Deadliest of All?" drawn by Bernie Wrightson. That is followed by "The Swampchild" by Carl Wessler, Werner Roth and Frank Giacoia. Next is "Rachel Isn't Ready to Die" by George Kashdan, Sid Greene and Vinny Colletta. We next have "Rest in Pieces" drawn by Murphy Anderson and reprinted in Unexpected #160. We end with "A Phantom in the Tree" by Murray Boltinoff and Jerry Grandenetti.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Secret Hearts #144

Secret Hearts #144 (On Sale: April 2, 1970) has a cover inked by Dick Giordano.

We begin with "Run -- Heart -- Run" inked by Vinny Colletta. Next is "Meet You in Paris, Love?" pencilled by Murphy Anderson. We end with our cover-story, "Second Hand Love" drawn by Ric Estrada and Vince Colletta.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Detective Comics #399

Detective Comics #399 (On Sale: March 26, 1970) has a great cover by Neal Adams.

Our cover-story is "Death Comes to a Small, Locked Room" by Denny O'Neil, Bob Brown and Joe Giella. During a demonstration for cadets at the Gotham City Police Academy, Batman embarrasses Khan, a master of judo, karate and kung fu. When an enraged Khan comes after Batman with a steel identification bracelet across his knuckles, Batman decks him. In steps Arthur Reeves, the mayor's new Public Works Coordinator and soon to be a regular pain in Batman's backside.

Reeves wants to know what Batman is hiding behind that mask, why he isn't up front and out in the open. When Batman asks Reeves if that is what he believes in and Reeves answers in the affirmative, Batman lifts up Reeves toupee and quickly ducks out a window.

A month goes by and the incident quickly slides form Batman's memory till one night, 30 days later Batman is called to the site of Khan's training school which has been destroyed in a furnace explosion with Khan inside. Reeves shows up and accuses Batman of maybe causing the explosion to get back at Khan and Batman suggests that Reeves stick to sharing his fantasies with his barber.

Gordon and Batman have an appointment to get to, a séance of some sort to which they have been invited in an invitation that hinted at "solving a crime if we show." As they pull into the parking lot in Gordon's cruiser the car is strafed with machine gun bullets and crashes into a tree. As the machine gun-toting thug comes out to inspect his handy-work, Batman takes him out. Just then a man appears, "Big Dough" Joe Brunner a man sent to the pen by Gordon who is now out and wants to thank Gordon for setting his life straight. After he leaves Gordon wonders is "Big Dough" might not be behind the attack, but Batman says if he is, they know where to find him.

Inside the séance they meet the Great Dilbert--Medium Extraordinary who says he will "zummon spirits of dead!" He begins and the "spirit" has a message for Batman. The spirit seems to be speaking in Khan's voice and says that since Batman humiliated him in life he will humiliate Batman in death by killing Commissioner Gordon at midnight tomorrow. The lights go out and zee Great Dilbert has skedaddled. Batman says that Dilbert was a ventriloquist and wore a high collar to hide the movement of his throat muscles.

The next night Reeves tries to lock Gordon into a sealed vault for his protection, but one of the guards is actually Batman, who once again makes Reeves look life a fool. But the embarrassment just keeps on coming as Batman reveals that Gordon is not Gordon but actually the Great Dilbert. Pulling of Dilbert's mask and handing it to him Batman explains that "Gordon" was too clean shaven to have been on the job all day. Dilbert says that he might as well tell them where Gordon is really being held, but as he attempts to do so he dies from a poison on the outside of the Gordon mask Dilbert was holding. As he dies Dilbert says "D...do...j...jo..." and one of the guards says that it is obvious that the filler is "Big Dough" Joe Brunner, AKA Dough Joe.

Reeves sends men out to pick up Joe Brunner, but Batman has other ideas and heads back to Khan's training school, or dojo! There in a fireproof vault under the rubble Batman confronts and takes out Khan before he can harm Commissioner Gordon.

The back-up is Robin in "Panic by Moonglow" by Frank Robbins, Gil Kane and Vinny Colletta. Continuing from last issue where the moon rock turned geeky student Herb Stroud squeaky green and all, raising a panic within NASA, but leaving Robin with that not so subtle taste of hoax in his mouth. So much so that he went and checked out the shower Herb used, finding some funny smelling soap and a massive headache when someone slammed his head into a wall and stole the soap of questionable properties. When Robin comes around it is with the help of Zukov, the Russian exchange professor, whose hands have that tell-tell smell of gimmicked out soap.

The campus is quarantined by NASA so Robin needs a place to crash and Zukov offers his cottage guest-room. using a stolen stethoscope, Robin listens in as Zukov and some cronies hidden under his floor discuss their plan to make NASA look irresponsible for "polluting our glorious planet," losing public support and dropping out of the space race so that the Soviets can get their moon program on track and once again be the leaders in space. But first they want to get Robin out of the way.

However, when they kick down the door to his room, he has of course fled the scene and is heading for the science-hall to retrieve the lunar rock sample. After skirmishing with some of Zukov's men, Robin comes in through the roof, but gets his cape caught on a piece of broken glass, hanging him up in the air. Zukov shows up with a pencil laser gun he used to drill a hole into the glass case containing the moon rock, so that he could inject a secret gas that could be triggered by cosmic rays to turn the rock and Herb a lovely shade of green. Now he plans to use the same pencil to drill a hole into Robin's brain, but Robin slips out of his cape and collar and swings into the darkness on a batrope (or do we call this a robinrope?)

Shooting wildly after Robin's ever-moving voice, Zukov severs one of the legs of a Lunar Module on display and it crashes down on him with a satisfying KRUNCH! With Robin's information the NASA people are able to determine that Herb has been exposed to a Russian nerve-virus and they are able to give him an antidote in time to stave off the bitter green end. This story has been reprinted in Showcase Presents: Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 1 TPB.


Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Girls' Love Stories #151

Girls' Love Stories #151 (On Sale: March 24, 1970) has a cover attributed by GCD to John Rosenberger, but is obviously the work of the great Nick Cardy.

This issue begins with our cover-story, "The Wrong Kind of Love" drawn by John Rosenberger and Vince Colletta. Next is "Love Thief" drawn by Joe Giella. We end with "Confessions, Episode 5" drawn by John Rosenberger.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Brian Ralph covers Thor 137

Original cover by Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta; Marvel 1967. Brian Ralph's website is here.

Falling In Love #115

Falling In Love #115 (On Sale: March 17, 1970) has a cover attributed to Jay Scott Pike, but I personally don't see it but the inks by Vince Colletta could be why.

This issue begins with "First Love of My Life" drawn by John Rosenberger. That is followed by "Hold on to Your Dreams" inked by Vinny Colletta. We end with "Love is Where You Find It" penciled by Artie Saaf.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Flash #197

Flash #197 (On Sale: March 3, 1970) has a cool cover by Gil Kane, which only makes the ungodly inks of Vince Colletta inside this book all the more unpalatable (and please Dan, don't make up yet another fake identity to tell me how wonderful Vinnie's dreadful inks were. I'm looking at them right now; they were a nightmare!). This cover does beg the one question (maybe not a great question) I have always had regarding the Flash. OK, so somehow he fits this entire costume, with hard-soled boots and all, into his ring. If this was such a great thing, why did he never share it with other DC heroes who had to find inconvenient ways of bringing their costume along with them?

This issue begins with our cover-story "Four Star Super-Hero" by Mike Friedrich, Gil Kane and Vinnie Colletta. This story is based on an interesting idea, how people who work together have silent communication, in this case Detective Charlie Conwell and Barry Allen. When Charlie solves a case he tugs at his ear and Barry touches the tip of his nose as a way of saying "nice going!" It is non-verbal and instinctive between the two of them.

After an overnight snow storm the Ice King is on skis hitting a bunch of jewelry stores when the Flash shows up and takes him out, But after he crashes to the snow he is not moving and his heart is not beating. An ambulance shows up and takes the Ice King away, but a few blocks later we see that the ambulance is a fake and the Ice King has turned off his pacemaker to simulate death (OK, so pacemakers don't work that way, but Friedrich obviously didn't know that). back at the scene of the crime Charlie shows up and asks Flash how the ambulance showed up so quickly. Flash replies that he was too stunned to think straight at which Charlie tugs at his ear and proclaims, "The ambulance was a cover for Ice's getaway!" Out of reflex Flash touches the tip of his nose as Charlie stares at him. Realizing his mistake Flash tried to cover up by faking a sneeze, but Charlie is now wondering about the Flash.

The next morning Barry finds out that wife Iris has been made the temporary drama critic for Picture News and she suggests that Barry get involved in the local drama scene., which he does getting a part in the local production of Hamlet. the morning of their opening night the entire cast, except Barry comes down with some sort of virus and as the Flash Barry suggests to director (and curator of the Flash Museum, Dexter Myles, that he can do the entire performance on his own.

Dexter reluctantly agrees and that night the Flash, moving at super-speed, plays all of the parts in Hamlet. During the curtain call he reveals that he is the Flash. Afterward however, he begins to feel ill, just as Ice and his gang, disguised as cops show up. In the middle of a violent seizure due to the virus now attacking his body the Flash is in no condition to take on Ice and his gang, who beat the crap out of him. However, once rested Flash is back in action and takes out the gang.
The next day Charlie Conwell comes to visit the ill Barry Allen at his home and sees that Barry is being visited by the Flash, which is of course Barry moving at super-speed again and looking as if he is two separate people.

The back-up story is "To the Nth Degree" by Robert Kanigher, Gil Kane and Vinnie Colletta. Professor Ira West creates a breakthrough telescope that can pierce hyper-space and allow one to see stars thousands of light-years away as they exist today.The professor is sending the telescope to the Astronomical Society and an amateur telescope to son-in-law Barry Allen, but he gets the labels mixed up and Barry gets the "hyper-scope"

Through the "hyper-scope" Barry sees an inhabited planet in the process of exploding and uses the scope to transport himself to the planet where he is able to stop the explosion and save the aliens. Once back home Professor West shows up to pick up his scope, realizing the shipping mistake he had made. But the Professor drops the scope and shatters the special lens, but says not to worry as he "wrote all the data I need to grind a duplicate lens on a wall in my lab."

Returning to his lab though he finds that the painters have just finished repainting the wall and secret of the Nth Degree lens is lost forever.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Detective Comics #398

Detective Comics #398 (On Sale: February 26, 1970) has a cover by Neal Adams.

This issue begins with our cover-story "The Poison Pen Puzzle" by Frank Robbins, Bob Brown and Joe Giella. It begins with Bruce Wayne on a jet headed for Los Angeles where Wayne Enterprises is about to buy into the picture business by purchasing a stake in Seven-Star Pictures. Sitting next to him is writer Maxine Melanie, who creates quite a stir on the plane when her identity is revealed by a couple of flight attendants. Her latest Hollywood tell-all "novel" has just been published and when she asks Bruce if he would like an autograph, he makes it clear how he feels about her type of literature, "I wouldn't be seen dead with your--book!"

But as fate would have it Seven-Star Pictures has just optioned the thing and after landing Bruce makes a big stink in the boardroom of Seven-Star, threatening to call of the merger if Seven-Star makes the movie. One of the board-members rightfully accuses Bruce of being a boorish "censor" for criticizing a book he has not read and when they go to get Bruce their advanced copy, they find it missing. This sends Bruce to a nearest bookstore where Maxine just happens to be signing her work.

Bruce is told that if he wants an autograph from Maxine that he better bring his own pen as "Maxine ran out of hers hours ago..." Just then an old woman asks to be let into the line awaiting autographs as she is "too frail to take this pushing around." As Maxine signs her book, she spasms, screams and collapses. The old woman tries to beat a hasty retreat but drops her book. Bruce tries to return it to her and is flipped onto his back by the old broad. By this time a doctor has shown up and pronounces Maxine dead. Bruce notices that there is a pin-prick in Maxine's finger and that there is a needle sticking out of the pen. When Bruce looks at the dropped book he sees that it is an advanced copy.

Back at Seven-Stars Bruce finds that they know of Maxine's death and that one of their top "properties," Loren Melburn has confessed to the murder. She is half of Hollywood's "perfect couple" with husband Dorian Spence. They were both "speared by Maxine's poison-pen in her novel." They mention to Bruce that there is a third major star mentioned in the book, Ronald Dart, who also had motive to kill Maxine. Another board-member walks in and announces that Dorian Spence has also confessed to the murder of Maxine.

Bruce says he will handle this personally and as Batman visits the Los Angeles police where he tels them to announce that Batman is on the case. Later Batman visits the Spense's where Dorian tries to convince him that he is the real killer. Planning to head over to Rod Drake's place next door Batman is confronted by Drake in the garden, where he says he overheard Spence planning Maxine's death. When Drake comes out of the shadows he is wielding a fireplace poker and is not Drake, but Dorian Spense. But just as quickly he is grabbed by Dorian Spence who pulls the mask off the attacking Spence to reveal Rod Drake.

Drake confesses that he fed Maxine most of the dirt in her "novel" with the promise that he would star in the movie version. Only, she reneged and he decided to kill her for it. Does much of this make any sense at all? Not really.

The back-up is Robin in "Moon-Struck" by Frank Robbins, Gil Kane and Vinny Colletta. Hudson University is being visited by a moon rock which NASA is giving to Russia and is being accepted by Russian Exchange Professor Zukov. Geeky student Herb Stroud, the campus "profit of doom" who "showers every hour--on the hour" arrives to say that the moon rock may be dangerous. His prediction appears to have been right as the rock flashes green and Herb's skin turns the exact same color. The campus is quarantined and NASA people grab Herb for testing. They can find no radiation issues at all.

Meanwhile Robin is suspecting a hoax and is visiting the showers and finds a strange bar of green soap with an odd scent. Just hen the lights go out and so does Robin, who is attacked trying to keep the soap. When he awakens he smells an odd scent on the hand of the person who awakened him. Reprinted in Showcase Presents: Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 1 TPB. Not much to say about this one except the art is horrible and I don't blame Gil Kane.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Heart Throbs #125

Heart Throbs #125 (On Sale: February 24, 1970) has cover by Ric Estrada and Vince Colletta.

This issue begins with our cover-story "Leave Me! Leave Me! Leave Me" drawn by Ric Estrada and Vince Colletta. Next is "Two Loves Have I" drawn by Lee Elias. We end with "Am I Too Young for Love?"

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Girls' Romances #148

Girls' Romances #148 (On Sale: February 24, 1970) has an absolutely beautiful cover by the great Nick Cardy.

This issue begins with "I Won't Fall in Love" drawn by Ric Estrada and Vince Colletta. Next is "My Nightmare Love Affair" drawn by John Rosenberger. We end with the transgendered romance (just kidding) "I Wish I Wasn't Born a Girl" inked by Vince Colletta.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Secret Hearts #143

Secret Hearts #143 (On Sale: February 17, 1970) has a cover inked by Dick Giordano.

This issue begins with "I Never Thought It'd End Like This" inked by Vinny Colletta. Next is "Masquerade" drawn by Alex Toth. We end with "For Singles Only" also inked by Vinny Colletta.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Young Romance #165

Young Romance #165 (On Sale: February 10, 1970) has a cover by Ric Estrada and Vince Colletta.

This issue begins with "Second Choice - First Love" drawn by Ric Estrada and Vince Colletta. That is followed by "Any Man's Equal" drawn by Lee Elias. We end with "Love is a 3 Ring Circus."

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Falling In Love #114

Falling In Love #114 (On Sale: February 5, 1970) has a cover inked by Vince Colletta.

We begin with "Passport to Heartbreak" drawn by Ric Estrada and Vinny Colletta. Next we have "Somewhere I'll Find Him" penciled by Jay Scott Pike. We end with our cover-story, "I'll Never Love Again" drawn by Ric Estrada and Vinny Colletta.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Challengers of the Unknown #73

Challengers of the Unknown #73 (On Sale: February 3, 1970) has a cover by Nick Cardy.

This issue begins with our Challengers of the Unknown cover-story, "The Curse of the Killer Time Forgot" by Denny O'Neil and George Tuska. This is Tuska's first action strip for DC. The back-up is "A Flash of Memory" by Murray Boltinoff, Dick Dillin and Vince Colletta.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.