40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Angel and the Ape #2

Angel and the Ape #2 (On Sale: November 14, 1968) has a cover by Bob Oksner.

"Most Fantastic Robbery in History" is co-written by Sergio Aragones, co-written and penciled by Bob Oksner and inked by Wally Wood. Angel is kidnapped by the Bikini Gang, a family of criminal circus performers. After quitting his job working for Stan Bragg, Sam Simeon tracks the gang to a run-down circus and rescues Angel. He then pursues work at D.Z. Comics, but Stan lures him back by faking his own death. Angel then lures the crooks to Brain-Pix Comics and calls the police. The cops apprehend the crooks, and Sam makes Stan look like a killer. Stan is arrested and vows vengeance.

The great EC science-fiction artist Wally Wood returned to DC Comics after a number of years two months prior, penciling and inking Captain Action #1. With the exception of a single story in Strange Adventures #154 in 1963 Wood had not worked at DC since he stopped inking Jack Kirby's Challengers of the Unknown pencils in 1959. With the demise of the Tower Comics Thunder Agents books, Wood needed work and found it mostly as an inker at DC.

He would ink Oksner's Angel and the Ape pencils for the rest of the series, displaying his humorous style he popularized at Mad Magazine and would soon begin a long stint on Superboy inking Bob Brown, drawing more on the realism of his EC work and his super-hero work at Tower.

Edited by Joe Orlando

Excommunication Anyone?

This is about as un-Christian as you can get.

COLUMBIA, S.C. – A South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect supports abortion, and supporting him "constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil."

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- House of Mystery #178

House of Mystery #178 (On Sale: November 12, 1968) has a gorgeous cover by Neal Adams.

We begin with a one-page intro by Joe Orlando. This is followed by the gem of the book, "The Game" written and drawn by Neal Adams. This is one of the most amazing Neal Adams stories ever. The artwork is just wonderful, employing a grease pencil on Bristol board technique that permeates the pages with this grainy feel. Young Jamie Markus is walking home from a birthday party where he won the door prize, a board game, when it begins to rain. A light sprinkle turns into a raging storm and Jaime frantically looks for shelter, finding it in the old Unger House. The house is empty except for a large four-poster bed, with curtained valance. When Jamie hears someone coming he hides under the bed. Feeling silly he comes out of hiding to find a young boy in the bed who looks exactly like Jamie.

Jamie's doppelganger tries to get him to leave but changes his mind when he sees the game. Enclosed in the curtained bed the two boys spend hours playing the game until finally Jamie wins. Just then the other boy dives under the covers as a hand comes through the curtains and grabs Jamie. And then...well, why spoil a great ending. This was Adams at his very best. Reprinted in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #17 and Deadman #1.

Next is "The Man Who Haunted a Ghost" from House of Mystery #35 and drawn by Jim Mooney. In the middle of this story is a Page 13 humor piece. Following it is a Cain's game Room page by Sergio Aragones. Lastly is "What's the Youth?" by E. Nelson Bridwell, Winslow Mortimer and George Roussos.

This entire book was reprinted in Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery Vol. 1 TPB.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Too Cool To Keep To Myself!

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Superman #213

Superman #213 (On Sale: November 7, 1968) has a cover by Carmine Infantino and Neal Adams.

We begin with "The Most Dangerous Door in the World" by Cary Bates, Curt Swan and Jack Abel. Superman issues a statement to the public that a special vault with valuable contents will open when he dies. The vault is made of indestructible Supermanium and is kept under heavy guard. Luthor, provoked by articles in the Daily Planet, renews his efforts to kill the Man of Steel, who exhibits signs that he is weakened.

Luthor steals the vault uses a modified version of Brainiac's shrink ray. He then uses robots with Kryptonite inside to kill Superman. Thinking that he has finally succeeded in his goal, Luthor waits for the vault to open. When it doesn't, he uses every means necessary to break into the vault.

Luthor finally succeeds in opening the vault and discovers Superman inside. The Man of Steel apprehends Luthor, then explains that Mordru had magically imprisoned him in the vault. Supergirl and the adult Brainiac 5 then tricked Luthor into opening it by having the Legionnaire pose as the Man of Steel. Angry at being tricked, Luthor is nevertheless sent back to prison vowing vengeance. Reprinted in Best of DC #27.

The back up story is "The Orphans of Space," a reprint from Superman #144 by Jerry Siegel and Al Plastino. Superman, Supergirl, and Krypto are at the Fortress of Solitude when the Man of Steel notices a plane trying to land nearby. Superman uses the capes of the three heroes to make warning flags so the plane does not land and discover the Fortress. When the plane leaves Superman returns the capes and experiments with a machine he has found.

The machine causes a huge explosion that destroys Earth. The super-trio are the only survivors. Shortly, the Interstellar Council brings Superman up on charges for destroying the planet. All three are stripped of their powers and relocated to a primordial planet.

The three awaken to discover that it was a Red Kryptonite induced hallucination. Apparently their capes were exposed to a Red K mist while used as flags. Superman removes the dust and stores it in a lead container in the Fortress.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

How Do I Feel?

How do I feel about Obama's historic win?

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Aquaman #43

Aquaman #43 (On Sale: November 5, 1968) has another beautiful cover by Nick Cardy.

"To Win is to Lose" is by Steve Skeates and Jim Aparo. Vulko counteracts the substance that has been infused into the dome surrounding Atlantis. He then restores the Atlantean water-breathing ability to the people. While Atlantis celebrates, Aquagirl discovers that the injured Aqualad has gone missing.

Aqualad's head injury has caused him partial amnesia. He still believes that Aquaman is trying to find Mera in the Sorcerers' city where Aqualad received his injuries. Seeking to help his mentor, Aqualad heads for the city and is captured by the men of Eldfur.

Meanwhile, Aquaman, still injured from his fight with Black Manta, finds a city inhabited by immobile giants. He meets an explorer from the surface Phil Darson who helps patch up Aquaman's injured arm. From information gathered from Darson, Aquaman begins to suspect that Mera was kidnapped by surface men.

Elsewhere, Aqualad is taken to the Eldfur arena and is forced to battle a Eldfur champion. He wins the fight and regains his full memories at the same time. The men of Eldfur celebrate his victory since they intend to use him to battle the Bugala, a monster that periodically attacks them.

Back in Atlantis, an earthquake rocks the city. Reprinted in Adventure Comics #494.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

OBAMA!

This is the Time!

VOTE!

Something Rare: A Decent Republican

Watch the Mayor of San Diego's news conference and bring a Kleenex.

Guess Who Hasn't Had a "Town Hall Meeting" Since Oct. 10?

If you guessed "Mr. Town Hall Meeting" himself, John McCain, you win a cookie!*

The town hall format was supposed be the Republican nominee’s favorite campaign forum, highlighting his shoot-from-the-hip style, his broad knowledge on a slew of issues and his irreverent wit. He loved it so much that he challenged Obama to a string of town hall debates.

But with their potential for amplifying unscripted outbursts and attention-diverting disasters, the microphones at high school gymnasiums and basketball arenas across the swing states have gone silent during the final stretch of the presidential campaign. McCain, a man who has prided himself on discussions with the common man, has not entertained a single question from audience members since Oct. 10, when he faced a belligerent crowd in Lakeville, Minn., that at times turned against him.

-Keller
(* Cookie not included)

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Brave and the Bold #81

Brave and the Bold #81 (On Sale: October 31, 1968) has a great Batman and Flash cover by Neal Adams.

"But Bork Can Hurt You" is by Bob Haney, Neal Adams and Vince Colletta. This is Colletta's first super-hero inking job for DC and boy did it cause a stink. Adams was infuriated when he saw what Colletta had done to his pencils, going back and inking over Colletta in places in an attempt to salvage his work. Some also say that Adams got some of the later pages back from Colletta and had Dick Giordano ink them. It's been so long since I looked at this book that I really don't remember, but if ever two artists styles clashed it was Adams and Colletta. Neal made sure that Colletta never inked his work again.

Small-time hood Carl Bork suddenly discovers that he is invulnerable to any physical harm. Using his new ability, Bork takes over a local gang and stymies police who cannot stop the bulletproof crook. Even Batman is unable to beat Bork, who begins raising a criminal army to take over Gotham City.

Batman and the police try to hold off Bork, while the Flash searches the world for the source of Bork's power. He discovers that a statue of Bork is responsible, and it shares a mystical connection to its subject. Flash locates the statue, but, like Bork, it too proves to be invulnerable. Flash is finally able to damage the hand slightly with a laser, but the laser is not powerful enough to harm the statue further.

Batman notices that Bork's hand is no longer invulnerable. He believes that Flash is working on the problem and is inspired by the progress. Rather than risk a war in the streets of Gotham, he challenges Bork to a one-on-one fight. Bork's invulnerability proves more than a match for Batman. However, the Caped Crusader holds on to hope that Flash will come up with the answer to defeat Bork. His hope is rewarded when Flash is able to drag the statue into the sun where it is consumed. Once the statue is destroyed, Bork loses his power and is defeated by Batman.

Bork would return years later in a mutated form as a reformed criminal and an associate member of The Power Company, even getting his own book at one time. Reprinted in Best of the Brave and the Bold #2, Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams Vol. 1 HC and Showcase Presents the Brave and the Bold Batman Team-Ups Vol. 1 TPB.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

What Republicans Have Got to Answer For

This is some really sick stuff, some done with a crudeness that speak volumes regarding the perpetrator's intellect (and painfully obvious lack thereof), some a bit slicker, all of it disgusting. If you want to know why I will be rejoicing come November 5th, this is a good place to start. This party deserves to go away and never come back.

Don't Let This Be You!

Earlier this week over on the Tony Isabella Board friend and onetime intelligent person Jim Guida shocked all of his friends by announcing that he had voted for McCain:

I guess I am more superstitious than I thought and if I lived in a State where it mattered, I would have risked my life-long history of voting for the losing candidate (Kerry, Nader, Perot, Dukasis, Anderson, and Ford). And just to ensure a Democratic win, I marked my absentee ballot for McCain't. Fortunately, CA is a lock for JoeBama, but if, through some cruel twist of fate, Obama loses by one vote, I'll need a place to stay for awhile.

For a guy seeking a holy path in life we all found this pretty strange to say the least. Last night Scott Edwards posted this shocking video from the future:

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Bat Lash #2

Bat Lash #2 (On Sale: October 29, 1968) has a truly wonderful cover by Nick Cardy.

(Melinda's Doll) is written by Denny O'Neil and plotted and drawn by Nick Cardy. While escaping from a wedding that he doesn't watch, Bat Lash discovers the body of a dead marshal in the snow. He takes the dead man's coat and boots, then finds his orphaned daughter Melinda nearby. The girl is confused from shock and believes Bat is her father.

Bat Lash takes the girl to the nearby town of Serenity. The crooks that murdered the marshal try to kill him too. He discovers that they are smuggling guns to indians inside coffins. Bat finds evidence against the local undertaker proving his involvement. He arrests the crooks, then leaves Melinda with a woman in town before leaving town. Reprinted in Super DC Giant S-22.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Gerard Damiano, R.I.P.

This is a terrible article on Damiano, which doesn't even mention that he took his Deep Throat money and made the best porn film of all time, The Devil in Miss Jones. Memories Within Miss Aggie was also pretty good as Damiano attempted to push the realm of porn into something a little deeper.

I still remember scenes from The Devil in Miss Jones though I haven't seen the picture in thirty or so years. What is really surprising is that the scenes I remember are not overtly sexual, but more go to the torment of the Miss Jones's soul. I think it was a powerful film and a one of a kind in the world of porn.

Despicable

How could anyone support a party that would stoop this low? The Republicans are a party of low-lifes who know they cannot win unless they cheat. Just despicable.

A phony State Board of Elections flier advising Republicans to vote on Nov. 4 and Democrats on Nov. 5 is being circulated in several Hampton Roads localities, according to state elections officials.

In fact, Election Day, for voters of all political stripes, remains Nov. 4.

The somewhat official-looking flier - it features the state board logo and the state seal - is dated Oct. 24 and indicates that "an emergency session of the General Assembly has adopted the follwing (sic) emergency regulations to ease the load on local electorial (sic) precincts and ensure a fair electorial process."

Keller Confession #163 Part Deux

When I posted my Keller Confession #163 item on the Tony Isabella board, my friend Dave Potts said the thought he owned that issue and posted this:



Pottts, you are a riot man!

Air Blade

I spent all of yesterday at the Learning & Product Expo: Art! in Pasadena at the newly built Pasadena Conference Center. It's actually newly half-built, as the major portion of it, a large conference/convention building is still under construction. The Conference Center doesn't quite still smell like fresh paint, but it's a pretty close call on that one. It is a nice, modern building, with poorly designed access to the attached parking structure and the most modern of public restrooms.

The mens room I ventured into had hands-free flush toilets, waterless, flushless urinals, hands-free soap dispensers, hands-free faucets and hands-free, motion-activated towel dispensers. If you were not interested in the towels though, they also had one of these:



I had to try it out, so by-passed the hands-free, motion-activated towel dispenser and gingerly placed my hands into the Dyson. As I slowly pull my hands back up past the air blades they scraped the water off of my hands. Once done my hands still felt a little wet to me and maybe I pulled them too fast through the blades. Or maybe it was because I knew I was about to get pastel dust all over my hands and knew they had to be completely dry.

Even so, I think it's a pretty cool invention, certainly much better than the common hot air drier you see in other restrooms.

Keller Confession #163

I have a confession to make. Sarah Palin never did anything for me (though oddly Tina Fey does), but Michele Bachmann, grrrrrr! Something about her eyes speak volumes to me.

-Keller
(ashamed and slightly aroused in La Verne, Ca)

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Hawk & the Dove #3

Hawk & the Dove #3 (On Sale: October 24, 1968) has a nice action cover by Gil Kane.

"After the Cat" is by Steve Skeates, Gil Kane and Sal Trapani. Gone is series creator Steve Ditko, which must have made the writing a lot easier for Steve Skeates. Hank Hall hunts the streets for a notorious cat burglar known as the Cat. After days of searching he spots the crook during a burglary. Hawk tries to stop him, but his efforts only result in the destruction of property.

When Hank and others then accuse Don of cowardice, Dove goes in search of the Cat also. He finds the crook surrounded by police. Dove tries to stop the cops from firing on the Cat, only to learn that they were firing tear gas. This results in the police becoming victims of their own tactics, and the Cat flees. A cop then shoots and kills the burglar. Dove blames himself for causing the escalated level of violence. Reprinted in Teen Titans #39.

In "Twice Burned," also by Steve Skeates, Gil Kane and Sal Trapani, when Linda Kieves's father is beaten nearly to death by thugs, Hawk attempts to track down the perpetrators. Meanwhile Dove tries to stop Linda's brother from taking justice into his own hands by shooting the man who hired the thugs. Hawk succeeds in finding the thugs and beats a confession out of them. Dove also succeeds in stopping Mark Kieves, but only by nearly resorting to violence. Reprinted in 100-Page Super Spectacular DC-15.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

IndyMac Plan Could be Model for Recovery

The FDIC seems to be doing good by the customers of my old company:

Under the FDIC's orders, about 4,000 IndyMac borrowers have been given more affordable mortgages so far. By this weekend, the bank expects to have sent out more than 15,000 modification offers to borrowers, who are saving $430 a month on average.

IndyMac's efforts, which are designed to save the FDIC money by curbing losses on foreclosed homes, are being closely watched nationwide. In fact, Bank of America Corp. is taking a similar approach with newly acquired Countrywide Financial Corp. as part of an $8.4 billion, 12-state legal settlement reached this month.

And now some Congressional Democrats and state officials say the FDIC's approach should be replicated as the Treasury Department buys billions in troubled mortgage debt as part of a $700 billion financial industry bailout.

"The country is in crisis," said Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller. "This is something that everybody should do."

I Don't Think This Is How This Is Done

I got a phone call this weekend from someone on Proposition 8, the "gay people don't have the same rights as me" initiative. It went something like this.

Ring! Ring!

Them: Hi, my name is blah de blah and I live in La Verne. Can I tell you why I'm voting for Proposition 8?

Me: No.

Click!

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Showcase #79

Showcase #79 (On Sale: October 22, 1968) introduces us to Dolphin in a cover by romance artist Jay Scott Pike.

"The Fantasy at 14 Fathoms" is written and drawn by Jay Scott Pike. Not only is this Pike's only non-romance artwork for DC, this is his only writing. In this, the origin of Dolphin, Chief Petty Officer Chris Landau and his partner Ben Harkey are assigned the task of recovering documents from a sunken U.S. Navy ship that has been underwater twenty three years. During their search of the ship, they discover a girl who can breathe underwater. They bring her back to their ship and name her Dolphin. She has gills that allow her to breathe water, but her lungs cannot sustain her in air for long, so she returns to the water.

While Landau and his team work to open the safe containing the documents, a typhoon approaches. The seamen convince Dolphin to help them get the documents out of the sunken ship's safe. The typhoon strikes before she can finish the job and the wreck is pushed into a deep chasm. Landau returns to his ship believing Dolphin and the documents lost forever. He is surprised when the girl surfaces with the papers in hand.

As the ship leaves the area to avoid the harsh weather, Landau invites Dolphin to return to home with him. However, the girl indicates that she belongs at sea and dives back into the water. It would be ten years before Dolphin would appear again and then only in the character-packed pages of Showcase #100. Then in 1984 Dolphin would reappear as one of the Forgotten Heroes in the pages of Action Comics #552 and #553. Dolphin would last appear in Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985-1986.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Judge Rules Indiana Voting Centers to Remain Open

In yet another loss for the GOP "Keep out the vote" effort, Republican attemtps to shut down early voting centers in Indiana, have failed.

The Lake County Board of Elections and Registration is hereby enjoined from terminating the operation of in person absentee voting currently being conducted in the offices of the Clerk of the Lake Circuit Court in the courthouse buildings in Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago and the offices of the Lake County Board of Elections and Registration in Crown Point.

It is further ordered that all ballots that have already been cast at the early voting locations in Gary, Hammond, East Chicago, and Crown Point shall not be invalidated except for instances of voter fraud.

I guess real freedom-loving, American-loving Americans don't want other Americans to have the freedom to vote.

To Sir With Love

I was watching a British invasion revival on PBS last week and saw a modern Lulu sing To Sir With Love. Man, is her voice still great singing the theme to one of my favorite films of all time. Here is a clip of Lulu singing live from the late 1960s:

Speaking the Truth

"In the final days of campaigns, the say-anything, do-anything politics too often takes over. We've seen it before. And we're seeing it again today. The ugly phone calls. The misleading mail and TV ads. The careless, outrageous comments. All aimed at keeping us from working together, all aimed at stopping change.

It's getting so bad that even Senator McCain's running mate denounced his tactics last night. As you know, you really have to work hard to violate Governor Palin's standards on negative campaigning."

-Barack Obama

Ouch! That cuts deep!

I Don't Want to Reopen a Whole Can of Worms...

...really...but, why do you think that Sarah Palin has refused to make her medical records public? What can she be hiding? Nope, I'm not going to say it, but I am still thinking it.

Michigan Republicans Admit to Efforts to Illegally Disenfranchise Voters

Democrats and Republicans have settled the suit seeking to prevent Michigan Republicans from using foreclosure lists to challenge voters. The MDP statement on the settlement says:

An agreement announced today by Obama for America, the Republican National Committee, the Democratic National Committee, the Michigan Republican Party, the Michigan Democratic Party, the Macomb County Republican Party, the Macomb County Democratic Party, and plaintiffs Duane Maletski, Sharon Lopez, and Frances M. Zick protects the voting rights of foreclosure victims. The settlement acknowledges the existence of an illegal scheme by the Republicans to use mortgage foreclosure lists to deny foreclosure victims their right to vote. This settlement has the force of law behind it and ensures that Republicans cannot disenfranchise families facing foreclosure.

Is there anything else to be said here?

50 Reasons to Vote Obama

This should be viral man, viral I tell you!

McCain's Adoring Throng

Remember how in the last debate McCain was insulted that anyone would say bad things about the great people who show up for his rallies? Yeah, who wouldn't just adore these brain surgeons. Warning: stomach-wretch inducing footage of loyal Republicans at their very best.

What Do You Do...

...when you are the party people are running away from? How do you stop the bleeding of members? You steal them from the other party!

Something to remember when you see any growth in the number of registered Republicans.

SACRAMENTO -- Dozens of newly minted Republican voters say they were duped into joining the party by a GOP contractor with a trail of fraud complaints stretching across the country.

Voters contacted by The Times said they were tricked into switching parties while signing what they believed were petitions for tougher penalties against child molesters. Some said they were told that they had to become Republicans to sign the petition, contrary to California initiative law. Others had no idea their registration was being changed.

Just how many of the 70,000 Young Political Majors, or YPM, have registered this year as Republicans are actually people they duped into their registration?

The Times randomly interviewed 46 of the hundreds of voters whose election records show they were recently re-registered as Republicans by YPM, and 37 of them -- more than 80% -- said that they were misled into making the change or that it was done without their knowledge.

How pathetic the Republican party is that it has to trick people into registering as one of them.

This reminds me of 2004 when my son was registering for the first time. He registered on his college campus. The guy doing the registrations "suggested' that he register as a Republican, but he declined, saying he wasn't a "f***ing Republican." Unlike ACORN, who knows that is is a federal offense to not turn in a voter registration, even if you know it is bogus, this guy my son registered with threw away all of the Democratic registrations and only turned in the Republican ones. My son and all of his friends had to register at the last moment at the Post Office in order to vote.

Bottom line is you can not trust a Republican with your registration; they are the most cowardly and vile of thieves as they systematically attempt to steal your right as an American to vote. A pathetic excuse for a political party and one that deserves to go the way of the dodo.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Flash #184

Flash #184 (On Sale: October 17, 1968) has a very dramatic cover by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito.

"Executioner of Central City" is by Frank Robbins, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. Scientists at the Mt. Vista Ionospheric Observatory identify a burst of destructive energy headed for Central City. Iris Allen is able to contact her husband to warn him of the impending danger. Flash then tries to save the city by circling it at tremendous speed and setting up a repulsive shield. The energy burst is successfully deflected at the exact moment Flash's endurance gives out.

When Flash recovers from his exhaustive effort, he discovers that Central City is gone. A giant crater is all that remains. Flash believes his actions caused the destruction of the city, but he finds one survivor stuck in the mud. The survivor is a woman named Zoral, and she is actually from the future. She explains that she works for Dr. Yom, a future anthropologist who was conducting an experiment to bring a civilization from the past to his own time.

When Zoral returns to her time period, Flash hitches a ride. They discover that Central City has been transported intact into the future as a result of the freak circumstances involved with the energy burst. Dr. Yom wants sole credit for successfully bringing the city into the future and tries to eliminate Zoral and Flash when they learn the truth. Flash is able to defeat Dr. Yom and return Central City to its rightful place in time and space.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Writing On The Wall

Republicans speak out about John McCain:

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Green Lantern #65

Green Lantern #65 (On Sale: October 10, 1968) has a very effective and dramatic cover by Mike Sekowsky and Joe Giella.

"Dry Up -- and Die" is by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky and Joe Giella. While exploring the arctic looking for the magnetic north pole Neal Emerson falls into a crevasse. He becomes trapped near a glowing blue blob that is slowly dehydrating him and the entire planet. The blob combined with the magnetic properties of the north pole enable Emerson to issue a telepathic summons to Green Lantern.

In Evergreen City, Hal Jordan feels a compulsion to become Green Lantern. He encounters a gang of crooks, but the compulsion continues to pull him away making it difficult to stop them. Green Lantern finally defeats the crooks and overcomes the compulsion. He then continues on a date with Eve Doremus as Hal Jordan.

Emerson realizes his telepathic summons has failed, so he creates a mental duplicate of his evil personality, Doctor Polaris. The Polaris duplicate battles Green Lantern and temporarily stops him from using his power ring.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Does Anyone Else Think That...

...every time John McCain says, "I know how to do it," he really doesn't? I have no idea how many times he said it in the last debate, but my interest in the debate (if you could call it a debate) diminished every time he did say it 'cause he is always saying he knows how to do things he has never done: win a war, find Bin Laden, etc.

He said it almost as often as he said "my friends." What he didn't say, not even once, was "Sarah Palin" or, for the second debate in a row, "middle class." How can we be his "friend" when he doesn't even acknowledge that we exist?

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Unexpected #110

Unexpected #110 (On Sale: October 8, 1968) has a new logo and one of the creepier Neal Adams covers amplified by some wonderful color work.

We begin with a Johnny Peril story "Death Town, USA" by George Kashdan and Jack Sparling. That is followed by "Half a Man is Better Than None" by Dave Wood and Bill Draut and "The Last Executioner" by Dave Wood, Jerry Grandenetti and Bill Draut.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

The Moment McCain Lost the Election

Watch the CNN Independent voter graph on this piece. Obama destroys McCain, neuters him on, his supposed area of expertise, foreign policy.



Put a fork in him, McCain is done. As Mark Stein of the National Review said tonight:

Well I have gone outside and pulled up my Mcain/Palin sign. This election is over. I will vote for Mcain but I know that come Nov. 5 Obama will be our president-elect.
I feel sorry for Sarah Palin. A once promising career will be permanently connected to the landside loss of John McCain.

Hey, me and the National Review agreeing on everything except the sorrow!

That One!

Good Lord is This Debate a Bore!

Geeze, what is the point of having people sitting there if they have to act like mannequins? McCain seems to flatline the Independent voters on CNN every time he attacks Obama instead of answering the question.

Republicans Have to Change What They Know Again

John McCain -- "Worth Fighting For"

"I made the worst mistake of my life by attending two meetings, the first with the chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, the government agency charged with regulating the practices of the nation’s savings and loans, and a week later with four bank examiners based in San Francisco who were at that time investigating the investment and lending practices of Lincoln Savings and Loan of Irvine, California, owned by my good friend and generous supporter Charles Keating."

John McCain -- Interview Mar. 1, 2007 The Arizona Republic

"I was judged eventually, after three years, of using, quote, poor judgment, and I agree with that assessment."

John Dowd, John McCain's Lawyer

"But you know, Sen. Mitchell was the majority leader, and Howell Heflin was his stooge...And he was doing what he was told because the rest were Democrats in the hearing. So it's sort of a classic political smear-job on John."

It must be difficult for Republicans to keep up with what they are supposed to believe when it keeps changing all the time.

It's About Time

Thirteen years late, but as they say, better late than never.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Superboy #152

Superboy #152 (On Sale: October 3, 1968) has another great cover by Neal Adams.

"The 2 Faces of Superboy" is by Frank Robbins, Bob Brown and Mike Esposito. Superboy stops a pair of thieves from stealing the art collection of Mrs. Malcolm-Malcolm. The Mighty Mahaguru, a criminal mystic, decides to take revenge on Superboy. Along with his accomplice Henri Labrush, they convince Mrs. Malcolm-Malcolm to commission artist Pierre Lavisage to paint Superboy's portrait. Henri then abducts the real Lavisage and takes his place.

Superboy knows that Mahaguru is a fake, but he plays along and agrees to pose for the portrait. While Labrush begins his painting, Mahaguru hypnotizes Superboy. The crooks then use him to rob a bank. Superboy then becomes wanted by the law.

When he recovers from the hypnosis, Superboy realizes what he has done. Instead of showing up for his next session with Labrush, Superboy sends a robot in his place. The crooks then attempt to use the robot in a gold robbery. Superboy allows the crooks to believe they have succeeded, so that he can publicly expose them during the unveiling of his portrait. Superboy has also altered the painting which Labrush had created to make the Boy of Steel appear to be a monster.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Challengers of the Unknown #65

Challengers of the Unknown #65 (On Sale: October 1, 1968) has a odd looking cover by Jack Sparling.

"The Devil's Circus" is by Robert Kanigher and Jack Sparling. The Challengers receive a cryptic message from a mental patient that was found wandering the highway. The message leads them to Cobra Canyon where a giant alien awaits. The alien from the planet of Dread captures the Challs and forces them to battle insect creatures in an alien circus. The team members survive their battles, then lead the alien into a pit of quicksand.

The back-up story, "The Freezing Sun," is a reprint of the Challengers of the Unknown origin story from Showcase #6 and is by Dave Wood and Jack Kirby. Four men, Rocky Davis, Ace Morgan, Red Ryan, and Prof. Haley are scheduled to appear on the television show "Heroes". Ace is piloting the plane carrying the men to the show. The plane runs into poor weather, causing it to crash. The men miraculously survive. Red’s watch which should have been destroyed works perfectly, causing Ace to suppose the men are living on "borrowed time". At Prof’s suggestion, the men band together to take more risk as the Challengers of the Unknown.

A request for the daredevil services comes in from Morelian, an alleged descendant of Merlin. His assignment for the Challs is to open a mystic box that has four segments.

On a deserted island, Rocky opens the first compartment. Inside is a giant egg which hatches overnight into a giant humanoid creature. The creature walks across the ocean destroying ships and taking Red in the process. Ace and Prof. pursue the monster which eventually drops Red. Prof. eventually figures that the monster is composed of pure thought and wishes the creature away.

Red is returned to the island where Rocky has opened the second segment of the box. A freezing sun is inside which draws the heat from everything, freezing Rocky. Red manages to trap the sun in a vacuum sealed container.

Ace and Prof. return to the island, and Ace opens the third segment. A device which spins a web of plastic flies out at tremendous speed. The Challs follow the device to Australia, eventually gaining control over it with the container it was originally contained in.

When the Challs return to the island, Morelian has opened the final section of the box. Inside is a ring which supposedly gives him immortality. He flies off in his plane, but quickly crashes down upon the box. The box has what contained the immortality not the ring, which was sudden death.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

I Guess He Still Doesn't Understand How These Internets Work

Apparently John McCain is unfamiliar with YouTube and how the things you say yesterday are still around today. For Example, he thinks he can lie today...



...about what he said yesterday (approx. 2:28 into the clip)...



...and no one will ever find out. Senator, this isn't like when you were one of the Keating Five and went about lying Willy-Nilly. You will be caught when you lie. You are a liar sir, and not a very good one at that.

Bitch Slapped Again!

Deja Vu All Over Again

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Action Comics #369

Action Comics #369 (On Sale: September 26, 1968) has a cover by Curt Swan and Jack Abel.

We begin with "Superman's Greatest Blunder" by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and Jack Abel. Continuing from last issue, Superman has exiled himself to a world with a red sun after a group called the Sentinels have eliminated crime and disasters on Earth. Without his powers Superman becomes hungry and eats some local fruit. He is arrested by the local authorities because the fruit was reserved for the planet's king. Superman is to be executed for his crime, but his powers return. The red sun is actually half yellow, which allows him to escape the planet.

Superman returns to Earth and becomes suspicious about the motives of the Sentinels. When he sees one attempting to seal his Fortress with the inhabitants of Kandor trapped inside, Superman suspects that the Sentinels plan to conquer Earth. He then proceeds to destroy them after realizing they aren't alive. After all the Sentinels are destroyed Superman learns that he was wrong and they actually were benevolent. Because of Superman actions, crime and disaster has now returned to Earth.

The Supergirl storiung is "The Boy Who Broke Supergirl's Heart" by Leo Dorfman and Kurt Schaffenberger. Linda Danvers consoles her friend Claire Valton when she is jilted by campus playboy Gary Sparks. Linda tries to get revenge on Gary by dating him, then dumping him. However, before she can finish executing her plan, Gary has already started dating another girl. Though she is upset with Gary, Linda can't stop thinking about him and decides to try winning him over as Supergirl.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Timing Is Everything!

So yesterday the people at the Residence Inn I am staying at left a note on the desk inside the room. It said:

Dear Valued Guest,

We hope that you are enjoying your home away from home! We would like to inform you that we will be performing maintenance upgrades this week. We will be replacing the lock on the entry door of your suite.

Nice to know. Better if they had left the note BEFORE they changed the locks.

I Smell a Rat

Am I the only one who thinks it is a little bit fishy that we have this huge financial crisis just as Bush and his thugs are about to escape to South America? They are cleaning out the coffers my friends, taking the last of your and my money and heading for the border. I'm not buying any of this, but the congressional Democrats already have and our future is about to be $700 billion poorer for it. When was the last time Bush ever told the truth about anything? Think about it! We are being scammed.

Update! I'm not the only one eying this with great suspicion.

Witchcraft Free Since 2005

Apparently witchcraft is a big problem in Alaska. Who knew?



And what is Bill Gates doing there?

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Strange Adventures #215

Strange Adventures #215 (On Sale: September 24, 1968) has a beautiful cover by Neal Adams. This is the second Deadman cover where our hero is depicted as a disembodies head superimposed over the action of the cover. Within a year Adams would perfect this style of cover on the revised Phantom Stranger book.

"A New Lease on Death" is written and drawn by Neal Adams. Neal really moves the basic plot line of the series forward with this issue, moving towards a redesign of the strip's premise. Continuing from last issue, Deadman tracks assassin Willie Smith to Hong Kong where he receives a new assignment. Deadman learns that the target is his own killer, Hook. Willie catches Hook and brings him before a Society of Assassins for which both killers work.

The leader of the assassins known as the Sensei accuses Hook of failing in his initiation assignment, the murder of Boston Brand. The killers believe Boston is still alive since Cleveland Brand has taken his brother's place at the circus.

Sensei then orders Hook's death. Deadman tries to intervene by taking control of Willie's body. However, the Sensei is able to defeat him and is immune to Dead man's powers of possession. Hook is killed and left behind, while the Sensei and the others leave. Deadman is contacted by Rama Kushna, but he feels no satisfaction in the fact that his killer is dead. Reprinted in Deadman #6.

The back-up story is "The Incredible Mutated Man" drawn by John Giunta. Since Giunta had not drawn anything for DC in five years I assume this is a reprint, but I don't know from where.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Rachel Maddow

I've like Rachel since I first heard her on Air America. Sam Boyd over at American Prospect does a pretty good piece on her here, an in-depth analysis of her style, how it differs from other liberal hosts and why it seems to be working so well. Well worth a look.

American Priorities

The economy is about to completely collapse (if you believe Bush and Paulson), congress is about to give away our future to the tune of $700 billion dollars and three of the ten most viewed stories on Yahoo News today are:

Clay Aiken is gay.

Lindsay Lohan is gay.

Nicole Kidman said swimming in Australian Outback waterfalls help make her pregnant.

And we wonder how we got into this economic problem.

Hell-Bent on Parody

I had to share this because the Republicans are "hell-bent" on destroying this democracy and I can see Hollywood from my back yard.

Alter on McCain

Jonathan Alter from Countdown...

[Y]ou remember the Keating Five scandal that he was a part of, which, by the way, it's crazy but there's been very little about it in the press in the last few weeks. And McCain thinks he's getting a hard time, he's really getting a free ride on the fact that he was in the middle of the last great financial scandal in our country. But his reaction to that, you would have thought, would have been more regulation of the financial services industry. Instead he moved forward on campaign finance reform after being caught in that scandal, but did nothing - nothing - to try to prevent another savings and loan crisis from happening down the road. He was missing in action when it came to even learning the basic lessons of a scandal that he said taught him all kinds of things that he would never forget.

Taken For Granted

Time Magazine has an informative piece on the MacArthur Fellowship. This year's batch of new "Fellows" includes stage lighting designer Jennifer Tipton, geriatrician Diane Meier and urban farmer Will Allen. I first learned of the MacArthur grants when reading of Richard Stallman in the book Hackers. Stallman wrote GNU Unix and created the GNU license agreement among other pieces of technology.

Be Quiet and Drink Your Rocket Fuel!

According to USA Today...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency has decided there's no need to rid drinking water of a toxic rocket fuel ingredient that has fouled public water supplies around the country.

EPA reached the conclusion in a draft regulatory document not yet made public but reviewed Monday by The Associated Press.

The ingredient, perchlorate, has been found in at least 395 sites in 35 states at levels high enough to interfere with thyroid function and pose developmental health risks, particularly for babies and fetuses, according to some scientists.

The EPA document says that mandating a clean-up level for perchlorate would not result in a "meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction for persons served by public-water systems."

Dear American:

Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully,
Minister of Treasury Paulson

Selling Short

Now I don't know a whole hell of a lot about economics, which means I know about as much as John McCain, but I have always thought that the idea of selling a stock short was outside of the basic purpose of the stock market. Borrowing stock now in order to sell it high and pay for it later at a lower price doesn't sound like "financing American growth;" it sounds like betting on the COME line in craps, i.e., I'm betting you are going to fail. It sounds like gambling with an upside only for the person taking the gamble, and no upside for the company whose stock is being gambled with.

Am I missing something here (I'm sure I am)?

Cactus Beer

I've mentioned a few beers here before that I like to drink though my preference is red wine or bourbon. Beer has too many carbs and too many calories and hell, red wine is good for you. Bourbon drinking on the other hand makes you a man!

Anyway, one beer I have to confess to really liking is Tequiza from Anheuser-Busch. It has this lime and agave cactus flavor that reminds you of the taste of tequila and lime. I could have sworn that they stopped making this beer a few years ago (and the dead tequiza.com website adds to that suspicion, only, I bought a six-pack of it last month at an Albertson's in Pomona. That was the first time I have seen Tequiza in a few years.

Since then I have been looking and can't find it anywhere else. So where are you to go to sate your beer, lime and cactus Jones? Have no fear, Tequiza may or may not be dead but Anheuser-Busch has come to the rescue with Michelob ULTRA Lime Cactus, which I discovered just this week.

ULTRA is supposed to be a low-carb beer, but ULTRA Lime Cactus has 6 carbs which is higher than a lot of the low-carb beers on the market. The lime and cactus taste is not nearly as strong as in Tequiza, so I don't find it quite as refreshing (I don't think tequila), but it does seem to be available everywhere. When you want to drink one, that becomes a big plus!

Also different is I believe Tiquiza is actually a malt liquor while the ULTRA Lime Cactus bottle says it is a Pilsner Beer. Personally I don't care; this is all about taste.

The Bloody Truth

The bloody truth: every time I went to the dentist for a cleaning I bled like a victim of the St. Valentines Day massacre. Hell, the same thing would happen every time I flossed. If you're American this happens to you too. Apparently, ten years ago this was not the case. This all brings me to my recent trip to the dentist for my simi-annual cleaning.

Now most people don't like the dentist, and I feel sort of strange admitting that I don't mind going there at all. No, I'm not the Bill Murray (or Jack Nicholson, depending on how old you are) character in Little Shop of Horrors. I don't like for a dentist to hurt me. When I lived in Taft, California we went to a dentist in Bakersfield and the dental assistant that worked on my mouth was a sadist. She hurt me like no one in a dental office ever did. I never went back.

That I would not stand for, but the gentle probing of a good dentist (I have a good dentist) feels kind of reassuring to me. That fact that it doesn't hurt that bad registers to me as "good news." No real pain, no real problem and the feeling of having my gums massaged is only a plus. But the blood! Argh! That I could live without, only on my most recent trip there was almost no bleeding at all through my full cleaning.

When it was over I asked my dentist if he noticed the lack of blood and he said he did and that a non-bleeding patient is becoming more and more of a rare occurrence. He asked me what I had done differently and and I told him.

"I always liked the feel of a firm toothbrush but it is almost impossible to find one these days. But I did find one and have been using it for about four months. I know the ADA says firm toothbrushes are bad, but I don't care. My gums have never been better." I also told him that I run my toothbrush through the dishwasher every month to sanitize it and I plan on using it till it completely falls apart.

And my dentist, much to my surprise, said I was exactly right and that the ADA is the one wrong. The ADA has run away from firm toothbrushes because they are terrified of Trimarco vs. Colgate Palmolive, an idiotic 1999 class action suit that never went anywhere, but for some reason had the ADA caving like a John McCain statement on the economy. Trimarco vs. Colgate Palmolive alleged basically that toothbrushes are "unsafe and unreasonably dangerous" and should carry package warnings on the "risks of toothbrush abrasion" as well as instruction on how to use brushes to avoid abrasion. The ADA freaked, Colgate Palmolive freaked and they pulled firm toothbrushes off the American market.

They still make firm toothbrushes, but they don't sell them in the United States, though occasionally one will slip into the U.S. market. My dentist also said that since the "ban" on firm toothbrushes, the average American mouth is a mass of soft, tender bleeding tissue. So, the next time you go to the drug store, spend a few minutes searching the toothbrushs. You might just find a firm one and if you do, grab it like the gold it is.

On my next cruise to Mexico I think I will pass on the cheap Viagra and bring home a suitcase full of firm toothbrushes.

Tell It Like It Is

McCain is a national embarrassment.

Fruitless

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Beware the Creeper #4

Beware the Creeper #4 (On Sale: September 19, 1968) has a pretty cool cover symbolic by Steve Ditko.

"Which Face Hides My Enemy?" is by Denny O'Neil and Steve Ditko. The Creeper's search for Proteus leads him to cult leader Yogi Bizerk. However, before he can finish questioning Bizerk, the police arrive forcing the Creeper to flee.

Jack Ryder returns to his apartment where he finds a threat from Proteus. He then meets two agents from Offalia who tell him that Proteus is the former secretary of state from their country. The agents then join Ryder and his roommate Rip Cord in the search for Proteus.

Their quest first leads to a motorcycle gang called the Avenging Terrors then back to Yogi Bizerk. When the Creeper closes in on Bizerk, Sumo kills him. The Offalian agent then reveals that he knows the Creeper is Jack Ryder and that he is an agent of Proteus. A battle ensues with the Creeper ending as the victor.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Run Republicans! Run!

Over at MSNBC Keith Olbermann takes all the heat for being too liberal, but night after night it is Chris Matthews who makes the Republicans run from their record and their party. When you get a McCain spokesperson on the air and they won't even admit to voting Republican, you know you have a party in disarray and panic and Matthews is not about to let them forget that John McCain is John McCain (R).

This one is from a few nights ago, but he tore into another McCain person last night and it is sort of fun to watch them run from their own party. It is also very satisfying to see a commentator on TV who will not let the busllshit be slipped by him. Matthews asks the right question: "What person in their right mind would vote for the party that has made such a complete mess of the economy?"

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Superman #211

Superman #211 (On Sale: September 17, 1968) has a fairly cover by Curt Swan and Jack Abel.

"You, Too, Can Be a Super-Artist" is by Frank Robbins, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. Clark Kent investigates the E.M.M. art school which takes the money of students with no artist talent. He enrolls in the school and demonstrates incredible skill at duplicating the artistic style of master painters. The school administrator decides to use Clark's ability to create forgeries. Superman travels back in time to meet Rembrandt and Gainsborough so that he can duplicate their famous paintings.

Our cover story is "The Name of the Game is Superman" by Dave Wood, Curt Swan and Jack Abel. Smallville optometrist Homer Ferret lures Clark Kent into a trap. He believes that Clark is Superman and relates several anecdotes that provide evidence to support his theory. He threatens to electrocute Clark if he doesn't admit the truth. If Clark doesn't admit that he is Superman, then the electricity will expose him anyway.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

The Truth

The Real Wonder Woman Speaks

This week noted evangelical Christian and one-time Wonder Woman, Linda Carter spoke out in the pages of Philadelphia Magazine on Sarah Palin:

Don’t get me started. She’s the anti-Wonder Woman. She’s judgmental and dictatorial, telling people how they’ve got to live their lives. And a superior religious self-righteousness … that’s just not what Wonder Woman is about. Hillary Clinton is a lot more like Wonder Woman than Mrs. Palin. She did it all, didn’t she?

No one has the right to dictate, particularly in this country, to force your own personal views upon the populace — religious views. I think that is suppressive, oppressive, and anti-American. We are the loyal opposition. That’s the whole point of this country: freedom of speech, personal rights, personal freedom. Nor would Wonder Woman be the person to tell people how to live their lives. Worry about your own life! Worry about your own family! Don’t be telling me what I want to do with mine.

I like John McCain. But this woman — it’s anathema to me what she stands for. I think America should be very afraid. Very afraid. Separation of church and state is the one thing the creators of the Constitution did agree on — that it wasn’t to be a religious government. People should feel free to speak their minds about religion but not dictate it or put it into law.

What I don’t understand, honestly, is how anyone can even begin to say they know the mind of God. Who do they think they are? I think that’s ridiculous. I know what God is in my life. Now I am sure that she’s not all just that. But it’s enough to me. It’s enough for me to have a visceral reaction. And it makes me mad.

People need to speak up. Doesn’t mean that I’m godless. Doesn’t mean that I am a murderer. What I hate is this demonization of everybody but one position. You’re un-American because you’re against the war. It’s such bullshit. Fear. It’s really such a finite way of thinking about God to think that your measly little mind can know the mind of God. It’s a very little God that way. I think that God’s bigger. I don’t presume to know his mind. Or her mind.

Palin: The New Cheney

What I find so very, I would like to say "inappropriate" but really feel the word I want to say is "disgusting," is that she takes the event of her son going off to war, to maybe die for, in my opinion, no good reason, in a war of pure choice, that we should not be at all involved in, she takes this most solemn of occasions to further perpetrate the lie that Iraq had anything at all to do with 9-11. It is absolutely shameful and so very, very disrespecting of her son. She is a political hack drawn of the same cloth as John McCain. No wonder he chose her.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Showcase #78

Showcase #78 (On Sale: September 12, 1968) has very nice Johnny Double cover by Dick Giordano.

"Meet Jonny Double..." is plotted by Marv Wolfman, scripted by Joe Gill and drawn by Jack Sparling. Down-on-his-luck private investigator Jonny Double gets a case to help Wilson Twain, a financier who has received death threats from the synicate. Jonny begins questioning underworld informants and draws the attention of the criminals. After taking a beating, Jonny traces the crooks to businessmen Piker and Glass. He is spotted snooping in their office, and the crooks try to kill him. Jonny stays alive and defeats the crooks, leaving them for Lt. Branigan his former boss on the police force.

The last five single issue debuts in Showcase resulted in five six-issue series, but Johnny Double would not be so lucky. The story I have read, and I don't remember where, is that Johnny Double was supposed to be a "Disguise Expert/Bodyguard," who would through the use of disguise become the body double of someone targeted for murder. For some reason the "Double" name was kept, but the concept was jettisoned. Four years later Len Wein would revisit that concept in The Human Target in the pages of Action Comics.

As for Johnny Double, he was a character that, for a time, would not die. He was revived in 1970 in Challengers of the Unknown #79 (an issue also featuring Deadman and a few pages drawn by Neal Adams) and then more famously went on for a stint in Wonder Woman beginning in 1972.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

More Republican Dirty Tricks

How can anyone stand to belong to a party that must resort to tricks, lies, and out and out fraud to get elected? How can you stomach these criminals?

All I Want Is The Truth

"All I Want Is The Truth"

-John Lennon

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- House of Mystery #177

House of Mystery #177 (On Sale: September 10, 1968) has another beautiful cover by Neal Adams featuring those kids who can't keep out of trouble. Once again the Jack Adler coloring on this one is just beautiful.

We begin with "The Son of the Montross Monster" drawn by Mort Meskin and reprinted from House of Mystery #130. This is followed by a Room 13 page written and drawn by Joe Orlando. Next is Odds and Ends From Cain's Cellar drawn by Sergio Aragones and a text feature, "Last Meal," written by Charles King and illustrated by Joe Orlando. The cover story is next, "The Curse of the Cat," written by Anthro's Howie Post and drawn by Brother Power, The Geek's Bill Draut. We end with "Cain's Game Room" by Sergio Aragones. The entire contents is reprinted in Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery #1.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Lack of Energy

I've had some not so great medical news this week and more just depressing nonsense at work this week and I am just drained and not in a good place. I will get caught up on the fun and games here when I can face the task with something resembling a clear mind. Sorry for the delay.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Brother Power, the Geek #2

Brother Power, the Geek #2 (On Sale: September 5, 1968) has a cover by the legendary Joe Simon, the creator of Brother Power. Not a bad cover this time out.

"A Visit from the Dead" is by Joe Simon though like last issue the artwork is generally credited to Al Bare and Bill Draut and Jack Oleck is considered the co-writer. As we last left Brother Power, the Geek he had driven his motorcycle off a bridge to a watery doom. As we pick up the story while fishing some kids accidentally hook a Geek. Then a guy named the Baron decides to steal Brother Power’s boots, so then he and his gang fly their homemade bi-plane to go do it.

Brother Power kicks their butts and recaps his origin. The kids get him a job in a market, where he starts as a mover and bag boy but moves up the ranks. He ends up finding work and encouraging other hippies (the group from the first issue show up) to do so, eventually getting hired by the J.P. Acme Corporation just as it was taken over by the wicked Lord Sliderule. Brother Power's ingenuity still made the assembly line run more efficiently.

Lord Sliderule launches an unmanned space missile that malfunctions and explodes and the factory is surrounded by tanks who want to destroy the Geek. Geek runs into the Baron, who has become a hippie, and has a glider crash into the tanks. Brother Power was last seen being shot into space on orders from Governor Ronald Reagan, after trying to prevent the sabotage of a rocket launch by Mad Dawg and his gang, knowing it would be blamed on hippies. yeah, it wasn't the tightest of plots.

This was the final issue of Brother Power, The Geek and it has long been regarded as one of the biggest flops in DC history. However, the demise of Brother Power, the Geek had little to do, actually, nothing to do with sales. While sales were modest, Brother Power's real problem was with some of the old-time DC staff. To be precise, Mort Weisinger.

Carmine Infantino has claimed in several interviews following his retirement that Superman editor Mort Weisinger disliked the character very strongly, and petitioned DC publisher Jack Liebowitz to shut down the title. Infantino and others who knew and worked with "Uncle Mortie" have said that Weisinger harbored an admitted dislike for the hippie subculture of the 60's, and felt that Simon portrayed them too sympathetically.

According to Joe Simon, the third issue was canceled just before the finished artwork was to be set up for print duplication, and to this day Simon refuses to discuss exactly what the plot of this issue was about, nor release any of the original art.

Would Brother Power, the Geek ever became a mainstream hit at DC? I kind of doubt it, but it certainly would have had a longer shot. Most of the books that DC killed during this time period were given a full year to make it or die; Geek never got that shot.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Wonder Woman #179

Wonder Woman #179 (On Sale: September 3, 1968) has a beautiful cover by Mike Sekowsky and Dick Giordano.

"Wonder Woman’s Last Battle" is by Denny O'Neil, Mike Sekowsky and Dick Giordano and continues the amazing transformation of Wonder Woman. In this classic issue Wonder Woman relinquishes her powers and costume, her mentor I-Ching is introduced as is the new villain Dr. Cyber. As the cover says, "Goodbye to the Past!"

Continuing from last issue, Steve Trevor undertakes a mission to infiltrate the organization of high powered criminal Doctor Cyber. To do so, he is labeled a traitor by his own government. Wonder Woman wants to help Steve, but her mother informs her that the Amazons and Paradise Island must leave Earth's dimension to renew their magical powers. Wonder Woman elects to stay behind, but she must give up her powers and costume.

Wonder Woman returns to America as the powerless Diana Prince. Without the support of her Amazon heritage, Diana must seek a new career. She rents a storefront and soon meets I-Ching, a blind Asian master of martial arts. Ching trains Diana in hand-to-hand combat to take on Doctor Cyber.

Diana finally finds Steve Trevor who has been critically injured. While Steve is hospitalized, she and Ching stop a plot by Cyber's gang to use deadly toys against the families of America's leaders. Reprinted in Diana Prince: Wonder Woman Vol. 1 TPB.

Edited by Jack Miller.

Irony

Don't you just love these Christians? How ironic that Hurricane Gustav is now threatening to swamp their own convention and bring to millions memories of Katrina and how uncaring and incompetent Republicans really are. Perhaps these so-called Christian Republicans should listen to what their god is trying to tell them.