Bullnecks and Bracelets

Reprinted in Heartbreak Soup
by Gilbert Hernandez

Israel has wondered what happened to twin sister for years. She disappeared during an eclipse. One minute she was there and the next she wasn't. It has been probably 20 years since that day. Israel is convinced that she's still alive. He travels around during the story talking to various people.

Captain America (1968) 261

Captain America (1968) 261
Sep 1981

Celluloid Heroes!
by J. M. DeMatteis, Mike Zeck

Part 1 - Drinking with Josh Cooper and Sam Wilson

Steve, Sam, and Josh are a bit tipsy and on the way back from a bar when they interrupt a mugging in progress. Josh runs for help but Sam and Steve take on the two would be muggers. They are a bit tipsy and it affects their fighting abilities but they are still more than capable of beating up the muggers. Now there's something you probably don't see in Marvel comic books anymore, drunk superheroics.

Catwoman (2002) 3

Catwoman (2002) 3
Feb 2002

Anodyne - Part 3
By Ed Brubaker, Darwyn Cooke, Mike Allred

Selina continues her search for the killer. She gets some help from Dr. Thompkins and Holly. Dr. Thompkins is having a horrific dream when Catwoman knocks on her window and wakes her up. Selina hopes that Leslie can put her in touch with Oracle. She hopes that Oracle can help with the search.

Duck Feet

Reprinted in Heartbreak Soup
by Gilbert Hernandez

Luba has fallen into a pit. Only Guadalupe, one of her daughters, knows about it. Luba sends her to get food but is too embarrassed to tell her to get someone else to help her get out of the pit. Guadalupe tries to follow Luba's instructions but she can’t find food and then she gets distracted by some other kids who are watching a bruja.

Captain America (1968) 260

Captain America (1968) 260
Aug 1981

Prison Reform!
By Al Milgrom, A. Kupperberg

Captain America spends some time behind bars in order to prove a point. His mission is twofold. He is there to break out of the prison and to help an inmate, Tony Zack.

This one has a screw loose. It is a little too by the book for my standards. Cap is trying to prove a point by breaking out of the prison. The weird thing is that he isn’t trying to prove that the prison is flawed. He is trying to score points for the warden who fought with Cap during WWII. It is also the heartwarming tale of how Cap helps a young inmate, Tony Zack, to not become a hardened criminal.

Catwoman (2002) 2

Catwoman (2002) 2
Jan 2002

Anodyne - Part 2
By Ed Brubaker, Darwyn Cooke, Mike Allred

Better.

Catwoman looks into the murders of the street walkers. The cops aren’t taking the string of murders. They rough up the live hookers and show very little interest in investigating the deaths of the ones they find dead. They are more of interested in stealing from them, live or dead.

For the Love of Carmen

Reprinted in Heartbreak Soup
by Gilbert Hernandez

Heraclio narrates a story about himself and Carmen. It is mostly a look back at how they met and their lives before they got married. There are lots of moments in this story from other stories in this collection. Aside from being a story in its own right it helps to weave together the other stories and the inhabitants of Palomar more tightly than they sometimes have seemed up to this point.

There lots of panels. The story is told through narration and there is no dialogue.

12 pages

The Way Things’re Going

Reprinted in Heartbreak Soup
by Gilbert Hernandez

This story is told from the perspective of Vicente’s roommate. He is not named in this story. I don’t recall seeing him before. Both guys are down on their luck. I think they live in San Fideo, it isn’t Palomar. Considering the length and the medium, the story is very text heavy. It is told entirely through captions. There is no dialogue. As with many of these shorter stories it feels like part of the bigger story and incomplete by itself.

4 pages

Love Bites

Reprinted in Heartbreak Soup
by Gilbert Hernandez

At the center of this story is a fight, a verbal argument (or two) between Heraclio and Carmen. It drives them apart for a short time but eventually they reunite. There’s more to the story than just that but every time I try to describe the story in more detail it feels as though I am missing something essential.

11 pages

Captain America (1968) 259

Captain America (1968) 259
Jul 1981

Rite of Passage!
by David Micheline, Jim Shooter, Mike Zeck

The cover led me to believe that this issue was mostly going to be Cap vs. Doc Ock but it wasn’t.

Cap gets a message from someone he met during WWII. The guy was was a soldier who Cap met while they were both in Europe, fighting the Germans. They had a brief interaction when Cap borrowed Bill's motorcycle and used it against a German machine-gun position.

Justice League of America (1960) 141

Justice League of America (1963) 141
Apr 1977

No World Escapes the Manhunters!
by Steve Englehart, Dick Dillin, Frank McLaughlin

Green Lantern, Black Canary, and Green Arrow race as far and fast as they can from the Manhunters HQ in the Himalayas. Manhunter-Prime, Mark Shaw, catches up to them. He surprises them and gets the upper hand momentarily but the trio fight back and knock him out. Green Lantern tries calling for backup but doesn’t get any response from Hawkman, Aquaman, or the Atom. An editor’s note promises to reveal why those three heroes couldn’t respond to Green Lantern’s call in the next issue.

Justice League of America (1960) 140

Justice League of America (1963) 140
Mar 1977

No Man Escapes the Manhunter!
by Steve Englehart, Dick Dillin, Frank McLaughlin

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Black Canary

Green Lantern calls an emergency meeting of the League at Bruce Wayne’s penthouse. A manhunter crashes the meeting before it begins. He kidnaps Green Lantern, Black Canary, and Green Arrow. Green Lantern puts up no resistance but the other two fight back and are knocked out by the Manhunter. He takes them to a hidden city in the Himalayas.