Last Words

Midnight Mystery Vol. 2

by Bernie Gonzalez, Wes Locher

Last Words

Conrad (last seen in The Burning Bride) goes to a drive-in movie with Barb, his girlfriend. They spend more time talking than they do watching the movie. She is concerned about the way he’s been acting. She doesn’t know that Count Karloff, his dead father, is inside Conrad’s head, communicating with him.

The Gangster’s Golem, the movie showing at the drive-in, was the last one that Count Karloff presented on Midnight Theater. He reminisces about that night while Conrad and Barb talk about their relationship.

Count Karloff was interviewed by a reporter than night by the name of Mills. She had done some research, interviewed a lot of people who worked with him, and had lots of stories about how unbearable he could be. Count Karloff doesn’t want to hear it and doesn’t want to talk to her. Mills leaves believing that she’s heard all that she needs to hear from him. The focus of the story returns to the present after a brief encounter with one of Count Karloff’s fans.

Conrad and Barb break up as the movie ends. The final moments of the movie are interspersed with the break up. Conrad isn’t happy but his father is.

Terry and the Pirates (19)

Vol. 3: 1939-1940

By Milton Caniff

Gunrunners

Nov 6, 1939 - Mar 9, 1940

This is the second story (of nine) in what Carl Horak, author of the Terry and the Pirates Companion, considers to be the third era of Caniff’s run on the strip. This era begins in late Apr 1939 and ran through late Jan 1942 and is called Between Spear Points in the companion book.

The Wikipedia article on Terry and the Pirates breaks the entire series down into 60 arcs. This is the 27th and is called Wife-Dealing and Gunrunning. It starts it on Nov 5, 1939. It seems arbitrary to me whether to start this arc on Nov 5 or 6.

Tales of the Teen Titans (1984) 55

Tales of the Teen Titans (1984) 55

Jul 1985

Shades of Gray!

by Marv Wolfman, Ron Randall, John Costanza, Adrienne Roy

Changeling blows off his teammates. He plans to kill Deathstroke but he doesn’t share that desire with them. Deathstroke is locked up in Newgate Prison, a minimum security institution in upstate New York. Bethany Snow (last seen in New Teen Titans (1980) 40) visits the prison and interviews Slade Wilson.

Gar Logan sees the interview and decides he’s had enough. He flies to the prison and breaks in during the night. He tries to kill Wilson but he is only successful in causing a lot of damage to the facility. Wilson is released the next day thanks to the help he received from some Senators who owed him.

The Widowing Wail

Midnight Mystery Vol. 2

by Bernie Gonzalez, Wes Locher

The Widowing Wail

Zeke talks to the banshee while the ghost in red approaches him. Zeke experiences a flashback to the day he returned from the war. Maggie was waiting for him. The memory gets interrupted by the ghost in the top hat. It tries to kill Zeke but he escapes by leaping off the bridge and into the water below.

The ghost said something about the priest. Zeke goes to see him, knowing that he likely is going to be the ghost’s next target. The priest explains to Zeke his connection to Pitts and Lowe but the banshee and the red ghost show up just as he is finishing his story.

Ditko Exhibit & Ditko Mini Con

Ditko Exhibit / Ditko Mini Con

Johnstown PA

Sep 10-12, 2021

FRIDAY

I drove from my home to Johnstown, PA on Friday. I left around 10:30 AM and got there around 1:30 PM. I made one stop to grab a bite to eat at a Sheetz gas station west of Cumberland, MD. The drive was fairly uneventful. I drove straight to the B&B where I booked a room. I had the whole house to myself which included three bedrooms and could probably sleep at least 6 people, although there was just one bathroom.

I drove to the Bottleworks in Cambria around 2:30 PM to see the exhibit. There wasn't a lot of parking spaces but most of the them were empty. There were only two or three other people in the exhibit walking around while I was there. It was a weekday afternoon. It might have been busier if it had been a Saturday or Sunday. There were lots of examples of Steve Ditko's art work including some full stories on display. Most of the art of was uncolored pen and ink. Most of it was not original art but copies of original art.

Tales of the Teen Titans (1984) 54

Tales of the Teen Titans (1984) 54

May 1985

Blind Justice!

by Marv Wolfman, Rich Buckler, Dick Giordano, Mike DeCarlo, John Costanza, Adrienne Roy, George Perez

The trial of the Deathstroke continues. Gar loses his cool and attacks Slade Wilson in the middle of the trial. Judge Adrian Chase kicks Changeling out the courtroom after his fellow Titans, mostly Wonder Girl and Cyborg, restrain him. Gar starts grinning after he leaves court.

Nightwing, Starfire, and Wonder Girl are attacked later that day by the phony Terminator while they are meeting with Wintergreen. Fake Terminator gets away which leaves the New Teen Titans no closer to solving the mystery of the fake Terminator.

Cyborg’s grandparents catch up to Vic at S.T.A.R. Labs. He’s investigating the possibility of changing his appearance. Lilith decides she’s leaving the Teen Titans, once again. She feels as though she is close to discovering something about her past and that it involves the winged alien.

The trial concludes. Wilson is found guilty just on the charge of possession of illegal weapons. He is sentenced to one year in prison. Gar is disappointed when he hears the news. He wanted Deathstroke free so he could kill him

Messenger of Murder

Midnight Mystery Vol. 2

by Bernie Gonzalez, Wes Locher

Messenger of Murder

Architect Pascal Pitts and Developer Lyle Lowe are discovered dead, days apart. Both men were working on the Riverfront Development. Darren, a reporter working the story, hires Zeke King to help him investigate the case. The only lead is the testimony from a couple witnesses with questionable mental states.

Darren is attacked, the night after he hires Zeke. He survives but just barely. He sees the killer. It looks like a ghostly man but he also sees a ghostly woman.

Zeke sees what he can find after talking to Darren about what he saw. Zeke interviews a priest at a church in the same neighborhood as the Riverfront Development. He also talks to a security guard at a construction site in the Riverfront community.

Zeke is poking around the construction site when he gets a visit from the ghostly woman, a banshee. He sees visions as she screams: his father, his friend Gus, and Maggie. She says she’s preparing him to die.