Batman Special 1

Batman Special 1

1984

…the Player on the Other Side!

by Mike W. Barr, Michael Golden, Mike DeCarlo, Todd Klein, Adrienne Roy, Dick Giordano, Len Wein

Wrath, a man who has lived a life parallel to that of Bruce Wayne, seeks to get even with Commissioner Gordon by killing him. Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed by Joe Chill. Wrath's parents were killed by Jim Gordon. Batman gets in the way so Wrath adds the caped crusader to his do list. Wrath captures Dr. Leslie Thomkins and takes her hostage when he can’t find Gordon. He offers her life in exchange for Gordon.

Fantastic Four 207

Fantastic Four 207

Jun 1979

Might of the Monocle!

by Marv Wolfman, Sal Buscema, Joe Sinnott, John Costanza, Barry Grossman

Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, while hypnotized, flies to the Baxter Building. He breaks into the vault and steals top secret plans for the manufacture of weapons. He takes the plans back and hands them over to the guards and then goes back to bed. 

Peter Parker gets his first assignment from Barney Bushkin, his new boss, the editor of the Daily Globe. Peter goes to Security University where he runs into Johnny Storm. 

The Monocle takes note of Peter Parker and has special arrangements made for him to prevent him from interfering with his plans. Peter finds out later that night that he’s been locked in his room in the dorm. He breaks out through the window and follows hypnotized students as they are bussed to an Army base. 

Kane (1993) 11

Kane (1993) 11

Oct 1995

Living in a Problem Neighbourhood 

by Paul Grist

Captain Dexter makes Kane and Lovett work together on a murder investigation. Marsh, Lovett’s regular partner, is on leave. Dexter doesn’t care about whatever bad blood there is between his Kane and Lovett. 

The murder victim was forced to drink bleach. They have a suspect. Lovett wants to question the suspect. Kane thinks they should canvas the neighborhood. Kane does the canvassing and finds out that Danny Brody, one of Oscar Darke’s men, was seen near the house where the murder occurred on the night in question. 

They bring Brody in for questioning. He talks. He tells them exactly who did it, the cleaning lady at Core, Darke’s club. They catch her. She confesses. They are forced to let Brody go. 

Batman 328 (2)

Batman 328

Oct 1980

A Tale of Time Past

by Marv Wolfman, Don Newton, Kim De Mulder, Adrienne Roy, Milt Snadinn, Paul Levitz

Batman helps Commissioner Gordon solve a decades old mystery. It involves the murder of Hank Weber, a childhood friend of Gordon. The murderer was caught by Gordon but the jewels he stole from Weber were never found.

Thoughts

Hank Weber was murdered 35 years before Batman steps in to help Commissioner Gordon find the missing jewelry, according to Gordon. 

Fantastic Four 206

Fantastic Four 206

May 1979

The Death of… the Fantastic Four!

by Marv Wolfman, Keith Pollard, Joe Sinnott, John Costanza, Barry Grossman

Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, and the Thing (all captured by the Skrulls in the previous issue) are sentenced to death. The Skrulls use a ray beam that will cause them to age rapidly over the course of the next three days. The trio breaks out of the prison where the Skrulls have them locked up, steal a spaceship, and try to make it back to Xandar.

Queen Adora mourns over the failing health of Tanak, her lover. Miraculously he recovers from his ailments thanks to the work of Master Xar. Adora is moved to tears of joy at Tanak’s return to health.

Kane (1993) 10

Kane (1993) 10

Jul 1995

Heart

by Paul Grist

Kane and Kate Felix investigate the shooting of Oscar Darke. The television news delves into Darkes’ past and talks to people who knew him (NEPD Captain Weller, ‘Mad Jack’ MacMadden, Ed Rizzoli, New Eden Mayor Conrad Dyson). 

Kane and Felix find the shooter but she gets away. It isn’t clear how she got away but she left behind a wig. The issue ends with the television news reporting that Oscar Darke is still alive, following surgery, and in stable condition. 

Batman 328 (1)

Batman 328

Oct 1980

Double Jeopardy 

by Marv Wolfman, Irv Novick, Frank McGlaughlin, Adrienne Roy, Ben Oda, Paul Levitz

Carl Ternion taunts Batman by sending him a reel of film in which he admits to having killed two men and gotten away with it. Batman immediately leaps into action to try and figure out what the truth of the matter is and why Carl Ternion would make such an outrageous claim. He suspects that Ternion is setting a trap for him and he finds one but at the end of the story the mystery still has yet to be solved. Ternion is still a free man and Batman still has not figured out what Carl Ternion’s secret is. 

Terry and the Pirates (30.C)

Vol. 5: 1943-1944

By Milton Caniff

The Lost Girl

Feb 15 - Aug 27, 1943

This is the fourth of twelve stories in what Carl Horak, author of the Terry and the Pirates Companion, considers to be the fourth era of Caniff’s run on the strip. This era began in late Jan 1942 and ran through early Nov 1945 and is called The War Years in the companion book.

The Wikipedia article on Terry and the Pirates breaks the entire series down into 60 arcs. It breaks this arc down into the following arcs:

41 - "Terry Joins Up" (2/20/43 to 3/21/43)

42 - "Escape" (3/22/43 to 5/16/43)

43 - "Amnesia" (5/17/43 to 8/29/43)

06/29/23

May 17-19, 1943 - Taffy, still unconscious, is taken to a private home away from the eyes of all the servicemen who are eager to make her acquaintance.

How can they say she has amnesia if she is still unconscious? Wouldn’t they have to talk to her to determine if she knows who she is?

Fantastic Four 205

Fantastic Four 205

Apr 1979

When Worlds Die!

by Marv Wolfman, Keith Pollard, Joe Sinnott, Jim Novak, Glynis Wein

Johnny Storm stays on Earth at Security University. He is unaware that he in being observed by the Monocle. Johnny is hypnotized, as are the other students at the school.

Tanak, Queen Adora’s love and the leader of the centurions of Xandar, is in critical health after getting shot by a Skrull, as described in the previous issue. Reed, Ben, and Sue help the centurions of Xandar to fight the Skrull invasion fleet. The issue ends with the Skrulls capturing Reed, Sue, and Ben. The situation looks more or less hopeless.

Kane (1993) 9

Kane (1993) 9

May 1995

His Story

by Paul Grist

This is the backstory for Oscar Darke. It begins with teenage Martha Darke running away from home and winding up in New Eden. She becomes a prostitute, has run ins with the police, and raises her son, Oscar.

Martha comes down pretty hard on Oscar when he gets in trouble. She also writes letters, to herself. Martha is murdered, shot at least three times. Oscar avenges her death by killing Officer Costello, the policeman who harassed him and his mother. 

The issue ends with Oscar getting shot at close range by a young woman. 

Secret Origins (1986) 8 (2)

Secret Origins (1986) 8

Nov 1986

Doll Man

by Roy Thomas, Murphy Anderson, David Cody Weiss, Carl Gafford, Robert Greenberger

Scientist Darrel Dane develops a formula that allows him to shrink from six feet tall to six inches tall. He does this with some help from Professor Roberts, his fiancée’s father. The formula drives him a little crazy at first but once he has calmed down he discovers that he is even stronger at six inches than he was when he was six feet tall.

Darrel discovers that same day that Martha Roberts, his fiancée, is being blackmailed by a thug named Falco. Darrel secretly tags along when Falco picks up Martha in his car. He jumps in and attacks Falco once he has heard enough to know exactly what is going on.

Fantastic Four 204

Fantastic Four 204

Mar 1979

The Andromeda Attack!

by Marv Wolfman, Keith Pollard, Joe Sinnott, Jim Novak, Françoise Mouly

Queen Adora from the Andromeda Galaxy materializes in the Baxter Building while Reed is performing an experiment. She is followed by a Skrull. Mister Fantastic and the Thing deal with the Skrull. Queen Adora tells Reed, Ben, and Sue about her world and how it has been attacked by the Skrulls. The three members of the team present decide that they must help her but first they need to summon the fourth member of the team, the Human Torch. 

Johnny Storm is off visiting the campus of Empire State University while his teammates are battling a Skrull and deciding to help Queen Adora. Johnny meets a potential new girlfriend, Lanie, and an old flame of his, Frankie Raye. Johnny returns to the Baxter Building where he learns about what his teammates have been up to.

Johnny decides to stay on Earth and mull over his personal problems, rather that help his teammates. He winds up at Security University where Dean Joseph Wayne offers him a full scholarship. Johnny accepts, unaware that he is being observed by the Monocle. 

Secret Origins (1986) 8 (1)

Secret Origins (1986) 8

Nov 1986

The Shadow of the Past

by Paul Levitz, Tom Mandrake, John Workman, Carl Gafford, Robert Greenberger

Tasmia Mallor (aka Shadow Lass) is called upon by the people of her city on Talok VIII to live up to her grandfather Sarven Mallor’s reputation and help them to drive away the Yakka-Mahor, a mountainous people who are threatening to attack the city.

Shadow Lass eventually becomes a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes but her future teammates don’t enter the picture until the last few pages of this story, after she has dealt with the Yakka-Mahor. 

Shadow Lass first appeared in Adventure Comics 365 (Feb 1968) in a story written and drawn by Jim Shooter and Curt Swan. I believe that this issue of Secret Origins is the first time that her origin story has been told. 

Stalker (1975) 4

Stalker (1975) 4

Jan 1976

Invade the Inferno

by Paul Levitz, Steve Ditko, Wally Wood, Joe Orlando

Stalker enters Hell in search of Dgrth. He fights numerous supernatural beings along the way. He is accompanied by an imp for part of his journey. Stalker finds Dgrth who refuses to return his soul. The evil god sends Stalker back to the land of the living, soulless as he has been since he first agreed to Dgrth’s terms. 

Thoughts

Stalker does not encounter any women or demons who have taken on the appearance of human women in this issue. 

This feels like a prequel to the next chapter in Stalker’s journey but it is not. This is instead the end of the line for this series. I believe the character has shown up one or twice, here and there, but I don't know if this part of Stalker's story was ever finished. 

Marvel Premiere 56

Marvel Premiere 56

Oct 1980

The Big Top Barter Resolution

by Len Wein, Howard Chaykin, David Michelinie, Terry Austin, Joe Rosen, Glynis Wein, Jim Salicrup

Dominic Fortune is living aboard his friend Sabbath’s gambling ship, Mississippi Queen which is off the coast of California in Spring 1938 when he crosses paths with Dum-Dum Dugan, owner of a three-ring circus. The mob is pressuring Dugan to sell his circus to them but he instead loses it gambling on Sabbath’s ship. The circus now belongs to Sabbath who decides to sell it.

Keene, the prospective buyer of the circus, rubs Sabbath the wrong way so she doesn’t sell to him. Keene is enraged and, with some help from one of the circus performers, he schemes to kidnap the circus mentalist. Dominic Fortune, Sabbath, and Dum-Dum Dugan team up to rescue the captured mentalist. 

Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld (1983) 8

Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld (1983) 8

Dec 1983

First Light

by Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn, Ernie Colón, John Costanza, Tom Ziuko, Karen Berger

Three emissaries of the Varn attack the Diamond Sanctuary. They use their magic to raze the building, killing all inside.

Princess Amethyst and Prince Topaz spend some time alone together.. they talk about the passing of his father and watch the sunrise. 

One of the Varn emissaries brings a Diamond from the sanctuary to Dark Opal. Sardonyx worries about Dark Opal’s dependence on the Varn. Karnelian spots a small lizard carrying an Amethyst. He goes after it but when he grabs the lizard it transforms into a much larger lizard and turns on him. 

Princess Amethyst and Prince Topaz return to Castle Amethyst. They meet with Lord Garnet, Lady Turquoise, and Lord Moonstone with whom they discuss their options. Amethyst asks Citrina about similarities between Earth and Gemworld. Citrina explains how she was originally from Earth, how she found the Gemworld, and led a large group of people from Earth to Gemworld.