Blue Beetle (DC)

I have not read any Blue Beetle stories from the Charlton or early DC Comics eras. I recently watched Batman: Brave and the Bold 1.08 (Fall of the Blue Beetle) and it has me wanting to give the 1986 series a try. It only ran for 24 issues, most of which can be found for reasonable prices. The Blue Beetle was also featured in Secret Origins (1986) 2. All of those issues (including the Secret Origins) have only been reprinted in a Showcase collection, which is not in color. That volume is currently out of print and selling on Amazon (by third party sellers) for $100 or more. The entire 1986 series plus the issue of Secret Origins, are available on Comixology.

Jarvis Kord (who appeared in Batman: Brave and the Bold 1.08) first Appeared in Blue Beetle (1967) 2, published by Charlton. This comic is kind of pricey but it was reprinted in the Action Heroes Archives Vol. 2. Jarvis Kord's second appearance was in Americomics (1983) 3, published by Americomics, which can be found for fairly reasonable prices. Jarvis Kord's 3rd and 4th appearances both happened in 1986 in comic books published by DC Comics, Secret Origins (1986) 2 and Blue Beetle (1986) 1.

The art for Blue Beetle's entry in Who's Who was drawn by Steve Rude. Rude drew only three pages for Who's Who. The other two were Hawkgirl and Poison Ivy.

Green Lantern/Green Arrow

Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams collaborated on a celebrated run of Green Lantern/Green Arrow. Officially the title of the book never changed from Green Lantern but the covers featured both heroes' names. The run ended prematurely when the book was canceled. The final story appeared as a backup in The Flash.

This run consisted of 14 stories:
- Green Lantern 76 (Apr 1970) - 87 (Dec 1971/Jan 1972)
- Green Lantern 89 (Apr/May 1972)
- The Flash 217 (Aug/Sep 1972) - 219 (Dec 1972/Jan 1973)

Green Lantern 88 (Feb/Mar 1972) had a cover by Neal Adams but the interior of the book was filled with reprints of older Green Lantern stories. Green Arrow's name is not on the cover of this issue.

Brave and the Bold 182

Brave and the Bold 182
Jan 1982

Interlude on Earth Two
By Alan Brennert, Jim Aparo

In the midst of a storm Batman is hit by lighting and transported to Earth 2. There he meets and teams up with Robin and Batwoman. Dr. Hugo Strange has come back from the dead and stolen Starman’s cosmic rod. He is using it an attempt to destroy Gotham. Starman is in the hospital. It is up to the trio of super-powerless heroes to locate and defeat the villain.

She-Hulk

I got curious today and started to do some research about She-Hulk. I read about 2 years worth of She-Hulk, when Dan Slott was writing the book in the early 2000s. I also remember she was a member of the Fantastic Four when John Byrne was writing and drawing that book. Aside from that I really didn't know that much about her.

Secret Identity: Jennifer Walters
First Appearance: Savage She-Hulk 1 (Feb 1980)

She-Hulk's first appearance outside of her own comic book was in Marvel Team-Up 107 (Jul 1981). She also appeared in Amazing Spider-Man Annual 15 (1981) that year. Savage She-Hulk was canceled after 25 issues in Feb 1982.

Krissy Longfellow

Iron Man 91 - first appearance of Kristine Longfellow, Tony Stark’s new executive secretary; Tony asks her if they have met before but she doesn’t think so

Iron Man 92-96 - supporting member of the cast but no hint of her true identity or that she is anything other than Stark’s executive secretary

Iron Man 97 - captured by the Guardsman II (Michael O’Brien); first hint that she is more than she has seemed up to this point

“For a second Krissy Longfellow sits in silence, her every nerve tensed — and only when she is satisfied that she is truly alone does she rise, and with seemingly uncharacteristic determination — skillfully slips her hands free from the wire that bound them!” P. 12

Iron Man 98 - Jasper Sitwell, agent of SHIELD, not a stranger to the pages of Iron Man, recently assigned to be Tony Stark’s bodyguard, introduces himself to Ms. Longfellow. He thinks they have met before but she says he must be mistaken, after saying something to the contrary under her breath.

Sitwell was absent from the pages of Iron Man for about 50 issues and made his first appearance in over 5 years in Iron Man 96.

Iron Man 99 - a masked woman confronts an intruder (Harry Key) at Stark Industries; the woman isn’t identified except that according to her the intruder used to work for her; he doesn’t recognize her until she removes her mask; he is stunned to see her because he thought she was dead

Harry Key was a private investigator. He made appearances in Iron Man in 1976 and 1977. His first appearance was in Iron Man 88 and his last was in Iron Man 104.

Tony leaves instructions with Jasper that he and Iron Man (haha) will be gone for a while. In his absence Jasper and Krissy are in charge of Stark Industries.

As Sitwell watches Iron Man fly “off on some new dangerous mission,” Krissy asks him, “Jasper… do you ever think of anything… besides danger?”

In the letters page (Sock it to Shell-Head) a reader (David Hill of St. Petersburg, FL) asks, “Whatever happened to Jasper Sitwell and Whitney Frost?” The response from the editor, “Well, David, as of this issue you have not only Jasper Sitwell ... but also threads that are gonna lead to some other ideas you suggested. C’mon, now, you know who this issue’s shady lady is, don’t you?”

Iron Man 100

As Krissy watches the recently returned Michael O’Brien talk to Jasper she thinks to herself, “Tony left Jasper and I in charge! I — I can’t leave without arousing suspicion, yet... I must! And if he follows me, Jasper Sitwell may die!” The narrator adds, “Thus, mystery enshrouds Krissy Longfellow!”

Iron Man 101

Krissy leaves Stark Industries with Harry Key and a briefcase full of industrial secrets. She is spotted by Jasper who quickly jumps in his car and takes off after them.

In the letters column two readers (in response to Iron Man 98) insist that the person in the shadows is Madame Masque. One of them goes a step farther and says that she and Krissy Longfellow are one and the same person. Bill Mantlo refuses to comment and tells them they will just have to keep reading. All will be revealed in a couple more issues.

Iron Man 102

Jasper chases Krissy Longfellow and Harry Key. Harry seems to lose him by making a wild hairpin turn on the highway but Jasper has an ace up his sleeve. He presses a button on his car and it becomes a flying car.

Wonder Woman and Action Comics Backup Stories 1980-1984

Wonder Woman
Sep 1980 - Nov 1984

The backup feature in Wonder Woman ran for a little over 4 years. The backups stories were all Huntress (Helena Wayne) stories that occasionally featured other guest stars such as Batman or Power Girl.

271 - 287 Huntress
288 [no backup]
289 - 290 Huntress
291 - 293 [no backup] Judgment in Infinity
294 - 299 Huntress
300 [no backup] Anniversary Issue
301 - 321

Action Comics
Sep 1980 - Feb 1983

The backup feature in Action Comics bounced around quite a bit from month to month. The featured hero was usually either Airwave, Aquaman, or the Atom. Sometimes more than one of those three were featured in the backup story.

511 - 512 Airwave
513 - 514 Airwave and the Atom
515 - 516 The Atom
517 - 520 Aquaman
521 Aquaman and the Atom
522 - 523 The Atom
524 Airwave and the Atom
525 - 526 Airwave
527 - 528 Airwave and Aquaman
529 Aquaman
530 Aquaman and the Atom
531 - 532 The Atom
533 Airwave and the Atom
534 Airwave
535 JLA
536 - 540 Aquaman

Superman 1980-82 Backup Stories

In September 1980 the cover price of Superman (and probably most other DC Comics) increased from 40 to 50 cents. Before the price increase there were 17 pages of story per issue. Starting in September 1980, as advertised on the banners across the top of each issue, the comics included "8 more thrilling pages of all-new thrills and action!" This extra content came in the form of backup stories. There were a few one-shots but for the most part the backup stories were series that took turns running in the back of Superman.

The first backup story was a Mr. Mxyzptlk story. The last backup story was a Supergirl story that began in Superman Family 222 and ended in The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl 1. By the time the backup stories went away the cover price had increased to 60 cents. Most of the stories were written by Bob Rozakis with the rest of the stories being written by a handful of other writers.

Chronological List
351 (Sep 1980) Mr. Mxyzptlk
352 (Oct 1980) Fabulous World of Krypton
353 (Nov 1980) Bruce (Superman) Wayne [Just Imagine]
354 (Dec 1980) Superman 2020
355 (Jan 1981) Superman 2020
356 (Feb 1981) Fabulous World of Krypton
357 (Mar 1981) Superman 2020
358 (Apr 1981) Bruce (Superman) Wayne [Just Imagine]
359 (May 1981) Superman: The In-Between Years
360 (Jun 1981) Fabulous World of Krypton
361 (Jul 1981) Superman 2020
362 (Aug 1981) Superman: The In-Between Years
363 (Sep 1981) Bruce (Superman) Wayne [Just Imagine]
364 (Oct 1981) Superman 2020
365 (Nov 1981) Superman: The In-Between Years
366 (Dec 1981) Superman: The In-Between Years
367 (Jan 1982) Fabulous World of Krypton
368 (Feb 1982) Superman 2020
369 (Mar 1982) [no backup story]
370 (Apr 1982) Superman: The In-Between Years
371 (May 1982) Private Life of Clark Kent
372 (Jun 1982) Superman 2021
373 (Jul 1982) Private Life of Clark Kent
374 (Aug 1982) Superman: The In-Between Years
375 (Sep 1982) Fabulous World of Krypton
376 (Oct 1982) Supergirl


Lists by series

Fabulous World of Krypton
352 (Oct 1980)
356 (Feb 1981)
360 (Jun 1981)
367 (Jan 1982)
375 (Sep 1982)

Bruce (Superman) Wayne [Just Imagine]
353 (Nov 1980)
358 (Apr 1981)
363 (Sep 1981)

Superman 2020/2021
354 (Dec 1980)
355 (Jan 1981)
357 (Mar 1981)
361 (Jul 1981)
364 (Oct 1981)
368 (Feb 1982)
372 (Jun 1982)

Superman: The In-Between Years
359 (May 1981)
362 (Aug 1981)
365 (Nov 1981)
366 (Dec 1981)
370 (Apr 1982)
374 (Aug 1982)

Private Life of Clark Kent
371 (May 1982)
373 (Jul 1982)

Adam II

Adam II was an android who was created by Professor Phineas T. Horton who also created the Original Human Torch aka Jim Hammond. In 1946 androids created by Adam II killed the Captain America II (William Naslund aka the Spirit of '76). This story was first told in What If 4. It was retold in Captain America: Patriot 1.

A few years after his first appearance, Adam II made his next appearance in Captain America Annual 6 (1982). This is where I first encountered the character. I wasn't as interested in him as I was in the fact that there were multiple Captain Americas. I reread that issue a few years ago and wasn't terribly impressed with what I found. I don't think it was as bad as the story in What If 4 but it didn't impress me the way I remembered it impressing me 35 years ago. Once again I think it was the idea that there was more than one Captain America that got me back more so than the story itself.

Now I have found that there is another Adam II story I want to give it a try. It looks like it might just be another retelling of the death of Captain America II but I still want to read it. The story ran in Captain America and Bucky 625-628 in 2012 and is available on Marvel Unlimited.

Other than these stories, the only other mentions of him that I have found have been in OHotMUs or stories in which he is just mentioned in passing.

Comic Book DB: http://www.comicbookdb.com/character.php?ID=28103

Project Pegasus

I was doing some research into Deathlok, because I am considering buying a classic Deathlok collection and I am trying to decided which version to get. One of the issues that is in both collections, which I believe have the exact same content, is Marvel Two-in-On 54. This comic is part 2 of the the Project Pegasus story.

Marvel Two-in-One 53 - 58 (Jul - Dec 1979)
Written by Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio
Art by John Byrne and Joe Sinnott (Marvel Two-in-One 53, 54, 55 )
Art by George Perez and Gene Day (Marvel Two-in-One 56, 57, 58)

There was a Marvel Premiere Classic collection of the Project Pegasus story. It is still out there and can be found for a reasonable price. There is also an older collected edition of the Project Pegasus story. The interesting thing is that while both of these collection include all six parts of the story the additional materials that they include are not the same.

Marvel Premiere Classics
Marvel Two-In-One 42 (Aug 1978)
Marvel Two-In-One 43 (Sep 1978)

The Project Pegasus Saga Starring the Thing
Marvel Two-in-One 60 (Feb 1980)

The Project Pegasus Saga collection was printed in 1988 for $6.95. I can find no mention of it on the Grand Comics Database. Which seems weird to me. They seem to do a better job than Comic Book DB, generally speaking, but in this case they definitely come up short. I have no idea why MTiO 60 was included in this collection. From what I can find it has little to no connection to Project Pegasus. This collection is no longer in print but copies of it can be found at reasonable prices.

The Marvel Premiere Classics collection was printed in 2010 for $24.99. It is a hardback. The two earlier issues of Marvel Two-in-One included in this collection are a two-part story that is the first appearance of Project Pegasus.


Guest Stars

42 - Captain America
43 - Man-Thing

53 - Quasar
54 - Deathlok
55 - Giant-Man
56 - Thundra
57 - Wundarr
58 - Aquarian

60 - Impossible Man

Syd Shores

Syd Shores was just returning to comic books and nearing the end of his career when he inked the Captain America story in Tales of Suspense 99. His career in comic books began in 1941. He penciled and inked a few dozen issues of Captain America Comics in the 1940s.

After returning from serving in the Army during World War II he became the art director of Timely Comics for a few years, until most of the staff artists were let go. At that time he became a freelancer. During the late 1950s and into the 1960s he did illustrations for magazines including some that were published by Martin Goodman.

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syd_Shores

Doctor Strange Early Publication History

This is a listing of the solo titles that Doctor Strange appeared in from 1963 - 1987. It does not include his guest appearances in various books, his appearances as a member of the Defenders, or any reprints. I got started on this because I wanted to know which issues of his books Gene Colan drew so I have also made note of those issues.

Strange Tales 110 - 168
Jul 1963 - May 1968

Doctor Strange (1968) 169 - 183
Jun 1968 - Nov 1969
- Gene Colan 172 - 178, 180 - 183

Marvel Premiere 3 - 14
Jul 1972 - Mar 1974

Doctor Strange (1974) 1 - 81
Jun 1974 - Feb 1987
- Gene Colan 6 - 18, 36 - 45, 47

Eternals, Thor, and What If?

I wasn't entirely satisfied with how things wound down in Jack Kirby's Eternals series and I've been doing a little research. I knew that there was an Eternals story that ran for about a year in the pages of Thor. I started to read Thor 283 because I thought that was where it began. It was and it wasn't.

The year before in Thor Annual 7 there was a story that also featured the Eternals. That story was mentioned in Thor 283, which was how I found out about it.

Thor Annual 7 (1978)
Thor 283 (May 1979) - 293 (Mar 1980)
Thor 300 (Oct 1980) - 301 (Nov 1980)

It is hard to tell (based on my research) how big a role the Eternals play in these issues. It is possible that they just appear in flashback in some of them.

Thor 294 (Apr 1980) - 300 (Oct 1980) is a retelling of the Ring of the Nibelung series of operas by Richard Wagner. The Norse Gods feature prominently in Wagner's operas. In the collected edition this is considered to be part of the Eternals Saga that ran in Thor even though they only appear in Thor 300.

Also mentioned in Thor 283 was a similar story that ran in Thor 274 - 278. It was similar in that it was also about Ragnarok and also written by Roy Thomas. The earlier story opens with Balder getting killed and Thor getting replaced by Red Norvell. It is also relevant to the run of Eternals stories in Thor because the framing sequence in Thor Annual 7 takes place between Thor 274 and Thor 275.

I looked a little further and found that about the same time the Eternals were appearing in Thor there was also a run of Eternals backup stories in What If 23-28. All but one of them were written by Mark Gruenwald. They are each 6 pages long. I used to have some of these issues but I have no recollection of these backup features.

What If? 23 (Oct 1980) - 28 (Aug 1981)

All of these issues of Thor and What If plus Kirby's run on Eternals are available through Marvel Unlimited.

4/21

MCS: http://www.mycomicshop.com/search?SeriesID=42612896

Superman Comics - Silver Age

I started doing research into the planet Lexor, the planet that was destroyed in Action Comics 544; which led to an interest in the following comics

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Superman 164 (Oct 1963) The Showdown Between Superman and Luthor! The Super-Duel!

Reprinted in Superman 239, Superman from the 30s to the 80s, Superman in the 60s, Superman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told 1, Superman vs. Lex Luthor, Lex Luthor: A Celebration of 75 Years

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Superman 167 (Feb 1964) The Team of Luthor and Brainiac (3 parts)

Reprinted in Superman 245, DC 100-Page Super Spectacular DC-7, The Great Superman Comic Book Collection, Superman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told 2, Superman vs. Brainiac

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Superman 168 (Apr 1964) Luthor -- Super-Hero!

Superman 385 (Jul 1983) Luthor Rises Again!

Superman 386 (Aug 1983) Luthor Lashes Back!

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Action Comics 318 (Nov 1964) The Death of Luthor

Action Comics 319 (Dec 1964) The Condemned Superman

Reprinted in Best of DC 27

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Superman 292 (Oct 1975) The Luthor Nobody Knows!

- 1st Cover Appearance of Luthor's green and purple costume (?)

- reprinted in Best of DC 27, Superman vs Lex Luthor