That cover's from 1993, but I'd swear he still looks like John Cena.

Lots still in the dollar bins, Peacemaker speculators--I mean, 'fans.' From 1993, Eclipso #11, "A Call To Arms" Written by Robert Loren Fleming, pencils by Audwynn Jermaine Newman, inks by Ray Kryssing. (I should apologize to Newman; I think I always thought this was Bart Sears!)

"Somebody's been sleeping in my bed," says Peacemaker; there's an intruder in his hanger. Kind of a Mark Twain-looking cat, who also happens to be bulletproof: Commander Steel! The original one? The older one? By using the right tone of voice, as Amanda Waller suggested, Peacemaker falls right in line for his mission: a little trip to Parador, where Eclipso is holding a little girl hostage, because she may know where three billion American is buried. (That would be about 30,000 kilograms, looking it up!) Eclipso does seem interested in getting the money (and tormenting the girl) but it's not clear why, save that he could probably do a lot of damage with it.

Bruce and Mona Gordon surprise the Creeper, in their bathroom, in the shower, using all the towels (a Dallas reference?) and tell him about Waller putting together a team; as Sarge Steel tells her he can't go, but has a sub: Major Victory. The Creeper then picks up Mark Shaw, my favorite Manhunter (except maybe he doesn't!) while Mona gathers Infinity, Inc.'s Wildcat and Dr. Mid-Nite. (So this issue is for fans of Peacemaker's show and Stargirl's!) Later, Amanda Waller gives the mission briefing, saying they couldn't wait for Bruce to get Nemesis, when Bruce arrives, saying he couldn't find him. Of course, 'Bruce' was Nemesis, who peels off his mask after "the stupidest plan I've ever heard," and stomps out, refusing to join "this kamikaze circus!" This would've been four years after he had quit--and quit hard--Waller's Suicide Squad; I'm surprised he would even hear her out.

Waller may not be as dumb as that, though: taking one of Professor Bennet and Chunk's solar weapons for a test, she shoots an Eclipso-possessed bat that had been listening in. Now she can tell them the real plan...which might work about as well, if not worse. I don't think I had been reading Suicide Squad regularly at the time, so I may have given Waller the benefit of the doubt; but reading it now I wonder if they were set up to fail all along, maybe in the hopes of getting proper A-list heroes to go after Eclipso. Read more!

80-Page Thursday: World's Finest Comics #249!

I'm really tempted to just post the cover from this one: whatever you imagine from it, is probably way better than the actual story! How do you have the "vampire of steel" and the Phantom Stranger and still drop the ball? From 1978, World's Finest Comics #249.

The only fun bit in "The Vampire of Steel!" is Superman repeatedly choosing to hang out, but seemingly decline to help Batman, based on his code to "never give super help to corporations or private persons--even friends!" The rest is squandered, like mythical undersea vampire creatures, a Jacques Cousteau-style undersea conservationist who you know is going to be the bad guy--he's named 'Kalamari,' for pete's sake. Batman is about as mysterious as a kid wearing his underroos and almost as effective, and the Phantom Stranger can apparently breathe and talk underwater, yet never visits Aquaman. Jerk. On to the next one! (Story by Bob Haney, pencils by Kurt Schaffenberger, inks by Tex Blaisdell.)

I thought we had blogged either the prior or next chapter of this Green Arrow/Black Canary serial, "Will the Costume Make the Hero?" Written by Gerry Conway, pencils by Trevor Von Eeden, inks by Vince Colletta. Ollie had been ruined financially by Deleon, who added insult to injury by buying his old mansion, then finding the Arrowcave, proving Ollie was...Batman? I think I missed one of Deleon's steps there, but he needs 'Batman' to defend him against Hellgrammite, who has Black Canary captured. She manages to shatter her prison, and beat down the bug baddies's men, but gets knocked out again. Hiding in the shadows, his beard anyway, Ollie makes a convincing Batman, until he goes into action: he has no idea what's in his utility belt, since it's not labeled, and gets tangled in the cape and falls over!

Knowing Deleon was probably going to go to Hellgrammite--part of his scam, supposedly giving old gangsters new lives--Ollie thinks his career is probably over, but Hellgrammite forces Canary to call him for help. Even webbed up, though, Canary is still fighting to free herself: she does like a challenge. Hellgrammite turns on his men and Deleon, intent on covering his tracks and stealing the Green Arrow's identity, but still dressed as Batman Ollie manages to stop him. Deleon was killed, and Canary wonders if Ollie couldn't get his money back, but he claims he doesn't need it, then acts a little too possessive with Canary and pushes her away. Did I say a little? He's being a jerk.

Next, the Creeper's World's Finest debut! I think he'd stick around maybe seven issues, but here in "Moon Lady and the Monster" Jack Ryder and his supporting cast are security for a network's Elvira-like horror host as she's stalked by an old partner. It's a bit of fun, but I don't think sticks the landing--I wanted Moon Lady to go on, but apparently the ratings got her.

Then, an unexpected lead (that's on the cover...) and an unexpected guest-star: Wonder Woman, with Sgt. Rock! With Rock hypnotized by Doctor Psycho! And aliens! The latter are 100% unneccessary, as I'd rather see Rock and WW kicking Psycho back and forth. I don't know if he very much resembles later versions of the character, though.

Seriously, they could beat on him for chapters, I'll allow it. Another DC Necronomicon, though. Read more!

I still wish this had run for longer.

I had to rewrite this opening since I rescheduled this from last week, but today we have a book I can't remember if I bought new off the racks, or shortly thereafter. I feel like the print runs were pretty healthy for the time, though, so you may be able to find one: from 1998, the Creeper #4, "Past Tension" Written by Len Kaminski, pencils by Shawn Martinbrough, inks by Sal Buscema.

The recently returned Jack Ryder may have a brittle detente with his alter-ego, the Creeper, but that's not helping him find a job, as his reputation haunts him: Perry White calls him "an attitude with legs," for starters, before his best offer of either working in the Planet's morgue or writing obituaries. The phrase triggers a flashback for Jack, an alternate version of his death in South America in Eclipso #13, eaten by hyenas. (That issue also features the death of Peacemaker, but not of Mark Shaw!) Indigestible, the assorted parts of the Creeper's body eventually reconstituted, but too weak to dig itself out of its grave, Creeper had to transform back into Jack Ryder, and digging himself out of a mass grave did not do his psyche any favors. Jack briefly falters in front of Perry, before going on to be shot down at other interviews, including a cigar-smoking mustache enthusiast of our acquaintance! Jack is apparently not hard-up enough for work to start looking for pictures of Spider-Man...

Jack decides he might need to confront the ghosts of his past before he can move forward, including a possible secret origin of the Creeper: a boogeyman his delusional mother used to threaten him with. After she died, Jack went into the woods near his home, to see if the Creeper was really there, and may have seen something--a memory? A nightmare? Or worse, a premonition? Revisiting the woods, Jack is again confronted by the boogeyman Creeper, but "these days I know somebody a whole lot creepier."

The Creeper dismantles--somewhat literally--the boogeyman, seemingly recognizing it as Jack's memory of his mother. Still, the Creeper shows remarkable compassion, assuring her this was "retirement" and that he would make sure punishment was still dished out. Creeper, then Jack, sit by her side as she fades away, as if she were never there. Jack wonders if his mom's delusions hadn't somehow laid the ground for the Creeper, and returns to New York and the welcome surprise of some job offers waiting for him. 

We've previously blogged #7, #9, #1,000,000; I wouldn't be surprised if we see more eventually.

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That's crazy, everyone knows Black Orchid's origin is...um...

Honestly, I'm not sure Black Orchid had a dozen appearances at that point. Did she even appear in Crisis? (Yes!) Well, she's in today's book as well: from 1985, Blue Devil Annual #1, "The Day All Hell Broke Loose" Written by Gary Cohn and Dan Mishkin, pencils by Paris Cullins, inks by Gary Martin and Bill Collins.

Lost and confused, reporter Jack Ryder finds himself being chased by the Man-Bat! Ducking into a mysterious-but-conveniently-open shop, Jack meets both Madame Xanadu, and the Phantom Stranger; who seem to have a little tiff over who has jurisdiction. That doesn't go very far, before Etrigan the Demon also shows up. Meanwhile, in California, Blue Devil is testing some new special effects robots for the upcoming Blue Devil II movie; when of course they start to rampage, courtesy of Felix Faust, who is after something in Dan Cassidy's workshop. BD tries to fight the robots without damaging them--they were $2 million a piece!--before Etrigan shows up to 'help,' smashing them to bits. After a brief encounter with Faust, Etrigan ends up with the bauble he had been looking for, and refers to it as an egg!

Meanwhile, in a cab there, Ryder tells Xanadu his portion of the story: the Creeper and Man-Bat had been taken over by Faust, but changing back into Ryder broke the control. Xanadu and Creeper free Man-Bat, while the Demon is positively drooling at the first egg, which spills out little monsters that he finds delicious. The Stranger gives an enchanted butterfly net to Blue Devil to gather up the creatures; while Xanadu does the same for the Creeper in NYC, but the creatures lump into one big one! Luckily, the Black Orchid arrives to help. Confused, Creeper asks Xanadu about her, and Xanadu dishes the previously unknown origin of the mysterious crimefighter:

The heroes join up in the desert (although, Orchid apparently arrives separately, under her own power) to stop Faust, who takes control of Blue Devil briefly. Black Orchid arrives in time to seemingly drop Faust off a mesa; and BD asks the Stranger about her, so he spills:

Those both seem familiar somehow...After Faust is finally beat, the Creeper suggests maybe they were all there for a reason, and suggests maybe they make the team-up a regular thing. It goes over like the proverbial lead balloon; but the name probably didn't help.

I guess if they had called Justice League Dark "John Constantine's Mystic Punters" that wouldn't have caught on either. Although she would have a few appearances with the Suicide Squad, it would be three more years before Black Orchid would get an origin, courtesy of Neil Gaiman.
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"Investigate."

Not only was making this investigation board fun, it was great to get the Question and the Creeper out again. I'd love to show you Batman's virtual board, but sorry, that's not in the budget!

This was another one posted to Twitter, but I knew it would find a home here eventually.
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When going undercover, it does help to commit to the role...

Today, one of the books on my comicon bingo card: from 1977, Secret Society of Super-Villains #10, "Triumph and Treachery" Written by Gerry Conway, pencils by Dick Ayers, inks by Jack Abel. And the cover promptly fell off of this one...

Tying into the Atom's Super-Team Family story, this issue the Creeper and Star Sapphire kidnap the unstable super-powered Jean Loring. The Creeper had been mistaken for a villain, and only joined the Society to try and figure out who was giving Funky Flashman his orders, yet still helps kidnap Jean, and doesn't seem to give it a second thought later! Captain Comet tries to stop Gorilla Grodd and the Wizard from stealing another of the Sorcerer's Treasures, the Invisibility Cloak, and gets beat down. Seeing that, the Trickster decides to opt out of any more work with the Society: they play too rough! This was something this title did often, rotating villains in and out of the book. It's something that should happen more in villain-centric books, but I'm never sure if this was by accident or design here.

Comet catches up to the Society as they gather all three of the Sorcerer's Treasures; which Comet mentions had been thrown into orbit by Superman, yet drifted back to earth later, which seems weird for a cloak...While they fight, Creeper notices Funky Flashman swiping the treasures, and follows him to a bus terminal. Funky puts them in a locker, then drops the key; and the Creeper changes back to Jack Ryder and catches Funky's contact...the Wizard? In jail, the Wizard protests that he was merely a hired hand, but we saw before being arrested was part of his plan all along. Meanwhile, Funky Flashman returns to the Society's Secret Citadel, where Grodd reveals another new lineup for the Society!

With the rotating cast, it seems like it would be a lot of fun to write Secret Society of Super-Villains...I don't know if I'd use Funky Flashman, but still.
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Taking a day!

I spent a good chunk of the weekend playing with some styrofoam chunks, five dollars worth of discounted paint, and scraps from various boxes; cobbling together new background pieces. Fun, but I haven't taken as much time to read this week.

Also, yesterday I picked up the DC Collectibles Batman: the Animated Series Creeper, and his elbow sheared off right out of the package! Haven't had that happen before. After a couple minutes of working on him, I couldn't fix it and will have to look into exchanging him. A mild disappointment, but should be fixable. Then, I was considering the new Marvel Legends, but someone stole the Rhino Build-a-Figure piece! I don't run into that often, either. Anyway, we should get back to work tomorrow! Hopefully.
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"Uncle Creeper."

I wasn't 100% thrilled with this one--too much tell, not enough show. Probably could've used another draft or six. If I worked with an artist, I'm sure I could give him some exciting, pain-in-the-ass to draw description to work with; but I am more limited here. But, still on vacation, although I should be back in the neighborhood on Monday!
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"Bad Crowd."

And with that, I'm on vacation! Things will be on blog-o-pilot, so stuff will still post, but have a good week!
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"The End" Week: The Creeper #1,000,000!

He's had two reboots since--three if you count the Vertigo version--but this was my favorite, and a last issue I love: from 1998, the Creeper #1,000,000, "Insanitation"
Written by Len Kaminski, pencils by Shawn Martinbrough, inks by Sal Buscema.

Previously, Jack Ryder had become so frustrated with his insane alter ego/split personality the Creeper, that Jack self-medicated with a "new wonder drug." Jack may have thought it was just going to be like super-Prozac, but instead it has the unfortunate side effect of splitting him and the Creeper into separate bodies. Worse, different fragments of the Creeper's madness keep splitting off as well, leaving the original "a bag of bones, empty as a campaign promise after election day and as useless as complaining about it." In case that wasn't weird enough, since this was a tie-in to DC's One Million event, the Creeper of the 853rd century has traveled back as well, emerging out of the present Creeper's mouth.

Future-Creeper tells Jack, "for all to survive, one of you must be destroyed." He adds that he gets to pick which one, but Jack maces him and gets out of there with the Creeper. Laughing it off, the Future-Creeper starts rounding up, and consuming, the offshoot Creepers. Although he may be done for, Jack won't abandon the Creeper; finally accepting him as a part of him.

Which is apparently what the Future-Creeper wanted: putting the offshoots back in the main one, he also then puts Jack and the Creeper back together, reconciled. Finally in sync, Jack no longer feels that he has to fear or control the Creeper: "He's not my enemy," he narrates before switching to go into action. "He's my partner."

Meanwhile, back in the 853rd century, the Future-Creeper has a secret: when he put the offshoots back, he excised the self-loathing aspect; and he was the cause and solution of the time paradox. Sadly, the issue ends with the final caption "999,988 more such tales remain untold."

But the Creeper is pretty adept at coming back: Steve Niles did a reboot-update in 2006, which I don't remember loving; but had to be better than the New 52 version, that is some kind of demon that lives in Katana's sword or something. That one's especially disappointing, since I like the creators on it, but not the idea. (Nocenti had an awesome run on Daredevil, while Juan Jose Ryp did a batch of books for Avatar.) Maybe a more recognizable Creeper will emerge eventually.

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"Questionable Content."

I'm on vacation this week--a week earlier than I usually go, or maybe I'm a week lazier than usual. So, I wasn't sure what I was going to have up. Then I remembered: I had a mess of homemade strips, from back in the day when I did a few for Articulated Discussion. (Wes was posting over at Plastic Graveyard as well!

We're going to run a bunch of those old strips this week, then; so if you haven't seen them, well, they'll be new to you. I think production values have actually increased incrementally since some of these, but hope you like them!
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