There were eight DC Comics Presents Julie Schwartz tribute issues, and we've blogged Adam Strange's, the Atom's, and the Flash's. Maybe we'll get to them all eventually, but I just got today's book! From 2004, DC Comics Presents: Superman #1, written by Stan Lee and Paul Levitz, art by Darwyn Cooke and J. Bone, and Keith Giffen and Al Milgrom; with a cover by Adam Hughes based on Nick Cardy's cover to Superman #264.
We've got two versions of "Secret of the Phantom Quarterback!" here, and I'm not positive I've ever read the original version. (The back-up story, "The Headband Warriors of Krypton!" has been reprinted more!) Stan and Darwyn's story is a retro-flavored number, with a scientist inventing a robot to impress his lab assistant, and using it as an invisible quarterback to trounce the local golden boy, in a game guest-refereed by Superman.
The second version is a little closer to the original, as fading quarterback Steve Lombard abuses an experimental steroid treatment, which accidentally turns him into a energy-radiating menace. Maybe not quite invisible, though. Superman takes Lombard for a little jog on his "cosmic treadmill" (he has one too?) to burn off the energy. Lombard is disappointed to realize his career is over, but had heard there was an opening at the Daily Planet for a sportswriter.
Looking back, I mention getting the Julius Schwartz Justice League of America issue, but I didn't blog it! Wonder where I put it...
3 comments:
Wow, I did NOT know Stan Lee wrote for DC again after that time he re-imagined the DCU once.
Standard silly fare here, but man does this make me miss Darwyn Cooke, both as a writer and artist. There are two artists off the top of my head that do draw in a similar enough style to help ease the pain, one of them is already mentioned here, J.Bone, and the other is Dave Bullock.
Here's a link to a google search of work, but trust me, if anybody could fill in for Cooke's art, it'd be this guy:
https://www.google.com/search?q=comic+artist+bullock&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJ9dGT_9_cAhXlYN8KHQ16CbcQsAR6BAgDEAE&biw=1280&bih=539&dpr=1.5
This was actually the first of these DC Comics Presents that I found (the Hawkman issue is the best, as far as I'm concerned). Funny enough, Adam Strange and the Atom are the only ones I'm missing.
Oh I do miss Darwyn Cooke.
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