Honestly, I'm not the hugest Jerry Lewis fan...

From 1995, Shadow of the Bat #38, "Tears of a Clown" Written by Alan Grant, pencils by Barry Kitson, inks by Scott Hanna.

The Joker was at it again in this two-parter, with a seemingly more personal crime than usual, having kidnapped spectators that had been in the audience when a pre-Red Hood comedian bombed. (Some of the crowd had been part of a college comedy club, and may have heckled him mercilessly.) The kidnap victims had explosive collars on them, set to go off if they laugh, but the Joker isn't particular how this lot dies...!

Batman tracks the Joker down, and has it almost sewn up, when he's hit from behind by bounty hunter Wild; who isn't after the Joker for cash but revenge for his murdered family. Despite having the Joker dead to rights, Wild hesitates a moment too long, and gets a face-full of Joker gas for his trouble. Batman has to save the probably permanently-insane Wild from a bomb, and the Joker escapes.

Much of the Joker's remembrances here are from the Killing Joke, although a little lip service is paid to the idea that those memories may or may not have happened. But if they would've had to, at least in part, for the victims to have something in common.
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Last week we took a look at a Blue Devil story from Showcase '93, and although we didn't scan it at the time, it ended with the third or fourth return of BD's first villain, the devil Nebiros.

Going back through the blog, we've seen him in passing from Blue Devil #1 and Secret Origins #24; in this Showcase appearance Nebiros seems a little more bug-eyed than usual, but it keeps him from being too scary. Or completely generic, like today's book! From 2013, DC Universe Presents: Black Lightning and Blue Devil #14, "Grave Matters" Written by Marc Andreyko, pencils by Robson Rocha, inks by Oclair Albert.

This was part of the New 52 relaunch, an anthology title that had already cycled through Deadman, the Challengers of the Unknown, Kid Flash, and Vandal Savage. Revamping and pairing up Blue Devil and Black Lightning--two characters I'm not positive met before in the old continuity--their villains Nebiros and Tobias Whale were also redesigned. In Nebiros's case, the redesign is a bit too generic demon monster, less gangly weirdness and more biped beefcake. I had a hard time placing him or differentiating Nebiros from Nekron or Skeletor or such. His legs look a little more funky on the last page, though.

Black Lightning's look seems pretty traditional, while Blue Devil open-chested shirt is a bit weird. It's also a bit weird that BD kills several thugs this issue, seemingly blasting their souls right out of their bodies. Andreyko does a couple interesting things with BD's origin, though: the suit being a "demon skin suit," a legacy from Dan Cassidy's grandfather, who used mystic artifacts and creatures to make B-movies. If magic was powered by belief, making them laughingstocks drained their power. (Which might be causing Dan problems: the more success he has as Blue Devil, the more he believes, and the more powerful and uncontrollable the suit becomes...)

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"Strike."

I mentioned this years ago, but I liked how Silver Surfer writer Ron Marz portrayed Galactus as a somewhat disgruntled, put-upon boss. But he's not the boss, is he? While we've seen him interact with Eternity (and maybe Infinity?) I don't know if he's their equal, or rather their subordinate.

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Get reincarnated like three hundred times, maybe you'd be suave as hell too.

Aside from the constant need to reboot, relaunch, and retcon him; I'd say Hawkman's biggest problem is that when a creative team finds something that works for the character, by god they're going to ride that horse into the ground. I don't know if this issue is there, yet, but...from 2004, Hawkman #29, "Fate's Warning, part 2 of 4" Written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, pencils by Ryan Sook, inks by Mick Gray.

This was mid-way through Hawkman's possibly most successful revival, the origin involving multiple reincarnations for himself and Hawkgirl. While they had been lovers in all their prior incarnations, they weren't here yet; and this issue Carter Hall was working his sexy "professor voice" on pretty jazz singer Domina Paris. He was using his museum to pick her up, which seems somehow crazy impressive here. Meanwhile, Hawkgirl had been continuing to fight crime in St. Roch, and may have been at least a little jealous; at least some of the cops didn't like the Hawks, and the sensationally-named "Angel Killer" had been murdering people and leaving the bodies staged in poses like said Hawks. Attempting to save a victim, Hawkman is surrounded by the cops at the end of the issue...

If this hadn't been the second part of four, Domina's fate might not seem as obvious as it does here: that she's totally dooooooomed. But she's also shown as prone to "spells," possibly having second sight. She describes blood and feathers and a monster wanting her to sing to him; Kendra almost seems to put more credit in Domina's prophecy than Carter does. On the other hand, without the grounding influence of Kendra, Carter seems more curious about what his life would be like with a new love. You may have to keep wondering, Carter; but I wonder if this issue wasn't a tipping point for overuse of the reincarnation angle. Possibly because I was thinking Domina may have herself been reincarnated, but she may have merely been precognitive...

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Hey, he got Travis Morgan's fortune cookie!

From 1993, Showcase '93 #5, featuring "The Takedown" Written by Doug Moench, pencils by Kieron Dwyer, inks by Dick Giordano; "Seed of Destruction" Written by Gary Cohn and Dan Mishkin, pencils by Pete Moriarty, inks by Dan Davis; and "The Ghost in the Machine" Written by Mike W. Barr, pencils by Bryan Hitch, inks by John Beatty.

As is increasingly prevalent around here, this is a random comic (probably picked up during a Hastings sale) that I don't have the previous issues for; but the opening story features Robin versus Cuban crime boss Ramon Bracuda. With Batman unavailable, and Commissioner Gordon dealing with bent cops, and Robin's erstwhile back-up Catwoman ditching him; Robin has to bring Bracuda in single-handed; and starts his attempt by whacking him with a quarterstaff while the crime boss was enjoying a steam. Doesn't seem very sporting, but Bracuda puts up a helluva fight, even after his hair catches fire. Despite having both a preternatural resistance to pain, and about a hundred pounds and several inches on him, Bracuda still loses; with Robin both feeling like he'd proven himself, and wishing his boss was there.

There's also a chapter of a Blue Devil serial from his original writers, in which Dan Cassidy is briefly freed from the Blue Devil suit, then stuck right back in it. Still, this was well before Blue Devil's redesigns, and the original look is far more charming. Also charming: the art in the final feature, early work from Bryan Hitch that feels very Alan Davis. Unfortunately, it's for a Geo-Force story, so, enh.

"Expect the Unexpected" was a common refrain in old issues of Warlord. And on the opening theme of Tiny Toons, now that I think of it.

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No offense to the guy that plays Mon-El.

Last year's season finale for Supergirl wrapped with a mysterious pod arriving from Krypton; Supergirl opens it up, to discover...we wouldn't find out until next season, but I was hoping for Streaky. Supergirl's super-powered cat would've brought a lot of crazy to the table. Anyway, turns out it was Mon-El in the pod. That's pretty good. I guess.

Huh, looking it up, Streaky lost his powers before I was even born: he got powers from "Kryptonite-X," accidentally created by Supergirl while looking for a cure to Kryptonite. In 1971's Superman #233 all the Kryptonite on earth was turned into inert iron (because at that point, every gangster and his mom had some) and poor Streaky was left powerless. Still, I mainly remember him from Legion of Super-Heroes stories with the Legion of Super-Pets. They had a dog, a cat, a monkey and a horse that all had at least most of Superman's powers, and a shapeshifting blob to boot! The LSH was maybe two members away from a complete beating...look, in continuity, I don't think 99 super-teams out of a hundred could beat the Super-Pets. "They have all of Superman's powers! And they're biting!"

Anyhow, got the Darwyn Cooke Supergirl the other day, and while she's pretty swell, Krypto and Streaky sold it for me. K & S had been part of a box set with Superboy and Supergirl, all appropriately Silver Age-style, but I missed that one. These are pretty great, with the added bonus of making me want to re-read New Frontier.

Missed the other day out sick--do I get sick a lot? The Wife thought so, and, hmm, maybe. Couldn't even drag myself to the computer, and not so sure about now, either. Take some vitamin C and call it, we'll try again next week!
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"Disclosure."

That stupid file was first mentioned almost two years ago, in "Housesit." And it may have only been a joke at the time, but after multiple episodes of people showing up to steal it (and S.H.I.E.L.D. running a sting to pick up criminals trying for it) I had an idea for what was in it. Namely, that having Kurt's name in it but scratched would be dramatic. Wolverine's name is in there as well, but I believe his corpse is encased in adamantium somewhere; even if you knew where it was, it might be problematic to get.

I'm pretty sure Peter David gave Multiple Man a pretty satisfying ending when X-Factor wrapped, so of course that was crapped all over in the recent crossover Death of X. Which I won't recommend, even if Cyclops is killed off. Still, Multiple Man has had dupes killed all over the place, there's probably more out there; but trying to keep track of his corpses would be a job.

But what would someone do with mutant (and superhero) corpses? And genetic material...there's a few answers, coming up later!

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"End of recap!" Four word balloons to fix everything.

From last week--get it now! Deathstroke #11, "Chicago" Written by Priest, pencils by Denys Cowan, inks by Bill Sienkiewicz.

We won't talk about the plot of this issue, except to say it's great! It's really twisty: when you think you know what it is, it moves again. But in passing, Priest fixes the Creeper, reinstating reporter Jack Ryder and his speedo-wearing alter-ego with a minimum of fuss.

I had heard good things about this book up to now, and this may be as much as a fill-in issue--albeit one with a great team! But I wish if not for a full book, that Priest would revisit the Creeper every so often. Maybe as the reporter on the tail of Deathstroke, who couldn't care less...
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Someone on Twitter the other day said, "Every day feels like ten days." I don't think they're wrong, but I also think we've just seen the tip of the iceberg; and if you can take a moment to contact your senator or representative and let them know what you think. (You can find your local reps here.) I'm trying to stay in and not get swamped by the constant stream of garbage from the White House: don't give up.

But since this is a stupid blog about comics and toys, today I'm going to complain that even though every day feels like ten, it's not June yet, so I don't have a Darkhawk figure yet. Which does give us time to look at the only other Darkhawk comic I had handy, which didn't even have his name on it! From 2009, War of Kings: Ascension #3, "The End of All Things" Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, pencils by Wellington Alves, inks by Scott Hanna and Nelson Pereira. There is a nice line effect on the cover, but his head does block a good portion of the title.

Set against the larger backdrop of the latest Kree/Shi'ar War (with Vulcan one side and the Inhumans on the other) Chris Powell had seemingly found some answers about his mysterious Darkhawk armor, when he meets the similarly armored Talon, of the Fraternity of Raptors. Since Chris had been having anger-control issues with his armor, he follows Talon into the Negative Zone, which may have been a mistake: the Fraternity is not only evil, Talon intends to give Chris's armor to his brother, Razor. Chris is cast into the Null Zone, the pocket dimension-slash-operating system of the Darkhawk armors. (Presumably, where the suits go when not in use, for one thing.) Breaking free from his amulet casket, Chris is able to elude the keeper-demons and get to another one, where he meets a Skrull trapped, the living sacrifice powering the suit. (The Darkhawk armors may be as much sorcery as science, and may involve releasing an ancient spirit via a living sacrifice.) The Skrull explains, that Chris's problems may have just been him learning the system, and that he may be able to do more than he thinks.

Meanwhile, in the larger universe, Talon's plans move apace: King Blastaar is given a Cosmic Control Rod, and his marching orders. The Rod has safeguards to keep him in line, since the Fraternity wants him to not attack earth yet, but align with Vulcan and the Shi'ar. Step two in that plan: Razor, in disguise, visits Chandilar, the Shi'ar Throneworld, for an assassination that would take Vulcan out of power? I'm not sure about that, but Chris picks an unfortunate time to retake his armor from Razor: just after Razor had assassinated Empress Lilandra! (A bad time to be yelling "I did it! I did it!") Leaving Chris holding the bag, as Gladiator and Havok are coming right at him.

Having missed the previous issues, I'm not sure what was up with the markings and Christmas tree lights on Chris here. Darkhawk would somehow survive this, and I think his next appearances were in a book we mentioned the other day, Avengers Arena. Which I think he would survive as well, but I'm not sure he's shown up lately. He'll turn up; and his figure will as well.

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This weekend, do something that makes you as happy as this kid.

I don't know if I'll enjoy the Ultimate Batcave as much as that kid; but I'm not certain I'll ever enjoy anything as much as that kid. Said Batcave was marked down to $25 at Wal-Mart, so of course I grabbed it. Even if the Wife doesn't think I have room for it. (Looks around.) Maybe, but that's never stopped me before!

We also got Scarlet Witch from the Comic Book Shop, and completed the Build-a-Figure Abomination! She came with his head, and it has the grossest texture of bumps. We had picked up the rest of the Abomination's series from Amazon, and from there just yesterday also got the DC Multiverse Suicide Squad Captain Boomerang for under eight bucks. Which means I have two-thirds of Killer Croc. More parts in the drawer! Including a couple of Ghostbusters pieces, since Peter and Ray were on clearance with the Batcave; but I haven't got around to opening them yet. The Wife isn't big on toys, but was game for the Collect-and-Connect Ghostbusters logo figure, if I can find Egon and Winston. She may have to settle for the red anti-logo...

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Jonah has two six-guns, should've sent thirteen guys.

The cover proclaims "In old Gotham...Cowls of Evil!" And while one guy there appears to be wearing a klan-type hood, most of the rest there and inside have what appears to be burlap sacks on their heads. That can't be great for visibility, but their odds weren't great anyway, in today's book: from 2011, All-Star Western #2, "Showdown at House Arkham" Written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, art by Moritat.

This was early in the New 52 run, with Jonah Hex teamed up with Dr. Amadeus Arkham, the namesake of the famous asylum in Batman comics. A man of science and learning, Arkham was woefully out of his depth during his time with Hex; but stumbled on gamely. This issue, the followers of the Crime Bible come for them, and Hex single-handedly kills an even dozen of them. Still, Hex has a rougher time when he and Arkham try to rescue the police chief from the inner circle of the followers of Cain, on Blackgate Isle.

Also this issue: classic El Diablo, versus zombies! Zombies caused by an Indian (or rather, Native American) curse. This chapter is largely set-up, but with great Jordi Bernet art.

Like a lot of the books I've been blogging lately, I picked up a fistful of All-Star Western when Hastings folded. But I'm not sure you could ever go wrong with cheap Jonah Hex comics.
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"Course."

In proper Marvel continuity, is Galactus's worldship untraceable? You might see it coming at your planet, but usually only once it's well too late. I don't think the big alien powers of the M.U. like the Kree, Skrull, or Shi'ar necessarily know where Galactus is headed at any given time: it would subtract from his mystique if they were monitoring him like a hurricane.

I know the Silver Surfer is usually able to find his boss when he needs to, but his tracking abilities and senses have been hyped up more than the other heralds. But it would make sense that they would be able to find their way to Galactus after searching who knows where for planets for him.

Amy being relieved of duty, is pretty typical of sci-fi action, when a subordinate questions his boss enough to get benched, whether they're actually right or not. He does seem pretty cheesed at Deadpool for once, though...
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