Lingering in the Long Box

I own a bunch of old comics. They have been acquired in multitude of venues. Some are from conventions; others are the results of my grifting days. I try to keep the collection manageable. That entails going through my long boxes every year or two to weed out my collection. The usual victims are miniseries I never finished or stories I just don’t think I am ever going to want to read again. As I flip through my boxes, I end up lingering on the same issues repeatedly. Not because I am considering tossing them out, but because I have to flip through them every time I see them. Why? (Use your internal Werner Herzog voice.)

DC Special #16 (presents…Super-Heroes Battle Super-Gorillas)

Gorillas sold comics. At least Julie Schwartz thought they did. Put a gorilla on a cover and watch sales skyrocket. In this case, put four on the cover and buy a house in Bahamas. This is a reprint edition of four gorilla-centric stories featuring Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash.

The Superman story is a standard Titano story, with Titano playing the part of King Kong. Batman duels an intelligent gorilla who straps explosives to himself in a wild bluff to steal Batman’s mind. The climax involves Batman figuring out that the only way to stop the explosive is to pick the gorilla up off the ground. Batman, symbol of the human spirit, struggles to hold the gorilla up, but has the wherewithal to save the city. Batman has done many impressive things but holding a gorilla above his head for a minute might be at the top of the list. (Alfred could probably help him out with his form.) He really is prepared for anything. Wonder Woman has to deal with alien apes that come to Paradise Island to capture the Amazons as brides. Wonder Woman does not so much defeat them, as drive them away when they find her unattractive as an ape. The Amazons go right back to karate chopping rocks and leg wrestling. (Tom vs. Wonder Woman would be mind- blowing) Oh yeah, they turn her into an ape for a bit. Flash has to stop Grodd from winning an election to become Governor. Like always.

I always flip through this issue because I find it to be a relic of an entirely different era of comic book pandering. If I had to choose between more event comics or more gorilla stories, I would go simian. When you have to churn out a couple of Batman stories a month there are going to be some ape stories. Fans did eventually fall victim to ape fatigue. I also realized that I own three of these issues. I got two of them as gifts.

DC Special #29 (The Untold Origin of the Justice Society)

I know I am harping on the JSA quite a bit but that is how my razor sharp mind works; I linger around the same ideas for a decade. The cover alone makes me take minute to soak in the vibes. Earth-2 Superman is punching a bomb that has a swastika. There are blond women on flying horses. The Atom is punching a horse. Hitler is pissed off and holding a spear. It is a treasure.

The interior is fun as well. A Paul Levitz written, Joe Stanton drawn story that tells the origin of the JSA. FDR gets a warning about a German invasion of England. He manages to get Batman, Flash, and Green Lantern together to handle the situation. Earth-2 Batman does not quite seem to have it all together. Let us just say he is not picking up any gorillas. Hell, he has not even met Green Lantern and they live in the SAME CITY. They are eventually captured by Nazis, Hitler calls upon Valkyries, and the Valkyries try to kill FDR. The Atom jumps in the way and the JSA is bona fide. Earth-2 Supes does in fact stop some Nazi bombs, which is as cool as it would seem.

This one just ends up appealing to my Justice Society love. I just took a break to page through it again. Moreover, I just did it again.

Mister Miracle Special #1 (1987)

This book is an art masterpiece and great introduction to a criminally underused character. Written by Mark Evanier and featuring art by Steve Rude, we get a real simple break down of Scott Free (God, I love that name), Mister Miracle. Here is a man, New God technically, who can escape everything, but chooses to put his life on the line to save others. A child of light, he was raised on Apokolips as part of a pact between the Highfather and Darkseid. Gifted with free thought, Scott would eventually escape his prison and make a life out of dodging death. In this reintroduction, the love of his life (Big Barda) wants him to hang up his straight jacket. Running low on money, he takes a job at a circus, where Darkseid pops up in an attempt to destroy Mister Miracle and everything he represents.

It is a perfect distillation of what makes Mister Miracle such a great character. The action and tension mixed with a celebration of the human spirit. Scott Free is unfettered humanity, able to dodge all threats, and hurdle any obstacles. Granny Goodness puts Barda in an unbreakable deathtrap, and Mister Miracle breaks it (just by the skin of his teeth, but that is fun.) Mister Miracle is always going to pull off the escape; we all know it and we love it. He is not around to show us our limitations. He shows us our potential. Mister Miracle is freedom.

Steve Rude’s art captures that freedom. The dynamic layouts of the escape scenes mixed with enough humor and pathos in the faces to give the story life. He draws a Barda that is truly big, but quite beautiful. The fights and the flights have the energy of Kirby but an elegance that puts a slightly different spin on the action. I always have to take a quick trip through the book.

I pulled out ten issues that I linger on, and I have already run out of room talking about three of them. I am going to have to come back to this topic at a later date. My wife needs a break from me talking about old comics. By the way, the other seven are all Omaha the Cat Dancer comics.

Tom Katers has been lifting weights so his long boxes are no longer a threat to his health.