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reveal the history of BATMAN’s arch-foe

RA’S AL GHUL

A plea from the publisher of this fine digital periodical: TwoMorrows, we’re on the Honor System with our Digital Editions. We don’t add Digital Rights Management features to them to stop piracy; they’re clunky and cumbersome, and make readers jump through hoops to view content they’ve paid for. And studies show such features don’t do much to stop piracy anyway. So we don’t include DRM in our downloads.

However, this is COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL, which is NOT INTENDED FOR FREE DOWNLOADING ANYWHERE. If you paid the modest fee we charge to download it at our website, you have our sincere thanks. Your support allows us to keep producing magazines like this one. If instead you downloaded it for free from some other website or torrent, please know that it was absolutely 100% DONE WITHOUT OUR CONSENT. Our website is the only source to legitimately download any TwoMorrows publications. If you found this at another site, it was an ILLEGAL POSTING OF OUR COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL, and your download is illegal as well. If that’s the case, here’s what I hope you’ll do: GO AHEAD AND READ THIS DIGITAL ISSUE, AND SEE WHAT YOU THINK. If you enjoy it enough to keep it, please DO THE RIGHT THING and go to our site and purchase a legal download of this issue, or purchase the print edition at our website (which entitles you to the Digital Edition for free) or at your local comic book shop. Otherwise, please delete it from your computer, since it hasn’t been paid for. And please DON’T KEEP DOWNLOADING OUR MATERIAL ILLEGALLY, for free. If you enjoy our publications enough to download them, support our company by paying for the material we produce. We’re not some giant corporation with deep pockets, and can absorb these losses. We’re a small company—literally a “mom and pop” shop—with dozens of hard working freelance creators, slaving away day and night and on weekends, to make a pretty minimal amount of income for all this hard work. All of our editors and authors, and comic shop owners, rely on income from this publication to continue producing more like it. Every sale we lose to an illegal download hurts, and jeopardizes our future. Please don’t rob us of the small amount of compensation we receive. Doing so helps ensure there won’t be any future products like this to download. And please don’t post this copyrighted material anywhere, or share it with anyone else. Remember: TwoMorrows publications should only be downloaded at

www.twomorrows.com TM

TwoMorrows.Celebrating The Art & History Of Comics. (& LEGO! ) TwoMorrows • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 • E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • www.twomorrows.com

Setting our sights on comics noir

and street-level heroes in our

PULP FICTION

The Ultimate Comics Experience!

Volume 1, Number 10 June 2005 Celebrating the Best Comics of the '70s, '80s, and Today! EDITOR Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow

PRO2PRO: DENNY O’NEIL AND M.W. KALUTA ON THE SHADOW .....................................2 Learn the genesis of DC’s first “grim and gritty” series in this one-on-one chat

DESIGNERS Robert Clark and Rich J. Fowlks PROOFREADERS John Morrow and Eric Nolen-Weathington

SPECIAL THANKS Jason Adams Mark Tomlinson Neal Adams Jaume Vaquer Terry Austin Jim Warden Mike W. Barr Len Wein Spencer Beck John Workman Jerry Boyd Jim Young Mike Burkey Jim Cardillo Catskill Comics Howard Chaykin Rich DeDominicis Steve Englehart Mike Fleming Shane Foley William Foster Ron Frenz Dick Giordano Grand Comic-Book Database Jason Greenfield Mike Grell David Hamilton Allan Harvey Heritage Comics The Jack Kirby Collector Dan Johnson Michael W. Kaluta Mike Keane Scott Kent Joe Kubert Ted Latner Richard Martines Adam McGovern Brian K. Morris Stuart Neft Al Nickerson Dennis O’Neil Adam Philips Roland Reedy Bob Rozakis Rose Rummel-Eury Peter Sanderson Jeff Singh Roger Stern Roy Thomas

ROUGH STUFF: BATMAN PENCIL AND SKETCH GALLERY .......................................................16 The Dark Knight by N. Adams, Bingham, Bolland, Cockrum, Hannigan, Hitch, Mazzucchhelli, Nasser, Rude, Sienkiewicz, Simonson, P. Smith, and Von Eeden BEYOND CAPES: THE HUMAN TARGET ......................................................................................................28 Len Wein and Dick Giordano recall comics’ great imposter, Christopher Chance FLASHBACK: JON SABLE, FREELANCE ...........................................................................................................34 Mike Grell discusses his children’s author/mercenary, with gobs of great Grell art BACKSTAGE PASS: SABLE .........................................................................................................................................42 Jon Sable’s short-lived TV series featured Rene Russo and “Cheesecake” GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: THE BLACK AND WHITE OF DC MAGAZINES .......................................................................................44 Why did DC bypass one of the biggest fads of the 1970s? We ask Neal Adams, Joe Kubert, Bob Rozakis, Roy Thomas, and Len Wein BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: RA’S AL GHUL..............................................................................................50 Neal Adams and Denny O’Neil analyze their megalomaniacal co-creation, with rare Adams artwork PRO2PRO: ROGER STERN AND RON FRENZ ..........................................................................................66 Rediscover the fondly remembered “The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man” through the eyes of its writer and artist BEYOND CAPES: DOC SAVAGE ...........................................................................................................................69 The Man of Bronze’s golden comics journey, courtesy of one of his writers, Mike W. Barr BACK IN PRINT: INTERVIEW WITH BATMAN: DARK DETECTIVE’S STEVE ENGLEHART ...............................................................................79 An insider’s look at the reunion of one of the greatest Batman teams, with preview art and commentary by Marshall Rogers, Terry Austin, and John Workman—plus a review of Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 BACK TALK ..............................................................................................................................................................................86 Reader feedback on issue #8

COVER ARTIST Neal Adams

INTERVIEW: HOWARD CHAYKIN ..........................................................................................................................9 With career-spanning insights and Chaykin art galore

BACK ISSUE™ is published bimonthly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor, 5060A Foothills Dr., Lake Oswego, OR 97034. Email: euryman@msn.com. Six-issue subscriptions: $30 Standard US, $48 First Class US, $60 Canada, $66 Surface International, $90 Airmail International. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Ra’s al Ghul and Batman TM & © 2005 DC Comics. The Shadow and Doc Savage TM & © 2005 Condé Nast Publications. Jon Sable, Freelance TM & © 2005 Mike Grell. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2005 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows Publishing. BACK ISSUE is a TM of TwoMorrows Publishing. Printed in Canada. FIRST PRINTING.

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conducted December 17, 2004

interview

by Dan Johnson

They Knew

(Far right) Page 9 of The Shadow #1 A Kaluta Shadow

(1973) reveals the

sketch contributed

power of the character,

by Mike Fleming.

his writer, and his artist. Original art courtesy

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What Evil Lurked in the the Hearts Hearts of of Men Men in

DAN JOHNSON: First off, what can you gentlemen tell us about how DC came to publish The Shadow? DENNY O’NEIL: I don’t remember how we came to do it. I remember the character had been enormously popular. I had liked him in his radio incarnation. I guess somewhere along the line, I became aware of the much more interesting pulp magazine incarnation. MICHAEL WM. KALUTA: Denny, I look back at the stuff DC was publishing at the time and I wonder, “Where in the

world did idea to publish The Shadow come from?” Except for the Batman, it didn’t sit with anything else DC had in its stable. O’NEIL: I think that’s one of the reasons it caused a stir when we first brought it out. That first issue got a lot of attention, probably because it wasn’t like anything else out there. KALUTA: I recall one of the unnerving aspects of that first issue coming out where the letters people wrote in saying they liked that the character was “judge, jury, and executioner,” something we hadn’t seen in comics up to that point, at least our kind of comics. It was something that certainly pointed towards the future, wasn’t it? O’NEIL: I think it was Jim Steranko who said, “The Shadow didn’t believe in the death penalty, he WAS the death penalty.” KALUTA: You did give [the bad guys] an out, that choice [to do wrong or not do wrong]. But, of course, the criminals

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It was midnight when the writer heard the rustling of cloth behind him. He turned around in his chair quickly, but saw nothing there. The writer shook his head. “I’m so tired, I’m imagining things,” he thought. As he turned back around to his computer screen and his latest assignment, the writer glanced up at the wall in front of his desk. That’s when he saw it, the dark shadowy profile with the hawk nose and hat pulled down over its brow. The image startled the writer, and a cold shiver ran down his back when a disembodied voice addressed him. “You are Dan Johnson, a writer for BACK ISSUE.” The voice stated it as a fact, not as a question. The writer nodded his head. Terrified, he managed to spit out a faint “Yes . . .” The shadow on the wall grew larger. “I have been in contact with your editor, Michael Eury,” the voice said. “After conferring with him, I have decided you will be the one to write about two of my most trusted agents: Denny O’Neil and Michael Wm. Kaluta. You know who they are?” The writer, too afraid to turn around, simply nodded his head. “Over three decades ago they wrote about my exploits for DC Comics,” the voice said. “They were most valuable in my war against crime. O’Neil’s scripts captured my essence as a dark avenger during the Depression. Kaluta’s artwork won me many loyal followers who share my disdain for the evil men do. No doubt both their efforts kept many a youngster in the early ’70s from straying off the path of truth and justice. The story of how they came to relay my legend deserves to be told. You understand what needs to be done, Johnson?” The writer nodded his head as the shadow began to grow smaller on his wall. “I expect your best work then,” the voice said as the shadow finally vanished. “Be warned. I’ll be back if you don’t give it. After all—the Shadow knows!”

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drawing “Carson of Venus” and drawing the backup feature, “Spawn of Frankenstein,” for The Phantom Stranger, so penciling and inking all that was around 30 pages I was doing every two months. Today I am impressed with myself [that I got so much accomplished], but back then I was mortified that I couldn’t keep all the plates spinning. After Frank Robbins had done the book, I thought, “Let me just buckle down, let me just get into it, forget whatever else might come along and let me just focus in on this.” But I talked it over with Carmine, and he was of the opinion that it probably would be better if I go and do the other things and let [The Shadow] just speed on. I thought, “I really can’t do a 20-page book again. I’ll stick with the five-page and eight-page stories and covers.” JOHNSON: Denny, tell us about the end of the series. O’NEIL: I learned the book was cancelled by looking at an ad for subscriptions where the DC books were in alphabetical order and there was a blank space in the “S”s where The Shadow should have been. So, comes the dawn, I guess that means we’re not doing it anymore. That was kind of the way it was done. Sometimes they didn’t bother to tell you [your book was cancelled]. JOHNSON: After The Shadow was cancelled, there seemed to be an effort to inject him elsewhere in the DC Universe via Batman with two crossover stories. O’NEIL: Yeah . . . I don’t know what the legal ramifications of that was. I would hope somebody did whatever was necessary to make that usage legal. I just did the stories. I assumed everybody else was knowledgeable about the stuff that I didn’t know about. We just trust the universe to make it all come out even. KALUTA: All I got do was one of the crossover Batman/Shadow covers. To this day people still say, “That was my favorite cover.” I think I have signed as many of the first Batman and Shadow teamup cover [in Batman #253] as the first issue of The Shadow book itself.

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JOHNSON: Denny, considering how you found out about the book’s cancellation, I was wondering if there were any Shadow stories you would have liked to have told that maybe you didn’t. O’NEIL: No, I was really making it from month to month back then. I based the first one on one of the radio shows. I just sort of adlibbed it from there. I would have been happy doing The Shadow, but I didn’t feel that there was anything I was burning to get out there that I was denied a venue for. JOHNSON: It seemed like the only thing the fans were really clamoring for was an origin story. I personally don’t think it was something that was really needed. What do you gents think? KALUTA: [His origin] was never put into the pulp books. Little bits and pieces would surface, and the fans would make up their own stuff as they tried to find out who the guy was. O’NEIL: He was really Kent Allard, and not Lamont Cranston. KALUTA: Exactly! He had a whole history before becoming the Shadow as a pilot and an undercover spy in Germany during WWI and all sorts of stuff that is very rich, and unnecessary to know. I personally believe the popularity of the Shadow was that you didn’t know who he was. O’NEIL: That works into that unstated notion that he’s really a bit more than human.

My Lunch with

Howard Chaykin H

The Cover You Didn’t See

Howard Chaykin’s cover to Atlas Comics’

The Scorpion #2 (1975) was not published; a different version by Ernie Colón (see inset) ran in its place. Courtesy of Jeff Singh.

conducted on November 13, 2004

interview

by Philip Schweier

In November 2004, the Savannah College of Art and Design hosted its annual Comic Arts Forum, a three-day series of seminars and portfolio reviews conducted by industry pros. Freelance writer and comics fan Philip Schweier took the opportunity to sit down with the multi-talented Howard Chaykin prior to one of his workshops, inviting him to reflect on his career in comics and adventures in television. PHILIP SCHWEIER: I just want to do a quick overview of your career. HOWARD CHAYKIN: Sure, okay. SCHWEIER: In the ’70s, in the early ’70s, you were doing comics. . . CHAYKIN: When I was 11. Let’s accept that right here and now.

SCHWEIER: (laugh) Okay. CHAYKIN: I was a tad, I was a child, I was the Mozart of comics. SCHWEIER: I always thought so. CHAYKIN: Well, there you go. What a guy. SCHWEIER: At a time when super-heroes dominated the landscape, you were kind of all over the place, what with “Iron Wolf” at DC, Scorpion at Atlas—“Dominic Fortune” at Marvel came later, I think— CHAYKIN: Hm-mm. SCHWEIER: —at a time when super-heroes were so

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BILL SIENKIEWICZ

lton Hami ” e n ambo id “H friends) v a D by (and

the

BATMAN

Pencil and sketch Gallery We teased you with this on our cover, and here, courtesy of Mark Tomlinson, is Bill Sienkiewicz’s amazing rendition of the Batman. Join us in saying, “Wow!!”

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D AV I D M A Z Z U C C H E L L I Batman: Year One, drawn by David Mazzucchelli and written by Frank Miller. Mr. Maz is another super-star from Hoboken, New Jersey (Sinatra’s the other). Fine example of David’s rough layout—with Catwoman!

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In Your Face: The Story Behind Comics’

Greatest Imposter,

the Human Target by

cGovern Adam M

For as long as there have been comics, there have been

legendary Carmine Infantino’s first art job in some years

mortal adventurers operating in the shadows of the

(after becoming DC’s editorial director), and though he

super-beings soaring overhead. Their presence is only

left right after launching the series, Infantino’s elegant

fitting, since in fact these hardboiled detectives, big-

hand was matched by regular artist Dick Giordano,

game hunters, et al. predate the costumed characters in

whose tasteful realism suited one of the more sophisti-

the colorful medium they share. One of the most inter-

cated series of the time. Wein injected the stories with an

esting is Christopher Chance, the master of disguise

uncommon sense of humor at the absurd situations

known as the Human Target for impersonating clients

Chance found himself in (deep-sea diver! tightrope

marked for death with the aim of exposing their pursuers.

walker!), and instilled Chance himself with a nuance

Debuting as a discreet backup story in an everyday

quite apart from the at-most two-dimensional whole-

issue of DC’s Action Comics [issue #419 (Dec. 1972), to be

someness of DC’s contemporary heroes or fashionable

exact], Chance’s first run stretched across 14 stories in

neuroses of Marvel’s.

eight years, an under-the-radar character who nonethe-

Chance was an outwardly unflappable but oddly

less caught and held the attention of editors who gave

unknowable figure, committed to doing good deeds yet

the death-defying adventurer more than nine lives

coolly sarcastic with his hapless clients; solidly moral

between publication limbos. Though perhaps hard to find, the series itself was

nothing to ignore; conceived by respected Swamp Thing co-creator Len Wein, it auspiciously began with the

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yet ever mindful of his fee; a dogged champion whose successes were almost a secondary satisfaction to his skillful (if patently bizarre) role-playing. In one typical case, Chase impersonates a threatened

orchestra conductor, eventually appreh e n d i n g t h e r e a l m a n ’s would-be assassin in the middle of a concert by using a bow-and-cello as a bow-and-arrow, only to be berated by his client for having given a lousy performance. In Chance’s world, nothing need be what it seemed, and anything could suddenly turn either deadly or humorous. These dimensions made the Human Target a “real person” not just in his

lack of superpowers, but in his unpredictable shades of mood and motivation, and thus more believable than many comics characters in or out of capes. BACK ISSUE spoke to two pivotal members of the creative team that first gave Chance flesh and blood, Wein and Giordano. Wein explained that the Human Target underwent the first of many identity swaps before even seeing publication. “Originally the Target was gonna be Johnny Double” [DC’s private eye first seen in Showcase #78 (Nov. 1968)], Wein says of the character’s formative name. “At the very beginning stages of my career it was pitched to [then-editor] Dick Giordano at DC when Marv [Wolfman] and I were working together. Dick was interested in doing a detective character, back when there was a range of kinds of comics you could do, but he wasn’t interested in the ‘human target’ idea. So he said, ‘Can I just use the name “Johnny Double,” and we’ll make it a straight detective [character].’ And at that stage, to get into the business, [we said], ‘Sure! Anything you want, whatever changes you want to make.’ [laughs] The name didn’t make any sense [any more], but that’s where the [first] character came from. “[Later], Julie Schwartz was [editing] Action Comics and decided he wanted to make some changes; they were going to rotate two or three backup features, “The Atom,” etc., and he was looking for a detective character; he said, ‘I want someone who’s not a super-hero, I just want some variety.’ And I still had the concept, [though] I didn’t have a name; I said, ‘Well, I’ve got this concept I’ve been wanting to use for years,’ and I pitched it to Julie right there in the office, and he said, ‘Oh, I like that, let me go talk to Carmine,’ and he came back ten

Giordano on Target A page from Dick Giordano’s first solo Human Target tale, and the character’s second appearance, from Action #420 (Jan. 1973). Courtesy of Jaume Vaquer.

minutes later and said, ‘Go, you’ve got a strip, go do it.’”

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This 2001 Jon Sable commission by Mike

A friend has a saying: “Hey! It was

Grell was contributed

Stewart ics Savant” m o C e h T “ b y Tom

the ’80s!” This is something he uses to explain away

for publication by Roland Reedy.

everything from Ronald Reagan to Flock of Seagulls to

both.) Ah, yes, the ‘80s! It was only 15 years ago (depend-

Rambo III. Usually he’ll throw in a headshake or a shoulder

ing on where you start) and is now being remembered

shrug, or both. (Most of what he defends would call for

all over again on VH1. Over and over again, usually by people you’re not quite sure were truly aware of the ‘80s at the time. For most it was a decade that seemed mostly to start out not wanting to be the ‘70s, especially in music and in fashion (they kept repeating the same formulas in TV, though, until MTV and Miami Vice, then they just repeated those, but I digress). For comics it was about not wanting to repeat the “business as usual” mantra that had typified the previous 40 years. Self-publishing, and true independent publishing (meaning not DC or Marvel), had been tried, failed, and tried again, and was now limping into a new decade. This was to be their decade, it was in the air. Eclipse was starting up, putting out one of the first graphic novels, Sabre, in 1978 (okay, I wussed out by saying “one of the first,” pinning down the first is one argument I don’t have space for . . . maybe in a future issue, or a meeting in a back alley where editor Michael Eury could hold my coat for me), and Pacific Comics started up with a coup, the great Jack Kirby writing and drawing Captain Victory, his first creator-owned title. It was the start of something big and exciting, and some creators stepped carefully into the water, while others had found exactly what they were looking for. Like Mike Grell: “I was the first to sign with them, but Jack beat me to the stands!” The company was Pacific, the title was Starslayer: The Log of the Jolly Roger. At the start of the 1980s, Mike Grell was restless with comics as the comics themselves were. Mike had created, written and drawn DC’s Travis Morgan, the Warlord. But he didn’t own it:

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“It was under the old ‘work for hire deal’ they had.” The Warlord was one of DC’s most popular titles, a pure

was not owned by Mike Grell; Travis was owned, lock, stock and winged helmet, by DC Comics, Inc.

Burroughs-like adventure story of a savage middle earth

Mike had originally thought out Starslayer for DC.

and the modern-day man that falls into the middle of it.

He was a sort of reverse Warlord: instead of the jet pilot

The title appealed to the coveted older and younger read-

Travis Morgan falling into a primitive world, Starslayer

ers. Before Warlord, Grell had been getting plenty of fan

was a primitive man adrift in a future world. When

notice at DC, as the artist of Superboy and the Legion

approached by Pacific Comics’ Schanes brothers, Mike

of Super-Heroes:

decided to change course and throw in with Pacific. He

“I took over after a popular artist, probably the most popular Legion artist and one of their best, Dave

could own his creation, and be part of the next wave:

A Mike Grell pen,

independent comics.

ink, and watercolor

Cockrum, walked off the book!” Mike laughs. The

illustration of Jon Sable

to accept change. “There’s some that still haven’t

“I Don’t Believe in Batman. I Don’t Do This for Free. I Get Paid.”

forgiven me for Cosmic Boy’s costume. But they were

The story is that a “certain executive” at the First Comics

full color on the site

loyal, they had heart; if they like you, they stick with you.”

would come up to would-be artists (and some pros),

of the art’s contributor,

While working at DC (Mike had a pencil in most of the

smile at them, and say, really, “I’m here to make you rich!”

Catskill Comics, at

characters that DC put out at the time), Mike man-

Such was the optimism of the early ‘80s, and the giddy

www.catskillcomics.com.

aged to sell his new strip (something he’d used for

excitement of independent comics that made many

his portfolio) “Savage World” to . . . Atlas Comics (?!).

people believe him, or want to. But the door on Starslayer:

Legion had a strong fan base that wasn’t always ready

that can be seen in

Seems Mike didn’t think DC did well with the kind of fantasy that he envisioned with “Savage World.” He must have looked at the track record DC had with the Burroughs characters, and figured his concept would have more of a chance at the newly formed Atlas. Now Atlas was a company partly formed in revenge, partly as an exercise in ego. Martin Goodman started the company after selling Marvel Comics, the company he’d founded over 30 years before, to Cadence Industries. He figured that the new owners would keep his son on to run Marvel. They didn’t. Goodman started his own company, put his son in, hired a bunch of people like Neal Adams, Howard Chaykin, Steve Ditko, and Larry Lieber, and then ran the company into a ditch. Mike lucked out . . . sorta, when an Atlas editor called DC publisher Carmine Infantino to check up on Mike, something Mike did not want them to do. Barely had Mike finished his meeting at Atlas, barely had he walked back into the DC offices when Infantino met him in the hall, demanding an explanation of why he hadn’t offered the “Savage World” book to DC. While Carmine took a call, Mike rethought his concept, came up with a new pitch, and lobbed it at the DC publisher. Carmine swung. “Savage World,” now called The Warlord, would last over ten years, and would even get his own squat, pro wrestler-like action figure. But again, The Warlord

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The Log of the Jolly Roger was slammed shut after only six issues. Pacific Comics went

Mike conceived Jon Sable as a man haunted by guilt,

under after helping pave the way for

who smears on a battlemask of black soot from the cross

the crazy concept of “creator-owned

of his wife’s grave (“It scares the hell out of criminals!” Sable

comics.” Mike got a call from friend

says) then hunts down evil with a Mauser—for a price. His

Mike Gold who was Managing

best friend is a lonely ex-stuntman with a drinking problem

Editor at the brand-spanking new

who attaches himself to Jon and won’t let go. And after

company, First Comics. This time

failing to sell that novel, Jon turns to writing children’s books

Mike Grell would be the second

under the pen name B.B. Flemm. Books about elves who

creator signed to a new inde-

live in Central Park, and whose best friend is a wino. Sure,

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why not. It was really a brilliant move. Not only is it different

First Comics of Chicago

(I mean, I don’t remember it being done before), but it

signed up Mike Gold as

opens up a world of supporting-cast possibilities, not to

Managing Editor, then Joe

mention another side of what would have to be a pretty

Staton as Art Director (making

dark character.

Joe the first creator signed), there-

DC editor Julie Schwartz used to refer to the world

by beginning its run as one of the

of the Warlord as the “Grellverse.” This time Mike would

most successful independents of the

take his African bounty hunter and base him here in

‘80s—and one of the few to outlive

America. Sable would be someone who wouldn’t work

the decade (all right, I know what you’re

in the pleasant DC fictions of “Coast, Gotham, Metropolis,

thinking, it barely made into the ‘90s, and that

or Star” City, but would be part of the real world, in New

was completely on fumes. So, write your own arti-

York, as real as he could make it. Sable would be some-

cle next time). Gold then made his call to the recently

thing different, a twist on the “Bruce Wayne

available Grell.

Vengeance” formula. Bruce was a playboy by day, an

Mike had an idea. A deliberate change of pace.

avenger by night, but Sable? Sable wasn’t Batman.

And after years of drawing guys in tights beating up

“Sable was in it for the money. He had to get paid.

other guys in tights, Mike was ready to try something

Even if it wasn’t much, he got paid.” One time it was

new. He would combine his love of hunting and his

50 cents for catching an armed robber.

fascination with guns (“My gun collection is legendary

. . . And Sable could use the money.

. . . or mostly legend!”), and put into to contemporary

It’s one of those things about comics that bug people,

setting. His new hero would be a mercenary; a pentathlete

especially people who don’t read a lot of them: money.

who was part of the 1972 Olympics; a game warden in

How do they get the money to pay for the tights, cars,

Africa who, haunted by the murder of his family by poach-

the caves, the arrows? “I made Sable a mercenary, some-

ers, hunts the killers down for revenge.

one who gets paid for being a hero,” says Grell. Sable

I know. You see the problem, too? A man, whose

wouldn’t be like Bruce Wayne, “who’s just flat out rich

family is killed by crooks/terrorists/assorted bad guys, goes

and doesn’t have to work.” And in being a mercenary, he

on a killing spree, wipes them off the face of the earth,

travels to the hotspots; he doesn’t have to haunt rooftops

then turns his attention to hunting down the scum of

to find his fights. Mike: “You have Superman, who’s a

humanity. Seen it. Many, many times. Grell and Gold knew

reporter, which is just brilliant, I think, probably the

this, they had been in the adventure business too long

best occupation for a hero because he’s always there

not to know the readers would have seen this coming

one the spot, or he’ll hear about it first, and Peter Parker,

and would be a mile ahead of them along the expec-

Spider-Man, who’s employed by the Daily Bugle to take

tation path. Grell would have to make his bounty hunter—

pictures of Spider-Man!”

his mercenary—different. His mercenary didn’t start out

Before the money from the books came in, Sable

to be a mercenary. He became one after failing to sell

would have to turn to what he knew—hunting down

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people any way he could. And now that he’s a successful children’s author, who knows? He could make more money than Bruce Wayne. But first, as Faulkner might say, he must “endure.”

Storm Over Eden Sable’s origin is spread over four issues, #3–6. Grell drops hints about Sable’s past in the first two issues, while introducing the supporting cast: Captain Winters, the African-American policeman who is hunting Sable; Eden

Kendall, Sable’s book agent and on again, off again lover; and the illustrator of his books, Myke Blackmon, a woman who’s going to figure prominently in the book as the issues pile up. Grell takes his time to set things up, make

Tim Vigil’s

you care about Sable, make you care about the family

interpretation of

that he loses. He frames the four issues of the origin around

Jon Sable, courtesy

Myke Blackmon, the illustrator who discovers Sable’s dou-

of Mike Fleming.

ble life in issue #1, reading the first rejected novel Jon wrote, A Storm Over Eden. It tells the tale of Sable meeting his wife Elise, a gymnast, during the ‘72 Olympics, their

he’d done years earlier, by writing the story of the

romance and marriage, then their moving to her native

experiences. Only no one is buying. Not even a little. Well,

Africa, where Jon tries to start his own “white hunter”

except one agent, Eden Kendall, who sees some promise

safari business. He also, to make extra money to support

in the stories of the wee folk he tells his children at bed-

his growing family of two children and Elise, decides

time. She signs him up as a children’s author, just as he

to join the game wardens, which in Africa means he’s

decides to return to being a mercenary. Both careers take

fighting the million-dollar illegal poaching business. A

off at once, giving him his double life, and a blond curly

very dangerous group of killers, as Jon finds out.

wig and mustache to wear at book signings. Whew! I told

A few years later, the killers come to take revenge on Sable, only he’s not home. They choose his wife and

you it was four issues! Jon Sable was a man of action, but that wasn’t always

children instead. When he arrives, his family is dead. He

the emphasis. Some issues were mood and character

buries them, burns his house to the ground, uses his

pieces, exploring the character’s thoughts and moti-

tracking skills to hunt down the killers, and kills them.

vations. One story, #19’s “Prey,” went for the first 14 pages

Brutally. One killer he stakes with a knife over a hill of

without dialogue. (While I hate articles that just regurgitate

soldier ants, so he’ll talk and lead Sable to the higher ups.

each storyline from a title [like I did for three paragraphs

When he does talk? Sable walks away, telling him it’ll

already], I’m afraid I’m going to have to review some

probably take several hours for the ants to eat enough

here.) The story finds Jon back in Africa, running from

to kill him. This is definitely not Batman.

the bounty hunters that want the price on his head. He

When Sable has the group hunted down and killed,

ends up back at the house of his former in-laws, literal-

he takes his face paint and weapons and hunts down

ly down to his last bullet, and is forced to confront not

other killers and scum, right? No, he becomes a boozer

only his own guilt over the death of his wife, but his

and frequent drunk tank resident, until he’s recruited by

father-in-law, the man who blames him for the death

on old Olympic rifle buddy to become a mercenary, a

of his only daughter. The issue explores Jon’s reasons for

soldier-for-hire in the worst of Africa’s hotspots. When

his anger, and how he’s afraid of what its fading could

betrayed and nearly killed, he’s kicked out of Africa, and

mean. Grell doesn’t tell you why Jon is in Africa, but you

comes home to America, and tries to return to the writing

get the idea that his growing feelings for Myke, and his

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Don’t Ask— You Can’t Buy It Jack Kirby’s pencil rough for the unpublished second issue of In the Days of the Mob, courtesy of The

By the early 1970s, comics were facing an uncertain future. Newsstand exposure was dwindling and, whether as cause or consequence, sales were falling. The boost that Marvel had brought about by reaching out to the college audience—not to mention any interest spawned by the short-lived success of the Batman TV show—had faded. Comics publishers were desperately trying to find that elusive “something” that would bring back their readership. Black-and-white (B&W) comics magazines had been around as a niche market since the 1950s when E.C. switched its highly popular MAD comic to a magazine format. While E.C.’s other experiments in that direction (the “Picto-Fiction” magazines) quickly faded from view, MAD went on to ever greater success becoming something of a publishing phenomenon. In the mid-1960s, James Warren began publishing his magazine Creepy. Essentially a black-and-white re-creation of the E.C. horror line using many of the same creators, Creepy proved a reasonable success. A sister publication, Eerie, along with

Publications.

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Allan Harve

titles such as Blazing Combat, 1984, and, of course, Vampirella, ensured Warren his place as the premier publisher of black-and-white fare. Perhaps inspired by Warren’s success, Marvel decided to publish a B&W magazine in 1968. Spider-Man was their bestselling character at the time and so was chosen to launch what was hoped to be a new line of magazines. Sadly, the time was not right, and The Spectacular Spider-Man sank without trace on the newsstands. A second issue was eventually published, but this time in color; it fared no better than its predecessor. In 1971, Marvel tried another B&W title: Savage Tales. They clearly felt that sufficient time had passed since the earlier magazine’s failure to risk another attempt. However, it should also be noted that, during the previous year, Marvel production chief Sol Brodsky had left the company to co-found Skywald, publisher of B&W horror magazines with titles such as Psycho, Scream, and Nightmare. In response to a recent email query, then-Marvel editor Roy Thomas explains that Brodsky “. . . saw [the B&W magazines] as a way to avoid [the content restrictions of] the Comics Code.” It’s probable that the rise of Skywald was instrumental in Marvel’s decision to go into B&W magazine production.

The lack of Code supervision also seems to have held some appeal for the publisher. James Warren himself viewed Marvel’s sudden interest in B&W magazine production to be something of a personal slight. “James Warren was livid about this competition,” continues Thomas, “since he understandably saw it as a threat to his very existence.” Savage Tales was not an immediate hit (the second issue didn’t hit the stands for almost two years!), but by the middle of the decade most of the major comics publishers had their own line of B&W magazines. Marvel alone had a dozen titles, mainly in the horror field, largely aping Warren’s output. Having been burned once, the company was less than enthusiastic about trying superheroes in the new format, so the magazines remained largely costume-free. Charlton Comics hedged its bets by using its B&W line to spotlight licensed properties such as Space: 1999 and The Six Million Dollar Man. Even young upstart Atlas made sure to have a range of magazines during its short life. Why the sudden popularity of B&W production? The answer is two-fold: Firstly, costs could be saved if printing books without color; and, secondly, sales figures could be lower and the book still remained in profit. This came about because the magazines were able to benefit from a higher cover price than the regular fourcolor comics. The higher price being justified on the basis that they were aimed at a more mature audience, and on the already-established price points set for non-comics magazines. As Roy Thomas points out, “That’s why, at least for the duration of the latter 1970s, Savage Sword of Conan was probably just about Marvel’s biggest money-maker, even while Conan the Barbarian was one of its top-selling color books.”

Publications.

Kirby is Coming! Meanwhile, ever mindful of the declining sales of regular comics, DC was experimenting with various—and often novel—formats for their output. They published 100-page comics, tabloid comics, digest comics . . . but they never really got into B&W magazines, even though, by that time, everyone else was having some success with the format. In actual fact, DC did have a brief flirtation with B&W; “brief” being the operative word! A disaffected Jack Kirby left Marvel in 1970 and arrived at DC brimming with ideas. For probably the first time in his 30-year career he was being given carte blanche to create the type of books he wanted. Living out on the West Coast he was to be his own boss, editing and over-

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Peter Sande

rson

Ra’s Plays Rough Neal Adams shared with BACK ISSUE his original cover rough for Batman #232 (June 1971)— compare it to the published version, seen in the inset. Characters © 2005 DC Comics. Art © 2005 Neal Adams.

The Batman is one of the few super-heroes whose basic mythos is well known to the general public. When most people think of Batman’s adversaries, they think of costumed criminals, thieves, and tricksters who wreak havoc in Gotham City: the Joker, the Penguin, Catwoman, and the like. But in Batman Begins, Warner Bros.’ summer 2005 relaunch of its Batman movie series, the public at large is being introduced to a very different nemesis for Batman, a commanding, charismatic figure who takes not a city but the whole planet as his stage, who is as dedicated to his mission as Batman is to fighting crime, and whose ultimate goal is to remake the world: Ra’s al Ghul, the towering creation of writer Denny O’Neil and artist Neal Adams.

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and a half decades ago. The saga began with Batman’s initial clashes w i th th e Lea gu e of Assassins, an arm of Ra’s worldwide network of operatives, and the League’s president, Dr. Ebenezer Darrk, who first appeared in Detective Comics #406 (Dec. 1970). The Batman tracked Darrk to his lair in Asia, where he first met Ra’s daughter Talia in Detective #411 (May 1971).

by Greg Rucka), Ra’s al Ghul has returned time and again, for over three decades, both to combat “the detective,” as he calls Batman, and to offer him further temptations to join his quest to purify the planet.

CONCEPTIONS AND MISCONCEPTIONS Ra’s al Ghul has had such a powerful presence in the

time readers may feel they know the character quite

Watching “the Detective”

well. But readers are likely to have made assumptions

Ra’s al Ghul was

about Ra’s that, surprisingly, are not true. Let’s examine

an uninvited Batcave

them one by one.

guest in Batman #232.

Batman books for more than three decades that long-

THE NAME: Did Denny O’Neil coin the name “Ra’s

al Ghul”? O’Neil and Adams may be the co-creators

Having fallen out with Ra’s, Darrk had kidnapped Talia in retaliation. Batman rescued Talia, who returned the favor by killing Darrk to save Batman’s own life. Only a month later in real time, Ra’s himself made his debut in a story written by Denny O’Neil and drawn by Neal Adams in Batman #232 (June 1971). After the original Robin, Dick Grayson, was mysteriously kidnapped, Ra’s al Ghul appeared in the Batcave, much to Batman’s shock. Ra’s calmly explained that he had discovered Batman’s secret identity, and proposed that they join forces to find both Robin and Talia, who he said had been abducted yet again. This led to a series of adventures around the world, ending in Batman’s discovery that it was Ra’s himself who had had Robin and Talia kidnapped in order to test Batman’s skills. Having witnessed Batman’s prowess for himself, Ra’s declared Batman “worthy” of marrying his daughter Talia and thus becoming his son and heir. But Batman soon learned of Ra’s ultimate goals: to wipe most of the human race off the planet and to begin civilization anew, with himself in command. The original O’Neil-Adams storyline culminated with Batman and Ra’s’ dramatic swordfight in the desert, with Batman ultimately emerging triumphant. Yet despite his defeats and even his seeming deaths (most recently in Batman: Death and the Maidens [2003], written

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What’s in a Name? Julius Schwartz’s editorial note in

every story, I would take photographs for the story:

their editor, the late Julius

essentially they would be photographs of myself. I

Schwartz, who came up

didn’t want to draw people who look like me in all

with the villain’s distinctive

the drawings. So what I would do is take my head as

name, which in Arabic means

a model and I would resculpt it in drawing, and I

“the Head of the Demon.”

made a person out of it. Girls, if I did the right kind

As for exactly why

of character, would romantically fall for him.” So this is

Schwartz and O’Neil decided

how Adams taught himself not only to draw realistic

to create Ra’s, the reason is

faces, but to keep them consistent in a story and to

lost in the mists of memory.

express the character’s personality through them. “Every

“I wish I had taken notes!”

person that I draw in a comic book,” Adams says, “is a

O’Neil exclaims. As he explains, back in the early

person that you can relate to, so that when you see him,

1970s no one thought that people over 30 years later

you know how he’s going to respond and how he’s

would want to know the details of how certain

going to be. . . And if you make those things a little

characters were created or certain stories came about.

bit of a caricature, then other people can follow.”

However, O’Neil hypothesizes that he and Schwartz

By the early 1970s, Adams continues, “I had learned

saw a need for a new Batman villain, a mastermind

that. . . I could do it without starting from a photo-

who would be different from the Joker and the other

graph. So now I could basically create a character and

costumed crooks associated with the character. “Robbing

stay consistent with the character all the way through.”

banks doesn’t cut it anymore” as O’Neil says; such

In the case of Ra’s al Ghul, Adams explains that

thieves no longer seemed to pose a sufficient threat for

“Normally when you have something like the Joker

Batman. “The business had evolved enough that we

or Sauron or these various characters, that are certainly

Detective #411 helped readers understand

of Ra’s al Ghul, but it was

had a sense of major villains and minor villains. We

based in fantasy, you have a lot of flexibility.” But, he

weren’t ever going to beat the Joker as the perfect Batman

says, Ra’s was meant to be “a character who is based in

villain. We didn’t want just another street thug with a

reality, which is sort of what our goal was at the time.

costume and a fancy name. We were going for grandeur.”

In other words, come up with a villain, like Superman

THE DEMON’S FACE: Neal Adams gave Ra’s such

has Luthor, who is in some ways the equal of Batman,

a distinctive physical appearance, so different from the

[and] not put him in a funny costume, but still make

cookie-cutter faces that so many comic-book artists

him striking.

give their characters. Was Ra’s look inspired by any

how can I take a human, and make him sufficiently

real person?

“At the time I didn’t have a visual in my mind for

striking that people will step back and go ‘Whoa!’? Now

him,” Denny O’Neil says. “It was a surprise when I saw

there are [real] human beings who are like that. If

what Neal had done with the idea, but it was a very

Sean Connery walked into the room, you’d go ‘Whoa!’

pleasant surprise.”

There are certain people who have that kind of presence.

In fact, Adams created Ra’s physical appearance entirely from his own imagination.

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“So I realized it was a bit of a difficult problem—

“So I said, ‘Well, there are things that I know that I would be impressed by. I’m impressed always by a person

Adams was well practiced in devising realistic-

with a high forehead.’ Not necessarily receding hair,

looking characters by the time he first drew Ra’s. He

but receding hair is good, too.” A high forehead is often

explains that “Before I did comic books, I had a syn-

regarded as a signifier of high intelligence, as, say, in

dicated comic strip. It was based on the Ben Casey

portraits of Shakespeare. But Adams views it differently.

television series. One of the things I did in almost

“There are some people with a high forehead who are

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not intelligent. But at least it shows that they have no

can identify deep-set eyes and can also make a person

Family Portrait

ego about ‘Oh, my forehead is too big; I’d better comb

look stupid. But there’s a way to do the same thing and

Talia and Ra’s al Ghul

hair over it.’” To Adams, for a character to display a high

make him look smart. One of the things about J’onn

in a pencil portrait

forehead demonstrates his lack of vanity. “A high fore-

J’onzz of Mars is he has a distinctive brow but he doesn’t

recreation of a panel

head means that to me that they’re a respecter of

look stupid.”

from Batman #244,

intelligence, and they don’t wish to comb their hair

In Ra’s’ case, “That would mean the rest of his face

in front of their forehead to hide the fact that they

would have to be aquiline and intelligent looking. The

have a high forehead. So a high forehead, very very

nose could be aquiline. The mouth is not romantic in

positive. It shows confidence. So I wanted to get across

any way; it’s given to sternness like, say, Sgt. Rock. And

the idea that he was what he was, and he was confident

the eyes can be deep set and the brow can be forward

in it, not ashamed or embarrassed like some teenager

and still look very intelligent.

or matinee idol. He was not looking to be Robert Redford.

“But I thought, ‘Here’s another thing I can do that

“At the same time I wanted his eyes to be very

might actually make the character even more signif-

deep and to be expressive. Well, in comic books that’s

icant: give him no eyebrows.’ I removed the eyebrows,

not quite so easy. You can set the eyes deep, but

and it really made the character striking. What has

bringing the brow forward and making it prominent,

happened in recent years is that there are people who

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Al “Ink-Boy” Nickerson is a comic-book inker for Archie Comics, creator of “The ARGGH!!! Chronicles” comics (www.arggh.com), and author of “Ya Can’t Erase Ink. . .” (www.yacanteraseink.com).

scene. Why mess with the status quo? STERN: Because Tim is his greatest fan; he promises that he’ll never tell and Spider-Man knows that he’s as good as his word—the long-term status quo of the series itself was not in jeopardy. FRENZ: As Rog said, the ending of the story demonstrates why the reveal doesn’t mess with the status quo. NICKERSON: Afterwards, there seems to be an even stronger connection between the two, especially when Tim promises to keep Peter’s secret “forever and ever.” This is where I get a bit teary-eyed. FRENZ: Pretty real, huh? I’ve heard it called “Peter Parker’s bravest act. Ever.” NICKERSON: Roger, I like how you used “Conover’s Corner” to move the story along. It especially has an impact on the last page. STERN: Thanks. I wrote the entire “Conover’s Corner” column (say that fast three times!) when I wrote the plot, so Ron knew which segments went with each scene. NICKERSON: The last page is also so very powerful with the absence of word balloons. Was this all your idea, Roger, or did Ron have input to the mood here? STERN: Oh, I wanted to keep the last page dialogue-free. Ron’s storytelling made that possible. He captured the mood perfectly. FRENZ: Rog is a consummate storyteller and a pretty specific plotter. My job was

to just stay out of the way. NICKERSON: What was the reaction from editorial when you submitted “The Kid”? Did anyone think it was too controversial at the time? STERN: No, they loved it. Actually, I’ve yet to meet an editor who turned down a story because it was “too powerful,” and I’ve heard some pretty stupid things from editors in my time. And I don’t think that any of us ever saw “The Kid” as controversial. NICKERSON: I don’t think any Spider-Man writer has touched on this story since it first appeared. That’s a good thing, don’t you think? FRENZ: I agree. This was a very private “moment in time” for Pete, Tim, and the reader. STERN: Absolutely. That story was complete unto itself. It needs no sequel. NICKERSON: Did you guys ever think that this story would be remembered decades after it was first published? STERN: I’m flattered that people are still talking about it. At the time, I was just enjoying myself, writing Spider-Man stories, and hoping that the readers would enjoy them, too. FRENZ: If a story is someone’s favorite, why not? It has, of course, been reprinted a time or two owing to the inclusion of Spidey’s origin and its unique brevity. I know I remember favorite stories from decades ago. NICKERSON: Many thanks for the interview. STERN: My pleasure. FRENZ: Mine, too.

M i k e W.

Barr

Imagine this as a premise for a comic book: The exploits of the world’s greatest adventurer, scientist, surgeon, and aviator—in one person. He has skin that looks like bronze, has been raised since infancy to fight evil, and is wealthy beyond calculation because of his share of a gold mine in a Central American country whose people he saved from a deadly plague. He fights the schemes of dictators, evil scientists, and nationalist zealots. He lives in the tallest building in the world, surrounded by his remarkable inventions, and is accompanied by his five best friends, each one an expert in a specialized discipline; and occasionally by his gorgeous cousin, who’s as beautiful as he is handsome. They roam the world looking for adventure and justice, to do right toward all and wrong toward none.

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Conflagration Man,” hoping this first-time meeting of

couldn’t possibly have written, as to speculate about

the two greatest pulp heroes, hopscotching between

the airship disaster in a pulp story in the 1930s would

See You in the Funny Papers. . .

Doc #s 17 and 18 and Shadow Strikes #s 5 and 6 would

have been in the worst possible taste. But over half-

cause a little steam. However, we were told there was

a-century later, it was just good fiction.

. . .or maybe not.

no budget for any promotion of the story. (Meaning

Issues #22–24 were the end of the series, begin-

This is a sample

that DC’s crack marketing department didn’t want to

ning in 1937 and ending in 1990, introducing Doc’s

installment of a

spend a lot of money promoting characters DC didn’t

mother, reuniting the Man of Bronze with his grand-

proposed but

own.) Mike Carlin, bless his heart, used some lettercol

son and saving the world from “The Asteroid Terror.”

unpublished

space to promote the crossover a little; I hope the

Armageddon and Deep Impact had nothing on us.

readers had as much fun as Gerry and I did.

Doc Savage comic

Comics would later issue their own Doc Savage comics,

strip written by

Fun, maybe, but few if any additional readers. By

Mark Hanerfeld

now the death of the title, with #24, probably the end

and illustrated by

of the license, was imminent, so we went out with a

So, though many Doc Savage comics have been

Dave Cockrum.

bang. Or more precisely, an air disaster. Doc #s 19–21

published, it remains for a top-notch creative team to

Courtesy of

told the story of “The Air Lord,” a villain who caused

provide a faithful adaptation of the Man of Bronze and

Mike W. Barr.

the explosion of the German airship “Hindenburg.” I

his Fabulous Five that hits the ground running. But

will put this story up against any original Doc comic

where there’s Doc, there’s hope.

for sheer fun. And it was a story that Lester Dent

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And that’s the end. Dark Horse and Millennium

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but those are not in this magazine’s purview.

Feels Like the First Time:

BATMAN: by

Batman: Dark Detective DC Comics • 6-issue biweekly miniseries • 32 color pages • $2.99 US

Michael Eu

We interrupt our regular collected-edition review column for a special announcement: One of the most legendary Batman creative teams has reunited for a six-issue miniseries! In 1977 and 1978, writer Steve Englehart and penciler Marshall Rogers, joined by inker Terry Austin and letterer John Workman, whisked the anemic Detective Comics out of its doldrums. Englehart and Rogers and Company, under Julius Schwartz’s editorial orchestration, introduced crime boss Rupert Thorne, resuscitated Professor Hugo Strange and Deadshot, and helped redefine the Joker as the maniacal menace we know today. They also provided Bruce Wayne with a love interest—the fetching Silver St. Cloud—whose appearances can be counted on two hands but who still sparkles in the minds of readers almost three decades later. This popular Detective stint was one of the first series repackaged (as Shadow of the Batman) by DC in its 1980s deluxe reprint format, was later reissued as the trade paperback Batman: Strange Apparitions, and appreciably shaped at least three characters in the 1989 motion picture Batman. Longtime readers, and those who discovered these masterpieces through reprints, nurtured a dream that this titanic team would one day reunite on the Dark Knight . . . but as time passed, and as the creators moved on to other projects—and, in the cases of Steve and Marshall, out of comics entirely—that dream seemed as likely to happen as Catherine Zeta-Jones losing a movie role because she’s just not pretty enough. Partially inspired by the success of the reunion of Formerly Known as the Justice League’s Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Kevin Maguire, and Joe Rubinstein, DC Comics released in early May 2005 the first of a biweekly, six-issue series that has Batman fans salivating: Batman: Dark Detective. In this exclusive BACK ISSUE “Back in Print” first look, we chat with Steve Englehart about the series, and grab quick soundbites from Marshall Rogers, Terry Austin, and John Workman.

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new series PREVIEW

Dark Detective Reunites Classic Team

Back Issue #10