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COMIC BOOK EXPANDED EDITION

AN ORAL HISTORY OF DC COMICS CIRCA 1978

BY KEITH DALLAS & JOHN WELLS

Written by Keith Dallas and John Wells Edited by Keith Dallas Designed by Richard J. Fowlks Proofreading by Scott Peters Published by John Morrow

TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Raleigh, North Carolina 27614 www.twomorrows.com • 919-449-0344 email: store@twomorrows.com First Printing • May 2024 • Printed in China ISBN 978-1-60549-124-0 Comic Book Implosion: Expanded Edition (An Oral History of DC Comics Circa 1978) is published by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27614, USA. 919-449-0344. All textual material in this book is © 2024 Keith Dallas, John Wells and TwoMorrows Publishing, and may not be reproduced in any form without permission. Adam Strange, Aquaman, the Atom, Batman, Batman Family, Big Barda, Black Canary, Black Lightning, the Brave and the Bold, Changeling, Cinnamon, Claw the Unconquered, Congorilla, the Creeper, Deadman, Dr. Fate, Dr. Mid-Nite, Doorway to Nightmare, the Elongated Man, Enemy Ace, Firestorm, the Flash, Freedom Fighters, Gorilla Grodd, Gravedigger, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, the Green Team, Hawkman, Hercules Unbound, House of Mystery, House of Secrets, the Human Target, Johnny Thunder, the Joker, Jonah Hex, Justice League of America, Kamandi, Karate Kid, Kid Flash, Legion of Super-Heroes, the Losers, Mad, Madame Xanadu, Manhunter, Martian Manhunter, Men of War, Metal Men, Mister Miracle, New Gods, Ninja the Invisible, the Odd Man, OMAC, Our Fighting Forces, the Phantom Stranger, Plastic Man, Power Girl, Prez, Raven, the Ray, Robin, Secret Society of Super-Villains, Sgt. Rock, Shade the Changing Man, Shazam!, Star Hunters, Starfire, Steel, Supergirl, Superman, Swamp Thing, Teen Titans, Time Warp, the Viking Commando, the Vixen, the Witching Hour, Wonder Girl, Wonder Woman, World of Krypton, World’s Finest Comics. TM and © DC Comics. Black Panther, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Crazy, Dragon Lord, Howard the Duck, Invaders, Kid Colt, Machine Man, Ms. Marvel, Nova, Spider-Man, Tomb of Dracula, Rawhide Kid TM and © Marvel Characters, Inc. Battle of the Planets TM and © Sandy Frank Entertainment.

Isis TM and © Classic Media Distribution.

Battlestar Galactica TM and © Universal Studios Productions LLC.

John Carter, Tarzan TM and © ERB, Inc.

The Black Hole TM and © Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Red Sonja TM and © Red Sonja LLC or successors in interest.

Black Vulcan, Welcome Back, Kotter TM and © Warner Bros.

Sergeant Pepper TM & © Apple Corps Ltd.

Bucky O’Hare, Ms. Mystic TM and © Continuity Graphics Associates, Inc.

Starslayer TM and © Mike Grell.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind TM and © Columbia Pictures.

Star Wars and all related characters and properties TM and © Lucasfilm Ltd.

Flash Gordon TM and © King Features. Godzilla TM and © Toho Co, Ltd.

The Shag TM & © Steve Ditko. The Wiz TM & © William Brown and Charles M. Smalls or successors in interest. The Wiz film © Motown Productions.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction and Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Prologue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 DC Comics’ Line-up of Titles: Early 1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Part 1: Pre-Explosion (1976-1978) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Interlude: Ring Out the Old, Ring In the New. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 DC Comics’ Line-up of Titles: Early 1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 DC Comics’ Line-up of Titles: Early 1978 (Pre-DC Explosion). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Part 2: Explosion (1978). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 DC Comics’ Line-up of Titles: June, July and August 1978 (The DC Explosion). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 DC Comics’ Line-up of Titles: June, July and August 1978 (Unpublished) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Part 3: Implosion (1978-1980). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 DC Comics’ Line-up of Titles: Early 1979 (Post-DC Implosion). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Bonus Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Interlude: Cancelled Comic Cavalcade: The Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Interlude: Whatever Happened to –? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 DC Comics’ Line-up of Titles: June, July and August 1980. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Cancellations by Month of Publication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Afterword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 (New material added for this Expanded Edition are on pages 52-53, 102-103, 106-107, and 113-114)

Comic Book Implosion: An Oral History of DC Comics Circa 1978

DC Comics’ Line-up of Titles: Early 1976

Action Comics (starring Superman, with “Green Arrow & Black Canary,”“The Private Life of Clark Kent” and others as back-up features) Adventure Comics (starring Aquaman, with the Creeper as back-up feature) All-Star Comics (starring the Justice Society of America) Batman Batman Family (50¢ giant starring Robin and Batgirl, with Batman-related reprints) Blackhawk Blitzkrieg (starring Nazi soldiers Franz, Hugo, and Luigi) The Brave and the Bold (Batman team-ups with assorted DC heroes) Claw the Unconquered DC Special (50¢ reprint anthology title featuring various DC superheroes) DC Super-Stars (50¢ reprint anthology title featuring various DC heroes) Detective Comics (starring Batman, with Man-Bat as back-up feature) The Flash (including Green Lantern as back-up feature) Four Star Spectacular (50¢ reprint anthology title featuring Superboy, Wonder Woman and two other heroes) Freedom Fighters Ghosts (supernatural short stories) G.I. Combat (starring the Haunted Tank, plus various war short stories) Hercules Unbound House of Mystery (supernatural short stories) The Joker Justice League of America Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth

Karate Kid Limited Collectors’ Edition ($1.00 reprint tabloid featuring various DC superheroes) Metal Men Our Army At War (starring Sgt. Rock, plus various war short stories) Our Fighting Forces (starring The Losers, with back-up features starring individual squad members) Plastic Man Plop! (weird humor short stories) Richard Dragon, Kung-Fu Fighter Secret Society of Super-Villains Shazam! Starfire Star-Spangled War Stories (starring the Unknown Soldier, plus various war short stories) Superboy (starring the Legion of Super-Heroes) Superman Superman Family (50¢ giant, starring Supergirl, Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane in alternating new lead stories, plus reprints) Super-Team Family (50¢ reprint giant featuring various DC superheroes) Swamp Thing Tarzan Tarzan Family (50¢ giant starring Korak, with Edgar Rice Burroughs-related reprints) Unexpected (supernatural short stories) Weird War Tales (supernatural war stories) Weird Western Tales (starring Jonah Hex) Witching Hour (supernatural short stories) Wonder Woman World’s Finest Comics (starring Superman & Batman)

Part 1: Pre-Explosion (1976-1978)

to find out both Marvel and DC showed financial losses in 1975. The much-speculated paper shortage never occurred. Faced with 1975’s final numbers, the Warner Bros. executives above me decided to withdraw their support. I was understandably quite upset.”

Joe Brancatelli, then business writer for Fairchild Publications and comics industry observer in an article printed in Creepy #85 (January 1977)i: “[Warner Communications’] publishing division had its second consecutive yearly loss of $5 million in 1975. Even the final disposal of Warner’s money-eating foreign publishing operation may not offset 1976 declines because of a sudden, unexpected slowdown in this year’s [1976] second and third quarters. For the record, both National Comics and Warner Paperback Library lost money in 1975 while profits for Independent News and Mad declined from 1974 levels. Moreover, the two-year loss of $10 million in publishing compares very unfavorably with Warner’s three other wholly-owned divisions: Warner records and music publishing earned $96.8 million profit in the same two years; Warner TV and motion pictures made $95.6 million in profits in 1974 and 1975; and 1975 marked the first profitable year ($2 million) for Warner’s much-touted cable communications division.”

Joe Orlando, then DC Comics editor in an interview printed in Comic Book Artist #1 (Spring 1998)iii: “[Carmine Infantino] was in the middle of an editorial meeting with us and I remember him saying that he was going to fire all of us if we didn’t get our books out on time—his usual threat— and he was called upstairs in the middle of the meeting. Then he came down and said, ‘I’ve been fired.’ We all laughed— a Carmine joke—but it was true. He took his coat, and left. They said that they would send his things after him. And he has never set foot on the premises again.” Lead story of the “Direct Currents” section in DC Comics’ in-house fanzine The Amazing World of DC Comics #11 (cover date March 1976)iv: “After eight years at the creative controls of DC, Carmine Infantino has relinquished his post and turned the company over to a new management team, while he moves on to new challenges elsewhere. During his tenure as Editorial Director, Publisher, and finally Publisher and President, Carmine changed the shape of the entire company, bringing in several of our most talented editors (Joe Kubert, Joe Orlando, Denny O’Neil and Gerry Conway) and adding many new magazines and characters to the line (including super-stars Tarzan and Shazam)… In the prophetic department, [Amazing World of DC Comics] racks up a high score since Carmine’s departure took place

Carmine Infantino, former Publisher and President of DC Comics in his autobiography The Amazing World of Carmine Infantino (2001)ii: “In January 1976, I had just returned from a whirlwind promotional tour for the Superman/Spider-Man treasury edition. Marvel and I worked out a deal that made this firstever, landmark crossover book possible and, to my memory, the thing sold an amazing 500,000 copies! The promo tour included radio and TV interviews, and convention appearances. When I got back into the office, I was called to a meeting with some Warner Bros. brass [including Warner director and Licensing Corporation of America cofounder Jay Emmett]. Honestly, it was not a surprise to me 11

Comic Book Implosion: An Oral History of DC Comics Circa 1978 Kurt Schaffenberger illustrated this advertisement for the Direct Currents Hotline. Fans primarily heard pre-recorded responses from various DC writers, artists, and editors but several callers in early 1976 were polled about the hero they’d most like to see along with Aquaman, Batman, the Flash, and Green Lantern in that summer’s 5 Star Super-Hero Spectacular. The winning character was the Atom.

Mike Tiefenbacher, then editor of The Comic Reader in a news item printed in The Comic Reader #137 (November 1977)xl: “DC will open a toll-free telephone service that will provide a taped message concerning the latest DC comics by DC artists, writers, and editors that will change weekly. The service is called the DC Direct Currents Hotline and will begin on Monday, November 1, 1976… The national service will be operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week… Individuals who receive busy signals are asked to call back at a later time.” John Morrow, future comic book historian in a 2018 recollectionxli: “As a 15-year-old in Montgomery, Alabama in the late 1970s, for a wonderful but all-too-brief few weeks, I’d rush home every Monday from school, and madly dial the DC Comics Hot-Line 800 number to get their weekly news update. Marvel was fine, but I was a DC guy, so it was worth the finger-numbing dialing (we still had a rotary phone then), patiently waiting through dozens of busy-signals till it connected.” Steven Thompson, future comic book historian in an article posted online in 2009xlii: “You called the number, originally once a week but later

less often, and you were regaled by one of your favorite creators with hard-to-hear news and information about upcoming comics and related topics via the miracle of… taped messages. A few years later this might have been a pay call but the Hotline was free!” [Propelled by a house ad in all of DC’s titles, the Hotline received 24,000 calls in November 1976. Once 88,256 calls were logged in March 1977, a second line was installed.] Announcement appearing in multiple DC comic books sold in August 1978 (cover date November): “At times, the volume of busy signals has been so great the telephone company asked us to consider dropping the service. During the two hours immediately following the end of the school day, for example, circuits have been often jammed all across the United States. Mike Tiefenbacher, then editor of The Comic Reader in a news item printed in The Comic Reader #147 (August 1977) xliii: “DC discontinued its Hotline as of August 8, 1977—because it got too hot. The line, originally structured to handle a peak of 60,000 calls a month, was receiving an average of 100,000 the last few months, far too many for the technical abilities of the phone company.”

INTERLUDE

Interlude: Ring Out the Old… Ring In the New “Why would I kill a book that was selling? I will not go into why a lie like that was spread around, but I can tell you that I worked with distributors’ figures. A book lived or died by these numbers. DC was paid by distributors on the first return number. We got to keep that money, or give some back if the book did not live up to the first return. Sometimes we received more money when final sales exceeded the first number, and other times we had to give back money if the book fell short of the first number. I had to answer, good or bad, to someone above.” – Carmine Infantino, Comic Book Artist #3 (Winter 1999). Often derided for canceling titles prematurely, Infantino might have taken some small satisfaction in the fact that his successors wasted little time in pulling the plug on a number of books… and quite abruptly in some cases. Faithful readers of the Daily Planet, DC’s recently-introduced coming attractions page, were mystified that summer by seeing references to comic books that were never published. First up was Swamp Thing #25, meant to be the third installment of a radical makeover that transformed the atmospheric horror series into a soapy superhero feature. “Hawkman battles Swamp Thing in Portland,” a bulletin in Daily Planet #10 declared. “What will be the outcome? Ask David Kraft, Ernie [Chan] and Fred Carrillo. They’ll tell you to check out the answers in ‘The Sky Above’ in Swamp Thing #25, on sale the week of July 5th.” The one-time critical favorite had been losing readers for some time and the revamp had been a last-ditch effort to save it. According to writer David Anthony Kraft, Hawkman was intended—on direction from Infantino—to become a co-star in Swamp Thing, in the hope of attracting superhero fans. Completely written and illustrated, the issue was spiked by the new administration and remains unpublished to date. The original art for its cover and several interior pages have since surfaced via sites like Heritage Auctions. The cover for the unpublished Swamp Thing #25 was drawn by Ernie Chan, then known as Ernie Chua. Original art courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

By contrast, the contents of the never-published Blitzkrieg #6—with an intended on-sale date of August 9—were left vague in a write-up appearing in Daily Planet #14. The unconventional series had explored World War Two from the perspective of three Nazi soldiers and the contents of its unreleased final issue—presumably by writer Bob Kanigher and artist Ric Estrada—were never used elsewhere. A week later, Daily Planet #16 plugged issue #10 of Claw the Unconquered (by David Micheline, Keith Giffen, and Bob Layton) as going on sale on August 16. It did not. “The book’s sales kept falling somewhere within the twilight zone of profit and loss—not losing money, but not really making it, either. So we tried new directions, adding penciller Keith Giffen with issue #8, and we felt that we were on our way to the right combination of imagination and 23

Comic Book Implosion: An Oral History of DC Comics Circa 1978

DC Comics’ Line-up of Titles: Early 1978 (pre-DC Explosion)

Action Comics Adventure Comics (starring Superboy, with Eclipso as back-up feature) All-Star Comics (starring the Justice Society of America) Aquaman Batman Batman Family (Dollar Comic starring Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Man-Bat, and the Huntress) Black Lightning The Brave and the Bold (Batman team-ups with assorted DC heroes) Challengers of the Unknown Claw the Unconquered DC Special Series (60¢ giant and Dollar Comic umbrella title for extra-large editions of DC’s regular titles) Detective Comics Doorway to Nightmare (starring Madame Xanadu) Firestorm The Flash Freedom Fighters Ghosts (supernatural short stories) G.I. Combat (Dollar Comic starring the Haunted Tank, O.S.S., and “Women At War,” plus various war short stories) Green Lantern (starring the team of Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Air Wave) House of Mystery (Dollar Comic featuring supernatural short stories) House of Secrets (supernatural short stories) Jonah Hex Justice League of America Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth Karate Kid

Men of War (starring Gravedigger, with “Dateline: Frontline” and Enemy Ace as alternating back-up features) Mister Miracle New Gods Our Fighting Forces (starring The Losers, with back-up features starring individual squad members) Secret Society of Super-Villains Secrets of the Haunted House (supernatural short stories) Sgt. Rock (with war short stories as back-ups) Shade, the Changing Man Shazam! Showcase (umbrella try-out title with Power Girl, Hawkman, and a 100th anniversary celebration appearing in early 1978) Star Hunters Steel the Indestructible Man Super Friends Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes Superman Superman Family (Dollar Comic starring Superman, Supergirl, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Krypto, and Nightwing & Flamebird) Unexpected (supernatural short stories) Unknown Soldier Warlord Weird War Tales (supernatural war stories) Weird Western Tales (starring Scalphunter) Witching Hour (supernatural short stories) Wonder Woman World’s Finest Comics (Dollar Comic starring Superman & Batman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, the Creeper, and Wonder Woman)

Part 2: Explosion (1978)

Jack C. Harris, then DC Comics editor in a comment printed in Time Warp #1 (October-November 1979): “From the sky it came: snow, ice and bitter cold. People huddled in their homes as the worst winter in decades coincided with a critical oil shortage. Many of the doom stories of science fiction seemed to be becoming all too true. People didn’t venture out into the elements. People stayed home! People didn’t buy comics!” Kurt Busiek, future comic book writer in a 2018 recollectionciii: “I remember the snowstorm that caused all the trouble — we normally had a week off school in February, but that year we went three weeks straight with no school, and I’d actually put on snowshoes to trudge over to friends’ houses. That part, at least, was a blast.” Tom Brevoort, future Marvel Comics editor in a 2018 recollectionciv: “I do remember that crazy winter, and the absolute tons of snow that got dumped on New York—enough so that it completely submerged the fence surrounding our house, allowing one to walk right over it. At that point, I wasn’t still dependent on transportation from my parents in order to get my comics— I could make the walk or bike ride to the 7-11 myself. So I didn’t notice any particular disruption of service. I didn’t miss any issues for the most part.” Jim Shooter, then Marvel Comics editor-in-chief in an interview printed in The Comics Journal #40 (June 1978)cv:

“Between being behind so far and [production manager] John Verpoorten’s death [in December 1977] and the changeover and being shorthanded on staff for a while, while I gathered up the people who are working here now, and two and a half blizzards and God knows what else—every kind of natural disaster in the world… we had a situation where mail coming in from the Philippines [where artists drawing for Marvel were sending artwork from], the plane couldn’t land in New York, and had to land someplace else. I mean, the last blizzard, everything was paralyzed, and so through no fault of ours, Chemical Color just took an entire week of Marvel’s books and moved them into next month. They had no choice. They couldn’t move the plates, they couldn’t do anything. Everything was frozen. So, the best laid plans…” [Huddled over a warm typewriter in February 1978, Bob Rozakis didn’t worry overly much about the blizzard raging outside. DC Comics was expanding and he had scripts to write. “There are some summer days in Dallas,” his new story began, “when the sun roasts you like an oven…”] Story printed in the “Newswatch” section in The Comics Journal #38 (February 1978)cvi: “DC has announced a major combination price change and page count increase for all its regular-sized comics. The move, effective with the June releases (cover-dated September), will raise prices from the current 35¢ to 50¢ and boost the number of pages from 32 to 40, according to publisher Jenette Kahn. The additional eight pages will be filled with new back-up features in some titles and expanded story lengths in others. This raises the total number of story pages from the current 17

Comic Book Implosion: An Oral History of DC Comics Circa 1978

DC Comics’ Line-up of Titles:

June, July, and August 1978 (the DC Explosion) Action Comics (starring Superman, with the Atom and Air Wave as alternating back-up features) Adventure Comics (Dollar Comic starring the Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Deadman with the Elongated Man and New Gods as opening bonus features) All-Star Comics (starring the Justice Society of America) Army at War (war short stories) Batman (now including “The Unsolved Cases of Batman” and “The Public Life of Bruce Wayne” as alternating back-up features) Batman Family (Dollar Comic starring Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Man-Bat, and the Huntress) Battle Classics (reprints from DC’s 1960s war series) Black Lightning (now including the Ray as a back-up feature) The Brave and the Bold (Batman team-ups with assorted DC heroes, plus the Human Target as new back-up feature) DC Comics Presents (Superman team-ups with assorted DC heroes) DC Special Series (Dollar Comic umbrella title for extra-large editions of DC’s regular titles) Detective Comics (starring Batman, with Hawkman as new back-up feature) Doorway to Nightmare (starring Madame Xanadu)

Dynamic Classics (reprint title featuring the best of DC’s early 1970s superhero stories) Firestorm The Flash (now including Kid Flash as a back-up feature) Ghosts (supernatural short stories) G.I. Combat (Dollar Comic starring the Haunted Tank, O.S.S., and “Women At War,” plus various war short stories) Green Lantern (featuring Green Lantern/Green Arrow and now including the Golden Age Green Lantern and the Green Lantern Corps in alternating back-up trilogies) House of Mystery (supernatural short stories) House of Secrets (supernatural short stories) Jonah Hex Justice League of America Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth (now including OMAC as a back-up feature) Men of War (starring Gravedigger with “Dateline: Frontline” and Enemy Ace as back-up features) Our Fighting Forces (starring the Losers with Capt. Storm and “H.Q.: Confidential as back-up features) Secrets of the Haunted House (supernatural short stories) Sgt. Rock (with war short stories as back-ups)

Showcase (umbrella try-out title with O.S.S., Deadman, and the Creeper scheduled for the summer) Star Hunters Steel the Indestructible Man Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes Super Friends (now including the Wonder Twins as back-up feature) Superman (now including “Mr. and Mrs. Superman” and “The Private Life of Clark Kent” as alternating back-up features) Superman Family (Dollar Comic starring Superman, Superboy, Supergirl, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Krypto, and Nightwing & Flamebird) Unexpected (supernatural short stories) Unknown Soldier (with war short stories as back-ups) Warlord Weird War Tales (supernatural war stories) Weird Western Tales (starring Scalphunter with Cinnamon as new back-up feature) Witching Hour (supernatural short stories) Wonder Woman (now including “Tales of the Amazons” as new back-up feature) World’s Finest Comics (Dollar Comic starring Superman & Batman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, the Creeper, and Shazam!)

DC Comics’ Line-up of Titles:

June, July, and August 1978 (unpublished) Aquaman (with the Martian Manhunter and the Vigilante as back-up features) Claw the Unconquered Demand Classics (reprint title featuring the best of DC’s 1960s superhero stories)

Mister Miracle (now including Big Barda as back-up feature) New Gods The Secret Society of Super-Villains (now including super-villain origins and Captain Comet in alternating back-up features)

Shade, the Changing Man (now including the Odd Man as back-up feature) The Vixen Western Classics (reprint title featuring the best of DC’s 1950s-1960s western stories)

Part 3: IMplosion (1978-1980)

Murray Bishoff, then reporter in a news story printed in The Buyer’s Guide For Comic Fandom #241 (June 30, 1978)cxlii: “Business is brewing over at DC… Publishers have sustained the rather unbelievable number of titles on sale instead of building fewer, stronger sellers largely on the notion that there is only so much rack space, and ‘if we give up a space, they will just fill it with one of their titles.’ DC has declared Enough of This. DC now believes numbers are not the answer, and will make an effort to eliminate the less worthy series by raising the bottom line for cancellation. A number of marginal titles will go. Also, series that ‘have not quite jelled’ will be cancelled without looking at sales figures… Most of the cancellations depend on editorial opinion, not sales figures. If a series could do better quality-wise in someplace other than in its own book, it will go elsewhere. As a concerted effort to remove the glut on the stands, this action will only prune DC’s stock, not injure it. In the next few weeks, the editors will decide what will go first.” Don and Maggie Thompson, then news/opinion writers in a news story printed in The Buyer’s Guide For Comic Fandom #243 (July 14, 1978)cxliii: “Rumors are flying of a cutback of 40% of the staff at DC. We called our friendly news source at DC (Mike Gold), who called the rumor ‘absolute nonsense.’ No massive layoffs are planned; what is happening is a cutback on the titles being done just to hold press space. All reprint books are cancelled for example.” Mike Tiefenbacher, then editor of The Comic Reader in a news story printed in The Comic Reader #159 (August 1978)cxliv: “DC has eliminated their short-lived 50¢, 40-page line, after only three months’ trial. Obviously, the reason has nothing to do with

sales. The people at Warner feel that the new system of distribution should be given a chance with DCs looking like the rest of the industry’s books, since there will be some risk of alienating wholesalers. So, beginning in September (books cover dated December), all DCs that are not dollar books will be 32 pages with 17 pages of story again, but now for 40¢… All non-dollar-sized bimonthly books have either been cancelled or upgraded to monthly status.” Independent News newsletter (August 1978)cxlv: “Starting with editions released in September, DC’s standard comics will be cover-priced at 40¢. This will keep DC the most profitable comics line published, giving retailers 14½% greater profit on all DC Comics sold than on the comics of other publishers. The extra profit on DC should continue to enable wholesalers to open new accounts and should also retrieve any of the consumers temporarily lost at the 50¢ cover price. ‘The 50¢ cover price, previously in effect, has been tabled indefinitely,’ reports DC Comics, ‘until we are sure there will be no consumer resistance.’” Lead story of the “Newswatch” section in The Comics Journal #41 (August 1978)cxlvi: “In an unprecedented move that has caused waves of shock and consternation to ripple throughout the comics industry, DC Comics has initiated a massive cutback by cancelling 17 titles and postponing indefinitely four new titles already scheduled for publication. In addition to this, DC has laid off five full-time staffers, and has changed its 50¢/25-page story format to a 40¢/17-page story format. DC has cancelled Army at War, All-Star Comics, Batman Family, Battle Classics, Black Lightning, Claw, Doorway to Nightmare, Dynamic Classics, Firestorm, House of Secrets, Kamandi, Our Fighting Forces, Secrets of Haunted House, Showcase, Star Hunters, Steel, and The Witching Hour. Demand Classics,

Comic Book Implosion: An Oral History of DC Comics Circa 1978 Missing from Cancelled Comic Cavalcade were the covers for Claw the Unconquered #13 and Our Fighting Forces #182 (both by Joe Kubert) as well as Firestorm #6 (by Al Milgrom). Jim Aparo’s cover for Detective Comics #481 also went unpublished

after the title merged with Batman Family. Rich Buckler and Dick Giordano’s cover for Wonder Woman #250 did see print but was edited to remove the panel promoting the now-excised “Tales of the Amazons” adventure.

bonus gallery

In April 1978, a full-page Joe Staton illustration heralded the DC Explosion with an array of heroes slated to receive their own features in existing books: Hawkman (in Detective Comics), Enemy Ace (Men of War), Big Barda (Mister Miracle), the Ray (Black Lightning), the Odd Man (Shade the Changing Man), the Atom (Action Comics), OMAC (Kamandi, the Last Boy On Earth), the Amazons (Wonder Woman), the Martian Manhunter (Aquaman), and Deadman (Adventure Comics). By the time the ad saw print, though, DC had already decided to cancel several of the titles intended for the Explosion. They joined other recentlyterminated books in limbo. The final issues seen here are Aquaman #63 (on sale in May 1978), Freedom Fighters #15 (April 1978), Karate Kid #15 (April 1978), Mister Miracle #25 (May 1978), Shade the Changing Man #8 (May 1978), Shazam! #35 (February 1978), Secret Society of Super-Villains #15 (March 1978), SuperTeam Family #15 (November 1977), and Teen Titans #53 (November 1977).

Comic Book Implosion: An Oral History of DC Comics Circa 1978

Interlude: Cancelled Comic Cavalcade: The Index Published—all 40 copies of it—as a means of preserving stories killed by the DC Implosion, Cancelled Comic Cavalcade also curiously included the cover of the unpublished Ragman #6 from 1977 and a trio of oddball stories left over by editor Joe Simon circa 1973 (Green Team; Prez). The latter had been unearthed by Al Milgrom in 1977 at the same time he discovered an unpublished Jack Kirby story that he’d intended to use in Kamandi #61.

Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #1: Cover art: Al Milgrom, with Todd Klein on the CCC logo and paste-ups. “Still 10c. No ads!” Description: Black Lightning, Claw, the Creeper, the Deserter, Mr. Miracle, the Odd Man, the Ray, Shade, Steel, the Secret Society of Super-Villains (Chronos, Mirror Master, Wizard), and the Vixen all lie dead in the foreground as a DC truck drives off and Deadman floats overhead. “An Editorial, of Sorts” explains the origin of Cancelled Comic Cavalcade: “We had a whole mess of material ready to go to the engravers (or ready for last-minute corrections); it was felt it would be a shame if this material would never see print.” Contents: Black Lightning #12 Cover: Rich Buckler and Vince Colletta. Lead story: “Lure of the Magnetic Menace” (17 pages) Script: Denny O’Neil Pencils: Mike Nasser Inks: Vince Colletta Editor: Jack C. Harris Description: Jefferson Pierce’s search for a runaway student leads him to the teen’s Uncle Baxter Timmons, alias Green Lantern foe Dr. Polaris. (The villain’s real name was Neal Emerson in his earlier GL appearances.) Approximate original scheduled on-sale date: August 24, 1978 Later published in: World’s Finest Comics #260 (December 1979January 1980) and—with cover art— Black Lightning, Volume One (2017). Back-up story: The Ray – Untitled (Eight pages)

On the other hand, several stories that actually were derailed by the Implosion were absent in the photocopied behemoth. Some, like the cover of Battle Classics #2 (with Sgt. Rock), Dynamic Classics #2 (featuring Superman) or Wonder Woman #250’s “Tales of the Amazons” story were probably assumed to be viable enough to be used someday. Other omissions in CCC such as the covers for Claw the Unconquered #13 and Firestorm #6 just seem to be a case of things getting lost in the shuffle.

Script: Roger McKenzie (plot); Mike W. Barr (dialogue) Pencils: John Fuller Inks: Bob Wiacek Editor: Jack C. Harris Description: Recovering from his injuries in the previous installment, the Ray flashes back to his origin. Unbeknownst to the hero, a villain called the Dark vows to destroy him. Black Lightning #13 Cover: Mike Nasser Claw the Unconquered #13 Story: “The Travelers of Dark Destiny” (25 pages) Script: David Michelinie Pencils: Romeo Tanghal Inks: Bob Smith Editor: Larry Hama Description: Having severed his demonic hand in the previous issue, Claw agrees to help the mysterious Trysannda pursue the wizard Dalivar the Unethical who cursed her with magical powers. Horrified to find that his enchanted hand has reattached itself while he slept, Claw continues his quest and discovers the Dalivar’s castle is a massive elemental formed of earth. Elsewhere, Prince Ghilkyn is lured away with false news about Claw. Letter column: “Of Swordsmen and Sorcerers.” (The column is highlighted by a letter from Martin Greenberg, “the first hardcover publisher, in the 1950s, of Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories, as well as the first publisher of Fritz Lieber’s Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser stories.”) Note: Joe Kubert’s cover for this issue is not included here. Approximate original scheduled on-sale date: July 11, 1978

Claw the Unconquered #14 Cover: Joe Kubert Story: “When the River of Ravenroost… Ran Red” (25 pages) Script: Tom DeFalco Pencils: Romeo Tanghal Inks: Bob Smith Editor: Larry Hama Description: After vanquishing the elemental, Claw falls to defeat while Trysannda is captured by the wizard (now called Validarr). Elsewhere, Prince Ghilkyn is captured by the Shadow-gods, who intend to use him in their war against the Lords of Elder Light. Back in Ravenroost, Claw saves Trysannda from being sacrificed to the demonic Sha-Gasa only to fall into “the Lair of Lunacy” ruled by a hunchbacked king. Approximate original scheduled on-sale date: September 12, 1978 The Deserter #1 (a.k.a. Showcase #107) Cover: Joe Kubert Story: “The Deserter” (25 pages) Script: Gerry Conway Pencils: Dick Ayers Inks: Romeo Tanghal Editor: Paul Levitz Description: In the Arizona territory of 1874, Aaron Hope befriends the sheriff of Cooper’s Canyon and his daughter Marcy. Steadfastly (opposite page) From Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #1: (top left) The cover to Black Lightning #12, (top right) Black Lightning #13, (bottom left) Claw the Unconquered #14, and (bottom right) Deserter #1.

INTERLUDE

Comic Book Implosion: An Oral History of DC Comics Circa 1978

Interlude: Whatever Happened To—? The following is an attempt at tracing the eventual homes of all the other comics DC scheduled for publication in 1978. News items originally reported in The Comic Reader #145, #146 and #153-159, The Comics Journal #38-40 and Direct Currents Newsletter #2-6 were particularly useful in putting it all together. Action Comics #490’s Air Wave back-up appeared in issue #511 (1980) while the script for #491’s Atom story was illustrated and expanded from eight pages to ten for World’s Finest Comics #260 (1979). Adventure Comics #459’s Dollar Comic premiere was supposed to include the debut of Roger McKenzie and Don Newton’s “The Man Called Neverwhere,” described in The Flash #263 as “a mysterious hero who operates behind the iron curtain.” Paul Levitz added in Adventure #457’s letter column that “we think it’s going to shock quite a few people’s preconceived notions of what a comic book superhero is all about” and McKenzie himself vaguely recalled it in a 2013 Facebook post as “some sort of elvish/magical/ time-travel superhero mishmosh of a concept.” Whatever its particulars, the series was postponed to insert material meant for New Gods #20. An Elongated Man story was hastily commissioned to fill the page difference in issue #459. Unfortunately, Adventure continued to be a clearinghouse for cancelled comics (All-Star Comics; Aquaman) and “Neverwhere” never was. Nor were the previously announced Metal Men (by Gerry Conway and Ramona Fradon, for Adventure #461-462), Manhunter From Mars (Adventure #461-463), and Doctor Fate (by writer Steve Gerber for Adventure #463-465). The unpublished first installment of the Metal Men two-parter—involving an insecure Lead transferring his consciousness into a handsome new body—was actually penciled by an unknown artist and inked by Romeo Tanghal. Years later, Doctor Fate finally received a short-lived back-up series and writer Martin Pasko recalled the Gerber scripts when he was in a deadline pinch. With editor Mike W. Barr’s blessing, Pasko worked the story into his own continuity and they were finally published as a four-parter (rather than three) in The Flash #310-313 (1982). All-New Collectors’ Edition’s Justice League 72-pager was broken apart in Justice League of America #210-212. “Superman’s Life Story,” planned to coincide with the June (then December) release of the feature film, finally saw print in Action Comics #500 in mid-1979. Material intended for 1978’s Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer tabloid (including “Will a Stitch In Time Save Christmas?” and “The Secret of the Lucky Dragon’s Egg”) appeared one year later in the digest, Best of DC #4. Five pages of puzzles slated for the tabloid were published in Robin Snyder’s The Comics [volume 7] #12 (1996). At least one other unpublished Rudolph story, the 16-page “A Whale of a Christmas Visit” exists, excerpted in multiple issues of The Comics, beginning with [volume 5] #12 (1994). 100

Page seven of the Romeo Tanghal-inked Metal Men story meant for Adventure Comics #459. Original art courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

INTERLUDE

The contents of All-Star Comics #75 were split into a twopart Justice Society story published in Adventure Comics #461-462. A three-page prologue was added to the first part while the issue’s unused cover became a splash page for #462’s conclusion, depicting the death of the Golden Age Batman. Aquaman #64’s lead story was published in Adventure Comics #460, bumping the previously mentioned “Man Called Neverwhere” series. Two never-completed six-page back-ups for Aquaman were to have featured the Vigilante (by Roger McKenzie and Gray Morrow) and Martian Manhunter (by Cary Burkett, John Fuller and Bob Layton). The Martian Manhunter strip was tentatively rescheduled for Adventure Comics #461-463 but never appeared. The cover intended for Army At War #2 later appeared on Sgt. Rock #384 (1983). A story intended for that issue (“Wolf Pack”) was subsequently published in 1979’s Men of War #15. Batman #306 crunched its lead story from 17 pages to 15 while the full-length episode in #308 was reduced from 25 pages to 23. Issue #307’s “Public Life of Bruce Wayne” back-up surfaced in Detective Comics #483 while #309’s “Unsolved Cases of The Batman” story appeared in Detective #484 (1979). The Batman Family ended with issue #20 but issue #21’s contents were transferred into Detective Comics #481 with only one change: That issue’s Demon adventure was pushed back one issue and replaced with the Denny O’Neil/Marshall Rogers Batman story actually solicited for ‘Tec #481. A stat of Batman Family #21’s original cover appeared in the background of the Bat-Mite story in Detective #482. Joe Kubert’s highlydetailed cover for Army at War #2 was later repurposed for use on (below) Sgt. Rock #384.

Battle Classics #2 was to have reprinted Our Army At War #140’s “Brass Sergeant” while issue #3 would probably have featured Our Army At War #115’s “Rock’s Battle Family.” The covers for both issues were used as pin-ups in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #18 (1981). Digest Comics #1, edited by Paul Levitz and Ross Andru, was slated to premiere with “The Best of DC,” reprinting “Menace of the Dragonfly Raiders” (Brave & Bold #42), “The Hundred Dollar Deal” (All-Star Western #11), “Must There Be a Superman?” (Superman #247) and “No Evil Shall Escape My Sight” (Green Lantern #76). Both it and a second issue featuring Welcome Back, Kotter (edited by Larry Hama) were tentatively scheduled for August release. Follow-up editions were to feature Superman (edited by Andru and Cary Burkett) and a horror theme (edited by Levitz and Al Milgrom). DC finally launched its digest line in June 1979 with The Best of DC #1 (starring Superman) and Jonah Hex and Other Western Tales #1. The Black Lightning story from Black Lightning #12 appeared uncut in World’s Finest Comics #260 (1979). The Ray back-up for the issue, reprising the hero’s origin, appeared only in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #1. The Ray strip had been scheduled to end in #13, replaced by Steve Ditko’s “Odd Man” in #14. The covers for Black Lightning #12 and 13 appeared in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #1. The Brave & The Bold #145-147’s Human Target back-ups appeared in Detective #483, #484 and #486 (1979).

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