#John Costanza

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Swamp Thing #73 (198?)

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Sara Douglas as Ursa in Superman ll (1981).

Ursa was described as the deadliest woman on Krypton, who hated all men save for General Dru-Zod, to whom she was slavishly devoted.

Ursa was a character created for the first Superman film, which was in development since the early 1970s and would, eventually, be split into two parts. She would make her brief first appearance in the beginning of Superman the Movie in 1978.

Someone at DC Comics decided it would be a good idea to introduce an evil, man-hating female Kryptonian in the comics before the film was released. However, since they didn't have the rights to Ursa yet, they decided to create their own own version.

And thus, the world was introduced to Faora Hu-Ul!

Action Comics (vol. 1) #472 (June, 1977). Cover by Bob Oskner. This was Faora's first appearance on a cover in her true form.

Faora made her first appearance in Action Comics (vol. 1) #471 (May, 1977), but spends most of the story as a featureless phantom. Her true form is revealed later on, and we learn she is a Phantom Zone escapee. On Krypton Faora had an irrational hatred of all men, known to have killed at least twenty-three of them, and kept other Kryptonians as slaves in her very own concentration camp.

As a Kryptonian, once Faora was out of the Phantom Zone she had all the same powers as Superman. That alone would have made her a formidable opponent. But she was also an expert in Horu-Kanu, the deadliest of Krypton's martial arts. which targets pressure points to disable, cripple, and even kill opponents. Superman had no defense against that.

Faora made a several more appearances over the years, until she - and most of Superman's continuity - was erased in Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985), and Superman's subsequent reboot by John Byrne in Man of Steel (1986).

Interestingly enough, Faora did briefly reappear - now named mysteriously Zaora - in John Byrne's last Superman story. She was one of three villainous Phantom Zone escapees who murdered every living thing on Earth (in a pocket universe), and was, infamously, executed for her crimes by Superman.

Zaora's death from Superman (vol. 2) #22 (October, 1988) Art by John Byrne, colors by Petra Scotese, letters by John Costanza.

Faora finally made it to the big screen in Man of Steel (2013), portrayed by Ayelet Zurer.

While I have plenty of opinions about this film, I will not share them here. I will point out that, while shown only as an overzealous follower of the tyrannical General Zod, Faora was a bad@$$ opponent for Superman nonetheless.

New versions of Faora and Ursa have been introduced into the comics, with Ursa making her debut in 2006 as Zod's spouse and mother of his son, Lor-Zod. After DC's New 52 (boo!) and Rebirth, Ursa and Lor-Zod underwent character modifications, so they are different from their 2006 incarnations.

Ursa was actually (SPOILER ALERT!) killed off in the 2024 mini-series Kneel Before Zod. But I suspect it won't be too long before someone brings her back.

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World’s Finest #186 - August 1969 (DC Comics - USA)

Cover Art: Curt Swan

THE BAT WITCH

Script: Robert Kanigher

Art: Ross Andru (Pencils), Mike Esposito (Inks) John Costanza (Letters)

Characters: Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Superman [Clark Kent]; Major Nichols; "Mad" Anthony Wayne.

Synopsis: Batman and Superman travel back to colonial times to uncover the mystery behind the bust of "Mad" Anthony Wayne

Batman story #1,286

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Stunning art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Dick Giordano, and Glynis Oliver from the Incredible Hulk/Batman crossover!

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Star Wars #10 -April 1978-

Marvel comics

"Behemoth from the World Below"

writer: Don Glut

art & co-plotter: Howard Chaykin

co-artist & embellisher: Tom Palmer

letterer: John Costanza

colorist: F. Mouly

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Batman: The Cult

[1988; issue #2]

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✨✨✨Happy Birthday To Red Hood Jason Todd!!!✨✨✨

I think I did a little too much here 😅😅😅 but it looks perfect!!!🤩🤩🤩

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Superman by Frank Miller, with Inks by Klaus Janson, Letters by John Costanza, and Colors by Lynn Varley.

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Sandman Mystery Theatre: The Tarantula

by Matt Wagner; Guy Davis; David Hornung and John Costanza

DC/ Vertigo

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Swamp Thing No. 21: The Anatomy Lesson

by Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, and John Totleben

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BEGORRAH! 'TIS AN IRISH SUPERHERO!

Superman meets Ireland's resident superhero, Jack O'Lantern, in DC Comics Presents #46 (June, 1982). Written by E. Nelson Bridwell. Art by Alex Savior and Pablo Marcos. Colors by Gene D'Angelo. Letters by John Costanza.

This was Jack's first appearance in the DC Universe continuity, but not the first time in comics. He, along with the rest of the international superhero team he belonged to, the Global Guardians, was first introduced in Super Friends #8 (November, 1977).

Super Friends was based on the Hanna-Barbera animated series that was broadcast on Saturday mornings at the time. As such, its stories were not considered part of the canon of DC's stories. However, after the Super Friends comic was cancelled in 1981, writer (and Global Guardians creator) E. Nelson Bridwell was able to insert the Guardians into the DC Universe-proper with this story in DC Comics Presents.

Jack O'Lantern was Daniel Cormac, a farmer who was granted a magic lantern by a fairy, presumably the leprechaun on his shoulder in the picture above (who, as far as I know, never made another appearance). The lantern granted Cormac several abilities: super strength, flight, energy projection, illusion casting, teleportation, and fog generation. Because of its magic properties, the lantern (and Jack's powers) were strongest at midnight, and non-existent at noon.

Cormac and the Global Guardians remained a part of DC continuity after Crisis On Infinite Earths. However, the group fell on hard times and split-up after the UN decided to sponsor Justice League Europe/International instead of the Guardians.

Jack then fell in with the villainous Queen Bee and was a bad guy for a brief period, even tangling with the aforementioned JLI. He eventually redeemed himself and became a hero again before eventually passing away from natural causes.

His cousin, Liam McHugh, then became the new Jack O'Lantern, with a different costume. McHugh was able to internalize the powers of the lantern, and no longer needs to use it. He was a member of the Global Guardians, the Leymen (from Primal Force), and the Ultramarine Corps (from Grant Morrison's run on JLA).

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Brave & The Bold #86 - October 1969 (DC Comics - USA)

Cover Art: Neal Adams

YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM A DEADMAN

Script: Bob Haney

Art: Neal Adams  (Pencils & Inks), John Costranza (Letters)

Characters: Deadman; Batman; Robin [Richard Grayson]

Batman story #1,292

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Classic Byrne Superman goodness.

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Animaniacs #32 -December 1997- DC Comics

"Pyjama-Rama!"

written by Jennifer Moore & Sean Carolan

penciled by Leonardo Batic

inked by Scott McRae

lettered by John Costanza

colors by Prismacolor

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The Power of Shazam! #3 (1995) by Jerry Ordway & Peter Krause