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daydreamerdrew · 10 months

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Comics read this past week:

Marvel Comics:

The Adventures of Captain America (1991) #1-4

These issues were published across July 1991 to October 1991, according to the Marvel Wiki. Issues #1-3 were written by Fabian Nicieza and issue #4 was written by Fabian Nicieza and Kevin Maguire. Issue #1 was penciled by Kevin Maguire and inked by Joe Rubinstein and Tom Christopher, issue #2 was penciled by Kevin Maguire and inked by Terry Austin, issue #3 was penciled by Kevin Maguire and Kevin West and inked by Terry Austin, and issue #4 was penciled by Steve Carr and Kevin West and inked by Terry Austin. All 4 issues of this miniseries were 46 pages.

This book was a retelling of Steve’s origin story as Captain America. Of note to me in issue #1 regarding Steve was that it’s depicted that his testing to see if he was suitable to take the super soldier serum involved physical training and studying tactics, so the first time he goes out as Captain America he has that experience to support him. In the 2011 live-action movie it’s depicted that Steve, despite being a good man, was originally judged unfit to take the serum by Colonel Chester Phillips in comparison to Gilmore Hodge, who was a bully but was clearly physically tougher. In this book, instead, Colonel James Fletcher gets Hodge removed from the running to take the serum, calling him dangerous, and defining Steve by his courage and saying, “The soldier in me says go for courage every time.” Captain America’s establishment as a hero after the assassination of Dr. Erskine in Captain America Comics (1941) #1 is brushed over with a montage, and this book expands on that period of time by having all of Dr. Erskine’s assistants slowly hunted down and Steve being hidden by sending him to Camp Lehigh to pretend to be a regular private. In the Golden Age Captain America comics I’ve read, Steve is sometimes thought of as an idiot at the camp and regularly gets into trouble with his commanding officer, which helps keep people from connecting him with the capable Captain America. In this book Steve is specifically instructed to act dumb at the camp.

We also get an expansion on Steve and Bucky’s relationship at the camp before Bucky learned that Steve was Captain America in issue #2. They first meet when Steve intervenes when Bucky’s getting shaken down for taking money for cigarettes but then never providing the promised goods. Bucky had previously assumed, given the way he arrived at the camp, that Steve was someone very well-connected, such as a senator’s son, but not being “the brightest of sorts,” he’d “landed a cushy desk job ‘cause of his rich daddy.” I would assume, given how Bucky is an orphan that’s had to fend for himself, he would be particularly judgmental of this. When they actually interact for the first time, Bucky makes note of how bulky Steve’s arms are. They have a charming little conversation, where Steve’s straightforward attitude plays off of Bucky’s scrappier worldview, from there Bucky seems to have just elected Steve as his bodyguard. I imagine that Steve was want for friends at the camp. Bucky seems to have some fun poking fun at Steve, but when he sees some scraps on him from his time out as Captain America, Bucky asks, “Did those guys from the motor pool come after you? If they did, I’ll help you take care of ‘em!” He also says, “Boy, can I pick ‘em. Big and dumb.” Later, in issue #3, Bucky will claim, when he discovers Steve is Captain America by accidentally catching him changing into his costume, “I knew no one could be as gullible and stupid and dopey as you pretended to be,” but I’m not sure I believe that or if Bucky just wants to pretend he wasn’t fooled.

In the portrayal of this event in Captain America Comics (1941) #1, after Bucky walks in on Steve changing into his Captain America costume, Steve is initially angry but then tells him, “From now on we must both share this secret together… That means you’re my partner, Bucky!” Most depictions of Bucky becoming Steve’s partner that I’ve read include this pivotal moment of Bucky catching Steve, but in Ed Brubaker’s reinvention of the character Bucky becoming Steve’s partner was arranged by the military and that idea of the costume exposure was made up for the silly propaganda comics. In a flashback to Steve’s real first meeting of Bucky in Captain America (2005) #12, Steve is told, “Just like Captain America has symbolic value, an American teenager fighting alongside him… That’s a powerful symbol, too… And if he gets his hands a little dirtier than most soldiers when no one’s looking… Well, that’ll be our secret, right?” And when Steve was talking about Bucky in Captain America (2005) #5, he said, “The official story said that he was a symbol to counter the rise of the Hitler Youth… And there was some truth to that, but like all things in war, there was a darker truth underneath. Bucky did the things I couldn’t. I was the icon. I wore the flag… but while I gave speeches to the troops in the trenches… He was doing what he’d been trained to do… And he was highly trained. He wouldn’t’ve been out there with us if he wasn’t.” Captain America and Bucky (2011) #621 is dedicated to the story of the first time Bucky had to kill someone, and Steve comes across to me in that issue as feeling guilty but resigned about it.

In issue #3 of this book Bucky tricks Steve in order to become his partner. First by offering to help Steve get to France, which Steve needs to for a mission, saying that he knows a way to get Steve a transport plane there, which is followed up with a threat to expose Steve’s secret identity. Steve is confident that he’ll be able to ensure that Bucky won’t come with, but Bucky ends up on the plane anyway. Then Steve is confident that that he’ll be able to ensure that Bucky won’t actually go on the mission itself, but Bucky ends up tagging along for the entire thing. As Bucky had said earlier, “You know the kinds of things I can finagle when I want to.” And Bucky explains, “Steve needs someone like me around. Now that I know he’s Cap, I realize he needs me more than ever. It’s like this- I can do the dirty little tricks he’s not allowed to. I can get the kind of information that goes beyond regular military methods. I may look young, but I’m a very worldly guy.” I found this continuity change of Bucky’s skill set and the way he became Captain America’s partner to itself be really compelling. This Bucky actually demonstrates his abilities in a way that impressed me in issue #4, when he and Steve were imprisoned: “From the angle of the moon to our flight, and the time we were airborne from Paris to touchdown- I’d say our goose was about to get cooked smack dab in the middle of Germany!” And then, “Where are we now? Twenty minutes from the air terminal. Southwest. Musta been about ten miles. Some kinda prison camp. […] Concentrate, James, concentrate! Scope out the place. Get the lay of the land down. Know what’s what and where it is. The more you learn now, the better your chances are for getting out of this alive!”

There was another moment that stood out to me for this Bucky’s characterization in issue #4. Cynthia Glass seems to have been some inspiration for the MCU’s depiction of Peggy Carter, though she ended up being a spy for Germany. After she’s helped get Steve and Bucky imprisoned by the Red Skull, she has a crisis of faith and helps Bucky when he escapes so that he can more easily help Steve. Steve had been crushed by Cynthia’s betrayal, and Bucky is clearly initially glad to see her specifically so that he can get some revenge against her for breaking Steve’s heart, but then Cynthia stops him in his tracks by telling him that she thinks Steve is a good man who doesn’t deserve what the Red Skull wants to do to him. Later Steve, not knowing about her earlier act of help, is shocked when Cynthia throws him his shield while he’s fighting the Red Skull, which the Red Skull immediately kills her for. Steve is crushed again and tells Bucky, “I’ve lost her- I never told her- that I loved her…” This prompts Bucky to lie about his earlier interaction with Cynthia and say, “She told me- that she loved you too.”

Also, I was surprised that there wasn’t any heavy-handed foreshadowing of Bucky’s death near the end of the war. But I suppose it’s not really necessary because the character had been known to be dead since the 60s (and wouldn’t be brought back/revealed to be alive all this time until the mid-2000s) so readers would have been aware and had that knowledge hanging over the story already without it needing to be brought into the text.

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty (1998) #12 and Captain America (2002) #26

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #12 was published in June 1999, according to the Marvel Wiki, and was written by Mark Waid, penciled by Doug Braithwaite and Anthony Williams, and inked by Dan Green and Scott Koblish.

This issue portrayed Steve and Bucky’s relationship in a way that’s really different from what I’m used to, and while to my current knowledge it wasn’t necessarily deeply contradicting comics that were published before it, I didn’t enjoy this portrayal. Though the concept and story itself was well-executed. Here we see Steve and Bucky again have a bit of a relationship on the base before Bucky walks in on Steve changing into his costume and discovers that he’s Captain America. Bucky helps Steve when he’s being harassed by other servicemen, but it serves a double-purpose of helping himself get revenge on someone that stiffed him, and Bucky immediately follows that up by offering to sell art supplies to Steve. Later Steve helps Bucky avoid getting into trouble when he gets into a bar fight and Steve tells him, “You know, every once in a while, people do the right thing for no reward…!” Bucky tells him, “Yeah… Suckers!” When Bucky learns that Steve is Captain America he assumes that he’s doing it for personal benefit, though Steve tells him it’s because of patriotism. Bucky then makes a deal with Steve where Bucky becomes his sidekick in exchange for Bucky keeping his secret identity a secret. Steve’s narration explains, “He wanted the same excitement and glamour he thought I got. At first, I admit I was suspicious of him…He reminded me a lot of the neighborhood toughs that used to beat me up back when I was sickly and scrawny… But Bucky turned out to be a great ally… and one heck of a fighter.” He also says, “Growing up I never had a brother. That changed once I joined the army. James Buchanan Barnes wasn’t a blood relation, but no relative could have ever felt more like a partner. We were a team, Bucky and I, and I admit it felt great having someone at my back.” Bucky doesn’t want to work for free, though, and always collects souvenirs on their missions. Partway through their partnership, Steve presses Bucky on what he wants, and after some stalling, Bucky admits, “I just wanna go out of this world different than I came into it, you know?” On their final mission, Steve tries to convince Bucky to give up on defusing the bomb and jump from the rocket, saying, “There’s no medals to be gotten- not this time!” But Bucky refuses, saying, “So? Hey, man… I love my country. Didn’t I teach you anything?”

I’m used to Bucky and Steve having a real strong understanding of one another. Ed Brubaker’s comics emphasized that they ultimately had a lot in common. For example, a flashback in Captain America (2005) #50 points out that Bucky spent his 20th birthday at war, while Steve spent his being a “lab rat” in preparation for taking the super soldier serum. In a flashback in Captain America (2005) #11 Bucky jokes to Steve that, “Sometimes I think if you didn’t have me, there wouldn’t be a single person in the world who really understood you…” I also thought of how much Bucky of came into their relationship already thinking really highly of Steve, as expressed by him in Captain America (2005) #25: “Even before I met him, before I became his partner, this guy was already a legend. It took me weeks to get used to the idea that he considered me an equal… a part of the team. But before I realized it, we were like brothers. He was like that sainted can-do-no-wrong big brother. The guy you can’t help but look up to… Because you just know you can never be that good… that graceful under pressure… or that strong in the face of horror…” And Steve comparing Bucky to the “neighborhood toughs that used to beat me up” particularly hurt my heart because it’s an insecurity of Bucky’s, as per Captain America (2005) #31, that, “All your fights with the other kids. Some would even say you were a bully. Steve Rogers certainly would have thought so if he’d known you then.”

I also compared it to the portrayal of their relationship in Captain America: White (2008). In issue #0 of that book Bucky promises he won’t tell anyone after he accidentally catches Steve changing into his Captain America costume, and then when Steve says he trusts him, Bucky says, “Then… train me. Make me your partner. I promise I’ll listen to you. Just… don’t leave me here when everybody else goes over…” And in issue #3 Steve reflects on that event, as well as own life prior to receiving the super soldier serum, and thinks, “You didn’t know me back then, James. But, in your own way, you really did. The rage I felt. The unfairness of it all. It wasn’t all that hard to understand you being orphaned. Abandoned. Agreeing to be ‘camp mascot’ on an army base, hoping and praying they’d bend the rules and let you join the fight. Was it any worse a plan than my agreeing to become a guinea pig for an experiment that should’ve killed me? Or the guilt I feel now that I survived and you didn’t? The night you burst into my tent and caught me changing into the Stars and Stripes… The look on your face wasn’t one of ‘surprise’ or even ‘fear.’ It was ‘opportunity.’ A chance to stand up when all your life you were told to sit down.”

Captain America (2002) #26 was published in May 2004, according to the Marvel Wiki, and was written by Robert Morales, penciled by Chris Bachalo, and inked by Tim Townsend and Al Vey.

This issue was split between Steve in the modern day having to take control when the plane he’s in is sabotaged, which was spread throughout the entire issue, a conversation that takes place after Steve has survived the plane crash with the strategist of a friend of Steve’s that’s campaigning to become the president, and flashbacks to various moments in Steve and Bucky’s partnership in the 1940s.

In this issue the portrayal of how Bucky became Steve’s partner is that after Bucky caught Steve changing into his Captain America uniform, Steve brought Bucky to Colonel Price. Bucky explains, “Everybody was always riding Steve for making mistakes, but I kind of figured that he must’ve been faking for some reason. […] I knew Steve was really smart… so I started following him around the base.” Colonel Price acknowledges the complication of Bucky having discovered something top secret, but then surprises Steve and Bucky both by saying, “The brass determined that we could use a propaganda figure against the Hitler Youth. Effective immediately, Captain Rogers, you’re to train this young buck as your new partner.” Strangely, Bucky’s legal first name is Michael in this story, and his nickname as Bucky seems to originate from him being referred to as a “young buck.”

The reason why Steve is meeting with the strategist is because he’s closely associated with the candidate, so, even though he’s not officially a part of the campaign, anything involving Steve in the news will affect them, and there is apparently a “spector of child endangerment charges” against Steve regarding Bucky. Steve explains, “I protested against placing Bucky in danger, but it didn’t matter: It was war- and he was in danger just like everyone else. If anything, he made good use of his fighting chance.” And then, “Bucky Barnes didn’t die because he was a kid. He died because he was a hero.” I think that Steve’s argument here is pretty weak. Not everyone in the world was in the same amount of danger and Bucky was certainly in more danger being involved in the actual fighting then he would have been had he stayed in the United States. Also, I think the flippancy of “If anything, he made good use of his fighting chance” downplays Steve’s compelling guilt over that Bucky wouldn’t have died if he wasn’t Steve’s partner.

The final scene of the issue is Steve successfully landing the damaged plane. It’s said to him, “Captain Rogers, that was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen! How in the world did you do that?” But Steve looks dejected and walks away, saying, “I didn’t do anything… I was lucky.” The issue then ends on a portrait of Bucky, and the implication is clear that Steve believes that he survived their final mission, which involved a plane, and that Bucky did not, simply because of luck.

The Incredible Hulk (1968) #270-271

In this batch of The Incredible Hulk issues I went from January 1982 to February 1982, according to the Marvel Wiki. Both issues were written by Bill Mantlo and drawn by Sal Buscema.

There were multiple moments in The Incredible Hulk #271 that stood out to me as good and enjoyable Hulk writing. At one point the Hulk was sleeping in a field and gets woken up by a robot, and he complains, “Noise woke Hulk up! Hulk didn’t want to wake up! Now Hulk is mad!” And then, “Machine made noise that some Hulk up! Hulk will smash machine! You like making noise, machine? Hulk will make more noise than you ever could! Get ready, machine! Here comes the biggest noise of all!” Later, the Hulk is asked for help and he says, “Hulk is here because he helped someone else! Hulk had to leave his friends back on Earth! Rick and Betty will worry about Hulk! Hulk should get home! But Hulk’s head feels so strange, Hulk doesn’t know what to do!” But later he agrees, saying, “Hulk has made up his mind. Hulk will help.” The explanation for why the Hulk felt strange in this issue is supposed to be revealed in the upcoming issues.

Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk (1981) #3-5 and Dazzler (1981) #6-7 and DC Special Series (1977) #27

The Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk issues were newspaper advertising supplements. There was a story where they fought Dr. Doom accompanying The Denver Post to advertise for the May-Daniels & Fisher department store chain, a story where they fought the Enforcers and the Rhino accompanying the Houston Chronicle to advertise for the Foley's department store chain, and a story where they fought Kraven the Hunter accompanying the Kansas City Star to advertise for the Jones Store Company department store chain. Each story was 16 pages and contained at least one scene of a successful shopping trip at their respective store, and were also all interspersed with a generous amount of ads depicting clothes that were for sale.

The Dazzler issues were published across April 1981 to May 1981, according to the Marvel Wiki. Both issues were plotted by Tom DeFalco, scripted by Danny Fingeroth, penciled by Frank Springer, and inked by Frank McLaughlin and Armando Gil.

The way that Bruce gets involved in Dazzler book is that Alison Blair is doing a concert at a college that Bruce is trying to sneak into to see gamma radiation research that’s being done there. Of course, Bruce gets upset and transforms, and that turns the Dazzler concert into a crisis situation. I think out of all the Hulk appearances I’ve read so far, these issues best sold the danger caused by the Hulk’s rampages. Alison’s mutant power isn’t particularly well-suited for fighting, she can turn sound into light and seems to mostly use it to create special effects for her concerts. When the Hulk crashes onto the stage, Alison does her best to keep the Hulk distracted so that everyone else in the auditorium can escape. While her powers make his head hurt, the most effective attack against him was when Alison dodged one of his punches and he instead hit the auditorium’s power console, which then exploded on him. After the Hulk recovers from that, he forgets about Alison and moves on to rampage through another part of the campus. Alison has doubts about her approach, thinking, “He’s mad with rage. If I hadn’t bought time for the crowd to flee, hundreds would have been hurt. Then again, if I had handled him better… cooled him out… or outsmarted him… he might not be on the rampage not at all.” I think that Alison is expecting a bit too much of herself here as someone who was caught completely off guard by the Hulk and has no experience dealing with someone like him, both in power and temperament.

In an act of genuinely impressive heroism, Alison decides, “I’m a singer… not a superhero. I should lay here and pat myself on the back for the fight I was able to give him. But that would be the same as condemning untold numbers of innocents to death… And that’s a fact I could never live with. For better or worse… I’ve got to go after him.” She keeps the Hulk’s attention on her so that more students can escape from where he goes next. Then, when the Hulk enters another building after the military tries and fails to capture him, Alison thinks, “Well, there’s nothing I can do about it! I tried to stop him… and I’m real lucky to be alive! But… What if there are still students in that building? What if he kills somebody in there? Can I convince myself that they were just unlucky…? Nuts! I’ve got to try to stop him… if I ever want to look in a mirror again.” Throughout this, the students that have been able to escape because of Dazzler acknowledge how outclassed she is.

Alison succeeds by trying a novel approach, agreeing with the Hulk. He says, “You are like a bug to Hulk,” and she says, “Yeah, I know!” He says, “Then run… or Hulk will kill you,” and she says, “If you really wanted to kill me, running wouldn’t help!” He says, “Girl is stupid! Girl hounded Hulk! Hulk will kill her,” and she says, “I guess… I deserve it, Hulk! But I’m sorry.” She explains that she misjudged the Hulk, that she understands now that he’s not a monster and is capable of kindness and gentleness. The Hulk is offended by this and says, “Hulk is a monster! Hulk will prove it… by crushing girl! Now is girl afraid?” When Alison says that she’s terrified, the Hulk says, “Good! Then Hulk will let girl live! If girl doesn’t call Hulk ‘gentle’ again. Girl is stupid!”

The DC Special Series issue was published in September 1981, according to the Grand Comics Database. It was a 64-page Hulk and Batman crossover written by Len Wein, drawn by José Luis García-López, and inked by Dick Giordano. The primary villains were the Joker and the Shaper of Worlds, who I thought was an inspired choice. The Hulk has fought him a few times over the course of the two decades he’s been published at this point. His concept is that he has the ability to create anything, but he has no imagination, so he relies on others and turns their dreams into reality.

I liked how Bruce Wayne handled the Hulk in this issue. They first fight because the Joker convinced the Hulk that Batman was his enemy, and Bruce thinks, "I kept silent during the Joker's tirade- so the Hulk wouldn't become overly confused- and take his frustration out on the gamma-gun! But, obviously, that was a mistake! There'll be no reasoning with the brute now!" It's a struggle for Bruce to stay alive during the fight, and he ultimately wins by knocking the Hulk out with sleeping gas. The second time the Bruce fights the Hulk, he first tried to reason with him, which didn't work. It's again a struggle for Bruce to even stay alive. During the fight he recognizes, "The brute's instinctually smarter than he seems!" He ultimately 'wins' by playing dead under rubble after the Hulk collapsed a building on top of them.

Then Bruce approaches the Hulk in disguise, and there the Hulk is very amenable to be reasoned with. While pretending to be blind passerby, Bruce refers to the Hulk as "friend" and invites the Hulk to tell him about his troubles. The Hulk says, "Hulk cannot stay long, old man- It is not safe! Wherever Hulk goes, puny humans follow Hulk- hound Hulk- try to destroy Hulk… And Hulk does not even know why!" Bruce tells him, "Neither do I… But maybe if you'd stop fighting people and try helping them a little, things could change for you. If a fella wants to have friends, first he has to be a friend. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you… friend?" Through this the Hulk is convinced to help with what's going on with the Shaper of Worlds. After this Bruce stresses how important it is to him that "Somebody has to go with the Hulk- to support him- to guide him!" during that fight.

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #130-131 and Fantastic Four (1961) #217 and The Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #203

I was interested enough in Dazzler’s character from the issues I read of her solo book because the Hulk was in them to check out her earliest appearances. I find the concept of mutants interesting but from the outside X-Men comics look unwieldy and unenjoyable to get into, so I want to give offshoot characters a chance. These issues were published across November 1979 to January 1980, according to the Marvel Wiki. Uncanny X-Men #130-131 were plotted by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, scripted by Chris Claremont, penciled by John Byrne, and inked by Terry Austin. Fantastic Four #217 was written by Bill Mantlo (based on a plot suggestion from Marv Wolfman), penciled by John Byrne, and inked by Joe Sinnott. The Amazing Spider-Man #203 was written by Marv Wolfman, drawn by Keith Pollard, and inked by Mike Esposito and Jim Mooney.

Allison’s performance in X-Men #130 is apparently her first show, her debut on the disco scene. Dazzler is her performing stage name and she says, “That’s what I do. Dazzle people.” When Scott asks her if she’s ever wondered where her light powers come from, she says no, and Scott reveals to her that she’s a mutant. In X-Men #131 she declines an offer to join the X-Men, saying, “World-saving ain’t my style. I prefer the excitement I get on stage, singin’ my heart out to an audience that really digs me.” Her role in Fantastic Four #217 is that Johnny Storm incidentally meets her at a club when he’s trying to get away from Fantastic Four stuff for a night. In The Amazing Spider-Man #203 she’s being targeted by a villain that wants to use her to empower himself and Peter saves her.

In X-Men #130, when Allison comes on stage, the narration says that she appears in “an awesome lightshow that shifts in color, intensity and position to match her emotions.” She fights back when the show is attacked, the narration describing, “Light- in all its infinite variety- bursts around the hapless man, instantly flooding his eyes, his mind, his soul. His brain can’t cope with the sensory overload. It short-circuits- and turns itself completely off.” This makes Allison think, “He’s catatonic! I… I didn’t mean to ‘dazzle’ him so hard- I’ve never intentionally used my powers to hurt anyone before. I didn’t know…”

In X-Men #131 the narration describes, “Dazzler moves into action. Drawing on all the sounds around her, and converting them into radiant energy… She creates a lightshow, so intense and beautiful beautiful, that the guards’ minds can’t cope with it! In other words- they’re dazzled!”

In Fantastic Four #217, when Dazzler is performing, the narration reads: “She sings, and the music is in her- The music, and the power! Flowing from her in waves of silver sibilance to illuminate the dance floor in a dazzling display of dreams made real!”

In The Amazing Spider-Man #203 there’s a moment where Allison thinks, “That music coming over the radio… I can feel it flowing through my body… giving me strength,” before she sends out a blast through a mirrored globe that she was wearing as a necklace. It is said, to Allison, “You are a source of light… It seems to grow within your lovely body,” and that, “Each time you gave a concert, the music increased your power.” Also, her dazzling powers mess with Peter’s spider-sense.

Timely Publications:

the Human Torch story in Marvel Comics (1939) #1

This Human Torch story was published in October 1939, according to the issue cover date. It was written and drawn by Carl Burgos and it was 16 pages.

This is the first appearance of the original Human Torch, who was specifically a robot that could light himself on fire. It is interesting to me, then, that his name has the word 'human' in it. He could not originally turn his fire on and off at will, so the first 3 pages of his story are scientists discussing what to do with him and he doesn't speak until he breaks free on the 4th page. His pose in his container isn't always the same, though, so it looks like he was conscious and trying to get out (or convince them to let him out by banging on the glass in a sympathetic way). When the Human Torch's creator, Professor Horton, reveals that he's created "a synthetic man- an exact replica of a human being" that lights on fire whenever he's in contact with oxygen, people are horrified. Professor Horton doesn't want to destroy him- because "who knows, in the course of experimentation, I might hit on a device to gain control of, and master this mechanical torch"- so he has the Human Torch encased in a cement block.

Then, one day, the Human Torch breaks free (Professor Horton initially assumes, when he hears the explosion, that something has destroyed the Human Torch) and his first day of free existence is filled with both fun and terror. He runs through town, lighting people and things on fire, and is confused, saying, "I'm burning alive! Why must everything I though turn to flame?" He seeks out the fire engine when he hears it because "Hah! I like the sound of the bell." When they spray him with water, he says, "Ha! Ha! Ha! Stop- It tickles!" Eventually he determines, "I must find a retreat. I've already caused too much damage." He jumps into a pool, thinking that it would put out his flame, and stays under the water.

Unfortunately, the pool belongs to a criminal who decides to use the Human Torch for a racketeering scheme and has him transported to a factory (the Human Torch assumes they're helping him) so that he can burn it down. When the Human Torch understands that he's being used for crime, he's pissed, and returns to the house for revenge. He laughs as he burns down the house, delighting in how easy it is to destroy it just by standing in it, when he'd been bothered by the effects of his flame in that earlier unwilling context. He melts a car onto a crook that was hiding under it and boils alive the gang members that tried to hide in the pool and then, in his fight with the gang leader, learns how to turn his fire on and off at will.

During the fight the fire chief tried to kill the Human Torch, saying, "This'll be a better world without you- Mr. Torch," but the bullet bounced off of him. The Human Torch goes about his merry way afterwards and doesn't initially realize that police were after him, but when he does he surrenders. After the Human Torch reveals in court why he burned down the house and killed all those men, he's released into the custody of Professor Horton. But Professor Horton is excited by the possibility of making money with the Human Torch's powers, which upsets him, making him say, "So! Even you've been touched by the possibility of a fortune in me, eh Horton? No Horton, I'll be free, and no one will ever use me for selfish gain- or crime!" And then he escapes to make his own way in the world.

the Jimmy Jupiter stories in Marvel Mystery Comics (1939) #40-41 and Human Torch (1940) #10

In this batch of Jimmy Jupiter stories I went from February 1943 to March 1943, according to the issue cover dates. All of the stories were signed by Eddie Robbins, and according to his Who’s Who’s page he was only the artist and not the writer for these stories. The story in Human Torch #10 was inked by Bob Montana. Both of the stories in Marvel Mystery Comics were 7 pages. The story in Human Torch #10 was 10 pages.

The story in Human Torch #10 is the first Jimmy Jupiter story where there’s tangible evidence after Jimmy’s adventure is over to suggest that it wasn’t just a dream. In the story Jimmy’s family is visiting Jimmy’s uncle who lives in the country, and Jimmy asks him, “What’s in the woods? Can I go see? Are there fairies maybe?” Jimmy’s uncle tells him, “Fairies? Oh! Ha-ha! Why sure, Jimmy. There’s an enchanted valley right up in the woods there!” Jimmy goes exploring in the woods and falls into the valley and hits his head, and then right after he’s approached by a princess who tells him she’s lost. Jimmy helps her find her way back to her castle and along the way they fight wild toad men and wolves, one of which Jimmy skewers to a tree from a toad man’s staff. At the end of the story Jimmy takes another fall (off of a platform where he was dueling with a young knight) and lands right where he first met the princess. His family finds him and he explains his adventure to them and his uncle tells him, “Don’t be silly, Jimmy. You simply fell out of the tree. And anyway your story is impossible. There are no wolves in this part of the country!” But then a farm hand runs up and exclaims, “There’s a dead wolf over here- looks like he was speared!”

The stories in Marvel Mystery Comics #40-41 finish the Jimmy Jupiter adventure that began in Marvel Mystery Comics #38. In the story in issue #40 Jimmy’s magic glasses, which he stole from evil witches in issue #39, start to turn him evil, which primarily manifests just as him declaring that he’s evil. By the end of the story Jimmy has finally made it to the castle of the king of Fairyland, which is where he was supposed to go in the first place in issue #38. In the story issue #41 Jimmy is taken on a tour to visit various magic places, which is a really different experience than him haphazardly making his way through various magical places, which presented as obstacles, on his way to the castle. During the tour Jimmy is gifted an animate plush dog. The very last place Jimmy is taken to, Dream City, transforms into an obstacle as the Sandman starts to pull a blanket over the city before Jimmy has managed to pick a dream from a tree, as apparently falling into a dreamless sleep there means you’re trapped forever. Jimmy is saved by the blue fairy that took him to Fairyland in the first place in issue #38 and when he wakes up- or finds himself dropped back to where he was resting when the blue fairy first took him- there’s a real living non-plush dog with him.

DC Comics:

Superman (2023) #8

This issue was published in November 2023. It was written by Joshua Williamson and drawn by Gleb Melnikov, Norm Rapmund, David Baldeón, and Jamal Campbell.

There, unfortunately, wasn’t anything continuing the plot thread that Brainiac 13 is creating a woman, possibly a daughter, for himself, which was revealed at the end of the last issue. This issue was continuing the storyline with Samuel Stryker, the villain the Chained, who I do find sympathetic. I’m not anticipating that the ultimate conclusion of his storyline will be satisfying to me as it’s wrapped up in what’s going on with Clark and Lex, which I’m not really convinced of or interested in at this point.

I’ve been a bit worried that Lena, who I’m reading this book for, will be characterized as just a stereotypical angsty teenager, and there was nothing in this issue that showed that that necessarily won’t be the case, but I think there’s still some hope for more depth in future issues.

When Clark recognizes Lena, Leticia Luthor derisively calls him an alien and says that Lena wants nothing to do with him, and Lena jumps in on his behalf, arguing, “Grandma, stop! Superman saved me!” When Samuel Stryker tells Lena that her father is a “very bad man,” Lena says, “I know…” And then when Samuel Stryker drops Lena, Lex catches her, and Lena forcefully pushes him away and says, “Get away from me.” Later, when Lex assists in taking down Samuel Stryker, Leticia says, “See what your father is really about, Lena,” and Lena says, “I’ve always known, Grandma.”

Lena’s original appearances did not really handle Clark’s concern for her well. After she was born there was an emphasis on Clark being suspicious of how well Lex would treat his child and threatening him if he did hurt her, and then when Lex did hurt her by trading her to Brainiac 13, I thought Clark’s reaction was fairly subdued. And, of course, when Lena gets un-Brainiaced and turned back into a baby, Clark gives her to Lex and tells him that it’s his second chance with her, so all those consequences he was talking about before never ended up happening. But that’s not something I’m expecting to get delved into in this book. Whatever version of those events occurred in this continuity, it seems that Lena has some awareness of them and an opinion of them that wouldn’t have been taught to her by her father or grandmother. I’m wondering if either she wasn’t a baby when they happened this time, or if she retained some memory of them due to her Brianacedness. The original version of this Lena got dropped from continuity before she ever grew up normally, so we never got to see how she would have turned out. Though it’s notable that the Brainiac version of her from the Our Worlds at War event and the Lena AI that was made from a scan of her brain taken at the time Lex traded her from Superman: Metropolis (2003) both resented Lex. I don’t remember either of them expressing any specific opinions about Superman as a hero or alien. There is one moment I really like in Action Comics (1938) #782 when Lena expressed admiration for/kinship with Superman, when Brianiac 13 was incredulous about his capabilities, and Lena responded, in a brave act of resistance against her master, “You’d be s-surprised what meat is capable of… when the heart is involved.” Lena being able to relate to Superman despite her upbringing with Brainiac 13 is compelling to me, her appreciating Superman for “saving” her isn’t so much, but we’ll see where this goes.

Lena’s feelings towards her father and Superman in this issue seemed simplistic to me, as did Lex’s feelings towards Lena. Lex was kind of insane about his baby after she was born the first time. He had her mother placed in a medically-induced coma after Lena was born so that he wouldn’t have to compete with her for Lena’s love. And for that same reason he tried to handle as much of her childcare on his own as he could. He talked quite a bit about she was the most important thing to him, he wanted to give her everything, he would ensure she never suffered, etc. And then, of course, he callously traded her away for personal benefit. My impression is that the novelty of having a baby wasn’t there the second time around as Lena’s main appearance after Lex got her back was him interviewing a nanny for her. When he spoke to her while she was serving Brainiac, he told her that he had missed her and that he knew she would understand why he did what he did because she was a Luthor too. In this continuity Lena was raised by her paternal grandmother away from Metropolis. In this issue, when Samuel Stryker has Lena, Lex says, sincerely, “Leave my daughter out of this… Please..” After he catches her, Lex says, “Lena, I-” and then just looks sad when she pushes him and run away from him. Which just felt very basic and doesn’t live up to the more interesting dialogue in Lena’s prior stories.

Also, Lena and Kon-El didn’t speak to each other, but they were in the same room for a bit of this issue and Samuel Stryker’s powers have been tied into his, so I think there’s a possibility that he’ll be maintained as a supporting character in this book. So we might see him and Lena actually interact directly, but also he could become thematically connected, as a child created through science, to what’s going on with Brainiac.

Batman: Creature of the Night (2018) #1-4

These issues were published across November 2017 to September 2019, according to the DC Wiki. All were written by Kurt Busiek and drawn by John Paul Leon.

I went into this book with the understanding that it was about a kid in the ‘real world’ that was a Batman fan and then goes through a tragedy similar to Bruce’s origin story and then gains a kind of guardian angel that is Batman-like. I was very surprised that only the first issue takes place when Bruce Wainwright is a child and that the rest of the book features him as an adult, still with that Batman protector. I was really intrigued by how the Batman guardian affected Bruce as a child- having dreams from its perspective and not immediately having proof that what he’s seeing is real, and then having information that the Batman figure learns just manifest in Bruce’s mind. And then I found how the relationship between Bruce and his guardian angel evolves in adulthood really compelling. I kept being startled by the intensity and dysfunction of Bruce’s Batman obsession as more and more examples of it occurred. I really did not ever anticipate where this book was going, each issue told its own strong story. I thought that the concept behind this book was really done it’s best, taken where I didn’t predict but where it naturally should have gone. And, of course, the artwork by John Paul Leon was great.

#comics read this past week #my posts

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