Back Issue Box: Justice League Of America #150

Get ready True Believers because I am about to finish the first leg of my deep dive into the character of Mark Shaw, aka Leviathan, as I prep for (hopefully) Event Leviathan Checkmate. 

This leads us to Justice League of America #150, cover dated January 1978. This is the big turning point for our character. It is here that I feel you get the foundation of his turn to Leviathan. Of course, hard to know if any of this actually happened in current DC continuity. But the overall feel of the character is there. 

This also is the beginning of Mark Shaw's comic book hiatus until 1987!

Interestingly enough, this is also the end of Steve Englehart's run on Justice League of America. I don't know if this was by choice or by edict. In some ways the Shaw story here is wrapped up exceptionally quick which makes me wonder if Englehart wanted to draw this out that plot a bit more.

As usual, the art here is done by JLA veteran Dick Dillin. You get the feeling that Englehart put some bonuses in here for Dillin given it was the writer's last issue and it is #150, a sort of Anniversary number. But there are also parts of this story which are completely bizarre, allowing Dillin to open up a little bit.

So ... what happens to Mark Shaw aka Manhunter aka Privateer ultimately Leviathan. Let's find out.

Back Issue Box: Justice League Of America #149

 

Today I continue my look back at the origins of Mark Shaw Leviathan by reviewing Justice League #149. I have been looking back at this year in Justice League as writer Steve Englehart and artist Dick Dillin were doing some mind-blowing stories. Honestly, there may have been drugs involved.

Englehart really was diving deep into the DC mythology in this run, both bringing back old villains and adding new wrinkles to DC history. He brought Commander Blanx into continuity, changing the JLA's 'first mission'. He made the Manhunters part of the Green Lantern history. He brought back the Key and Snapper Carr. And, most importantly for this run on the blog, he brought back Mark Shaw Manhunter, a one-shot wonder by Jack Kirby who now was enmeshed in League business.

Since Justice League of America #140, Shaw had been showing up in the books. After learning the Manhunters were a corrupt group, Shaw dons pirate gear and becomes The Privateer. While not a League member, he sure pushes himself into their business. In fact, he get close enough that some even consider bringing him on board. Others aren't so sure.

In this issue, we again see Shaw sticking his nose into League affairs, showing his mental capabilities and his fighting prowess. We even get a truncated take on his origin with some new tidbits. 

It is all fascinating and we are approaching another turn.

Dillin continues to dazzle here. The main villain here is Dr. Light who has many different weapons which have bizarre effects. He seems as much the Mirror Master here as Dr. Light. And Dillin brings it, bring some almost Ditko-esque insanity to the proceedings.

On to the book.

Back Issue Box: Justice League #143

I continue my look back at the history of Mark Shaw Leviathan with a peek at Justice League of America #143. 

I recently reviewed JLA #140 and JLA #141 where the history of the Manhunters was upended and retconned by Steve Englehart.  While Englehart was done with the Manhunter androids, he wasn't done with Mark Shaw.

In this issue, we see that Shaw wasn't done with his quest for justice. But he wanted to shed himself of the baggage that came with the name Manhunter and the distinctive armor. He creates a new super-heroic persona for himself. And while not invited into the League, he certainly interacts with the members a lot.

But the bigger story is the League battling a mind controlled Wonder Woman, the Injustice League, and The Construct, Steve Englehart's malevolent sentience of all the communication waves going around the Earth. I know the Construct from JLA #142 (an issue from my youth) and as a Red Tornado rogue (dubious distinction at best). I won't cover the Construct side of this issue too much as I want to concentrate on Shaw.

Dick Dillin is on art and as usual, his stuff is gorgeous. 

On to the book.

Back Issue Box: Justice League #141

I continue my deep dive into Mark Shaw Leviathan by looking at his second major story in Justice League #141.

Last week I reviewed JLA #140 in which Mark Shaw, Manhunter brought Green Lantern into custody. It seemed Hal had destroyed the planet Orinda and that galaxy was demanding justice. With GL, Green Arrow, and Black Canary held at the Manhunter stronghold as hostages, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash went out to see if the claims against GL were true.

Out of this crazy story spins a pretty important piece of DC history. The Green Lantern Corps was not the Guardians first attempt at an inter-galactic peace force. Instead it was the android Manhunters they sent out with small green energy batteries and stun pistols. These guys have been plaguing DC for as long as I have been reading comics so it was truly fascinating for me to read this issue for the first time.

I assumed these android Manhunters predated the 1st Issue Special Manhunter issue. I thought Kirby was tweaking a known property. I also didn't realize that the Paul Kirk Goodwin/Simonson Manhunter even predated that. In my head, the Manhunters created by the Oans were created somewhere in the early GL issues.

So for me this was a true revelation. 

And it shouldn't surprise me that Steve Englehart is the writer here, forming this new legend for DC. After all, he was the writer for Millennium, the mega-crossover which brought the Manhunters and their agents back in a big way. 

But how does all this reveal impact Mark Shaw? Well, this might redefine the Manhunters but it is only the first chapter in Englehart's look at Shaw. So more to come ... for sure.

Back Issue Box: Justice League Of America #140

I continue my little trek through Mark Shaw's history by looking at Justice League of America #140 cover dated March 1970.

This book came out just about 2 years after 1st Issue Special #5 and I believe marks just the second appearance of this Manhunter.

I grew up trying to buy the JLA book of this era as much as I could. Even as a kid, I could differentiate Dick Dillin's art from others. And since I imprinted on the book around this point, Dillin is the quintessential Justice League artist for me.

What I truly love about this story is that writer Steve Englehart really folds a lot of DC continuity, making that Kirby one-shot into something intergalactic. I had always assumed that in comics the robot Manhunters predated Mark Shaw but it turns out I was wrong. 

I do wonder if Kirby would have been happy with the thing Englehart twisted his 'Shan' into. The text piece in 1st Issue Special #5 talks about the unwavering ethics of the Manhunter in pursuit of justice. Here, his organization becomes something different.

And as a fan who is doing this deep dive because of Leviathan, I was happy to read this issue and (at least in my own canon) carry some of it forward.

On to the book.

It all starts off with a bang!

'No Man Escapes the Manhunter!' was written by Steve Englehart with art by Dick Dillin.

And we start out at, of all places, Wayne Foundation!

Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Green Lantern are waiting for an emergency JLA meeting with Batman when the Manhunter busts in to get Green Lantern.

In an impressive display, the Manhunter quickly dispatches Arrow and Canary. Green Lantern doesn't fight back saying he deserves to be taken in and allows Manhunter to knock him out.

The Manhunter scoops up the three unconscious bodies and takes them to the roof of the building.

Now honestly, why would Batman convene an emergency meeting at the Wayne foundation when everyone can teleport up to the satellite? Isn't it a bit risky to have JLA members having a conversation in the Wayne building?

And even more impressive, when confronted by the Dark Knight Detective, Manhunter takes out Batman too. And pretty easily I might add! He tosses Batman off the building, seemingly to his death ... if not for a handy dandy flagpole.

That last panel is pretty weird. It looks like Manhunter suddenly grows in size even though we know he is just a normal human in a suit.

But this level of power and discipline is interesting to apply to Leviathan.

Manhunter throws the three unconscious JLAers into his ship. But Batman had triggered the alarm. Now the big guns of Superman and Wonder Woman show up.

Amazingly, the ship is able to teleport away without even Superman being able to stop it or figure out where they went.

Now this really leans into the current Leviathan storylines where the Leviathan army being able to teleport in and out of places with ease and without being followed is a huge part of their strategy.

Back at the Manhunter headquarters, the Manhunter agent, Mark Shaw, apologizes to his Grandmaster for not following the edicts of the Manhunters. He should have been able to grab Green Lantern without Arrow or Canary seeing him, let alone being stuck taking them along. 

This is quite a mission for the Manhunters as well, as they have been asked to bring in Green Lantern from a group outside the solar system, a far cry from Public Defender Shaw using his Manhunter powers to stop organized crime.

But the Leaguers are thrown into a cell, captive for now.

Interestingly, the rest of the JLA meet and Flash is able to use his ability to sense vibrations to figure out that the Manhunter teleported the other Leaguers to the Himalayas.

But once there, even this vaunted set of super-heroes are also quickly subdued and thrown into a cell.

Perhaps most impressive is that when Superman tries to break out he is battered by a concussive blast strong enough to floor him. The Grandmaster talks about how secretive and hidden the sect is. And how they also have power beyond measure, even things call annihilogram.

Again, this all just lends credence to the Event Leviathan story where this organization was able to exist without anyone knowing it and strike with great power, enough to floor Superman. 

I did like this sequence where Superman and Flash realize the need to double vibrate the Flash to allow him to escape the crystal cell. 

Nicely drawn by Dillin.

Once free, the Manhunter Grand Master yields. 

We then get a little bit of their back history, much of which leans into Kirby's imagery.

They have existed for 1000 years. They use the Pride of the Lion totem to help choose their agents. And they seek out justice.

And while Batman thinks they are just bounty hunters, the Grandmaster says they only crave justice.

It is then that we learn from Green Lantern why he is being pursued. 

Traveling through space, Green Lantern saw a number of exploding meteors all placing nearby worlds in peril. The meteors were being detonated by the magnetic waves of a nearby moon circling planet Orinda.

When GL tries to quell the moon's energies, his lantern beam bounces off the moon and destroys Orinda like the Death Star.

What is up with Green Lanterns inadvertently destroying planets. This predates Jon Stewart and Xanshi by around 10 years. Reeling from guilt, Green Lantern basically allows his ring to run out of power and turns himself into the Manhunters.

The free JLAers demand the ability to do their own investigation on Hal's supposed crime. Green Arrow and Black Canary agree to stay with the Manhunters almost as hostages to ensure the JLA don't try any chicanery.

So Superman and the others head to Orinda's system. There they see a Guardian of Oa getting harassed and almost overrun by a mob.

And the governor of the planet relay that they are the ones who put out the request with the Manhunters to capture Green Lantern.  Hal destroyed their sister planet and they aren't happy.

But what the heck is this Guardian doing out there? Why does he seem so powerless such that a mob is an actual threat? 

This seems weird.

Meanwhile on Earth, another Guardian materializes in the Manhunter headquarters.

Another Guardian! Not another Lantern! But a Guardian.

He arrives with a spare battery and uses a ring to knock out the distracted Manhunter. The Guardian then demands that Hal recharge his ring and escape so that they can analyze the situation with the Manhunters.

Okay ... one Guardian I can roll with. But two??

That means this story is going to take a big leap in scope.

Also, it seems based on this issue that Manhunter needs his whole costume in place, including his mask, to have access to all his power. With the mask off, he isn't nearly as strong.

Out in space the heroes head off to the magnetic moon to again continue their investigation about Green Lantern's purported crime.

On the moon they all fight what seems to be an indestructible, all-powerful dinosaur type creature.

It is only Batman who realizes that it is an illusion! And also, what is this moon orbiting if the planet is destroyed. The whole thing is fishy. Orinda must still exist.

So Green Lantern didn't destroy it!

The alien governor had joined this team.

When this deception is uncovered, he drops his guise as well-meaning politician.

He was part of a long standing plot to discredit the Guardians. He is, in fact, another Manhunter. And knowing he has failed this piece of the plot, he teleports away.

You almost feel for Mark Shaw here. He continues to struggle with his mission. He truly sounds like he wants to help people. He wants justice. But somehow he has been consumed by the mission of the sect, not his own desires.

And now all this interplanetary, Guardians nonsense is cropping up.

But looking at this 1970's story with Event Leviathan in mind, you do get a sense for just how advanced the Manhunters were and that is before folding in all the other spy agencies with their weapons.

I look forward to sharing the next part with you all soon!

Terrificon Recap

Last weekend I spent three glorious days at TerrifiCon in Uncasville Connecticut. Earlier this year, my buddy and I decided that this would be our 'big con' for the season and this con was well worth the time spent.

The con itself was in the convention center at the Mohegan Sun Casino. This meant a spacious main hall for the comic creators and exhibitors, a second floor for panel rooms and cosplayers, and a large entrance way area where the celebrities had tables set up to meet the fans. As a result, the place never felt cramped or claustrophobic. Also, being in the casino meant a couple of perks ... free parking and ample food choices from fancy restaurants to food courts.

But let's face it, we go to these cons for the creators and to shop. And this con, unlike many, was definitely comic-centric. And that made me very happy. The guest list was a nice mix of current stars (Snyder, Capullo, Booth, Rapmund) and more legendary folks (Thomas, Wolfman, Giffen, Pasko, Englehart, Chaykin, Kupperberg, etc.). So for an old-timer like me, this was perfect.

I wasn't sure who I would be getting a commission from beforehand. But once inside, I quickly made the wise decision to finally get a Barry Kitson piece. Kitson has been a favorite of mine since his work on Azrael. And he drew Supergirl during the Threeboot Legion run.

I gave him source material for the Matrix full shirt/red skirt costume as well as the 70s hot pants version and said he could draw whichever one he was more interested in doing. Later that afternoon, I picked up this great full color 3/4 body commission. This is just a stunning piece. From the body position to the determined expression to the background, it all just crackles.

I have been very lucky with my commission purchases recently.

Kitson himself is just the nicest guy.

But here is a little inside information. I asked him if this was the first time he had drawn Supergirl in this costume and he said as a commission, yes. But he then said he is doing a cover of Supergirl in all her costumes and this was one of them. When I asked what the cover was for, Kitson's handler at the table said 'don't say anything.'

Hmm ... maybe a 'Greatest Supergirl Stories' trade in the future?

All the guests I chatted with were approachable and easy to talk to. As I said, it was meeting the writers of my youth that really made me this the con for me to be at.

On Saturday, Robert Greenberger moderated a great Supergirl panel with Paul Kupperberg, Peter David, and Marty Pasko. They talked about the character, the 'need' for a Supergirl, her character development over the years, and touched on the show.

One nugget here was that Greenberger talked about how rigid DC was in the post-Crisis world in regards to characters that could/could not be used or even mentioned ... Supergirl being one of them. Paul Levitz was adamant about it. When I brought up how Sensor Girl was rumored to be Supergirl, Greenberger said (and I am paraphrasing) 'Levitz was in charge. If he wanted Sensor Girl to be Supergirl, she would have been.' Hmmm ...

There was also this ad hoc 'panel' at Marty Pasko's table where I heard Keith Giffen, Paul Kupperberg, and Marty Pasko discuss story-telling, current writing styles in comics, and their approach to characters. Brilliant.

I talked to these three creators the most over the days. In particular, I had a lot of thoughts and questions to ask Giffen (given my utter love of the Legion). You can read more about that here. Suffice it to say, it was great meeting

I got a ton of issues signed by folks, many of whom did not charge instead having a Heroes Initiative donation jar. So plenty of books signed by all, especially Giffen.

But perhaps the jewel of them all, even more than a handful pf 5YL Legion books being signed, even more than Action Comics #500 being signed, was getting Marty Pasko to sign 1st Issue Special #9. This Dr. Fate story is one of my all-time favorite comic stories. And, having run into creators a bunch at cons over the last year, I now have the trifecta of signatures of Pasko (writer), Simonson (artist), and Joe Kubert (cover artist).

Priceless.

I also met Steve Englehart and got him to sign some of his Detective Comics issues. But I also got him to sign his Mister Miracle issues from the 70s, more books from my formative comic reading years.

Most of my comic purchases were from the dollar box, fleshing out my Sojourn collection as well as the recent Sif run on Journey Into Mystery. I also bought a bunch of kids comics to keep in my office and hand out to kids.

The one big purchase was Giant-Size Creatures #1, the first appearance of Tigra. Early Tigra is a tiny niche pocket of my collection. So it was great to finally check this issue off.

So nothing but praise for the convention. I figure this will be one to hit again next year.