Wednesday Comics: DC, April 1985 (week 1)

My mission: to read DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis. This week, I'm looking at the comics that were on stands in the week of January 3, 1985. 

Crisis on Infinite Earths #1: The build-up with hints and teases regarding the Monitor finally pays off as the title originally advertised as DC Universe arrives. Wolfman gives us an extensive intro explaining the rationale for the project (fix/modernize DC's convoluted multiverse) and how it came to be. The story he and Perez give us this issue is mostly setup, though. It starts at the beginning of time, telling us that what was intended to be one universe got fractured into many. We meet Pariah who watches an Earth consumed by nothingness, unable to interfere or to die with it, before he is transported to another imperiled Earth. This is Earth-Three, world of the Crime Syndicate. Those villains, despite their vast powers, are unable to stop the spread of antimatter, but they die as heroes, at least. The world's sole superhero, Alexander Luthor, rockets his infant son to another Earth before he and his wife are destroyed. 

The Monitor says the time is here, and sends forth his assistant Harbinger to select the champions they need: Solovar from the present of Earth-One, and Dawnstar from its future; Psycho-Pirate from Earth-Two's present, and Firebrand from the 1940s there; and Charlton's Blue Beetle makes his DC debut as he's recruited from Earth-Four. A Harbinger duplicate returns to Earth-One and collects Firestorm and (with the aid of Psycho-Pirate) Killer Frost. In the past, a Harbinger recruits Arion but becomes corrupted by a Shadow Demon.

The group is united at the Monitor's satellite, where their host steps out of the shadows and reveals himself at last.

Atari Force #16: Hannigan is on pencils this issue. Babe's foray against the ant creatures is successful, and Scanner One is able to break free and take off, but not before a few of the bugs get into the ship and start causing trouble. Luckily, Taz has her babies and tazlings have an inherent technical aptitude. They effect repairs and the ant-things are dealt with. Meanwhile, Dart is psychically contacted by Chris and the crew discovers that New Earth (and its universe) hasn't been destroyed after all. 

DC Comics Presents #80: Kupperberg and Swan/Hunt present a very much in-continuity team-up, as the Lost Legionnaires step through a stargate and wind up in a Metropolis inhabited by a bunch of Supermen who are out to attack them. It all turns out to be an overelaborate plot by Brainiac to escape the extra-universal realm he's been imprisoned in and get the Legionnaires to kill the real Superman once he shows up. Things don't go his way, though.

Fury of Firestorm #34: Conway and Kayanan/Kupperberg open where last issue left off. After the shock of setting off LeFlambeau's trap, Firestorm rallies and uses his powers to save New York. Meanwhile, the lab accident at the end of last issue has created a new Killer Frost. Ronnie is just about to finally have a take with Doreen about the state of their relationship, when he's whisked away to confront her as Firestorm. He winds up getting trapped under a mass of ice for his trouble. 

Jonni Thunder #2: The Thomases and Giordano/Esposito continue their superhero-detective hybrid story. Jonni is still trying to get all the players straight. She gets another visit from "Slim" Chance who wants the statue. That statue is stolen from her home, but Jonni tracks it to bottom-feeder P.I named Harrison Trump and his employer, a strip club owner called Red Nails--a woman who seems to know something of the mysterious Thunderbolt. In fact, even invoking the Thunderbolt may not save Jonni from Red Nails as she threatens to kill the P.I.'s unconscious body if Thunderbolt doesn't surrender.

Justice League of America #237: Conway and Patton/Maygar have Flash, Wonder Woman, and Superman return to the destroyed JLA satellite with no idea what has happened. In a continuity puzzle, they just got back from the adventure that began in issue 231 back in July of '84. Anyway, a self-destructing Soviet spy satellite leads them to the USSR where they are beaten by the keytar stylings of the Maestro, a super-villain in the service of General Gorki, who plans to stage a coup. Meanwhile, the new League sends Steel, Elongated Man, and Dale Gunn ask Hank Heywood to use his CIA contacts to find out why the three heroes have gone to the Soviet Union, but Heywood's bigoted and reactionary ways lead to Steel throwing him out a window, so the new League is without leads.

Tales of the Teen Titans #52: Wolfman and Buckler/DeCarlo continue what now seems like a "backdoor pilot" for a Searchers, Inc. (the organization founded by Jericho's mother) series. While Jericho and Amber, one of his mother's agents, go to Qurac to free Adeline Wilson, there confronting Cheshire and President Marlo, in the primary story of the issue. Over Changeling's protests, the Titans agree not to intervene in the matter, and so are sidelined. Alerted by Lilith's precognition, they instead go to STAR Labs, where an explosion frees the cryogenically preserved alien, a winged man who instantly falls for Lilith.

Robotech Defenders #2: The issue opens with an editorial revealing that the planned 3-issue series is only going to be two, but this issue is 32 pages and without ads. Our heroes and their giant robots are ambushed by the more numerous Grelon force, supplied with tech by a mysterious faction. The defenders are defeated, and Silky, pilot of Aqualos, is killed. Malek is captured but discovers that pushing the big red button in the cockpit brings the robot to life. She relays this to the others, and the non-sentient robots are able to fight their way free. Regrouping, the robots reveal to their pilots that they were beings from the planet Technor who uploaded their minds into the robot bodies. They are opposing the energy vampire S'Landrai who are using the Grelons to acquire worlds to drain.

With the help of a rebellious Grelon commander, the robots and pilots fight back and defeat the S'Landrai and their Grelon pawns. The ending suggests other adventures to come, but of course they never materialized.

Superman: The Secret Years #3: Rozakis and Swan/Schaffenberger reveal the full story of the death of Billy Cramer, Superboy's new friend and confidante. He dies trying to save a baby that it turns out isn't even in danger, sure that Superboy will save him, but Superboy is busy elsewhere with an emergency. Clark's guilt is worsened because he had been cold to Billy and Pete in the aftermath of his breakup with Lori Lemaris. Superboy is shaken in confidence and doubting his mission.

Vigilante 16: Kupperberg does a fill-in with Saviuk/Maygar on art. In the last days (or so he thinks now), before he gives up his crimefighter identity, Vigilante takes on a highly organized gang who is derailing subway trains and robbing the occupants after they beat up Marcia. It turns out the mugging have only been cover for a bigger job: robbing the collections train. Vigilante foils the plot and brings the gange to justice.

Wonder Woman #324: Thanks to the alien machinations related to Trevor's new gremlin pal, Glitch, the U.S. and the Soviet Union move closer to nuclear confrontation. Gardner Grayle (last seen in DC Comics Presents #57) is troubled by visions of this happening and sees Wonder Woman's and Steve Trevor's actions as a trigger. As the Atomic Knight, he first battles them, then teams up with them to attempt to stop nuclear war, only to have the situation further complicated by the arrival of the alien Ytirflirks who want Glitch back.

Sweet Sixteen

Yesterday was the 16th anniversary of this blog. If anybody's still reading from the early days, thanks for sticking around. 

Looking at my blog states, my most popular post ("Old School Blogger Advancement Table") was done as sort of a joke but also an attempt to be grab the attention of weekly(ish) blog cycle of that day. I guess in that it succeeded in that regard, but it seems even more frivolous to me today.

The next two most popular posts were part of a series "Real Dungeons, American Style." The top one was "Murder Castle" about H.H. Holmes, featuring the blueprints of his home that were published in the newspaper after he was caught.

The 7th most popular post was "AD&D Cosmology: A Defense." I think I've written a number of posts defending, elaborating, and riffing off the Great Wheel. 

The 10th most popular post was where I announced that Weird Adventures was available. The first actual Weird Adventures post is "Remember Prester John," a few places lower.

The most recent post in the top 20 is from 2023. "The Adventure-Point Crawl" was inspired by my friend's Chris Kutalik's point crawl posts, but also rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender with my daughter.

Maybe for the 20th anniversary, assuming I'm still around then, I'll do a list of my favorite posts.

Wednesday Comics: DC, March 1985 (week 4)

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! This week, I read the comics on sale on December 27, 1984.

Action Comics #565: In the first story, Todd and Schaffenberger have crook Desmond Dexter looting the Kryptonian ruin of Wizard City (it's first appearance since 1971) unearthed in Africa for advanced technology to commit his crimes.

The rest of the issue is essentially a teaser for the Ambush Bug limited series. Giffen's art and the style of humor have reached their final form, as Ambush uses Superman, Batman, and finally Wonder Woman as straight men for his gags. It has its moments, but it isn't as funny as the series to come, or perhaps it isn't as funny as the series to come is in my memory! We'll see what the reread holds when I get there.

America vs. the Justice Society #3: The Thomases and Bender/Alcala continue the testimony of the members of the JSA. I can't really see what the committee is getting out of this, and frankly, the reader doesn't get much either unless you're dying to know just how some Golden Age story fits into continuity. It's like Marvel Saga, but just for the JSA and with less effort to retcon things. The only real action this issue is the testimony of the Wizard. He (naturally) says the JSA are Nazi collaborators but then is almost immediately shown to be unreliable. The shadowy figure orchestrating this is shown to be Per Degaton, and he's quite reasonably feedup with how things have gone the past 3 issues. He's going to take matters into his own hands.

Arion Lord of Atlantis #29: Nebres comes onboard as inker. The seclusion of the king is becoming a crisis in the city, and some city leaders are beginning to think Arion should take the throne, a suggestion he doesn't like. These issues are pushed aside when Lady Chian returns to the city. Their reunion is cut short by an attack by escape prisoners led by the jackal-headed S'Net. S'Net captures King D'Tilluh forcing Arion to use his new magic to rescue the king. Still, S'Net manages to escape while Arion battles a sorcerer's apprentice. Following the battle, Arion decides he must find a way to restore the rest of his magic. Meanwhile, Mara believes Wyynde has been killed when a prisoner in a small flier crashes into the window where she had left him sitting. Next issue promises the return of Duursema for a "mini-series within a series."

All-Star Squadron #43: Thomas/Baron and Jones/Collins continue the story from last issue. The All-Stars are saved by the arrival of the Guardian, but Daka and his minions Kung and Sumo escape with Liberty Belle captive. He demands the All-Stars bring the defeated Tsunami and Starman's gravity rod to the Bronx Zoo at midnight for a trade. There's a disagreement between the group about whether to do this or not, which as is typical for the genre devolves to a fight. In the end, Firebrand, Guardian, and Amazing Man make the trade, but Daka is treacherous, driving Sumo and Tsunami to turn against him, and he is defeated.

Detective Comics #548: This issue should be a collectors' item, because I feel like it has got to be the only time Alfred has ever said anyone wanted to "jump [Bruce Wayne's] bones" and it's extra-notable because one of the people he is referring to is his own daughter, Julia! Anyway, a panther has been sighted in Crime Alley. Both Batman and Robin and Vicki Vale and Julia Pennyworth go to investigate. Batman and Robin wind up getting called away to hostage taking at the Egyptian Embassy by a terrorist for hire named Darkwolf and barely making it out before a Darkwolf blows up a floor of the building with a grenade. Meanwhile, Vicki and Julia find both the panther and its owner: Catwoman.

Spanner's Galaxy #4: Spanner and Gadj hope to a station run by the Mollusca, but which also houses a blue-skinned humanoid species, many of whom like in the maintenance underbelly of the station and performer repair work in exchange for the Mollusca allowing their presence. With the law on his trail, Spanner hides out among them and but not before having tell stories to the blue-skinned kids. In escaping, Spanner is forced to fight and defeat the cop Baka, who them becomes determined to learn to the alien Shek himself.

Sun Devils #9: Conway and Jurgens/Mitchell finally reveal the traitor they have been teasing. Rik is rescued by Scylla, having welded himself into a piece of wreckage and surviving off the air in his suit until he was saved. Anomie is assumed captured, until she hails them from another ship, requesting they open the docking bay. Everyone but Rik assumes this means she is the traitor; it's just too convenient and unlikely. Rik won't hear it, though, and forces the others at gunpoint to let her in. And of course, she is the traitor. Their Centauran military liaison is killed, Scylla is gravely injured, and everyone else is taken captive for the Sauroids. And the badguys have the neutronium. Meanwhile, a Centauran general plans to not warn Earth of an impending Crustate attack, hoping the attack will wake up Earth leadership and bring them into the war.

Tales of the Legion #321: An unusually violent cover graces this unusually gritty first chapter in a 3-parter by Levitz/Newell and Jurgens/Kesel. While searching for the lost Legionnaires, Dawnstar is attacked with primitive weapons and brought down planet where she can't communicate with anyone. The tribe that found her thinks she's an animal and intends to eat her, but their theocratic rulers show up and free her, only one of them thinks she's a demon. Meanwhile, Brainiac is looking for her and also crashes and is attacked as technology doesn't beyond a certain point doesn't tend to work on this world. He's rescued by a strange and erratic man who he believes his suffering from a psychotic disorder (and to be fair, Brainy has some experience with that). All and all, it's almost more of a Star Trek episode than the usual Legion story.

V #2: The art looks much more DeZuniga than Infantino this issue as some of the resistance discovers a small town that is collaborating with the Visitors: they got special crystals to make their desert land productive and advanced medical treatment in exchange for giving the Visitors the mineral waters of the nearby springs. They have the Resistance team in the town jail as a Visitor craft arrives.

World's Finest Comics #312: Cavalieri and Woch/Alcala have the Network reveal motivation for criminality to record exec they kidnapped: their studio was stiffed on payment for the videos they made! Meanwhile, Batman is dealing with the weirdness of the White Noise dimension. Somehow, though Superman is able to pull him out. Batman enlists Lilane Stern in a sting to capture the Network, but they get captured instead. Meanwhile, Superman has determined the White Noise is sustained and generated by the RTV (Rock TV) satellite signal. Batman rallies, Superman jams the signal, and the Network is defeated. In addition to the topical RTV (MTV was only around 3 years-old at this point), this issues dialog has several references to pop music lyrics.

The Bottled Setting

I may have never played an rpg with one, but I've long seen the appeal of the "bottled setting": a locale that could be the size of a small city or as big as solar system (or more) but is in some way cut off from the outside. It might also be "managed" in some way, having traits established by who or whatever did the bottling, Kandor from the Superman mythos is probably the most famous of such settings, but it shows up in rpg settings like Empire of the Petal Throne and Metamorphosis Alpha in addition to numerous places in fiction.

The inhabitants of a bottled setting may or may not know they are bottled. If discovering that fact or discovering the why or how of it is the main focus of the setting, you're may well be looking at a Mystery Terrarium. Really, though, all that stuff can just be background for a setting with any other sort of focus where the boundaries just happen to be hard stops rather than the place where things get fuzzy.

What's the appeal of this sort of setting? Well, for one, it can be used to disguise the true nature of the setting. The universe might actually be science fictional, but the "bottle" marks the boundary within which you can run a traditional fantasy campaign, if you want. Crossing the boundary can then mark a major turning point in a campaign, like potentially to a whole other sort of game. 

The other thing is a that a bottle need not be impassable. Krishna in de Camp's Viagens Interplanetarias series is a sort of a bottle wherein people from a technologically advanced, spacefaring civilization can play at pseudo-Medieval Sword & Planet heroes. Portal fantasies, in general, are not necessarily bottles but could easily be (particularly the sort involving a person somehow getting sucked into an MMORPG world). That allows players to play characters much more like themselves but still get involved in fantasy action.

In the end, though, I suppose the creative constraint it applies makes for an interesting challenge and heightens the potential for player engagement with setting mysteries. Vast traditional settings are great but there's nothing like having the players hit a wall they didn't expect to be there or have hints dropped that things aren't what they seem to get them engaged.

A Highly Derivative Space Opera Setting, Briefly Described

I thought it would be fun to do the Space Opera in the style of presentation of the Known World (later Mystara) in Isle of Dread: A highly derivate, briefly described setting that was easy to understand but vague to allow the DM freedom to make it their own. I didn't have time to come up with a map, but here are the large political entities.

United Federation of Worlds: A multiple species union of planet governments organized to promote peace, justice, and mutual prosperity. 

The Imperium: The largest revival to the Federation is a fascist and oppressive human-supremacist state. It boasts a powerful military, including a large army of clone soldiers. 

Kurgon Horde: Once a group of factionalized, spacefaring humanoid raiders, a new Emperor has emerged among them, claiming the mantle of the mythic First Emperor and forging the disparate tribes into a single nation. Once merely a menace to border settlements of the Federation and the Imperium, the Kurgons now pose a more significant threat.

Outlaw Expanse: A lawless region of spaces, kept so due to its function as a buffer zone, but also due to the bribes paid by its Syndicate crimelords. The region has a whole is a melting pot of various species, the some of the crime syndicates are single species in nature. Illegal commodities in other regions of the galaxy such as slaves, certain addictive drugs, and some cybernetics are available here.

Corporate Zone: Another border region whose only government is large, economic powers. The Corporates are constantly engaged in small-scale conflict and espionage as they jockey for power against one another. Their R&D facilities, with no fear of government regulation or oversight, turn out exotic weaponry and dubious consumer goods that sometimes find their way into other regions via the black market. There are rumored to be an unusual number of Precursor ruins in the Zone, some of which contain biotechnologies that the Corporations have been able to exploit.

Wednesday Comics: DC, March 1985 (week 3)

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! This week, I'm looking at comics that were published on November 20, 1984.

Who's Who #1: Following in the footsteps of 1983's Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and serving as the record of the multiverse that would soon be ended by Crisis, Who's Who was the creation of editor Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, and Robert Greenberger. What I was unaware of when I picked this issue up in 1984, but seems only natural in retrospect, is how much the Who's Who covers the recent DC Universe. There are references to the deeper history of course, but there is a strong recency bias in the choice of entries and their scope. For instance, this issue gives us a number of characters that debuted in the era I've been revisiting: Aegeus from Wonder Woman, Alley-Kat-Abra from Captain Carrot, the All-Star Squadron and Amazing Man, Ambush Bug, Amethyst, Arak, Arion, a two-page spread for Atari Force, the "Sword of..." version of the Atom, the retconned version of the Atomic Knight from DC Comics Presents, and Auron of the Omega Men. Only one of the featured characters (Anthro) hasn't appeared between 1980-1984.

Batman and the Outsiders #19: Barr/Aparo present a Christmas issue, though only because it is clearly shown to take place during the Christmas season. Most of the issue is taken up with a fight between Geo-Force and Superman, which is not as one-sided as one might expect. No sooner have Geo-Force and Halo decided to just be friends, than Brion gets a call from Denise who we saw attempt suicide previously. He rushes to get her medical attention, and she reveals to him the sexual harassment by her professor that led to this. Geo-Force flies off to kill the professor, and Halo goes to Batman for help. Batman calls Superman to intercept Geo-Force while he takes care of something else. 

Using his power to increase gravity, Geo-Force is able to weaken Superman enough to hurt him. (Barr asserts the by this point outdated explanation that it is Krypton's higher gravity that, at least in part, gives Supes his strength.) In the end, though, Superman is just handling Geo-Force with kid gloves. He tires of that and smacks him down.

In the end, Batman shows up with testimony from other women, added to Denise's voice, it's enough to (they hope) end the professor's career. The heroes go home for Christmas.

Blue Devil #10: Mishkin/Cohn and Chen/Martin have Blue Devil having to defend Wayne Tarrant from harpies after he angers the goddess Athena by resuming his schtick from his teen heart-throb pop singer days of performing as Theseus. I fill like this must be an oblique reference to something in pop culture, but I don't know what. Otherwise, it's pretty random. Since Greek goddesses are in the mix, Wonder Woman guest stars. Only 10 issues under his belt, and Dan Cassidy is already teaming up with the big leagues with Superman a few issues ago and Wonder Woman here. There were house ads for this issue, for some reason, but the art there was by Colon. Wonder why he didn't draw the actual story?

Conqueror of the Barren Earth #2: Cohn and Randall chronicle Jinal's essential captivity among Zhengla Koraz and his army of conquest. He wants to make her his consort, but she's not into that and keeps trying to kill him and escape, so he makes her his slave. Eventually, she appears to warm to him and willing becomes his lover. At the end of the issue, the amassed armies of the Harshashan array against the Conqueror, and Jinal knows her friend must be leading them.

Green Lantern #186: Wein and Gibbons begin where last issue left off. Eclipso has the solar-powered jet, and is attacking Ferris Aircraft with his "murder moon." He kidnaps Bruce Gordon, demanding he reveal the secrets of the jet's power systems to him. Stewart comes to the rescue as Green Lantern while Jordan can only watch with ring envy. The Predator gets in the game, too, though he is less effective against the villain. Ultimately, Eclipso is killed by the deadly ray from his own satellite, and Rich brings the solar jet in safely, but at the cost of his own life, as he dies from a heart attack.

In the aftermath, Carol finds a love letter and a rose from the Predator in her office.

Infinity, Inc. #12: The Thomases and Newton/Burgard have the team go public in the wake of their victory. They hold a press conference where they wind up revealing their secret identities on TV. The Harlequin crashes the event to tease the group, but they are unable to catch her.

Legion of Super-Heroes #8: Levitz and Lightle/Mahlstedt keep all the plates spinning as the Lost Legionnaires fight to prevent a Controller from manufacturing another Sun-Eater, while other Legionnaires and the Science Police mop up the remaining members of the Legion of Super-Villains. 

Back on Earth, Cosmic Boy reveals to Night Girl that he's thinking about stepping down from active Legion membership. The trainees are enjoying some time on the beach, when someone shoots Laurel Kent and manages to actually make her bleed.

New Talent Showcase #15: The editorial this issue reveals that they are done with the publications from their talent search, so now the participants can no longer be considered "new", and the title will be rebranded as just Talent Showcase.

We've got fewer superhero features this issue than in the more recent ones. The cover belongs to the one supers feature, though, a team from Davila, Texas, called the Desperados by Dennis Yee, assisted by Barbara Kesel and Malcolm Jones. It's very much in keeping with the indie spirit of the time and reminds of things like other, regional supers teams like Southern Knights. The Chinese American cowboy leader is a bit of a unique innovation, though, and the heroes taking on anti-immigrant bigots is topical still today.

Bjørn Ousland opens the issue with a sci-fi story with art that I would characterize as "talented amateur." Ousland will go one to to work in comics through 1990, but mostly in Europe, a few more shorts for DC aside. This story concerns a couple of agents trying to defend alien species from poachers. Timmons and Scarborough/Blevins tell a whimsical tale of impoverished Leprechauns plotting to steal gold from Fort Knox. 

Sgt. Rock #398: Despite being marred by a hokey frame sequence, Kanigher and Redondo deliver an unusual story of the sort of things kid's ought to be reading in the dwindling war books. Zack, a bazooka man for Easy, loses his arm in a German attack. Shipped stateside, his recovery his hampered by his anger at his fate and self-pity. He discovers neighborhood kids helping black marketeer steal gasoline. Once he realizes his war is continuing just on a different front, he faces off with the black marketeer and wins the day.

Saga of Swamp Thing #34: Moore and Bissette/Totleben deliver something other than cheap entertainment for 10-year-olds. Faced with the knowledge that Matt will likely never wake up from the coma Arcane left him in, Abbie and Swamp Thing are free to confess their love for each other. Unable to share traditional physical intimacy with them being different biological kingdoms, Swamp Thing grows a psychedelic tuber, which Abbie consumes to share his consciousness. 

Warlord #90: I reviewed this issue here.

Another Year in Gaming

Our gaming group spent our last get together of 2025 having dinner together at a local restaurant, as is our tradition. In addition to the current regular crew (Andrea, Bob, Gina, Kathy, and Tug), and spouses and kids, we also got a guest appearance from Eric, one of the original Azurth players. It's always good to get the group together since we mostly play online since the pandemic (something we'd like to change in 2026).

In addition to our continuing Land of Azurth 5e campaign, we tried Beyond the Wall for 3 sessions. Compared to last year, there were fewer diversions to other games, as I was trying to keep momentum going with Azurth. With the "off-week group" of strictly online gamers, I gave HârnMaster a go, as well as They Came From Beyond the Grave!

In 2026, I hope to give the new Planet of the Apes game a try, and whose knows, maybe do something crazy like start a new, long running campaign, though perhaps not 11 years and counting, like Azurth. We'll see. 

Whatever happens, I'm glad to be in this hobby with these folks.