This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog will take a look at the very early stories of the DC Comics superheroine called the Black Orchid.
ADVENTURE COMICS Vol 1 #428 (August 1973)
Title: Black Orchid
Villains: Corrupt politicians making their lone appearance.
NOTE: Black Orchid’s origin was just vaguely hinted at for years, but for the sake of streamlined storytelling I’m starting off with it. Susan Linden, an adventurous young woman, roamed the world for a few years, working at a variety of jobs.
While working as a blackjack dealer in a casino, she met wealthy Carl Thorne and the two dated, then married. Eventually, Susan realized that Carl was a black-market arms dealer and reported him to the authorities.
Ms. Linden sought shelter with her old school boyfriend from years earlier – brilliant scientist Philip Sylvian, an expert at botanical science. Carl Thorne’s thugs tracked Susan to Sylvian’s place and mortally wounded her.
With no other hope for Susan Linden’s survival, Philip used Susan’s dying body and harnessed life-force, combining them with his latest botanical experiments in plant/ animal hybrids. The result was a metamorphosed life-form which still looked like Susan but whose physiology was more plantlike than human.
Susan Linden’s transformed self now possessed superpowers which she used to fight the forces of evil as the costumed superheroine called Black Orchid. Her wood-hard muscles gave her massive super-strength as well as greater than human reflexes and agility. She could fly and her hybrid physiology made her immune to bullets. Continue reading
A DOUBLE-SHOT OF THAT OT LOVE – This game pitted the (7) SAN DIEGO MESA COLLEGE OLYMPIANS against their hosts the EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE HUSKIES. A 7-0 1st Quarter lead for the Olympians was cut to a 14-13 edge by Halftime. The Huskies went up 19-17 to end the 3rd Quarter but the 4th ended in a 25-25 tie. Neither team scored in the 1st OT but in the 2nd San Diego Mesa College logged 8 points to win the game 33-31. 
TWO IN A ROW – The COMPTON COLLEGE TARTARS took the field against the visiting SANTA MONICA COLLEGE CORSAIRS. The scoring in this game was as odd as the Tartars winning two in a row. Compton College led the Corsairs 6-0 in the opening Quarter and 12-0 at the break … And then no more points were scored, so the Tartars improved to 2-1 with this 12-0 win. 
THE SHADOW OF THE VULTURE – This story by Robert E. Howard, the ONLY Howard story to actually feature Red Sonya, was first published in the January 1934 issue of Magic Carpet Magazine. As I’ve mentioned in many other reviews of old pulp characters, Howard’s REAL Red Sonya was indeed a warrior woman, but not one from his fictional Hyborian Age. 
The Shadow of the Vulture is one of Howard’s historical adventures and it’s set during the 1520s, largely at the Siege of Vienna from September 27th to October 15th in 1529. Red Sonya of Rogatino is a Polish-Ukrainian woman who is more skilled than most men with swords and guns. 
64. The May of 1913 edition of James Larkin Pearson’s Fool-Killer was lacking in urgency and satirical bite, but I found it to have a certain slice of life feel to it that captured its era yet also underlined certain tableaus that are seemingly eternal. 
WAVELENGTH (1983) – This is an unjustly neglected science fiction film that stars Robert Carradine, Cherie Currie and Keenan Wynn in a very unconventional love triangle: both Carradine and Currie are fighting over Wynn. (I’m kidding!) 
DELTA STATE CONQUERS DIVISION ONE – In this game NCAA Division 2’s DELTA STATE STATESMEN traveled to take on NCAA Division 1’s MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE DELTA DEVILS. By Halftime the Statesmen were on top 18-0. The Delta Devils finally got on the board in the 3rd Quarter, which ended with Delta State leading 25-10. In the 4th the Statesmen completed the Upset 28-17. 
UW-LACROSSE TOPPLES A D2 TEAM – NCAA Division 3’s (11) UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-LACROSSE EAGLES visited NCAA Division 2’s WAYNE STATE WARRIORS. The Warriors saw their 7-0 1st Quarter edge turn into a 21-14 Eagles advantage at the Half. A 21-21 tie ended the 3rd Quarter before UW-Lacrosse won out 28-21. 
DOWN GOES NUMBER SEVEN – Up in the NAIA, the ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY LAKERS welcomed the number 7 team in the nation – the CONCORDIA (MI) CARDINALS. At the midpoint the score was knotted up 14-14 but from there the Lakers outscored Concordia 14-6 for a 28-20 Upset victory. 
WHEN RANKED TEAMS CLASH – Last night the number 4 team in the nation – the NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE RANGERS – took it on the road against the 14th ranked PEARL RIVER COLLEGE WILDCATS. The Wildcats led 7-0 in the 1st Quarter and 14-7 by Halftime, but the Rangers shut them out from there. The 3rd Quarter ended in a 14-14 tie and the final tally was NMC 21 PRC 14. 
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES – The (6) JONES COLLEGE BOBCATS visited the COPIAH-LINCOLN COLLEGE WOLFPACK. A 10-0 Bobcats advantage at the Half became a 10-10 deadlock in the 3rd Quarter. An action-packed 4th saw Jones College prevail by a score of 23-17. 
SHANE (1966) – David Carradine starred as the iconic gunslinger Shane in this 1966 television series adapted from the 1953 Alan Ladd movie.
If you’re not familiar with the movie, Shane is a gunfighter who longs to settle down and pursue the non-violent life he would have lived if things had turned out differently for him. He falls in with the Starrett family, who are among the Wyoming homesteaders getting leaned on by dishonest ranchers who want them off “their” land. 
ROOSTER: SPURS OF DEATH – This cosmically bad and tasteless movie was completed in 1977 but not released until 1983, presumably because there’s never been much demand for films from the ugly subgenre of cockfighting flicks. (Cocksploitation?) 
THE EMPEROR OF THE AIR (1910) – Written by George Glendon, this is a story about two visionaries – the German-American tycoon Hans Kreutzer and the Italian inventor Anatole Lonari. 
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