Tag Archives: superheroes

MANHUNTER II (1973-1974)

This weekend’s light-hearted and escapist superhero blog post here at Balladeer’s Blog will examine the milestone Bronze Age attempt to revive DC’s Golden Age hero Manhunter.

manhunter 1DETECTIVE COMICS Vol 1 #437 (November 1973) Later reprinted multiple times in Trade Paperback collections of the entire new Manhunter saga.

Title: The Himalayan Incident

Villains: The Council 

Synopsis: Interpol Agent Christine St. Clair is assigned to locate the former Big Game Hunter Paul Kirk, who, decades earlier, had secretly become the costumed crimefighter called Manhunter. A new Manhunter has been reported around the world and Christine’s superior at Interpol wants the figure found due to his involvement with multiple assassinations.

mh pic anotherChristine travels to Nepal to investigate this new Manhunter’s recent actions which saved the life of a wealthy philanthropist. Via flashbacks from her informant, she learns that the new Manhunter has been battling an organization which made several clones of Paul Kirk and has been using them to carry out the assassinations that Manhunter is blamed for because the clones wear blue costumes like his red one.

The lone “good” Manhunter clone is the one thwarting the evil clones whenever he can. Recently in Nepal, the good Manhunter saved the above-mentioned philanthropist in the tale told in flashback this issue.   Continue reading

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DAREDEVIL AND THE BLACK WIDOW: EARLY STORIES

dd and bw kissingThis weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at some of the early stories during the time when Daredevil and the Black Widow were a team, like Captain America and the Falcon or Power Man and Iron Fist.

dd bw 92DAREDEVIL & THE BLACK WIDOW Vol 1 #92 (October 1972)

Title: On the Eve of the Talon

Villains: Blue Talon and Damon Dran 

NOTE: The Black Widow had been a guest star in the past several issues of this series, but the title was not changed to Daredevil and the Black Widow until this issue.

Synopsis: Unscrupulous San Francisco tycoon Damon Dran has a troop of his henchmen capture Black Widow and bring her to him. Dran wants to know what Natasha did with a very high-tech item that she recovered recently from the Top-Secret experiment called Project Four. 

Meanwhile, Dran sends his martial arts mercenary Blue Talon to kill Daredevil. Blue Talon is unaware that Daredevil has had his old friend the Black Panther come to San Francisco to disguise himself as Daredevil, complete with white-skin makeup. Continue reading

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DC SUPERHEROES FROM FIRST ISSUE SPECIAL

This weekend’s light-hearted and escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at the best new superheroes from DC’s First Issue Special, in which they introduced new characters to see if they drew enough fan response to get their own series.

dc1 12FIRST ISSUE SPECIAL Vol 1 #12 (March 1976)

Title: Starman

Synopsis: A blue-skinned alien from the warlike Tradlavian race, Mikaal Tomas, was sent to Earth to start laying the groundwork for his planet’s invasion of our world. His female mate Lyssa was slain by his own people when she showed compassion for previous planets conquered by the Tradlavians and tried to warn Earth. 

Disillusioned with his own race following that, Starman battled and defeated the first wave of the Tradlavian invasion and prepared to defend Earth from the impending additional attempts. The energy crystal he wore granted him superpowers like flight, the ability to shoot energy blasts from his hands, a degree of superstrength and rapid healing. Continue reading

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POWER MAN AND IRON FIST

This weekend’s escapist and light-hearted superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog is my third post about Power Man and my second about Iron Fist. It’s a look at the stories leading to the partnership of the two superheroes in the 1970s.

pm 48POWER MAN Vol 1 #48 (December 1977)

Title: Fist of Iron – Heart of Stone

Villains: Bushmaster, Shades and Comanche

Synopsis: Power Man’s old supervillain foes Shades and Comanche return, this time working for a supervillain called Bushmaster, real name John McIver, formerly a Caribbean crime lord. Bushmaster is secretly headquartered in Georgia’s abandoned Seagate Prison, where Power Man first gained his powers when he was a volunteer in unethical government scientific experiments years earlier.

shadesShades (at right) and Comanche, escaped cons who served time at Seagate Prison with Luke Cage back when he went by his real name Carl Lucas, were sent by Bushmaster to abduct Power Man’s girlfriend Dr. Claire Temple and her colleague Dr. Noah Burstein. They have done so and, per Bushmaster’s orders, they give Luke Cage/ Carl Lucas their boss’s ultimatum.

comancheThey make it clear to Power Man that to gain the release of those two doctors he has been close to for years, he must capture and deliver to Bushmaster one of his foes, private investigator Misty Knight. The villain doesn’t just send Shades and Comanche (at left) to abduct her because Misty’s associates, her investigative partner Colleen Wing and the superhero Iron Fist, stand beside her. Continue reading

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JUSTICE SOCIETY: 1979 STORIES

This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog concludes the final adventures in the Justice Society’s revived series in the 1970s

adv c 461ADVENTURE COMICS Vol 1 #461 (February 1979)

Title: Only Legends Live Forever 

Justice Society Roster: Dr. Fate, Wildcat, Power Girl, the original Robin, the original Flash, the original Green Lantern and the 2nd Huntress (daughter of Earth-Two’s Bruce Wayne and the late Selena Kyle)

Villain: The vengeful Bill Jensen

NOTE: The final stories of the revived Justice Society series are set in Adventure Comics now that All Star Comics was canceled with issue #74.

batman originalSynopsis: Bill Jensen, a corrupt former D.A. just released from prison, has been gifted with superpowers like the ability to shoot mystic energy blasts, conjure up unearthly fire, walk up walls, produce a force field and more. He refuses to reveal how he has gained these powers.

Jensen rampages through Gotham City, demanding that Batman, who sent him to prison, show himself so he can kill him. The Justice Society battles Jensen, who eventually climbs up Gotham Tower to continue fighting them.

The team is stalemated with the supervillain when, for the cliffhanger ending, the original Batman, who had retired long ago here on Earth-Two, arrives on the scene and presents himself, since he is the one Jensen wants to kill. Continue reading

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FANTASTIC FOUR VS THE INHUMANS AND GALACTUS

This weekend’s escapist and light-hearted superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at the very first encounters the Fantastic Four had with the Inhumans, the Silver Surfer and Galactus.

ff 44FANTASTIC FOUR Vol 1 #44 (November 1965)

Title: The Gentleman’s Name is Gorgon

Villains: Gorgon, Medusa and Dragon Man

Synopsis: This story picks up after Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards) and Invisible Girl (Sue Storm-Richards) get back from their honeymoon following Dr. Doom’s attempt to kill them during their wedding ceremony in Fantastic Four Annual Vol 1 #3. 

While renovating the Fantastic Four’s Baxter Building headquarters, the umpteenth argument breaks out among the team members, including the Thing (Ben Grimm), and so the Human Torch (Johnny Storm, Sue’s brother) angrily leaves for a while. He takes his latest sports car for a drive to cool off.

frightful fourThrough a comic book coincidence, the Human Torch gets caught in the middle of a fight between the super villainess called Medusa and her fellow Inhuman called Gorgon.

Medusa, a member of the Fantastic Four’s enemies the Frightful Four (The Wizard, Sandman, Trapster and Medusa herself) reveals to the Torch that she and Gorgon are both Inhumans and Gorgon has come to make her return to their race’s hidden city called Attilan. Continue reading

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JUSTICE SOCIETY: 1978 STORIES

This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog resumes looking at the Justice Society’s revived series in the 1970s

asc 70ALL STAR COMICS Vol 1 #70 (February 1978)

Title: A Parting of the Ways

Justice Society Roster: Wildcat, Star-Spangled Kid and the 2nd Huntress (Helena Wayne)

Villains: Strike Force

Synopsis: With most of the Justice Society leaving the team after the events of the previous issue, only Wildcat and the Star Spangled Kid are on hand to deal with a crime wave launched in Gotham by the new villains called the Strike Force.

wildcatThose villains are helmeted criminals known by numbers instead of names and led by the mysterious Number 1. Strike Force has over a score of members, and they wield high-tech weaponry and equipment.

Wildcat and the Kid are captured when they try stopping the villains from robbing a bank.

The Huntress, daughter of Earth-Two’s Bruce Wayne and the late Selena Kyle, saves the two heroes and joins the Justice Society. Continue reading

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NICK FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS

This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog will take a Veterans Day theme with this look at some of the early stories about Marvel’s Nick Fury during his pre-eyepatch World War Two service. For some of my more serious Veterans Day posts click HERE.

sgt f 1SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS Vol 1 #1 (May 1963)

Title: Seven Against the Nazis

Roster: Captain Sam Sawyer, Sgt. Nick Fury, and Commandos Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, Jonathan “Junior” Juniper, Reb Ralston, Dino Manelli and Izzy Cohen. 

NOTE: A few years before Marvel Comics created S.H.I.E.L.D. their Nick Fury character led this World War Two series. The characters were the same basic walking cliches that many B-Movie actioners rehashed in war story after war story.

        Nick was the tough-talking New Yorker, Dugan was the mouthy Irishman, Juniper was the naive Ivy Leaguer, Gabe Jones was “the black guy”, Reb Ralston was the Southerner, Izzy Cohen was the sardonic Jewish guy and Dino Manelli was the ladies’ man movie star who enlisted after Pearl Harbor.

Synopsis: Our title heroes, a special missions force, were sent to France to exfiltrate a French Underground leader who possessed vital secrets.  Continue reading

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JUSTICE SOCIETY: 1977 STORIES

With Halloween Season behind us, this weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog resumes looking at the Justice Society’s revived series in the 1970s

asc 64ALL STAR COMICS Vol 1 #64 (February 1977)

Title: Yesterday Begins Today

Justice Society Roster: Hourman, Power Girl, Wildcat, Star Spangled Kid, the original Superman, original Flash, original Green Lantern and original Hawkman

Villains: Vandal Savage and his android army

Synopsis: The original Superman postpones his retirement as the JSA is urgently summoned by former Seven Soldiers of Victory member the Shining Knight. Our heroes wind up in Camelot helping King Arthur against the Justice Society’s old enemy Vandal Savage.

That villain is leading an army of robot Roman Legions in a bid to conquer Camelot. Continue reading

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THE SPOOK (1974-1975) – FROM ICONIC EERIE MAGAZINE

This weekend’s superhero blog post will go with the Halloween theme. The Spook was one of the recurring characters in Warren Publications’ iconic magazine Eerie.

eerie spookEERIE #57 (June 1974)

Title: Stridespider Sponge-Rot

Oh, what is the fungus that digests moist wood? 

STRIDESPIDER SPONGE-ROT!

The xylophagus fungus that eats what it should

STRIDESPIDER SPONGE-ROT!

Breaks down hemicellulose all well and good

STRIDESPIDER SPONGE-ROT!

Okay, I’ll stop right there. Had to be done, though. We were all thinking it.

vampirellaNOTE: Warren Publications are fondly remembered for their horror and sci-fi magazines like Creepy, Eerie, 1984 and Vampirella (at right). As magazines and not comic books, Warren’s output was not limited by the comics code and could therefore delve into adult themes and intense violence.

        Marvel Comics even imitated Warren for a while in the 1970s with their own magazine-sized publications with black & white interior art, like Vampire Tales, Haunt of Horror, etc.

        Which brings us back to Eerie #57, in which one of the stories introduced the magazine’s latest recurring character the Spook. Continue reading

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