January 16, 2017 by jerrymcmullen - 5 Comments

Showcase Presents Showcase Vol. 1

First Published: July 2012

Contents: Showcase #1 (March-April 1956) to #21 (July-August 1959)

Key Creator Credits: Robert Kanigher, Carmine Infantino, Joe Kubert, Jack Kirby, John Broome, Otto Binder, Ruben Moreira, Al Plastino, Wayne Boring, Jerry Coleman, Dave Wood, Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, Jack Miller

Key First Appearances: Barry Allen/The Flash, Iris West, Challengers of the Unknown (Rocky Davis, Prof Haley, Ace Morgan, Red Ryan, June Robbins), Captain Cold, Mr. Element/Doctor Alchemy, Space Ranger, Cryll, Myra Mason, Adam Strange, Alanna, Sardath, Rip Hunter, Jeff Smith, Bonnie Baxter, Corky Baster

Overview: In 1956, DC introduced a brand new book that helped revolutionize the comic book industry. Following in the footsteps of The Brave and the Bold, the new comic Showcase promised to feature new characters each and every issue, based on the requests from the readers. That last part may have lasted for an issue or two before it quickly became a try-out book for new features and concepts that would become the foundation of the DC Universe.

The Flash was the first big character introduced in Showcase, which was a revitalization of the Golden Age Flash concept set in (then) modern times. Barry Allen is a police scientist who was bathed in chemicals during a lightning strike that imbued him with super-speed. The Flash made four appearances in Showcase before moving into his own title, and later becoming a founding member of the Justice League.
The Challengers of the Unknown are four adventurers that survive a plane crash and vow to work together now that they are living on borrowed time. The Challengers would have four appearances in Showcase before moving on to their own title.
Lois Lane had been a long-time member of the Superman supporting cast, but this was the first time she was featured in her own stories. These two appearances led to her own title, Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane.
Adam Strange is a man caught between two worlds, traveling between Earth and the far distant planet Rann. Adam Strange uses his science knowledge to help save Rann from multiple threats. After three appearances in Showcase, Adam Strange would become the lead feature in Mystery in Space.
Rip Hunter has built a time bubble which allows him to travel to any era in history. With a team of loyal friends, Rip leveraged four appearances in Showcase to graduate into his own title.

Why should these stories be Showcased?: This is a no-brainer. This is an absolute must read for any comic book historian, just to see the hit after hit coming out every other month in this title. Obviously, most of these issues are reprinted in other volumes, but this is a great collection to sample the early adventures of these heroes without having to buy the five other books.

If you like this volume, try: reading some more stories on Space Ranger, the one main character introduced in this volume that did not earn his own Showcase Presents collection. Track down some old issues of Tales of the Unexpected. From issues #40 (August 1959) to #82 (April-May 1964), the Space Ranger was featured in this book. Following that long run, he became a secondary character that would pop-up in random comics when a DC character needed to encounter a familiar face in deep space.

November 26, 2014 by jerrymcmullen - 1 Comment

Showcase Presents Challengers of the Unknown Vol. 2

First Published: April 2008

Contents: Challengers of the Unknown #18 (February-March 1961) to #37 (April-May 1964)

Key Creator Credits: Bob Brown, Arnold Drake, Ed Herron, and others

Key First Appearances: Cosmo

Story Continues From: Showcase Presents Challengers of the Unknown Vol. 1

Overview: A plane crash brings four men together, when they realize that they cheated death by walking away from the wreckage. Rocky Davis (Olympic wrestling champion), Prof Haley (master skin diver), Red Ryan (circus daredevil), and Ace Morgan (fearless jet pilot) team-up to form the Challengers of the Unknown, and their adventures continue in this second Showcase Presents volume.

Once again, the book follows a predictable formula from issue to issue. Most issues featured two stories – one with honorary Challenger June Robbins and one without June. Whether it was aliens from space, creatures from the Earth, or killer robots from laboratories, the Challengers stood up to anything thrown their way.

Only one new character is introduced in this volume, as the Challengers come across an alien animal that they adopt as a pet. Named Cosmo since he came from the stars, Cosmo would make the occasional appearance, including in one issue where his rightful owner came to Earth looking for his pet.

Why should these stories be Showcased?: I really want to like this book, but I just can’t. The creators had a story formula and stuck with it issue after issue after issue. The Challengers face off against threats from outer space, giant robots attacking the city, and the return of Multi-Man every four or five issues, and the story locations would just happen to require the use of their special skills. Come on, truthfully, how many stories can involve both skin-diving in the ocean AND climbing mountains? Even though the guys are living on borrowed time, at no point do we ever feel like the guys will not survive the latest adventure. It pains me to write this, but I think this is a volume that does not need to be on your bookshelf. I wish DC could skip ahead to the issues where the Challengers start interacting with other members of the DC Universe.

If you like this volume, try: the Silver Age event from DC Comics in 2000. This has never been collected, so plan on digging in some back-issue boxes to track this down. Most credit is given to Mark Waid as the overall architect of the project, but most of DC’s top talent of that time was involved in some form or fashion. The story was started with book titled simply Silver Age. Agamemno, a villain from space, enlists the help of Lex Luthor and other villains in swapping places with their heroic counterparts. The story then split off into nine one-shot books from books popular during the 1960s (Justice League of America, Challengers of the Unknown, Teen Titans, Dial H for Hero, Flash, Doom Patrol, The Brave and the Bold, Green Lantern, and Showcase). For the Silver Age: Challengers of the Unknown book, the Challengers travel to Ivy University to help Atom defeat Chronos. The Silver Age books were done to look like were released in the 1960s, complete with the checkerboard cover, an old DC Comics logo, This was a fun project to look back fondly on DC’s Silver Age of comics.

January 1, 2014 by jerrymcmullen - 4 Comments

Showcase Presents Challengers of the Unknown Vol. 1

First Published: September 2006

Contents: Showcase #6 (January-February 1957), #7 (March-April 1957), #11 (November-December 1957), and #12 (January-February 1958); Challengers of the Unknown #1 (April-May 1958) to #17 (December-January 1961)

Key Creator Credits: Jack Kirby, Dave Wood, Bob Brown, Wally Wood, Ed Herron

Key First Appearances: Rocky Davis, Prof Haley, Red Ryan, Ace Morgan, June Robbins, Multi-Man

Story Continues In: Showcase Presents Challengers of the Unknown Vol. 2

Overview: Four complete strangers, each an expert in his chosen field, are brought together after walking away unharmed from what should have been a fatal plane crash. Realizing that they are now living on borrowed time, the four men – Rocky Davis, Olympic wrestling champion; Prof Haley, master skin diver; Red Ryan, circus daredevil; and Ace Morgan, war hero and fearless jet pilot – don matching purple outfits and ban together to form the Challengers of the Unknown.

After four appearances in Showcase over a one year period, the Challengers moved over into their own bi-monthly title. Most issues featured two stories – one featuring the four original “Challs” (as they often were referred to as) and one featuring them with the honorary girl Challenger, June Robbins. The Challengers took on a variety of cases which brought them face-to-face with killer robots, alien races, and oversized animals. While most of their opponents were one-and-done, one long-time DC Universe villain makes his appearance in this volume: Multi-Man debuts in #14, and returns many times over, with a new power developing after each resurrection following his death.

Why should these stories be Showcased?: The Silver Age DC stories are difficult to recommend compared to the modern comics of today, and even against the Silver Age Marvel stories. For the most part, these stories are very forgettable once you close this book. The one reason I see to pick up this book is for the groundwork that Jack Kirby put in developing his story-telling techniques. While most issues have a writing credit, researchers believe that Kirby was doing most of the writing/story-telling himself on this title. Kirby re-used much of his work here when he helped create the Fantastic Four for Marvel with Stan Lee: the matching uniforms; the character designs for Reed Richards (Prof Haley), Johnny Storm (Red Ryan), and Ben Grimm (Rocky Davis); and a team surviving a crash that unites them with a common purpose. Read this if you are a Kirby fan; otherwise, look for a different challenge.

Footnotes: Showcase #6, #7, #11, and #12 are also reprinted in Showcase Presents Showcase Vol. 1.

If you like this volume, try: the eight-issue 1991 Challengers of the Unknown series by Jeph Loeb and Time Sale. When it was collected as a trade paperback, it was titled Challengers of the Unknown Must Die! This was the first comic story by Loeb, who had spent many years as a Hollywood screenwriter. This series is also the first of numerous pairings of Loeb and Sale, who would team up for award-winning works such as Batman: The Long Halloween, Superman: For All Seasons, and Spider-Man: Blue. Loeb stays true to the Challs origins while freshening up the concept for a modern audience. Sale’s art looks simple on the surface, but is very complex and breathes new life into this 1950s concept.