Tag Archives: Ernie Chan

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Showcase Presents Jonah Hex Vol. 2

First Published: March 2014

Contents: Jonah Hex stories from Weird Western Tales #34 (May-June 1976) to #38 (January-February 1977); and Jonah Hex #1 (March-April 1977) to #22 (March 1979)

Key Creator Credits: Michael Fleisher, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Ernie Chan, Rich Buckler, Vicente Alcazar, and others

Key First Appearances: El Papagayo, Woodson Hex,

Story Continues From: Showcase Presents Jonah Hex Vol. 1

Overview: He was a hero to some, a villain to others… and wherever he rode, people spoke his name in whispers. He had no friends, this Jonah Hex, but he did have two companions: one was Death itself… the other, the acrid smell of gunsmoke…. This is Showcase Presents Jonah Hex Vol. 2.

Once again, we are treated to mostly one-and-done stories in this collection, but there is some continuation from time to time with the stories. We do get to delve into more of the origins of Jonah Hex. We find out that Jonah was sold to an Apache tribe by his own father. He was raised like one of their own and became a man at age 16 according to tribe custom. Unfortunately, the tribe leader’s son Noh-Tante grew jealous of the attention that Jonah was receiving from the young women, specifically White Fawn, of the tribe. Noh-Tante eventually betrayed Jonah, leaving him captured with a tribe of Kiowa Indians.

Years later, Jonah returned to his Apache tribe to find that Noh-Tante and White Fawn were man and wife. Jonah told the chief of Noh-Tante’s actions and had the chance to face him in combat. Noh-Tante sabotaged Jonah’s tomahawk, and he was forced to use a knife to defend himself by killing Noh-Tante. The tribe chief had Jonah’s face branded with the mark of the demon and banished him from the tribe with the threat of death if he was ever to return.

Of course, Jonah would return at some point, but it would be White Fawn who is ultimately punished by the chief for helping Jonah escape. Jonah kills the chief and most of the tribe as he leaves for the last time.

Why should these stories be Showcased?: I definitely appreciated this volume more than Volume 1. My complaint with the last collection is that most of those stories could be told with any of DC’s western characters. They were western stories that happened to feature Jonah Hex. With this collection, we get Jonah Hex stories, and the world needs more Jonah Hex!

If you like this volume, try: watching some of Jonah’s appearances in the DC Animated Universe. Jonah Hex has been featured in Batman: The Animated Series (Showdown), Justice League Unlimited (The Once and Future Thing Part 1), and Batman: The Brave and the Bold (Return of the Fearsome Fangs, Duel of the Double Crossers, The Siege of Starro! Part 1). Earlier this year, Jonah Hex was even featured on an episode of Justice League Action (All Aboard the Space Train). In that feature, Jonah must team up with Space Cabbie to stop Kanjar Ro from robbing a space train. Typing this out makes no sense, I know, but that’s part of the charm of Jonah Hex. I would watch animated Jonah Hex over and over for the rest of my life before ever watching the live-action film from 2010 again.

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Showcase Presents The Spectre Vol. 1

spectreFirst Published: April 2012

Contents: Showcase #60 (January/February 1966), #61 (March/April 1966), and #64 (September/October 1966); The Brave and the Bold #72 (June/July 1967), #75 (December 1967/January 1968), #116 (December 1974/January 1975), #180 (November 1981), and #199 (June 1983); The Spectre #1 (November/December 1967) to #10 (May/June 1969); Spectre stories from Adventure Comics #431 (January/February 1974) to #440 (); DC Comics Presents #29 (January 1981); and Spectre stories from Ghosts #97 (February 1981) to #99 (April 1981)

Key Creator Credits: Gardner Fox, Murphy Anderson, Bob Haney, Neal Adams, Michael Fleisher, Jim Aparo, Jerry Grandenetti, Ernie Chan, Ross Andru, Paul Kupperberg, and others

Key First Appearances: Azmodus, Gwendolyn Sterling

Overview: With his debut in More Fun Comics #52 (February 1940), the Spectre remains one of DC’s oldest characters. Developed by Superman c0-creator Jerry Siegel (with an attributed assist by artist Bernard Baily), the Spectre was originally Detective Jim Corrigan. The good detective found himself the target of hoodlums, who placed him in a barrel filled with concrete and then drowned. However, Corrigan’s spirit is denied entry to Heaven, and must return to Earth to eliminate evil. During this era, the Spectre would serve as a member of the Justice Society of America.

This volume picks up the Spectre’s story in the middle of the Silver Age. The Spectre, along with the rest of the Justice Society, have returned to action in the pages of The Flash and Justice League of America. DC editor Julie Schwartz wanted to see if the Spectre could stand on his own, so he gave the character a try-out in the pages of Showcase, followed soon by appearances in The Brave and the Bold. The interest was there to warrant the Spectre getting his own series, but that only ran for 10 issues.

When we see the Spectre again, it is now in the Bronze Age, and the haunted hero is now a feature in Adventure Comics. These stories show the dark potential of the character, as the Spectre exacts brutal punishments to those committing evil acts. This run lasted around a year, before the pages in the book were given over to Aquaman.

The volume concludes with multiple other appearances of the Spectre in team-up books and as a backup feature in Ghosts. However, although not collected in this book, our hero could still be found making appearances in Justice League, All-Star Comics, and All-Star Squadron.

Why should these stories be Showcased?: This is a mixed volume in terms of the types of stories collected. You get the superhero aspect with the various team-ups, the angel of vengeance in other stories, and would-be horror anthology host in others. So there might be some type of story that you can find in here that you will enjoy. But reading these in consecutive order, the character seems under-utilized most of the time. It’s not until much later, specifically the 1990s, where I feel like a writer and artists finally found the full potential of the character.

Earth(-2) Angel, Earth(-1) Angel: So which DC Earth do the Spectre stories take place in? For the stories that involve the Justice Society members such as Wildcat, those take place on Earth-2. For his team-ups with Batman, Superman, and the Flash, those take place on Earth-1. As for the rest, well, I think that is up to the reader to decide. The Spectre seems to not be bound to any one Earth in particular, especially when the story is scripted by Bob Haney.

Footnotes:  The Brave and the Bold #75 is also reprinted in Showcase Presents The Brave and the Bold: Batman Team-Ups Vol. 1.

The Brave and the Bold #116 is also reprinted in Showcase Presents The Brave and the Bold: Batman Team-Ups Vol. 3.

DC Comics Presents #29 is also reprinted in Showcase Presents DC Comics Presents: Superman Team-Ups Vol. 2.

If you like this volume, try: The Spectre series from 1992. The series ran for five plus years, and it was written entirely by John Ostrander. The series focused on the Spectre serving as the embodiment of the Wrath of God, dealing out punishments for murders of any kind. Ostrander is a former theology student, and his knowledge and experience were reflected in the story topics found over the course of the series. The first 22 issues of the title were recently reprinted in trade paperbacks, but you will need to hit the back issue bins to track down the remainder of the series. Well worth the hunt!

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Essential Power Man and Iron Fist Vol. 2

Essential Power Man and Iron Fist Vol. 2

First Published: April 2009

Contents: Power Man and Iron Fist #76 (December 1981) to #100 (December 1983); and Daredevil #178 (January 1982)

Key Creator Credits: Jo Duffy, Kerry Gammill, Dennis Cowan, Denny O’Neil, Kurt Busiek, Ernie Chan, and others

Key First Appearances: Eel, Chemistro

Story Continues From: Essential Power Man & Iron Fist Vol. 1

Overview: With apologies to Tony Kornheiser, the Heroes for Hire are back for more cash. The bills don’t pay themselves, so Luke Cage and Danny Rand make their services available to clients of all types. Unfortunately, a lot of the times, they end up doing pro bono work, as is the nature of most superheroes.

One client that can afford to pay the Heroes for Hire is the law firm of Nelson & Murdock. This collection kicks off with a crossover with Daredevil during the Frank Miller era. Matt Murdock has a client with papers connecting a mayoral candidate with the Kingpin. So Murdock arranges to have Daredevil protect the client. But Matt’s partner, Foggy Nelson, is worried about Matt’s safety. So Foggy retains the Heroes for Hire to protect his law partner. You can probably imagine what happens next? A lot of confusion, the heroes fight, and the Kingpin gets away.

The rest of the book remains a self-contained storyline. The issues are generally one-and-done tales, but there is an underlying story that slowly builds up to a climax with issue #100. While some references are made to other events in the Marvel Universe, the world of Luke Cage and Danny Rand does not cross over with a lot of other heroes. Fortunately, the cast of supporting characters help round out the stories, so you don’t need a lot of other heroes to keep the story moving.

What makes this Essential?: Is this truly essential? Probably not. But it is a solid read focusing on a core group of characters. With the exception of the Daredevil crossover at the start of the book, this collection does not cross over with other titles in the Marvel Universe. You don’t need to read a dozen other titles to understand what is going on with the characters.

One highlight to take away from this book is that it features the Marvel debut of Kurt Busiek as a writer. Busiek has become one of the best comic book storytellers of our generation. With titles like Marvels, Kingdom Come, and Astro City on his resume, he is a master of the superhero story. And it all started in the pages of Power Man & Iron Fist. Let’s be honest, it’s not his best work. But to his credit, Busiek did his research and knew these heroes. He brought back characters from Power Man and Iron Fist’s past when they were solo features in their own books.

Footnotes: Sadly, Marvel canceled the Essential line before a third volume could be released for this line. Power Man and Iron Fist finished with issue #125, which means that volume 3 could have contained the final 25 issues, plus any crossovers.

If you like this volume, try: the Thunderbolts from Marvel Comics. Launched following the events of Onslaught, which saw the Fantastic Four and the Avengers disappear from Earth, there was a need for a new superhero team to protect the people. Enter the Thunderbolts, a new team of heroes led by Citizen V. But the Thunderbolts have a secret – they are actually the Masters of Evil posing as heroes: Citizen V is Baron Zemo, Meteorite is Moonstone, Atlas is Goliath, Mach-1 is Beetle, Techno is Fixer, and Songbird is Screaming Mimi. Their secret was revealed at the end of issue #1, and it came as a complete shock to everyone at the time. The series was created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley, and the two worked on the title for the first three years of its run. The early issues have been collected in three Thunderbolts Classic trade paperbacks, which were released in 2011 and 2012.