Thanksgiving Turkey BLACKHAWK "Junk-Heap Heroes: Book III" Part 3

We Have Already Seen...

Yes, this is the cover from #229, not this issue (#230), but it shows the Emperor in the Centurion of Doom armor...

...intercepting a message ordering the Blackhawks to rendevous, the Emperor dons a suit of high-tech armor and heads out to destroy the team personally...

Did the Emperor happen to leave the instruction manual in the armor?
If not, how did the less-than-brilliant Stan figure out how to use it (and all the built-in weaponry?
Plus, since it's powered by ionizing gold, did anyone think of how much it would cost to operate it?
(Heck, the Lone Ranger was always cautious about his silver bullets...)
And, why didn't Stan take the skull-and-crossbones logo off it?
Speaking of Stan being something of a dim-bulb, when did any of the team demonstrate the skills and abilities they suddenly picked up as of two issues ago?
I've looked over several dozen issues of both the Quality and DC runs prior to #228, and none of them show any of the crew being anything but a bunch of talented flyers/proficient hand-to-hand combatants with different accents!
At least they didn't put any of the old guys into tights/spandex!

Here's the cover for the issue (#230), showing the entire team...

...but if we showed it to you earlier, you might have thought the Emperor had killed/trapped Stan and replaced him as a spy within the team.

Hey, that's not a bad idea!

The undercover Emperor could claim he can't remove the armor because it's a life-support system keeping him alive...nah, it's been done.

Too bad writer Bob Haney, penciller Dick Dillin, and inker Chuck Cuidera didn't think of going that way...it would've added a bit of tension and excitement to a concept that quickly went downhill both in terms of story logic and sales until, in #242, the series was rebooted back to the original WWII flyers concept (complete with the classic black leather uniforms), but was cancelled as of the next issue.

Thanksgiving Turkey BLACKHAWK "Junk-Heap Heroes: Book III" Part 2

When Last We Left the Original Dark Knights...

...hmmm, who could "M'sieu Machine" be?

How many members with stereotypical French accents do the Blackhawks have?

Now we know who the golden armor-clad man on the previous issue's cover is...

What will happen when The Emperor / Centurion of Doom takes a personal hand in the matter?

Will he be the cause of the Blackhawks' demise?

Be here tomorrow for the fearsome finale!

Same Blackhawk Time!

Same Blackhawk Blog!

Notes: Gargantua, and his drug-enhanced abilities, seems to be a prototype for Bane.

And everybody who's ever commented on the "New Blackhawk Era" plotline has compared the Centurion to Iron Man. Makes you wonder why DC didn't make the Blackhawks into a team of Avengers clones...Olaf finds a waking stick that turns into a hammer, Chuck develops super-speed, etc...

This never-reprinted tale from DC's Blackhawk #230 (1967) was written by Bob Haney, penciled by Dick Dillin, and inked by Chuck Cuidera.

Thanksgiving Turkey BLACKHAWK "Junk-Heap Heroes: Book III" Part 1

I'd synopsize the previous post, but writer Bob Haney does such a good job of it...

...I'd be a fool to try.

So, who of the seven haven't we seen in new identities so far?

The graphic above offers a clue with members on one side of the "These seven guys are!" arrow still unaccounted for.

Be here tomorrow when The Emperor switches tactics to eliminate the remaining Blackhawks!

Plus: Besides new costumed identities, one member of the squad will also acquire a new "civilian" name.

The excitement never stops in DC's Blackhawk #230 (1967), illustrated by Dick Dillin and Chuck Cuidera.

Thanksgiving Turkey BLACKHAWK "Junk-Heap Heroes: Book II" Part 3

We Have Already Seen...

 Actually, we haven't seen the golden character on this cover by Dick Dillin and Chuck Cuderia...in that armor (but he is in this issue)!

It's a classic misleading bait-and-switch!

But, back to our tale...

The Blackhawks have disappeared...and neither friend nor foe can locate them...

Who's the armored guy on the cover?

Why are the Blackhawks now spread out all over Europe?

How long did it take them to set themselves up with all this new equipment and cover identities?

And who's paying for all this new gear, since the government apparently isn't?

Yeah, I know, it's just a comic, but there's got to be some logic to it.

Three of the team's new nom de guerres have been revealed, though only The Listener's (whose costume is mis-colored as all-yellow instead of the navy blue with flesh-colored ear graphics it's supposed to be.) appears in his new fighting togs.

But just wait until the seven middle-aged flyers show up in costume (though thankfully, none in spandex or leotards)

Be here next week when we present the final part of the reboot that became a punch-line for everything that was wrong with the Silver Age...

Thanksgiving Turkey BLACKHAWK "Junk-Heap Heroes: Book II" Part 2

When Last We Left Our Heroes...

 It's 1967!

Why is nobody uttering the classic phrase "He's dead, Jim!"?

Where are the original "Dark Knights"?

Find out tomorrow,

Same Blackhawk Time

Same Blackhawk Channel

Wow, this book was selling over 225,000 copies per issue...and it was on the verge of cancellation?

Publishers today (including DC) would kill for those sales figures!

Note on Page 13 the villains mention several evil groups that sent representatives...SPECTRE (from James Bond), THRUSH (from Man from U.N.C.L.E.), as well as DC Comics baddie cartels O.G.R.E. ("Organization for General Revenge and Enslavement" from Aquaman) and CYCLOPS (from Brave and the Bold)

Oddly, VULTURE (from the Martian Manhunter strip in House of Mystery) isn't mentioned...

And, I stand corrected about not knowing what G.E.O.R.G.E. stood for until the end of the "New Blackhawk Era".

It's right there on Page 17 of this second issue of the "New Blackhawk Era".

Hey, it's been 25 years since I last read this series.

You expect me to remember every detail?

Sheesh...

This middle chapter of DC's Blackhawk #229 (1967) was written by Bob Haney, pencilled by Dick Dillin, inked by Chuck Cuidera.

Thanksgiving Turkey BLACKHAWK "Junk-Heap Heroes: Book II" Part 1

When Last We Left the WWII Aviators Known as Blackhawks...

 What should we think, Mr President, who for some reason has his face obscured despite the fact DC had shown the visage of every President from FDR to JFK (and had already shown this President, LBJ, in several other titles)?

The "Saga That Made Comics History"?

Judge for Yourself...Tomorrow!

The team members are suddenly demonstrating skills and disciplines they never showed aptitudes for (except Andre) in a foreshadowing of what they soon will become.
One warning; the most outlandish is yet to come!

Written by Bob Haney, pencilled by Dick Dillin, inked by Chuck Cuidera.