Countdown to Halloween 2023 DC SUPER-STARS "Deadman in 'Hour of the Demon' "

We Have Already Seen...

The Phantom Stranger, already in the Vermont town of Rutland, is aware of the threat of a demon named Quabal and his minions...half-human/half-demon beings who look like classic gargoyles!

But another mystical character, the ghost known as Deadman, has also arrived...during the annual Halloween Parade...

The Mystical Mayhem Continues Tomorrow as the Phantom Stranger Joins Forces with Doctor Thirteen: Ghost-Breaker!

BTW, his real name is Dr Terence Thirteen.

It works for another guy you've heard of...Dr Stephen Strange...too!

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DeadMan Omnibus

(which reprints this tale)

Countdown to Halloween 2023 DC SUPER-STARS "Phantom Stranger in 'Gargoyles' "

We return to Rutland's Halloween Parade...

...with someone who attended it several years earlier...the Phantom Stranger, as shown HERE and HERE!

The "old bum" isn't quite what he appears to be.

To find out more, be here...

TOMORROW!

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Showcase Presents

Phantom Stranger

Volume 2

(Which reprints this Story...but in Black and White, not Color)

Thanksgiving Turkey: BLACKHAWK "My Brother - My Enemy" Part 3: Return to Blackhawk Island!

When Last We Left the Original Magnificent Seven...

...(yes, Blackhawk and crew pre-dated the 1960 movie) with G.E.O.R.G.E., the spy organization that supplied their new super-hero identities and equipment totally-annihilated, the Blackhawks dig out their mothballed WWII uniforms and weapons and seek out the group that wiped out their co-workers.

The only clue is a security camera's footage showing the killers' leader...Black Mask...whom Blackhawk recognizes as his long-believed dead brother, Jack!
An attempt to negotiate or capture Black Mask fails, and as he escapes, Jack tells Blackhawk where they can meet for a duel to the death...

Thus ends the first of two issues under editor Dick Giordano, who intended for Golden Age Blackhawk artist Reed Crandall to illustrate the pair of "return to basics" tales before the book's already-scheduled cancellation.

Unfortunately, personal problems prevented Crandall from doing so, and with two weeks until deadline, Giordano enlisted one of his Charlton art mainstays, Pat Boyette, to do the entire book (24 pages [plus cover] of pencils, inks, and lettering) in just under two weeks!

The finishes are a little rough, but, it's an amazing job!

We hope you've enjoyed our Thanksgiving Turkey (plus dessert) for 2016.

See you on the RetroBlogs next year at this time for more succulent stories!

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Blackhawk: the Movie Serial

starring Kirk (Superman) Alyn

Thanksgiving Turkey: BLACKHAWK "My Brother - My Enemy" Part 2: Fort Fear

We Have Already Seen...

...with G.E.O.R.G.E., the spy organization that supplied their new super-hero identities and equipment totally-annihilated, the Blackhawks dig out their mothballed WWII uniforms and weapons and seek out the group that wiped out their co-workers.

The only clue is a security camera's footage showing the killers' leader...Black Mask...whom Blackhawk recognizes...

...which, in the case of the presentation on this blog, means

TOMORROW!

Long-time fans may note that the Blackhawks are not flying their distinctive Grumman XF5F Skyrockets in the flashback sequence.
This indicates the flashback occurs before the story in Quality's Military Comics #2 (1941), where those aircraft debut!
Of course we won't go into the fact this never-reprinted story from DC's Blackhawk #242 (1968) totally-contradicts the original origin in Military Comics #1 (1941) and modifies the origin's retelling in Blackhawk #198 (1964)...

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Blackhawk: the Movie Serial

starring Kirk (Superman) Alyn

Thanksgiving Turkey: BLACKHAWK "My Brother - My Enemy" Part 1: Black Mask

For almost two years, Blackhawk fans had been subjected to...

...seeing the beloved WWII veteran aviators mutated into Swinging '60s superhero/spies!
(Thank heaven none of the middle-aged warriors were jammed into skintight suits!)

Sales had deteriorated to the point where the book, which had been continuously-published since 1944 and survived switching publishers without an interruption, had been reduced from monthly to bi-monthly publication and was scheduled to be cancelled.

But Dick Giordano, who had just replaced long-time editor George Kashdan, had no intention of just letting the old soldiers fade away...

The Story Continues...Tomorrow!

Plotted by Marv Wolfman (his first professional comics credit), scripted by Bob Haney, and illustrated by Pat Boyette, DC's Blackhawk #242 (1968) was unlike any previous issue of the title.

It not only reversed the superspy/superhero revamp of the strip, but retold the origin of Blackhawk himself, making several changes to the long-established story, including allowing Blackhawk's brother (who died in the very first story in Quality's Military Comics #1) to survive!

Giordano, fresh from a long tenure at Charlton Comics came on board at DC to inject a new attitude into the comics line.

Besides introducing several new titles, he took over a couple of ongoing books, including Blackhawk.

Knowing that the series was being cancelled, Dick decided to return the strip to the basics that made it a favorite among Golden (and to a lesser extent) Silver Age fans.

The details of what happened can be found at the wonderful blog DC Comics 45 Years Ago.

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Blackhawk

by William Rotsler

The only novel based on the comic book!