Thanksgiving Turkey SKATE MAN Conclusion

"Criminals are a superstious, cowardly lot...

....so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts!"

Well, that didn't quite work out...

We Have Already Seen...

To avenge the death of his girlfriend by a biker gang, VietNam vet Billy Moon becomes a roller-skating vigilante...

And that's how the story ends, not even a epilogue setting up future issues!

We hope you enjoyed our Thanksgiving Turkey!

Thanksgiving Turkey SKATE MAN Part 1

The phrase "martial arts" encompasses a great many forms and techniques of combat...

...even (believe it or not) this hybrid form in a 40 year-old never-reprinted one-shot comic that we proudly present as our Thanksgiving Turkey!

To Be Concluded

TOMORROW!

Written and illustrated by Neal Adams (with some inking by his Continuity Associates studio), this was intended as a tie-in to a feature film...which was never made.
When the notoriously-slow Adams couldn't meet the deadline for the contracted second issue of Ms. Mystic at Pacific Comics, he offered this project as a stopgap.
Trivia:
The comic sold 70,000 copies, more than almost anything on the stands today!
Kitchen Sink's 1991 World's Worst Comics Awards parody comic named Skateman the "Worst Comic Book of the Past 25 Years"!
Ms. Mystic #2 finally came out a year later, right before Pacific Comics folded!.

CoronaVirus Comics ACTION COMICS "Substitute Superman!"

We Have Already Seen...

...the Man of Steel, now cured of the Kryptonian disease Virus X, returns to Earth to find, instead of a world in mourning for it's greatest hero, a planet where he's alive and well...but that Caped Kryptonian isn't him!

(BTW, the Neal Adams-illustrated cover is a cheat!

The other Superman isn't Kryptonian/Kandorian!)

The conclusion of this never-reprinted, multi-issue saga from DC's Action Comics #366 (1968) leaves several questions...

1) Do Kandorians (and Kryptonians) vote on everything...even emergencies?

This would explain why Krypton blew up!

They were busy taking a vote when it occurred!

(Good thing Jor-El and Lara probably used mail-in voting, eh?)

2) Why are the JLA members with masks still wearing them under their Superman masks?

(Especialy Batman and Flash, with those pointy earpieces!)

And why didn't J'Onn J'Onzz just metamorph into Superman's form?

3) Whatever happened to evil ventriloquist Ventor, whose plan to gain revenge on Superman started this whole storyline?

He's never arrested or punished!

The pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths multiverse ended in 1984 with him free as a bird!

And, yes, this story is in pre-Crisis continuity!

4) Was Luthor tried for murder (or at least, attempted murder, since everybody thought Superman was still alive)?

Writer Leo Dorfman, penciler Ross Andru and inker Mike Esposito made a valiant try, but it never really holds together...

Next Week:

Though this story arc is loosely-based on an earlier, much-reprinted Silver Age tale...

...which we're not re-presenting (though you can buy it below), that story was based on a never-reprinted Golden Age tale which, in pre-Crisis continuity, happened to the Earth-Two Superman!

You'll see that story

Next Monday!

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Superman: Greatest Stories Ever Told

Volume 1

(including Superman #156 which was the full-length predecessor to this never-reprinted tale!)

CoronaVirus Comics ACTION COMICS "Superman's Funeral!" Part 1

When Last We Left the Dying Son of Krypton...

...and remember, this was in-continuity pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths!

Guess the whole "life flashing before your eyes" phenomenon isn't limited to humans...

We interrupt this touching look back at Kal-El's life and loves for just 24 hours.

Just be here...

Tuesday!

Dare You Miss It???

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Superman: Greatest Stories Ever Told

Volume 1

(including Superman #156 which was the full-length predecessor to this never-reprinted tale!)

CoronaVirus Comics SUPERMAN "Untouchable of Metropolis!" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

...infected by a Kryptonian/Terran hybrid disease that kills both humans and Kryptonians, Superman must exile himself in space before he dies and his corpse contaminates the Earth!

However, Lex Luthor, who combined the two pathogens into a "super-virus" offers a cure...for a price...

Unlike the readers of the never-reprinted DC's Action Comics #364 (1968) you won't have to wait a whole month!

Just be here...

Next Monday!

Dare You Miss It???

Please Support Hero Histories

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Superman: Greatest Stories Ever Told

Volume 1

(including Superman #156 which was the full-length predecessor to this tale!)

Halloween Special: How Batman Got His Groove Back: "THE Batman Returns!"

We Have Already Seen...

Art by Neal Adams

The Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder are flabbergasted as criminals they encounter react in terror to their mere presence, the way such fiends did in the early days of their crime-fighting careers!
Have criminals once more become "a superstitious, cowardly lot"?
An anonymous call to the Mantled Manhunter inviting him to discover the answer may hold the key...

Written by Frank Robbins, penciled by Bob Brown, and inked by Joe Giella, this tale from DC's Detective Comics #389 (1969) began the deliberate attempt to restore Batman to the Dark Knight of the 1940s!

From this point onward, both the writers and artists worked towards restoring the "creature of the night" motif that had disappeared in the late 1940s.

(Neal Adams had begun to do that on covers, but, once this story was published, he was able to go all-out on stories as well, with other artists like Irv Novick following suit!)

Considering how this tale changed the orientation of the character (and actually gave an explanation for his alteration of Method of Operation, restoring the bat as a symbol of avenging justice), it's odd this tale had never been reprinted in the US until 2006...and only in black and white!

Bonus: the cover from a Swedish reprint...

...taken from the story itself (as shown HERE!)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

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Showcase Presents

Batman

Vol 4

featuring the tale we'll be running...but in black and white!