Friday Fun HOLY CREAM-FILLED PASTRY!

When Hostess Baking ceased operation in 2012, a chapter of comics history ended...

This wonderfully-looney series of ads featuring all the major comics characters from Archie to Spider-Man to Casper the Friendly Ghost to Wonder Woman appeared in comics for almost a decade, featuring some of the best artists in the business including Neal Adams (above with Dick Giordano), Gil Kane, John Romita Sr, Curt Swan, Jim Starlin, and Frank Miller doing the rendering!

Note: You can see a complete set of the Marvel and DC ones HERE!

Bonus: the original art for this ad...

BTW, Hostess' nigh-indestructible pastries have since returned to supermarket shelves...but the comic advertising never did!

Macabre Monday Madness THE SPECTRE & THE FLASH "Phantom Flash, Cosmic Traitor" Part 3

We Have Already Seen...

Cover art penciled by Flash artist Carmine Infantino and inked by Spectre artist Murphy Anderson

...while visiting Earth-Two, The Flash is possessed by the ghost of World War I fighter pilot Luther Jarvis, who feels his comrades who survived the war allowed him to die due to their cowardice!
Using the Scarlet Speedster as a cats-paw to give him an davantage in a dogfight, the ghostly pilot pits the mind-controlled Flash Against The Spectre!

Next Week: Back to Our Usual Monday Madness!

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Wrath of the Spectre

Omnibus

(which reprints all The Spectre's Silver and Bronze Age Appearances...in color, which the black-and-white Showcase volume doesn't do!)
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Macabre Monday Madness THE SPECTRE & THE FLASH "Phantom Flash, Cosmic Traitor" Part 2

When Last We Left Our Mismatched Protagonists...

...while visiting Earth-Two, The Flash is possessed by the ghost of World War I fighter pilot Luther Jarvis, who feels his comrades who survived the war allowed him to die due to their cowardice!

Using the Scarlet Speedster as a cats-paw to give him an advantage in a dogfight against one of his former comrades, the ghostly pilot doesn't realize his actions have attracted the attention of The Spectre...

To Be Concluded...Next Monday!

Writer Bob Haney never really got the hang of the whole Earth-One/Earth-Two concept.
While Luther Jarvis' plan involved trapping "The Flash"...he grabbed the wrong one!
When his henchmen captured Earth-One's Barry Allen instead of their own Flash, (Earth-Two's Jay Garrick) nobody even commented "Hey, is this the right guy?"
And in numerous other Brave & Bold tales mixing Earth-One (usually Batman) and Earth-Two characters (The Spectre, Wildcat) or characters like Plastic Man (who wasn't shown to be a resident of either Earth at that point), either the whole matter is ignored or badly-handled (as it was here)!
BTW, note the ad at the bottom of the page for Blackhawk, who was shown to be a Earth-One resident when the Justice League of America (including The Flash) appeared in his title as shown HERE!

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics

Visit Amazon and Buy...

Wrath of the Spectre

Omnibus

(which reprints all The Spectre's Silver and Bronze Age Appearances...in color, which the black-and-white Showcase volume doesn't do!)

Macabre Monday Madness THE SPECTRE & THE FLASH "Phantom Flash, Cosmic Traitor" Part 1

Before the book became a full-time "Batman &" team-up title...

...The Brave and the Bold featured some of the weirdest team-ups Silver Age DC ever saw!

Case in point...

Actually, you'll see it NEXT MONDAY!

Written by Bob Haney, penciled by Carmine Infantino, and inked by Chuck Cuderia, this tale in DC's The Brave and the Bold #72 (1967) served a a bridge between The Spectre's successful three-issue tryout run in Showcase, and the premiere of his own title a couple of months later!
Notes:
It's atypical for The Flash, who was a science-oriented character, to be involved in a supernatural-themed tale.
Also, why isn't he visiting his buddy, Jay Garrick (the Golden Age Flash), instead of The Spectre, who at this point in time, The Scarlet Speedster had only seen during the annual JLA/JSA "Crisis on..." summer team-up ("Crisis Between Earth-One and Earth-Two!"/"Bridge Between Earths!") and never even spoken with?
(They were in the middle of a pitched battle with the Anti-Matter Man!)

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics
Visit Amazon and Buy...

Wrath of the Spectre
Omnibus
(which reprints all The Spectre's Silver and Bronze Age Appearances...in color, which the black-and-white Showcase volume doesn't do!)

Space Hero Saturdays MANHUNTER 2070 "Incident on Krobar 3"

A mere 47 years from now...

...the 21st Century's Deep Space will look a lot like the 19th Century's Wild West!

This short appeared in the back of DC's Showcase V1 #90 (1970), leading into the final three issues of the series' original run, dedicated to one of Mike Sekowsky's more innovative projects...

Sekowsky had quite a bit of latitude at DC as a writer/artist/editor during this period, revamping Wonder Woman, Metal Men and Supergirl (in Adventure Comics) while also presenting a couple of potential series in Showcase, Jason's Quest and Manhunter 2070.

This prequel was written and penciled by Mike Sekowsky, inked by Dick Giordano.

We re-presented the entire never-reprinted saga...

"Planet of Death" Part 1

"Planet of Death" Part 2

"Planet of Death" Conclusion

"Space Duel"

"Starker's Origin"

"D.O.A." Part 1
"D.O.A." Conclusion
"Next Issue"

"Never Trust a Red-Haired Greenie!" Part 1

"Never Trust a Red-Haired Greenie!" Part 2

"Never Trust a Red-Haired Greenie!" Conclusion

The story ended on a cliffhanger, and the apparent death of Starker.

For twenty years, except for a cameo in the revived Showcase's 100th issue, during a multiverse and time-spanning tale featuring almost every character who headlined a strip in Showcase...except James Bond from #43's adaptation of the movie Dr No...Starker had disappeared from the DC Multiverse.

HA!

Fooled Ya!

In 1990, Howard Chaykin and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez created Twilight, a mini-series combining and "updating" an assortment of DC Comics' 21st Century-based characters including (from left-to-right) Star Hawkins & Ilda, Tommy Tomorrow, Karel Sorenson (and the rest of the not-pictured Star Rovers), and Manhunter 2070 (who apparently survived the ambush), along with the Space Cabbie, Knights of the Galaxy, Space Ranger, and even the Space Museum!

It was also revealed that interplanetary private eye Star Hawkins was actually Axel Starker, brother to Manhunter 2070, whose full name was Jon Starker...contradicting the only-child storyline from the Showcase series.

Note: Star Hawkins was co-created by artist Mike Sekowsky (who, as a writer/artist/editor created Manhunter 2070) and writer John Broome, so the two characters were "brothers" sharing a "father", as it were.

Chaykin had already radically re-envisioned several other characters, including Blackhawk and The Shadow, and while his controversial Shadow updating (continued by Andy Helfer, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Kyle Baker) wasn't considered "official", the changes he introduced into Blackhawk became part of post-Crisis on Infinite Earths canon.

As to where Twilight stands in terms of continuity...well, we're not sure.

The events in the story have never been referenced in any other DC titles, nor has it ever been reprinted.

Which may be just as well, since Jon Starker dies during the tale.

But, Manhunter 2070 still had one more life left!

DC's continuity being what it is (or isn't) these days, it seems you can't keep an interplanetary bounty hunter dead for long.

In 2012, comics legend Walt Simonson wrote and illustrated a one-shot graphic novel, Judas Coin...

The coin falls into the hands of various people throughout recorded history (including a number of both notable and almost-forgotten DC characters)...

...the final chapter takes the reader to a near-future we have more than a passing familiarity with...

Yep, Starker survived!

Part 1

Conclusion

Have a look at Manhunter 2070, a worthy addition to our collection of Space Heroes!

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Taylor Illustrated History

Science Fiction Comics 

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder SONIC DISRUPTORS "Are You Ready to Rock?" Conclusion

In 2030...as seen from 1987...

...the world has gone to shit!

How did it happen?

Read on...

While it won't be "next month", we will present "Republic of Rock" in the near future!

Writer Mike Baron, penciler Barry Crain, and inker John Nyberg created this series for DC in 1986, when the company was encouraging creatives to present new, creator-owned, projects either as stand-alone graphic novels or mini-series.
Though this was proposed as a 12-issue series, only seven issues were published, and contrary to rumors, there was no unpublished 8th issue!
We'll tell that tale...someday!

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Taylor Illustrated History

Science Fiction Comics