Superboy: When Superman were a lad!

Superboy # 175 (DC)

Leo Dorfman (w) Bob Brown Murphy Anderson (a) 

Growing up in the sixties and seventies one of the comics that I regularly purchased with my limited pocket money was Superboy, adventures of Superman when he was a boy. Living with his parents Ma & Pa Kent in Smallville, Kansas Superboy was already a well established hero before he eventually upped an left for the big city or Metropolis as we came to know it.

This particular issue published in June 1971 contains one major story, Doomsday for a Super-Phantom plus a little two page short which I'll return to later.

One villain, Faustus part of a declining coven brings his declining family together to steal the powers of the boy of steel, but is forced to use modern scientific technology to enhance his (and their) magics to do so.

It fails at first, and off his relatives go leaving behind just one. A young orphan called "little" Asmo who has a bit more of the arcane powers in him than the rest rest of the clan, "uncle Faustus " included.

The story is fairly typical of the era with serviceable art and aimed at the still younger readership of the day and given that Superboy carried on until the mid eighties you can guess who inevitably won.

However the two pager at the back is also worth a read. Superboy first appeared in March 1949 as Dc cashed in on the popularity of the Superman franchise.



This meant of course that Superboy's adventures took place in the late twenties/thirties which caused a wee bit of a continuity problem and eventually they were set in the fifties. Ma and Pa Kent were also made to look younger.

How did this happen? The Superboy Legend we are told how an alien TV producer who uses pictures of real events in Smallville to create his show uses a youth serum to make the Kents younger.

It doesn't work well when his producers ask him to make a show of Superman where he needs erm, older characters. That's show business!

Still this issue and others like it were part of the mainstay of National/DC comics back in the day.

The modern Superman (including the latest "reboot" in the "New 52") doesn't appear in public until his "twenties" and Superboy is no longer part of the DC canon. Shame really.

There are other versions of Superboy, both clones, but they never live up the Boy of Steel himself!

Superman: The first radio show

In June 1938 the first issue of Action Comics appeared on the news stands featuring a new concept. The superhero.

Superman was born and went on to be an iconic fictional character around the world. Only a couple of years later as the rest of the world went to war, Superman became a long running radio show.

What follows is the first ever episode from 1940. As you will learn from the narration the early Superman was not quite as we know him today. He didn't fly, just jumped a fair distance, sometimes over buildings, could outrun a train and so on.

His other powers came later.

So without further adieu is a piece of history

Justice League 3000

Keith Giffen (w) J.M.Dematties (a)

Justice League 3000 is one of the more "left field" comics being produced by DC comics as part of their "New 52" universe. Advertised as the Justice League in the 30th century what we actually got was a bizarre group of individuals who thought they were reborn from the 21st century but something wasn't quite right.

Clones was the first though on every bodies minds but it turns out they are something different.

Something requiring a terrible sacrifice to bring in to being.



The hero's we meet are flawed. "Superman" is an arrogant tosser, "Wonder Woman" a wee bit of a psycho and after he is killed the Flash is a woman and she's actually from the 30th century.

The secret as now revealed (spoiler) is that a pair of ultra-intelligent twins (ones evil it turns out) have used DNA from the dead heroes to overwrite another human being so they become the hero.

In the latest issue Terry the evil twin plots his revenge by raising others on this basis. Bane, Sinestro, Zeus (don't ask), the Mirror Master and err... Lois Lane as a kind of Injustice League.



Not a suprise really, well except for the evil Lois Lane, but that's not the real mystery at the core of this story.

But first a recap, of sorts.

This is supposed to be the 30th century but there is no Legion of Superheroes. Earth is a prison planet.

So one asks is this an alternate future? A different dimension?

The mystery deepens as the anticipated return of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold takes place and these are the pre-New 52 versions according to gossip on the net, Blue Beetle is certainly not the alien symbiont of the new DC.

This book therefore suddenly becomes essential reading as the weekly Futures End and Earth 2 War books head towards Convergence next year.

More on that to come.

Back Issue Spotlight: Strange Adventures #122

Strange Adventures #122

Various (w) & (a)

Back in the early sixties DC published a range of science fiction and "horror" comics that were very much the product of a simpler age. I picked up a "fair" copy of Strange Adventures (Nov 1960) at a reasonable price though due to it being a bit fragile "cover wise" so I chose to read it flat on the table.

This edition contains three quite charming little tales, the first of which David and the Space Goliath was a modern take on the bible story with a twist. Think android with a dodgy stomach and you get the drift. The cure? Delivered by our version of David.

Quite charming.

The second tale loosely based on selling ones "soul" is Star Actor of the Space-ways about an ageing actor and an offer from a bunch of aliens he can't refuse, can he. All he has to do is impersonate an alien leader. But not for a good reason. It all works out in the end though as most stories of DC's family friendly series did in those days.

Finally we are treated to an appearance of Star Hawkins, a Private Detective in the 21st Century! This particular little adventure centres on his robot, Ilda in a little tale called The Case of the Red Hot Robot.

Also of interest are the adverts for other DC titles. An early adventure of the Justice league is given a full page splash and The Flash & Green Lantern are featured in mini-ads. The beginning of the DC universe. Those were the days though a little to early for me, I would have been 3!

Worth tracking down.

Superheroes Against Extremism

An interesting project by Jordanian comics creator Suleiman Bakhit that's well worth listening to.

We should all wish his project success!

Gerry Anderson Comics from the sixties

One thing you couldn't miss growing up in the sixties were the wonderful Gerry Anderson adventure series such as Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds and Stingray. It's hardly surprising given their popularity that these stories made it to comics in the form of TV Century 21 (later just TV 21).

I picked up the copy illustrated above cover dated June 17th 2067, which of course was 1967 but pandering to our futuristic expectations from the first page, also designed to look like a newspaper.

This particular edition not only carries the stuff you would expect from a Gerry Anderson comic but other strips based on the shows we all watched in those days before multiple channels invaded out homes. You'll find the spoof spy story Get Smart and The Munsters running alongside specially created spin off stories from the world of the twenty-first century.

For a brief time there were two "companion" comics Lady Penelope (for your sister) and Joe 90.



Lady Penelope ran from 1966 to 1969, and featured strips such as The Man from Uncle and The Beverley Hillbillies. Eventually it broke with the Anderson theme until declining sales saw it merge with another girls comic. Princess Tina.

Joe 90 was launched in 1969 featuring stories such as Land of the Giants, The Champions and Star Trek. However it only lasted 34 issues before being merged with TV 21.

TV 21 and Joe 90 itself ran for another 105 issues (though dropping the Joe 90 tag after a short while). As interest in the franchise waned, at least in comic form the title (now taken over by IPC) was eventually merged into Valiant.



These comics are all gone now mores the shame though there are some reprints of the main features available in bookstores, but for old gits like me there's nothing like the originals. TV 21 and it's companion comics are a bit more expensive to collect than the average British comic, especially the early issues and Summer Specials.

And then there's the Annuals, the perennial Christmas present!



To finish, a quick reminder of the opening theme from Joe 90. Those were the days!

Enter the Twilight Zone at your own risk!

The Twilight Zone: Lost Tales (Dynamite Entertainment)

Mark Rahner (w) Various (a)

The Twilight Zone was one of those iconic TV shows that people of my generation grew up with. A series of weird tales with twisted endings. Dynamite Entertainment have been publishing a regular title based on the TV show, of which this is a prestige format edition that I purchased on a whim. There's only so many titles that I have time to read or money to buy! 

There are three stories in this edition with good artwork and with the exception of the first story an enjoyable read. A victim of torture seeking revenge, moral dilemmas on a new planet for mankind and a device to see souls are the themes within.

This isn't the first time The Twilight Zone has been a comic. The now defunct Gold Key company ran a 92 issue series from 1962 until 1982.

Classic covers 

Meanwhile Dynamite continue the fine tradition which may be worth a try if you dare enter..The Twilight Zone yourself!

Written by the maestro Michael J Straczinsky himself!