Continuing through the Hard-Traveling Heroes Omnibus...
The Flash #226
March-April 1974
The Powerless Power Ring!
Script - Denny O'Neil Pencils - Neal Adams, Dick Giordano Inks - Dick Giordano
I have to disagree with the caption box that opens this story. "Exploits" is not the word I would use to describe it. At first glance it might be exciting to have Neal Adams back on Green Lantern, but "The Powerless Power Ring" and a terrified Hal Jordan about to fall to his death doesn't promise a great adventure...
As the story opens, Hal is out hiking and camping in the mountains. He's still unemployed and still broke, griping about the sorry state of civilization. Yep, it's a Denny O'Neil script all right. He makes Oliver Queen's chili recipe and adds some mushrooms to it. Time to charge up the power ring, which he does in uniform, and then after seeing a mysterious flash of light which he can't explain, GL settles down to sleep. Everything's great until a bear wanders up and GL tries to remove it with the power ring, only for the beam to malfunction. He tests it on a tree and it doesn't do what he wants. The ring is malfunctioning yet again, and GL does not know why.
Just then he hears a scream, and sees a mountain climber in serious danger. Afraid to use the power ring, he climbs the cliff himself to go and help her out. This ultimately leads him to where we saw Hal on the splash page, clinging to the cliff for dear life. But when he falls, he is of course able to make the power ring work as it should, saving his life and the life of the climber. They settle at his campsite, where GL asks if she saw the flash of light last night. She did and thought it was great. She sees his open can of mushrooms and asks if he's been eating them. Turns out that brand is dangerous, causes weird things to happen to people. Yes, Green Lantern's great enemy this issue was... bad mushrooms. How low can O'Neil drag the character?
What a waste. A waste of Neal Adams's talent, a waste of the eight pages of space, and probably a waste of my time to read it. O'Neil seemed far more interested in humiliating the character than in telling fun and interesting sci-fi adventure stories with him. Hal is essentially homeless, jobless, and half the time he lacks the self-confidence needed to be a good Green Lantern. And now brought down by bad mushrooms. This may genuinely be one of the worst Green Lantern stories I've ever read.
Retro Comics are Awesome
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andersonh1
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Ursus mellifera
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome
Damn, that's a bummer. I LOVED Neal Adams on the Silver Age X-Men. He's amazing.
Check it out, a honey bear! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinkajou
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andersonh1
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome
I'm mainly familiar with Neal Adams from the first run of Green Lantern/Green Arrow and from 1970s Batman, but I agree with you that he's probably one of the best artists to ever draw comics. His panel layouts are so inventive and the way he draws people are miles ahead of everyone else at the time, and many now. I haven't seen any of his X-Men work, but he drew a few of the post-Kirby issues collected in Thor omnibus vol. 3, and the art is great there.
This turned out to be a three issue storyline, and of course since they're short, 8 page backups, it would all have been a single issue of a regular comic. Can part two or part three save the awful "Hal vs. bad mushrooms" plot? Stay tuned....
The Flash #227
May-June 1974
My Ring... My Enemy!
Script - Denny O'Neil Pencils - Dick Dillin Inks - Dick Giordano
Your bucolic waltz is over, clods! I'll take you to safety... though you don't deserve the effort!
This story picks up where the last left off, recapping the end of the issue. Green Lantern carries the woman he rescued closer to civilization and sets her down. She thanks him, but he goes hilariously bad-tempered and sexist on her. "Don't go rock-scaling alone again! That's downright stupid, especially for a woman! In case you haven't gotten the bulletin, the fair sex belongs in the kitchen!" The woman storms off and GL wonders why he made such a stupid remark. He decides that he's tired and needs a nap, after a ring recharge. But he kicks the lantern in frustration, tired of the whole routine. Just then he spots a helicopter in trouble, so he brings it to the ground, and when the pilot tries to thank him, GL punches him in the jaw. Okay, it's pretty obvious that Hal is not himself here, and if the title of the story can be trusted, the ring is still malfunctioning.
Turns out the chopper was on the way to fight a forest fire, so GL goes instead. He's still rude and obnoxious to everyone but he gets the results. He finds a plane in the midst of the forest fire, and rounds up some crooks who had robbed an armored car that GL noticed back when he discussed the situation with some forest rangers. He takes the thieves back, but when one of the rangers complains about his attitude, GL starts beating him up. Realizing at last that something is seriously wrong, he attributes the problems to that yellow flash of light from last issue. Every time he uses the power ring, it affects him. He determines that he can't use it until he corrects the problem, only to be told that some kids and a camp counselor are trapped by the fire, and he's the only one who can save them...
Now this is at least far more entertaining than bad mushrooms, though I'm already tired of a malfunctioning power ring. But Hal in a bad temper giving lip to everyone for the terrible job they're doing, supposedly, made me laugh more than once. It's so over the top it's funny. And of course it's obvious that he's being influenced and is very much out of character. So even though it's hardly stellar drama, this is a definite improvement over part one of this storyline.
This turned out to be a three issue storyline, and of course since they're short, 8 page backups, it would all have been a single issue of a regular comic. Can part two or part three save the awful "Hal vs. bad mushrooms" plot? Stay tuned....
The Flash #227
May-June 1974
My Ring... My Enemy!
Script - Denny O'Neil Pencils - Dick Dillin Inks - Dick Giordano
Your bucolic waltz is over, clods! I'll take you to safety... though you don't deserve the effort!
This story picks up where the last left off, recapping the end of the issue. Green Lantern carries the woman he rescued closer to civilization and sets her down. She thanks him, but he goes hilariously bad-tempered and sexist on her. "Don't go rock-scaling alone again! That's downright stupid, especially for a woman! In case you haven't gotten the bulletin, the fair sex belongs in the kitchen!" The woman storms off and GL wonders why he made such a stupid remark. He decides that he's tired and needs a nap, after a ring recharge. But he kicks the lantern in frustration, tired of the whole routine. Just then he spots a helicopter in trouble, so he brings it to the ground, and when the pilot tries to thank him, GL punches him in the jaw. Okay, it's pretty obvious that Hal is not himself here, and if the title of the story can be trusted, the ring is still malfunctioning.
Turns out the chopper was on the way to fight a forest fire, so GL goes instead. He's still rude and obnoxious to everyone but he gets the results. He finds a plane in the midst of the forest fire, and rounds up some crooks who had robbed an armored car that GL noticed back when he discussed the situation with some forest rangers. He takes the thieves back, but when one of the rangers complains about his attitude, GL starts beating him up. Realizing at last that something is seriously wrong, he attributes the problems to that yellow flash of light from last issue. Every time he uses the power ring, it affects him. He determines that he can't use it until he corrects the problem, only to be told that some kids and a camp counselor are trapped by the fire, and he's the only one who can save them...
Now this is at least far more entertaining than bad mushrooms, though I'm already tired of a malfunctioning power ring. But Hal in a bad temper giving lip to everyone for the terrible job they're doing, supposedly, made me laugh more than once. It's so over the top it's funny. And of course it's obvious that he's being influenced and is very much out of character. So even though it's hardly stellar drama, this is a definite improvement over part one of this storyline.
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andersonh1
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome
Continuing GL's solo adventures in the Hard Traveling Heroes omnibus...
The Flash #228
July-August 1974
My Enemy... Myself!
Script - Denny O'Neil Pencils - Dick Dillin Inks - Frank Giacoia
Finishing up this three part story, we finally get the cause of most of Hal's problems: two aliens who attempted to drain all the energy from the Green Lantern ring, but instead damaged the ring in such a way that it's turned him into the jerk we saw last issue. Green Lantern is getting worse, and he realizes it, but he still feels an obligation to rescue those people trapped by the forest fire. He does so, making sarcastic quips the whole time, and when the people he rescues thank him, he's seriously considering killing them. But the story cheats a bit here by pulling a reveal that wasn't set up earlier that GL had given his ring a command to restrain him if he went too far, and put up a dome to protect everyone from the fire. It's kind of hilarious to read GL ranting at his own power ring here. "Ring! I'll get you for this, ring!"
But things are not all as they seem. The people he rescued are strangely distorted. I attributed that to Hal's state of mind, but no, it turns out they're not real. They're projections by the two aliens. I'll admit, after two chapters making Hal look bad, having him put a contingency into place to deal with his ring-related problems and having him figure out the scam by the aliens puts him in a better light. Sadly, the bad mushrooms were genuinely the cause of his earliest problems back in Flash #226, so there's no retconning that bit of nonsense away. But everything since was the fault of the two aliens trying to drain the ring's power and remove Earth's Green Lantern so they could have free run of the planet. Hal's ring is out of power at this point, but he's had plenty of practice with his fists and takes out both aliens. The Guardians will take the aliens into custody and repair Hal's damaged ring, and the story ends with Green Lantern reciting his oath proudly, once again himself.
If GL had been regular monthly series at this point, this would have been a single issue story rather than split up over three backups. This is a case where the end of a story mostly makes the rest of it work. I still think the bad mushrooms making the ring malfunction was a dumb idea, but the rest of it pretty much works for me. Aliens try to drain a power ring so they can kill the Green Lantern, it goes wrong and makes him mean instead. I had to laugh at many of "evil GL's" bad tempered remarks, and I did genuinely like how he put a contingency plan into place to stop himself from going too far. He's used the ring to plan ahead in other storylines, both before and after this one, and it's a sensible use of the ring's capabilities. I'll never call this a great Green Lantern story, but while it started out bad, it ended up fairly decent and entertaining.
The Flash #228
July-August 1974
My Enemy... Myself!
Script - Denny O'Neil Pencils - Dick Dillin Inks - Frank Giacoia
Finishing up this three part story, we finally get the cause of most of Hal's problems: two aliens who attempted to drain all the energy from the Green Lantern ring, but instead damaged the ring in such a way that it's turned him into the jerk we saw last issue. Green Lantern is getting worse, and he realizes it, but he still feels an obligation to rescue those people trapped by the forest fire. He does so, making sarcastic quips the whole time, and when the people he rescues thank him, he's seriously considering killing them. But the story cheats a bit here by pulling a reveal that wasn't set up earlier that GL had given his ring a command to restrain him if he went too far, and put up a dome to protect everyone from the fire. It's kind of hilarious to read GL ranting at his own power ring here. "Ring! I'll get you for this, ring!"
But things are not all as they seem. The people he rescued are strangely distorted. I attributed that to Hal's state of mind, but no, it turns out they're not real. They're projections by the two aliens. I'll admit, after two chapters making Hal look bad, having him put a contingency into place to deal with his ring-related problems and having him figure out the scam by the aliens puts him in a better light. Sadly, the bad mushrooms were genuinely the cause of his earliest problems back in Flash #226, so there's no retconning that bit of nonsense away. But everything since was the fault of the two aliens trying to drain the ring's power and remove Earth's Green Lantern so they could have free run of the planet. Hal's ring is out of power at this point, but he's had plenty of practice with his fists and takes out both aliens. The Guardians will take the aliens into custody and repair Hal's damaged ring, and the story ends with Green Lantern reciting his oath proudly, once again himself.
If GL had been regular monthly series at this point, this would have been a single issue story rather than split up over three backups. This is a case where the end of a story mostly makes the rest of it work. I still think the bad mushrooms making the ring malfunction was a dumb idea, but the rest of it pretty much works for me. Aliens try to drain a power ring so they can kill the Green Lantern, it goes wrong and makes him mean instead. I had to laugh at many of "evil GL's" bad tempered remarks, and I did genuinely like how he put a contingency plan into place to stop himself from going too far. He's used the ring to plan ahead in other storylines, both before and after this one, and it's a sensible use of the ring's capabilities. I'll never call this a great Green Lantern story, but while it started out bad, it ended up fairly decent and entertaining.
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andersonh1
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome
Continuing through the Batman Silver Age Omnibus...
Batman #101
August 1956
Cover art: Sheldon Moldoff
The Vanished Batman
Script: Edmond Hamilton Pencils: Sheldon Moldoff Inks: Stan Kaye
I had read this story before I bought the omnibus. It was reprinted in the DC Classic Comics Library Batman Annuals #2. That splash page of Robin driving his own red car with a big yellow R on the front is pretty distinctive. I guess if he's old enough to fight crime, he's old enough to drive. Batman has vanished and Robin is working solo, with not only his own car, but a Robin signal as well. The citizens of Gotham are puzzled, and the press reason that Robin wouldn't be working alone unless something had happened to Batman, but I the reader immediately suspect some sort of ploy. The story plays it straight, with Robin meeting alone with Gordon, capturing a couple of fleeing crooks on his own, and even fighting a high-rise fire by spraying chemicals from a Robin-plane. You know, vehicles like the car and the plane aren't just created in a few nights. This operation must have been planned for a long time. Pack Purdy, underworld crime boss, knows what's happened to Batman. He's been "put out of the way for good", or so his henchmen claim. The news in Gotham eulogize it's "greatest citizen" and review just a couple of incidents of his long and stellar crime-fighting career on behalf of Gotham.
It's a nicely written setup, with some good attempts to take the premise seriously, but it was never going to be convincing because we all know Batman is alive and well somewhere. So this is pretty much a story about the how and the why. And the flashback on page four tells us that Batman was lured into a trap where a truck attempted to run him off the road and over a cliff. Batman survived and after interrogating John Vair, a crook who works for Purdy, decides to fake his death and take Vair's place, with the goal being to capture not just Purdy, but the other gangsters coming to help him. Robin's high-profile solo appearances in town in his own Robin-themed vehicles, are an attempt to sell Batman's apparent demise to the general public and to the underworld.
The plan works. The other crooks come in and the nature of the test that Purdy gives them, demonstrating how well they can swim, lets the disguised Batman know what crime he's planning. Five million dollars is abord the ship Natonic, and Purdy plans to cut through the hull and steal them, thus bypassing the heavy security on the dock. Batman's plan to let them get to the ship and then trap them works perfectly. The crooks are rounded up, the money is safe, and all is back to normal with the Batmobile patrolling the streets of Gotham.
Going into a story like this we all know Batman isn't dead, and the story becomes as I said before about how we got to this point and why Batman is missing. I suspected a ploy and I was right. It's nice to see Batman's disguse hold up and not be discovered, given that some of his disguises have failed in the past, and that his plan to give Purdy's men enough rope to hang themselves also went off without a hitch. I'd have liked a few more pages of Robin operating solo to really show how he was coping, because there is some good material there that doesn't last very long. This is pretty much a standard "Batman vs. the Underworld" story that's the character's bread and butter, and it's not half bad. The premise didn't convince me, but the story worked regardless, and shows the trust Batman has in Robin to take care of himself on his own while the scenario played out.
Batman #101
August 1956
Cover art: Sheldon Moldoff
The Vanished Batman
Script: Edmond Hamilton Pencils: Sheldon Moldoff Inks: Stan Kaye
I had read this story before I bought the omnibus. It was reprinted in the DC Classic Comics Library Batman Annuals #2. That splash page of Robin driving his own red car with a big yellow R on the front is pretty distinctive. I guess if he's old enough to fight crime, he's old enough to drive. Batman has vanished and Robin is working solo, with not only his own car, but a Robin signal as well. The citizens of Gotham are puzzled, and the press reason that Robin wouldn't be working alone unless something had happened to Batman, but I the reader immediately suspect some sort of ploy. The story plays it straight, with Robin meeting alone with Gordon, capturing a couple of fleeing crooks on his own, and even fighting a high-rise fire by spraying chemicals from a Robin-plane. You know, vehicles like the car and the plane aren't just created in a few nights. This operation must have been planned for a long time. Pack Purdy, underworld crime boss, knows what's happened to Batman. He's been "put out of the way for good", or so his henchmen claim. The news in Gotham eulogize it's "greatest citizen" and review just a couple of incidents of his long and stellar crime-fighting career on behalf of Gotham.
It's a nicely written setup, with some good attempts to take the premise seriously, but it was never going to be convincing because we all know Batman is alive and well somewhere. So this is pretty much a story about the how and the why. And the flashback on page four tells us that Batman was lured into a trap where a truck attempted to run him off the road and over a cliff. Batman survived and after interrogating John Vair, a crook who works for Purdy, decides to fake his death and take Vair's place, with the goal being to capture not just Purdy, but the other gangsters coming to help him. Robin's high-profile solo appearances in town in his own Robin-themed vehicles, are an attempt to sell Batman's apparent demise to the general public and to the underworld.
The plan works. The other crooks come in and the nature of the test that Purdy gives them, demonstrating how well they can swim, lets the disguised Batman know what crime he's planning. Five million dollars is abord the ship Natonic, and Purdy plans to cut through the hull and steal them, thus bypassing the heavy security on the dock. Batman's plan to let them get to the ship and then trap them works perfectly. The crooks are rounded up, the money is safe, and all is back to normal with the Batmobile patrolling the streets of Gotham.
Going into a story like this we all know Batman isn't dead, and the story becomes as I said before about how we got to this point and why Batman is missing. I suspected a ploy and I was right. It's nice to see Batman's disguse hold up and not be discovered, given that some of his disguises have failed in the past, and that his plan to give Purdy's men enough rope to hang themselves also went off without a hitch. I'd have liked a few more pages of Robin operating solo to really show how he was coping, because there is some good material there that doesn't last very long. This is pretty much a standard "Batman vs. the Underworld" story that's the character's bread and butter, and it's not half bad. The premise didn't convince me, but the story worked regardless, and shows the trust Batman has in Robin to take care of himself on his own while the scenario played out.